Mini Marquee

I have a tiny backyard which is a real HOT SPOT and I'm unable to grow anything there...
Solution.…ask Mum & Dad to put up a semi permanent pergola to give me shade and  an area to sit out in and enjoy my garden.

The large very heavy box purchased and delivered by Dad.
It took a bit of sorting out of all the screws and bolts with lots of little pieces and long poles.
2 hours later the parents are almost divorced, this is an awful job.

Finally at almost sunset, it was up, not perfect but standing. Mum left after making him promise to "tie it down" afraid it could still blow away overnight. The second promise was to return the next day to finish off.....

Low Carb Pumpkin Lasagne

I'm always looking for meals to feed the family that are easy to make, delicious and of course low carb. This worked well, took a little longer than expected to fully cook the pumpkin.
Bonus was enough left over for lunch the next day.

I started with the usual Bol sauce with lots of garlic, herbs and tomatoes.

It was nice and thick, I was thinking (correctly) 

that it would make a better lasagne layer.

A little sauce then layer of thinly peeled and sliced

pumpkin.

Now for the cheese layer...

200gms Ricotta

75gms Mozzarella 

2 eggs

enough whipping cream to make sauce. 

You know what to do now...

layer upon layer

I did 3.

Top with more grated Mozzarella 

and I added some finely grated Parmesan.

Now bake covered with foil for about an hour

uncover, bake a further 10 mins until golden.

Homemade Pasta Sauce

Finding super cheap tomatoes for (99c kilo) at the local market was a bonus so decided to try making a basic tomato base sauce.

Peel

Cook onion and garlic in a little olive oil

 

Chop chop chop

Add water, a little brown sugar and cook till tender.

Add fresh Basil. Season with salt & pepper

Bottle and rolling boil for 20 minutes

Yummy 5 jars for about $4

#tomatosauce #homemadegoodies #collectjars 

Low Carbing

It all started with going to Coles to buy peanut butter as I'd run out of the sugar free variety and while browsing, saw this and thought, yes lets try it.

I have been playing with the low carb lifestyle for three to four year now and often find having snack food on hand can be difficult.
Well, nutty butter is great, but I did need something to have it with...I could eat it straight from jar!
I needed crackers so Googled recipes and came up with a few that looked great. These are made from ingredients that I had in my pantry and are a bit of a compilation of those I found online.

My Crackers     Made 10

75 grams LSA meal (Linseed, Sunflower & Almond)
25 grams Coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tbsp whipping cream

It was a fairly thick and sticky mixture

I rolled it into balls with wet hands

I flattened the balls using the base of a wet glass

and baked them at 180' for 15 minutes

Next time I make these I'll make them smaller, thinner and

try leaving the baking powder out completely. 

I'd probably cook them for longer too, so they would be more

"Cracker Like" and less cakey

Final verdict...delicious

and the best thing was that just 1 was really satisfying.

Rebecca and the Queens Baton Relay

It's been a while since I "put pen to paper" here as I've been concentrating on family weddings and trips away in our loved caravan (see Caravan Adventures and News)

This past week however has been pretty exciting and I was privileged to watch our dear daughter Rebecca be a participant in the Queens Baton Relay. 
She along with many others helped carry the baton towards the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

The smiles say it all...Rebecca with fellow participant Anthony

Off she goes!

Here she comes!

Running with her escorts.

Handing over to 008

With the cheer squad, sister Steph, Mum & Dad

Twin sister Stephanie always on hand to give support and love

Rebecca has cerebral palsy, she is a Paralympian,

an Australian champion class 6 table tennis player, 

a Girls Brigade Leader, a Yooralla Ambassador

and she works full time as a Kindergarten Teacher.

We are incredibly proud of this amazing young woman.

Tomato Paste

I usually buy tomato paste in a large jar. If I don't use it all (which I rarely do) in one sitting it goes into the fridge and next time I need to use it's always  mouldy.
Annoying? Yes you are right so I have started doing this which is easy and avoids waste.

 

Freeze tablespoon blobs on a tray covered with baking paper

 

Then just 'bag em'

and voila, tomato paste whenever you need it