Back off bugs

I've been on a carrot hit the last week, mainly as carrots are cheap, I'm stingy and they are quite easy to whack in food without Chuckles noticing. So we have had wraps, stir-fries and finally cake. Although by the time I made it to cake I was running out of carrots and had to supplement with zucchini, which is also cheap and easy to whack in food without Chuckles noticing. The result was an amazing moist fruity cake that if you left off the cream cheese icing would be vegan. I am not vegan so I piled the icing to the sky. Yum!

As you can see Poppet enjoyed her first experience with cake batter.

It also seems that I am pushing carrots on the kids through this years Christmas book. Every year I try and buy a Christmas themed book. I remember being read  A Christmas Carol as a child and to this day Dickens remains a favourite. This years book follows everyone's favourite wombat on a Christmas adventure. 

Image from Harper Collins

Having been on maternity leave this year I haven't kept as up too date with recent publications as I would like, so was pleasantly surprised when I encountered this read by a dear friend at a recent storytime. I rushed out and bought it the next day and am pleased to day that it been read at least once a day this week!

Carrotty Fruity Cake

2 cups of flour

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups grated carrot 

1  cup grated zucchini

1/2 cup oil

1/2 banana

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sultanas / chopped dates

1/2 cup walnuts

Cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice to taste.

Preheat oven 180c

Line smallish round tin (large loaf tin would probably also work)

Combine dry ingredients

Add carrot, oil, banana, vanilla and juice.  Stir until just combined.

Add fruit, nuts and spice.

Bake approx. 45 minutes. 

Leave in tin for 5 minutes and then turn on to wire rack to cool. Be careful when turning out as it has a tendency to break.

When cool top with cream cheese icing. 

xxCC

My name is.....and I have a problem.

I have an addiction. It costs me very little. It gives me great satisfaction. There is benefit to me and my family. But I can't stop.

Op- shopping. I love a good op-shop (or charity store if you're that way inclined). I managed to hit two today and came away with two vintage 1970's frocks, a necklace,  a work dress and a belt for me, a pair of shorts and 2 T-shirts for Chuckles and a pretty little dress for Poppet. All for less than A$20!

One of the dresses will need altering as its a maxi with a touch of the kaftans (which makes me looks super dumpy - which come to think of it would probably be my super hero name). I think it may then be time to dig out the sewing machine (purchased for my last birthday 6 months ago and still in the box) and actually sew instead of just talking about it and subscribing to sewing blogs.

Photos to come.

CC

A whole lotta lemon

A friend popped over last week bearing a whole lotta lemons from her tree which sparked a serious lemon meringue pie craving. No  problem....whip up some eggs and STOP! Egg is a bit of a swear word in our house thanks to little Mr Anaphylaxis.
Chuckles (aged almost 2.5) has egg and peanut allergies much to my amazement (those things are supposed to happen to other peoples kids!). As a result we are an egg free house which can be annoying when you love baking. It really hasn't changed things that much in the scheme of things, I adapt recipes, we don't eat fritatta and every now and then my husband and I dump Chuckles in childcare and have a naughty breakfast in a cafe with lots of poached eggs. Some parents have a cheeky drink, we have a cheeky eggs bene.

Anyway this is what I came up with to satisfy the lemon craving. Sweetened condensed milk mixed with lemon and shoved between puff pastry, mmmmm!

Lemon Tartlets

1/2 tin sweetened condensed milk
Lemon juice to taste (abut 2?)
Puff Pastry
Fresh fruit..Banana, Strawberries, Kiwi Fruit.

Grease a muffin tin and place rough circles of pastry in tins. These should be blind baked, but I was far too lazy, so if you don't mind them "rustic" don't bother. Brush with milk and bake for about 10 minutes or until brown.

Mix sweetened condensed milk with lemons tasting often to achieve correct lemony taste.  Whack it it the fridge. Once pastry cases are filled top with lemon mixture, fruit and serve with cream or ice cream for dessert.

They taste better if you let them sit in the fridge overnight...if you can. I think they would make a great addition to a high tea.

Matchsticks

Lemon curd as above
Whipped cream
Puff pastry
Sugar

Grate a little lemon rind over puff pastry and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until lightly golden (10 minutes). Once cool spread lemon and cream between puff pastry. Three tiered high. Eat! (A little messy but yum!)

The new narcissistic me

Finally jumping into the blogosphere after lurking for years. Why? Well, why the hell not. Everyone else seems to love the self indulgence of it, so lets do it!

Mainly I just want a place to rant! About....well everything. White people's problems mainly! I am lucky. I have a roof over my head, a couple of great kids and pretty fantastic husband. I have a job I'm pretty bloody passionate about and the opportunity to mess around with a whole bunch of things.

So really it won't all be ranting - probably a bit of celebrating really.

But what shall I rant and celebrate? As I said...a bit of everything. Whatever I feel today. Probably a bunch of kid related stuff, my craftarded attempts, food (glorious bane of my melodramatic existence), clothes (generally plus sized due to the aforementioned bane) and nerdy crap I like.

Damn it I'm a mommy blogger (OK, so I'm Australian so it should be mummy, but the term just seems to work better with an upbeat American drawl)

So, that's it. Because I can't make a decision about what I want this to be......
Yours, The Confused Chameleon.
CC