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the santa photo is done and dusted

November 16, 2013 By corrie 28 Comments

For once I am early with the santa photo! Usually I do it a few days before Christmas but the invitation to have our photo taken at QVB today was too good to give up. Especially after last year’s photo which I wasn’t really in love with because I decided to try a different place to beat the queues. But before I share this year’s photo I think we need to go right back to the beginning…..when we had our first baby, Keira. So let’s take a trip down memory lane and my love of the santa photo……well it’s kind of love hate because as the years go on it’s getting harder to get everyone to smile/participate/look nice by the time the photo is taken but I do love the santa photo.

this was before I realised that I might actually have to get in the photo…..you only make that mistake once and now retro daddy dresses for the occasion.

and drumroll please………….introducing the santa photo for 2013……………complete with the most gorgeous dogs and a boy who didn’t want to have his photo taken and didn’t want to stand out of the photo either………………………………………………….but a huge improvement on 2012!

I love it! It was the best of 47 photos (no I’m not kidding you) and elodie was just so taken with the pups and was patting them and oohhing and ahhing over them. They were so gorgeous and well behaved. I think I might have found my favourite photo destination…….but the gorgeous pups were just for today I’m afraid. Just visit the QVB website here to find out more details and I love that they are using SMS this year so you can get a booking, do some shopping and come back for your photo. Genius idea because I’ve done my fair share of santa photo queues in my time.

A big thank you to Santa (the happiest I’ve met), QVB and everyone involved in today as we had a ball and the kids had a fabulous time………..even finn who is now laughing at the santa photo and said he did look at the camera once.

Filed Under: christmas, santa

Pioneer Woman Cooks – A Year of Holidays

November 13, 2013 By corrie 12 Comments

Now you all know I love Pioneer Woman.…….or should I say y’all know. In fact I receive questions from readers asking for my recommendation on which of her books to buy. And now we can add a third book to the mix that I have been absolutely hanging out for. Pioneer Woman Cooks – A Year of Holidays. There has been a bit of delivery man stalking going on around here in the morning. This book is good. Really good. And big. So big with 140 recipes all beautifully categorised into holidays and special days of the year.

And of course with Christmas around the corner there was no better time to have this book arrive at my house. One of my favourite times to get into the kitchen. And eat.

And the Christmas section has a whole section devoted to Christmas Delights so you can make lots of goodies for your family and friends like cookies, gingerbread and more. I’ve already decided that these scrolls are a definite before Christmas and the challenge to make them gluten free as well for elodie and myself.

Now I know that cookbooks aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and you might say well I can get the recipes from her blog. But for me the book is about reading it, the little photos and stories that go with the recipes and I just love to pull out a pile of cookbooks and sit on the couch and read them when I get a bit of time to myself.

And one of the reasons that I just love PW books are because of the step by step pictures. Makes everything so easy when you’re doing it at home.

and we love her books because the food is hearty family food. Retro daddy loves anything I make from PW’s books and they are something a bit more special than what I usually cook on a weeknight. Anyone who has made her cinnamon rolls will attest to that. Or the chicken pot pie from scratch might take you half a day but man it is the best chicken pie you’ll ever eat.

I picked up my copy from Amazon as I needed to get my hands on it as soon as it was available and it really is a winner. I think it might just be my favourite and I’m looking forward to sitting down tonight and picking out what I’m going to make first.

Oh and I found this great little video on youtube just in case you needed further proof that it’s a good book………I was thinking fans will want to put on it on your Christmas list but then you’re somehow going to want to open it before Christmas for all the baking. Anyway, you work that out but PW fans and new to PW readers will love this one.

Filed Under: books, review

my first time with peppermint bark

November 12, 2013 By corrie 32 Comments

Put your hand up if you’ve seen peppermint bark on pinterest or in a magazine. Now keep your hand up if you’ve actually made it. Thought so. Are you like me? Always pinning and thinking of trying something new and then you just make old faithful. At Christmas I make rocky road until I can’t look at rocky road again on Christmas day.

It’s time to spice things up a bit and try something new……and this was super easy, maybe an extra step or two compared to rocky road but lots of fun and has the wow factor. Look out family and friends you’re getting peppermint bark this Christmas…..and I’m going to enjoy making it in my new kitchen.

I picked up these red tumblers for $3 at the supermarket and they will look gorgeous with some cellophane and christmas ribbon as a little gift.

In the meantime though I’ve popped it in a Christmas tupperware container (tupperware tragic, right here) and will try not to eat it all before retro daddy gets home.

So give this one a go this year……………….

5.0 from 3 reviews

my first time with peppermint bark

Recipe type: Christmas

What you'll need

1 bag white chocolate melts
1 bag milk or dark chocolate melts
tsp vegetable oil
about 8-10 candy canes

Instructions

Peel the plastic off the candy canes, place in a plastic big and work out some frustration with a chopping board and a rolling pin. You can chop them up finer than I have them but basically just break them up. Set aside.
Melt the milk or dark chocolate melts for your lower layer. I do mine for 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the microwave on medium or medium high. Keep an eye on it and stir it once or two in between cooking.
Add in a dash of oil and stir well.
Pour into a lamington tin - either a tin lined with baking paper or a silicone form (no paper needed).
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until set.
Now rinse out your bowl or use a new one and melt the white chocolate melts the same way. Add in the dash of oil.
Now take the finest pieces of your crushed candy canes and stir into the white chocolate.
Pour over your darker chocolate layer and top with the bigger candy cane pieces. Spread them out so you've got a nice even distribution.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or so then remove from the mould/tin carefully.
Break up or cut up - I found breaking it up was much easier and either wrap up to gift or keep it in airtight container. It was freezing cold and raining today so I've left it out on the kitchen island but if it was a warm day I'd keep it in the fridge.
Enjoy...........................

