What's For Dinner, Ma?

Nothing stresses me out more than the dreaded four words "What's for dinner, Ma?" I suck at menu-planning and I especially hate, hate, hate being a short-order cook to my picky son, Rodney who groans at everything and anything I put on his plate. But surprisingly, these days I seem to look forward to my time in the kitchen as I try out new recipes thanks to Pinterest and the many awesome food blogs I visit. Just last week, I added 7 new dishes, one each day  to my otherwise very boring menu repertoire.
It's such a delight to see Rodney now devouring his food with gusto instead of stabbing it murderously with his fork.

Some lipsmackin' keepers to share.......

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA - Britain's true national dish. Yep, it's not Fish & Chips!
Hubby and the boys were fighting over the last piece of naan to sop up the buttery gravy!! Mmmmm! But my Indian cousin-in-law insisted my Chicken Tikka Masala tasted more like Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)!

Whatever it was, it was heavenly! Apparently, there's a story behind this famous dish that is loved the world over.
It is thought that butter chicken was hastily prepared by a Delhi eatery chef post dinner time for a harried VIP customer who wanted "some" chicken dish. A chef named Simon Mahli Chahal first prepared this when he only had half of a Tandoori chicken which he tossed with liberal amounts of butter, tomato, and garam masalas to improvise for an delicious delicacy he was supposed to make for the ruler of Mareelun. He forgot to buy enough ingredients so he ended up with this dish!
recipe @ http://cafezupas.blogspot.com/2008/10/recipe-chicken-tikka-masala.html

BEEF WITH RED WINE SAUCE - a simple one-dish dinner to wow your family
recipe @ http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/beef-
with-red-wine-sauce-10000001152942/

BERGEDIL  - Indonesian Mashed Potato Patties derived from the Dutch word 'frikadel'. Shallots, garlic, candlenut, nutmeg, white pepper, chopped Chinese celery are added to a mashed potato mixture, then shaped into patties, dipped in beaten egg and deep-fried until golden brown.

recipe @ http://indonesiaeats.com/potato-perkedel-patties-frikadeller-frikadel/

PARMESAN CRUSTED FISH - Fish coated with a mixture of grated parmesan cheese and mayo and topped with breadcrumbs. 4 ingredients, 5 minutes of prep time and 20 quick minutes of baking time - that's all it takes! You wouldn't want your fish done any other way again!

The original recipe is for chicken - http://theenchantedcook.blogspot.com/2011/10/parmesan-crusted-chicken-hellmanns-mayo.html

Polymer Clay - dixie103

I am sooooooo blown-away by these gorgeous cloisonne-like polymer clay pieces by an anonymous polymerist who goes by the name "Nope, it's not painted" on Flickr. Check out her flickr photostream @ dixie103.

Light Switch Covers

Buttons

More buttons

Hand Mirror

Fan Pulls

Pins

Business Card Holder

Teapot Beads

Barrettes

Needle Painting by Trish Burr

These astounding needlework pieces are by self-taught embroiderer Trish Burr from Cape Town. She has written several books on the technique, contributed widely to magazines and teaches throughout South Africa and overseas. Trish lives in Cape town, South Africa with her husband and three children.
Trish willingly shares her knowledge with fellow embroiderers, and in her own words she says,

“We need to keep hand embroidery alive - if we hug our ideas to ourselves, they will become lost and worthless in the future. If I give you a gift, I no longer have it, you do. However, if I give you an idea then we both have it, and if you share this idea with others then we have expanded on it and can watch it grow.”

Little Bee Eaters

Australian Sacred Kingfisher

Green Bee Eater

Hornbill

Lilac Breasted Roller

Chinese Flower And Bird

The Elephant Whisperer

A heart-warming e-mail forward to share.........

Lawrence Anthony, a legend in South Africa and author of 3 books including the bestsellerThe Elephant Whisperer, bravely rescued wildlife and rehabilitated elephants all over the globe from human atrocities, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during US invasion in 2003.

On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died. He is remembered and missed by his wife, 2 sons, 2 grandsons & numerous elephants.

Two days after his passing, the wild elephants showed up at his home led by two large matriarchs. Separate wild herds arrived in droves to say goodbye to their beloved man-friend.

A total of 20 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles to get to his South African house.

Witnessing this spectacle, humans were obviously in awe not only because of the supreme intelligence and precise timing that these elephants sensed about Lawrence 's passing, but also because of the profound memory and emotion the animals evoked in such an organized way:

Walking slowly - for days - making their way in a solemn one-by-one queue from their habitat to his house

Lawrence's wife, Francoise, was especially touched, knowing that the elephants had not been to his house prior to that day for well over a year !

But yet they knew where they were going. The elephants obviously wanted to pay their deep respects, honoring their friend who'd saved their lives –

So much respect that they stayed for 2 days 2 nights.

Then one morning they left, making their long journey back home.

So, how after Anthony’s death, did the reserve’s elephants grazing miles away in distant parts of the park know ?
“A good man died suddenly,” says Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Ph.D., “and from miles and miles away, two herds of elephants, sensing that they had lost a beloved human friend, moved in a solemn, almost ‘funereal’ procession to make a call on the bereaved family at the deceased man’s home.”

“ If there ever were a time, when we can truly sense the wondrous ‘interconnectedness of all beings,’ it is when we reflect on the elephants of Thula Thula. A man’s heart stops, and hundreds of elephants’ hearts are grieving. This man’s oh-so-abundantly loving heart offered healing to these elephants, and now, they came to pay loving homage to their friend ”

Crochet Plaisir

I stumbled upon this fabulous French site with lots of pretty pictures and free tutorials for crochet enthusiasts. The literal translation to English by Google Translate didn't help much so sorry folks, there's little I can glean from the site other than the blog name which translates as "Hook Pleasure" and the author's name, Anne.
From Barbie dresses, hats, cushion covers, table runners, trivets to christmas tree decorations.... there are lots to gawk at but my faves are the colourful napperons (placemats).

Chapeau Blanc (White Hat)

Placemat With Butterfly Motifs

3 different designs - one for each tier

Need an Amway sponsorship? Contact me for assistance.

KnitHacker

Here on *KnitHacker, you'll find all things knitty-culous - from crocheted covers for hubcaps, bread, to toilet seats!

Check out the site for more yarn bombs - funny, weird, adorable, touching, gross, yummy...etc... needle-crafted things that will get you hooked.

*knithacker.com is a daily exploration of all things fiber. Every day Danielle Holke posts 2-3 amazing and unusual fiber creations!

Have you ever mashed two patterns together to make something gloriously unique and knitty-licious? Maybe you’ve modified a pattern (or two…) to reveal your knack for knitty ingenuity? Perhaps you’ve taken what once was and transformed it into something new?

So… spin a yarn and show off! Submit a wooly remix here!

p.s. crochet and other wool/yarn/felted and related hacks welcome…

Yalipaz

OMG! I am totally enraptured by these retro-chic felt brooches handmade by full time Israeli artist Yali Paz-Gilboa. Her work is inspired mostly by the roaring twenties, the era when jazz music blossomed, the *flapper redefined modern womanhood, and Art Deco peaked.

*Flappers were a "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms.[1]
Flappers had their origins in the period of Liberalism, social and political turbulence and increased transatlantic cultural exchange that followed the end of World War I, as well as the export of American jazz culture to Europe.

source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapper

Margo Brooches

Queen Of Hearts Brooches

Frida Kahlo Brooches

Marion Brooches

Oriental Girl Felt Brooches

Mary Antionette Brooches

Emma Brooches

Louise Brooches