Slowly Does It

Well we have been going fairly flat strap over the last couple of months and well the human body can only take so much so we have been feeling a little "under" the weather over the past week and have been taking it easy. We had a very laid back weekend, not really doing a whole lot which i have to say was nice for a change. There is still a lot to do, inside is still not finished totally. Lots of little things still needing to be done such as new door handles for all the cupboards, fixing architraving, cupboards for walk in wardrobes and the biggie....KITCHEN!

We have been looking into how we want to change the kitchen and how we want to arrange it. Currently we aren't happy with the kitchen having one "entry" point into the kitchen.  It makes the kitche feel small and "enclosed"

{Photo of kitchen before we bought it}

So we have come up with a plan which gives the kitchen a more "open" plan and hopefully utilizing the space we have well! We are going to get rid of the corner larger bench at the front of the kitchen, which leaves you with a "U" shape kitchen. In the middle of the kitchen we are going to put a "butcher's" bench, which will have double sided cupboards and drawers for storage. It will also have wheels which will be great to use out on the deck (when that get's done!!) as a preparation area.

{Bevan's 3d Drawing of our new kitchen}

{Butcher's Bench}

We are going to inset the pantry and fridge into the wall so that it will also give the kitchen a more open feeling. More wall cupboards will also be added onto the other side of the rangehood.

{Overview of the kitchen & dining}

At this point i have decided on the 900mm wide inbuilt oven for the kitchen and the 700mm Gas cooktop. I am not exactly happy with the gas cooktop - I HATE cooking with gas as there seems to be now such thing as "low" simmering with it! BUT it's cheaper than the electric cooktop we were looking at so it wins out!

 {Inbuilt oven plan}

I have been looking at some colours for the bench tops and i have found one that i like. Its called Catalana Marble, I thought a plain white for the cupboards would be nice. We thought to add a bit of character to the kitchen and have the "Butcher bench" as a wooden bench top. These are all preliminary idea's so things probably will change but this is where we are up to with it anyway!

 {Catalana Marble - Laminex}

{Something like the wooden bench top above for the "butcher's bench"}

On the creative front things have been going pretty slow - i still have heaps of things i want to add to the house and it all looks a bit mish mashy in style but it is going to take a little time to transform it into the style that i like. We had to go to the greenmount dump on saturday to get rid of some rubbish and we found these nice old sash windows which we got 3 for $5.00.

{Old Sash Windows}

I want to transform the window above into a "french" style black board for the kitchen area. The others i am not 100% sure of what i do with but somewhere along the lines of a photo frame or a collage board. Who knows.

{French Country Blackboards}

We have some new additions to our brood of hen's. Introducing Big Red and Henny Penny. My mum and dad bought these two for us over the weekend. They are at the "point of lay" which means they are coming into being old enough to lay so we will get a few years out of these two as opposed to the other who have a limited life left in them.

{Henny Penny}

{Big Red}

{Feed Time}

 These two have very defined personalities. Henny Penny is a loving chook (if chooks can be loving} always wants to be around you and loves a pat. Big Red is vastly different. Although she is not in the TOP of the pecking order she will have a "go" at you with a bit of a peck here and there. Very standoffish. She gave Abby (our dog) a few touch ups over the weekend and i think she now has a healthy respect for the chooks. It was hilarious to watch! Mind you these two are getting pick on quite a bit since they were introduced a bit later than the others, These two hide under a laying box all day because they get picked on so much. Is this normal?? I am no expert on chooks so if you have any advice on chooks, i would be more than happy to have some info on them! We have been getting about 2 - 3 eggs a day which has been great. We are currently on a bit of De-tox diet and can't eat eggs for 10 days so the family will be benefiting from them over the next week! We got a HUGE egg the other day - poor chook!

{Our gigantic egg vs a normal egg}

I will leave you with a picture of our VERY cute but naughty dog. Found her like this before i left for work this morning! I didnt have the heart to get up her!

{Our cute but naughty doggie - and yes they were clean clothes}

On a Roll....

Well i have been on a bit of a roll with recipes and taking photos of them so you will have to bear with me putting them up on the blog. Everything on the "farm" is going well and we hope to enjoy it this weekend with not too much "hard" planned.

