What’s On Your Workdesk this Wednesday?
Same thing as last week – squares for the kitty throw! I decided to do a different style of square, working back and forth rather than in the round, following a graph design of a kitty face. Here is the design I made.
My first attempt was a practice run, and I didn’t bother to crochet in the features on the cat’s face but just made the outline. It was a total disaster – I ended up with several stitches fewer than I’d started out with, so the square was a trapezoid! Epic fail.
I abandoned that one and began again. this time adding the colours for the features. Much more successful this time. I managed to maintain a consistent number of stitches throughout. Here is the square, before I added any embroidery.
After I had added the embroidery:
This type of square took much longer to complete than the regular ones, so I am not going to make too many of them. I might make one or two more but it’s probably not worth the effort and time. I managed to crochet one more regular square as well this week. It was a bit of a pathetic effort for a whole week, to have completed only two squares! I did go back to adding embroidery to the cat stitch squares but haven’t had time to make much progress yet. Progress is being made, though, however slowly, in the right direction. I may yet get this blanket finished in time for my hubby’s birthday.
Food
Bits and bobs
In addition to my main theme this week, I have made more bread, this time another bulgur wheat loaf, with its gorgeous crunchiness from the grains of bulgur wheat. I also cooked up a batch of portions of both bulgur wheat and millet, which are grains which go particularly well with Middle Eastern-style food. I like to keep a stock of ready-cooked grains and legumes in the freezer in order to save time and effort when preparing meals. I made another batch of granola, this time using some okara (the pulp left over from making soya milk) instead of almond pulp because I’d run out. It seems to be fine – nice and crunchy. I also made some kombucha and discovered I’d made last week’s with the wrong tea (Lapsang Souchong as opposed to Yorkshire) and it came out disgusting. I adore Lapsang to drink (fabulously smoky) but not for kombucha. No. Another batch of tepache (fermented drink made from pineapple offcuts), some of which leaked in the fridge. It’s pretty lively stuff and I keep forgetting to burp the bottles. I also made a rhubarb fool by chucking a portion of stewed rhubarb and some custard in the Vitamix and blending it till it came out silky smooth. No need to strain out the fibrous part – the Vitamix deals with it so you are getting all the goodness of the fruit.
Smoothie bowls
My main theme this week has been more smoothie bowl experimenting. This time I made a green smoothie bowl. Green smoothies are green because you put greens in them. Duh. It’s a good way of consuming green leafy vegetables if you aren’t that keen on them. Some of them can be somewhat bitter and unappetising, and pretty chewy too. I do try and eat kale each week but don’t always manage it, and I find spring greens pretty tough and bitter. The recommendation is that we need to eat at least one portion of leafy green vegetables per day, and I certainly don’t achieve this. As I keep saying, I’m not over-keen on smoothies for various reasons, but a smoothie bowl does seem to be a sort of half-way house with more benefits than a smoothie to drink, and if it means I consume more leafy greens (one of the most nutrient-dense foods there is), that’s all to the good.
As I’ve mentioned before, chewing is an extremely important activity, the first part of the digestive process, and the very action of chewing stimulates the production of certain enzymes and hormones in the body. This is something which doesn’t happen if you are consuming food in the form of a smoothie to drink, which is why some people make a habit of chewing their smoothies! A smoothie made in a high speed blender will come out ultra-smooth, but if you use a lower powered, cheaper blender, you are going to get more lumps and grittiness in your smoothie, which is actually quite beneficial because you have to do more chewing. It might not be so nice to drink, but some people do prefer the extra texture. A smoothie bowl with lots of crunchy and fibrous fruity toppings on it, all of which require a lot of chewing, means that the smoothie gets chewed too, however smooth it is.
Recipe of the week
Basic green smoothie bowl
I found an absolutely brilliant YouTube channel this week, and this first video that I watched explained the principles of smoothie making, using a basic template and keeping things ultra-simple. There is lots of good nutritional information on this video. She is an extremely good teacher and there isn’t a lot of messing about but good sound advice, presented with a step by step approach, with the important points being re-emphasised throughout. I am now following this channel.
Here is my basic green smoothie bowl. It is made with a banana, an orange, some flax seeds, and a handful each of spinach and Cavolo Nero kale (also known as black kale – the very dark green one which is sweeter than the regular kale which I don’t much like). In order to make the smoothie thick enough for a bowl with toppings, I reduced the amount of liquid. I did use almond milk rather than her recommended water, because I wanted it more creamy.
Green, isn’t it.
