Picnic

Yesterday, we went for a picnic down by the Yarra River at our local park.  Tabitha loves it there because it is a popular place for people to bring their dogs - to run around, or even to swim in the river!

The Daddy had worked very hard all week (as usual!) so decided to come home early, so we took down lots of yummy food and a brilliant bottle of Riesling (from my favourite winery, Freycinet Vineyard).

Because our park is so close, we can take hot food with us - I heated up some vegetable samosas and duck spring rolls (from the best deli around, in my opinion - Nick and Sue's in Camberwell).  We also took down some taramasalata and Turkish bread, crab claws, chili tofu, primavera olives, marinated octopus and rare roast beef (yep, all from Nick and Sue's)...

Tabitha loves picnics, because she can pick and choose, and wriggle around while she eats.  She likes feeding us too:

Her favourite was the chili tofu.  It's funny, the kid loves spice!  I have never been into very spicy foods, but I made an effort to eat plenty of spicy things while pregnant and breastfeeding, in the hope she would get used to the flavours (the chili never bothered her in my milk).  I don't know if it worked, but I will say that Tabitha adores anything spicy.

She spent much of the time watching the dogs.  She waved to each and every dog as they arrived at the park - and most of the lovely owners waved right back at her.

Hoovering the chili tofu:

See these three gorgeous little pugs?  Do not be fooled by their sweet faces and adorable curly tails.  Two of them ran over to us at great speed, and snuffled up some of our roast beef, just inches away from us!  "No!  No!" said Tabitha.  Never mind, they were terribly funny little things:

Keeping with the chili theme, Tabitha just loves dipping things.  Particularly into sweet chili sauce:

She also enjoys covering herself in taramasalata:

And using it as a fun, fish-scented finger paint all over her knees:

After we ate, Tabby and The Daddy went off to play with the ball:

And enjoy some great big 'whizzy dizzies'.  You could hear the shrieks of laughter from all the way across the oval.  The kid is a total daredevil.

Being a Mummy, I didn't think it was terribly wise to spin her around after a full meal, but she had a brilliant time, and tired herself out nicely.  Bed time as soon as we got home!

Have I mentioned how much she sleeps these days?  She has decided that 6pm is her bedtime (efforts to keep her up later result in a grouch, and she doesn't sleep any later in the morning.  So, every day like clockwork, Tabitha sleeps 6pm - 6am overnight, without a peep, then 12noon - 2:30pm (give or take) during the day.  I couldn't be more pleased, and she has worked it out all on her own.  Just goes to show - babies who co-sleep, sleep in the room, follow their own leads etc. can still turn into fabulous sleepers.  

She has not woken a single time overnight for around 5 months now.  The most we ever did to try and get her sleeping better was 'in and outs', that is, going in and patting or cuddling her, walking out once she was calm and sleepy, going back in if she got upset.  We did this for a few days when she was around 8 months old, with no distress - she actually seemed much happier once we started leaving her alone when she was tired!  From day one, we have followed her lead and it has worked really well for us.  Different things work for different babies, I'm sure, but the gentle approach worked for us, even when she was a terribly wakeful baby (until around 7 months or so), and has produced the most perfect sleeper I can imagine.  I just put her in her sleeping bag, sing her a song and a cuddle, lie her down, walk out, and she goes straight off to sleep.

Christmas Cake

Christmas Cake is a rich, dark fruitcake, which is also commonly used for christenings, weddings and other important celebrations.  It keeps beautifully, improving with age, and can be kept for a year or so, well wrapped, in a cool dark cupboard, or for several years in a freezer.

You may recall that we used the top layer of our wedding cake (October 2008) for Tabitha's baptism cake in December 2010.  I simply re-covered it with white icing - you can see pictures HERE and HERE.  It is traditional to save the top tier of a wedding cake for the baptism of the first baby, although many couples these days, who don't plan on having a baby right away, eat the cake to celebrate their first wedding anniversary instead. 

I have made one or two rich fruit cakes each year for Christmas since I moved out of home, around seven years ago, and I have also made a few for celebrations, such as the christening of my little cousin, Georgia Lily, several years ago (I decorated the cake with white icing and lilies made of white sugar).

Because the cakes keep so well, they are perfect to have on hand during the busy Christmas period - inevitably, lots of friends and family drop around for a Champagne or coffee, to catch up and exchange gifts.  You only need a small slice of the cake, since it is rich, and it will happily sit in an airtight tin for a few weeks, disappearing slice by slice.

