Custard Pie ... yum ohhhh

Hello Poppits,

Hows your week been going ??? I've just realised that I have soo and I do mean that to blog about I've just gotten so behind with everything!

So away we go ..

This pie is super easy and yummy ! I'm a big fan of custard it's just so yummy and goes with so so many thing! 

 Edie thought that it was a bit of alright and wanted to get into the picture as well... and I wouldn't blame her I mean who could say no to creamy custard in a crunchy biscuit base ! 

Ingredients:

1 packet scotch fingers or such biscuits, processed into fine crumbs 

about 160g butter, Melted 

Custard :

2 heaped tbs Custard powder

2tsp caster sugar 

a splash of vanilla 

500ml milk of any kind( I use half cows and half soy milk)

Base:

1: Combine the melted butter and the biscuit crumbs until they hold together, then press the mixture into a lowish pie dish any size I recon mine would of been about 12 inch..

Now put you pie case into the fridge until you need it.

Custard:

make a paste with the sugar , vanilla , custard powder and a little milk in a medium saucepan. Then add the rest of the milk heat the milk to a medium heat  stirring until thicken.

Now pour into the biscuit case and put aside to set. 

Now top with fresh nutmeg and Eat up !!!

Happy days 

TTFN,

Lili 

xxx 

Heres a lovely Q&A for you poppits from Rachel Pitts the master mind behind all the lovely recipes from the spiffy Cook books The Hungry Girls !

Hello Poppits, 

Hows your weekend going thus far ? many plans ???

As you may remember from a few weeks or so back I made an Apricot , Almond spice cake from The Hungry Girls 

I was lucky enough to score an Q&A with Rachel Pitts the recipe brains behind these lovely recipe!

So away we go !

 How did you start off cooking and what was the first thing that you remember cooking?

I started cooking when I was in last few years of high school and living at home with Mum. Vegie burgers were one of the first things I created. At the time I waitressed on weekends at a café with a fairly hippy, vegetarian menu featuring things like dhal, felafel and vegie burgers, and I started making my own version of vegie burgers at home and they turned out pretty well! Another time I remember having my boyfriend and his friend over for dinner and making one of the worst curries known to mankind, which was basically all cabbage and tinned curry sauce. Really, I can’t work out what was I thinking! How was that ever going to taste good?

I saw on you blog that you very much enjoy travel, has this influenced your cooking style very much?

Definitely. I am carrying around a very long list of great things we ate, particularly in China, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand a few years ago, that I still need to work out how to cook. Originally I said to myself that when I cook them all and write recipes of the good ones, then it’s time to go travelling again! But actually, it might take me a decade to get through them at my current sporadic rate, and we’d really like to go travelling again somewhere next year.

When did you realise that your love of cooking could be turned into a lovely book? ( I don’t own a copy yet, but I wish I did)
Probably only when I started talking about it to my friends Katherine Bird (Hungry Girls’ illustrator and designer) and Leah Holscher (Hungry Girls’ photographer). It wasn’t something that I would have considered doing on my own, but with the three of us combining our skills, we all thought we might be able to make something beautiful. And actually, Volume 1 was mainly made as a Christmas present for friends and family, and we thought we could sell a few copies at the café we had at the time. Quietly we were wondering if the book would spark any other interest, and we’re very excited when it did!

What’s your favourite thing to cook and why is it so special to you ?

I am a shocker for cooking things until I get them right, such as for the Hungry Girls Cookbooks, and then shelving them away for a very long time, as I’m always excited by new things. But the things I enjoy cooking most are probably the simpler things that don’t have piles of ingredients and complicated steps, but which surprise you in how good they taste. Some things I’m thinking of are a fantastic noodle salad we ate in China, a chicken curry with not much more than a handful of ingredients from Laos, minimal Italian pastas, Chinese stir-fries featuring one or two ingredients, proper potato tortilla with the minimum of ingredients (potato, onion, egg, oil). Not everything I cook is this simple, but I think this kind of cooking really rewards you for your effort, and it feels like something magical steps in to make it taste so good.

Do you find you relax a lot whilst cooking ?

