buttons & a recipe for a lovely saturday afternoon

Recipe {1} :: How to make a lovely Saturday afternoon ::

It's raining. The kids are playing with our next door neighbour boys (at their house, not mine......). I'm sitting here, with my second coffee for the day - will think about lunch when the kids come home complaining of hunger! We'll go to (their) grandma's this afternoon.* 

I'm listening to my own music (not the kid music which is on constant repeat around here. At least they've got good taste in kid music, so I don't mind having it on, but it's always good to have something a bit more grown-up).

I've been writing the big list for everything I need to do and get done before the big market (more on that later). It's more than a bit scary writing it down, and counting how few studio days I have between now and then, and we'll be away in Cairns for a week during that time as well. Family - if you are reading this - I'll be calling on some major baby-sitting and help with labeling and packing and such stuff market stuff - that you've all become accustomed to anyway.

It also feels good to be writing lists. And making real plans. For me, and for Red Seed and for my new directions. I am super excited about my new fashion range. I do like a good list to work off, and I haven't had a big event to work towards (business / creative / me wise) all year. So this is good.

Recipe {2} :: How to make buttons ::

For my little contribution to the lovely and fun ABCD gift bag giveaway, I decided to make some cookies (biscuits**). While putting it all together, I was reminded how much I like doing that aspect of event organising. (like party bags and things like that). Making the labels and tags and thinking through how it will all look. It's fun to do. A good combination of my creative and organised / planner sides. The production line of the final putting together didn't go quite as planned, due to a few reasons. 1) I left it late in the day to start baking, and then packaging up - so was rushed. That's simply the way I work, I know it now. Inspiration always stricks at the 11th hr! 2) All three kids (Ash was here too) were really excited to help me. They did the biscuits shape making, and the putting it all into bags and attaching the labels. We went through a few variations before settling on the easiest + quickest of holding it all together with a paper clip. I did want a hole punch + twine, but was too hard for the kids to do neatly enough for my likes (some things I can't let totally go of). Don't worry - the kids washed their hands about 20 times with warm water and soap while doing the making...

I got the inspiration for making button shaped cookies from Cupcakes, Cheesecakes Cookies. I'm not going to show you their shortbread buttons as ours didn't quite look as beautifully button-ish, like theirs. To our defence, we were 3 young kids + a rushed mama and we made about 140 or so, whereas they were a professional kitchen and they only made about 20 in total. Just saying.

I was pretty happy with the way they did turn out anyway. And I was really impressed by the way Ari stayed so dedicated to the job of putting the holes in all those round dough pieces. Mish + Ash did a fair bit of raw-dough eating, and silly shape making, but Ari stuck to it until they were all completed.

We made two flavours. I'm only going to give you the recipe for one, as it was my favourite. Of course, I didn't actually follow the recipe in the book. Oh no, I couldn't do anyway as simple as that - could I! We sort of started following a basic cookie recipe, but strayed so much that I think it's fair to say it's our own recipe. Here it is ::

Cardamom & Pear Button Cookies ::

1/3 cup oil (use melted butter if you like, or an oil with no distinct taste)

1/4 cup sugar (whatever sort you choose, brown probably best - I used raw, as we had no brown)

2 eggs

25 - 30 cardamom pods - crush and grind the seeds really well (remove the pod hard skins). We use a stone mortar and pestle. (which is invaluable in my kitchen).

1/4 cup pear concentrate syrup

1 1/2 cups wholewheat flour (S.R or use plain with a pinch or two of bicarb)

In your mixer (machine or by hand) beat really well the oil, sugar + eggs. They'll make a nice thick oozy mixture. Add the cardamom and pear concentrate. Then the sifted flour, and mix nice and gently (by hand). It should be a stiff mixture - if not add more flour until you can knead it easily. Roll it out between two sheets of baking paper to about 3mm thick. Using a round cookie cutter, cut until you've used all the mixture. (You'll need to rework and reroll it as you go, use some extra flour if it gets too sticky). Using the back flat part of a wooden skewer to make two or four holes, like a button. You can also use a fork around the edges if you want to make decorations like that (we didn't as the kids' didn't have a light enough touch, and just squashed the dough our of shape). 

Bake in at 180C, checking after 5 minutes, and perhaps turning them over. You don't want to burn your buttons, you just want a nice slightly light brown colour. Perhaps 10 - 12 mins at total most. Cool on a tray and serve at your next crafty get-together. 

I had some mixture that I didn't make into buttons, and rolled into a long round about 5cm thick. I then pinched smallish bits off and baked them like that, until nicely cooked. They had a different taste, as they we softer inside. I'm calling them Pinch Cookies. Give it a go, the rough edges got cooked in varying amounts, which meant some bits were more burned and some bits gooier than others. Yum. 

You could also freeze the log, until you need it, and use a sharp knife to cut into rounds. Which means you can make freshly baked cookies at the drop of a pin, or a button!

*yes, their grandad does live there too, but must face reality that grandma is the major drawcard and the one they especially love visiting. I know they do love you just as much grandad - it's just that, well.... you know anyway.

** does anyone know the difference between 'cookie' and 'biscuit'? I always thought it was the Australian / British word compared to American word. But then somewhere along the line I read that biscuit was factory made and cookie was homemade. I've been thinking that I do like the word cookie more, but then wonder if it's too American-ish for my Aussie friends. And cookie also makes me think of cookie-cutter (see alternate definition for what I mean), which is generic and not at all handcrafted, artistic.....

