Watermelon Sorbet

You really must make this super sorbet. I made it on a whim (because watermelons were going really cheaply), not expecting it to be so good. The flavour is amazing! This is a perfect summer sorbet. Enjoy!

Watermelon Sorbet  

Ingredients:

• I cup of sugar
• 3 cups of water
• 4 cups of seeded, chopped, watermelon
• 1/4 cup of lime juice

Method:

1. Bring the water and the sugar just to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. 
2. Take off the heat and cool.
3. In a blender, process the sugar syrup, lime juice and the watermelon in batches until smooth.
4. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
5. Pour mixture in to a ice-cream maker and freeze.

Scentsy: my new love.

My good friend, Jo, has become a (very successful) Scentsy consultant. And this suits me well, as I love the burners and the melts. My house smells wonderful and I am happy, because the burners are low heat, with no naked flame, just plug them in to a power point so they are safe for kids and animals. So, do yourself a favour, and contact Jo via her website and buy some products for yourself. You can thank me later xx

Onion Chutney

This is such a delicious chutney, although it's a killer to make with all the onion fumes! Wear swimming goggles, and keep them on whilst you are cooking, it's the only way to survive.

 

Onion Chutney

Ingredients:

• 14 medium red onions, sliced
• 7 medium white onions, sliced
• Olive oil, as needed
• 4 fresh bay leaves
• 3 tsps cinnamon
• 2 large sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and diced
• 2 red chillies, deseeded and diced
• 2 capsicums, seeded and sliced
• 540ml balsamic vinegar
• 100ml red wine vinegar
• 440gm brown sugar

Method:

1. In a pan add the onions, olive oil, bay leaves, cinnamon and rosemary.
2. Cook for about 20 minutes on a low heat until the onions are golden and sticky
3. Add the chillies and capsicum and cook for a few more minutes.
4. Add the vinegars and sugar, simmer on a low heat until it becomes thick and chutney like.
5. Spoon into sterilised jars and seal.
6. For me, this made about 9 large jars.

Lemon Chutney

I made this awesome lemon chutney ages ago, and have been meaning to post the recipe up but have totally forgotten about it (sorry). Do not make this chutney if you do not like the bitey tang of lemons as it is quite strong. However, it is just gorgeous, especially with roasted meats. It is incredibly easy to make (although needs to be made over two days) and the smell of lemon in the kitchen is beautiful. I hope you guys like it as much as I do.

Lemon Chutney

Ingredients:

• 4 large lemons
• 3 medium onions
• 1.5 tbsp salt
• 2.5 cups white vinegar
• 3 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsps mustard seeds (although I just use the mustard in the jar, the seeded stuff not the smooth stuff, so no need for a muslin bag).

Method:

1. Wash and thinly slice up the lemons (remove all pips).
2. Peel and slice the onions.
3. In a bowl layer the lemons and onions, sprinkling each layer with salt.
4. Cover and leave to stand for 24 hours.
5. Next day, pour the lemons and onions into a colander and rinse well under cold running water. 
6. Drain well, then put in a pan with the vinegar, sugar, raisins, cayenne pepper and ground ginger. 
7. Wrap the mustard seeds in a small square of muslin and tie securely. Add the muslin bag to the preserving pan, making sure it is thoroughly immersed in the mixture.
8. Heat the mixture gently, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved completely. 
9. Bring slowly to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1½ hours, or until the lemons are tender and the chutney has been reduced in volume by a quarter and is thick and shiny. 
10. Remove the pan from the heat, remove and discard the muslin bag and spoon the chutney into clean, warm, dry jars. 
11. Cover immediately with vinegar proof lids. When the chutney is cold, label and date the jars and store in a cool, dry, airy cupboard for two months.

Old Friends.

Sometimes life gets so busy and we forget to make time to keep in touch with those we love as our true friends. I know I am guilty of this, although I don't always mean to be this way, and I know that others don't either. Sometimes life is just busy right?

Last Sunday I got to catch up with one of my best friends, Tara, and we haven't really spent time together for about 7 years from memory, which is just so stupid. We have "caught up", but not really spent time enjoying each other's company. I have no real idea why this happened other than we just got busy on our own stuff and just did not make the time to stay in touch: we are both just as guilty as the other in this.

