Thursday, August 21, 2008 15 years ago today Posted in Home Made With Love Yes 15 years ago Brent & I finally held our first child. After many miscarriages and a high risk pregnancy our much wanted daughter was born. WOW the years have gone fast. Abbey brings us both much joy & is a lovely sister to her brother, they are very close. Our whole family is very close. She changed Brent & I forever - we have the joy of being parents. At 6am Brent's cell phone went on a loud ringing & the message read "Get up it's my birthday!" Abbey is a gadget girl & had set his phone to go off at 7am - but it went off at 6am - thankfully it is in the kitchen & didn't wake Brent - he has come down with Abbey's cold and was unwell last night & awake a lot during the night. I am picking James' & my phone will do the same at 7am. Abbey won't let me put a photo on the blog of her waaaaa  - every year since little we take a photo the night before of the kids - the last time we will see them that age. And then they make a scrapbook page of their favourite things they like to do, watch, eat, be etc... It's fun rereading the previous years. Ab's party is on Saturday - lets hope everyone is well by then & that Abbey is feeling better today Plus fingers crossed James & I don't catch this bug. Ab's picked home made chicken pie for dinner & a new recipe my friend Maria gave me called Chocolate Fudge. Very nice - but my pants are telling me no way girl! • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Friday, June 20, 2008 Drying food Posted in Home Made With Love I have binges of using my dehydrator. But often it is used to make dried banana's Often you can find the supermarkets bag up banana's that are a bit bruised - these are just right for drying or cooking. - These full supermarket bags were $3.50 each I just cut up (often not as even at I should) and place in dehydrator. Sometimes I dip the slices in melted honey to stop browning, but often I don't as we do not really need the extra sweetness. I plug the dehydrator on in car shed as the whirring can be annoying - next morning they are ready to be put into sealed containers and are eaten up fast as snacks. - These are a good snack treat for allergy folk too!The compost LOVES banana skins. • Comments (2) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Thursday, June 19, 2008 Family Traditions Posted in Home Made With Love 21st June is the shortest day - here in the Southern Hemisphere also known as Winter Solstice or Mid Winter Christmas Traditionally I plant our garlic on the shortest day of the year - but this year I was early as a friend shared she had success with hers last year by planting early (But I Love tradition and have kept some to plant on shortest day too.) Mid Winter Christmas is more enjoyable as usually at actual Christmas we are having the HOT English Traditional meal of turkey & all the trimmings while it is summer. So to eat it in the actual winter is really most enjoyable - yes we put up the tree, have carols going, the fire is roaring & it's well a nice break from the winter weather. This year I am beginning a new tradition where there will be gifts under the tree, not BIG gifts but small, useful gifts with a winter theme - eg winter PJ's for everyone, socks, flannel sheets for beds - winter items that everyone can enjoy & use. Of course our Christmas usually falls in Summer so often the gifts are summer related - beach towels, tee shirts etc... so winter theme should be fun. But shhh don't tell. Maybe in future years I can work hard & complete quilts for their beds, maybe next stage in my life when no longer homeschooling & days so full. Family traditions are important, they bring a family together & make memories! We have the normal traditions, Christmas, Easter etc... but we also have Cranberry Thanksgiving started by FIAR home school book called Cranberry Thanksgiving. Another one of our family Traditions is having a Mid Winter Christmas - which is the Saturday around 25th June. - This year the Saturday falls on 21st June - shortage day of the year for us southern Hemisphere folk. Off to buy the turkey & Cranberry sauce today. • Comments (7) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Sunday, April 20, 2008 Our Saturday Posted in Home Made With Love BRRRR the wind is bitterly cold here. We need a new heater & I have put off buying it - I knew this would happen I need it this morning while sitting in the cold brrr. I will go & buy one today. Yesterday Abbey was cook n bottle washer while I sewed, unpicked, sewed, unpicked then sewed my little heart away on her Austrian Blinds. I did think  only once mm maybe this wasn't one of my better ideas. I wouldn't of done it without Brent's help - he had his engineering tools out again using steel rulers so I could get the lines straight. Abbey helped me hand sew on the last row of 45 brass rings. And she had great delight in showing everyone how much neater she is than me - And she is a very neat sewer - must of been taught by the best aye hahaha It needs a good press then Brent will thread the cords for me, drill the holes for the hooks & pulley & up she goes. But first he has to help cut out the other blind. That shouldn't be as hard as I've learnt my mistakes. Here's hoping I get a good run & can get it finished today. Abbey cooked Leek & Potato soup for lunch with poor mans' bread. Dinner she made a lovely salad,  platted bread sticks, meat balls & spaghetti with tomato sauce PLUS pudding of lemon souffles. & James an orange jelly.  