what to knit when you’re expecting

June 19, 2013 By 9 Comments

I am totally in knitting mode at the moment. Cold days, even colder nights, flannelette jammies and ugg boots on, sick babies here, new babies being born and a real need for knits to be flying off my needles and onto my little ones at the moment. Now I love finding patterns off the internet but I hate printouts and losing the patterns. I just love books. Sure, I know you can put it on your ipad but I’m just a book person. And I found a new knitting book at Dymocks yesterday that had to come home with me. What to knit when you’re expecting by Nikki Van De Car.

I do have quite the collection of baby knitting books because there is no better gift to give a new mum than a little knitted number (that and a cleaner or a cooked dinner). And this one has a lovely mix of patterns AND the cardigans and knits are seamless. Quite often baby books have patterns knit on 2 needles and involve lots of stitching pieces together. Like the little cardy I’m knitting at the moment.

Plus my lovely aunty Debbie had knitted the maile cardigan for elodie and I just had to knit it and keep the pattern. We got a lot of wear out of this little cardigan which is now tucked away for a teddy bear to wear or to hang in elodie’s room when I get around to decorating her room. This is my sweet elodie at 2 weeks old. Awwwwwww.

The patterns in the book are divided into 3 trimesters and what I love is that the 3rd trimester section of the book is devoted to little projects. Because mummy to be is getting tired. There are burp clothes, bibs, hats and booties. Blankets, cardies and clothes are reserved for the first 2 trimesters. This is Autumn Leaves which some of you might have found on Ravelry as it’s a popular one.

I’ve put photos of a few favourites and I am just loving this book.  There are 8 pages with terms, photos of how to knit and a few instructions which beginners will find helpful and I always think having a bigger reference book is helpful for beginners (I shared a few of my favourite how to knitting books here) or be sitting near YouTube when you get stuck. Nothing like watching a tutorial to help you with a new technique.

It’s so nice to see patterns that I love on ravelry in the one book and a nice range of patterns from beginner to more intermediate which keeps everyone happy. Lately I’ve seen a few baby books that just have the same old same old but I was pleasantly surprised with this book and give it a big 5 stars. It might just be my go to book.

I picked up this book for $28 at Dymocks as it just had to come home with me. If you buy your books online you can find it here, here and here. And I’ve just found Nikki’s blog here.

Filed Under: babies, knitting, ravelry, review

raspberry and chocolate chunk cookies

June 18, 2013 By 12 Comments

I don’t usually bake on a Monday morning. Instead you’ll find me pool side at the twins 9am swimming class. But elodie and emerson were still sick, it was freezing cold and we were staying home. And I can’t imagine baking without my helpers in the kitchen…….who help themselves to ice cream from the freezer and it wasn’t even mid morning yet. But my elodie does have a sore throat and a bad cough so maybe she had a little bowl of what she wanted.

These cookies are goooood. I’m trying not to gain a few kilos this winter but sometimes you need to throw the diet out the window and get some baking done. And these cookies are easy and delicious. I think they’re perfect when you want something a bit more fancy than a regular biscuit or cookie but you don’t want anything as rich as a brownie. And you can choose how you’ll eat them – will you eat them bent over the baking tray when they’re hot out of the oven and oozing chocolate and kind of soft and bendy. Or wait a while and eat them when they are chewy or if you’re very patient or you get some later in the day (IF they last that long) and they have a nice crunch to them.

happy baking………………

5.0 from 1 reviews

raspberry and chocolate chunk cookies
 
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easy and delicious
Author:
Recipe type: baking
Serves: 24

What you’ll need
  • 125g butter, room temperature
  • 170g caster sugar, I use raw caster
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract/essence
  • 185g plain flour
  • 30g cocoa powder
  • 1tsp baking powder/bicarb
  • 100g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1-2 handfuls frozen raspberries or berries, roughly chopped

Instructions
  1. Cream butter and sugar together with the vanilla. I do this in my thermomix for at least 20 seconds speed 4 or 5. Scrape down bowl.
  2. Add in egg and mix well. Just 10 seconds in the thermomix on speed 4 and another scrape down of your bowl. If you’re doing this in a kitchen aid or mixer then do longer times until it’s combined
  3. Sift in flour. cocoa and baking powder/bicarb and gently combine.
  4. Now I like to tip out my mixture into a large bow. Tip in the chopped chocolate (not too big pieces otherwise they’ll take over your cookies) and raspberries and gently fold through with a spatula so that it’s evenly distributed.
  5. Now the fun and getting your hands dirty party – make cookies from a tablespoonful of mixture and place on lined baking trays.
  6. Leave some room as these babies spread.
  7. Flatten a little and bake for about 12-15 minutes in a 180 degrees (a bit less for fan forced, remember my oven is from the 70′s).
  8. Leave to cool on tray for a couple of minutes then lift off the baking sheet by the paper and leave to cool on cooling racks.
  9. You’ll get 2 trays of cookies from this recipe and they lasted till just after dinner.

