applehead

bears and baking....

No, I haven't finished Charlotte's cat but in the meantime here's a panda bear that I did manage to finish for her last year!
I am in serious nesting mode, if the amount of baking and freezing I am currently doing is any indication. That and I have developed a hankering for serious comfort food. This week is biscuit week or more correctly cookie week. A year spent working for Mrs Fields, a long, long time ago when they still mixed up the cookie dough from scratch ( not that awful frozen dough stuff they serve up now) has honed my cookie making skills to perfection.
No under  baked grey sunken cookies here or rock hard overbaked ones either. Just right semi sweet choc chip ones or tonight's batch of cinnamon cookies.Some for now and the rest frozen for later when I have neither the energy or inclination to cook.
A few weeks ago it was waffles.....

It took me ages to find just the right recipe for a Belgium style yeasted waffle (makes a stiff dough rather than a batter) but I did and they were delicious. So much butter and sugar though that I can only really make these for a very special treat.The girls like theirs with melted chocolate on top because you really need just a bit more sugar!

On the baby front...well, it looks like she will arrive sooner than later as I have not really gained any weight in the past four weeks. At the hospital twice a week now for heart rate and movement monitoring which is showing that she is still doing well and not in any distress. I had to have steroid shots this week which will help mature her lung function a little faster just in case it is necessary to delivery her early. Off for another scan to check all functions next Monday and I guess we will just take it from there.

Looks like that baby blanket won't be quite ready....probably doesn't help that I got a little sidetracked and started a pair of fingerless mitts for Rose to wear to school during colder weather... one down, three to go because naturally Charlotte will want a pair too!  I really liked the look of this pair with their cute frill cuff

but have made them a bit longer as Rose has very long arms! ( the pattern if you need it is free, here)

Japanese mail....

A wonderful surprise parcel from Alex in Japan....Pocky, two Japanese craft books and the wool ( and pattern) to make this beret which I once admired on her blog! Lucky me ( I really must finish the baby's blanket before I  indulge in crocheting myself the beret...)

And for those of you who have asked, a look at the 34 and a half weeks in progress project....not the best shots but it's a lot harder than I thought taking pictures of your own belly! ( The haircut only happened last night- usually I cut off all my hair at about week 16- I just got so bored with pulling it back .Time for a change!)

All goes well although I have reached the stage where Charlotte stopped growing. So it's weekly foetal heart rate monitoring and regular scans for me to keep an eye on things. So really , it could be anytime from now on depending on the scan results.
Oh well, my bag is packed even if the blanket is only halfway there....by all accounts she is going to be on the small size so maybe half a blanket will do!

my small space....

I needed to send Pip a photo of my workspace for her in -the- works-book project.
Yes, well......
Now usually when people come to visit, I make a point of keeping the door to my 'office' shut. It's not so much that I am a messy person - it's just the that the amount of stuff in there far exceeds the actual space available to store it neatly.

Add to that the fact that when we moved in over three years ago, I was about 33 weeks pregnant with Charlotte ( who then arrived at 36 weeks) so I wasn't really able to sort it all out to begin with. It is really only in the last month that I have found the time to start organising it a little more efficiently. Basically this meant pulling it all out and then putting it all back in ( less quite a few boxes that went off to the op shop.)
I really should have taken a before photo but didn't bother as I knew I would never post it for all to see ( and be horrified by) anyway!

So all you get to see is the after....

almost a cat...

I bought this book more than a year ago and worked diligently until I had finished all bar one leg. And the poor thing has languished in the bottom of the workbox ever since. I just couldn't face doing any more of this blanket last night (especially as the lovely Alex over  moonstitches thinks that the stitch pattern I have chosen actually does tend to develop a bit of a lean...I knew I should have asked for advice before I ripped back two thirds of a finished blanket! You live,you learn I guess!)
So here finally is Amineko, admittedly still in many pieces, but at least complete in that all of his body parts are done. I'm hoping that I'll summon up enough energy to stuff and sew him together tonight.
I'm not even sure who he will end up with ( I suspect Charlotte, who has been a little cross about the number of things that I have been making for the baby.And then of course Rose will wonder what I might be be making next for her.....)

