O Inspiration, wherefore art thou?

Inspiration, I have been searching for you, for a couple of weeks now. You are the expert of hide and seek but it's time now for you to come out of hiding and play with me.
You weren't here on the jewellery mannequins, but I do intend to come back here for another look.
I was sure that I had caught a glimpse of you, with these collaged backgrounds, but it wasn't to be.

Even the family have been out searching on my behalf - yes things are getting a bit desperate.

I got lost myself in this pile of books and magazines.

You weren't at the bottom of the Curry Egg Dip but the recipe is worth sharing (see below) for other lovers of curried egg.

So dear Inspiration, please feel free to do the big reveal to me very soon - (or even sooner) - it would be appreciated because I miss you!

Curried Egg Dip

250g cream cheese, 1/2c mayonnaise, 1/2c whipped cream, 30g butter, 1 small onion, 3 rashers bacon,

2 tspns curry powder, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp paprika, 3 hard boiled eggs, salt & pepper

Beat cream cheese until soft, add mayonnaise and cream.

Heat butter in pan, add finely chopped onion and paprika. Saute gently until onion is tender - allow to cool.

Add bacon mixture to cream cheese mixture and mix well with the chopped boiled eggs.

Season to taste.

(Serve with a crusty loaf, carrot & celery sticks or crackers)

My "Favouritist" Cake

The "Lemon Feather Cake" is my favourite cake to bake and to eat.

I don't make sponges very well but this cake is lighter than that and almost foolproof. It just needs a good sprinkling of icing sugar before you serve it. (the photographed cake was for my sister-in-law to take to her workplace, and she gave it the sprinkling, before it was cut).

The top of the cake forms a nice crust, so there is no need to top it with anything other than the icing sugar (or powdered sugar)

6 eggs (separated)

275g castor sugar

zest of 2 lemons and juice of 1 lemon

150g potato flour or cornflour

Beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and nearly white. Add lemon zest & juice and flour. Whip egg whites and fold into the yolk mixture.

Grease cake tin or tins if you prefer to bake in 2 tins..........and bake for 50-60 mins at 180C (350F)***** You need to check it earlier than this as sometimes the cake is cooked a lot quicker**********

Turn out and cool on rack - if you have just baked the one cake then cut in half and fill with lemon cream. Otherwise join the 2 cakes with the lemon cream

Lemon Cream: Whip 300ml cream and add 255g lemon butter - fill cake and dust top with icing sugar.

**The photographed cake is a large one in which I used 10 eggs and used 600ml cream and 430g lemon butter for the filling------yumm!!!!!**

200th Post

To celebrate my 200th post, I have baked some Bougatsa - so why don't you pop over to share a couple with me? Can't make it in time? Then here is the recipe for you to make some yourself.

I used to have a Bougatsa most Saturday mornings when I lived in Perth - husband always chose something rich and creamy, while I preferred something custardy, cinnamony and citrusy. The problem was when I moved from Perth I couldn't remember the name "bougatsa" and I have just this week spotted a photo of some, in an old recipe book. They are just as good as I remember them.

Bougatsa

500g ricotta cheese (low fat) well drained
2tb cream cheese

2 tb plain flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Grated rind of 1 lemon

1/2 cup caster sugar

Filo pastry

butter

Preheat oven to 190C. In a bowl or blender, combine all the ingredients except the filo and butter. Melt the butter and brush melted butter onto a sheet of filo. Top with another sheet and brush with butter as well (you need 2 sheets per parcel). Fill each one with the cheese mixture and fold the pastry into a parcel. Make sure the top of the parcel has some melted butter on it and then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake the pastry parcel for 10 mins, then lower the heat to 160C and bake for another 5 minutes until the pastry is a golden colour.

Serve warm but still nice to eat cold.

Giveaway Time: Leave a comment for me, and you will be in the running to win either a crocheted hat or the necklace (below) that I had shown on the blog a couple of posts ago - your choice. The hat can be made in the colours of your choice and the 'rosette' is attached with a brooch fitting so that you can take it off and wear it on your clothing or attach to your bag/purse. The middle hat has been made for a child, so the rosette on that one has been tied on (for safety purposes).

