My Creative Space

Mysterious quinces, how I love you!

Yesterday I chopped and boiled a big pile of quinces, and ruined the first batch of jelly with an accidental baking soda incident. Oops. So I chopped and boiled again and was left with a big bowl of watermelon coloured syrup.

And after adding sugar and boiling some more it magically became jelly. Not the kind of wibbly wobbly party jelly that kids love but delicious,

sweet, rose coloured jam like jelly.

And now I have twelve jars to keep & share. Twelve jars lined up on the window ledge,

like shiny jewels, and all from our beautiful old quince tree that keeps on

giving, year after year.

I've been baking & cooking a lot this week. It's so satisfying :)

Today I sent off a box of Anzac biccies to Charlotte in Melbourne,

(I hope she likes them. I  wonder if she found the whole lot of mumma love

I sent too, can you feel it Char?) The last lot of biccies I sent weren't the best but

  I've been perfecting the recipe and I think

I've got it right! Can't have the oven on too hot or they are too dry.

Go on, give them a try!

Anzac's

1 cup of rolled oats

1 cup of castor sugar

1 cup plain flour

1 cup of desicatted coconut

125 grams of butter

2 tablespoons of golden syrup

2 tble spoons of boiling water

1 teaspoon of baking soda

handful of choc chips (optional)

Pre heat oven to 180 for normal oven or 160 for fanforced. 

Mix all dry ingredients together while melting butter & golden syrup in a pan, gently.

Add baking soda to boiling water, pour into butter mixture and mix thoroughly.

Combine mixtures and stir. Add choc chips.

Make little ball of mixture and put onto baking tray, not too close together. Cook until golden brown,

about 10 or so minutes. Cool on a wire rack and then eat two with a nice cup of tea!

Yum!

Let me know how you go.

What's happening in your space today?

See you soon xo

My Creative Space

This little tea cup represents an exciting new project I have in mind. Do you have lots of plans and ideas? Sometimes these things take time and that's where I'm at right now, being patient & making lists, thinking & planning.

Yesterday was one of those 'getting a million things done' kind of days. In a good way! Dealing with a lot of the chaos left over from school holidays, hanging with my kinder girl, making lists and cooking. A couple of these fresh chook eggs created...

some beautiful swirls in the mixing bowl.
Which later became lamingtons, a family favourite.

In between chopping and cooking up another batch of quince jelly I finally started my pin cushion. For some reason this pin cushion has taken forever...

...it's coming together and while not very fancy I hope my swapee likes it!

My sewing space needs sorting, I really need another set of shelves to stack my recent, and old, piles of vintage linen etc. I'm wondering too what to do with the twenty zips I picked up for a song at my local oppie. Any idea's?

I'm also loving these four pretty pieces of fabric which have come my way via my mum and the crowded, hot & colourful markets of Singapore. Oooh, how exotic! They are so sweet, perhaps they will become bunny bits?

The tail end of yesterday saw Bill & I making meatballs for dinner (and homework), a yummy way to end the day.

So my creative space is full lately, of old & new projects, lots of flavour and action, things unfinished and some complete, a sense of excitement at new ideas, the coming of cooler weather and changing seasons. A happy and inspiring space to be. Tell me about yours? Maybe I'll pop over to Kirsty's and see what you are up to. Bye for now sweetie pies, xo

Gnocchi!

Last night we made gnocchi and I thought I'd share this easy recipe with you so you can try making it at home too. The kids love it as it's kind of like play dough! Hope it works out, let me know!

Potato Gnocchi

this recipe feeds our family of seven

1.5 kg Desiree potatoes (I found some older ones at the greengrocer and they worked well)

300 grams plain flour

salt

egg

also one batch of simple sugo sauce - garlic, onion and tomato sugo. Fresh or tinned tomatoes would be fine too. Of couse you can add anything to this, bacon, salami, other vegies.

1. Throw the spuds (whole with skins on) into a big pan of water and boil until they are well cooked but not mushy. Turn the water off and one at a time pull one out and remove the skin.

2. When all are done and the potatos are still warm, but not hot, put them through a ricer or mouli. I bought a ricer for this purpose and it has been so worthwhile. It's fun watching the little worms of potoato coming out!

3. Let the riced potato build up on your floured bench top until all potatoes are done.

4. Then mix in the flour a little at a time. Add a sprinkle of salt too. Sometime near the end of the flour I add one free range egg and keep mixing it all with your hands. Try not to over mix though as it might make the gnocchi tough. You'll know when it's ready to roll out as it's not too sticky and not too dry.

