I Should Be Cleaning Up...

Bibs

2011-07-25T12:41:00.002+10:00

I've been sewing these baby bibs for a few years now...I found a great pattern online, from Nicole Mallalieu. She sells bag making supplies, and other pattens too, but this pattern was free to use.
These 3 pink ones are for my new niece, and I have to say I love the un-baby-ish-ness of them. My sis picked out the materials she wanted (good quality cotton), all in coordinating colours, so I could use one material for the bias tape. I used good quality terry cloth on the back, which makes for a thick and sturdy bib. They feel so nice!

These are older ones I made 3 years ago, which are cute, but I can see how I have now changed to a simpler look; less cluttered, more streamlined. I also have changed the pattern to suit a less crafty-looking bib too - I use less bias tape, depending on the materials' patterns, and I also do the arm holes differently, depending on how much sewing I want to do.

Then I have a few others I made late last year to sell at some markets. I also really like these designs as well. I keep making more than enough, so I can one day put all my stuff on etsy, but for some reason, I just never do it! And in the meantime, everyone just keeps having babies, so I just keep giving more away...5 more (not including my sister) to give away over July/August, not to mention a few earlier this year already.

The black ones below have a pattern of little grey skulls all over them:

Some Sewing...Gift Bags

2011-07-18T22:51:00.003+10:00

I've been very busy with work, but have been managing to have a day to myself every few weeks, for the most part, to get some sewing projects done. Feels nice to sew for me. Well, for me - for others in this post...but I am working on a dress, and also a new retro-style blouse, which I will share here too.

The following projects I finished a few months ago, and gave them away in April. I had planned to sew these for stocking stuffers for my sisters, and mom, but it didn't happen on time! I also normally give the exchange students my in-laws take in a gift before they go home, but I also didn't get that done before Christmas either! So, everything was sent late. I made these little pencil cases / make-up bags from some scraps I bought ages ago. For the students I bought cute stationary supplies and some little toiletries, and for my family some soap and candles.

The bags are made from a simple pattern I quickly drew out myself with skills learned from a super cool book called "The Bag Making Bible" by Lisa Lam. I also used this tutorial as a base to work from. I have many of her free tutorials (all on her blog), and have followed her blog for years. This book has so many patterns, and teaches so many skills. I altered her tutorial slightly to get a cleaner look at the zipper ends, and I also added a layer of clear vinyl to make the bags a little more substantial, and suitable for make-up.

I bought a silicon foot for my sewing machine to sew over the vinyl, and then realized I needed a silicon ZIPPER foot, which I didn't have, so I placed tissue paper over the vinyl, and sewed that, tearing away the tissue paper after the stitch was done. Not simple, but still worked well. Otherwise, your foot will stick to the vinyl, and your work will not slide through the machine.

Here are a few I have made so far:

Mexican Pizza

2011-07-07T12:46:00.000+10:00

I have to admit, this idea didn't sound all that great to me, but now I am convinced you can add anything to a pizza and be happy. I think the sour cream makes it.

Here's what I did...

Ingredients:
Ground Beef, browned
Onion, diced
Red Pepper (Capsicum), diced
Garlic, diced
Taco Seasoning
Tomato, thinly sliced
Green Onion, diced
Olives, sliced
Cheese
Pizza Sauce (or make your own with tomato paste, garlic, pepper, salt, onion powder, rosemary & Italian herbs)
Pizza bases*
Sour Cream

* not the best photo, but food photos are hard to take here, as it's always dark by dinner time

Method:
1. Brown beef, onion, red pepper, and garlic in a pan until cooked through. Add taco seasoning and cook as per instructions on package (or make your own, add some water, and let the mixture simmer until reduced).
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C (and pre-heat pizza stone if you have one).
3. Cut up all other toppings.
4. Prepare pizza base with tomato pizza sauce (we also used a BBQ Tomato sauce, and it worked nicely)
5. Top pizza with some ground beef, and then add the other veggies, and then the cheese.
6. Bake for anywhere from 10 - 20 minutes, until cheese is beginning to brown.
7. Remove from oven, and top with small dollops of sour cream, and serve immediately. Only add sour cream to the pieces you will eat now...not too sure how left overs would look tomorrow...

*I used a thin-crust store-bought pizza crust base. It wasn't too bad. We wanted to try a thin crust, as my usual recipe is hard to get nice and thin. But, if you want a homemade taste, go for the handmade base. It's simple, and quick. Here is the recipe I always use.

Be Right Back

2011-06-01T14:38:00.000+10:00

I want to blog. I really really really do. I think of fun things to blog about all the time. I just don't have the time :( I am working almost non-stop. I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but I don't even cook or clean at all anymore. I work, sometimes do exercise, eat and sleep. Maybe that will give you an idea...working on a new business that is getting busier and busier, while keeping your "day" job is rough. Right now, I am not busy enough to quit the day job...I hope I will be soon, but until then I continue to juggle. And not do anything for myself (I know, I'm going to burn out, I'm trying to pace myself). I have not baked since...I don't even know when... I have sewing projects sitting on the kitchen table, that I don't eat at, for months now. I really want this new business to work, so I have to just push through. I might fail, but I have learned a lot along the way. I was tempted to delete the blog...but I WANT to come back...Thanks for looking in on me, hopefully things will slow down a little soon.

Vintage Finds

2011-03-16T00:37:00.000+10:00

I've gone through too many kitchen timers than I care to count (teehee). It seems like I buy one every time I go to Ikea. I guess they don't last all that long, do they? My built-in oven timer doesn't work, so I needed something else. Gooey hands using the timer on the laptop wasn't cutting it. I love vintage, and have a few vintage kitchen items, so I looked for something on ebay. And I found the cutest little timer for about 10 bucks. It will never run our of batteries, nor does it require any power. It's a good old fashioned wind-up single bell timer, and so far I have never had a problem. I love it. The simpler, the better, it seems.

Banana Cake with Hershey's ganache

2011-03-11T14:52:00.000+10:00

I made this one again. It's such a nice recipe. This time I tried a chocolate ganache, and it was really good.

For the ganache, I heated up some cream in a double boiler, and added some squares of Hershey's milk and dark chocolate, and stirred until the chocolate was all melted. I then beat in some icing sugar until I reached the consistency I wanted. I think I added too much icing sugar though. It was still nice, but could have been a little softer.

Roasted Vegetables

2011-03-08T13:42:00.002+10:00

I don't have a lot of time to cook usually. Lately I've been so busy, I don't have time to do most things. We're growing a small business, and it's hard to work full time, and then have that to do too...but I have been trying to make more meals, meals that don't come out of packages. One of my goals for this year is to eat more vegetables. We do eat them, but they tend to be the same ones...in the same dishes...and it gets very boring. So, as busy as I have been, I'm proud that I have still been able to add more veggies to the mix. And recently, our favorite way to eat them has been like this:

Roast Vegetables
Ingredients:
1. selection of vegetables. I've been using a combination of Japanese pumpkin, potato, carrot, red pepper (capsicum), red & white onions, garlic, sweet potato...
2. olive oil
3. seasonings, such as rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic, sometimes I also add balsamic vinegar, etc...

Method:
1. Preheat over to 450°F / 230°C
2. Cut up all vegetables to about the same size. I usually cut up red pepper a little larger so it doesn't get too soggy. You could always add softer veggies a little later in the baking process.
3. Pat dry with a paper towel to get most of the surface moisture off the veggies.
4. Throw into a bowl, and add your oil and seasonings. (To make a tray of veggies, I end up using about a 1/4 cup of oil, but this varies. I probably use about 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1-2 tsp rosemary, but do whatever you feel like. I added about 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar to the mix in these photos).
5. Add some crushed garlic. I usually just lay a wide bladed knife over the garlic bulbs, and pound the knife to break the bulbs. Peel off the wrapping, and then cut into smaller pieces if you want.
6. Mix to coat veggies, and spread on a baking tray or dish in a single layer. You'll need to roast the veggies for about 45mins to an hour, checking on them every 15 minutes, and stirring them.

Vintage Hairstyling - Beehive

2011-02-02T12:01:00.000+10:00

Here is one of the 'do's I tried from a lovely book, Vintage Hairstyling. (Looks like the site is down at the moment, maybe google it and find a cached site) I did this about 6 months ago, and I cannot even imagine attempting this now. It's insanely humid here, and hot rollers in the hair for 45 minutes? I'd rather die. BUT, when I did attempt it, it went really well. I had to try the first step twice, and you can see from my photos, it's still a little messy, but I think it worked well. There is a lovely variation of this, where you leave half of it down, and once the weather behaves, it's something I am looking forward to trying.

Here is a shot from the book. I blurred the instructions, but you can tell that it offers a lot of step-by-step photos.

I love this book! I wish I had more time to experiment, and become fluent in styling my hair nicely.

Pay It Forward

2011-01-28T16:10:00.004+10:00

***UPDATE. ONE spot left...***

I signed up for this cool little thing, I'm sure a lot of you have already heard about. It's a Handmade Pay It Forward. I joined on facebook through a friend's status update. So, I posted on my status, and only one person agreed :( How sad. So, I'm bringing it to the blog :) I don't have many readers, but I figure I can round another 4 people up on here, right?

So, here's the deal. You can copy this quote below, and post it on your blog, or facebook, or whatever. The rules are simple:

Pay it Forward 2011: I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here. They in turn must post this and send something they make to the first five people who comment on their status. The rules are that it must be handmade by you and it must be sent to your five people sometime in 2011...

Then, get to work :)

If I get any replies to this, I will email you and get your address, or feel free to email me: ishouldbecleaningup at yahoo dot com

And, if you want, send me photos of what you make, and I will put a little post together here with all our handmade items...

Spread the handmade love!

***UPDATE. ONE spot left...***

Banana Cake

2011-01-24T00:12:00.002+10:00

This recipe was so amazing (lots of compliments). I've had banana bread before, but this was...cake! I couldn't find a recipe online that was close enough to this one, so I have to post it for you. It's from the Women's Weekly Easy Baking cookbook. Great buy, by the way. There are appetizers and things for kids too. This cake is very moist, and very tasty.

Ingredients:
160g butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed banana (you need about 4 medium sized bananas)
1 tsp baking soda / bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp hot milk
1 cup all-purpose flour / plain flour
2/3 cup self raising flour

Icing:
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2-4 tbsp passionfruit pulp

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C (160° fan forced), and grease a cake tin. I used a round tin 8" / 20cm, and some fun small shaped tins, but square will also work. Line with baking paper.
2. Using a mixer, beat butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.
3. Mash banana together. I used 4 over-ripe bananas. I needed to use some old ones I had in the freezer, but it's best to use really soft fresh ones in this recipe, I think. Stir into mixture.
4. Combine hot milk and baking soda together, and add to banana mixture.
5. Stir in sifted flours, and pour mixture into baking tin.
6. Bake 45 mins, approx. Leave it to cool a few minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Make icing by adding passionfruit pulp into icing sugar until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over cooled cake.

I think a lemon or lime icing would also work really well with this cake. Or add choc chips to the batter, and a chocolate ganache icing to make it really decadent.

Sugar Cookies

2010-12-24T01:00:00.002+10:00

I had SO much FUN doing these.

I used this book, and have officially changed to this sugar cookie recipe too. Tastes good, and once baked doesn't crumble as easily as the Betty Crocker recipe I used to use.

I baked a regular batch, and a chocolate batch, and used only a handful of cookie cutters. I've realized it's best to underestimate your baking skills.

It took me 8 hours to mix, bake and decorate these cookies.

Also, GET SQUEEZE BOTTLES! Piping bags are so messy when it comes to decorating with royal icing, especially when you need to flood the cookies. I had 4 on hand, but another 4 would have been perfect.

You really need to do some planning, and thinking. Which colours to use together, which ones need to be watered down, which ones should keep thick to pipe designs, etc. If I had more squeeze bottles, I could have had a piping and flooding version of each colour.

The techniques in the book are easy to follow and easy to achieve, so give it a try!

Christmas Tags

2010-12-14T19:50:00.052+10:00

I needed some tags for gift wrapping and I get sick of all the store-bought cheesy designs. The best part about presents is wrapping them. I love to make them look nice and hand-made-crafty, so I almost always make my own tags. This year, I've been hung up on red, green & blue for Christmas colours, so that's what I went with. I've made a PDF to share, so feel free to download them. Red/Green or Red/Blue. There are 17 tags, about 4cm x 8cm / 1-1/2" x 3" per sheet of A4. For 8.5" x 11" paper, simply scale the page to fit in the printer settings.

1. Print onto card stock, and cut out using an exacto knife (or scissors, if you're not a perfectionist). See Tip below.

2. Mod Podge, or use a glue stick, to adhere them onto store bought tags. (I use mod podge because it's strong, and doesn't warp paper like other glues.)

I found some great tags at Ikea (and they matched my scheme to boot!), otherwise, just look at the office supply store, or here in Australia, many newsagents have tags you can buy. These are formatted to fit a large tag, but scale the printing down if you want smaller ones.

3. Tie a string through the tag, and embelish it if you want.

Tip: I've found the best way to cut out multiple items printed onto one piece of paper is to use an exacto knife with a steel ruler as a guide (if you use plastic, you end up cutting chunks out of the ruler). I always cut as long a cut as possible, without cutting through the sheet. Ie, I do as much cutting inside the paper boundaries as I can. This way you don't have to fiddle around as much cutting out each individual piece. Make sense...?

Here are a few tied onto some stocking stuffers I put together.

Christmas Paper Pom Poms

2010-12-12T15:09:00.005+10:00

My sis-in-law sent me a Christmas card in the form of a paper pom pom last year, made with vintage wrapping papers. It was perfect to hang on the tree. So this year I decided to make some myself, and use them to decorate wrapped gifts. I created a simple PDF, and I'm trying something new by sharing it. You can download for free here. You could also use these for individual tags for addressing gifts, or print onto sticker paper, creating labels, and use instead of tape.

Here is what some of the pom poms look like that I did. You can go for a full look, using all 12 designs, like this:

Or make them with less circles, for a simpler look.

Using all 12 makes a nice full complete circle, but I think using less to top a gift makes more sense - you can see the designs better.

So...you'll need some:
*card stock, size A4 or 8.5" x 11"
*scissors / circle punch
*hole punch
*ribbon or string
*glue / double sided tape (optional)

1. Print the PDF (which is formatted for size A4, but easily scaled to 8.5" x 11" in your printer settings), and either cut out by hand, or use a circle punch. I'm not lucky enough to have all the cool scrapbooking gadgets, so I cut by hand. The circles are about 57mm or 2-1/4" diameter.

2. Fold each circle in half, right sides together.

3. For gift toppers, hole punch a hole just above the fold line in the center of the circle. You don't want to cut the crease, or the ribbon will not thread through the circles.

4. Optional: (You don't have to do this, but it makes a nice sturdy pom pom.) Glue the wrong sides together with the other circles. I used mod podge applied with a paintbrush, since it's nice and thick, and won't make your paper warp like other glues. You could use double sided tape too.

5. Thread your ribbon through the hole punches, and tie onto your gift.

Options:
To make a hanging decoration, be sure to glue or tape the circles together, and also sandwich some string in between the paper circles. There is also no need to punch holes in the paper circles.

Here is another tutorial with downloads, and ideas for gift wrapping.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Squares

2010-12-01T11:47:00.003+10:00

This recipe is divine. I didn't think it could be this good. I kind of shy away from cheesecakes, as they are always quite rich, and I don't always feel like something so heavy. This was exactly that, but was worth it! I got it from another Women's Weekly cookbook, this one called Easy Baking. I modified very little, except the cookie base. And this photo shows about the neatest I was able to cut the squares. Very thick and sticky...

Cheesecake
1 package of cookies (about 24).
(I used 1 pkg of Arnott's choc ripple cookies, but you can use plain choc chip too, or something else entirely...like those chocolate waffer cookies too. I think an Oreo cookie or crumb crust would be so good with this as well. You could separate the cookies, and add the oreo icing to the cheesecake mixture, or layer cookies as-is, if you don't have Oreo crumbs like Australia).
1/2 cup cream
250g white chocolate
500g cream cheese, softened (2- 7 oz. blocks)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
Chocolate Ganache
200g dark, or semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup cream

1. Preheat oven to 150°C / and grease a 20cm x 30cm rectangle pan. Line the base and sides with baking paper (not wax paper) and place cookies in a single layer inside of pan.
2. Melt white chocolate with cream in a double boiler until the mixture is smooth. Cool.
3. Beat cream cheese & sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Add cooled white chocolate mixture and beat well.
4. Poor cream cheese over cookie base, and bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool with oven door slightly ajar. Refrigerate a few hours, or overnight, once cooled.
5. Make chocolate ganache for topping by melting the chocolate with the cream in a double boiler, or carefully over low heat, stirring constantly. Cool 10 minutes, and spread over cheesecake. Refrigerate until completely cooled.
6. Cut into bars, and enjoy!

This isn't on my 'Christmas squares' list, but I think a topping of crushed candy cane, or a mint chocolate ganache would be perfect to add that little bit more to the recipe.

Lemon Bars

2010-11-17T11:12:00.001+10:00

Another on my Christmas squares/bars list.

Lemon Bars (Betty Crocker)
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c butter softened
1/4 c icing sugar
Mix first 3 ingredients, and press into a 8x8 or 9x9 pan, building up 1/2 inch edge. Bake crust for 20 min @ 350.

