Mmmm Walnut Muffins!

Dimpled clouds after two very warm-for-Winter days

I never thought a post about walnut muffins would make it here as they sound so boring but we should never say never eh?
 I spent a lazy hour this morning going over The Prudent Homemaker's recipes...Brandy is very clever at keeping household costs down and her recipe appealed to me as I had just cleaned the fridge and found half a bag of elderly walnut halves begging to be used. I changed it slightly, used less sugar and used wholemeal self raising flour to make these muffins that are lovely with both sweet and savoury spreads/toppings...

Beat together in a large bowl

2 eggs
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup raw sugar

Stir in

2 cups of self raising wholemeal flour
around 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts...I didn't toast mine
a rounded teaspoon of your preferred spice...I used nutmeg, try cinnamon, mixed spices, ginger
around 3/4 cup of milk...see how much it needs to make a not too runny and not too stiff batter...is there a name for that?

Spoon into your prepared muffin pans...I made 10 today....bake at 180C for around 20 minutes, let cool slightly before buttering and enjoying, I enjoyed mine with some real butter and some oh so creamy Camembert cheese from Aldi.

...and with all the rain this winter here in WA(remember there is an appalling drought in the Eastern States this year) our potted orange tree is covered with gorgeously scented blossom...I gave it a good feed of manure which was well watered in by an afternoon downpour...this curly lettuce grew from seed dropped last Summer and look at the colour of the freesia flowers...they too smell wonderful...

Joe and I took Mandy, Elizabeth and Caleb out for lunch on Sunday, we all needed cheering up for one reason or another and we certainly had some good laughs which made me realise how long it had been since I laughed out loud and how good it made me feel...I added to the general giddiness...

as did Joe...

We've enjoyed some nice meals at home too this week, "Singapore" noodles which are a great way to use up the other half of the bag of beansprouts if you've had Pho soup...add a couple of teaspoons of ordinary curry powder when you fry off the garlic and ginger to make them....you won't find them in Singapore but they are a lovely old favourite and a good way to use up bits and pieces from the fridge. Left-over pork from the freezer became a roast dinner as well as appearing in the noodle dish. I'm making satay chicken tonight with the peanut butter we bought freshly ground at our 'Pantryman' shop. We get our free range eggs there too, they're delicious.
I must away as I'm taking our neighbour to the library and supermarket, she doesn't drive so we make the most of this monthly outing.

Hope you're having a really good week,
Love from Sue
xx


PS Joe says this font/letter size is too small...do you find it OK to read or do I need to increase it? xx

Chocolate Zucchini Cake and Other Tales

Hallo Every-one and a warm welcome to new readers who, like me, are greatly saddened by the closing of the Down to Earth Forum this morning. We do have a facebook group which is not every-one's cup of tea but it's an opportunity to keep in touch with forum members.
We wish Rhonda and Hanno a long and happy retirement and are so grateful for Rhonda establishing and then maintaining our little home from home for so many years.

As our dear Rose would have said let's just get on with it!

Using seasonal produce is a great way to save money and eat better so in Autumn here that means lots of zucchini, eggplant and capsicum dishes as well as this lovely moist Choc and Zucchini Cake...

Recipe

2 cups(250gm) of self-raising flour(or use plain flour and add 1/2 t bicarb and a teaspoon of baking powder)

350 gms of sugar

60 gms cocoa powder

1 level teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg powders

Mix thoroughly and add and mix in well

3 beaten eggs and 350mls of vegetable oil

Add

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or sultanas

340 gms grated zucchini, lightly pressed to drain a little of the water, not too much as you need it's moisture

Pour batter into a greased or lined baking tin, 20cm x 30 cm

Bake at 180C for about 1 and 1/4 hours until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

I made a very basic icing with icing sugar, a heaped tablespoon of cream cheese and enough lemon juice to help it mix.

This cake freezes beautifully.

We've been eating ratatouille and lots of capsicum salads ~ yummy and thrifty.

I finished another string bag this week in red cotton...once again using that Diosma bush to model for me ;)...I prefer this handle as it doesn't roll under itself...

Around town Easter is on it's way ...well it has been in shops since February... I do like these bunnies though...

Well spotted Angela who commented on that huge spider in the last post...it has now built a second web high up in a neighbour's tree several metres away from our tree, it's threads are the strongest I have ever seen/felt.

See you next time,

Love from Sue

xxx

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!

