Creamed Polenta and mushrooms

We really felt like something a bit different for dinner tonight. This is a really cheap meal, creamed polenta, which is polenta, milk, water and the smallest amounts of butter, salt and fresh parmesan cheese. On top was garliced mushrooms (we have a box farm), parsley (popped up under the back tap) salt pepper and water. Some rocket on top. (The goat ate our last bit so I bought a rocket mix from the shops. Sigh)

It was really light but filling, definitely ticked the something different box!

Homemade Ice Cream

Over the weekend I tried a new ice cream recipe. I find lots are just too sweet and rich, not a bad thing except that you can only eat a tiny bit!
This one is icier with a creaminess.

Recipe

250mls water and dissolve in a saucepan 110 gms of raw sugar. Leave to cool.
In a blender add cooled sugar water, 500 gms fruit of choice (I used raspberries) and 500ml cream. Whizz.

Pour into a container that can go into the freezer. During the cooling process use electric beaters to break up any large crystals forming. I only did it once on this because I forgot and went to bed :o)
As you can see I tried it this morning and it's very nice but next time I'll put the raspberries through the sieve to remove the seeds.

Another Grey Hair today

Eldest went Sky Diving today, need I say more........ other than he survived!

Thank goodness.

He bought me chocolates to apologise for the stress it put me through! ;o)

New Stove and new position

This is for you Gill :o)

We finally got a new stove! Very exciting, very simple base model type gas stove. Very little to go wrong and the oven even heats up to the temperature the dial is turned too! This is very novel and something I've not had before ;o)

The stove is in the position of the old fridge and fridge where the stove was. It flows better in the kitchen. The next little job is to put a small storage and tiny bench on the left hand side, I plan to store the oven trays etc there. I don't think we can match the purple benches so I'll put groovy tiles instead.

I want to show you a great little nook for my baking and cooling trays. This is probably the most helpful 'cupboard' I have in my kitchen.

I can't wait to up date my kitchen! I see French Country style in my future ;o)

Banana Chips

Bananas were on sale for 50 cents kg and they needed to be quickly used.

These are so yummy and you end up eating more than you put in the jar!

Homemade Sentence Maker

Since we have had 'keep inside' weather this weekend, I took the opportunity to make a little gem from my childhood, a Sentence Maker!!

Our kinder boy is learning his sight words but it was time to make sentences so I made this!

If you want to make one, here's how I did mine.

You need A4 charts of your words. I used open office, I used a table of 3 columns and 6 rows. Printed and laminated them and cut them out. Here's them on the computer:

Then I had two Manilla Files, they make the inner and outer sections of the folder. I chose to make mine landscape, not portrait.

Open one manilla file the way you want it. Landscape I was able to fit 4 rows to store the words and I chose 3 larger spaces for the sentences. Since the words I printed are quite large I'm going to add wings for extra storage space...

In pencil, rule out your 4 storage lines evenly on the inside on the top section. Leave a 1 cm margin to the outer left and right edges. Start from the centre crease and give yourself at least 2 cm on space from centre fold to the first line, you are going to need the space later. Rule up the lines you want in the bottom section for the sentence lines.

With a knife cut these lines, both top and bottom section.

After you have finished cutting all the lines. Turn file over so you are looking at the outside and 1 cm below each cut line add double sided tape BENEATH this line. This gives you the pocket space for the words to be stored in. The photo below is of my winged section and the double sided tape appears to be on the wrong side of the bottom section. It is as I will be cutting this in half and turning over for a left and right wing.

Have the second manilla file open in the same direction that you are making this in, again for me landscape, expose the other side of the tape and carefully lay the sticky side into the open folder, top section first.

Smooth out top section and fold in half to smooth bottom section. This is because the two pieces need to fold.

That's it! One sentence maker! Add wings if you have lots of words if you like.

Kinder boy made his sentence!

Closing it up...

The village.....

Blacksmith!

Here's our ds showing off his craft at the local markets. He created quite a stir, lots of lookers, pics taken and even sold some things. The most common comment was from older folk, "How good to see young guys doing something with their hands"

Next week he's thinking of adding a sign "Take only photos, leave only money"! How entrepreneurial ! LOL

South coast ss girls.

We finally managed a far south coast get together! We had a lovely morning and Pooh behaved remarkably well considering he was the only male in the chook house ;o)

Lindy, Piglet and Neenapeena, Pooh took the pic.

I've been crafty

Covered folders in an effort to help my organisational skills! A pocket on the inside and ribbons as place markers.

The last pic is scrapbooking paper laminated with paper tags for the dividers.

A new garden bed being birthed

We need a garden bed closer to the house, a salad garden so here it is at the very beginning. We leveled the bed, built the back up with rocks. Eventually we plan to cover the bed with bird netting from the side of the garage on the right of the photo.

Well the birthing process is slow on this one, but here's an update in October... need to get cracking I want summer salads from this garden! However, things have been welded and pipe laid, the rocks, just waiting for the soil and lots of poo! I would like a gravel walk way too and it all needs to be netted.

The only colour in my garden.

I love autumn colour but we don't have any large deciduous trees so my roses, the ones that survived wallaby grazing, have to do.

Craft room door striker plate.

Now I realise that a striker plate is hardly something to blog about, however this one was a challenge and Pooh rose to the challenge!

Our 100 yr old door that has been on various buildings and has the holes to prove it, has been placed on my craft room. It's old lovely brass handle that's pictured on the left is finally on, of course as it would be hard to photograph not on! Then the next problem was shutting it as there are no striker plates to fit our quirky building so Pooh made one out of a stainless steel sink! And to top if off it works!!!!

Hooray Pooh! Now holes to fill and key hole surround to go on... off you go Pooh.

Leftover egg whites

After making the gramma pie, post below, I had two little egg whites so I made meringue.

2 egg whites, 1/2 cup caster sugar, 1 tsp corn flour and 1/2 tsp vinegar. 150 for 30 mins, cool in over. Mine was a bit hot after the gramma pie was cooked so some split. They taste divine, the dentist will love me :-o

Gramma Pie

I was given a nearly 8kg Gramma so I've started the processing of this treasure. Here it is with the first portion removed...

I cooked and mashed the gramma. You cook it in a very small amount of water and when cooked, drain and mash. Here's what that looks like...

Add sultanas, mixed spice, nutmeg, 2 egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, mix.

Make up a shortcrust pastry sprinkle a bit of nutmeg, some raw sugar on top then in the over for 10 mins at 200 then 45 mins at 180.

Pies from left overs

We had left overs from a steak and mushroom casserole. Since the oyster blade was so amazing the gravy was the main leftover with only a few pieces of meat. I browned some mince and mixed it up. Rolled out the pastry and voila! 10 pies :o)