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Filed Under: baking, chocolate, recipe, thermomix Tagged With: ,

using my yarn swift for the first time

June 16, 2013 By 23 Comments

Nothing like having a lovely new gadget and absolutely no idea how to use it….but that’s why we have youtube. Honestly if I’m stuck with anything I just youtube it. Take my lovely new Glimakra yarn swift. It’s from Sweden via the lovely Suzy Hausfrau and is just a dream to use. Well it’s actually a dream to look at too. Apparently they have been making these in Sweden for over 80 years so I expect this to last a long time in my craft room.

Now you might be just knitting from balls of wool at the moment. But if you’re into hand dyed, hand spun yarns or some of my favourite brands like malabrigo/madelinetosh/quince & co then you’ll find yourself ending up with hanks of yarn. I usually use the back of a dining chair when it has come time to turn a hank into a ball of wool. Once, just once, the very first time I had to unwind a hank I tried to do it with the yarn laying flat and I hovered above trying to wind it. Don’t try this at home. It ended up in a ball of knots and I learn the hard way. Husbands or children can come in handy if they stand with their hands outstretched and hold the hank/skein out for you and you wind it.

But this yarn swift is the way to go. It was so much fun to use I can’t wait to use it again. And I’ve since learnt that you can get a ball winder and then you have the two going at once and save your arm which does get a bit sore. Now to use this fine piece of equipment, you unfold your hank and pop it over the top of the swift, tighten the screw but not too tight. remove any little ties that are holding the hank in place, find the end and start winding. As you pull the wool/yarn the swift turns around (saving you from moving your arm around to unwind the wool from the hank). The kids thought it was fabulous and all stood in awe as it was moving, kind of like a hills hoist spinning in the wind (at high speed) is a good description.

and that my friends is how to use a yarn swift. Just in case you were like me and a little clueless in that department.

and I liked these two youtube videos here and here on the subject! Do you have a yarn swift? If you are handy or have a handyman around the house you can even make your own (again, youtube it).

Filed Under: knitting, ravelry, suzy hausfrau, yarn, youtube

saturday mornings are always better than friday mornings

June 15, 2013 By 25 Comments

Picture this…………….it’s 8.30am on a friday. You have your toddler in the kitchen crying out for a milk with the fridge door open, your 4 year old son is trying to pull off his baby brothers trousers which he wanted to wear to school, he put them on without undies and he’s walking around the house trying to get them off. His twin is crying out for someone to zip up her hoodie and their big sister is trying to gather up her homework and find her reading journal for me to sign off for the week.

I’m on the floor and wrestling with a baby who keeps pulling his leg out of his leggings, you do one leg and go to do the other and he’s pulling out the leg that you just did. And everything was going on and everyone needed me at exactly the same time. I also knew I had a visitor coming at 10 to see elodie and I just wanted to either cry or go sit on the couch and watch morning tv with my coffee and let everyone sort themselves out and be ready by the door for the school run. Why did retro daddy have that 8.30am meeting and rush out the door on me?

Welcome to my yesterday! I figured that after the stress – that just continued with finn finding a dirty jumper, not finding his shoes (in the right spot at the door by the way) and more crying when the girls hair was being done – it could only get better. Well elodie just couldn’t stop coughing all day and after having a brief hospital visit the night before for a rash I ended up taking to the dr. Chest infection so she joins emerson on antibiotics this week.

Later that day, about 5pm, tillie walked in with a screw as a door had come right off its top hinge at the top, that would be one of the new doors. It looks like the guy who did our doors used the same screws that were on the old doors and aren’t long enough or strong enough to hold the much heavier new doors. Oh boy that means 16 doors might need new screws. I married mr accountant-man not mr handyman but a trip to Bunnings and the cordless drill and we have one door back on and working.

Saturday morning elodie woke up with a new rash on her legs that thankfully went down and away after her antibiotics and I was just glad I had made the executive decision the night before not to do girl guide camp. I expected Keira to be devastated but a trip to ikea with her daddy for a desk for her room sorted that out. She did make a shopping list that also included a new lamp, swivel chair and big comfy arm chair but I managed her expectations and told her she was going to ikea for a desk. That’s all.

