Lists of Inspiration...#52 Lists

I've been following Pip over at Meet Me at Mikes for some time now and since the beginning of the year, a whole hoard of bloggers have been taking part in the #52 lists challenge that Pip has set.  Well of course I just LOVE a good list, so, naturally, I have decided to join in. Do you love lists?

I'm not too sure exactly where I'd be without the habit of scribbling down stuff under the pretence of being more organised. I'm often no better off for it - that is a lot of the time I forget I even made the list or have it but don't refer to it.
  But the PROCESS gives one such clarity. It stops you from thinking a bazillion things at once and afterwoods...I find I can focus. 

I know, I know, it won't be 52 lists for the year but how's this - I'll post a new list each and every Sunday for the rest of 2013. Agreed? Cool.  Well, there's only one sensible place to start really then isn't there?

Do you make lists for op shopping? Or do you wing it? Happy op shopping folks x

Just in time for breakfast...

Wow! What a whirlwind few months I have had. Last October I was lucky enough to go to England to see my family after six years which was just so incredibly special, it was such a surreal trip which I enjoyed with my lovely family and had a truly magnificent time. The memories really are some that I will always treasure. 

So now after having moved interstate upon returning to Australia and finally being settled I have actually managed to begin sorting through a seemingly never ending stream of photographs.

My trip started with Dad collecting me from the airport and driving me to Nan's, but first we made a small detour for some, let's face it, well deserved breakfast as my three previous aeroplane meals left a lot to be desired.  This was anticipated however, so I had infact been living on Sesame Snaps for the last 27 hours.

So as you imagine this was a welcome treat and kind reprieve from the plastic nonsense served to me on board...Ah for the love of good cafes, counters laden with cakes.  Obviously I bought some. 

Mmmmmm yum! After breakfast, I opted for the Pear & Hazelnut cake to take for afternoon tea with Nan and it was every bit as mouth watering as the pictures but they'll have to wait until my next post where I've organised some recent snippets of crochet to share too...see you then, take care x

Lost in the sands of time...

I honestly never thought I'd be joining the ranks of people who actually say "Gee, can you believe how that time just flew right by?"...it always felt so grown up, mainly because it seemed to me, even as a late teen that fully qualified adults were in possession of minds somehow impervious to the blatant passing of time.  And yet here I am, apparently a fully qualified adult, completely astonished (and slightly freaked out) that time has just gone by almost entirely without my knowledge.  It really seems like only last week I announced I was going to England, when actually that was some six full weeks ago! Yikes. So, if someone could please now tell me that I have been the unwitting subject of a teleportation experiment, it'd make me feel much better thank you.

There's still SO much to do and I have a busy couple of days before flying on Sunday but I really wanted to just pop in and show you these - I've just finished making 100 of them! They're for a wonderful little project that I'll be selling in my shop and I thought you all would like a sneaky peak.

I promise I'll post as soon as I've made them up and you'll be able to check them out over at Tumblr too or on Facebook at The Crafty Poppet.  Well I hope to be able to squeeze in another post before I leave, but if I don't, ciao for now folks I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
x

Flapjacks

MMmmmmm...I just love flapjacks! Have you ever had them before? I was lucky enough to grow up with them - they made a frequent appearance from Nan's baking repertoire and I quickly fell in love with them, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a freshly baked batch.

This is actually double the amount I usually make, as I had a request/demand/statement made by my other half suggesting that the recipe doesn't make enough...

SO

First, I lined my trays but this is only because I don't actually possess a tray that is shallow enough to safely lift out the crispy golden wonders when they're baked.

So after that I weighed everything out and put it in my saucepan...I could have done with a larger pan, but made do with a medium sized one.  

To 280g/10 ounces of melted butter

I needed 450g/1 pound of oats. Then I tipped in 170g/6 ounces of raw sugar, followed by 2 tablespoons of golden sugar.  Nan and I differ here, she just uses 1 spoon.  It was fun to catch the picture of the golden syrup thickly trickling down the mini mountain of oats and sugar.  I like things like that.  It reminds me of dropping wooden ice lolly sticks in the stream as a child and watching their progress and willing them forth from a bridge over the stream.

So after I gave it all a good mix and made heaps of mess I tipped it into my tins and squashed it down, ready for baking.

I suppose this is where the aid of a palette knife comes in.  It does help if you have one.  If you don't, or if your trays are too deep like mine I always find that the back of a wet spoon works exceedingly well.  So, at this point I pop them in the oven, preheated to 190 degrees and they go on the middle shelf for 25 to 30 minutes.

And they should come out looking lovely and golden with a homely aroma of oats and butter...ah it's so wonderful! Do you know, strange as it is it took me so long to read Nan's recipe properly for some reason. To this day I just don't know why I neglected to make sure I cut the flapjacks while they are still warm.  So, to avoid the same mistake I urge you, leave them to cool for five minutes, then cut them in the tray and allow them to cool properly before lifting them out and onto a wire rack so they can set completely and turn themselves crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Fortunately and unfortunately a few of the flapjacks were too buttery and so they didn't set properly.  Ah I hate these moments. I always start beating myself up and wandering why I can't ever get anything right and how I always have to screw something up even if it's in the smallest degree. 

SO I had my huff and puff and STOMPED around the house for a few minutes, throwing myself on the couch and putting on my best frown before I suddenly recalled the awesomely huge Strawberries we still had not eaten sitting prettily in the corner of our fridge! 

So quite spontaneously,(now usually this makes me nervous but this time I had confidence)I decided I would not be defeated and use up the crumbly yet still delicious specimens in an impromptu Strawberry Crumble.  We enjoyed it later in that special silence which can only be indulged in when one dwells on the favourite flavours of food, savoring the special tastes of the moment.

.....

