Sunshine, corset patterns, and garden pests

Today I spent much of the free weekend day putting together my corset mock-up from some old non-stretch woven upholstery fabric I had laying around. Unfortunately, despite my alterations to the original pattern that was in excess of 10 inches too large at the bust, I was still a good inch and a half too large across the whole garment once the mock-up was put together. I don't know how I missed so much. Anyhow, it seemed the pattern actually fit best when I took the majority of the extra out of the join between panels 3+4, which has left that particular panel rather thin, but I like how it looks on my body, as panels 1,2 & 3 are now all rather thin at the bottom edge, so the pattern converges and looks somewhat more flattering. I also bought the fabric for my dress - a royal blue 100% linen for the main fabric, and some white viscose for the contrast collar linings, and possibly to line the rest of the dress with, as linen isn't always the most opaque of woven fabrics. I also picked up a few samples to possibly use as the fashion fabric for the corset, but think I may just splash out on some brocade coutil and make a single-layer one, since I need to buy more spiral steel boning and a new grommet setter, and I can pick them all up at the same time. Last time I purchased all my supplies from www.sewcurvy.com , and I was very happy with them, so will probably purchase from there again, as they are one of the few suppliers which are uk-based.

It was beautiful and sunny on the easter weekend, though I couldn't enjoy it much as I was working for most of it. However, my peas in the garden are coming up beautifully. I don't think it should be too long before I can start to guide them up the bamboo trellis, and I'm thoroughly looking forward to fresh peas in summer. My spinach is also starting to come above the surface of the earth, as are two little chilli seedlings. However, unfortunately, my tomatoes seedlings died. I think it got too hot for them in the window of the porch, as my thermometer was reading some rather high temperatures in it's soil, so I have planted some more seeds and moved the pot to the floor, out of the direct sunlight, at least until the seedling is established enough to shade it's own soil somewhat. The sweet pepper seeds also seem to have come to nothing.

In addition to these unfortunate issues, my spruce tree and my thyme were thoroughly attacked my an absolute hoard of aphids, just as my thyme was threatening to come out into bloom. This is not the first issue I've had with aphids - I think there must be something nearby which is harbouring them, as last year it killed the miniature rose, the lemon balm, and heavily attacked the mint. I got rid of them, then they came back earlier this year after a sunny spell and attacked the chives and parsley. This time, I gave both plants a thorough wash-down, and headed online to buy some ladybirds. The ones I bought were from green gardener, and I decided to go for them because they were the british two-spotted ladybirds, and specifically stated that they were not the harlequin ladybirds that are causing such a problem for our local species now. Sure enough, when I got them, they were distinctly the two-spotted kind. I put them out on my plants, and between that and the spray down earlier in the week, I currently see only one or two aphids, and a few eggs remaining. There's still at least four ladybirds hanging out my thyme that I can see, and I spotted one on my mint. They are harder to spot on my spruce, but I think I spotted a couple, so they seem to be hanging around for the food despite the heavy rainfall the other day. I'm hoping that when they are finished gobbling up aphids in my garden that they will breed more and munch on whatever nearby source is harbouring them. Got to love natural predators, as it seems to be thus far more effective than any other method I have tried for removing aphids, and it means my produce is still safe. Here's hoping it lasts.

Yoga and pattern mock-ups

So, I managed to get a mock-up put together for the dress bodice last weekend. Turns out it fits quite well, and only needs a minor adjustment to the arm-hole. I plan on getting a few metres of blue 100% linen after payday, so that I have fabric to make a good dent in the project during my holiday in May. I still haven’t decided whether or not to put a lining in it - I don’t want it to be too warm for summer.

In other news, I’ve been trying something new.As part of my routines, I need to do things out of the house in the evenings, or else I’d never leave at all and that is not good for either my physical or mental health. On wednesdays, I go dancing - ballroom/Latin with my partner, then run down the road to adult ballet (without my partner as that’s not his style). It’s not all that obvious with ballroom/Latin, but even in the beginners ballet class, it was obvious my flexibility needed work. I don’t recall ever being able to touch my toes. However, it’s become much more obvious since I moved up to the next ballet class, despite being well warmed up from my previous dance class and the run to the studio. I feel like my strength is developing well, but my lack of flexibility most notably in my hips is holding me back.

So I’m trying yoga. I don’t have a class yet, but I’m needing something to fill in my Friday evening, so am hoping I can find a class I can fit in then. However, for now, I’ve been trying this week to fit in a daily practice at home, following an app. It’s just called Yoga for Beginners, and has a purple logo. I set a reminder for 9pm, before bed, as that was the easiest way for me to add to my routine and it sets me up nicely for sleep. I think I’m making a little progress but would like more stretches for hips, hamstrings etc. I am just on the beginner routines though so maybe more suitable stretches will come up in more advanced routines.

