Jerky.....

OK so I'm new to this jerky thing, Ive never even tried it before, so talk about winging it!! The above picture was the Moroccan beef just as it was going into the dehydrator. I also tried a honey soy batch, but it didn't look as pretty so i didn't bother. i was really excited about these! Turns out these were far too salty! The honey soy turned out with a delightful delicate flavour! and they are all gone! Hehehe. So i shall continue to experiment with a few different flavoured cures etc. They certainly are a hit with the men of the household!! If anyone has knows of any good recipes, please share!!

Untitled....perhaps sugar free raspberry mess??

This was an attempt at a raspberry style Eaton's mess type of thing.....and deliciously easy.

Whip cream with a little vanilla, blend some raspberries with some cultured milk (i used kefir here, but you could use yoghurt, or even good old plain milk) you want a really stiff/ice creamish consistency.
Throw a generous dollop of each in a bowl with a few more raspberries in a bowl and fold gently a couple of times. I think it would have been better with the crunch of a meringue though, but sugar free meringue just doesn't work. Perhaps ill throw some nuts or toasted coconut or something in it next time for that crunchy texture I'm looking for!

Great on a hot afternoon! or for dessert :)

Xmas tree cake.

Tree by me, decorations by the family.

Not really happy with the color scheme, but ohwell, red, green and gold, it was suppossed to be lol

Check out Gaby's Santa Claus!

Dad's bowling ball. Anthea's Santa sack :)

Haha! this cake was a lot of fun, using up loads of little pieces of gum paste/ fondant i had left over from various cakes. I'm very happy to report, the family was much more interested in creating the cake, than eating it. :) apparently it was too sweet. Haha! I'm winning the war against sugar! :)

Xmas Jelly

Stolen idea! hahahah i tried to be a bit fancy and make it in a bundt pan for an awesome effect, but alas it was an epic fail, hence the strange shaped slices. should have just done plain old squares.....anyhoo, the red is raspberry (packet mix), and the green is a lime cordial i added food coloring to and the white is plain yoghurt, sweetened with a couple of teaspoons of sugar syrup.

The kids loved it! it was just a spur of the moment thing, using left overs. It was a nice treat, for Xmas day, the plain yoghurt really balanced out the sweetness of the jelly. I think ill do it again next year, only i aim to use no food colorings & sugar! (I'm thinking real raspberries, and maybe a kiwi fruit thing?? suggestions welcome :)

Different strokes for different folks....

Lets face it, different things work for different people. This is just something i have noticed, on my little journey of cleaning up the families diet.

This is what works for us.

1. Fruit,&Veg
• We have a high intake, and it works for us. I must admit, i let the kids have a bit of fruit,  2-4 serves a day, because i am a big meanie and don't let them have ANY refined sugars.
2. Meat/fish/eggs etc
•  Every one loves their meat, and there is hardly ever any left overs! We thrive on it! Full of energy!
3. Dairy.
• All the kids have a high intake. They enjoy butter, cream, creme fraiche, kefir milk, yoghurt, plain milk and many different types of cheese. They thrive on it!
• I have a moderate intake, i love cheese! and other cultured products.
• Jessie has a low intake, though he does drink plain milk and loves cheese. He seems to thrive on less dairy.
4. Carbohydrates/ grain products.
• Anthea, Gaby, Jessie can all tolerate and thrive on grain products. (i would say moderate to high intake)
• Baxter & Alexandra (two youngest members) both have a small-moderate intake interestingly I've done experiments where they have a choice between a fruit, veg, protein, dairy and a grain. the grain is always left till last, if eaten at all. Baxter quite often uses his to throw around the room. Cheeky! 
• Britney and I both prefer minimal grain products. I don't think I could ever eat any form of commercial bread/pasta etc again. Britney has, and has regretted it immediately, with stomach cramps and bloating......

Did i forget anything? (distracted- the baby has just woken up!)

Anyway, these are just my observations :) and always in the back of my mind, when serving up food for the crew :)

Enter Excalibur!!! (and some other new equiptment)

This is just a picture i got from Google images LOL, just to give you an idea!


I didn't expect to be able to get one of these, until early in the new year, but here we go! I have had my Excalibur dehydrator (i got the 9 tray one) running flat out! its only had a rest of a few hours since we got it! The girls and i have had an awesome time, making fruit leathers (roll ups), drying all sorts of fruits, and even our sugar crafts. I don't have many pictures, as they barely make it off the trays, before they are gobbled up!! I guess it the closest thing the kiddies get to lollies (even my 8 month old loves the dried fruit, mango strips are the new teething rusk, lol)! Now the novelty has worn off for the kids, i have had space to sprout/dehydrate my grains, and have also been making yoghurt in it, as the temperature remains constant, producing a much better result (more on this later). i even made a big batch of beef jerky in an attempt to impress the hubby, I've never even eaten it before so i think i did OK and he loved it! *phew*

Here is mine in action, dehydrating soaked oats, bound for muesli bars!

