Fudge-Oh-Licious Chocolate Cake

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Jacinta

I just know you need another chocolate cake recipe.  I came up with this recipe the other day.  It is quick and easy to prepare.  We have worked our way through this cake over the weekend and it seems to keep very well.  I hope you try it out.  I promise you won’t regret it!  In fact, I baked another one tonight for guests coming tomorrow.  I’m trying not to go and cut a slice while it is still warm (cue me eyes rolling back into my head!).

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup castor sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
200gm dark chocolate, chopped roughly
150gm butter
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped roughly
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp bi-carb soda (baking soda)
1 tsp vanilla extract/essence

Method:

Place butter and 100gm chocolate in a saucepan and melt over a low heat.  Take off heat and set aside.  Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl.  Add cream and vanilla essence to the melted butter and chocolate.  Making sure the chocolate mixture has cooled, pour it into dry ingredients and stir through.  Add beaten eggs and stir until combined.  Add chopped nuts and the other 100gm of chopped chocolate.
Mix until combined and pour into a well greased cake tin (approximately 20cm diameter) lined with baking paper.  Place cake in a pre-heated oven on approximately 160 degrees celsius for about 45 mins or until cooked through.  Leave to cool before turning the cake out.  Dust with icing sugar and serve with strawberries if desired.

Fudge-Oh-Licious Chocolate Cake

Enjoy!  Jacinta x

 

Posted in Gastronomic Explosions - aka Yummy Food/Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 18 Comments

This Moment

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Jacinta

From Soulemama {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I love your moments too.  So feel free to leave a link in the comment section for us all to see.  Have a beautiful weekend.  Jacinta x

Posted in Family Life, This Moment | Tagged , , , , , , | 27 Comments

I’m Dreaming of a White Kitchen

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jacinta

We are about 2 weeks off having our kitchen delivered.  It will come flat packed and requires some a lot of assembly.  We are going through a company called Kitset Kitchens.  they have been great to deal with so far.  Here’s hoping the end result will be good too.  Greg’s dad and wife are coming over from New Zealand to help us get the kitchen sorted.

There is so much to do.  We have to remove the old kitchen, pull up the slate floor, get the plumber and electrician in to do their thing.  Install the cabinets, appliances, flooring and then get the company, Granite Transformations, who are installing our stone bench tops, to come and work their magic.  I am both excited and overwhelmed by all that has to be done.  I need to somehow parent 3 children amongst the chaos.  I know it is going to dramatically change our house and I am looking forward to having an oven again.  I have been without an oven for close to 6 months now and the novelty is wearing a little thin, but I know there is going to be a lovely light, bright new kitchen in my very near future and that will keep me going for now.

One of the features of the kitchen will be a 2 metre long island bench with waterfall edges and will allow us to sit along one edge.  It seems I spend a lot of time in the kitchen (don’t we all) and I am excited to think of all the get togethers we will have, where I can be part of the conversations, while everyone gathers around my kitchen bench.
I am so looking forward to having stone bench tops once again.  The style we have chosen is called White Star and is light in colour with flecks of mirror through the stone that reflects the light (it isn’t tacky, I promise!).  It looks really pretty under halogen lighting.  I would love to show you photos of my dream kitchen but I don’t have any and I have tried looking on line, but haven’t found anything similar to what we are installing.  So I guess it will be a surprise to you and me both.  I can’t wait to share the before and after photos.  I think it will just about flip me out!  Jacinta x

A sample of our bench tops. Â Image taken from Granite Transformations web page

Posted in Renovations (Renos 101!) | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Mirror, Mirror, (Finally) on the Wall

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Jacinta

Now these renovations of ours are going very slowly.  But I am happy to say Greg finally got around to hanging a mirror in our diningroom.  The mirror waited very patiently under our bed (out of reach of busy little hands) for many months.  I love how it has added a bit of life to the bricks of our chimney.  Sometimes it is the little jobs that make all the difference.  Jacinta x

Before

 

After

Posted in Renovations (Renos 101!) | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Tiptoe Through the Tulips and the Daffodils!