Pattern altering

I have had a couple of patterns in the works, including a reprint of a vintage simplicity pattern, and an over bust corset. Unfortunately, I, like many people are not a regular hourglass shape with perfectly proportioned legs and torso. I’m a pear, with very narrow shoulders, a relatively small, high bust, and bigger hips. So I have spent much of the past week altering these patterns and tracing them into tracing paper.

The dress is the simplicity 8050 pattern. Found here: https://www.simplicity.com/simplicity-storefront-catalog/patterns/brands/simplicity/simplicity-pattern-8050-vintage-1940s-dress-pattern/ . According to the pack, my bust is a 10, but my hips and waist are a 14. Not only that but my neck to waist measurement that I took is only 14.5 inches. The smallest size on the pack (6) is still a full inch longer than that. A size 14 is two inches longer.

So, I followed the size 6 lines across the shoulders, but took them out to the size 10 lines below the arm-pits, and graduated from there to the size 14 lines at the waist. Dress patterns sometimes have a line to shorten or lengthen the torso, but I usually find it’s between the bust and waist, which puts the bust too low. This is a problem I also have in buying dresses from commercial stores. So, I took half an inch out between the top of the bust dart and the bottom of the armscye, and half an inch out from between the bust and waist, on all the bust panel pieces.

The corset was a different issue. I like corsets, and would probably wear one consistently if my job allowed it, but alas the nature of it does not. I got through my exams at uni with one on, because the constant hugging helped when my stress was through the roof, and made things easier to handle. I have made an underbust corset before, but lost the pattern when I moved. I enjoyed making it, and have some design ideas, but I need to get some good solid patterns sorted first. The pattern I got was based on the corset pattern compendium that came with the corset making course I first bought three or four years ago. I was directed to the course by a video by Lucy of Lucy’s Corsetry on YouTube. Unfortunately, I cannot longer seem to find the site I got it off, and wonder if it is no longer in operation. It is sad as it was a wonderful course. The pattern I picked was the sweetheart overbust. However, I had to resize it tremendously (I found the overbust to be around 40”. I am barely 34”.), shorten the torso and I wanted to alter a few things about the shape of the panels and the bottom edge.

My job for next week is to make a start of some mock-ups, and pick out fabric. I really want the dress to be linen, but linen can be slightly see-through at times, which lining can fix, but could make it too warm for summer (I’m rather heat intolerant). I thought about a cotton voile lining, but no fabric shop here stocks pure cotton voile, which is a shame as I like to support local shops - they struggle so much these days, and I like to feel the fabric before I buy it. I may try the next city over, but if not, I may need to resort to online. I’m considering a single-layer corset of a patterned coutil, and save the expensive silks until further on in my corset-making journey.

Trying elderflower marshmallows

Last week was pretty rainy. I had to take the saucers out from under some of my outdoor pot plants for fear of root rot, because they have seemed pretty drenched all week.

So, in pottering around the house, doing indoor things like tracing commercial sewing patterns onto tracing paper to re-size them in more ways than the "multi-size" lines can cope with, drafting a corset pattern, and I also spent some time cooking. Unfortunately, due to having a day job that requires working 12 days in a row every few weeks, I didn't cook much interesting for dinner. Mostly basic pasta dishes and risotto (plus arancini with the leftovers).

However, a recipe for elderflower marshmallows popped up on my Pinterest feed while I was scrolling on my lunch break. Although it is not remotely close to elderflower season, this recipe used cordial, which I did have some of, and I had recently bought a sugar thermometer for jam-making as I'd never had one and always had to somewhat guess when making jam.

The original recipe was a recipe by Country Living. Here's the original recipe: https://www.countryliving.com/uk/create/food-and-drink/recipes/a384/fluffy-homemade-elderflower-marshmallows/
I did not colour them pastel green, as I didn't really see the purpose. I had never made marshmallow before, so had no baseline for how it would turn out. However, I think if I was to make it again, I would make a couple of changes.

The quantities were very small, but did create quite a lot of marshmallow. I had to use a tiny pan (and I mean tiny), or the sugar mixture did not cover enough of the jam thermometer to be accurate. My stand-mixer also couldn't really whip the single medium egg white, so I had to start with the hand-mixer to get it started, and swap back to the stand-mixer when I went to pour the sugar mix in because I couldn't hold a mixer and pour evenly at the same time. The tin needs to be greased *really* well, or it will get stuck. I did not wait overnight for it to set, as it had set itself within a couple of hours while I made dinner, so turned it out and cut it when we had finished eating.

