London Love

Funny. Just yesterday I was reading this post, then this morning a parcel was delivered, from my dear friend Chelsea in London, with this cute message on the back.


Inside were lots of lovely things for the children, and for me, a toast stamp. Because we can never have too much love in our lives. Love you Chels xx

A Merry Little Christmas

Hope everyone had a fabulous day too. Thanks to all those who have read my blog, left comments, emailed me, and inspired me with their own creativity. I've only been blogging for a few months, but already I've made some wonderful friends.

Here's to a wonderful 2009 xx

As safe as a lettuce leaf?

Our house is old. And I love it. It has all these quirky little charms about it. Like the original "chippie" woodchip burner by the back door.

The original Art Deco doorhandles. No keys though, although why you would need to lock every door in the house is a mystery to me...

Original bakelite power points. Notice the lack of a switch. Yeah, old.

And bits and pieces that I sometimes find. Treasures like this old fuse wire that I discovered on top of the fuse box. There was actually another one, with a price tag of one ha'penny, but Isla decided to wash it (sigh).

But today, I really struck gold. I was cleaning out the laundry cupboard, attempting to locate enough sheets, pillowcases, towels etc for the Christmas visitors, when this treasure dropped down from a tiny space in between the back of the cupboard and the shelf, where it has been stuck for a couple of decades at least I expect.

The directions read; "Lapol Full Strength Deoderant Tablets. 20 sugar coated chlorophyll tablets for sweetness and freshness of body and breath. The new prescription for eliminating body and breath odours. Taken internally.

There are two kinds of personal odours and both can be quickly removed with Lapol Chlorophyll Tablets.

Breath odours are associated with faulty metabolism, achohol or eating highly flavoured foods such as garlic or onions. These can be removed in ten minutes by disolving one or more Lapol Tablet in the mouth.

Systematic body odours are of various types- Perspiration odours of the underarm and foot-Odours associated with menstruation and General Body Odours. ALl the above can be quickly and easily removed by swallowing one or more Lapol Tablet, preferably after breakfast or before retiring at night.

It is as safe as a lettuce too. Always insist on Lapol Full Strength Chlorophyll Tablets

Try this little personal test. Next time you are about to engage in strenuous exercize or sport, take one Lapol Table half an hour beforehand and notice the distinct lack of perspiration odour."

Whatever next? Well, that certainly provided some humour for the afternoon. And I know they're clearly well past their use by date, but I still find it ironic that they smell awful.

For more photos of the house, check out my flickr.

Christmas Trifle

I've been given the responsibility of making the trifle this Christmas. I'm British and I love trifle, so I'm more than happy to do it!

This is the recipe I use, not sure of it's origin, it's just how I remember my Dad making trifle in my childhood, adapted to make use of the fabulous fresh berries we have available here in the Bay of Plenty.

I'll be making it on Wednesday evening, so will upload a photo of the results then!

Berry Trifle

1 double white sponge cake

2 cups boysenberries

1 x punnets of strawberries

2x cups raspberries

1 tin mandarins

1 box of berry flavoured jelly crystals.

1 large carton of custard

600ml cream, whipped to soft peaks

Method
Cut sponge into squares and place in a serving bowl. Prepare the jelly according to the packet instructions and drizzle the mixture over the cake pieces. Refrigerate for about two hours. Spoon over the custard. Rinse the berries and remove stems etc, mix them together and bruise them slightly with a fork, just enough to release the juices. Pour over the berries and the juice and top with whipped cream and sliced berries.
Trifle also looks lovely in little individual glasses.

Merry Christmas!

Things I'm pleased with today

Phew! How is everyone doing? I'm wondering when Christmas became so busy? When I became a Mother I suspect...

A couple of weeks ago, I (foolishly?) asked Isla if she would like me to make her anything special for Christmas. She requested a tutu. Ok. A lime green one. Okaaaay... With flowers on it. Right.

So I dutifully purchased some tulle and organza in the aforementioned shade of green and looked at it for ages and held it up this way and that and eventually attempted a tutu, which, literally, fell flat. Three attempts later I was beginning to worry. Until I read this lovely and well timed post, and the link within it, and I was happy again.

