Schiacciata con le Cipolle Rosse e Formaggio

We took the day off from working on the house today and headed down the hill to my brother's place in Windsor. Using a recipe from my bread bible, Bread by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno, which I've had for years, I made Schiacciata with Roasted Red Onions and Cheese (which doesn't have quite the same ring to it as it does in Italian!).


You make a starter the night before and then the next day add the rest of the flour and other ingredients. I just throw it all into the bread machine on the dough cycle and then shape as per the instructions.


Schiacciata translates as "squashed" or "flattened" and is the Florentine version of Focaccia, which comes from Genoa (according to my bread bible). It tasted great - the topping of red onion, gruyere cheese and thyme was perfect.

A bit of baking

I came home from a visit to Sydney a little while ago with a huge bag of oats (courtesy of my Mum - leftover from a large catering job).  So I decided to try out some recipes from a couple of books that I have on loan at the moment.

The first book is Frost Bite by Susan Austin.  It gives you lots of recipes aimed at children (babies to teenagers) that are suitable for freezing.  I'm in dire need of some inspiration for lunch boxes!  The biggest hit from this book so far are theses Oat and Choc Chip Cookies.

On the weekend, we gave the flapjacks a try from this beautiful book.  They turned out great although not sure that I got the timing just right, but no one seems to be complaining!

Not such great photos unfortunately.  It's very dark and rainy around here, not to mention cold.  A bit too cold for April I think . . .  But of course that means it's just right for doing some crotchet using beautiful wool from here.

The best smelling and tasting lemons ever

I promise they won't all be used in G&T's!!

Keith brought home this lemon bonanza today from a tree that's easily over 100 years old and produces a fantastic crop every year. Lemons are a favourite of mine, I love all kinds of 'lemony' desserts and of course they're essential in the aforementioned drink . . .

We also came home from my mothers recently with a larger than normal quantity of lovely free-range, organic eggs. These are from my mother's hens and also from some that had come over to be chicken-sat while their owner was away on a holiday.

So, now I'm off to make the Classic Lemon Tart from this book. It's my favourite cooking book at the moment. I should actually be helping the kids plan their book week costumes for tomorrow (!), but I'm sure everyone around here will be much happier with a lemon tart.

A finished bag - and a yummy dessert

After being inspired by Mary posting pics of a finished project, I decided to finally finish a little bag I started quite some time ago . . . I was also motivated to finish after spending too much time wandering around shops trying to find a present for a friends birthday on the weekend. She's a great friend, but has quite different taste to me so I always struggle a bit because I really would like to get something she'll like.

Anyway, as I was wandering around picking things up and putting them back down again (all things I would gladly have bought for myself, I might add), I remembered this bag sitting at home patiently waiting for handles. It's a great size for my friend I think, and I'm hoping she'll like the fabric.

Also managed a dessert for the family tonight that was hugely appreciated - and considering how quick and easy it was I really will have to make it more often. Its the Apple Tart from More Perfect Recipes by David Herbert. You just spread some apricot jam onto a sheet of puff pastry, then lay the apple slices around, sprinkle sugar and dot with butter, 15mins in the oven and your done. Beautiful! The children, who are calling this apple pizza, requested small versions for school morning teas. But right now it's back to my crotchet as a lovely bundle of wool arrived in the post today!

Comfort Food

I got a hot tip about this recipe - it's Chicken sauteed with cheese & milk from the beautiful Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros. As promised, it was very quick to prepare and loved by children and adults alike when served in our house. It is now destined to be a firm favourite around here. That's the great thing about this cookbook, it's full of the sort of food you want to make for your family and the sort of food your children will remember when they've grown up. Many of Tessa's recipes I can remember my mother and grandmother making for me, actually I would never of thought of them as recipes, just quick dishes that you loved, for me there are a couple that I always asked for when I wasn't feeling well and I now make them for my two.

We took a quick run up to Blackheath to check on the progress of our new house this morning. Most of the internal walls are now in place, so you can get a real feel of what it's going to be like living there. Very exciting!

This will be our kitchen one day . . .

Sunday Baking

I made raspberry friands for morning tea today. They smell fantastic when done and I prefer them to muffins as they taste just as good the next day and are a lot moister. I just love the 'friand' patty pans which I bought at Whisk in Leura - so Parisian, don't you think?!! I use this recipe from the Womens Weekly - tried and tested so many times it really is foolproof! Of course at this time of the year I had to use frozen raspberries but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Managed to save 2 for the kids lunchboxes tomorrow so they'll be happy. Also, made these mini frittatas to take to a friend's house to have before lunch today.


They're crispy ham & cheese frittatas and the recipe comes from Donna Hay - Issue 6. Boy it feels nice when things work out and you make it out the door on time and haven't even had to yell at anyone . . .