Friendship Fridays

Hope your week is going well.... mine is! Loving this spring rain.... and so is the garden! I am in the middle of a project - doing up one of the window frames i bought from the dump. I am using one of them as a large photo frame for a gorgeous pencil drawing print we got when we were in Paris. I will have to get some pics up once the rain stops and i can get some more done on it!

I will use the photo frames i painted up a while ago to flank the frame on the wall creating a nice photo frame collage. So once i get myself together i can show your my piece of art!

Photo Frames before i painted them

Frames after i painted them with the prints inside!

Also just announcing we i will be having a Friendship Friday Link up to make some new blog friends! Hope that you can make it then and meet some great people! Hope to see you there........

Fruits Of Thy Labour

I truly feel a bit more like a farm girl today... although i did not do any amount of hard labour... it was all in previous preparation as to why i feel this way. Those who have been following for a while have seen the transformation of our vegie garden go from a pile of grass to a thriving (well almost) vegie garden. Today i was able to skip down with gumboots on and basket in hand to collect some fresh produce for our dinner tonight..... and that is why i feel all farm girlish! Most of the produce i was able to collect were things that grew quite quickly such as our radish's, baby silverbeet leaves and rocket.... the lemons have been growing for a while now. I had a recipe in mind that i wanted to whip up for dinner that was fresh, low fat and bursting full of goodness meanwhile using my farm fresh produce!!

 Download  & Print Recipe

Ingredients:

2 x Fillets of Fish (I used Sweet Lip but you could use any fish such as salmon or tuna as well)

1 Cob Corn, kernels sliced off
1/2 Capsicum Diced
3 x Shallots, Finely Sliced
3 x Radishes, Finely Sliced
2 x Tomatoes, Diced
1/2 Avocado, Diced
Handful baby Silverbeet of baby Spinach Leaves
Handful of Rocket
Zest of 2 x Lemons
1/4 Cup White Wine
1/2 Tsp Garlic
1/2 Bunch Coriander

Sauce
2 x Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
2 x Tbsp Lemon Juice
3 x Tbsp Capers



Method:

1. Dice and slice all ingredients and set corn, capsicum, shallots and radish's aside in a bowl together and do the same with the tomatoes, avocado and silverbeet. Place the rocket on serving plates.

2. Place fish in a frypan and sprinkle with lemon zest, salt & pepper and fry until just cooked through, set aside on a tray loosely covered with foil to keep warm and sprinkle extra lemon zest on each fillet.

3. Place corn, capsicum, shallots, radish and garlic into pan and cook for two minutes. Add tomato and avocado mixture and add white wine and place a lid on and cook for a further minute. Take lid off and add coriander into mixture and stir through. Serve over rocket leaves.

4. Place red wine vinegar, lemon juice and capers into the same fry pan. Simmer sauce for 1 minute. Meanwhile plate up fish on top of corn and capsicum mixture.

5. Spoon sauce over the fish and garnish with a sprig of coriander.

Enjoy with a nice glass of chardonnay!
 
 

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A nice addition to this recipe would be exchanging the fresh lemon zest for preserved lemon zest. It would really lift the dish to new heights........ now i didn't get to give it a go this time round as my currant batch of lemons are still in the midst of preserving but i will be pulling these little babies out next time!
 
 



For preserved lemon recipe.... Click Here

 

Now what more could you ask for on a beautiful spring/summer night with the crickets humming in the background, crisp cool glass of wine and a special someone by your side!

 

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Check Out These Awesome Flog Yo Blog Links.....

Love This

I was reading one of my favourite blogs the other day - Bakerella and saw they had the cutest T-shirts for sale that yelled out "CUTENESS" and "SO ME" - not so sure about the risque looking girl on top but i just LOVED it... Hmmm maybe i should hint some to bevan to buy me one! SO CUTE!!

Bakelove Bakewear

Hope you all had a great weekend.......

