Recipes

A “Beautifully Blended Family” Christmas

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I’m not quite sure why time seems to get away from me, but it does!

The lead up to Christmas was, as I recently said to someone, frantic!  There were cooking classes/knowledge sharing sessions to deliver throughout the region, cooking for a local café to be done, trips to Melbourne for family gatherings, an unexpected medical issue, hampers to prepare and get into the post for family up north, gifts to purchase and our preparations for our contributions to the Christmas Day Family Feast!

This year in the Christmas hamper I included a few new items, coffee liqueur, flavour bombs/simmer pot pouches and a new biscuit (cookie).  The coffee liqueur was a recipe given to me by a host at a B&B in central France, the flavour bombs/simmer pot pouches were made up of my dehydrated citrus, some spices and a little candied ginger (I think that I will dehydrate ginger for them in future), and the new biscuit is based on a commercially available biscuit available here in Aus, but made using a recipe from my mum’s recipe book.

Goodies packaged ready to boxed up and posted off…
Christmas baking…
Mulled Wine Simmer Pot Bags
Butternut Chocolate Cream Biscuits

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Violets and Memories

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I was wandering around the garden in the first week of August, something I rarely find time for any more, which saddens me, as I love my garden and I love being outdoors.

As I rounded the corner, past the spring bulb bed, trying to ignore the weeds, my attention was immediately drawn to a dark space where there was a carpet of flowering violets, and a few snowflakes in bloom as well.  Memories of my late mum, our family home, and my childhood came flooding back, and the snowflakes brought memories of my Gran.  Let me share a little of my memories with you.

Snow Flake in the Garden
Violets in the garden
Violet in the garden
Snow Flake in the Garden

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There’s a Monster in My Garden!

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Most of us know what happens when zucchini is in season…  Everyone you know with a veggie patch will be trying to offload their excess of jumbo-sized zucchinis to anyone and everyone they know, even those they don’t know! Oh what joy when our then, little grandson, found a monster lurking in our friend, Maggies’, garden some years ago!

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Dehydrating Zucchini

Dehydrating zucchini is a great way to store the seasonal abundance for use throughout the year!  It can be stored for up to a year and used almost anywhere you would use fresh zucchini.  All it needs is a little time in hot liquid and it will plump up beautifully. Continue reading →

The Great Outdoors – Foraging and Shinrin-Yoku

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My dearest Gary once said that I am at my most relaxed when I am outdoors.

A month or two back I was on a mission, that mission to find somewhere where I could forage for pine mushrooms.  This meant time out with a special friend, who, I must say, I’ve had a few adventures with.  Maggie is loads of fun and loves a bit of adventure, so a date and time was set.

On the day, I met Maggie at hers, transferred my baskets to her truck and we headed off, chatting, laughing, catching up and looking for a suitable place to forage.  Many plantations were off limits due to logging, but when we had almost given up, the last one on the list was logging free.  She parked the truck, we gathered our tools (baskets and knives, and entered the edge of the plantation.  As we collected our bounty of mushrooms and pine cones we both found ourselves becoming more and more relaxed in our surrounds, wandering off in different directions, and coming together again, this led us to chatting about forest bathing and the benefits afforded by such a simple pastime.

I was a little surprised to hear that Maggie had never foraged for mushrooms and wasn’t game to try the ones that I had collected. But that was Ok, I brought them all home and cooked, pickled and dehydrated them, Mushroom Bourguinon anyone?

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Sisters in the Garden…

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Back in March my sisters, Sonnie and Jan visited, you might say we were a little excited.

The day that they were to arrive, the phone started buzzing with text messages advising of their respective departures, Sonnie had a 2.5 hour drive, Jan had a 6 plus hour drive.  We received updates letting us know where they were, something that we do to make sure everyone is traveling safely.

Sonnie arrived first, with Jan arriving a few hours later.  Bags were taken to their rooms, cups of tea enjoyed, and the talking began.  The day they arrived there was to be a street parade, in existence since 1957, the aim of the Maffra Mardi Gras is to give community groups in Maffra, and throughout Wellington Shire, the opportunity to raise funds for their organisation.  Culminating in a family-friendly evening with a street parade, marching bands and floats, market and food stalls, entertainment for all ages and a lot of fun!  This years’ theme was “the circus” and local trucking companies provided the mobile platforms for local schools and community groups to join in the parade.

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it was quite a warm day, so with the parade scheduled for 6pm, it was perfect!   We found our place along the street, and we couldn’t wipe the smile from our faces.

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