Gooseberry Jam

Sew Busy

2012-03-02T12:54:00.003+10:00

So while I've had my head buried in the books this week,
(really I have)
Someone has been busy crafting . . .

Cheeky little chook isn't she!

I have a confession

2012-02-24T15:35:00.001+10:00

Oh dear, a bit of a REALITY CHECK really...

For the past 18 months or so I have been Blogging, Yes I know you knew that, what you didn't know was that I was suppose to be doing my husbands Book work in my allocated computer time.

Boring.....

Well, it's finally all caught up with me....I told myself I would get it done before bub arrives as I will no doubt be busier than ever, so the countdown is on and everything has been put on hold while I sit and catch up on 'The Books' with no sneaking over to 'The Blog'

I'll have to be careful I don't accidentley sit over here...

I must discipline myself, get my real job done and then I'll be back, I promise...

(it won't take long, I'm a pretty fast on the old PC these days)

Do you manage your time Wisely or does your Blog distract you from your everyday duties.

What should you really be doing right now?

Almost Fruit Salad

2012-02-17T12:07:00.001+10:00

Fruit Tree Production to date: 2012

1 x Papaya

1 x Mango

Just enough for baby & me . . . : )

The unveiling of The NEW Kitchen

2012-02-14T17:53:00.003+10:00

So after months of washing up in the bath tub, lots of cereal, sandwiches and BBQ's on the back deck the New Kitchen is now officially opened.

Old Kitchen - Warm, Cosy & TinyNew Kitchen - Open, Fresh & Spacious

About 6 months ago when we found out we were expecting our 6th child, the first thing my husband said was, "We'll need to build a bigger Kitchen". Now, when my Hubby says he is going to do something, he's not one to muck around! We were lucky enough to buy a basic 3 bedroom home many years ago that has been easy to renovate (well hubby makes it look easy anyway!) Over the years, thanks to the sale of an investment property, we have managed to build on an extra lounge room, a couple more bedrooms, en suite and an office/sewing room to meet the demands of our ever growing family. Then there was also this built somewhere in between all of that as well!! We're a busy lot here, there is always something on the go.
I've still got a lot of pottering to do, finding spots for this to sit and that to hang but it's always fun redecorating.

I am finding that the warmer colours I am usually drawn to like Reds, Yellows and Orange are not quite fitting in with the new modern style, but being so much bigger now and I am loving the space and freshness of it and am being mindful not to clutter it up so much anyway . . .
Mental Note: DO NOT CLUTTER, Fill with laughter of Children, gathering of Family & Friends and plenty of Home Cooking instead!

I still have an old cabinet to paint and add to the back dining room wall, pictures to hang and boxes and boxes of kitchen treasures to unpack that I have been collecting for many years, hoping to find a suitable spot for.
  All in good time though . . .
Once I finished these Stool Restorations, (thanks for your inspiration ANNIE), I'm heading out of the Kitchen and into the Bedroom to get started on the Babies Corner.

A bag for every occasion

2012-02-08T12:41:00.004+10:00

A Tote or two... from this easy pattern

Totally Dotti inspired!

This one could be just what I need for the Babies Bag.

Do you think it suits me?

I am so completely hooked on Sewing now, I cant stop! I find myself sneaking into the sewing room any spare chance I get, rummaging through thrift shops for fabric scraps and feeding my new addiction for vintage fabrics via ebay! I have so many little projects on the go at the moment, I can get myself into a bit of a pickle sometimes with my daily family schedule and need to be a bit more mindful of the dinner menu and housekeeping plan but at 7 1/2 months pregnant you can probably imagine, its all such a chore. . .

I find sewing/crafting/creating so theraputic - Soul Food! Can you survive on that? Don't worry the children are still getting fed, bathed and educated... ; )

Most of my sewing projects are for practical use, completely inspired by Amanda Blake Soule's Handmade Home, and not to mention the many, many wonderful creative bloggers out there. I'm on a mission to create as much as possible for my home decor and organisation.

So after the Totes were created I moved onto a few drawstring bags, simply made with a basic rectangle pattern, sewn up the sides and added drawstring, these bags are useful for anything and everything.

Bags for the little ones to keep their dolls and dolls clothes together, teddies, puzzles, lego etc... anything that usually gets scattered all over the floor, I will be making a few more of these in different fabrics, the plan is that the girls will identify what toys belong in what bags and Pack Up time should be easier, quicker and maybe more fun?

A Library Bag for my new little School girl

And a chalk bag (of course) for the chalk!

Bags are fun and easy to make and such a practical item to use in the home, or anywhere for that matter. If your interested in some easy bag patterns bookmark this page now, It's full of goodies. And go here to see other great bags used around my home.
Happy Bagging!

Good Old Fashion Jam Drops

2012-01-30T12:55:00.001+10:00

with home made Plum Jam . . .

and a sneaky peak at my New Kitchen

Plum Jam

2 kg Plums

250 ml water

1 tab lemon juice

1 1/2 kg sugar

Wash the plums then quarter and stone them. Place plums, water and lemon juice in a large heavy based saucepan. Bring it to the boil on a medium heat and cook until the fruit is soft, approximately 15 minutes.

Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Continue boiling for approx 15 - 20 minute or until a little will set on a chilled saucer.

Remove from heat, allow to settle then bottle and seal.

Jam Drops

½ cup Sugar

125 gm Butter

2 eggs

2 cups SR Flour

1 teasp Vanilla

pinch of salt

Jam (Plum, Apricot, Raspberry, Strawberry, Gooseberry etc…)

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla.

Gradually add sifted flour and salt to make a stiff dough.

Roll into balls, place on greased oven tray.

Push thumb into center to make a small indent and fill with your chosen variety of Jam

Bake in moderate, quick oven until just brown.

If your too cool for Jam (like a certain teenage son of mine) this mixture is a good basic biscuit mixture. Just add a handful of choc chips, walnuts, peanuts or dried fruit, roll out, flatten and bake as above.

Quick and Easy to make, and great to freeze for Lunchboxes.

As for 'The Kitchen' well after a 4 month extension/renovation it is finally finished... (breathing a huge sigh of relief), before and after shots will be released soon, just awaiting a few finishing touches and a dabble of clutter.
It's so good to be back in the Kitchen baking again!

Happy Australia Day

2012-01-26T08:05:00.007+10:00

Keeping off my feet...

2012-01-22T09:02:00.002+10:00

Some inspirational reading I have been enjoying over the past few weeks while the holidays have been winding down.

(Less one or two books my cousin borrowed

while on her farm stay visit last week).

I'm looking forward to trying a few new ideas I have book marked along the way.

I've still got about 8 weeks of 'resting' to go, which I am trying my hardest to do in between all the day to day goings on of looking after a family of seven and a half !!

Would love some suggestions to add to my reading pile.

A Dry Harvest

2012-01-16T11:42:00.005+10:00

This may just be my last harvest for a little while now.

With the weather a little cooler and kinder yesterday I ventured down yonder to see what was really happening in the veggie patch.

After three weeks on and off away in hols, sky rocketing hot temperatures and not a drop of rain it was a very sad and sorry sight.

The corn that wasn't picked before Christmas

was eaten by the wild King Parrots

The capsicum all dried and shriveled, such a waste...

The silver beet and chard have really had their day...

Doesn't look like these young lettuce will be used in our salad anytime soon...

A few bushes of green tomatoes still stand awaiting to ripen

but most of them withered and fallen to the ground if not eaten by the birds and grubs. I'm hoping to save some seed from these, most of them were heirloom varieties I had purchased from Diggers.
And this would be the forgotten Choko Vine...
I think I'll be needing to talk to that old scarecrow of mine about the importance of doing his daily job and maybe a stern word to the watering system that just happened to Kark It right when I needed it most! I just can't stress enough how important water is for a healthy and productive garden yet, here I am in full neglect of mine....
Just Shameful !
However, all was not lost, amongst the anguish and disgust I still managed to harvest up a few goodies...