1 c granulated sugar
2 tsp grated lemon peel, if desired (but strongly recommended! I love lemon!)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Beat remaining ingredients with electric mixer at high speed for 3 mins, or until light and fluffy (mine never really got light and fluffy, but it still worked out). Pour over hot crust.
Bake 25-30 mins or until no indentation remains when lightly touched in centre. Cool in pan. Dust with icing sugar. Cut into bars.

Vintage Sale

2010-11-13T18:32:00.002+10:00

Last weekend I went with my sister-in-law to a little market she created with some friends. They've been collecting vintage clothes for a few years in the hopes of re-selling them at a later stage. She asked me to come along, and suggested I try selling cupcakes. I happily agreed, and after many long and stressful weeks with my normal job, I was able to do a trial run, and come up with some interesting flavours to sell. The week before, I ended up not having any work (the nature of my job, when it rains it pours, but then there are really dry spells in between), so I dug out the sewing machine and finished off some projects I had going, and started a few new ones to bring along too. It was a busy week, but it was so nice to be spending time creating things. I finished off a stash I had for making aprons, and also baby bibs. I also made some mini journal / scrapbooks too. Too bad having fun didn't translate into money for me though. I didn't sell a single item besides cupcakes, and only sold about 15 of those. So, for me, the markets were bust, but I think I know where I went wrong - I'm not much of a sales person it seems. We might be doing them again in a month, so I'll get my game on then (I tell myself). And make a sign. No one really noticed me sitting behind my cupcake stand. Anyhow, here is what we came up with:

I made and finished off a bunch of aprons:

I made a bunch of new baby bibs from a classic vintage pattern:

I made a bunch of journals too, with stickers, and labels, and lots of different kinds of paper & envelopes.

Here is a page by page example, with repeat pages left out. There are over 70 pages of new and recycled, and some hand made papers to use for journaling, scrapbooking, or notes:

And then I made a heap of cupcakes (mocha, chocolate, vanilla, cotton candy/ fairly floss, key lime, strawberry & cinnamon roll), which were packaged in take-out containers:

Here are some shots from the markets:

Laura made some gorgeous hair combs & headbands too:

The girls had racks of clothes and shoes, there was so much stuff!

Butter Tart Squares

2010-11-08T11:57:00.001+10:00

These squares are fabulous!! I got this recipe from a lovely blog called Intimate Weddings.

Finally, a truly Canadian recipe I can make with ingredients solely from Australia. Most of my favorite Canadian recipes are not possible if you live in another country. Except, I did see an Australian version of a Nanaimo Bar published in a magazine a few weeks ago, which I will need to try one of these days and do a little comparison. But for these lovely squares, there are no Graham crumbs, Crisco shortening or Rogers Golden Syrup needed! ...There is a great radio clip about Butter Tarts on the site too. Click here.

I am all for raisins too! What about you? Not in anything else, though.

This is the second or third recipe on my short list for Christmas goodies to give out this year.

Toffee Bars

2010-10-30T11:50:00.001+10:00

I can't believe I have never posted this recipe before (even on my old blog, which I've had since 2005). Love this one. It's a great alternative to choc chip cookies every. But I think I like it more than cookies, so I try not to make it too often. Here is the recipe. I've tried adding toppings, like score bits or nuts, but I like it plain the best. I am thinking this year, instead of the cookie baskets I gave out to friends for Christmas last year, I am going to make a selection of squares and bars to give out instead. This one will be on the menu...as well as another recipe I was finally able to try a few weeks ago...stay tuned...

Halloween Costume

2010-10-27T01:13:00.004+10:00

This post was meant for last year. This is how organized I am...against my best intentions, I never post holiday posts on time!! So, I saved it for this year. And look at the date! Almost missed it!

I had this grand fun idea to be a bearded lady for Halloween. I have some fish net stockings, a cute black dress, 3" peep-toe sling backs, hot rollers for a 40's look, and some flowers for my hair. I was going to be as vintage glam and girly as possible, black eyes, bright red lips, perfect fake nails, everything...except...I would have a beard, like an old circus freak! So, I went to work on my beard...

Tie random length yarn onto some clear stretchy jewelry stringy-elasticy-rubbery stuff, and make loops to hook over your ears. I tied the pieces on with this simple knot. Create the ear loops by using those little crimping beads, if you have them. I did this because I have a ton of jewelry supplies, and also it makes the beard attachments as invisible as possible. But you could also use elastic, and tie it around your head. I went a little further, and used a toothpick and separated all the yarn strands for a more realistic look, if that's even possible.

After all my careful crafting, I came to the sad realization that my bearded lady circus freak idea was hinging on my being able to be very girly (except for the beard) to get the feel I was going for. The problem is that I cannot (could not, at the time) wear high-heeled shoes yet. I am still having problems with my heel, and therefore my 40's style sling backs are not going to agree with my physical condition of my foot. I thought I could just go barefoot, but I can't pull off the look I need without shoes!

So...now I am going as a burly Canadian. The very opposite, except for the beard. No gorgeous hot roller hair-do, but instead a pony tail under a hunting camo trucker hat. No gorgeous fish nets hooked onto a garder belt, but old ratty blue jeans instead. No black peep-toe sling backs, but instead my running shoes I have to wear to physio. And of course no make-up, no nail polish, no black dress, but instead a flannel and some dirt on my face. Oh well. Maybe next year I can be a circus freak.... (and it being next year already, I am too busy to have Halloween! I am so sad :( Plus Aussies don't really get into it either. Maybe NEXT year I'll be a bearded lady...I still wear the beard every so often, I LOVE it).

Cookie Craft

2010-10-14T10:33:00.002+10:00

OK, here is another fab book I've bought myself recently. Cookie Craft. There is a Christmas version too, so you still have time to get it! I can't wait to try out some of the techniques in here. I've been so swamped with work, I have a laundry list of projects to get going with, so I hope I can share some samples soon here. This book has a lot of techniques for those who've never done much decorating before, but for those who have, it also has a lot of great ideas too. And I found it on ebay, brand new for $12.60 USD.

Chocolate Caramel Bites

2010-10-07T07:12:00.004+10:00

Mmm, these were a treat! Best kept in the fridge, but enjoyable no matter what!

Base:

1/2 cup plain flour, sifted
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
65 g butter, melted

Filling:
380 g can Top N Fill Caramel (see note)
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

Icing:
60 g butter
150 g dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease two, 12 x 1 1/2 tablespoon (30ml) mini muffin pans.
To make base: Combine flour, sugar, almonds and butter. Press 1 teaspoon of mixture into base of each muffin hole.

To make filling: Mix caramel filling and peanut butter together. Spoon over base so it is three-quarters full. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until firm. Remove from oven. Set aside to cool.

To make icing: Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat and spoon over each caramel bite. Place in fridge to set. When set, use a flat-bladed knife to remove from muffin pans.

Notes and tips:
Note: Top N Fill Caramel is a pre-made, thick caramel filling. It can be found in the baking aisle of your supermarket [I'm not sure if it is in North America or not].
from "Super Food Ideas" - August 2003 , Page 69

Vintage Hairstyling

2010-09-30T00:00:00.007+10:00

I think I fell in love with vintage style, namely 30's & 40's, when I was maybe 13...as soon as I saw the movie Swing Kids. The clothes, the dancing, the music; everything about it is beautiful and inspiring! The care everyone took in their clothes and hair is something to admire. I think it also (probably falsely in most cases) conjures up a feeling of innocence and simplicity, if you forget about the whole World War II thing...I've always wanted to learn how to do my hair in those styles. Since re-runs of The Wonder Years, I've branched my love of vintage into the 60's too.

I've been using hot rollers for a few years now, but kind of making things up as I go. In the past I would try to find rolling patterns online, but those aren't easy to come by. I drew up my own sketches to work from by what I learned by trial and error. I do have a copy of a hard to find, and expensive book, called 1940's Hairstyles, by Daniela Turudich. I've seen it sell for over $400 (but I just looked on ebay, and there are a few, as well as on amazon). I didn't find it that easy to follow, not knowing many techniques myself, and I haven't had the time to perfect any basics. Plus, some of those 40's styles are quite dramatic, and I wanted something I could do for less formal day-to-day things.

So, I bought myself the book Vintage Hairstyling. Sadly, I've had little opportunity to actually try anything with any great effort yet. This book was a great purchase though, because it explains things very clearly. Vintage Hairstyling has a large range of styles too, from 30's to 60's, and is very easy to come by and not expensive. It has great step-by-steps, so all I need to do now is pick up a few more products to get going...

Biscuits & Chili

2010-09-26T11:40:00.001+10:00

I'm a huge fan of a quick and easy meal these days. We're working so hard on our little side project (seat upholstery) I don't have any spare time. I mean it. 1 day off in 8 weeks. I work EVERYDAY. Not always a full day on weekends, but a few hours at least. I'm wearing thin, but I refuse to go back to the bad habit of frozen dinners. I think they helped put me in the hospital in April. This is a favorite anyhow, and my love rekindled when we were in Canada. A friend had a chili cook-off, and we each brought our version of chili along. It was amazing! Everyone had a different interpretation, and all were so good! I still use my own basic recipe, but I've since been adding the things I like from the other recipes. I add either brown sugar, or molasses, or a combination of the two. I also add more vegetables, and I get a few toppings ready as well. And baking biscuits to go along makes for such a comforting meal.

Chili Recipe: Here is my original chili recipe, but in this photo, I added a can of corn, and about 2 tbsp of brown sugar. I've also done 1 tbsp of brown sugar, and 1 tbsp of molasses in the past. Other roast veggies can be added too. I sometimes chop up some red pepper (red capsicum, for the aussies) and saute it with the onion and garlic and add it to the beef. I also regularly change up the beans too. This recipe in the photo I added a 4 bean mix, instead of chick peas, since Hubby hates chick peas. This chili recipe can feed us for at least 3 meals. I freeze left overs in 2 containers.

Toppings: This is the fun part. So many options! These are my favorite, but any more ideas are appreciated...
-Sour Cream
-Shredded cheese (I used cheddar and mozza)
-Diced green onion
-Avocado slices
-Tortilla chips

Biscuit recipe: I used the recipe from here. I half this recipe for just me and Hubby. Lots of left over biscuits are not so good.

Caramel Apple Cider

2010-09-16T12:31:00.003+10:00

Since it's been *winter* here (20°C days, 10° nights, so cold, right? Ha!) I do the comforting winter things I miss from not being in Canada. I wear scarves (you'd never, ever really need one), I have worn gloves (ridiculous and embarrassing for a Canadian) and wear my thick fleece PJ's (do-able. But you wake up sweating like a pig).

One thing I miss is Starbucks. They have them here, but believe it or not, I'm pretty sure I don't live within 100kms of one. I've checked. I think Brisbane is the closest they come to me. And, they don't even sell all the wonderful comforting drinks like they do in North America! My favorite one is the caramel apple ciders. So, I make them myself....

Caramel Apple Cider

Ingredients:
1.5 litres apple juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice

Bring all ingredients to the boil, and simmer for as long as you want. I sometimes add another cup of water to the mixture to allow for the reducing. Also, all those flavours can be quite strong, so adding water makes almost no difference to flavour.

Ingredients:
Whipped Cream
Hershey's Caramel Topping***.

So simple, just poor yourself a cup of hot apple cider, top with some stiff whipped cream, and drizzle on some caramel sauce. Such a comforting treat!

***Australia also does not have Hershey's readily available (and if you do find some, it's usually in specialty shops where a small package of kisses costs you $8!!). I had to get my mom to send me some, and then on our recent trip, I brought back a few more cans. But I've made my own before, and it was lovely. Here is the recipe.

Marshmallow Butterscotch Squares

2010-09-14T18:52:00.001+10:00

Ok, I'm back...for now...if there's anyone still around (besides you Mom! I love you!)...??

We've been back from Canada now for something like 6 weeks, and the butterscotch chips I loaded my luggage up with are burning a hole in my...fridge (?), so I decided to make a childhood favorite for old times sake. I LOVE these things. So simple, so sweet, so addicting. I did a half recipe, so I could stretch my precious butterscotch chips even further.

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 bag butterscotch chips (a little more than 1/2 cup, I think)
mini marshmallows

Melt the butter and peanut butter in a double boiler, or whatever (microwave). Take off the heat, and stir in butterscotch chips until completely melted. If you need to get the mixture hotter to melt all the chips, very carefully re-heat. Those chips will harden if they get too hot, so best to let them melt as slowly as possible. Leave mixture to cool for about 15 minutes. Then mix in marshmallows. Australia doesn't have mini marshmallows** like North America does, so I used a bag of jet-puffs, (which they also don't have here, but were brought over for me with my sister when she came in March), cut into small pieces*. Pour into a 8" square pan lined with baking or wax paper, and put in the fridge to cool completely. Once cool, cut into squares.

*Handy Hint. When you need to cut marshmallows (do you ever? I do, for some reason...) I use a cheese knife, you know, the one with the holes in the blade a dab the fresh wounds with icing sugar. Works a charm!

**UPDATE: They DO have mini marshmallows! I found some! I've never seen them until my last grocery trip! They are in the baking isle, near the choc chips. The big ones are in the candy isle.

When I was looking for this recipe, I saw a variation to just use regular chocolate chips (instead of butterscotch), so I did one version like that too. Not as good, but still so good! You just substitute choc chips for the butterscotch. I used semi-sweet, so milk would probably be really sweet.

Now I have all these other ideas, like adding Rice Krispies and peanuts too...

Hiatus

2010-08-13T12:11:00.001+10:00

Well, I guess I went on a *little* hiatus there didn't I? I didn't mean to, I even have 4 drafts of other posts I was planning to do! Shortly after my last post, I ended up in the hospital again, and was there for 5 days. This all happened a few weeks before we were to leave to go to Canada, and also right in the middle of a stressful time in starting up a new business...a little side thing, that kind of ended up being a lot more demanding...I ended up having to rest and recover for almost another week, and that left one week to pack up our entire apartment contents to make room for the sub-letter we had coming in. I was also not allowed to lift anything over 2kg. It was the second most stressful time in my life. Anyhow, we made it to Canada, and I then decided spending as much as possible NOT in front of the computer made the most sense to me. I had so many people to catch up with, and so many things to make sure I did while I was there....Now, I'm not even sure I want to keep this up. It's kinda fluffy and pointless, my blog is. I thought I would be able to do lots of fun things on here, but there are too many other good blogs out there to even bother with this, as it is, I'm thinking. So, I have some thinking to do...

Chicken Parmigiana

2010-03-27T12:57:00.003+10:00

Sometimes Hubby looks up recipes for me to make. I get bored of our staples (mainly Mexican & Italian variations), and he came across this gem. It was perfect, as I had all the ingredients on hand. It was simple, and tasted divine. We've now had it a few times. I've tried once with the home made sauce, and once with store bought. Both were good; home made was better. I would love to make it with fresh tomatoes one day too, instead of canned. I placed the chicken on some pasta with extra sauce and served with a salad.

Here is the recipe.

Below, I copied and pasted directly from the link. All photos are from www.exclusivelyfood.com.au :

Tender pieces of crumbed chicken are topped with homemade tomato sauce and grated cheese, and then oven baked until the cheese is golden and melted. The tomato sauce and crumbed, uncooked chicken can be prepared in advance but it is best to cook the chicken and assemble the dish just before it goes into the oven.

Serves 4-5.

Tomato Sauce

Makes about 1 1/3 cups.

20ml (1 tablespoon) oil
1/2 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
400g can crushed/diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar, firmly packed
Salt and pepper

Crumbed Chicken
400g skinless chicken breast fillets or tenderloins
2 eggs
20ml (1 tablespoon) milk
50g (1/3 cup) plain flour
About 150g (about 1 1/3 cups) packaged breadcrumbs
About 125ml (1/2 cup) oil, for frying

Cheese Topping
140g (1 1/3 cups, firmly packed) grated mozzarella cheese
40g (1/2 cup, lightly packed) grated tasty cheddar cheese
22g (1/4 cup) grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a heavy-based medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until onion has softened but not browned. Add tomatoes, basil and brown sugar, increase heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce has reached the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for 10 minutes, and then puree sauce in a blender or food processor.

Trim any fat from chicken. If using chicken breasts, cut them in half horizontally. Cover chicken with a freezer bag and lightly pound with the flat side of meat mallet to flatten. © exclusivelyfood.com.au

Whisk eggs and milk together in a bowl. Coat one piece of chicken in flour and shake to remove excess. Then dip the chicken into the egg and milk mixture ensuring that all of the flour is moistened.

Then coat the chicken in breadcrumbs, pressing firmly to ensure crumbs adhere. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.

To fry chicken, heat some of the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. We cook the chicken in two batches using 1/4 cup of oil for each batch (the number of batches will be determined by the size of your frying pan and you'll need to divide the oil evenly between each batch). Fry the chicken in a single layer, without overcrowding the pan, until golden brown and cooked through.

Wipe the pan out with paper towels between each batch of chicken to remove any crumbs. This prevents the overcooked loose crumbs adhering to the next batch of chicken.

Drain cooked chicken on paper towels.

Place cooked chicken in a large baking dish and spread with sauce. Sprinkle with combined cheeses.

