Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Mark a 23cm circle on the paper. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add caster sugar. Beat for 10 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Add cream of tarter, beat for 1 minute. Spoon mixture into circle on tray. Using a spatula, shape into a circle with high sides. Make “furrows” up the sides. Bake for 1 hour or until firm. Turn off oven. Allow to cool in oven with door slightly ajar. Top pavlova with whipped cream, fruit and chocolates. Serve.
This week has been perfect for holidays. We have been trying to make the most of the week and a half Jaron has off work over Christmas/New Years and have been blessed to have lots of beautiful warm, sunny days.
The house is well under way now and Jaron’s “holiday project” is to build as much as he can of our deck. He didn’t want to miss out on hanging out with the family though so we have formed a loose routine for the week. He wakes up earlyish (7am) and spends the morning working then comes home around 10am for 3 or 4 hours. We have been trying to take the kids out and do different things each day, today was really warm and we went to the pool – something I can’t do on my own with the three of them! Lil still has a day nap, so while she is sleeping Jaron goes back and does some more work on the deck and then comes home around 4pm and we have been going to the beach for a play and swim before dinner. Then after all of that he heads back to the deck until it gets dark around 9:30pm! The deck is progressing nicely, as fast as it can when it is a one man show – will share some photos soon.
Our kids are big berry lovers so yesterday we decided to take them out berry picking. There is a pick-your-own strawberry farm about 25 minutes from our house (at Turners Beach) that we drove to only to find that they were closed for a few days over the holidays! So, back home we drove to a berry farm that is a 2 minute drive from our house!! The last time we picked berries here was 2 years ago and we turned up only to find out that they don’t do “pick-your-own” anymore!! The man who owns the farm must have seen the disappointment in our faces and said to us, “oh, come on then…there’s an overgrown patch out the back that hasn’t been picked for a week – eat your hearts out!” We were very lucky!!
Oscar was determined to find the biggest strawberry…Lil was determined to eat as many as possible… Then they discovered the raspberries and there was no stopping them! We had the missionaries for dinner so shared our pick with them accompanied by cream, icing sugar and ice cream!
With the Christmas gifts given, I can share some my Christmas sewing now! First up, bags…three Amy Butler Birdie Slings, to be precise. I really love this pattern, love the size and shape of the bag. Mine goes everywhere with me…big enough to use as a nappy bag or just for me. (I like big bags!)
This one for my sister-in-law, Whitney:This one for my sister, Carli: And this one for my Mum: I lined the bag with fabric I stamped and used for a table cloth at AQM last year! I have 4m of it and am not likely to use it again so thought I should put it to good use! It looked pretty cute, but I forgot to take a picture.
SUPPLIES: Whitney’s Bag – Anna Maria Horner Good Folks, Small Gathering in Sea Amy Butler Midwest Modern 2, Honeycomb in Forest Carli’s Bag – Amy Butler Lotus, Morning Glory in Linen Amy Butler Lotus, Full Moon Polka Dots in Cherry Mum’s Bag – Paula Prass Summer Soiree, Centerpiece in Gray Paul Prass Summer Soiree, Mints in Gray
I am kind of addicted to making homemade marshmallow at the moment. It is cheap, easy and delicious! The original slice recipe used a different marshmallow recipe but I like the one I have made before, so used that instead. There is a bit of left-over marshmallow so you can either reduce it a bit or spread it in another dish to set on its own.
Rice Bubbles and Marshmallow Slice 180g white chocolate, chopped and melted 2 1/2 cups rice bubbles 1 1/2 cups caster sugar 2/3 cup hot water 2 Tbs gelatine 2/3 cup cold water 1 tsp vanilla essence pink food colouring 100s & 1000s
Mix melted white chocolate and rice bubbles together. Spread into the base of a baking paper-lined slice tin. Place in the fridge to set. Grease and line a large slice tin. Place sugar and hot water in saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and syrup is clear. Place gelatine in a bowl and our over cold water. Use a hand whisk to combine. Pour gelatine mixture into hot sugar syrup and cook, stirring constantly, until the gelatine has dissolved and mixture is clear. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Pour cooled mixture into a large bowl and use electric beaters on high to beat for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture is very thick. Add the vanilla and pink colouring and beat to combine. Quickly spread marshmallow over rice bubble base and sprinkle 100s & 1000s over the top. Leave to set for an hour then slice into squares with a wet knife.
