APRIL PHOTO CHALLENGE

Thanks Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim for another great Photo a Day challenge! I was a bit useless doing the March one, I would take photos most days but not get around to posting them! Oops! Let's see how April goes!

1. Your Reflection

I did have a funny idea to take a photo in a mirror at work,

but I think the security guys would've thought I was strange! 

2. COLOUR

Miss A just LOVES her headbands! And she will

wear as many as she can fit on her head at once!

3. MAIL

I love getting mail, especially if it is something that is 

wrapped like this!!! Tomorrow I will show you

what is in there!

4. SOMEONE WHO MAKES YOU HAPPY
Master K. He loves to dance, and smile and cuddle.
Do you love his bibette? That was what was in the mail!

5.  TINY
The first of my peas to sprout!

6. LUNCH
Good Friday and we are lunching outside!
Miss A is pouting because she couldn't scoop all the
delicious feijoa out by herself!

7. SHADOW
I love sitting on the back lawn with the kids, recently
Master K has learnt the Mexican Wave!

9. YOUNGER YOU
I must be about 6 months old here! Cute huh!?

10. COLD
Well, I did plan on putting a pic of a nice cold
glass of Sav up but I drank it all before I remembered!

11. WHERE YOU ATE BREAKFAST
I consider a cuppa coffee breakfast! And it was at the
airport waiting for Oma to fly in!

13. SOMETHING YOU FOUND
A great little cocktail bar that does amaing Dessert and Cocktail specials!!!!
Creme Brulee, Biscotti and Dark Choc Mousse on Berry Couli
with a Passionfruity cocktail turned sorbet using liquid Nitrogen!

15. SUNSET

16. FLOWER
The only flower left in the garden.
Miss A loves picking and gifting flowers!

17. SOMETHING YOU DON'T LIKE
And who does like bills and filing tax returns???

HAIR
I think I need another choppity chop!

SOMETHING YOU DREW
I am definitely not the greatest drawers, I doodle

BOTTLE
Or may I say BOTTLES! Thanks Aunty M and Uncle Al
for Mummas Duty Free!

LAST THING YOU BOUGHT
Master K is teething so mercy dash to the chemist for
some good ol' Nurofen!

DGs Lemon Coconut syrup cake

One more post before I forget! Thee amazingly delicious lemon cake from this book........

350 g plain flour

3/4 c sugar

Pinch of salt

100 g coconut

3 t baking powder

200 g butter

Zest and juice of two lemons

2 eggs, lightly beaten

200-300 ml milk

Syrup

1/4 c sugar

Juice of 2 lemons

Grease and line the base of a loose-bottom 20 cm cake tin. (I used my ring cake and it turned out awesome)

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, coconut and baking powder in food processor.  When the butter is rubbed in, make a well in the centre and add the zest, lemon juice and eggs.  Gradually mix in the milk til you have a soft dropping consistency.

Pour into prepared tin and bake at 180c for 40-50 minutes or until cake is risen and springy and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

For the syrup, combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat gently to dissolve sugar. Drizzle syrup over warm cake. Remove from tin and cool on rack.  

Serve dusted with icing sugar, or split, fill and ice with passionfruit and lemon frosting<<<Ooh Yum! Must try!

Plymouth Pie Recipe

This is a Holy Moly yummo pie that is a definite fave on our meal list! It comes from Destitute Gourmet: Everyday Smart Food for the Family. I like to sneak in a few extra veges in there when available, like grated courgette or finely sliced silverbeet, and a large amount of veges on the side too! So here is the recipe:

1 T oil
1 onion, chopped
700g lean minced beef
1 T Worcestershire sauce
3 T plain flour
250 ml beef stock plus 1 beef stock cube
1 carrot, peeled and cut in fine dice
4 T tomato sauce
Pinch of mixed herbs
3/4 c peas
Salt and Pepper

Pie Crust
2 1/4 c plain flour
170 g butter
pinch of salt
1/2 c cold water
Egg for glazing

For the crust, mix the butter into the flour with the fingertips or in a food processor, add the salt and bring the mix together with col water.  Press the pastry into a ball and wrap in greaseproof paper/clingwrap. Rest in the fridge for half an hour.
To make the filling, heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the onion til soft. Add the beef to the pan and brown the meat.
Add the Worcestershire sauce and flour, mix well and stir in the stock and crumbled stock cube.  Add the carrot, tomato sauce and herbs then cover with a lid. Turn the heat down and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the peas, season with salt and pepper and simmer another 3-5 minutes then set aside.
Divide the pastry in half and roll out. Line a 23-cm metal pie dish with pastry, fill with the cooled meat mix.  Cover with the remaining pastry, crimp the edges and brush with beaten egg.  Poke a couple of holes in the top to release steam and bake the pie at 190c for 30 minutes or until crisp and golden.

*We like cheese in this household, so I grated a cup of cheese on to the meat mix before putting the lid on the pie!

Dinner is served!!!

Oh and I hear that DG is working on a new cookbook with recipes $15 and under! Can't wait!

Things I'm Loving

Another week of showing you the simple things I love! Join in and linky up to Paisley Jade!