Bake at 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees fan-forced) for about 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and golden. We sprinkle the chicken parmigiana with chopped parsley before serving. © www.exclusivelyfood.com.au

Red Velvet Cake

2010-03-19T13:46:00.004+10:00

I've been wanting to try this for ages now. Whenever I read a cupcake blog, people comment on how red velvet is their favorite. I figured I must be missing out on something amazing. I did some research, but I always go back to my trusty Bakerella. I used her recipe, since I've really enjoyed her other cake recipes. I halved it, since we just never eat as much as I think we're capable of (I even gave half away, and still had to throw away left overs). I should have maybe quartered it (though the ratios might not be right at such a small percentage). But I know I should have at least then baked it in 3 or more layers. My oven! I just can't complain enough about it. IT WILL NOT BAKE ANYTHING DENSE. I need this pounded into my skull. Needless to say, I ended up, yet again, with a soggy centre, and burned top.

The cake was good. Not amazing. Hubby really liked it, but I think it's the cream cheese icing that does it. I'm not the hugest cream cheese fan, so honestly, I prefer a trusty white or chocolate cake with buttercream icing. No need to get beyond kids birthday party cake for me.

The only adjustments I did was use a few drops of gel paste food colouring (instead of a bottle or liquid), and I decreased the cream cheese in the icing. I also sprinkled coconut on top, which I think made the cake so much better. I might try this recipe again in cupcake version, or more layers next time.

Ankle Update

2010-03-17T09:58:00.003+10:00

I didn't think I would need to do another one of these. I am constantly frustrated at how long this injury is taking to heal. I am still at physio...I've been a total of at least 28 times. That's at least 16 hours of physio appointments, 28 hours of driving, another 20 hours of finding a parking spot and walking to the hospital, for a grand total of 64 hours of just physio related time. Then there are Dr's appointments, emergency visits, specialist appointments, pain clinic appointments...all too numerous to remember. All for a stupid broken ankle! It's insane.

My physio therapist is going away in April. She wants me done by the end of March. I'm trying my hardest, but set backs are a bit of a worry for me after the last time. The last one I had took months to settle down. I'd irritated my Achilles tendon. I'm now finally back on track, starting with jumping again - the first step in dynamic movements to enable me to jog again. I am able to hop on two legs with no pain. I am able to hop on the bad foot with some pain, about 6-8 times before I need to stop.

This week I am supposed to go for my first jog! Albeit, and VERY small one. The first time I will be allowed (and able, hopefully) to JOG. Wow. It'll have been 432 days since I was last able to jog.

My flexibility is seeming to level out about now. I still feel like I am just stiff, and that I should be able to keep pushing it, but it's so hard. And discouraging. I keep reminding myself it could be years, if ever, that I am able to walk up and down hill normally. I am a steady 9cm knee-to-wall, sometimes 10. But those last 3-4 cm are huge in reaching fluid movement, I'm finding. My balance and strength are almost perfect. I can now balance on my tippy toes on my bad leg for 20 seconds, 30 on a good day. Same as my good foot. Single leg heel raises are the same too. Even with that, it took a year to build up that strength again (including set-backs).

Through all this, I am incredibly grateful for physiotherapists. I just can't sing their praises highly enough. If I can offer one word of advice from all this, if you injure yourself, do whatever you can to get a Dr's referral for physio. I went to see specialists who didn't think I needed physio, but I insisted (having needed physio in the past a few other times, I already knew the importance). I shudder to think of my progress had I not had instruction on how to go about stretching and exercising my ankle this past year. Even if you have to pay for it, go a few times and get them to write down your exercises. Then go back as often as possible, doing your exercises diligently. I was lucky to be referred by the specialists to the physio centre at the hospital, so I've had my physio sessions included in my general heath care.

Being away on holidays with my sister and brother-in-law for the past 11 days has had some ups and downs with the ankle. We did a lot of swimming, some minor hiking and walking, but it's been enough to cause some swelling and soreness. Nothing too major, but I see that returning to normal is still a little way off yet. I had to force myself to do some things, but it was good to see that I could do it. I'm just so glad I was able to do just about everything everyone else could, and didn't miss out on anything major.

I'll share some holiday photos later...

Animals

2010-03-08T16:21:00.001+10:00

I can't resist my little furry Monster! I've always been a huge cat fan. I love dogs too, but there is something challenging about a cat - it takes a real effort to get to their little hearts of stone. Even then, I don't think they actually like ME. They like that I feed them. Though, I do tend to have a connection with Seti (at least I have talked myself into that idea). He will actually come when I call him! That almost never happens with cats. I had one other cat about 10 years ago who came when I called him...until the neighbour started feeding him...Ok, I guess I must concede that cats do not actually care about me, but rather care about the fact that I am the one who gives them treats and chin rubs.

As soon as we live in a real house, I cannot wait to get a cat! Until then, Seti will be my substitute. He pretty much lives here now anyway. He seems to only go home to eat, as far as I can tell. Lately we've been watching storms together, so these photos are from the past few storms we've had:

And this is what he likes to do to let us know he wants some milk:
Yet he never jumps on the counter top. What an irresistible little monster.

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Now for another type of animal. This one, also furry, likes to get in out of the rain too. This one I do not like one little bit. I couldn't care less about their little hearts. This one get the shoe treatment, not the spoiled rotten treatment. This ones make me not be able to sleep at night, and keeps me on edge all the time.

This one has 7 legs, and that white dot on its head? That's its eyeball cluster reflecting the light from my camera flash. *SHUDDER* It looked to be about 3.5" or about 9cm

Mocha Brownie Cheesecake

2010-03-05T23:18:00.000+10:00

I kind of made this one up; it ended up being pretty good. All I did was mix a few recipes together, no real improvisation here.

I used my new favorite recipe, Cappuccino Brownies, from The Essential Dessert Cookbook. The cheesecake part is from Women's Weekly Cupcakes, Cheesecakes, Cookies cookbook, except I simplified it. Then I added chocolate covered coffee beans on top.

Method:
1. Make cappuccino brownies (recipe here) and cool. I baked these in a round cake tin, and then transferred it to a spring form pan once it cooled. I had extra brownie mix (I didn't want the base too thick on the cake), so I baked the left overs in a small cupcake tin.
2. Make Cheesecake (recipe below), and add on top of cooled brownie base.
3. Make chocolate covered coffee beans (instructions here). Or buy them. But making them is SO easy, and cheap. Granted, they are not quite so pretty as the ones from Starbucks, but they do the trick :) Sprinkle some on top before serving.

Tips:
I lined the base of the springform with baking paper so I could slide the cake off for serving. I also lined the sides so the cheesecake wouldn't stick to the pan. This worked really well.

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Tiramisu Cheesecake

Ingredients:
2 tsp gelatin
2 tbsp water
125g cream cheese (about 4.4 oz, no huge need to be that accurate)
1/4 cup icing sugar
250g mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp Marsala (I used Kahlua, since it's all I had on hand)
300mL cream, whipped

Method:
1.Sprinkle gelatin over water in small heatproof bowl, or double boiler. Stand in a small pan of simmering water and stir until gelatin has dissolved. Cool for a few minutes.
2. Soften cream cheese to room temperature and add icing sugar in a bowl. Beat until smooth with an electric mixer.
3. Add mascarpone and Marsala (Kahlua) and beat until combined.
4. Stir in gelatin mixture.
5. Fold in whipped cream

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Now, for the cutest little mini versions!

Like I said, I had left over batter, so I decided to try some bite sized cheesecakes (of course, my inspiration for mini desserts comes from Bakerella).

"Ingredients":
Brownie mixture
Cheescake mixture
Choc covered coffee beans
baking paper
tape
mini cupcake tin & liners

Method:
1. Line mini cupcake tin with liners, and put a small spoonful into each liner. Bake as per recipe, but for less time.
2. Allow brownies to cool. Take off paper liners.
3. Cut small strips of baking paper, or waxed paper, about 2 or 3 times the height of the brownies.
4.This can be the frustrating part: form tubes around each brownie and tape closed. I rolled my mini brownies on the paper, as if I was wrapping a present. I had tape pre-cut so I could quickly secure the paper.
5. Stand brownies on a plate, etc, and pipe or spoon cheesecake mixture into the tubes.
6. Chill and top with coffee beans. Unwrap baking paper, and enjoy :)

GOLD!

2010-03-01T14:12:00.003+10:00

Oh my goodness, I can't not say anything - THAT WAS INCREDIBLE! I'm by no means an Olympic fan. I didn't even see one lick of coverage during this Olympics. Not because I didn't want to - afterall, I am from Vancouver (or just outside of it), but we don't have a tv. And I couldn't find live internet footage. Not to mention we have to pay per MB used (online video = $$ down the toilet). I did manage to see the OT period of the US vs Canada men's hockey game for Gold though, and, like all the other Canucks abroad, I am so proud to be a Canadian! That was incredible! And I can't imagine a better competitor than the US. It was a game to be proud of for both sides! Nothing better than a worthy opponent, especially for a game like this. Congratulations Canada! And Congratulations USA!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-28T15:44:00.003+10:00

Well, once again, WAY late. I will have to learn to accept the fact that I can never be as organized as I would like. I've been so busy again! Work has been really busy, and we've also been making travel plans, so there has been a lot of internet flight bookings (it's a confusing flight path we're taking), seeing travel agents, renewing passports, renewing other immigration crap too. I think I should become an immigration agent. I am now quite accustomed to filling out forms.

Anyhow. We did nothing for Valentine's Day! How sad. But I actually don't really care. I'm not one who puts huge emphasis on those holidays, though I love to get in the spirit. And we're going out this week sometime instead :) I made cards to send to my family, and also made treats to give to my in-law family too. But of course I was a week late, since I had to work all Valentine's Day weekend. I made the Oreo truffles I posted about earlier, and did some alterations :) I placed an order a few weeks ago for some fun new baking supplies and they arrived just in time for me to make treats a week late.

I put the Oreo Truffles on lollypop sticks, and tried out a few new flavours too. I did 2 batches of the recipe , and divided them up. I kept one batch normal, and flavoured a 1/2 batch with cherry, and the other half Kahlua, using LorAnn flavouring oils.

I covered the cherry balls with dark chocolate and red sprinkles.
I covered the kaluha balls with white chocolate and chocolate sprinkles.
I covered the plain balls with white and milk chocolate, and decorated with random sprinkles.

I put some on sticks too. Fun experimenting. They didn't look the prettiest, but next time I'll be prepared. I made little packages to give to my in-laws, wrapped up in baking paper. I had ordered some cellophane bags in my baking supply order, but they didn't get included. I had high hopes of wrapping them up all cute-like. No such luck.

I made some cards from a cute free printable. I added doilies for some fun cliche kitsch and tied them up with ribbons. I wrote cheesy mini love letters on the back to my family; things like "Will you be ours? Love, your Secret Admirers". As cheesy as they are, it's still fun to get cards in the mail :)

Cappuccino Brownies

2010-02-26T15:25:00.003+10:00

This is a new favorite for me! From The Essential Dessert Cookbook.

(oops, labeled the photo incorrectly)

Cappuccino Brownies

Ingredients:
150g butter
125g dark chocolate
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
2 tbsp instant coffee powder (I think they mean those cappuccino pre-mixes - this is what I used and it worked great)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC (350 ºF) and grease or line a 11 x 7 cake tin.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler over water just off the boil. Stir until smooth and melted. Cool slightly.
3. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl. Whisk in chocolate mixture.
4. Stir in dry ingredients until combines. Do not over beat.
5. Pour into cake tin and bake for 40 minutes.

I make a simple chocolate icing for on top. Take a 1/4 cup of butter and a few tbsp of cocoa and beat until smooth (you can do this by hand). Add icing sugar and milk as needed (about 2 cups icing sugar, and a few tbsp milk).

The recipe book has more instructions to make ice cream sandwiches with this recipe - looks delicious!

Chocolate Mousse, Hamburger Patties & Wedges

2010-02-02T19:34:00.002+10:00

Chocolate mousse is a favorite around here. I usually make it once a year, for a special dinner. Hubby is not a huge fan of sweets, so I offer to make any dessert he might like, and he usually picks this one. I cannot argue - this is right up there. And the possibilities of chocolate mousse being used with other desserts is endless. This keeps well in the fridge, and so it's also a great dessert if you need to make something ahead of time. Since you use separated eggs in this recipe, I sometimes also time it with making a pavlova - another great recipe to make ahead of time, and it will also keep for a good few days in a sealed container (without the fruit and whipped cream added on top).

For our "special" Christmas dinner, with just the two of us, I made hamburgers (ha! So Christmas-y, but you'd understand, if you had to cook a turkey, veggies, buns, etc, that hamburgers are much more comfortable to do in 30 degree heat if you live in Oz). And for dessert, Chocolate Mousse, from Betty Crocker. I've made it in the past with nice chocolate decorations, but this year it was kept very simple.

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For the Hamburger patties, I've worked out this recipe through a little trial and error, which we like the best:

Ingredients:
500g ground beef
1 egg
1-2 piece(s) of bread, see how the consistency of the mix is before you add more
onion, diced
garlic, crushed
1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt & pepper
(you could also add Italian herbs too)

Method:
Moisten bread with water, and squeeze out excess. Mush between fingers so there are no large lumps (I have a soggy bread phobia, and cannot stand to see/taste noticeable lumps). Dice onion and garlic and add everything into a large bowl. Add all other ingredients, approximate measurements. Blend everything together with your hands, and shape into 4 balls. Flatten balls into patties. I always make them a little larger than I would want, since they tend to shrink a little when you cook them. BBQ patties with some cheese on top, using BBQ sauce to taste. Makes 4 large patties.

For a special burger, try the Paul Newman Southwest style dressing on your burger - amazing!

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Ingredients:
potatoes
oil
herbs
garlic
(mustard powder, paprika, chicken salt, etc)

Method:
Wash potatoes thoroughly, and chop into wedges. The smaller, the better. Pat potatoes dry with paper towel. The drier, the better. Put potatoes into a bowl, and add oil to the bowl to coat the potaoes. Add spices as you see fit. I like crushed garlic, Italian herbs and rosemary. But you can add whatever you want. I sometimes add a little mustard powder, paprika, etc....It's best to keep a thin layer, if possible. Maybe do two separate batches in the oven, as needed. Bake at 425º for about 30 mins.

Oreo Truffles

2010-01-24T16:30:00.002+10:00

For some reason, I can't get organized enough to post Christmas photos on time, yet, I'm a few weeks early for Valentine's day...

But, I've had a little more free time lately, so it's allowed me to try out a few new recipes, and scrounge up some ideas for Valentine's Day. I found this recipe from one of my favorite sites, Bakerella. She's so creative, I love it! These are called Oreo Truffles!! And way too irresistible for my own good. These are seriously amazing.

I sized the recipe down, since a lot of her measurements are done by "one package of..." and of course, not every country has the same size packaging for food items.

I used an Australian sleeve of Oreos, which is about 12 or 13 (I think Hubby ate a few before I was finished, so I don't know exactly how many cookies I used, but it's such a simple recipe, just feel it out as you go...)

Ingredients:
10 or so Oreo cookies, separated
Icing from the separated Oreos
Cream Cheese, about a 1/4 of a 250g block (so, about 1/4cup, or 62g, or 2 oz)
White, Milk, or Dark chocolate

Method:
1. Allow cream cheese to soften to room temperature.
2. Separate cookies into two bowls. Make sure cookies are room temperature; they separate a lot easier.
3. Mash cookie halves with a rolling pin or process with a food processor.
4. Mash cream cheese together with oreo icing.
5. Mash both mixtures together to form a consistent paste.
6. Roll into small, bite size balls. These are quite rich, so the smaller the better, really.
7. Freeze, or cool in the fridge.
8. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or heatproof bowl, by sitting in water just off the boil. Stir constantly until the chocolate has melted. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate or get any water in it, or it will become lumpy. To coat rolled balls in chocolate, I drop one ball in at a time, and lift it out against the edge of the bowl to try and limit excess chocolate. Place coated balls on a wax paper lined tray. White chocolate seems to not stick as easily, or get as runny as milk or dark chocolate, so try and work quickly. But you can always re-melt.
9. Sprinkle with crushed oreos, or whatever else you can think of. I used score bits, regular sanding sugars, and other sprinkles. Cool in the fridge or freezer when you're done. This recipe makes about 24 balls.

To cover the balls in chocolate takes a bit of practice, but it's not a huge undertaking. I drop the balls into my melted chocolate and either use small spoons or forks to lift out the balls, tilting the spoon at an angle against the edge of the bowl to allow as much excess chocolate to drip off as possible. This time around I used fondue forks, since they have a small wide base to allow the excess chocolate to drip off, and are small enough not to leave marks. That worked really well. Except when I would lose balance, and drop the balls. I suppose you could just stab the balls (why didn't I think of that?).

My Little Monsters

2010-01-22T16:18:00.007+10:00

Ok, none of these little guys are actually mine, but I sure do love them! The dogs belong to friends of ours, and the cat is my in-laws, but it visits us every day, and I love him like he was mine. He's a feisty little guy, but, like I always tell him, even after he's bitten me, "Seti, you're too cute to hate". (Seti is named after a pharoh, I think Ramses' II dad...and he sure acts like it.)

(I'm so getting into this photo editing process of making them look like they were taken in the 70's, and sat in a box until now. I know it seems crazy, since today's cameras take AMAZING photos, and processing is done so much better, but there is a comforting, nostalgic feel to these, and they work so well with photos that don't have time references - ie, there isn't a 2010 model ford mustang in the background).

But really, it can't get cuter than Chester & Poppy...

