Old into New

I have always loved Op Shopping.

 I was brought up in Op shops.

Next to me my mum is the best bargain hunter out.

I travel around and stop whenever I see an opportunity for a vintage goodie!

Sometimes I will go to dozens and dozens of shops and not find anything and then I will have days where the gods are smiling and I find treasure.

I love that before me these objects lived a life elsewhere.

Were loved by someone else.

Or maybe they weren't loved at all and that is why they found their way there.

It is the mystery of guessing that gives these objects charm.

It reduces waste.

Yet gives pleasure.

I have been doing the same with our renovation.

Using old and turning it into new.

Weaving an old life into the new one.

Not pretending that the new is the same as the old yet delicately connecting the two.

It is one of the things I have loved doing with the renovation.

Finding ways of celebrating the new building yet tying it in with the old.

Seeing it come together is super exciting.

And I have been finding some second hand treasure that instantly transports me back to happy childhood memories that will be included in the new part of the house too.

This week I found some Vintage Arabia Finel enamelware that did exactly that.

Do you love Op shopping & love the mystery of the stories gone by?

GLAMORGAN SAUSAGES ~ (Welsh Vegetarian Sausages):
I'm married to a Welshman. The food of Wales brings to mind Leeks and cheese for many.  This recipe celebrates both.
Glamorgan sausages are a food from the South of Wales. They are basically a crumbed meat free roll made with cheese & leeks.
It traditionally used Glamorgan cheese but now mostly uses Caerphilly cheese- a Welsh hard cows milk cheese- which is extended in this recipe using lots of breadcrumbs.
I used mostly Ricotta and left out the most of the breadcrumb from the mix.
I have also modified this recipe to incorporate my fave Green veg- Kale, and added lots of fresh herbs & horseradish to pack a punch. You could adjust the ingredients with whatever veg you like that are in season.
Soooo great.
I see a Fathers day breakfast ahead!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• 100g Ricotta
• 80g Vintage Cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 3 spring onions, chopped finely
• 1/2 bunch kale, trimmed off stem and sliced
• 5 tablespoons Italian Parsley, chopped coarsely
• 2 teaspoons horseradish
• a little SR flour
• 2 eggs
• butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• s & p
• panko crumbs 
• sourdough breadcrumbs

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Melt some butter in a pan and add leeks, and kale and fry gently till wilted.

Take off heat and transfer to a bowl to cool.

In a large bowl add the Ricotta, Cheddar, eggs, parsley, horseradish, spring onion and wilted Leek & Kale.  Add some salt & a generous grind of Black Pepper.

Mix well with your hands till all ingredients are amalgamated.

Mix through a little SR flour if necessary to thicken mix- it should be a thick enough paste to shape into sausages without being too sticky.

Use your hands to shape into 10cm long sausages.

Put beaten egg into a bowl & Panko crumbs in another.

Dip sausage into egg & then Panko crumb.

Pan fry in a little butter till lightly brown on all sides and then place on baking paper lined tray and pop into preheated oven for 5 minutes.

I served mine with creamed Mushrooms on toast & home made Tomato sauce for breakfast- super delish!.

The latest album from my ol' fave Patrick Watson has got me through what was a pretty tough week for me..... Music is so good for helping find words that are swimming in a dizzy of unspoken emotion aren't they?

"It's easy when I am holding your hand........
Started as lovers don't know where it's gonna end".