I am LOVING that the Nescafe Cafe Menu is now available in a 30 pack, 

but would love it even more if the Mocha came in this box!!!

I am loving my KeepCup that I won in a Facebook comp from Bubbalino. 

Seriously! Check out the gorgeous stuff Vanessa  has on her site! I can't wait to

receive the bibettes I bought from her this week!

I am loving going out on a beautiful sunny day and eating sushi with my kiddiwinx! They both love it!

Menu Plan 26/03/12

I know I should've posted this on Sunday but time has been flying by and I have been useless at making time to get on here, just quick checks in the morning and afternoon. Today, I've been home sick but trying to sleep off this yuck cold while the kids are at care.

Anyway! Here is my fortnightly plan for dinners

MONDAY             

Chicken Fried Rice              
Garlic Honey Chicken w/ Potato Rosti

TUESDAY

Bacon Selfcrusting Quiche    
Kumara & Bacon Risotto

WEDNESDAY
Tacoes                                  
Bacon & Egg Pie

THURSDAY

Roast Pork                          
Mexican Chicken Mole w/ homemade tortilla

FRIDAY

Garlic Steak, Chips & Salad
HomeMade Burgers

SATURDAY

HomeMade Pizzas                
Minestrone Soup w/ fresh bread

SUNDAY

Plymouth Pie                          
Pork Chow Mein

I will get back on here soon and post some recipes, especially the Plymouth Pie from Destitute Gourmet, sooooo good! Other recipes are from Countdowns Food Magazine!

Things I'm Loving

Here's a great theme for a weekly (or maybe fortnightly!) post from Paisley Jade!

V Iced Coffee

Unfortunately stock around the country has run out.

Lemon Coconut Cake and my Bundt Cake Tin

Can't get enough lemons at the mo. But my own tree is not 

producing any fruit yet so have to forage for them.

Whanau Time

Always full of laughter, happiness and lots of AROHA!

My Children

I love how my daugther loves to be arty farty

and

I love how my son is such a boy and is already keen to 

go for adventures in Daddas ute!

What's for Dinner Miss A???

Yesterday I was struggling to come up with something for dinner, feeling a bit blah and very uninspired, I asked Miss A what we should have for dinner. "Soup" she says!!!! Sounds good! So I start making a loaf of bread and off we go to the little shop around the corner for a pumpkin!!! $3.47 each! I really need to get a pumpkin vine in!!!

MUMMA'S EASY PUMPKIN SOUP

1 onion, diced
4 bacon slices, diced
2 T butter
Melt the butter in a large pot, fry onion and bacon until cooked.

1 pumpkin, peeled, seeded and chopped. Put all into the pot with 2 cups of chicken stock. Cover and simmer until the pumpkin is soft and mushy. Blitz with a stick mixer or in a processor. Season with salt and pepper, I also added a couple of pinches of nutmeg.

Just before serving, I stir in about 200ml of cream. Served with fresh bread!

There was plenty leftover too, some for the freezer and some for lunch today I think!

Home Made Muesli

I've been making my own muesli for a while now, the idea came from watching Te Radar in his attempt to live a self-sufficient life in a series called Off The Radar. It is also great because it is filling, it is wheat free if you choose and you can add what ever you want, there is no set ingredients!

In a jug I mix together 1/2c honey and 1/4c canola oil, melt in microwave and mix it up, then rub it into 1.5 kg bag of Homebrand Quick Oats and mix in whatever nuts and seeds you like.

I have Pumpkin seeds, Linseeds, Sunflower seeds,
Walnuts, Cashews and Almonds

Bake in a preheated oven at 180c. 

Now this is important!

Mix the muesli every few minutes so it doesn't burn at the bottom or stick together.

This should take 20-30 minutes, or until as golden brown as you prefer.

Once done, leave to cool a bit, then add your dried fruit. 

I have used apricots, mango, pineapple and sultanas.

I also like yoghurt covered sultanas, but it is important to wait until muesli is

 completely cooled before you add these.

Give it a good mix then pour into your cereal container. 

ENJOY!

I like to top it off with stewed fruit and yoghurt for a super filling breakfast. Or if I am on an early shift and have a breakfast break, I take along a resealable snack bag filled with muesli with me. 

Mummas Cooking in the Kitchen!

Super Happy to have my mixer back after it's 3rd time away being fixed! Hopefully, the last too! So I got all inspired to do a massive bake fest! Ends up I didn't actually need the mixer for anything!

Here's my list I had at the beginning of the day:

• Cinnamon Pinwheels with Cream Cheese Icing
• Raisin Loaf
• Tui Flower's Brownie
• Macadamia Bikkies
• WheatFree Peanut Butter Cookies
• Bread for tonites Dinner - BLTs

Well, I started off doing great, until I realised I didn't have all the essential ingredients for some of the things on my list! And I need to stop going to the supermarket everytime I run out of one or two things, because I end up with way more, like a bottle or two of wine!!! So I used some imagination when it came to the pinwheels which needed brown sugar...