(These photos, of course, were not edited to look like they came from the 70's. I couldn't bare to touch the green of the grass. I can't believe the colour is so vibrant on the grass - I didn't edit these photos at all, other than to add a border, and darken the edges a little)

Christmas

2010-01-21T13:21:00.007+10:00

This is my long overdue Christmas post, and now since it's so late, it's been condensed. I'll try to share my favorite recipes in time for next year.

So, I did do some baking this year, which was unexpected. I had been working so much, I didn't think I would have any time to. I didn't make all the regulars, but I think I did most of them. I missed out on Nanaimo Bars and Shortbread...but I have a million sugar cookies left over. I did two batches because it took that many tries to get a hang of decorating with royal icing. My first attempts were pretty ugly - but these are getting there...

Though I still have containers full of sugar cookies in my fridge.

I did a favorite of Hubby's - chocolate covered pretzles. Those take forever, but they are so good! I crushed up some Werther's Originals and candy canes to sprinkle on top.

I did a rocky road fudge (the Canadian version) and chocolate marshmallows too. The marshmallows were so good! Rocky Road in Australia means something awful - they add these weird red jelly ju-jube bits to the peanuts and marshmallow. It's gross. It makes Rocky Road more suitable for kids instead of adults, in my mind at least.

I made my Grandmother's Jam-Jam recipe too, and we are still enjoying those as well. They keep really well, and seem to get better with age. The jam keeps them nice and moist. I changed it up, and added some sanding sugar for decoration. These are quite small - bite sized, but I did plain regular sized ones as well.

I made buttertarts too, and those were a hit, surprisingly. I love them, even though I'm usually not a fan of raisins in baking, along with a lot of other people. I wasn't sure if the Australians would like these, but most said these were their favorite item. I just came across this blog post! Perfect! And now these are on my list...

Next year I am going to bake smaller batches of everything, or give more away. I gave some away for gifts, but still ended up with too much left over. I say this every year though. Here's an example of the baskets I made up:

I also decorated a tree, which was an unexpected activity too. First off, we don't have many decorations, as they are still in Canada, and we also didn't have a fake tree. They are pretty expensive out here. I ended up getting a coupon in the mail for $40 off if you spend $100, AND I waited so long to get decorations, everything was 50% off! I barely managed to spend the hundred bucks, but ended up with a 6' tree, lights, and decorations galore! It wasn't up for that long, but next year I will be ahead of the game.

We had a nice family dinner on Christmas Eve, and spent time together at the beach on Christmas Day. We played lots of games over the holidays and had a great time relaxing. As usual, it goes really fast though, and I didn't feel like we had much of a holiday at all. Christmas is so different here. It's still a great time, I just miss home the most at Christmas.

We also had a small showing of homemade fireworks :)

One Year

2010-01-15T15:26:00.004+10:00

Well, it's been almost a year. It's been 8,756 hours since I was sitting in a ditch with ants crawling down my pants, an ankle the size of a softball, waiting for an ambulance to make its way through the gridlock caused by another entirely more awful disaster of car accidents and a hit and run. That day was a disaster, and so much moreso for many others who lost loved ones in all that chaos. There will be some people remembering today as an anniversary of the day they lost those they loved most. A man lost two of his daughters in a terrible car accident. Another man died in a fiery head-on collision after speeding away from the hit-and-run he just committed. I still have the newspaper from the day after.

So I know I don't have much to complain about, and I know I have a lot to be grateful for, but this has not been an easy year. I'm still mad about it sometimes. I know there is no one to be mad at but myself, and...I guess I am mad at myself. This year has SUCKED! There has been good times, but a lot of struggles too. I am still working on getting myself back to normal, or at least a version of normal that I can live with. I NEVER would have thought a broken ankle could be such a pain in the butt...I hate thinking about how long it will take to be able to run, or jog, or swim in the waves again. It's depressing. So, moving on...instead I think I will share some of the things I have learned this year:

* I love my husband so much! I don't know how he took such good care of me for so long! I was a disaster at first. I fell over in the shower, I fell over on stairs, I had a million dr's appointments, I needed medication all the time, he had to bring me food and water, but we couldn't let it sit out because there were ants all over the place, so I was constantly calling on him. He brought me food and pills and cold drinks when I would go next door to sit in the air conditioning, he took such good care of me!

*Nurses are a special breed of people. I couldn't do it. The people I had to share a room with in the hospital were awful to the nurses, and yet they were still sympathetic and helpful (except one, but I will give her the benefit of the doubt, and say she was just having a really bad day). That takes strength and character. I admire them so much for the work they do, so much of it thankless.

*Patience. But I still need more of it. Life on crutches is not simple. Everything you planned to do gets put on hold, and the rest of it takes 5 times longer. Not enough of the house cleaning gets done. But not because I didn't have a husband who was trying...because taking care of someone else completely, taking care of yourself, and taking care of a household and working is not easy. Also the fact that we live so close to the ocean, and the sea spray made the floor too slippery for me to use crutches inside, so we used a wheelchair which made dirt tracks all over the floor. The floor was a constant mess of a dirty salty film, and dirty floors make me insane. I really learned to just live with what I had to live with. Sometimes you have to shut off the neurotic part of your brain if you don't want to have a meltdown. I'm still working on shutting that part off more often.

* Sympathy. I think I've always had a good amount of it, but now I truly know how hard some injuries can be. Now I know the world is not built to accommodate people in wheelchairs, or other physical disabilities. Now I know how healthy people actually view a person who is slow or cumbersome. They are annoyed and get easily frustrated. I suppose this falls under patience as well. I will never lose my cool around someone who is slow or cumbersome. Not all injuries are visibly obvious, and I sure got looks and a few comments from people who didn't think I needed a wheelchair, and from drivers who think I should run to get out of their way.

*God takes care of His children. I always knew this, but it was very cool to see it confirmed so many times. First because of the financial crisis, I lost my job. It then turned out to be ok, since I couldn't work anyway - I was in way too much pain to sit still for long, let alone concentrate on anything remotely needing concentration. So, that means I earned no money for over 6 months, and eventually made way less than half of what I earned the year before. But guess what, we never were left needing a thing. Not once. We couldn't go out, so spending money was not a temptation, but losing out on so much income was not the worst thing ever, and in fact a lesser worry than I would have thought. Hubby was still working, and we always had enough. We both work contract from home, so it's not a secure life by any means, but anytime I started to get concerned, a job always came through. I couldn't have broke my leg at a better time. I know there are lower lows than mine, and I am so grateful that we've come out of this with as much security as we did. I don't believe a sign of God's provision is necessarily money (Matthew 19:16-24). I didn't come out of this with a savings account, nor did I ask for one - I came out of this with a confidence in how God provides for us, which is what I asked for. I came out of this realizing how trivial so many of my worries are (Matthew 6:25-43). A good quote I came across:

We can't expect to receive if our purpose in asking is to make our rebellion more comfortable.

*Old people are awesome! I've met so many elderly people from all my visits to the hospital this past year, and I love them! They are so interesting, and friendly, and sure do put up with a lot. People are rude and impatient with them, yet they soldier on. Family who live near them rarely see them, yet they tell me they understand, and are just grateful for any visits they get. They deserve so much more from us.

I think it's important to look back and see what you can take out of a bad situation. I think it's also ok to be upset about a bad situation too. It's just important you don't linger there too often for too long.

I might as well give an update now. I am still going to physio, now once every 3 weeks, since progress is so slow. But, I am starting to jump again, and just taking it REALLY slow this time. I am doing small hops, starting with 10, increasing every few days, among other more dynamic exercises. I am still gaining slightly more flexibility, but it's still not good. I still have trouble walking up and down hills and stairs. I am still on meds for nerve pain. I am still tired a lot, and still unable to concentrate and remember things as well as I used to. I have another nerve specialist appointment in April, and I will probably get another block done. I have a lot less pain though, which is SO fantastic! It seems the healing process has been directly affected by the nerve problems, and once those settled down, I noticed improvements almost immediately. But this took months to happen, and so things might never get back to normal. I still don't know. I am still having problems with infection on my bad foot, and I have a toenail which just will not heal. I cannot wear shoes, since it hurts too much. So, I think I need to suck it up, and fork out the bucks to see a podiatrist, otherwise I might end up needing another surgery, my GP told me.

Fun times, right?....but I went for my first REAL swim last week. It was amazing! I was able to kick my legs, and it was sore, but so good! A huge milestone. It's been a year since I was able to SWIM! And we found the best place to go too. No waves, no current, hopefully no sharks either.

I hope this year will be a good one. I plan to get back into shape, and lose some more weight. I plan to do a lot of swimming, and spend a lot of time with my family. We're taking a few vacations this year, we hope, and trying new things too. I hope to make up for the last 8760 hours :)

Halloween Cupcakes

2010-01-10T23:54:00.000+10:00

I know this is WAY out of sync with the holidays that are on everyone's mind at the moment (either we're reminiscing about Christmas and why we thought it was ok to eat so much, or we're looking forward to Cinnamon Hearts, vowing that that will be enough to tide us over until all the Easter chocolate comes), but I didn't have a chance to post this until now...I suppose I could have saved it for next Halloween...

I was asked to bring some cupcakes to a Halloween party we attended in October, so I thought I would get into it, and try something a little more involved (though, quite simple still).

I used my regular favorite cake recipes, and my regular buttercream icing recipe as well. But this time I added some decorations too. I used my husbands idea for a cupcake graveyard when my ideas turned out to be a little too difficult (I was going to do faces of the characters from the Nightmare Before Christmas). This was the first time I had ever used royal icing, and let's just say I don't have the piping skills to pay the bills. But I tried a few things out, and some turned out kinda cool, but the simplicity of the gravestones worked and looked the best.

But going with the graveyard theme, I didn't have to exercise too much skill. I made two colours of royal icing, and piped my outlines into some baking paper. I found that the black icing didn't stick as much as the white. But they both were quite brittle, and I broke a few crosses off the tops. At least they were still usable without the crosses.

For the cupcake icing I did the flavours Vanilla, Coconut and Chocolate buttercream. I dyed some shredded coconut green, to look like grass, and rolled some cupcakes in it for an established grave look. For the fresh graves, I used chocolate icing and meant to use dark brown sanding sugar sprinkles to look like dirt, but I forgot them at home. And because there is always someone who won't eat anything complicated, plain vanilla icing.

I also dyed some chocolate black and made some crows, or ravens, to sit on some of the graves. I melted some chocolate chips in a double boiler, and added a few drops of black gel dye, which works so fantastically! I've now finally learned that the gel dye slowly gets deeper the longer you let it sit, so add a drop or two, and leave it for 5 minutes or so to darken up. I then put the chocolate into a small baggie, and snipped off a small corner, and filled my new chocolate bird moulds I got for my b-day. I also added a toothpick to each, so I could easily stand them in the cupcake. Except, I then forgot the ravens at home too!

For the display, I used a cute plastic mat I got from Ikea. I then used a tutorial for inspiration to make some creepy trees from the Folding Trees blog. I added some popsicle sticks for stability, since there is no way my trees would be able to stand on their own, and I wouldn't dare leave a candle near those floppy trees.

Overall, I really liked the look of this, and it sure was cheap to put together too.

My 30th Birthday

2010-01-07T14:57:00.000+10:00

I have been off and on about being concerned that I am now 30. I already have heaps of gray hair, but that started years ago, so I'm over it. I don't have kids yet, and I never wanted to be an old mom, but I have a little while yet before that's much of an issue. I don't have any real wrinkles...well, not any that I count as such. Overall, I don't think it really bothers me to get older. What bothers me is feeling old. And this year has made me feel really old. Wheelchairs, hobbling around, lots of visits to the hospital, and on and on. I am really hoping 2010 is a much easier ride.

But, I did have a really great birthday! Hubby and I went away for a few days and nights to a beautiful apartment with spectacular views. We had people over for one of those days in celebration of our 30th birthday's. We spent time in the pool, in the ocean, eating and relaxing. It was so nice to get away. Here are some photos:

This year has been kind of rough, so this small break was really nice to have. I spent so much of my time in bed, or resting, then as soon as I was a little more back to normal, I spent ALL my time working, trying to catch up on the first half of the year. We need to take these kind of breaks more often, and this year we'll have a few chances for that, so I'm looking forward to those!

Here are some photos of some presents I got, of which I'm really excited about:

The Cupcake Courier:

Office-y things, which I LOVE. I love paper, organization, and metal rulers (this is one of those cool things that happened when someone listened to an off-hand remark about how I needed a metal ruler longer than 30cm, so bought me a 60cm one!):
This thing is AWESOME! I use it to make the best sliced fried potatoes ever! And I've also been using it to finely chop onions for adding into hamburger patties, or soups, etc...
Vinyl:
Very cool vintage papers and cards:
A box of fun treats from my best pal back in Canada:
Vintage nighty:
Handmade potholders and towel, from my Grandma:
Decorating Sprinkles:

Baking cups:
Cookie cutters:
Chocolate molds:
I also got a beautiful sheet set, some PJ's and other goodies, like chocolate (Reece's!!), from home. People also brought me homemade baking too. It was a really nice birthday.

Being 30 feels no different than being 29, or 31, I'm sure. So I'm looking forward to spending this year getting older, but not feeling older.

House Warming

2009-12-31T12:07:00.001+10:00

ok, I think I am getting back on the blog wagon, and I hope things are a little more relaxed around here, so I can spend some time keeping this thing up to date! So, here is the post I've been meaning to do about cute home ware/housewarming gifts...

I know most have come across hard times lately. It's been a real rough 12 months for a lot of people. Having a job in the building industry has been difficult for me. But that doesn't mean gift giving needs to suffer too much. I love making gifts for people anyhow, so I suppose I haven't had to stray too far from my normal habits. I thought I'd share an example. I used a cookie-in-a-jar recipe from Bakerella, and put this together as a house warming gift:

I wish I had done some things in a different order, but I figured I needed to be sure the important ingredients fit in first, like the flour and sugar and chocolate. But it doesn't look the best to have the oats on top! Oh well, next time... I found this canister at K-Mart in Australia for 4 bucks too! You can add tons of different variations, like rice krispies, coconut, nuts, anything!

Then I made some labels to attach to the canister with instructions.

I also wanted to make up some general spice mixes too. I found these cute little screw-top jars from K-Mart in Australia for 2 bucks each. I went online and found an excellent site with tons of spice mixes to choose from. I picked out a few that used similar ingredients, so I didn't have to buy too many more spices than I already had on hand. I also made up some labels for these too.

I made my labels in Photoshop, and printed them onto sticker paper. Pretty simple. Except, I'm not a fan of how they turned out - the colours are too light. Other than that, these are really simple to make if you have some sort of computer editing skills. Just create your files, and print on sticker paper. I cut them out with a scalpel.

Wow, I'm slack!

2009-11-27T17:41:00.004+10:00

Oh my, it's been SO long since I have blogged, or even caught up on reading blogs. It's been a rough November! But there has also been a lot of good times too...I have so many entries in my head, too bad it's not possible to think them into existence.

Let's see...maybe I will post a few highlights, and then expand on them later (it's still really busy for me lately, working weekends too).

I took my laptop in to be repaired, and they had it for 3 weeks (I got it back 6 days ago), and the problem came back again! Grrrr. This was the number one reason for not blogging. Hubby and I had to do shift work with his computer. I worked days, he worked nights. So much fun :(

Friends of ours had a Halloween party, and I wanted to show you all our costumes. Not my finest work, but it was really fun. I also made some cute cupcakes for the party. Er, maybe not cute, more like morbid. I made a really quick and easy display thingy too. The party was also a housewarming, so I wanted to show you the gift I made for them. Everyone thought it was a cool idea, and so it seems I've passed the flame onto a few friends, and they are going to be doing them for Christmas gifts. I got the idea from a friend years ago, and I also came across a great blog tutorial for them too...I'll share soon...

I had my 30th birthday, and it's the birthday that keeps on giving. I got my first gift at the end of October, and keep getting them! There is still more in the mail, I am told. I will do a fun birthday present post once they all arrive. I got some really nice things this year :) Adam and I also managed to go away for my birthday weekend, and it was so lovely! You should see the place we stayed! (you will, one day)

News on the ankle front is so incredibly frustrating. I am still at physio, still taking the meds, and have now added tendon problems ontop of everything else. I've had to stop all unneccessary exercise. It's very frustrating. I have good days, but lately, most are bad (relative to a normal functioning ankle, but good compared to 8 months ago). I am hobbling again, and icing, and elevating, and everything I thought I was done with. I figured by now I would at least be able to go swimming, but no. Looks like this summer will be a write-off for me too. I hope to be better by March though, when my sister and bro-in-law come to visit. I'm doing my best...

I have lost 10 pounds in about 8 weeks. I also spent a week eating my left over birthday cake, so I can't say I've been overly strict with myself. But, I have lost the 10 pounds I gained while lying in bed for the first part of the year. And considering I can't exercise, I'm pretty proud of myself.

Work has been CRAZY! It's good though, since I have 6 months of wages to make up for, but gee, I am not used to working all day every day (weekends too). Should slow down again before Christmas. I am just glad that my sudden jump in work is allowing Adam and me to go to Hawaii in May! I was worried we'd be too poor still. Hopefully we can also get a car really soon...that's a whole other story.

So, that is my last month in a nut shell...I can't wait to start sharing again! Thanks for reading :)

Akkk!

