Friday 29 June 2012

FO Friday - Nope, not today!

I was so hoping to show you my cardigan today, but it isn't finished :-(


Our weather is getting rather hot and we have been promised 30 degree C weekend weather!!
Oh my! Forgot how hot 30 degree weather can be in Europe, in S.A. that is still a pretty comfy temperature, but here it is sweltering! 
And the flies - URGH!! I have seen more flies in the last week than I did in the last 5 years in Africa!......I am just about ready to become a mass-murderer, until now I have been able to let them be, but now we have hoards of flies and it is just really GROSS!! Any one got some tricks to get rid of them in a nice way?


Here are some of my balcony herbs and tomatoes that are growing so nicely!
And as you can see, my garden is growing wonderfully, with all the rain we have had most of my veg have already grown out, oh well, will have to start again I guess!
Anyway, have a super weekend one and all.
x

Thursday 28 June 2012

Kitchen Krafts - Buttermilk Rusks with Raisins

free glitter text and family website at FamilyLobby.com


This week I want to share another South African speciality with you all - Rusks. There is nothing nicer than sitting down to a mug of coffee or tea and a couple of yummy rusks. Now, although these are really pretty easy to make they are a bit time consuming and can not be whipped up for your visitors - unless you start 5 hours before they arrive!!

I have added raisins to the traditional buttermilk rusks as I think they just finish them off perfectly. If you are not a fan of raisins you can just omit them from the recipe, or add some other dry fruit like apricots, cranberries etc.. 

So let's begin:

Ingredients
1kg Flour (I like to mix a whole lot of different flours)
10ml Baking Powder
2 Large Eggs
50g Raisins (or as much as you prefer)
10ml Salt
200g Sugar
500ml Buttermilk
190g Butter - melted.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
Add raisins to dry mixture.
Beat eggs, sugar and buttermilk together.
Add this to your dry ingredients.
Mix this together, and whilst doing so, gradually add the melted butter to the mixture.
Knead the mixture until you get a smooth "doughy" consistency. 
Break off pieces and roll into small balls which you will place side-by-side into a baking form. (It should make roughly 30 balls). The balls should be no higher than 2/3 of the container you place them in.
Now bake in a preheated oven (180 Degrees Celsius) for 30 minutes.
Take the rusks out of the oven, remove from the forms and break into single rusks. Lay them out on a wire rack, drop the temperature of the oven to 100 degrees Celsius and the proceed to dry the rusks out over a period of 4 hours, turning them every half an hour.
Once the 4 hours are up, remove the rusks from the oven, allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight container.
I know they don't look much different once they are done, but they are pretty hard, so don't break a tooth, they need to be dunked in some coffee :-D


Next: Invite Ouma (granny) over for some coffee and rusks - she won't believe how great they are, just like she made them ;-)

I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to share your tips and tricks from the home, your favourite recipes, or traditions which you keep alive.
Please visit some of the other sites listed below to show your support. 
Until next week
x

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Wednesday 27 June 2012

Summer Sweater KAL


YAY, have signed up for the next round of loveliness with the group over on Ravelry, hosted by Shannon over at luvinthemommyhood.
This time I am going to do a bit of stash busting and am planning on working on two projects - one crocheted and one knitted.
The crochet project that I have settled for is Isabelle Lepage's Pull Au CarrĂ©!
This is my second crochet project, so I am slightly nervous how it will turn out, but you will never know until you try - so on we go! 
and I will be using a combination of the two ribbon yarns I still have hiding:
The Summer KAL knitting project number 2 is something that Kay asked for.
 It is a Drops design and I will be knitting it with this ribbon yarn:
I can't wait to get started and will be casting on and hooking on tonight. Do come back next Wednesday to catch a peek of how things are going. I will be sharing this over on Shannon's Blog with the other KALers :-D

WIP Wednesday / Yarn Along

At last I have something new to share! It has been a while but in my internet absence I have been trying to get to the bottom of the WIP pit and empty out my project bag so I can add some new goodies to it!
Those of you who visit regularly may recall that I had a summer cardigan which I started for the KAL I took part in and ended up frogging it as I had to rip it back twice and that was when I had had enough.
Anyway, I order a new MC for the project so it would feel like a new knit and attempted to start it again at the end of last week. 
Well, surprise, surprise, so far - so good, I am enjoying the knit, have gone way past the problem areas in my last two attempts and am into the lace. I am hoping that it will be a FO for this week, but that might be a little wishful thinking, we will see.
I still am trying to get through the Scarf for Jas, but at the moment am feeling rather uninspired to continue with it, so it will have to hibernate for a little while longer.
Am still on the lookout for some nifty ideas for colourful small projects so if you have any - do share :-D
I promised a pic of Kayla's finished scarf, so I have been able to take it off her to take a quick shot, so here it is:
On the reading front:
I am still busy with "You'll See It When you Believe It" by Wayne Dyer - very inspiring!

