Tudorks

Meatless Monday:

Here’s a cheap and meatless meal with lots of flavor. I was inspired by a wonderful cookbook, A Little Taste of India by Murdoch Books.

We have tons of spices. It’s kind of a hobby searching for and using them. If you don’t have everything in this recipe, don’t fret. It’ll still be good even with a few missing spices. Just add more of something else.

1-2 tablespoons of canola oil

1 teaspoon black mustard seed

1 teaspoon ajwan seed

10 curry leaves *

¼ inch cube of grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons red chili powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 large yellow onion

1 pound of waxy yellow, purple, and red potatoes chopped up in smaller cubes

1 tablespoon tamarind puree (you can make your own or purchase pre-made)

(optional) 4 poached eggs or enough black salt/kala namak to add flavor

*Fresh curry leaves aren’t in my life year round I usually use dried curry leaves. If either aren’t available, use a couple of teaspoons of an Indian curry mix that you like.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and add mustard seeds. Once they “pop” add ajwan, curry leaves, turmeric, ginger, chili powder, and onion. Cook until onion is soft. While this is going on…

In a pot boil potatoes in water until soft enough to eat. Drain potatoes and put in frying pan with spices and onions. Cook on low heat. Mix in tamarind puree. Remove from heat and eat.

To complete this meal, I pair with 2 poached eggs per person (not pictured in my sucky pic above). If you are vegan, you can add black salt for flavor.

This recipe is for 4 servings.

-Victoria

This living room was featured in House and Home. I do like these colors, but it isn’t very “me” and I doubt I’ll ever decorate with these colors. However, they are nice and pack a punch. However, it is difficult for me think of this color combo as grown-up since every big box vendor has featured these shades in their “dorm” collections. I think that is why I’m attracted to this room. It’s a formal living room with quirky, young colors.

You guys know I love wallpaper but hate peeling it. It’s something that I love to look at. Prints have really grown on me since getting our first home. Anyways, this room is fun and quirky but has those classic traditional pieces, just in fun colors. I adore that purple leather tufted sofa. I like the symmetry. I could live without the balloon curtain and the lampshade lighting. But, hey, it all works.

No, this isn’t two living rooms. Here’ s this room from another view. There’s more wallpaper! So, this room is all about playing with prints which I like. I always find that quirky or luxurious. One day I will master the art of mixing prints.

This room could easily be achieved by adding color with accessories or paint. Sorry, I can’t find a cheap purple leather tufted sofa… Here’s a guide to a few products to create a similar room on a budget:

1. Your Zone Bright Solid Shag Rug in Purple Berry – The 5′ by 7′ retails for about $75. OK, so this is a rug marketed for a children’s space, but it’s cheap. We can use “dorm” style to our advantage here! This rug is available at Wal-Mart.

2. Porcelain Off White Garden Stool - This garden stool isn’t exactly like the one in the room,  but it’s close enough. And it’s a deal at about $95. Other places have them closer to $100. It’s available at Overstock.

3. Peekaboo Clear Coffee Table - Here’s a table just like the one in the room. It retails for $250 and is available at CB2.

4. Decor Red Stripe Ottoman - This room really likes stools, have you noticed? Overstock has a similar striped red stool, the legs aren’t as fancy as the one in the picture. It retails for $67.

5. Caribbean Coolers Valance in Lime Green - I’m sort of embarrassed for suggesting this just for the name alone. But this green curtain appears to have the same finish as the House and Home one. This valance, not a balloon curtain, retails for about $26 and is available at Target. Panels are available too if that is more your style.

6. Suede Decorative Throw Pillows, Set of 6 - OK, so these aren’t floral, but the colors really work and you get 6 pillows for about $84 at Overstock. Mix those with a few pretty floral prints and your set without spending like $50 a pillow which appears to be the going rate. Ikea will occasionally get interesting floral print pillow covers.

All the little knick-knacks like vases, flower pots, owl statues, and sconces are easily found at thrift stores for under $5.

-Victoria

Expect new content soon! Thanks for following us to our new address.

-David and Victoria

Candadian House and Home purple dining room

I don’t think I own anything purple when it comes to home decor. I only own a few purple clothing items. I like the color but it is a shade I find intimidating to work with. I don’t know why. I’ve found 2 very fun and slightly formal purple dining rooms that help me see the potential of purple.

This first dining room is from Canadian House to Home. This room is a deep, royal purple shade. It feels light and airy against the white trim and the white wall. I love the mix of white accessories, including a thrifty white paper lantern. The colors paired with this royal purple make this color workable. I love it paired with that 70′s goldenrod shade and cool purpley cement gray. And and don’t forget the temporary pop of fuchsia from the fresh flowers on the table.This room is purple room that I can see easily replicated in a “real” home. Now to the other room…

The other room I found on the blog, Roomenvy. This room is a bit more “busy” than the Canadian House and Home one. I love a bold and obnoxious wallpaper. So does the owner of this dining room. There is purple printed wallpaper on the ceiling. This isn’t that innovative, being that is a very old-fashioned thing to do. And may I add a bitch to remove. It too us forever in our dining nook to remove layers and layers of wallpaper off a small part of the ceiling. Anyways, I like this dining room because it is over the top, right down to the royal purple rug. This isn’t fitting for my home and I’m sick of seeing bold colored shaggy things. Do you remember our blue faux fur covered cabinets? Well, I do and I’ll

Patterned purple dining room

never see shag as something quirky or retro again. So, this room isn’t something that I see easily being replicated in a “real” home but it is fun to look at. I could easily see a “real” dining room incorporating this bold print on fabrics and maybe having a yellow/goldenrod painted walls.

Sorry about the lack of posts lately. I’m doing what I can to wrap up some of these projects before I go back to work. That’s keeping me very busy. And they’re boring projects too. Like cleaning, scrapping, touching up projects. These aren’t those creative projects that I crave.

-Victoria

"Messy" stripes from Living Etc.

You guys know I really like painted or wallpaper striped walls. It’s a reoccurring them here on the Tudorks blog. I like stripes. They’re visually striking. I came across this gray and white room on Living Etc. I love the gray and white stripes, this is a nice neutral color combo. This office or studio is a bit masculine they way that it is decorated here, but you could pair this with a robin’s egg blue or pink to make it more feminine.

Yeah, gray and white = nice color combo. But, that isn’t what I really love about this little room. It’s the stripes. Love the messy, freehand stripes. This would be so easy to do. I can tell that the white was added over the battleship gray. Stripes don’t have to be perfect. And if you are a DIYer like us, then you probably won’t get perfect even if you tried. So this is “intentional” messiness. All you need to do is to get your spacing right, don’t worry about a crisp edge. I also like it in this Living Etc. room because it seems to be an office or a studio. We see art supplies and these stripes are creative, resembling an artist’s brush strokes.

So, what do you think? Do you think this would look silly and like a 5-year-old did it, if you saw it in person? Or do you think this adds a cute quirkiness to a room? I think it is a nice take on stripes. I won’t be doing it because stripes in general don’t fit with our home.

Today I’m fine cleaning the bathroom. My nostril hairs are singed from bleach. I’m hoping to finish this bathroom someday! And then we have a powder room to complete…I’ve also had a stupid day filled with spiders and smashing my thumb in a 1930′s solid wood door, the same door that broke my toes this time last  year.

-Victoria