Cupcake Inspiration

You all know how I love making -- and eating -- cupcakes.

Well, last night my 11 year old daughter and I attended a ladies' indulgence night held as a fundraiser for our local school. There were champagne and savouries, a fashion parade, jewellery, beauty products, and all manner of other goods for sale.

What appealed to me most, however, were these cupcakes, the dearest, dinkiest, teeniest cupcakes I have ever seen. At $1 a piece I didn't buy any, but they are adorable eye-candy, and I am dying for an excuse to make some myself. (Do I need an excuse?)

Don't you think they are adorable?


Which ones do you like best?

I Heart Your Blog

This morning I was delighted to discover that my good friend Kirstin over at Loving Life has awarded me this sweet award. Kirstin and I are blogging kindred spirits. We both collected stamps and read Trixie Belden as kids, and we both love to cook. The only downside is that she lives at the top of the world in Washington, USA, and I live at the bottom in Adelaide, South Australia. Still, I am sure we will meet one day!

The rules for this award are as follows:

1) I have to pick 7 of my favorite blogs and…
2) The winner can put the logo on their blog
3) Link the person you received your award from
4) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
5) Put links of those blogs on yours.
6) Leave a message on the blogs of the ones you’ve nominated.

Now I have w-a-y-y more than seven favourite blogs, so if you are not on this list don't think I've forgotten you!

Here are my seven for today:

1. Mrs Kelli Wilt at The Sparrow's Nest: This has been one of my faves for a long time. I have followed Mrs Wilt's work as she has prepared her 'nest' for sale with great interest. As regular red house readers will know, we made a sudden long-distance move ourselves a month ago and ended up paying tradies to do most of the work for us. However, Kelli has lots of tips should I ever have the opportunity to move house at leisure:-)

2. Karen at A Scrapbook of Inspiration: What can I say? One of the most imaginative and creative blogs I have ever seen. Karen's work takes my breath away.

3. Kim at Dear Daisy Cottage: I love Kim's home. It is bright, beautiful and bounteous. Kim's view is that there is nothing a coat of paint can't fix, and I am inclined to agree. She also has a very cute dog.

4. Becky at Sweet Cottage Dreams: Another wonderful home, another cute-as-pie dog. Becky is also a lovely person with a great sense of humour.

5. Amber, the Shabbee Chick: Yeah, I know, I know, pretty home, cute dog, but what keeps me reading Amber's blog is her quirky writing style and funny anecdotes. Well worth a look.

6. Lisa at The Tin House: Lisa and I have lots in common; kids, gardening, kids ... it's not as dreary as it sounds. I love her outlook on life and her great photos of the Australian countryside. She won a prize at her local show for a recipe I published that I in turn got from a blogging friend in Alaska. Ain't blogging wonderful!

7. Kelly, The Barefoot Mama: Kelly has everything going for her; cute baby girl, another bub on the way, and a blog that is both Christian and fun. Go and have a look!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who left an encouraging comment after my last post. This has been a difficult year but a great growing experience and I appreciate all the support I have received from fellow bloggers.

Kate xxx

Gratitude and Sadness

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

Kahlil Gibran

This week I am experiencing gratitude and sadness in equal measure.

Gratitude because our move to Adelaide is turning out better than I could possibly have imagined. The people we have met have been incredibly welcoming and generous in inviting us into their homes. The first church we visited was so warm and wonderful that we have chosen to stay.

The first half of this year feels like a nightmare from which we are finally awakening. We miss our friends, of course, but there is much to be thankful for here.

However, I am also sad this week at hearing of the death on Sunday of my dear friend, exceptional musician and pastor's wife, Joy Luscombe. She was terribly sick from cancer and had suffered for too many years, yet all who knew her will miss her joyful smile and brilliance on the piano. Her presence lit up any room she was in.

Rest in peace, dear, dear Joy.

(Frozen) Butter Pecan Mousse

Last night a couple of the children and I made this delicious dessert from my favourite vintage cookbook, the Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook (1959). The dessert is not what one would usually consider a mousse, as it is frozen and is made without cream or eggs. However, the result is utterly delicious and addictive, especially if you like pecans, as we do. The texture is like a light, fluffy ice cream. Yum!