I found a few Garlic hiding under the old bean stalks

I love the garlic flower bulbs, they are so pretty in flower and in seed.
Anybody got any advice on growing garlic from seed rather than bulb?

Most of the beans left on the vine were well and truly dried out

They will be stored away for the next seasons planting, as will the rocket seeds I had been trying to gather for months.

The Celery has gone crazy in seed and is just starting to dry out now, I have heard that Celery seeds can be quite hard to come by in the supermarkets so I will be storing these away in my herb cupboard for later use with my pickling spices.

I managed to salvage a handful of coriander seeds as well, not sure yet if these will go into the seed pile or the herb cupboard along with the Celery Seeds.

So you see, all was not LOST.

There are a few showers lurking around this week so with the children on their last week of school holidays maybe we'll get down to the garden and give it a bit of a TLC, rip up the old has beens and maybe start digging in a little mulch and manure, Weather and Well Being permitting of course, sound like a good plan, we'll see what the week brings. It would be nice to plant just a few salad and herb basics again but I really don't think the ground will be getting that much future loving from me.
Counting down the days now, only 10 weeks to go until I'll have another little Bubba down in the garden with me ready for the annual Winter planting....

Getting back to Nature . . .

2012-01-09T13:32:00.004+10:00

While the kids amuse themselves,

I'm locked away in the lounge room, with the air conditioner on full blast! Is it just me or is it HOT! I thought it was time my little blog had a bit of a face lift, please bear with me while I make a few new changes.

Slowing down....

2011-12-30T13:15:00.004+10:00

With Christmas over and done with it's now time to rest...I'm looking forward to a New Years eve gathering with family then it's time to slow down the pace before the school year starts again. With one starting high school, another starting prep and a new baby arriving early in the year there is going to be a lot of changes happening around here in 2012.

My Christmas sewing has kept me quite relaxed over the past couple of weeks. . .

I didn't quite get everything finished that I wanted to but I was happy with what I achieved. Little Pincushions were sewed and gifted....

Soap was cured and fitted into these snug little soap on a rope bags I had been crocheting of an evening...Lavender Bath Soap and

Tea tree oil Garden Soap

Suitable also for some gifted jewelry.

Then there were the DOLLS . . .

It was this time last year that Queensland was hit with a devastating flooding, many families lost their homes, their possessions and sadly their loved ones.The lovely Mrs Moo who has creatively inspired me on many many occasions was responsible for hosting the Queensland Flood Dolly Appeal and these lovely little dollies have been on my mind since then, I just didn't realise I had the patience to make them. Dolly Donations is an amazing website that donates homemade dolls to less fortunate children all over the world. You may have noticed the special little dark skinned dolly in the group, I am hoping Sarah may be able to use this for an upcoming dolly drive.

My vegetable garden continues to supply us with a good picking each week but sadly it will need to be turned over soon and I don't quite know if I'll have the energy to continue it over the next couple of months.I'm sure I can round up a few little people willing to get their hands dirty. : )

I hope your enjoying the slower pace that usually follows Christmas
I'll be back again sometime soon . . . Happy New Year

Just in Time...

2011-12-23T14:59:00.001+10:00

I sewed and I sewed and I sewed and I sewed, and I sewed and I sewed and I sewed, and then I dreamt about sewing....Now I'm taking some time off to spend with my loved ones who haven't seen much of me this past week....

I'll be back after Christmas with an insight into my newly found love of making Dolly's and more show and tell handmade gifts.

Sending warmest wishes to you all. Thank you for your support, friendship and inspiration over the past twelve months, it's been an incredible blogging journey for me.

Have a safe holiday and

Very Merry Christmas

What a Challenge!

2011-12-12T09:31:00.001+10:00

Christmas Elving is in full swing around here at the moment, every spare second of my time has been taken up with my

Homemade Christmas Challenge.

I wish I had another 12 days of Christmas left on the calendar. . .

I'll leave you with a few sneaky peaks and hopefully have some finished products to show you next week...

Shopping or Elving?

The Clock is Ticking . . .

I pickled the Cucs!

2011-12-06T15:28:00.000+10:00

In my last post some of you suggested that I pickle my excess cucumbers, so that's just what I did, with a few other fresh ingredients from the garden.

Pickled Cucumbers

also known as Bread & Butter Cucumbers, they are so delicious you'll want to have them on the table with every meal.

I used 6 medium size cucumbers

2 onions

1/2 red capsicum

1/3 cup salt

4 cups cider vinegar

1 1/4 cup of sugar

1 teasp ground turmeric

2 teasp mustard seeds

2 teasp chopped dill

2 teasp celery seeds

Slice the cucumbers, onion and capsicum and mix together in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt. Cover and let stand for about 4 hours.

In a large saucepan combine the rest of the ingredients.

No celery seeds in my cupboard so I used the next best thing, the celery flowers straight from the veggie garden...(they would have been seeds one day had I had left them to mature!!)

Bring to the boil then add the well drained cucumber mixture. Bring back to the boil then remove from heat. With a slotted spoon ladle the pickles into wide mouthed sterilized jars. Seal and water bath.

Enjoy. . . or give to the neighbours for Christmas. . .

On the Vine

2011-12-02T12:37:00.001+10:00

Pumpkins, Yes they are Pumpkin Delicata Mini Sweet. I had to check my Diggers order to see just exactly what they were, Aren't they cute! I don't think they grow much bigger, I was looking for a compact vine, and that it is, and just loaded with these sweet little pumpkins.

A Rockmelon, another compact vine this one is a Rockmelon Minnesota Midget. Looking forward to these ripening...

The last of my Beans, pods too old to be eaten now, I'm planning on drying these, some for winter casseroles and some for replanting next spring.

Not a vine, but oh so Pretty, Garlic flowers next to my bean vine... And can you see the height of that corn in the background

My first season ever growing corn, and I'm extremely pleased with how they are going...

Any tips on when to harvest Corn?

Capsicums, Capsicums

and more capsicums...

Cucumbers The description 'Double Yield' and growing like mad

Too quickly actually

I can't eat them quick enough, and they mature overnight, It's nice to have extras to give away to visiting family and friends.

Tomatoes

Many Varieties

Ready to ripen

Pick and Eat

And a Choko vine, running madly alongside the childrens sandpit...

Pretty in flower

and bearing the first Choko of the season...

Devon Sandwiches

2011-11-28T13:58:00.016+10:00

Did you ever get Devon Sandwiches in your lunchbox when you were growing up?
You may also know this meat product as Luncheon or Veal German.

It's a real family favourite around here, it's cheap, it's tasty and it lasts forever....God knows what it's made with though, you always hear all these awful stories about what goes in it, not to mention all the preservatives.

Here's a nice homemade version of Devon, it's a much healthier alternative, it's quite simple and it's fun to make.

If your not a fan of the commercially made product then you must try this sometime, I'm sure you'll be impressed.

Homemade Devon Sausage

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 x tab chopped capsicum

2 x tab butter

2 x eggs, beaten

1/3 cup tomato juice

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teasp salt

1/4 teasp dry mustard

750gm minced beef

250gm minced pork

Cook the onion and capsicum in butter until soft but not brown. Combine with all the other ingredients in a food processor until well mixed and mushy.

Set out a sheet of tin foil and roll the mixture into a sausage, secure the ends.

Bake at 180 degrees for approx 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

When cooled, store in the fridge, slice as needed. Can be eaten like a meatloaf with a fresh crisp salad or steamed veggies or enjoyed at it's best on a freshly made sandwich. Like any standard cooked meat, it will only keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but it does freeze well. Sliced or left whole.
Also a handy little sausage to take all wrapped up to a picnic...

Devon Cheese & Tomato toasties...

My all time favourite, Devon and Tomato sauce.....

Sew Recycled

2011-11-22T15:12:00.003+10:00

Lately, and I mean mostly Late at Night, I have been finding much pleasure getting to know my new Sewing Machine. Being a new Hobby for me unfortunately I don't have a huge stash of fabrics to play with, but I have been quite surprised with what I have found around the home to re-purpose.

