From my garden

Autumn is here and my garden needed a good clean out so this weekend I decided to make some yummy pesto and chilli jam/sauce from my vege patch.  The pesto is pretty straightforward but the chilli jam was a little more work but very rewarding at the end.  It is HOT and is full of home grown chillis, yellow & orange capsicum and ginger. It makes a great salad dressing, glaze or stir fry sauce.  Mine turned out more of a sauce than a jam but it is still delish!!!!  Here is the recipe and remember as someone famous once sang - "You cant always get what you want but you just might find you get what you need".  Happy sauce making....

750g red & yellow capsicums - seeded & chopped
100g fresh chillis (I used 8 of my plant)
50g fresh ginger peeled & chopped
350ml apple cider vinegar
1kg sugar with pectin added
50ml lime juice
1tsp salt

Put capsicums, chilli & ginger into food processor and process - but not TOO finely as it is nice to have little pieces in the sauce.  Place mixture in large pan and add vinegar and simmer.  Add sugar, lime juice and salt.  Stir until sugar dissolves and mixture boils.  Boil 5 minutes then cool for 5 minutes and pour into sterilized jars.  Bon Apetite!

Scenes from Wollombi

Spent the weekend with some friends at a lovely cottage in Wollombi and here is some of what I saw..

A taste of a country kitchen

The view across the valley from the back porch.

Cultivating vegies in pots...

Simply Adorable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE

Today is a beautiful sunny day and as I look around my house these are the funny things that make me smile.  I hope they make you smile too!!!

 I cannot believe that my garden sculpture "Honour" has been sporting naked lips for EVER.  A touch of Chanel has made all the difference don't you think? Red lippy always makes me smile!

 My gorgeous niece bought me this on a recent trip to Berry.  She knows that I Believe!

How cute are these plastic babies from the sixties! I still like to play with them!

"Ramshackle BLUE wall"

Gosh its true I was born with a paintbrush in my hand.  I really dont like painting and yet I can never seem to help myself so on a quiet Sunday in between jumping in the pool and listening to the cricket on the radio and along with regular peaks at the tele to check out the tennis I decided the red wall under the back verandah had to go (it had only been there 2 months)!  A quick check in the garage revealed a can of beige and several old tins of various shades of blue so within minutes I was whipping them all together to my own shade of "Ramshackle Blue" and splashing them about the wall.  Mmmm much calmer I think......how long it will remain is another question????? The walls have shrunk considerably over the past few years and future generations will have such fun discovering all the colours of the rainbow on my back wall!

Have a happy day whatever you are doing.
Penny

"Left over chrissy nuts project"

Today I looked at my lovely dish of left over christmas nuts and just knew I could do something with them  -aside from eating them - and this is what eventuated........

I grabbed a glass jar with a cork lid that I had in the pantry and started happily glueing them on top of each other with some craft glue.  When I was happy with the shape and the glue was dry a quick coat of estapol sealed the nuts and protected them from future moths, etc. 

Filled with lollies or ofcourse nuts you have a lovely conversation piece and a fun project for kids too.

Happy crafting!

Penny

"Love what you see"

Do you "Love What You See" when you walk around your home??????

This sign may look familiar as it came in the letterbox from an eyeglass company so I popped it in a drawer as I liked what I saw.....To my great joy I was given this beautiful distressed blue frame for Christmas and immediately knew what I going to pop in it.  Voila..... Do you love what you see?????

I love this wooden bird gift too... Have a happy day!

My New Rugs

A new year means change so what better way to add some colour and style into your home than these beautiful rugs brought to Australia from America by Sarah Price at Winton House 02 4861 3389.  Sarah delivered mine personally to me on Christmas Eve - what a service - and they were greatly admired over the silly season by all.  You can check out her other designs on her website.  Happy New Year to all and happy sale shopping.

Yummy last minute easy xmas puddings!!!

After years and years of baking my traditional Christmas pud in late October I have found the perfect recipe for mini xmas puddings and maybe you can share it with someone else to make their life easier too!  These taste a treat and can be wrapped individually in calico or cellophane with a cute little ribbon in twine or just piled on a plate as they are.  I topped half of them with cream cheese icing! You only need to soak the fruit for about half an hour.  It will absorb the coffee liquid. They are SIMPLE and ready in 30 minutes... dont even need to use the trusty old sunbeam.  Actually upon reflection you dont need it for the regular pud either. 

1kg dried fruit
2 cups of hot coffee to soak fruit in (or 1/2 cup port & 1 and 1/2 cups coffee)
Brandy optional
1 large block of Cadbury's nut chocolate (N.B. I like to use Lindt Orange Intense instead)
2 cups S.R. Flour

Combine ingredients.  Line muffin tin with patty cake liners and spoon in.
Cook for 30 minutes at 170 degrees.

Can be iced with cream cheese & icing sugar mixed together.

Yum your little puddings will soon be ready for consumption.  Dont be tempted to eat too many!  Happy Baking.    Penny

Quick, easy & cheap Bus Roll hanging

Thought I would share with you an inexpensive solution to the fabulous bus rolls that you see in decorating magazines at a fraction of the cost.  I purchased a tea towel with the bus roll print for about $10.00 then popped it in an $8.00 ikea light frame.  There you go - change from $20.00 and lots of comments too!!! Have a happy day.  Penny

My Chrissy Wreath

Today I was lucky enough to pick up this cute twig wreath from one of my favourite shops Twig & Twine.  I plan to leave this up permanently and decorate it with whatever takes my fancy throughout the year.  I always like to add a touch of the beautiful beach to my Christmas decor and I think this fits in well.  I have used a few shells from my HUGE collection and gently added a hole at the top with a hammer & nail.  Tie on the shells with some rope string and add a  few bits of raffia , shredded cellophane and a couple of fabric frangipanis and voila....a touch of the beach at christmas. Keep happy. Penny.