It was wonderful not having to plan or cook.I ate much more than I normally do it was soo tasty! -But you do tend to eat more when cold & cold it is.  I wonder what she will cook today since I'm making her curtain hehehe. I got to watch quite a few dvd's of LOST today James stepped up to my big helper & fed & changed the cats in the cattery for me. He loved how Laura keeps leaping at you - she is a bit naughty like that - I warn visitors but they still get a fright. James did the hotty run for me - all our cats get a hotty that you heat up in the microwave for 3 minutes & they stay hot for 10 hours click to read about these awesome pet accessory snuggle safe The cats LOOOVE them • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Monday, April 14, 2008 Making the frill for the Austrian Blind Posted in Home Made With Love Just Brilliant!!! Set your sewing machine zig zag to the widest (No. 4 on my Bessie Bernina) Then fine string or fishing line (which is what I used) zig zag over the fishing line - trying not to catch the line - ie the zig zag encloses the fishing line. Then pull the fishing line & the frill will gather up so easy! Attach frill to curtain. Pull out fishing line. Photo - sorry quality new camera coming - put shows you how the frill is sitting - with the lining attached. (colours aren't true in photo) Photo of Brent helping me cut out the material. He got our his steel ruler & square to cut material. In the end the best system to cut material was tape measure, chalk & steel ruler to rule the line. We both feel we now know what we are doing re measure & cutting. I hope to get first blind made this week. So far made frill, & lining next side seams & then top casings for dowell rod. Then begins the hand sewing of 45 brass rings per curtain. Threading the curtains with cords. Attaching pulleys & hooks. Then hang. • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Thursday, April 10, 2008 Homemade Muesli Posted in Home Made With Love This is what I'm cooking today. 4 cups rolled oats 1 cup coconut 1 cub bran 1/2 cup sesame seeds 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds Place above in a large oven pan add 3/4 cup honey 3/4 cup Rice Bran oil Bake at 140 deg C for about an hour. Leave in pan until it goes cold & crunchy. Add 1/2 cup sultanas 1/2 cup dried apricots chopped up 1/2 cup dried pineapple - chopped small. Store all in air tight container Sorry about quality I need to buy that camera! • Comments (2) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Saturday, April 5, 2008 First vege meal of week Posted in Home Made With Love Brrr - days a re cooler & we have rain - Autumn is here. Brent is still off his oats so I went to video shop & got 5 dvd's (remember we have only just brought a dvd player so novelty is very new) It cost a total of $2.00 to hire 5 dvd's - well I did have an $8.00 credit as I'd taken back one that didn't work. So we go Eric Clapton. Cat Stevens music dvd's - two movies (forgotten name one was soo pathetic & the lady had recommended it) - will put names of dvds here later when Abbye wakes up - sh is sleeping in lounge as her room is being done up. Brent treated her draws with borer treatment & stunk out her room - and with Brent being off his oats this week - her room has slowed down. Plus we got the game out - Who want's to be a millionaire - a lot of fun! - We are all not too good on the Australian questions - mm haven't studied Australia much. So I put bread in bread maker & a pot of soup on stove & spent the afternoon cross stitching watching Tv - Ok I fell asleep watching the movie - I can't help it if I sit & do nothing much I fall asleep but movie was pathetic! SOUP about 6 carrots chopped 2 onions pumpkin that was saved from seed, grown from seed by James & I - our first pumpkin we have eaten from garden so far & we are very proud!!! stalk of a broccoli I had in fridge water Boiled away & then used whizz to puree. - Very yummy! Chocolate Chilli Cake 2 large eggs 250ml milk 200g cocoa 200g butter 2 teaspoo baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 cups flour 1 tsp fresh grated ginger 1 tsp chilli powder (yes I typed that right) 310 ml boiling water Preheat oven to 180deg C soften butter, add sugar & cream. Add eggs & milk Combine water & chilli in