5. Then cut some off and start rolling out little sausages of dough. Cut these into segments and then

roll into ovals or balls. Sometimes I don't even bother and just cook them in little rectangles. It's up to you.

You can put indentations in them so the sauce sticks to the gnocchi using a fork or special gnocchi implement, see below. Again, it doesn't really matter but looks good!

6. Now you are ready to cook these little babies! Here are mine waiting to hope into a big pan of boiling water.

7. Start putting your batches in, a little at a time. They cook super quickly so have an oven dish ready to put your cooked gnocchi in. It only takes a minute or two and they are floating up to the top. Use a slotted spoon to scoop them out, draining the water as you go. Pop in the prewarmed oven (on low) and then transer cooked gnocchi so it keeps warm.
Last night I also had some sugo sauce in the oven dish to keep the gnocchi moist.

When it's all cooked serve with some more of the sugo sauce and top with parmesan, also parsley or basil for some extra colour & flavour. Yum!!! (Mark & I also add chilli flakes for a little pizazz)

There are plenty of other sauces you can use but we like a simple one and it's very tasty. Don't give up if it's not quite right the first time. Our whole family love this dish and that's saying something!!

In other non gnocchi related news Mark & I are off to have some child free time this weekend. Our eldest is minding our youngest at home and the other three are staying with friends & Nan. It's going to be ace and fun and relaxing and amazing and I can't wait!!!!!! Woo hooo!!

Like most parents Mark & I have very little time on our own and as I already had my beautiful Charlotte when I met Mark we have never known time without kids. Don't get me wrong though, I love our kids so much and I do always feel a bit anxious when we aren't with them, but it's so important for Mark & I to have some time together too.

Hope your weekend is amazing too, lovely friends. I'll leave you now with some photo's from today xo

Lucy with her swimming certificate

Bill with his new pet, Bertie the Rhino Beetle.

("Mum, did you know a Rhino beetle can carry 850 times it's own weight?? That's like a human carrying seven family cars!")

Rosie with a flower for you x

Fairies at the bottom of the garden...

The girls have been fairies alot lately...Rosie loves dressing up and Lucy & Sunday can't help but join in the fairy fun. What a lovely life.. playing fairies in the garden with your sisters on a sunny day!

Last night I made my signature dish of vegie lasagne. Now it's not a hearty, lots of vegies type lasagne, it is simpler but really delicious. I worked with a lovely lady, Maria, years ago at the Evelyn Hotel and she told me to how to make the lasagne in this way. My whole family love it and that's saying something.

Beck's Easy & Delicious tomato lasagne

Heat oven to about 180 degrees (celcius)

Ingredients

1can diced tomatoes

1 bottle tomato sugo (no herbs, just plain)

1 onion

garlic

1 zucchini

handful of home grown parsley, chopped

pasta sheets (fresh is best)

mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter

1-2 tablespoons flour

parmesan cheese

Ok, here we go. Chop up the onion and fry gently with diced zucchini. Add some garlic, try to use australian garlic, it's much better. After a few minutes, when the vegies are soft add the can of tomatoes and let cook for a few more minutes. Then add the bottle of sugo & parsley and just let it cook slowly while you make the white sauce.

Melt the butter and add flour. When combined slowly add the milk stirring all the time. After a little while it will become thicker (this part can be tricky if kids are hovering and there is alot of chaos in the kitchen, tell them to pipe down & GO OUTSIDE!) and keep stirring, lower the heat and add a handful of parmesan. you could also add nutmeg if you like, I don't usually. Yum! Ok..now comes the fun part.

Spread some of your tomato sauce on the base of your dish, then a layer of pasta and then a sprinkle of mozzarella. Keep going till all is used up. You will probably have a sheet and a half left of pasta. Finish off with a layer of pasta and then pour your white sauce on top. Sprinkle with a little more parmesan and then into the oven at about 180 degrees. cover with a baking pan so it doesn't brown too quick and remove this in the last 10 - 15 mins. Once cooked let it sit for five minutes while you make a tasty salad.

A lovely, simple dinner that you can adapt to your own tastes, it also freezes well.

Bunnies are going well - if a little more slowly than I would like! There hasn't been alot of time for Dandelion projects lately but hopefully that will change. What a busy time of year it is...we all need to take a few, deep breaths. Phew!

Thanks for popping by, see you soon x