Lastly, the elderflower taste was overpowering initially. I suspect it depends on the strength of the cordial you use (the bottle of mine suggests 1 part cordial to 12 parts water, but I use even less as that is a little strong for me), but in the 24 hours or so after making it, it was extremely strong. However, after two or three days in an airtight container, the taste mellowed, and became rather enjoyable. I think if I was making these for use within a day or two or making I'd probably cut down on the quantity or cordial, but leave it the same if I was preparing them in advance for something.

That said, they are gorgeous. I may have to take them into work to prevent me eating them all myself.

Banana Gingerbread

So this week, I have been ill, with a horrible cough that is set off every time I go out into the cold air, so I haven't been taking a walk out much recently. However, I wanted to bake something nice with some warming spices to drive out the cold.

I don't know where this recipe came from. I remember it being in one of my mum's recipe books growing up, and it being the only thing we ever made from that big chunky hard-back book, and the pages were always stuck together by remnants of treacle from the last batch.

Anyhow, it is a great-tasting cake that doesn't use any butter, which makes it a good one for people who can't have dairy products (though I'm afraid it is not vegan-friendly due to the eggs in it).

I have never had difficulty cooking this before, so long as it is cooked in a lower, wider tin, as when cooked in a loaf tin it will undoubtedly crack and sink in the middle after removing from the oven. However, this time was the first time trying to bake it in a gas oven. I have come to the conclusion that I far prefer electric fan ovens for baking, as they heat up much more reliably, to a more even temperature throughout. Ordinarily, this cake only takes 40 minutes to bake in an electric fan oven, but this time, it took almost an hour to cook through to the centre, meanwhile getting over-cooked at the edges. Ah well. Such is the joys of living in a rental - you take what you get.

In terms of the ingredients, there are a couple of oddities that you may have difficulty finding at your local supermarket. One of those is malt extract - the thick, sticky kind. It is slightly sweet but not as much as one might expect, but adds great depth of flavour to the cake. I have yet to experiment to find other things to use it in, but I should, as I think it would go well with many things. I have rarely seen it in supermarkets, but when it is, you are more likely to find it in the section with the "free-from" stuff and "health-foods" if your supermarket has one, next to the lentil pasta, hemp oil and such. My local Asda has introduced one of these sections, at the end of the aisle of tinned vegetables, and I spotted malt extract available there the last time I was passing. However, all the jars I have got so far have usually been from "health-food" stores, as it is more often sold as a dietary supplement. If you live in the UK, my last ditch attempt if I can't get it anywhere else has always been to stop in to Holland and Barrett - I don't often shop there, but when I needed it, they have always had a jar in the shop.
Secondly, there is black treacle. I use the Lyles Black Treacle that comes in the tins and is so thick it'll dribble off the spoon forever (measure the oil first in the same spoon and it makes the treacle just fall off later). It is not the same as blackstrap molasses - it is sweet and much less bitter. If you cannot find treacle, use a lighter/mild molasses. If all you have is blackstrap molasses, try mixing it 50/50 with glucose syrup or corn syrup.
Thirdly, there is mixed spice, which is a british spice mix similar to pumpkin pie spice in the US, but slightly different in its ratios. According to google, it is similar to koekkruiden in the Netherlands, but without the cardamom. You can make your own mixed spice by combining 1tbsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp ground nutmeg, 1 tbsp ground allspice, 1 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp ground ginger, and1 tsp ground coriander seeds. Or for a slightly different, fresher flavour, you can grind your own from whole spices in a spice grinder, but make sure they are well and finely ground, and any larger pieces sieved out before mixing into your gingerbread.

Lastly, a word about measurements - with the move from imperial to metric system, our family recipes never kept up. As such, some of my recipes are in grams and ml, whilst others are in ounces, teaspoons and tablespoons. This is one of those recipes that never made it out of imperial. As such, I have tried to convert it, but I can only vouch for the accuracy of the imperial version as that's what I set my scale to. To make matters more complicated, tablespoons are not the same now in the UK as they always were, nor are they the same in the UK now as they are in other countries across the world. The tablespoons my family used in cooking were always grannys big old ones. I measured one day, and the one I have holds 25mL - much more than the 15mL standard today in the UK. Because this is what we have, this is what we have always used. However, I will say that the original recipe book this came from more than likely did use the standard 15mL tablespoon. So really, despite the finnicky nature of baking, it seems the quantities are not that essential. Perhaps, if you use normal volumetric measurements of the liquid ingredients rather than my collossal ones, it may cook better and sink less on cooling.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz (284g) plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda
• 4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground mixed spice
• 4 oz (115g) soft brown sugar
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 2 tbsp liquid malt extract
• 2 medium, room temperature eggs
• 4 tbsp orange juice
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed thoroughly
• 4 oz (115g) sultanas or raisins