2009-11-06T10:42:00.002+10:00

Well, it just keeps getting busier around here. My computer is in the shop, and has been for a week now. So, it might be a few more days yet, but I hope to get back to some regular posting soon! I still have a few in queue...

Bamboo Trellis

2009-10-30T11:54:00.002+10:00

Every time I do some sort of crafty-ish thing, I think, I should do a tutorial for my blog!, but then I start taking photos, and planning steps and wonder who else on earth would even want to make the odd random things I do? Plus, nothing I've done is all that complicated. As if someone couldn't figure it out for themselves...but, I have come across pillow cover tutorials too, and it can't get much simpler than covering a pillow...so, this may be completely ridiculous and silly and pointless and random, but here ya go...

This tutorial is for those who plant plants in small containers that need some structure in order to grow up, and not out.

Supplies:
Bamboo rods (about $6 for 6, I think, here in Oz)
Twine (about $10.00 for a million times more than you need)
Hand saw/power saw, whatever you feel more comfortable with
PVA glue or similar, optional
nails or screws, optional.

Method:
1. Mark & cut the bamboo horizontals to size. I have a 9" planter, and I allowed 2" overhang on either side of the verticals.

2. Optional step: Mark the profile of bamboo verticals onto the horizontals. I just did a rough half circle, the diameter of the verticals, which was about 1". No need to learn how to scribe anything properly. In fact, you don't even need to do this. I then used a belt sander to roughly round out those marks. You could use a hack saw, and roughly cut chunks out, maybe using sandpaper to smooth everything, but really, I only made these to fit tight because I had access to a huge mother belt sander, and it was easier than trying to clamp down a round rod of bamboo and use a jig saw (but you could also do that...but don't blame me when you cut your hand off)

3. Optional step: To secure the bamboo horizontals, you could easily nail or screw them to the verticals. I didn't do this, as my plant will surely not get that heavy. But, the twine will cover up a nail or screw nicely, so you might want to do this to make the twine wrapping that much easier. If you round out the horizontals, you could also place a nail or screw into the verticals to hang the horizontals on. That could be the easiest and quickest way to secure it.

4. Tie up your horizontals to the verticals with twine. I used a generous arm span length (like both arms outstretched from finger tips to finger tips +). I tried a few different ways to tie the horizontals, and I liked this way best: I started with a simple knot, and left a few inches excess. I held the knot to the back of the trellis, and began wrapping.

I wrapped 5 rounds on each sides of the intersections, and both diagonals.

On the last round, I tied a few more simple knots with the twine ends at the back of the trellis.

5. Once all intersections are wrapped in twine, cut off excess twine at the knots, and dab on a generous amount of glue to keep the knots secure, and to help keep the twine wrappings stay neatly in place. I used PVA wood glue and let it dry overnight.

6. Voila. Ram it into your planter, and then tie up your sorry little sprawling bougainvillea with some twine, and hope it starts to grow up, and not out :)

Tips:
*Bamboo rods can be found at probably any home depot / canadian tire / bunnings type place, in the garden section.
*Twine is probably overkill in this instance (it came in a HUGE length, for 10 bucks, and when will I ever use twine again?). You might just be able to use any type of string, like the stuff to tie up old school parcels for the mail, depending on how strong you need it, and how much you want to spend. But twine found in the garden store will most likely last outside for a good length of time, and it looks good - nice and chunky.

** Edit: This thing is still going strong, and supporting a now large bougainvillea. It's now July 2011.

Chicken & vegie sausage rolls

2009-10-27T22:59:00.001+10:00

This is another recipe from that magazine I picked up from our local grocery store, Coles. You can download or view the PDF here. So many good recipes in that pdf, we've made a few so far. This was another great one. I made this weeks ago, before I began my calorie counting, but it might be ok for a more restricted diet if you buy the lower fat puff pastry sheets...I'll have to check.

Chicken & vegie sausage rolls

Ingredients:
300g chicken mince
½ onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp sesame seeds

Method:
1 Preheat oven to 200°C or 180°C fan (about 400°F). Line two baking
trays with non-stick baking paper. Place the mince, onion,
garlic, carrot, zucchini and hoisin sauce into a large bowl.
Season with salt and pepper, and use clean hands to
thoroughly combine.

2 On a clean board, cut one pastry sheet in half. Lay ¼ of
the mixture along the centre of each piece, and roll pastry
over to enclose. Repeat with second pastry sheet. Brush
rolls with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cut each roll in half and place, seam side down, onto the
prepared trays. Bake for 25 mins, until golden brown.

Chili

2009-10-25T19:16:00.006+10:00

This is one of my favorite meals ever. I make it every so often, but since adding up all the nutrition info, I am going to be making it a lot more. For my calorie counting diet (and the limited knowledge I have), this is a good ratio of taste, fibre, feeling full, and calories.

Chili
1 pkg Chili seasoning (I use pre-packaged Old El Paso brand, or make my own, see below)
1 can baked beans, I love Heinz BBQ flavour (400g can)
1 can diced tomatoes (400g can)
1 can kidney beans, drained (420g can)
1 can chick peas, drained (400g can)
ground beef, cooked. (200-300g)
onion, diced
garlic, crushed

1. Fry up the ground beef, onion and garlic until done.
2. Meanwhile, start to heat up diced tomatoes, kidney beans, chick peas, baked beans and spices.
3. Add meat, and continue to heat over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Heat up as long as you want to, really, just don't burn it!
4. Serve and enjoy!

Sometimes we'll have tortilla chips to dip in the chili (but I can't for a while - the whole diet thing).

There are lots of chili seasoning mixture recipes online, but I like this one:

Chili Seasoning
1 tbsp chili powder (you may want to vary this, depending on how hot your chili powder is)
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tbsp seasoning salt
2 tsp ground cumin

Use about 1/2 of this mixture for the recipe above.

Apple Crisp...

2009-10-16T00:08:00.004+10:00

...with strawberries!

This is one of my favorites ever. And the leftovers are so good too! I had mine with some vanilla flavoured yogurt. I added about 150g (1/2 cup?) of strawberries to this recipe too.

Here is the original recipe, and probably a lot of other good ones. I'm a fan of my Betty Crocker cookbooks, and it's nice to see at lot of those recipes online.

Ingredients:
4 medium tart cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cream or Ice cream, if desired

Method:
1. Heat oven to 375ºF. Grease bottom and sides of 8-inch square pan with shortening.
2. Spread apples in pan. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients except cream until well mixed; sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with cream.

Once a week

2009-10-13T13:16:00.002+10:00

I try for an entry at least once a week. Normally, that's no problem. I've had a busy week, and it's turning into another busy week, so it seems it has been a problem. I have like 4 entries in the pipeline, but either I haven't finished uploading photos, or I haven't finished typing everything out. Stay tuned, I will be back soon!

Another Copy Cat!

2009-10-05T01:21:00.006+10:00

**update: Yippeeeee! They were shut down!**

Wow, I am really beginning to hate ETSY, and other forms of handmade selling which allow anonymous rip-offs to feel free to sell their stolen goods. Another person who I have been following in blogland, and whose patterns I LOVE, is being completely ripped off on ETSY (to see the first incident I came across, here is an old post).

Please, avoid JustPatternsForYou! They are selling patterns made by other obviously more creative folk who originally created these patterns either for free, or were designed to be used, and not re-sold by someone else! This is what is so sad about the internet and copyright issues. I'm so completely appalled that people will even do this. I can't imagine being so completely uncreative, and just wanting to jump onto the handmade bandwagon to make a quick buck. It's the antithesis of creativity.

I have never understood copy-cats. I remember the first time I really came across one. I was in grade 4, and this one girl copied everything her best friend did. Even then I thought it was weird. Well, she continued to do this, even as her friends changed all the way through to highschool. I couldn't stand to be near her. She screamed of needing approval. The desperation was sickening, and this is the same thing, but worse, since they are outright lying, and it's hard to see their try-hardness since you don't have their best friend to compare them to.

It makes me angry, as you might be able to tell ;P

Noosa

2009-10-05T00:06:00.004+10:00

I totally forgot to post these. We went to Noosa a few weeks ago to meet up with some family friends from Canada. Their son moved out here and married an Aussie, like me (except he married and girl, and I married a boy, teehee). Anyhow it was a beautiful afternoon, and I haven't been to Noosa in almost a year now, so it was such a nice treat for me.

Hubby and I are into vintage photos, and lately, I've been really diggin' the whole slide feel. I'm sure my parents generation will cringe when they look at these. Here I have a fairly decent digital SLR camera, and I am using photoshop to blur and discolour the photos. But I love the feel of them. And heck, I'm not too young to not have photos of me in slide format either, so I suppose these remind me of looking through old albums.

I'm not going to give away all my tricks, mainly because I'm sure there is a better way to get this look, and there is definitely more that can be done, like sun spots on the lens, and such, but basically to get this look, you just really need to up the red and blue levels, usually more red than blue. Then you can add things like a border, scratches and some blur. Landscape photos obviously work the best, since they are so timeless.

Nerve Block, Part II

2009-09-30T22:12:00.000+10:00

I went back to the pain clinic today and received the next nerve block. My previous one has worked fairly well, and it's been a lot nicer to live without the pain. I still get it, shooting pains, stabbing pains, whatever you want to call them. They feel like someone is pushing a pin into you, or you're standing on an ant hill, and the little buggers mad about it. You can't not jerk from the pain. It's sudden, but then it goes away, usually fairly quickly too, which is good. (Here is a page I look at all the time, to see what is going on in my foot.)

The nerve block I got today was a Radiofrequency Nerve Ablation. It was actually kind of funny (to me anyhow). Those squeamish about needles, skip this paragraph. The Dr. was kind and first injected me with a little bit of anesthetic. I was sitting on the bed with my left foot (the bad one) laying on the bed, with the inside of my ankle facing up. The nerve I am having trouble with branches off just beside that little ankle bone bump everyone has. You know, the bone that always gets cut on the chain of your bicycle when you're a kid. So I'm in fairly close watching distance. Needles do not bother me. In fact, I am quite interested to watch and see how everything is done. I think people who are scared of needles don't realize how shallow most of them go in you. This nerve branch is surprisingly close to the surface. Anyhoo, so then the nerve block starts. As far as I know, another needle of sorts is pushed in, and that is connected to the radio machine thingy by wires. Boy, this Dr. was accurate! I was watching him inject this second needle, and almost instantly he hit the nerve branch. It was like a tingling, spreading through my foot. It felt like I could feel every little branch come alive, and the tingling just radiated from my ankle to my toes. It was uncomfortable, but interesting, amusing. He then turned on the machine, and my whole body began pulsing, from my foot, to my leg, which was then just shaking my whole body! It was so funny! I'm sitting on the bed, looking like I am on some sort of amusement park ride! I was laughing my head off. I have no idea how the needle stayed in. I was really moving.

It was such a weird sensation, pulsing through my nerves. And then my foot started to go numb, as the pulsing calmed down. I was physically trying to hold my leg on the table, but it didn't work in the slightest, I was bouncing around like crazy. It reminds me of those things that used to be on those infomercials: Dr. Ho's something-or-others. These pads that you place on muscles, and it causes them to contract involuntarily. I remember a friend had them, and we used to put them on our arms, and our hands would turn into claws, and go all creepy. We thought it was hilarious. They also used to put those things on me when I had my slipped discs in my back, but they didn't work quite so hilariously.

But, my foot stayed relatively numb, like it was asleep, for probably a good hour or so. I had a bunch of errands to run, so I'm not really sure. I'm a bit sore now, and a little bit swollen too, from the injection site, but for the most part, so far so good. Any numbness is a welcome trade-off if it means I can get back to a normal life again. The Dr. recommended I keep on my meds for another 6 months at least, when I will see him again. But I am allowed to cut back as much as I can, which I am SO looking forward to.

The side effects are not so great. As well as most of the listed side effects, I think I now realize what it's like to have attention deficit disorder or something. I have such a problem focusing, remembering, learning for that matter. Even when I focus on staying focused, I somehow can't keep it up for long. It's so weird. I really try hard to focus, but I can't. It's like my eyes start wandering without my brain noticing. I am still working, but I really have to concentrate, and double check my work meticulously. So far so good on that front too, though. I can usually pull it all together, and at least I know what I am doing. I think if I had to retrain for a job, it might be another story.

Now, a good 14 hours on from the nerve block, I can feel some pain, but it's not too bad. More of a burning, and a rippling feeling. My toenail is getting better too, since the first nerve block. That seems to confirm that the nerve damage, or the original injury, has changed the physiology in my foot. I'm not entirely sure I understand how that can happen, but I'll have a look online. That's what the Dr's say. I'm still having trouble wearing shoes because of it, but at the same time the Dr. said I need to be especially careful since my nerves have been dulled, and I could easily do more damage because I don't feel the pain immediately.

And I have noticed that. I've been walking around, and suddenly realize I'm standing on some random item that fell on the floor, or like a pebble or something, and all of the sudden the pain hits, but by then it's too late, so it sticks around for a while. I'm so protective of my foot too. You should see me dance around when there are people who need to get by me, or when someone steps over you to say get to their seat in a movie theatre. I have a fear of a stranger accidentally causing me immense pain, and I won't be able to hide that fact. It would make them feel far worse than they need to, and I would feel like I am some sort of drama queen!

Phew, enough foot talk....Back to the ankle (heehee). I'll be quick. Still on a no-exercise regime because of the tissue in my heel/ankle. I talked to my physio last time, and she better explained what is happening, but I'm still not fully clear. But basically, since I haven't had complete range of motion in my foot since Jan 15, the tissue behind the tendon at the back of my ankle, above my heel is pinching, and therefore very inflamed. Supposedly this gets worse the longer you ignore it, and hence the no exercise regime. This needs to clear up before I can get back to jumping rope. It's actually quite painful too; sometimes I wake up at night from it. But it's nothing in comparison to nerve damage.

It's just so frustrating to hit so many road blocks. Everyone I talk to is amazed I am still having this much trouble. I am too. But, on the bright side, I am still allowed to stretch and do my knee-to-wall exercises. And I am getting a fairly consistent 7-9 cms, which is so good! I have about 8 cm to go, to be the same as my good leg. But even where things are now I am able to walk pretty normally down stairs, and down hills now. I have no limp most of the time too.

I'm in a relatively good place... it could be better (the drugs, the no exercise thing), but at least I am functioning.

Slice & Bake Cookies

2009-09-27T21:25:00.001+10:00

Ok, last one for a while. I need to quit baking sweets. I was making up for lost time, but it's too much! (I may do something Halloween-y though, and oh yeah, a certain someone has a birthday next week...maybe I won't get to take a break after all...then it's Christmas too!...)

These were decent, but by far best straight out of the oven. I'm sure freezing would work well too. I refrigerated half the dough for a few days, and baked it a few days after the first. I like how you can customize the recipe yourself, and they give you a few different options in the book (but I think I'll leave their suggestions for you to find out).

This photo is from the cookbook:

Ingredients:
(from WW "cupcakes cheesecakes cookies" recipe book)

250g butter, softened
1 1/4 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup cornflour
2 tbsp milk
mini M&M's

Method:
Beat butter, sifted icing sugar, and vanilla in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in flours and M&M's, in two batches, then add the milk.

Divide the mixture in half. Wrap each log in baking paper; refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan-forced) / 325°F. Line with trays baking paper.

Cut logs into 1cm slices and place on trays. Bake about 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

blogs galore

2009-09-25T00:41:00.003+10:00

PS. I'm starting another new blog (I know, I know! For those of you who were with me years ago, when it all began, I have abandoned my ORIGINAL blog, and have kind of spit that one in two). This one will be more...in depth, possibly some might say opinionated? I just want somewhere to blabber a bit more. I want to keep this blog more about creative things, and about lighthearted, or broken legged, life stuff...and have the other blog with more social commentary type stuff. Come on over, if you feel like it, and leave your thoughts. I want to have more discussions with people. I love learning how and why we think the things we do.

It's called Along The Roads...

Dust Storm

2009-09-24T18:27:00.004+10:00

Whew, it's dusty! You can't even see Mt. Coolum!

I was having a little trouble breathing, not terrible, but not all that comfortable. I am still just trying not to cough, since when it starts, it won't end. And I need to renew my asthma inhaler too. It ran out after this little freak storm (supposedly there hasn't been one like this in 50 years). Here are a few photos, some 'before' and 'after' shots ...

The whole house was open, since it was quite hot that day, but we did close everything up after it hit us. You could see it coming, slowly, for hours. I was busy sewing, and didn't notice it right away, so we got plenty inside. It wasn't blowing either. It was very calm and still; very eerie. I suddenly noticed I could taste and smell it, and so I went to sit and relax, since I didn't want an asthma attack or something. It got quite hard to breathe for a while, and we shut all the windows and doors, and Adam went around the house spraying water from a spray bottle to try and capture the particles and get them out of the air. That kind of did seem to help. Then, once I knew I wasn't going to get worse, I mopped the freshly mopped from the day before floor, and it was so gross! Within hours you could feel that I had to do it again. I still need to go dust and wipe everything down yet. Luckily, I didn't have laundry out! We've had some really dusty days in the past, with some wind bringing us all the "top soil" (red dust) from the outback, but nothing like this, where the air was saturated by particles so small, you couldn't see them.

And this is what our floor turned into! I even mopped the day before the storm hit! And I still need another pass at it, it feels so gritty. There is also dust residue on everything. And of course, our apartment is entirely white. Lucky me.

