Heavenly Crystals of Sweet Delight!!

My name is Amanda and I am a sugar addict.  

This is the story from my kitchen over the last two weeks and I can't see it getting any better for at least a little while. However when your children start asking, "Mum why do you get spots on your face?" I do begin to question some of my food choices (and my choice of concealer!) 

When I last blogged I was getting ready for our local show, helping at the school, as well as running around after kids and Mr B. All of this involved many forms of cooking which I really enjoyed, until about Thursday, when the novelty well and truly wore off!! 

On Monday I invited a lovely friend to come and have lunch with Miss 4 and I, mainly to catch up, however it did pose a wonderful opportunity to give the pizza dough recipe a whirl in my bread-maker!

 Balsamic Roasted Vegetable and Bocconcini Pizza

Yummy fluffy dough with crispy base - I rolled the dough out on 

Corn Flake crumbs before they went in the tray, didn't stick and went crunchy!!

While the breadmaker was doing it's thing with the dough, I diced up some veggies I found in the fridge (pumpkin, zucchini, sweet potato), tossed them in a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and roasted them in the oven. I also grilled some diced bacon and red onion in garlic for a nice salty kick! 

I'm not a fan of tomato based pizza, I find the flavor can take over and you loose all the deliciousness of the topping. Instead I used some bottled (gasp!) basil pesto on the base, sprinkled the veggie and bacon mixes and tore up some bocconcini over the top. Back in the oven until cheese is gooey and best lunch ever!! Miss 4 had two pieces - including the topping!!!

That same morning I also put in the pressure cooker an Italian beef mince sauce, filled with grated veggies and classic Italian herbs. Yes, I was about to once again attempt the dreaded, lasagna. 

You may laugh, but this dish and I don't like each other! I have so much trouble cooking the pasta right, making the sauce, putting it together and the list goes on. However upon finding some Lattina fresh lasagna sheets at the grocery store I decided to, "Live and Learn". Being married to a third generation Australian-Italian was also another good incentive!

When I opened the pressure cooker in the afternoon I figured that if nothing else the beef sauce would be good, and it was fantastic! A big bowl of that would have made any Mamma proud!! Biting the bullet I did have to keep going with the original plan and started the layering process, mince, sheets, mince, sheets, mince, sheets - hey it's working!!

Right the Bechamel sauce, once again bottled (Busy, ok!!??) went straight on the top, sprinkled some cheddar cheese and baked in the oven for an hour.

Ta-dah!! My first successful lasagna!!

Served with a Ceaser salad everybody was very happy and I'm sure even my husbands ancestors may have given me a little pat on the back for effort!!

We ate this for an entire week - considering how busy I was

 it was great to know I could serve the family a good meal.

For the show and school kitchen I decided to do two slices and a batch of biscuits, mainly due to the fact I had already found some recipes I wanted to cook and I CANNOT cook without people to share with because that normally means I will eat it.....all. 

During this kitchen frenzy I began to realize my mother has a point about my inability to multi-task while cooking, why do I insist on using EVERY bowl, pan and spoon in my cupboards before I wash up??!! 

The results however where completely worth every moment of washing up!!

These slices are Caramel, Macadamia and Coconut (left) 

and Honey and Spice Slice (right).

 Passionfruit creams, sooooo yummy but I am going to

 tweak the cream mixture a little, to make it smoother.

These where a great hit with everyone and I did manage to put some aside for my cups of tea, however Mr B has questioned when he might be allowed to taste some of my cooking. I did relent and share A piece, only after the kids had gone to bed!

Friday found me and many other mummy's at the school for a Mother's Day service and morning tea. It was so lovely to watch Master 6 do his readings and the teachers had also created a slide show of the kids drawings on why they love there mums. It was so cute and every Mum was slightly nervous about what was about to be announced - mine where about filling the bath tub and playing with the dogs, so all good! 

The best part however was when Master 6 was awarded Student of the Week for working hard on his handwriting skills!! Doubly proud (and shocked) mother, considering he has been acting like a diva and I've been secretly contacting possible adoptive parents! Never-the-less as my mother assures me this is a phase (and his is cute) I will keep him for a little longer and by his wedding day I probably won't want to give him away. 

My little academic!!

Over the Mother's Day weekend I was spoilt rotten with lots of treats from the family, especially the beautiful handmade gifts the kids made at school. My absolute favorite treasure was given to me by Miss 4. She had wrapped pieces of fabric scraps around a timber "Mum" (the scraps I had donated to the school which made it double special) and I immediately knew where to hang it - the sewing room door!!

I have been waiting for something special for this door
and how much more special can you get!!

