Hiatus

Sorry, I have been a Bad Blogger.  I've been suffering from some fairly major sleep deprivation, with the little Tabitha here going through a particularly restless period over the last couple of weeks - sometimes waking hourly or more overnight!  I'm hoping that it is a developmental stage, as opposed to an ongoing trend...  So anyway, my days last week were spent trying not to walk into walls, rather than writing blog posts.

It sure is lucky that babies and toddlers are so damn cute!  Because it truly does help with the tiredness, when you need to get up yet again, in the middle of the night, to go to your babe - and they are sitting there looking all bleary eyed and puffy and just plain gorgeous.

Incidentally, this is what Tabby often looks like when she's just woken up - crazy bed hair, puffy face, eyes a little wonky.  Makes me want to cover her in kisses:

In other Tabitha updates - she has a fair few words now.  Lizz (for lizard), Dat (for cat), mumma and dadda, Doh (for dog), Ligh (for light), Sooz (for shoes), Es (for yes) and sometimes No (for nose - she doesn't actually say no to mean no, though she does shake her head!).

She can also point to her own, or someone else's, nose when asked.  She often jams her fingers all the way up my nose when demonstrating this.  She can take a few steps, and can stand on her own for quite some time - minutes, I'd say.  Below, she is standing up, holding a shoe, and bouncing and dancing to some music:

But far and away, the thing I am currently most excited about is her ability to safely climb down from things - she turns and backs confidently off a sofa, bed or bench, and then yesterday, we watched in amazement as she backed her way, quite quickly, down a few medium-sized flights of stairs!  I am thrilled that she can safely get down stairs - we are currently building a house with stairs, and we will be moving in at the end of the year.  I've been worried about the stairs, but I am now confident that by 6 months from now, she will be completely safe with them.

On Saturday night, The Daddy, Tabitha and I went along to watch the Victorian Roller Derby League at the Showgrounds.  Tabitha's Godmother Sophie is on one of the teams, so we had great fun watching her.  Here we are enjoying the crowds - over 5,000 people!

Godmother Sophie is below, fourth skater from the left, in the shiny blue shorts:

Look at all the people!  Roller Derby is becoming very popular - rightly so, as it is incredibly fun to watch.  Sadly we had to leave before the final big bout, as Tabby needed to go to bed.

Yesterday morning, I woke up bright and early to make another four-tier chocolate cake (like the one I did for Tabitha's birthday party).  This one was for my mothers' group - we were having a party with all of the mothers, babies and dads, to celebrate all of the babies now being one.  Really just a good excuse for a party!

I have posted the recipe for the cake before, but I will post it again here.  For a four-tier cake, you need to make double the recipe below.  I would recommend doing it in two batches - that is, prepare the recipe as below, baking two cakes, and then while they are in the oven, prepare the mixture for the next two cakes.  Once the first cakes are out of the oven and cooling, you can prep the pans again for the final two cakes.  Unless you happen to have a large oven AND four identical 20cm straight-sided cake tins, in which case you could certainly do it all at once!

For the frosting, the recipe below will be enough - I have doubled the original quantities, so the below will give you plenty of frosting for a four-tier cake.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Birthday Cake 

(taken from Nigella Lawson's 'Feast')

To make the cake, combine in a food processor:  200g plain flour, 200g caster sugar (as usual, I used vanilla caster sugar), 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, 40g best-quality cocoa (I use Valhrona), 175g very soft unsalted butter, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 150ml sour cream (I also added a generous pinch of salt).  Blitz until completely smooth (it will still be very thick).

Prepare two round 20cm sandwich tins – grease and cocoa them, and line the bottoms with baking paper (see below photos).  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Divide the batter, spreading with a spatula to flatten, between the two tins – I make sure they are evenly divided by weighing them.

Bake for 25 – 35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in their tins for ten minutes on the bench, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack.  Remove the paper from their bottoms, and sit, top side up, until they are completely cool.

To make the icing, melt together 150g unsalted butter, 350g top quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces.  Set aside to cool a little.

