about nanna and scones

 My Nanna, Jean, used to make scones to die for. When family was around she would quickly whip up a batch, so quickly, in fact, that I never ever saw her making them. When I was very little, she used to serve it with homemade lemon butter. She was a simple cook, but mastered the art of perfect featherlight scones,  apple pie with sweet buttery pastry and could cook a legendary baked dinner with not a Gravox packet in sight. Usually on a Sunday for lunch. She would set herself up in front of the tv and slice the beans for the baked dinner.

Somewhere in my recipe files I do have her scone recipe. I tried it out once as a teenager and sad to say they didn't taste a thing like Nanna's scones. But my scone making skills have improved somewhat in the past seventeen years and I think I may just give it another go.

Until then, here is my current favourite scone recipe

500g flour 

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp bicarb soda

4 ½ tsp cream of tartar

75g butter

300ml milk, though I usually add a little more

Preheat oven to 220°. Add butter to dry ingredients and rub in with fingertips. Add milk, stir very briefly. I like to do this with a large flat knife. Add more milk if you need to. I find the secret is to have a dough on the moister side. Knead lightly together on a floured surface. Flatten out to desired thickness and cut out rounds. Place on greased tray and cook approximately 10 minutes or until lightly golden on top.

Adapted from "Lilly's Scones" from Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess.

I find the secret to the best scones are a very light hand (mix very quickly) and make sure it's not dry. Wet enough but still easy to work with. All flours are different and some soak up the milk more.  I also prefer mine without the egg wash, but you can brush with egg or egg and milk if you prefer. Enjoy!

 

little makeover

We have a rather smallish lounge area, which was in need of a coffee table. A tiny one though, because there really us no space.  I say "need", in that there is no where to put cups of tea, partly read books or a knitting basket. This little stool didn't quite fit the bill, but for the grand total of $3, I thought it was worth a try.

It was rather sad and shabby. Not good shabby. I had spied these cushions over at Rosa's Room and fell in love with the fabric. So I whipped up a simple slip cover that just pops over the top. I was originally going to recover it, but thought a removable cover would be a little more child (or clumsy mum) friendly.

I think I'm having a yellow moment. When I first got married in '99, I jumped right onto the blue and yellow bandwagon... complete with fake sunflowers. A few years later (while getting into the pink and green shabby chic phase) I felt I never wanted to see blue or yellow again. It's taken eleven years, but I'm once again loving yellow. And blue.

Back to the little stool / table. It is getting much use with all those books, magazines and knitting. Though I'm a little nervous to try the tea.

Or just as a plain old footrest.

feijoas

It seems that word has gotten around at Daniel's work that his wife likes to make jam. So Daniel came home the other night with a bag full of feijoas from a workmates backyard. I had a very vague idea of what they were, but had never seen them in person. In fact, I still don't know how to pronounce feijoa.

They can be eaten when ripe by cutting in two and spooning out the flesh. I found the fragrance a little overpowering though, but some people love it.

Once made into jam I can only describe the taste as being a little like pineapple. Here is the recipe I used. It is adapted from a Sally Wise recipe with my own twist.

  Feijoa Jam with Vanilla and Marsala

1 kg feijoa flesh, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup water

900g white sugar

1/4 cup marsala

1/2 vanilla bean

Add a little of the lemon juice to the feijoa while chopping as they tend to brown quickly. 

Place fiejoa, lemon juice and water in large saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. 

Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the sugar, marsala and scrape the vanilla bean in also. Add the scraped vanilla bean. Boil over medium heat for about 25 minutes until setting point is reached. To check if it is set, place a little on a plate and place in the fridge for a few minutes. If it is set on the saucer, then the jam has reached setting point.

Spoon into sterilized jars and seal.

Enjoy!

indoors

The cold weather has well and truly arrived in these parts. We had some rare May snow on the weekend and the temperature has not crept above 8 all weekend. Our stack of firewood is shrinking rapidly. But the cold is not necessarily unpleasant. It makes you feel alive with it's freshness, and indoors becomes a warm and cozy haven. I am grateful that we really get to experience the change of the seasons here. Also grateful that Daniel put so much insulation in these walls and ceiling.

Most of the weekend was spent indoors. Doing indoorsy things. A spot of knitting, a little sewing, jam making and reading. My very favourite way to spend the weekend.

a camping episode of op shopping

During our recent trip I was on the look out for some pieces to add to our camper trailer collection. It is still nice to have some creature comforts whilst "roughing it".