My Best Bread

Firstly, thank you to every-one for your lovely comments and well wishes for Mum. She's having another scan this morning to accurately measure the size of the main tumour before she starts chemo on Friday. Instead of IV chemo she's going to take one tablet once a week for about 6 weeks and if that doesn't reduce/halt the tumour's growth then there are immunotherapy drugs that can be given to her. This more gentle treatment is because of her age, I have never, ever thought of her as 'old' but apparently she is(sorry Ma). Let's hope it's a gentle ride for her.

With all this sorrow going on I am finding great comfort in just being at home, cleaning and crafting and cooking our daily meals. I've been using a little ice-cream maker to make Joe's ice-cream, been making yoghurt again, baking biscuits and cakes but the most satisfying thing has been to make some very, very good bread and bread rolls.

Inspired again by Rhonda's Blog and this post where Rhonda describes her own bread-making I have finally tweaked the recipes to make a tasty loaf of great texture. I have to use the bread maker to knead the dough and then I give it a quick knead, shape it and place it in the tin to rise again for 30 minutes.

This makes a rather sticky dough so put flour on your counter and knead briefly. I line the bread tin with baking paper and use 2 clothes pegs to hold the paper still while I put the dough in.
 Bake in the oven at 220C for 5 minutes and then reduced to 190C for another 30 minutes or so. If it's quite brown but still 'sounds' a little under cooked remove it from the tin and bake for another 5 minutes until the bottom sounds hollow when you knock on it.

I'm lucky to have a bulk dry foods shop nearby with loose flours of all sorts to choose from so I made my own blend of stone-ground wholemeal, spelt and rye.

My recipe

1 and 1/3 cups each of wholemeal(brown) flour, rye flour and spelt flour.
2 level teaspoons of instant yeast
2 teaspoons of butter
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar(optional)
325mls tepid water, you may need a little more or less so check the dough once it's been mixed.

It slices and freezes beautifully too...

I was delighted last week when Paul turned up with 2 jars of home made pickles that he and his mate had made...Jason and Jacinta have a huge vegie garden at their new house and share Paul's love of spicy food, cooking and making preserves as well as camping and fishing...

Knitting has also been a soothing activity and with a new baby boy due in May I've been loving this turquoise yarn from Spotlight and how sweet are the buttons, also from Spotlight...

These monster longies(pants) are on my needles now and looking very cute and I have some fabric to make a bedcover/play-mat for 'him' too.

So that's it for now, one day at a time but make it count as they slip by very quickly.
Lots of Love,
Sue

House Fire and Twitch Pics

What a looong weekend....on Friday morning an electrical fire started in the garage of my daughter's home...it destroyed everything in there but fortunately the car and motor bike were out. Gone are a fridge, beds, the childrens' bikes, a dryer, baby photos, sewing machine, all her husband's tools and his guitar and amp, 3 of Elizabeth's best paintings and lots of other things but no-one was injured so we are very grateful for that. Unfortunately the smoke filled up the garage next door and caused a great of damage to the two valuable cars parked in there and the fireman had to break open the roller door to gain entry to turn off the power...

DD was in the process of moving out and got the keys to her new flat that afternoon so we have the spent a cold weekend moving her into there...family and friends quickly rallied and delivered 4 beds, a fridge and lots of kitchen equipment so we are very grateful for their work. You know who you are.
Even 7 yr old Baxter came over with another bike and some Lego and other toys for Caleb and David.

David is not staying under the bed btw

I'm having a quiet day at home today, baking muffins for Joe and for Elizabeth and my grandsons...I am using my Mum's recipe and my Nana's big spoon...five generations of love in that bowl and that makes me happy. 12 muffins are mixed berry and 12 are date and pear...Mum's recipe is here but these days I use 1/3 cup of apple puree/sauce instead of the oil. I put chocolate drops on the top of the second batch but they burned...learn something new every day!

Chilli sauce guaranteed to put hairs on your chest!

Our neighbour's pawpaws/papaya are huge now and this is only one of her 6 trees...she grew them all from the seeds of a pawpaw she bought locally...

I finished a knitted bunny in the Fremantle Dockers football colours for some-one who loves rabbits and the Dockers ;)

Yesterday evening I glanced outside and saw Twitch sitting in the mint planter so that he could reach the chilli bush...he was eating it's leaves! Joe grabbed the camera and took these lovely photos and Twitch made my day with his cuteness...

