Family
A Care Package for the Grand Boys
Since the pandemic hit I have tried to avoid writing about it, but as we must live with it, it often gives us a reason for doing something.
As we entered yet another lock down in the middle of the year, we had no idea of what lay ahead. For those of us lucky enough to live in the country, our lock downs have been much shorter than for those who are living in Melbourne. In Melbourne it is ongoing.
When I heard that the restrictions were being increased to prevent children’s access to playgrounds, I just wanted to do something for my grandboys who were being home-schooled, and now they were no-longer permitted to go to the playground. Continue reading
Yo Yo’s
Nana Grace's Yo Yo's
My mum was an amazing cook, anything she turned her hand to was always delicious. Her Yo Yo biscuits/cookies never lasted long, so it was always such a treat when she baked them.
Category:
Afternoon Tea, Baking, Lunch Box, Snacks
Style:
Australian
Keyword:
Biscuits, Christmas Cookies, Mum's Recipes, Nana Grace's Yo Yos, Yo-Yo, Yo-Yos
Ingredients
- 225 g / 8 oz butter
- 115 g / 4 oz custard powder
- 115 g / 4 oz icing sugar
- 2 - 2 1/2 cups plain flour
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 160˚C/320˚F (fan-forced).
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Line two baking trays with baking paper.
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Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
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Add sifted dry ingredients and mix to a dough like consistency.
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Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into small balls and place on the prepared baking trays, leaving room for a little spreading.
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Use a fork to gently flatten (dip the fork into some plain flour every now and then to prevent it from sticking to the biscuit).
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Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes.
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Join together with a little icing (see note below).
Notes
While many choose to join their Yo Yo's together with a butter icing, we always made a simple icing using icing sugar, a small piece of butter, probably about half to one teaspoonful, a little vanilla, and just enough boiling water to mix to a nice consistency.
The instructions for the recipe in mum’s recipe book were limited…
Cream butter and sugar add sifted dry ingredients roll into small balls & place on slide press with fork. Join with butter icing and roll in castor sugar.
I have expanded the instructions a little and you will see from my note in the recipe that we didn’t use a soft butter icing, and we don’t roll the biscuits in caster sugar, as guided by my mum’s original recipe – she never followed these instructions either!
Majestic Magenta
Hmmm… I started with the title Pretty and Pink…, then thought maybe Radiant Red…!
But really I think Majestic Magenta describes the colour at the end…
A while ago we were in Melbourne for a few days to spend time with our son and his family. This meant that I was able to visit my sister, Sonnie. Sonnie is an amazing cook, and had just finished making a batch of her late husband’s grandmother’s pickled red cabbage, a jar of which, she had kindly set aside for us, I was so excited and very grateful.
Since then I’ve started receiving a regular delivery of fresh, mostly Gippsland grown, vegetables, and the fun thing with the vegie (Farm) box is that each week is different. With produce that we don’t normally use, and being one who hates waste, I’ve just had to get a little creative.
What’s inside the Farm Box?
Fresh produce from the Farm Box Co.
Beautiful fresh red cabbage
After receiving red cabbage in my mystery veg box, I instantly knew what to do – I would make Grandma Martin’s Pickled Red Cabbage. I often prepare braised red cabbage, but this time it was definitely going to be a batch of Grandma Martin’s Pickled Red Cabbage, and with my beautiful sister’s permission, I can now share the recipe with you. Continue reading
In the Garden – April 2021
April saw the leaves turning and beginning to fall, carpets forming and palletes changing. I just love Autumn, the vivid colours, the crisp air, the falling leaves…
The yellow carpet of elm – peeking through to another garden room…
The Front Garden in Autumn – couldn’t resist the splash of red from the leaves of the