Hmmm. If my daughter is trying to climb up my leg, or if she is sitting on the bench next to me and trying to pull out all the peppercorns from the spice drawer, then it’s not so relaxing! I usually find it more relaxing if my husband has taken Greta out for a few hours and I can concentrate, and then I find it very relaxing and time flies, and I don’t really need any music or anything on as I’m happy just being quiet. (That said, sometimes Greta is great company and we have lots of fun together cooking certain things. Anything with dough or pastry – anything she can get her hands into and squash!)

 

Do you make up a lot of your recipes from scratch or do you find inspiration from other things people have made or a bit of both ?  

Everything starts with inspiration from somewhere, whether it’s a dish eaten overseas or at a restaurant or seen in a cookbook. I’m a recipe fiddler though, so I might cook something as the recipe says the first time, and then make changes and simplifications that appeal to me the next time, until eventually it evolves into my own way of doing it.

 

What do you enjoy to do when you’re not cooking and is cooking a big part of your life now because of the Hungry Girls ?

Going for walks and bike rides with Greta and my husband. Gardening in our vegie patch ... But cooking has grown to be a pretty big part of my life. There never seems to be enough time!

Are you more of a savoury person or a sweet tooth ?

Both! I’m not one of those people who can skip dinner and just eat cake, but a day with a little bit of cake in it is a good day!

Have you always known what you would end up doing or has it been always changing ?

I had no idea I would want to write recipes! I was always keen to write, but it’s a bit intimidating when you don’t know what you want to write about ... It was great when I worked out I was interested in food, as having a little niche is much cosier. But writing is not by a long stretch the only thing I do. I’m also a cookbook editor working freelance from home, and my husband and I have other little pipedreams of fun things we might do one day. A single career seems a little too boring these days!

Is cooking for a toddler hard for you when you like more exotic food, and when she likes what you have made does that give you a little buzz inside ?

I’m always cooking different things, sometimes a little on the whacky side at least from a toddler’s point of view. I keep forgetting, probably being a bit too stubborn all the time, and when it comes to serving up I often have a sudden realisation of ‘oh bugger, this isn’t going to work at all!’ It’s very silly of me, but on the up-side, I think she has been exposed to a wide range of food and most things are pretty acceptable. She doesn’t mind a bit of chilli, which we’re happy about – although recently I accidentally dished her up a massive chunk of hot chilli thinking it was capsicum, and that was not pretty! I felt awful. You’re right – when she likes food that I cook (when she eats it with no tricks or coaxing), that does make me feel quite ridiculously happy!

Does it thrill you when you see someone other than family with one of your books ?

Absolutely! But even family is good. You can’t make anyone cook your recipes, whether they’re family and friends or strangers, so when I hear of people cooking my recipes, that makes me grin from ear to ear.

What has been your favourite part of making the Hungry Girls’ cookbooks?

The photo shoots. We all love styling the food with interesting old props, and Leah is such a good photographer that the food always looks great and I feel proud!

Do you have a cook book that you love to make things out of and why is it so special?

   There are a few that I keep going back to. One that I’ve cooked heaps of things out of is              actually a book I worked on a few years ago as an editor – the SBS Food Safari cookbook.      Almost all of the recipes I’ve cooked from it are brilliant – authentic and interesting, from 30-odd countries around the world, and even if they’re classic dishes they tend to be very good versions. I like any book that has authentic recipes from a given country. 

What gives you the inspiration to cook yummy things ??
A lot of the time I’m inspired by produce coming out of our garden, which is beans, beans, beans this summer, finally with a few tomatoes too. I love the feeling of growing your own vegies and having your own eggs, and whatever else it is you might have, which means you can make yourself a delicious and healthy meal from what you’ve got, without having to do too much shopping.

Lastly is there anything on the horizons for the Hungry Girls or separate projects ?

      Another book is in the pipelines for later this year ... 

Happy Days !:D

Thanks Rachel for doing such a spiffy Q&A for me YAY, make sure that you head over to The Hungry Girls website and check out their wonderful blog and shop !

