Home-made Lemonade

Bec & I have found a great recipe for fresh lemonade and there's nothing better on a hot day - it's very quick too; we started making this just as the barbie was fired up.

You need;- 2 lemons - halved, 2 limes - halved, half a cup of caster sugar, a few basil sprigs and plenty of ice cubes. It's very refreshing just with cold water added, but you could also add sparkling mineral or soda water.
You;- squeeze the juice from the lemons & limes (zap them in the microwave first for 30 secs to help release the juice). Strain into large jug. Tip in sugar and stir well until it's dissolved. Put some of spent citrus skins into jug - or freshly cut slices, along with the basil and fill with ice cubes. Top up with the cold water to taste.

Now all that's left is to pour a glass for the chef, slaving over a hot barbie!

Summer Garden Pt 2 - Harvest Festival

We're now picking lots of different kinds of tomatoes every day, capsicums, chillies, strawberries and beans galore - Bec & I usually just eat them straight from the garden! The beans are delicious raw.

Welcome Visitors...

We should have some lemons & limes ready soon for the first time.

Echinacea

Lots of lovely rain over the last few days...

The herbs are going insane - most of it goes in the compost as they grow so fast. The thai basil and apple mint both smell wonderful.

Lavender - still one of my cottage garden favourites.

Summer Garden Pt 1

I've been having a lovely time with my new camera snapping away at everything in the garden - it's got a real 'wild' look happening at the moment and new things to discover every few days.

Home Preserves

I decided this was the year to have a go at preserving, and with all the lovely Summer fruit at the moment I found a couple of recipes and gave it a shot.

I started with mango chutney, as I got a whole tray of them from the Fruit Barn quite cheap.

Next it was strawberry and nectarine jam. I got a big preserving pot from a garage sale last year and have been saving lots of jars.

I washed them well, let them dry in a hot oven and boiled the lids for a while. I got a roll of waxed paper and just cut circles the same size as the lids and placed them on top before screwing the lid on tight. As they cooled - the bumps in the lid went in so I knew they had sealed correctly. Even so - I'll keep the jam in the fridge just to be sure although the chutney should be fine for up to a year in the store-cupboard. It's worth getting a good book or doing some reading on this though before having a go yourself; although there's no reason to be put-off; hey, if I can do it...
Mango Chutney - you need; 6-8 firm mangoes, 2 cups ripe sliced tomatoes, 4 cups sliced onions, 3 cups raisins, 3 cups brown sugar, 3 cups malt vinegar, 2 chillies, handful of salt.
You;- mix everything together in the preserving pan and boil for one hour. (Medium heat - stir occasionally). Pour into sterilized jars. Keep for one month to mature before using.
Summer Jam - (from 'Marie Claire - Comfort') - you need;- 200g or 1 1/3 cups strawberries, rinsed & hulled, 2 ripe peaches/nectarines (300g in total), 400g or 1 3/4 cups sugar.
You;- Slice strawberries in half and put them in a bowl. Remove skin from peaches/nectarines and roughly slice the flesh into the bowl. Pour the sugar over the fruit, stir, cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate for 2 hours. Then place it in a saucepan and bring to boil before reducing to a low simmer. Remove any frothy scum that may come to the surface. Simmer for 40 mins, stirring occasionally. Test that it's ready by dropping a little onto a cold saucer and placing in freezer for 1 min. When it begins to form a skin it's ready. Pour into sterilized jar and allow to cool before sealing with a lid, and refridgerating until ready to use. It will keep for several weeks. I actually added heaps more fruit, alot less sugar and a packet of 'Jam-Setta' to this recipe; although I haven't actually tried it yet! I'll save it for the scones...

Folk 'n Blues

I knew I'd be wasting my breath trying to get them to give me a go with their magnificent flying machines; 'girls germs' and all that, so I came home to do some guitar practice - just started having lessons with a very inspiring teacher and folk musician, Nigel Foote. He's got a fascinating biography on his website - well worth a read.

I can now play 'happy birthday', 'silent night', 'house of the rising sun' and 'a-soulin' with the melody and base; - To quote Nigel from his biography '1963-64 Went to Peter, Paul & Mary concert at Rushcutter's Bay, Sydney. Hooked! Gave up the piano... fell in love with Mary!' They played a brilliant version of 'a-soulin' at the concert which he's given me on cassette; and although I'm playing it much slower it really feels like you're getting somewhere with it; chillin' out and having fun all at the same time, even after just a few lessons. Practising certainly isn't a chore as I remember piano used to be in my younger days.

*#$^LUNA PARK@#**

We went along to the 'Friday Night Lunacy' at Luna Park - Sydney last week. Awesome fun!!Whats awesome about it is the old & the new combined - part's of it - like 'Coney Island' are unchanged from the 1930's when it first opened to the public. And the setting - right next to Sydney Harbour is spectacular.

Some great photo opportunities....

Sydney really is a stunning City.... well, it is when you only visit it once every couple of years!!

Dan and I went on the ferris wheel and enjoyed the best views of the harbour.

The Old and the New...

Coney Island is the original old-fashioned fun house, and the kids had just as much fun in here as on all the new rides (... except I don't know why they kept saying to me 'this is so cool mum... can't believe this is all they had when you were young...) !! Hello - the 1930's!!!
So that's why they made me go on all the new rides - they wanted me to know what I'd been missing out on...

Don't you just hate those girls walking around with big buff boyfriends and the biggest stuffed toys of all... well they didn't have 'hook-a-duck' so I couldn't impress the kids...

Right - those new rides I mentioned; this was one of them. I tried escaping at the last minute but to no avail. We weren't even strapped in - just standing up holding onto these bars infront of us; no worries though, we were pinned in place due to the centrifugal force.... I think some of these ride designers were recruited from the special forces - 'we have ways to make you talk' unit. OK...feeling slightly queasy by now... but only 4 more hours to go...

We're just working out who's birthday it is next so we can go back and do it all over again......!!

Vanilla Cup Cakes/Birthday Cakes

You can get some really nice cup cake cases now from shops that specialise in kitchen stuff- it's worth putting some away for the odd special occasion as they really do add the finishing touch. I just had to buy them 'cause they were so cute!

Here's the recipe;-
You need:- 125 g butter, softened; 2 eggs; 3/4 cup caster sugar; 2 tspns vanilla extract; 1.5 cups Self Raising Flour; half cup milk. (for chocolate cakes just substitute 2 tbspns flour with cocoa).

You:- Beat butter, sugar & vanilla together until pale. Beat in eggs one at a time. Sift the flour over the mixture and milk and continue mixing until all is well combined. Spoon into cup cases, in muffin size tin. Bake at 190 degree's celcius for approx 15 mins. For vanilla cakes - you can cut a shallow cone from the top of each cake and fill with vanilla butter icing; for these cup cakes just make up some basic butter icing (1 cup icing sugar, 1 tspn butter, 2-3 tbspns milk or enough to make correct consistency, pink food colouring or cocoa - mixed together with wooden spoon). Decorate with icing and lollies when cakes have cooled. This recipe is great as it can be adapted in so many different ways - just check out some of the 'cup-cake' recipe books to get some idea's.