Vegetable Frittata

I love frittata’s! I love the fact that you can make it for dinner & have it the next day for lunch. One pan & one mixing bowl is also a great thing! Not too much washing up! It is also a great way of getting kids to eat vegetables. You can use any veggies that you have in the fridge & you can even use frozen veggies.



As you can see by the one I cooked last night, you can even please the fussiest of eaters. I love tomatoes but the chickadees not so much. I just put slices of tomatoes on my part of the frittata. Easy!

So here goes…..

Vegetable Frittata

6 eggs
1 cup of cream
2 cups of grated cheese
3 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
I small-medium head of broccoli,cut in to small pieces
1 cup of frozen peas
1 cup of frozen corn
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
1 zucchini, finely sliced
tomatoes, finely sliced

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees.
In a lightly oiled skillet, layer potatoes.


Cover with baking paper & cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes.



In a large mixing bowl, mix together the veggies, cheese & herbs.



Put the mixed veggies on top of the potatoes in the skillet.



In a bowl mix together the eggs & cream & pour over the top of the veggies.



Cover with the baking paper again & cook on a low heat on stove top for 10 minutes.



Remove the baking paper & place the skillet in the oven.



Cook until it is lightly browned around the edges & a skewer comes out clean.



Cut into wedges & serve.



If you have leftovers, you can reheat the next day for lunch & it also tastes just as good cold!

Enjoy!

Market shopping!

I love going to a Sunday Market. Walking around, looking at all of the treasures is the perfect way for me to spend a Sunday. My chickadees love it too! Especially when they get to home with something. This last weekend was one of those amazing market days where you find more than you could ever imagine! We even got to see a baby Koala on our way! Only a couple of hundred meters from our house!



Now that is the way to start a perfect market trip!

As soon as we got to the markets, the very first thing that we saw was this most beautiful antique chair.

It is covered in a light green velvet material. It is going to go in Miss G’s bedroom once the room is finished being painted & the new carpets go in. I have got the most perfect vintage looking material to recover the chair in from the Spotlight sale. The chair was a bargain at $60!!!

I can’t wait to start working on this!

My next find was at the stall right across from the chair! I found these most beautiful hand painted plates.









I love the waffled edges! The 3 small plates & 2 large plates were $20 all up. I can see a couple of multi tiered cake stands in the making!

The next find was not second hand but is one of my favourite finds.



I have an obsession for everything French so I could not resist this beautiful clock!

In a cute little tie dye shop, I found these little gems.



3 sets of handbag handles for only $2 each!In the same shop, I cam across this vintage sewing pattern drafting board (squeals with delight!!!) for only $10

The last find of the day is for my new look bedroom (still to be done!). I am going for a very relaxed Greek feeling for the bedroom with lots of white, navy blue & a few splashes of yellow. So when I saw this vintage bed throw, I was in heaven!!



Sometimes you just have one of those magic days at the markets & yesterday was one of them!

RSPCA Cupcake Day!

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to get this blog done! The last 7 days have been days that I would like to forget! Between finding a small swimming pool in Miss G’s room thanks to a leak from the shower & Miss G needing some minor surgery done to her foot today, it has been kind of stressful! Miss G is now resting with her foot up & watching HOP on DVD with plenty of Cookie Dough Ice Cream & the new bathroom is all organised (tiles picked, vanity, accessories, tiler booked), I can get back to my blog! Oh, how I have missed blogging! I think I have become addicted in the short time that I have been blogging!
Now, last week, I tried a new cupcake recipe in honour of the Cupcake day for the RSPCA. Over the years we have used the RSPCA for many reasons. We have purchased a puppy, taken in injured animals & we even had to take our beloved dog Kostya to be put down. It was such a sad time in our life to have to make the decision to put him down. He was very old & had some serious health problems. The RSPCA were amazing. They treated our best friend with the dignity he deserved. Kostya was a true gentleman & they could see that.













So in honour of Cupcake Day for the RSPCA, I am going to share this decadent cupcake recipe with you all. So here goes….


Rose Water Cupcakes

125g of butter, at room temperature
1 cup of caster sugar
2 eggs
2 cups of self raising flour
2/3 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of Rose Water. I brought Rose Water from my local Fruit & Veg shop. I am sure you can find it in most supermarkets, health food shops & specialty food shops. For more on Rose Water, click here

Icing
2 cups of icing sugar
1  1/2 tablespoons of boiling water
1 tablespoon of Rose Water
Pink food colouring

Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Beat Butter & sugar with an electric beater until pale & creamy.


Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.



Add half of the flour, Rose Water & milk to the butter mixture & fold until just combined.



Add the other half of the flour, and fold until well combined.



Spoon into cupcake papers in a cupcake tray or muffin tray. Fill to 3/4 full.



Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.



Cool in trays for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.



When completely cooled, make the icing.
In a bowl, mix the boiling water & Rose Water with the icing sugar. Stir with a spoon until smooth. Add a few drops of food colouring & stir until the colour is consistent.



Ice the cupcakes & enjoy!!