Sift 600g icing sugar into a bowl (or just put it in the food processor and blitz until lump-free)

I've taken a few snap shots to help you with the baking and the frosting...

When preparing the pans, I grease them thoroughly with butter, then line the bottom with a circle of baking paper, then grease the paper, then tap cocoa powder throughout the tin, so that the entire surface is coated with a fine layer of cocoa powder (bang the excess off, down the sink).  I use cocoa powder for chocolate cakes, instead of flour, since it doesn't leave any white residue when the cake is baked:

When the cakes are baked (25 minutes or even just under, in my oven), a skewer will come out clean, and they will be just slightly shrunken back from the edges of the tin.  The tops should be smooth, however if there are bubbles or small cracks, don't stress, as it will all be covered up with frosting.

To frost the cakes, begin by putting a dollop of frosting on the cake stand or platter - this is to help affix the cake firmly to the stand, preventing it from sliding around:

Place the first layer of the cake on the cake plate, and put four strips of baking paper underneath it, along each edge - this is so that you can frost the cake without getting any on the cake plate (you carefully slide the paper out at the end).

If you have any cake layers which are a little 'dodgy' (e.g. a bit of one edge stuck to the tin, or it cracked a little), use those layers in the middle - the top and bottom layers should be your 'best' cakes.  In particular, save the flattest, smoothest and most even layer for the top.

Once your first layer is down, cover it generously with frosting - a 1/3 cup or a little more is about right.  Spread it well over the cake, right to the edges.

Place your second layer over the top of the frosting - here you can see, I have a dodgy layer, where I left it face-down on the cooling rack and  forgot about it for a bit, so it has imprints and a bit of a crack.  This will all be completely hidden by the frosting:

Coat your second layer of cake with more frosting - really, err on the side of more frosting than less, since you need it to fill the gaps around the edge where the cakes slope off:

Repeat with the third layer of cake.  In theory, you could happily do a three-tier cake.  It would still look mighty tall and impressive!  This would be a great option if one of your cake layers didn't turn out, or you wanted to serve a single layer for something else, for example.  Or if you feel that four tiers are just too much...  Not me!  I never shy from going over-the-top.

Place your fourth layer on the top:

Using a small offset spatula (if possible), cover the top and sides with a thin-ish layer of frosting, known as a 'crumb coat', to seal all of the cake.  This layer should be thin enough that you see some dark areas poking through, but you should have covered all of the cake, with no crumbs escaping.  This is your chance to fill any gaps between the layers - you are striving for an even surface at this point:

At the base, stick close to the cake - you don't want fat pools of frosting around the bottom, or removing the paper cleanly later on will be difficult.

On top of this layer, add a whole lot more frosting, and generously coat the entire top and sides with frosting - do not be shy about using a lot, the cake-to-frosting ratio is quite reasonable with this cake.  That said, I don't imagine you'll use all of the frosting by any means!

Try and get the covering relatively even, and certainly thick enough that there is no cake poking through:

Next, take a large spatula, run it under very hot water, dry with a cloth and immediately run it carefully around the cake to smooth the sides and top - repeat the heating as required.  The heat helps melt the frosting to create a smoother surface.  Of course, highly skilled cake decorators can produce a perfectly smooth surface, but highly skilled at cake decorating I am not, so I just aim for a vaguely smooth effect:

Now, I wanted to decorate the top with pearl coloured dragees, so I sketched out a number 'one' with a chopstick, to guide me:

I have frightfully shaky hands (hereditary - a mild case of Benign Familial Tremor), so the decorating part of cakes is always tricky for me (as I've mentioned before, it's also cursed me with appalling handwriting).  To make the number one below, I used tweezers and a very slow hand to create the outline, then scattered them within the border.  I used my hand to affix them to the sides of the cake - just randomly.

Here is a photo, taken at the party, of the cake cut up - as you can see, it cuts very easily into clean, tall slices.  Below, there are 16 slices.  Each slice could easily be further separated into two or even four pieces, cutting through the layers, giving you about a gazillion servings, which is useful when making a cake for a crowd:

Here is a slice of the cake - very tall!  This recipe is lovely, Nigella describes it as a 'sort if idealised packet mix chocolate cake' which is quite accurate, in that it is very fine-crumbed, meltingly smooth and quite light:

Here are some photos from the party yesterday evening...

