smoothie recipe

Good morning! Here's a few pickings from my garden at the moment in my
Great Grandmother's vase.
A lovely way to be greeted in my kitchen this morning.

Do you make smoothies? We do - maybe once a week... Or more - depending on whether or not I want to cook! We had an "accidental" smoothie this morning... And it was a pearler!

You see, I grabbed the 1L of fresh raw cream instead of the 1L of homemade yoghurt. And began pouring - probably 1/2 cup before my brain registered that the cream was going in.
It was sublime.

Here's the accidental smoothie recipe:

3 frozen bananas
1/4 c LSA mix (fresh ground kept in freezer)
4 egg yolks
2 probiotic capsules
1/2 cup fresh cream
1 cup fresh yoghurt
1-2 cups milk
dash of honey

Brain food, body food, gut bug food, energy food -- does it get any better!?

I however will be having my standard protein brekky of Organic, grass fed eggs after I slurp down a coffee that should really be eaten with a fork instead of drunk. *with cream of course!*
23 Kilos down for me! Hurrah!

Raw Milk Yoghurt Recipe

Okay, I'm meant to be doing the accounts and paying bills, laundry, blah blah blah blah...

But I figured a better use of my time is to give you wonderful people a recipe for my

Homemade Raw Milk Yoghurt.

Here's the go:

1. Get a stockpot full of beautiful Raw Milk.
Preferably Biodynamic or Organic. Thank you dear husband....

2. get your tools organized. you'll need:

-thermometer (I use Fahrenheit, because I'm still old school American)

-big ol whisk

-Fowlers Vacola or other preserving kit with a thermometer - the point being that you are going to hold the yoghurt at 110 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 hours. Put in just enough water till it's at the bottom of the plate and set to 110 degrees to warm up.

-calcium chloride drops, real yoghurt culture, and pro-biotic culture all available easily from Green Living Australia.

-glass jars - enough to contain all of your yoghurt with lids - all sparkling clean and sterilized. (I don't do the latter - I like bugs)

3. Pop your milk on a low heat.

4. put in about 4 drops of Calcium chloride - this makes it thicker.

5. put in about 1/2 cup of good quality milk powder. this too makes it thicker. Stir it thru completely.

6. drink tea. stir occasionally, check temperature...  we're aiming for 105-110 Fahrenheit here.

7. bring slowly up to 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit. Have a chat in the middle with husband re: boring part with bearings.... blah blah blah blah....

8. bring off heat. add the teenyist tinyist bit of yoghurt culture and about 1/16th of a teaspoon of pro-biotic culture. Stir 30 seconds.

9. decant into your bottles.

10. pop into your fowlers - preheated with water just to the plate at the bottom. You only just want the water touching the bottom of the jars.

11. Pop the lid on and let it's magic happen for 10 hours. 

12. thoroughly chill.

13. watch it disappear into the mouths of babes and all mankind alike.

We eat it nearly EVERY morning, and sometimes thru the day.
Our favourite ways are with some frozen black or blueberries.

But mine is with a dollop of fresh lemon curd stirred thru with meusli. 

Bon Appetit!

Five F

Okay - so you might be wondering why I haven't been blogging much lately.

Well... I've been being mama socialite. Enter.... Five F

Fish Creek

Fortnightly

Friday night 

Family

Foodies

and here we are in our second gathering:

Here are the bits and pieces that we gather by:

The Nitty Gritty:

1. Fortnightly Friday nights on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month – come if you can, don’t if you can’t.
2. Bring Homemade food to share. Please bring your own crockery and cutlery if possible.
3. Leave the host’s home cleaned up and sparklier than it was before the dinner
4. BYO - No excessive drinking/disorderly behaviour - be respectful
5. Use Organic and Homegrown (spray free) produce wherever possible.
            No coloured food or MSG.
6. No TV/DVD’s for children – just play and friendship
7. 6:00-6:30 eating time
8. Let your host know by lunchtime Friday that you are coming.

9. Sign up for a dinner at your place, we can email nights a month in advance so that everyone knows where the dinner is.

we ate and drank well. 

We had a great time and ate some terrific food. 

But I must say that the company was even better.  

We had osso buco, marinated chicken and cous cous, ricotta and spinach pie, roasted venison, organic sourdough, salads, red cabbage and apple, pesto pasta, homemade ricotta, vegetarian lasagna, apple and berry crumble, and Bavarian Apple Torte.

I can't wait to see what's on the menu for the next gathering!

There were a few requests for my Mother's sublime Bavarian Apple Torte. Don't let the name scare you off. It is a beautiful torte that isn't overly technical.

