Down in the vegie patch, again!

Over the last months, my veggie patch has seen better days. I had become so caught up in the house renovations & I had neglected my garden. I had used all the herbs up, let the eggplant go a bit too long & had paid no attention to the patch’s needs. I needed to do something. On Sunday, I spent under $20 at our local market & brought enough herbs to fill the patch. I find that buying from a local market is a lot cheaper than buying from a shop or nursery. Most of these plants are grown in the same climate as where you live so you can be pretty sure they will grow well in your garden. These are my staple herbs.


















































Every year, just before spring, I like to plant a new fruit tree. This year I brought a black mulberry tree. As a child, my brother & I used to pick mulberries till our hands were stained purple! I love the taste of mulberries when they burst in your mouth. I hope my children like them as much as I do!




Now is the perfect time to plant your herbs & vegies so what are you waiting for!

Rocky Road

We all know that the best thing to lift you mood is…….. CHOCOLATE!!

When we were at our local market this morning, I brought my hard working hubby some REAL Turkish delight.

This stuff is the real deal. Made by a beautiful lady who has the most gorgeous gourmet food stall.

She makes the most delicious stuffed & marinated olives, the creamiest fetta cheeses & tasty haloumi. I had to by some of everything today. I couldn’t help myself! The more I brought, the more she gave me for free!

So, back to the Turkish delight. I knew as soon as I saw it that I was going to make some rocky road with it. I only used half of it. I am thinking that I may make something else with the rest but just not sure what!

Rocky road would have to be one of the easiest things to make. I make it all in the silicon cake pan that I am going to use as the mould so that there is minimal washing up.

Now everyone has their own version of Rocky Road but this one is mine.

500g of chocolate

100g of Savoiardi (Italian Lady Finger biscuits)

1 packet of mini marshmallows

200g of Turkish delight

Chop the biscuits into small pieces.

Chop the Turkish delight into small pieces.

In a silicon pan, layer all of the ingredients except for the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave in a microwave proof bowl. Do it in bursts of 100% for 30 seconds at a time. Mix well after each burst as chocolate can burn easily.

Pour over the top of the other ingredients & quickly mix well & press into the pan.

Mark into squares & chill until set.

Turn out onto a board & cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Weekend quesadilla. Quick, easy & you will want more than 1!

When Mr P is home on the weekend, this is his favourite lunchtime food. It is so quick, easy & this version only requires 3 ingredients.



Sorry for the poor quality photo but I was trying to make this in my kitchen that has been over run by the bathroom while the renovations are going on & I think I may have tripped over the ladder while I took this photo!

All you need for this yummy quesadilla is a packet of tortillas, your favourite sauce & some mozzarella.

Take one tortilla & lightly cover the base with your favourite sauce, we like to use a Smokey BBQ but I only had normal BBQ because I have not been able to go grocery shopping & leave my house full of tradies!.



Cover the base & sauce with a little grated mozzarella.



Place another tortilla on top. Now you can cook these on the BBQ or in a un-oiled fry pan. I did ours in the fry pan this day. Cook on a medium heat until lightly golden.



Flip. it over using an egg flip & cook on the other side.



Cut into wedges.




Whatever you are up to this weekend……….ENJOY!!

Where is my husband today?

As some of you may already know, my husband is an interstate truck driver. His job sees him in a different town every night & driving through many places along the way. My chickadees love to hear about where he is & where he is going. Mr P came up with a great idea a long time ago to put a map of Australia on a cork board & for the chickadees to put a pin in the places he is. Georgia is the one who puts the pins in & always asks, “Where’s Dad today?” This map is on the lounge room wall & we can see it every time we walk in through the front door. Now that a lot of our family have moved away, we have also added pins for them on the map & one for my best friend who moved to the Northern Territory.  We have all the pins & flags colour coded. Yellow thumbtacks are family members, yellow flags are friends, red thumbtacks are the depots for Mr P’s work & the flags are places he has been.




My eldest chickadee, Kiara, has been lucky enough to have gone on a trip with my husband. She went for a trip in the road train from Brisbane to Cairns. They were gone for a week & it was hard for me to let her go but it was harder for Mr P who had to listen to her talk non stop, day & night, when he is used to just being by himself. About 2 hours in to the trip he rang me & said “You didn’t warn me that she never shuts up!” (giggle from me!)

You could do this for a family member who travels a lot for work, someone who is on a backpacking trip, keeping track of relatives who live in other states or just places that you have been. It is a great way for kids to get involved & still feel part of someone's life who is often away.

My husband is on his way home today so I know where he will be tonight. At home, with a bourbon, watching the football!

Things are looking good!

