Passionfruit Melting Moments

My family generally make gifts to give to each other on Christmas day and almost as much time goes into the thought and consideration of the gifts as it does to the making. 

This year I tried a new recipe for Melting Moments - one of my most favourite biscuits ever. They do melt in your mouth, and the best bit was they were held together with a passionfruit cream. Yum! 

The recipe was so delicious that I want to share it with you...

I found this delicious recipe at Taste.com.au  

• Ingredients

•  250g unsalted butter, softened
•  1 teaspoon vanilla essence
•  1/2 cup pure icing sugar, sifted
•  2 cups plain flour
•  1/3 cup cornflour

Passionfruit filling

•  60g butter, softened
•  1 large passionfruit
•  1 cup pure icing sugar, sifted

• Method
• Related Recipes
• Notes

1. Step 1
   Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
2. Step 2
   Using an electric mixer, cream butter, vanilla and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Sift flours over butter mixture. Beat on low speed until a soft dough forms.
3. Step 3
   Roll heaped teaspoonfuls of mixture into small balls. Place on trays. Using a fork dipped in flour, lightly flatten each biscuit until 1cm thick. Bake for 15 minutes or until firm. Cool on trays for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Step 4
   Make passionfruit filling: Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Stir in passionfruit pulp and icing sugar.
5. Step 5
   Spread flat side of 1 biscuit with 1 teaspoon filling. Top with another biscuit. Repeat with remaining biscuits and filling. Dust with icing sugar. Serve.
   
   

Earthenware Glaze Tests (low fire)

I have been experimenting with different low fire glazes. These glazes are for earthenware with a low firing temperature to cone 04. (1060 degrees Centigrade, or 1940 Fahrenheight)

This is partly because I have been working with found objects from the clay recycling room and these  shapes are usually made from earthenware, the clay utilised by the Introduction to Ceramics students in the studio.

I am interested in both glazes that run or form a drip, and surface texture. 

thickly applied Majolica (left) & Willing White (right) 

My first experiments were with thickly applied majolica and willing white. The test pieces were dipped 6 times and the glaze was about 1/2 centimetre thick. Whilst interesting, the results weren't quite what I was looking for.

Vardis blue over Power Black (left)
Power Black over Vardis blue (right)

Next, I experimented with double dipping of glazes, combining gloss finishes (such as power black) with textured finishes (Vardis blue).

Turquoise and Power black

It was also interesting to see how different glazes responded to being dipped first or second. Depending on this the resulting texture changed.

copper wire (left) steel wire (right)
with Vardis Blue

I then became interested in experimenting with layering different glazes combined with wrapping either copper or steel wire. 

Turquoise and Power black over steel (left)
Turquoise and Power black over copper (right)

Copper wire on bare earthenware (left)
Vardis Blue over steel (right)

Recipes

Roxie Power Black - Cone 04

Frit 3134          25%
Frit 3195          15%
Frit 3249          35%
EPK                 25%
+
BIO                  8%
Mang. Diox     8%

Turquoise - Cone 04

Gherstly Borate  35%
Neph Sye            5%
EPK                    5%
Flint                  42%
Lithium Carb      8%
Super Copax       8%
Copper Carb       3%

Vardis Blue - Cone 04

Neph Sye          20%
EPK                  20%
Flint                  11%
Lithium Carb      5%
Barium Carb     43%
+
Copper Carb       7%

Willing White

Gerstley Borate   35%
Lithium Carb        8%
Neph Sye              5%
EPK                      5%
Flint                    42%
+
Zircopax              10%

Linda Arbuckle Maolica

Flint 3124          57.16%
EPK                     9.4%
Kona F4             14.9%
Bentonite             1.2%
Super Pax           13%
Neph Sye            5.42%
+
Rutile                 0.25%

Hello Beautiful

Hello beautiful!

Thats what I say every time I see Melbourne.

The streets of Melbourne

Everything is done so stylishly and effortlessly, from the graffiti in Hosier Lane in the CBD, woven wicker sculpture in Federation Square by Patrick Dougherty and a spot of tasteful yarn bombing just up the road, a project that was supported by the City Council.

Graffiti in Hosier Lane in the CBD

Wicker work in Federation Sqaure

Views of the City from inside the sculpture

Yarn bombing

And talking of tasteful, we indulged in a delicious slice of Chocolate Fig tart from the charming 19th Century Hopetoun Tea Rooms -  a real treat and a must if you are in the area. 

Chocolate Fig Tart

We spied some beautifully presented macaroons ...