So as I write this I should be freezing at camp but instead have cleaned floors, done some knitting, cleared out my craft room, made homes for the new wool that came to my house this week including this gorgeous malabrigo from jellywares, cuddled my babies, given out the medicine and tried to make headway into the room formally known as the laundry.

enjoy your weekend…………………………..and I hope you enjoy that biscuit crumb that snuck into my photo there. I am a serial biscuit eater. Coffee and biscuits and knitting just go together.

Filed Under: family, knitting

Should I buy a thermomix?

June 14, 2013 By 83 Comments

Lately when I put a recipe or mention my thermomix on Facebook I get a few of the same questions coming my way. What is it? Is it worth it? Is it suitable for large families? How often do you use it? And I do a bit of a spiel and say I must write a blog post on it. Well here it is. The blog post. I’ve also written this one here about why I love my thermomix and kitchen aid …………

So first up what is a Thermomix? 

Well to me a Thermomix is a kitchen gadget that has all the bells and whistles. It has built in scales so you can measure in your ingredients as you go. It will reset to zero between each addition of food so you weigh in everything as you go. It cooks your food, stirs your food, finely or roughly processes it, it steams, it cooks sauces and curries. It can chop your vegies, it makes a soup from start to finish. It dices and sautés your onion and garlic for you. It does the best white sauce ever and will also grate your cheese and combine it with the white sauce for the best and easiest cheese sauce ever.

Is it worth it?

For a few years I couldn’t imagine spending that amount of money on a thermomix. They are a smidge under $2000 which is a lot of money. I know that. But I wish I had one when the twins were born. It would have saved us from eating frozen fish and chips, takeaway and frittata most nights of the week. I use my thermomix almost every day for dinner. I always use it for my baking too and we love desserts in there like custard and sorbets. For me it has paid for itself within the first year. Instead of grabbing pizza on Friday night because I think there is nothing in the freezer it does a quick dough and the kids pop on tomato paste, ham, cheese and other toppings and bang in the oven and done. Much cheaper and healthier too.

If you’re living on your own or a couple you can make a quick meal all in the one bowl in about 20 minutes, delicious and creamy soup from just an onion, pumpkin and some butter and stock powder that will taste so much better than your canned soup. You could steam a little portion of fish or meat with some vegies while your rice is cooking in the bowl. With a busy family you can be doing other things while pasta or dinner is cooking in the thermomix bowl. It heats, cooks and stirs it all safely and when the timer rings you know to go back and get dinner on the table. And it stops cooking once the timer is off. Genius.

And what about large families?

If you are used to feeding a tribe of people at your house then you might be looking at the 2L bowl and thinking there is no way I could get dinner out of that. We usually get leftovers but we have lots of little eaters and one big man eater. And often when I have leftovers they get eaten by my big man eater.

When I make a risotto or pasta dish cooked entirely within my Thermomix then it takes about 350-400g raw pasta/rice which is more than enough for us. Often I might just make the sauce like bolagnese or cheese sauce or curry in the bowl and cook my pasta on the stove or rice in the bowl. That’s the great thing about the thermomix. You could be making a big bolagnese and make oodles of pasta on the stove and feed a huge family.

And there is the steamer. The thermomix comes with it’s own steamer called the Varoma which can sit on top of your machine and while the bowl is cooking you could be steaming your meat /fish/veg up above. Another great way to make a big meal for your family.

When I do cookies I get at least 6 trays of cookies from the delicious choc chip cookie recipe in the book that comes with your thermomix. And cookies from scratch just taste better and have less of the nasty preservatives and stuff that go into packaged food. That’s probably one reason that people love their thermomix, making things easily from scratch means you know what is going into it but you’re cutting down your preparation and cooking time.

Cake recipes are generous and making your own caster and icing sugar as well as almond meal is a great way to save money. I think the thermomix is just perfect for large families. It’s a great way to be saving money by making most of your food from scratch. You can teach your kids how to use it and get some help in the kitchen. You get lots more variety and if you’re a busy mum then you’re going to love that you can be doing other things while your soup or curry or pasta is stirring itself.

I just love that I can walk in the door after keira’s activities, chuck a few things in, do a bit of sauteeing in the bowl, add a few more things and dinner will be cooking and on my table in about 20 minutes. That is what I love about it most and why I couldn’t live without it!!!

So how did I go? Did I mention everything I love about it? Anything you want to add about why you love your own? Or are you lusting after one? Or are you just not into them?