Another present I received was some plants and pots to finish off my front patio garden. I have been working really hard since we moved in to make this area really welcoming and I also spend a lot of time sitting on the veranda with a cuppa, enjoying the serenity.

I love Mother's Day for flowering plants!
The white Chrysanthemum is actually my Mother's Day
gift from 2 years ago and it's still flowering!

This gorgeous stand was given to me by my
beautiful group of sewing friends, these plants and
 stunning shabby chic pots where made to be on this stand!
Thanks girls!!

I think the one of the moments I was really excited about was my Mother's Day High Tea at the local cafe with some new girlfriends. When I heard about this it was a light bulb moment, I had to make a new dress and I knew exactly the fabric from my stash I wanted to use!!

So after a few mishaps (forgetting to rotate pattern pieces for one!!) and leaving the lining until the last minute (will slip-stitch it in later - I promise!) I managed to finish my 50's high tea dress and I love it!!

 

 

To add to the lovely day I also won best
dressed at the morning tea, receiving the above
beautiful arrangement of PINK flowers!!!

 Thanks so much to Ridgee-Didge Cafe for holding the morning tea and to Joe and Jacquie at the Barcaldine Garden Centre for the flower arrangement (and all the plants in my garden!!)

Beautiful New Friends!

Delicious homemade delights!

Mother's Day afternoon I achieved a wonderful feat of turning a draw full of tangled and unruly ribbons, trims and bias into an organised and beautiful system. All thanks to a blog I found called Crafter Hours where she had used a pant hanger to organise her ribbons and trims, I know how cool is that!!
I had a spare towel hanger that we didn't need since the move and was going to send it to the charity shop, well not anymore, it is now hanging on the back of my sewing room door looking stunning, as well as serving a very important purpose!!

From this.....

To this!!!

This tidy up has made me realize I have a trim and ribbon issue,
 resulting in my not having to buy any for a long time!!

I am going away this weekend to a quilting retreat at Fairburn Dam outside of Emerald, and have been looking forward to this since I left Emerald in December. I get to spend some time with my fabulously eclectic group girlfriends while laughing and of course stitching!! (Between eating and talking I'm not sure how much we will achieve but the intention is there!) 

I am going to use this weekend to do some projects I haven't had a chance to get to but they have been on my mind. I figured that when I get back it's head down and complete focus on my Fat Quarterly submission, which in due by the end of June (EEK!!)

Remember a friend of mine got married last Friday and I made her a quilt with matching cushions?? Well she received them and I'm happy to report she loved them and even had a few tears. (Awwww she's so lovely) So now I can show you all my quilt which I named, "Road to Forever" and is made using Kate Spain's range "Serenade"!!

This pattern "Crossroads" I found on Moda Bake Shop,
 it was designed by Tacha Bruecher who is also the editor of Fat Quarterly,
 the magazine I am being published in.

The stunning fabric is by one of my fav designers Kate Spain, it is her Serenade range!!
I also used a Riley Blake multi-shade green for sashing! 

The stunning quilting which gave the quilt it's life was
done by The Twisted Stitcher herself, Dallas McLellan!

Oh dear I have just realized how much I have posted this time but every moment was worth sharing with you all!!

To finish up I want to share with you a few photos of the kids at the show, jumping on the acrobat ropes - they had an absolute blast!! (and I had waffles!!)

 

 

On the Ferris Wheel!
This photo reminds me of the excitement and pure joy children
can find almost anywhere!!
Ps The ferris wheel has also given me a few quilt ideas!!

May your bobbin always be full!!!

Amanda

Pinch Me Please!!

This week started as just another normal week, the weather starting to chill off in the mornings, kids off to school, regular house chores and errands to run.....oh how quickly things can change!

Some mending and alterations arrived from customers this week, which I love to do as it keeps my brain really active and brings in a little money for my sewing, but it does mean I have to stop working on my own sewing!

With the weather chilling off in the morning and evenings I pulled a ham bone out of the freezer I had saved from Christmas, putting it in the pressure cooker with some dried peas, veggie stock, onion and carrots I made the BEST Pea and Ham soup EVER!! I even rang my Nan to tell her it was closest I had ever come to making soup like her.

 With some Paprika sprinkled on top and

 fresh crusty bread it was delicious!

Master 6 had some exciting parcels arrive in the post this week, his polar fleece and pattern arrived to make his new dressing gown! It was just what he asked for and I was rewarded with a big cuddle and "I love you Mum". Worth every penny!!

He is so excited he has wrapped himself in the fleece every night while watching TV, I am going to try and have the dressing gown made as soon as I have caught up. Until then he is happy with his new blanket.