The recipe I have today is what i cooked last night. It is a super simple dish that i whipped up in a matter of 30 minutes! It tasted great and was also *gasp* healthy and good for you and also BUDGET friendly!  Ha Anyway i thought i would put it up as it was a great change to the usual meat and three veg.

Thai Chicken in Lettuce Leaf Cups

 

 

Ingredients:
6-8 Iceberg or Cos Lettuce Leaves
8 Chicken Thigh fillets/ or 4 Chicken Breasts (*Or alternatively you can use a roasted bought chicken for this recipe)
1 Large Zucchini, grated coarsely
1 Medium Carrot, grated coarsely
2 Green onions, slice thinly
1 Medium Red Capsicum, sliced thinly
Handful of green beans, in halves
3/4 Cup Cabbage slice finely
½ Cup of Corn (Tinned or Fresh)
3 Tablespoons Fresh Mint, Finely Chopped
2 Tablespoons Coriander, Coarsely Chopped
Chopped peanuts for garnish

Sauce:
2 Tablespoon Kecap Manis
2 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
To serve with rice and my Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce *See recipe below*

 

Method:
1.    Trim Lettuce leaves and set aside.
2.    Cook chicken and finely slice (or if your using a cooked chicken, shred meat and set aside)
3.    Meanwhile combine cabbage, capsicum, beans and corn in a bowl and place in pan you cooked the chicken in, stir fry for 3-5 min to warm through. Add onions, carrot, zucchini, mint & coriander for the last minute and remove from heat.
4.     Combine sauce ingredients and drizzle over vegetables. Toss through sliced chicken and serve in lettuce cups.
5.    Serve with basmati rice and garnish with chopped peanuts and sweet chilli sauce.

Now if your an adventurous cook you can have a go at making your own sweet chilli sauce to go with this. Obviously you would of had to make it a few days before hand! It's really easy to do and it's not full of all those nasty preservatives. Check the recipe out below.

Homemade Sweet Chilli Sauce

Ingredients:
8 Red Capsicums, deseeded and finely diced
10 Red Chillies, finely chopped (can be de-seeded if you don’t want it hot)
Finger sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped.
8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
400g, cherry tomatoes
750g sugar
250ml white wine vinegar

Method:
1.    Tip the capsicum, chillies, garlic, ginger into a heavy based sauce and whizz with a hand blender until most of it is finely chopped. (*Or alternatively you can use a food processor)
2.    Add tomatoes, sugar and vinegar and bring everything to the boil. Skim off any scum that comes to the surface.
3.    Turn the heat down to simmer and cook for about 50 mins, stirring occasionally.
4.    Once the sauce is becoming sticky, Continue cooking for about 10-15 min, stirring frequently so that it does not catch and burn.
5.    It should look like thick bubbling lava. Cool slightly and transfer to sterilised jars, then turn the jar upside down and cool completely. This will help the lid seal.
6.    Keep for 3 months in a dark cupboard, refrigerate once opened.

I have also added a RECIPE page to the blog where you can visit and check out the recipes i have blogged about and you will also have the ability to download each recipe to add to your recipe folders if you so desire! Also check out my SIMPLY TEA blog for baking recipes and other info on our tea business and tea information! It also has a recipe page containing all the recipes and also the ability to download the recipes! So i hope you enjoy these recipes and give them a go! 

Would love to hear any comments or suggestions on some meals to cook or if you have a recipe you would love me to try out and photograph and put up email it to me via facebook or post it up as a comment!

Recipe Day

I have been whipping up a few simple yummy things while we have been busy doing things around the house. Thought i would share them with you.

 Mustard Chicken & Turkey Cranberry Pita's

Great little lunch option for those on the go or would also be a great addition to any picnic basket! So bring out your picnic rug, fill a flask full of coffee and find a nice sunny spot this weekend!

{These are super easy to make, super yummy, low in fat and also healthy!}

Ingredients:

* To serve 4

4 wholemeal pita breads - cut in half and hollowed out

Lettuce - shredded

Tomato - diced

Cucumber - cubed

Corn - tinned

avocado - diced

shallots - finely sliced

2 boiled eggs - sliced

Roasted chicken - shredded

1 Tablespoon Whole grain mustard

3 Tablespoons Mayonnaise (97% fat free)

Sliced turkey breast - sliced

2 Tablespoon Hummus

Cranberry sauce

Salt/pepper

Method:

1. Add all salad ingredients into a bowl with the egg and lightly toss.  Separate evenly between two bowls. 

2.Add diced chicken, mayonnaise and mustard, salt & pepper to one bowl, toss lightly to combine set aside.