We first met when our kids were in kinder together, around 13 years ago, and we just clicked straight away. She is a person that I can tell ANYTHING to, and she does not care to judge me or to think any differently about me. We have shared so many good and bad times together, and I know that if one of us needs the other, we are there for each other. 

We met up again at the Ballarat Legacy changeover lunch, to bring in the new President for the next year. And it was so lovely to see her and to spend that time with her, just falling back into that friendship again, and we just laughed again, catching up on family news and gossip, quaffing wine, making jokes, and also making the promise not to lose touch again like just did. And I hope we stick with that promise, as I have missed her in my life.

Strawberry Jam.

Isn't it marvelous when you go to the supermarket & they have just want you want on special? I had a hankering for some homemade strawberry jam, & there they were, tubs & tubs of gorgeous strawberries, all on sale, just for me. The house smells divine at the moment, there is no smell like fresh strawberry jam. The problem will be keeping it away from the other people who live in this house, so I don't think that it will last for long.

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg hulled strawberries (I do chop them up into big pieces)
• 0.5 cup lemon juice (I only use the fresh stuff)
• 5 cups sugar

Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan.
2. Stir over heat, without boiling, until all the sugar has dissolved.
3. Bring to the boil, & then simmer, uncovered,  without stirring, for 20 minutes or until the jam jells when tested.
4. Pour the jam into hot & sterilised jars & seal.
5. This recipe makes about 5 cups of jam.

Lemon Marmalade

A friend of mine has the most magnificent lemon tree, which is heavily weighed down with an abundance of delicious juicy lemons & I love lemon marmalade. So today I made some. This is a very easy recipe & you will love the lemony smell wafting through your house, I promise.

 

Lemon Marmalade

Ingredients:

• 1 kg lemons
• 1 kg sugar
• 7 cups water

Method

1. Halve/quarter the lemons length way.
2. Cut into thin slices (I use a food processor, much quicker).
3. Soak the cut lemons overnight with the water, keep them covered.
4. Transfer the mixture into a large pan.
5. Bring to the boil & then simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes, or until the rind is soft.
6. Add the sugar: stir over heat until the sugar is dissolved.
7. Bring to the boil & then boil, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, or until the marmalade jells when tested.
8. Pour into hot sterilised jars & seal.
9. Makes about 6 cups. 

Golden Syrup Dumplings

This is one of my all time favourite desserts, but one that I rarely make. Why? I don't know. It is just so very easy to whip up a batch of these dumplings & then lie back to enjoy the yummy food baby. For Father's Day I cooked a rather superb lamb roast (with all the trimmings) & then I made these dumplings for dessert. And yes, it was awesome! 

Give them a go, you'll be glad you did. And then go on a diet the next day.

Golden Syrup Dumplings.

 

Ingredients:

• 1½ cup SR flour 
•  2 tbsp caster sugar
•  60gm butter, melted
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
•  ¼ cup  milk
• 325ml water
• ½ cup golden syrup
• ½ cup brown sugar 
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• 60gm extra butter

Method:

1. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.Add the caster sugar & stir until well combined
2. Make a well in the centre. 
3.  Combine the melted butter, eggs & milk & add this mixture to the dry ingredients
4. Using a knife, stir until it is all just combined.
5. Combine the water, syrup, brown sugar, juice & extra butter in a large pan.
6. Stir over high heat until the sugar has dissolved: bring to the boil.
7. Carefully drop heaped teaspoons of the flour mixture into the syrup.
8. Reduce the heat to low & cover the pan: cook for 10 minutes, or until the dumplings have risen & have cooked through.
9. Ladle the syrup over the dumplings occasionally during cooking.
10. Serve with ice-cream.

The Orange Dress

This little dress makes me smile. It is the same as the pattern used for the Cherry Dress, obviously just with different fabrics. And they WORK so much. Again, the photo does not do the dress any justice at all, it is such a vibrant & very happy dress :)

You can buy this dress here

Spotty Pillowcase Dress

This little dress is just so gorgeous, the colours work really well together I think. It would be a great summer frock as the ties form the sleeves & are adjustable. Also, it will be great for winter: imagine it with a long sleeved top underneath & with leggings/boots. The top fabric is a sheer one, so you can see the patterns underneath.