 He looks like a toy when he stands on his hind legs...it's called periscoping and rabbits often do that to see better or to reach tasty treats as in this case :) He's very cheeky and you can see he's fully recovered from EC illness he had recently.

Time to wash my baking dishes now, hope all is well in your neck of the woods,
Love from Sue
xx

'Tis The Day Before Christmas

and I have a couple of last minute cheat's recipes if you're still cooking. These are definitely not made from scratch but they are quick and easy using the food processor and both are very yummy...

No Bake Cheesecake...I invented a choc-orange version of this oldie from when my children were littlies and this should easily serve 12 ;)

Base
100gms softened butter
almost a full packet of chocolate flavoured(not choc-coated) biscuits

Process the biscuits until fine and then process the butter until you have a moistened crumb that you can press into the bottom of a 10inch springform pan and put in the fridge to firm up.

Filling
Wash the processor and start again by creaming the following until smooth and then pouring onto the biscuit crumb base. Allow 5 hours to set, loosen with a knife around the edge and then release from pan...if you don't have a springform pan then line your favourite baking tin with foil so that you can lift it out when set.

250 gms softened chocolate Philadelphia cheese
500 gms softened regular Philly ^^^
one packet of orange jelly crystals dissolved in just 2/3 cup of boiling water
zest and juice of a large orange

You could decorate it with chocolate curls or candied orange slice perhaps but the best thing for me is that this freezes perfectly and is convenient to have on hand.

I had resolved not to make any mince pies this year...too fattening but my resolve wavered and I thought I'll just get a box of Mr Kipling's mince pies from the UK! Not a single box of any kind was left by Monday so I bought a jar of Robertson's fruit mince...these are the flavours of my childhood really but so strongly evoke Christmas for me.
I washed Mum's 60yr old mince pie tin and then decided to make just one large one on the tray instead...kidding myself less pastry = fewer calories!

Filling
Empty jar of fruit mince into dish and add a tablespoon or two of sherry or your favourite tipple plus a grated apple or 2 extra tablespoons of dried fruit, stir well.

Wash food processor again and make this easy
 Pastry

375gms plain flour
pinch of salt
180 gms cold butter
1 egg(I used a duck egg)

Process until it looks like breadcrumbs then trickle in very cold water until you have a nice dough. Roll it in a little flour and pop in a plastic bag to rest in the fridge until you are ready...30 minutes will do.
Roll out just over half and place it on your baking tray, spread with the fruit mince and top with remaining pastry. Press edges together, brush with beaten egg and make a few slits in the top for the steam to escape then bake it for around 40 minutes at 190C. Bewdy! It made 16 good sized squares of which 12 remain lol

My dear pumpkin is ripe so has been 'harvested'...the vine grew from kitchen scraps I buried to improve the soil...free food is good...we are picking so many beautiful tomatoes too...

In the carport a mother dove sits quietly on her eggs...the symbol of peace indeed...

A Christmas funny

  A Christmas Sweetheart

A Christmas poem

Christmas

I see a twinkle in your eye.
So this shall be my Christmas star
And I will travel to your heart:
The manger where the real things are.

And I will find a mother there
Who holds you gently to her breast;
A father to protect your peace;
And by these things you shall be blessed.

And you will always be reborn;
And I will always see the star
And make the journey to your heart:
The manger where the real things are.

Leunig

and from Joe, Twitch and I love and best wishes for a happy, joyous Christmas and may 2015 be your best year ever

thank you for all your comments and support over the year

Sue

xxxxxx

Just a Catch-up

aaand a great, big hug to my dearest friend of 52yrs, Gillian who is getting married next month! Gillian and her family moved into a house 4 doors down from us in Morecambe when she was 4 yrs old and I was 8 months older...we've stayed close despite us moving to Australia in 1967 and I wish for her and Gordon a very long and happy marriage; they've been together forever so I'm sure they know what they're in for!

I just have a few photos to share today and a link to the best smoked cod dish I have ever had...it was a bit like Ocean or Seafood Pie but beautifully flavoured by the smoked cod.

The rains have started in earnest now in Perth so with help I've planted out my fancy hibiscus and the lemon tree that was my 50th birthday present from Ma and Pa...it's lived for 7 yrs in a large pot and given us huge lemons every year since. Today I planted rainbow chard, sage, chives and 6 strawberry plants in this cute little pot...see at the back? The chard has gone in the front garden with lots of compost so I am expecting great things of it...

the pansies are flowering too and the habanero chillies are just starting to turn red...there's a year's supply on this one plant!