And what better way to source camping equipment than to explore the local op shops in the area we were staying.

Excuse the weird angle... I think I was avoiding the mess just outside the picture!

I picked the Pyrex jug and English ironstone tea set up for next to nothing at a little op shop in Eden that was hidden away at the back of a shopping centre. In my experience these can be the most interesting of op shops and often the cheapest. The jug and tea cup certainly got a lot of use at our campsite.

A clearer shot of my "camping" cup and saucer

And back home, I picked up an extra enamel plate and a pile of cutlery to add to the camping stash. Enamel is a little hard to find these days, but slowly I'm getting a collection together. I'm trying to phase out our tacky melamine dinner set and plastic handled cutlery that likes to snap in half when in use. Vintage cutlery of the stainless steel sort is available for next to nothing and often comes with very pleasing designs.

And just when I was thinking that poor little Violet was going to get cold hands with our early morning walks to school, I found these little mittens. Handmade and never been used.

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday.
For more op shopping adventures take a look here.

let it snow

Last night we had a little hail, then wind and rain. Then silence. And then we woke up to this..

We had no snow last year so this was a welcome surprise.  And now off to Luca's soccer game which will certainly be interesting if this snow has not melted.

Enjoy the start of your weekend.

on my reading shelf

The cold front that seems to have swept over this week is keeping us very much indoors at the moment. Minus five this morning! The fireplace is surely getting a good workout. Is there anything better than curling up next to the fireplace with a book and hot tea? Though the duration is not very long these days with three kids about. I think I may have a slight book addiction...I just can't seem to get enough, with an ever growing wish list that doesn't seem to get any smaller no many how many discounted books are brought by the mailman. Please don't judge too much, I do try and give as much business as I can afford to our local independent bookstore. But sometimes books can be a little hard to find and sourcing them online makes it just a little easier.
Books are such a delight to the tactile sense and quench that never ending search for knowledge. They open up worlds and ideas to us. All from your couch. No remote control required. Only a fellow bookworm knows the feeling.

On my bedside table right now resides the following pile:

Country Style magazine - always a favourite, this magazine just keeps getting better. Inspiring moving to the country stories.. not just for those considering a tree change, also motivating for the country living converts out there. I enjoy the style of decorating in this magazine in that it is very much Australian in the way that many of the interiors are put together. Often steering away from the "rules", much mixing and matching, a lot of the old, and often with more than a touch of the rustic. Interiors not quite as polished as the other decorating magazines on the market. I like that.

Cheap Chic - Lot's of lovely vintage interiors here. Quite a lot of low cost tips. This is an English book and I found the decorating style very fresh and what I think you would call modern country. Chalmers has written a few other books and I am quite keen to check these out also. Easy to read in short bursts, as is quite often my only style of reading with the kid's about.

Cheap Chic

Knitting Without Tears - It is a little difficult to describe this book as it was unlike any other knitting book I have read. Quite short on the pictures, but it certainly made up for that with Elizabeth Zimmerman's twinkling personality. Rather than a how-to, there was lot's of tips and an encouragement for the reader to trust their instincts. It was a little bit like knitting with a kind and witty nanna. Entertaining knitting.

Handmade Living - a collection of works from local designers. It is like walking through a handmade market and admiring little bit's from each stallholder. It is amazing how much local talent is out there.  Some of the projects are by creative bloggers, so you may have heard of some of them. I'm looking forward to attempting the knitted leggings and the dreamy looking doily dress, among other projects.

 Make It Perfect - I haven't had much time to check this out properly yet, but there is a lot of stunning looking projects of both women's and children's clothing. I have my eye on the women's skirt pattern to start with. (God willing that I find the time..) Pleasing pictures make it an enjoyable flick through, and I will report back when I try out the patterns.

A Slice of Organic Life - This copy was a library book.  See, I can be frugal sometimes! This hard covered book (don't you love hard covers?)  was all about living a more sustainable and healthier lifestyle. Great if you are new to the subject as it covered a broad range, though I felt I had already read about most of the subjects covered. So I skipped a lot. Though I did read the chapters on small livestock and found this quite informative. Not in depth though. It really only skimmed the surface. If only I had a few more acres ...I could have a cow!

What is on your reading list right now?