You can buy this dress here: Size 3

You can buy this dress here: Size 5

The Cherry Dress.

How gorgeous is this toddler dress?? I bought the pattern via a PDF pattern on Etsy - so how modern & up to date am I? The beauty of the PDF pattern is that I only have to buy it once, then print it out at any time & just cut out the size that I need. This dress is a size 3, & a wonderful combination of two of my favourite colours, pink & green. I love that the fabrics fit together so well, when really they probably shouldn't.

You can buy this dress here

A gorgeous ruffled skirt!

I found this pattern on the internet & absolutely fell in love with it. Of course, I could only buy it on the internet so had to wait AGES for it to arrive ((I am not so patient at times!)) Mum came fabric shopping with me, & thank goodness for that, because picking seven different fabrics to fit with each other in some way is not so easy. Luckily Mum & I have similar tastes, & it was such fun to do with her. The skirt itself was really easy to make, it is basically just panels, with no tricky sewing at all.

Peanut Butter Biscuits.

I have a guilty secret: I love these biscuits & would eat them every day if I could. Which is why I don't make them too often. In just in loading up this blog page, I have eaten three. So now you see why I cannot be trusted. YOU are however, I am sure, totally trustworthy. Therefore, you must make these right now.

Peanut Butter Biscuits

1 cup plain flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

½ cup butter

¾ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

1. Sift together the flour, soda & salt. Stand aside for later.
2. Using electric beaters, cream together the butter & sugar, until light & fluffy.
3. In another bowl, mix the egg & vanilla & gradually add to the butter mixture.
4. Stir in the peanut butter & blend through thoroughly.
5. Stir in the dry ingredients & then chill for at least 30 minutes, until firm.
6. Preheat the oven to 180oC & grease 2 – 3 baking trays.
7. Spoon out rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough & roll into balls.
8. Place the balls on to the baking trays & press flat with a fork, making a criss cross pattern.
9. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until lightly coloured.
10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
11.  Makes approximately 24 biscuits.

More little dresses.

Last weekend & this weekend I made two more of the little dresses, in glorious polka dots, and this time I added the sun hats. I think these will be the last ones of this pattern that I make for a while, but they were fun to do as first projects.

Getting back into sewing.

My maternal grandmother was a brilliant craftswoman. She did tapestry, fine crochet, knitting & just about anything else you can name. What I really remember however, was her as a seamstress. I used to spend a lot of time with her, & I best remember her making beautiful dresses for the rich women of Ballarat. I was a little kid, sitting quietly in the corner, watching her take their measurements, discuss the style they wanted & then she would make up the patterns. Her work was exquisite & she was quite busy with that work. Luckily, she also spent a lot of time with me, teaching me all she knew. Also, luckily for me, after she died, I was given all her craft supplies, some patterns & leftover fabrics & tapestry threads. I cherish them so much, often just pull them out to look at them, touch them again & I remember her so well from each item.

Recently I decided to get back into sewing, just for something to do as I used to really enjoy it, especially when the boys were little. This is my first project! I was so thrilled with how it finished up: it looked like it had been "professionally" made. And even more thrilling, a dear friend of mine bought it for her daughter. She sent me photos of her modelling it & I became all teary, because she looked so pretty in something that I had made, & I didn't even stuff up the button holes!

 

Honey Jumbles

Do you remember being able to buy Honey Jumble biscuits from the supermarket? They don't seem to around to much any more, which is really sad. Jeremy just loves them, so I made some yesterday, from a recipe I found on taste.com. It's an easy recipe, makes 20 HUGE biscuits, & is really true to the original taste. Hope you try them, & let me know what you think.

Honey Jumbles.