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/ 170C fan/ gas mark 4, and grease and line a 30x20m baking tray.
2. Sieve the Flour, bicarbonate of soda, and ground spices into a bowl. Place the sugar in the sieve, add some of the flour mix on top, and use to rub the sugar through the sieve. Keep adding more flour as neccesary (the sugar does need to be soft for this to work).
3. Make a well in the centre and add in all the wet ingredients. Mix well, incorporating a little at a time to avoid lumps.
4. Add the mashed banana and sultanas, and mix. Scrape the mixture into the baking tin, and bake for around 40 minutes. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out mostly clean, provided the bananas were mashed well, though some bits of re-hydrated sultana may stick to it. It should, however be free of batter.
5. When cooled, cut the gingerbread into slices or squares. This recipe usually makes around 20 for me.

Spring equinox gardening

Earlier this week, the spring equinox flew past us all. With the ridiculousness surrounding Brexit, and the dread that comes with knowing that we are a week away with no decisions made and little that we as members of the public can do about it, I feel as though I need to keep my mind busy. I'd done much of my spring cleaning last week prior to my parents coming to visit. I made some honey cakes from a recipe I found online, but have decided that I am not a tremendous fan of this recipe (though my partner likes them). I think it could be improved on by removing some of the baking powder, and instead whisking the honey/sugar/butter mixture to make it lighter, and whisking the egg whites before folding that in. However, I figured I wasn't up for fighting with an unreliable gas oven to try to test my theory out at the moment. So I put that thought on the back-burner and decided it was time to do a little relaxing gardening instead. Before even getting as far as the garden, I noticed the plum tomato seedlings I'd planted a couple of weeks ago have come up out of the soil in the seedling tray in the porch

Unfortunately, the aphids had already completely infested the young shoots of my parsley plant already, and had some small cabbage butterfly caterpillars wandering around, and it is barely even spring yet. Parsley is probably my least used of all my herbs, so in a vain effort to try and prevent compete infestation of all my plants for a second year in a row, the parsley has been dug up and removed. I see no aphids on my other plants for now, and have given them a little spray with soapy water, but I may need to look into buying some ladybirds to keep them under control. I doubt there is much I can do about the caterpillars other than keep a close eye and remove as I go - they were probably the least of the issues last year anyway.

I ended up planting up two pots with bamboo stakes with some early-crop peas. I also planted a longer rectangle planter with some spinach seeds, as spinach is probably my single most often used leafy vegetable in both my hot cooking and cold salads, and put some copper anti-slug tape around the top portion of the outside of the pot in an attempt to deter them. I re-potted my rosemary into a larger pot, as it is one of my favourite herbs, and planted some seeds from some wild strawberries I collected in Poland last year, just to see if they will grow here, since my old wild strawberries died over winter.

Unfortunately, I did not get all the gardening done that I hoped I would, as I both ran out of compost, and need some more pots and trays to re-pot some things like my lavender or the aforementioned tomato seedlings into larger pots. My partner also wants to plant some radishes again, but in order to plant them in the other long pot I have, I need to re-pot some cherry seedlings that sprouted from some cherry seeds my partner put out last spring and subsequently thought were dead, which I need more compost/soil for. My partner hopes to make a bonsai out of one of them, and I think hopes to be able to plant some of the others in the ground should we be able to afford our own home in the future. Eventually, the butternut squash will also need a new pot presuming that the seeds ever germinate, as there is currently very little sign, along with the sweet pepper seeds I planted, though it has only been a couple of weeks, so there is time yet. I have been debating planting some chilli seeds, but I do not regularly cook with chilli, and there is not a lot of space in the porch that will already hopefully have plum tomatoes and sweet peppers in it.

On the upside, presuming my plants do all grow and do not get devoured by aphids, caterpillars, or slugs,  I will hopefully have quite a nice crop of vegetables this year. I am especially looking forward to snacking on fresh podded peas.

Ox-tail stew recipe (Slow-cooker/Crock-pot)

Today, I made an ox-tail stew. Ox-tail is a wonderfully delicious, woefully underused piece of meat. I have always been of the opinion that most of us these days eat far too much meat, from too few areas of the animal. Go into a regular supermarket, and you're likely to find the same cuts of meat over and over - chicken breasts and thighs; beef brisket, sirloin, fillet; lamb chops, shoulder, leg; pork chops, medallions, streaky bacon, back bacon. Where are the rest of the animal? The livers, kidneys, hearts, tail, neck, cheeks? And good luck finding mutton anywhere, as it seems to have gone by the wayside in favour of younger lamb.

