Friday 11 February 2011

My new love - kumato tomatoes

Yes, today's post is about my love of a new type of tomato, ha ha ha!  But before I launch into my new love, I want to thank everyone for your support over the last couple of weeks as I am slowly coming to terms with my dad's health issues and what this means not only for my parents, but for my whole family.  (I realised today that I have not blogged in more than a week, which is unusual for me.)  It has been nice to have some time away from my usual committments but I am eager to get back into blogging as I do find it therapeutic writing my rather eclectic range of posts!

Image from Wikipedia

So...back to my planned topic, the kumato tomato.  I was recently introduced to this tomato by my mum (who didn't know the name of the tomato because she had bought it at a local market).  I have to admit that my girls were a bit dubious about the "brown tomatoes" and I was reluctant to taste it because I thought it was the "Black Russian" variety of tomato which I do not like.  However, mum assured me that she had been given a taste test and that these tomatoes were delicious, so I gave it a go.  And wow was I surprised - they were really sweet!
It wasn't until my husband bought a package of "gourmet" tomatoes from the supermarket that I could put a name to my newly discovered tomato.  The label on the packaging declared these oddly brown tomatoes to be "Kumato tomatoes", and let me tell you that for a store bought tomato, they taste fantastic (as opposed to the usual bland, underripe offerings from our supermarkets)!


A quick Google search for Kumato tomatoes yielded some interesting facts about this "new breed" of tomato from both Wikipedia and the Kumato tomato website.  It is a commercially developed tomato breed,  which unfortunately is not available for avid green thumbs to grow at home (I assume that this means the tomatoes do not grow true to seed, but maybe I'll test that out for myself).  It's surprising flavour and sweetness are due to the tomato containing higher levels of fructose than regular tomatoes and the tomato colour ranges from dark brown to a "golden green" with streaks of red here and there.
As you can see in the photo above, my husband likes to try and grow some vegetables in our limited garden space, and tomatoes are one of his favourites to grow.  I really enjoy being able to eat fresh, sun-ripened tomatoes every summer and bemoan the lack of flavourful tomatoes during the winter months.  So this should explain to you why I am just a little excited about finding a store bought tomato which tastes as good as home grown ones!

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Happy Chinese New Year 2011!

Happy Chinese new year everyone!
Printable Chinese new year card by leapfrog lane printables

The advantage of being Chinese is that I get to celebrate two new years every year, he he.  This year Chinese new year falls on February 3 (the date is determined by a lunar calendar) and is considered "the year of the rabbit".  Chinese the world over will probably be celebrating with family feasts, loads of firecrackers and red packets (hong bao) of money for the children.  In fact, countries such as China and Singapore, have several days of national holidays to celebrate the new year.  Unfortunately, in Australia Chinese new year barely raises a blip on the radar, with celebrations only being held in individual homes, churches (as my church does every year) and by local councils in areas highly populated by Chinese.  To help you all join in the fun, I have found some fun and beautiful rabbit-themed artworks.  Enjoy!

 Year of the rabbit 2011 by Eden Creative Studio

Rabbit and girl in bunny suit by Little Mo and Friends

Year of the rabbit art print by Nicole Kristiana Studio

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Launching My New Fabric Cuff Range!!! (And a Discount For You)

amphitrite cuff two cheeky monkeys fabric vintage cabochons aqua blue lace

Yes everyone, I am ridiculously excited to announce that after weeks of sewing, photographing and planning, my new fabric cuff range is now available for purchase!  I have already listed several in my Etsy store and aim to keep listing them every day or so if my "back to school" schedule allows.

wildberry fabric cuff two cheeky monkeys purple amethyst cabochons lace flowers ribbon

To launch this new, and for me fairly different, range of jewellery, I am offering 10% off your ENTIRE PURCHASE when you purchase any of my new fabric cuffs.  Yes, you are reading correctly, purchase as many items as you want, including sale items, along with a fabric cuff and you will receive a discount on every item (excluding shipping).


This discount is available to my faithful readers, fans and customers when you use the coupon code FABRICCUFF10 at the Etsy checkout.  For those who haven't used the new coupon code system on Etsy, at checkout you will see a "shop coupon code" section.  Simply type in the code there and hit "apply" and your discount will be automatically calculated.  This discount is currently only available in my Etsy store because of the ease of using the coupon code system, but I will eventually start listing fabric cuffs in my Madeit store and offering the discount there too.

fiore fabric cuff sakura cabochon flower vintage crochet lace cambric shabby chic

In the mean time, if there is a cuff you are interested in and it has not been listed yet, please feel free to contact me and I will happily set up a reserved listing for you.  Also, if you have a colour scheme or design elements in mind, I am more than happy to work with you to create a custom cuff!  You can either contact me via my Etsy and Madeit stores or via my contact details on the "contact" page of this blog.     :)