Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Diversions...

Yesterday was an intriguing mix of utterly crappy and rather bloody good. On the rather bloody good side of the fence a book I had reserved ages ago at the library finally became available so I picked it up at lunchtime. And spent pretty much the whole evening perusing it (with a short break to make Baked Pumpkin and Baby Spinach Risotto*)
I also had an itching to use some of the wool I picked up at the Brain Injury Op Shop (supporting people with brain injuries, not giving you one if you shop there, in case you were wondering) to knit a flower brooch or two based on the pattern that Pink Rocket had used to decorate her felted bag. And since it was such a little project it gave me an excuse to break out the short number 8 needles I got last weekend.

If you're in need of a diversion, try some of the following:

Lego Brokeback Mountain (courtesy of my wonderful sister)

Herding cats

knitted graffiti

Graffiti for people who are blind

Sesame Street breaking news (again, thanks to sis)

Are you nice? (another one from sis)

(*Oven Baked Pumpkin and Baby Spinach Risotto:

450g pumpkin, peeled and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
Olive oil in a spray can
Freshly ground black pepper
200g Arborio rice
Zest of ½ a lemon
700ml vegetable stock (or, if you’re me 200 ml wine and 500ml vegetable stock)
A couple of handfuls of baby spinach, stalks removed
25g parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 200c and put the pumpkin, onion and garlic in a non-stick, oven-proof casserole dish. Spray lightly with the oil and season to taste with the black pepper. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, turning regularly until the vegetables are golden and become caramelised.

Sprinkle over the rice and lemon zest and mix well. Pour over the boiling stock and stir. Add the spinach. Cover and return to the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the rice is tender and all the stock is absorbed.

Stir in half the parmesan cheese and scatter the remainder over the top. Serve immediately.)

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