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Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
A Decadent Breakfast
Our regular Sunday breakfast of pancakes was jazzed up a bit by yummy balsamic strawberries!
Wholemeal and Oat Pancakes with Balsamic Strawberries
2cups wholemeal flour
1/4cup oats
1/4cup oats
2tsp bi-carb soda
3 eggs
1/4cup sugar
1 3/4cups milk
1tbs vinegar
Mix together dry ingredients and eggs. Mix milk and vinegar in separate jug. Slowly stir wet ingredients into flour/egg mixture. Cook 1/4 cupfuls in greased frying pan over moderate heat.
For the strawberries:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp arrowroot/cornflour mixed with 2tbs cold water
250g strawberries, halved or quartered
In small saucepan over low heat dissolve sugar in water and vinegar. Once dissolved add arrowroot/cornflour mixture and simmer until syrupy. Stir through strawberries.
Enjoy on a lazy Sunday morning with family and friends!
1tbs vinegar
Mix together dry ingredients and eggs. Mix milk and vinegar in separate jug. Slowly stir wet ingredients into flour/egg mixture. Cook 1/4 cupfuls in greased frying pan over moderate heat.
For the strawberries:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp arrowroot/cornflour mixed with 2tbs cold water
250g strawberries, halved or quartered
In small saucepan over low heat dissolve sugar in water and vinegar. Once dissolved add arrowroot/cornflour mixture and simmer until syrupy. Stir through strawberries.
Enjoy on a lazy Sunday morning with family and friends!
Monday, September 13, 2010
A Neglected Harvest
Over the weekend we went back to the old house to collect the (second) last trailer load of stuff from the garden and shed, swing set, old mower, compost bins and the like. While we were there I thought I'd better check out the dregs of our Autumn garden and see what was going on. We really neglected the gardens once we'd signed the contract on the new house, we simply spent all of our spare time packing and planning the new garden!
The broad bean bushes were doing really well, though not too many pods. There was one big one that El and I ate raw (yum!) and a couple of others and that was about it. We got three purple (Dragon) carrots and three orange ones, but they're a bit corkscrew like. Still edible and not bad considering we watered sporadically and didn't bother thinning them as they grew. Two pumpkins were just sitting in the garden after the vines had died back! And then there were the potatoes!
Holy smokes! They are amazing! We dug up over 8kg of Desiree potatoes! Again, they were very neglected so we were surprised at the yeild. I hilled them up once and then couldn't be bothered and like the rest of the garden to say they were watered every now and then is being kind. They basically survived on the rain we've had over winter. The plants never actually flowered, but they had all died back. Who knows how much we'd have dug up if we'd actually looked after them?
Holy smokes! They are amazing! We dug up over 8kg of Desiree potatoes! Again, they were very neglected so we were surprised at the yeild. I hilled them up once and then couldn't be bothered and like the rest of the garden to say they were watered every now and then is being kind. They basically survived on the rain we've had over winter. The plants never actually flowered, but they had all died back. Who knows how much we'd have dug up if we'd actually looked after them?
Some of the potatoes were enormous!
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Surprise in the Post
Well not really for me, but Elliot. I ordered some new crayons from a brilliant online shop Spiral Garden. They have a great range of natural toys and craft supplies. I got really sick of cheaper crayons breaking and snapping, little fingers not being able to manipulate skinny crayons easily and Archie taking massive bites out of softer crayons.
These Stockmar block crayons are amazing! There really strong and hard (they've already survived the Archie bite test) and being little solid rectangles they are really good for creating different effects using the different sides for rubbing, corners for definition etc.
After he dictated the letter to me Elliot stamped his name and the letter was ready to post!
And really, who doesn't love getting a surprise in the post?
Perfect for toddler sized hands!
These Stockmar block crayons are amazing! There really strong and hard (they've already survived the Archie bite test) and being little solid rectangles they are really good for creating different effects using the different sides for rubbing, corners for definition etc.
This is why we needed some heavy duty crayons!
They survived use by Archie! Excellent!
Elliot put them straight to use doing a couple of drawings to turn into thankyou letters for a lovely gift he and Archie received from a friend. We popped the letter in the post so that someone else would get a surprise from the postman.
After he dictated the letter to me Elliot stamped his name and the letter was ready to post!
And really, who doesn't love getting a surprise in the post?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
My Creative Space
I'm so happy to report that our first Craft Circle went really well! We had two knitters, two sewers, a knitter that became a sewer after she saw the amazing things being created and one lady who sat nursing her sleeping baby because he wouldn't let her leave the house without him. I was so pleased she even came, when Archie was at that stage (he's only just grown out of it mind you) I was too scared to leave the house! It was a lovely night, we chatted craft, sewing, knitting, pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, parenting, schooling, husbands, the election. You know, all those things women talk about when they're together, uninterrupted by children! We're still working out the details on where and how often we'll get together, but I'm pretty sure some people are coming round to mine tonight.
I've finished these slippers and have started work on the next pair, a gift for a friend's birthday next week. In my true style, I've left it until the last minute and am having to adjust the pattern because the pattern is sized US 7-9 and they're pretty big. I hope now this pair won't be too small! If they are I'll have to dash off to Lincraft and buy another two lots of needles to make an in-between pair.
Elliot too has been creating! Taking a page from his Mum's book he's been "knitting" something for Daddy. Even though his "knitting" is more like putting-the-needles-into-some-wool-and-moving-them-around-a-bit-ing the sentiment is there and that is the main thing. He's been asking me on and off over the past week or so to teach him to knit but I'm just not sure he's got the fine motor skills, I mean, he's three! Maybe we could work on a project together.