(By the way - I'm not entirely what one would call "Aussie" in any sense of the word. In fact, at school people used to think Sylv + I were English as we actually spoke correctly, and finished our words rather than dropping the last letter, as is very Aussie. "Ya' kno', 'ey" translates as "You know, don't you". Hey (or 'ey) being a particularly Aussie sentence ending sort of word.)

simple tart

At the organic market on the weekend I got some lovely looking rainbow chard (or silverbeet, I'm not actually sure if they are the same or different, but ours had rainbow stems). We decided to make chard + feta pie, which of course is very yummy, but also quite simple to make. 

I made mine very simply - and both the kids ate it all. Ari didn't like the pastry, but I don't mind that, at least he ate the filling and the salad. 

Firstly pastry - you don't need any equipment at all. There are quite a few different recipes that I use, well actually I barely use a recipe at all. Just rememberings of things. But it's as simple as making bread, only you put it in the fridge to set for at least 1/2-1 hr, rather than letting it rise. If you don't want to make your own pastry (though really it is much cheaper and better for you + the environment) you can use puff or filo pastry.

My quick pastry:

flour (you can use wholemeal, plain, spelt or whatever you prefer, though I've never had much luck with rice flour)

butter - frozen is good, and you can grate it in (you could also use any vegan substitutes you have)

Mix it with your fingertips, until it resembles breadcrumbs. My kids love doing this (though if your kids are prone to this sort of thing -last photo - I'd possibly advise against!!). Slowly add a few bits of water until it forms into a dough mix, then knead it lightly. Put it in the fridge, in a plastic bag, for at least 20 minutes, though 1hour is better. {While I don't actually bring plastic bags into the house there is always something to use. That random bread bag, or the plastic bag a friend brought in, or the one you accidently got on the day you were feeling tired and stressed and hasseled by the kids and forgot to take your vege bags}.

Once you've left it to do it's thing in the fridge, roll it out and put into your tart/pie tin. I don't grease my pan, but I suppose you may need to depending on what you cook in. If it's not rolling too well, you can instead push it into the tin with your fingers forming it across the base and up the sides until it's sort of thinnish, but no holes please. Then back in the fridge for 20 mins - while this part is not absolutely necessary (and often doesn't happen at my house), it helps the pastry to not shrink while cooking.

I always put it in the oven for a little while before adding the filling, but I don't (currently) have a very good oven. Do remember that the filling it cooked, so the pastry will need extra time. But don't over cook it at this stage. Perhaps 180 for 15mins ? check it, and keep an eye on it.

{this pastry doesn't look really cooked, but believe me it was 

yummy and flaky and crumbly just the way it should be}

For the filling, what we did was:

Fry some red onion (you could use shallot, leaks, white onion, anything) in olive oil. Oh first, fry off your spices; I like cumin and coriander and whole black mustard seeds, and also whole fennel seeds (but my family are a bit fussy about the fennel..), and a bit of sea salt + pepper (do keep in mind, when adding the salt that feta can be quite salty itself, so taste your feta and season accordingly). Then add the onion + garlic and lightly fry. Don't let it burn. Then I added the silverbeet stalks, cut up into smallish rounds. And after that's cooked on the pan {I swear by my cast iron, cheaper version of Le Creuset}, I added the silverbeet leaves cut up sort of roughly, not too small, but not too big.

I sploshed in a bit of water, and put the lid on. With low heat I let it cook for a bit, to let the silverbeet break down.

I decided to make a quick white sauce to add to it. - just a blob of butter, a spoon of flour - mix on the heat, then add milk (I add cold and stir really quickly to get out any lumps). I added the sauce to the silverbeet mix. It's just as good without the white sauce.

Other things you could add are red or green lentils (cooked first, of course), potato, sweet potato, pumpkin (you could just lightly steam/boil that, until tender then cook into the silverbeet). 

Then put your filing into the pie case. We put the feta on top, and sort of pushed it in, but you could just as easily mix it properly through the filling (and add other cheeses too, if you want). No lid as the pastry didn't stretch that far (forgot to buy more flour at the healthfood shop). Into the oven until the feta is nicely melty and possibly has a good burnish-golden brown on it. 

I often make pies quite differently to this. I suppose this really would be called a tart, rather than a pie. But whatever - it was very yummy. Sam ate up at least 2 helpings of seconds (me as well, but that goes without saying - you may like to know I have my Winter coat on - on my tummy, bottom + thighs.....)

We served it with a very simple salad. Mini roma tomatoes, lebanese cucumber (if you use the other sort, and have never tried a lebanese one, please try one as they are must tastier, and less watery), fresh yummy market carrots (well, it was all market stuff, but organic carrots are often so much more sweeter than non-organic), red capsicum (both Sam + I prefer green, which we find sweeter, but the kids prefer red), and torn parsley leaves. Topped with a good glug of olive oil and generous squeezings of lemon or lime juice.

Gina - I think silverbeet + haloumi pie would be yummy as well. You could mix the haloumi in, or put it on top and it'd go all gooey and golden (unless you have a terrible oven like mine!).

Please let me know if you make this simple easy tart, or any alternatives.

*Ha, I bet you all thought that the title "simple tart" was about me, hey.... hmmmm - I know you!

saying yes

Sometimes I just keep saying no.
For many reasons

It's too hard

too annoying

too messy

too much effort

I'm too mean

too lazy

couldn't be bothered.

Yes, I am a mean mother

aren't I?

Anyway. Yesterday when Mishi asked me to make playdough I said

yes

And you know what.

