The humble banoffee pie

How about a wickedly delicious & sweet recipe?

My grandmother shouted us a meal (and babysitting) for our anniversary so we dined at The Pantry. The tapas were absolutely delicious and the service fantastic. We do love good food.

I couldn't go past the Banoffee Pie for dessert.

I was reminded of this recipe I found after I first tried this English treat. It's a 'Women's Weekly' recipe (so bound to be good, right?). I did make it once and it was divine but you do need a bunch of friends to share it with!

Have you eaten Banoffee Pie? How was it? OR have you tried making your own? How did it go?

Mozzies

What is this? you ask.* My husband, let's call him J from now on, is a hands-on dad. For him there is nothing better than being with his family. He loves taking the kids to the beach, on bush walks, teaching them bird calls (as his dad did with him) and all sorts of other (mostly outdoor) adventures.

So last weekend he came inside, our toddler, B, in tow. "What is that?" I asked. "Wigglers," was our son's response.

Oh wrigglers! I twigged. It turned out that they'd collected some mosquito wrigglers from the bird bath. Over a week or so we've watched the wrigglers shed their 'skins' and grow into mozzies. B has been checking them regularly.

Needless to say we won't be letting the little blood suckers go, inside at any rate.

* Terrible pictures I know. I just wanted you to 'get' the idea.

The Unexpected Inspirations Behind Beloved Children's Books

 An interesting read...

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/01/the-unexpected-inspirations-behind-beloved-childrens-books/251643/?&utm_content=Google+Reader#slide10

Fabulous Article...

..... especially for parents but also for those who spend time with kids.

http://www.rachelsimmons.com/2012/01/mom-im-fat-one-mothers-inspired-response-to-her-7-year-old/

A friend recently commented "Now that you have a girl you have to show her what's really important" i.e. not the stretch marks she left behind, my thighs that touch on the inside of my legs, my drooping chest, my balding patches where the hair fell out once she was born or the fading pigmentation on my cheeks.

I guess it's important, also, to acknowledge that our son should always respect women for their brains, their love, wisdom, strength, determination and that I am a role model for what he will come to learn (and what he has already learned) about women.

It's difficult because when you open the newspaper (even the 60 page local paper), or a magazine, look at the back of a bus and or walk through the shops women are depicted for their appearance and their visual appeal. As they say 'sex sells.'

We do have a responsibility, as parents, to counteract the saturation of exposure of this to our children - reminding them of what is actually real, normal and essentially important.

Bilpin....

I forgot to write about the amazing produce we had on the way back from this trip the other week.

If you are ever up that way be sure to take the Bells Line of Road - a beautiful drive - and a popular route with motor cyclists.

On the way back to the city we stopped at a number of roadside stalls at Bilpin. Right by the side of the road orchards stretch across paddocks under the gums.

Small shelters containing fresh produce operate on an honesty basis with their own money tins (like old times). We picked up some AMAZING organic peaches ($5 a bag!), beautiful jams- tomato!, plum & peach and apricot ($8 - a fraction of the price in the supermarkets and straight from the growers!) and organic blueberries ($8 a punnet).

I have to say that I've never tasted blueberries so sweet and tasty. Sadly, store bought blueberries frequently have a tinge of chemical taste (I think) but these were luscious.

I did spend a small fortune but we did get a whole lot more than we would have if we'd bought from the supermarket. And they were all organic! I love to support these local businesses!!

Garden going gang busters!

From its humble beginnings our summer garden has emerged with basil, cucumbers!, capsicums, thyme, parsley, rocket, spinach and garlic chives in abundance. A side salad is a perfect addition to all our meals (especially in this hot weather!)

Blog Searching...

Discovered a few blogs this week:

http://yum-oh.blogspot.com/

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/

Check them out!

Fruits of our Labour

Thanks to the humidity our garden is going gang busters!!

We have had the chooks in their run for a week or so now. There's plenty of space for them to run, scritch and have their dust baths. In their absence (who knew chooks were partial to a strawberry lunch?) our strawberries have finally ripened and they are a nice mix of Tang and Sweet!

A gift...

 

Do you remember that I once said that, as a teacher, you shouldn't have favourites?

Some children leave such a big impression on you. It's human nature. Teaching is such a privilege. A year is a decent amount of time to spend with a group of children and you do get to know them and their families very well.

This treasure came from a student in my first year of teaching - 8 years ago now. He was a lanky kid with a remarkable amount of energy. He was the youngest of four siblings so he was pretty confident and also relaxed about school. (I could go in to a profile about each of my students bc I tend to remember how they perform academically not to mention socially/emotionally at school.)

One day he came in with this little cactus. Some time afterwards or maybe beforehand (I can't remember now) another student - only child, quite good reader - brought in the pot that he'd painted at Before School Care. It was still wet! Perhaps the teachers intention was for it to go home. Nonetheless I was happy to accept the gift!

I took this plant with me when I changed schools and it remained in my classroom until I began maternity leave before our son was born.

I have seen both students a few times lately (they are now in Year Six) and when I've mentioned this to them they have looked at me blankly! It's funny how a gift can so significant to one person!

Over the years it's taken a beating. I've forgotten to water it many, many months in a row and, despite being a cactus, it has threatened to die from dehydration. It's fallen over, lost most of its soil and looked pretty leafless and lifeless at times.

