Good Friday...

 

good afternoon...

 

one a penny

two a penny

hot cross buns!

 

home made hot cross buns!!

 

yesterday

mr w had the brilliant idea

of making his own hot cross buns for good friday.

 

we shopped for ingredients

&

this morning

as soon as the kitchen benches were clean

he amassed the ingredients

&

began his labour of love.

 

at 2pm we ate.

they may not look like bought ones

but sweet and spicey they were,

smelling slightly yeasty

and mmmmmm..mmm!  delicious...

 

spread with butter...meltingly...

 

bellissimo!

 

 

the other dozen and a half were eaten

by the time i thought about taking a photo..hehe!

 

aha!

 

but that's not all...

 

these are a healthier accompaniment

or alternative...

 

 

made with wholemeal spelt flour

they have a nuttier flavour.

 

dark chocolate pieces and craisins were studded through

&

they were meant to have chocolate crosses

but we ate them while they were hot and crossless..hehe!

 

an easy morning

a bit of a read through some canadian magazines miss b sent over for me...

a friend dropped in to share a cold drink..

still hot and humid...

the guys picked up a queen size mattress for mr m to sleep on

as he's been camping on the couch for a couple of months now...

washing hung out...

a shower of rain...

late lunch...

i think a bit of knitting is on the cards,

i've promised a policewoman friend a beanie like the other

but just a bit purpler and a bit longer,

for those cold winter night shifts.

 

have a good friday...really good!

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 

 

 

 

 



Making Christmas Meringues...

 

hi there!

 

 

 

today we celebrated the year of 'mainly music'

with many mums & bubs & toddlers...

it was a happy and excited bunch

who came to sing and munch!

 

yesterday in preparation

my brainwave was to make some christmassy meringues...

i thought they may just pass for summery snowballs.

 

 

 

 

wanting to jazz them up a little

i wanted to top them with some colour...

but not 100's & 1000's

or those silver balls..they can be a bit hard to bite into.

 

 

vaguely remembering someone's hint somewhere

i thought i'd make my own coloured sugar to sprinkle on them...

 

 

 

 

it's easy peasy...

take 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar..ordinary white stuff.

place in a largish container with a lid that is sealable.

place one or two drops...max. three or four...of food colouring onto the sugar.

 

shake

shake

shake

 

there you have it ...coloured sugar.

 

sprinkle on whatever you like...just like you would sugar.

it just adds pizazz!

 

 

now for the meringues...

 

 

 

 

i'm recommending you just find your own basic meringue mixture

'cos i thought i'd be smart and use

one and a half times the mixture...

which was basically

4 egg whites & 3/4 cup sugar & 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence.

 

instead i used 6 eggs.

i found out later why the mixture isn't that big originally...

'cos you have to fit all your meringues in the oven in one go

'cos they take 1 and a 1/2 hours {on 120 celsius} to cook.

by then ..if you had mixture left to cook...

it would be flat..

meringues are mainly air, lots and lots of air.

 



{christmas trees???}

 

 meringues are fun food.

 

fun to make.

 

fun to cook

 

&

 

most of all

 

fun to eat!

 

there were a few leftover.

i may try making eton mess for desert...

if they last 'til nightfall.

 

 

a meringue marengo...that would be fun too...haha!

 

 

naturally Carol xox

Wrapping Up Saturday Morning!

 

a big hello to you this gorgeous saturday!

 

 

 

earlier in the week

mr p asked me if i could make something for a four year old's birthday.

it is for his friend's niece.

 

so on wednesday i cut out a cushion cover...

this morning there it was looking at me..still unsewn.

an hour later

after discovering that my buttonholer won't work ...at all...

just keeps sewing on the same spot...what the???

i made a simple envelope opening/closing cover

instead.

 

then of course i wrapped it up without thinking of taking a photo!

 

here are the elements...

 

 

add some of your wild imaginationings...

 

 

and this..that i made a couple of weeks ago...

 

 

+

 

bright yellow tissue paper

hot pink wrapping paper

loud lime ribbon

black/pink polka dotted tape

 

=

 

 

 

 

...and it was a wrap!

 

oh!

and then there was this most delicious chocolatey scent

wafting over from the kitchen...

