Baking an old favourite...

I was watching an episode of The Great British Bake-off yesterday, followed by a phone chat with my buddy Fee where we also got on to the subject of baking (to be honest, that subject always finds a way into our conversations).

When I hung up the phone all I could think about was getting my apron on and heating the oven in preparation for a traybake. Scanning the cookbook shelves I pulled out a favourite filled with retro and modern Australian baking delights....

...and this is what I chose to make. 

It's a family favourite from my own childhood, and one I've baked for all my children and two of my grandsons when they lived nearby a few years ago.

Another of my favourite things is this apron and as it was the conversation with Fee just minutes earlier which had inspired me to go 'retro' with my baking it seemed fitting to wear it for yesterday's kitchen fun because she was the special person who made it for me many years ago!

(that sweet stitchery on the pocket is by wonderful Aussie designer, Lyn Briggs)

It only took a few minutes to make the base and after spreading it across the bottom of the greased slice tray it was time to top it with the middle layer of my raspberry coconut slice.

Actually, I didn't have any raspberry jam so technically I didn't follow the exact recipe. 

Being the good homemaker that I 'try' to be I used the jams we already had in the fridge...

...so my slice has one third strawberry jam and one third boysenberry jam over the base.

Final step was to add a sprinkle of topping, which is then pressed down...

...and then the tray is popped into the oven for the slice to bake around 30-35 minutes.

Cool slightly before cutting into slices while it's still in the tray.

Remove the slices when it's cooled completely.

(or take a piece out whenever you want if your tastebuds can't wait that long...there's no etiquette police in my kitchen!)

Brew a pot of tea and enjoy.

How simple was that?

Raspberry Coconut Slice

before you begin...

Preheat oven to 180C (350F)

Grease a 19cm x 29cm slice tray ( 7 1/2" x 11 1/2")

base...

90g (3 oz) softened butter

1/2 cup (110g) caster (superfine) sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup (50g) self raising flour

2/3 cup (100g) plain (all-purpose) flour

1/2 cup jam (note: I used more...)

topping...

2 eggs

1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar

2 cups (160g) desiccated (finely grated) coconut

method...

Beat butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.

Fold in sifted flours.

Spread mixture over the base of the greased tray.

Spread the jam over the base.

Mix together the topping ingredients (eggs, sugar and coconut).

Sprinkle over the top of the jam, and press down lightly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown on top.

Cool for 10 minutes, cut into slices whilst in the tray.

Allow to completely cool before removing from the tray.

Tomorrow I'm sharing Block 11 of this year's Gentle Domesticity BOM so the next pincushion tutorial will have to wait until next week. The days have simply gotten away from me since November began...and I'm not complaining because they've been spent more with family and attending to home, and less with business. 

Just as it should be.

hugs

 

Strawberries two ways...

Last week Mr E asked if I'd make him a slow Guinness Stew over the weekend, so on Saturday morning I set myself to the task at hand.

Once I'd browned off the beef, onions, and garlic I added the Guinness, spices, and beef stock to the pan before tipping it all into my slow cooker for a nice eight hour braise. 

(recipe here)

Still in my apron, and the kitchen a mess anyway, I decided to make a Strawberry Shortcake for dessert. 

This is a recipe I've made for about 25 years and one I knew my daughter Blossom loved, so I rang and asked if she and her DB would like to come visit for dinner that night (and bring their little Cully May for nana and pop cuddles!). Without hesitation, she said yes. 

I shared this recipe on the blog many years ago but as it's such a good one I thought you may like to download it to add to your own recipe files.

Download Strawberry Shortcake Recipe here.

My good friend Fee is an avid fan of this recipe too. From the first time I shared it on the blog she's made it a regular treat for her family.

But the strawberry love doesn't stop there!

Fee has also become an avid fan of my Elegant Strawberry Pincushion pattern/tutorial...

In fact, she's spent the past few days making a few of them, all deliciously elegant.

Here's one, but if you'd like to see them all pop over here to her blog for inspiration and more strawberry eye candy...

What have you made recently from strawberries?

hugs

Bread, answering questions & Etsy...

 TEA

Nana loved a cup of tea with her bread.

In fact it was her nightly ritual to serve Pop and I a slice of fresh bread, thickly buttered and covered in honey or jam, with a pot of steaming black tea for 'afters'. 

'Afters' was our supper, served in that final hour before switching off the lights and heading to bed. 

Nana also served bread, butter, jam and tea on Saturday afternoons, and that's what inspired the Saturday design for "Days of the Week".

To be honest, her tea pot was not a pretty one like the pot I've stitched above, but I do know she would have loved this one to have graced her kitchen table, so in my heart of hearts this is Nana's Pot - my gift to her memory, and the wonderful afternoons we spent together, simple afternoons with bread, tea, Pop and each other. 

 BREAD

A couple of weeks ago after I showed you a yummy loaf of light rye bread and some bread rolls I'd made when Blossom came to lunch, many people emailed asking for the recipe. 

