Tuna dip

I have had a lemon tree in my yard for 5-6 years and finally I have usable lemons on it.

With my first lemon I made my favorite tuna dip.

250g-350g spreadable cream cheese.
95g tin of tuna in spring water,drained.
juice of 1 lemon.
1 tbs chopped parsley.
Blend all of the above in a food processor and serve with any crackers.

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Chicken Pot Pie.

A simple and easy dinner to put together would have to be Chicken Pot Pie.

I don't have exact measurements or ingredients, just what ever takes my fancy that night.

But a basic guide is......

2 Chopped chicken thighs
1.5 cups rice (I don't actually measure this, I just pour)
2 cups of finely chopped vegetables (what ever you like, and frozen is fine)
1 can of cream of chicken (or mushroom or corn) soup.
Herbs to taste.
1 sheet of puff pastry.

I fry off the chicken in a pan and add any fresh vegetables and dried herbs, and cook until tender. I add the can of soup and stir through. (fresh herbs can be added now if they don't need to be cooked off)

In a pot of water I put the rice and any frozen vegetables and boil until the rice is cooked, drain.

Then it's a matter of assembling.

I place the rice and veg in a square baking tray and pour on the chicken/veg/soup mix, mixing them together just slightly on the top.

I then either place an entire sheet of pastry on the top or cut it up and lattice the pastry.

Bake in a medium oven until the pastry is nice and brown and ta da!!! it's done!

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Tool storage in plain sight - part 2

So it took a little longer than a day to get some more paint, but I made it in the end.






I finished the purple colour and then made the decision to lace paint the trunk.

I chopped up some old curtains that the previous owners had in my house.

Using a spray adhesive I sprayed the back of the curtain, let it sit a couple minutes before pressing it onto the trunk.

I then lightly sprayed over the lace with silver/chrome paint and left it to dry before peeling off the curtain.

This was the result....not sure if it will stay this way. The silver is a little more glossy than I would like so it may get a little white wash over the top.

I still need to finish the handles and lock in a silver polish I have..... but it's a tiny tube and it hasn't come out from hiding yet.

So this trunk now sits in my dining area near the back door. It is filling up with lots of goodies and can be dragged along to any task thanks to those fab little wheels.

View part 1 here and maybe one day maybe there will be a part 3.

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Tool storage in plain sight - part 1.

Living in a 2 bedroom unit, storage space is very valuable. I'm lucky enough to have a single car garage but space is minimal and often inaccessible when the car is in there.

I previously kept my tools in two baskets on top of the laundry cupboards. Handy and accessible when needing to do a little task but over time I have acquired more and more tools, bits and pieces etc. and these two baskets were overloaded. At Christmas I received my very own cordless drill (no more borrowing from family) and well it just would not fit in a little basket.

So time to create a new storage space.

I thought about getting a purpose built tool box and had eyed off one that my dad has in his garage, but it wouldn't be great room decor and as said before I wouldn't be able to get at it if it was kept in my garage.



I currently keep my sewing machine and accessories in a trunk in the living room that doubles as a side table and place to put my room decor etc.

I liked this idea for a giant tool box.

   Inside this trunk is my sewing machine

So I kept my eye out for a trunk. It took a while to find the right size and I found most had a fabric outer and I had my heart set on painting the trunk in some way.

I eventually found this trunk at 'Sam's Warehouse.'

I picked up some castor wheels to make sure this new toolbox would be portable and put my new cordless drill to use.

I started spray painting the trunk in violet, in light coats. and of course during coat 3 the can ran dry. I thought about making a quick trip to 'Bunnings' to grab a new can but the clouds heading my way put a halt to that so I had just enough time let the last coat dry before bringing it back inside. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry and I can finish the violet coat.

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what's next.....

The past few weeks have been filled with illness and aches, so I have done very little baking/crafting/DIY.

...........A few things have been started but not finished.

I did make 5 more ticket stub memory box's for friends and have the supplies for 2 more.

I have brought home fabric for different projects and not started one........

I've had a few failed cooking experiences in the kitchen, edible and delicious but ...well... I was sure I followed the recipe both times but this was the results. 

I will be giving these another go. The original recipe was for American style "biscuits" but in truth I much preferred the 1st attempt which mine turned out like cookies (we call these biscuits)

oh well, I'm sure I will feel back in the groove soon.

Red Velvet Cookies

Using the simple method for a cake mix cookie, I was able to make Red Velvet Cookies.

Take 1 store bought cake mix for Red Velvet Cake, mix in 2 eggs and 1/2 cup vegetable oil.

Scoop spoonfuls onto a lined baking tray and bake in a 180C oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Once cool dip or swirl melted chocolate on top, chill, and you're done.

Now as I live on my own, a whole batch of cookies gets wasted. So I usually bake 8 to 10 cookies and with the remaining cookie dough I roll it into a log, wrap in cling film and then aluminium foil and place it in the freezer.

When needing a little sweet snack, I can slice a few rounds of dough off the frozen log and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. 

With my first frozen batch I added a white chocolate melt to each as soon as they came out of the oven. It melted just enough to stay stuck to the top.

This method will work for just about any cake mix. I am yet to find one that doesn't work.

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Banana Pistachio Bread

This would have to be one of my most favourite recipes for banana bread.

It is very simple to make, and even better topped with cream cheese icing.

Banana Pistachio Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 bananas, mashed (1 cup)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup shelled pistachios, chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 180C (or350F).

2. Grease one 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.

3. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl stir together bananas, oil, milk and egg; stir into flour mixture and add the chopped pistachios just until moistened; do not over-mix.

4. Spoon batter into prepared pan. If desired, sprinkle a few whole shelled pistachios over the batter for garnish.

5. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove loaf from pan and cool on wire rack. Store bread tightly covered; or wrap tightly in foil and freeze for up to 1 month.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 cup icing sugar

100g cream cheese, softened

45g unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp lemon juice, if you want that extra zing.

Place all ingredients for the icing into a medium mixing bowl and mix well until the icing is creamy. Spread on the loaf once cooled.

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