 

mr m {just back home to stay for a while}

had made these...

 

 

chocolate date scones {biscuits in american speak}

topped liberally with coconut

 

no...i've never eaten these before either!

 

i was assured that there was only 2 tablespoons of brown sugar in the whole mix,

so i had a couple for brunch..yum!

 

knowing him,

he would have just made up the recipe as he went along.

it was well worth filling up the pantry for last night...

doing that big grocery shop i've been putting off a while..hehe!

 

enjoy your weekend...

 

naturally Carol xox

 

 



Peeking in the Window...

hi there!

due to my prolonged and unavoidable computer drought,

i didn't get to share as many taiwanese experiences

as i'd hoped to by now.

this week i want to share a few more.

as many of you know

mr b and i went to taipei for our eldest son's wedding on new year's eve.

mr p {son no 3} came along as well.

we stayed in a small apartment in a little lane in taipei

for three weeks.

these pics show a typical gorgeous display in a baker's window...

there is always something with custard..which we loved,

and all kinds of goodies to enjoy....

they are just a bit different from what we get here..variations.

custard buns...



all kinds of goodies...

strawberry bread...

hot dogs!

the food was glorious...

cheap and very fresh and plentiful.

mr b had the camera on this day

as you can see he's a bread lover..hehe!

{and was probably hungry on this particular day.}

it's making me hungry too..i'm off to boil the jug and have some afternoon tea.

naturally Carol xox







A Warm Northerly Breeze!

hi!

it's happened!

today was the first day,

the first morning

that i got out of bed

&

instead of reaching for a cardi

or a blanket

to warm my cooling shoulders

nipped by a frosty morning...

there was a gently breeze

descending from the north,

a warm

comfortable

airflow,

cocooning me

and whispering sweetly in the jacarandas.

a taste of springtime

&

light sunny mornings!

does your dog grind her teeth...

mine does

&

is sitting under my desk,

grinding away as i write...funny.

i decided to make

pancakes with lemon & sugar

for afternoon tea....

all you need is a medium mixing bowl...

sift into it

a cup of plain flour,

add an egg

then one and a quarter cups of milk.

stir well.

add a little more milk if you want the batter thinner.

i doubled the mixture

so there's more for dessert or brekky tomorrow morning

for whoever wants them.

i have been intending to post

just a couple of times a week

but

i've broken my own rules a lot lately...

i just can't help

sharing my day..it's just good to be back.

feelin' all that bloggy love...

naturally Carol xox



No Sour Lemons Around Here!

a happy good morning on a sweet sunshiny monday to you!

are you in the mood for some more cookin'?

you will love this cake if you are.

a couple of weeks ago a friend gave me a plastic shopping bag

full of lemons.

i know i could have made lemon butter/curd or probably

a billion other things...

but most of them were too laborious...like lemon meringue pie...3 processes..hehe!

i wanted something quick and very lemony.

i found this 'lemon madeira cake' recipe

in a little fat book called '500 cakes'...a title that just calls it what it is,

by susanna blake...of whom i have never heard of before...have you?

on first taste it was voted unanimously

'a family favourite'.

lemon madeira cake

220g or 8oz butter at room temperature

140g or 5oz castor sugar, plus 1-2 tablespoons full for sprinkling

3 large eggs

170g or 6oz self raising flour

30g or 1 oz plain flour

1 lemon...zest & juice

beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. unfortunately i thought i was using raw castor sugar in this one and it was really ordinary raw sugar and i had to beat it extra hard to dissolve all those big crystals of sugar.

beat the eggs in one at a time.

sift the flours into the bowl and fold in.

add the lemon zest and juice and mix well.

spoon the batter into a large loaf tin that has been lined with silicone paper...i just tore a large square off and lined a glass loaf  dish..the beauty of this is that you don't have to grease the dish if it is fully papered and when cooked you just lift the whole loaf out, no worries.

sprinkle the top of the batter with sugar...

this makes a lovely crisp crunchy crust on top..mmm!