A huge array of fabrics just sitting in my wardrobe, a few old favourites that have been out grown, outworn or out dated stuffed into the Rag Box and stored away in the hand me downs box,all just waiting to be picked up and put to good use.

An old and 'way too small for me' blouse,

now a new Library Book Bag....

Did I really ever fit into that?

A favourite t-shirt that ended up with a paint stain on the front. I couldn't remove the paint so I just took off the whole front!

The back has made a very handy little drawstring bag.

Another favourite dress becomes a toy bag...

A hand me down top a little too stretched for any more wear...

becomes a handy size purse bag for my wool and maybe a little crochet needle bag to go with it...

And old, hardly ever worn t-shirts

become T-shirt Bags.

My daughter tells me she's not wearing these anymore, so I told her I would put them to good use...

" Mum" she says, "we're not that Poor,. We don't have to turn our old clothes into Bags! How embarrassing!!"

NO, we don't my dear, But aren't they cute, and it is so much fun and I think I'm really clever and come on, lets give one to your friends for Christmas....."Oh MUM!!!"

She's slowly getting it, she does love the idea of it, even though she thinks I'm a little bit nuts, I'm sure she'll come round and she'll be packing them full of clothes for the next sleepover.

For a quick an easy t-shirt/blouse bag

JUST stitch up the bottom. . . and cut off the sleeves. . .

A Giants Garden

2011-11-14T11:19:00.000+10:00

This is not what I expected when I planted my Button Squash seeds a few months ago...

Nowhere on the packet did it say they were Giants Buttons....!

I'm thinking it's my new miracle grow fertiliser.... Sheep's poops! Everything in the garden is so productive, these little squash went form normal size to oversize in just a couple of days, and they are totally the Sweetest Squash I have ever tasted!

Nothing in comparison to last years crop.

YUM!

How to Preserve Husbands

2011-11-07T14:16:00.001+10:00

Husbands, like peaches, will not keep all year round unless they are well preserved. First select him carefully: be sure he is not too green, neither should he be overripe. He might look very tempting and mellow in the market but if he is too old he will not stand the test of the preserving process, but will expose his hard stoney heart.

Husbands grown in the tropics of pleasure look very fine, but are usually insipid. The home grown are the best! Select your husband, if possible, from a family tree growing on the sunny side of the Church – you will be sure he has a sound heart. Unsound husbands, like unsound peaches, often have to be sorrowfully cast away. Having selected your husband, you should have a clear, steady, cheery fire of love – your preserving pan, (The Home) must be clean and neat. Give him plenty of sweetness, much sugar is needed – vinegar is never used in sweet preserves. If you think he demands a little spice, use it with caution. Do not keep stirring him up, neither should you keep poking him with sharp points to see if he is done – it will spoil his good looks.
If you follow this recipe, love will be preserved.....

My Hubby
There were always certain qualities that were important to me and in my mind and heart I always carried an image, a fantasy, a wish I guess, of a wonderful person I could love totally... My Husband has given me what I always wished for, fun and laughter, concern and understanding, a trustworthy friend, a lover to cherish, a partner in everything I do, a dependable, caring and supportive father for our children, he's a good provider and a great handyman around the Home. The backbone of our family, I would be completely lost without him.
Sometimes I think I stir him up just a little too much, but I have learnt that if add a little bit of extra sugar, a dash of patience and a pound of understanding at the end of the day, it seems to keep everything blending quite nicely in our little preserving pan...

Have you preserved your Husband yet?
Maybe you have had him salted and cured or perhaps sugar coated, is he pickled, soaked up with Brandy or Rum...

Maybe you've Smoked him!!

The above preserving recipe is just one of my many favourite recipes from the Wheatland’s 70^th Jubilee Recipe Book 1913 – 1983.

I just love old style country cookbooks, I have quite a collection in my cupboard, mostly from the local country areas where either myself or my husband grew up.

This Wheatland’s recipe book was ~~snatched from~~ passed onto me from my mother. Wheatlands is a very small rural area in the South Burnett district, Queensland, near where my family grew up. It is like a bible to me. It is full of great old fashioned recipes,

and I found this particular preserve is the wonderful

Handy Hints section.

There is no author attached to this particular piece above nor the other kind words of wisdom and random sayings scattered throughout the pages, but I would like to acknowledge the Wheatland P&C association and Jubilee committee and all the cooks who kindly donated their time and favourite recipes for this special edition back in 1983.
Well done Ladies...

The Great Cabbage Harvest

2011-11-04T11:23:00.000+10:00

I'm very proud of my little Cabbage Patch but I'm not a real lover of Cabbage, I don't mind it boiled up occasionally with a little dob of butter and sprinkle of salt & pepper especially with a Corned Beef dinner.

I also do the 'Chinese Mince' dish, with heaps of cabbage and rice and I can think of a great use for the leaves in about 4 months time...

but other than that...

What do you do with Cabbage?

A new tradition...

2011-11-02T11:17:00.000+10:00

With much pressure from a growing group of little GOBLINS that call themselves the children,

I decided to bring Halloween into our house this year.

Because we live out in the sticks, and "always miss out on everything" (referring to trick or treat in the street), I thought there is no reason why we still can't have a bit of SPOOKY Fun!

So with the littlest one in bed, we all enjoyed a feast of Dinner in a Pumpkin, Vampires blood to wash it down and Eyeballs and Worms in Jelly to finish it off, a few Spooky decorations and it was a Halloween we'll all be talking about forever....especially the cobwebs that got tangled up on everyone's plate, Yugck !

I think this one is here to stay, so we'll make some fun of it, join the other half of the world, and get down and get spooky next year again...

Today, I am

2011-10-27T15:09:00.002+10:00

Feeling quite proud of the little pin cusion I whipped up last night when I was suppose to be in bed.

Glad I started sewing again.

Waiting eagerly for the postman to arrive with hopefully another new piece of bunting.

Preparing for weekend birthday celebrations, that is if I finish this post before the soon to be 2 year old awakes!!

Loving the feel of the new little bubba wriggling around as I sit quietly at the computer.... only slight, but it's there, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy...

Finally sharing a photo of the new lambs,

better late than never!

Not surprised that I have already forgotten nearly all the chooks names and we haven't even finished naming them all yet!

Sorry folks, it'll come back to me...

Excited about our first ever Banana Flower just about to pop out

Guessing that someone is getting ready to visit the Veggie patch again...

Glad that my children LOVE their Veggies...

Googleing more pine cone craft ideas for playgroup next week.

Pulling my first lot of homegrown garlic...

Not Mowing the Lawn!!

Hoping to remember to feed my Ginger beer bug later in the day

Wondering what the little ones will bring home from kindy or school to hang up in the Hall of Fame

Trying to work out what glue is best to mend a broken head...Ooops!

Trying to forgive Hubby for starting a Kitchen Renovation!*@#$!

My lifeline has been cut off

Secretly Screaming with excitement, but have you ever had to do the days dishes in the bathtub! I'm just so over it!

Hoping to unwind tonight with a bit of crochet before bed...

It's been another big day!

Linking up with our creative spaces

Organisation in the Garden

2011-10-21T12:34:00.001+10:00

Today I'll be working on categorising my seeds into months, then pinning them up on the new Seed Board for easy reference when I need to restock the garden.

Pulling Veggies out like this every week has left a few bare patches that need to be filled...and it's prime growing time at the moment...

Okay girls, I've taken the photo . . .

Now you can eat all the Peas you want!!

You would think there was a chocolate cake hiding in this goodies basket they way they dive in... Sadly our sugar snap peas are almost at the end of their production cycle.

Not to worry, by the time the peas are all gone, the beans should be ready and some of them are Purple!

I didn't realise these guys climbed so high, I'll need to add an extension to my trellis today too.

I do love the look of a Lush & Productive Garden

Seems like some little grubs may have found my Cauliflower and Cabbage, so these will have to come out today as well!

Newly planted Cucumber, and Spinach, starting to fill in a bit of space. Doctor says I need to up my iron intake at the moment!!