3. In the other bowl add turkey, hummus, salt & pepper and toss lightly to combine.

4. In 4 halves of the pita bread spread some cranberry sauce in the inside. Fill with turkey mixture and set on a plate. Add chicken mixture to the the rest of the pita halves and add to plate.

5. Enjoy.

These would be great lightly toasted as well.

_________________________________________________________________

Chilli & Mint Marinade

This great little marinade is perfect for those who need to make dinner in a hurry but want something to add a little pizzaz to your steak or chicken. This marinade is brushed over your meat at the END of cooking, just before serving. It is freshy, zangy and bursting full of yumminess! Give it a go! Super easy to make!

{Great with any type of meat such as beef or chicken}

Ingredients:

Handful of mint leaves - finely chopped

1 x medium sized chilli - finely diced (you can use any type of chilli depending on how hot you like it)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon of sugar

3-4 tablespoons of good quality olive oil

salt/pepper

Method:

1. Add mint leaves, chilli, garlic and lemon zest into a mortar and pestle and grind until slightly broken down and a rough paste forms.

2. Add lemon juice, sugar olive oil and salt & pepper. Mix together. Taste and adjust sweetness or tangyness to your liking.

3. Using a spoon or pastry brush, brush your cooked meat with the marinade.

If you want to use this as a dressing add a little bit more lemon juice and oil to create a runnier consistency and drizzle over salad.

The girls have arrived...

Well we got our brood of hen's on saturday morning - before i had to do a market stall for my business "Simply Tea". Bevan went with the next door neighbour out to a free range chook farm at Greenmount. We found in the newspaper that you could buy $2 chooks that have been laying for about 2 years already. Now i know that they may not have a long laying time left (maybe a year or more) but i thought what a way to recycle some poor old chooks and at least give them a good life for a year or so and in return get some lovely eggs. - AND lovely they are-!

{Bevan and Dale (the neighbour) putting the chooks in there new home}

{The girls - looking a little worse for wear!}

The "girls" don't know themselves, scratching around in dirt and grass out in the sunshine. They blessed us with two beautful eggs on the first day and another 4 more since saturday. They do look a little worse for wear at the moment with half of them having no tail feathers and some with out chest feather obviously from being pecked at but given a few months i am sure they will look pretty again! I have to say i feel like a little kid getting excited everyday when i go down to the chook pen and find eggs in the laying boxes! I have enjoyed sitting and relaxing on the grass and watching them scratch round and talk to each other! Quite entertaining! Hahahaha.

{Our first eggs! mmm they were good!}

Bevan has been working hard filling up the vegie gardens with soil and layering qypsum and organic life to help break it down and add extra nutrients needed for the vegies. The next step is to add some cow manure which we have got off a farmer friend for $5.00 a grain sack. We will put a bag of that in each garden and dig it in and then layer it with straw for mulch and leave it for a few weeks to really break down and get ready for our vegies. 

{Putting soil into the gardens - hard yakka}

We are waiting for the frosts to finish (if anymore come) and then we can start planting the first season's tomato's! Oh i cannot wait for freshly picked ripe tomatoes! Mmmm and i will have to share with you the Darr family "Tomato Relish" recipe! It is delicious - especially with cheese and jatz! We have decided we will probably put a railway sleeper border around the beds eventually when we can find some cheap ones!

 {Dirt done.... manure and mulch to go}

Bevan got a new toy the other day.... a chainsaw! He has been researching the best one to buy and he came up with a beaut little husqvana. He gave it a whirl the other day and all i can say is watch out trees!!!! He got rid of a few pesky trees around the yard that were blocking other trees (such as our precious mulberry tree...mmmmmm can't wait for them). He said that it was so easy to cut through the trees with the chainsaw that after all his cutting he realised he had a bit of work to do to clean it up! Boys and there toys.