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Filed Under: chocolate, christmas, christmas recipe, recipe

I’ve never met a hydrangea that I didn’t like

November 11, 2013 By corrie 15 Comments

It’s that time of year again……………..hydrangea time! Only thing is that at our house they are down the side of the house…..the side that I only go out to if I’m passing something out to my neighbour or the kids are coming and going next door.

In fact I was chatting to retro daddy yesterday and he was talking about the weeds down that side of the house and I said have a look and see if there are any hydrangeas and there were plenty! I was kicking myself…..totally forgot that they’d be out in bloom.

And in the style of my old mate, A Beach Cottage, I used a blue mason jar for some…..I think she’d be proud of me! She loves her jars and it was on her blog that I first spied some blue ones.

and I have to say that my kitchen is just so bright that it’s the nicest part of the house to take photos! I took these photos after dinner but there is just so much light coming in that you would never know it was getting late outside. And I’m already wondering how on earth I’m ever going to be able to sell this house and move on. I will but it’s going to be tough. We may need a quiet moment together to say our goodbyes……….

The mason jars were picked up here, white jug from Ikea but I’ve been told that almost everyone has the same jug so you probably knew that and flowers from my own yard. I’m keeping a close eye on the next ones that are blooming and must not forget about them……………….

Filed Under: homes, hydrangea

how to sew a simple cushion

November 10, 2013 By corrie 18 Comments

Here is an easy and fun tutorial for how to sew a simple cushion!

There was so much choice for fabrics but I found myself in the upholstery section and really drawn to these colours. I came home with 6 cushion inserts for $36 and 3 m of upholstery fabric priced from $9.99 – $12.99 a metre…….I was shopping on a sale day and paid $7.99 a metre for the fabric. Nice. It’s a good idea to use a fabric that is a little thicker than a regular cotton or poly cotton if you are making couch cushions. If you’re making bed cushions then you can get away with a quilting cotton. I need something a bit sturdier with my lot.

I do a very simple cushion and I’m going to tell you how you can do it at home. Simply take your cushion and measure across. You are going to cut your front piece fabric to the dimensions of the cushion and not add any seam allowance. This gives you a nice plump cushion rather than a flat one and cushions tend to go a bit flat over time so better to start out with a nice plump cushion.

Now the back piece is going to be a simple fold enclosure so we’re going to cut two more pieces the same size as the front piece and you want the fabric pattern to be the same direction as your front piece. We’re going to fold those pieces over to make the back enclosure and we don’t need any buttons or anything fancy making it a great project for a beginner.

OK let’s begin. I am using 14 inch cushions so I cut 3 squares that were 14×14 inches. I used my rotary cutter and mat but you could use a pencil and ruler to rule up your squares and then just cut with some fabric scissors.

Take one of the pieces of fabric and lay it right side up. Take another piece and lay it right side down with all edges lined up. Fold about 1/3 of the fabric back (vertically) and repeat with the other piece so that the back folds overlap each other. The raw edges of the fabric are what you can see in this picture below and one of the folded edges can be seen which will be the inside fold.

Now we are going to hem the back enclosure pieces, I like to do a zig zag stitch for something different and sew with the right side of the fabric facing up and the folded over edge is underneath. Sew about an inch or two in and using the markings on your machine, keep the edge of your fabric in line with the same marking as you sew for a straight line. If you don’t trust yourself or you’re a beginner then just use your normal seam allowance.

Now place the back pieces with right sides facing to the right side of the front piece of the cushion and pin all around. A little tip is to have the pins placed so that they are easy to pull out as you sew. So imagine how you are going to put the fabric through your machine with the fabric on your left and your pins are running along that edge with the pinheads at the bottom and as you are sewing and approaching the needles you can pull them out.

Sew around with you usual seam allowance, I like to do a 1cm.

Overlock or zig zag your edges.

Trim your corners so they turn out nicely. And turn out your cushion so that the right side of the fabric is facing out. I also like to use a little pin to pull out any pesky corners or push them from the inside out.

Pop your cushion insert into your lovely new cushion cover and you are done.

No really, you are. That’s it. No zippers, no buttons, no velcro you are done. Make up the rest, pop on your couch or bed or your favourite chair, step back and admire your handiwork.

Filed Under: sewing

first Christmas craft for the year

November 9, 2013 By corrie 11 Comments

I had a most enjoyable morning today pinning away some Christmas crafts and baked goodies here. Whether I actually make any of them is another thing. You see for a couple of years now I’ve been saying to myself that I must finish a few more stockings to hang at Christmas time. When the twins were little I knitted up 3 Christmas stockings………and then just never got around to making more as our family continued to grow.

Part of the problem was trying to find the book that I had knit from. But I managed to work out what the cover looked like, ran upstairs to where half of my craft room supplies are stored and found it. Then when I was about half way through knitting this one I even wondered if I was using the same pattern but once finished I realised it was the same pattern. I just need to stitch a name on and make a little loop to hang them….wish I had a nice big fireplace at this house. Still working out where to hang them. Now the great news is that this took me just a couple of short knitting sessions on the couch and in waiting rooms and didn’t even make a dent in a small ball of some leftover wool from Bendigo’s back room.