Biscuit:

• 60g butter, chopped
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp milk

Icing:

• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 cups pure icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Pink food colouring

Biscuit:

• Combine butter, honey and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until butter has melted. Bring to the boil.
• Remove from heat. Set aside for 10 minutes.
• Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger, mixed spice and cloves over butter mixture.
• Add milk.
• Stir to combine. Cover.
• Set aside for 1 hour or until mixture has cooled and thickened.
• Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced.
• Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly.
• Divide dough into quarters.
• Roll 1 portion into a 25cm-long log shape. Cut into 5cm-long pieces.
• Place on prepared trays, leaving room for spreading. Using a wooden spoon, flatten each piece of dough until 5mm-thick.
• Repeat with remaining dough portions. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden.
• Stand on tray for 10 minutes. 
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Icing:

• Using a whisk beat the egg white in a bowl until foaming.
• Gradually beat in icing sugar until combined.
• Stir in lemon juice.
• Spoon half the mixture into another bowl.
• Tint pink with food colouring. Spread half of the biscuits with pink icing.
• Spread remaining biscuits with white icing.
• Set aside for 30 minutes or until set.

Where to buy barberries?

For those who were asking, I found a barberry seller! They are located in Melbourne with various shops around, but they also post out. Mine should arrive in a few days, & I am a tad over-excited by the prospect. Perhaps I should get a life.

You can buy your barberries from NSM Wholesalers. They were so nice & helpful, made it all quite a pleasant experience. And if anyone else finds any other barberry recipes please let me know.

16 Years of Marriage

Jeremy & I recently celebrated our 16 year wedding anniversary. Who would have thought it? I must say it has been a great 16 years, full of laughter, not too many arguments & always feeling loved by a genuinely nice man. He is my biggest supporter, biggest critic & my bestest friend in the whole wide world. So, Jem, thanks for the past 16 years, thanks for our sons & our life together. And thank you for my lovely anniversary flowers. I love you to the moon & stars & back again.

I won a Kreativ Blogger Award!

Wow! Yesterday I won a Kreativ Blogger Award, nominated by a dear friend of mine, Stephanie. You simply must have a look at her lovely blog There She Goes where she shares her thoughts on life, love, children, work & all things. You will enjoy yourself, her words are lovely.

So, in line with the Kreativ Blogger award rules, here are 7 things about me that you may or may not know:

1. Last year I completed a course which I have been wanting to do for such a long time. I am not going to say what it is (in such a public forum) as I do not want to jinx myself. My results & application have been submitted to where they need to go & now I am just waiting to hear the outcome. All bits crossed for my dream being achieved!
2.  I love sewing but have not done so creatively in a very long time. I had the sewing machine serviced this week so I have no excuses to make something fabulous now & have various projects swirling in my head.
3. I love tapestry & cross stitch, & have made quite a few which I am so proud of. I must post up some photos of them actually.
4. I absolutely loathe other people's feet & am not too dramatically fond of my own. I will never suck your toes.
5. Both of my parents arrived in Australia post WW2 from Holland. I cannot believe how brave their parents were in bringing the family to a totally new country to give their children ( & subsequently me) a chance at a better life.
6. I love living in Ballarat. I love the weather, the peacefulness of where we live & the chances that we have with truly great schools, the University, the food & the friends that we have here.
7. I am very intolerant of whingers & whiners, the people who always feel hard done by when in fact, life is a tad difficult at that particular time. The genuine ones: I am with you all the way & will fight for you, but to those with the victim mentality: suck it up, get on with it & remember there are always others far worse off than us.

And so, to my Kreativ Blogger Award winners: thank you to each & every one of you as you bring joy & interest to my life xx

1. A Bex & a Good Lie Down: I love Hazel & her world view. She makes me laugh & have a good think about things in general. 
2. A Goddess in the Kitchen: Ella is a fabulous cook who recently moved to PNG with her husband. This blog is about cooking & life in PNG.
3. Art Deco Buildings: my friend David has taught me so much about the beauty that is an art deco building. I had no idea that they were so lovely.
4. Flower Garden: Annie is a lovely lady in Ballarat, with gorgeous photography skills. This blog is peaceful & pretty.
5. Kabri's Blog: this is my friend Karo who lives in Finland. She also has briard dogs & she is a fab photographer.
6. Missy Mao Mao: Marilyn is a very talented & creative sewer. I do feel envy when I look at all her stuff & have one of her beautiful handbags.
7. Gleeful: Jayne's blog is inspiring in just appreciating something each day & feeling thankful for what we have & do. Simple concept, but very awesome.