The blog has had a bit of a makeover as well, still need to do a bit of tweaking and add some botox here and there, but she is looking a bit younger!

Just like Mam used to make!

I have been searching for a Rock Cake recipe for ages that would be similar to the ones that my Scottish grandmother - known to everyone as Mam - used to bake.

Finally I have found one - thanks to Treann (she will get a surprise if she reads this)........

Treann had shared the recipe in the "Nana's Recipe Book" section of the

'Enchanted Things Primitives ' website.

8 oz of SR Flour

2 oz of butter

3 oz of sugar ( I used brown)

1 egg

pinch of salt

4 oz mixed fruit

Milk to mix
Sift flour and salt. Rub in butter to resemble bread crumbs and add all other dry ingredients.Mix well and add the beaten egg and enough milk to make a stiff mixture. Place dessertspoonfuls of mixture onto tray and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake in a hot oven until golden brown......

Also on the website are some other old favourites - like Lamb Fritters and Golden Syrup Dumplings......brings back lots of memories.

Why don't you make yourself a batch of Rock Cakes this weekend - I made the ones in the photo last Saturday as it was my parents 56th wedding anniversary. Perfect to have with a cuppa.

Review

The cake, the cake, what about the cake? Yes it was quite nice after all - the review was quite right though I had overcooked it a bit. I should have taken it out of the oven when it was still soft on top. Served with cream and strawberries, it was yummy.
Recipe is:
185g unsalted butter (chopped), 200g dk chocolate, 1 1/2 cups caster sugar, 3 eggs, 250g plain flour, 1/3 cup cocoa, 200g packet jersey caramels (halved).
Combine butter & chocolate in medium saucepan, stir over heat until chocolate melts. Transfer mixture to large bowl, stir in sugar and eggs then sifted flour and cocoa. Spread half the mixture into a 23cm round or slab tin that has been greased and lined with baking paper. Top with the caramels and then the remaining mixture. Bake in moderate oven for approx 50 minutes. Cool and dust with extra sifted cocoa.
I am quite excited about the prospect of this piece, I love the look of the small artworks within a a larger one and I can use some of my special bits and pieces in it....but I think I might see if I can buy a longer frame and a couple of more little canvases. It is inspired by one that Connie Govea Stuart has featured in the new Somerset magazine - Somerset Apprentice. Instructions are given for creating one of your own - why don't you make one too?

Pavlova Roll recipe

I have promised a couple of people my recipe for Pavlova Rolls - and yes they are good enough for Christmas Day! I have yet to make a normal pavlova as this is what people request for me to take to share lunches etc.

Pavlova Roll
4 egg whites, 3/4 cup caster sugar, 1 tsp cornflour, 1 tsp vanilla essence, 1 tsp white vinegar, 300ml cream & fruit of choice.

Whisk egg whites until stiff and then add the sugar gradually. Add rest of ingredients until thick white peaks form. Line an oven tray with Glad Bake (non stick paper) and then spread mixture onto the tray. (I often spray the paper with a non stick spray as well for extra non stick!!) Bake for 15 mins at 180C. Take out of oven and let cool for just a couple of minutes. Place another piece of Glad Bake on your bench, cut to approximate size of the pavlova roll, and sprinkle some caster sugar on it. Turn the pavlova roll onto the paper and peel off the baking paper. Let cool.
Spread with whipped cream and your choice of fruit - berries, peaches, fruitsalad etc
Roll up and then place onto a serving tray - place in fridge overnight.

Drizzled chocolate etc is nice too on top.

Yesterday's Post

Well it seems that a lot of us women have the same kinds of difficulties with our husbands. Makes you wonder where their brains are sometimes - and of course they can't multi-task like we do!

If you would like to join in with a Pay It Forward - the lovely Lisa of Inn Country is running one on her blog. She is needing a couple of more 'players' .....and who doesn't like to receive gifts??? Details are on her blog.
While you are checking out her blog, she has a very easy and yummy looking recipe on there for Rum Balls.

Friday

As part of a forum I belong to we are having our last Christmas ornie swap for the year. Mine are completed and on their way!! Here's a sneak preview girls.......... I don't know about your household but we always seem to have packets of savoury biscuits, open and a bit stale. The dog often gets some but today I remembered a recipe that my mother gave me that uses the savoury biscuits and it doesn't matter how stale they are!