seperate bowl. Add dry ingredients & then water & chilli. Mix well. Bake for about 50 mins or until cooked. Ice with melted chocolate. VERY NICE!!! (I made James his chocolate banana muffins for him - wheat, egg, butter, milk free - recipe is in archives) • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Saturday, March 29, 2008 Our $1,000.00 curtains - cough cough Posted in Home Made With Love Yep you read it right we were quoted $1,000.00 for curtains- ( just curtains not even Austrian blinds) in Abbey's room. The whole room's budget has been $1,000.00 (which we are well under) A friend said she would help me make Austrian blinds. - But she has never heard of how ours were made in our bedroom (I got these made for us 8 years ago & that was $1,000.00 for 3 windows) - nor has any shops when I say how I am going to make them... BUT I feel soo confident to make them using the ones in our room as a guide, my friend has said good on you & bailed out hahaha. Yesterday James & I took a kitten to the airport & called into shops for fabric samples. NOW you won't believe our luck we found curtain fabric for $3.99m. And blackout lining for $9.99m less 20%. So today we have been back to town  (1 hours drive) to buy the $3.99m fabric - wow the curtains come in at around $250.00 BIG savings - so Monday I begin making Austrian Blinds all by myself & I have never made Austrian blinds in my life eeeeek. Abbey's freeze goes up tonight & I can then share a photo of what it looks like  all finished except curtains. Frugal living has just got more interesting in our home. • Comments (2) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Monday, March 24, 2008 Brent cooks Breakfast Posted in Home Made With Love When the kids were younger every Sunday morning Brent would have a cookup. The kids loved it. So while he has been on holiday he has been cooking breakfast some mornings for them. - And for his daughter he makes heart shaped eggs,awwwwww. The simple things in life really are the best! • Comments (1) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Monday, March 24, 2008 First coat of paint is on Posted in Home Made With Love I say it again - it is soo well worth putting the time into prep work before you paint - the finished result is soo much nicer! Brent & Abbey put the first coat of colour on the walls yesterday - today final coat & then the window frames get painted. Resene colour - green soft apple & Pink - vanilla ice. Window,& door frames plus dado's with cottage cream 1/4 strength. I'm dying to share the freeze she picked - but will wait until it is on the walls! It really suits our era of house. Curtains are going to be a darker shade green which we are going to make ourselves gulp! Austrian blinds to top that - but thankfully I have a friend who is going to guide us. Brent is brilliant at cutting straight so he will measure & cut for me. Abbey is going to sew them - sh is having soo much home ec homeschooling going on. • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Sunday, March 23, 2008 Preserving Flop Posted in Home Made With Love I dunno what happened but all of my blackboy peaches we preserved are flops! I sterilised the tops & Jars, made sure all the air was out before sealing. The seals even popped down. But I was sorting out pantry this week & noted all of the peaches tops had popped. When I opened a jar - it was fizzing - fermenting I have no idea what went wrong all I can think of is it's the jar lids - they are a screw top - I normally use round seals & then a screw band. grr I wish I had frozen them - such a waste. But the chooks enjoyed them - hopefully they didn't get tiddly - I didn't notice as gave the peaches to the chooks just before their bed time. • Comments (2) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Wednesday, March 19, 2008 Hot Cross Buns Posted in Home Made With Love Hot cross buns,hot cross buns, two a penny hot cross buns...... Suitable for egg, nut, & dairy free diet. I use the bread maker to make it rise (put on dough setting) then take out & shape into buns. 3 Tablespoons yeast 2 Tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cup flour 1 1/2 cup wholemeal flour 1 tablespoon of mixed spice & cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves & vanilla my brad maker asks for all dry ingredients in first - then wet - but check with yours! then 1 1/4 cup tepid - warm water plus 2 Tablespoons more 2 tablespoons olive oil. Set bread maker on dough. Tip mixture onto bench & fold in 1 cup currants. (generous cup) Divide mixture into 4 pieces - then into 4 or 5. Shape each one into a round ball. Leave in warm place until double. Pastry Crosses. You might have to play around wih mixture but I used 30g olivani (A margarine type texture) rubbed into 1/2 cup flour - I needed a bit more flour add a small amount - 1 - 2 teapoons cold water. Make into a pastry dough - roll out to place on buns. Bake at 225dec C for 10-12 mins or until lightly brown, Glaze with 1 tablespoon each of honey, golden syrup & water. Will add photo when cooked. • Comments (1) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Sunday, March 16, 2008 Preserving Posted in Home Made With Love Once again we have tomatoes coming out our ears. Last night I organised tea & Brent cooked it on the BBQ lamb chops, wheat free, egg free sausages Ratoutille - gotta use up the zucchini, capsicums & tomatoes. Potatoes done in tin foil - chop finely, add salt, rosemary & a bit of olive oil - wrap in a tinfoil parcel. Corn on the cob - wrapped in tinfoil. I then made a RockMelon Salsa. It was devine! 