Hope to see you back tomorrow for Kitchen Krafts.
I have been wanting to post on the Elder, but with all the rain we have been having the blossoms have gone, so I will post a little later when the berries have appeared. In the meantime, I have prepared a recipe post for South African Rusks. See you tomorrow :-D
Today I will be sharing over at:

Friday 22 June 2012

Award Nomination - The Sunshine Award

I am thrilled to have been nominated by Dahle from Gauge Wars for the Sunshine Award.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of those of you out there who regularly come past and make my blogging experience amazing, it is the strangest thing how we can connect continents, strangers and loved ones through this invisible force that brings us all to the same space! Thank you :-D


So the Award Rules:
1: Thank the blogger who nominated you.
2. Answer the 10 questions about your favourite things.
3. Nominate 10 blogs to receive the Sunshine Award and let them know they've been nominated.


My answers to the questions:

  • Favourite animal: Giraffe, they are the most elegant animals of the wild that I have ever seen, and have loved being able to experience them from up close in their natural habitat.
  • Favourite number: 7
  • Favourite non-alcoholic drink: Home-made lemonade (have an Awesome - yes Awesome recipe, will share it with you all soon)
  • Facebook or Twitter: Are we choosing? I guess I am all over the place, so in answer - both.
  • My passion - My hubby and my girls. I love being with them and look forward to them being back at home when they are out. I love to snuggle up with hubby and watch the latest theories on conspiracies and "aliens". Actually, anything that leads to the REAL truth!
  • Getting or Giving: I love giving as much as receiving, but tend to lean more towards the giving. There is nothing nicer than  watching someone's face light up when they get something they know comes with love.
  • Favourite Pattern: I am in my third attempt at my summer cardigan that I started for a KAL in April. So far so good, so lets' go with this pattern.
  • Favourite day of the week: I don't think I have a favourite........, nope, like them all right now.
  • Favourite Flower: Well that's easy - Marigolds!!
  • Favourite Country: South Africa, without a moments' hesitation!!
And now the 10 blogs that I would like to nominate. I love to visit these blogs as they are interesting, informative, well written and inspiring. 


FO Friday / Creative Friday

Finally, summer seems to be here - HOORAY!!!
Wow, I have been absent for a while, sorry about that, much to process here and little PC time :-( 
I haven't been idle though and have managed to finish two WIPs, which I would love to share with you all today.
I have finished the Florette that Jas wanted, turned out quite nicely:
I also managed to finish Kays Shawlette. I took a quick photo of it before she rushed out the door to school this morning, so you can't see it very well, so I will take it off her when she gets home and take another pic :-D
Here is an updated photo of my jar, which seems to be filling up slowly. How is your jar doing?

Hope you are all keeping well, I have missed being around, hopefully I will have time next week to remedy that. Have a super weekend!
I will be sharing this post today over at:




Friday 8 June 2012

FO Friday / Creative Friday

I had planned to show you my second finished pair of socks that were ordered, but my friend came to fetch them and I didn't think about it until this morning - so sadly no finished pic of my socks :-(
So that you can recall them - this is the image I posted on a WIP Wednesday when I had just started sock number 2.
Now all you have to do is imagine both of them done :-D I knitted this pair of socks to my "Simply Cabled" Sock pattern which is available to purchase from my Craftsy store. It is a photo tutorial, so is great for beginners.
I thought I would also show you something that I did many moons ago. I am not sure if it would qualify, but I thought it would be nice to share.
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.
Today, I will be sharing this over at:

Thursday 7 June 2012

Kitchen Krafts

Due to a loss in the family I unfortunately do not have anything to share with you today.
I would still love to hear from you though. Please feel free to post your recipes, traditions or tips and tricks from the household below.
Next week I will be posting on Elder, so do come past for that.
Until next week.
x

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