Some of the girls sugar crafts, and it turns out my water bottles make the perfect yogurt makers! and don't take up a lot of room height-wise, when laid down i can still use 7 trays when making yoghurt :) [excuse the mess, its due for a clean- again!]

Moroccan spiced beef jerky! These turned out great, albeit a little salty.

Ive  also invested in some cheese making equipment, and turned our old beer fridge into my new cheese cave. Its so awesome!! here is a little sneak peek, but more on our cheese making adventures later.

Anthea posing with the Cheese making stuff, cant wait to get into it!

Finally, i bought a little hand mill. I needed something to do what the big mill cant, that is oily seeds, spices and coffee. It has a second attachment which will 'flake' or roll grains.

Britney, rolling barley for porridge :)

So there you have it, the new gear! I've got a tonne of things to blog about and hopefully now hubby is home on holidays, i can to catch up!!

Merry Christmas all! xx

A months worth of bread products :)

All in a days work! :) 
3-4 weeks worth of bread! :) nom nom

2 x top, heat & eat pizza bases

12 x cumin naan
3 x loaves bread
1 x loaf from the bread machine (attempting to adapt recipe)
1 x banana bundt....ish.....bread type cake thing lol
12 x banana muffins
1 x round loaf
9 x dinner rolls
10 x cinnamon scrolls :)

Hope you enjoyed the teaser, recipes to follow :)

hehehe

Quinoa for brekky!

Easy as 1, 2, 3!!

1. Rinse and cook up some quinoa- about 10 mins (i used the white variety here). Bung in a dash of cinnamon, milk and rapadura- or whatever takes your fancy.........cover and let it stand while you;
2. prepare some sprinkles! here we ground up some sunflower, chia and linseeds and threw in some toasted some hazelnuts, and we had a dollop of cream too :)
3. grab your family and serve them up some good old fashioned goodness! :)

Britney's graduation cake!!

Orh-mah-gawd.....my biggest baby has finished primary school!!! eep!

A perfect time to celebrate, with a special occasion cake!

Now i will, big note myself a little here, i did the "proper" rainbow (well i had a go!!). seen many rainbow cakes, and every single one has neglected indigo. it bugs me....that is all.

The full Mr Roy G. Biv.

 Same basic pure white cake (white so best performance of food dye), and also white buttercream and fondant for maximum contrast.

I didn't get to many 'making of' pictures of this one, and the ones i do have, are on my freshly broken phone...... but here is the end product! 

Colour scheme in school colours :)

Not sure if the pictures depict the size of the cake well, or highlight the book binding feature!

Of course you will excuse the blanking out of the school name :)

 Britney tells me it was enjoyed by her whole class! Even the principal all the way down to the cleaner got a slice of my rainbow graduation cake!

A not so little update!

Hello all!

We have finally arrived at the end of term four, school is finished, swimming and dance lessons are over for the year.....and I'm sitting here wondering where the heck the year went!! Xmas is fast approaching!
The garden is going great guns, we have all the seedlings in now, and the next round of seeds on their way. we also have many more seeds drying etc.....i love this full cycle stuff! from growing, to eating, drying the seeds and replanting! we are well on our way to our self sufficiency goals!!! Gaby and Anthea have become my seed collecting, drying and planting specialists. Baxter absolutely loves getting out in the garden with mummy, and doing odd jobs with daddy! Britney has been re-motivated to keep up her flower garden out the front of the house, and the hubby is keeping the lawn pristine! (well maybe not, we are still getting rid of some prickles) its so nice to be outside! i looove my garden. i could disappear out there all day. Miss Lexy loves it too :)
I cant wait for some more bonza crops!  we have been enjoying gorgeous herbs and sprouts for some time now, and things like tomatoes and chillies, but now we want more more more!!! I'm growing impatient for real tomato sauces, relishes, oooh the freshness, the flavour......

I plan to use any excess (that we cant eat, use for sauces, freeze etc) for dehydration. i'm hoping within a month or so to get my dehydrator!! Im also looking into other old-school preserving too. i think ill get some of those preserving jars and do some of those in the future. not a great deal. just enough to add some variety. So excited about my dehydrator, I cant wait to make real fruit roll ups for the kids! - put this on ya packets uncle toby's: "100% real fruit, maximum nutrition, enzymes intact". *shudders* packet food! Ergh!

speaking of which..... hubby cooked dinner last night from a packet Mexican thing. it was horrible (don't get me wrong, the beef was yummy, loads of veggies in it etc, and cooked to perfection) i just don't think he is confident enough with spices etc. hence the packet. anyway it was the first thing for a packet we had eaten in months. the saucy stuff was hideous, you could taste the fillers/ thickeners and fake crap in there!! even he said mine was better, and to think we used to think that was yummy, and had Mexican nights frequently.  Another bonus of no packaging (aside from the not needing to go to the supermarket very often) is NO garbage!! i went to put the bin on the street the other day, only to find an empty bin!! The Sims', a family of 7, had 1 bag of garbage for the week. (Which i had to scrounge for when i discovered the bin empty!!). DOUBLE BONUS!! we have more stinky compost though, and more bugs!!

hmmm........... nice little segway to my next NOT so nice observation. All this good traditional food. Everyone is interested. Everyone wants in. Including the bugs!!! OMG i have never had so many bugs in the kitchen!!! its funny how a swarm of bugs will come around and kamikaze into my bread dough, yet i never have any problems when I'm cooking my special occasion cakes (white flour sugar etc etc). Do you think the bugs are smarter than they look?? i think so. It is annoying, and i hate bugs, it makes me feel a little gross that i am always keeping bugs out, etc. but it is interesting, and eye opening, nonetheless!!