These stockings aren’t too big and knit up about 20cm long using 8 ply and I am going to cast on a green one tonight. I’m aiming for elodie and emerson and then some mummy and daddy ones. The book is called Cleckheaton Celebration Days 2 Book no. 616

If anyone is an ambitious knitter then why not go the whole nativity scene!

This would take me a few years and is from another great knitting book by Jean Greenhowe and I saw a few copies at Spotlight this afternoon. Mine was ebay a few years ago. If you haven’t discovered knitting patterns (or sewing) from ebay then you need to get on there. Lots of great bargains to pick up when people do a clear out.

it does have smaller projects too

Anyway, I’ll report back with my Christmas stocking progress as a way to keep myself honest and get them all finished this year. I’m sure I’m not the only crafter with good intentions at this time of year………………..

Filed Under: christmas, craft, knitting, ravelry

start making some Christmas traditions this year……….

November 7, 2013 By corrie 22 Comments

We’re in November, the Christmas decorations are out in the shops…oh no wait they’ve been out for ages, dates are in the diary for the Christmas concert and rehearsals, discussions are being made about who is hosting lunch and the catalogues are coming into my letterbox each day full of present ideas, decorations and stuff.

And I get busy at this time of year and in December. But we have some lovely traditions that didn’t start out as traditions but just happen each year and before you know it you need to do them each Christmas. And I thought I’d share them because I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants our children to grow up with an appreciation for Christmas and the importance in our calender.

1. Hold off on those decorations

…..until the 1st December or the first sunday of Advent. Retro daddy gets all the decorations out, the kids lay out the tree branches (we are a plastic tree family here) and we put up the tree and the kids go to town putting the decos up. I like to have a bit of music going in the background and it’s a lot of fun………….one sided tree fun but lots of fun.

2. Go to church each Sunday in Advent

One of the reasons I love being catholic is all of the symbolism and tradition. Man we love our symbols, candles, incense and rituals. Christmas is a wonderful time with a candle lit in the Advent wreath on each Sunday of Advent. The sermons have wonderful stories that the children can start to listen to (I’m always in hope that my little ones might be listening) and if children’s liturgy is going on at church then it’s a great way to prepare for Christmas in a way that isn’t about your list for Santa. And the nativity scene might be out waiting for baby Jesus. If you haven’t been going to church or have been thinking about coming back then now is the time. It’s just a special time of year and a perfect opportunity to come back.

3. Get involved in the Christmas nativity

This is one of my favourite things about Christmas. I was absolutely hanging out for Keira to get involved in the nativity at Christmas Eve mass and she and tillie just love it. Finn….not so much. I did put his name down as a shepherd but he gets stage fright…………..unlike his sister.

It’s a great way for the little ones to be involved on Christmas Eve or day and learn about the Christmas story and just have fun. We’ve been doing it for a few years now, Elodie was baby Jesus for her first Christmas and I can see plenty of Christmas nativities ahead of us. It’s also a great reason to get to church early and nab the best seats for mass.

4. Do something for others

This is a big one that we love in our house. Every year at church we have the opportunity to make up a hamper for a family in need. Our first Christmas before keira was born we were down at Manly parish and made up our first hamper. And as our family has grown over the years we have decided to pick the largest family on the tree or board and make up a washing basket full of goodies. I do a special shop for it and retro daddy always reminds me of what would be great in there. The little ones learn that people are doing it tough and that we can do something simple that means so much. I always tell them imagine how someone is going to feel when they receive this basket this year at Christmas. So keep an eye out for hamper collections. we do ours through Vinnies and there are wishing trees and charity call outs so keep an eye out for them. And if no one is doing it at your school then maybe it’s time to organise it this year. Another fabulous Christmas charity is Operation Christmas Child run by Samaritan’s Purse and you can find out more info on their website and there are collection points all over Australia.

5. Start reading Christmas stories

Our library has a few tubs out in the children’s section with Christmas dvd’s and stories and we got a few books out and will read them together. It’s a great way for the big kids to read to the little ones and just get excited about Christmas.

6. Start practising those Christmas carols

I’ve found my sheet music for the Christmas carols and intend to belt out a few (with some mistakes) and teach the kids some carols. Look out for the local carols at school or in the neighbourhood and make a night of it. Our school had their first carols last night and it was just gorgeous……….sure I was juggling all 5 on my own but we had so much fun with our chips, blanket and fake candles. You just need to look in the paper for the nearest ones.

7. Make some gingerbread houses

We love gingerbread house making in our house! It’s so much fun and the kids just love it. I will admit it that it can get a bit stressful, I’ve made my own gingerbread from scratch one year but then started buying kits. Often schools and churches have a decorating night and it is so much fun so try to get along to one. So much fun!!!!!!!!!!!

I think the Gingerbread house kits from Gingerbread Folk are still the best (and now they do gluten free, woohoo) but if you’re on a budget pick up one, buy extra lollies, make your own icing and get cracking. Try to do it on a cool day, make one yourself and let the kids go crazy.

8. The Santa Photo

I totally embrace the santa photo…..I know it’s not for everyone, it gets more expensive every year and last year when I tried to beat the queue at DJs and Westfield it totally backfired with the worst santa photo we’ve had as they just didn’t have enough room for us. This year I’ve been invited to have our photo taken at the QVB and I’ve jumped at the chance.

What are your Christmas traditions or what would you like to start this year?

Filed Under: catholic, christmas, church

Lasagne – the first dish out of the oven

November 4, 2013 By corrie 37 Comments

This post is brought to you by Woolworths

This recipe is pretty special because it’s the first dish that came out of my very special new oven. So we better start with a picture of the oven before we get stuck into the recipe. She’s so pretty that she might even need a name.

