Out with the old

Yaaaaaaaaay.. after two weeks with no oven..I finally have a new one..

oh trust me, you do not know how much you miss an oven till you do not have one... As we are in a Navy house, it is basic..

but bless my bread, it goes. My first loaf in two weeks..  I cant wait to have a baking day :-)

It Flashed "HELP"

Hauling my sorry butt through the second week of another sinus infection, I thought the easiest meal would be pizza's - a few toppings on top of pita bread.. yes store bought *sigh*
Tom paste, basil, some mushrooms, capsicum and a bit of mozzarella and into the oven it went - it smelt reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally hot, so I stayed to watch, came out looking awesome, and tasted as good as pizza can when your head feels like a busted hockey puck..
During the dishes there was an awful lot of giggling, went to check the feral's who were watching the oven.. and it was flashing "help help help help help" gee's the pizza wasn't that bad... we wiggled some switches and it settled back down... but it really did need help.. it hasn't worked since.. I may never make pizza again..
Well, maybe when the new oven arrives ;-)

Hairy Bikers and a bit of chicken

I am huge fan of  hairy bikers. Not just any hairy biker...two in particular,  you know Dave and Si those two lover-able rough around the edges blokes who travel around the UK and other far off places on a couple of Triumph motorbikes.. The Hairy Bikers It is a treat for me to sit and watch these guys show off great local produce in often unorthodox ways.. I have seen many do-able recipes of these and recently, I took one to our table and oh my goodness it was sooooo good. It was rustic, comforting and easy.. Now I did miss some steps in the photo taking but you will get the idea..
Somerset Chicken
It serves six, but I used 4 chicken breasts and the same amount of everything else. Now this recipe calls from some Somerset Cider, you could use apple juice but I was happy having a bit of a boozy twist to this. You can also do this recipe using pork.

6 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
3tbsp olive oil
75g butter
2 onions, sliced
4tbsp plain flour
2tbsp grain mustard
2 dessert apples, peeled and sliced into batons
110g button mushrooms, sliced
250ml chicken stock
300ml cider
250ml double cream - I used fresh cream without any of those additives they tend to put in these days
1tbsp finely chopped sage leaves
300g Cheddar cheese, grated - I used Mainland Tasty
6 baked potatoes
Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6).
Season the chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. Heat a large saute pan and add 2tbsp of the oil and 50g of the butter.
Fry the chicken breasts in batches for 1-2 mins on each side until golden. Put them into a deep-sided oven tray and roast for 25 mins until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the remaining butter and oil to the pan and cook the onions for 4-5 mins until softened but not coloured. Add the flour and mustard to the pan and cook for another 2 mins.

Add the apples and button mushrooms and cook for 1 min. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil, then pour in the cider. Bring back to the boil and cook for 5 mins.

Add the cream and sage, cook for another 5 mins, then season with salt and black pepper. Take the chicken out of the oven and pour the sauce into the dish to cover the chicken completely. Preheat the grill to high. Sprinkle the cheese over the chicken and place under the grill for 5 mins until the cheese is melted, golden and bubbling. Serve with jacket potatoes topped with a knob of butter.

This photo doesn't show this dish in all it's wonderfully, scrumptious glory, my camera work not the recipe. My husbands tummy was growling, so I never got a photo of it plated up.. it is well worth a try, a great winter warmer, or a tasty dinner when our souls need a little nourishing too.
We really enjoyed it, and I am looking forward to making it with pork..

A Matter of percetption

My article this month over on Pagan Pages... A Matter of Perception

Catching Up

I have to admit to feeling like I semi abandoned my blog over the last month. A few of lifes wee challenges has seen the blogging energy dwindle, but in saying that my hands have not been idle.  I thought I would play catch up and post a few photos of what I have been up too..
Well, firstly we went shopping, we had been looking at replacing my car due to it's old age and it had developed Salamander Syndrome, it was bought forward when some wally in a HUGE 4x4 drove into the side of the "da broom" this is what it was replaced with.

It was a very good buy actually, it has already shown its usefulness bringing home to very large 8 foot book cases. It will also be useful for bring home all manner of things in the future.. We took it to the Dandenong Market a few weeks ago, and bought home a serious amount of tomatoes.. about 18 kilos - last year here was shocking for vege due to the floods, so my tomato sauce supply ran out, gosh eating canned sauce after homemade is nothing short of disguising.

This is half of what I had the rest have been, chopped and added to this pot.

I made two batches this size, about 5kg per pot

It made about 7kg all up, and there is always one random half jar.. I will buy another lot later and make enough to last a full year, the rest of the tomatoes became soup.

While I am on the cooking thing.. I finally got around to making some delicious steamed fruit rolls, now it seemed to take forever to accumulate the tins to make them in, but here is the final product..

and umm yes I had to slice a piece to quality control, pretty good.. thanks to Narelle over at Just Like My Nan Made for the recipe..check out her blog, it is an awesome place to pick up some nifty ideas not to mention great recipes.

Now, I know I could have done this in a more frugal, recycle-y way, but I didn't.. it was a serious bargain though so please don't be to harsh, when you see what I bought..

  I have wanted one, well forever..

No show without Punch, in this case DimSim aka Sacred Temple Kitty

Can-O-Cat

Once I managed to convince the cat it was not something for her, I got onto the job of mushing the worm bedding and adding the worms.

I will keep you updated on this little venture, I have used some of the worm water already on some plants and was seriously astounded by the results..

We went of to the Red Hill Market about a month ago, and I was delighted to bump into Rod and Eryn Barnett from Wee Folk Garden Art  it had been sometime since I had purchased any of there work and it seemed fitting that I add something new to my collection..

This is the beautiful Emily Havachat, isn't she just lovely, she has joined the family and she hangs proudly on the wall in my kitchen.
There has been another wee venture going on in my kitchen cupboard, will photogragh and update you on this one... I am hoping to drink some of  it later today, hopefully I won't wake up drunk and naked, in a dumpster with any non vital organs missing.

Oh and here is the link to From My Hearth - my new soapie website and blog

Mornington Peninsula Handmade:.Meet The Maker

I was privileged to be asked recently, to be part of Mornington Peninsula Handmade's blog.. a blog promoting local business who make and sell handmade goods.. I was chosen to take part with meet the maker. Next time I need to be photographed, I will smile in the photo.. :-)

Mornington Peninsula Handmade: Meet the Maker.........Wendy from "From My Hearth"...: .

On My Mind - Freedom of Entry

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it. Then scoot over to On My Mind at Down To Earth leave a comment and post your link there. Great way to meet your blog neighbours.

 On My Mind - Freedom of Entry

On My Mind today is the pride I have in my husband for his service to this country and the Royal Australian Navy. It is a centenary year for the RAN and HMAS Cerberus celebrates 90 years of service. Today, 1500 men and woman of the training establishment, HMAS Cerberus march for Freedom of Entry to the city of Melbourne. An age old ceremony that has only happened here in Melbourne, 3 times in 90 years. They will march the Queens colors, a ceremonial honour.
 A small section on Freedom of Entry Sailors ahoy! It’s been 100 years