I've nearly finished this sock now...I love these self striping yarns...wish it got cold enough here to wear hand-knitted socks more often(be careful what you wish for, Sue)

I treated myself to a bottle of rosé from Provence, it was heavenly...

...discovered Odlums of Ireland's baking site and made the cheese and thyme loaf, found this you-tube of playing bunnies and got lost in the joy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRfx8YR_nVk

Jess and Liv came over and we went walkabout...they really wanted to climb this tree but despite their best efforts they couldn't get up there...

I had to laugh!
It's dark outside now and I can hear our resident frog having a good old sing-song in the front gardens. The smell of our spaghetti sauce is making me very hungry so will say bye bye for now,
Love from Sue

PS
Twitch just asked if I'd posted a pic of him recently...

...why he only has one leg stuck out behind him is any-one's guess...his tail is there though. He's been climbing over the settee in the middle of the night and onto this table too...

and it's goodnight from him.

Muffin Tin Cornbreads

Oh yum! I made these yesterday evening to go with a bolognaise style meat sauce to provide a more nourishing carb dish than plain pasta. The recipe makes 10 and we ate 3 each last night, 2 with our dinner and one cold with butter on later, I froze 4 otherwise they may have been eaten too lol
I would definitely double this recipe to stock the freezer next time.

They're made the usual muffin way, that is mix the wet and dry ingredients separately and then blend the two together.

So grease your muffin trays(10) and set the oven at 220C

In one bowl whisk together
1 cup of milk(this could be any nut/dairy/grain milk)
2 free-range eggs
2 tablespoons of either olive oil or melted butter

In your second bowl mix
1 and 1/2 cups of polenta/fine cornmeal(not cornflour)
1/2 wholemeal plain flour
a teaspoon each of salt, sugar and baking powder

Blend the dry ingredients into the wet, pour into your tins and cook for 10-15 minutes...how easy is that?
I bet they would be lovely with cheese too and I will add 2 T of grated parmesan to the next batch.

While I had the muffin tins out I made a dozen sultana and cinnamon muffins for the freezer. This time I used 1/3 cup of apple sauce in place of the oil and they are still nice and moist...

I always use Mum's recipe for these, you can find it here

We had a lovely ANZAC Day and I will post our photos shortly.

Love from Sue
xx

Soft and Chewy Slice and More

A new to me recipe, I finally plucked up the courage to try a recipe using apple-sauce as a substitute for the fats in a recipe. I have no idea where I found this recipe, I copied it by hand into a notebook without the author's name, my apologies. The original recipe doesn't have any sweeteners/sugar in it but it need a little something so the second time I added a tablespoon of maple syrup.

I've lost my cooling racks in the move so am cooling them on the pizza tray which looks like it needs scrub!

You'll need...
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
2T mixed seeds/LSA etc
1/2 t bicarb
pinch of salt
2/3 cup apple sauce/puree(I cheated and used a commercial one)
1T nut butter(optional but nice)
1 cup of muesli
1/2 cup dried fruit
1/2 cup choc chips(I used frozen berries instead)
1T maple syrup/honey

Make a well in the centre of the flour, seeds, salt and bicarb
Mix in the apple sauce and nut butter
Add the rest of the ingredients
Bake in a greased 20cm by 20cm tin at 170C until firm, around 20mins
Cool in tin and then cut.

Joe has been reheating a piece for dessert with ice-cream, it freezes well too

I've just walked to the library on my own and it only took 12 minutes! I dropped off my books and then crossed the road to buy Jessie's birthday present in Spotlight then back to select a few new novels at the lovely library. I chatted to Carol next door on my way out and she too is an avid reader and promised to pass on the novels that 'do the rounds' of several of our neighbours...I like this idea!

Coming home I took a couple of photos...the Joseph Ashton Circus is on the big fields next to the library. I couldn't see the animals from where I was but I saw 4 beautiful horses there yesterday, they looked very well cared for.
This arrangement reminded me of the American pioneers' wagons grouped in a circle for safety...

Coming back through the alleyway I admired these colourful climbers, the bougainvillea has sharp spines along the branches which form a good prowler deterrent...

and the hilly park nearby...

Caught Twitchie in a planter yesterday...he looks like he's singing in this photo lol...

So that's just a quick catch up, I'm still finding my feet and rhythm here at our new home but it's lovely!
Bye bye for now,
Sue
xx