Whenever I make lasagne, and I mean every time I think of my mum. I was in high school and it was mothers day one year and my dad thought he’d buy her a huuuuuge lasagne dish to replace the old one which had exploded in the oven. He thought it was a great present, my mum was a little offended because she probably thought she was more than chief lasagne maker in the house and was probably thinking something more for herself than the whole family.

Lasagne is one of those dishes that everyone eats, the kids always ask for and which requires a few pots and pans and an oven dish to clean afterwards too. And it takes a bit of time to get it all made up but always worth it. And here is how I do lasagne, you can leave things out like the bacon or zucchini, use gluten free lasagne sheets if you like but just don’t skimp on the cheese on top. Got to have lots of cheese on top. All of the products I used are Woolworths Select or Macro and the quality was fabulous.

And that my lovely readers was the first dish and the first lasagne out of my new kitchen! Quite a few of us had seconds so there is one lonely piece of lasagne in the fridge for someone’s lunch or dinner tomorrow. And I know there are more dishes than usual to wash up and I need to devote a good bit of time to making lasagne but it’s always worth it.

What’s your secret ingredient that makes your lasagne a winner? Love to hear……………………

5.0 from 1 reviews

Lasagne - the first dish out of the oven

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 8

What you'll need

1 onion
2 zucchinis
3 rashers Woolworths Select rindless bacon
500g Macro beef mince
800g Woolworths Select Diced Tomatoes
wine (optional)
Fresh basil leaves
Salt, pepper,tomato sauce
Woolworths Select Lasagne Sheets
1½ cups Woolworths Select Shredded Tasty
500mls Woolworths Select skim milk (I use skim because that's what I drink but whatever milk you like)
50g butter
50g flour (I used gluten free but whatever you have in the pantry)

Instructions

We are going to finely chop the onion, zucchini and bacon. I do this in the thermomix by chopping into large pieces and pressing turbo 1 or 2 times. You can just use a knife for the onion and bacon and grate the zucchini.
Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan and saute the onion, zucchini and bacon for a few minutes. Add a good bit of salt for the onion and zucchini.
Add in the beef and mix with a spoon to break it up. Brown the meat by cooking for about 5 minutes or so and stir a few times.
I like to add a splosh of wine but it's totally optional, the alcohol cooks off (I say this because I've received a few comments on instagram about using wine in my cooking)
Tip in the can of tomatoes and bring to the boil. I add some basil now to cook in the sauce and then a bit more later on. Just a handful of leaves will do. And I like a good bit squirt of tomato sauce. Don't ask, just love it.
So I like to have it cooking for about 20=25 minutes or so without a lid to let the liquid cook off. I also added a tsp of flour when I was at the end of the cooking time just to thicken up the sauce a little.
Now while your bolagnese is cooking you are going to get that white sauce going. I now do white sauce in the thermomix so just the butter, flour, milk and salt for 7 minutes, 100 degrees and speed 4.
Old school way is melt the butter in a small saucepan and just before it all melts stir in the flour and bring that to the boil. Just as it starts to bubble whisk in the milk. Don't worry if you've got lumps at first just keep whisking the mixture.
Return to the heat and gently bring to the boil, the sauce is thickening so keep stirring it. Season and take it off the heat when you've got the right nice thick consistency. Like a nice thick custard is how I like it.
Add in a dash of cheese and whisk together, season and set aside.
Now the fun part. Grab a big lasagne dish and spread a few tablespoons of meat over the bottom. Top with lasagne sheets, do another layer of meat and lasagne sheets, now spread half of the white sauce over the sheet, top with another sheet, do another meat layer then top with lasagne sheets, the rest of the white sauce and loads and loads of grated cheese.
Pop in the oven....now in the old oven it would take about 45 minutes to cook but the new oven had it done in about 25-30 minutes. You want a preheated 180 degree oven (a bit higher if it's not fan forced).
Delicious.

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Filed Under: esse, recipe, review, thermomix

high school reunions

October 29, 2013 By corrie 15 Comments

This weekend is my 20 year high school reunion and I am so looking forward to catching up with most of my friends again. I left canberra when I finished uni and hardly get back anymore so it’s going to be great to see old friends and what’s happened since our last reunion. This was our last day of year 12 – water guns allowed.

And can I just put it out there that I wasn’t going to share my high school photos. The early years in primary school were much kinder to me and high school was all about getting braces, gaining weight and bad hair. But it is so much fun to look back on the photos…………and now you won’t feel so bad about your own high school photos. This is our year 10 formal photo taken on Mrs Luck’s stairs – she was the maths teacher at Marist and my parents could be safe in their knowledge that the after party was the right place for an almost 16 year old to be. I still remember her potato bake. And clearly I was a blogger in the making because I’m not in the photo, I was taking it.

Our debut at parliament house back in 1993…………here I am with my gorgeous friend Anne-Marie.

and our graduation dinner with my dad’s head in the photo too.

OK, that’s enough memories for me……………..

reunions? Love them? Never go? Wish you could go? Looking at old high school photos makes you laugh/cringe/be grateful that you now have a hairdresser and straight teeth. And if you’re brave come and share a photo with me………………..my favourite hair trend was the big fringe. Remember the one that was half up, half down and lots of hairspray to get that half up to stay up.

Filed Under: everything else

everything you wanted to know about my 2nd kitchen renovation

October 26, 2013 By corrie 60 Comments

OK so the kitchen is in and while all of the details are fresh on my mind here is the post that tells you where everything comes from! This makes a great reference for me when people email me like they do now about the old kitchen and saves a lot of time.