Now onto the kiddies! I have had some real "WINS" with all of them making comments here and there about their new and improved healthy food. and their exposure to processed stuff is minimal (ie staying at a friends house), but the effects are immediate, and unpleasant. ('gives me a pain in the guts, and i feel yuk!-their words) No one asks me for junk food anymore. although, Britney said she misses ice cream. (which is funny as we eat ice cream a couple of times a week, and the fat rich stuff too) maybe she means the sugar filled variety!! lol. Anthea, always asks me for more healthy things in her lunch box, and i think it has become a bit of a point of conversation between her and her friends at school. she is enjoying 'being the healthiest kid in class' and educating her peers on grains, and where sugar likes to hide!! lol. Gaby is self regulating her sugar intake, she counts her sugar serves (eg. a little rapadura in porridge, 2 fruit, teaspoon of honey in a smoothie, bread {i put honey in it} and a spelt biscuit- would be a typical day) and i have noticed a distinct difference in this kid. not mind blowing, but she is more balanced, not so easily aggravated/ irritated, and her attitude has almost certainly become more positive!! Oh and i should definitely mention Baxter. who is never exposed to processed food, and has had none for months. With the exception of his birthday cake. He was an uncontrollable nightmare child for two days after that. i regret the food colourings BIG TIME! next year it will be my flour, and natural colours if need be. Lesson learnt!!

The hubby is still happily coming along for the ride, i am surprised by him,  he is a processed and convenience food child, yet he is so open to all this!! I expected resistance!  He always helps me with the gardening side of things, and i think as time goes on, and we get a bigger property he will be in his element! (probably because we will then be able to branch into growing our own meat! lolLOL but observation of the creature that is my husband, would notice no late night cravings for sweets, and once upon a time, he would walk in the door at night with a one or two blocks of chocolate. He comments now, he doesn't even think about it! We are getting there! I cant wait for him to start brewing his own beer. then we can be fermentation buddies :) bahahahah

wowzers, i have got a little carried away as you can see, I'm just so excited! other developments to keep you eye out for will be:

• cheese making experiments
• more recipes!
• I have found a place i can get raw milk, i cant wait for real milk again! Unfortunately it is expensive. so i will still have to buy the far-from-superior supermarket stuff for cooking and the like
• food item of the week (eg oat, zucchini, yogurt's etc)
• introducing the kids: they want to do some blogging with me!

These summer holidays are going to be awesome :)

Baxter's 2nd Birthday Cake

Hello all! I have been a busy mumma! Making my sons 2nd birthday cake! My oldest daughter came up with a design/ concept months ago, and i was really trying to stick to it. (The concept was the cake be an open "A,B,C" type book) Featuring aeroplanes on one page and birds on the other. Whalah! Baxter's three favourite things!!

So with that in mind, and my gum paste i had prepared a couple of days prior, i started with the sugar figurines. There was to be an aeroplane, with a little cartoon Baxter sitting in it, and a bird. Here they are (not yet dry):

This is where i started to struggle, i mean how was i going to incorporate the 3-d shapes into the pages of the book? (as they ended up a bit bigger than planned) not only that, but how was i going to shape the cake? would it  ruin what i had planned to do inside? hmmm. I abandoned the book idea and went to a basic square. I had planned to do a coloured layer cake, and completely unintentionally, ended up creating a colour scheme out of his favorite colours. BONUS!! So blue, green, red and yellow it is!!

 Well, i did want to achieve a bit of a statement with the inside of the cake! To create just as much fun on the inside, as on the outside! so i made pure white cake batter, and buttercream, and proceeded to make a 4 layer cake with the aforementioned colours. STRIKING!! :) here they are--->

And all constructed ready for fondant (and a tidy up! lol):

Things were starting to tie in a lot better! Turns out, the aeroplane turned out to be a perfect size cake topper for the square cake size i had chosen. Even thought it is a boring old square cake, i thought it would have enough going on, to still be pretty visually interesting. The sides of the cake provided a place to add some more of his favourites things too! So with some left over gumpaste, i shaped the little excavator, a book case complete with a few books, and the fruit! [also a fruit basket i didn't end up using] I also cut out a variety of different sized stars to match the aeroplane, and tie in the colour theme a little better.....This turned out to be an amazing addition, as i was able to balance the colours out evenly (for example, the bird was green and yellow, so i surrounded it in mainly red and blue stars. (i cant help it i need some symmetry!!)

So a quick batch of fondant went on (i still need to work on my technique here) and then the sticking began! To finish, i added the lettering and placed the topper!!

DONE!!!

The four sides:

 :)))))