Bags and Key Rings

SPRING IS HERE

Spring is here,

In the air,

You can smell it coming,

On the trees,

Leaves are green,

Caterpillars sunning.

Birds are back,

Grass is out,

Busy bees are humming,

On the trees,

Leaves are green,

Caterpillars sunning.

These beautiful Tulip's are the ones I gave my mother for Mother's Day back in May .
 She planted a few in the pot that I gave her and now looks whats showing off.
Many more have bloomed . So happy they gave her a great display.

Well Spring is here and the blossom are out. Our little town is in full bloom with Cherry tress looking fantastic, with their branches full of little delicate pink flowers and the trees are all in full bloom down the street.
So our little town are putting on a Blossom Festival to celebrate the springs . My friend and I have  been invite to set up a stall, so for the last two week I had to put my other projects aside to take up some smaller and quicker little things to sell at our Stall. So here are  a few things that  I've put  together. So I thought Id share what I have made.

Its all about colour and I just love this time of year.
Pink , Purples, Greens and  Blues, yellow to orange and rich reds too , from dark to bright to the delicate shades from Sky to ground what colors can I choose..

Pretty in Pink 

All in Blue 

Now I love Purple

This is the tree outside of my work and every year we watch it bloom . Sad thing is this will be the last spring we  get to see this tree blossom as we move office in October. Great time watching this tree change every year.


Keys rings to hang. 

Full of Love 

These are just a few things I have made over the two weeks. There will be more that my friend has made and once she comes around I will add to this.

This is a view of down the street from my office just to show you how my little town looks like in spring time. Spring 2013 

Orange Blossom

Whooo

WHOOOOOOO

These little Owl were a bit of a challenge for me . I found a pattern but do you think I could follow it. I tried several  times. In the end I just went with the picture. Wow I was impressed with myself if i don't say so my self. 

This is the end result of our hard work over the last two weeks. We are pretty happy with these Items. Ranging from big bags to small clutch bags with assorted range of key rings. 

This is our temporary Label. Hand made by Christine. 

Assorted bags. These are just great for doing a quick shop or just putting your beach towel and drink  and hopping to the beach for the afternoon.

While we where sitting, waiting patiently for our customer to come and see us, this green man turn up entertaining the village . He was on his stilts just having fun with the public. 

OUR little set up . It was just a small one just to see how we went. Well after been there from 10am to 2pm we sold a few items and was pretty please with that by the end of the day. :)

It was not suppose to rain but just minutes after setting up, the heavens opened. But we were fine. We had the public come to have shelter under our stall which was one good way to get the punters in. Throughout the day the wind was blowing , the sun came out  and then it would rain again. But this did not stop the public coming to Greerton to come and enjoy. We had bands playing we had face painting and at the local school we had a huge big blow up slide . There were stalls selling food and little stalls like our to sell there goodies.

Well that's the end of this blog for Spring 2013. 

Carrot Cake

This Carrot Cake is thoroughly addictive. Moist, fresh and just Delicious. I have made this cake on several occasion and have even done them in a cup cake. You can add crystallized ginger , dates, chocolate . 

½ cup walnuts
2 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ginger
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups grated carrots
100g good quality chocolate
½ cup of chopped date ( optional)


To Decorate


Pot of cream cheese 250g
Icing sugar to sweeten. ¼ cup
zest of one lemon
Sunflower seeds sprinkled.

1. preheat oven to 160c. Greased a 23cm cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking paper out to fixt exactly.
   
2. Place walnuts on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes. Set aside.
   
3. Sift flour, baking powder and spices into a large mixing bowl.
   
4. In a separate bowl, beat eggs until combined. Add oil and sugar and beat to combine.
   
5. Add grated carrot, roasted walnuts, chocolate and date , and combine. Add to the flour mixture and stir to combine.
   
6. Spoon batter into prepared cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the top springs back when touched lightly and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.
   
7. Let the cake cool completely in the tin before turning out and peeling off the baking paper.
   
8. Ice the top with cream cheese icing and garnish with the zest of lemon and sunflower seeds.  
   

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lucy made these cookies from the book I got from Mum. Little and Friday by Kim Evan. I let Lucy do some baking the other weekend from this book as I have found that every thing in this book turns out beautifully and taste so divine .