Now, with a little tender loving care from my husband a month ago, the plant has regained its love of life and it remains one of my little reminders of the days I spent teaching!

Fresh OJ

Fresh orange juice always reminds me of the days I worked in cafes from when I was old enough to work.

I love orange juice as fresh as this so we squeezed a few to have a glass each with our lunch today.

Pulpit Rock

You'll agree, if you've been, that there is no place like the Blue Mountains. Just a couple of days after Christmas we took my husband's Dutch cousin to see the Three Sisters at Echo Point which looks over the Jamison Valley.

Whilst you'd have to agree that the view is extraordinary, so are the crowds.

Last week before my husband returned to work we decided we'd take our family of four to a lesser known and far quieter Pulpit Rock where there are views of the Grose Valley from Bridal Veil Falls to Mt Victoria, Perry's Lookdown & Grand Canyon. The first time I visited was with my dear friend Ben and it blows me away EVERY TIME!

Our three year old impressed us with his enthusiasm to walk the 400m or so down to Pulpit Rock and half way of the return journey.

There is absolutely NOTHING like heading down along the ridge of Pulpit Rock. There is no choice but to breathe in the view, the atmosphere and immediately feel like all modern worries (i.e. impending work!) are insignificant.

My husband and our three year old walked down the ladders to the lowest viewing platform where they still towered above the tall trees in the valley below. The sheer orange cliffs unapologetically  emit a sense of distance from the hustle and bustle from life in the city!

If you can't relate to what I am saying about the Blue Mountains then you'll just have to get there yourself!

Just Desserts

I LOVE this time of year. The fruit is sensational - nectarines, plums & peaches; watermelon; lychees; strawberries; cherries.

Each year I make a peach or nectarine crumble from this recipe I collected about 7 years ago. This time I replaced the ground ginger with mixed spiced.

Served with ice-cream the crumble received the tick of approval from my husband.

I am already looking forward to tomorrow evening when I can have more for dessert!

Pizza

Tonight I made a good rustic pizza.

* Tomato paste.
* Small amount of mozarella.
* Thinly sliced eggplant.
* Prosciutto - thinly sliced.
* Olives.
* Chilli and lemon infused goats fetta.
* Fresh basil pesto.

Delicious!

Walking, talking, toys.

Our daughter turned 1 a week ago. A few days ago she took her first step. In fact she began standing the week she began to crawl (a few months ago) so I don't think it will be long until she's on the move!

I am not yet ready for her new found mobility! I can't imagine taking both of the children to the park and them running in opposite directions. On the other hand I am really excited for our daughter. She's growing up so quickly. Her BIG personality is starting to appear. She's very cheeky and determined (no idea where she gets that from).

Our daughter has a repertoire of words now: Daddy, Mumma, Bah Bah (her brother), chook, bird, poo. She also signs: drink and bird. (Australian Baby Hands)

These magnets on our fridge are some of her favourite toys. Pulling them off the fridge is one of her favourite past times. Trying not to trip on them is one of mine.

Bargain Buy

Thank you St Vincent De Paul Rozelle! I was just about to leave when I spotted this out of the corner of a my eye! A pile of bias binding stacked in a shopping basket! I asked the assistant what she wanted for it. She raced off to check with the manager.....

$1 later and they were all mine!

Tomatoes...

The first tomatoes from our garden this summer!

Pillow Case Dress

Today I attempted my first biggish sewing project! I made a pillow case dress for my 1 year old daughter. I am quite proud of my efforts but I have also learned a few things from the exercise!

I have to admit that I didn't follow one particular pattern (but I did download this pattern) which would explain why it doesn't actually fit her as a dress but a fitted top!!! I also checked out a couple of movies on youtube.

Oh well- I have a friend with a little baby so it will be a great gift for her. It will actually fit her as a dress too!

So - here are the things I learned

* Follow a pattern!
* If you are a beginner sewer use matching cotton not contrasting.
* Sew with the side you want to see facing you. The downside tends to have untidy strands of cotton.

 I also learned

* How to sew around corners. I also thought this would be difficult!
* How to form french seams (folding over twice). They are really neat.
* How to sew a channel for elastic then attach elastic to one end of the channel so that it gathers (to form the neckline).

** Thanks to Funky Fabrix for the material.

Farewell 2011

2011 in a nutshell:

* We were busy tending to our brand new baby this time last year (born on 30 Dec 2010) & we just can't imagine life without her!

* Our beautiful son grew from a toddler into a little boy!

* We welcomed 4 more girls into our family - of the Rhode Island Red variety!

* My husband spent many months away - interstate and overseas - for work. Thankfully those days are behind us. Whilst there were many wonderful moments those days were also difficult & we missed each other dearly.

* I began tutoring a primary school student. Great fun & good to keep up my skills!

* We created- in the kitchen, at the sewing machine & in the garden! I began sewing & created quite a few pieces (that I'm proud of) during the year. I need to choose some more complicated patterns in 2012!

* I met some new friends!And caught up with old friends!!

* We enjoyed a few short family holidays.

* Every single day I woke up grateful for my life - my friends, my family, my children, & my husband!

Happy New Year Everybody!