I recommend making your rich fruit cake at least a month in advance, and three or so months is ideal.  Once cooked, wrap the cake well (either cloth and foil, or foil then in a plastic freezer bag, or cling film, or whatever you think best) and store in a cool, dark cupboard.  No need for the fridge - if you are saving it for more than a year, it's best to wrap well and store in the freezer after the first six months (it won't mature and improve once it's in the freezer, so allow it to age first).

Every few weeks, you can unwrap the cake, poke several holes in it with a skewer, and 'feed' it with a little brandy.

Really, making a rich fruit cake is as simple as simple - no more difficult to make the mixture than any regular cake.  However, the preparation of the tin is fiddly and can take a while to get right, so this is what I have focused on for this post - the lining of the tin!

This is the recipe I have used for years.  I can't remember where it came from originally, and I have tweaked it from the original regardless.  It uses a 20cm square tin.

To make the cake, you will need:

• 700g sultanas
• 225g raisins
• 130g currants
• 100g glace cherries (if you don't love the flavour, use less, but it is nice to include some for colour)
• 100g candied peel (or just add another 100g currants if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup slivered almonds (less if you'd prefer)
• 160ml brandy
• 250g butter at room temperature
• 250g brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons marmalade
• 350g plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• A good pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated if possible)

To prepare your fruit, pick over it carefully, discarding any hard stems, and then cut your sultanas, raisins, glace cherries and dates into smaller pieces, roughly the size of the currants (sultanas in half, raisins in 2-8 pieces depending on size etc).  Use scissors or a sharp knife.

Soak the fruit in the brandy for a day or two, in an airtight container.

Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy - a few minutes in an electric standing mixer.  Add the lemon and orange rinds, and beat for a little longer.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between, then add the vanilla extract and the marmalade, beating in.

Sift the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and spices together, then mix into the butter and egg mixture, alternating with scoops of the soaked fruit.  At this point, you're best to use your clean hands to give it all a thorough mix.

Carefully spread into your prepared cake tin (see below), making sure the mixture is pushed firmly into the corners and all across the bottom.  Press down firmly with your hands, and drop the tin down onto the floor or bench a few times - you want to make sure there are no air bubbles in the mixture.  Use a damp hand to smooth the top down, making a slight dip in the middle (to stop it rising too much).

Bake at 140 degrees Celsius (no fan), on a low shelf in the oven (again, see below) for around 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 hours.  It's really difficult to be precise, because it is such a long time and ovens vary quite a bit.  When cooked, a skewer will come out clean, the top will be dark golden brown, and you can press your finger into the centre of the cake and it should spring back, not leave an indent.

Also - when the cake is not yet cooked, you can put your ear near the surface and hear it 'whispering' to you.  Once it is cooked, it will stop whispering, or be very quiet.  This is something you learn more and more, as you cook it more regularly.

When the cake is cooked, remove from the oven, cut away the high extra paper around the sides, pierce the cake all over with a skewer, and brush 2-3 tablespoons of brandy all over the surface.  Then, right away, wrap the entire cake with a double layer of foil.  This keeps the steam in as the cake cools, keeping it moist  Do not unwrap the cake until it is thoroughly cooled.

When you unwrap the cake, carefully turn it out of the tin, and wrap well for storage.

To serve, I recommend using a serrated knife, and cutting gently, sawing back and forth, to best avoid any crumbling.

Here are my instructions for preparing the cake tin.  In essence, you want to line the sides and bottom with two layers of brown paper, and one layer of baking paper (closest to the cake).  You then want to wrap the outside of the tin with a few layers of brown paper or newspaper, and sit the cake on several layers of paper or carboard.  You also want to sit a layer of baking paper, with a hole, over the top of the tin, to stop it browning too much.  Here you go...

Cut two lengths of brown paper (long enough to wrap the inside of the tin - so, around 80cm for a 20cm square tin).  Make sure that one of the sides is completely straight (e.g. from the edge of the roll) - this side should go down against the bottom of the tin, so it fits evenly.

The strips should be wide enough to extend about 10cm or so above the edge of the tin.  When lining the tin, to help stick the paper against the very edges and into the corners, I suggest greasing the tin with a light film of butter first.

You then need to cut two squares of brown paper, about 2cm wider than the bottom of the tin.  Cut the corners off, so that you can fold the sides of the squares up, leaving no gap between the sides of the tin and the bottom:

Do the same with the sides and bottom with baking paper.  You can grease the strip of baking paper to, to help it stick to the sides and corners.