That reminds me of something someone told me once. He was queueing at the checkout in a local farm supplies shop in Somerset, and the man in front was asking about a part for his lawn mower. The assistant asked him what type of lawn mower he had. Long pause, then came the immortal words, “Tez a green’un, zur.”
Here it is with the toppings added. They are more or less the same as the toppings I added to last week’s smoothie bowl.
I have to say this wasn’t nearly as delicious as last week’s berry smoothie bowl. There was quite a predominant flavour of banana (fine, I like banana) but I think two handfuls of green veg as opposed to one was a bit too much and I could taste a certain bitter note in it. I think when I make this again, I will try and add a bit more sweetness in the form of dates, or perhaps some frozen mango. To keep it green you need to avoid adding red berries.
I’ve found lots of other smoothie recipes online which would easily translate to bowl form, just by reducing the liquid content. One thing I have noticed is how incredibly sustaining a smoothie bowl with toppings is. I did wonder whether I would feel really hungry by elevenses time, but no – I was easily sustained until lunch time. The smoothie bowl certainly wasn’t digested in double-quick time but kept me going for hours.
A green smoothie doesn’t necessarily have to be green! If you add blueberries, the smoothie will come out a dark purple colour, and you can basically end up with any colour you want, depending on the additional fruit ingredients you choose. What makes a green smoothie green is the presence of the green leafy or cruciferous vegetables. In a well made green smoothie you shouldn’t be able to detect the taste of the vegetable at all, which makes them an ideal way of getting healthy greens inside growing children, too.
I find myself warming to smoothies more since doing more research into them, and I think I am going to be eating more smoothie bowls as time goes on, in order to increase my intake of less palatable tough leafy green vegetables. As long as you keep it simple and don’t overdo the amount of fruit you add, but just add sufficient to disguise the slight bitterness of the vegetables, there should be no problem with glucose/insulin spikes. I can’t see myself making regular drinking smoothies, though, as I still hold to my original ideas about these.
All this stuff is about using basic common sense, really. Unfortunately these days basic common sense seems to be a rare commodity indeed as the world sinks into ever more weirdness and craziness where wrong is considered right, up is down, lies are truth, truth is relative and a matter of emotional feelings rather than objectivity, etc. etc. Come, Lord Jesus! Meantime, we must continue to eat well and look after ourselves and our families, and keep those common sense muscles exercised so that they continue to serve us well.
Kitties
The mostly cold and wet weather this week has kept our girlies indoors most of the time. A few days ago we came across Ruby after she had discovered a shaft of warm sunlight coming through the flat sitting room door from the patio.
Then a couple of days later, there was Lily occupying the same spot! Sun spots for astute kitties.
It doesn’t take them long to seek out the warmest spots, does it.
Here is Lily being lifted in my hubby’s blanket so he could sit down and eat.
Health Update
I had another letter from the Exeter hospital during the week, saying they were sorry that I wasn’t happy with the reply I’d received recently. They said they were forwarding my letter to the Chief Executive of the hospital and would be in touch again. Dare I raise a hope that something might actually come of all this after all?
Regarding stoma management, I have discovered that if I try and keep on top of it as much as possible and not let the bag get too full, things are a bit better. Things have definitely changed in that department, and I am much more aware of it than I am when everything is working as it should, when most of the time I am not aware of it at all.
Blender
Nothing further on the defunct blender. The last I heard, during that ridiculous telephone conversation was that they were going to contact the manufacturer… again… and would get back to me. No further response on that front as yet. Meantime, my new Vitamix A3500 is an absolute dream machine. Love it.
The cat squares are cute! It is always a balance between speed/ease and the look, isn’t it? I tend to opt for QUICK and EASY but not always. And sometimes the slow and complex projects really please me, if I eventually finish them – and that can be a close run race! OK so usually I file away a recipe to try but I am not up for a green smoothie bowl. I really need texture – I love a smooth soup as a base but then it needs something in it to keep it from the mouth-feel of baby food. Possibly just me but nope – can’t do smooth. Funny you mention Okara. Hubby has a client/friend in Japan and when he comes he brings us bags of Okara flour – super high in protein and we have a lovely pancake recipe using it. I must find a photo a bag for you – all in Japanese but he did translate it once for us if I can find that paper too! As always, such an interesting visit…
Happy WOYWW – NOT at the hospital today but with a thumping headache yet determined to WOYWW nonetheless! Best day of my week…
Mary Anne (2)
Hi Shoshi, I do hope that the promise of forwarding your letter to the CEO achieves a prioritisation of your case.