All of the babies wore little party hats while we sung happy birthday:

Tabby wore a cheap-and-cheerful Pumpkin Patch top, some skinny jeans from Gap, her Marc Jacobs mousie shoes, and a gorgeous pink wool 3/4 length coat from Zara, brought back from the UK in December by my best friend Amy.  I wore my MJ mousie shoes too, as well as boring jeans, white t-shirt and one of my very favourite Hermes scarves - this scarf has lots of muted shades of yellow and blue, and was bought for me by The Daddy as a little gift in Paris while on our honeymoon, so I am very fond of it:

We did a 'Kris Kringle' arrangement, where each of us bought a gift for another baby in the group.  Tabitha received a really gorgeous wooden 'rainmaker' type toy, with coloured wooden beads which shake through layers of waxed wood, below, as well as a super cute rubber ducky - a clever one which doesn't let water in, therefore will not get mouldy!

Here is Tabitha unwrapping her beautiful gifts, watched by The Daddy and I:

We had a great time at the party - ate lots of wonderful food (it was a bring a plate affair, and we do have some talented cooks in our group!), drank some great wine and Champagne, and caught up with all of the other beautiful families in our group.

Weekend away.

On the weekend, we managed to escape to Blairgowrie for a couple of days, along with my friend Amy, whose friends' place we were borrowing.  Just a short getaway, but it is always lovely to go somewhere scenic and do - well, not much!

We had fish and chips, we had (really excellent) woodfired pizza, we had delicious veggieburgers with cheese, salad, pickles and caramelized onions.  The Daddy made us blueberry pancakes with bacon and syrup.  We napped, read, walked, watched Tabitha take cautious steps (she can take two steps on her own now).  It was a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the weekend.

There were plenty of new, unexplored toys for Tabitha to dive into at the beach house:

The Daddy is the breakfast cook in our house - it's the only time he cooks, but he is very good at breakfast dishes.  In case you are wondering, the clock on the wall is incorrect - we were not eating breakfast at 5:25am OR pm!

 Tabby sitting in the high chair, patiently waiting for her pancake:

Yum!  These are Amy's though, she didn't have blueberries.  Strange lady!  The bacon is freerange bacon from Fernleigh Farms, who have incredible products from their Wessex Saddleback pigs, which frolic around their expansive, wooded farmland.  The bacon is just incredible.

Below, you can see Tabitha crawling around - she kept herself very well occupied exploring the new space, and kept taking a couple of tentative steps.  I don't think that it will be long now until she is walking properly on her own.

Tabby reclining with her feet on the table while she eats her lunch:

Cramming in lots of peas and corn, her current obsession.  Sorry, this is way too much information, but her last few dirty nappies have looked like a corn explosion.  So much corn.

"Hey, I think you'll find that my bowl is currently empty of peas and corn, mumma!"

Oh never mind, I found some veggieburger within reach...

Now we are back home and trying to avoid going out in the cold.  I am really hating this weather, I must say.  I can't wait for a few nice spring days, to get out there and walk in the sunshine, some blue skies, some pretty flowers.  Sigh, probably at least another month or so...

Lamb shoulder, crepes and winter beach-going

Thursday was Bastille Day.  Tabitha and I met my best friend Amy at the Prahran Market to eat some crepes and pick up some French pastries.

Nutella crepes are the perfect breakfast on a freezing cold day:

Tabitha wore a little blue-and-white stripe top in honour of the French national day, and carried her little French mousie (a present from her Francophile 'Great Aunt' Penelope).

In the evening, I made another slow-cooked lamb shoulder.  The full recipe is HERE, but a couple of people have asked questions about the preparation, so here are a couple more photographs...

