Christmas 2010

Hi Folks....Well, another Christmas Day has been successfully navigated, and we can now all settle back and prepare ourselves for 2011. The years seem to go faster and faster recently...or is it just old age rushing up at me?

We had a lovely Christmas day, just the usual lunch with Angus and Tiffany...turkey with salads various, and the inevitable pav, cheesecake and trifle. I think we all ate too much, and probably drank too much as well, although I still seem to have a multitude of bottles in the fridge, for when I feel the need of a little restorative !! Hopefully a couple will last until new year's Eve.

So I would just like to wish all the family a very happy new year, and all good fortune in the coming season, and let's hope we get a little bit of Summer sooner or later, although, as you know, I am not a big hot weather fan, but it would be nice to have just a little sun here and there.

So all my love to Fraser and Summie (catch up soon), Ju, Chris, Carmen and family, and of course Ellen, Andrew and Peggy...(still going strong although snowed in at the moment)!

Potato Salad extraordinaire!!

This is easy and delicious.

Cut up potatoes in chunks (size to suit) and leave skins on washed potatoes.
While cooking, chop up a couple of rashers of bacon, and fry in a little oil.
Drain potatoes, place in bowl, and add warm bacon plus all the fat.
Leave to cool.

When cooled down, add thinly sliced spring onions, and homemade dressing.

DRESSING.
In a bowl put;
Dollops of whole egg mayonnaise
2 tspns sour cream
Squeeze of lemon
2 tspns dijon mustard.

Mix all well, and pour over cool potatoes, then refrigerate until ready to eat. .
Amounts depend on how much potato you cook, so often what looks like a lot of dressing soaks in to the potato and is not too much.

This is for you Ju.....lovely filling for a lunch box.

Bonnie Doone

Came through Bonnie Doone the other day. Last time we went that way, where the water is now, was just grass and walking tracks. Now there are boats on the lake, and everything looks green and healthy.

A good sign for Summer. Maybe things are getting back to normal.

Now, here's Jim in his warm weather outfit!!

It was lovely not to be rugged up in thick winter jumpers for a change! I have almost forgotten what warm weather is like!

Spring in the rain

With all this rain, the spring flowers have been really beautiful this year. What a change from previous years!! Let's hope it keeps on this way.

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti

Sorry folks...No pictures for this one! This is an absolutely delicious recipe, and as easy as anything. Got it from "Best Recipes" of course!

Spaghetti of choice
Chicken breast fillets cut into bite-size.
2 tspns crushed garlic
4 tblspns Soy sauce
1 tblspn sweet chilli sauce
1x300mls bottle thickened cream
125 g butter
Grated Parmesan cheese

Boil Spaghetti and drain.
Cook chicken in frypan with garlic, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce.
In another saucepan, put cream and butter and gently melt, but not quite boiling.
Add chicken, then stir through spaghetti........And that's it....easy peasy!!

Use enough chicken for the amount of people....I use 1 or 2. I also add chopped mushrooms if I feel like it, or diced peppers. Whatever you like.....It's absolutely scrumptious, but NOT slimming!! Sorry, I forgot....sprinkle cheese over before serving.

Storms

Hello again...Well, we had 3 days away, and the first
day was at Echuca. We had a huge storm and
lashing rain, and it rained on and off all the time,
but at least the temperature was reasonably warm.

On Thursday we drove home from Albury, and all the way down the Hume Freeway the windscreen wipers could hardly keep up, it was such a downpour!

Still, everywhere is lovely and green, and all the dams on the farms are full, so that's a good start for the coming Summer.

As they say..."It's all good"!

Mia

This is Ju's new cat. As usual, it is a cat that needed a home.
She seems to have settled in perfectly, and has found various
spots to her liking!!

At the moment, she has her work cut out getting Ju trained
to the standard she is used to, but I am sure she will
succeed as only a cat can!

She is a Russian Blue, and therefore quite regal, but also quite amenable as long as things
go the way she wants them........All in all, a typical cat!!

A Little R&R in Mulwala

We managed to get 3 days away this week. The last day we
spent in Mulwala/ Yarrawonga, and this time picked a
different motel.

It was lovely and clean, and had just been taken over by new
people. The weather was lovely too, not hot, but good to sit in the Sun. Nice and relaxing, before coming home to the wet, cold
weather here.
Hopefully Summer isn't too far away, and then we shall all be
complaining of the heat!

Chilli Beef and Bok Choy stir fry

This is really quick and easy, and so tasty.