The new Better Homes and Gardens arrived this week and of course I have been through it with my sticky notes, marking out all the recipes and crafty things I want to try. However I just couldn't wait and with all the ingredients in the cupboard I made the Brown Sugar Fudge, straight away! It's fudge, really would you wait??

To add some crunch I also added some toasted almonds and macadamias.

Fudge and I have a "love to hate" relationship, I love the stuff but also hate it because I CANNOT ever get it right!! I am pleasantly surprised with this batch however because it is the closest I have came to getting it right, a little bit soft but I think if I had of kept it on the heat a little longer it would have been perfect. Still managed to eat more then my fair share even with the imperfections - can't waste good sugar! 

On a very high note, early this week I saw the e-zine Fat Quarterly was calling for submissions for their Summer issue, they specialize in all things fabric especially pre-cut fabrics. So I sent an email to the editor asking them if they would be interested in the dress I designed and made for Miss 4 out of fat quarters. 

  

The editor Tacha Bruecher, (who's books I own and is the designer of a quilt I have literally just finished making!!) emailed me back saying she loved the dress and would like to feature it in the Summer issue!! I am so humbled to be accepted by these amazingly talented and accomplished women, to be published in international magazine for something I have literally pulled out of my head and made "just for fun".

So with that I am working on what I hope is the first of many published items by me, even with all the work in front of me, with writing instructions, taking and editing many many photos, meeting my first deadline and the general stress of a perfectionist, I am secretly loving every moment!!

My poor husband however saw the receipt from the fabric store this week and I'm not sure how long the excuse "It's for the magazine" is going to work!!

This week I have also finished another version of the above dress, using one 1/2 meter length and some plain homespun. I bought this fabric a couple of years ago at Emerald Fabric Boutique and have always loved it! I have a few more versions of this dress and a few other things floating around my head but they will need to just wait for a bit!

Honestly how cute are the frogs!!

We ran out of time this week for a modelling session so I will have 

Miss 4 in front of the camera soon for a catch up, the clothes always

 look so much better on!! 

To add something that has nothing to do with sewing or cooking but everything to do with my babies, when you live in the town where the Labour party was founded, May Day is always a really big deal! With this day comes the May Day parade, in which my kiddies rode on the school float as little vegetables - a Beetroot and Strawberry to be exact.

Couldn't you just eat them up!!

Well I'm almost positive I have missed something but I'm sure I will catch up with it next week, however our local show is next weekend and I'm not only entering in some cooking but also working for the school at the canteen all day Friday, so I may not achieve much in the the way of fabric but a lot in the way of food!

So as this is the state of my sewing table tonight (note the school uniforms to be ironed in the background) and there is more projects on the ironing board and machine table!! I will finish off here, feed and bath my family, send them off to bed and spend some quality time with an old friend.

Wishing you all a wonderful week, whatever you may be doing.

May your bobbin always be full!

Amanda

Mighty Mojo!!

Wow!! It's amazing what you can achieve with lots of little bouts of energy!!

Monday morning I woke up with my Mojo rising and once sending Master 6 off to school, Miss 4 and I motored through some cleaning and washing so we could spend some guilt free time doing what we enjoy best. Which means I get to sew and she gets to color-in while singing to me. Nice!

This burst of enthusiasm saw two wonderful creations begin AND completed!!

As I said last week I wanted to create a little dress inspired by the famous 'pillowcase' dress so, I came up with using three Fat Quarters, some shirring elastic and ribbon to create my cute little number, named inspired by Miss 4 , "Swish and Swirl Fat Quarter Dress".

My little model having a wonderful time posing!!

Honestly this dress was made in a morning!!

And the best part was I learnt how to gather on my overlocker - only owned the thing for 10 years but better late then never!

While we where on a roll I have been having some 'issues' getting Miss 4 to wear shorts to little school instead of a skirt for better playing movement however my solution was to make her a pair of 'frilly' shorts. 

Armed with a Tinkerbell fat quarter and four strips of tone-on-tone my frilly fairy pants are a massive hit and been worn and washed numerous times already this week!! 

With the busy day we had I used my new pressure cooker and made a yummy Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Casserole recipe I saw on Taste.com. Following the recipe for the preparation then popping it in the pressure cooker for 30mins while I made the creamy mashed potatoes, we all enjoyed a super delicious meal without any stress or the usual 'what to eat' drama after an active day!!

The school held a Meet and Greet last Friday and I took the opportunity to try out a recipe I saw in this months Super Food Ideas magazine, to take for dessert. 

Apple Frangipane Tart

This dessert is so fast and easy to put together, will definitely be added to the family cookbook!! I added some lemon zest to the almond mixture for a nice little zing and while it is nice on it's own, I feel it needs to be served with either fresh whipped cream or some vanilla ice-cream.

