Carrot and Sweetcorn Bakro

I came across this recipe when looking for recipes to use up the besan/chick pea flour I bought in Fremantle recently at Kakulis Sisters. I used polenta instead of semolina and came up with a nicely spiced and versatile cornbread. Rustically looking as I tore off several pieces instead of cutting it...

I used...
1/2 a cup each of plain wholemeal flour, besan and polenta
1 cup of corn kernels
1 large grated carrot
1 finely chopped onion or 2T of dried onion
1 cup of plain yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon each of all the usual suspects..

crushed garlic
chopped ginger
chilli flakes(may leave these out if you are cooking for children)
cumin
coriander
turmeric
salt

2 teaspoons of baking powder

Mix all these together...I added a little milk as it was still too dry and then mix in 1/2 teaspoon of bicarb of soda last of all.

I didn't use sesame seeds as mine were way past the use-by date (I know) and baked it in a 9 x 5 inch tin lined with baking paper until it was firm and nicely browned, about 40 minutes at 180C

The recipe I linked to states it is a South African/Indian staple but I can't find any other reference to it or other recipes, perhaps the name is spelled differently. A bakro by any other name would taste as good! It was lovely with soup last night and with a fried egg for my breakfast. Would be so good with a nice curry.

Bon appetite!

ANZAC Day 2016

A total break in tradition this year as Dad did not march with the veterans to the local memorial for the Fallen Servicemen and Women.
When I went to visit at around 11am he mentioned that Gordon, Bree and Jess and Liv were coming to take him out for fish and chips...his favourite food! Of course I was invited and as I knew everything was neat and tidy at home I said "YES!" We had to take 2 cars and set off for Kailis Bros in Fremantle by the fishing boat harbour. It was a grey, windy day but not cold and we had a lovely afternoon 'blowing away the cobwebs'.

My photos can take over now...Lovely Livvie waiting for lunch...

 The view from our table...

the view of our table...note the mushy peas!

local sardines are crumbed and fried and utterly delicious...

some people had room for ice-cream but not Bree...Charlie is due in 11 days...

the old Maritime Museum, much of early Fremantle was built by convicts and they used the local sandstone...

 trees can grow through the sandstone cliffs...

the view from the steps leading to the Roundhouse steps ...

crowds of people fishing on one of the groynes...

decorative bathing huts on Bather's Beach...

  the view directly up High St to the Town Hall...

Inside the 1831 prison is a sobering experience...

the Curfew Bell was rung at 9.45 pm and any-one caught out after that would find themselves in the Roundhouse cells...

  or the stocks as modelled by Jess...

the view back to the fishing boat harbour...

It was wonderful to get out for a scenic walk with much loved family...I hope your weekend went well

Love from Sue
xxx

Recent Knitting

Thanks for all your sweet comments yesterday...my falls are more like a gentle subsidence than a violent tumble and due to the mild muscular dystrophy I have, I'm quite alright today though.

Have made a cheese and bacon crustless quiche to share with Dad and I'm taking him for an eye exam this afternoon...he still doesn't need glasses but at 82 yrs he needs his doctor to OK him for another year of driving his car.

While the washing machine does it's magic I thought I'd show you all the finished knitting for our new grandson due in 3 weeks(squeeeeee!!)
A simple woollen blanket being blocked...

A teeny jumper from the July edition of Better Homes and Gardens...I borrowed the mag from the library but liked this pattern and the one for the wee crown that I ordered a copy from ebay...Bree loves this one so much that Charlie is going to wear it home from the hospital!

  Georgie Rabbit is modelling the crown for us...definitely not for sleeping in though, just a bit of fun...

 and 2 Pebbles Vests...the pattern seems quite back to front at times so if you going to use it then take care

I also sewed these 2 cot panels together with a filling of fleecy material to make a tough and washable spare blanket or play mat for him...

Well that's all from Nana's bragging post!
Have a great weekend won't you?
Love from Sue
xxx

PS Rhonda's Weekend Reading Post is a beauty and it's her birthday today too!