It was easy and fun and lovely and resulted in many glorious hours of happy play. Yesterday and today, and probably tomorrow as well, at least.

Recipe :: 1 cup of flour {don't use expensive organic, like I did - but then again, if it's all you have in the cupboard, then just finally say yes and do use it!} 

:: 1/2 cup salt 

:: 1/2 cup of water {we steeped some Karkady flowers (Hibiscus tea) in hot water to get a beautiful light pinkish colour}

:: 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder makes a lovely soft yellow colour

{More wonderful reasons why you don't need to go and buy that fake food colouring}.

Let your kids mix the flour, salt + tumeric (or omit if you're making the pink colour), then add the water (or brewed tea for pink colour) bit by bit until you have a good kneadable consistency. It shouldn't be too doughing or wet - just add more flour if you need. Keep it in the fridge in a container, when not in use.

Give the kids a flat, easy to clean surface with some rolling pins, cookie cutters, and their imaginations. 

Then go off and have a few quiet moments on your own - or stand and watch the beauty that comes from saying yes.

{old faded laminex table and daggy kitchen floor with thanks to our house}

{chip in blue cup courtesy of our teeny tiny ceramic kitchen sink - cute, but inconvenient}

{Mishi's hair-do by herself - a look she sports most every day at the moment, in some form or other}

{lovely yellow tea towel is from here - currently on sale, though they've been in our home for at least a year or more}.

baby cakes, hearts and an ant

My kids like having "something sweet" for afternoon tea.

We all sit down, at our outside table (where we eat most every meal at the moment), and share our treats, an afternoon coffee, or warm milk, and some conversation. Talking over our day, or trying to decide on our dinner (every day, the thing of trying to decide what to make for dinner).

Yesterday we baked some little cakes. Some for Ari to take for school lunch. And some for us to have for afternoon tea.

Very easy to make, very delicious, and quite good for you - in the scheme of chocolate cake. 

As you can see, they don't last very long. These photos were literally taken click, by click, by click - my camera could barely keep up with the little hands disappearing cakes!

Recipe (if you're interested) goes a little bit like this* :: Chocolate Beetroot Baby Cakes

Cream together 50g butter + 50g soft brown sugar (you can also melt it together in a bowl over a saucepan of hot water, if your butter is too hard - like ours was!). Stir really well, to cool it down a bit, then beat in 2 eggs. Add 75g cocoa powder, 100g finely dessicated coconut and 1-2 finely grated fresh beetroots. Stir well. Then add 2T plain yoghurt and 1 cup milk. Gently stir in 100g self raising flour. You want a fairly wetish (but not totally runny) mixture, that is easy to transfer to your cup cake cases. So add more yoghurt if it's too dry, or more coconut if it's too wet. 

Spoon into little cupcake cakes, and bake until nicely cooked. (Our old oven is so unpredictable, I can't honestly tell you what temperature it bakes at; but most little cakes take about 12-15mins in 179 degrees C, oven. I do so so so miss our beautiful new oven, at our other home, and can't wait until we buy our own home again so we can have a beautiful kitchen!).

We bought these heart shaped cupcakes, at the insistence of Mishi - she wants them for her birthday party. (The little round ones have been in quite constant use for a long time). I've been using silicon cupcake moulds for quite a while now (year or so?), and while I guess the plastic isn't a fantastic thing to be using, I have never had any cakes that haven't unmoulded with ease, and don't have to use papercases all the time. (I have, in the past, had big issues with metal cupcake tins not unmoulding easily, and having half cakes fall out inside of the whole cake slipping out easily - I do recommend these little silicon baking cases, if you're having those issues).

*baking with two smalls means that measurements are never quite accurate, and stirring is a bit erratic. And given my personality, I never follow a recipe, making the cake and quantities up as we go along.

 

{can you see the little ant who was enjoying our tasty cakes, too}.

cookie factory

We made some cookies, yesterday, to give the kindy teachers today.

We mixed, measured, rolled and cut. Then waited and waited for our (old old) oven to bake them. We made 5 batches in total. Enough cookies for everyone.

This morning the kids wrote their labels, and filled the bags - carefully counting them out, and deciding which shapes would go in which bag. While Ari + I tied the labels on with some lovely hemp twine, he talked about us being the packing and wrapping section of the cookie factory.

He's quite into factories at the moment. Mainly because of Willy Wonka.

The smell of orange throughout the house last night, was so lovely. I'll for sure be making some orange cookies again. Ari did declare them to be quite yummy.

Vanilla + Spice Cookies ::

Start with 125g room softened butter, mix with your fingertips into 225g plain flour, until resembles breadcrumbs. Add 80g soft brown sugar, 2 capfuls of vanilla extract, and 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice or ginger powder. Roll out onto a flat surface, with some flour to prevent sticking. Using your favourite cookie cutters, cut as many shapes as you can. Then re-roll and cut again until you're used all the mixture. Place onto baking tray, lined with baking paper. Bake at 180C for about 15-20 mins, or until just golden.

Orange + Coconut Cookies ::

As above, but substitute about half the flour with dessicated coconut. Finely grate orange zest, not peel or rind, into the mixture. Add sugar and vanilla. A little squeeze of fresh orange juice, is you need the mixture to be a little bit wetter. Roll, cut and bake as above.