In honor of Anzac Day, I made a batch of traditional Anzac biscuits also out of the Super Food Ideas magazine. They did a double page spread of many different types of Anzac's however I believe that you can't beat the traditional, not only for the flavor but also for what they represent.

Lest we forget.

Hopefully these biscuits stand up to the high standards required in a small country town, as I have been convinced by a lovely friend to join her in entering our Anzac biscuits and a few other baking items into the local show. We are also encouraging our kids to enter in the packet cake section! Stay tuned for the fun and mess that will no doubt occur in my kitchen just before show!! 

For the links to these and other recipes I have featured on my blog, click the 'Yummy Things' tab on my page bar above.

With Mother's Day around the corner and one of the local cafe's holding a vintage high tea, I could not resist the opportunity to make myself a new 50's tea dress!! I have been drafting up the pattern and will start cutting soon!! I can't wait to show you all the finished project when I get completely dressed up to go out to tea with the ladies! Gloves on girls!

To end this week's blog and also just because I think my kids are cute I am going to finish up with a few more photos from the other days modelling session.

May your bobbin always be full!!

Amanda

More Time Please!!

Due to some technical issues regarding internet access and our friendly telephone company I haven't been able to blog for almost three weeks!!

Well hold on, because here it comes!!

Firstly hope you all had a wonderful break doing whatever you chose to do. I spent a week with my beautiful family, including my gorgeous new nephew who I met for the first time. I forgot how good 'baby smell' was!!

As is becoming the new family rule I get to take over the kitchen whenever I visit home, my mother loves this, however she asks frequently if it's necessary for me to use every dish in her kitchen. Drama much!!

Just before I left the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens arrived and I was absolutely DYING to make the Lemon Drizzle Cake! Instead of baking it in a loaf I thought it would look cute in a fluted pan, it did and was totally gorgeous!! Needless to say this recipe is going in the family book.

  I had to take this photo while I had everyone standing 

behind me waiting for a slice!!

The aftermath - this cake only lasted one day!!

A request by everyone was that I make some bread rolls, scrolls and buns while I was home. I think the thing I love the most about making my own bread is the endless possibilities!! To keep it traditional I made one of my kids favorite of Bacon, Garlic and Two Cheese buns - they eat these straight out of the oven!

 Easy as! Bread dough with Grilled bacon, red onion,

 garlic, parmesan and cheddar cheese. Yum!

After we returned back home, in an attempt to 'de-sugar' the family, I tried a little tricky recipe called "Popcorn Cauliflower" It is a combination between this recipe http://www.food.com/recipe/popcorn-cauliflower-217432 and I added some parmesan cheese for a nice little crunch. TIP: Don't over oil or it won't crisp up!!

On a side note - after eating the WHOLE bowl the kids inform me that,

 "Well Mum, we don't really like cauliflower" Yeah right!

My final note out of the kitchen is that thanks to my lovely mother I have a new toy, a beautiful 6 Litre Pressure Cooker!!!

I have already created the BEST Ox Tail Stew and the most delicious Bolognese Sauce in next to no time!! I bought a Women's Weekly Pressure Cooker Book and with the weather cooling off I can't wait to start making some warming food for us and the neighbours!!

I haven't been in the sewing room very much lately, if you can't tell, so not much to talk about there :-(

I have however finished quilting and making the cushions to match a quilt I made for a friend and once it reaches the intended I will post some of the photos of this nice little set.

I have been inspired by Moda bake shop again to create a little pillowcase dress for Miss 4. I am going to tweak it however because I'm not keen on the way the original has no shape through the body. 

I have gone through my stash and found three fat quarters which I am going to use to create a three tiered dress (bodice, band and skirt) using the same principles as a pillowcase dress but with a gather here and there should look a little more fitted.

Last but definitely not least I received a wonderful surprise from my very beautiful group of sewing friends in Emerald! They all got together and made me this stunning bag - which when I received made me cry with the love they put in it! Each of the girls all had a hand in the creation of the bag, even down to the label which has each of their names on it! 

Needless to say this bag is going in my,

 "Keep forever and bury me with it" list!!

 Well that's it for now however I hope to have some achievements from the sewing room next time. Sending Darling Husband under the house to run me a TV cable to my sewing room this weekend, which he doesn't know yet and I believe will help the kids and I with our "getting along" while we are in there! Live in hope :-)

Right now, I have a date with some inspiration in the form of a big pile of new quilting magazines and a nice cup of Earl Grey.

May your bobbin always be full!!

Amanda