Well Today Was Different

When I got up today and turned on the kettle then the old-fashioned desk-top computer I love we had no internet access...no emails, no Down to Earth forum contact, no Facebook etc etc. I made some tea, jiggled with cables/the modem etc but couldn't call our server because Joe has all the passwords etc on his old-fashioned desktop computer!

So I got straight into housework, showered and had breakfast and then drove over to the Dept of Transport nearby to change Mum's car into Dad's name~~~since her death cert came last week I have been completely bogged down in phone calls, waiting in line and generally re-explaining our situation which is painful to say the least. I was very relieved to have this go through very smoothly and then decided that I should go to Fremantle to collect Mum's engagement ring which was being repaired.

Entered the small round-about near the harbour to have another driver sound his horn very loudly at me and then follow me to the parking station...I was pretty un-nerved by then and took his rego number but nothing else happened apart from me paying for 4 hours parking when I only needed 2!

Then I walked across town to the jeweller's noting the paving seemed even more un-even than ever and that I was rather tired and weak(it happens). I saw our lovely Anneke and she had repaired the ring and polished it again, I left her some hand-made soap but felt dis-inclined to chat so I said goodbye and went looking for lunch. Tragedy was that being in Fremantle and not being hungry made it hard to choose but in the end I went back to Culley's Tea Rooms next to Anneke's workplace and ordered a traditional cheese and salad roll...now for overseas readers a Perth salad roll is a large crusty bread roll, real butter, good cheddar cheese, sliced tomato/cucumber/beetroot/lettuce, grated carrot and no mayo etc. Truly incomparable. Honestly, they aren't made like this anywhere I have ever been.

So pleased with my purchase I left the shop only to feel my right knee give way and to find myself on the pavement in front of the all the al fresco diners and passers-by...the ultimate  "Oh no". We quickly assessed that I wasn't hurt but wouldn't be able to get up by myself so I asked that a chair be brought over and I wriggled my way up onto that and back onto my feet.
I thanked my 2 rescuers, checked that my elbow was grazed but not bleeding and carried on to Kakulis Sisters for my falafel mix! Brave I am. Not really, I wanted my Mam.

Next comes a text msg from Bree asking why I called her and I realised I'd fallen on my phone and it had called her...she was horrified that I'd fallen and despite being 8 mos pregnant with Charlie offered to come and get me. No need, Love, and I drove home to have Joe sort out the internet connection and now it's time for some well earned falafels and garlic sour cream. And wine.

Oh for a quiet life! Did you see that a couple near Morecambe found a huge lump of ambergris on the beach and it should make them a tidy sum?

Big Love
xxx

Easy Burp Cloths/Bathmats etc

With grandchild #7 on the way I want to help ease the costs for his parents ... in the olden days we would throw an unfolded terry nappy/diaper over our shoulders to catch any milky burps...now they sell burp cloths which looked cheap and nasty to me so I got cracking on these. I bought 2 brightly coloured thin bath towels and cut off the hemmed edges, then I cut each towel into 6 even pieces.

I had lots of oddments of fabric here and bought a few cheery fat quarters, washed and ironed them and placed them right sides together on the towelling squares



Then I stitched around the edges leaving a hand sized gap...I trimmed off the excess fabric and corners, turned the piece back out so that the right sides were showing, stitched that opening closed and then stitched a quarter inch around the edge. Before long I had a dozen individual cloths which will serve a myriad of uses.





I think they measured about 18 x 14 inches and they cost me $17.50 for the whole dozen!

This technique is also how I make bathmats and pet bedding...just bigger sizes and you can use old towels and clothing to save even more money.

Hope all is well, we're muddling along and had a big family get together on Saturday from which I am still recovering! Will get posting again soon as I have a million old family photos I need to add...here's a wee taste thanks to Dad's cousin Marion...my Grandad Gardner with 5 of his 6 siblings, they were photographed by the local paper in response to their call for the oldest group of living siblings, Uncle Fred was too far away to come for the photo but here are Annie, John, Betty, Margaret, Jim and Herbert(grandad)

This is a character reference written for Grandad in 1926 by a local businessman, Mr Carr. The writing around the reference is Uncle Alan's explanation and mention of meeting Mr Carr fifteen years later

Big hugs xxx