Enjoy!

on a thursday :: roses and cakes

this vase is right beside where we walk past, i bend down many times a day to inhale the intoxicating perfume.sylve, my sister, who gave the flowers to me for my birthday, saw them today and said that even though they haven't lasted a long time, they were worth it.
the roses have started dropping their petals.
the girl bent to pick these petals up, at the same time that i reached for the camera to take photos. sometimes still life that i see gets caught up in the flurry and movement of life. can't be helped.
yesterday the boy made some muffins / cup cakes / baby cakes.
at the age of 4.5, he is already a very talented and intuitive cook. he does lean towards sweet things, though he often makes great savoury snacks.
he collects everything needed to make the cakes. remembers the general guidelines and ingredients. pours in a little milk and some cocoa, with sultanas and berries, sometimes coconut, and flour. spoons them into the little cases. and we put them in the oven for him.i am slowly trying to teach him to clean up when he is finished.these were a little tough and chewy. when i said that perhaps it was because he had put the flour in first and mixed it too much, he said 'i didn't know', as if a 4.5yr old should know things like that. but i think next time he will know that.

take notice - if you don't feel your children afternoon tea in time, they will make it themselves! some days i only have to make dinner around here.

the perks and perils of work-at-home

These past few days I've been head down at my little sewing machine. I'm starting to feel a bit vibraty in my body, and the whir in my head matches that of the machine. I started to wonder if she was making strange noises and getting sick, but I think my mind was just rambling a bit.
Aside from making one tiny little mistake on my stack of 30 cushion covers (which actually equates to a whole lot of unpicking and re-ironing and sewing; 2 1/2 hours extra to be exact!), things are going quite well.Getting through the list of things that I have to get done for Stitches & Craft, all the things that have to be dropped off at the courier in ..... ummm... less than a week. Yes - you read correctly. We have less than one week to do all the screenprinting and sewing and packing and making and ironing and pricing and......
I'm actually feeling quietly optimistic about it. Though I do have some good child-minding lined up for the next few days. And some late nights planned, and maybe even early mornings. And the back-up plan of taking extra stuff in the car with us down to Melbourne.But I know that whatever we get done is all that we can get done. And it'll be amazing. And Sam and I will look at our work, and smile to ourselves and each other, knowing we've done a pretty fantastic job.
I'll let you know.

So, the little things that have been holding me up, and keeping me a tad bit behind schedule. Well, it's these little creatures.Yesterday we stopped work to have a glorious morning tea picnic. Baby cinos and baby pancakes, served on the new birthday picnic/baby blanket* and the cutest little tea set (which matches the picnic rug quite well). The smallest of us in a ballerina tutu of course.*These baby yoghurt pancakes are so easy to make, you should try them yourselves. We serve them with gloops of sugar free jam and yoghurt (because we rarely have cream in our fridge). To make them you need one cup of self raising flour, one cup of milk and about 3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt (you could use flavoured yoghurt or grated apple or blueberries, and add cinnamon or nutmeg or vanilla if you like - we do try to not add sugar, as the kids often want to smother them in maple syrup or golden syrup). Stir it all up, it will be like a thick slurry, with some small lumps. Add a tiny bit of melted butter - which means that you shouldn't need to grease the pan, and they shouldn't stick. Then dollop into pan, and cook for a few minutes before you turn. These won't bubble to let you know they're cooked the way that regular pancakes do. The yoghurt adds a lovely texture and flavour.Best enjoyed with loved ones, or on your own for a few quiet moments.
*Related post to come very soon.
PS - thank you for your lovely comments on my skirt from my past post - I'm really loving wearing it, and have plans (wishful thinking) to make some more skirts for our Melbourne trip.

Routines and rhythms seem hard to come by these days, for me. I cannot get myself into any sort of consistency of getting things done, or having any sense of achievement at the end of the day.

This trying to work from home thing is proving to be much harder than Sam or I imagined. Not having a studio space, away from the main living section of our tiny house is making things difficult. The kids want to be with us always, on top of us, beside us, under us, over us, pushing, pulling..... (Does anyone have good tips on how to manage working with children beside you? What are your good games to entertain them for longer than a millisecond? While we do our computer work, or my sewing).
All this means that any project we do is taking longer than necessary. And photos are sometimes hard to get right - you know, when a kid is dragging at your arm, bit hard to keep a camera still long enough to focus it!
But things are happening. And my mind is tumbling over itself with ideas waiting to get out. Jumping about, talking to each other sort of ideas. Things that go from one thought to the next without you realising it.
So, living in my mind isn't too bad. In my mind my house is clean, the kids play quietly on their own, or happily together for longer than five minutes, I am sewing sewing sewing, and Sam is designing and printing and drawing.... And things are happening.

*****************

I made some yummy little cakes last night. And iced them with the remaining chocolate mousse icing from the party cakes. The best and simplest icing in the whole world! (I *forgot* to take photos of the birthday party, so these will have to do. Hopefully some good ones from my father-in-law).To make this tasty icing all you need is 600ml single cream and 250g block chocolate (best quality). Put half the cream in a pan and heat, then pour over chocolate, which has been broken into pieces. Stir until combined and nice and smooth. Then leave to cool. Whip remaining cream until almost stiff peaks, then fold gently into the chocolate mixture. It should be a good consistency to top your little cakes with, then put a half strawberry on top of that.
Put it in your mouth in one whole bite! And be surprised that chocolate, chocolate and strawberries can taste so good.I froze the remaining icing (from the party day), and dug at it slowly over each night; easy peasy icecream. With some fresh strawberries to 'tone it down a bit'. My dad didn't think it was too bad either!