Ooh, and it looks like another little grub found the ripe Mulberries as well . .

Interested to hear how others sort their seeds, and plan their gardens, It's quite a full time Job!

A Bunting to Go...

2011-10-18T14:02:00.000+10:00

A swap with a deadline! What was I thinking?

Squiggly Rainbow has hosted a Bunting Swap.

Send out a piece of bunt and receive a piece back...

I took on the challenge, cause you know I really needed something extra on my plate at the moment!!

The 'Bunt' had to be made out of whatever scraps you had, any shape, and any material other than paper, send one piece, you receive one, send seven you receive seven, sounds easy enough just had to ~~find the~~ make the time to whip them up and mail them out by October 15th.

So into my stash I went.

My mother was a dressmaker however I did not inherit her patience for sewing. Becoming part of this Bunting Swap has been a real personal challenge, it has encouraged me to once again persevere with the dreaded sewing machine and much to my surprise I have found it to be very rewarding and most enjoyable. I still have a lot to learn, another new journey just beginning for me.

I don't know if it was allowed in the rules or not but I did have to go out and purchase myself a new sewing machine!!

So finally, a little bunting love has now been sent out across the world with much Handmade Love...
(and only two days late in the post...Sorry!)

If your a lucky recipient I do hope you like it and it finds a special place in your home.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my bunts, I'll hopefully show you next week... It's so exciting! Did you take part in this swap? Have you taken part in any other blogger swaps, I would love to hear about it!

Bloggers Block or Baby Brain?

2011-10-11T14:58:00.001+10:00

For the past few months most of my blogging time has been taken up with much needed extra sleeping/resting time. I’m not complaining! But I am missing it!

I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to catch up {comment}, but I have been popping into your blogs as often as possible to see what your up too... I hope you have left a comment here at some stage so I have had the chance to meet you and follow your journey too.

As busy as ever here attending to my ever growing family, I’m still baking, new and old recipes, preserving, gardening, hanging with the girls in the Coop, feeding the sheep and the new seven lambs, Yes, sorry there has been no update. I have so many posts I could write, but when it comes to blogging time I feel so overwhelmed and just can’t think of a bloomin thing to write!! I have even bought myself a new sewing machine and have started on several sewing projects I will be sharing with you sometime soon....

Although I may not have much to say at the moment nor the desire to take photos, upload and post, I have been homemaking more than ever and I have never felt more content and relaxed.

Pregnancy hormones and me just go so well together!

Like Bee’s and Honey! No wonder I keep having babies...

The house needs a really good clean, the washing is piled a mile high (that's no exaggeration), the fridge is empty, hubby has started major kitchen renovations and I still haven’t finished the past years Tax return...

BUT I’m not worried, I’m hanging in the garden today, the little ones dancing naked under the sprinkler and I’m just stopping to smell the flowers...

One Step at a time...

2011-10-07T11:34:00.002+10:00

If you’re climbing the ladder of life, don’t look too far up, set your goals high but take one step at a time. Sometimes you don’t think you’re progressing until you step back and see how high you've really gone.

~ Donny Osmond

Saving for a rainy day!

2011-10-03T11:23:00.000+10:00

Freezer Preserving

I picked up loads of specials at my local fruit and veg market last week.

Anything with a price tag of $1.99 usually very quickly gets my attention, I just can't go past a $2 Bargain!!

4 cobs of Corn $1.99

1kg bag of Beans $1.99

1 Bag approx 1 &1/2 kg Broccoli $1.99

and 1/2 kg Button Squash, you guessed it $1.99
Not to forget the big bag of Beetroot also $1.99.

A bag of each was purchased for the week plus an extra bag for the freezer . My local f&v market is a good 1/2 an hour drive so I don't always get there as regularly as I should. My backyard vegetable garden provides us with some great tasty crunchy afternoon snacks and plenty of fresh salads but as much as I would love to grow all my vegetables for the table, I would need to have a good couple of acres of progressively grown veg to keep us all going all year round. Not to mention an electric fence to keep out the pack of veggie gobbling children.

By keeping a stockpile of frozen fresh vegetables, it means I can enjoy a good variety when I need it and when bought on special it means that I am not paying a fortune for frozen packets from the super market.

To freezer preserve your veggies, you need to blanch them first, I usually pop mine into a pot of boiling water for about 2 - 3 minutes.

You can find more info on blanching here and a time table for the different vegetables if you wish to be a bit more precise.

Once blanched, remove from water and dry on paper towel or draining rack.

Divide into portion sizes and place in freezer bags

Remove as much air as you can and tightly seal the bags

Stack neatly into your freezer.

When your ready for Dinner, simply remove the bag from the freezer and place in a saucepan or steamer and cook as you would with your fresh Vegetables.

Remember to save your blanching water, which has now transformed into a tasty Vegetable Stock, cool it and drink it as a multi vitamin boost or freeze it to add to your next soup or casserole.

Freezer preserving is a great way to save money and keep your favourite prepared foods for times when you just can't provide them fresh.

Happy Preserving!

More freezer tips, recipes and links

My lil Sweet Peas

2011-09-29T09:35:00.000+10:00

Cook your own Beets

2011-09-25T09:10:00.001+10:00

For some strange reason I just can't seem to get enough Beetroot at the moment !!

When I found a 2kg bag of fresh local grown beets at the market for just a $1.99, they were bought home and pickled up within the hour. I had bought a few fresh beets here and there in the past, sometimes they were roasted and sometimes added to a salad but I had never cooked and pickled them before, I was surprised just how simple it actually was and how delicious!!

The beets were boiled up until they were tender, this took about 3/4 of an hour or so . . .

While they were cooking I boiled up 2 cups of white vinegar, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 doz cloves and peppercorns, a couple of bay leaves and a dash of cinnamon.

When the beetroot were cooked, I removed the skins and sliced them up, stacked them into some sterilized jars, poured over the strained vinegar solution, capped them off and popped them into a water bath. I adapted this recipe from a few on line recipes, my mothers preserving wisdom and my own sense of common knowledge, it tastes terrific so far, and I presume like most preserves they will get even better with age?

YUM! A slice or two of this stuff on a big fat hamburger makes it just so extra tasty and juicy and have you ever tried beetroot, rocket and fetta? A great easy salad to take to your next BBQ.

There'll be no cans of Beetroot stored away in our pantry anymore, you'll only find it hidden away with the jam at the back of the home preserves cabinet!

My Garden Beetroot should be ready in another couple of months, Half of this lot will be eaten raw, grated with sandwiches and salads and the other half I might just Pickle . . .
Are you a Beetroot Lover?

A Bun in the Oven !

2011-09-19T15:25:00.000+10:00

Thats Right!
There will be another little Gooseberry running around here soon . . .

Freshly Made Soap

2011-09-16T10:23:00.002+10:00

One more thing to cross of my ever growing list.

Yes, I made Soap!

And what an interesting process this was, The soap I made consisted of four ingredients only, It was just amazing to watch these basic ingredients of oil, water and sodium hydroxide whip up into a softly scented smooth paste of soap! I am very keen to look further into the chemistry behind the process now... At first I could not imagine lathering olive oil and caustic soda onto my skin, but I was just amazed to watch it transform. Can anyone suggest a good Soap Making Book, I am keen to try a few different processes and ingredients now. There will certainly be a lot more regular soap making sessions going on around here...

My first batch I made was the basic recipe, the second batch I added essential lavender oil, the third I added a good handful of ground oats and drizzle of honey.

My final batch was made with grated fresh kaffir lime rind, which I have been told is particularly good for your skin...a bit more research needed into this one though, might need to dry the rind first as it cooked when it hit the soap mixture...

I also forgot to grease the tin on this one so I'll wait until it cures, chunk it out and use it in a soap bag. Looks a bit like Cake doesn't it, well it was just as rewarding to make that's for sure.

Now waiting with much anticipation until it cures, approx 4 - 6 weeks. I can't wait to try it!

On My Mind...

2011-09-09T08:09:00.001+10:00

I can't stop thinking about Christmas presents, Yes already!!!

