A Super Fast Weekend And Sticky Date Pudding....

Bonjour and how did your weekend go this week? Our weekend started with the usual early Saturday morning road trip to drop Bec off for her weekend in Perth and then by the time we turned around and came home it was almost lunch time. We hadn't really made any plans for the weekend but once home we decided we needed to organize the sleep out as it was becoming a bit of a disaster zone with boxes piling up (stuff I can't unpack as yet because there's nowhere to put it) toys everywhere thanks to Bec, a stinky kitty litter tray to change and the dogs bed that needed airing out. Before starting any of this though we stopped by Bunnings to get a new rosemary bush to put in the garden and some nails to fix the shade cloth in the chook pen, a new mop and bucket, then headed home and got to work. (I love Bunnings you can get everything you need in one trip...woohoo) Once home we got to work sorting out the sleep out and moved boxes into the garage so they were no longer under foot and finally set up the girls play area properly for them....it really didn't take us too long to get it all done it's just that we were doing other things along the way and before we knew it it was 3pm...! However the sleep out now looks fantastic and I've got so much space to work with for my sun room...

Saturday morning sunrise while on the road

The girls space in the sleep out and behind those curtains is storage where they keep book shelves and more toys and I keep the ironing board and vacuum cleaner....love that little storage nook...

All the space I am left with for sun room...now I'm just on the look out for some cane chairs and a coffee table and of course they'll be getting painted white......

My rosemary bush.....I just need to put it in the garden....

Sundays always go a little fast for us as it's the only day of the week that we can have even a slight sleep in and then it's up, have breakfast and get ready and out the door for the meeting. We get home on lunch time after the meeting and then we're back on the road again by 2pm to pick Bec up and bring her home and the drive back is always interesting...So Sunday afternoon we usually just have some lunch and relax for a while before we hit the road again.....Now for those of you who remember I said on Friday I would be making a sticky date pudding over the weekend and well it took me all weekend to get round to it as I kept running out of time but last night finally, once Bec was in bed I got round to making it and let me just say.....YUM!! I haven't made one in about two years....don't ask me why, I can't give you a reason, I just haven't....and I had forgotten how good it was....Surprisingly Chris has never had Sticky Date Pudding before so this was a first for him and he loved it (he's even taken some to work today) I too had only ever tried a Sara Lee frozen Sticky Date Pudding years ago and did not like it at all but when I came across the recipe and saw how it was made on Better Homes & Gardens I thought I'd give it a try.....Admittedly it wasn't ready until about 9:30pm last night so we had it for supper and it was worth the wait.....I have made this many times for friends who have come for dinner in winter and all of them have fallen in love with it....I've never had anyone yet tell me they didn't like it and my kids absolutely love it.....

My famous Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce and served with vanilla ice cream...too delish..

So that was my weekend, not a lot done but there never is on the fortnights we spend lots of time on the road because we lose so much time.......but we did manage to get a few things sorted out and I did eventually get round to making the most delicious Sticky Date Pudding with Caramel Sauce that you'll ever try......and here is the recipe so you can all give it a try and wow your family and friends......So how was your weekend and what did you all get up to?? 

Oh by the way....there'll be a new bedside table revamp happening very soon so keep your eyes open and I'll be making some mixed berry and white choc chip muffins too so look out for the recipe....xo

This old winter favourite is easy to make. Served warm out of the oven, you'll find it addictive and must be served with Ice-cream. Bonne Appetite....

• 225g dates, pitted and chopped
• 450ml water
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 90g soft butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 225g self-raising flour, sifted

Caramel Sauce

• 150g brown sugar
• 250ml pouring cream
• 200g butter, chopped

Preheat oven to 180C.

Grease a large 5cm-deep round ceramic baking dish or a 25 x 35cm rectangular baking dish.

Combine dates and water in a small pan over medium heat. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until dates are very soft. Add bicarbonate of soda and stir, then set aside to cool.

Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in vanilla, date mixture and then the flour. Spoon mixture into dish and bake for 20-25 minutes or until springy to the touch.

Meanwhile, for caramel sauce, combine all ingredients in a small pan and stir over medium heat until boiling. Simmer for 2 minutes or until combined and glossy. Pour sauce over pudding and bake for a further 5 minutes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream or cream.

My Tip: before pouring caramel sauce over pudding take a skewer and poke several holes all over the pudding, this helps the sauce to soak into the pudding making it more moist and avoiding the caramel sauce running over the dish and landing on the bottom of the oven...

The end result...you won't be disappointed....