Chinese New Year 2015 - Pineapple Jam Tarts

Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is only days away. The first day of the Year of the Goat/Ram/Sheep starts on 19 February 2015. In our family, the celebrations for the new year is not complete without our favourite cookies - Pineapple Jam Tarts.

I cooked the pineapple jam a few weeks ago, and kept it the fridge. Today, we made the tarts - about 200+. I follow this recipe that has been passed on to me from my Mum.

Picking Chestnuts at Pinehaven Farm

The weather was wet and wild today, the day we picked to go picking chestnuts at Pinehaven Farm in Wingello, Southern Highlands. Who knew the weather would turn out so bad when we booked the tour but we still went ahead. We left Sydney in the pouring rain taking care to drive slowly as the roads were wet but traffic was light.

We arrived at Exeter General Store to meet Jill and Nick from Foodpath Culinary Tours. It turned out everyone piked out but the four of us. Crazy people that we are! Thankfully, the rain had eased to a drizzle by the time we arrived at the farm about 15 mins drive from Exeter. Thank you God for listening to my prayers! Jill handed us some buckets and gloves. Dennis, the owner of Pinehaven, gave us instructions on what to do, which trees to choose, explained the two different chestnut varieties and off we went.

We didn't know that there are two different types of chestnuts - one for boiling and the other for roasting. There are subtle characteristics to differentiate the two. The ones for boiling are slightly smaller in size and darker in colour. The roasting chestnuts are bigger and have a lovely mahogany colour. Learnt something new today. The chestnut trees are not big. The nuts are encased in a spiky outer shell which drops to the ground when ripen. The spiky outer shell will open and you can see usually 2 or 3 nuts inside. You need to wear gloves to pick the chestnuts as the spikes are very sharp. The best way to prise the shell is to use your feet, preferably wearing covered shoes e.g. boots. Most of the ground area under each tree is covered with the 'fruits' and it was easy to just pick the chestnuts from the ground. It's manual labour and can be back-breaking if you're doing it for long.

We spent about an hour walking around and collecting chestnuts and placing them into the buckets. You pay for what you collect at $6.50/kg, so we were careful to only pick the amount that we need. We picked the two different varieties.

We ended up with 3 kgs of chestnuts to bring home. The chestnuts can be frozen and kept for months. Roger, Dennis' son-in-law brought out some roasted chestnuts for us to try and it was deliciously tasty and toasty warm on a cold day.

For boiling/steaming

For roasting

Despite the rain and wind, we had a great time with Jill. It is a wonderful experience for our girls, to learn more about the food that we eat and where it comes from.

After the tour, we went off to our friends' home in the Southern Highlands for lunch before heading home. It was a long day for all of us but one that we thoroughly enjoyed the family bonding time.

Weekend at Roseburn Farm

We have just returned from a short break away at Roseburn, our friends' farm in the Mid North Coast of NSW.  It has been a while since we paid Jim and Georgie a visit, more than a year actually. With our busy schedules, it's always difficult to get away. We took advantage of the start of the autumn school holidays to visit them and to collect the lamb meat that we bought from them. Yes, we bought a whole lamb which J&G have been breeding. In total it costs us $120 including the slaughter and butchery. How cheap is that for organic hormone free lamb. Whilst there, we also visited J&G's neighbour to buy some beef. We came home with four eskies in the boot filled with lamb and beef to last us for a while.

We didn't do much on the weekend, except relax, enjoyed the clean fresh air, helped feed the animals, took walks around the property and drank many cups of tea and coffee. I took the time to sit and read, whilst catching up on J&G's news. Our girls didn't touch their tech gadgets all weekend except in the car on the trip there and back. Both of them spent most of their time outdoors, waking up early to feed the sheep, cows and chickens; playing with the four dogs (Kinta, Bella, Sophie and Lily) plus Red (the neighbour's dog who visited over the weekend). Cait was busy collecting the eggs as soon as the hens laid them. I think she was 'stressing' them out with her constant checking. J&G's hens are 'wild' as they don't lay their eggs in the chook pen, but everywhere around the property - in the garage, in the garden and in the pen. Hence, Cait had a great time checking all the various spots. On Saturday, Cait found eight eggs and she found four more on Sunday. The eggs were still warm when she brought them in.

On Saturday, J&G had organised for a local guy to come and crutch and shorn their five sheep - Lambert, Ella and I can't remember the other 3. Yes, they have names for all their animals including Misty and Amber, their two Dexter Steers.

