The Woollie Muse

It's That Time of Year Again

2009-12-11T23:41:00.006+11:00

I know I've been slack. Well, not entirely. I've been caring for my old Mum for 3 months, and what with trying to study and get a bit of an income, well, my blogging slipped.

To tell the truth, it got a bit overwhelming with everything going on ... so to make up for it, I am putting up my favourite (and it appeared my son Dane's friend Steyn's favourite) ...

Wicked Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

250 grams butter ... NOT margarine (room temperature)
1 firm packed cup of brown sugar (dark if possible)
1/2 cup 1A sugar (the normal stuff)
2 eggs (55g each)
1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
250 - 300g Chocolate Chips or Buttons
2 1/2 cups of plain flour (tap it down in the cup to settle it)
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
Pinch of salt

METHOD

Cream butter and sugars until like whipped cream.
Beat eggs in cup until frothy
Gradually beat in eggs. Should resemble whipped cream.
Add vanilla
Sift flour, salt and bicarb. Add to butter mix. Use a dough hook or fold through. If needing to combine better, wash your hands (or put on food grade latex free gloves) and squish with your hands!
Add chocolate. You may need to squish again! If you have a dough hook attachment it will do it for you.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 250 degrees F.
Take 1 tablespoon and roll into a ball. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. I use baking paper.
Bake 11 minutes until just golden brown. Cool 5minutes until starting to firm up.
Cool on wire rack.

Suggestion: Sandwich icecream between two of the cookies.

ENJOY!

The Plot Thickens For Pies

2009-09-23T00:18:00.005+10:00

I have to admit, the only time I feel really relaxed is when I am potting, planting or bunging in a few seeds into empty strawberry punnets. It clears my head and relieves the 'busy brain'.

Problem is the punnets and baskets are taking over the driveway and paths. I ran out of garden bed and had to build a new one (until the 'back paddock' is set to go ... it's only taken 20 years!)

So, the recycled bricks that have been lying dormant near the fence, potentially a letterbox that never got past the thought stage, were reborn as edging. A little rough maybe - I prefer 'rustic'.

I think I may have planted a few too many silverbeet. Besides the ones pictured, I have another half a big basket of seedlings and a few more scattered throughout. All the seeds planted grew ... anyone for some seedlings?

However, silverbeet do make the BEST ricotta & filo pies. And as many of my friends know ... I love pie! So, before you ask ... here is the recipe and a slice of the pie:

Silverbeet, Ricotta, Mushroom & Bacon Filo

Ingredients

1 bunch of silverbeet - preferrably out of the garden (about 12 biggish leaves)
6 short end rashers of bacon - diced
2 brown onions - diced (not too small)
1 clove garlic - crushed
150 grams of button mushrooms sliced thickly (you can add more if you want)
300 grams of fresh ricotta
3 large eggs
1/2 bunch of fresh coriander - from your garden I hope.
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon Massels Vegetable Stock Powder
30 grams of butter (don't DARE use margarine)
1-2 tablespoons of extra-virgin light olive oil
8 sheets filo
Sesame seeds (optional)

Method

1. Rinse silverbeet thoroughly of critters and dirt. Take out white stalk and centre vein. Chop roughly and steam for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess moisture. Cool.

2. Heat oil and saute garlic, onion, bacon & mushies until cooked but not brown. Lift onto absorbant towels and drain off.

3. Whip together the ricotta and eggs. Add the chopped coriander.

4. Add silverbeet mix to ricotta mix. Add salt and stock powder. Set aside.

5. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (350 Fahrenheit). Shelf in middle.

6. Melt butter. (if doing in a microwave, always do with a cup of water on the side or your microwave can catch fire. Same for chocolate. It happened to me!)

7. Spray a large ceramic pie dish with canola spray. Line with a sheet of filo with 1/3 hanging over the edge. Brush with butter. Do this 3 more times rotating the dish so there is an overlap on 4 sides. Butter each layer.

8. Repeat step 7 once more - totalling 8 sheets.

9. Pour filling into case.

10. Brush butter on edges of the filo case.

11. Place a sheet of filo on top of the pie and press around edges. Brush the top with butter and over the whole sheet. Repeat 3 more times (4 layers).

12. Make sure you brush butter on the top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if you like :o)

13. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown. The pie will be ready when a skewer comes out clean.

One last thing ... grab a chardy (or in my case, a Jimmy & Coke) and enjoy. I like it cold as well & have been known to eat this for breakfast. Now if only I could grow my own eggs ...

Greening Up

2009-08-21T22:55:00.009+10:00

Well, I finished one unit by the skin of my teeth. I can't say it was enjoyable. But I passed and as my daughter says "P's Get Degrees".

After no sleep in 48 hours, and doing an 'overnighter' to get the final assessment done, I retreated to the front yard & my burgeoning vegie plot(s).

Even though it is Winter in Australia, it is more like Spring weatherwise. Such is global warming - or should that be warning. A warning of climatic conditions to come.

