The bottom line

It hasn't been a great two weeks food wise. It all started with craft camp and the abundance of chocolate, lollies, brownies and the like and it really only ended a couple of days ago when I hauled my ass back on to the wagon. Strangely I weigh 83.9kg still which is where I was two weeks ago. I can't quite figure that one out and I am expecting it to go up or do something weird next week.
I haven't been running for two weeks and I ventured out tonight. I was crap. Couldn't do the distance and just shuffled along a la Cliff Young, my hero. And then couldn't even do that, just walked the rest of the way. I have kept up boot camp (too scared not to, she lives at the end of my street) and have cycled as usual so that probably helped me scrape through.
I hate getting back on the wagon, all I think about is food and I miss that chocolate and bread. I probably shouldn't be writing this while hungry so I will stop now.

I will do a show and tell of fete goodies instead




Dress-ups made with donated t shirts with a bit of gauzy stuff stuck on the bottom. Easy peasy




Wee Beasties, pattern courtesy of Soozs




And this treat I found when I downloaded my photos.

Our mothers group (Astrid and Lana, Stomper declined) made ravioli from scratch yesterday! Impressive eh?
George's parents have gone away prospecting in WA. Sooo selfish, we usually have dinner at their place on Monday nights and the Mooch stays for a sleepover AND is delivered back the next afternoon. And they have gone away! For weeks!
Back to the ravioli. Nonna cooks ravioli and she does it so well my children refuse to eat bought ravioli, "it doesn't taste like Nonna's". Well boo hoo.
When I heard there would be no ravioli for a few weeks I was worried, if they didn't get ravioli once a week it halves their meat intake. I wouldn't worry about it if they would only try other foods ....don't get me started. So I asked Nonna to leave me with her ravioli making equpment and recipe. She was only too happy, I think she worries about my "gotta look after the family" abilities.






In the past we've have ravioli making days at Nonna's and my job is shaping the filling into little balls and placing them on the ravioli sheets. Now suddenly I am promoted to Nonna and my mothers' group mates are the lowly daughters-in-law. It was a heavy responsibility.



We spent all morning making the dough, rolling the dough and transforming it into little perfect raviolis. We are very pleased with ourselves and are planning lots more communal cooking sessions..


The kids ate them without a word. Phew. I was too scared to ask if they liked them. Too scared to hear a no, my freezer is full of the little suckers.
Anyway, Squeaky said tonight as I was putting it all in ziplock bags " your raviolis were good Mum".
Made my day.






Now for more cooking stuff, a recipe for Lemon Tea Cake or LTC as it is known round here.

Lemon Tea Cake



1 ½ cups plain flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

125g butter or margarine

2 beaten eggs

½ cup milk or buttermilk

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Juice of one lemon

¼ cup of sugar



Grease and line cake tin

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into bowl. Rub in butter until mix resembles coarse breadcrumbs. This can be done in the food processor.

Combine beaten eggs and milk and stir in, then fold in the lemon rind.

Spoon mixture into tin and bake at 180C until firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

Mix lemon juice and sugar in a cup and immediately you remove the cake from the oven, stand it on a rack and spoon the sugar mixture over the top. Allow to cool in the tin.



The recipe has ½ cup chopped walnuts added with the lemon rind, I’ve never done this but it could be good.

I'm on the top of the world....

I am still all aglow from my crafting weekend away. A new experience for me, I was a bit apprehensive as I was joining some very accomplished women. Not only is their sewing amazing, they write, draw, spin, dance and knit. Miss Bingley herself would be impressed. I felt a bit of a petender but once I was ensconsed in the studio at Sewjourn I realised the pleasure of being with people who share your enthusiasm. It was an inspiring weekend, I am just starting to realise how big the crafting/sewing /knitting world is and it's very exciting.
I made myself some clothes for the first time in years, a woollen tunic and some stretchy trousers, they fit and they look great. How good is that? So now of course I want to make more.

I will put my highlights here in point form, in no particular order....

1. We were all assigned a meal to cook, I had sunday night. So apart from that one meal we had no kitchen duties. We were called at meal times and had a plate of delicious food put down in front of us. I still can't get over how good that is. Why do our kids complain??

2. Separate sewing studio. When we downed tools (usually for meals), everything stayed where it was. No one fiddled with your dials or used your good scissors to cut the dogs hair.

3. Uninterrupted sewing time. I hadn't realised how quickly you could make something when there's no child sitting on your lap helping with the reverse knob and lifting the foot for you.

4. Suzie's music. a never ending stream of hits, from eighties pop to disco to Cambodian psychadelic.

5. Lots of chocolate

6. A realisation that there are patterns other than the ones you buy at Spotlight out there.

7. A well tended fire keeping us toasty day and night.

8. Matching cutlery.

9. A group of people so generously sharing their knowledge and expertise.

10. A break from the fantastic but relentless work of bringing up a family.

Photos and recipes to follow....