{Bevan giving a few tree's a permanent haircut!}

We got a great passionfruit bush out the front of our house that is nicely established. The passionfruit are in abundance and are slowly growing, hopefully we can pick and eat some soon! Oh a nice pavalova would be great with these little beauties!

{Mmmm passionfruit}

As i mentioned earlier i had to do a market stall over the weekend for my online tea business "Simply Tea". It was at the camellia show in toowoomba which was being held in the horticulture center at the local tafe. The weekend went really well (although exhausting) and i had the opportunity to hold a "talk" about tea and the relationship it has with the camellia, tea health benefits, manufacturing process and what types of tea we have at Simply Tea. It was a great experience and i had a blast. I also write a Simply Tea Blog which is a great little write up on baking, info on tea and all things tea related. So go and check it out if you haven't yet. Would love to get some feedback on it!

 {Simply Tea - Market Stall}

Check Out Simply Tea Blog

Check Out Simply Tea Website

I have been pretty pre-occupied with getting ready for the markets so the inside of the house has gone to a halt! However a few things have changed.... decoratively that is! Ok well i was a little unsure on the cushions i bought for the lounge room... don't get me - i loved them but they were just very dark and it wasn't creating the "warmth" that i wanted in there. So after a week or two of thinking and procrasting i decided to take them back - and later i found out bevan hated them anyway! hahaha.

{ The new cushions - i like them better}

I have been searching for reasonably priced upholstery fabric and found that spotlight stocks a range of upholstery fabrics. I think i have found one that i  like and will wait till spotlights has a sale on upholstery fabric and will order the amount that i need. I have decided to get rid of the skirting around the bottom of the chairs and ottomons and let the wooden legs show. It will match in with our house and give it a bit of a rustic look. I have some left over white cushions that i previously had which will go nicely on the chairs once i am done! (whenever that may be!!!!) I hope to add some rustic burlap cushions (when i find some cheap ones) to the chairs as well.

{Burlap Cushions}

{Upholstery fabric}

Another addition to the house is i found some cute bird cages at loot and some gorgeous little fat birdy figurines to go with it! (Of course they were on sale - 15% off). I was able to get a medium and small birdcage with two cute birdies (you can see in the back ground) These will go in the rumpus room on the storage unit (which i am yet to paint white).

{Cute little cages}

Another find on my OP Shop expiditions was these cute oil and vinegar bottle with a stand and nice country style plate for $4.00 each. I have added them to my white collection in my hutch.

{Op Shop find}

A great way to showcase a collection of items is to bunch same type colours together . Such as i have done with all my white china. It makes a nice effect and a great way to get those things you hardly use and get them out into the open and show them off!

{ My white china collection}

I hope to get a few recipes that i have been whipping up lately! Hopefully they will inspire you a little! Also check out my Simply Tea Blog as i put a lot of my "baking" and recipes up there as well!

The count down to fresh eggs begins!

I have to say i look forward to the working week - it means i can rest in front of a computer! :-) I do love our weekends in the garden and doing house reno's but it is exhausting by the end. We had a very rewarding weekend finishing off the chookpen and finishing off the rock garden border i was doing. Very satisfying to see what hard work brings!

{Bevan and his bro working on the chook pen}

{Halfway through repairs}

Bevan worked quite hard on the pen on the weekend so that we can pick some chooks up this coming weekend. We are getting "second" hand chooks from the local chook farm - they have been laying for 12 months or more already and ready to retire so hopefully they will have a few more eggs left in them! IF not chop chop!! hahah! I am very excited. I have never had chooks before so it will be an interesting learning curve that's for sure. I have many family members looking forward to fresh free range eggs - AND so am i! Yummo! Honestly the eggs you buy in the supermarket have no comparison to a fresh egg! Have to whip up a few "egg" based recipes - sponge cakes and quiches here i come!

{Finished result}

{Hooning around on the ride on with abby in the back}

I have to say my hands are turning into man's hands after hauling a few hundred kilos of rocks and digging in dirt..... BUT i love it. Couldn't be more happy than scratching round in the dirt at the moment! Finished the rock border on sunday arvo and it looks pretty good if i don't say so myself. I have ordered 14 roses to plant in it, i went with the pink "Bonica" rose (I am a pink girl at heart) and they were the best to grow as a"hedge" , disease resistant and easy to grow - So they ticked all the boxes! I am also on the hunt for cheap "french" lavender plants for the lower terrace of the garden - know any cheap nurseries???.