Incidentally if you want to make one of these cuties,just click here  for the link to the authors website. She has very kindly posted the pattern in both Japanese and English.
Sort of wish I had known that before I had finished grappling with the charts and instructions in Japanese.....

Figs, dates and sultanas.....

I like the first two but can't stand the third. Sultanas are just too ....squishy somehow where as dates and figs,well they just taste good.
So here is a recipe for a Fig, Date and Chocolate roll that I have been making for the last few years. I leave out the squishy sultanas and add extra dates and figs instead. It is easy and the recipe makes enough for three rolls,which means one to eat and two to give away. Or maybe it just means three to eat!
( I think the recipe was originally from an old Better Homes and Gardens and it keeps for ages in the fridge)

1 1/2 cups dried figs, chopped
1 1/2 cups dates pitted and chopped
1 cup sultanas/raisins
100g pistachio kernels
100g whole almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
100g dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted

Put everything but the chocolate and the icing sugar into a food processor and process until the mixture forms a ball. ( you may have to do this in two batches)

Transfer mixture to a bowl and add chocolate- mix well until well combined. ( you may have to get your hands into this to mix it really well.)

Place lengths of baking paper onto a flat surface and dust with icing sugar. Divide mixture into three portions and put one portion on each piece of baking paper. Roll each portion( use the paper as a guide) into a roll shape about 4cm in diameter.Twist ends of each roll to secure and put into the fridge fro several hours to set. Tie ends up with ribbon or string if giving as a gift. ( I also add a bit of cellophane). Slice into thin rounds to serve.

no more cupcakes, please....

Today's fairy disco party signals the end of cupcake month at my house.
Seriously, I could  whip up a perfectly acceptable batch of cupcakes, iced and decorated within an inch of their sweet little lives, blindfolded and  with both hands tied behind my back.
All done whilst singing Wuthering Heights loudly and tunefully.
(Ok, maybe not tunefully but definitely loudly and with feeling and that's what counts. You hear what I'm saying, girlfriend? Just ask Marsha.)
Anyway ,the party was a lot of fun- relaxed, plenty of food( including cupcakes)  and fine weather, music loud and fairy- disco like.What more could a three year old ask for?

A fairy disco cake ,of course!
This one almost beat me- all week I've been trying to work out how to decorate the cake with very little progress. At 8pm last night, the cake was baked and ready to be transformed- but into what?
Finally,inspiration!
Fairy disco equals fairy disco wands- bit of glitter, a few stars and a quick hunt through Rose's fairy collection. Rose whipped up a few paddle pop stick flowers and helped add the finishing touches with silver balls and sugar flowers.
Charlie seemed most happy with the result and I am now hanging up the apron and putting on the painting smock to finish my canvases for the Spring Fair.

(Actually, I think I might just can the painting for tonight and watch some junk TV with a glass of wine instead. I'm all domestic godess/superschool mummed out...)

Speaking of fairies,we had our first visit from the tooth collecting variety last night.
Rose, much to her delight lost her first tiny bottom tooth yesterday.She's been checking her teeth for wobbly ones ever since she started kindy and most of her classmates started losing their teeth.

Now I guess I  have about three more years of Charlie telling me everyday that she thinks she has wobbly 'teef" as well.
As long as my teeth don't start falling out from eating too many cupcakes, that's fine with me!

ps- my family thanks everyone for their song suggestions. I think they will be quite happy to hear just a little less of   "'wuthering,wuthering,wuthering- heights, Heathcliff...."

happy days....

I am betting that Bono,even with his vocal talents, squillions of dollars and private jets , didn't have a better birthday than I did!
Thank you for all of the birthday wishes...I had a quiet low key kind of day- which is just the way I like to celebrate my birthday. Georgie baked me some raspberry and coconut birthday cupcakes and the girls had fun blowing out the candles several times over!
All 3 of them...yes I know, I don't look a day over 2, do I???

I was treated to rousing renditions of  'Happy birthday' by Rose and Charlie from early morning right up until bedtime. Rose put her creative skills to good use and made us all personalised party hats.

The girls after their birthday bath....

Do you think that Charlie and I look anything alike??? I'm beginning to wonder....maybe she has my feet or something....

