Christmas Day 2010

We had a lovely day - filled with good food, pressies and a bit of family and friends too.

The kids loved the mayhem of the morning. They were totally overspoiled.

Our guts were terribly overspoiled too.

Our menu for the day included...

Sour Cream Coffee Cake and fresh pineapple, cherries and watermellon
with good strong Organic coffee for breakfast.. Oh, and a bit of leftover Loganberry crumble too.

Champagne with cherries, Baked ham (with Jen's amazing recipe), green bean and kumara salad with smoked  bacon, deviled eggs, Goat's fetta and avocado green salad, and Chocolate Guinness cake with cranberries and white chocolate.

We were too stuffed to do anything else for dinner.
We had plain ham sambos after washing the sand off from Walkerville.  

...by the way - this is how Nic spent the early morning after milking the cows.

Cows and Chooks don't care if it's Christmas!

That water was FRIGID! 

It is beyond me how any of them got past their toes, but almost all of them came home with sand and seawater in their hair - including Nic! 

Hope that you had a joyful day as well.

xx

summer succulence

even though it doesn't feel like summer yet - it's still pretty cold and rainy... we are being rewarded from the season with some succulent new produce.  The garlic is AMAZING! We really enjoyed our garlic frenzy yesterday.  We ended up with 4 plaits one is gigantic.  There are a heap of loose bulbs that we're drying out on an old bedframe.  I'm considering roasting a whole heap of it and preserving it in olive oil.  Has anyone done something like that?

The loganberries make your tongue tingle with delight.  We spoiled ourselves last night with a creation by Chez Amie's (Amity and I)

"Strawberry and Loganberry Shortcake with Loganberry Coulis and Mapled Frozen Yoghurt"

We gorged. How truly satisfying!

This here is my Great Grandmother's sifter.  Her Great Great Grandson used it today to help make our little star shortbreads. I love using it. It connects me to my family.

Those aformentioned Shortbread Stars were topped with this magic concoction -- 

Nigella Lawson's Rhubarb Vanilla Mincemeat.  Oh Glory. This is a triumph of a recipe. Easier than boiling water and a tremendous effort for using up my beautifully pink rhubarb in the patch.

We're pretty much all about food here at the moment.

Why not?

Have a happy day. xx

P.S. We've been to the markets - come by my other blog to have a look. Ruby Hills Organics

my view

my goodness. Look at those ferals beyond the blueberry pancakes.

I love this view from my kitchen.

xx

retro mummy's big stash!

Have a look at what Retro Mummy is giving away!
I'd love to have that in my stash!

just sayin.

Just letting you know that I have just had the most wonderful experience that chocolate could ever have in my mouth. Nigella's Brownies.

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... From her new book. Now, I just Love Nigella. She is a stunningly beautiful goddess of the kitchen. My friend and I were commenting tonight on how her writing just drips on the page with poise, guts and truth written from the heart.  One of my show stopping desserts comes from "Feast." And I have just discovered her recipe for Rhubarb Vanilla Fruit Mince... Which we will be concocting tomorrow.  

Must get a copy. MUST. Those brownies were damn good.

I thought that I made a good brownie, but this brownie has ruined it for all other brownie experiences.  There will never be another brownie that could possibly be as good as this one.

its beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS!

Okay, I think I'm finally feeling a wee bit organized for the Chrissy Day next weekend. 

Baxter, Nina & Monty have been baking our most very favourite chocolate chip bikkies today.
You'll notice the absence of a little girl named Gretta here. Yes, she went to bed after refusing to eat her nourishing soup for lunch. She's had a good sleep now, and that soup is waiting for her on the bench before she can have a skerrick of a cookie. Do you think it'll work. I have my doubts. She's more stubborn than her bull headed mother. Which is saying a lot.

Ghiradelli Sierra Nuggets.

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/4 t bicarb

1t salt

1/2 t mace

1 1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/8 t gr. cloves

stir together and set aside 

1 cup soft butter

1c raw sugar

1c brown sugar (we use coconut palm sugar)

1T milk

1 1/2 t vanilla

2 eggs (we use 3 eggs when we use spelt flour)

combine till a little fluffy.

mix wet and dry then add

2c cornflakes

3c oats

1c coconut

2c dark chocolate chips

1c nuts (optional)

bake in medium oven for 10-12 minutes.

makes A LOT. about 6 or 7 dozen.

Do you have any traditional recipes that you make during Christmas?

xx Amy

chalk it up

My big boy is quite obsessed with writing his name. 

He loves to practice and is getting quite clever about it.

We are contemplating staying at home, doing some friendly baking.. Sierra Nugget Chocolate Chip Cookies, brownies, etc.. and being a bit festive while taming tantrums from ALL 3 now.  

Yep - that's right. Baxter is not quite stepped out of the howling tanty, Gretta still throws some clangers, and Monty is right on the cusp of  the nail biting, ear shattering wobbly chuckers.  Lucky me.