For many years I have struggled to get to the shops at that time of the year and when I do, I often come home empty handed after hours of roaming around mindlessly looking for affordable and suitable toys, trinkets and keepsakes, just for the sake of having to give a present! Aghhh! It makes me frustrated just thinking about it!

My mum always told me to start buying presents through out the year, "When the sales are on" she says, "then it's never so overwhelming when Christmas comes around" This has never worked for me . . . I think I just dislike shopping!

I am a practical person and I like to give a gift to somebody that has a bit of meaning or purpose to it and I do like the added element of surprise!! On certain occasions I will give a gift card as a present, as impersonal as they are they do allow the recipient to purchase something that they do desire opposed to receiving something that is not to their required taste, colour or style!

How many presents have you ever received that have ended up hidden in the cupboard for years then eventually passed onto a charity store. Can you imagine how much money gets wasted on unwanted gifts at Christmas time?

I much prefer to give somebody just a Big Warm HUG!

This year, I will not be purchasing presents for Christmas, for anybody! It will be A Handmade Christmas.

I guess it still doesn't necessarily mean that everyone will like what they get, but it will be made and given with LOVE!

It worked for EASTER!

I have given myself plenty of time and have many a project

On my mind . . .

With Hubby at work, the big kids at school and the little ones off on a play date today, I am hoping for a productive morning in my laboratory, happily mixing and molding.

Can you guess what I'll be making?
Here's a little hint . . .

The Garden Post

2011-09-05T16:50:00.000+10:00

MOUTH WATERING, FRESH, SALADS, HERBS & VEGGIES

Just waiting to be picked and eaten!

Radish anyone?

Asian Greens

Almost ready to harvest Iceberg Lettuce

Chard and Silverbeet ready for the table

Chard ready to transplant

Sugar Snap Peas

Yes, they reached maturity, Well most of them anyway,

We have decided to use these for our garden snacks, they are so sweet and crunchy, we all eat them like lollies...

The first of our Sweet Pea flowers . . . Pretty!

Coriander

Rosemary, Mint & Parsley

It wont be long before we are harvesting the rest . . .

Beetroot

Spinach

DILL

Mixed Lettuce

A rather healthy Choko Vine

A wheelbarrow full of Rocket

Mixed Climbing Beans, Blue Lake, Golden Wax and Purple King

Celery

Capsicum

Carrots, in desperate need of thinning

Rhubarb - Yippee

Cape GOOSEBERRY Of course...

Rosella - In six months time, this will be JAM!

Yellow Pear Tomatoes

Just look at the size of the Mulberry Tree

Loaded with Mulberries

My little Mulberry!

Add to that some sweet smelling Orange blossoms

and this is just the Start of the season . . .

Has your Spring Sprung?

Bunting Love

2011-09-01T11:34:00.001+10:00

I do love a pretty bunting draped across a room . . .

For some serious Bunting inspiration head over to Squiggly Rainbow, host of the Bunting Swap. After a quick visit here it was straight into my doily stash and my new Bedroom Bunting was created . . . See more buntings over at the home of Little Poppa and for more creative ideas visit Our Creative Spaces.
And I must make one of these next . . . Happy Bunting!

Tea Anyone?

2011-08-29T12:20:00.003+10:00

Many many years ago when our family consisted of only two adults and two children, we would wake up on a Sunday morning and treat ourselves to a nice big breakfast of Bacon and Eggs and sit sipping an endless pot of tea on the back deck . . .

Our Sunday mornings soon got a little more hectic with the addition of a third, fourth and fifth child and for a while there, there was no such thing as Sunday morning breakfast, come to think of it there still isn't !!

BUT, we have started a new tradition. To avoid the rush first thing in the morning we have started 'Doing Tea' on the Weekends, Morning Tea or Afternoon Tea, it doesn't matter, no pressure . . . as long as it done together, with a pot of Tea for mum and dad,

a pot of Milo for the kids

and a batch of freshly baked Pikelets, Scones or Cake of the Day!

I keep this recipe stapled inside my kitchen cupboard

Pikelets

3 eggs

4 tabsp sugar

2 cups milk

3 cups sr flour

sprinkle of salt

2 tabsp melted butter

Place eggs, sugar and milk onto a bowl and whisk well together

Beat in flour and salt then add melted butter and mix to make a nice smooth batter.

Drop dessertspoonfuls onto a hot buttered fry pan. Turn over once bubbles start to appear on the top and cook on the other side.

Serve with a lather of butter, sprinkle of sugar and squeeze of fresh lemon juice

This batch makes up about 25 - 30 pikelets.

ENJOY !! We do . . .

Chicken of the Week Part VI

2011-08-25T13:32:00.001+10:00

SIZZLES, A Sizzle is a cross breed between a Silkie and a Frizzle...

I purchased these two as chicks in a pot luck pen. I was told that some of the chicks were born with the characteristics of a Silkie and had 5 toes on each foot, other were born with normal chicken feet!!

I decided on one with 5 toes and one with 4 toes.

It's really been amazing watching these two grow up and change along the way at first I though I had myself a Rooster but then realised she was just the four toed cross, so she would be mostly Frizzle...

It is really hard to get a clear photo of these girls as their feathers keep flapping around in the wind . . .

This one is obviously carrying more Silkie, She's a beautiful thing, so pretty to look at. Very quiet girls they are too, they keep very much to themselves, even perching on an outside limb of an evening....

Real 17th Century Madame's aren't they, with their fashionable high collars and ruffles.

Looking for two Grand names . . .What do you think?

And as for Last weeks chooks....

Well once again so many names to choose from, it's taken me a little while to submit this post as It has been just too hard to choose a name from everyone's wonderful suggestions. But Finally . . .
For Miss Cranky Pants I just couldn't go past Mrs Tipple,
Suzanne wrote "my grade one teacher, who was nasty as I remember, her name was Mrs Tipple.....heaven forbid if you called her Mrs Tickle by mistake, as we often did". You do come up with some fabulous names Suzanne, thank you.

And after much deliberation I decided on Hilda for the Old boiler..., thanks Christine.

Thanks to all of you who played last week, there were some really strong and interesting names amongst them, I could have chosen any of them. Next week, for the Sizzles, I'll be making it easier on myself and the names will be picked from a HAT!!

I have just realised that I have never announced the new identities of my Tin Chooks, keepers of my garden.

Please meet Tinothy & Tinele... many thanks Fiona...

I sit waiting with anticipation for some Sizzling new Names....

On My Mind...

2011-08-19T10:36:00.001+10:00

I can not stop thinking about the Pavlova we had for our

'If you Eat all your Dinner' treat last night, it was made with freshly laid eggs, and topped with our own sour passionfruit and freshly picked strawberries from our trip to the berry farm earlier in the week.

Half of it still sits in the fridge, I can't resist it any longer. Is it OK to have a slice with a cuppa for morning tea.... I think so..... :)

BEST EVER and as always EASY . . .

Pavlova Recipe

6 large eggs, at room temperature

(The fresher the eggs the better, as the eggs whites are firmer)

1 ¼ cups caster sugar

2 teasp cornflour

1 teasp white vinegar

1/2 teasp vanilla extract

Firstly Preheat your oven to 120°C.

Line a baking tray with baking paper or alfoil, lightly grease and dust with a little cornflour and put to the side.

Separate the eggs, we are using the whites only. Be very careful not to get any yolk into the white as it will not whisk up to the proper consistency that is needed for a meringue.

The yolks can still be used for other baking, store in the fridge but do use within two days.

Beat the egg whites with electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Gradually add the sugar a little at a time, beating well after each addition, until meringue is thick and glossy and sugar dissolved.

Add cornflour, vinegar and vanilla and whisk until just combined.

Spoon the meringue mixture into the centre of your lined baking tray,

Shape the Pavlova into an even circle and use a spatula to smooth out the top and edges.

Bake in the oven for approx 1 ½ hours, gently touch the Pavlova, It should be dry.

Turn off oven and leave Pavlova in oven with the door slightly open until it is completely cold.