I am already getting seedlings emerging. Beetroot are starting to take off and I have about a dozen Mortgage Lifter heritage tomatoes seedings. Brussell Sprouts are really taking off ...

It's weird; the brussell sprouts I put on one side of the garden thrived, yet the plants from the same punnet were stunted on the other side. Only a pathway separated them. So I transplanted the goofy looking ones to inbetween the bigguns (see above). Plus I put Larkspur and Coriander in between the plants to deter aphids.

I found a ripper tool the other day online. It is by a site called GrowVeg. I had a great play with it and have made up a plan for my 'dream' plot ... which my darling hubby is attempting to dig up - so much cooch grass though! In my dreams ...

The good bit is the planner spaces your vegies. It tells you how much space should be allocated to each plant. Like an idiot, I forgot to name some of them ... still it looks pretty!

I also found a wonderful book called Companion Planting in Australia. This is a 'must-have' book for the serious urban food cropper!

... now to pick some baby spinach!

Getting Tippy

2009-08-20T20:41:00.002+10:00

My next door neighbour was telling me of her trip to the local tip. $4 was all she paid for the moon rocks for her garden. A trailer load full. Bargain!

Now, I am on a bit of a 'life change', re-evaluating what I can change, impacts on the environment and so on. I am not ready to give up beef totally yet, but I have cut back. Besides, have you seen the price of steak these days?

Since taking part in a climate change group at university, I have learned a stack of stuff. For example, did you know that kangaroos don't fart but cattle do? Go figure. Why is it important though?

Cattles produce Methane. Roos don't. So cutting down on beef means less Methane. So we eat more kangaroo - fantastic in a stir-fry. Livestock wreck the environment and kangaroos are kinder (smaller feet and bigger steps/leaps which means fewer steps).

So, my curiousness got the better of me - so I went to the tip. I picked up a new little benchtop barbie for $3 and a pump-pot so I can make up a big brew of herb tea for a day out in the garden. Kelsey picked up a bedside table to decorate for $5. Basically it is like a HUGE garage sale - but it is every day.

I was amazed by how neat it all was. I went down in my trendy, yellow gumboots, all prepared for a day climbing mounds of trash. An adventure!

This is what I found. No piles. No disorder - well not really. As oderly as a garbage tip can get.

The service was great too! Who would have believed that customer service existed at a dump?

Alex, my new found Tip Buddy (he is the one in the front in orange), says that Saturday and Sunday are best. Pity I hate crowds but it was fun looking. Think I'll stick to weekdays.

What surprised me was that you get a GREEDY feeling with all this trash. I felt a bit like Steptoe & Son being there ... except I have teeth.

2 sheds and a pretty big outside area with stuff. Lots and lots of STUFF. Gym equipment, bikes, building materials, old silverware (nearly got sucked in right there!) and even water & snow skis.

So looks like I have a new addiction. If only they get yarn down there ... then I'll be set!

Woolly Winters & Golden Syrup Dumplings

2009-06-20T22:15:00.010+10:00

Golden Syrup Dumplings

I love comfort food. Gooey desserts are a bit of a favourite, especially with a sauce. And icecream. Or cream.

If you are watching your waistline (I am ... watching it increase ...), and watching your cholesterol, don't even consider this recipe. It's downright nasty with regards to butter and sugar content. Anyway, here goes ...

INGREDIENTS

Dumplings
1. 1 1/2 cups of Self-raising Flour
2. 60 grams of Butter (NOT margarine)
3. 1 egg (55 grams)
4. 1 tablespoon of Castor Sugar
5. 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons Full Cream Milk (not the skinny stuff ... it is time to be decadent here!)

Sauce
1. 40 grams of Butter
2. 1 cup of 1A Sugar (normal table sugar)
3. 3 tablespoons of Golden Syrup (for overseas viewers, this is made from cane sugar)
4. 1/4 cup of Lemon Juice (out of bottle is okay, as long as it is 99%)
5. 2 cups of Water

METHOD

1. Rub better into flour. You can use a food processor for this part. But only this part!
2, Add castor sugar
3, Beat egg with milk. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add egg/milk mix.
4. With a knife cut through the muxture until the mixture is a soft dough. If it is stiff, add a
teaspoon of milk.
5. Pat the dough out on some baking paper (easier to clean up).
6 .Divide into 8 pieces and roll between your palms to a uniform ball. Set aside.
7. Combine all the syrup ingredients in a large saucepan and stir, bringing to the boil.
8. Simmer for 4 minutes.
9. With the sauce still simmering hard, add the dumplings.

10. Cover with the saucepan lid and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.
11. A scewer inserted should come out clean.
12. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla icecream.

Don't feel guilty about eating these ... don't cook them in the first place if you are going to put yourself through a guilt trip later.

Now on to things of the Woolly Variety ...

Ambling down my local Spotlight mega-store (that should be mega-annoying) after receiving a call from my big cuz Susan about some yarn, I really became bamboozled by the variety of imported yarns they have.