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Jacinta

One thing about living in the hills is that we are spoilt for things to do in spring.  We have an abundance of bulb farms to visit and the girls always delight in such occasions.  We pass one on the way home from school and it has become a tradition that we stop and admire the flowering display before arguing over deciding on what bulbs we would like to bring home.  It seems some beautiful yellow tulips were the choice this year.  Of course there is much skipping, sniffing and ohhhing and arrring as we walk around the rows and rows of pretty blooms.  I just step back and try to capture the magic from a distance.

Smelling the roses

This was such a beautiful daffodil

It is important to smell all the flowers! Â The experience is made all the better with golden wings and a tiger tail.

Hancock’s Daffodil farm flower display is open to the public in September and is located in Menzies Creek.  They are lovely people and it’s well worth a visit if you happen to be in the Dandenong Ranges.  Jacinta x

 

Posted in Favourite Places, Recommendations, Seasons | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

This Moment

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Jacinta

From Soulemama {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

I love your moments too.  So feel free to leave a link in the comment section for us all to see.  Jacinta x

Posted in This Moment | Tagged , , , , | 22 Comments

Quilted Laptop Cover

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Jacinta

I am so excited to have finally made my trusty Mac laptop a cover.  I was determined not to go out and buy a cover and make my own.  It only took most of this year to get to it.  Of course it took no time to make once I started.  I made the pattern up as I went.

I made it out of a honey bun from Sweetwater’s Make Life fabric range.  Oh, I do love me some pre-cuts.  The grey and white spotted lining fabric I purchase at Spotlight.  I’m really happy with how it has sewn up and hope I can avoid scratching my laptop any further.  The cover also acts as a mat to sit under my laptop too.

From this.....

 

to this. Front of cover

Back of cover

Inside of cover

Jacinta x

Posted in Craft, Quilts, Sewing | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Sew Happy!

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Jacinta

I am so excited by my recent purchase, a new (to me) sewing machine.  I purchased my Brother Innovis QC1000 (sounds like some sort of broom stick, wonder if it knows the directions to Hogwarts?) machine on ebay.  I had only recently started watching ebay for one and in less than a week, this one appeared.  I had to get it couriered down from Queensland, but it arrived very quickly and in one piece.

I tried it out yesterday and after an hour I was actually ready to sew a stitch!  It almost warrants a degree to use it, but I am sure I will figure it out as I go along.  I love the auto tread tension and it cuts the thread so the thread is at the back of your work.  I know that function alone is going to save me time.  It’s kind of fun to have a touch screen too.  It seems to let you know if something is wrong and comes up with a little sad face and a short description of what needs checking.  Now if only it could come up with dinner suggestions and the ingredients, I’d be a very happy woman indeed.

I’m looking forward to getting some sewing finished off.  A quilt for Tenneille for one. The machine came with a quilting table attachment, which will make it so much easier to piece her quilt together.
I used my new machine to finished off a cover for my laptop yesterday.  I will write a post about it tomorrow.  Needless to say, my laptop now has a very comfy home indeed.    Jacinta x

Posted in Craft, Sewing | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Giveaway Winner!

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Jacinta

I am happy to announce, thanks to random.org, the winner of the sweet little mouse and hair clips is:

See, number 1 does come up!

MJ said:

“These are wonderful Jacinta!! And I know just the girl who would love a mouse in her pocket :) !!! Thanks for the chance!!
xx oo”

Congratulations MJ, sounds like the hair clips and the sweet little mousie are going on a fun adventure.  I will be contacting you via email.  Jacinta x

Posted in Giveaways | Tagged | 1 Comment

Fresh Picked

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Jacinta

Now if only you could smell these freesias.  We stopped off at a roadside where thousands of freesias grow in a rampant fashion.  It’s a spot we stop at every spring and I love gathering the flowers along side the girls, where they go skipping from flower to flower talking in sing-song voices.  I am actually beginning to wonder if freesias give off some sort of happy pheromone?

They are now sitting on our kitchen bench and I feel I may pass out any minute from deeply inhaling their scent.  I-can’t-help-myself!  Now where is the scratch and snif app. for computers/laptops/phones?  Come on Apple, surely you could come up with something like that?

Ok, looks like you will have to imagine the fragrance instead.  Jacinta x

Posted in Family Life, Seasons | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments