Come And See

Bonjour mon amis.....just checking in to see how you're all going.....well I hope....Don't forget to come over to Wordpress and read the latest post about what sort of surprises I've had this week...

http://homelovelifeasiliveit.wordpress.com/

I hope everyone is having a good week and all are in good health.....lots has been happening here at Home, Love and Life and I'm happy to share all the news with you....

taken yesterday morning on the road to get Eva....

So pop on over and see what else I've been snapping away at.....xo

Today's Post...

Bonjour everyone and how are you all today? Just a reminder that I'm blogging over at wordpress now so pop over and have a read of today's post...

 Just one of the pics you'll see in today's post over at wordpress....taken this morning

See you all over there xo

New Post...

Hi Home, Love & Life friends....just a friendly reminder that I have moved over to wordpress so pop on over and have a read of today's post....all about photo a day june and the weekend.....http://homelovelifeasiliveit.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/photo-a-day-challenge-and-the-weekend/

So in the words of Shania Twain Come On Over......and have a listen to the song while you're at it..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNe2cj03-eA I love this song and I'm sure you all will too...xo

Come On Over.....

Good Morning and how are we all today...for those of you who don't follow me on fb my latest post is over at wordpress http://homelovelifeasiliveit.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/my-first-post-and-an-update-on-molly-and-lady/ so pop on over and have a read and if you follow me or have been reading my posts but not following yet then don't forget to follow me at wordpress as I'd hate to lose you lovely ladies.....xo

Just a few of my pics you'll see over at wordpress....enjoy..!

Ma maison est votre maison....xo

My home is your home...xo

A Blog Move, New Soft Furnishings & Double Choc Chip Muffins...

Oh I am so late with today's post it's not funny....every time I tried to get it done something would come along and stop me but now at the end of the day I finally have some time to sit and tell you all about what's been going on.

Well firstly I am contemplating moving my blog to wordpress as I keep hearing it has so many more features than blogger and you can get more traffic through your site with wordpress. So I have set up my blog over there and I would love to know what you all think of it....so click on the link below and check it out.....I'm still learning my way around wordpress and it feels awfully strange to me but like anything new it's going to take some time to get used to it.

http://homelovelifeasiliveit.wordpress.com/


This week I've also added some new lovely soft furnishing to the house in my slow move over to a white scheme (remember I'm doing this slowly as Chris thinks I'm nuts for wanting white anywhere in the house.) First up we have my lovely new cushion which admittedly isn't white but a linen colour but with white on it....as soon as I saw it I knew it was the right cushion for the couch..

I don't usually go for birds at all with decorating but I loved this cushion I think mostly because they're silhouettes.... 

 As soon as I saw this doona cover I loved it...

 I love the way white and linen work so well together

We get good sunlight during the day....

So what do you think of my doona and cushion finds??....there will be more cushions to come as I love having plenty of plush things on the couch and lots of pillows on the bed.....they just make things so much more comfy.

Now I know I promised some mixed berry muffins but I had a request from both Chris and Luke for Double Choc Chip Muffins instead.....so they won and the mixed berry ones will be coming soon....Now this recipe I found by googling the recipe and while they turned out well they weren't quite what I was after....I was after that real double choc chip muffin you find in all the cafe's so I think I'll be doing a bit more looking or even tweaking the recipe myself to see if I can get it just a little better.....however they are good and a very easy recipe to follow....so here it is...

Double Choc Chip Muffins made yesterday...

Double Choc Chip Muffins...

2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (125ml)
1 cup milk (240ml)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups plain flour (240g)
1/2 cup sugar (85g)
1/4 cup cocoa (35g)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (85g)
Extra chocolate chips to sprinkle on top (if desired)

Preheat oven to 200 C and prepare muffin pan by greasing or fill with paper liners. A nonstick pan requires no greasing, although I like to just grease the bottoms. 

In large bowl mix well the eggs, oil, milk and vanilla. 

In smaller bowl mix well the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips. 

Combine wet and dry mixtures and fold together gently until just mixed. Spoon into prepared pan and sprinkle choc chips of top of each. 

