Op Shop Adventure.

Went to the Red Cross Op Shop in New Lynn and found the most amazing set of children's books. There are ten all together and then have everything from nursery rhymes to Greek mythology to Pride and Prejudice and Alice in Wonderland.

Also found some lovely fabric, two doilies and a set of two books on shorthand. I had never realised shorthand what shorthand was. Here's an example, it's the scratchy marks.

I have also finally finished my Owl and also felted a bird pincushion.

And this is Meow Face, he's the neighbours cat but he likes hanging out at our place. He is currently sleeping on the couch.

National Alpaca Day 2010

I did not know we had a National New Zealand Alpaca Day, so what did we do? We visited an Alpaca Farm and got an education in Alpacas.

We visited Silverdale Alpacas, one of many Alpaca farms around Auckland that had opened their doors to the public for the day. It was so much fun, we got to chat to the breeder and pat the animals. I hadn't realised how think and soft their fleece is. Would defiantly visit another farm next year and I would highly recommend it to all of you.

The resident Beagle.

Lemon Curd.

On Tuesday I checked out Queenies Lunchroom. I had spotted it in a issue of Canvas and read that it had won some design awards. The place is gorgeous and the owner is wonderful. We had a great little chat. She gave us some tips on painted concrete floors...

a, preparation is key, fill in any holes, they will only gather dirt,
b, don't use a varnish, it will go yellow and look like nicotine stain,
c, watch out and stay away from paints that make the floor slippery.

Amongst other yummy treats we had Pikelets topped lemon curd, creme fraiche and raspberries. What more could I wish for? That got me thinking about yummy lemon curd so I thought I would share with you my favourite lemon curd tart recipe.
(I say mine but really my sister makes it and I eat it)

Lemon Curd Tarts
(makes 48)

150 ml lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup (125 g) sugar
100 g butter, diced
4 sheets ready-made shortcrust pastry (24 cm x 24 cm)
2 tablespoons icing sugar

-Whisk together the lemon juice, zest, egg yolks and sugar, then cook in a saucepan or until the sugar has dissolved.
-Gradually add the butter, stirring continuously, and cook for 10 minutes, or until think.
-Remove from the heat and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming.
-Refrigerate until needed.
(the curd should last up to 2 days)

-Preheat the oven to moderate 108 degrees (350F/ Gas 4) and lightly grease 24 x 3 tartlet tins.
-Cut 48 rounds from the pastry with a 5 cm cutter and line the tins with half of them.
-Lay the other rounds on a lined baking tray, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed. Bake the cases for 12 - 15 minutes, or until golden.
-Allow to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining rounds.

(I would suggest only making half of the tart bases and using the rest of the curd for other yummy adventures like on pancakes, cake even toast)

When cool, dust each tartlet with icing sugar and spoon 1 teaspoon curd into each tartlet base. Don't assemble too far in advance or else the base could go soft. To prevent the bases going soft you could paint melted chocolate on the inside of the cases.

I wish Auckland was flat.

Because then I could ride a bike everywhere with ease. This is the reason for my longing.

I would probably pair it up with something like this. The blue even matches her shoes.

Travel in Style.

Before travelling for a month in November I never realised how much waiting around can be involved. This solves all that. Designed by Nieuwe Heren this suitcase set combines to create a sofa for two, the perfect place to rest those travel worn feet.