So, after a day or so to recover from the shock of another birthday creeping up so quickly, I headed off this morning for a birthday/Mother's Day treat in the form of a workshop at Primrose paper Arts. This one was focused on making several types of dowel spine books.
I am amazed at what you can do with a bit of paper and a few bamboo skewers...hopefully photos tomorrow.

In between times I have been trying to finish Charlie's rosegarden crochet hat..

A few more motifs and I can start to sew it all together!

To all of the mothers, motherly types and  to anyone who has ever stepped up to the plate and filled the role of a mother - enjoy your day! You are special, you are needed and most of all you are loved!
Happy Mother's Day!

failed no-fail meringues

I was so taken with Miss Marzie's beautiful pink meringues that I decided to whip up a batch myself.....after all the recipe said that they were easy to make...and I love a no fail recipe.
Yes, well.....

Instead of a plate of heavenly pink piles of goodness,I ended up with a plate of cute pink buttons.
I don't think it helped that I was cooking dinner for the girls while talking on the phone and mixing the meringues.
And I don't think that the fact that I forgot to add the 4 tablespoons of boiling water until halfway through whipping them up ,helped either.
Oh, and I was a little impatient with the whipping up bit and decided it look stiff and glossy enough. When I heaped the little mounds on the tray and then watched them flatten into pink puddles , I decided to scrape it all back into the bowl and keep on beating the mixture. Probably didn't help much either.It did in fact get stiffer and glossier but still refused to sit in little mounds.
I baked them anyway and really, they  tasted great!
Next time, I need to concentrate!
At least Miss Marzie can feel safe about her Queen of the Meringues title.

Did anyone pick up the hidden random fact about myself in yesterdays 'tagged" post? I have a pack of postcards for the first person who can work it out. I will give you the answer tomorrow if nobody beats me to it!

well that was quick...2 minutes after this post to be exact!

How about that,Bianca must be a U2 fan as well...a pack of postcards is on its way to you!

my favourite tomatoes...

When tomatoes are cheap and plentiful, I like to buy a few kilos and caramelise them. The lovely deli up the road sells them but they are very,very expensive. And if ,like me you like to put them on your pizza, your toasted sandwiches, in salads, through pasta and nibble on them with cheese, then perhaps instead of considering a second mortgage ( they are really  expensive) you could try this recipe.

Two kilos of tomatoes seems like a lot but it makes more sense timewise to do this many. They keep well in the fridge ( probably 6 weeks  to two months but ours never last that long) and if your sister in law develops a taste for them ( you know who you are!) then best make up a good size batch!

Take two kilos of tomatoes ( I have used Roma but have also successfully used cherry tomatoes when there was a glut of them), slice them in half ( no need to slice cherry or very small size ones)  and throw in a heavy based dish. 
Drizzle with two tablespoons of olive oil.

In a saucepan combine a firmly packed cup of brown sugar, a half cup of brown vinegar ( or balsamic) and about 3/4 cup of water. Stir over low heat until dissolved.Taste it and adjust accordingly to taste...if you like it quite vinegary add a bit more vinegar. Add a bit more sugar if it's a bit too sharp for your liking. Pour over the tomatoes.

Cook in a moderate to low oven for a very long time - usually 4-5 hours at about 140-150 deg cel. Stir every half hour or so, or whenever you remember to. When they are sticky and caramelly looking , they are done!  Once you've made them  you will have an idea of whether you like to cook them a little less or a little more. I usually cook mine on the more side as I like them quite sticky and toffee-ish!
Cool and store in airtight container in the fridge. You could probably bottle them like jam and keep then much  longer but I hate sterilising jars! I just make up a new lot when we run out.

They are particularly good with mushroom, avocado and baby bocconcini on a homemade pizza- be sure to throw a good handful of rocket on top before you eat it. Tomato heaven!

cupcake heaven....

I wanted to go all out for Georgie- the-wonder- girl's birthday and baked these little fig,walnut and caramel cupcakes...those golden bits on top are toffee "crowns" ( how impressive is that! Not really though 'cause they aren't as fiddly as they look)
I normally wouldn't go as far as the toffee crowns but it was her birthday after all..... fresh figs on top too, mmmm

I was quite proud of these little cakes and Charlie was just a little bit tempted ( you can see the remains of the whipped chocolate ganache topping on her cheeky face!)