Another recipe...

Thanks to my lovely SIL, Sonja, I now subscribe to the craft magazine, 'Handmade'. S gave me an iSubscribe gift card for my birthday. I normally borrow mags from the library so I decided that I needed to do a bit of research to find a suitable magazine which would come to my letterbox for 12 months. I borrowed a variety of magazines from the library which cater for my interests of gardening, cooking and crafts. Eventually the shortlist was 'Handmade' and 'Homespun' and I don't really know what tipped the scales in favour of the former but both magazines have a variety of crafts covered. My first issue came early this month...a Christmas special. There are some cute little elves to knit and some lovely sewing projects that have caught my eye.

Just arrived! Still in the plastic...

On Monday night I was reading the mag in bed when I noticed a recipe; it was called 'Chocolate Coconut Balls' and as I read through it I realised I had all the ingredients on hand.
I had wanted to make something to take along for morning tea at Tuesday's Knit and Natter and had toyed with making some scones or muffins early on Tuesday morning. I now knew what I was going to make...which I did next morning...the recipe was easy...and they were very popular at the K&N.

The rich 'chocolaty' mixture 

And here is the recipe from 'Handmade' Sept 2011 issue

The recipe is in the latest edition of 'Handmade'.
Ingredients:-
1 tin condensed milk
125g butter
100g dark cooking chocolate
1 egg
250 g milk coffee biscuits (I actually used Marie biscuits as i already had
them)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut (plus extra for coating)
Method
place the butter and condensed milk into a medium sized saucepan and stir over
low heat until the butter has melted and the mixture has thickened slightly.
Add the chocolate, stirring until it's melted and combined, then stir in the dry
ingredients and remove from the heat.
Add the egg and mix well then turn the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until
firm
Place extra coconut on to a plate, roll heaped teaspoonsful of chocolate mixture
into balls, then roll them in the coconut until well coated. Return them to the
fridge until ready to serve. :-)

Enjoy!

Don't be sad...be happy!

I find out a lot of things about family and friends on FaceBook, which I guess is a sign of the times. Last night I discovered that my former son in law is now 'In a relationship'. I should have been happy for him. I had grown to love him as a son and he had been part of our family get togethers for quite a few years. He came into my DD1's life when they were both 16. At their wedding eight years later he had made the most lovely speech paying tribute to me and calling me 'Mum'...oh how I 'glowed' after that speech.

In happier times...

But they parted after less than 4 years of marriage ...I grieved for my 'lost son'. I missed him being at family dinners. I wished that both of them could find happiness....my daughter came back home to live for a while. I still 'kept open the lines of communication' and tried to be impartial. Eventually the couple divorced and property was divided.

When I read his status on FB, I felt a tinge of sadness for what might have been...That feeling has stayed with me today even though my rational side knows that I should be rejoicing for him...he has another chance at happiness; maybe even start a family as he turned 30 in August. I hope he is experiencing feelings of unbridled joy and deep love for his new lady. And me? As my children would say...'Mum, get over it!'

I'm grateful because...

I 'stumbled across'  (thanks to Carol!) a blogger who is hosting a 'I'm grateful' feature here. (Lioness lady) I have many things that I'm grateful for but something which happened this morning made me 'do a little dance of joy'! Doing my regular watering of my veggie patches and pots this morning, lugging full watering cans from the tank to the gardens...I noticed something peeping out of the soil near one of the potato plants.

Yes! It was a potato and luckily the light hadn't caused it to go green. I felt around and found more. I know there are lots more further down but they can stay there for now. I am just so grateful that I'm able to have a garden, that we were able to have tanks installed a number of years ago before town water became quite expensive, especially for watering gardens. I love the flowering trees and shrubs in my garden but there is something so special about growing food. I still remember when I grew corn and pineapples as a little girl...I still get that feeling of 'magic' when the crops mature :-) .

A Friday night for family time...

What a lovely relaxed evening I had last night. We shared lots of laughs and 'old stories' and enjoyed some simple food together. Poor DD1however; she had had the day off work due to a 'tummy bug' that had hit suddenly. She came along but was only able to stay a short time :-( before she went home to bed. DD2 had a similar bug last week which also 'knocked her around' quite a bit.

DD1 second from the right

The cooking crew...note the apprentice second on the left! lol

We had a surprise guest; DsD1 was babysitting this gorgeous little man while his parents went out. Unfortunately she had to take him back! lol

DD2 cutting her cake

I blew out the candle on DD1's cake last night on her behalf . We ate just under half of the large slab cake and the other half is in the freezer for her to collect next time she's over. hee hee...most of us ate a piece of both cakes!!!
I rang DD1 this morning...she's feeling a lot better but just has aching legs and that 'washed out' feeling. Hopefully she is well and truly on the mend!

Zucchini Slice...

Here's the recipe for Zucchini slice that was mentioned in my previous post.
375g zucchini
1 large onion
2-3 rashers of bacon
1 cup grated tasty cheese
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup oil
5 eggs
salt/pepper optional
Grate unpeeled zucchini coarsely, finely chop onion and bacon. ( I chop everything in my elderly food processor) Combine zucchini, onion, bacon, cheese, sifted flour, oil and lightly beaten eggs, season with salt and pepper if desired.
Pour into well-greased lamington tin (base measures 16cm x26 cm) (I use a similar sized pyrex dish), bake in moderate oven 30-40 mins or until brown.

On my mind...family

Today I link in with the 'On my mind...' feature on Rhonda Jean's blog, Down to Earth.
On my mind today is the family gathering we're having here tonight to celebrate DD1 and DD2's birthdays. The girls have already celebrated with their friends so this is just the family.
We are a 'blended' family and DH has 3 daughters ranging in age from 29 down to 25. Two of those will be with us tonight but the youngest has to work.
The gathering will include my brother, DH's younger brother and his wife, also a Maria. Then DD1's godparents and DD2's godmother will be here as well. There will be 2 partners of our DDs here as well. There are 2 other family members who can't make it and we're not sure about our 12 year old nephew yet.

Everyone is helping...DD1's birthday cake is being made by her godmother, my SIL is bringing her famous homemade pizzas, DD2's godmother is bringing some beautiful bread from a local bakery and I've made 2 salads, some spicy rissoles and DD2's favourite cake. I've also made a zucchini slice. We're having a laid back BBQ meal, which is a favourite of our family...although they do like my roast dinners!!! lol

potatoes boiled for the potato salad

Zucchini slice ready to come out of the oven

All the work is done now so I'm looking forward to a lovely evening with my family :-)

Cakes cooling

Cake filled and covered in grated chocolate

A few weeks ago we went to Pacific Paradise...

Overseas friends of my niece and her husband find it hard to believe that there is actually a place called Pacific Paradise. But there is and it's the Sunshine Coast locality where they live with their little daughter Lucy. (My niece worked and travelled OS for a number of years where she met her German husband, E)

Lucy and her daddy

When DH and I drove up to Maleny recently, we went to visit my niece's family before we drove home. Little Lucy was napping when we got there but when she did get up, we were amazed at how big she has grown. Mind you, we haven't seen her since before we went to the US in March!! Little Lucy loves her books so it seemed only natural to read one of her favourite books to her.

Aniria (Aunty Maria) reading Possum Magic by Mem Fox

Elmo on Lucy's bike



The winner of the PIF Giveaway is bettsylyn :-)