Filed Under: thermomix

there goes the craft budget

June 13, 2013 By 26 Comments

Well I’m all craft show-ed out. I haven’t been to the quilt and craft fair at Darling Harbour for a couple of  years as I’ve always had a baby or something on that weekend. But this year I decided to pop in for a few hours on my own and check it out. I was not disappointed. I came, I saw, I photographed, I shopped, I came home again.

I also got told off for trying to take a photo of a stall….naughty naughty. I usually ask but I’d stepped back and was so impressed with the crocheted cushions and wool on a wool store but was shooed shooed away ‘no photos, no photos’. So from then on I asked each stallholder if I could take a photo!

oh now I’m a Brother girl but these Bernina 750QEs were something else. Huge and looked amazing.

I spent quite a bit of time at the lovely Suzy Hausfrau store. I love Renae’s store (it’s Renae not Suzy even though I often want to call her Suzy) and she outdid herself with her stall set up. She also outdid herself with the Quince & Co which is a new range for the store and the first time you can buy it in Oz (it’s from the states). Wow so soft and squishy. Just how I like my yarn skeins and the colours are just lovely.

I may have gone a little nuts with the Quince & Co but it is something else. Really gorgeous stuff and I’m thinking baby knits with the Puffin and a cowl for myself with the Lark or perhaps a little cardy for Elodie. I also got to meet the lovely Jane of Rose Red whose blog I have been reading for a long time.

I also had to get this super cute woof woof kit from Craft Schmaft. Would you look at it. I had serious indecision over tummy bunny or woof woof but settled on the woof woof as it will match elodie’s quilt perfectly. And well done to Claire who has her own app with one of her cute tutorials.

 

One of the last stalls we visited and loved was By Lynette with lots of lovely Noro. I had to get this little kit as I just loved the pink in this Noro. A super busy stall and lots of lovely things.

Highlights of the day were running into lovely people like Amy of Flowerflame, Kate of One Flew Over who is so lovely and I must say has awesome glasses, Sarah of Belles Families, my buddy for the day Lorelei of Craftmumship who is just a lovely lady to be with, Claire of Craft Schmaft, Sheridan of  Chalet Girl, Wendy the lovely lady behind local quilting group that I went to many moons ago and Mrs Grant of KimoYes who was my high school maths teacher and year 10 co-ordinator from Canberra,

and best photo of the day has to be elodie and the hello kitty cookie cutters I picked up for the girls. She was all over the packet as soon as I got home and has taken them for herself into her little cubby. I missed my babies but it was lovely to have a few hours to myself to shop and look around.

Filed Under: craft

my first knit for winter

June 11, 2013 By 31 Comments

Nothing like the satisfaction of finishing off a project, putting it on your model and grabbing some photos in the sunshine.

And this is my first knit for the winter season and I’m loving it. But to tell you the truth there are not enough hours in my day to get through all the winter knitting that is going on inside my head. I need more hours! I’m even making more of a determined effort to switch off the laptop each night and just knit. It doesn’t always happen but I’m working on it.

I knit this in size 1-2 and as you can tell it’s the perfect fit. Emerson wears 18-24 months in his clothes so I think the pattern sizing is pretty spot on but I’m not expecting this to last next winter the way those sleeves are looking.

Pattern details are here and there is a link to the free pattern, knit in 8ply Bendigo Woollen Mills Silk Supreme (lovely but it’s got some long hairs in it, might go luxury next time) and on ravelry here. Just to let you know that I knit this on 4.5mm needles as the pattern called for. It makes it more of a loose knit which I liked. If I’d knit this on 4mm I think it would have been a little more snug on him. Thank goodness for going up a size in the needles.

It’s definitely knitting season in this house. Today I treated myself to the latest copy of Interweave Knits and there was a knitting book in my letterbox from Amazon. And later on this week I’ll share with you my latest knitting obsession……………Icelandic knitting. So are you in knitting season yet?

Filed Under: baby, bendigo woollen mills, knitting, ravelry

Win a $500 Williams-Sonoma voucher thanks to Allens Cheekies

June 11, 2013 By 137 Comments

This post is brought to you by Allens

I couldn’t turn down this post because anyone who knows me knows that I have a serious sweet tooth. And I love a lolly or two. Or the whole bag. Why do I really buy lollies? It’s not for the little ones, it’s for me. I hide them up in the pantry and hope no one else finds them.

Allens are launching a new lolly called Cheekies and so I was asked to think of a cheeky moment for this blog post. But not too cheeky. So that rules out anything I might want to share about me and my honey George Clooney. This is a G rated blog and we better keep it that way. But I will just say this – I have always been loyal to George. Other actors have come and gone but George has been my main Hollywood crush for as long as I can remember. And he’s ageing so well, don’t you think?