Mini Pumpkin & Corn Quiches

I made these gorgeous little quiches for a high tea i held recently at the "House" (Still need a name for our house... ideas?) So i thought i would share them with you. They are really yummy, super easy to make and quick. You could make a large quiche out of the mixture and just cook it for longer. Just something a little bit out of the ordinary for those nights your struggling to come up with something!!

Download & Print Recipe

Ingredients:

4 Eggs
100g Cooked Pumpkin, Mashed
100ml Cream or Milk
1 Cob Corn, Kernels sliced off with a knife
½ Red Onion, diced
1 Tsp Garlic
1 Diced Tomato
1 Tbsp Italian Herbs
2 Tbsp Olives, sliced
100g Ham, Sliced
Salt, Pepper

½ Cup Grated Cheese
Puff Pastry

Method:

1.    Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2.    In a bowl place eggs and whisk until frothy. Add cream and mashed pumpkin. Combine.
3.    Add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese into the bowl and stir until combined.
4.    Cut puff pastry sheets into 9 even squares. Line muffin trays with square pieces of baking paper and place in muffin tray and place puff pastry on top.
5.    Place spoonfuls of mixture into the pastry cases and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat until all pastry cases are filled.
6.    Place in oven for 25-35 minutes until pastry is crisp and the quiche has set.

I used a nice Jap pumpkin and Fresh Corn Cob in this but tinned corn will be fine to use as well.

Check out the other recipes for the High Tea that i did! :-)

Have a great weekend enjoying the carnival of flowers!

The Name Game

Abby Checking Out Our New Watering Can

Well with the weather over the last few days dropping back to winter temperatures, I have not been inspired to venture out too much into the garden. Bevan has been working hard on the fence everydat around the vegie garden to get that completed so i can plant out the roses i bought to spread along the front of the fence.

Front of the vegie garden where i will be planting my roses.

I am planting two Climbing Pierre De Ronsard Rose to climb over the entry way posts and two Blushing Pierre De Ronsards either side of the entryway on the fence to climb. These are my ABSALOUTE favourite rose of all time and i am very excited that i am able to use them to create and make a bit of a statment. They let off a gorgeous scent, prolific flowerers and beautiful round petaled rose buds.

Pierre De Ronsard

Blushing Pierre De Ronsard

I picked up at bunnings the other week a pack of plants called the "Tea Pack". It contained lemon balm, peppermint, chamomile and pineapple sage, which you use to make your own tea infustions with!. I thought it was an excellent combination so i planted them all together in a large terracotta pot, which i placed a the end my kitchen garden. Now i have my own "Tea Pot".........

My Own "Tea Pot"

Gorgeous Federations Daisy's I recently planted

Our Garden is coming alive with spring underway!

Guava's ripening, peach tree blossoming!! Yay for spring

We are getting a bit closer to the kitchen being done. All quotes are in and we are in the middle of considering which person to go with.... So difficult to choose! Bevan has started knocking down part of the wall in the garage which we are moving out to fit the fridge in and the pantry to create more room in the kitchen. Check out our PLAN here.

Marking up where to knock out!

Work in progress

The section we will be building out in the garage.

Unfortunatley i haven't been able to go with my Original plan of a pure French Country Kitchen, due to the style of the house and BUDGET! I have opted for using features in the kitchen to give it a "country feel" but with a modern twist. Such things as colonial edging with frosted glass on the overhead cupboards, simple pillars on the edge of the kitchen benches & hardware such as handles etc.

Colonial style cupboard with glass.

Now it has been said that we should name our house for well.... name's sake i guess. Bevan and i have thrown some names around and can't really come up with one SO dear readers i would love to hear what your suggestions may be to name our place!

Thinking Of Sleep!

Feeling kinda tired today.... and my bed is on my mind. Cuddling up under the doona in my Pj's... reading a book or just dozing off into la la land would be just fine by me. It got me thinking of what kind of bedroom i would love to create one day. Obviously it's not a high priority on our list of things to do ( and believe me there is a LONG list) but i thought i would have a play with some favourite bedroom pics that i have come across.

