kitty in the kitchen

I have been cooking both of these recipes since I was about 8 years old. They are no longer on paper... just in my head. The apple crumble recipe has been tweaked hundreds of times & has many different variations, this is just what I had today. My personal favourite is apple and rhubarb. Also, today I only had 4 apples, when usually I would use 5 or 6 & make it in a big pan & adjust topping to suit. Both are great old school recipes that are easy & stress free to make... which is what I love.

Brownies

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Melt the butter, then stir in the sugar, eggs and vanilla.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir thoroughly.
pour into 20cm square pan
bake at 175 degrees C for 25 to 30 mins
leave to cool, then cut into squares

Apple & Sultana crumble

4 large granny smith apples
1/2 cup sultanas
cinnamon stick
3 cloves

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp LSA mix
3 tbsp melted butter

Peel skin & remove core of apples then slice
Place them in saucepan with sultanas, cinnamon & cloves
Add about a half cup of water
bring to simmer and cook until soft
remove cinnamon & cloves & place into 4 ramekins

mix the rest of the ingredients together
place ontop of apple mix
cook in 180 degree oven for about 20 minutes
or until brown on top

on my desk

Is my great infra-red medical lamp, a birthday present from my man, a handmade japanese bowl full with acorns I just couldn't resist. A stack of drawing supplies, an oversized paperclip and the little carved wooden pear (from zakkaya) holding a business card.
I'm going to play along with kootoyoo with this theme every wednesday, should be fun.

my favourite soup

Pip from meet me at mikes is having a giveaway so I thought i'd give it a go & enter. To enter you have to post the recipe for your favourite soup. Check out some of the crazy soups she's found. They sound... interesting
Because today was a tad wintry and the boy and I needed some warming up I cooked this soup for dinner. It is so good & easy to make, heres the recipe.

Moroccan Tomato soup with couscous

olive oil
1 large red onion- finely diced
3 cloves garlic- finely diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 400gm tins of diced tomatoes
1 litre chicken or veggie stock
1/2 cup couscous
salt and pepper to taste
chopped coriander

-heat oil in saucepan, add onion & saute on medium heat for 10 minutes
-add garlic, paste, tomatoes & stock, bring to boil then simmer for 15 minutes
-add couscous & simmer for another 10 minutes
-season with salt & pepper
-serve into bowls and garnish with coriander

this recipe serves 4 but can easily be halved.

This Is . . . Me Taking A Picture of Myself In the Mirror With My Favourite Accessory

Another week of Angela's 'This is' is upon us. Thanks to one red robin for this weeks theme. It was quite a challenge to hold the camera still, not block my face and still take a half decent picture. I think it has a nice olde world haziness to it, hee.
My favourite accessory would be my little cream hat made by plum valley. It's a cute 1920's style that keeps my little head warm. I had to get it taken in, because no adult hats fit my pinnie head.
My other fave accessory is my engagement ring, because everytime I look at it I think of my wonderful man and think how lucky I am to have found him. (although he will argue that he saw me first.)
I also love my camera and it often travels with me when I go for a wander.
And incase you were wondering, the bandage on my hand is not an accessory that I am particularly fond of. It's there for another 2 weeks while my wrist recovers from surgery. I had a niggly ganglion removed on friday. So no more everyday aches for me. Yay!
I look forward to next weeks theme from Pip of meet me at mikes.

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I love acorns! The only thing I'm missing is a cute little squirrel.

monkeys & teapots

As I was fossicking through bits and pieces to adorn my study walls with... I rediscovered this odd little fellow.
It was given to me by a friend who I am quite fond of, who when she saw it immediately thought of me. You see there's a theory about town, that when I was an infant I was raised by monkeys... they called me "missouri". Anyway it's an incredibly silly story concocted by another dear friend of mine, and if you want to hear the full story go and talk to Mykal, the barman at MoVida.
Right now, back on track... my friend gave me this postcard all of a sudden one day after she had visited the NGV. And on the back it reads... For the girl who was raised by monkeys but still loves teapots, I loves ya.
How incredibly quaint and sweet in a very strange manner!