Or you can let it thaw and top your cakes with it. It won't last long what ever you do.

kids in the kitchen

On Tuesday, when my Dad was visiting, he took Ari over to Sylve's house for dinner. This meant that Mishi and I had the afternoon at home together. This is quite rare, so was really lovely. Once your child starts talking, incessantly, you forget that quiet of the 'non-talkative' child. The talking to yourself aspect of spending time with a little one. While Mishi says words, and makes lots of noises, she doesn't yet conduct a conversation.

So, it was really lovely to do some baking together. And for me to have those moments of quiet head space. Of talking to Mishi, and to myself. Of having her tiny sounds to accompany my quiet words. Being able to think about what I'm cooking, to stop and enjoy the process a little bit more. Having one child do the mixing; rather than two children bickering over who stands on which stool and who uses which spoon.

We made some little biscuits. Some with our new cutters - some great carshapes. And some with Mishi's thumb print to form the balls into shapes. I sort of made the recipe up as we went on. No dairy, no eggs, no sugar. Delicious. The kids ate them happily, while we were walking through the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens with my Dad the very next day. (That was a fun day, no photos - just enjoying looking at things, and really taking it in, and having time wandering through trees and plants with my Dad).

Sultana + Marmalade Cookies

1 cup Self Raising flour

1/2 cup Plain flour

1/3 cup vegetable oil

few handfuls of sultanas (that was Mishi's job - don't know how many went in!)

3 or so big spoonfuls of sugar-free marmalade or jam of your choice

enough water to make a firmish mix

Mix everything together, slowly - try not to spill too much flour on the bench, try not to eat too much dough. Have fun. Don't worry if quantities are a little bit wrong. You can add some dried spice or other dried fruit if you want. Or use fresh fruit juice, or milk if you want instead of water.

Roll out flat, and cut with cookie cutters or roll into balls and push flatish (once they are on pan) with your finger - this makes a nice little shape.

Cook on a lined cookie tray at 180C (approx) for about 25 or so minutes, or until nice and golden. Leave them to cool on a wire rack before you eat them.

Then do a little dance for your Mama, to show her how much you like the cookies - and how happy you are, in general. She's been calling me "marmee.... muuuummie".

I also have some yummy pie recipes to share with you. We've had quite a baking week this past week. Cheesy pastry recipe to come in a few days, or so.

give us this day our daily bread

Today :: making bread and sultana buns. Sitting in patches of sunlight to eat and enjoy. Sharing little pieces with siblings. Licking the sticky honey-butter topping. Piling a plate high with buns, in anticipation that we will eat all of them - before Mama says 'no, one each will be enough'.

Bread making hasn't been happening every day, lately, but when it does I vow to do it more regularly. To not buy bakery or supermarket bread. To be able to bake bread for my family is a pleasure, to feed them and nourish them. To warm them with warm fluffy bread. Fresh from the oven, slathered with butter and Vegemite. Memories of the bread that my own Mama made. Memories of her strong arms kneading out the goat's head shaped dough, talking me as she does it. Her body heaving and pushing and pulling. Banging gently against the bench, then easing back again. The rhythm of our days. The rhythm of our bodies - mirrored as I kneed for my family, in the same was my Mother did.

Sticky sultana buns were Ari's request. I'm glad I hadn't vacuumed before the flour went everywhere, but probably I wouldn't have minded doing it again; based on the amount of fun and creativity from both the kids. Simple unsalted bread dough, poke in sultanas as you wish; eat some as you go, of course. Roll and squelch and squeeze and pull and roll again. Prod and poke; form into turtles with pointy noses. Squash up into a mound again. Cut with the new cookie shapes.

Then let Mama 'help' you roll it out into a long straight, fairly flattish shape. Roll up into a spiral. Squash them altogether into the cake tin, and let them rise again in the sunny garden - of course, sit there and guard them; just in case an ant or cat or bird or tiny child want to poke into them!

Top with butter and honey, and bake for 20minutes. Counting down on the timer - learning numbers going backyards much too quickly to keep up. Trying to keep kids occupied for such a long time that it takes to bake bread.

Ziiinnng. Ready. Eating them while still steaming. 'Yummmmmy. I think I need just one more Mama. Just one more. I'll share it.'

And of course, make crazy faces for the camera. Faces so silly that we laugh and laugh, and then have to email them straight away to Daddy at work.

Ahhhh. bread. more than just simply cooked dough.

PS - if you'd like a yummy sounding recipe for Cinnamon Buns, check out Sarah's.

cake - didn't think it worked, but it did

This weekend past I made a yummy cake for my Mother-in-laws birthday dinner party. I was going to make a chocolate almond(meal) torte, but Sam forgot to buy the chocolate when he went shopping. So, I had to rethink. I couldn't find any recipes for what I wanted, so I made up my own recipe. This is actually something I normally do, I don't often use recipes word for word, generally as inspiration. (Though I generally try to not have to use my brain at 8pm, when two kids are still up with endless energy and noise). The cake ended up being quite delicious, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Please feel free to fine tune it, and let me know your results.

When the cake cooked it looked perfectly browned on the top, but after cooling in the tin, I realised that the bottom still wasn't cooked well enough. So, thinking that it wouldn't be very tasty, I made another cake an hour before we went to dinner. An easy, but delicious and showy chocolate roulade. I'll share the recipe another time - I have no photos, it was gobbled too quickly.

Pear, Ricotta, Cardamom + Almond Torte ::

150g softened butter (I actually used 250g, but this was too much, so will reduce it to 150g next time I cook this recipe).