Fill the tin, making sure there are no air pockets and then smooth the top with a damp hand:

Wrap another few layers of brown paper or newspaper around the outside of the tin, tying it on firmly with string:

Trim the top of the paper, so that it is all even, extending about 10cm or so above the edge of the tin.  On top of this, place a large square of baking paper, with a hole in the middle (about 4cm across in size).  This is to help protect the top of the cake from browning too quickly:

Sit the cake in the oven, on top of several layers of cardboard or brown paper or newspaper.  Put the cake on the bottom or second-bottom shelf of the oven.  I like to sit a shallow tray of hot water in the oven too, to keep the cake moist.  You can see, below, my set-up.  The tray of water is on the bottom left hand side:

When the cake is done, remove and proceed as described in the instructions above.  You can see here that the top of the cake is a little cracked - this is fine and normal, and will close neatly as the cake cools.  At any rate, it is normal to turn the cake over to ice (so that you have a perfectly flat and smooth top) so don't worry at all.

You can see that I've cut the 'excess paper' off the top quickly, so that I can wrap the whole lot in foil after I've brushed it with brandy:

In its foil package, cooling down overnight on the bench:

I won't do my decorating until the week before Christmas - a layer of marzipan and a layer or white fondant icing - so I will post about fondant later.  The decorating really isn't difficult though, just a bit fiddly, and if you'd prefer, you can cover the lot in a messy-on-purpose fluffy layer of royal icing instead, which looks gorgeous too.

Chicken recipes, cookies, 50s dresses and cards

I went to a trunk show for a divine Australian children's label called Olive's Friend Pop.  The talented designer whips up the most tooth-achingly sweet little frocks, nighties, shorts, coats and the like, all in a 1940s - 1960s style, but in brilliantly durable fabrics and construction, rendering her designs sturdy enough to withstand tough day-to-day wear and tear.

The trunk show was held in the designer's beautiful home - a fabulous design blend of furnishings and decor from 1920s to now - with Champagne, and lots of plates of canapes handed out by her little daughter (dressed in one of her designs, and looking cute as a button as she handed out tea cakes!).

I bought a dress and bloomers for Tabitha, and an apron.  My friend bought a pair of 50s style button-front shorts for her friend's toddler girl.

Olive's Friend Pop is certainly my new favourite label for children's wear, and I cannot wait to buy up from their next collection - and every one after!  I've just never come across anything like it - sure, there are 50s style dresses out there, but they are never in top quality, thick and durable fabrics.  The dress, below, I would feel comfortable sending Tabitha out to play in a dirty yard, knowing it will wash up beautifully.

I hope that the designer extends the range into adult sleepwear - a few people mentioned this at the trunk show - and I would be SO thrilled if she did a dress in a fancier silk or layered muslin, for birthday parties etc... Perhaps with matching hair bow?

Here is the dress I bought, called Molly - sorry for the photo, it is a little creased, just out of the package.  I've ironed it up since, and it looks amazing.  I'll snap a photo of Tabby in the dress and post ASAP.

Here are the bloomers - which can be worn under the dress, or on their own with a top in the hot weather:

And the apron!  It is tiny, it fits her properly now, and although she is too young to help with cooking, it is the cutest sight to watch her wear her apron while she potters around the kitchen waving a wooden spoon.

Speaking of things that look pretty - we went to an engagement party last week, in Brighton, at a fantastic venue overlooking the beach.   So nice to sip a Champagne and watch the sun set over the water!  Tabitha slept the night at my parents' and had a brilliant time - she loved waking up in the morning and playing with my 10 year old sister (her aunt!).  Of course, because I am breastfeeding, we still had to pick her up quite early - we headed over at 9am, by which point my chest was a little uncomfortable!

Here is the present we took to the engagement party - some Alessi kitchenware.  I love the combination of brown and blue, it always reminds me of farmhouse kitchens for some reason.

Do you like warm, freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies?  I do!  I make a nice large batch of dough, roll it into balls, then freeze them.  You can bake the balls from frozen, so you are never more than 15 minutes or so away from hot cookies!  The dough keeps well in the freezer for a month or so.

I like sending people home with a little snap lock back of frozen cookie dough balls - even someone who doesn't cook can easily put them on an oven tray.