Cabinetry

I will never use anyone else for my kitchens as I’m always so happy with the results from Michael at Kitchenworks in Belrose. Michael did my last kitchen and it’s a very simple and streamlined process. You have your kitchen designed, pay a deposit, he will come out for final measurements and to get it just right, sends through some 3d drawings of the kitchen which gives you a great idea of how it will look and an opportunity to change any little things that aren’t working for you. You can show him a picture of what you’re after and he just does a great job.

We played around with the mantle and he did it perfectly in the end. I wanted something simple and elegant without being over the top and it is just that. There was more cabinetry with this kitchen as it was a bigger space but it’s all come together perfectly. Depending on when you buy during the year you can save 30% on your cabinets and we paid about $20k for all of the cabinetry. And it’s a matte finish and I will find out what kind of cupboard it is. I just said ‘same as last time’.

The island is 3 metres long and has cupboards along the other side where the stools are which are so handy for glassware, party supplies and other little things. Like retro daddy’s stubby holders………….

Benchtops

Benchtops are Caesarstone in Snow. It’s very hardwearing, easy to clean, looks great and I loved it so much in our last kitchen that I had to go with it again. There are lots of colours in the Caesarstone but Snow has a slight grey to it and is lovely and really works well in our kitchen. Michael now uses StoneMasters who were just fabulous and did a really great job. This stuff is heavy to bring into the house but they did a great job and were well priced. Very happy customer here.

Cabinet handles

Well I did something a bit different with the cabinet handles, I did go for knobs and pulls and I am thrilled with the result. The finish on these is polished nickel and they are just lovely. I probably wish I had put 2 pulls on each of the huge pot drawers but I didn’t realise how large they were going to be but overall they look lovely and it’s all come together beautifully. If you had the time you could try to find similar from the US and source them that way to save a bit on the cost. These came from Mother of Pearl Trading & Sons in Alexandria. A really lovely shop by the way.

Tap

The tap is very similar to my last kitchen (again!) and is from Perrin & Rowe. Budget about $950 for a tap like this. I went for a simple finish with the chrome as I didn’t want to get too matchy match with finishes but they complement the cupboard handles and pulls perfectly. So that was lucky. It is a very lovely tap and just finishes the island perfectly. You can also find similar taps by Nicolazzi and also at Restoration Online who often have specials on.

Sink

The sink is big but not as deep as the last kitchen. This sink is a Blanco ZEROX700U from the Steelart range. It’s quite modern in it’s shape but I like that, I always try to think of resale when I do my kitchens and this is practical, the size I wanted and has a nice look in the island and complements the tap nicely. Look for accessories when you buy your sink.

I use Hardware & General in Brookvale who are fabulous, they recommended a sink drainer for dishes which we are just loving and I also have a colander on back order that sits across the sink too. Definitely think about the dish drainer when you buy a sink like this as it makes drying dishes and things that don’t go in the dishwasher a breeze. Loving this sink and we paid about $800ish for this one but Hardware & General can give you a discount when you buy a few accessories or things together. We bought our last sink from them too.

Floor Tiles

These are a porcelain tile with a rustic look and were going to be an easier to care for option than travertine. I was nervous about staining the tiles (hello we are a family of 7) so these are easy to clean and lovely to walk on too. I also think they lighten up the room and they complemented the caesarstone. These tiles were from Amber Tiles, Seaforth and were about $2000 and it’s quite a large area to cover.

Installation from an experienced tiler was $2200 and took a few days. Ask for a brick pattern if you like the way that they have been laid. I am loving the tiles, they really lighten up the room and are perfect. Jason the tiler did a fabulous job and I always love chatting to him while he’s here.

Subway Tiles

These are a simple white subway tile from Spain. These are under $100 per square metre and you can pay much less but these are thicker than the cheapest ones on the market but there is a big range of subway tiles so go with what you like. The tiles came in about $400 and then tiling was $500 ish so you’re looking at under $1000 for a splashback this size. Tiles are from Tiles by Kate in Manly Vale, Sydney and again have been laid in a brick pattern.

Oven

Oh the oven, that big heavy oven. The oven is an ESSE EC2i. It’s an electric induction oven. I started out wanting a 900mm stainless steel oven but wasn’t loving the electric cooktop on them. I didn’t want to connect gas from the street and fell for more rustic looking black ovens. Thought about the Belling, looked at the AGA and then discovered ESSE. Looked at bringing it into australia myself to save on some money but ended up buying from Pivot to get the Australian warranty and local service.

I love it. It is so much better than I expected. It was worth the issues – think weight, installation, delivery hiccups and the like but it is a dream to look at and really makes the room special

I’m going to do a more detailed post on the oven but it cooks so fast and everything is coming out beautifully. Definitely no regrets with this one. It even has a heated towel rail which is great for when I’m cooking up a storm and have teatowels everywhere. Thank you to Pivot for the lovely extras like the kettle and cookware when delivery got a bit hairy. Pivot know their stuff and have a fabulous range of cookers and this truly is a dream oven.

It has 3 ovens – 1 is a fan forced electric oven with a grill element on the top. This is one hot and fast oven and everything is cooking so much better than the old electric oven I was using. Underneath it is another electric oven, not as high, not fan forced but great for if you’re doing something while your roast is in the big oven above or you’re wanting to bake some cookies. And the 3rd oven which doesn’t have controls to hear it is your plate warming oven. The oven retains a lot of heat when it is being used and afterwards so you could also do some slow cooking in there, keep something warm and warm those plates.