The weather was beautiful, sunny bright blue sky and warm. The temperature was cooler at night but the night sky was so clear and it was amazing to sit out and just look up at the twinkling stars and the Milky Way. Cait and I had wonderful time identifying the different constellations.

Our trip was short but we enjoyed the break so much; just doing nothing.....

Christmas Lunch 2012

Every year, we host Christmas lunch at our place unless we are away for the holiday period. This year is no different except on a smaller scale as we only had our immediate family. Chris and I kept the menu simple:

• Baked ham with ginger marmalade, dijon mustard and macadamia glaze. first time we tried this glaze and it's so tasty. The macadamia nuts are so sweet when caramelised.
• Grilled prawns marinated in garlic, olive oil and lemon juice
• Roast pumpkin and Spinach salad with feta and pine nuts
• Potato salad
• T-bone steak (for SIL's partner)
• Garlic bread
• Satay served with ketupat and cucumbers - my Mum's contribution)
• Salmon kebabs - my Mum's contribution for Dad who can't eat meat
• Fried rice - MIL's contribution
• Fried chicken (MIL's contribution)
• Mango trifle for dessert

Despite the cool weather, we also made some chilled drinks - Moscow Mule (ginger beer, lime and vodka) and Iced Tea (Red Sunset from T2).

We had plenty of leftovers which were good for the dinner that night and the next day too. 

Kywong, Orange

The photo below warms my heart. This is the fireplace at Kywong, a property we rented for a weekend with friends in Orange. The home is cosy, despite it's size, with two separate wings for parents and children. It is elegantly decorated in a country style - simple yet sophisticated.



My favourite part of the house is the well equipped gourmet kitchen including a Nespresso coffee machine. We really enjoyed our time at the home, we stayed in most of the time to enjoy the facilities. There is plenty of room for everyone without getting into each others' way.  A pool and tennis court on the grounds if anyone is keen on outdoor activities. The weather was cold on the weekend, perfect to curl up in front of the fire with a glass of wine, cheese platter and book.

It was a relaxing weekend for us with good friends. Great company, good food and beautiful wines. To quote my little one "This is the life!".

We would definitely return. 

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Easter Extra Long Weekend

I am looking forward to the extra long weekend for Easter starting tomorrow. It is also the start of the Term 1 school holidays for school children in NSW. Work has been extremely busy for the past three months with two projects going live the weekend after Easter. We have no plans to go away, just keeping things low-key except for church liturgies over the next few days.

Image source

Pocket Money for Kids

A recent article in the Daily Telegraph provided some food for thought on this topic. According to the report, about 37% of Oz 10-11 year old children receive weekly pocket money. The study also found 94% of parents pay their children to help around the house.

In our family, only our eldest girl gets pocket money each week. We only started to give her the money ($10 per week) in Year 5 when she started taking the train home after school. Ash is tight with her cash, so most weeks, she saves the full amount. Now that she is in high school, she gets $20 per week. Again, she has been saving most of it since she doesn't buy anything from the tuckshop at school since she prefers to pack her morning teas and lunches. With the money, she will use it to buy birthday gifts for Mum and Dad as well as Caitlin. At Christmas, she is pretty generous too.

Lately, our youngest has also asked for pocket money. But she is still too young, although we are teaching her about money. Cait has now asked us to pay her for the chores that she does - set the table for meals and empty the bin in her room on garbo nights. But I don't subscribe to the idea of paying her for doing her chores. My rationale is the home is shared by everyone who lives here, therefore, everyone should pitch in to help. After all, many hands make light work right?

What are your thoughts about giving pocket money to children? 

Teenage Moodiness

We have a soon to be teenager at home. The last year has been really trying for all of us coping with her moodiness. Is it hormonal? Is it part of growing up? Friends who have girls around the same age seem to be in the same predicament too. It's hard to pick the right mood. Some days she's a joy to have around the house and other days, there is no pleasing her at all. I am tearing my hair out trying to play the good cop vs hubby's bad cop. Men, they just don't understand that they need to be a little patient. I find I am constantly playing the referee between the two of them. At times, it doesn't help when the little one butts in as well. It just makes the situation worse and tension all around. Almost have to pull put the red or yellow card.

I try not to ask too many questions, because it appears I'm nagging. So I wait for her to initiate conversation. At times, if she is not forthcoming, I'll give it a go and see if I get any bites. I find she will open up when there's just the two of us, usually just before she sleeps. She likes me to lie down with her and just chat. I enjoy that too, but sometimes I am just so tired and stressed, that I get impatient.