The flowers come from a lei which I bought from the $2 Shop, and carefully dismantled. I'm quite pleased with the results.

What do you think?

There are a couple of other things I'm quite pleased with today. My 2009 Diary (2009 can you believe it?) from the lovely people at K.Kurtovich. I do like to support New Zealand Made, and I love the striking image of the Hei Tiki.There's something so refreshing to me about the blank pages of a new diary and a new Year. 2009 will see Liam and My 5th Wedding Anniversary, our baby Kyan turning 1, Isla turning 3, friends having new babies. 2 weddings (at least!), and who knows what else?

These people. Apologies for the blurry pic and the terrible light. I'm blogging after the children are in bed, exchanging peace and quiet for decent light! They look much more fabulous in real life, but you get the gist.

Wooden toys from the op shop, bought for a song.

And, this stuff, bless it, from these wonderful, wonderful people. Kyans' gums and I are eternally grateful.

I'll be back with a recipe tomorrow.

Ornaments

I just wanted to say a huge Speckled Egg Thank You to everyone in my group for these beautiful decorations. I really enjoyed the swap and look forward to the next! Check out the flickr group to see all the wonderful creations generated this year by creative Kiwis. Merry Christmas!

Lasagna

Oh it was a hard week. Exhausting, hot, nauseous... but I won't go on. It's all over now and everyone's feeling better in our house. My little family and I are like soldiers after battle. We're tired, a bit fragile, and some of us a little thinner than when we started, but we survived. We needed comfort food. And nothing goes down better in our house than a good old fashioned lasagna. There are heaps of different ways to make this including vegetarian versions but this is how I do mine. I've tried my best with measurements but this is a very forgiving recipe so feel free to adjust things according to your tastes.



1 packet fresh lasagna sheets
1 jar good quality bolognase sauce
approx 500grams ground prime beef mince
approx 25grams butter
approx 1/4 cup plain flour
cheese
milk
approx 500grams fresh spinach
salt and pepper
3 diced garlic cloves

Brown your mince in a large pan, add garlic and salt and pepper, then add the sauce and pop a lid on top, simmer, stirring occasionally.
In another saucepan, melt the butter, and add enough flour to make a roux. Add milk slowly, using a whisk to prevent lumps. Keep adding milk until mixture has thickened and you have approx 1/3 saucepan full of sauce.
In a third saucepan, lightly steam your spinach until it softens and reduces.
In an oven dish, assemble the lasagna starting with a layer of pasta, then meat, a thin layer of spinach, a layer of white sauce and pasta again, repeat, ending with a pasta layer, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake at 200degrees Celsius for about 20mins, then switch to grill until the cheese is golden on top.

Serve with steamed green beans, or salad, crusty bread and of course wine!

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Shop Update

The only positive of the hideous stomach virus currently residing at our house is that I managed to do a wee shop update. I thought I'd better secure some sort of livelihood, as my actual employers are probably growing quite tired of me, my children and the constant array of bugs we bring home from preschool...

Bring on that holiday everyone's talking about huh?

Quinoa and Tuna Salad

I've just met Quinoa and I think I'm in love. Being a breastfeeding Mum, I'm all about protein at the moment. Being Summer, I'm all about cold food, salads of every kind, and meals where you can throw in whatever fresh vegetables are in the fridge. This was what we had this evening, and it was pretty good if I do say so myself! Next time I will add some red capsicum I think...

Quinoa and Tuna Salad

2 cups of quinoa, rinsed

2 tuna steaks, or 1 tin of tuna

1/2 a cucumber, cubed

2 tomatoes, diced

12 sticks approx of fresh asparagus

1 bunch spring onions, chopped

half a lemon

Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill, put aside to cool.

Boil the quinoa until cooked, then place in a sieve and run cold water through it until cool.

Quickly poach the asparagus in salted water.

Flake the tuna, and combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl, add a squeeze of

lemon juice.

I think the colours look quite Christmassy, don't you?