Please note that flapjacks are best eaten when stolen and quickly scoffed.  I like to run away with mine. Just in case.

Enjoy with reverence and endless thanks to Nan xx

The Sunday Baker

A first attempt at lemon curd....

  Yes okay,I know, so it's not baked. And I made it yesterday.  

I wanted to make Eccles Cakes.  But that whole process takes far too long with the time I have and all without a rolling pin.  I know, it seems absurd - strangely, I still do not have a rolling pin.  So I decided to make lemon curd instead.  No rolling pin required.  Incidentally, why is it called a rolling pin? It is not at all pin like....

It must be years since I have had some decent lemon curd 

and as it was such a large part of my childhood I remember it well. Smothering it on well buttered toast in the mornings and relishing the days I got away with taking a lemon curd sandwich to school in my lunchbox.

Really, I'm not entirely sure why it's taken me so long to make some....I am of course indebted to whoever created this delight of a recipe, sadly I no longer remember who that may be.

First, I boil some water and choose my jars.

  I like to do this even my jars have been thoroughly washed.  Sometimes, they still smell like my leftover Bolognese sauce, so it's probably best to fill them with some boiling water - I have a feeling that Bolognese scented lemon curd is not about to become a sought after delicacy.

Next, I take four lemons and grate them.

Then I pop the zest in a bowl, along with the juice.

I decided to keep my seeds to see if I can grow them.  I'll post my progress, of course....I'm quite excited about this actually!

I always do my eggs separately. I have suffered the vile misfortune of a rotten egg. Just take it from someone who knows.

So after I have grated and juiced my four lemons and cracked four eggs, I put it all in a bowl and whisk it lightly.

Next I add my caster sugar, 450g. I know, it's a lot.  You could more than likely get away with 350g.  I'd urge you to try it so you can tell me how it turns out.  Now I fill a pan with water, suitable to use as a double boiler and bring it to a simmer.

I have to be careful that my bowl with my mixture does not touch the water. Once it's stable I add 100g of butter and whisk it slowly until it's melted.

So now to be sure, I check it's on a gentle heat, switch out to a spoon and stir occasionally for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the lemon curd is at the desired thickness. To test the thickness, I take a cold plate and spoon dollops in the middle to cool, set and taste. I found I needed to do this around fifteen times, just to be sure.

I get my jars ready, ladel out, turn off the heat and allow it to cool for around ten minutes.  

At this point, I advise walking away from the bowl of warm lemon curd. Leave the mess. Just go.

So now it's time to pour the lemony goodness into my nice clean 

de-bolognesed jars. Wow. I love this stuff. Now I have two jars sitting nicely in my fridge there's no saying what mischief I might get up to.  I'm serious.  This is good squishy.

Definitely a top shelfer. 

Join me next weekend for some more sort-of-Sunday-baking and let me know how you went with your lemon curd, tell me if you've never had it before, or if you've never made it before.

Until then...enjoy your curd of lemon spread on thick toast or plain biscuits, use it for tarts and puddings, but most of all, don't forget to have a sneaky spoonful!

xx

My Little Red Shoes.

I have decided I like this Spring.  

Each morning I feel especially grateful that my bus stop is outside this beautiful home which is oh-so enchanting in the Spring sunlight.

In the city, there's the pleasant solitude of Hardware Lane, the calm before the storm of a few hundred people descending upon the place, throwing myriad jovial voices onto the aromatic winds of lunch time. 

 I do love all the din and hubbub.  It's so nice to work close by.  

New daisies for our tables tie in perfectly with the rejuvenation of Spring, sneaking smiles onto people's faces when asked if they like them.  

It seems instinctive to smile at flowers.  They always make me feel happier but then, so does the sun.....has anyone esle noticed a change in their mood because of lovely weather?  

All in all,

Spring has identified a good middle ground.  Not too hot, not too cold, still cool enough for a hot chocolate.

And just right for my little red shoes.

Doncare Op shop at Brentford Square, for $3.00 if you can believe it.

Jetting off to England!

I'm so excited to be finally going back to England after six long years.  Six years it's been since I've seen my family!  It's going to be such a special visit.

And to make it even more special, my ticket is a gift from my lovely and generous mother-in-law,

Josephine.  Thanks Jo x

There is an unbelievable amount of stuff to plan.  In England, I have my dear nan in the small, picturesque village of Shepherdswell in Kent where quite possibly the best garden in the world was home to my childhood.

With thanks to nan for the lovely snap, this is a series of archways that feature left and right of a huge circular flower bed, right in the middle of the one hundred foot garden.  I have such wonderful memories of the most brilliant hiding places, potting away in "my garden" or helping nan with plants. 

 Needless to say, I'll be enjoying a good hour or two purely dedicated to capturing the most awesome shots of my most favourite place on Earth.

Dad is also in England, he lives in a house with a wishing - well outside.  He has a lovely wife called Lillian who I am looking forward to getting to know a little better.  Seeing as dad is picking me up from Heathrow, we decided we would go for breakfast.

I like the look of this place called Rafferty's in Sevenoaks.  There's something about a cafe that has a counter  laden with a variety of sweet treats and sumptuous cakes......plus it's located on Holly Bush Lane.  Can't go wrong with a name like that.

So far, that's all I've planned.  Breakfast at Rafferty's and when I'll go to France. Just trying to squeeze everyone in to two weeks really.  My mum, step-dad and sister live in rural Normandy in this renovated farm house on around seven acres of land.
It's just so idyllic! 

And they have views that look like this...

Gorgeous pets, Charlie & Solomon seem to make an idyllic setting even more perfect.  Goodness me I think I have butterflies of excitement!

With thanks to mum and sister Becky for the lovely snaps,

I'm so looking forward to seeing you all.  I'm certain we are going to have a truly magical time.

Much love

xx