Sorry I haven’t had much time to do anything creative for a while. All of my energy has been used on finishing the house. Bedrooms are almost done, just the curtains, roman blinds my patchwork quilt & pillows left to make. It has been so nice to sleep in my own bed, in my own room. Oh, how I missed my bed! Here is a couple of photo’s of Georgia’s bedroom as it is the one that is the most finished. We have called it the “Hoot hoot” room. As I am sure you will work out why!




Gone from this room is the big desk that used to take up so much room & in it’s place is a tray table that can be put under the bed when it is not in use. I have just thrown Georgia’s memory patchwork quilt over the chair in the corner until I find the time to recover it. I just have to make the roman blind & a few pillows for the bed. Here is a photo of the room just before I started painting…. (arrrgggghhhhhh, I am sorry for the pain your eyes are about to feel!)





Phew, thank goodness, I don’t have to see THAT room again! I had let Georgia choose what she wanted to do with her room & that is what she chose! Bright green walls with pink & purple accessories. Ok, never again! I much prefer the “new” room. I will now show you some of my favourite things from the “Hoot hoot” room.

This is a great painting that I picked up from Typo.

I love it! Very hoot hoot & very funky! It was a bargain at only $19.95!

This is a mirrored photo frame clock that I turned into my version of a cuckoo clock.

Instead of putting photo’s in it I used some hoot hoot scrapbooking paper.

This is the patchwork quilt that I made for Georgia.

I just have to make some matching pillows & pillow cases to go with it.

I picked up some owl wall stickers at Pillow Talk. They were reduced from $60 down to $14 so there was no way I could walk past them!





I know they are not perfectly straight but I am vertically challenged!

And last but not least, when we were at Bunnings the other day, I came across this beautiful light shade for only $30.





This is a picture of Georgia enjoying her room on the first night.





Now hopefully she keeps it clean!

Salmon cakes. Cheap, easy & very yummy!!

Well, what a week it has been! New carpet in the bedrooms, painting done & the bathroom is finally looking as though it may be finished before the weekend! Not a moment too soon as the kitchen has become the temporary bathroom as we do not have the luxury of an ensuite! The next house that we buy will most definitely have a second bathroom! It has been very exhausting living in a demolition zone & I will NEVER renovate again!! Please remind me of this when next time I say I want to renovate! My only moments of sanity have been cooking. Well, if I can say that cooking in a kitchen come bathroom is sane! I have really missed my sewing machine. I new I loved my faithful friend but after the last 3 weeks I know how much I really do love her. Yes, I know, I am going a little mad! So, to cheer myself up the other night, I made one of my favourite foods. Here it is…………


Salmon cakes!! I love all types of seafood! Sometimes it can be a little expensive so I also like to find cheap ways of using seafood. Many years back I came across this recipe in a magazine & have been using it ever since. I have made these for a casual dinner party once & everyone made sure to get the recipe off me before they left! They really are very yummy! Now while I have an obsession with seafood, my family does not so I love that these Salmon cakes can be frozen uncooked & stay fresh in the freezer for up to a month. This recipe made 12 cakes & I do like to have 3 (did I just admit that??) with either a side salad or some fresh steam veggies. You could replace the salmon with tuna if you wish, just keep the quantity the same. So, here goes……..

Salmon cakes

500g of potatoes, peeled & chopped
415g can of Salmon, drained & flaked
1 teaspoon of finely zested lemon rind
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
handful of chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
2 tablespoons of water
1/3 cup of plain flour
1 & 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs (fresh is best!)

Boil potatoes in a saucepan until soft. Drain water & mash until fluffy. Transfer to a mixing bowl.





Add flaked salmon, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice & mix well.





Cover mixture & chill for at least 30 mins. The mixture can be made in the morning & left to chill for the day in the fridge to save time.


Beat egg with water in a bowl. Put flour in another bowl & breadcrumbs in another.





Take 1/3 of a cup of the salmon mixture & press into a thick patty. Repeat until all the mixture is used.





Take one patty at a time & coat it with flour.





Then into the egg wash.





Then the breadcrumbs.





Cook in a fry pan with a little olive oil until golden brown.






Serve with your favourite veggies or salad.




Enjoy!

Fathers day crafts for kids to make

OK, so it nearly Fathers day. Time to get thinking about presents. My girls love to make gifts. I know that some of the best gifts that I have ever received have been handmade gifts. Poems with handprints are always my favourite thing. We have many in the photo albums & a few in picture frames on the wall.
Here is a few sites that can give your kids some ideas on what they can make for Dad for Fathers day.

Click on the pictures to take you to the sites.


Tip Junkie has heaps of printable for all occasions.

DLTK is a great site for 100’s of free printable crafts for kids.

    Disney Family Fun

bhg.com

                                                             Free kids crafts.com

kaboose.com

I hope this gives you some ideas for handmade gifts for Dad!

Enjoy!