The recipe I used for this batch was from Milk and Cookies bakery in New York.  We tried their cookies while we were there in May, and they were divine.  The recipe is from their book.  The book is excellent BUT I have to say - as many others have mentioned, online - the recipe for the choc-chip cookies seems to be off.  If you follow the recipe as it is written (I tried it three times to be sure!), the dough is really squishy and the cookies spread like mad.  Whereas the ones in the bakery were taller and thicker.  So I have come to the conclusion (as have other people) that you need to use much less butter - a third less, maybe even half - to get the cookies right, as they are in the bakery. 

I'm going to try the dough with half the butter tonight, I'll let you know how they go.

In the meantime, I have been baking the frozen dough balls non-stop.  The mixture makes a few dozen cookies at least.  They are thinner than I'd like, but gosh they are still brilliant - chewy yet still crispy on the edges, and the most divine flavour, thanks the the inclusion of the finely ground rolled oats.

Here is the recipe as it is written - like I said, I am going to try it with much less butter, and see how they turn out.  This one is just fine (more than fine) but the ones I tried in the bakery were just the BEST and I want to recreate them.  The quantities below are in ounces - my electric scale has a switch to swap between grams and ounces, most of them do.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

7 1/2 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats

8 ounces plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature (I'm going to try 8 ounces next time - NOTE I have now tried this, and it's the way to go!)

7 ounces white sugar

7 ounces brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celcius.

In a food processor, blitz the oats until they are finely ground.  Transfer to a mixing bowl, and stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Put the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer, and mix on medium speed for a couple of minutes, until light and creamy.

With the motor running, gradually add the sugars, beating until light and creamy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition with a spatula.

Beat in the vanilla, and then slowly beat in the dry mixture and the chocolate chips.

When the mixture is still streaky, remove the mixture and lightly knead together on a well-floured board.

Form the dough into tablespoonful sized balls, and place (5cm or so apart) on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.

Bake for around 12 minutes, or until lightly browned in the middle.  When you take them from the oven, use the baking paper to immediately remove the cookies onto a wire rack - otherwise they will keep cooking on the hot tray.

Eat as many as you can while warm, with a glass of milk.  I officially give you permission to eat a dozen if you'd like!

My friend Amy came over and we made lots and lots of Thai chicken patties (an old AWW recipe I believe) to freeze.  They are really delicious - you can make them small, and serve them as finger food with sweet chili sauce (perfect for parties) or make them large, and serve them with rice, stir-fried greens and sweet chili sauce for lunch or dinner.

They aren't too spicy - Tabitha loves them - and freeze well (defrost then reheat in a 180 degree oven for 20 minutes or so).

To make the Thai Chicken Patties, combine the following in a large bowl (this is a double mixture, but you might as well, since they freeze well):

• 1kg minced chicken
• 100g green beans, finely sliced
• 6 tablespoons chopped corriander
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons coconut cream
• 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 4 cups fresh breadcrums (e.g. stale bread turned to crumbs in the processor) or panko
• Half a cup of chopped peanuts or cashews (optional)

Combine everything well (use your hands) and form into patties - cocktail sized or larger as you wish.

Form into patties, and fry in a pan with peanut oil (or canola or whatever you'd like) until golden brown on both sides, and just cooked through.  Serve immediately, or else freeze.

Another meal I cook a lot is Oyakodon.  This means 'parent and child rice' in Japanese, named because it includes both chicken and egg.  It's the easiest thing to cook, really filling, and hits the spot when you want something full of flavour and comforting.

To make Oyakodon for two large serves (would do two adults and one or two kids) you need:

Cooked rice (we eat a lot of rice, cook however much you think is right for 2 people)

One brown onion, finely sliced

2-3 large chicken thighs, diced (you could use one or two breasts if you prefer)

4 free range eggs, lightly beaten with a fork

3 cups dashi (1 teaspoon hon dashi instant dashi powder - see below - mixed with 3 cups boiling water)

6 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons light soy sauce (you can use all dark if it's easier)

3 tablespoons sugar

6 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)

Combine the dashi, soy sauces and sugar in a medium-large saucepan, and bring to a gentle boil.

Add chicken and onion (not spring onions).  Simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked.

Pour in the eggs, in a steady stream, around the chicken in the simmering broth.  Do not stir.

Keep heat at medium high until the egg is almost cooked - at this point, stir once.

Add the spring onions.