Gently transfer your Pavlova to a serving plate ready to decorate.

Beat 300 mls of thickened cream with 1 teasp icing sugar until thick and spreadable.

Layer cream over the top of the Pavlova.

Then just add your favourite toppings. I used Strawberries and Passionfruit today but any combination of mixed berries or tropical fruits are fine.

ENJOY!!

On my mind today with Rhonda @ Down to Earth

Winter Wednesday

2011-08-17T15:07:00.000+10:00

Winter means: The start of Strawberry Season

And today it was PICK YOUR OWN at our Local Strawberry Farm

Rows and Rows and Rows of Fresh Strawberries . . .

I don't think there could be anything better about Winter than this, but do pop on over to Hazel's place to see what other are enjoying about these lovely Winter days . . .

Twins!!

2011-08-15T15:03:00.001+10:00

Welcome to the Family...

Passionfruit under attack!!

2011-08-12T14:43:00.001+10:00

THE CULPRIT

Grrr....My mouth has been watering awaiting the ripening of the passionfruits and then this! They're nearly all gone! My Passionfruit vine actually climbs over the chook coop, the Cockatoos are still able to take the ones growing on the outside of the coop but I don't think they have realise that when they bite the fruit off the stems, ready to devour them, most of them being on the inside of the coop, drop down and out of their reach. HA!

The problem I do have though is most of the ones they do bite off are not quite ripe . . . I have put them aside and waited for them to ripen up but they tend to go rotten before they ripen and sweeten ready to eat, so I've just had to come up with some ways of eating them on them still a little on the SOUR side.

I have two vines, a Yellow Panama Passionfruit and a Purple Panama Passionfruit.

I have managed to save about 3 cups of passionfruit pulp, I have frozen this and will use it up in my Baking as it is needed.

If it lasts that long....They may be a little sour but it doesn't seem to mater when they're ICE BLOCKS!

I made up a nice batch of Fresh Yogurt

Stirred through a couple of Passionfruit and a good drizzle of Honey, You would never have known they were not sun ripened fruit.

I made Passionfruit and Dried Apricot Jam,

The Sweetest Jam you'll ever taste!

And mixed with Condensed milk it makes for a wonderful Passionfruit Slice

I still have plenty of ideas up my sleeve, next raid I plan on making Pavlova and Melting Moments with passionfruit Icing.

Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated, as would some advice on keeping Cockatoo's out of the Garden!

But now, I'm off to enjoy some more fresh Passionfruit Yogurt!

Chicken of the Week Part V

2011-08-10T15:50:00.000+10:00

It's been a while since I've taken you down the coop, I think a few of the girls are upset they don't have names yet!

So lets get back to the game!

A brief update for those of you that are new to the chicken game.

This is not a giveaway, there is no prize money, I just need help naming my chooks, if you have nothing better to do and want to play, it could be loads of fun! All you have to do is

"Name that Chook"

You might recognise this old lady from a recent post, she's a tad worried she might be headed to the boiling pot! She was one of my first ever layers, she's seen a few girls come and go over the years, survived a couple of fox intrusions and has welcomed many a new bird into her coop, she's smart and she still holds a good spot on the roost. I don't know how productive she is in the egg department these days but she's certainly makes me laugh when she puts on her angry face!!

Then there is Cranky pants here who is just nasty! but she does make a really great mum. There is no chance of checking how many eggs she's sitting on when she goes broody, she's got a peck that would take off half your arm!!

Last time round it turned out to be just one, My guess is she wouldn't let any of the others lay with her!

Look at that face! What do you think she is thinking? Maybe you had an old School Mistress that stared down at you like this?

So whats your best OLD MAID names?

A new lease of LIFE

2011-08-08T16:15:00.000+10:00

It's been a rather miserable week here for the Gooseberries, even my computer caught a nasty virus! But with lots of rest, honey, lemon, Vicks and our soothing chicken soup I am happy to report we are all on the mend and ready to tackle the week ahead.

On top of being sick we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby lambs, I feel like an expectant parent myself, pacing the floor waiting, waiting, waiting...

Then finally, look what we found this morning, our first little Lamb.

Healthy and Well and looking very Cute...

Looks like someones been playing in the Molasses bucket!

Anxious Mums in waiting...Who's NEXT!

Angry Chickens

2011-08-01T13:06:00.000+10:00

Chicken soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner at our place this week, we're all in bed with the flu!

Apparently chicken soup does more than just soothe the soul.

Some researchers are now agreeing with your old gran and saying that chicken soup does actually help fight of those sniffles. When mixed with a good dose of veggies it helps reduce the inflammation and mucus production caused by the common cold and flu. You can read more about this here.

I'm off to the coop to find me a nice big boiler!

(No, I'm not really, My head hurts too much!!)

I'M OFF TO REST UP FOR A FEW DAYS, BE BACK ON TRACK AGAIN SOON

More Nuts Please

2011-07-29T09:51:00.001+10:00

Our fresh bag of Peanuts seems to be never ending, I have made up two lots of boiled peanuts so far and our little dish of fresh nuts that sits on the kitchen bench is topped up nearly everyday.

This week I got a little adventurous with my nuts, turning them from a healthy little snack into a surprise sweet treat for all.

Fresh is Best!

but Sugar Coated is better!!

First you need to get yourself a few helping hands to shell your big bag of nuts . . .

We are very lucky to have fresh peanuts to shell and cook but any standard store bought raw peanuts can be used, just make sure you get the ones with the red skin still on them as the sugar coating will not stick to any nuts without the skins.

Sugar Coated Peanuts

1 cup of sugar

3 cups raw peanuts

1/2 cup water

1/2 tablespoon of cochineal or pink food colouring

Toss all ingredients into a large fry pan or saucepan, stir through and bring to the boil.

Stir continuously for approx 5 minutes until all the water evaporates and the sugar crystalises on the peanuts.

Remove the coated peanuts from the pan and place on a baking tray to dry and cool down.

Share with your family and friends

Lamb Check

2011-07-26T17:36:00.000+10:00

It's been a while since I've done a post about The Sheep, they tend to get a little forgotten here in this busy household. I have become quite used to seeing them grazing out in the paddock when I look out of my bedroom window first thing in the morning, and it's nice to hear them bleating in the distance. Apart from a daily head count and check on the water troughs they pretty much just look after themselves. They keep the grass down and our dreams alive.

YES! That is a Sheep eating my Fruit Trees . . .

and they say foxes are cunning.

Fruit trees have now been fenced off! Off Limits to all Sheep!!

Hubby, who is luckily a born and bred farmer had been busy building some holding yards so we can get them in for a closer look and any sheep maintenance they may need!! They are still a bit wild at the moment but hopefully in time, with a few short stints in the yard they will become a little more people friendly. The children have been enjoying rounding them up into the yards, they have had a bit of practice as it is usually something they enjoy when we holiday with Gran & Pop.

The lambs seems to be healthy & well.

On closer inspection, it appears that Cappuccino is actually a Wether! (Castrated Male) so no lambs from ~~her~~ him in the future. He would be perfect for the table right about now, but somehow I do not think the children will allow it!

He will just have to make sure he earns his keep in
Yard Maintenance!!

And as for Sunday Roast, well, no chance of getting him to the table too soon . . .

My behind is fatter than this one!

Hey dad, lets catch that big FAT one over there...

Nearly got her...

FAT SHEEP = Heavy in LAMB

Hubby checked all the ewes and it appears they are all very heavily pregnant and due any day now...I will definitely keep you POSTED. Very Very Exciting!

Ahh mama's milk on it's way....Now I know that people keep goats for milk, cheese, soap etc... Should I be looking at the possibilities of milking these sheep?

I think I'll just keep my order in for a Milking Cow!

I am however, very keen for shearing day, which must only be a few months away. Now that I am a novice crochet artist, imagine what I could create with Home Spun Wool. How Exciting!!!

One day. . .Remember, one step at a time.

Lets just get these lambs out first.

My Garden HELPER

2011-07-24T13:44:00.001+10:00

Enjoying a rewarding play after a busy day in the garden. . .