{saves icing it too}

bake for 55mins on 'fan' at 160 degrees celsius.

leave cake in tin for about 10 mins before lifting out...

then eat as soon as possible!

i made this one yesterday,

it's the perfect sunday afternoon tea cake.

my brother & partner came over for afternoon tea on their way home from brisbane.

they witnessed an accident on the highway about quarter of an hour from here,

so it was comfort food at its finest...with a nice cuppa tea..or diet coke.

{by the way..the young man in the accident had run off the road into a tree and broke his ankle but there were plenty of police, fireys and ambos to help him by the time they left the scene.}

this is about the fourth time in a month

that i have made this cake, we enjoy it so much..and so do our visitors.

do you use cake forks?

we didn't until about eight years ago when i found some beauties for half price at david jones'...

now even the men around the house use them!

i love mondays...

they are my only truly relaxing day, nothing planned at all.

i hope your day is stress free too...

naturally Carol xox



Mum's Best Pumpkin Scones!

hi!

this post is a celebration...

it is number 350...

wow, how did i ever write that many?

it is a mystery to me that i ever came this far...hehe

i guess i can answer my own question.

one by one.

in honour of this occasion

i am sharing my mum's best ever pumpkin scone recipe.

i am munching on one as i type...yum!

1 decent tablespoon of butter or 50g

1/2 cup of sugar

1 egg

1 cup boiled or microwaved pumpkin...mashed

3 cups plain flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sultanas (optional...i didn't put any in mine)

cream the butter (or margarine) & sugar together.

beat in one egg.

add the mashed pumpkin and mix well.

sieve the flour, cream of tartar and baking soda into the mixture.

now with a light touch, mix until it forms one lump.

if it comes off the sides it is just right.

if it sticks to the sides add a touch more flour,

if it is too stiff, not soft and easily managed, add a touch of mild...probably a tablespoon.

turn out onto a well floured board,

shape into a smooth lump then flatten gently with your hand

 until about 2-3cm or 1and a half inches thick.

cut or press out into whatever shapes you fancy.

bake for 12 mins at 180 degrees celsius.

totally delicious.

these are simple to make if you don't overmix everything

&

are especially good for using up leftover mashed pumpkin from last night's dinner.

{or put on a bit extra so that you do have leftovers}

oh by the way i always use silicone paper to bake them on...

saves washing a baking tray and the scones never stick.

and another thing...wash down your bench or cutting board in cold water..

and soak your floury utensils and bowls in cold too,

that way the flour just dissolves and washes easily.

hot water cooks the flour into glue and then it dries and hardens

and then you have to get a pick axe to get it off everything! 

now after all that effort

you deserve a cuppa

while you munch through a plate full of scones...



happy blogging and baking...

naturally Carol xox

p.s...it has been a windy day...not too cold though thankfully...so i did get the washing done..yay!

i even got an apron cut out for a friend's birthday next week

&

as well as some baking and blogging...all in all a pretty productive day.



Hot Fresh Scones!

good evening!

today was fun.

i got an order for a cushion

so packaged it up prettily and included a little extra heart

'cos it's Christmas.

then a friend called

and i went out to chatz cafe for a

'see you later' send off as another friend is leaving here

to go to bundaberg...a couple of hours up the road.

she wants to swim in the sea

and be reunited with her eldest daughter.

good on her!

so after having a delicious salmon portion

baked in pastry with a creamy dreamy dill sauce

accompanied by

roast veges

with dessert being a muggacino

with extra froth...

i decided that a simple dinner

of a couple of freshly baked scones

would do the job.

these quick scones

are made from a recipe off a flour packet

&

i make them much more than the traditional recipe now.

all you need is

3 cups of self raising flour

and

2/3 cup of icing sugar

to which you add

300 mls of pouring cream

and

100 mls of water.

stir quickly until in a lump,

put on a floured surface,

knead a couple of times to bring the mixture together.

pat out into a flattened lump..about 2 cms high,

carve up into even pieces

and put into an oven, 180 degrees centigrade.

{scone recipes always say a hot oven..220 degrees..i never do}

bake for exactly 12 minutes...

{this recipe said 15 mins or more..i always cook scones for exactly 12 mins and they turn out perfectly every time}

this is how they turned out...

and this is how they looked

on the plate...

they were nice and light

&

delicious.

more rustic than fancy!

what wonders do you intend to bake over the weekend?

or not?

naturally Carol xox