We have had some super cherries around recently and I just had to make some cherry muffins with them. I used this basic recipe and just added a handful and a bit of chopped cherries. Very good. Even better I made a crumble type topping with almond meal, brown sugar and butter and sprinkled it over the muffins before I baked them…really really good.

Guessing the kids wouldn’t eat the cherry I made half the batch banana by adding one mashed banana (whatever!) and topped them with the almond meal mixture to which I added some meusli. I’m yet to try the banana ones but they look pretty good! The basic recipe is a good one. Wholemeal flour would be nice and also butter rather than oil is another way to go. If I had some coconut I would have added it to the cherry topping.

I didn’t have any muffin cases so cut some from baking paper, which you would think would be a pain in the … but it was quick and easy to cut four at a time.

Every now and then I love to indulge in some really trashy food. I  recently read a recipe (can’t remember where – sorry) that has three ingredients, Tim Tams, condensed milk and coconut – smoosh, roll into balls, fridge, eat. Mmmm. Here’s another one that I occasionaly make for my son Henry. Ham and Cheese Vol au Vents, sadly I took one bite and my body said “No thank you.” An eight year old can eat six of these however!

Look at the size of my pies! Feast your eyes on the size of these pies! Now would you serve that up to your children for dinner? Please don’t feed your children pencils. I implore you people, that is a dinner plate, a pretty big one too…is that how that saying goes?

I was scared when I saw these montrous pies, when the children saw them their eyes wide, “What the beep is that?” (tame beep). You have to laugh, you just have to. Well what it actually is is (that’s not good english) chicken pie that I loaded with grated vege’s and mixed up in a mild curry cause (read sauce). It’s late. The kids loved them and for once in a really long time if ever, Henry ate the whole thing! Amazing.

Just to show you that I am not cursed in the kitchen and can turn out a presentable display of well cooked, delicous and pretty food, here are some basic cookies I made tonight, some vanilla and some with grated orange zest, really delicate and buttery good!

Easiest Recipe: 225g butter, 110g caster sugar, 275g flour. Add any yummy bits, almond, ginger, chocolate etc before the flour. Bake about 10-12min about 160.

On tele earlier they had a tart base with no butter, it had olive oil and was more like a bread, sounds good so I will get on the bready tart base case tomorrow.

My favourite biscuits are Afghans. The recipe is from my favourite baking cook book, Edmonds. They have some old school recipes on their site. Dinner recipes include all sorts of things you can put on top of puff pastry! This cook book is a tradition in my family, my grandma and my mum had one, and I got mine when I was 9yrs old (see below). It is a New Zealand book and has been around for nearly 130yrs.

Afghans are chocolate biscuits with some kind of cereal in them (usually cornflakes but I used Milo cereal), with chocolate icing and walnuts on top…sooo good. They have loads of butter so are wonderfully crumbly. Before…

After…

Here’s the recipe…

Enjoy! I am.

These tomatoes were very pretty when I started out with them, I cut them and covered them in a mixture of garlic, basil, sugar and balsamic vinegar and then slow roasted them at 140c for 3 hours, now look at them – you wouldn’t look any better slow roasted! They’ll be great tonight tossed in hot pasta and topped with olive oil and parmesan.

I was going to garnish them with the basil but I think it’s seen better days…

I think some pesto is in order. Life is all about balance and using what you have. On the fabric front, I picked up this at my local thrift yesterday.

It was a curtain but I think I will make some big cushions from it. I will post the results. It has really kept it’s bold colours – has a European (Ikea-like) look I think. It’s called “Playtime” and the designer is Q John Wilson. I googled him but couldn’t find anything so I guess he’s a nobody – no offence John – just kidding – everybody’s a somebody…

Everything is “choofing along” on the shop front and it won’t be long now so keep checking back, you won’t be disappointed…one of these days. By the way “…” means pause and wait for the funny bit…get it…nothing.

PostQuote: “No object is so beautiful that under certain conditions it will not look ugly.” Oscar Wilde (for example – slow roasted)

Inspired by some rolled oats I came accross when cleaning out my “baking station” I decided to make some Anzacs this Sunday. Anzacs are classic Australian and New Zealand cookies and are incredibly good – give them a go! They are also super easy to make. The only trick is to get that perfect balance of crispy outside and chewy inside. I make mine quite thick, about 1.5cm and bake them for 15 minutes at 170c/325f (I have a hot oven).

Okay…put these dry ingredients in a bowl

125g (4oz) Flour
150g (6oz) Sugar
1 Cup coconut
1 Cup rolled oats

Mix them together…

Then melt these ingredients in a saucepan

50g (2oz) butter
1 T Golden Syrup

When melted add

2 T boiling water with half teaspoon of bicarb soda dissolved in it. It will froth up…

Make a well in the centre of flour, stir in the liquid…

Place 1.5cm high spoonfuls on cookie tray (I really smoosh mine together with my hands so they are nice and dense – this helps them stay soft in the middle) and bake 15-20 minutes at 170c/325f. This is what you get…

Great with a strong hot cup of whatever you like. You could double the recipe, I will next time as I only got about 12 cookies this size. I had to pull these three aside quickly for a photo before they were gobbled up.

In my next post I will be showing you my aprons, cushions and baby blankets…just need to get some photos together and the shop is also nearly ready to open! It’s so exciting!

These little cupcakes I made aren’t really oldy worldy but the recipe is based on one I found in a great book, Country Classics: 500 Classic Recipes from the Country Womens Association of Australia (that’s long). Anyway they are extremely yummy and I’ve put the recipe below, with my twist added (see if you can spot it). I had never heard of egg yolk in the icing – it’s good believe me – and it adds a chickeny yellow glow to the icing, mmmmm.

These are the “relatively” pretty ones (feel free to disagree but hold your judgment until you see the rejected cupcakes below).

Here’s the rejected cupcakes…

You’ll need to make one of these handmade piping bags…

And now for the star, “Loveliest Cupcake”…

The Recipe

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup milk

zest of 1/2 orange

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 180 c (350 f). Cream butter and gradually add sugar, then eggs, milk and finally, vanilla. Fold in flour, mix well. I did all this in a mixer. Put huge messy teaspoons full into patty pans, bake for around 10 minutes or until the cupcake springs back when lightly pressed in the middle.

Icing
60g butter

1 egg yolk

1 cup icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

milk if required

Cream butter, add egg yolk and vanilla extract and gradually add icing sugar. If the icing is too stiff add a little milk to loosen it.

Ice and decorate as you wish.

PostQuote: “Who throws a cupcake? Honestly… ” Dr. Evil from Austin Powers