I just love this cottage bedroom picture. It has lots of character especially with the brick wall as a feature behind the bed. The bedside tables look beautifully rustic as does the cute roman style seat at the end of the bed. I love the soft tonings of this room and although there is not huge splashes of colour in the picture it is simple and understated.... Don't know if bevan would think this is too prissy though - he would hate the chandelier... i LOVE it! Hmmm how to get a brick wall behind our bed! HA. I think the amore below would be a perfect addition to the room as it nearly matches the bedside tables.

This bedroom appealed to me as it just looked so peaceful and inviting. The muted greys and pinks really add a softness and i love the old wooden stool at the end of the bed, it really adds a touch of character. i definatly can see myself curling up here!

I thought this one had huge "rustic" appeal to it... pity our house didn't have gorgeous wooden floors like that!!! Oh well still would look great with carpet! Not sure if you could fit two people in the bed though.... could be a bit squishy.... and we fight about our bed space as it is! :-)

I thought this bedroom had a nice "stately" feel to it. Still soft but still has a "masculine" feel about it. Love the cute side table, throw rugs and cushions.

What is a MUST in your bedroom? Mine would have to be large windows!

Preserved Lemons

Now that spring has arrived and our citrus tree's have been exploding with fruit i have been trying to find recipes to preserve the excess fruits that i have. I was watching Jamie Oliver's new TV show called "Jamie Does" and this episode was about foods & cooking in Marakesh (Morroco). He did this gorgeous Beef Tagine recipe that one day i will have to make but what inspired me from this episode was the use of preserved lemon throughout their foods. I thought what a great way to use up some of my lemons that are multiplying on my lemon tree. This recipe is SO easy and would also be great as part of a gift hamper of some sort!

My lucious lemons!

Download & Print Recipe Here

Ingredients:

Lemons
Salt, 1 Dessertspoon of salt per lemon, plus one for the jar
Freshly squeezed lemon
Preserving Jars

Method

1.    Using thick skinned lemons – cut into quarters; place the lemons flesh side down in preserving jars and sprinkle each quarter with salt as you add it to the jar.
*For every lemon use a good dessertspoon of salt per lemon plus one for the jar.
2.    When the jar is full, press right down on the lemons to squeeze the juice out, filling the jar with more slices, again squeezing right down then immerse all the lemons by topping up the jar with fresh lemon juice.
3.    Place the lid on the jar and 6- 8 weeks later they’re ready to use.


Would love to hear what other great recipes you may have for preserving any type of citrus fruit??

Off With Her Head!

The title of this blog reminds me of Alice in wonderland when the queen yelled at alice "Off with her head" Well i can't quite relate the story that i am about to tell to alice in wonderland by any means... it is not such quite a happy ending at all!
It all started with one of our "girls" (Our chooks) continually eating either her own egg or one of the other eggs the chooks have been laying. It had been going on for about a month or so and we did read up on what should be done to correct this problem......! I was out on saturday at the Lifestyle Markets with my tea stall and when i came home i was promptly informed by bevan we now only had 7 chooks! I instantly thought that maybe abby (our dog) had eaten one (Mind you that would of being a feat for her to do!) or something else dramatic had happened. He then calmly told me he chopped it's head off! I was a little aghast at the initial statement that he presented me with and i was quick to ask "WHY"? In short he had gone to let the chooks out for there daily roam around the yard and spied one of the chickens looking a little shifty in the laying box. Upon closer inspection he noticed one of the eggs cracked and eaten. He followed the chook out and picked it up and sure enough the chook had yolk all over it's face... so without further ado he walked around the shed and picked up the axe and "OFF WITH HER HEAD"! Needless to say when i got home and found this out i was a little aghast but in the end thought it was the best thing to do. It was one of our re-claimed chooks from the chook farm and probably wasn't laying any eggs anyway! So bye bye chooky!

Kitchen Garden area - before

Kitchen Garden - half finished.

Herbs ready to plant out.