So I’ll tell you about my other cheeky thing to do. Shop. On my own. Just me, my credit card and a bit of peace and quiet. Sometimes I’ll ask retro daddy does he need anything at the hardware store…….not because I’m concerned about the house but because the hardware store is conveniently located next to Spotlight and Lincraft. Mind you it’s not always peace and quiet and sometimes a bit of cheeky shopping ends up involving most of the kids too who are just cheeky themselves.

Or I’ll say I just need to pop up to Spotlight for some thread…………..but am there to look at the fabric, see what’s new and just have a bit of peace and quiet. A little cheeky of me but I wouldn’t be the first mother who likes to spend time at shops without the rest of the crew. In fact for Mothers Day I ducked out of the house, got a bus and a train and headed to Bondi Junction on my own for some serious shopping on my own.

 

Now Cheekies come in mini bags and are delicious fruit flavoured jellies with a yummy soft centre, the pack is perfect for your handbag or nappy bag or when you want a sweet little treat without eating a whole bag of lollies yourself. And I’m sure I’m not the not the only person who has done that before. A box of Cheekies arrived in the mail for me and these have been great while I wait for Keira at one of her many school activities or when I need a bit of a 3pm afternoon pick me up. Please don’t tell me that you have a carrot or celery stick for your 3pm pick me up.

Got a cheeky moment or cheeky indulgence to share? Share one with me in the comments and you could win a $500 gift voucher to spend at Williams-Sonoma Australia (which also includes Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm). Now that is some seriously cheeky spending right there.

{competition is open to Australian residents only, entries close Sunday 30 June and please read the full terms and conditions here Cheekies Retro Mummy Terms and Conditions}

This is what it looks like when you excitedly arrive at Pottery Barn for a 9am start only to discover they open at 9.30 every day.

Filed Under: review

knitting in my new workspace

June 10, 2013 By 14 Comments

We’ve been a laptop household for a long time. In fact the last time I had a desktop computer in my home was probably 2001 when I was a single girl. So we’re going back a bit there. But recently I knew that it was time for something bigger for me to be blogging on AND there was that little issue of needing a computer for the family, especially with Keira doing her maths online and assignments. Mind you I think she might be using the laptop as I am loving my new ‘puter.

I did some research and ended up with an asus all in one and am loving it. Touch screen, wireless mouse and keyboard and a few bells and whistles. I searched for the best price and then they knocked off another a little bit more so I’ m happy. My end of financial year present to myself. Woo hoo.

So I’ve got my computer in my craft room.  To the right is my sewing machine and overlocker and I’ve got knitting needles and supplies around me. All in a nice sunny part of my house. What more could I ask for. This afternoon, I just had some weaving in and the underarms on emerson’s little winter jumper so I youtube’d Kitchener stitch for a refresher, watched a few youtube videos and sat finishing in the ends. It was all very civilised. This sitting at a desk instead of on the couch with laptop perched on my lap. Which is how I’ve blogged and done everything……forever!

And so emerson’s jumper got a little blocking for that pesky bottom edge to stay down. I’m not doing buttons and I did discover that the pattern is free here on purl soho. This is a great unisex jumper and a real winner if you’re into seamless knitting. It starts from the bottom up and I might just do another one for emerson before winter is out. It’s not too difficult either!

Expect some photos this week with my littlest model

Filed Under: blogging, knitting, last minute knitted gifts

long time no fabric giveaway 1

June 9, 2013 By 232 Comments

Well it has been a long time between fabric giveaways. I’ve been getting organised and up to date on all my past giveaways. I still have 2 running – the mother/daughter netball session with me, Keira and Liz Ellis here and the 4 x $1000 family bike packages here. And now it’s fabric time. I have 3 fabric giveaways coming up in the next few weeks as I’ve just had a few deliveries. This fabric is due to be released in September and is the latest range from Kate Spain, called Sunnyside.

It’s fresh and fun with shades of blue, green, purple, yellow, grey and orange. I’ve started using a layer cake to make this fun quilt – excuse a few triangles going the wrong way. It’s a long weekend here and I’ve been taking 20 minute breaks from what I’m doing to duck into my craft room, cut a few more squares in half and pop them into place. This quilt will probably hang over the couch and I’m just loving the colours.

I’m giving away a layer cake and charm square pack to the winner. And I’ll have 2 runners up prizes of a charm square pack each. You can enter wherever you live in the world, one entry per person.