this is... what makes me laugh

The facial expressions I could pull as a kid. Whenever I look at these photos they just crack me up! From top left clockwise... we have the: "look at me I can be gross and make my eyeballs pop out while stuffing a sandwich in my mouth", then we have the: "It's 6am and I've been caught opening easter eggs before being told it was time to", the "I'm so bloody unimpressed 5am Christmas morning" I mean really... I got a brush with the name KATHY on it, I hated being called that, and lucky last we have: "I can read Dr Seuss and do yoga at the same time, while lying on my Strawberry Shortcake beanbag"
And you will be very pleased to know that since these photos I have built a wide vocabulary of expressions. My best friend Emma always tells me that some of the most beautiful people pull the most horrible faces... I'm going to take that as a compliment!

a life without batteries

Hello again, I've been in hiding. Because a) I got a bit carried away with the birthday fairies,
b) I went to Healesville, c) I started back at school and d) I didn't have any sodden batteries for my alkaline thirsty camera. But I do now, so I'm back.
Also on the agenda... my hearts for mirabel have been finished for a while now... (but with the battery situation, I couldn't take photo). So I'm taking them in to Mikes tomorrow when I pop in for a cuppa. It's never too late to have a heart, pardon the pun.
So... I guess I have alot of catching up to do. I have a few days left of my 30 days, plus I've missed the last two weeks of this is. I'll catch up with that on sunday.
I'm going into hospital on friday, to have a ganglion cut out of my left wrist. It's been aching and giving me grief for years, so now we say farewell. The surgery falls under the plastics department, so at least I can be content in knowing that when it's all over I'll have the sexiest wrist on the block. Humour is a good blanket for the fact that I'm scared out of my pants. I've just been focusing on keeping a steady breathing pattern and not hyperventilating! Wish me luck.

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popped into Kazari warehouse today and found this little gem.

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hee hee hee, look at his little funny face
(tool found in Samuel's collection at workshop)

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Mmmm, vintage linen thread.

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The postman was nice today. I received an early birthday present from my sister, thanks melly. She sent me a copy of Recycled Home, which I've been eyeing off in borders for a while now. But the funny thing is; the silly goose forgot to write my name on the pack or her name on the back. And apparently she nearly forgot the address part too (hence the urgent text requesting my address last week... while she was at the post office counter). But still I love her dearly.
I also made a soft tree today, I feel quite accomplished.
And one more thing... while I was at benito's today, dropping off the menu holders, I was approached to do 30 more for a new restaurant openning in brighton... yay!

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Menu holders for benito's all ready to be assembled tomorrow morning, and a bunch of flowers on my last day... apparently I'll be missed. We'll see, next week they'll be all "kitty who?". Thanks for having me guys.
I've got a week off this week to just hang out before starting back at school on the 11th, also to celebrate my birthday. I'm going here with a group of my lady friends on thursday night. And the most wonderful soon to be husband is taking me here to stay friday and saturday, with a three course dinner to be eaten in their awesome restaurant. I can't wait to be out of the city. Yay! I am very spoilt I know.

this is... my collection

I collect teapots, a) because they can be so beautiful and b) because I drink alot of tea.

• The silver one I got from a restaurant I used to work at, it's good for english breakfast with friends.
• I bought the clear glass one at a department store in Tokyo for approx $13, it has a strainer that sits inside it too. This one is used for peppermint tea.
  
• The stripey pot was a gift from a dear friend of mine for my engagement, it comes with two matching cups. I use this one for jasmine tea.
• The pot with the floral pattern was bought from yooralla for $4... total bargain. I don't use this one, he's a bit old and precious.
• To the left is a pot I bought from an antique store in Kyoto. It is from the meiji period, which means it is 100-120 years old. It is very fine ceramic and has one small chip in the lip, which is pretty good for an old guy. He too is old and precious... and plus way too small for a cup of tea.
  
• The baby red one was bought at tablewares store in asakusa. Just because it is so cute. Again, he is just for looks.
  
• And last but not least the cream pot. It has a cute sprout painted onto the side and lid. I bought it from Zakkaya on Johnston st. I use this one for my green teas, I think its my favourite too.

I'm sure I have many more teapots to collect in my time... I can't wait!

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the sun was so nice today, happy and bright!

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I made some breakfast bars... so tasty and good for an energy pick me up throughout the day.
I can't remember where I found the recipe... but I'll pass it on.

395g tin condensed milk
250g rolled oats
75g shredded coconut
125g chopped nuts (I used macadamias)
125g chopped dried fruit (I used apricots)

Gently warm milk over low heat, mix in with dry ingredients.
Press into 23x33cm tray, bake at 130 degrees for 1 hour.
Cool for 15 minutes, then cut into rectangles.
Enjoy!

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I heart magnolia trees, especially their sweet lemony flowers