Macaroons

and found some non homogenised milk by Jonesy's Dairy Fresh - and enjoyed scooping the cream floating in the top of the carton. Yum! Decadent top quality milk at regular prices (only $4 for 2 litres. I refuse to buy the cheap milk from Coles or Woolies)

Jonesy's non homogenised milk

By this stage we were travelling through the countryside and found a charming some charming scenes

and a fabulous shop that sold local produce and delicious home made cakes, including an intriguing Persian cake that was flavoured with cardamom. Unfortunately I was too full from lunch to indulge, but Ive found a similar recipe here.

Inside Cliffy's Emporium

Love letter from the resident jam maker - cute!

 And to top it off a National Trust plaque that reads:

"On this spot on the first day of March 1755 nothing much happened. It was a very, very peaceful day".

Polish Rose Petal Jam

If you are lucky enough to have rose bushes in your garden that flowers abundantly I have found the most marvellous and easy way to preserve the petals.

Its the Polish way of making rose petal jam which involves no cooking and is really quick.

Gather and wash your petals, put in the blender with sugar and mix until the sugar is the colour of the petals. You can mix until the petals are completely blended and smooth, or leave it chunky so that there is the occasional petal in the mix.

The batch I made is still crystallised (rather than syrupy) and perfect to sprinkle on top of fruit salad and home made yogurt. Yum!

My week in images

Monday: Scenic views

Tuesday: At work

Wednesday: glaze testing

Thursday: designing 

Friday: trying out new recipes

Saturday: champagne, coffee, cake and knitting with friends

Sunday: coffee in the sunshine

Playing in the kitchen - organic homemade moisturiser

This week Ive been playing in the kitchen making my own moisturiser. I was inspired by a recipe found in Jackie French's book The best of Jackie French and made a note to try it when I ran out of my existing face cream. It was really easy to make (no fussing around with weird or hard to find products) and it very nice on the skin. 

Im also making my own lavender oil and rosewater.

Moisturiser Cream

1 tbs lime juice

1 tbs avocado oil (available from Woolies)

3 tbs glycerine 

3 tbs rosewater 

1 ts lavender oil

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake well. How easy is that!

Lavender infused oil

1-2 cups dried lavender (flowers are best but you can also use the leaves)

oil (Im using a good quality light olive oil)

fill a glass jar with a tight fitting lid  

Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth (I find an old clean tea towel works well)

A dark glass bottle (blue or amber) for the finished product

Place lavender into the clear glass jar and fill with chosen oil. 

Firmly close the lid and put the jar in a warm spot in the sunshine to 'brew', shaking it every now and then to mix. 

Allow the mixture to steep for a couple of weeks.

Strain the plant material from the oil using the strainer or cheesecloth.

Store your finished oil in the dark glass bottle in a cool dark place to preserve its healthy properties.

*if your lavender oil isnt strong enough, repeat the process again using the lavender infused oil to soak new dried lavender flowers.

Rose Water

1 cup rose petals (best picked in the morning before the heat of the day)

2 cups boiling water.

Cover rose petals with boiling water and steep until liquid is cool.

Strain, squeeze the liquid from the petals.

Keep refrigerated in a sterilised jar. 

** And remember, if anything looks or smells weird throw it out and start again **

Have fun x

Its Delightful, Its Delicious, Its Delovely

The theme for today's post is inspired by Woody Allen's movie 'Midnight in Paris'. A delightful and magical tale where present day characters step back in time to 1920s Paris. Cole Porter and his music feature (along with many prominent artists and authors) which prompted me to go out and get some of his music. Its catchy, and ever since I have been humming his songs.

Its delightful ......

In desperate need of a coffee and cake fix - Mum and I escaped to Benedict House for a slice of quince and almond tart and passionfruit cheese cake in the delightful outside courtyard which had a very Provence feel about it.

Its delicious ......

I finished making the ginger beer that I started last week. Its hard to tell in this photo, but it had bubbles and everything. And it tasted just like the real thing. This kept us going all weekend whilst we renovated a little cottage.

Its delovely ......

Some of you know about my house addiction. These are some before and after photos of my latest house project. Its old (of course) and cute, although it needed a little TLC.

Before: the hall. 

 Everything needed a serious clean from smoke stains on the walls and ceiling. Gross!

Before: the bedroom 

The renovation team (aka Mum and my sister Sim) hard at work.

 

Because I am the tallest I get all the fun jobs, like cleaning and painting the ceilings!

Before: the lounge room

After: the bedroom. No more blue walls

After: the hall way. 

 The pine paneling was painted which made such a difference and made the house feel much 'lighter'.

After: the Kitchen. 

After: the lounge room. Freshly painted everything!

This is the view from the kitchen window. Cute!