Just tell me what you’re going to make with this prize and I’ll pick the best answer.

Good luck! I’ll pick a winner this time next week.

Filed Under: fabric, giveaway, giveaways

date night risotto

June 7, 2013 By 11 Comments

I have called this date night risotto because, well, date night happens at home these days. The kids in bed, a nice meal, maybe a bit of takeaway, a little glass of wine which I don’t drink much of these days and you have date night in. You could also call this dish ‘I have nothing in the vegie crisper risotto’ because most of the ingredients are from your pantry. Nice.

Now my Thermomix has probably paid for itself just by the number of times I’ve made risotto in it. I think it’s one of the best things that it does and I’m sure all the Thermomix owners out there are nodding their heads with me here.  It’s just too easy.

Now the thing about Thermomix risotto is that when it’s finished cooking it looks like this….but don’t worry, it’ll be all right on the night. You leave it in your thermoserve bowl which keeps things warm.

 You cover it up and it works it’s magic in 5 minutes.

Time to plate it up.

Enjoy! Oh and if you like risotto you might love my chicken, lemon and herb risotto too.

date night risotto
 
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delicious and easy risotto
Author:
Recipe type: vegetarian
Serves: 6

What you’ll need
  • 1 onion
  • 2Tbsp butter or olive oil
  • 400g Arborio rice
  • 100mls/g white wine or vegetable stock
  • 1L vegetable stock
  • handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • about 8-10 marinated artichokes
  • small jar sliced sundried tomatoes, drained
  • 200g Danish style feta
  • pepper to season

Instructions
  1. Peel and cut onion in half and place in TM bowl. Process on speed 5 for 10 seconds.
  2. Scrape down sides of bowl, add butter/oil and sauté for 2-3 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1. Scrape down the bowl again.
  3. Add in the rice and wine (or you can use 100mls stock) and sauté for 2 minutes, 100 degrees on reverse and speed 1 or 2. (you can use your butterfly and speed soft and reverse).
  4. Now add in the artichokes, a few cherry tomatoes, 1000mls stock and cook for 17 minutes, 100 degrees, reverse and speed 1 or 2. (you can use your butterfly and speed soft and reverse).
  5. When it’s finished cooking pour into your thermoserve and tip in the sundried tomatoes and feta. Mix well and then cover up and leave for 5 minutes.
  6. When time is up give it a good stir again, season if you like and serve. You can pop a bit of butter over the top for a bit of extra creaminess too.
  7. Enjoy………………

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Filed Under: recipe, thermomix, vegetarian

sneak peek at the new carpet

June 6, 2013 By 54 Comments

Well the green carpet has left the building! I repeat, the green carpet has left the building. And as I was moving things out and cleaning rooms out before the carpet guys came I kept singing a few little lines in my head. Now please excuse the fluff and carpet bits. I have emerson and elodie with me 24/7 and emerson goes nuts when the vacuum is turned on. So I’m still waiting for someone to watch him downstairs so I run the vac over the carpet upstairs. But I have to share……………………………………………

To the song of ‘ I believe I can fly…..’. I was singing ‘say goodbye to the green, say goodbyeeeee for juuuust one last time’………………that’s as far as I got with my lyrics but you can tell that it was a happy day when the carpet was ripped out. There is something about green swirl carpet from the 70′s that just doesn’t sit right with my style and how I want this house to look. This is Keira’s bedroom.

Above we have the before shot and below is with new carpet. Fresh walls to hang her artworks and go with the new carpet and her pretty bed. And let’s remember that originally her room had green and gold leaf wallpaper with green curtains and a green pelmet too. It was the green room.

Now the rooms are still pretty empty, the floors still need to be vacuumed and I’m waiting for an hour or so to myself to go and vac, pick leftover nails and pins off the floors and get things back in rooms.

and it will take us a few years before we have this house just right but that’s ok. Paint and carpet were always going to be the priority and now they are done. Well almost, we have a few French doors to replace and paint white and the stairs need to be carpeted in a week or so once they overlock carpet edges.

The carpet is called Augusta Lane by Beaulieu Carpets and the colour is Mink. It’s a solution dyed nylon which we knew would be best for our big family with lots of little kids. Who make mess. So far so good. Having new carpet and underlay means it is like walking on a mattress compared to 40 year old carpet. We are loving it

So we have a fun weekend of getting things back in bedrooms but it’s just great to have nice carpet. Can you beat me with older carpet at your house or beat my green carpet???

