MOLLIE AND SNIPPETS

A little summary of things around here of late, excluding the house-related 'stuff' that is truly wearing me down and the trip to Sydney, which requires a whole separate post with lots of photos that I don't have the internet capacity to upload for now (which is also wearing me out!). To start things off, our lemon tree has blossoms (above) and one wee lemon growing ever so slowly but growing just the same.

Mollie Makes

One of my sisters recently discovered this magazine and passed on the four issues published to date. I'm impressed and grateful for having access to her subscription (I might just need one of my own!).

The Beach

Soon we will live further away from the beach (ouch) so we've been maximising our time there often sharing the outing with friends. I can't even begin to explain the effect being near water has on me. It is my ultimate exercise in 'grounding' and is so entrenched in my past and present that I fear I'll long for it terribly when a beach is further afield. To compensate, I have all kinds of long beachside adventures in mind and thankfully I can console myself with the other wonderful benefits of the upcoming move.

All this from a girl from Sydney who once scoffed at the idea (and reality!) of a Melbourne beach. Such attitude! Somewhere in the past ten years I broadened by definition and appreciation of 'beachside' and learnt to enjoy the bayside beaches of Melbourne while continuing, at every opportunity, to visit exposed, coastal beaches too. For now, we inhale, love and revel in the nearby bay beaches and feel grateful for the nine good years we've enjoyed living within a stone's throw on them.

The Market

A few recent excursions to Footscray Market have left me wondering why I haven't taken the kids there more often. They were a little overwhelmed during our most recent visit because it was busy and they were tired but they've generally always enjoyed the sites and sounds of the market, particularly the fish stalls! And then there's the little 'cafe' (and I mean little - one table!) tucked away amongst coffee machines, dried legumes and an array of nuts, among other wonderful things. They make a great babychino, or so it seems!

And we never fail to duck across the road to another favourite haunt. They've been going since the mid-50s - amazing! And we know why. The kids love the little cannoli piped with half vanilla, half chocolate custard.

The Kitchen

I really should do a whole separate post on recent activities in our kitchen - and I will very soon but to an extent this photo says it all. We've been sharing so much time cooking and baking together, mostly in a cooperative fashion. Rafael has found his inner chef calling and his big sister is only too happy to instruct him on all she's learnt to date! There have been some very funny moments.

And to top it all off, there's been plenty of swaggering from this little boy as he gets more and more control over an increasingly active body!

THE APPLE CAKE

We've tried a few apple cake recipes in our time but, this has to be our (current) favourite.  For this, I can thank this book with it's central themes of giving and recieving in the context of an old women's quest for apples for this cake. When eventually she suceeds through some serendipitous bartering, she cooks and devours the entire cake. I have to say, I'm confident I could equal her efforts but, I did opt to share with the family. What great control I displayed!

The recipe is a little time consuming but completely worth the effort. The result is a delicious half cake - half bread loaf . One day a few weeks back (when we still had some decent sunshine!), we enjoyed the cake with friends at a local park/gardens and I can't help but include some photos from that morning.

And heck, while I'm at it, you might as well have our other favourite (!) apple cake recipe. Tis' the season afterall - the apple one that is. This recipe provides a use for that leftover morning porridge. Yesterday it provided a good afternoon tea for the kids and their cousins, and us sisters of course! So quick and easy.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cake
1/2 cup oats
1 cup water
Make porridge and add 125ml butter to the saucepan (with porridge) to melt
Combine following and add the above
2 eggs
1 cup S.R Flour – sift
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder – sift
Bake 180 for about 35 mins

NOTHING WRONG WITH A WONTON

It wasn't long before these raw wontons were cooked and being devoured by the kids

Our latest 'discovery' on the food front: wontons! Well, I've often eating them at restaurants but we'd never made them at home and they seemed like the perfect project to share with the kids. They were! A fun, messy, busy little cooking project. The first time I made these I was merely helping at my sister's place as they made these for my niece's birthday dinner and we enjoyed the process so much, including the eating bit, that we've made them at home a few times lately. Yummo. And now anytime we have a 'wonton craving' we'll pop into Footscray for a great choice of wonton wrappers.

We were inspired by the multitide of wonton recipes out there and eventually came up with our own concotion of the following.

• minced chicken or pork (we're looking forward to trying them with prawns)
• grated and/or finely chopped vegetables of any type (carrot and brocoli works well)
• grated or finely chopped shallots/spring onion or onion (we prefer the spring onion option)
• herbs (corander and mint are so great with these)
• hoisin sauce and/or sweet chili sauce (our kids tolerate only a little) and/or oyster sauce
• honey (occassionally I've added a touch of honey to the mixture)

You can play around with quantities depending on both the amount you're making and your taste preferences. Lay out your wontons and brush all edged with egg. Pop a heaped teaspoon full of the mixture in the middle of the wrapper and close by pulling up to create a little parcel. The wrapper will stick and stay together well if you pinch it inwards. Either place them in a steamer or fry in hot oil (you need quite a bit of oil and it should be very hot; you can deep fry them but I seem to get away with shallow frying instead).

SHE ASKED FOR IT

Nothing to do with the soup, except that she opted for some garden maintenance

with her Mama while it was stewing away. Wondering about the semi-clad tummy? Apparently that's what workmen do when they're working on the road on a hot day...not exactly 'hot' this day but apparently warm enough to warrant this..

At Em's request, here is 'my' recipe for Meatball Soup. This was another favourite at Bouzouki and my mother-in-law was kind enough to share it with me, now I'm sharing it with you. Years back, when working elsewhere on the island (eleven "years back" to be precise), I recall darting back to the restaurant during my lunch-break for a bowl of this soup, always warm and ready to go with toasted flat-bread on the side. It was the perfect aid to my first full Autumn on the West Coast helping me to adjust to the cooler weather, which was a shock having come from Spring in Sydney. Her lentil soup also helped me over the line. I'll have to share that recipe soon - scrumptious!