1 small rock Melon cubed small 1/2 an onion - 1 red onion would be better but I didn't have any - silly me I should of seen if one was ready in garden. Juice of one lime `1/2 cup Parsley  corriander would of been better but ours has finished. 2 T mint Mix together And it is a winner really nice to have with the lamb chops. The bowl was just about licked clean. Sorry for quality of photo I keep forgetting to ring flybuys to give me help at signing in - so I can buy a new camera. While Brent was cooking the BBQ I got cracking & made another batch of Tomato Relish - but man it is a hot batch. The chillies are what we picked & dried last year - James tells me he snuck in some HOT ones while picking. It sure has a bite to it. Then I taught Abbey how to peel, stone & chop Black Boy Peaches & she made up the syrup. I have run out of jars - so had to buy some OUCHIE!  But next year I'll have heaps of jars. We are seriously looking at buying another freezer - We have three sheep that need to go in the pot I hope I can buy one second hand. I think I prefer freezing the food to bottling too so it will mean I can do that more. - Eg I would of gently stewed the peaches so all ready for a pie or crumble in winter. It was 11pm before I got to bed. - But did watch a good movie while cooking - John Q - and not sitting still means I don't fall asleep as I do while watching TV _ Hence why I don't watch much & most of it is rubbish anyway. • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Wednesday, March 12, 2008 Pickled Onions Posted in Home Made With Love We did school in the morning & straight after - before lunch James & I pickled onions. Yep my man if you wanna eat the pickled onions - he luuves pickled onions - you gotta help! Here he is wearing the tools of the trade - swimming goggles. - PLEASE NOTE it took bribery of 2 marshmallows for James to pose - rather unwlling for my blog photo - heheh And the recipe - well as the norm I never follow a recipe & thought in fact could of sworn I had pickling spice in the pantry & enough malt vinegar - nope. So I ended up making up my own recipe. 2KG of top n tailed plus peeled pickling onions (kids wear swimming goggles to help) 1 cup of brown sugar 2 litres of malt vinegar - but if like me & have less - top up with white vinegar 2 Tbs picking spice - or if like me & have none in cupboard google on down & see what is in actually pickling spice & have a go at making your own - me I put in 1 Tablespoon mustard seeds, 2 teaspoons peppercorns, 1 teaspoon whole cloves Boil vinegar, sugar & spices for 15 mins. Wash & heat jars up in th oven. remove jars from oven - put on towels put onions in jars & push them in with your fingers - make them quite full & tight. Pour in liquid seal wait 3 weeks before eating. Pop i stockpile - home produce shelf is sure looking healthy! • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Sunday, March 9, 2008 Tomatoes Posted in Home Made With Love Yep I still got tomatoes coming out my ears..... I cooked up 1 1/2 baskets yesterday & then went out to garden & picked another basket. I made a tomato chutney - but won't share recipe here I don't think its that nice - so will play today making another one. - Might be because I used the yellow tomatoes not the red??? still it will be ok with cheese & crackers. And probably also cos I adapted the recipe - like I adapt all recipes BWG We had tomato - Minestrone soup last night. - With fresh home made bread & Chocolate cake for pudding. I peeled the tomatoes by once again filling the sink with boiling water & placing  tomatoes in the hot water. - The sins come off very easy. And the chooks enjoy the skins. I cooked in large stock pot lots of tomatoes, 2 onions, 2 sticks of celery & 3 cloves of garlic. Then added hot water to make it into a soup. - Towards serving I added 2-3 handfuls of maccaroni - salt n pepper. Served it with spoonful of sour cream & chives - for members who can have the sour cream. It was rather tasty & a sneak peek of cold weather food to come. • Comments (1) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Sunday, March 9, 2008 Chocolate Zucchini Cake Posted in Home Made With Love 125g butter softened - I pop mine in microwave for 30 seconds 1 cup brown sugar 3 large eggs 2 cups flour (can add more if too wet) 1 teaspoon vanilla i small pottle of yogurt - 150g - use any flavour 1/4 cup cocoa 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon mixed spice 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cup zucchini grated - I just grated enough to fill the grater about 1 generous overgrown one but not yet a marrow. 