Butter Pecan Mousse

1 tsp unflavoured gelatine

4 tsp cold water

1 1/2 cups (a 375 ml can) evaporated milk

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 Tbsp butter

6 Tbsp sugar (I used 1/2 metric cup)

1 Tbsp vanilla

Soften gelatine in water 5 minutes. Scald milk (I did this in the microwave), add gelatine mixture and stir until dissolved. Chill. Brown pecans in butter and cool. Beat milk very stiff adding sugar and vanilla gradually (an electric mixer is best). Fold in nuts. Freeze until firm.

For more kitchen inspiration visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy's Recipes.

Fireside Pleasures

May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire.

Irish Blessing

What more could a girl want on a cold winter's evening than a fire to sit beside, a blue-eyed man to cuddle, and the Olympics on the telly?

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!!

Winter Walk-By

On her beautiful blog The Inspired Room, Melissa often does posts which she calls "Drive-Bys".

Today I visited the historic suburb of St Peters and took some photos whilst walking down the street. (Does this mean I have perpetrated a walk-by shooting?)

Anyhow, I thought you might like to see some pictures of traditional Adelaide houses. From what I can tell after having been here for all of three weeks, Adelaide streetscapes are quite different from other Australian cities. There are more single storey houses, and many sandstone and bluestone-fronted homes. I am sure in spring these houses must be even more beautiful as I saw rose-covered trellises, blossom trees, and rose beds in many of the gardens.

I hope you have enjoyed my walk-by. As I visit more places I'll post more pics!

Kate xxx

Gadget-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of the things I am enjoying in my new kitchen is the lack of bench space.

Yes, I know, this is quite a peculiar statement to make in this era of cavernous kitchens with space for every conceivable gadget.

Of course I miss the ability to spread out, or to be able to have three children make their lunches at once without annoying each other. Yet minimal bench space does have its advantages.

For example, we simply cannot let clutter build up, so we are forced to keep the kitchen clean and neat at all times. Moreover, because there is little bench space I have tidied most of my kitchen appliances away. The microwave is out, as is the toaster, but I just don't have the space to bother with electric mixers, food processors and so on. If I used my large slow cooker I wouldn't be able to do anything else!

So in the last few recipes I have published you may have noticed that all the instructions are for doing things by hand. And surprisingly, I am finding my baking is faster rather than slower, with less cleaning up. I recommend you try this too.

Our grandmothers really knew something, didn't they?

Here is a recipe for some chocolate chip cookies I made last weekend. Easy and delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

150g/5 oz unsalted butter, softened but not melted

1/4 C brown sugar

1/4 C white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 C self-raising flour

3/4-1 C chocolate chips (I used dark but you can choose. You could also substitute chopped nuts for half the chocolate chips).

Preheat oven to 180C/350F, less for fan-forced. Grease baking trays.

Cream butter and sugar with vanilla, then beat in egg. Stir in flour and chocolate chips; the mixture will quite stiff.

Drop spoonfuls of mixture on baking trays with one inch at least between them. You could decorate the tops with some of the choc. chips or with lollies such as Smarties or M'n'Ms, if you wish.

Bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned and cool on trays.

Delicious with an icy cold glass of milk!

So tell me, are you a gadget girl (or boy), or do you prefer to do your cooking and baking by hand?

Do you have a favourite kitchen gadget that you couldn't do without? If so what is it?

Try and sell me on its merits!

Kate xxx

A Garden Tour Around Our Little Victorian Cottage

Let me introduce you to my new friend, the blue-eyed donkey. He sits by the front porch of our little cream cottage, welcoming all guests as they arrive. I wonder how old he is, and what he has seen in his lifetime. When spring comes I will fill his little baskets with pots of annual flowers. Won't he be a proud little donkey then?

Today I thought I would take you on a tour of the outside of our little Victorian cottage. Unfortunately, there is not much to see currently as it is winter and most of the trees and flowers are still dormant. I am blessed to have a garden with a number of fruit trees, though I won't be able to tell you what types they are until they come into blossom and fruit.

iron lace over the front porch

the vine-covered pergola out the back; I am hoping it is an edible grape vine



a cumquat bush laden with fruit just itching to be made into marmalade

daisies and more daisies

and last of all, some sweetly scented jonquils.



Blogging is a bit tricky for me at the moment as I have had a run of sick children, including two home today. I will try to post more regularly, and also visit more of you, as my family commitments allow.