125g savoury biscuits broken into small pieces, 125g grated cheese, 1 chopped onion, 425g tuna (drained), 3 eggs (beaten) 1 cup milk, chopped parsley, salt & pepper (and I put in a handful of sweetcorn)

Combine altogether and bake in a greased 11" x 7" dish - moderate oven approx 35-40 mins until browned and firm.

Here I am....

Yesterday and today I have been having computer problems and I have sat down several times to do an update and then given up, annoyed with the time that has been wasted! But then husband arrived with an envelope of old photos that I had won on eBay and that made me much happier!

These are a few of them- don't you wish you knew the story behind these people?
I made a batch of Smarties Muffins (oops left the 's' off the title in the photo) today ready for kids coming here later today. The rule in this house if anything is hanging over the edge of the paper, then it is Mum's! Look at all the smarties hanging over the edge of the front muffin - 4 of them. It took me quite a while to arrange them so that they would do that...LOL!

Kids love these and adults too.

Smarties Muffins

2 1/2 cups self raising flour, 1 1/2 lge tspns baking powder, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup smarties, dash of vanilla, 1/3 cup oil.

Mix altogether, just to combine. Spoon into muffin pan or papers and bake at 200C approx 20 minutes and then eat any smarties that are hanging over the edge.........mum's rules!!

I'm still slogging away with this dreaded bookwork so I thought I would take a 5 minute break and share a recipe with you. We had this for dinner last night and it was very yummy. In the photo it looks a bit gluggy because I had already eaten mine so I spooned cold risotto into the bowl so that I could take a photo. It was much creamier when it was hot. 2tb low fat margarine/butter

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 onion, chopped

2 cups Arborio rice

375ml Carnation Light and Creamy Evaporated Milk

1 litre water

1 tb veg stock powder

500g peeled and chopped pumpkin

2 cups broccoli florets

Pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

Heat butter in large pan, add garlic and onion - cook for 1 minute. Add rice, stir to combine. Add Evaporated Milk, combined water and stock powder, and pumpkin. Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer covered for 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Add broccoli and pepper, simmer covered for a further 5 minutes.Serve topped with parmesan cheese. (It would be nice with a bit of chicken & maybe spinach added too)

Back to the bookwork.........

October 7th!

A bit late in my update today, it has been a busy day!!! Most importantly though, it is my big brother's birthday - here is a photo of him when he was a wee little lad! Happy Birthday P. This is what I have been doing today - tidying my husband's office - 4 bags of rubbish but at least he can see the colour of the carpet again. It feels good to achieve something like this but nobody has done my ironing or any of my jobs while I have been cleaning!!

Miss Muggins has a link on her blog to a fun site where you load up your photo and see what you looked like back in the 'dark ages'! The photo below, is what I would have looked like in 1950! I can't believe how much I look like my mother!! If you would like a bit of fun too, click here.

Last night, husband was wanting something 'more' to eat and I remembered the recipe that I had spotted on If only I had chocolate blog. Chocolate Mud cake in a mug!
We didn't even bother tipping it out of the mug, husband ate it straight from there with some added icecream - yumm! I see there is a lemon cake one on her blog too, must try that next time. Give it a go when next you are needing a chocolate fix. It is really quick - all done in less than 5 minutes.

I've changed our slide show too, so if you want to see some different things that we have made just check out the right margin of the blog for the slideshow.

A Piece of Work

All dressed and ready to go to a dinner meeting - not too bad for a Big W suit!!! (Big W is a shop in Australia) It might only last for a year but for $30 for the jacket, $20 trousers and $20 shirt and tie - who cares??? The suit is well made - all lined and fully functioning pockets - not like some of the cheap suits you see around the place. I started on this today - all beeswaxed and ready to go. Not sure where it is going after that though - stay tuned.
I made this basket of scones yesterday. Whilst I prefer my bacon and chive scones , my parents thought these were really nice and they only use 4 ingredients. Recipe comes from the 4 ingredients (no.2) cookbook.

