Chestnut and vine quilt top finished!

A quick photo from today. I've just finished my chestnut and vine block of the month quilt top and just wanted to share. It took a while but was totally worth it! It will be off to the quilter in the next week or 2 for finishing but i'm really happy with how it turned out. And yep that's my adorable little man exploring the backyard.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Recipe hoarding

Wow another week zooming by. This week has been filled with babies, baking and a bit of housekeeping. I've been trying to keep up with the organised housewife challenge but i just can't do it all. That woman is a legend if she can keep up with that sort of schedule but it just isn't me. I have still been plodding along but i'm only up to day 7 and i and i find each day's challenge takes me 1-3 days. And work days are a write off just trying to get through the basics.

Anyway this week i have managed to start printing and organising my recipes from the online wholefood kitchen and 30 day vegan workshops i did earlier in the year. I feel like i'm rediscovering it all again and have decided as i make or remake each recipe i'm going to write some notes on the recipe about how it was. Am i the only way who tries a recipe and then can't remember if it was good, or did i use this recipe or that one? So now i just write straight on the recipe so i never forget.

As part of the organised housewife challenge this week i decluttered my recipe books. Which looks great but i am now left with a huge pile of recipes written on scraps of paper or pulled out of magazines to sort. It will feel good when it's done but oh my i'm a recipe hoarder!

I keep myself going my thinking about all the delicious new recipes i can try out. Yep food is good motivation! And think about all the new recipes i will be sharing with you!

Hope you're all having a great day.

xxx

Sibyl's dinner plate?

Ok not really! Yesterday the only baking i had on my mind was from the amazing whole food workshop by Heather over at beauty that moves. I did both her online workshops earlier in the year and they were amazing. I did the workshops to improve my vegetable cooking and give me a bit of inspiration. I got so much more than that. I think she is starting another one shortly so if you want to learn how to cook some amazing healthy meals head on over.

One stand out recipe was her raspberry oat slice. I can't describe how good this is but i can assure you it is the tasiest berry slice i've ever had. So yesterday i whipped one up for the family.
But sorry i am teasing you all about this because Heather's course is a paid one she requests recipes aren't shared on blogs and i respect that. So nothing to share from Sibyl's biscuit tin yesterday.

Instead as a bit of a trade off, i thought i would share one of my favourite easy dinner meals - teriyaki beef. Teriyaki sauce is so simple it's embarrassing and it is just as good and in some cases much better than the bought one.

Teriyaki Beef

2 T sake

2 T sugar

2 T mirin (sweet cooking wine)

4 T soy sauce

Mix together in a bowl. That's it. That's the sauce. Easy.

Fry up your meat ( chicken, beef and pork are all good).

Add one chopped onion.

Once meat and onions are cooked pour over the sauce and simmer until it thickens and caramelises. This can take a little while but makes it all delicious and sticky. Yum yum.

Serve on rice and veges. I love a fresh coleslaw on the rice, topped with meat and a small dollop or mayonnaise. I know it sounds weird but go with it!

A few sesame seeds on top are nice too.

Have a great day everyone.

xxx

Medieval splendour

Not a great photo but i just wanted to share my quilt which i recently finished. I'll have to wait for a sunny day and take a better pic. I started this about 5 years ago and put the finished quilt top aside as i was worried it was too busy. I was going for something that reminded me of the many medieval tapestries i saw while travelling in Europe. I came across a selection of William Morris fabric with these lovely owls and birds which i thought was just perfect.

Although it is pretty busy i think it actually looks pretty good on our bed and i am really happy with how it has turned out. It feels very luxurious to snuggle up under it and as i make a few more bed sized quilts i find myself swapping them around a bit to suit the season. This has a wintery, autumn feel too me.

I hope you all had a great weekend. I had an amazing weekend with a massage, dinner out with the other half, my godsons birthday and an afternoon in the sun with friends. Ah summer is finally on the way!

Take care everyone.

xxx

This moment

Joining in with Amanda from 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.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

. . . . . . . .

Is summer on it's way?

Hows everyone doing this week? Is summer on the way? Please tell me it is! I'm really longing for those nice warm days in light clothing. Yesterday was a lovely day, bright and sunny with a little more warmth but today felt more wintery again. Sigh, bit of a teaser really.

Anyway onto tastier topics - salads. I love salads and the more exotic the better. A plain old green salad with vinegarette is delicious but i love something more substantial for a main meal. Last night we tried out a new combination - corn, salami, peppers and kumara on spinach leaves. I added a squeeze of lemon juice and a yoghurt dressing on the side. It was a very nice change and had enough substance to please the other half. Always a bonus, even the baby gave his a nibble before creating a small reject pile of peppers. Seems they weren't on the agenda!

I'm also trying to keep up with my organised housewife challenge. I got off to a late start and i've been breaking up some of the bigger days tasks so i'm not spending too much extra time cleaning. But it feels great to be plodding along and making progress with the spring cleaning. Tomorrow i'm finishing up day 6 -bathroom and starting on day 7 -the fridge.

This is my little man helping tidy up the pantry last week. His part of the job was to eat anything he could find in not so well sealed containers.

By the time summer comes around my house will be well and truly cleaned up and i will be ready with a new repertiore of salads.

Hope you're all having a great week.

Sibyl's biscuit tin - Gingerbread

Ah the smell of gingerbread baking, there is nothing like it. The sweet, spicy scent wafts through the house and tempts you to have a slice as soon as its out of the oven. This recipe for gingerbread is out of an old Rally cookbook. If you haven't heard of rally it's a church run kids group similar to girl guides and has been around for years. There is 2 old rally cookbooks and they contain all the favourites i remember from my childhood.

I made a couple of changes, the recipe called for golden syrup but i love the flavour honey gives to a ginger loaf. I also used a bit more ginger as i like a nice spicy loaf.

Gingerbread

In a pot melt together

1/2 C honey (or golden syrup)

125g butter

In a separate bowl sift together

1 1/2 C flour

1/2 C sugar

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1 t mixed spice

1 t ginger

Add to the bowl

1 egg

1/2C milk

Mix wet and dry ingredients together and pour into a greased loaf tin.

Bake at 180 degrees C for 25-30mins.

A lovely moist loaf with plenty of spice. I always serve gingerbread with butter, it just makes it perfect especially with a cup of tea.

This loaf got the tick of approval from my little man who stuffed it into his mouth and then spent some time picking up the crumbs! I love when he does that, so cute and it means he must like it.

Hope you're baking something nice at your place this week.

xxx