Appliances

Fridge is a french 3 door fridge by Samsung. They have a great reputation and when we went into the store the guy on the floor said they were also the most popular at the moment. Technology is a feature of Samsung so we went with it. Water and ice wasn’t the plan but heh it has it and just be prepared to add to the budget for plumbing as a tap is needed for the water/ice function. What model you choose will depend on the space you are working with. I wanted the larger model which had a separate drawer in the middle but that would be too deep for your kitchen as we had a certain distance between the walls and windows and couldn’t go too deep. So this is the 639L and is a great size and perfect for us. Love that crumb on the floor…………..just keeping it real for you all at home.

Dishwasher is also a Samsung. I started out at the cheapest dishwasher but they didn’t have great reviews so went middle of the road, not too cheap, not too expensive and this one had great reviews. You’re looking at about $900ish for one of these depending on where you buy it. I love there is a cutlery tray at the top of the dishwasher, it plays a little song when you turn it on and honestly when the dishwasher finishes the cycle it plays a 30 second little song. The kids love that. It cleans very well, is very easy to operate and is fabulous so far.

There are so many rangehoods to choose from these days and they all start to look the same. I went with good reviews and middle of the road in price for a hidden rangehood. This is a Bosch with a few lights and looks and works well. Time will tell of course. This was about $600.

All of the appliances were purchased from Appliances Online who were fabulous. My readers told me how fabulous they were after Harvey Norman last kitchen and they were great. Such fabulous delivery guys and they took so much care, advised me when was best to deliver the fridge and actually came back to redeliver the fridge when the kitchen was finished. Recommend them so much and loved that I could order the appliances and only need to pay on delivery day. So great for the cashflow and budgeting so well worth looking into.

Lights

The glass pendants were actually bought to go into the living areas of the house. I saw them on Anne-Marie’s website, Cape Cod Designs and thought I’ll get 3 for the house and they were sitting in the garage while we were waiting to get more lights for the house and have an electrician out. I was having major indecision over what lighting to put in that would go with the kitchen and then thought why not use the glass pendants as I’ve seen it done before. And voila, they are just perfect. I couldn’t imagine anything else. You can find pendants now that are hamptons style much easier than when we did our last kitchen. If you’re on a tight budget check out Ikea and other options are restoration online, beacon lighting, light in style (Belrose) and in Melbourne there is Schots which I looked into when we did our last kitchen but I was going to have to organise delivery. Anyway there are a few options out there but of course I love dealing with Anne Marie and her gorgeous online store here.

Plenty of photobombers in this house, by the way.

Paint colour

Retro daddy did the painting but we still have a bit of patching up and painting of the ceiling and cornices. Wall colour is Dulux Vanilla Quake (half strength ) with a Vivid White trim. Same as last time. If it’s good why change it.

I think that’s it. Have I missed anything? I do have to find out exact details of the cabinetry as a few people have asked and I’m not sure what they are but am guessing vinyl wrap but let me clarify for you all. Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll get back to you. I hope that helps you with your own kitchen renovations/plans/dreams. It’s always fun for me doing a kitchen, it adds so much value to the house and I always try to balance what I want and what will sell the house whenever we go to sell.

And the before and after?

Filed Under: 2nd kitchen renovation, esse, kitchen, renovation, renovations

gluten free + vegetarian nachos

October 25, 2013 By corrie 9 Comments

This post is brought to you by Woolworths

Oh I love that this post was due just a day after I lost my kitchen. I couldn’t find anything in the temporary kitchen and my fridge was downstairs. Last night I managed to drop a can of tuna on my lovely carpeted stairs when I tried to take up some wraps, avocado, open can of tuna and a litre of milk and tried to open the security gate at the top of the stairs. Luckily the can had been drained and the carpet is like teflon. mmmmm the smell of tuna on carpet. Nice.

But moving on to the Macro range. We’re big fans of the Macro range at our house and especially because we don’t eat a lot of meat, I’ve gone gluten free and we like to eat healthy. So I put on my thinking hat, I asked keira what recipes we could create using the tiny space I have in the kitchen and I searched out the Woolworths online site. And that’s the best place to see how huge the Macro range has grown to – look here – you’ll find organic, free from, gluten free, baby organic, mini macro, natural, free range…it’s fabulous. And of course you can buy everything you need for this recipe from your local Woolies store.

And I saw gluten free corn chips (not all corn chips are gluten free so you need to read the packaging but the Macro ones are proudly gluten free)…………….. and I thought to myself, nachos! A real favourite in this house. There are a few ingredients for this one but it’s always a crowd pleaser.

Great for when the footy is on and I have been known to bring the tray out to the lounge room and let the kids eat from the tray. It’s that good. We all tuck in and when I made this batch up it was the perfect school holiday lunch.

and they look like a bunch of seagulls getting in to this plate……………..and we start them young here because elodie was the first one helping herself

And while I was at Woolies buying the nacho ingredients I saw a few new products that had to come home with me. Just in time for having people over and shhhhh I won’t say the word but you know what in December.

Teamed up with a bag of Macro Raw Fruit and Nut Mix they look great out in serving bowls. I actually thought they would be great to have on hand when people come over or as a little gift. So delicious and beautifully packaged and presented too.

