Mango chutney recipes

This was another handmade christmas present - mango chutney. I made two kinds - Sweet Mango Chutney and Mango Chilli Chutney, and packaged them in glass jars with a striped fabric cover tied with raffia and a handwritten tag.

Sweet Mango Chutney
4x 425g cans of mangoes, or 6 fresh mangoes, peeled and chopped
1 small (100g) can mandarins
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tbsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp chilli
1 tbsp panch phora (spice blend of the seeds of fennel, nigella, brown mustard, cumin and fenugreek), dry roasted then ground
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup malt vinegar
Zest and juice of 2 limes

Bring all ingredients except lime juice to the boil in a large pot, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 50-55 mins or until mixture thickens and is syrupy. Stir in lime juice. Bottle and seal.


Mango Chilli Chutney
4x 425g cans of mangoes, or 6 fresh mangoes, peeled and chopped
1 onion
1 cup malt vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp panch phora (spice blend of the seeds of fennel, nigella, brown mustard, cumin and fenugreek), dry roasted then ground
2 tsp grated ginger
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 - 1 tsp dried chilli (or use chopped fresh chilli, to taste - I like it so it has a bit of a chilli kick without being overpowering.)

Cook onion, ginger and garlic in a little oil until onion is soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 50-55 mins or until mixture thickens and is syrupy. Bottle and seal.

Handmade Christmas present round up, part 1

After spending the weeks leading up to Christmas in a blur of gift making, gift unwrapping, photo-taking and blogging, the day itself passed rather quickly for such a lot of preparation (as it always does!) Now that everything has been opened and hopefully enjoyed, I can show you pictures of some of the gifts I made for family members...

Boys are the hardest to make for! (Especially grown boys who are actually men but you still call them boys because they are your brothers.) I had some crochet skulls that I decided to make bodies for. Then they grew into funny little creatures all on their own. When the hat and buttons went onto this one I thought he looked kind of Victorian - like an undertaker or Scrooge from A Christmas Carol!

This one got a hat and some buttons but I still felt he needed something else. Some twig arms were added and voila - a gothic snowman!

I also crocheted some purple and red flower pins for my mum and auntie who are members of the Red Hat Society. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph them, but I will hopefully make more in the New Year and post about them then. (Some more handmade gifts to share in the next post!)

Days 12 and 13

The last gift I got to open is from Debra Cooper. It's a sweet stuffed birdie with a gorgeous beaded tassel. I love the bright colours Debra has used on this piece. How sweet will this look hanging from a christmas tree - I really must sort one out for next year!

I love the sparkly beads and the crochet strands in the tassel! Thank you so much Debra!

And, now that everyone in the exchange has opened theirs, I can share the secret Day 13 gift! It's from Lelainia Lloyd, our lovely hostess and organiser.

Lelainia put together this great pack of ephemera, a cd of funky christmas tunes, a recipe for christmas nibbles and a beautiful ornament!

Look at the way that glitter sparkles :) Thanks Lelainia for such a thoughtful gift, and for organising such a fantastic swap - it's a highlight of my christmas every year!

That's it from me for the next few days - I'm off to spend christmas with family. Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, full of joy, good food and good company!

xxx

Day 11

Today's gift is a sweet little stuffed birdie from Liz Smith. Each side is made from a different patterned fabric. In the bottom photo my birdie is looking a bit unsteady... or perhaps he has eaten too much christmas pudding?! Thanks Liz for this lovely ornament!

Only one more gift left... don't forget to stop by tomorrow and see what it is!

Kiwi Christmas Ornament Swap

One Christmas swap is never enough, so this year I also took part in an ornament swap run by Louise of Twenty Cent Mixture. This one was for crafty kiwis only, and while it's always fun getting international mail, it was nice to keep it all in the neighbourhood (so to speak) for this swap.

From left to right I received: wise man by Mariana Reinoso, heart ornament by Norma McDonald, stocking embroidery by Pauline Smythe, owl by Shelley Gardner, and angel ornament by Lucy Rust. I recommend checking out these ladies' blogs!

And now for a bit of a sad confession: all these lovely ornaments, and I don't even have a christmas tree! Our flat is just too small and already overflowing to squeeze one in. I had plans this year to decorate the mantelpiece, but somehow that never happened. I've spent most of my spare time working on handmade presents which meant little things like housework and decorating got put to one side! I do however have photos of some of the things I've been working on but will wait till after The Day to share those.

Day 10

This trio of cuties is from Barbara Atwell. They are made from vintage photos printed onto paper, then stitched and stuffed. So cute!

I love the glitter on this girl's hat! Thanks Barbara!

Day 9

Today's gift is from Lisa Ryder. Lisa sent some amazing art pieces, including a collaged canvas (background) in beautiful muted hues...

And a fabulous set of ATCs! I spent ages looking at these yesterday, before coming down with a bad headache (NOT brought on by presents!) which is why I'm late posting.

Thanks for all this arty goodness Lisa, I'm thrilled to have it all in my collection!

Day 8

Here is yet another beautiful gift. This one (well two actually) is from Fiona Mortimore. The ornament is made of printed linen fabric with lovely hand-stitched embellishments. I love the fabric - brilliant red contrasting with natural linen, just beautiful! Fiona also sent a bookmark which I am using already - it's nice and big so should stay in my book, rather than falling out as scraps of paper tend to do! Thank you very much Fiona!

Day 7

I'm a bit late posting Day 7 because we went out for the end of year work do last night. It was a fun night and I had some really good penne with lamb, fetta and smoked tomatoes... yum! But without further ado, take a look here:

This little pouch is from Dawn Supina and it's made from an altered tie!


Inside were these laminated cards: Permission to Play, Permission to Make Mistakes and Artist of the Year. They all have encouraging words on them and will be just perfect to have around for those times when I want to give up because a project is going badly! Thank you Dawn for this lovely thoughtful gift.

Day 6

Today was my day - number six! I sent everyone a crochet cuff bracelet. They were made in different colours according to people's favourite colours. (As you can see, a lot of people like red and aqua!)

I wasn't left out, however. I got to open the lucky #13 gift from Lelainia Lloyd, which each person in the swap opens on the day everyone else is opening their gift. I have to keep the contents a secret until everyone else has opened theirs though... but trust me when I say it's a wonderful thoughtful present. Thanks Lelainia!