Crafting

After my trip away I'm now back in the swing of things. Focaccia was baked this evening and I had it with homemade humus and olives. I had frozen the humus and I was sceptical about this but I defrosted it in the microwave and it tastes great. The flapjack was also made (at the last minute as I had forgotten) and it has turned out well. I always find that things tend to go ring when I'm tired but this time it turned out ok. I didn't add any extra fruit as I still have some cranberry flapjack left from last week and it keeps very well. Here is the vegan cake that I made yesterday for the birthday tea.

This is the easiest cake recipe ever and even my dh agreed that it tastes great. I'll definitely be using the recipe again as I've now made it twice it it tasted great each time. Even though it has no eggs it tastes light and airy. It must be the combination of the bicarbonate of soda and the teaspoon of red wine vinegar.

I also cut out a new felt pattern today. I decided to have a look through my cookie cutter collection and found a number that I think would be great for patterns. What do you think?

As you can see, as well as the flower and tree, I thought I'd have a go at a Star of David and a dreidel, the traditional game played at Chanukah which starts on 8 December this year. I'm starting to panic a bit as this is less than a month away and I haven't finished buying all the presents yet. I think I'll be writing some lists out this week so I start to feel a bit more in control. As well as cutting out the shapes, I also made a new heart shaped pattern. It's a bit larger than my other hanging decorations but I'm really pleased with it.

I've filled it with stuffing and the lavender that we harvested from my parents' garden. I think they could also be used as pin cushions if I left put the ribbon. Let me know what you think.

As well as all the baking and crafting, I found time to watch Jerusalem with Yotam Ottalengi. It was on BBC4 on Tuesday night but I caught up with it on I-player this evening. It was well worth the effort. Beautiful shots of the city of Jerusalem, lovely stories about individual cooks and amazing recipes. I visited in 1992 and it brought back lots of lovely memories. It's a beautiful city filled with amazing people of different backgrounds. My wish is that they would all be able to live together in peace and harmony. A particular poignant thought at this time.

Enjoy the rest of your evening.