Do you have any favourites in the macro range that you are loving? Love to hear what you are loving.

gluten free + vegetarian nachos

What you'll need

1-2 bags Macro organic corn chips
1 can Macro Organic red kidney beans
1 cup Woolworths Select grated cheese
1 avocado
1 jar Woolworths Select salsa
Woolworths sour cream lite

Instructions

Drain can of kidney beans and rinse in water. Tip into a bowl and combine with about 2 or 3 Tablespoons of salsa.
Mash up the avocado.
Arrange the chips (leaving about ½ of one bag aside) on a lined baking sheet and spread them out but kind of make a pile in the middle too. Tip on the bean mixture and sprinkle with the grated cheese. We love lots of grated cheese on ours so go crazy.
Bake in a 200C/400F oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and it's all looking lovely and golden - watch those chips don't burn.
Now top with mashed avocado, sour cream and some salsa drizzled over the top with a spoon. Tuck in and enjoy.
To make this vegan just leave out the sour cream and cheese.

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Filed Under: gluten free, recipe, review, thermomix, vegetarian

chocolate pretzel cookies – gluten free option

October 24, 2013 By corrie 8 Comments

Over the weekend I’m sharing my review of the upcoming In the Mix 2 by Dani Valent, a fabulous cookbook for the Thermomix. And tonight I found myself shopping for ingredients to make the double chocolate pretzel cookies from the book. Now I’m trying to be gluten free at the moment so I made the recipe gluten free – well I put pretzels on about a third of the cookies so those weren’t gluten free and then the rest of the batch minus the pretzels on top were gluten free. But I’m sure I’ve seen some german gluten free pretzels in the health food aisle at my local supermarket. Sure of it.

Now these cookies are amazing – in taste and looks. And the reason I have to share this recipe is because I found that the mixing times were off. 12 minutes to mix cookie dough in the thermomix is not how I do my baking – try 3 minutes for the whole recipe from raw sugar to finished dough. So I’ve reworked this recipe to how I work in my thermomix…………and that is fast. And I think I’ve found my calling………….thermomix recipe tester. What do you think? It has a ring to it don’t you think……I do love my thermomix and I do love converting and creating recipes for it.

You’ll find the recipe on page 229 of In The Mix 2 – I swapped the flour, halved the cocoa, used raw sugar and processed it for 10 seconds which is how I get my caster sugar and I’ve cut the mixing times way back. I’ve also changed the way the flour and chocolate is added – oh no wait I also added choc chips instead of buttons because they are so good in this. So when you add the flour and then the choc chips the best way to mix such a heavy dough mixture is with your dough/knead setting – that cute wheat button on your thermomix. You do closed lid setting and wheat button.

So come and try these delicious cookies with me……….they were a huge hit with the kids here but do yourself a favour and buy 2 bags of pretzels. I was lucky to get 12 pretzels for the first tray of cookies and the kids had demolished the rest before I got to do some more.

oh and do we need another photo of the oven………………..OK, why not. But I still act like I have my old 1972 Whirlpool and had the cookie trays lined up to go in one at a time. Derrrrr. About half way through baking I realised I couldn’t have been doing 2 trays at a time in my fan forced and using the bottom oven too. Anyway, I’m going to do a full run down on the oven which is so fast and hot and cooking everything beautifully. I just want to give it a good work out this weekend with a few different things before I do the post on it.

chocolate pretzel cookies - gluten free option

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

This recipe has been adapted from the double chocolate pretzel cookie recipe found in In The Mix 2 and was contributed by Kylie Millar a Masterchef contestant.

Serves: 24-30

What you'll need

200g raw sugar
225g unsalted butter, room temperature
100g brown sugar
100g glucose syrup
80g Nestle dark chocolate melts
80g Nestle dark choc bits
1 egg
80g cocoa
300g gluten free plain flour (I use White wings or Woolworths Macro but you could use regular wheat flour if you like)
bag of pretzels (original) leave off the pretzels for gluten free option
teaspoon of salt or a few grinds of the salt grinder

Instructions

Place caster sugar in your thermomix bowl and process for 10 seconds on speed 9.
Add in the roughly chopped butter, brown sugar, glucose syrup and the chocolate melts (the big round ones) and process for 20 seconds on speed 5. Scrape down bowl.
Add in the egg and process 10 seconds speed 4.
Add in flour, cocoa and salt, process on closed lid setting, knead (the little wheat button) for about 40 seconds to 1 minute. The recipe in the book called for a 2 minutes on speed 5 but my dough was going nowhere.
Add in choc chips and process again on the same setting for about 40 seconds to 1 minute until the choc chips are distributed throughout. I like to give it a scrape down half way.
Bake in a preheated 180 degrees oven for 15 minutes. I got 3 trays of these babies out of the oven.

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Filed Under: baking, cookbooks, cookies, gluten free, recipe, thermomix

In the Mix 2 Dinner with Dani Valent

October 24, 2013 By corrie 6 Comments

Recently I went to Tenina’s cooking class in Sydney and sat opposite a gorgeous lady. Let’s call her Angie. She messaged me last week and asked had I seen the Dani Valent dinner that was on. 7 courses with matching wines and the recipes all came from Dani’s soon to be released cookbook, In the Mix 2. I made sure retro daddy could help out on the home front and I said I’m there.

I’m not usually one to go out on a weeknight and certainly not a tuesday night but it was a great excuse to break my usual jammies, knitting and tv routine. The food was so modern, fresh, adventurous and different. The wines to match were amazing and a real variety….

This dish below was mudcrab with macadamia milk (made in the thermomix of course) and macadamia on the top of it too. It had very subtle flavours and was delicious.

Favourite dish was hands down Tetsuya’s prawn ravioli with a tomato basil vinaigrette and fish roe on top. I was ever so gracefully trying to get all those little pink pearls of goodness onto my cutlery and into my mouth while not showing bad manners. That was my favourite, a winner…whether I can make it at home is another story.