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs, separated

210g almond meal (hazelnut would be tasty too)

1 cup fresh ricotta

2 cups chopped pears

2teaspoons vanilla essence

20 fresh cardamom pods, well ground

Mix butter and sugar, until well whipped and creamy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, and continue beating. Add vanilla essence and cardamom. Beat in ricotta, then almond meal - until only just combined. Don't work it too much. Beat egg whites until just before stiff peaks. Add to almond mix gently - start with one third, to ease the mixture, then add the rest of the whites. Gently stir in pear pieces. Pour into a lined springform tin - line the sides as well as the base. Put some brown paper or baking paper on top of cake for the first 20 minutes or so, so that the cake doesn't get brown on top quicker than it cooks. Bake at 180Celsius for 60 minutes, or until nicely browned. Test with a skewer, keep in mind that almond meal if moister than flour, so it will cling to the skewer, bit you should be able to see little granules when it's cooked properly.

This is Ari's piece, that he didn't eat. He and Mishi had a squabble about the last four blueberries.

This is a fairly moist cake. Possibly something that kids won't like, so maybe think about making them the chocolate cake too! You could soak the pears in some liqueur - pear or almond? And serve it with a lovely pear icecream.......

Please, let me know how you go with it. I think I'll be making this again, in a few weeks, when I head down to my Dad's house for some family remembering (five years, this year) time.

(Okay, I have more 'arty' photos of the cake, where it looks a bit tastier, but blogger isn't letting me upload them at the moment. So, check back tomorrow - hopefully! Still not working, so check over here for the cake shots - this is the piece that Mishi ate, before I got to have any).

swapping traditions

Well my Holiday Traditions Swap has arrived safe and well, with it's recipient Tonya. I had to wait until she received it for me to 'show off'. At first I was a bit scared that I wouldn't send off a good enough parcel, and then I wondered if I'd actually get it made in time to post off to USA, for it to arrive in time for Christmas. But :: it all seemed to work out, it got there in time, and more importantly I actually like it and am quite happy with it!

I sent some handmade (machine stitched - I hand stitched the ones for our tree, and they are quite wonky, plus took me ages!) stuffed felt stars, with ribbon to hang on the tree. They are quite bright colours - lovely for after Christmas possibly in a child's bedroom.

And some Steiner-inspired dolls made from fabric scraps. This is something that we used to have when we were young. I remember making beautiful white ones with my Mum and sister, and hanging them on our little tree. Or stringing them along our roof. These are really easy to make, and something you can do with children. They can be as simple or elaborate as you like. If anyone wants a basic tutorial, let me know :: I'd love to write one for you.

The recipe that I included was for some yummy biscuits that Sam's Mum often makes. They are an Italian almond biscuit - Amaretti. I made a recipe card for it - did a little styled photo-shoot, which was really fun. (Sam did the logistics of actually 'making' the recipe card, as he's the designer with the computer programs and know-how and the amazing skills and visual eye!). Of course, the biscuits weren't perfect when we baked them the day of the 'photo-shoot', but they still looked lovely and tasted delicious. I've been wanting to make some recipe cards for a while now, so this is the start - I plan on making more in the New Year.

And then I wrote a whole bit blurb about our family traditions :: past ones and new ones I want to implement. I'll tell you a bit more about it after Christmas.

What a received from Tonya was lovely and tasty. She sent me some of her Grandma's chocolate and sultana cookies - they arrived very crumbled, but so tasty. Also a fun CD of her favourite Christmas songs - we have only listened to it once, as most music has to compete with Playschool's 'The Wobbly Walk'. The Mickey Mouse decoration looks right at home on our tree, with all our red angels and stars. She also sent us a beautiful looking (I've seen photos) wreath, but customs snatched it away due to the pine cones. They have cut these off, and are now posting the wreath to us. I have optimistically high hopes of it arriving in time for Christmas!

Pink Amaretti

3 egg whites

200g / 1 cup / 7oz castor sugar

250g / 2 1/2 cups / 8oz almond meal

4 Tablespoons icing sugar

A few drops pink colouring (you can leave this out for white amaretti, or add it only half/half. This isn't in the recipe, just something that Ari + I wanted to add when we were making these).

Pre-heat oven to 160C / 325F / Gas 3

Beat egg whites in a mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add castor sugar, until thick and glossy. Fold almond meal in, by hand and 2 tablespoons of icing sugar. Add a few drops of foor colouring, until you like the intensity. Leave half the mixture white.

Using two tablespoons, form shapes like quinelles - small round shapes, almost with a swirl on top. Place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Dust with remaining icing sugar and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on try, then remove from paper and store in an airtight container. Yummo!

trying new tastes

Quinoa+Vege bake with Salad in my favourite bowl w' toasted sesame seeds +almonds.

Lately we've been so bored with the usual :: same-old dinners that we make. Never exactly the same, as we don't ever use a recipe - just general ideas, etc. If it was up to Ari, we'd have pasta every night. It's not up to Ari, thankfully.... Not that I always cook the same meals each night, just the same 'feeling' meals.

Every day - at about 3.30 or 4pm, I start to go through that dreaded thing of "what am I going to make for dinner, again?" I have to start cooking, or preparing at least, at about 4.30 in the afternoon. This gives me time to have lots of interruptions - taking Mishi to bed again, cuddling Ari, playing games, talking on the phone, having two kids::babies asking, asking, asking me for something else.....

