Easter 2013 - It's All About Bread!

This post has been 1.5 months in the making.  Well, that's how long it has taken to get it written and uploaded! ;o)  And now I'm so fed up with rearranging photos that they are staying as they are... all higgledy-piggledy.

I made the mistake of taking the boys with me when I shopped for Easter eggs this year.  Once J had seen them, it was all he could talk about, and he was bugging me to eat them.  Having let the incentive chart on our fridge for potty training lapse, he suddenly wanted a chart so he could 'earn' those eggs!  It didn't seem to make much difference to the nagging, but it helped keep us occupied.

Here's the last of the hot cross buns we made. We gifted some away, knowing there was more bread to come this weekend.

I found a cheap egg-dyeing kit so we tried this for the first time.  I'm not sure if we'll do it again.  Neither of the boys liked hard-boiled egg, and the dye scratched off far too easily.  They both had fun sticking Easter stickers on the eggs and standing them in a little cardboard 'cuff'.  I don't know how many times C dropped his ones on the floor.

On Saturday, both boys were keen to help in the kitchen.  J helped measure the ingredients.

C helped stir the dough (in the early stages)

Then I cut the dough into ropes, rolled them and twisted them into bunnies.  J rolled all the tails and stuck them in place.  (We've been playing with playdough lately.)  You may spot a poinsettia with raisins... J saw the Christmas picture in the book next to the bunnies.

Then they baked, and were drizzled with sugar glaze.  Yum!

On Easter morning the boys hunted for the Easter eggs and chicks we had hidden around the living area.  One had a clue to find a big bunny in their bedroom.

J found them all eventually.  The chick in the pot plant was the hardest to find.

C enjoyed the bunny after lunch.

And finally, a not-so-successful gift.  I can't remember if I've blogged about this yet.  I gave N 12 new types of bread for Christmas - one each month of 2013.  I'm a bit behind, but this was the the Easter offering - an Italian wreath with a nut praline on top.  A lot like pannettone, but a bit overcooked.  I made sweet breakfast strata (bread pudding-ish) for breakfast later in the week.

Making Mozzarella

Ever since a brief mention in our now-abandoned first blog, I've been fascinated with mozzarella cheese.  On our tour of Italy we had lunch at a farm south of Naples where they served food primarily produced on the farm itself - tomatoes, basil, salami, cheeses, fruit, limoncello, and wine are mostly what I remember now!  (We consumed rather a lot of limoncello since it was soooo good.)  Behind the restaurant there were two women stirring giant stock pots on gas burners, making mozzarella and a by-product, ricotta.  So when I saw this easy recipe for mozzarella online I was keen to try it.

I wasn't sure how to find rennet tablets, but discovered some in the clearance section of our supermarket for 99c, that were good until 2014. :o)  I found that kosher salt can be a good substitute for cheese salt, and I had some in my pantry. I borrowed a candy thermometer from a friend and I was good to go! The photos and instructions in the link are far better than mine, so I won't go into the process here.  My one 'hiccup' was that the "8-10 minutes" for the curd to set was more like 3 hours, so my 30 minute mozzarella took more like 7 hours as I worked around dinner prep and bedtimes!  Here's my finished mozzarella:

 I gave some to my friend who had lent me the thermometer, and there was still plenty for a couple of meals.
We had some on our favourite artisan pizza (corn and garlic 'sauce' on a homemade base with tomato, mozzarella and basil on top).

 It didn't seem to melt as well as commercial mozza, but it sure tasted good.

Then I grated much of what was left and sprinkled it over seasoned tomato slices, grilled (broiled) them and served it over pasta tossed in olive oil, garlic, roasted yellow peppers and lemon.  The boys loved the pasta and cheese but left the tomato.  The grown ups loved it all.

The day after the marathon mozza session I followed the directions in the rennet tablet pamphlet and made ricotta with the whey and curds I had strained off during the mozzarella making.

I made about a 3/4 cup of ricotta,

 which then was substituted for most of the yoghurt in my favourite lemon cake.  (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the finished cake!)

By the way, my friend has 'made over' the lemon cake recipe and I'm looking forward to trying it out soon!

On a side note, I'm not the only  member of the family currently obsessed with dairy.  N is know for his late night habit of being "cheese hungry" and I caught C eating the butter I'd accidentally left out after lunch - straight!  I reckon he got about a tablespoon's worth before I caught him.  Blech!  No adverse effects immediately apparent, though some hard arteries may be on the cards if he keeps this up.

Family Fun in February

Get ready for a lot of pictures because we've had lots of fun this month!

Ready... set... GO!

 J helped make holes with a toothpick...

 I added the top of the egg carton... (recognise that tape?! End of the roll.)

 A bit of potting mix...

 And a top up...

 Some water sprinkling...

 And we have a great seed-raising tray.  Today I've just transplanted the little sprouts to bigger pots.

Proof that packages can contain more than the sum of their parts: 'butcher' paper stuffing = laying on the floor and drawing around J, C, Mum (and guessing Dad's outline 'cause he's at school) then colouring them in.

 And the box itself = a great indoor sled - "Again, please Mum? Please-please?"

 Chef J making gingerbread men

 C making sure there are differently abled men...

 The "babies" get stuck you know.

 And C made one obese man, one pinch of dough at a time! (Mum re-rolled him for even cooking purposes.)

 They tasted good no matter the technique.

 This game gets just as much use as a dress-up item as it does as the official 'guess what's in the Cat's hat'!

 Lego/Duplo is popular.

 We made Valentines with salvaged toilet roll tubes and paint.  The librarian loved hers!  I'm still trying to get stains out of one t-shirt.

 Dad bought a funky pair of headphones to share

 Though I think the novelty is really holding the iPod.

And, contrary to photographic evidence, C enjoyed helping me make cookies while J played with stamps (read: distraction tactic until J wanted to cook).  But what would really have been more fun (in his opinion) is if Mum had let him play with the new camera.

 Yes, this is the right way up!  C has learned to 'bend' and I took the photo 'bending' down too (though my hands and head weren't touching the ground!)

 Our box 'sled' became a car.  Those are pillow wheels, blanket seatbelts and a lid steering wheel you can see.

 More cardboard fun: a cereal box house, and toilet roll monsters.  J named them Dace and Grob, and then we made 'babies' named Bob, Rob and Gob!

 J can finally blow his own bubbles...

 While C is learning not to tip the whole bottle over himself  or the ground every time.

And finally, Mum's cleaning gloves contribute much more fun to "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands."

Whee! He's Three!

It's has taken me a while but here are the pictures from J's birthday at last.  He opened presents a day early (the day of his party) because we figured he'd just be overwhelmed if we spread it out!

 He's really into Spiderman at the moment, so C's gift was exciting.

 Auntie A gave him some stamps and coloured stamp pads (which he is using right now while I post this!)

The Cat in the Hat game has become popular, but it was assumed to be dress-up material at first! 

 His cake was a race track in the shape of a number 3.

 And there were shortbread traffic lights (3 M&Ms), shortbread cars (with M&M wheels), chocolate dipsticks (pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate), fruit cars (slice of apple with grape wheels attached with toothpicks), plus some veges and dip, popcorn, and club sandwiches.

We bought some Cars themed decorations, napkins and plates.

  Perhaps the best investment was in some checkered duct tape (see the edge of the countertop) and these signs...

Our friends came to play.

 And Uncle G stayed later to help J test out his Christmas present - American cricket, you know ;o)