Sunday Mac Cheese!

 

good afternoon!

 

good ol' comfort food...

mac cheese on a sunday for a late lunch

so noone has to cook when the afternoon heat hits the kitchen

&

we can nibble on bits 'n pieces for dinner..hehe!

 

you can't beat it for tastiness.

 

our stove top isn't working,

one element has a faulty connection where it won't turn off

so we just turned it all off at the wall to be safe.

this was made by cooking the macaroni in the microwave...

the largest pyrex bowl we have

a packet of macaroni covered and with an extra knuckle's depth of water, for 20 mins.

 

the cheese sauce was made in the electric wok!

 

then everything assembled and into the oven for 25 mins to brown the top.

 

mr t just puts cheese on top when he makes it...

i thought a few panko breadcrumbs would make the top extra crunchy.

it worked, a great texture contrast.

 

 

we've made this three times in the last fortnight.

 

funnily enough, mr t couldn't remember ever having it in his life before then.

i'm sure i have made it once or twice before in the twenty four years he's existed on this planet!

 

 

we go through food fads in this household...

currently as you may have noticed

it's pancakes with maple syrup & mac cheese!

 

does your household have a current favourite?

 

 

naturally Carol xox

 



 

 

 



Best Ever Carrot Cake...

i know you think you've read it before,

but i'm not kidding you,

this one gets rave reviews

where ever it goes...

it was my night

{week 5 to be precise}

to take something for supper

at bible college.

mmm....i thought

what can i make

that most people would like?

i had a linen party

a couple of months ago

and everyone there

carried on about the carrot cake...

{which i hadn't made for a couple of years,

the recipe had sat forgotten and neglected,

we'd moved on to others instead}

so i made the carrot cake yesterday afternoon

{wouldn't you know it, the electric mixer made loud rattling noises

and gave up, just as i was making the icing,

quarter of an hour before i needed to leave

so it didn't look the best dressed}

anyway i took it along for supper last night

and people raved again!

they all said things like...

'this is the best carrot cake i've ever tasted!'

etc...etc...etc...

so i'm writing it out for you...

just in case

you would like to bake

the best carrot cake ever...

i know somewhere out there

the weather is grey,

bellies need warming up

and you're looking for a good reason

to turn on the oven!

so here goes...

you will need...

3 eggs

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup cooking oil {i used canola 'cos there is no taste}

1 and a 1/3 cups plain all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt {optional}

1 and a 1/3 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

1 and a 1/3 teaspoons of baking powder

1 and a 1/3 teaspoons of cinnamon {approx. a little more doesn't matter!}

2 cups of grated carrot {i used the finer side not the chunky side of the grater}

1/2 cup of walnut pieces {or a few more}

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence {optional}



firstly...grease your pan...a square 8 inch pan or a largish round pan.

heat up the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit or 150 degrees celcius.

beat the eggs and the sugar until pale and frothy.

drizzle the oil in beating as you go.

sift in the dry ingredients and stir into the mixture.

fold in the carrot, walnuts and vanilla essence.

pour mixture into the baking tin and bake for 1 hour.

now here's the icing on the cake...

soften 4 ounces or about 1 medium tub {125 grams) of cream cheese,

add a tablespoon of softened butter

and enough icing sugar {powdered sugar?} to sweeten to your taste..

beat until smooth and spread over the cooled cake.

sorry!

i had wrapped it up in cling film to go,

before i realised i didn't have a pic of the finished cake.

enjoy a piece of cake with your tea and have a fabulous wednesday...

naturally Carol  xox

Strawberries & Jam Drops...

thought i'd make chloe another summer dress.

miss b will be up this weekend,

so i will give her the rufflelicious skirt and

this pink strawberry dress for her friend chloe.

just a simple sleeveless shift,

perfect for hot summer days...

with bias bound edges,

a little pocket with strawberry buttons...

and a vintage pink button

to close up the back.

then i made jam drops

from my grandma's recipe

for afternoon tea...

i used plum jam for these,

though any kind is good.

yum!

here's the recipe...so you can cook them too...

cream the butter and sugar,

add eggs and beat,

add plain flour and baking powder, mix well.

roll into little balls,

press your finger or thumb into the ball to make a little hollow,

put 1/4 teaspoon of jam into the little hollow.

bake in the oven for 10 mins or until just golden,

on 180 degrees celsius or 375 degrees fahrenheit.

make a cup of tea or coffee

and serve with warm biscuits....

enjoy

the weekend.

naturally Carol xox



Monday Monday....

i enjoy mondays...

peaceful mondays.

usually...

monday is...

laundry day or

pottering around the house day or

playing with the dogs day or

reading day.

i think you get the picture.

i do a bit of housework and

recover from the busy weekend

on monday.

on saturday i

had a linen party at my house

it was fun and then

my friend and her family

came over for a pizza dinner.

that was fun too.

on sunday i

went to church

bright and early in the morning.

i loved it.

i enjoyed a long muggacino

afterwards and

talked to lots of friends.

one friend gave me

a big bag

full of cherry tomatoes.

ripe and red...

when i got home

i washed them and put them

in a glass bowl...

the last of winter's bounty and

the first sprig of basil this spring.

swish a long dash of aussie olive oil...

into a pot with onion and garlic.

saute until tender and transparent.

 gently

squish handfuls of the little tomatoes,

(so that the skins are broken

and the juicy goodness is released),

into the pot.

add salt, pepper and sugar if needed

simmer gently

for an hour or two,

or three or four

if so inclined....

until the flavours have blended

and intensified into

a

fresh

red

sweet

sauce.

serve

with

fresh basil

grated parmesan

and

pasta.

the perfect sunday night meal.

i'll meet you

out at the clothesline

in just a tick

naturally carol  xox