This is what it looks like before it goes in.  2kg of lamb shoulder, skin side slashed deeply a few times, rubbed with olive oil, and generous amounts of salt and pepper.  The rosemary and whole garlic cloves are simply placed on top, with more of them sitting underneath the joint:

When it's ready to go, you just wrap the whole tray in foil - the tray, not the joint - and tuck the edges underneath, to seal the whole thing quite well.  I use special extra-wide foil, because I keep it in the house, but you can use a couple of pieces of regular foil instead, just make sure that they overlap to keep the moisture sealed in:

When it comes out, it will be falling apart, like braised shanks, and shrunk well off the bone.  Instead of trying to carve the meat off the bone - near impossible, just pull the bone out (it will slip easily out) and shred the meat:

This morning, we went to the Boroondara Farmers' Market.  It was incredibly cold and frosty.  Look at this adorable dog - she had little trousers made of polarfleece to keep her skinny legs warm!

Tabitha was warm and cosy in her woolen coat and the footmuff on her pram (like a fleece-lined sleeping bag!).  She sat and watched all of the goings-on, eating hot spinach and feta Golzeme.

At noon today, we are leaving to go down to the beach, Blairgowrie, for a couple of days.  It will, of course, be too cold for swimming, but nice walks on the beach, all rugged up, and plenty of fish and chip eating is in order.

It is shocking, though, just how much you need to pack for a weekend away with a baby.  Over 60 items on the family packing list!

Apples, Mouse Shoes and Crispy Roast Potatoes

This morning, Tabitha and I went to visit my parents and sister (it is school holidays at the moment).  Tabitha has a high chair over there, and loves sitting in it watching all the activity, eating a snack.  I made her a toasted cheese sandwich and some apple, and she happily sat there for 45 minutes, watching my sister dance around, and my sister's tiny dog hop around on her back legs, hoping for a dropped morsel of sandwich.

Tabby and my sister eating their toast together:

My sister asked if she could give Tabitha a whole apple to try - I suggested she take a few small bites first, so there was somewhere for Tabby to start, to get her teeth in, and then we were all blown away by how well she managed with a whole apple!

She really enjoyed it, turning it around, peering at it, scratching at the skin with her nails, and nibbling away.  She ate maybe half the apple!

Remember all the balloons from Tabitha's birthday party?  They are still there, sitting out the back decking of my parents' house!  Someone needs to take the time to snip each one - perhaps I will get around to it next week...  In the meantime, they look quite funny.

This afternoon (after a nice nap for Tabby, 12 - 2:30pm), we went and met my friend Gen at Milkwood cafe in East Brunswick.  Such a cute little place - and the cinnamon toast was incredible, so buttery, on nice rye bread, which added a great sour note to the sweetness.

Isn't Gen divine?  She is a very talented creative type, who is moving to Sydney soon and will be greatly missed:

Tabitha picked up a serviette and started wiping her own face (and hair) which was very sweet of her.  Then she tried to eat the napkin.  Hmm.

I am in love with her little shoes - they are Marc Jacobs, and are sort of silvery in real life.  They are from New York:

In fact, they are the sort of shoes you see on a baby and think, "wow, I wish they made those shoes in MY size!"  That's what I thought, anyway.  Scroll down...

So I did, in fact, find them in my size and buy a pair!  Okay, they are not identical, but they are still MJ mouse shoes.  Mine have gold noses and furry animal print.  So in some ways, I consider them to be even better!  Both pairs have little spiky whiskers.

Tabby enjoyed crawling around the cafe, peering out the front window

This photo makes me smile.  It is so Inner Melbourne - in the background, you can see a tram, a taxi and a bicycle:

See the picture of the clouds behind us?  It is actually a tapestry!  It was really pretty and unusual.

Tabitha reaching out to touch fingers with Gen...

Gen took this photo with her phone and just sent it to me.  You can see my pretty scarf.  It is my current favourite of all my scarves, an Hermes from the recent NY trip, bought for me for my birthday by my best friend Amy - so generous!

For dinner tonight, I just made a whole lot of crispy roast veggies (potatoes and sweet potato, with olive oil, salt, rosemary and lots of lemon juice), with some pea and ham soup, which comes from our excellent local butcher, and is the best I've ever tried.