Love your cats, both embroiders end sun-worshipping ?
Have you tried pear in a green smoothie? I find the sweetness balances it a bit.
Take care, stay safe and happy WOYWW
Hugs
Lynnecrafts 25
Oh please do more than just a couple of those kitty squares. It will be worth all the time spent when it is finished – they are beautiful. I do like the stripey one too, it catches the colours in the kitty ones perfectly with that addition of pink. Just a little but enough in my opinion.
As for the greens. I don’t think I could drink/eat that green smoothie, it’s a bit dark for me but I am just thankful I do enjoy greens. I love my veggies a bit on the al dente so I guess I do chew my veg when I have it. Not so with rice meals, it tend to eat those much faster and must concentrate more now you have given us the information on chewing.
Love the kitties and the sun spot, what a lovely pair they are – always good for a smile at on a Wednesday morning as what the weather is like outside.
Stay safe and well, hugs, Neet 9 x
HI Shoshi, wow! that really is green isn’t it? In all honesty I think I’d rather just eat the kale though, I love anything cabbagey. My husband hates greens, so when they arrive in the weekly veg box I have to eat al of them. I’ve discovered that I can eat an entire bag of kale in one sitting if I turn it into kale crisps and sprinkly it with smoky sea salt – yummy! Kitty throw is coming on, love the new design square, it’s going to be amazing when it’s all done, can’t wait to see. Have a great week. Annie C #27
Fun squares but I agree that if something takes too long to do then an alternative can always be found! I have a technique when I come to the end of a row during blanket making is that I do two trebles in the last stitch, I know it sounds weird but honestly, it keeps the edges straight! Only at the end of the row though bot at the beginning or else it would become a trapeze shape! The cat designs are fab though, the blanket is going to b a lot of fun!
Hugs LLJ 4 xxx
I do like the embroidered squares, but not if they take a long time! Hubby will love it when it’s finished. I hope you hear something from Exeter soon, what a complete shambles still…..
I don’t think I’ve ever drunk Lapsang Souchong, but then I am not fond of smoky flavours. so maybe why I’ve avoided it! Take care and have a good week. Helen #1
Fab cat squares! I love how different they are! I shall look forward to seeing that come together. Stay safe and keep smiling, Lisa-Jane #10
Great to see you all doing well and the kitty square is so sweet they know all the best spots. Have a very happy and creative woyww, Angela x18x
Happy WOYWW. Love the cat square. Milky the Cat always finds the sunshine – just like me. I eat a lot of broccoli, but cabbage etc makes my IBS flare up. I do like spinach, and should eat more. Ali x. #26
I think both squares will look lovely even if they are just dotted around. I know dark greens are very good for you, but my tummy just doesn’t like them. I like the purple sprouting. We have a lot of homemade soups into which my husband puts all sorts of vegetables . My dogs like to lie in the patches of sunshine. Annie particular will pant away until we move her for her own good! Have a great week Angela #15
Hi Shoshi! Yes, my two cats also fine those little bits of sun when they can, the hammock gets it and our bedroom window gets it, that’s about it. Sometimes the cat tree. They see the sun outside on the porch and want to go out, thinking it will be nice and warm! It isn’t.
I’ve never liked smoothies, I think just for the reason you said, I don’t like not chewing my food! But your smoothie bowls look delicious, although I’m pretty sure I would enjoy the berry one better too. Your squares are awesome! I can’t wait to see this masterpiece all finished! Have a great week, Lindart #34
Oh that cat square is cute!! I do hope you do more. That smoothie bowl looks huge, don’t think I could eat all that and I must admit there is something about green slush that is just, well – unappealing. But good on for persevering. Our Bitsy would always find the last sunny spot in the garden – they do like to soak up the sun don’t they!! Happy WOYWW, stay well, stay safe, Cindy xx #8
Love the latest cat square Shoshi; one or two more will make a real impact spread around the blanket. Hope you get better news soon both on the health front and reagrding the blender. So glad you are enjoying my daily doodles. Meow to the girlies! Stay safe and happy WOYWW.
Hi Shoshi, thanks for your visit.
you could sew your blanket together in strips. Not so noticeable. How observant is your hubby really? I’ve made things for mine and he hasn’t noticed. Work on it in plain sight and if he asks, say it’s just something you’re trying out.
The only thing I would absolutely do is to weave your ends in as you go along. It is too dispiriting to do thrm all at the end. Enjoy!