The duck challenged me as it was just too rare for me so that was probably the only one that I didn’t finish but the flavours were lovely.

It came with a delicious sidedish of quinoa salad and I’ve never tasted quinoa like that before. It was fabulous and it was if they had toasted the quinoa first. This recipe came from Australia’s number 1 Thermomix seller who was lovely and friendly and there on the night.

One of the perks of being at the dinner was that Dani had organised for copies of her book to be available for purchase (they just added it to our dinner bill, well how could I say no) and we had it signed by a few of the people there. Review to come this week, it’s actually got a lot more recipes than the last one and I think has a bit more of a broader appeal as there is a bigger range. It’s still fancy food but sometimes it’s nice to have our fancy cookbooks as well as our every day ones. Don’t you think? would you believe this was the cheese plate. I know….and yes that is sliced banana on there. Let’s get technical about what goes into this dish, shall we? Oat biscuits, lemon puree, cheddar custard (so good!), spinach and anchovy paper and five pepper blend and each component made in the thermomix. Oh yes.

Now if you ever get the opportunity to attend a degustation dinner like this one where everything is cooked in thermomix don’t even think twice. Just do it. If you have to work out what special occasion is coming up then just work it out. In fact there is a melbourne dinner here so if you’re nearby get onto it. It is a special night out and the food is just fabulous and so different. It was just so lovely and friendly, a real mix of people, Dani walked around the room chatting to everyone and the service was top notch. Apparently yellow has only been open for a week but if you get the chance to dine there do it. I never ever eat out on that side of town (they don’t call where I live the insular peninsular for nothing) but it was smart service, very attentive, very friendly and not pretentious at all. I don’t do pretentious or anything like that. It was just perfect…

A huge thank you to Angie for letting me know about it otherwise it would have gone by without me even noticing. We just had the best night chatting and covered so many different topics but it was just lovely. Thank you to everyone involved in organising the night and a big thank you to Dani Valent and the recipe creators because it was a fabulous night. There were some former masterchef contestants and leading chefs like Peter Gilmore as well. And it is a stunning book and we need more Thermomix recipes and cookbooks to challenge us.

p.s thanks to Angie for her patience. Have any of you ever eaten out with a blogger before. It’s painful. I had to get the camera just right then when each dish was brought out I’d have to get an instagram photo then the proper camera. Thank you!

p.p.s I saved the menu from the night and one of my cheeky little ones has borrowed it for some colouring and now I can’t find it. When (or if) I do find it then I’ll share the dishes that were cooked.

Filed Under: cooking, thermomix

9 years of wedded bliss

October 23, 2013 By corrie 36 Comments

9 years ago today I walked down the aisle…………to Pachelbel’s Canon. Wow how original for a wedding. I did have it on the harp though for a bit of originality. I don’t think I really knew what was going to happen in our future, I don’t think I saw 5 children and a few houses in my future. Or the challenges we’d have or the love I’d have. I was one of those girls who always knew she wanted to get married and have a family. I went to uni and I worked but I always knew that whatever happened I wanted to have a family and be home.

Looking back over these photos last night was fun. We look so young (and thin….back in the days when we had time to exercise). I thought we were so in love in those days (and we were) but love grows stronger and I sometimes tell retro daddy that I couldn’t imagine how much I would love him more as the time has gone on. I believe we each have someone out there that is just made for us.

It’s not always a walk in the park. We have our moments. We cool off, we laugh about it, we make jokes and just get on with it.

I married into his lovely family and he married into mine. It’s like we’ve always been together…………….over 12 1/2 years together and 9 years married. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m the spender, he’s the saver. I’m the chef and he’s the snacker. I clean the house and he’s responsible for the outside stuff (there is no gardening staff at the retro mummy residence). I’m the talker and he’s the thinker. I like champagne and he likes beer. I like sweet and he likes savoury. I can talk/type/watch tv/knit/talk on the phone at once and he can do one thing at a time. I’m the bossy one and he’s the fun machine.

Life is good and I hope it stays that way. Marriage is precious, a commitment like no other we make in our life, it brings joy and it’s not always easy but when it’s good it is really good. Happy anniversary to my lovely man today. And to lots more years ahead of us…………………..

Filed Under: everything else

another baby kina off the needles

October 20, 2013 By corrie 22 Comments

Oh my love for the Kina. If you’re new here then you might not know about my addiction to the Kina knitting pattern. I discovered it a few years ago when elodie was a baby and then I just couldn’t stop making them. I’m still not sure if this is my 7th or 8th. My favourite is the baby kina as it’s so quick and easy and makes a lovely gift.

I knit this in Bendigo Spring Cotton and it’s so sweet. I know from having my own babies that you can’t beat a cardigan in white or cream because it goes with everything. I did actually knit the smallest size in an 8 ply and 4mm needles and it comes out a bit bigger. I actually didn’t have the pattern or a measuring tape to hand when I finished so guesstimated but after you’ve made this many kinas you kind of know what you are doing.

This didn’t take took long and once I’ve done the sleeves then I know I’m on the home stretch because there aren’t that many stitches to do. No seams, just a few ends to weave in, 3 buttons and you are done. Done. That’s why I love it. Why knit 8 pieces and then have to stitch them all together when you can do this little top down cardigan.

Ravelry details are here. The yarn is Bendigo Spring Cotton from here and the pattern is here. Other sizes are available by following the links on ravelry here.

Filed Under: kina, knitting, ravelry