 It was in one of my three favourite bread books...

 I didn't bake it in the breadmaker as I prefer bread to be baked in a normal bread tin or free form, but I do use the breadmaker for kneading and the first prove of the dough. 

After that I punch down the dough, divide into one loaf and four rolls, then leave to prove a second time before baking in the oven at 190C.

If you're going to bake the Light Rye Loaf in your breadmaker it will make one large loaf.

The recipe below is in metric Australian measures so just to clarify:

one teaspoon = 5 grams 

one tablespoon = 20 grams (or 4 teaspoons)

NOTE: a US tablespoon is only 15g or 3 teaspoons

ENGLISH PROGRAMMES

Another question asked this week was from Debra who wanted to know which Jane Austen movie I was watching as I stitched the other day.

Well I've been through a few lately but my favourite is always Persuasion. 

In fact I watched it again as I began stitching the Sunday design for May's Stitchery Club...

Once this block is completed I have more stitching ready and waiting.  

First I'll begin work on a stitchery to be published in next January's issue of Australia Homespun Magazine, and I'll stay with the English movie/tv theme by watching Poldark. 

I've just discovered this new version of the series (based on the Poldark books) and after watching the first two episodes I'm hooked!

Mr E and I couldn't work out where we'd seen the main character before yet he looked so familiar! Then the penny dropped and I remembered him as Kili the dwarf from The Hobbit. 

Even Mr E is enjoying this series too. Win win!

NEWS:

I've received a lot of correspondence from fellow Australians about the cost of patterns purchased through my Craftsy shop.

As Craftsy only allow sellers to list patterns in US dollars it means a $3 pattern becomes closer to $4 when converted to Australian currency. 

After reformatting a number of my favourite patterns I asked Blossom to update my long empty Etsy Shop and list them over there in Australian $. 

The patterns are still instant downloads, but they're not saved to a pattern library (as they are with Craftsy) so you need to download and save to your computer when you make the purchase.

Over coming weeks I'll make time to reformat more patterns and Blossom will then add them to my Etsy shelves.

So now you have two pattern shops to choose from!

HERE for Craftsy in US Dollars

and

HERE for Etsy in Australian Dollars.

I'm a small home business and can't do everything, but this is one change I could make which benefits those whose currency is taking a hit against the US dollar.

Have a blessed weekend!

New fabrics and a recipe...

You may remember that I'm one of fifteen Lecien "Flower Sugar" World Ambassadors and every so often I receive a parcel from Japan, overflowing with not-yet-released Flower Sugar pretties to play with.

This week not one, but two bundles of floral and fancy came to bless me...

Flower Sugar 'Holiday' will be waiting at your local quilt shop in June, in plenty of time for Christmas sewing!

Before then I'll share a free festive pattern with a list of materials required which you can print up and take with you to the shop. There's a design wafting around my creative space you see, and it could be the perfect choice for a Christmas project.

For now though, let me show you the two prints I love the most from the FS "Holiday" bundle. Do they make you giddy with delight too?

The other bundle is just as delicious! 

Flower Sugar "Sweet Carnival" will debut at Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City, USA, and will arrive at local quilt shops by October.

I have ideas for these too...so many ideas, but which one to choose????

I may even host a little giveaway...stay tuned for that one. 

Every week, Monday to Friday at 7am, without exception, Mr E and I have breakfast together.

It's a special time of the day to chat, share a healthy meal, and pray.

Saturdays are different though, because he starts work 30 minutes later. 

On those mornings I pack a 'finger food' breakfast I've baked the day before, some cheese squares for our Merri-dog, and after picking up coffee from our favourite drive through cafe (Zarraffas) we head down to the beach, sit back under the palm trees and enjoy the morning view across the water.

It's a very special start to the last day of what has become a rather long working week for Mr E.

This little detour from the weekly routine helps make each Saturday quite bearable for my beloved, so I like to give extra time to planning and preparing our 'picnic' brekky.

This week I've played around with an old recipe to make it dairy free, wheat free, and sugar free.

Seriously, it was delicious!

In fact, we taste tested so much that it disappeared rather fast, so I'm glad he has a 4-day Easter break and no work on Saturday.  

(Although, I will make more cause we'll still go down to the beach - some routines are too good to miss...)

Would you like to try it?

I've shared the recipe over HERE on my 'cooked simply with love' blog where there's a link for you to download and print the recipe for your own files.

Do you eat fish on Good Friday? There's nothing yummier than macadamia crumbed coral trout in my personal seafood menu so I'm off now to buy the fish and some salad trimmings. Then I'll work on that Flower Sugar "Holiday" design...

 May you have a blessed and faith filled Easter!

hugs

 

Stitching, a gift and a recipe...

Before Mr E whisked us away to Cairns last weekend (his birthday gift to me) I sketched, traced and prepared a couple of new Gentle Domesticity BOM blocks to stitch in the car, but as I shared here much of our time away was spent catching up on sleep, and even in the car I was too tired to make a start.