Sometimes I wonder where has my sweet angel gone to? Who's taken her away? I try to think back to my own teenage years to recall if I was ever this moody. According to my Mum, I was the same too, but I can't remember - amnesia (LOL!)

Flat Stanley

Who is Flat Stanley? He is a character from Jeff Brown's beloved book about a boy who was flattened by a bulletin board. Now that Stanley was as thin as a piece of cardboard, he could travel by mail, fly like a kite everywhere and anywhere.

Flat Stanley arrived at our home via an A5 sized envelope sent from USA. My nephew, M had sent Flat Stanley to Caitlin. M had asked Caitlin to help him with his school project. Each student in M's class had drawn and cut out Flat Stanley and sent him to their friends and family around the world. The task was to allow Flat Stanley to spend some time with us and to show Flat Stanley the sights in Sydney.

Flat Stanley spent about 4 weeks with us. During that time, we took him on a train across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. He also went across the bridge in the car.

Caitlin took Flat Stanley into school to spend some time with her Year 1 class. Ms G, the Teacher Librarian read the book about Flat Stanley to the class. Flat Stanley then had a play with each Year 1 girl. He also had his photo taken with the entire Year 1 class to remember his visit to the school.

One Sunday we took Flat Stanley for lunch at Petaling St, a Malaysian eatery in Sydney. Flat Stanley had a plain roti canai with curry sauce, which was a bit spicy for him. He cooled down his palate with an icy cold coconut juice.

On a beautiful sunny day (which was a rare event in Sydney this summer), we took Flat Stanley to the park across our home. At the park, Flat Stanley had great fun on the slides and swings. He was also brave enough to spin around this spinning equipment. Makes me dizzy thinking about it.

Flat Stanley has now returned to USA (via Australia Post) with some souvenirs of Australia - kangaroo soft toy, boomerang and a tea towel with pictures of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House. He also managed to sneak in a book about Sydney and a Aussie flag postcard.

We enjoyed having Flat Stanley to visit. We hope he will come again soon.

Glad to be home

We're back from our holidays to East Malaysia and Singapore. After two weeks of warm and humid weather, it was a relief to come home to cool and humidity-free temperatures. Chris has returned to work today, I didn't even know he left for work. I'm at home for the rest of the week with Ashleigh and Caitlin, working through the laundry and trying to get back to routine before I return to work next Tuesday. Girls will still be on holidays until the 11 Oct.

We had a great time in Kota Kinabalu, feasting on delicious fresh seafood (and cheap!). Girls enjoyed their time in the pool. Singapore was busy, doing the touristy things.

More posts to come. Enjoy the school holidays.

Burnt Orange Cafe

It's my Mum's birthday today. I took her to Burnt Orange Cafe in Mosman to celebrate. It was lovely, just the two of us, since the rest of our family were either at school or work.

The cafe is located in an old golf house built in the 1930s on Middle Head Road, opposite HMAS Penguin. It is a two storey bungalow with a wraparound verandah and panoramic views of Sydney Harbour from The Heads to Manly. The weather was absolutely glorious - clear blue sky, light wind and sunny with temps around 19C.  Unfortunately, we were seated on the inner side of the verandah, hence our views were limited.

Cute urban bicycle parked outside the cafe (maybe they do takeaways)

We skipped the entrees (starters) and went straight for mains, saving space in our tummies for dessert and coffee.
For mains, Mum chose the pan-roasted snapper served served on a bed of crushed cannellini beans with braised fennel, cherry tomatoes and salsa verde. Snapper was perfectly cooked with a crunchy skin.

I had the Slow roasted pulled pork with caramelised apple puree and potato gratin.

To finish our celebratory lunch, we each had a dessert.
Strawberry and rhubarb crumble with vanilla bean ice-cream (a tad tangy, but the ice cream was creamy and delicious).

Caramel panacotta with gingerbread and honey-poached pear. The panacotta had a slight wobble, would have loved another slice or two of the poached pears, which were perfectly poached, not too soft (I dislike soft pears). Not much ginger taste to the gingerbread.

The Cafe is a perfect place for a girlie catch up lunch or breakfast on weekends. Surprisingly, it was busy today. There is plenty of paid parking near the cafe. I will be back with hubby and two girls.

A fitting way to end our girlie lunch was some retail therapy - only window shopping this time. There is a retail shop attached to the cafe (or was it the other way around?). The shop had beautiful items for lunch from scented packs for the wardrobe, lovely gifted tags, clothing, books and accessories. We had a quick browse before it was time to head to collect my girls from school.

