Loving... Grateful.....

My Monday night ritual to reset and start the week in a good place. Feel free to join me and tell me what you are grateful for in the comments. 

~ Loving....

- A little time to rest and relax amongst a busy schedule.

~ Grateful

- For the safe arrival of a perfect little nephew this week. I can't wait to meet this lovely little man.

- That the busy times will be finished in a few weeks and we can go back to our regular routine. The routine where i have more time to play, laugh, bake and sleep! 

- For photos like this that make me giggle. In case you are wondering this picture was taken inside a big blue toy bin which is over our heads. We're never too old to play and be a bit silly.

Have a great week everyone.

Pause, breathe, be kind, be grateful

xxx

Red garden soup

I made this soup at the end of autumn with the last of the seasons tomatoes. Yesterday i was feeling a bit under the weather with a cold and thought it was the perfect time to pull a bowl of soup out of the freezer. It is such a delicious nourishing soup recipe, packed with veges and perfect for those cold, damp days, i thought it was about time i shared it with you all.

Red garden soup

So into a pot put 2T oil and heat. Throw in

2-3 sticks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 onions, chopped

and 1 bay leaf

Saute for about 10mins

Then throw in your tomatoes. I chopped the bigger ones but left the little ones whole. I used about 1.5kg of tomatoes.

Pour over 3 cups of chicken stock.

Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer for about 30mins until all the veges are soft.

Remove the bay leaf.

Blend with an immersion blender.

If you like a smooth soup you can also push the soup through a sieve. This is good if the tomato skins are a little tough.

Serve with warm toast and butter, or you can add a dollop of unsweetened yoghurt and some fresh herbs like chopped parsley or coriander for something a little different.

Have a warm, happy day.

xxx

Loving... Grateful....

My Monday night ritual to reset and start the week in a good place. Feel free to join me and tell me what you are grateful for in the comments. 

~ Loving

The last of the summer tomatoes being made into a nourishing soup as we head into winter.

Grateful.....

~ For new opportunities

~ for family coming to stay

~ for said family doing a heap of those jobs i never quite get round to

~ hand dyed wool

~ for finally getting the hang of knitting

~ baby snuggles

~ chatty toddlers.

Life is good.

Have a great week everyone.

xxx

This moment

Joining in with Soulemama

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Enjoy the last of the summer sun.

xxx

Weetbix slice - thanks Fatmumslim

Inspiration was lacking today, it's baking day but between the housework that needed doing and the sad news of Boston on my mind inspiration was sorely lacking. I'd decided it would be store bought biscuits for afternoon tea until i saw fatmumslims post for her childhood favourite - weetbix slice. Sold. I too have fond childhood memories of this slice, weetbix slice it is.

A lovely crunchy weet-bix base.

Topped with some soft chocolate icing. A bit of a treat for little tummies.

If you want to give this one a go you can find the recipe over here at FMS.

Happy baking everyone and hug your loved ones close.

xxx

Loving... Grateful...

My Monday night ritual to reset and start the week in a good place. Feel free to join me and tell me what you are grateful for in the comments. 

It's been a few months since i last did this, but it feels like it is more than due to start again

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. - Buddha

Loving ....

The last of the summer sun.

Grateful....

~ for time

~ for choice

~ for the love in my life

~ for hot cocoa on a cool night

~ for my little baby who is rapidly becoming a little boy

~ for yoga which stretches the body and releases the mind

~ for rest.

Breathe, be grateful.

xxx

Hot cross bunnies (fail)

Easter calls for freshly baked hot cross buns and this year i tried adding a little twist. It was semi successful.....

With visitors coming for easter and being unsure if they ate traditional hot cross buns i decided to split the batch and make half traditional and half chocolate hot x buns. Then for a little fun i thought i'd make a few of them bunny shaped like the many you see going around pinterest and facebook sometimes.

Ah aren't they cute! Unfortunately mine weren't all that successful and came out looking a little more hamster like. lol.

Hahaha that's even funnier in a picture! I won't be giving up my day job yet. On the up side they were super yum! With big chunks of chocolate and just a little spice.

On the other side of things the hot cross buns came out great. This is my go-to recipe if you feel like trying some this weekend.

Hot cross buns

Preparation time 3 hours

Cooking time 20-25 minutes

Ingredients

1½ teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk

100 grams butter, softened

2 eggs

4 cups high grade flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon each ground allspice, mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg

¼ cup brown sugar

1 cup raisins

milk or egg wash to glaze

Method

Stir the yeast and milk together and set aside in a warm place for 15 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.

Beat softened butter and eggs into the frothy mixture.

Put the flour, salt, spices and brown sugar into a food processor and pulse to sift.

Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture mixing until it forms a soft dough. 

Process for 1 more minute.

Add the dried fruit and pulse to just mix.

Turn the dough into a greased bowl, turn over and cover with greased plastic wrap. 

Set aside in a warm place for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size

Divide into 12-14 pieces roll into a ball and place on a tray, put them about 1cm apart. I like to put them in a round tin.

Cover with a tea towel and set aside for 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 190 ºC.

Brush the buns with milk or egg wash to glaze. Pipe thin crosses onto the buns with the cross paste.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I don't usually bother with the crosses but if you want to add them

Cross paste

½ cup flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon butter

about ¼ cup milk

For chocolate buns - omit the spices and raisins from the above recipe and add in 1 t cinnamon, 1 T cocoa and 1/2 -1 C chocolate drops.