It wasn't till I got back home that the first of those two blocks came to life with needle and thread. Here's a progress peek...

When I drew up this design I had it marked as the August block, however, after some personal revelations this past week it's been moved forward to March as it carries a very important message - but be patient as you'll have to wait till March 5th for your free pattern download.

(learn more about the 2016 Gentle Domesticity BOM here) 

Have you stitched the first two blocks? If so, email me a photo (here) or leave a link to your blog post (if you've shared a photo)  in the comments below so I can do a Show & Tell post of Gentle Domesticity blocks next month. I'd love to see your blocks and I know my readers would too.

 

New Flash: Finally, here's the recipe for my Pear & Cranberry Loaf! Sorry this took so long but life steps in and I'm really going with the flow these days...

You'll find it HERE on my food blog with a link to download and print. 

This is gluten free, dairy free, and has no added sugar, but it's delicious! 

I hope you give it a try, and if you're an inventive type of cook you'll find some ideas for switching ingredients in the post as well.

Gifts!

This week I received the most beautiful birthday gift from one of my Club members, Jan Skinner. 

Blossom was with me when it arrived so the oohs and aaahs were doubled as I unwrapped the package.

Jan had no idea when she made this black-faced cross-stitch needlebook that I adore black faced sheep (especially Dorpers)...

The beautifully cross-stitched blanket lifts to reveal a place to store needles in the soft wool of the sheep's body...

Even the design on the blanket sports a black-faced sheep.

I shall treasure this gift always, and when I am no more for this earth my Blossom shall take it as her own. Thank you, dear Jan. xx 

Speaking of gifts and Blossom, look what my girl gave me for my birthday - pretty spotty ducks!

I'd seen them in a specialty shop in town last month and fawned over them so she knew the perfect gift for her mama's 57th birthday. 

Shall I let you in on a funny story about these ducks?

Yes? Okay!

When I opened the white tissue paper to reveal my beautiful birthday ducks Mr E frowned at my obvious delight. I was puzzled and asked him why the funny face?

He said, "Why would anyone put feet on pears?!"

I laughed till my sides ached!

Gotta love that man.

Have a lovely weekend, and be sure to take time out just for you. 

Sit quietly, breathe deeply, and ponder all the wonderful things you have and the people who love you just as you are. 

There's life to be had in those kind of ponderings...

Why I wait for February...

I wait all year for a new February.

In February I find myself better able to plan sensibly for the week, month or year ahead because I'm finally rested in spirit, thought, heart and body after the close of last year and a busy start to this new one.

In February I breathe deeply, despite the intense heat and humidity of a tropical summer, and set my thoughts to what truly matters and whether there are changes I can make to simplify life a little more.

I choose to stroll around the house and not rush from room to room or task to task.

I'm more intentional about what I do each day so I can enjoy the fullness of a chore or project rather than trying to juggle too many things at once, and I even allow the inner delight of satisfaction a moment to boast within my heart because it reminds me how good it feels when I stay on track and see something through to completion.

Another joy for February is the return of the birds just outside the dining room window.

Kookaburras are my favourite of all God's feathered sky fliers and usually they signal rain is on the way, which proved correct after this fellow's visit yesterday...

Last night it rained like it hasn't rained in three years and we were able to open wide the windows, turn off the air conditioning, and slumber in cool breezes that rushed through our home from one side to the other with the constant pelt of water from the sky as our lullaby. 

February is also my most contemplative month of the year.

Perhaps because it's my birthday soon and there's a sense of looking back in order to see forward?

 Even though sorrows and trials have left a wrecking yard of evidence behind me, a deep well of gratefulness nourishes the soil of my soul because there has also been so much good, so much life, and so much love stamped over the story of my life - and climbing the mountain of gratefulness is far more wonderful and mood-enhancing than dwelling in the valley of sorrows.

In February I tend to watch movies that stir my contemplative thoughts.

In 'How to Make an American Quilt' I'm deeply moved by the stories of each character, of the life choices they made and the ramifications over the course of their lives and how they reflect those emotions into a quilt.

I've watched this movie about twenty times and always come away learning something new about myself, or discovering an attitude that needs to change in my own character...

Sophia resonates with me more than any other, and it's from her story I first discovered that discontent can rob you of joy, and of the need to delight in what you have right 'now'.

After all this time I finally decided to purchase the book and read the author's version, and you know what I discovered? After each chapter of the story there is a small 'instructions' chapter on quilting...

I think I'll enjoy this novel as my February read - after I watch the movie one more time...

 

Do you have a month that you look forward to?

What does it bring to your life?

There's a good deal of food preparation going on in our home this month, and yesterday I shared the recipe for these on my other blog...

 The recipe is in the blog post HERE and there's also a link for you to download and print it up for your own recipe folder.

May you enjoy a fine and fruitful February,

hugs