Harvest Vegetable Curry Stew (yumm...)

What You Need

(This Recipe makes for 6 large servings, or 8 smaller side dishes)

• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium eggplant, skin on, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 large tomatoes corsely chopped
• 2 zucchini, skin on, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 small cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 can chickpeas (approx 500 ml, but don't worry it wont hurt to have more or less!!!)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Indian curry paste (can replace with 1 tbsp curry powder + 1 tbsp chilli powder)
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup mango chutney

The Recipe

       ~ You may notice in my pictures that I started with a pan and moved it into a pot later (not an easy feat when it is steaming hot and you are in a rush...) do not make this mistake. You have been warned :P Heat oil in your large pot on medium. Add the onion and cook until it starts to soften. Add tomatoes with all the seeds and juices, followed by the grated ginger, coriander and curry paste/powder. Stir until the tomatoes soften and it begins to get saucy.

       ~ Add your eggplant and zuchini into the pot, stiring it in well. Here you may notice a strange thing has begun to happen to your kitchen; it is called mess and disorder. Do not panic, this can be fixed later with an Okanagan Cider and a tough sponge. The mess will wait for you, I guarantee it. 

       ~ Mix in your broth and chutney. I used vegetable broth here because I was serving for vegetarians (a  species unlike our own, picky in its tastes and critical when you slip ground beef into their rations ). Add your cauliflower florets and bring to boil. Once boiling, stir continuously for five minutes. Add your chickpeas, then cover and let it simmer. 

       ~ I let mine cook for another hour and a half to give it the proper stew-like consistency. If you wanted to add meat, chop into 1 inch cubes, and add with your chickpeas. I served mine with naan bread (homemade... then packaged, labeled and taken to the store where I later retrieved it and served to an admiring crowd). Another option is to serve over rice, either as is or after draining. It freezes really well and you wont even know the difference when you next eat it, assuming that is, that you defrost it first. Enjoy!!!

DIY Headphones

What You Need

• Embroidery Thread
• Headphones
• Scissors

                                         The Craft

       ~ Choose your embroidery thread colours. I found these ones at the dollar store, and they acme in a huge variety of colours and thickness, and the huge bonus was how much cheaper it was there than at one of the bigger craft stores. 

       ~ Cut the chords about 4 times longer than the headphones. You will need all the extra length for when you start knotting it and it's easier to leave a little extra now than to be stretched at the end. 

       ~ Tie all the chords at the plug-in end of your headphones, snipping the extra after knotting them tightly. Choose your starting colour and hold the others tight against the headphones. These will be wrapped up and hidden one you start knotting.

                                   ~ Create a loop with your chosen embroidery thread.

       ~Leaving the loop pinched between your thumb and the headphone line, wrap the chord over, around, under and through the loop, then pull it tight. 

       ~ Continue with this until you decide to change colours. When you switch, simply tuck the first chord in with the rest and start off with a new colour. When you are completely finished, tie off the chords and snip off any extras.