The London Stitch & Creative Hobby Crafts Show

I went to the The London Stitch & Creative Hobby Crafts Show at the Excel Centre today.
Got a ticket via the Internet for £7.00 (thanks to a very kind friend) and received a goody bag at the show which contained mainly food items that were very tasty (Seeds of Change organic sauces very nice) and made up for the price of the ticket and the small size of the show.

The show was so much smaller than I expected and had very little yarn or stitch related stands, I don't even buy any yarn today :( not even a magazine or book :(

There were several bead stands, which was good, I liked Totally Beads and a shop new to me, with a great range of findings at excellent prices Shop@188 :) jewellery making seems to be getting popular. And again there were lots and lots and lots....of paper crafting stands :( these shows should really rename themselves Paper craft and Hobby Shows, the stitch part is misleading.

I'll be checking out the Stitch & Craft Show at Olympia 2, Olympia , London Thursday 22nd March to Sunday 25th next :)

Chili con Quorn-i

This a is favourite recipe of mine when the weather is cold and grey.

Chili con Quorn-i

1 Medium Onion, chopped
1 Pack of Minced style Quorn (frozen or unfrozen)
1 14oz Tin Plum Tomatoes (I prefer the un-chopped ones as they seem to have more tomato)
4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Jalapeno Pepper, seeded (unless you want very hot chili) & minced
1 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
1 Cloves of Garlic Crushed
Handful of chopped Coriander Leaves
1 Teaspoon sugar (makes the tomatoes sweeter tasting and less acidy. 1 Teaspoon Honey can be used instead)
Vegetable of choice (I know not many chilli have vegetables but I like the extra taste and texture they add. I added sweetcorn and peas, but you can add carrots, green beans or whatever you prefer, experiment)
1 Large Tin Red Kidney Beans
Chili powder to taste
Salt to taste



Saute the onion in a little vegetable oil (or your preferred oil) for for 4-5 minutes until soft.
Add the quorn and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
Add the can of tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetables of choice, jalapeno pepper, sugar, cumin powder, garlic, coriander and increase the heat until boiling, if the mixture is to dry add a little water, than reboil (if required) than simmer.
Taste the food.
Add salt to taste then chili powder a little at a time until desired taste/ heat.
Simmer for a further 8-10 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Sour cream and cheddar cheese can also be added (if desired).

Tips: Make double the amount this tastes even better the next day.
If you are a meat eater instead of minced "quorn" use minced beef or chicken

Felting

I was teaching felting with wool tops today. I forgot how much I enjoyed felting with fibre and how relaxing it is. I have been doing a lot of felted crochet and knitting lately, flowers and leaves. I will make some fibre felted beads to add to them and make some jewellery. I'll post the results soon.