I had a fantastic one on one time with my Mum today. It's not often I get to take my Mum out for lunch on her own. I am ever grateful to my Mum for her love and care that she gives freely to all of us. I could not have been able to return to work without her help and support to look after my two girls. She takes care of their needs every afternoon and cooks dinner for us on the days when I am at work.

THANK YOU MUM!

Mother's Day 2011

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOTHERS, GRANDMOTHERS, MUMs TO BE, STAND-IN MOTHERS, FOSTER MUMs....

Here's what I received from my girls and hubby. Ashleigh made the photobook, Caitlin made the 'Mum' sign, decorate the poetry card and rainbow coloured bracelet and Chris bought the watch. 

Hope all Mothers had a great day with the family and friends. 

We celebrated this special day with an afternoon tea for family. Ashleigh and Caitlin helped to prepare and cook/bake the food and also helped to set the table. Hubby helped with the preparation too. Our menu:

• Buttermilk scones
• Chocolate Cake
• Roast Pumpkin and Feta Tarts
• Malaysian Chicken curry and roti canai
• Fried Vegetarian Beehoon (cooked by Mum)
• Pastries (SIL's contribution)
• Baked blueberry cheesecake (Jolene and Andrew's contribution)

Ashleigh made the scones, chocolate cake and roast pumpkin and feta tarts. I cooked the chicken curry and roti canai.

It was a lovely afternoon tea, not too stressful to get the food ready after the walk this morning.

Chinese Steamboat (Ta Pin Lo)

We had a Chinese steamboat party at home during the long Easter/Anzac Day break.  The cool weather is perfect for a steamboat, it is comforting to sit around a steaming pot of soup, adding ingredients, catching-up with friends and family. I made two different stocks - chicken with goji berries, red dates and yoke chok and a spicy tom yam version. The hot soups definitely warms you up from the inside.

For desserts, we had Konnyaku Jelly and a cake - Carrot and Orange Cake from the Australian Women's Weekly Cakes and Slices book. My girlfriend, Cindy also brought Lebanese sweets from Abla's Patisserie in Granville.

Father's Day 2010

A view of the feast (Guess who's ready to start?)

In Australia, we celebrate Father's Day on the 1st Sunday in September, unlike USA, UK and Malaysia (where Father's Day is celebrated in June). This year we decided to have afternoon tea at our place to celebrate with hubby and both grandfathers. 

Ashleigh and I made:

• buttermilk scones - served with cream and strawberry jam
• hazelnut and fruit torte
• yellow glutinous rice (nasi kunyit) and chicken curry - thanks to Sonia from Nasi Lemak Lover for the rice recipe (it uses a mix of glutinous and jasmine rice)
• marble cake
• roast pumpkin and feta cheese pie - this is a tasty vegetarian finger food. Easy to make and taste delicious.

My Mum also bought some sushi. It was quite a feast. We definitely did not need dinner that night. 

Buttermilk scones made by Ashleigh - light and soft

Hazelnut and Fruit Torte

Marble Cake

Yellow Glutinous Rice served with Chicken Curry

Roast Pumpkin and Feta Cheese Pie

St Malo Bakery, Crows Nest

Last Saturday, I had the rare experience of catching a bus into the city. It was a lovely change to driving into the city, find a parking spot and pay about $10 for parking. I was going into the city to meet with some old girls from my school in Malaysia. I really enjoyed my bus ride (strange but true!). It allowed me to check out the scenery and new shops along the way, something which you don't get to do when you're driving. Whilst on the bus going through Willougby Road in Crows Nest, I spied a new bakery, St Malo Bakery selling artisan bread. According to the Artisan Baker's website, an artisan baker "is a craftsperson who is trained to the highest ability to mix, ferment, shape and bake a hand crafted loaf of bread".

We decided to check out St Malo Bakery for Sunday breakfast. The interior of the shop is French farmhouse inspired reflecting the French heritage of the owner, Anthony Marquette. There are tables and chairs for a sit-down breakfast/lunch or coffee. There were mouth-watering tarts, warm pastries, aromatic coffee and beautiful artisan breads - sourdough, baguettes, spelt breads, Volken (?), savoury quiches and sweet Danish pastries. Once we've perused the menu, we ordered at the counter.

I had the sauteed mushrooms, chorizo with toasted olive bread, Chris had the capsicum, chorizo and onion quiche, and our two girls shared a banana bread served with whipped honey butter and a strawberry tart which is sinful!

Address:
St Malo Bakery
83 Willoughby Road
Crows Nest 2065
Ph: 9906 6256