On My Mind...

2011-07-22T09:46:00.000+10:00

EGGS, as fresh as they come and lots of them . . .
Have we not been eating enough eggs lately?
Or do we just have too many chooks?
I probably have about 10 good layers at the moment which are producing about 50 - 60 eggs per week.
Not too many ever get wasted, some may accidentley slip from the hands of my little gatherers occasionally, and when there are just too many for us to eat, we pass them on to family and friends.
As a high protein food for the family I regularly serve eggs for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
We have them boiled, fried, poached, scrambled, french toast, sometimes I bake them into a meat pie, other times I may make an omelette. We enjoy bacon and egg burgers for dinner and everyone enjoys a curried egg and lettuce sandwich for lunch.
Where would we be without the egg?
I coat my fish and chicken in egg and breadcrumbs before frying. The egg coagulates when it comes in contact with the heat and forms a protective barrier keeping the flavour sealed in and the fat sealed out. An egg or two is also added to my rissoles and fishcake mixture to bind the ingredients together, again, when the egg is cooked it coagulates through the mixture and binds it together so it will not fall apart during the cooking process.

For sweets we often have baked custard, bread and butter pudding or boiled custard, all made with lots of farm fresh eggs, and for a special treat we make Pavlova, from the egg whites only.

The yolks then used to make mayonnaise, or hollandaise sauce.

Then there is lemon butter, an extra yolk gives it just a little more richness. . . and have you ever tried a fresh Egg Nog?

Eggs would have to be the most valuable ingredients in the kitchen, they can be quickly prepared into a well balanced and nourishing meal on any busy day, and any home cook knows you can't make a successful cake without a good egg!
I could go on forever about eggs....
Joining up with Down to Earth today
Whats ON MY MIND is how will I cook my eggs for dinner tonight?
How do your eat your eggs?

THIS POST WAS INSPIRED BY
The Australian Book of Egg Cookery
MARSHALL, Anne (editor) Paul Hamlyn
(1971)
ISBN 10: 0600070077

Winter Wednesday - BAKING to Keep Warm

2011-07-20T12:00:00.000+10:00

Oh the joys of a cold, rainy, miserable Winters day. . .

When your stuck inside . . . Crank up the Oven & BAKE

A rare treat for us here, a cold rainy day on the weekend meant a very productive day in the kitchen. Baking most of the day means the house is as warm as toast.

Most of our baking get sliced and packaged up into freezer bags and containers. I simply take a slice or two out of the freezer and pop them straight into lunchboxes for the children and Hubby everyday. When they stop for a lunch break they have home baked goodies as fresh as if it they were just baked that morning.

Hope your keeping warm, and dry!

Pop on over to Hazel's Place to see what else you can enjoy about Winter.

My Crocheted Home

2011-07-17T15:52:00.002+10:00

There have been a number of crochet projects I have been working on since I took up the hook back in early April this year. I can be a tad impatient when it comes to reaching the final stages....that together with my keenness to learn I've started and stopped and started and stopped and then finally I stopped starting and I continued one by one until I had finished, all loose ends included.

A mug cosy, this was a special gift for Mrs Moo.

I've experimented with a few different styles of flowers, one of my next projects will be a crochet flower necklace.

I stitched this gorgeous flower (tutorial available from

Bunny Mummy) onto a boring old beige cushion. It looks lovely in the lounge room now. Brings in a little feminine touch . . .

I was very excited to find this pattern for a tissue box cover over at The Royal Sisters, I'm making one for every room of the house now, some maybe in just one colour. I really hate looking at boxes of tissues, I usually hide them in a cupboard, but with lots Winter sniffles at the moment I need to have them out and handy to grab at anytime.

My bed blanket is an on going project. This one gets kept in the car now so if I ever get stuck waiting for something or someone, I can just whip it out, and hook whilst I wait. Time passes so quickly and I don't get cranky at anything or anyone for wasting my time while I wait! I am finding Crochet so relaxing and therapeutic . . . I wish I had discovered it years ago.

I'm totally hooked on granny squares....I started to make a cushion with these bright squares but after a while thought they may look better ~~wrapped~~ draped around my neck . . . if you look closely (please don't look too closely) you will notice I am still just finishing of the red edging on one side, I will be finishing that tonight.

(Did you also notice Bonnie, the cat, running up the tree!)

Then there is my Crochet Bunting, I first came across these at one of my favourite crochet blogs Crochet with Raymond. I didn't finish off the same though, it got a little fiddly for me! They look lovely hanging up in my little Annabel's room. I did most of these during the car trip to Gran & Pops this past holiday.

I can't take any credit for the beautiful bedspread, it was one of my first ever Op shop finds, and still one of my favourite.

Fun and Easy to make, Triangle Granny squares joined with chain stitch. I'm still a little bit wonky and loose with my stitches but I'm sure as time goes I will improve.

What do you think of the little barbie beanie?

It was suppose to be an Easter egg!

I've been collecting books from the op shops lately and have come across some amazing fashions and crochet ideas for the home, plus I have found some very interesting crochet blogs out there with a wealth of information, crochet tutorials and endless inspiration.

Check out these beauties...

What a world Crochet has opened up for me!

That's a funny looking Chook!

2011-07-14T06:55:00.000+10:00

Look who we found stuck up on top of the Chook Coop.

Usually the Koalas around here perch themselves way up high in the Gum trees on the property, but yesterday we got quite a shock when we went out to feed the chooks. My little Elli spotted this Mama and Bubba resting on top of the coop, holding onto a Silky Oak tree. . . It was pretty special. None of us had ever been this close to a Koala before, not even in a Wildlife park can you get this close.

They both appeared and remained very calm, I'm not sure how long they had been there for, my guess was Mama may have been a bit exhausted, We really don't know how she go there and didn't know how she was going to get down either!

We could have reached out and touched them....

It was a lovely experience

It was late afternoon, we wished them well and hoped they would find their way down.

They were gone this morning.

Thanks for the visit Mrs Koala, it was a lovely to meet you and your young one.

The Garden Post

2011-07-12T17:02:00.003+10:00

The Good News first...

Sugar Snap Peas and Purple Carrots

This is Sally, our first baby Sugar Snap Pea in the Garden.

Funny isn't it, how I have trouble Naming my Chooks but I can pull a name out of the air for a veggie!

Anyway, poor Sally doesn't stand much of a chance of maturing to become the big fat juicy pea pod she deserves to be.

As you may know, my little helpers tend to snatch baby veg out of the garden like lollies once they have been spotted. I bought these sugar snaps at my local market on the weekend to show the children that we could have these growing in our garden if they didn't pick our little babies here like Sally! I know once they discover them they will eat them, as they did the climbing beans, the cucumbers, the carrots, the squash and all the cherry tomatoes. Very little gets onto the table here, which in itself really is not such a bad thing, as a snack on the fresh veg for morning tea is most definitely better for them, then a big fat cream bun!

This has also made me realise just how many plants I will need to plant and how productive they will need to be to be able to properly feed my little big family.

The purple carrots were purchased from a F&V market on the way home from our holidays. I was so excited to find them, they were labeled locally grown but I didn't think carrots grew at this time of year!? I have a packet of Diggers Carrot Heirloom Mix that I can't wait to get in the ground this Spring.

Picture from the diggers catalogue

I can't believe how much FUN we had eating these carrots!

When you eat them raw, your lips turn purple!

With my 4 girls this may be a way of saving money on expensive lipstick in the future.

Annabel was on Dinner duties tonight, now that she's 4 1/2 she insisted she peel her own carrots.

I wondered what would happen when we cooked them, would they go Orange? Sounds silly, but did you know purple beans actually go green when they are cooked!

Ah, there you go, Purple Water.

That got me thinking...With a pot of Chicken Soup simmering away on the stove top next to me, would the children eat purple soup? and maybe purple dipping in bread?

The big kids opted out but the little ones thought it was just Great! There were even seconds!

This is one sure way to get your kids to eat their carrots!