MEATBALL SOUP

Meatballs
1/2 kg ground beef
1 egg
1 onion
1/4 cup pearl rice (arboria or short-grain work well too)
3 tablespoons parsley chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint chopped
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients and roll into small balls (tablespoon width or so - you chose). Roll meat balls in a small amount of plain flour, set aside.

Broth
5-6 cups beef broth (I often use vegetable broth)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
pinch of basil and or/parsley

In a large saucepan, combine broth ingredients and bring to a boil. Drop meatballs in one at a time so they don't stick together. Cook for 30 minutes over low heat, or until meatballs are cooked through.

Some additions...
You can add 1/2 cup cooked orzo or some left over rice or some cooked lentils or, well you chose really. It's an easy recipe to play with.  I'm also partial to some tomato paste stirred through the broth. I play around with the herbs both in terms of quantity and selection. In the cooler months when we don't have basil in the garden, I sometimes add a little dried oregano.

Bon Appetit!

TWICE-BAKED BISCUITS

Helping to mix the biscotti batter

In our house these twice-baked biscuits, otherwise known as 'biscotti', are a real hit. I've been meaning to get this recipe to a friend FOREVER and thought I'd send it to her via a post. Sorry for the delay Em but here it is.

My mother-in-law gave me this recipe years back and I've enjoyed baking them ever since.  When we lived on the island, I loved watching her make bucket-loads of biscotti (and I mean BUCKET-LOADS!) to be consumed at the restaurant and family home and now I make them for my own family, though in slightly smaller quantities! The restaurant is no longer there but the food is living on in my kitchen, though it's certainly not as tasty as that created by D's Mum. That might sound like a 'crawling' daughter-in-law thing to say but I can assure you it's true.

And note to self - next time use ouzo and not D's moonshine from Burma! Thankfully the biscotti turned out well just the same.

Twice-Baked Biscuits (originally 'Cookies' of course!)

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter (softened)

4 tablespoons aniseed

4 tablespoons anisette or other anise-flavoured liqueur (ouzo works best)

3 tablespoons whiskey (or 2 tablespoons vanilla essence (the real stuff) and 2 tablespoons of water)

2 cups almonds, coarsely chopped

6 eggs

5 1/2 cups plain flour (unsifted)

1 tablespoon baking powder

Mix sugar with butter, anise seed, liqueur, whisky and nuts, Beat in eggs, Mix flour with baking powder and stir into the sugar mixture. Blend well, cover and chill for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours (I've been known to leave it over night). Shape dough to form flat loaves about 1/2 an inch thick and 2 inches wide and as long as your baking sheet. Generally, it's best to place no more than 2 loaves on the baking tray as the biscotti expands. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool until you can touch (and not get burnt!) then cut into diagonal slices about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Lay slices on their sides, close together on baking sheet and return to the oven (180 degrees again) for 15 minutes or until toasted.

You can make all kinds of subsitutes to create a biscotti of your choice. My favourites have been hazlenut and chocolate, cranberry, plain (minus the aniseed flavourings) and pistacchio. Yummo. It also freezes well which is great if you're inclined to make BUCKET-LOADS of biscotti like my mother-in-law! She also introduced me to the concept of a 'biscotti breakfast'. You see, as a product of slicing the biscotti after that initial bake, you'll have crumbs containing lots of crunchy goodness which are very tasty with yogurt in the morning. Perhaps not the healthiest of breakfast accompaniments but scrumptious all the same.

SNIFFLES, COUGHS AND FEVER



Birds of Paradise from the garden, picked by Dada for the sniffling ones

We've had a week of it and copious amounts of ginger tea, Mama soup, oil-burning, cough elixer (this one by Weleda), a few lavender baths and 'Eucalyptus Hankies' (a little splash on a handkerchief stored close by for sniffing - remember that from childhood?) and oh so many books and hugs and 'homeness'. Antibiotics were required for me but the others escaped them. I am ever so grateful that we have antibiotics as an option, when needed, but it's also great to  know they've had success at fighting this bug on their own - this time at least (I'm sure they'll be a few more bugs about this winter).

Back to the books, our current favourite books include Dr. De Soto, Autumn and anything Shirley Hughes or Elsa Beskow (the latter two authors are ALWAYS a big hit around here).

Drawing by Elsa Beskow

Drawing by Shirley Hughes

Gnocchi seeks refuge under the book-box but Rafael was intent on a conversation

Making her own pretend herbal remedy

Making vegie stock, chicken stock and chicken soup - so very needed this past week

Time with her 'puppy', a remedy of its very own

A little hail storm to remind us that we're not missing anything out of doors

APRIL

May, already?

An obvious one

There was so much BLUE in April!

Her longest bike-ride yet; into the village

The body of a Tea Leaves complete! Sleeves yet to come

So many sleepy cuddles

Moulding with her....

Ducks from here (sleeping apparently)

Pumpkin scones all-round

And soooo much pizza

EXTRA LONG

It already seems like so long ago but how can that be when the weekend only really finished on Wednesday? What a treat having Labour Day tacked on to the end of the Easter long weekend! We had a great weekend with family, eating, cooking, celebrating all things Easter and for me, sewing.

Felt Easter Bilbys for a niece and nephew

Plenty of egg dying

My first ever Tsoureki (first one I've made that is, I've eaten plenty!)

And new winter pyjama pants for the kids (this has become and Easter tradition in our house...does three years consitute "a tradition"?)

She was very impressed with her first ever "big girl pony-tail"

And a new 'Lazy Days Skirt' for Elsa - a long one this time, at her request