I searched the pantry for what else could make a tasty treat of deliciousness?  When I was younger mum made a chocolate spread that rivalled nutella by far! So I softened 100g butter, mixed in a couple of spoonfuls of cocoa, a few drops of vanilla essence and a few spoonfuls of icing sugar. I have a bag of unshelled Macadamia nuts from Farro Fresh at Te Awa, shelled a few and chopped them up. Rolled out the dough, spread out the chocolate and sprinkled on the nuts, rolled up, sliced and baked! Just before end of cooking (and once they were out of oven cooling) I poured over maple syrup and dusted with icing sugar! Yum!

My bread didn't turn out as planned though, it proved perfectly, and was shaping up excellent but timing just wasn't right and I had left it on the bench while we went out for Miss A's swimming lesson. I really should have just given it a knead and reshape, lesson learnt for next time! Should still make yummy BLTs....

What a day! It has just gone past 3pm and I have just had lunch! 

But loads of baking done, house is clean, washing is getting sundried and both babies are snoring!!! Love it!

Dear Photograph

I had seen a link to this site a while ago but didn't pay too much attention to it until I found it again today and I had to share with you, because it's pretty awesome!

Have you got a photo that brings back amazing memories? Well, this site shows a photo of a photo in the exact same spot the original was taken. Does that make sense? You'll see what I mean!

There are some amazing little stories behind these memories. Some emotional, some funny. I'll have to look at some of my old pics! And I mite just have to do something like this for the kids! Remind me in 15 years!

Check this one out:

http://dearphotograph.com/post/16248938737/dear-photograph-i-wish-the-climbing-up-was-as

Yummy New Dinner!

Flicking through an old magazine I recently and came across this....

ONE-PAN CHICKEN BAKE
500 g baby tomatoes, skin on, sliced into chunks
8 cloves garlic, skin on
4 carrots, peeled and sliced (add other vege if you want, I used courgette and kumara as well)
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
1 large bunch of fresh basil
salt and peper
2 T olive oil
4 chicken Marylands (thigh and drum attached)

Preheat oven to 180c
Line a shallow baking tray with baking paper.
Scatter veges around the dish
Tear basil leaves and scatter over veges
Season and drizzile over the oil
Trim excess fat from the chicken, place skin side down on tp of the vege and season.
Bake for 45 minutes, turn the chicken pieces, skin side up. Bake for a further 20 minutes or until the juices run clear.
To serve, place veges on the plate, place the chicken on top and spoon over juices.

Chocolate for the Soul!

I know I've already blogged today, but I really couldn't not share this with you! It makes my heart skip!

One thing I cannot imagine my life without is music. I love music, it makes me happy, it calms me down or amps me up. Before my babies came into our lives, my Huny and I often went to live gigs, which always left us on a buzz for days and days! But one gig I really, really, really want to experience is an amazing group of Kiwi Artists that join together to form Fly My Pretties. I am hoping that next summer I we as a family will be able to see them!

Here are two of their latest releases from their last summer tour, it really is chocolate for the soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8KC_HA-ybA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JXXam-VpvE

Must Recommend!

Flicking through the magazines that come in the weekend papers and I came across an article about the Art of Homemaking and how it is making a comeback! It featured a mum and her daughter and how they liked to have tea parties and also mentioned some of the blogs she loves to read, like Mouse House for example. Sounds familiar!
And another Mum who stalked blogs for ideas for her sons 1st birthday (again.... familiar!), but to buy all the awesome things that these American mums have available to them is just ridiculously overpriced here or hard to source! So she has started an online store called Dots N Spots! I am just drooling over everything on her site! SUPER CUTE!
But I have to remember.... I am trying to save money. Must get back on track! But look at the paper lanterns and the invites and the cupcake cups and wrappers! Ooh! She even does themes! Eek! Stop looking NOW!

Te Ra o Nga Tamariki

Today is Childrens Day, and a beautiful day it is!
This morning we took Master K and Miss A with the dog to the Hamilton Gardens, instead of the usual route down by the river we found a new path that took us to a Russian bell tower that has an amazing view over the gardens!

We've walked around the gardens so many times yet I'd never been up here! It will be great for wedding photos (another little thing I enjoy doing), especially if it is a rainy day!

We spent a good hour or so down there then came home to make Wheat-free Pancakes for breakfast. I used Cafe Style Pancake recipe from Destitute Gourmet Sophie Grays book ENJOY! They were gobbled up before I could take a pic of these light, fluffy, delish pancakes but will post the recipe later.

After putting Master K down for a sleep and doing the housework, Miss A and I whipped up some cupcakes for our lunch time treat....

Then lunch out on the deck in the beautiful Autumn sunshine. Master K must have known it was lunch time, woke up just as we finished setting the table!

My babies mean the world to me, I can't imagine life without them now. Even with all the frustrations that come with raising a very strong minded little girl and a baby that just loves to make sure Mumma can hear him during the night, sometimes several times a night, we have so much fun, enjoy laughing and dancing and just being together. 

I love you my babies. You will always be my babies even when you are all growed up. Thank you for bringing me laughter and happiness and so much love. You make my heart skip a beat. I look forward to creating many memories with you both.

Forever yours, Mumma.