What I want top know is this ... how do they put Milk and Corn into yarn? Is the wool from around the teats of the sheep? Do they soak the yarn in milk & dry it out (wouldn't that stink?). What about corn? Is it the silk they use? Do they crush up the corn & soak the yarn in it?

The one I fell in love with is the Tucano yarn by Moda Vera. 50% wool and 50% bamboo. at $3.99 a ball it was a bit of a bargain ... and the prices are going up to $4.99.

It screamed "beret" to me, so I downloaded quite a few beret patterns from Ravelry ... of course :o) There is one I really like, but wouldn't you know it ... it's in German. I can't speak German, except to say "Fill my tank please."

However there is Google translator. Hopefully the email I sent the designer does not have her dropping stitches in gales of laughter. I just hope I didn't ask anything like "Do you have an english man in this beret?"

Actually, on Facebook I had a language war in German recently with an online friend Justin. I think he cottoned on that I was eusing translator ... although a few people thoght I knew it. Great fun! Now ... to bed, leckie blankie and hopefully a good night's sleep before studying all day.

Vegging Out

2009-06-15T10:27:00.026+10:00

One thing I do to keep my sanity is to plant ... and plant ... and plant. Problem is I don't have a tonne of space outside due to 4 legged wombats masquerading as dogs in my backyard.

This is Tess. A more gentle temperament you could not wish in a pooch ... but the holes! She also has the digestive constitution of a goat. I suppose it is not her fault as she is a tad in-bred (mum & dad were siblings). She is best friends with Lily, our other dog & dominant female.

So until I have a fully fenced in veggie plot, the front yard it is. Better than Prozac and it ends up supplying us with a lot of green veggies. I'm thinking potatoes too :o) There is a patch calling me in the front ...

Or should I say the driveway until the garden is dug over?

Talking about back yard plots, for 20 years I have had an area bluestoned in for this very reason ... but no fencing. Now I have proven my prowess in seedling raising I may just get it! Now to clear the cooch grass (mongrel grass it should be called).

I have found $2 shops an absolute bonus for seed raising. I get huge trays with smalls holes all over (good drainage & soil stays put) and fill it with bagged, organic, garden soil.

... I get Bunnings soil (about $6.50 a bag and wayyy cheaper than the Debco soil). It is composted and has poo in it ... so wear gloves.

AND I have found a way to use the empty loo rolls ... great for seedling raising (after they have had the obligatory time in seed raising topping - I plant in organic soil and top it with seed-raising mix by Debco. More nourishing). The roots go down deep, and you can either transplant the whole lot into the garden or - as I do - peel off the roll wrapper.

Ever wondered what to do with the covers to cakes you get in supermarket deli's? My fave is Mudcake - but I digress ... mmmm mudcake (Homer Simpson style drool here).

I heat up a prong, fork, skewer ... whatever ... to red hot and pierce the lid all over. Turn upside down. VOILA! Seed raising container. Get the really deep lids ... cause that also means a deep cake. Did I mention mudcake??

I have this thing about a Nature Deficit. Too much technology, I believe, stuffs around our own 'wiring' and affects learning and memory ... and stress levels. Too much visual stimulation. Our brains are not ready for it. Have you ever seen a teenager who can't use Facebook or Myspace for whatever reason? It is like they have withdrawal. Don't get me started on computer games like Playstation (and I will NOT give them the courtesy of a link here ...).

Funky Yarn No Pattern

2009-06-14T20:48:00.009+10:00

I had a hankering to do a bit of knitting. Nothing big, just something manageable - like a cowl, a slouchy beret or fingerless gloves. The cowl won out.

My cousin, Susan the 'CatsMum', on hearing I want to indulge in this time honoured artform (yet again), has been on my case to get the sticks clicking. She gave me a lovely cowl when my ol' Dad passed away (Susan knits & quilts her love to people).

Cashmere, hand-dyed and snuggly warm as toast - makes me feel a little bit closer to the country life I badly want (Susan - trade places?). Bloody envious.

So she inspired me ... and got me absolutely HOOKED on Ravelry.

My friend Karen lives in Ballarat, which frequently has sub-zero temps in Winter. So she will be my first guinea pig into my foray with the cowl knitting on circs ... which I am yet to attempt. The look scary. She wants it in black - not the best colour to have a crack at knitting. Moda Vera Tucano merino and bamboo 50/50. Weird it is made in China but sounds Italian ...

One problem ... this brand has hardly any patterns. What's with that? Conversion is a bitch - and where it is handy to have a genius cousin to work out the mat for you.

I'll be doing a cable cowl, with Susan's help deciphering the US terminology and needle sizes and ply (why don't they have our system here with ply??? ). VERY confusing.

... now to get back to demolishing the chocolate and peanut butter I melted together and cooled off - deadly and straight to the hips , on the fingers ... and the keyboard. UGH!