Amy Butler Kimono Pj's Edie style

Hello Poppits,

How's your week been ? everyone looking forward to a nice weekend, filled with lovely quite moments and sips of tea ??? I wish that this wistful sounding weekend was going to be mine but instead mine is most likely to be a bit on the busy side of life! Maybe if i'm lucky I might get i minute or two of peaceful rest ??

I made these pj's a few weeks ago and as per usual I'm only just blogging about it now... naughty me

I had seen Amy Butler's Little Stitches for little ones at my local craft shop and then ordered it from the library to see if it was worth while buying. Well let me tell you as soon as I had, had a good look though this lovely book I went straight out a brought a copy! I had seen the Kimono pj's in the book before hand and had set aside this cute Elephant flannel fabric for just this job ! 

 I hit a few problems as per usual when copying a pattern, I tent to just follow my own path when sewing and then when I do go to follow any instructions I get VERY confused .... not fun for anyone let me tell you.

The Pj's are a little big because I went for the 12 month size for Edie just to be on the safe side and seeming she's only just gone 6 months and is still in a size 00 it is safe to say they will fit for a good while. I've taken them up for the time being so they fit a little better, but still need a press stud on the top to prevent minor chest flashing...

 Also I forgot to add the trim into the length of the arms and legs as I wanted to just be all from the same fabric. This isn't a problem atm as the needed to be taken up but when Edie does grow into them I will need to add the trim. Oh well!

But all in all I'm pretty chuffed with how they turned out seeming these where the first time I had made anything like this and it was good to try out a few new techniques! 

Oh any I know the photos aren't too good but all Edie's doing now is rolling and staring to crawl so it's hard to get a good photo where she's still ...

 have a good weekend TTFN,

Lili xxx   

tomato bread salad

Hello Poppits,

hows everything going?? 

A few weeks back I made this yummy tomato bread salad to go with a fresh pea lasagne. This salad coupled greatly with it because it cut the richness of the the creamy sauce with the freshness of the tomato's!

  

It's one of those salads that's supper easy to make up in advance because everyone knows that when tomato's are left by themselves they always do yummy scrummy things with whatever they are next to! This salad would also be great served up just after its made, so that the bread is still nice a crunchy!  

The recipe is really pretty easy to judge yourself but i'll help you out a little :)


Recipe:


Croutons: 
1/2 loaf ciabatta, cut into 2cm ruff chunks
1tsp fennel seeds
a glug of olive oil
a sprig of rosemary 


Salad:
about 500-700g fresh mixed tomato's ( I used yellow and red cherry toms and russian black fresh from our veggie patch) ruffly chopped 
a splash of white wine vinegar
small bunch of fresh basil, chopped finely
small bunch of fresh flatleaf parsley, also chopped finely 
1tsp capers mooshed with the back of your knife.
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely!


salt
pepper
olive oil
parmesan 

Now pre-heat a hot oven about 200c or there abouts and line a roasting dish with baking paper.
put your bread on the dish and coat with the fennel seed , rosemary and oil once coated sprinkle with sea salt,.... sorry just had to get Edie.  place into the oven and cook for about 15 minutes checking every 5 to turn! once ready remove from the oven!




In a nice big serving bowl place all your salad ingredients and moosh to get all the flavours going, drizzle with olive oil and season to taste with the salt and pepper.
now add in your croutons mix together and grate parmesan over the top and enjoy when ever !!

TTFN ,
Lili xxx 

The hungry girls Almond, Apricot spice cake... retold by ME yes me and my little fingers...

Hello Poppits,

How's your day been ??

Mines been pretty good, even though it's only wednesday! I had a lovely day today with catching up with my mothers group in the afternoon and then ... I resigned from my job !! It feels so good to know that I don't have a deadline with Edie. YAY

Now onto the cooking part...

A few weeks ago ( oh k well maybe it was more like 6 weeks) I made this cake..It's from The Hungry girls blog, they have lots of super yummy recipes, all with yummy looking photos unlike my dodge ones.

As you may have guessed I love cooking and will do at a drop of a hat and this cake was no exception. We where having a outside movie night( you have to watch "My family and other animals" a truly fabby movie!) and I thought this cake may just do the trick and it sure did.

This cake was lots of fun to make because of all the little jobs that there are to make the cake, so I roped in mum and Romi to help me cook it!

