Our February days

February always seems to fly by.

I find that it isn't until March that things settle down and we are able to find a rhythm for the new year.

What have we been doing over the last month? There has been lots of rain...

There were 'big bulk baking' days.



There were 'teddy bears picnic' days.




There were 'surprise package' days.



There were pancakes for Pancake Day.





There were 'library' days.


There were 'chocolate cake' days.

 There was a Valentines Day dinner out.



There were 'lego' days.



There were 'popcorn and movie' days.



There were 'op shop' days.



There were 'shopping for new babies' days



There was a Chinese New Year dinner party, just us. (you can read all about it here)



There were 'hot chocolate' days, even though it wasn't actually cold.




And there were 'de-cluttering and re-organising' days.

Well now, about de-cluttering and re-organising. Remember this post and all that talk about the 'year of the homemaker'. Before I am able to go to far down that path, I must de-clutter. It is paramount that I do this. To clear some space in both my home and my thoughts. When I am not feeling overwhelmed by 'stuff', I know that the other things I want to be doing (baking bread, making soap and focusing on my vegetable garden) will come easily.

So I have started de-cluttering and reorganising. The problem: I really have years of 'stuff' to sort through. But it has started, and that's a good thing. I'll give you an update when I can.

How have you spent you February days?

'Pancake Day' Pancakes

(Pancake image from here)

This recipe has been requested, it is the recipe that I use to cook our 'Pancake Day' pancakes every year.

As a child we did not celebrate Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday. It was only when I went to England when I was 23 years old that I discovered the tradition. As you may already know, if there is food involved in a celebration, I'm in!

A very dear friend cooked these pancakes for me on my first ever Pancake Day.

'Pancake Day' Pancakes

(Pancakes with lemon and sugar)

makes 12

• 1 cup plain four
• pinch of salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter (melted)

to serve

• lemon wedges
• raw sugar

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs. Gently whisk a little flour into the egg. In a jug, mix together the milk, water and melted butter. And add to the flour to make a batter. The batter should be the consistency of pouring cream. Don't worry if there are still little lumps in the mixture and don't overmix. Heat a frying  pan over a high heat and add a little butter for frying. Fill a ladle with a quanity of 2 tablespoons and pour into the pan, tilt the pan from side to side to get an even coating of the batter. Cook for 30 seconds on each side, until pale golden and crisp at the edges. Stack the pancakes as you go. To serve: sprinkle the warm pancakes with some raw sugar and squeeze over the lemon juice.

This recipe is from 'Delicious' Magazine, March 2007 issue.

Pancake Day

Happy Pancake Day to you all.

Did you have pancakes for breakfast today? We did, and they were soooo good. Rolled up with butter, lemon and sugar. Heaven!





They were not the best batch of pancakes that I have ever made, nor the best looking. I suppose it did not help that we were in a bit of a before school rush, or that I was chatting on the phone to my aunt at the time of frying and flipping.



But, they were very yummy and were given "the best pancakes award" (a beautiful flower picture cut from a magazine) by Spunky Monkey.

Do you think it would be too much, if I made chocolate pancakes for dessert tonight?

Hmmm, we'll see!

Pancake day

(this image is from one of my favourite childhood books, "Debbie Learns to Cook")

It was lovely to start a weekday morning with pancakes. I made traditional Pancake Day pancakes, rolled up with with butter, lemon and raw sugar. Divine!

For dinner I made these feta and spinach pancakes. So, so yummy. Miss Moo Moo didn't like hers, even thought I had made her a special one without the spinach.

"Mum, I don't like this. You know, you really shouldn't have pancakes when it is not breakfast "

So there you have it, it looks like you will only be seeing pancakes for breakfast around here from now on.