My other option is to head to Melbourne with my babe, leave the two big kids to dad and swimming lessons this arvo to order our properly smoked ham for Christmas. We say "no" to the nitrate laden, MSG pumped, factory farmed hams from most all supermarkets and we need our ham from our gorgeous little deli in the guts of the Queen Victoria Market that has some values and integrity behind their products.

Hmm. Decisions Decisions. What are you up to today? What is on your Christmas menu?

delicious loganberries

Our first harvest off the loganberry bushes.  Our friend Erica helped search for the purple ones.  She's headed home to make a special dessert and we are into the kitchen to make our loganberry crumble. 

Do you have a favourite crumble/crisp/cobbler recipe? 

I'd love to hear about it as we haven't got one that we  particularly love.

Have a happy day.

xx

I have a date!

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...with my precious daughter.

Gretta and I are off to Melbourne's National Theatre for an afternoon date.

We will first go to Richmond for a girly lunch with baby chinos and latte's.

Then off to watch the beautiful Ballerinas preform "The Nutcracker"

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There are two very excited girls in this home this morning.

Have a happy Sunday.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad. xx

P.S. have you checked our our new blog yet?? Well - what are you waiting for??? www.rubyhillsorganics.blogspot.com

lessons

My biggest of my smalls are finally getting some swimming lessons.  When we lived in Gundy - our options were very far away (70 K), and with a baby thrown in for good measure - just didn't happen.  I'm not sure that it has been such a bad thing that we've waited until age 4 & 3 and a half's as they seem to be doing really well - they've both had little frights, but are still excited and are keen to get the oh so fancy and super special goggles.  Seeing as we live 10 minutes to the beach, we thought it might be nice if Santa brought a life jacket for each of them.  Gretta was hoping for something more like lippy and tutu, but ... we'll see...

How's the gearing up for Chrissy going?  We've got our tree up and subsequently are constantly putting ornaments back up and saying - "NO" to Monty as he parades around the house with his new treasure.  As you can guess, about 90% of the ornaments are now at the TOP of the tree.....

We are having a joint garage sale tomorrow with our neighbours from around the way.  I've done some baking for the morning so that I can wake kids, chuck in car, and toss a muffin to them while I unpack the goods. The muffins are really good! 

Here's what they are...  

they use olive oil - which makes me balk - firstly for cooking with Olive oil - it shouldn't go above 170 C otherwise it goes off.  But secondly - baking with the flavour of Olive oil?? Hmm.  But these are little rippers! (Well - not so little - it made 12 regular and 6 large muffins!)   Give em' a go - if you can't read the recipe above, let me know.  

Of course I added something - as I always do - chopped macadamias on the top.  And I used Organic Spelt flour. And decreased the sugar by 1/4 cup.  

Serve warm with a large lashing of butter.  I better go put them away before I help myself again.

Off to organize garage sale, pay bills and process eggs on my day off from the kids.

Have a happy day.

xx

my poor neglected blog.

Oh my - there's been so much to do around here of late.
My poor neglected blog has taken the back-burner, but you'll be happy to know that my camera has not!

a few happy snaps from our little walk to Agnes Falls last weekend.

Sometimes it is so nice to just hop out of the house and off the farm to go and see something naturally beautiful.  We had an impromptu BBQ at Walkerville with friends last night and ended up being chased off the beach with lightning!

you have to be pretty tired to fall asleep during pancakes for dinner.

Nic and I have set some boundaries in the kitchen.  

Yes, he did get the short end of the stick when he didn't write in our vows...

"For richer for poorer,

to clean up my coffee mess

in sickness and in health

she will wipe up all of my crumbs and put the honey, peanuntbutter, jam, butter away for me every morning,

in good times and in bad,

she will pick up my smelly poo shirt and stained trousers off the kitchen floor

till death do us part."

Too late now, Honey!

oodles of rhubarb coming out of the garden at the moment.  We've been eating garlic scapes (called "goblin hats" in our family), loads of arugula, lettuces, and heaps more almost ready to devour. The loganberries and plums are getting ready.  I'm getting ready to use my new Fowlers Preserving Kit.  I picked up a humdinger from my neighbours sister.  I have plans for many jars of pears, applesauce, plums, plum/loganberry/blackberry/raspberry/apricot jams.

and last but not least, we did this last week:

but to find out more... you will have to visit my other new blog!

Ruby Hills Organics

have a happy day.

xx

impossible.

How is it possible to be so very smitten with such a little blondie boo? He makes it irresistible. He really does. What's not to love? His cheeky antics, his incredibly dimpled chin, his wild sense of discovery, his tenacity, his blubbery cheeks and thighs. 

Love it. Love it all to bits.

He looked out and pointed and said "tree" this morning. Then he paused and said "aliens."

He had us in fits of laughter. He was squealing, very pleased with himself.

...and loves a good mud hole - as any self respecting boy does.