I do think of myself as quite a good cook. My Mum was an excellent cook, my Dad is. I learn at a young age how to cook lots of different things. We were all always in the kitchen together, chopping, stirring, tasting, talking. As kids we all had to help, and had different nights where we made the whole dinner. I loved this - I still do love cooking. I just don't love the having to think every night of what to cook. I used to always make stirfry when I was a kid. I loved cutting the vegetables + tofu up into perfectly formed julienne sticks.

The great thing, also, was that my whole family had very similar likes, tastes. We just took on the tastes of our parents. My Dad used to make subji all the time. We would moan "not subji again!" Now - its the thing that Sylve + I want Dad to make whenever we visit him. And we both make it in our own houses for our families - who love it. Dhal as well is another that we all love. I know that I can make it, and actually have Ari + Sam happily eat a whole meal. Add papadums, and everyone's crunchily happy.

So, rather than feeding them pasta, stirfry or dhal every night, I've been on a search (mentally) to think of new and interesting - though not too adventurous for my fussy eaters - meals to make.

And hence, I finally bought some quinoa from the healthfood shop, and finally made it. I remember having it years ago when I was visiting a friend, in France. She made this delicious green vege, creamy quinoa bake. I've emailed her for the recipe - in the meantime :: tonight I made root vege quinoa bake. And, with a few tweaks I can feel that quinoa could be added to the reportoire.

It is such a pretty looking seed (grain), when raw as well as when cooked - with the little sprouts curling around the almost translucent grains.

Quinoa + Orange Root Vege Bake

This was quite yummy, though I think it would have been good with some green leafy something in it. It was simple and wholesome, with lots of scope for changes.

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1/4 medium Pumpkin
• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 medium carrots
• tin tomatoes or 2 large fresh tomatoes
• olive oil
• teaspoon each of cummin powder, tumeric, corriander powder
• 2 -3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• smallish hunk ginger finely grated - this is easiest with a bamboo ginger grater, available from Asain stores
• yoghurt, cheese, milk to add a bit of extra liquid
• salt + pepper.

Rinse quinoa well, using a fine seive. Cover with 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to boil, then simmer for about 15 mins, until all water gone. Leave to side with lid on. Should be cooked, tastes lovely now - can use in salads or as a substitute for rice, couscous, pasta. Take toddler to toilet. Sing to baby, so you have a few more minutes before having to leave half-cooked dinner.

Meanwhile, cut veges about 1/2cm cube. Dice garlic + grate ginger. Heat pan, then add oil and allow to warm a bit. Add spices + salt, then ginger + garlic. Fry lightly. Then add pumpkin, and cook for a few minutes, then sweet potato for another few minutes. Add carrots and stir through, cooking for a few more minutes with the lid on. Add tomatoes and pepper. If you think it needs a bit of liquid at this stage, add some water (or stock). The take baby back to bed for second time. When cooked add some yoghurt - I keep old yoghurt, milk + cheese in my fridge for cooking. Taste for seasoning.

In a large baking dish, spread quinoa along bottom, cover with veges + all the juice. Top with grated cheese - whatever you like. Bake about 30 minutes at approx 220 degrees Celcius. (My oven in broken, so I'm not exactly sure the temperature it is). Until the cheese is nicely golden.

Serve with salad or lightly steamed greens, plus toasted nuts.

PS - I by no means, consider myself to be a 'food blogger' like these two current favourites.

a few sweet treats

This week we had icecream with sprinkles. Ari poured the sprinkles on - so most of them went on the bench + floor, and now we have no "prink-ls" left. What a pity! He does so love those tiny dots of coloured sugar, and always manages to get them all over himself.

:: This is Ari's little table. We let the kids paint it however they liked. Lots of fun ::

Instead of going out, we had a cafe at home. I really like doing this. Sometimes we set up the table with a little cloth and I serve the boys like a real waitress. They have money to pay, but have to eat whatever is the "special of the day". Of course, our cafes are always tasty and fun. And the waitress is super nice and often joins in on the meal. This is pop corn and chocolate +cherry milkshake, with yogurt instead of icecream. It would have been fun to make the popcorn like this, but we didn't have the ingredients, patience or time to wait for it to be ready. The milkshake was quite tasty, but I think a bit too strong for Ari. All we did was put some milk in the blender with liquid drinking chocolate (well cocoa that was wet and pasty), some yogurt, and some cherry jam. Whizzed up until all "froffy". Then I served it in my prettiest tea glasses out in the garden.

Also, check this fun YouTube out. Ari had to watch it about five times in a row. Hopefully it makes sense to you. It's very Kiwi!

pink cake picnic

We met some friends at the park on Sunday for a relaxing picnic. Simple food :: great conversation :: pushing kids on swings :: laughing :: photos (film - so you'll have to wait) :: and :: crazy pink cake.

I made a fairly easy Almond, Chocolate + Peach cake and then had an inexplicable desire to cover it in pink icing. I actually think it looked really beautiful, special, fun + definately something different. It did get a few comments and looks and attention - so whats wrong with that. While we were mixing the icing, it tasted too much like sugar, so I added some orange-flower water which didn't match the cake perfectly, but did have its own unique taste. Who says you always have to match your handbag with your shoes. (Anyone who goes out with me knows that never happens anyway).

So, heres the recipe for the cake - which was really delicious. I think I'll make it again (possibly without the icing!).

Almond, Chocolate + Peach Cake w' Pink Icing

(As with all my recipes, quantities + baking times are not exact. I estimate all my baking from memory of my best results of a basic cake. It also makes it easier for small children to be involved without too much stress!).

