Day Fourteen: making jam

Today I made strawberry jam.

Spunky Monkey was home sick from school. He helped out a little bit. But not a lot.

I haven't made this for years and I have been missing out!

Firstly, I love, love, love the sweet smell of strawberry jam as it cooks. However Spunky Monkey has a different opinion of the smell. He walked into the kitchen with his hand pitched on his nose, asking what stinks?

Secondly, the taste of fresh strawberry jam is to die for. For afternoon tea we made a batch of pikelets and lathered them with still warm strawberry jam.

Make some now. You won't regret it.

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Day Thirteen: Is it summer already?

Tonight Miss Moo Moo was the first in our family to taste this seasons mangoes.

Mr Moo and I were too full from dinner and Spunky Monkey is sick. She had begged me to buy some at the shops this afternoon. She was in heaven, her tiny face turning orange in minutes.

Mangoes to me, mean summer. Is it really that close?

Is Christmas really that close!

This photo was taken last christmas holidays, my camera is on the charger tonight. But you get the picture - delicious.

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Day Twelve: Egg mayonnaise for lunch

Miss Moo Moo's favourite lunch right now is egg mayonnaise sandwiches.

Today we even made our own mayonnaise. Although Miss Moo Moo questioned it's authenticity

"That's not mayonnaise, it's not white"

We ate our sandwiches out on the grass in the shade of the trees. The warm spring breezes playing in our hair.

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Day Eleven: Harvest time

OK, so we won't be winning any prizes at the local show.

These are the first carrots that we (I) have ever grown. Obviously we have a lot to learn. I think seeds would be a better way to go. Just clumping a punnet of seedlings willie-nillie doesn't appear to get the best results. But I for one am happy that we were able to get a meal out of our carrots, truly, I hadn't expected it.

Despite their mutated appearance they were delicious roasted with wine, thyme and cumin seeds for dinner tonight.

Any tips on growing carrots? I'd love to hear from you.

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Day Ten: My christmas wish list

The Real Food Companion



Forgotten Skills of Cooking



The Original River Cottage Cookbook



The River Cottage Meat Book


A Slice of Organic Life

Over the last couple of months I have been lucky to have these great books constantly by my side. Great tomes of information lugged everywhere from parks to play dates, from coffee shops to school pick up.

I love my local library, I really do. But sometimes you come across books you just don't want to give back.

Today I had to return the last one (The Forgotten Skills of Cooking). The others had been returned on their due dates over the last couple of weeks. It will be strange not to pick up a book with 600 odd pages, just to answer a question in my head.

So I have started my Christmas wish list: These five books and a little 5 acre farm with a cottage on a hill.

Thanks Santa xo

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Day Nine: Baking bread

You may have read on my other blog about the bread maker that mum bought me at a garage sale. Today I finally got around to using it, and it worked. Fresh bread!

I got 10 slices from the bread, that gives only five sandwiches. I will need to do a bit of costing to see if this is a good or bad thing. It would be easy to bake daily as it is foolproof, but it is cost effective? Do you bake your own bread? I would love some advice in this area.

I can see that there will be much trial and error along our journey for the perfect everyday family loaf. This is just the start.

I actually prefer multigrain bread to wholemeal, and prefer rye to multigrain. But wholemeal flour is what I had at hand and it made a nice wholemeal loaf.

There was so much excitement over our 'first ever' loaf of bread that Spunky Monkey (fresh from his bath and wearing pajamas) asked if he could take a slice of bread to the neighbours.

" Mum, don't forget to cut it into four so everyone can try a bit. They are going to love it!"

And they did!





Have have written the recipe here, as much for me as for you. My bread maker is a Panasonic (SD-200) I'm not sure how different they are.

Here is what I did:

Large Wholemeal Loaf

• 1 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast (I've kept mine in the freezer)
• 400 grams plain wholemeal flour
• 2 teaspoons table salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons raw sugar
• 370 ml water

Put the ingredients of your bread into the bread maker in the order of the ingredients list. Yeast first and water last. There is no need to mix. Press the menu button and select wholewheat. Press the select button and select bake. Press start and walk away. When the beeper beeps to indicate that the bread is ready lift the lid immediately to remove the bread. Remember to wear oven mits and shake the pan several times to remove the bread. Place the bread on a wire rack to cool.

Et voila, fresh bread!

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Day Eight: Home alone

I have been home alone today.

No... not in a movie and hot chocolate kind of way.

I have been spring cleaning - like a mad woman.

With no interruptions and no time to eat or drink cups of tea, I have washed, wiped, scrubbed, vacuumed, dusted, rearranged and rearranged again, tidied and sorted. Walls, floors, drawers, cupboards, wardrobes, bookshelves and windows. The children's rooms and playroom look amazing. Lets hope some pocket money (bribes) will help keep it that way.

Still more spring cleaning on the list for later this week, but today has been a great start. I am happily exhausted, there is nothing like a bit of spring cleaning to put a 'spring' back into your step.

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