1 cup chopped dates

300ml cream

4 cups self raising flour

375 ml ginger ale

Preheat oven 200C. Sift flour into bowl and add other ingredients. Place on floured surface and cut with scone cutter, then place on oven tray. Bake 12-15mins

Buttons and no blobs

Husband and I had an unplanned trip to Adelaide yesterday. He had a list of jobs and things to buy and so did I. He got most things done but I didn't so I think I need a trip by myself one day soon. It is a 2 1/2 hour drive there and then back again - so it is always an all day affair for us.

I did get to Spotlight though for some supplies and fell in love with these buttons. They might not be mother of pearl but I love their colours.

And then there were these ones, the red buttons are large but gorgeous, the wooden ones were the most expensive and the cream patterned ones were made in Italy! Can't believe they had something like that in Spotlight. I'm teaching a button jewellery class soon at our church Craft group so I think some of these will come in handy.
It is the school concert tonight and we have to take plates of supper for afterwards. I had to take a photo of my plate of biscuits to prove that I can pipe chocolate without blobs!! Do you know this yummy and quick recipe? Butternut snap biscuits, topped with some of the caramel Top'n'fill, whipped cream and decorated with melted chocolate. Best to make it a few hours before you are eating them, to let the biscuits go a little soft. Michelle introduced me to this yummy recipe.
Marion made this gorgeous white chocolate mud cake on Friday before she left for holidays. An engagement cake - obviously for Jessica and Tom! They wanted silver fondant hearts and lettering. White chocolate shards surround the cake plus silver organza ribbon.
Something I wish for is that I could draw and paint reasonably well. So why is it when I am using a scrap piece of paper that I don't do so bad?????? but when I take a fresh piece of artist's paper or something similar then I stuff up....lol!!
Remember if you would like to enter the giveaway, just drop us an email or leave a comment - I'm off to get the troops ready for the concert!

Blobs

Blobs - chocolate blobs!! Why is it when you are trying to pipe delicate trails of chocolate that a blob of chocolate blocks up the hole and then you get a spurt of thick gunky chocolate come out....... Sure I know it will still taste nice but it could have behaved itself for me!

I had an order for a Pavlova Roll, it is filled with whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries, wonder if the cream will have turned purple by tomorrow with the combination of berries??

Cupcakes

Marion has been baking cupcakes for a child's birthday party - these looked very pretty. Too pretty to eat maybe? (I've been playing with the photo editing - can you tell??!!)

But then these cupcakes below look quite 'eatable' - especially the ones with the dinosaurs....

And when Marion isn't baking cupcakes, guess what she does in her spare time???
Yes, she makes faux cupcakes - this time needlefelted ones.

Marion is off to Queensland tomorrow for holidays, so whilst the 'cat' is away - we'll have a giveaway. Stay tuned!

Nice Things

Pampas puff pastry has a good recipe on the packet for Bolognaise Scrolls

- easy to make and very, very yummy!

Make your favourite bolognaise sauce - (but it needs to be thick) - or heat 1tb oil in frying pan, add 1 chopped onion and 1 clove garlic, cook 1 minute. Add 500g minced beef, stir fry until meat changes colour. Add 4tb tomato paste and 1 tsp Italian herbs and cook for 10 mins - leave to cool.

Place pastry sheet on baking paper, spread with bolognaise sauce, layer with spinach and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Using the baking paper, roll up each sheet like a Swiss Roll and glaze with a beaten egg.

Place the rolls on a lightly greased oven tray and bake in preheated oven 200C for 20 mins or until golden.

Finish off your meal with some "Vintage Pears" !!!

Supercalafragilistic Expiealadoscious

Just in case one of your children ask you how to spell Supercalafragilistic Expiealadoscious, today as mine did, I thought you might like to be prepared!

Husband needed some afternoon tea, yesterday for work, so I got up at 6am to make some bacon and chive scones for him to take - along with some more mini caramel almond tarts with the cinnamon cream. 3 1/2 cups self raising flour

2 tb caster sugar

60g butter

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

4 chopped bacon rashers

1 tb chopped chives

Sift flour & sugar into bowl. Melt butter and add to buttermilk, then pour into flour. Mix altogether - add more buttermilk if too dry or add more flour if too wet. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until dough comes together. Pat out to approx 4cm thick and then cut out the scones with a scone cutter. Place onto a floured baking tray and place into a cold oven. Turn temp dial on to 210/220C - the scones will be cooked when the oven gets to that temperature.