1 or 2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Stock (I use chicken)

Sesame oil
sliced beef
1 onion cut into wedges
bunch of bok choy

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Stir fry beef until brown, using Sesame oil..and remove from wok.
Stir fry onion.
Add the mixture, bok choy and beef and cook until tender.
I sometimes add chopped mushrooms as well.

Can serve with rice or noodles.

The Storm Sept 5th 2010

Saturday night the wind really got up, and it rained
continuously. I heard a crash but couldn't tell where it came from.

In the morning we found this...It doesn't look too bad, but the
fence behind is smashed down, and the top of our big Wattle
tree the other side of the shed was smashed and hanging down.

Luckily we had Angus and all the "Urban Arborist" gear, so out came the large chainsaw, and soon it was all cleared, and the
Wattle tree cut down and chipped.

A good day's work!!

New Gas Heater

Yes....This is it...in full working order. We have just had the
electrician come to put in an outdoor socket for the power, so now all systems 'go' without the electric cable trailing across
the veranda.

Wonderful to have endless hot water, without a huge tank
standing outside the bathroom window, and also without
the chance of it exploding in the future and making our water
bill skyrocket!! One more thing done round the house!!

Jules

Our family pictures are now complete.
Bus-Driver Jules in full regalia!! I was waiting for a slightly
better snap, but I was afraid hell might freeze over
before that happened, so like Jim's Mum, you now have a post
all to yourself!!

Sitting happily up there in sunny Brisbane, while we
slowly freeze to death down here, contending with the coldest
and wettest Winter for 11 years!!

never mind...when it's hot enough up there to sap the strength of an elephant, we shall
be cooler here! Hopefully! LOL!

Peggy

Hi everyone....Thought it was a bit of an oversight when
showing all the family. I didn't put in Jim and Ellen's mum.

She will be 92 next February, has just had a hip replacement,
and still manages to live by herself (although with a lot of help
from Ellen and Andrew who live opposite).

To be fairly independant at that age is no mean achievement,
and it looks as if she will outlive us all, not to mention receiving a telegram from the Queen!

So I am correcting this omission, and dedicating a post just for her!

The Family

Hi Folks.....Just doing some fine tuning, so here we are.
Top Line;... Torrances 'en masse' Val, Jim, Fraser & Angus.
Middle;... Chris (brother), wife Carmen, Alistair & Elizabeth.
Bottom;...Ellen (Jim's sister), Andrew (husband) Summie (Fraser's better half!) & Sarah (Alistair's wife).
Ju is missing until I get a good photo.

Looks a bit like a 'Wanted" poster.....a dodgy lot if ever I saw one!!

Oh well, we can't all have 'film-star' looks. (And I am only speaking for myself of course)

Choc Chip Slice

Here is a recipe from my favourite site. I made it for the first time today....I needed a bit of a chocolate fix after getting the car serviced!!

1 cup Self Raising flour
1 cup Coconut
3/4 cup Caster sugar
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup Choc Bits.


Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Grease base and sides of a Lamington pan...19cm x 29cm approx.
Bake at 180C for approx. 35 mins.
Allow to cool for 10 mins before turning out onto wire rack.
Cool completely before cutting into squares.

You can cover the tray with paper, and then grease that as well as the tray, but I found the paper stuck to the slice a bit.

SKY

I have been taking pictures of sky for a long while now, and I thought I would share just a small selection with you.

This is my first attempt at using the collage option with Picasa, and I hope it will become more and more refined with time.

This is to take my mind off the horrendous service bill we have just been landed with at Toyota, where I thought I was getting just an ordinary service ! HA!! No such thing any more!

Oh well! Not much to be done about that!!

As they say....Onward and Upward!!

Had a couple of days away, and drove into fog early on Wednesday morning. Had to stop and take a picture. Absolutely beautiful, but cold!!

This was just leaving Albury at 7.30 in the morning.

Honey baked Chicken

We had this last night....Really easy and quick to make...(That's the best thing!)

1 packet dry French Onion Soup
3 Heaped Tablespoons Honey
Chicken Pieces (your choice)
3/4 Cup Water (or more)
Plain Flour

This came from Best recipes, so you can check there too.

Toss Chicken in flour, and place in casserole.
Mix soup, honey and water together (I used warm water as the honey was thick) and pour over chicken.
Cover and bake at 160C for approx. 1 1/2 hours.
Remove cover for last 1/2 hour

Really tasty, so no pictures as it all got eaten.