Bavarian Apple Torte:

crust:

1/2 c butter

1/3 c sugar

1/4 t vanilla

1 c flour

blitz in your food processor till small crumbs, or work thru the butter with your fingers till thoroughly combined with small crumbs.

- press into a springform (I line mine with baking paper on the base)

bake till a teeny bit golden.

Filling:

1 1/2 pkg. Philly Cream Cheese

1/2 c sugar

1 egg

1 t vanilla

process till rich and smooth

pour over base

Topping:

1/4 c sugar

1/2 t cinnamon

4 c peeled and sliced apples

toss together and put on top of filling

use a drip pan underneath the torte to catch liquid drips from wrecking your oven

bake at 190 C for 10 minutes reduce heat to 175 for 10 minutes

add slivered almonds to the top and bake for 15 minutes more.

cool completely in pan

serve chilled with a dollop of vanilla'd cream.

We are pretty keen on any recipes involving apples these days. We've got apples for days around here. It's great to share them too - we really need to get a stall at the end of the drive by next summer to sell our farm goods.

Stay tuned next week to find out about the OTHER group we've mustered up... Mama Connect. 

xx Amy

God Bless Basil

I'm a Basil lover from waaaay back. I however had never made pesto until this year as my crop of Basil just keeps on giving.  I've made 4 batches this year, and I cannot think of anything better to have on a warm summer's evening than a big plate of Spelt Pasta smothered in spicy, garlicy, pesto mixed with a bit of cream.

How do you make yours? This is the gist for mine...

Amy's Pesto:

Massive bunch of basil leaves

a few good sized hunks of Pecorino or Grana Panado Cheese

a good sized packet of pine nuts - toasted and still warm

a few lashings of good quality Olive Oil

2 gigantic cloves of garlic - grated in

Squash the basil leaves and the grated garlic into a small food processor - add about 3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil and start blitzing it. It should be thick. Continually add Olive Oil until a firm smoothy consistency appears. Add the pinenuts (still warm) and chunks of Pecorino. Blitz until a thick consistency, but not runny.  If a bit runny - add more Pecorino.  

Eat everywhere possible: pasta, on fritatta, on Scrambled eggs, on crackers, on sandwiches and wraps. 

We've also been Blackberry picking. My very favourite berry. Oh how I love late summer.

Funny thing is that we're out there enjoying the fruits of the prickly canes and husby is out there whacking them down with his slasher.

What do you do with your pesto - how do you make yours?

xx

muffins and BF love

I've got this friend named Jen.

I've been using her banana cake recipe for more than 10 years now.

It's the best banana cake recipe out there (however I use 1/2 the sugar nowadays)

Jen is also the my best friend. Always there. No Matter What.

We met in Richmond QLD - I was fresh off the bus from Townsville, she was fresh to town with her brand new baby boy, Sam. That baby boy has just started boarding school. OMG.

There have been 6 births since then between us. One wedding, a couple of Christenings and Naming Days, Many Many hugs and smiles and phone calls. She fills my cup and makes me want to be the best person I can be. We cluck over babies together, get giddy about beautiful things and little people together, share recipes, secrets and wonderful moments together. She also serves up arse kickings when needed. I do the same, and although a good telling off can sometimes be difficult to endure (for both of us) we ALWAYS know that comes from love and care.  

We were fortunate enough to live only 3ish hours from eachother for a few years while we lived in Queensland - after nurturing our friendship across 2 continents and 3 countries (we can't call New Zealand a "continent" now can we??!)  

We have been putting off making a will because we always came to the part where we have to name guardian's and have struggled. Jen and Chook are our children's Godparents (all 3) and I guess we always sort of thought that they would take care of the kids if needed.... but then so many kids came along from both of us and would make it 7 children total if (God Forbid!) something were to happen to any of us.  

Well, as easy as anything, we have decided to make them the official guardians of our children after a very clear and loving message came from Jen today that they would love to be their (official) guardians.  It is such a difficult thing - you know... to think about.  

Above all, we KNOW fully and well that our children would be unconditionally loved  if they were ever put into their care.  It certainly wouldn't be a walk in the park with 7 kids, but they would do it with love and respect for each child. We are very grateful, and it has put my mind at ease.

It gives my heart a teeny tiny bit of heartache knowing that there are several hours separating us now, but deep down, I know it doesn't matter because we always love each other and will always see each other every so often... But I do miss her.

... my goodness - this photo doesn't even include all of us!! Montyzooma wasn't here yet!

xx

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

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