Im dreaming of a green Christmas

Christmas for me is a chance to spend time with family and loved ones. Not a commercial event where so many unwanted gifts end up gathering dust or in the trash. So last year I decided that all my Christmas pressies had to be thoughtful and environmentally friendly! 

I set myself some rules: I wanted to give gifts that would be enjoyed, but would have little impact on the environment. So I decided that hampers were the way to go. Recycled baskets from the local opshop were filled with home made jams and chutneys (using recycled glass jars collected throughout the year).  

 

Handmade cards, decorated with beaded snowflakes (which could be reused as Christmas ornaments) labeled each basket, and exotic fruit added a touch of colour. Each basket included a hand printed linen tea towel (by yours truly). Although I didnt make the wine (thats another project on my growing list of things to do!) at least it was in recyclable glass bottles.

Ginger dipped in dark chocolate, and other delicacies  were wrapped in grease proof paper and tied with string.

Happily all the contents of my Christmas baskets were biodegradable.

This year my Christmas presents will be handmade again, and I am working within another theme. Its so much fun, but I cant give away any more.... shhhh its a secret until Christmas day x

Green Walnut Liquor & Winter Sunshine

At the beginning of this year I decided to make some green walnut liquor. I had been inspired by an Italian interior designer I met whilst I was working in London who told me the process involved in making it. It involved picking the green fruit on a certain day of the year (St Johns Day June 24, the equivalent to our December 24), the fermentation process which required moving the fruit steeped in liquor so that it sat on a window sill that got the morning light, and then moved to another window sill to absorb the afternoon light. This was to be done for 40 nights and 40 days - before adding a sugar syrup and setting it to rest for 6 months.

I could just envisage a jar of the green walnut liquor sitting on a window sill in Tuscany and was romanced by the idea. Plus the liquor is so fragrant and exotic, I simply had to try making some. Mum just happens to have a walnut tree in her back yard which provides the most beautiful dappled shade in summer.

Picking the green walnuts using one of my recycled plastic bag crochet baskets to gather the fruit.

The green walnuts soaking in vodka with cinnamon and lemon.

After 40 days and 40 nights the walnuts turn black.

The finished liquor.

Making the most of the sunshine in my kitchen (and a partially restored cabinet - rescued from the side of the road).

My kitchen gets the most glorious sunshine on winter days, so I decided to make the most of its warmth yesterday by finishing the green walnut liquor which had been languishing, neglected on the top of my fridge for a number of months. It tastes pretty good already, Im looking forward to sharing it with friends and family.

Well, thats one project Ive finished which I can cross of my list. You'll be pleased to know that Ive almost finished the thrice knitted jumper - it just needs to be sewn together.

If you would like the recipe for green walnut liquor click here for an article which was published earlier this year in the Canberra Times Food and Wine section. It also has a recipe for Cherry Plum jam which is also incredibly delicious.

Enjoy! x

Scarves and unfinished projects

I have been inspired to complete some of my unfinished projects by a friend who posted an entry on her blog about the same thing 'Finish it up Friday' . She wrote a list of all her unfinished projects, and every friday has to post an update of the projects she has finished.

Well, recently I unearthed some beautiful handspun and dyed wool from Wool Dancer I bought about this time last year. Her wools are aptly described as art yarn - and they are truly beautiful and unique.

Inspired, I decided to finish them and this is what they look like.....

I made up the pattern as I went, one was knitted using 1cm knitting needles... 15 stitches wide and about 49cm long.

I just love the soft colours in this - the wool is also incredibly soft too - like being wrapped in cloud....

The other one was crochet using a 1cm hook - I ran out of yarn halfway so I joined in some grey that I had in my wool stash.

This one is also about 15cm wide and 50cm long and made using single chain stitch.

I love the grey spun baubles which are tightly twisted into the pumpkins and purples of this yarn...

My sister modelling her new scarf...

You may be wondering what my other projects are that are on my to finish list? Well, a number of them are knitting projects.

• Jumper knitted using blue/green variegated wool (knitted and unraveled twice so far)
• Jumper knitted using raspberry / chocolate variegated wool (knitted and unraveled twice as well!) - I fall in love with wool and buy it without a project in mind and then find it incredibly difficult to find a pattern which suits the wool.
• Lace scarf using 2 ply grey mohair
• lace scarf using special NZ wool

Some of them are cooking projects:

• Finish making Noccino (green walnut liquor)
• Make some Lemoncello (lemon liquor)

Some are sewing projects:

• Make a quilt - put together patchwork blocks from a Patchwork Bee I participated in (also organised by Jules from RelishAustralia)
• Sew curtains from my handprinted fabrics for my house.

I promise Ill post updates on how I get on finishing my projects - but it may not be as regular as every Friday! x