As is becoming the trend, I am beginning this post with some fabulous scenery. Above is the beautiful South Beach, Kingscliff. The water on this side of the creek is rarely affected by the rain. Excuse the lopsided photo- I deleted the wrong picture by mistake in an effort to keep my phone clean.
And this is the creek that is now flowing a lovely coke colour after one of the most intense thunderstorms I can remember for a while- 4+ hours with torrential rain. What makes this storm so memorable, other than being very close and quite intense, is that though my sweet bubby will wake to whispering in her room, she will sleep through blinding lightening and booming thunder. Go figure!
The creek still looks beautiful- the reflection of the sky helps camouflage the dirty water colour.
This photo, taken this morning on our way back from Bunnings (yes, we went there again!), typifies our summer- blistering hot sun with big, stormy clouds looming.
Now that all that lovely scenery is out of the way, lets talk about cooking :) I have been making my sweet bubby sample many different things of late, and with the exception of apples, which she loves to share with her daddy for morning tea, she still prefers her food pureed. Though lately, she has been tolerating more lumps. I have been reading the ingredients of many commercial baby foods- and so many add sugar or concentrated apple juice, which is basically sugar anyway. So, I have decided to keep feeding her the 4 and 6 month old sachets from Rafferty's Garden when out. This brand has zero nasty additives from their ingredient list. But at home, it's home made all the way. Look below to see what I've been doing...
These rather unflattering coloured mixes are the latest batch. The 3 paler ones to the left are a combination of peas, pumpkin, potato, egg and cottage cheese. Bubby loves them- relief! The darker 2 on the right is the same mix minus the egg and cottage cheese.
Its really just a matter of steaming the veg 'til soft, throwing in a cracked egg while the veg are still hot, adding a little boiling water, come cottage cheese and pureeing with the stick blender. The heat of the veg and water cooks the egg.
You can use whatever veg is in season or your bubba prefers. These amounts shown would equate to around $10 if purchased in sachets. For less than half an hours work- look at what you have saved!
I have frozen the 2 darker veg and have 1 uneaten paler veg mix chilled ready to go tomorrow. I base this on the shelf life of the sachet's- stored for up to 48 hrs in the fridge.
Another experiment that went very well (inhaled this morning for breakfast!) was my twice cooked creamed rice pudding, again sugar free.
I started by simmering brown rice until light and fluffy. I added more boiled water and pureed with the stick blender until quite creamy.
Next, I added to egg yolks, a hint of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg, a splash of full cream milk, and some more boiled water. I mixed again until fluffy.
By now, the mix was quite wet, so I placed it in a baking dish that was sitting in a baking tray filled with water.
It took around 45 minutes, covered, in a moderate- 180 degree oven to set further. The edges had just started to dry out.
When cooled a bit, I mixed the whole pudding together, then spooned it into individual containers at around 100 gms plus in each.
Some are frozen and 2 were left in the fridge.
To serve, as my bubby doesn't like lumps, I mixed it with a little boiled water, a hint of formula and a dessert spoon of pureed pears. It was a winner!
Granted, a little more effort required, but considering how much pudding was created, so worth it.
I haven't written this out as an exact recipe as I didn't measure the rice.
And now, hubby's quick and easy go to lunch.
Easy Tuna Bake
Ingredients:
Serves 4.
6 handfuls of spiral pasta
1 425gm tin of tuna in spring water, drained
1 tblspn mayo
1 heaped tblspn dijon mustard
150gms sour cream
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 tablspn cheese, extra
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
splash of olive oil
salt
Method:
Pre heat oven to 200 degrees.
Cook pasta until just tender. Drain.
Add tuna, mayo, mustard, sour cream and cheese. Mix well.
Pour into a lightly greased baking dish- deep preferably.
Sprinkle with breadcrumbs, drizzle with a little olive oil and scatter cheese across the top. Season.
Bake for 30 mins or until golden. I usually brown the top of mine under the grill.
Can be served warm or cold.
The method is simple- bung everything into a bowl and mix.
Deeper, rather than long and flat baking dishes work best for this recipe.
Today was a hungry day. Hubby worked his butt off from early morning, determined to get this gate and path done. He dug some more, leveled, lifted, carried, shoveled, sweated, shopped again for needed items, just to make me happy. What a man!
Despite the heat, here is my sweet hubby leveling out the course sand base for the pavers.
And here here is, laying said pavers. I must admit, it's a bigger job than I realised. Hubby has also started concreting the edges to keep the pavers in.
I forgot to mention- he adjusted the gate so it opens with incredible ease now, and put latch on it that is easier to open.
I am dreading the dirt removal. Groan, that is my job. Lucky me. But considering how hard my handsome hubby has worked thus far, this girl who professes to love gardening had better step up!
It's not impossible, and in all honesty, my body actually seems to be healing from actually taking it easy over the Christmas/ New year period. Still not 100%, but close enough for me to be happy, and able to do much more.
I found this grubby little fella in a pot that desperately needing re-potting. I am not sure how long he's been in there, but he looked a bit off colour. I set him free with a good hose. I also found another little treasure- a ground burrowing frog stuck in one of my quite tall pots. Still not sure how he made it in, but thrilled I have frogs in and around my garden.
For those who know me well, a new student arrival means I am going into a cleaning frenzy. It's my thing. This Saturday, we welcome another teen into our home for 3 months. I am quite distressed that the garden is no where near finished. The excess dirt will not be an easy, clean removal, and the rain hasn't been a great help. It's a muddy area we have out back now :( But, I am purposely telling myself to relax and not catastrophise this. Really, if the student arrives to a tidy home, is treated with respect and sees a garden being renovated, all is good with the world. She won't freak at the mess, I am sure. I just need to slow down and breathe. I ask myself- what will this matter in 2 weeks? Honestly- it will look so fabulous, i'll wonder why I put myself, and my family, through my cleaning mania.
And there you have it- your lot for yet another day. Hope it's been enjoyable. Until next post, thanks for reading :)
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