Filed Under: homes, renovation, renovations

Win a $1000 family bike package with Strepsils Children 6+

June 5, 2013 By 8 Comments

This post is brought to you by Strepsils Children 6+

Winter is almost here. It’s cold and the days are getting shorter.  And you know what that means?  Knitting time. Time to put your feet up and knit.

And we have two knitters in the house this year. Mind you we can’t knit together as I’m still needed for a bit of ‘assistance’ over her shoulder. Keira loves to stick her needle way down her knitting and think that it’s a good place to start.

If you want to teach your little ones to knit you’ll just need a pair of big knitting needles (think 6mm up to 9mm), some really thick yarn (go for a 12 or 16 ply) and you’ll some patience and time. Cast on about 30 -40 stitches and just knit every row. Keep going until you have a big long scarf for a little person. Cast off and you are done. Tassels at the end are always fun. We love a good scarf with tassels here.

A nice big warm scarf is just the ticket when you’re a big girl like Keira. I live in a scarf during the cooler weather and my mini me wants to wear one too. And being a mini me means she probably wants a Strepsils like me when she has a sore throat. We’re not big on cough medicine here in our house but Strepsils are on my shopping list when I’ve got a sore throat.

And now there are Strepsils for Keira with the launch of Strepsils for Children 6+,  available in 2 flavours and suitable for children ages 6 and over like my Keira. They come in sugar free Strawberry or colour free Orange which are tastes the kids will love (don’t think I could pull of a eucalyptus with the kids). You can find them at the chemist or supermarket and of course Mummy will be keeping the packet as it is a medicine not a lolly. These are going to be great when Keira has a sore throat and I know she’ll be a strawberry girl.

And now for the best bit, for your chance to win 1 of 4 x  $1000 family bicycle packages to celebrate the launch of Strepsils for Children 6+ just pop over here and enter. Good luck……..

Filed Under: review

broccoli + cherry tomato quiche

June 4, 2013 By 16 Comments

I love a good quiche and there is just no comparison between a home made quiche and one from the supermarket. Don’t you think? But it takes time to make quiche. I won’t lie. You need to put in a bit of elbow grease if you want to make a good old quiche from scratch. Sure you can cheat on the pastry but again there is no comparison with eating a quiche from scratch. Plus it’s a great feeling knowing you’ve made that pastry and blind baked it and so on.

Mind you I’ve had moments where I’ve put so much love into that pastry and quiche and didn’t even get a second slice because it was gobbled up so quickly. It won’t be long before I need to make 2 quiches just to feed the family. I picked up these pie dishes from Williams-Sonoma as a little mother’s day treat for myself. They are made in france and just gorgeous and so much easier to clean than my other tart tins. And I bought two so that I’m prepared. And also because I couldn’t decide on colours.

Quiches in this house generally happen on weekends when I have a bit more time up my sleeve. And a windy rainy Sunday has quiche making day written all over it.

OK, let the quiche making begin……………..

the keeping it real photo

Now this was the 2nd time I’ve made this quiche and although my pastry wasn’t as perfect as last time,  I just love this recipe. The yoghurt adds a yummy tang to it but if you’re not a yoghurt fan just replace with cream for a total of 300mls of pouring cream. I think you’ll love this one. We do…..well unless you are a tillie or a finn and pick out the broccoli……because it’s green.

But I got 2 slices of this quiche so I’m happy…………..oh and with plenty of black pepper, always got to have the pepper on there. If you love vegetarian quiche then another favourite of mine is Quiche Maraichere here.

 

broccoli + cherry tomato quiche
 
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Prep time

Cook time

Total time

 

This has a few steps but is really worth it and just something different.
Author:
Recipe type: Vegetarian
Serves: 6

What you’ll need
  • 1½ cups plain flour
  • 150g cold unsalted butter, chopped
  • few Tbsps ice cold water
  • 1Tbsp butter
  • ½ brown or red onion
  • 1 small head of broccoli or bunch broccollini
  • 150mls natural yoghurt
  • 150mls pouring cream
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tbsp French mustard
  • about 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • a few Tbsp grated cheese
  • salt and pepper