Now lets step out into the garden,

Sad to say but there is just not much to report on in the garden today...Very disappointing that my new gardens are not producing for me in the way that I had imagined. It's really pretty poor actually. I thought my organic soil I bought in would have been enough to get it started but it appears I'll need to do a bit more work here if I want to get anything highly productive from my garden. I don't think anything has grown since my last Garden post, if anything the garden is less productive thanks to the chooks jumping in and having a scratch about, major lack of watering and an attack of Frost!

Today it was garden day, all day. I had a few little helpers with me, we worked the soil, added Sheep manure, Chook manure, Mushroom compost and then we Mulched! I've pretty much said goodbye to my winter crops however we did plant a handful of seedlings that I picked up on special at a local nursery yesterday, I can't stand to have my garden so bare anymore.

I've got some grand designs for watering systems and trellises ready to put into place and am so looking forward to the warmer months of Spring just around the corner to get some major productivity happening in the garden.

My eldest is also working on a few new low garden beds, we'll get there!

On a final note, I managed to get some Rhubarb Crowns.

My dear Mum stumbled across them at her local nursery, I have planted three crowns, so add these to my 10 seedlings,

and in just a couple of years we should have rhubarb coming out of our ears! I have visions of selling my excess rhubarb down at the front gate one day, just as we buy ours now.

I'll leave you today with this link, from a very inspirational blog Farmama and a valuable message to support your local growers.

HAPPY GARDENING

Lemon Butter

2011-07-10T11:33:00.001+10:00

Also known as Lemon Cheese or Lemon Curd or perhaps you know it as something else... I call it Lemon butter because we like to spread it nice and thick on our bread.

Throw away the double boiler, here is a foolproof Quick and Easy method to make fresh Lemon Butter

Lemon Butter

4 large eggs (at room temperature)

1 egg yolk extra

3/4 cup caster sugar

3 large lemons, (approx 3/4 cup of juice)

125gm butter chopped into cubes

Whisk the eggs, extra yolk and sugar together in an 8 cup capacity microwave bowl until well combined.

Whisk in the lemon juice

Add the chopped butter

Microwave on high for 3 - 5 minutes whisking every minute.

It is ready when the curd comes to the boil.

Spoon into sterilised jars, seal and store in the fridge.

It will keep for about 2 weeks but it never usually lasts that long in our house!

and if you get sick of sandwiches then there is always

Lemon Tartlets!

This Lemon Butter also freezes well with no noticeable change to the consistency once thawed.

Whilst on the topic of Freezing, I froze my excess boiled peanuts before we went away on holidays and I am happy to report that they too will freeze very well.

And for those of you wondering about the Oranges

(from my last post).

More than half of them have already been eaten. Taken straight from the fruit bowl, peeled and gobbled up. Just as they should be!

Home Sweet Home

2011-07-08T20:45:00.006+10:00

It's always good to be back home, and back into our own warm cosy beds, our holiday experiences etched in our minds forever and plans already made for a few special adventures next School Holidays.

(I will keep you posted!)

It was nice to arrive home after a nine hour drive to a home baked dinner and dessert from Mrs Moo, my wonderful cousin, who had been house sitting for us, she's an amazingly talented Cook

The bags were unpacked this morning, the washing is hanging out to dry and it's now time to tackle my ever growing list of things to do which is already a good mile and half long...

There are biscuits and cakes to bake

A few new preserves I'm just dying to try from this great new book

Some Op shopping to wash, I found the best little church thrift shop while I was away, I hit gold with these great Pyrex mixing bowls, a handful of aprons, tablecloths and two sets of kitchen curtains.

Plus a lifetime and a half of household crafts that I'm very keen to get into...

But first of all there are a number of crochet projects I have been working on that need to be finished off

A garden to tend to that isn't producing half as well as I expected, I think it's time to spread a bit of Sheep Poop!

It's also in desperate need of a watering system other than myself and the older children! I'm thinking a basic drip system is good, it works for the chook water! Speaking of chooks, there are still quite a few running around without names!

We will need to get back on track with that too...

Of course there is the general household keeping, looking after my husband and raising my children, but that's just something I like to do in my spare time!!!

There is Painting projects, Sewing projects, Restoration projects and even Macrame all on this list.

as well as many new blogs to explore and a good catch up with some of my favourite bloggers.

And what will I do with all these freshly picked Oranges and Lemons, kindly passed on from family and friends.

I am feeling quite refreshed and rejuvenated from the family holiday, so I'd better get back to it and I'll see you all along the way.

Taking a Break

2011-07-04T07:44:00.002+10:00

What I love best about school holidays is taking a journey down to visit Gran and Pop on their Sheep Farm in Mid Western NSW.

I particularly like the trip at this time of the year, it’s nice to experience a real sense of seasonal change that we rarely get in Sunny Queensland, the spectacular country landscape, the stillness and quiet in the air, and for my children to experience life on a real working farm, there is something very special about this place.

A Big Warm WELCOME to all my new followers

and a big Thank You to Mrs Moo for housesitting while we're away.

We'll be back next week!

A Bag of Peanuts Please

2011-06-25T12:08:00.000+10:00

My mum has a friend who is amongst other things is a Peanut Farmer. So lucky for us each year we get hold of a nice big bag of freshly harvested nuts. They go down like hot cakes here. About half of the bag gets eaten straight from the bag, A la natural, the best possible way to devour these nuts, and the other half gets boiled up!

My family grew up around the South Burnett region of Queensland (Peanut country) and boiled peanuts were readily available in most corner shops, service stations a the local hotels.

As I grew up and grew out of my town, and wandered far and wide throughout Australia and the vast wide world, many people would often look at me quite strangely when I talked about boiled nuts. I think it might just be another one of those QLD things however I have also discovered it quite popular in Some states of America

If you've not tried a boiled peanut, then you better give this one ago.

This recipe is approximate, I usually fill up a large boiling pan with approx 2 kg of peanuts, cover with water, add about 1 cup of salt and boil for approx 3 hours. If your not sure if they're cooked, take a peanut out of the pan, let it cool slightly and test it, it should be soft with just a light crunch to it, if that makes sense, a bit like a cooked bean. Once cooked, turn off the hotplate and let the peanuts sit in the water for a few hours or until cool.

Store in a sealed container in the fridge for approx 1 - 2 weeks.

Yes they are cold, wet and salty, but once you get the taste for them they are very addictive.

Great to nibble on anytime of the day or night!

Notice the dish!

My mum tells me that back in her day they used to boil them in the water that was used to cook their corned beef dinner, If you have ever tasted your corned beef water you will notice that it is Very Salty. I don't think that would be considered safe food standards these days, but interesting!

Also, If your peanuts are fresh from the ground, make sure you rinse them thoroughly to get most of the dirt off of them first!

Winter Wednesday

2011-06-22T12:59:00.000+10:00

What I love about Winter, is

Finding Ways to Keep Cosy & Warm

Are you keeping nice and warm today?

Join Hazel and share your Winter Wednesday Joys

Don't mind if I do . . .

2011-06-20T10:12:00.002+10:00

Homemade Baileys IRISH CREAM

made to share with family and friends

If you've never tried homemade baileys before then you must find a spare moment to try this recipe, I have been enjoying a glass or two (occasionally) by the fire of an evening. I remember my Aunt used to always make up a batch for Family Christmas Presents when I was younger, I was always fascinated, and remember always sticking my finger in the bottle for just a little taste!

Baileys

1 espresso cup of coffee (espresso cup size)

or 1 teaspoon of instant coffee

2 slightly heaped teaspoons of cocoa

1 tablespoon of honey

300ml cream

1 can of condensed milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 & 2/3 cup of Scotch Whisky

Place all ingredients in a large jug and whisk with a hand held blender for approximately 30 seconds or until well combined.

Pour into a pretty bottle and seal.

Rest for 24 hours to intensify the flavour

Put the Kids to Bed

Shake Well, Pour

and ENJOY!!!

Yes it is that easy!!! and Ohhh SO GOOD!

Store in the fridge for up to 2 months