{Bonica Roses}

{Finished border}

I picked up these gorgeous Alyssum seed mix when i was at bunnings yesterday. I plan to border these around the roses and put the lavender on the lower terrace at the front of the garden.

{Alyssum Aphrodite Mix}

We decided on Monday after finishing our projects for the weekend we would start on the vegie patch so we can get ready for the spring crop of vegies. We marked out where we wanted the beds to go and dug an approx border ready for us to hire a rotary hoe to dig the ground up!

{Initial stages of vegie patch}

So life on the "farm" is going well. The blue skies and sunny days have been glorious to spend in the garden, pottering around and Abby our dog loves us being outside with her!

Ahh this is the life! :-)

Mary Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow?

Well now that we've got into a bit of a routine things seem to have slowed down a bit on the house. There is little jobs still needed doing on the inside such as architraving to be replaced and painted, lights to be put in, photos to be hung etc. We have started doing a bit out in the yard over the past week which has been a refreshing change to being stuck inside. Bevan has been concentrating on fixing the chook pen up so we can fill it with chooks! I can't wait to have fresh eggs to eat and cook with!

{The chook pen in the middle of repairs}

While bevan has been working on the chook pen, i have attacked the front garden, weeding it and building a stone edge on the otherside of the bed to finish it off. It has been fun hooning around on the ride on mower with the trailor on the back full of rocks! I don't think i could have hauled heavy rocks to the garden bed - so i am glad we have that! 

{My work in progress}

My vision for this garden is to create a hedge of roses along the whole garden. I will use the same type of rose and mass plant it to create a gorgeous hedge of colour (well that's the plan anyway). I am then thinking of using another plant to border the roses - maybe a small japanese box hedge or even dwarf lavender plants would look great. Below are some rose options that i am considering to use - still yet to decided which one i think will look the best - what do you think?

{"Aspirin" Rose}

{"Pompenella" Rose}

{"Bonica" Rose}

This is the look i am thinking of going for with the japanese box hedge but not as formal as this.

or going a little bit less formal with the lavendar. Decisions... Decisions.

Some of our citrus fruits are coming on at the moment, which is pretty exciting. We have a bush full of lemons, lemonade's are ripening and limes are slowly growing. We have a huge bush full of chilli's if anyone is in the need for a few?

{Our lemons - they make GREAT lemon butter}

{Heaps of Brid's eye chillis!}

Before we moved into our house my mum bought me the cutest pair of gum boots in preparation for the country life in our new home! I love them - spots and all!

Abby our dog has been enjoying her time at her new home - lots of yard to sniff out and things to explore and LOTS of doggy friends to visit in our street! She is "dog" tired every night and curls up in her basket sound asleep - and snores! (literally - its quite funny to listen to)

I am an avid junk shopper and I thought i would show you a few of the great things i have aquired in my OP shop trips over the last couple of months. It is such a great way to find things to decorate your house with! I love the unique things i have found and here are a few of my fave things.

{Love this little enamel teapot i picked up - $5.00 - needs a rinse hehehe}

{Country style pitcher - $4.00}

{Country style ceramic mixing bowl - $6.00}

{Vintage cake tin - $8.00 - this is one of my fave things!} LOVE IT xx

{Cute white ceramic bird figurines $2.00}

I have been scouting bargains as well in the shops for stuff for the house and i am happy to say i have come across some good buys! Gotta love end of year sales! Best time to buy stuff i reckon!

{ The mirror on the wall was my bargain of the century - RRP $90.00 - i got if for $15.00}

{Love these patterened cushions i got from spot light - not a HUGE bargain but 30% is pretty good}

{ This jute rug was a steal - 50% off at spotlight}

One day i hope to have some nice couches in this room and i will be painting the dark shelves in the background white and adding some nice seagrass baskets in the holes. ahhh one day when i find some spare time! hahaha. Anyway i think i have exhausted my brain of all things new at the Darr's house. Hope your enjoying my ramblings - would love to hear any idea's, suggestions or comments!