Quick hairband makeover from an old t shirt

Busy, busy, busy. I feel like I have been going like an energiser bunny! Hopefully my batteries don’t run out too soon! After a long break (maybe 2 years!) we are getting back into the home renovations! Hubby has been away a LOT over the past 2 years with his job & finding time to finish the renovations was last on our priorities, but no more! I want this house finished! I have picked the new carpet for the bedrooms, a dark chocolate brown to hide ALL dirt, & it will be laid in under 2 weeks. That leaves less then 2 weeks to paint the bedrooms. That is all walls, door trim, window sills & ceilings. I am starting to get a little nervous that we may run out of time! Hubby will be away, the chickadees have the end of the hockey season & Miss K’s team has reached the finals (WOOHOO!!) so there is going to be a lot of extra practice. So, I have to do all the painting! Well, hopefully I can get hubby to do the ceilings before he leaves, I am only short & he is very tall so I think he should! Miss K has chosen the most beautiful purple for her walls, Miss G has chosen a blue that makes you want to smile (happy colour) & hubby wants white in our room because I am forever making new curtains & quilts! I think he has had enough of me complaining that the room doesn’t match the furnishings so we are going white. Even thinking that I might make white curtains. I really want a Greek inspired room, lots of white, navy & a few splashes of bright yellow. I love being near the water & why not bring that relaxed feeling into the bedroom too!

So while I have been getting ready for the reno’s, I have been going back through some of my blog ideas that I haven’t written up yet. A few weeks ago, Miss K made it to the regional finals for discus (she came a very impressive 5th!) & Miss G & I went along as her very own personal cheer squad. Miss K refused to allow us to take pom poms (spoil sport!) so Miss G wanted to dress in the appropriate colour, green. One of the things she wore was this pom pom inspired hairband that I made the night before.

You don't even need any sewing skills to make one of these as no sewing is required! Your daughters could even make their own!

I used an old t shirt of mine. All you do is cut 1 inch wide strips of fabric from the shirt & cut them into 10-15cm long strips.

Start be tying one of the fabric strips onto the hairband.

Keep doing the same thing over again.

Make sure to keep pushing them close together.

When the hairband is half full, that is enough.
This type of hairband looks great around the outside of a bun.

You could also make these hairbands in school colours, rainbows, ballet uniform colours, sporting team colours, you name it, you could make one of these for it!
Enjoy!

Pretty up your plain umbrella!

OK, so a few weeks ago, I broke a mirror! I know, I know, bad luck. Well the bad luck came in bucket loads so I thought I would look superstition in the face & prove that she can not get me. I opened an umbrella inside! It took a little while, but the bad luck has left! Woo hoo!! So while I had that umbrella up inside, I decided it needed a makeover! This is what I did!

Now this was just a plain $3 umbrella. All I did was sew some lace on the edges & now it is beautiful!

Now, I would be happy to have this accompany me to a garden wedding, a Sunday walk around the markets, a day at the horse races or even to provide some much needed shade on the side of the hockey field while watching my chickadees!

It really was so easy!

All you need is a couple of metres of lace, an umbrella, needle & thread, hand sew it on.

Now. I have been thinking that I need an umbrella & lace in every colour!
Enjoy!

My how time flies! Dinner cooked by Miss K

This week I am facing the fact that my first born daughter, is preparing to  enter grade 8 (high school). I have filled out forms, booked interview time, received book list & uniform requirements. It is all a little daunting. She is growing to fast! Last night she cooked our dinner. I did not ask but she politely told me to “Get out of the kitchen!”. Now, there is no arguing with a 12 year old who can nearly look you in the eye! She can do it now flat footed, without having to stand on her tippy toes. Those feet are what show me how much she has grown. She had the tiniest feet when she was little. This photo shows an ink print that I did of her feet when she was 4 months old. Not even quite 9cm.


She now has a size 11 ladies foot, which is becoming a problem! It is hard to find shoes in this size so on the weekend we took a trip in town & had to buy her men's sneakers!




She can now even fit her dad’s shoes, steals his socks & is eyeing off his wardrobe! Now Miss K is a self proclaimed tomboy. I have not seen her in a dress for about 6 years! She has a cupboard full of them but feels more comfortable in shorts & jeans. I love that she does not follow the crowd. She knows her own sense of style. High top sneakers & flat caps are her passion in life! The way I go weak at the knees when I see a pair of ruby red stilletto’s is how she feels when she sees the latest release high tops. I may be biased but I think she is the most beautiful tomboy ever!



She is a great sports woman. Miss K recently came fifth at the district Track & Field competition for discus. Her hockey team is heading into the finals in 2 weeks time. On Saturday she scored 2 goals, one of them was the most amazing goal that any of the parents, coaches & umpires had ever witnessed.



She has a passion for cooking, & most nights loves to cook desert.



This photo was taken by Miss G (please excuse the fuzzy!) I was cooking dinner & Miss K was preparing desert.

So, back to dinner last night. This is a meal that has become Miss K’s favourite thing to cook. I think it is a great, easy meal for kids to learn. She has been cooking this since she was about 10years old. So here goes……
Kiara’s pan fried seasoned chicken
3/4 cup of plain flour
1 tablespoon of chicken stock powder, (we use the Massels brand)
1 teaspoon of lemon & herb seasoning (we use the Nando’s brand that you can get from any Nando’s chicken)
3 large chicken breasts

Chop chicken into strips.



In a container, mix flour, chicken stock & herbs together.





Place 5 chicken strips in the container.



Put the lid on tightly & shake until well coated.



Heat olive oil in a fry pan. When the oil is hot, place the chicken strips in the pan.



Cook until golden brown.



Repeat until all chicken is cooked.



Serve with mashed potato & veggies.


Enjoy!