Any suggestions for a three year old interested in knitting?
Don't forget to visit the other creations at Kootoyoo!
I've finished these slippers and have started work on the next pair, a gift for a friend's birthday next week. In my true style, I've left it until the last minute and am having to adjust the pattern because the pattern is sized US 7-9 and they're pretty big. I hope now this pair won't be too small! If they are I'll have to dash off to Lincraft and buy another two lots of needles to make an in-between pair.
Elliot too has been creating! Taking a page from his Mum's book he's been "knitting" something for Daddy. Even though his "knitting" is more like putting-the-needles-into-some-wool-and-moving-them-around-a-bit-ing the sentiment is there and that is the main thing. He's been asking me on and off over the past week or so to teach him to knit but I'm just not sure he's got the fine motor skills, I mean, he's three! Maybe we could work on a project together.
All his supplies packed into the boot of his car, ready to go around to his 'home' on the verandah and get knitting.
Sitting at his 'home' on the verandah deep in concentration. Archie and the car are in the garage.
Any suggestions for a three year old interested in knitting?
Don't forget to visit the other creations at Kootoyoo!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Turning the Plan into Reality Part Two
or as otherwise called:
Getting rid of the Grass!
Our new house has very little landscaping at all. Apart from one established garden bed there is really just 2.5 acres of grass. Lovely to look out over in the mornings, great for the boys to run and play on but not very productive and a lot of work to maintain. Matt mowed for the first time this weekend and it took him an age. That was partly to do with it being the first time we'd mown and have yet to figure out a good and efficient route around the yard and all it's obstacles. The other part was probably a teensy bit due to me doing the bottom half of the front yard (about 1/4 of the block) with the blades going but not lowered fully. Oops! I thought I was doing such a good job and Matt had to go and re-do it all!
On Thursday at the markets I started to put the wheels in motion of the plan and bought some plants from the "herb man" as Elliot and I call him. I bought him out of french lavender and rosemary and also bought punnets of parsley, sage, oregano and chives for the herb garden. I also told the "herb man" that I'd be buying all his lavender and rosemary for the next couple of weeks, he seemed suitably impressed! His herbs are really cheap ($1 for small pots of smaller herbs, $2 a small pot of bigger woodier herbs.) and are great quality. He also has an extensive knowledge of all the herbs he sells and he has a really wide selection too.
Before we could plant though we had to prepare the beds and after a while of digging up the grass by hand we called Matt's brother to see if we could borrow his rotary hoe! Incredibley lazy of us, but we had such a big area to do it was going to take us all weekend just to get the herb garden bed done! Shane and Shelley were around with the hoe in a flash and it took about an hour to do all of the herb garden and about half the area for the vegetable garden. While the (big) boys were still playing with their machinery I got stuck into planting out the herbs and the boys amused themselves playing in the back of the ute. Who needs toys?
Also on the weekend we went on the hunt for cheap garden edging. I really wanted to use recycled bricks for the edges and paths. The have so much character and charm, much more interesting than modern, uniform pavers! We visited the recycling shop at the local dump and found two pallets of bricks from the old Maryborough Sugar Factory! Yahoo! They are lovely, solid bricks with MSF imprinted on one side. What a find! Little pieces of local history in our backyard! We got the lot for just over $100 which is a bit of a bargain! I also found two moccona coffee jars and a Tupperware kids drink bottle that they threw in because we were spending so much money! Score! I wanted to take some pics of them yesterday but it rained all day so it'll have to wait for another time as will the pics of the planted herbs. The rain has been wonderful though, we had over 40ml Sunday night and the tanks are overflowing!
And finally, my favourite photo of the weekend! All of us looking at the camera! Hurrah!
Getting rid of the Grass!
Matt getting rid of the grass to make way for the 14m long herb garden
Our new house has very little landscaping at all. Apart from one established garden bed there is really just 2.5 acres of grass. Lovely to look out over in the mornings, great for the boys to run and play on but not very productive and a lot of work to maintain. Matt mowed for the first time this weekend and it took him an age. That was partly to do with it being the first time we'd mown and have yet to figure out a good and efficient route around the yard and all it's obstacles. The other part was probably a teensy bit due to me doing the bottom half of the front yard (about 1/4 of the block) with the blades going but not lowered fully. Oops! I thought I was doing such a good job and Matt had to go and re-do it all!
On Thursday at the markets I started to put the wheels in motion of the plan and bought some plants from the "herb man" as Elliot and I call him. I bought him out of french lavender and rosemary and also bought punnets of parsley, sage, oregano and chives for the herb garden. I also told the "herb man" that I'd be buying all his lavender and rosemary for the next couple of weeks, he seemed suitably impressed! His herbs are really cheap ($1 for small pots of smaller herbs, $2 a small pot of bigger woodier herbs.) and are great quality. He also has an extensive knowledge of all the herbs he sells and he has a really wide selection too.
Before we could plant though we had to prepare the beds and after a while of digging up the grass by hand we called Matt's brother to see if we could borrow his rotary hoe! Incredibley lazy of us, but we had such a big area to do it was going to take us all weekend just to get the herb garden bed done! Shane and Shelley were around with the hoe in a flash and it took about an hour to do all of the herb garden and about half the area for the vegetable garden. While the (big) boys were still playing with their machinery I got stuck into planting out the herbs and the boys amused themselves playing in the back of the ute. Who needs toys?
And finally, my favourite photo of the weekend! All of us looking at the camera! Hurrah!
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