my trusty zucchini slice recipe

Hello! I'm breaking off my ridiculously long break from blogging by sharing this ridiculously easy recipe. I have great, deep feelings of love for zucchini -it's a staple in our fridge and a regular in our diet. This is perfect for lunch boxes. 

Makes 24 serves. 

4 pcs zucchini, grated 

2 cups wholemeal self raising flour

2 cups tasty cheese

10 pcs of eggs 

1 cup of vegetable oil

2 pcs brown onions, finely diced 

2 cups diced bacon 

salt/pepper to flavour 

grilled capsicum for topping (optional)

1. Sauté onion and bacon. Keep cool. 

2. In a bowl, mix everything. Top with grilled capsicum. 

3. Pour in brownie pan. 

4. Bake in 180c for 35 minutes. 

5. Can be served warm or cold. 

Dear Savanna

Three wonderful years, sweetheart. We had a small party for you this year. We hired a princess jumping castle and served cookies and milk to your friends.

You are quite the girly girl. Your wardrobe is an explosion of pinks and purples. You watch Barbie, Life in the Dreamhouse too often. A new pair of shoes can make your day. Like your mother, truly.

You consider Nicolas your best friend. Friend one minute, enemy the next.  Liam is your ‘big bro’. You consider him an authority. Any rule that Liam says, you happily adhere to. Facetime with your dad is something you love to do. You miss him too much when he is away for work.

You are growing up. There was a period of time when you decided to sleep in your bed, in your own room. I felt like throwing a party for that. Well,  until you’ve decided you’d rather sleep in between your parents. Weaning you from co-sleeping is still a work-in-progress.

At times, you’d adapt a British accent from watching too much Peppa Pig on TV. Other times, it’s Spanish because you love Dora the Explorer also. You say ‘tummy ink’, instead of ‘tummy ache’. Tummy ache, by the way, is your code for “I need a lolly, pronto”. Drives me crazy.

The other day, you woke me up and said, “mummy let’s snuggle under the blankie”. I think that was my favourite part of the day. I love you like crazy.

Happy birthday, my love.

Birthday photos here

how to revive a kettle

So here's a tip for all of you housewives out there, dab baby oil on your kettle to restore it to its brand new shiny-ness. 

On my day off last week, I had the privilege of cleaning our old trusty silver electric kettle. Yay for me! It was something I've been looking forward to doing my whole year. Not. 

First, must wash off the grime. Use scourer and dish washing liquid. Make sure the powerpoint end of the kettle stays dry. I then tried to dab the kettle with vinegar. It didn't quite work. So I tried baby oil.

 Dampen a kitchen paper with baby oil and voila, brand new shiny-ness! 

 

You're welcome! 

the secret life of Santa

 Although we were really the ones providing the christmas present (at the childcare christmas concert, parents were asked to bring a gift-wrapped book for their child), that anomaly no longer mattered when we saw Ava jumped with joy after unwrapping what "Santa" gave her this year. The way I see it, she really did believe that Santa remembered what she likes. And I know, if needed be,  I would provide for a gift- wrapped book next year, the year after and the next, just as happily. 

 

vegan banana and date muffins

Dedicated to anyone who is curious about vegan cakes/cupcakes/anything. This recipe is pretty good. I have a son who’s unabashed in his declaration that he’s ‘allergic to vegetables’ (he says that veggies make him feel puke-y). This son of mine has tasted these muffins and... wait for it... loved it. 

Vegan Banana and Date Bread

I made this into muffins as I packed them for the kids’ lunchboxes.

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 ripe bananas (mashed)
• 1 cup dates (sliced)
• 1/2 cup apple puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Optional: I added a handful of chia seeds and pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 325 degree. 

In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine apple sauce, vegetable oil, dates, and mashed bananas (plus chia/pumpkin seeds). Stir until all ingredients are combined.

Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients. Stir until all ingredients are mixed through.

If making muffins, scoop the batter into the muffin tin. If making bread, pour into a baking pan.

Bake for 20 minutes.

strawberries & cream

If you're pressed for time but still wanted to bring 'homebaked' cupcakes to your child's birthday celebration at childcare, what would Betty Crocker do? Damn right, she whips up a box.

Follow the packet's instructions. 

Now the fun part:  assembling and digging. 

I will say that the star of this show is the strawberry jam I bought at my son's school fete. And fresh cream.

Decorate. Voila! Pink deliciousness for the little kiddies. 

a tiny break

Most recently I did something quite radical (for a practical me, at least), I booked the two little kids extra days at childcare. I work three days a week while the kids are at school/childcare. Normally on my days off work, I have my two non-school age kids tagging along with me while we go about our errands. I was T.I.R.E.D.  and felt the urge of taking a tiny break. (Two years ago, I did something similar- I travelled by myself to the US. I didn't think I could have afforded an overseas travel this time around). So for two days per week for one month, I had the whole day to myself.

I was elated at the idea that I didn't have to be anywhere, at anytime. For someone who has thrown the switch full-on to motherhood, there was a chance I could have felt a teeny-weeny bit guilty. That anxious practical side of me shouting that I’m spending too much money to be able to enjoy a limited amount of time child-free. But, there was none of it!

There were a few mornings that  I went back to bed after I've sent the kids off to school. There were regular unhurried sessions at the gym. A lot of window shopping. Many coffees by my lonesome. There were afternoons catching up on entertainment news and reality show reruns. I downloaded romance eBooks - devouring every detail no matter how cheesy, no matter how predictable.  I even laid low on social network.

And you know what, it’s reassuring to affirm that I haven’t forgotten just how to be myself, by myself. That underneath the all consuming cloak of motherhood, when I get a chance at re-experiencing my child-free self, it really is ‘all still there’.

"just because" roses from the hubby. 

sun-day sunday

Warning: excessive iPhone snapshots happening in 3...2...1...

 

It's still officially spring in my part of the world but we've been experiencing warm, humid days already. Save for the bushfires happening in New South Wales, we live for sunny days. We particularly love sunny day Sundays that we can spend pottering around the home- baking like calories don't count, boogie-ing like nobody cares and swimming like summer never ends.