More Serene Green

“Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.”

Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Continuing with our tour of my new little house, here is a sneak preview of the main bedroom.

Like the living room, this room is dark green. Lest you think the whole house is green, I'd better warn you that the previous inhabitants were not afraid of colour. The dining room is dark red and I am finding it incredibly hard to photograph as it's always so dark. Several other rooms have orange walls, yellow ceilings and white cornices -- I'm not kidding. There are a couple of blue rooms too.

The green, pink and white coverlet came from a Laura Ashley sale a year or two ago and it works perfectly in this room.

Most of the rooms have ceiling roses with very ordinary, modern light fittings hanging from them. I guess folks don't put chandeliers in their rental properties!

The dressing table and bedside tables came from my husband's grandparents, via his parents, so they have a friendly batteredness about them that I rather like.

Finally, I decorated the mantel with three cross-stitches. The two samplers were stitched by me and the middle one was stitched by my husband's grandmother many years ago. The two green candles were scrounged from a neighbour's hard waste pile in Melbourne. I think the red rose cross-stitch works beautifully with the red roses in the leadlight windows in this house.

Well, that's another room tour complete. I hope you liked it! There's a lot more I'd like to show you so I'll try to do more room posts over the next few weeks, along with all my usual miscellaneous bits and pieces. This will be a great incentive to get the house in order.

Our New Living Room

Now that most of the boxes are unpacked and life is regaining a sense of order, I'd like to show you some pictures of the interior of our new home. The weather has prevented me until today, for it has been remarkably dark and wet, and the house is Victorian, which means that there is little natural light.

However, the sun came visiting today, albeit briefly, so out came my camera.

The room on show today is our living room. This room is very dark. It is painted dark green, the windows are tiny, and the French doors open onto the covered front porch. Nevertheless, a room that is dark and dreary in winter will surely be a blessing when we seek respite from Adelaide's notorious summer heat in a few month's time.

Here is a view showing the fireplace and china cabinet. The picture at the top of this post gives a better view of the rosy leadlight windows.


This is the other side of the room, showing the French doors, sofas and coffee table. The chess set is used every day of the week as my husband plays one of the children almost every night after dinner. There are no cushions or throw rugs presently; I am waiting until we buy a house here before I spend money decorating.



Finally, here is a close-up of the fireplace. It is a gas fire and w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l on these cold, winter evenings.

Lemon Butter Cupcakes

If you were a child at a new school in a new state, where almost everything is unfamiliar, you would like to arrive home to icing sugar-dusted, lemon butter cupcakes and cold glasses of milk, wouldn't you?

That's what I thought.

So today I made some. The lemons came from the magnificent lemon tree at our red house in Melbourne. We harvested them from the tree on our last afternoon there and brought them with us in the car.

Yesterday I made a batch of Molly's Lemon Curd (which at our house will always be called lemon butter). The cupcakes were made using this recipe, but without the raspberries.

Some people call cupcakes with 'wings' butterfly cakes and some call them fairy cakes. Either way, mine always have large wings as I cut the biggest hole for the filling that I can. They can be filled with a dot of jam and a dollop of whipped cream too.

I especially like the imperfect-looking cakes where the lemon butter is oozing over the side, don't you? Messy but delectable.

If you would like to see more kitchen tips and recipes, visit Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy's Recipes.

The Five Senses

You are the Sense of Touch

You are a highly sensitive and easily moved person. You love to get as close to other people as possible. Human connection is very important to you. You are also likely to be an animal lover who loves animals as much as humans. In fact, you like almost anything soft! You have expensive taste in clothes and furniture. It's all about the fabric.

Which of the Five Senses Are You?

The River Torrens (with Ducks)

Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.

Winnie the Pooh

I took these photos of the Torrens River during our first morning in Adelaide. We spent the previous night in a caravan park that backed onto the river.

Yes, these pictures really are of a river. Please don't laugh if your idea of a river is the Mississippi or Nile. Australia is the dryest continent in the world, remember.

In fact, the Torrens, which snakes through Adelaide is small even by Australian river standards. It is more of a creek.

However, while the Torrens itself is unremarkable, the parklands adjoining it are lovely. We are looking forward to exploring more of the walking and bike tracks along the river.

The ducks seem to like their river too!

Kate xxx