Fruity Cordial*

2009-09-20T10:48:00.004+10:00

I picked up this free magazine from our local grocery store, Coles (you can get a pdf copy here). And inside they had just what I was looking for: fruit concentrate syrup. I've looked a few times online for something fruity to make margaritas with, but this was simpler than just about anything I found, and just perfect. Especially since I was in the mood for a nice roof-top drink when we went to see the fireworks from last weekend.

If you don't want the whole magazine, then click on the image below, and it should be large enough to read the instructions:

I didn't have any honeydew (or mint) so I used watermelon, and did another batch with strawberries and kiwis. So simple, so good! I didn't really measure the fruit content, since you are adding the syrup to your drinks to taste anyhow. These were both really nice with pineapple juice, crushed ice and tequila. Not really a true margarita, but I'm no connoisseur. Or have it with soda water - it's like making your own gourmet pop** (oxymoron, I know).

*Translations for North Americans: cordial is a concentrated drink you add to water. Similar to the frozen concentrates we're used to, but the ones here in Oz are usually liquid room temperature versions of kool-aid. They are for kids, and disgusting. Cottees makes those. I hate all their products - they're terrible. There are a few nice cordials by Bickfords, like iced tea and lime, etc...

**Translations for Australians (**edit/ and Americans): pop is soft drink / soda, though I thought most of the aussies knew this... I asked for some orange pop the other day from KFC, and the girl had no idea, NONE, of what I was talking about. But I couldn't think of another word to describe what I wanted...I eventually just said "the orange drink". It's amazing how many misunderstandings there are between "western", english speaking countries. One day I will do a blog post about those...

Wagon Wheels

2009-09-18T21:34:00.005+10:00

This is another recipe from Women's Weekly cupcakes cheesecakes cookies recipe book. I'm all about this book right now.

Ingredients:
125g butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cup self raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder

marshmallows
jam (raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, whatever...)
375g semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:
1. Beat together butter, sugar and egg. Sift in flour and cocoa, and stir until uniform.
2. Roll out dough to 3mm thick between sheets of baking paper, and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) or 350°F, and line sheets with baking paper
4. Cut rounds from dough. I used a small cup (about 7cm across, which was the same size the book calls for) since I didn't have a round cookie cutter, but I think these ended up being too big. Next time I will use a much smaller cookie cutters.
5. Bake for 12 minutes, and cool on racks.
6. Cut marshmallows unto smaller pieces (or use mini marshmallows), and place onto bottom side of half the cookies you baked. Bake for a further 2 minutes to soften the marshmallows, but watch them to make sure they don't burn.

7. Spread jam onto the other half of the cookies, bottom side up, and press together with the marshmallow side of the other cookies.

8. Melt chocolate in a double boiler and possibly add some vegetable oil to keep chocolate spreadable. I might try these next time without adding oil, as I found the chocolate didn't ever set, and so you always have chocolate on your fingers when you eat one.
9. Coat the cookies with chocolate. Now, do this however you see fit, as it makes quite a mess. The book says to dip into a bowl of chocolate, but I didn't see how that would be all that neat. I laid all the cookies down on baking paper on a cookie sheet, and spread spoonfuls of chocolate on one side, trying to coat the edges as well. I then laid a sheet of baking paper overtop of the chcolate, and then rested another cookie sheet ontop. Then I flipped the whole thing over, and coated what used to be the bottom of the sandwiches with chocolate. I let them set in the fridge, and then froze them. I guess using your fingers and dipping them into a bowl might work...seemed to slippery for me...

Love Hubby's grease coated hands, dirty fingernail shot! I didn't even notice when I took the photo!

Riverfire 2009

2009-09-16T19:00:00.010+10:00

We went again this year to Riverfire, the Brisbane celebration of the river that meanders it's annoying way through the city (there are MANY bridges in Bris. Vancouverites, you have an idea what that might be like). We went last year too, but the people and traffic were insane, not to mention parking! And it was freezing cold! This year was gorgeous. No people, no traffic, and margaritas on the roof deck of our friends' place. It was lots of fun to see everything from this viewpoint, and kind of exciting to photograph. Though I had barely 5 minutes to set up, and therefore my tripod ended up being a little shaky, which you can see in some photos.

Here's the loot I took home with me:

(Below: this was the F1-11 Dump & Burn over the city, over-layed into one photo. I didn't know from where the F1-11's were coming, or to where they were going, so my shutter speed was only a few seconds, in case I needed to reposition the camera. It would have been nice to get one shot though)

Strawberry Spinach Salad

2009-09-12T23:28:00.002+10:00

A favorite summer salad of mine is Strawberry Spinach Salad...with poppyseed dressing...which we don't have here in Australia. Then the next best thing would be with a raspberry vinaigrette, but I haven't seen that out here either...(I don't know that I have even looked though). My mom has made this salad for a good few years now, and we all love it. But it seems adding strawberries to salads must be a Canadian thing...all our Aussie friends and family who visited Canada a few months ago thought it a little strange, but once they tried it, they loved it. Funny, since I find people eat way more salads out here, and weird ones at that, than we do in Canada. I did a little googling, and found a suitable dressing recipe, and went to work...

Dressing Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 tbsp honey
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of berries.
optional: 1 scant tbsp Dijon mustard - OR LESS!
optional: poppy seeds

Salad Ingredients:
baby spinach
strawberries, chopped
red onion, chopped
nuts, such as almonds, or pecans, walnuts, whatever! Honey roasted, or plain, etc.

Method:
1. Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender.
2. Wash spinach. Wash and chop strawberries. Chop onions.
3. Toss spinach & onion with dressing just before serving, and top with strawberries and nuts.

Strawberry Spinach Salad; Potato Salad; Garden Salad:

Tips:
* I thought the dressing was just fab on its own without the dijon. I added a full tbsp, and wish I didn't. It was a little too strong. Maybe just regular mustard would have done the job too. Next time I would omit the mustard...but it does add a bit of tang.
* You can use raspberries in the dressing as well. The original recipe called for that, but I am not a huge fan (too many years working on the berry farm), and most berries cost an arm and a leg out here (except strawberries which are $0.99 a punnet-250g- right now!). Using frozen berries would work too.
*I added poppy seeds for the look, to remind me of that wonderful poppy seed dressing I don't get to have anymore.
* Be sure to toss the salad with dressing JUST before serving. Spinach gets soggy quick.

Break

2009-09-10T11:18:00.000+10:00

I have to take a break from recovery for a while. Seems my new found muscle strength is causing other problems. I've already taken two weeks off now. Two weeks ago at physio I got an ultrasound treatment and a massage. Same thing today too, and I will be going back next week for another treatment.

Tracey, my physiotherapist says it's normal, considering, but it's just too bad. I was excited to be getting back into exercising again. I'd like to get back into shape, and then some, but it's important to really go slowly. I don't know exactly what I am doing to my heel area, but she says it's better to let things settle down than risk another injury. What can I do? It's really frustrating. If it gets worse, I will need to be immobilized! I can't even casually point my toes, let alone do the heel raises and jump rope.

Seriously, who'd have thought a broken ankle would take this long to heal? It's consumed my entire year so far (except the first two weeks of Jan). When I think of it like that, it's beyond frustrating. Most of this year was spent lying in bed! It makes me want to scream and cry; this was my last year of my 20's, and I laid in bed. The remainder of the year has been spent trying to walk again, trying to find relief from nerve pain, and now, just trying to live normally. I have an ankle-related appointment of some sort just about every week. I do far more driving than I ever have, yet do far less recreational activities than ever. Uhhhhhggg!!!!

Christmas Wreath Cookies

2009-09-09T11:51:00.000+10:00

These looked SO fabulous in the book. See?

Tasted a little less so, but are still quite nice...(ie. I don't think there will be any left around long enough to make it to the garbage). I found them to be a little too crumbly. But I am a sucker for anything chocolate or lemon when it comes to desserts. I love the lemon icing, and if it were not for that, these cookies would be pretty boring. But they were fun to make, and the strong lemon flavour does make the bland cookie work. I would like a less crumbly cookie though...

ingredients:
3 cups self raising flour
125g butter
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

icing:
3 cups icing sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
-heat icing in a double boiler until pourable- (which I did not do, and just realized that right now, so no wonder my icing was so thick, even though I added another 3 tbsp of lemon juice! DUH!)

method:
1. Rub butter into flour.
2. Combine milk and sugar in saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add extract and cool for 5 minutes.
3. Combine flour, milk mixture and eggs together and knead until smooth.
4. Roll balls of dough into 13cm long pieces. Twist two pieces together to form a wreath.
5. Place wreathes on baking paper lined cookie sheets, and bake for about 15 minutes in a 350°F / 180°C oven (160°C fan-forced)
6. Drizzle lemon icing onto cookies and set at room temperature.

This is another recipe from Women's Weekly cupcakes cheesecakes cookies recipe book.

Nerve Block

2009-09-04T22:28:00.006+10:00

I finally had my pain clinic appointment on Monday. The Dr. was great, and sympathetic, and sorry that it took so long for me to get in. And I confirmed that the TWO previous referrals I had were never forwarded to the pain clinic at all. That means I waited months longer than I should have. And now that I know what it's like to be almost pain free, I realize how much pain I still had until Monday.

Anyhow, I got a nerve block! This one is only a small (?) one to tide me over until I get the real one. I was injected with a sort of anesthetic into the area where the main nerve that gets info from the side, and bottom of my foot. I believe it's called the medial plantar nerve (*edit: the medial plantar nerve comes from the tibial nerve, which is the main nerve that branches to your feet). He injected the general area, and within about 5 minutes I noticed the pain was gone (I now realize, it's not all gone, but mostly gone). This one will last from 3 to 6 months. He had a bit of trouble injecting me from all the scar tissue still in the area. Now this is all making sense to me. That same area of the injection site, is the same area my tibia was dislocated into, and pushing on, almost to the breaking point of my skin. No wonder there is scar tissue, and the nerve is angry.

Sometime soon I will be going back in for a radio scan (?) to find the exact location of the nerve, and then they will inject it directly. I can't wait.

This also means I should be able to get off the drugs, which would be fantastic. I take for granted that I don't need these meds normally. The side effects are not easy to get used to. He has also got me on a new anti-convulsant to help further with the nerve pain issues. This time I am on Gabapentin. It's similar to Lyrica, but I am not quite so dumb on it. I am having the dizzy and tiredness issues, and some slight problems with focusing. I was worried it would keep me from doing my work properly, but so far it hasn't. I have to up my dose tonight to 900mg from 600mg. That might push me over the edge. At least it's the weekend, and I have a few days to try and get a handle on things.

Another annoyance has been that for some time now (since I began physio), my toe/s have been infected on the sides of the toenail on my bad foot. The only thing I can think of is that I cut my nails too short, and because things are all messed up in my foot, it's super sensitive, and it's been reacting weirdly. This has been excruciating, stopping me from physio exercises properly, and making me terribly concerned about bumping or stubbing my toe. Even a slight bump into something, like a towel on the floor, causes an unreasonable amount of pain. But within minutes of the nerve block, that pain more or less disappeared, and I can now see the infections are lessening, and my toes are returning back to normal. I didn't even think the nerve block would help that.

Other things used to cause unreasonable pain as well. Like going barefoot (even inside), or putting on and taking off socks and shoes, washing my foot in the shower, sliding my foot along the floor, or even sliding my foot while in bed between the sheet and cover. It's ridiculous. Even the pattern etched into my Havaiana's bothers me, but it's better than going barefoot. Since the nerve block, all of those things have gotten so much better now.

The past week and half, I haven't really been doing physio since I am pinching something in my heel, and I am supposed to let it heal properly before continuing with some of my strength exercises. A few weeks back, they got me to start jumping rope. It's been going well, until this, but I hope to get back to normal exercises again soon.

So it's been a slower week (and a half) in physio progression, but a nice week when it comes to the nerve issues.

New Deck Plants

2009-08-31T23:43:00.000+10:00

I was promised by Husband that I would get all new plants once I got back on my feet since I allowed him to let every plant we had die while I was in bed (the broken ankle thing). Everything except the Phalaenopsis Orchid, which I got from my sister for my b-day last year. I did buy my orchid a new home though, since it was well and truly out growing the old one. Hopefully I get a bud stem soon...I'm losing hope for this year, but I might put it outside for night for a few weeks before it gets too hot. The cooler nights are supposed to promote a new stem, but I'm still learning about orchids...

Hubby was so busy taking care of me, himself, the house and working, I was not about to ask him to water my plants every day, and pick off the dead heads, and check for pests, and treat the one that already had pests. So, I let it go, and left the evidence as-is until a few weekends ago. I still had two geraniums somehow surviving last summer, and barely hanging on until now-winter. I dug them out, and re-potted them separately, and we'll see how they recover.

The most painful part of all this was finding the tags from when I originally bought all those plants. I don't even want to try and remember how much I spent back then. This time I took it well and truly easy. I picked two larger plants, one Coleus (which promises to turn red) and the other a white mini bougainvillea. Then I accented with red & white: white begonia and red dianthus.

They had almost no bedding plants at the nursery I went to, so those were the only red and white flowering plants they had. I have a thing for red & white, and rarely buy any other flowering plants of other colours. Mainly because I've only ever had small deck planters, and no garden to speak of, so I like to keep it simple, and I love RED!

I also bought strawberries...

Caramel Ginger Crunch Cookies

2009-08-29T00:56:00.002+10:00

I've been getting into trying new foods lately, not anything extreme, just not being scared to try something different. Sushi is the latest new thing for me. I've had it a few times over the years, but it's never been that great. Then we went out for sushi a while back, and loved it! Anyhow, I've also been trying new dessert ideas too, not just sticking to my regular "anything with chocolate is good enough" ideals. This recipe surprised me. It was way better than I thought it would be, and I will definitely put these on the list of cookies to make at Christmastime (if I can be bothered to bake in this heat). I'm kind of getting into ginger, and I should try some cooking with ginger one of these days...

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda for the Aussies)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup caster sugar
125g cold butter, chopped
1 egg
1 tsp golden syrup
2 tbsp finely chopped glacé ginger

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan forced) or 325°F and line cookie sheets with baking paper
2. Combine dry ingredients and butter with a processor until crumbly. Add egg, syrup & ginger and process until ingredients hold together, then knead until smooth.
3. Roll rounded spoonfuls of dough into balls and slightly flatten the tops.
4. Bake for 13 minutes. Place a caramel on top of each hot cookie and bake for a further 7 minutes, or until caramel has melted.

Tips:
The dough is strange (to me) in this recipe, and it's not something I am used to, but it worked out beautifully. I also don't have a food processor, so it took a little more muscle as I cut the butter into the mixture. I kneaded it until it was sticking together. It may have helped me to be living in some humidity. I bought Werther's Originals for the caramels, and was short by a quite a few, so I hit them once in the centre with the edge of my marble rolling pin, and they almost all broke fairly neatly in half. KEEP THE WRAPPERS ON if you do this! I tried once without, and there ended up being shards of caramel all over my floor, which soon was a mess of sticky goo (because of the humidity here).

This recipe comes from the Women's Weekly cupcakes cheesecakes cookies cookbook.

Creamy Vegetable Pasta

2009-08-26T22:48:00.001+10:00

Here is another copy-cat recipe from my friend Nicole (here is the first one). She loves to cook and bake, and does it SO well! She once again made the entire family dinner (that was food for 7 of us). I loved it, it was amazing. So, I decided to copy her again :) It was a creamy cheesy veggie pasta dish. Except I changed the creamy cheese sauce to a creamy tomato sauce.

Ingredients:
Tortellini (any flavour, really, but I used a spinach & cheese stuffed tortellini), or Ravioli
Spaghetti Sauce (any flavour)
Cream
Bacon, chopped
Zucchini, chopped
Pumpkin, chopped
Onion, chopped
Garlic, minced
(other veggies if you want, maybe carrot and red peppers - capsicum, to you Aussies)
Parmesan Cheese

Method:
*Chop up pumpkin into smaller pieces, and pan fry in some olive oil. Add chopped up zucchini once the pumpkin starts to soften. Add chopped onions & garlic as well.

*Fry bacon and chop it up into small pieces.

*Heat up spaghetti sauce in a pot, and add cream. We like it slightly more tomato-y, so I use a jar of sauce and about 1/3 to 1/2 cup cream. I also add my own spices to the pre-made sauces as they never quite taste nice enough on their own. So add any other spices you like (oregano, pepper, rosemary, etc...)

*Cook tortellini to package instructions.

*Add veggies to the sauce, and heat the sauce and veggies together for a few minutes. Serve over pasta with some grated Parmesan cheese. Yummmm

This was my first time cooking pumpkin, so it was a little mushy, and kind of blended into the sauce more than I would have liked. You might not want to cook the veggies in the sauce then...either way, it still tasted nice.

Once again, sorry for the crappy photo. Our lighting is terrible in this place, and it's dark before we eat dinner every night, so I never get nice dinner photos.

Aprons, Part II - the old batch -

2009-08-26T11:06:00.001+10:00

Here are the aprons I made for my Sisters, Mom & Grandma last Christmas:

Aprons

2009-08-23T21:28:00.000+10:00

About a year ago I was on a real sewing marathon; I was sewing bibs, burp cloths, dresses, skirts, aprons, and other little projects I am still working out. Then came the busy month of December, and before I knew it, I was lying in bed for the first quarter to half of this year, and unable to really do much of anything (except baking) until June (since my sewing machines, and all craft supplies are in the garage, which is down 17 stairs, which was too awkward for me to be going back and forth, and getting up and down). It feels so good to be back at it, and seeing all the fabrics I picked out a year ago for all my various projects.