On a happy note we have made some headway on our kitchen herb garden as you can see on the above photo's!  Still a bit of  work to do on it yet but it's great to see it take some shape and get a bit of an idea of how it's going to look. We have yet to put a winding brick path through the middle of it (idea of it below) as we are waiting on finding some rustic old bricks to lay but the design is there ready to do! I have had a lot of fun creating this little kitchen garden and hope that it thrives! We have layed a pipe under where the plants are placed which has had holes drilled into it. The water from the washing machine will go through this pipe helping to keep the plants watered and also saving water at the same time! (Note on photo above - lower left)

Idea of brick path!

Bevan did most of the hard work laying the foundation of this garden by getting rid of a lot of old bushes and plants! I will give him credit also for the inital idea of the kitchen garden, i just added my touches to it! Bevan also created the cute wooden seat below by cutting a log in half and seating it upon another set of smaller logs which have been cut into to keep the seat stable.

Bevan's rustic wooden seat.

Lettuce's in the kitchen garden - protected from the chooks!

Bevan has also been busy in the top corner of the yard getting his potato and corn patch ready for planting! Another tree succumbed to his chainsaw in the process but this one needed to go as it was a Privet tree which is a noxtious weed. We will be planting out sweet corn and two types of potatoes in this section of the yard and also larger vines such as pumpking vines in this part so we can let them go without interfering in anything else!

Privet tree cut down ready to be cleared.

Bevan digging rows for the potato and corn

Spring has hit the garden and everything is coming to life which is exciting to see. The vegie patch is taking off in leaps and bounds. Roses that i have planted out are shooting , strawberry plants are flowering, stone fruit tree's are budding and flowers are popping up everywhere! LOVE IT - only down side is since we've had that bit of rain the weeds have gone crazy!

Strawberry patch - i have placed wire over it to protect it from scratching chooks!

Spring abounding in our garden.

Tell me your favourite thing to do in the spring?

Morrocan Chicken Pizza's

Download & Print Recipe

Are there day's in your house when it's been a busy week, your barely putting one foot in front of the other and it comes to friday night and you haven't thought of what to have for dinner. Instead of going out and picking up one of those greasy take-away pizza's, pour yourself a glass of wine and give these pizza's a go. These little pizza'a are low in fat but high in flavour and the morrocan spices really add a nice flavour and makes a nice change to the normal basil or oregano flavours you would normally use on a pizza. I made this recipe up one friday night when i was struggling to think of something to put on the table, i just used whatever i had leftover in my fridge.

Morrocan Chicken Pizza

Serves 6
Ingredients
6 x Chicken Thigh Fillets  (or chicken breasts) (*You could also use a bought roasted chicken & Shred)
Corn Mountain Bread
1 x Tin of Chick Peas
2 x Tomatoes, diced
½ Capsicum, diced,
½ Bunch baby spinach leaves
2 x ripe Avocados, sliced
Morrocan Spice Mix

Sauce
1 x Red Onion, Diced
4 Tbsp Tomato Paste
4 Tbsp Sweet Chilli
Salt

Method:
1.    Place chicken in a pan and cook until crispy. Remove and roughly slice. Set aside.
2.    For the sauce place onion into the same pan with a touch of olive oil and sauté. Add tomato paste, sweet chilli and salt, stir through and simmer for 2 min. Set aside.
3.    To assemble: Cut mountain bread in half and place a spoonful of sauce over the top and spread evenly.
4.    Place a couple of baby spinach leaves over the sauce and then follow with tomato, capsicum, and a sprinkling of chickpeas. Place sliced chicken on top and sprinkle generously the Moroccan seasoning over the top.  Place sliced avocado on top.
5.    Place in a 180 Degree oven for 15-20 min.
6.    Finish with a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce.


Just thought i would let you know also i have cleaned out some of the "decorative" items that no longer suit our house and i will be selling them at the Lifestyle Markets this saturday the 4th of September at 240 Hume Street, Toowoomba from 10am - 3pm. It will coincide with my Simply Tea stall which i am also operating at the same time. So come on down and say hello and you might even find a bargain!

Some of the things up for sale.