I sewed a tracksuit for Andy today. He seems to have grown out of almost all his clothes all at once so it’s a busy sewing time ahead for me building up his cupboard supplies. I made a tracksuit top for him over the weekend to try out my new pattern I bought, along with material, on Saturday. I haven’t taken a photo of that yet but I embroidered a car, boat and train on it and Andy was delighted. Today was a stormy rainy day so I sewed this tracksuit for him which I cut and overlocked yesterday. When we were in the material shop Andy chose his own buttons which he insisted on being dark blue (thank goodness because it perfectly matched the material) and he spotted a Tigger transfer while examining the haberdashery shelves and asked if he could have it. So he was thrilled today when I showed him the process of transferring it to his new top…
Andy’s new top and pants… (sorry it’s so dark – the material is navy blue – and so soft that we can’t stop stroking it with ooooh’s and aaaah’s)
The Tigger transfer…
Next item in the sewing box… a set of pajamas for Andy. I found some gorgeous material which is lighter so the photo’s will show the collar and design off better.
I’ve really been blogging a lot about food lately. Somehow I feel I have more space on my blog for my hobbies now that Andy has his own homeschooling blog!? Anyway I thought I’d share pics of some meals we had over the weekend…
After getting back from our weekly shopping on Friday night I didn’t feel much like cooking cause I had a splitting headache but once I started and smelt those wonder fresh gingery, garlicy smells…
A beef stir-fry served on basmati rice with avo on the side…
On Friday afternoon Andy and I felt like our special homemade treat. This time we added cashew nuts… mmmmm…
A mountain of comfort (and possibly the cause of my Friday night headache)…
We started Saturday off with some cooked oats mixed with dried fruit, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit and yogurt…
On Saterday I made homemade pizzas. I started with the dough early afternoon…
Andy tucking in…
On Sunday afternoon Andy and I snuggled up and read Pancakes, pancakes by Eric Carle. Guess what happened next…
Mmmmmm… how can we read the book without actually putting it in practice.
Monday was a public holiday so we enjoyed the afternoon by my Mother-in-law with family and a gorgeous high tea and believe it or not, I forgot my camera at home. We had a cake made from chocolate and ground almonds, scones with strawberry jam and cream, smoked salmon sandwiches and a quiche.
Phew, after all that gorgeous food we settled for a nice light, healthy supper tonight…
Roasted beetroot salad with mozzarella cherries, pine nuts and a gorgeous dressing…
My Mom told me about this recipe yesterday while we were chatting on the phone and I just HAD to make it for Luke’s lunch cause it sounded so interesting. So while supper was roasting in the oven Andy and I made the dough and by the time Andy went to bed it was on the cooling rack and smelling as good as fresh basil and freshly baked bread can smell… mmmmmm…
Instead of the pepperoni the recipe recommended I rather made some caramelized onions with honey and olive oil because the recipe already contains lots of cheese so I didn’t want to add extra fat with salami. I also added lots of fresh basil.
The recipe makes dough for two whole wheat loaves so I made one rolled up with the filling and the other into a regular bread…
Here’s the link: The Family Homestead
Thanks again, Mum! 
Every time we enjoy a meal out of my favourite cookbook (The Farm Kitchen) I say ‘Thank you Mommy’ (who gave me the cookbook).
Here is another meal from that delightful treasure…
Green bean salad with a wonderful dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon juice, whole grain mustard and freshly crushed garlic. (I’ll definitely make this stunning dressing again for other salads)…
And ‘Paprika Roast Chicken’. I made a rub with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and dry spices and let the chicken marinade in this for 4-5 hours. The result: tasty, succulent and delish…
Thanks Mum!
Simple, aromatic and delicious not to mention very healthy. I made Asian baked fish last night with some honey glazed carrots…
To make the fish: Place the fish fillets in a ovenproof dish and pound some fresh ginger and garlic together with a little olive oil and spread over the fish fillets. Then cut a large red bell pepper and a bunch of spring onions into julienne slices and sprinkle over the fish. Make a dressing of about 3-4 Tbsps olive oil, 1-2 tsps soy sauce and the juice of 1 small lemon. Pour the dressing over the fish and place in a 200 degrees C preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes. Your fish must be nice and white and fluffy when cooked so don’t over cook it.
To make the honey glazed carrots: Cook some carrots in a little salt water with some whole cinnamon. When carrots are cooked (still slightly firm not mushy) drain and place a blob of butter and a Tablespoon of honey in the pot and mix. Add lots of chopped fresh parsley and enjoy.
I spent the whole afternoon (approximately 4 hours) preparing Burritos for our evening meal. I made everything from scratch, starting with flour tortillas which Andy helped with by proof tasting while they were still warm and fresh…
I made the filling by sauteing onions and kidney beans then layered it with shredded mixed leaf lettuce, grated cheese, chopped fresh chives, chopped fresh tomato and freshly ground salt and pepper. I baked the burritos 20 minutes before supper time at 180 for 20 minutes to heat through and melt the cheese. I made homemade taco sauce with fresh chillies and served it over the Burritos with a dollop of sour cream and homemade guacamole on the side. Every bite confirmed that it was well worth the effort.
The recipes where all out of a Mexican cookbook I borrowed from the library.
Friday was a very cold and wet day so Andy and I occupied ourselves with indoor activities such as lapbooking, sorting through cupboards etc. Andy decided to take Pooh and Hippo on a picnic so when I looked again they were all enjoying wooden blocks in the ‘park’…
After taking his ‘friends’ to observe the pouring rain through the sliding door and paying a visit to Teddy (Andy’s hamster) they decided another picnic was in order but this time Andy provided them with apples from the fruit bowl but first washed, ‘Quote’, “The people sprayed on it”, off before enjoying their picnic snack…
I made ‘Indian Tomato Soup’ and baked ‘Naan bread’. All I can say is WOW! The flavour was exquisite. It was out of my favourite recipe book…
This book is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Everything I cook from here comes out such a tasty success that I find myself making the majority of my weekly menus based on this book.
For the ‘Indian Tomato Soup’ I used fresh tomatoes instead of tinned chopped ones and just peeled them and chopped them up in the food processor. I served it with a dollop of sour cream and garnished it with fresh coriander…
And of coarse made some oven baked ‘garlic and fresh coriander Naan’…
Aunty Becky, Hope and Kezia came for tea last Thursday and the kids decorated our previously mentioned cupcakes.
Kezia decorating…
Hope proudly displaying…
And Andy enjoying…
Two lions awoke this morning. A lioness and a lion cub. After wrestling on the bed then onto the floor and then throughout the flat, roaring and tickling they finally decided it’s time to get dressed and have breakfast.
We then did lapbooking until there was a knock at the door and who should appear but the one and only… WOWO!!!
After playing with Wowo Andy decorated some cupcakes for our morning tea party in the park…
Then we headed off to the park to play in Andy’s favourite spot…
Catch some ‘fish’…
Enjoy the beauty of nature…
And tuck in…
We had a wonderful walk home observing plants and flowers and being observed by the neighbours…
When we got back Rachel had to leave so Andy and I played bat and ball outside to cheer him up then we washed all the windows inside and out, had lunch and spent the afternoon lapbooking.
We’re looking forward to an evening of good family time, good food and good books. Hope everyone else has a cosy evening too. 