The latest project I picked up again was aprons. They are so nostalgic and cute (and functional). For Christmas last year I made aprons for my Mom, Sisters and my Grandma as stocking stuffers. Sorry to say, but I don't think I will be topping that this year, unless some new inspiration hits me. Instead, I plan to finish off the 8 I had planned originally (only 2 left!).

I'm trying not to move from project to project, leaving a mass of unfinished ideas behind. I've always wanted to sell things on Etsy too. I'm unsure if it's really a good idea or not, since there are so many copy-cats on there, but as long as I am selling un-original ideas, then maybe it'll be fine (?) Or selling things that I doubt people will be able to copy in a heartbeat...I have yet to make something so original though.

Anyhow, here is my favorite new apron:

It's so delicate looking and nostalgic, but not "retro" in that pushy annoying cherry cupcakes way that is so popular right now (which I do like...it's just too overdone these days). I made it for my friend Sam, and gave her some matching paper napkins & some candles for her birthday.

I also made a cute little pin for the apron (or for whatever):

I was thinking of trying to sell these on etsy...I suppose I can't lose, and might as well give it a try...

I used this pattern for the aprons from Living Creatively. I have altered the pattern to suit my needs, like pockets, and a trim at the bottom, etc.

I used this pattern for the flowers from Martha Stewart. I sewed the flowers each separately to create a fuller bloom, and then I sewed the flower to brooch pins I bought.

Banana Fritters

2009-08-21T23:23:00.003+10:00

It was our anniversary on the 12th. Six years we've been married! Feels like a million...in a GOOD way! This year we weren't in a position to go all out, so we had a nice, but very sopping wet dinner out. It was a beautiful, warm day in which I had a million errands to run, all while watching a huge dark cloud slowly make its way to the coast. It finally hit us with some nice thunder and lightning, just before a walk (since I can't run yet) back to the car. I got SOAKED. But it was so fun!

For dessert, I decided to make Banana Fritters, from The Essential Dessert Cookbook I received last year for my birthday. It was the one recipe Adam picked out that he wanted to try. They were so good! We were still full from dinner, so most of them went into the garbage, but it was worth a taste...And the homemade caramel sauce will not go to waste!

Here is the exact recipe I used from the book. The batter was so nice, and I will use it again for others things. We had left overs, since I only did two bananas, and so we deep fried some mini chocolate bars, and a few other randoms we found in the fridge. Yummm.

31 Weeks

2009-08-21T12:54:00.004+10:00

Still getting there...slowly still, but progressing. My new physio instructions are gearing me up to start running, but I don't know when that will be. Right now she's got me jumping and as soon as I can, hopping on the bad leg alone. Jumping feels so weird. I can't explain it, other than it feels like you injured your foot and then you are jumping on it. I'm so sore at the back of my heel. But now I can jump to see what's in the top cupboards, instead of getting Adam to have a look for me.

To make everything take even longer, I hurt my back about two weeks ago, and have to take it a lot slower. I spent 3 days in bed, in pain, and I don't know what I did, except lean over to brush my teeth (and I even leaned over they way physio told me to, bend at the hips!). I think it was just muscular though, as I know what it feels like to herniate disks. I am still a little sore, though back to normal activities again.

I must be getting old. Long ago, I remember thinking, how could anyone hurt only muscle, and not be able to move? Now I know. You sure recover quicker as a kid, and I never remember being so sore as a kid. I also now see that if you stop moving, your body deteriorates quickly, and I can see how the elderly go downhill fast when they get sick, and have to stay in bed for weeks. It's so important to keep moving.

I've also learned that weight-baring exercise is the best for your bones, so if you want to keep healthy, you need to lift weights AND do cardio. I think people think cardio is good enough, but you need those weight-baring exercises to keep your bones strong.

I still plan on making a full recovery...we'll see how that goes. As long as I can jump on the trampoline again, go snowboarding, hike Mt Coolum, and run on the beach, I will be happy. I'm fine with everlasting pain (not nerve pain though!), as long as I can move like I used to.

Knee to wall was my best yet last week - 7.5cm!

The nerve pain specialist appointment is a week from Monday. I am so happy. I am hoping for good news, but slightly worried about hearing "chronic pain" or "regional pain syndrome". I really want off of these drugs.

Savory Buns

2009-08-19T23:52:00.003+10:00

Using the same recipe, I needed an excuse to be allowed to make a few more cinnamon buns, so I conned hubby by offering to make some savory rolls with the same dough. It was actually his idea - smart guy! I used the exact same recipe, though I divided the dough into three parts this time, instead of two.

I spread one with pizza sauce green onion and olives. The next one I spread with butter, and sprinkled crushed garlic, green onion, and mozza cheese. Once I rolled each section up, I cut them into thinner strips too, so they made smaller, neater and nicer rolls. I let them rise, and then sprinkled a little bit more cheese on top, and baked for about 12 minutes. These were so delicious! And worked really well with a sweet dough. I noticed the garlic was even sweet all by itself, but they tasted really nice. A perfect snack, and they freeze well too! I'll definitely do these again, they were so easy.

Crochet

2009-08-18T15:29:00.001+10:00

I finally have made use of the gift my Mom & Sisters sent me while I was in bed for the better part of this year. I tried this one design a few times on my own, and always got stuck. I finally decided to try another project, and see if I could figure things out. It worked! The "stitch" I was stuck on was, in fact, not a stitch as such, but an explanation of what I should see when I reach that point on the instructions. Since then I have made a few cloths, doilies, and even a flower. I've come along way since this.

There are so many resources online, but one I have used a lot is Crochet N More. There are so many videos on youtube as well, and tons of free patterns online. So far I have mainly worked patterns from the book my family sent, and a pattern off of a skein of yarn. If you sign up at Bernat, you can download PDF's of free patterns too.

The books I have started with are Contemporary Crochet by Coats which has some really cute patterns, and tells you all the stitches you need to know. I tried an intermediate (level 3) pattern, and it worked really well. It seems quite easy to pick up (you just have to remember where you left off when you take a break!). And check your gauge! The other book I have is Crochet Made Easy also by Coats (looks like my book is no longer for sale, as it might have updated to a newer version now). It has more detailed stitch illustrations, and I use this book to compliment the Contemporary Crochet patterns.

And here are a few projects I have completed. I use the acrylic rose coloured one for outdoor chores, like washing windows, or cars, or the deck and stairs, like I did today. I also used one to wash our salt crystallized walls. It has just enough roughness to easily clean up messes without being too harsh on the wall. Bernat pattern.

The white cotton one is for dishes, and works so nicely. Since it's cotton, it is a little heavier than the rose acrylic, but feels nicer. This pattern is from Contemporary Crochet.

And I used this black doily for setting a vase on our table so it doesn't get scratched. I didn't check my gauge on this one, and you can tell. But it worked well for a first try. This pattern is from Contemporary Crochet. I still need to hide the ends of the yarn...

29 Weeks

2009-08-07T22:27:00.004+10:00

I went to my final specialist appointment today. Big waste of time, but I suppose it was important to go. I am allowed to start running, if I can, as long as I don't fall, he says. That's good news at least. And a lump that has been bothering me is only scar tissue, so that's good news too.

Somehow, minutes before I was supposed to leave for the appointment, I hurt my back. I could barely walk, and driving was probably not the smartest idea. As soon as I got home, I took the rest of my left over morphine tablets, and went to bed. Seems I might be here for a few days now though. What is UP with me? Drama seems to follow me wherever I go. This is excruciating too. I think I may have hurt myself because I have been trying to catch up on the last 6 months without a decent work-out. I did a large number of sit-ups yesterday, and I must have not used proper form. At least it feels muscular, and not more sciatic. Hopefully all I need is a good sleep since I have so much to do around here! I am still catching up on properly cleaning the house, and the blinds and walls are in desperate need of a clean. I also have 4 loads of un-folded laundry!

Other than my failing body, I got the call I have been waiting for! I am booked in for the pain clinic! I'm so happy. I once again cried after I got the call. But it's so sad to get the call and have them ask you if you still want an appointment, like you might be over your little wussy hissy-fit bout of pain? They know it's been months, and maybe some people are ok now? I just get so angry at the drug addicts clogging the system for people who really need to see the pain specialists. Some people are waiting for more than a year. I have waited about 6 months. I was just thinking about how bad the pain was in the beginning. And it's awful to think, but I know I would not have been able to live with that pain for this long. I was already thinking of ways to get myself re-admitted to the hospital by the time I found some meds which helped me. What did they do before modern medicine? I know I couldn't live a life like the one I was living. It was torture.

All in all, foot / ankle / leg is healing. It kind of reminds me of what it's like when you take your car in for a tune up, and you have to get used to all the new feelings and noises. My ankle cracks differently than it used to, and my muscles feel different too, where the break was. It's like having a new leg to get to know. Nerve pain is also changing again. I am way less sensitive now, and the burning feeling is coming back. It feels like when you come inside after playing in the snow.

My physio is going well, I am balancing on my tippy-toes, and I got to 20 seconds one day! The heel raises are hit or miss. Sometimes I am so sore from a work-out / physio the day earlier, that I can't lift myself up onto my tippy-toes on the bad side. The acute pain is pretty much gone, except for the odd time, and I have taken the ski-boot off (ie, it felt like I was wearing a ski boot on my bad side)! I can now walk down the stairs almost normally, and not need the handrail. I can walk on the flat road normally! Downhill is still an issue, but getting better. Knee to wall is consistently 4-5cm. I still have hit or miss days, but it still feels like I am making progress.

Cinnamon Buns

2009-08-05T18:48:00.006+10:00

Mmmm, one of my favorites. And another disaster story for you too. My first attempt was a sloppy pile of dough. But, I have learned it has not been my fault for half of these baking disasters - my oven SUCKS so bad. It will NOT bake anything dense. So, this recipe was right up my alley. Stand alone cinnamon buns. The oven conquered these ok. But I think I will divide the dough into three and not two sections next time. See recipe HERE. Her's look much nicer, and I tried the whole pencil thing, but I couldn't get a nice groove, and they all fell over while rising anyhow, so who cares. I'm sure they taste the same. And freeze well too! I think these might become a dangerous staple in this house.

See how they all fell over?

And my "glaze" was a little too thick, but did its job nonetheless:

Chicken Vegetable Soup

2009-08-01T00:50:00.001+10:00

I've never actually made soup before. I tried once. It ended up being risotto, which was ok, but I wanted soup. I tried again recently, and it worked (ie. I didn't add 1 cup of rice!). I made it up as I went along, but really, how complicated can a vegetable soup be? This turned out so well, I will definitely do it again. It was so flavourful, which surprised me. I didn't think I could out-do Campbell's.

Ingredients:
Vegetable stock (1 litre)
Onion, white
Corn, canned
Celery
Carrot
Brocoli
Potato
Chicken (I used shredded pieces from a hot BBQ chicken that you can get from the deli in a grocery store)
Soup Pasta (I used the cute alphabet ones)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic (I used garlic powder)
Red Chili powder
(you could also add a can of diced tomato too, which could be nice)

Method:
Chop up all veggies and add to stock; cook over high heat. Add shredded chicken and soup pasta about 5-10 minutes before soup is done. I made some pre-mix biscuits too with some shredded cheese added to the dough. They were so delicious!

Sorry about the crappy photos. I hate the flash, and the sun sets here by 6pm, so dinner is never during daylight here...

Homemade Helpers - Ants

2009-07-31T18:15:00.002+10:00

Lately, one problem we're having is ANTS. And nothing we've bought seems to be working, except...as I noted in a past post, magnesium powder (found in some types of body powder, but read the ingredients to be sure). It seems to be working, since I have not had ONE ant on my bedside table since Adam sprinkled a border of power around me. Because I needed to keep water by my side (from all the stupid pills I had to take), I needed to have an area which was ant-free. They were getting into everything before! But magnesium only keeps them away; it doesn't get rid of them by any means...They then developed a thing for the kitchen counter top.

So, on to the next solution on the list. Adam ordered some boric acid. We can't get it here in Oz all that easily, so he had to order some online (from Oztion.com.au). In North America, it should be pretty easy to access - it's called Borax, and you can use it for stain removal as well. Should be near the laundry stuff -? I have no idea. Anyhow, we're going to make a mixture of that with some egg yolk, which these ants seem to really go for, and hopefully get rid of the colony. It seems ants have discerning palates, and these ones don't have the problem I do - a sweet tooth. They must have protein tooth.

We had tons of ants in our N.Vancouver Slums apartment, and there was nothing that was working to get rid of them. So I used to just feed them - outside. Then they wouldn't bother to come inside. I used to leave pieces of fruit outside, on their trail, and sure enough, they'd stay outside. But who wants to feed ants for the rest of their lives? You might end up getting attached to them, poor little buggers.

So for a sweet solution ant killer, try a mixture of 1/4 tsp boric acid, 1/8 cup corn syrup, and 1.5 tsp water.

For a protein solution, I think Adam did a 1 to 1 ratio using only the yolk, but you need to make sure they can actually live long enough to bring the food back to the nest (ie. not too much boric acid)

The egg yolk mixture worked perfectly for a while. The ants loved it. We also tried the corn syrup mixture, which worked for a little while, but a day later they were done with it, and went back to the egg. We also tried peanut butter, but they didn't even touch it. Supposedly it takes a few days, up to over a week to see the results, but even 24 hours later there are significantly less ants. There was so many ants before, I couldn't even prepare dinner, and we ordered pizza instead.

One of the best ways to keep them away, is to barricade yourself with cinnamon. They HATE it. It works very well. They decided to make a new nest in my orchid, so I baited the pot, and then surrounded it with cinnamon, and they died soon enough, and no more entered. If you have an ant problem, it's a great way to keep them away...but they don't die...I'm not sure we'll ever get rid of these guys, but we're trying...

**Update:
It's been months now, that we've had ants on the counter, but it seems like if you have the vigilance, and keep baiting, you should be able to get rid of them. We've succeed for the most part, but then they just come back if you leave some dirty dishes sitting out, so be diligent! But then, who actually knows if they left because of us, or because the seasons have changed...

28 Weeks

2009-07-30T19:37:00.003+10:00

Things are going well this week. I am now at physio once every two weeks. My physio therapist has also changed, which is fine, but I liked who I had too. He really pushed me. They've tested my strength again, comparing to the good side, and things are starting to equal out though I am still quite a way off yet. My new exercises are to balance on one foot on my tippy toes for as long as possible. Whew, that one is tough. I have about 30 seconds on my good side, and like 5 seconds on my bad side. I am also supposed to do heel raises on one leg now, which I can do now! I can't quite lift myself all the way up on my bad foot, but getting there. I can do about 12 in a row right now. I am also not getting that acute pain when I walk anymore either. Yay! I am still doing the knee to wall, and it's slow going. I manage to get about 4 cm consistenly now, but it's quite painful. But that's the one I need. I will hopefully start being able to run soon too. Possibly in 2 weeks we'll try. Anyhow, that's the update. Slow going, but getting there...

Vintage Card

2009-07-29T22:40:00.001+10:00

Here is another scan from a vintage poster this time, made into a card. I got the image from a lovely book we have, California, Here I Come. I added the text in photoshop, and mounted it onto an orange card-stock background onto a blank card with my fav, eyelets. Boring I know, but it's so effective...

Chocolate Marshmallow Cupcakes

2009-07-28T22:02:00.000+10:00

I made these for Stef's 18th birthday, which she had in Australia, only a few days before she had to go back home to Germany. She was the third of three students my in-laws have had over the last 6 months, each staying for various periods of time since the new year. I felt so bad Stef had to have her big important celebratory birthday (like a 21st, or a 16th kind of thing) away from her family and friends, but I think we still had a nice night. She even saved a few cupcakes, and managed to take them home with her to Germany. She sent me a photo of her brothers back in Germany eating my cupcakes! Cute.

(Sorry for the crappy photos, I didn't have time to take proper ones)

These were my normal chocolate cake recipe, and a regular butter cream icing. I added teal food colouring, and marshmallow flavouring. I then topped them with chunky sugar crystals. I used the closed star icing tip as well. And of course, everything is from Bake It Pretty!

Thread trick

2009-07-26T21:18:00.002+10:00

I don't know if this is common knowledge or not, but I never see it on store-bought products. I learned it from the man who we bought our industrial sewing machine from. He included a lesson the night we picked it up. The lesson, I have found, has been invaluable! I use all his little tricks in my normal every day sewing, not to mention the upholstery I've been getting into. This trick is great when you want to make sure your threads are secure, and also, when you don't want a back-stitch to show. I used it to make those notebooks (1 & 2) look a lot neater on the front.

Stop sewing at the same point where you started. You don't want to sew over the thread at the beginning. Cut your work loose.

Pull on the loose thread at the back, or hidden side, of your work, which will start to pull through the top thread.

Once you see the loop, insert a pin, or seam ripper, or something small and pointy, and make the loop bigger, pulling the top thread through to the underside.

Then tie the threads together as close to your work as possible, and cut the ends. In this case, I cut the ends short, so they are hard to notice, but if you use this technique on the underside of your work which will not ever be seen, leave the threads as long as you want, in case they do decide unravel.

Obviously, back- stitching is a quicker and probably safer method, but when looks matter, this is the way to go.