I used tinned peaches for this cake, as its Winter here, but fresh peaches would be lovely. Or any other fruit. Also, try different nuts - walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans.

• 100g butter
• 3/4 cup sugar (I always use dark brown)
• 3 organic, free-range eggs - separated
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 cups peaches, diced
• 1 cup almonds, chopped then toasted
• 1 1/2 cups S.R flour
• 2 tablespoons vanilla essence

Beat butter + sugar until rich and thick. Then add egg yolks, and beat well. Add cocoa, vanilla essence and any dry spices you'd like to include. After that's all mixed in, add peaches, almonds then flour and mix by hand until all combined. The mixture will be quite stiff at this point. Beat the egg whites until almost firm peaks formed - then combine gently with cake. Fold until gently until you can't see any white. Pour into lined cake tin and bake at 180degrees Celcuis for 40 minutes, then 220degrees Celcuis for 10 minutes. Or, until cake is just cooked, with a crack firm surface.

Pink Orange-Essence Icing or Barbie Flower Icing

• 1 organic, free range egg white
• 3/4 cup icing sugar
• few drops pink colouring
• 2 tablespoons orange-flower water (rose water would be lovely too)

Beat egg white until soft, then add icing sugar. Continue beating for about 5 minutes, adding colouring + flower water mid-way, until really think and luscious. Spread onto your cooled cake. This icing dries hard and crisp, so if you want to put anything on top (flowers, decorations, etc), do so now before the icing sets. I laid 3 freshly picked lavendar flowers across mine, to break up the pink. (Will try to have film developed late this week, so check out flickr).

bunny's day

Yesterday was Bunny's birthday. Actually, Ari wanted it to be his own birthday - but I convinced him to let it be Bunny's. There have been quite a few birthdays lately*, and for a not-yet three year old it has been difficult having to wait, wait, wait :: his third b'day isn't until late October.

So - we made special little cherry, chocolate + coconut mini-cupcakes with cherry icing :: made party crowns with mirrored centres :: and finished the night off with sparklers in the back yard. I think Bunny missed out on the fun of sparklers :: he was in bed, or neglected in a corner somewhere.

::Why is it that Bunny is soooo loved, yet left in random places, forgotten, until bedtime and then we have to turn the house upside down looking for him - often wedged between couch cushions, once left at Grandma+Grandpa's house, once left at the kids care room of my yoga centre for an overnight visit ::

I hope Bunny had a lovely fourth birthday :: that's how old Ari declared him to be. He was a quiet little thing all day, happily showing off his crown and new cape that I made for him (Bunny was quiet, not Ari - that would be something to see::hear!).

~ Recipe for Cherry::Chocolate::Coconut Mini-Cupcakes ~

(The following recipe is approximate, as I never follow as exact recipe. I have basic measurements in my head, and go from there, adding different things depending on what we have to use. I know that cake making should be a science, but we don't have too many disasters, so I'm not too bothered to measure::remember exact quantities.)

100grams softened butter ::
1/3 cup brown sugar (I prefer using brown as its what my Mum used to use, so what I know best. Also, I trick myself that its 'better' for us than castor sugar) ::
2 free range, organic eggs ::
1 cup flour (if using plain then 1/3teaspoon bicarb soda) ::
1 cup coconut (today we had shredded, but more often I use desiccated) ::
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I really like the organic dark one, but haven't been able to find it for a while) ::
1 1/2 cups cherries + juice (we had half bottle of morello cherries in fridge, but fresh would be lovely. Use extra cherries as you like. If no juice, then fresh orange juice would be good instead of milk) ::
2 tablespoons vanilla essence ::

~~~

Beat butter + sugar until thick and creamy in mixer. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between. Add van essence + cocoa powder and keep mixing. Then add coconut. Mix cherries, then flour in gently by hand. Bake in mini-cupcake pans for 20mins or so at 180degrees Celsius or until they look cooked. Makes about 20 mini-cupcakes.

We iced ours with icing sugar mixed with the cherry juice - so it was a lovely pink colour.

Okay, so I'm not really very accurate at writing recipes. But this really is the way I cook - by the feel, look, taste (Ari does lots of that!), smell. Maybe I am lucky to have a little bit of innate cookery domestic goddess in me! Let me tell you, also, that Ari is learning so remarkably well this art of cooking. He's also quite good at washing dishes, clothes washing, folding clothes (he rolls them into funny balls), vacuuming, making beds, sweeping....

I also managed to finally post the present for Rollie - who turned one on Wednesday. I'm quite proud of the pants I sewed him :: black cord, with funky black+white pockets. I haven't made pockets before, and did it all on my own with no instructions**! Also, a little frog from a pattern from the Purl Bee, that I modified. It didn't turn out quite as lovely as theirs, but I'll keep working on the pattern and changing it to better suit me. In the mean-time, I think not too bad an effort. Also included was this great little book that I::we love. We have our own copy as well as another by the same author.

*Birthdays :: Sam + I share a day in May (though I am four years younger) :: Grandma Tessy has one early June :: Ash, then Sylve late June :: Grandpa + Rollie both this week. As well as a few more in the recent months.

**If anyone can tell me a simple::easy way to put pockets into pants, I would love your help. The ones I made were simply sewn into the side seams - but I would love to learn how to make proper pockets.
***Also, if someone could please tell me how to put the picture in the link of my books, CDs, etc. I like the look of that, but can't seem to work out how to do it....