Christmas baking

December is a wonderful time to be off work - I have so much time to make my favourite Christmas treats. Today (while wishing I was in Oprah's audience at the Opera house), I made some gingerbread men, boys and even some houses - tomorrow is decorating day.

I have finished the binding on two of my quilts and also made a few other little things for the bub too. Hopefully photos tomorrow when the light is better.

relaxed

I have had a lovely, relaxing time at home this weekend. I cut out all the fabric for the blocks of my mod sampler baby quilt; I picked up some backing material for my pinwheel sampler quilt as well as for 2 of my baby quilts; I have 'booked' in 3 quilt tops for some professional quilting (surely I shouldn't crawl around on the floor to baste quilts while I am pregnant? That's my excuse anyway and I am sticking to it!); I baked some lovely brioche cinnamon pecan scrolls (even though they look rather anaemic in the photo below); and I have been playing with my new toy - an iphone 4! Hence my new look photos - courtesy of the iphone!

It has been so nice to have a relaxing weekend. We've had so many visitors recently, which is wonderful but I felt like I was constantly entertaining. I'm still prac teaching for one more week and then I only have 10 weeks left at work before I start maternity leave. I can't quite believe it is all coming along so quickly. We even start our childbirth and parenting classes in 2 weeks - eek!

There's still 15 weeks until the baby is due and my list of things to do is growing every day - my crafty list that is! I still have to cut and hem the material I bought to make sheets, I have to hem some muslin for some swaddling wraps, I need to make some bibs and burp cloths, finish my granny square blanket and I also hope to make a Sarah doll for the wall of the babies room - not to mention put the quilt together! Although I am feeling very crafty at the moment so I need to take advantage of it - maybe this is start of the 'nesting'?

bits and pieces

I'm off to the Craft room tonight with my granny squares and some strawberry and coconut loaves. I'm currently in the middle of another round of prac teaching which keeps me pretty busy, but it will be nice to have an evening of crafting, chatter and nibbles.
We've had visitors staying with us for 3 of the past 4 weekends, so my sewing is progressing incredibly slowly, but I am looking forward to starting on my own version of Oh Fransson's mod sampler very soon. I want to make a quilt for my little one that will last longer than just the baby years, so I think this particular pattern will be perfect. I am going to use some fabric I have had squirreled away for quite a while now.


And from that I think you might be able to guess the sex of my little one!

back to school...

Tomorrow is the day. I am going back to high school - but this time as a teacher (well a student/training teacher!). I am pretty nervous, but also incredibly excited about my first placement. I am almost certain that I made the right choice by going back to uni to change my career, and I hope that these coming few weeks cement that certainty. I can't wait for tomorrow to come so I can get started!

We've been doing a bit of cooking this weekend including these 'blondies'. I had never had a blondie before but I had a bag of butterscotch chips that my sister-in-law had bought for me in the US, and this was the first recipe I found that used them. They have a lovely chewy edge and the coconut is a great addition - but they are very sweet! Although I suspect they will be great for my school lunch box tomorrow, the perfect morning tea treat for my first day.

Chewy, Chunky Blondies

2 cups plain flour (I used wholemeal)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt / fleur de sel
225g butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Butter and line a 9×13-inch baking pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated.

Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts and coconut.

Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best you can.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies comes out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up, before cutting into squares or bars

Recipe from Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home to Yours

Under the sea...

Some sewing over the weekend - no idea where this is going as yet, but I'll see where it takes me. I usually plan my quilts, but I thought I might just play with this one, and I am really enjoying it. I am also taking notes and photos, so perhaps it may become a tutorial in the future...or maybe I'll even get up the courage to submit it to a magazine...

I also had another go at some macarons and I really think I am getting there, although the tops weren't as smooth as last time. Same recipe, but this time I substituted 35g of almond meal for cocoa, and made a dark salted chocolate buttercream to fill them. Seriously yum!

French Macarons - take 1

Inspired by Lisa's French baking and my workmate Anita's delicious macarons of the pistachio variety - I decided to have a go at the infamous French macaron (with Tilly's help of course!).

To say I was nervous about making these is an understatement! Googling "French Macarons" reveals a multitude of pages about the intricacies of baking these gorgeous biscuits. So I read and read and read. I found many different recipes and even pages on troubleshooting. Then I decided to give it a shot - and I was pretty stoked with the result! Their 'feet' were a little splayed, and the inside a little sticky, but otherwise they were great. The troubleshooting guide tells me that my oven was probably a little too warm - file that away for next time.

I used the basic recipe from macaron extraordinaire Tartlette, with no colouring or flavouring in the biscuit. And I made a chilli chocolate butter cream with which to fill them.

FIngers crossed I can perfect them next time.