1 cup chocolate chips. Make as you would make a cake grease your dish & pop in freezer then soften butter, add sugar & add eggs. Mix in dry ingredients Then zucchini the wet ingredients. Add more flour - up to 1/2 a cup if mixture too wet . Bake at 170 deg C for 30 - 45 min or until skewer comes out clean. Dust with icing sugar to serve. • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Sunday, March 2, 2008 Tomatoes finished for now. Posted in Home Made With Love Phew I've finished skinning, cooking, whizzing all the Tomatoes. It's got me thinking how on earth do the factories that bottle tomatoes get the skins off??? mmm I wonder???? For me I filled the sink with boiling water from the jug & let th toms sit. With tongs pull them out & for most of them the skins peel off quite easy. Ok I've got 13 weeks of tomato soup base ready. We still have heps more tomatoes on the vines to ripen - and Saturday 1st march - eeek first day of Autumn we finally got rain. - Lots of wonderful rain - It was quite a treat not having to water the garden - not that I mind watering - in fact I quite enjoy it. All in the freezer! I made three containers full of yellow tomatoes - not that my photo shows that - mmm I need to get my new camera!! • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Saturday, March 1, 2008 Cooking up the Tomatoes Posted in Home Made With Love We have such a bumper crop of tomatoes - I really want to use them all up. Yesterday I thought I'd make tomato soup - so looked through my recipe books & came up with a BETTER idea! The Enchanted Broccoli Forest - by Mollie Katzen (Also author of Moosewood Cookbook) - has a base of 3 cups of cooked tomato for her soup. BINGO! Way easier on my time at the moment & brilliant for storage just to put the cooked tomato into smaller containers for the freezer. So off I went & in came the flies - grrrr one part of summer I will not miss! - I cooked & put through blender. Had quite a cooking session as also whipped up sausage n egg pie, meat patties & a loaf of Bread for the guys to take to stockcars. I've run out of containers so off this am to buy more, pick up some thread I need & no doubt some more material if I see any pale blue - then I'll freeze rest of cooked tomato & begin making the next batch. I'm really looking forward to using this in th winter to come & I think I will do the same thing for my pumpkins when they are ready. PS Cate - no we still have no rain • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Saturday, March 1, 2008 Sausage n egg pie Posted in Home Made With Love This is a variation of the Bacon n egg pie I posted here Do just the same as for the bacon n egg pie. - except omit bacon, add a bit of salt. Cook the sausages first - then cut I cut chunky as serving to men & they seem to like BIG hunks - same as the whole egg. We got a beef meat pack & the sausages are not one of our favourites - so a good way to use up unwanted or left over sausages. Before cooking - All cooked - I wrapped it up in tin foil & sent it with the guys as they went to the stock cars last night. I made for James meat patties & a loaf of bread he could eat - bottles of water, chippies & watermelon. Sure is cheaper way to feed the blokes than them buying food. • Comments (0) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link Monday, February 25, 2008 Using up eggs Posted in Home Made With Love It's quite funny that we have chooks - Brent is the only one who really eats eggs. James is seriously allergic to eggs - me I can't stand them unless baked in a cake or biscuit BWG. Abbey can take them or leave them... Brent's mum taught me how to make her farmers bacon n egg pie. If I had to buy eggs i wouldn't make it like this - instead I'd use less eggs & beat them. I cheat & use ready rolled pastry - cut up finely 1 onion. 4 rashes bacon cut fine rind goes to chooks whom go nuts over this! Put bacon & onion in microwave for 1 minute. Put pastry in greased pie dish add bacon n onions. then begin cracking eggs - I used 9 eggs for this one & the trick is to try not to break the egg. Sprinkle on fresh parsley good ground of pepper. I don't use salt as bacon is salty enough, Pop pastry on top & cut air holes. poor on a bit of milk & smooth over pastry Bake in a mod oven until brown - about 20 mins. Brent is having this cold in his lunch today, Variation use cooked sausages sliced instead of bacon. Sorry no photo of finished pie - I forgot! • Comments (1) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link