Good things come from Buderim! I love Ginger Beer and Ginger Bears that come from there but I also love the present that I received from Chrissie yesterday. (I should mention that Ginger Bears are great when you have an upset tummy or feeling queasy when travelling, we keep packets in both our cars plus one in the cupboard. Plus they are nice especially if you like ginger)

(Something 'magical' has happened while I was doing this post - I was going to say that Kate Hampson, an "olde friend" of ours also comes from Buderim and I was going to link her name to her blog but it wouldn't work ........however, I have discovered if you click on the parcel above it takes you to Kate's blog!! See I am still learning.......)

Chrissie sent me a lovely notepad and a pen in the shape of a rolling pin - it is really nice to write with too! Thank you so much Chrissie. Just finished this "doll" today for an order - "Sojourner Truth"- she is based on a real US lady from the 1700's who became a preacher and prophetess and fought for the rights of women. I think she must have been 'ahead of her times' and a real inspiration. I wonder if there has been a movie made about her - it would be the kind that Oprah would make and star in...... If you want to read more about Sojourner Truth you can here.
I had hoped to get some photos from what Marion is doing at the moment, but I have had a sick boy home from school since last Wed and haven't had the opportunity to go there with camera in hand. She has been baking for lots of orders - Mud cakes, cupcakes, lemon meringue pies, Apricot Dacquois, quiches....just to name a few. And not to mention the crafting side of things as well.

Answers!

In answer to a couple of emails - no you don't have to wait until The Chocolate Crow Trader is out, before you order from us. Those on our mailing list or that read our blog can have first option, especially as we don't have a great deal of this gorgeous halloween fabric.

I have also taken another photo of Liddy Nin-root the witch so that you can see the fabric a bit better - and her boots which look like she has been wading in a swamp somewhere!

Price for Liddy is $63 (AU $) plus postage

.....and someone asked me if I was going to share the recipe for the Caramel Almond Tarts - so yes here it is. You can substitute any nuts, the first time I made it was with cashews but this time it was with dry roasted almonds.

1 cup roasted unsalted cashews or almonds

1 tb cornflour

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tb golden syrup

50g melted butter

2 eggs

2 tb cream

1 ts vanilla extract

Shortcrust Pastry

Preheat oven to 200C.

Combine nuts and cornflour in bowl. Stir in sugar, golden syrup, butter, eggs, cream and vanilla.

Line flan tins, muffin tins (whatever you are using) with shortcrust pastry and trim off excess.

Divide filling among pastry cases and bake until a nice deep golden brown colour - approx 20 mins.

Cool then refrigerate for 30 mins before removing from tins.

Serve with cinnamon cream (300 ml, 1 tb icing sugar, 1 ts cinnamon - whipped altogether)

(Recipe adapted from Australian Womens Weekly recipe book "Little Pies and Cakes"

Happy Father's Day

I hope your father's all have a lovely day today too - this is a photo of my father and me back when his hair was all black and he could manage to fit me all on his lap! I don't think we will try for a renactment. We're off to church soon and then going to my parent's place for lunch - as we do most Sundays. Dad (or Pappy as we all call him) is part of the singing group at church and he is very entertaining especially when he forgets the words! Mum is cooking a lamb roast - don't all mums do the best roast? And I have made the caramel almond tarts (below) for dessert.
I made these last week for a function too, except I used cashews. The recipe is from one of the newer Australian Women's Weekly recipe books "Little Pies & Cakes". The recipe has that you make your own pastry which I did do, but I have discovered that I actually prefer shortcrust pastry, it doesn't compete with the nuts/caramel as much. It is the cinnamon cream that makes these absolutely delicious. In fact when I took the cream to the function last week some people thought it was a cinnamon mousse and were eating it by itself.

Easy to make - 300ml cream, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tb icing sugar - whip all together.

Strawberries would be lovely dipped in it as well .

I will be calling into Marion's place after lunch and collecting a couple of things - might show some sneak peaks later today.

Christina