  This cake is lovely and moist with a slightly bitter but complex taste. I served it up with custard ( yes the photo looks like poo but it tastes so good) the apricots were a bit under ripe so I think this recipe would work better with ripe ones.

All in all this cake is scrummy yummy and I would make this again quick smart !

Recipe (From The Hungry Girls)

150 g butter

60 g (1/3 cup) brown sugar

about 500 g apricots (reserve 8 stones)

3 tablespoons golden syrup

125 ml water

6 cardamom pods

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ nutmeg, grated (or ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg)

100 g ground roasted almonds (or almond meal)

85 g self-raising flour

Line a 20 cm cake tin with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180°C. Melt the butter in a saucepan and drizzle 1 tablespoon over the base of the tin. Sprinkle with a few pinches of the brown sugar. Open the apricots and remove the stones, and lay the halves over the base of the tin open-side up. Squish as many into the tin as possible.

Add the remaining brown sugar to the saucepan of melted butter, along with the golden syrup and water.

Crack open the reserved apricot stones in a mortar to reveal the kernels inside. Crush the kernels to a paste. Stir into the butter mixture. Crack the cardamom pods, discard the husks and grind the seeds to a powder. Stir into the butter mixture along with the ginger and nutmeg. Stir in the ground almonds and flour until smooth. Pour the batter over the apricots and bake for 30–40 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool before turning onto a plate.

TTFN,

Lili xx

Sewing ... Tap pants if you want to call them that

Hello Poppits,

How's the start to your weekend going?? Hopefully a little nicer than mine has been today! 

And hopefully you don't have a rotten cold like I have that was kindly passed on from Edie to the rest of my family ... not happy campers now let me let you.

now on to the crafty bits and bobs 

I made these shorts just after our christmas trip down to the east coast. I had brought all the doodad before hand though but had just ran out of time to make them before christmas with all the presents that I was making.

I got the idea from seeing a girl in the street with something similar but shorter than these and slightly more flowy. I got the pattern form Etsy and was a cheap buy ( it smelt smokey was the only down flaw) It was a McCalls 5470 pattern and I'm sure that you could find the pattern on the net somewhere!

These shorts are supper dupper comfy and are nice and light weight for summer.  

The fabric was also a score from esty and is supper cute! I had a few issues with the waist so I made a coupe of ties which are very helpful indeed.

I'm going to attempt to make these shorts again at a later date, but this time with a nice lightweight chiffon fabric maybe ??? Also I saw some shorts with a scolloped edge which I thought I would give a try, as well as making them shorter and tighter maybe ???  

Any was I really have enjoyed these ones, I think they might have to become my summer picnic pants because they are what I always don on for our lovely picnics. A BIG pluse they go spiffingly  well with a navy ascot shirt I got from an opp shop one trip !


TTFn ,
Lili xxx 

I do love a good picnic or two ...

Hello Poppit,

How have you been ? Autumn has differently hit us hard and fast in Latrobe ... In a matter of fact i'm pretty sure it has hit all of Tasmania. It has taken from us what little summer we had this year. But in its wake it will bring wonderful colours on trees, yummy soups, fresh crispy bread, hot steamy spicey tea and lots of nice cosy crafts .

I though I would shear with you a few pictures from a wonderful weekend spent picnicking... 

On friday night we went to the Symphony under the stars, its was fill with a lazy night under the stars with lovely classical music , played by a fabulous orchestra. The compear on the other hand was interesting to say the lest. 

I made some spiffy picnic food to take up it all got scoffed up pretty quickly! We had mini Banoffee pies with dark chocolate drizzled over the banana and an filled mediterranean cob loaf! All of this was scrummy but regrettably I forgot to take any photos of the food :(

The second picnic we went to Delorain for a morning onside the river. We had a lovely time eating Chickpea sausage roles form the burke Street Bakery. These were brilliant but not something on first bit your to sure on, but on second bit your hooked and know that you've found something good. For afters we had fresh scrummy blueberry friands, these are one of my favourite and best and when ever we have blueberries they go into this recipe !    

Hope you had a tops weekend like I did,

TTFN,

Lili xxx