Well, Shoshi, this will be the second time I have written this comment! LOLOL Lord knows I am NOT a techie and end up doing things that I don’t even know I’m doing whatever I’m doing! Ha Ha Ha Maybe this time it will stick!! I continue to love what you are doing for your dear hubby! I love the newest square and no matter if there is one, two or three squares incorporated into that lovely throw, I KNOW he will love it and KNOW the hard work and amount of time and love you put into it! XO
I love all the smoothie info! I think I told you that I LOVE smoothies as well. I am not a “sweet” smoothie person, my thing is the green smoothies. And they don’t have to taste yucky, in fact, they are delicious! I usually do like you are doing and put some figs in there and sometimes I will even put honey. They are so nutritional (if you aren’t putting all the junk in there) and wonderful for your day! I have subscribed to the YouTube channel you suggested and I can’t wait to glean from them and maybe get some good recipes!!
I hate you still have the medical staff issues! Maybe with this newest development, they will be taking you more seriously?? Although I don’t know why they wouldn’t be anyway, sometimes it takes the squeaky wheel and a lot of “assumed” gruff and threats for them to do anything. Isn’t that sad that it takes us being that way to get results! I hope you do get some, my friend, and SOON!
Kitty’s are definitely leading the plush life! Ha Ha But I know how that sunshine feels to them….sometimes I’ll sit in front of the window and just soak it in…it must be what it feels like to them! They are tooo cute! 🙂
Good luck with the continued blender saga! LOL I know it’s probably frustrating, but you have the best of the best now, so you are good!!! Here’s hoping that you get some unexpected surprise as a result! 🙂
Blessings to you Shoshi and I hope you and hubby stay safe and healthy my friend! Felicia #28
HI Shoshi, I dont know why but for some reason I thought you embroidered all the cat faces/details on after you had crocheted the squares. Thinking about it logically, of course that doesn’t make sense – you would crochet the faces into the square. I really must stop having these blonde moments! Although it did take some time, I really do like the square you have done. Your lawn mower tale reminded me of when I was asked what kind of car had I learned to drive in – my (blonde) answer … a red one! Ah well, I need to provide amusement to my friends and family on occasion! Hmm the green smoothie is very green! I do like kale, and have had it in green smoothies in the past, but it isn’t something that is added to our shopping list very often. Ruby and Lily have the right idea – nice patch of warm carpet to relax on, such a perfect life! I hope that you get a speedy resolution to your hospital complaint, now it has been escalated to the CEO – or is that just a fob off response to make it sound like they are taking it seriously? I often wonder … Have a lovely week, and stay safe, Heather xx #21
The embroidered squares are so lovely! The cats in the shaft of sunshine made me smile – they always seem to find the nicest places to lie don’t they. Happy belated WOYWW. Take care and stay safe, with love & God Bless, Caro xxx (#14)
LOVE the kitty squares! The fact that you made two should be celebrated ~ don’t belittle your efforts! I adore that little face ~ Maybe you could make 3 more, one for each corner or if that sounds to daunting, put that one with your initials in the bottom right corner 🙂 Just a thought!
I would be happy to eat a smoothie bowl for almost every meal if it was prepared for me! That looks yummy, but I know the prep and clean up involved ~ it’s So good for you and tasty too. I laughed at hubby picking up the cat ~ I do that too and put her on the arm of the chair if she sneaks into my spot when I get up. I don’t know why I never thought of a tray for the cat bowls, it looks nice and would protect my floors. Mojo splashes his water ~ I don’t know if he’s testing the temperature, depth or just playing ~ I can’t tell! Blessings and well wishes ~ Love, Karen#32
The kitty square is really cute! I hope you add more, different colours of course! Jinx our cat always wants to sit where we are, if you leave the room for more than five seconds he claims it back. I have a tray for Jinx’s food too, a narrow one with cats that often appear on Penny Black stamps.
Stay Safe, Happy Late WOYWW!? ((Lyn)) #17
Hi Soshi, ooh the embroidery really makes the cat square come to life 🙂 I also struggle to eat “enough” green bitter leaf veg’s ( esp. in the winter) it seems like its easier in the summer months probably because, a whole lot of things come from the garden to the kitchen. I also see we do not eat say as much fish in the winter as it gets cold so fast on the plate. and we tend to eat a lot of salads with things like fish when its warm. the bowl idea is interesting. ~Stacy #33
Putting in a very late appearance this week, but wanted to stop by and say “Hi, thanks for visiting!” Love the cat squares you’ve done but I completely appreciate they’re time consuming to crochet….
Morti #20