My parents grew up fairly poor on crofts in rural Scotland. Less desirable cuts of meat were not wasted or overlooked as it seems to be today.

I am lucky enough to have a wonderful butcher within 10-15 minutes walking distance of my house. They regularly stock less common cuts of meat, though it is not always on display as their counter, and shop in general, is fairly small. I have not yet asked if they stock mutton, or mutton bones, but they have had everything else I've asked for so far, including giving me what seemed like an entire knee joint with marrow for free when I asked if they had any beef bones. However, I went in yesterday to ask if they had any ox-tail, and they had some in the back, so I'm making a stew and thought I'd share my recipe. Ox-tail has a strong beefy flavour that many may not be accustomed to, but can be reduced and replaced with a larger quantity of the stewing beef if preferred to mellow the flavour of the overall stew.

Ingredients:

• approx 1kg ox-tail
• approx 250g stewing beef, cut into large cubes
• 1 very large onion (or 2-3 smaller ones), sliced
• 1 leek, halved lengthwise and sliced
• a few sticks of celery, sliced
• carrots (either as many fit in your slow-cooker/crock-pot, or as many as you want then top up with other seasonal veggies. I used about 500g), cut into chunks
• 1 litre beef stock
• a few springs rosemary + thyme
• seasoning
• flour/cornflour/bisto to thicken if desired
• A mushroom stock-cube (if you can find it - I get mine from the local polish shop, as they are much bigger on mushrooms than we seem to be in Britain)

Method:

1. Season both sides of the oxtail with salt and pepper, then place in a roasting tray and into a pre-heated oven at 180 C/gas mark 4. Roast for at least an hour, until well-coloured.
2. Place the sliced onions, leeks and celery in the bottom of a slow-cooker (Mine is a 3.5 litre model), and place the ox-tail pieces on top. Add the stewing beef on top.
3. Add as many carrots, or other seasonal veggies on top - as many as you want, or will fit in your slow cooker, but do not pack it down. Add some springs or rosemary and thyme to the top, and some seasoning.
4. A lot of fat will likely have come out into the roasting tray, and the ox-tail will continue to release more fat in the slow cooker. Juices and bone marrow will likely also have come out in the roasting tin. Tip the roasting tin so the fat and juices roll to one corner, and skim off the majority of the fat with a shallow spoon. Scrape the marrow off with a wooden spatula, or such like, and tip the juices and marrow into the slow-cooker. Pour the beef stock on top. Add water as required, but do not overfill - more liquid will come out of the veggies as they cook.
5. At this point, the inside ceramic bowl of the slow-cooker, with the contents can be placed into a fridge if you want to save it for the next day, or, since it was cold enough, I placed ours in our porch (it is uninsulated, with single-glazed glass and tiled floor, so gets pretty cold there in the night, and I can put it out there before the oxtail has completely cooled without worrying about the rest of the stuff in the fridge).
6. First thing in the morning, take it in from the porch, or out of the fridge. Put it straight in the slow-cooker, and turn it to high. After an hour or so, I turn it to low, and go about my day, leaving it for the better part of at least 8 hours. A few hours before we plan to eat, or when I get home, I turn the heat back up to high, and allow it to bubble away, and for the sauce to reduce. Give it a good stir, and test the meat for falling-apart-ness. 
7. Just before serving, you can give it a good stir, skim off the excess fat as needed, and try to remove the bones of the oxtail, which should be falling away from the meat by this point, and any large lumps of fat. It can be difficult to find all the bones, especially the smaller ones, in a big pot of stew. However, they're easy enough to spot when ladling onto plates. The gravy can be thickened if desired by mixing a little flour, cornflour, or bisto with cold water, adding to the pot, and stirring until thickened. Taste and season as necessary before serving.

This is delicious served with all kinds of mash, and green vegetables, such as Kale, brocolli, cabbage or brussel sprouts. Here, I served it with celeriac mash, and tender-stem broccoli. My partner says he wants to try it with pasta. This also freezes really well, so long as no turnips or parsnips are added in place of the carrots (parsnips and turnips can be added, but in my experience tend to take on a not-so-pleasant flavour after cooking then freezing). If the liquid in your stew has reduced significantly over the cooking time, it may become slightly jellied as it cools due to the high amounts of gelatine in the oxtail.