Stef's Notebook

2009-07-25T20:58:00.005+10:00

I made another note book - WEEKS ago. This one was for Stef, the German exchange student. Since I had one practice, and then Shadê's, this one was neat and tidy! I picked some different colours too. I also printed on both sides of the papers, to make turning the notebook pages a little nicer looking. It made for some fun times trying to figure out how to get the lines and margins to line up on both sides of the sheet. Might have been easier to BUY a notebook, and then punch holes in it. I made a matching tag with Cath Kidston sticker labels too, which I love! Anyhow, I really like these little guys, and I am still planning to make a few more, maybe a nice leather one next...

Strawberry Ricotta Muffins

2009-07-24T17:37:00.007+10:00

I have my computer back, if only for a short time, but we'll see. Apple is so great. I talked to a customer service rep, and my wonderful little life-saver of a laptop should be good as new, as soon as I can take it in again. Long story short, the repair place I went to went out of business sometime in the last two weeks but never bothered to call me!? AND wrecked the closing mechanism to keep the lid shut!! Apple was not impressed, and are paying for the repairs, even though it will not be worth the hassle (for them). Anyhoo, on with the show...

The strawberries are so fabulous right now. I am so glad I've been able to go grocery shopping the last few months, and I didn't miss out on ALL the fruit. Pears too! My favorite milkshake (thickshake, for you Aussies) is milk, ice cream, a pear, and pile of strawberries, oh and a splash of vanilla! So good.

But today I am sharing the muffins I made. I almost had a near disaster: the recipe called for "SR flour". I thought the SR was the brand name! You know how companies like to specify brand names on their cut-out-of-the-package-recipes, even though its completely unnecessary? The second before I added my ricotta and strawberries, I wondered aloud how come this recipe had no baking powder and salt. Then it hit me. SR means self-raising! I rarely use self-raising flour, and like I have said before, for some reason, sweet recipes in Oz almost all use self-raising, compared to N. America. I decided to chuck the batch, instead of adding baking powder and salt, since I would then be mixing the dough WAY too much, and we all know that muffins need not be blended, just moistened. Good call, on my part I think. Rather than waste a whole punnet of strawberries and ricotta on inedible rock-hard muffins, I just very quickly made a new batch of batter. And I am glad I did. They are one of the better muffins I have made, says Hubby.

Ingredients:
250 g strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped.
2 1/2 cup self-raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2/3 cup castor sugar (or fine grained sugar, if possible)
2 eggs
3 tsp melted butter
1 cup milk
1 cup ricotta
demerara sugar (raw cane sugar), to sprinkle on top

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF
2. Line 12 muffins tins (this batch made 18 muffins for me).
3. Sift flour and cinnamon into a bowl. Add sugar and mix together.
4. Lightly beat eggs in another bowl, and add milk and melted butter. Whisk together.
5. Make a well in dry ingredients, and add liquid to dry ingredients. Stir just until combined.
6. Add 3/4 cup ricotta and strawberries to the mix, and stir lightly.
7. Fill muffin cases and top off with a dollop of ricotta and a strawberry, and sprinkle with raw sugar.
8. Bake 20-25 minutes.

These turned out so nice, and are very moist. I think I would have also preferred the ricotta in larger chunks in the batter too. Not sure how to effectively do that, but possibly use cream cheese instead? I also thought the one small dollop on top looked a little weird after baking. I think if I do it the same way, I will put more on top, and less in the batter.

Weeks 24, 25, 26 & 27

2009-07-18T16:56:00.004+10:00

These are notes I have been taking over the last 3.5 weeks, feel free to not read this :)

____{**Week24**}____

I wasn't going to keep posting progress notes, but I might find it interesting later on...and you don't have to read it anyhow. I know it's boring. This week has also been slow. And I am so sick of this. I am having dreams where I am running on the beach, and I had another dream last night where I was hiking, and I was so strong I was carrying other people down on my shoulders. *sigh*

I tried riding bike last week, and that was good. Except our tire pump broke, so can't ride again until we get a new one. I also tried to walk down to the beach. I didn't get very far, like, not even to the beach. I really am hating this. I'm so tired all the time, I can't get enough done to keep ahead of the game, and I just get so down on myself. I can easily sleep for 12 hours a day, and have a nap somewhere in the middle.

Knee to wall was still the same. 3cm, if I can even get that. But it has been more consistent. Last week's physio was really good. They tried a few other techniques, which did work really well. It's amazing. I was having a really sore and stiff day, barely getting the knee-to-wall, but they put a small wedge under my heel near the arch of my foot, and suddenly I could do an easy 2cm knee-to-wall with no pain. I was walking better and faster, and it felt great! They then taped me up using sports tape, and I am told to keep it on for as long as I can. It feels great. The pain has shifted, and is more acute, but I feel stronger and more stable, and I am walking almost without a limp. I love physio. The ski boot has been downgraded!

But, all in all, I just want to get off these nerve drugs, and see some dr's at the pain clinic and get back to NORMAL. Normal would be so nice. I haven't touched the ocean in 24 weeks. I haven't done a whole lot of anything in 24 weeks.

____{**Week25**}____

I touched the ocean! Week 25 has been quite good! I even cried. It felt absolutely amazing to walk on sand again! I didn't realize it, but I was kind of holding the ocean as a goal, as a goal that means I am almost better, since walking down to the ocean on my beach is no small feat for someone with a broken ankle. It's deep and steep sand that you have to walk over to get to the water. I was so happy. I am so happy. It's still a long road, but I am feeling up to the challenge again.

I had a day of a lot of walking, and it was pretty difficult. I was very sore, and tense. I kept waking up with cramps in my foot that night. It's brutal. I find it hard to do my exercises because my foots twists and cramps up very easily. I've had to rope hubby into some foot massages, which seem to help a lot. I tend to tense up while I walk, since my foot gets quite sore while I walk. As you put all your body weight onto your foot, it spreads out, and I find that quite painful still. Pretty much all my waking hours feel like I have just moved from an uncomfortable position, and need to stretch.

Physio was great this week, and not quite so intensive. But now we're getting somewhere. I don't know what triggered the sudden improvements either. I might be leaving that plateau now. I am now able to do everything more or less normally too. I got 5cm away from the wall in my knee-to-wall exercises too, which was so great!

____{**Week26**}____

SIX MONTHS. I can't believe it's been 6 months to the day (minus about 3.5 hours). What an ordeal. I never expected this. The night I fell, I thought, "crap, but whatever, I will home tonight, and have a cast for 6 weeks. It's going to suck, but it'll be over shortly". Ha. Actually it's not funny at all. Anyhow, the worst is over, I hope!

I had another good week! And Physio was informative for me too. I am now moving onto more strength training, and intense exercises, like balancing on my bad leg, and once I can do that, balancing on my bad leg while standing on a pillow. Then I move to balancing with eyes closed. Already I can now balance on my bad leg for 15 seconds! I am doing heel raises, and moving onto single heel raises (by raising my heel while on my bad leg - ie. standing only on my bad leg on my tippy-toes.) I am walking pretty much normal speed, but sometimes I am reduced to an old lady limp. I am now being cut down to physio every two weeks! It's so great, I am finally getting somewhere! I have also cut back on my nerve meds by 1/3 and so far so good. I've been on the lower dose for 6 days now, and I seem to be coping with that, which almost makes me want to cry. I was so scared of developing chronic nerve pain (which I still might), but it seems to be lessening now that I am getting even more back to normal. My flexibility has noticably impoved a lot in the last two weeks as well.

I went for a real walk in the sand today, and it was hard, but good! My joint *feels* perfectly healthy and strong - I hope it really is. It just seems my muscles still need some development. I kind of feel like you do when your foot falls asleep, but you need to get up and walk anyhow. I don't mean the tingling, but the careful placement of your foot so you don't hyper-extend anything. It's like you semi-trust your joints and muscles to carry you, even if you can't quite feel what is going on. I can feel everything, but I walk like I can't. I just make a step and hope I keep stable. But I am feeling a lot stronger now, able to lead with my bad leg and trust it to carry my full weight by itself, if only for a few seconds.

So, I am once again hopeful I will heal nicely!

____{**Week27**}____

I am only half way into week 27, and once again I am disheartened. I am having such acute pain in my joint, I cannot walk sometimes. But when the times are good, I can walk almost normally. It seems to be either really good, or really bad. I am not liking this more painful experience. I don't feel as sore all over, but I definitely get pain a lot stronger now, but only in one area. I am getting stronger and stronger though, and I keep noticing that. I need to keep positive. I am still having trouble with my sleeping too. I am constantly tired from the anti-depressants, and I just cannot wait to get off them! Anyhow, I have some beautiful photos to post, but my computer STILL isn't back yet from the shop...

Cachet Cakes

2009-07-13T20:52:00.004+10:00

Ok, I was able to sneak a few more minutes on the computer (ok, it's not that bad) and I thought I would post a real quick one about my very talented little sis. GO HERE! Cachet Cakes! I know there are a few Chilliwackians and Vancouverites who read this blog occasionally...contact Lauren for your next gig. She's sure to please. I was so totally impressed by her latest cake. Check this out:

And she does some real elegant ones too. Go to her site to see everything she's done so far. Beautiful. And I'm not biased.

Sickness

2009-07-09T18:12:00.006+10:00

My computer is sick again...so probably no posts until it gets back. I'm on borrowed time right now; Hubby is out helping Father-in-law, so I can use his computer while he's gone...but I had a few things to post, and now they will wait in the queue until I can get back to them.

In the meantime, I was very saddened to see that a copycat shop has opened up online, stealing business because of brand confusion, from my favorite shop. I have been raving about Bake It Pretty for months now, on this blog, and to anyone who will listen, or anyone who has paid a compliment to my cupcakes. I searched all over the internet for a cute, quirky, baking supply shop that wasn't a mega company, like Wilton, or something. All of the other baking supply online stores were a major rip off, didn't have everything I wanted (even though they had thousands of products), or made another killing off the shipping prices. Even shops here in Australia don't compare (none that I have found). Australia is TRULY lacking in any sort of niche market supplies. You should see the "craft and sewing" store which is meant to service the entire Sunshine Coast. It's a joke. Though Bake It Pretty is based in the US, it was way cheaper for me to go through her, than even the larger supply companies in Australia, and they didn't even have the supplies I was after anyhow.

When I found Bake It Pretty, I was the most excited I had been in a long time (this was during my bed ridden days). I ordered myself some supplies, and then ordered another package to be sent to my sister for her birthday. Dealing with Bake It Pretty was easy and she always answered my questions almost immediately (despite me not knowing this little business is keeping her, her husband and her sister employed full time). Great customer service! It was so nice to deal with a mom&pop shop, actually be able to email someone when I had a question, and actually have them email me back! Not to mention paying for two orders which needed to be shipped to two different countries. No problems at all (a lot of online companies won't ship to an alternate address than your credit card billing address).

I came across this message board from reading the Bake It Pretty owner, Amanda's, personal blog. Turns out someone has opened an online shop almost exactly the same as her's. It's so sickening, and I can't believe people do this. What blows my mind is hearing about all this copycatting in CREATIVE FIELDS! Isn't that an oxymoron? I am so appalled, I thought I would blog about it, and try to get others to see what is going on, even if it is only a few people. Have a look at the Bake It Pretty shop, and consider supporting the hard working individuals who have invested years in research and development, who are trying to make it work by themselves, and who only supply the best products (at very reasonable prices too!).

Shop Bake It Pretty! They are the Original!

Vintage Card

2009-07-07T00:44:00.004+10:00

Here is an example of one of the vintage cards I have. I scanned it, and added the "happy birthday" text in photoshop. I sent two of them to friends who both recently had their 30th birthdays and were born in '79. I mounted it on brown card to try and give it a real 70's feel. I thought I would kindly remind them of the decade they came from :)

Had a busy weekend...more projects and recipes to come...

Shadê's Notebook

2009-07-02T22:12:00.005+10:00

Well, I am kinda into these little notebooks lately, hopefully doing one for myself one of these days too. The latest was for the lovely exchange student my in-laws had for the past 6 months; Shadê, who is from Brazil. She was such a delight to have around. Very funny, smart, indepenent, and so fun to be with, always joking. After the journal-y thing I did for Amy, I wanted to do something a little smaller, with a more general purpose, and I was also thinking one with a spine would be nice. As luck would have it, THE SAME DAY I googled "book binding", and while waiting for the page to load, checked out my regualar blog list, I came across this post, and tutorial. Perfect! Though, I wasn't smart enough to understand all the instructions, and didn't have any of the right materials, I made do, and it turned out pretty good! I'd love to get my hands on some binding tape, but I have a feeling, like everything else in Australia, it's not avaliable locally, and if it is, it's a total rip off. I have another one to make for the second exchange student, Steph, from Germany. I will try and do a step by step with my more meagre supplies.

For materials, I used red & silver sparkle vinyl, red poly/cotton and some interfacing for the spine, 1" hinged rings (bigger ones would be nicer, but I can't find them in this two-horse town), industrial spray adhesive, cardboard from a ceral box to help with rigidity for the covers, and eyelets used with my birthday present from last year, a button / eyelet press. I also sewed along the edges of the covers. I'll try to show how-to photos on my next one. I also printed off more paper patterns from the same places as listed in Amy's journal post linked above, and finished it off with a cute little feather and some organza ribbon for presentation.

grrr

2009-06-29T17:28:00.005+10:00

I probably shouldn't blog when I'm mad. Plus, no one likes to read ranting angst-y blog posts. Except me. I'm sick of all the airy fairy goodness everywhere I look. I like reading a good rant here and there. Maybe I can turn it into a lesson at the end or something, you know, give a lame excuse as to why I needed to vent to begin with...we'll see...

Ok, so, today Hubby and I both had dentist appointments. Fun times. I had physically walked into the office about a month ago and made appointments. Receptionist wrote down our appointments on a card, which I put in my wallet. As soon as I got home, I then marked in my iCal (computer calendar application). I don't screw up times. I'm anal like that, and I hate being late. I also don't forget things, unless I have been taking drugs or something (no, not DRUGS-drugs, my nerve pain drugs - they make my brain not work). We're just about to head out the door, and the dental office calls, telling me I've missed my appointment. I am confused, and say, "no, it's in 15 minutes, we're leaving now". She says "no, it was 15 minutes ago, I have it right in front of me". So I though if we're going to play the right-in-front-of-me-rude-tone-of-voice-game, I'll jump on it. So I tell her that I have it written down on her little cards, right in front of me! I tell her we're leaving right now anyhow, so we'll be a few minutes "early".

When we get there, I ask if she wants to see the card, but of course she doesn't. But of course she also doesn't bother to pass on to the dentist that SHE screwed up, so when they call me in, I get a snarky comment about mixing up my times. By then my mouth is open, and I can't really get out that she wrote it down wrong for me, but I can see that neither of them believe me anyhow. No apologies.

When we go to pay, Receptionist then goes into this long winded thing about making sure this little mishap doesn't happen again. Oh boy. I did nothing wrong, I don't see how me doing anything differently would have avoided this mistake. In fact, I will do nothing differently next time. I have come home again, with the same kind of card, and entered the info into my iCal. End of my obligations, except showing up.

Don't you just HATE it when you did nothing wrong, but everyone else seems to think you did? I guess here is the lesson: grin and bear it. You look like a complete loser if you keep trying to defend your honour. I stood up for myself once, and then left it alone. Sometimes it's harder to shut up, but sometimes it's better. I suppose, as always, pick your battles. There are countless times I wish I would have said what I thought to some idiot I encountered, but it's never worth it. When it comes to defending yourself, don't let it become an argument, or you look like you're grasping at straws. Say your thing, and then let it go. The other person probably does realize they made the mistake, but they're too proud to admit it. That's what I tell myself anyhow. That's actually something I work hard on: Admitting, and then apologizing when I have been wrong. It's never fun, but it's worth it. No matter who it is.

23 Weeks

2009-06-26T23:29:00.002+10:00

Slowly but surely. I made it to 3cm on my knee-to-wall in physio this week. But I am shaking like a leaf from fatigue. I have no muscle strength. And my physio exercises cause me to wake up in painful cramps. I am so sore after physio, it pretty much takes my entire day away from me. My meds make me so sleepy, that when I finally force myself to rest, I fall asleep. I can't lay down without falling asleep, but I need to lay down to help with the pain and swelling. Nerve pain is lessening though, which is FANTASTIC! But I am still having nerve problems. I cut my toe nail too short on my bad foot, and it has been excruciating. If I knock it on something, or brush it against something, I sit down and wait for it to register. The pain, slow in coming, comes in 10-fold force. Can't wait to close this chapter. Who'd have thought....

Cards

2009-06-25T13:02:00.001+10:00

I have been making cards for quite a few years now, but have never really been into all the "card making" stuff, you know, like all the crafty scrap book stuff. It looks pretty, just not my style, though I am continually impressed when I look at Christmas cards my Mom gets from her friends and family who make these cards - they are impressive, but I just don't do them myself. This is the typical kind of card I have been making lately. Can't get enough of those eyelets. I love simplicity in this continually growing crafty handmade world.

I took these photos from our recent trip to Coolangatta for the car show. I love the phone one. 'Hello' is so cliche these days with every person on earth who does cards and stationary, but so perfect.

I also have a very limited collection of vintage cards. It's quite easy to collect them in Canada, but I can never find them here in Australia. And if I do, I pay for it. I'll share some of them as I get around to scanning them (now that I am able to scan again. Yay old photoshop CS!)