Using a large spoon, scoop a portion of the chicken and broth into each bowl of cooked, hot rice.  Add more broth - you want enough sauce for the rice, but not soupy.

In the middle, below, you can see the hon dashi which is 'instant dashi powder'.  It is little granules.  It looks - and smells! - a bit like fish food.  You can get it from most Asian grocers, and I have even seen the same product, same brand, but in small rectangular boxes, in the supermarket.  Of course, you can make your own dashi - it's really, really good - but the instant stuff is fine in a dish like this.

With the egg and spring onions:

Like many of my meals, it ain't pretty but it sure is good!

I have written out all of our Christmas cards, however I am waiting to post them until Thursday.  I find that it freaks people out a little to receive Christmas cards before the 25th November!

I found these gorgeous glittery cards, made by Cavallini & Co, who are my all-time favourite card-makers.

While I was buying them, I stocked up on Thank You cards, also from Cavallini & Co.  I have been buying these glittery cake cards, below, for a few years now, and every time I write a thank you note with one, I smile.  The cake is just too pretty.

I also bought, and tucked away, a tin of glittery Valentine's Day cards - also from C&C - in anticipation of February 14.  These are postcards, just perfect for sending a little note to loved ones.

Speaking of loved ones - so many people I know are having babies.  So I have been crocheting and knitting like mad.  Putting aside all arguments about gender conditioning and the pros and cons of learning the sex of the baby in utero, I have to say that, as a knitter, it is much easier when people tell me if they are expecting a boy or a girl!  Here is something I'm working on:

I'm making my Christmas cake this week.  Only one this year - I'm not hosting Christmas day this year, so this cake is just to have on hand for the week around Christmas, as people drop by for catch-ups and gift exchange.  I'm soaking my snipped fruit, below.  I'll post the recipe and cooking instructions soon.  It's not difficult, and even doing the white fondant icing is pretty simple - it gets easier with practice.

I don't like the flavour of glace cherries, but I think the cake looks much nicer with the flecks of bright red.  So I compromise and include a small amount.

Tabitha is basically completely grown up.  Okay, that might be exaggerating, but she is a walking talking tantrum-throwing toddler!  She is just too cute for words, with plenty of kisses and giggles and cuddles and 'dog!  woof woof!'.  But she can also chuck a truly spectacular fit.  Apparently I was the same, and everyone says that you get your comeuppance when you have children, so there you go.  All you can do is laugh and remember that these days will pass so quickly, so cherish that little chubby-handed toddler and squeeze her tightly while you can.

Weekend Girls' Breakfast

On Saturday morning, Tabitha and I went out for breakfast with my friends Amy and Debbie, to celebrate Debbie's recent birthday.  We went to a brilliant little cafe called Kanteen, which is set right by the Yarra River on a secluded bend, in South Yarra.  Plenty of outdoors room to run around, watch the bicycles and dogs go past, and very kid-friendly.

Tabitha had a ball tearing around and playing in the dirt.  Fun times!

Here is the birthday girl!  I brought along some truffles from Koko Black for her.  Always a good choice for a gift, in my opinion...

Amy bought Debbie the sweetest bow ring from Tiffany.  It was a very nice gift, because Amy has just recently taken advantage of Deb being a flight attendant, using her staff travel for a heavily subsidized business class return trip to New York!  Lucky girl!

PS I am so jealous of those nice natural healthy nails.  My nails are cursed to a lifetime of flaking and breakage after years as a nail biting youth.

Tabitha trying to feed Amy.  I am still loving Tabby's little haircut:

Lucky Tabitha munching away on a biscuit:

Tabby and I shared the most delicious breakfast - black sticky rice with cocoanut milk, bananas and strawberries.

I had to keep retrieving Tabitha, as she ran off to chase a dog or a bike.  Even when she is very wriggly, she will happily sit for a shoulder ride!

Bib on backwards, like a cape.  Baby superhero costume.

Couldn't Debbie easily pass for Tabitha's mother?!  They are both so blonde!

Tabby cried when she had to say goodbye to Debbie, and clung to her like a little monkey.  Too cute.

At any rate, I think she looks more like Debbie than she does me!  Tabby certainly doesn't have my colouring.

But we have the same mouth and chin, and the same frowny expressions.  She has The Daddy's eyes and cheeks.  'They' say that babies look like their fathers for the first year, as a sort of evolutionary, biological safeguard (so the daddy sticks around I guess!).  It certainly seems true with Tabitha - she started looking more like me after the 12 month mark.