Instructions
  1. Let’s start with the pastry. You can use bought shortcrust pastry or make your own.
  2. Just place the butter and flour in thermomix and combine for 10 seconds speed 5 or 6 until the butter is broken up and it looks like breadcrumbs.
  3. With the machine running add some water and work the pastry for 20 seconds on closed lid setting and interval speed (looks like the wheat button) to form dough. Pour a bit more water in if the mixture isn’t coming together but go easy.
  4. You can do those steps in a food processor too or go old school using your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour and then adding the water in.
  5. Tip out onto some gladwrap and form together into a ball then flatten into a round disc. Pop in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
  6. Unwrap your pastry and place it in between 2 pieces of baking paper, give it a bit of a bash with a rolling pin and roll out so that it’s large enough to fit into your pie dish. Grease your pie dish lightly and lay the pastry in. I’ve used a 27cm pie dish here.
  7. Pinch edges of pastry using your fingers and prick a few times with a fork all over. At this point I like to put my pie dish in the freezer for about 15 minutes to prevent my pastry from shrinking when I bake it.
  8. Place one of the sheets of baking paper in the pie dish over the pastry, cover with baking beans or some rice/dry lentils etc and bake for about 15 minutes in a 180 degrees oven.
  9. Remove the paper and rice/lentils/beans and pop your pastry back in the oven for another 10 or 15 minutes. Don’t worry if the pastry rises a little, it will all turn out fine.
  10. Meanwhile sauté your onion either on the stove top or in your thermomix. Just place onion in the thermomix bowl with the Tbsp butter, chop for 10 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides of the bowl and sauté 2 minutes, at 100 degrees and speed 1. Set aside.
  11. Wash and cut broccoli into small florets, steam for a minute or two in the microwave then run under cold water and set aside.
  12. Pop yoghurt, cream, mustard, egg in thermomix and combine for 5 seconds on speed 5. Season with some salt and pepper then set aside. You can just whisk these ingredients together if you don’t have a thermomix.
  13. Spread onions over the base of the pastry. Then broccoli pieces and put the cherry tomatoes in the spaces between the broccoli.
  14. Top with cheese then pour over the cream mixture, season well and pop in oven for about 45 minutes until the top is lightly golden and the filling is set.
  15. Slice and enjoy. I love this hot or cold and how good is quiche with some salad and bread (garlic bread in winter here is always a winner). Enjoy…..

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Filed Under: baking, quiche maraichere, recipe, thermomix

Win an exclusive 1 hour training session with Liz Ellis

June 3, 2013 By 37 Comments

This post is sponsored by Telstra NetMum

Growing up I loved netball except for one thing. Centre position. Going to girls schools meant that we played A LOT of netball during PE. And being the smallest person in the team. Always, always the smallest person meant that I had to play centre. I was always a bit jealous of goal defence or goal shooter. Just hanging around at one end of the court bound by the lines. Meanwhile centre is running around the whole court dodging the opposing team’s centre position. At least I got a good workout.

 

Keira loves netball. She plays at school during lunch one day a week with the older grades teaching them and they give homemade little certificates to the girls for effort and teamwork with stickers and texta drawings all over them. Keira loves it. She was dying to play netball this year as being 6 she could start playing but with kumon, girl guides, art, sewing, swimming and keyboard each week we’ve had to put it off till next year.

Are you a netball mum? Saturday morning games and after school training a part of your life? The things we do. Telstra has their NetMum competition to reward the mums who are the unsung heroes of netball teams right across Australia. Netball is the most actively played sport for women and girls in Australia. Did you know that? Well now you do.

Thank you Natallie for this great pic! Someone looks very happy!

Now don’t waste time, Telstra NetMum entries close 10th June 2013. So run don’t walk to the Facebook page here and the competition page is here. Lots of great prizes up for grabs including VIP tickets to the ANZ Championship Grand Finals for the winning NetMum and her daughter.

And would you check out my lovely reader Lisa who plays women’s netball and has all the moves.

But wait there’s more………..how would you and your daughter love a 1 hour training clinic with Liz Ellis and me. And Keira.

Now I promise that I won’t be dishing out the netball advice, I’ll leave that to Liz. But I have a little competition thanks to the Telstra NetMum team that we can have some fun with.  All you need to do is tell me your favourite netball moment (could be funny, embarrassing, proud, you name it) and Keira and I will pick our 4 winners. 4 mums and 4 daughters, Keira and myself  makes 10 of us with Liz Ellis at a Sydney location.

{Now you must be an aussie resident to enter, you need to make your own way to the location in Sydney (so that might mean Sydney people only or you need to be willing to come to us), competition runs 3rd-11th June and one entry per person in the giveway. Full terms of my giveaways can be found here}

p.s a big thank you to my lovely readers who sent me photos for this post! I love them! The first picture is from Jillian, the second photos from Jenny, the third is Nathallie’s very happy daughter , thank you Lisa for the pics of you playing and my lovely reader Kylie who sent me that picture of her gorgeous girl above. Thank you!

Filed Under: review
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