Her comments on the page was Sometimes she uses a combination of milk, white and dark chocolate to make these scrumptious cookies. The chunkier the chocolate ,the better 

125g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ¼ cups tightly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla essence or paste

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

250g good quality chocolate, roughly chopped

1. preheat oven to 180c. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Scrape down sides to ensure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
3. Add vanilla and egg to butter mixture and beat again.
4. Sift flour, baking powder and slat over butter mixture and using a wooden spoon, stir until just combined  Fold through chopped chocolate.
5. Using a tablespoon, roll spoonfuls of cookie mixture into balls and place 3cm apart, on lined baking trays, flattening slightly with a fork. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes.

What we did before the point 5. Lucy and I decided to roll the whole dough into a sausage like log return to fridge for about half and hour. We sliced these evenly and placed on tray. Then baked the for around 20 minutes as instructed.

This recipe also can be changed with a few different types of chocolate., Add White chocolate or half and half and add some of your favorite nuts,raisins. 

Chicken Leek & Bacon Pie

Chicken, Leek & Bacon Pie.

This dish is from again the book of Little and Friday from Kim Evan . Another winter classic, the addition of bacon and cheese makes this pie extra hearty and rich. 

Flaky pastry enough to fill bottom of pie dish and for the lattice lid: either made by you or pre-rolled. I find this easier only due to time .

Filling

75g unsalted butter

4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped

1kg chicken thighs fillets, cut into 2cm pieces

4 leeks, chopped

½ teaspoon thyme

1/3 cup flour

3 ½ cups chicken stock

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ cup Italian parsley, chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

egg wash

1. grease one large or six 9cm round pie dishes.
2. On a floured surface, roll pastry to 4mm thick and cut in half reserving one half for the lattice top. Use other half to line pie dish. Allow to rest in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
3. Melt butter over a medium high heat. Saute bacon until just browned. Set aside.
4. Add chicken to pan and brown for approximately 4 minutes. Set aside.
5. Lower heat, add leeks and thyme to pan and soften. Set aside.
6. Add flour to remaining butter in pan to form a roux. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add chicken stock, one cup at a time, to create a thick sauce.
7. Add chicken,bacon and leeks to sauce. Cook for 20 minutes over a medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sauce from catching. This mixture should be thick enough for the chicken and leeks not to sink to the bottom. Add mustard and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
8. Preheat oven to 200c. Fill pastry lined pie dish with chicken filling to the rim. Top with grated cheese.
9. Cut remaining pastry into thin strips for lattice lid.
10. Paint pastry lined rim of pie with egg wash. Lay pastry strips across pie filling and firmly press with your fingers to seal edges. Trim overhanging pastry with a sharp knife. Glaze pastry with the remaining egg wash and bake in oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Lemon Coconut Slice

This delicious recipe is from the lovely Cook Book that my Mum gave me for my 46th Birthday present. By Kim Evans (Little and Friday) published by Penguin Books. 

This lovely slice is rich and sweet and if you love lemons then you will love this. Its fresh and feels like spring. for this time of year it was a great finish to a lovely meal.

Lemon Coconut Slice

Base :

175g unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ cups icing sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla essence or paste

1 egg

2 cups desiccated coconut

1 ½ cups flour

Filling:

2 395g tins sweetened Condensed milk

250ml lemon juice

200ml pssionfruit pulp

8 eggs yolks

Meringue:

8 egg whites

½ cup castor sugar

2 cups coconut thread

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla essence or paste

1. Preheat oven to 150c. Grease a 25cm square tin and line the bottom and sides with baking paper.
2. To prepare base, cream butter, icing sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until well combined.
3. Using a wooden spoon, fold through coconut and flour until combined.
4. Press mixtur firmly into prepared tin. Bake for 10 minutes in centre of oven.
5. While base is cooking, prepare filling. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Pour over cooked base and return to oven for a further 15 minutes until set.
6. Prepare meringue by whisking egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Whisk in sugar, coconut, salt and vanilla.
7. Spread meringue evenly over cooked filling. Bake for 10 minutes or until meringue is light brown. Place in refridgerator to set.