Grumpy old Man

Just had to show you all The Grumpy Old Man before the
heating was working properly!

This was before our few days away, so now he looks a bit
less grumpy, and a bit warmer too!

Had a couple of rave reviews for my Pavlova, so I shall have to start charging soon!!

OFF AGAIN

Yes folks....We are off again on Monday for a couple of days R & R. Much needed after the upheaval of getting the heating on, the stove installed, and the new carpet laid.

Weather is lousy...as per usual in the Winter, so we are off to northern Vic. and over the border to NSW to get some warmth and relaxation. No cooking for a few days...BRILLIANT!!

Just to let you all know....our heating is FINALLY working like gangbusters!
Everywhere is warm and toasty, so we got it going just in time for all the horrible weather we are having.

Boiled Fruit Cake

250g Sugar
1 cup water
500g mixed fruit
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Bi-carb
125g Butter
125g Self raising flour
125g Plain flour
2 eggs

Heat all ingredients except flour and eggs in a saucepan until it comes to the boil and then turn it off.
When the mixture is cool (and you may like to stand the saucepan in a sink of cold water to speed the process), add the flour and beaten eggs, stirring in until all combined.
Bake at 180C for an hour and a half approx. but check before as ovens vary,
It should be moist and rich in colour.

Fruit may be varied...whatever is at hand, and you may like to add mixed peel, dates, or chopped nuts for variety.

Thrifty Meringues

2 Egg whites
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 tesspoon cornflour
2 tablespoons boiling water

Beat egg whites until stiff.
Gradually add 1/2 the sugar, beating all the time.
Fold in the rest of the ingredients.
Drop small spoonfulls on to a tray lined with baking paper.
Bake at 170 for 10mins, then 130 for 30 mins, or til done.
Cool in oven with door open.

Sandwich 2 together with butter icing, and place in cup cake papers

Butter icing.
Cream 2 ounces butter with 3-4 ounces of icing sugar.
Beat until it goes pale. This will stick the meringues together better than whipped cream.
Tastes great too!

creamy chicken spaghetti

Spaghetti
chickenbreasts- sliced into bite-sized pieces
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
1 x 300ml cream
125g butter
grated parmesan cheese

Boil spaghetti and drain.
Cook chicken in frypan with garlic, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce.
In another large saucepan, add cream and butter. Simmer until butter has melted but not quite boiling.
Add chicken and stir through spaghetti.


I add some chopped mushrooms or diced red peppers and spring onions.....whatever your taste. Use as many chicken breasts as you want....I find one chopped does us three.

Rocky Road

1 cup chopped peanuts
200g marshmallows-cut into quarters
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
250g milk chocolate
100g semi-sweet chocolate
2 cups Rice Bubbles

Combine peanuts, marshmallows and coconut in a bowl.
Melt all the chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water
Pour over dry ingredients and mix well to coat.
Press into a greased dish and refrigerate.
Cut or break into pieces when quite cold.

Very sweet, but very yummy.

Chicken Pieces in a bag

In a plastic bag put;
2 onions cut into 8s
Dried sage
Garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons hot English mustard
Juice of 1 lemon + crushed halves
Pepper and Salt
Chicken Pieces...I cut up a whole Chicken into joints

Make sure the chicken is coated well, and leave the bag in the fridge until ready to cook...can be done in the morning.
Tip it all into a baking tray, and cook approx. 200c for 1 1/2 hours or until done.

Serve without the lemon halves!!

Chocolate slice

4 oz. melted margarine or butter
1 cup coconut
1 cup S.R. flour
2 dessertspoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar 1

Choc. Icing.
1 cup icing sugar
1 tspn soft butter
1 tspn cocoa
1 tblspn hot water


Mix dry ingredients together, then stir in melted butter.
Pour into greased slice tin.
Bake in moderate oven (180c) for approx. 20 mins.
while hot, spread with choc. icing.
Cut into slices when cool.

The icing can be heated over a saucepan of boiling water, and then drizzled over the slice.

Honey Oat Bars

1 cup Rolled Oats
1 cup nuts
1/2 cup wholemeal S.R.flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup coconut
5 oz. butter
1 tblspn honey

Combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Melt butter, add honey and mix with dry ingredients.
Press evenly over base of well greased lamington tray

Bake til golden brown, about 15 - 20 mins at 180 C.
Remove from tray when cold, and cut into pieces.

This recipe can be doubled, but not quite double the butter.