Bake at 200C for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Well I hope you all enjoy these as much as you have the Lemon Meringue Pie and Sticky Date Pudding....If you do try them please let me know how you go and how they turn out......

Well I'm off for tonight but will be back tomorrow with some more news but just before I go I thought I'd share these....

My wonderful hubby bought these home for me tonight...

Take care and Au revoir for now....xo

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....

Lemon Meringue Pie And A Cold Busy Day....

Bon appres midi Home, Love and Life friends and how are you all doing today...? Well some of you may remember from my last post that I was going to make a Lemon Meringue Pie Tuesday but ran out of time so I decided to do it yesterday as I haven't made one in ages and everyone loves it.....Well yesterday morning I had a very busy start to the day as I had to get Bec off to daycare, make sure Luke was ready for intework before I left the house so I could get to field service on time..(for those of you who don't know me I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I'm one of those people that come knocking on your door for a friendly chat) and it was a lovely morning spent with Brothers and Sisters in the ministry that finished right on lunch time....So after field service I came home had some lunch, watched my fave show from the night before, then ducked into town to get a couple of things before getting home to find Luke on the front veranda waiting for me and making a start on the pie.....I started with the pastry for the crust which is an easy recipe and the crust home made is just delish....Then I realized it was 3pm and I had to go and get Bec. Upon returning home I found Chris home from work early which was a nice surprise and got back to making the rest of the pie.....I made the lemon butter for the filling and once it was ready thought I'd give it bit of a taste test and thank goodness I did because I had forgotten to add the sugar....have you ever tried lemon butter without the sugar..?? very tangy...lol....so I quickly threw in the sugar while the butter was still hot and thankfully it dissolved and tasted perfect.....So next I thought I'd roll out the pastry and get that cooked.....well maybe not.....it seemed the oven had other ideas and didn't want to light yesterday afternoon and with an oven not lighting I couldn't finish my pie!! Now I was not happy....I'd done all this work and couldn't finish it...no matter how many times I tried to light the oven it just didn't want to go.....So I cleaned up my mess and got dinner started....I thought maybe if I leave it for a while it'll come good and light and it has lit before.......I got dinner going and after about 15 minutes of cooking I thought I'd try the oven again and what do you know....yep it lit up first time!!! Was sooo happy.....so I thought I'd just leave it on  while I finished cooking dinner as I wasn't game enough to turn it off and try again later being as it was being extremely temperamental......Finally I had the whole pie put together and in the oven by 8pm last night and it turned out spectacularly...as I knew it would hehehe....bit of a big head or what...lol...However seeing as you can't serve Lemon Meringue hot because it falls apart I had to wait for it to cool down so I could cover it and put it in the fridge to chill.....And at last this morning for morning tea we were able to have a piece of pie that took two days to make....

Lemon Meringue Pie that almost wasn't....

Being as it was a very cold start to the morning here in Busso (four degrees at 8am..!!) I thought I'd take advantage of the sunshine this afternoon and have a coffee while I blog from the peace of my garden on my fave bench under the trees. The morning started with us freezing our butts off as soon as our feet hit the floor but with the heater going I thought I'd take advantage of being cooped up inside and catch up on some washing and a bit of tidying up before I even thought about venturing outside. Thankfully by about 10:30am it had gotten up to 13 degrees....woohoo...so I thought I'd sweep the front veranda and do a little tidying up outside. The day just really consisted of plenty of washing, meeting the lawn mower man for the first time, greeting the gas plumber to fix the stove....yey..now I can actually finish cooking things when I start them, folding washing and washing more washing, attempting to get Bec to have a nap (which failed) sweeping floors, cleaning out the chickies box so they have fresh straw...they're doing so well and getting bigger and their feathers are coming through and finding some time to make a coffee to head outside with while I blog.....Seeing as there was no way Bec was sleeping she joined me outside and had a run around with the dogs, a play on her bike and generally exploring the yard and what she could get into....

My fave place to sit with a coffee and I thought today this would be the perfect spot to do some blogging and Instagramming from...

Bec wandering through the garden...

Giving Molly a belly rub...

As I turned around to see what Bec was up to I spotted this gorgeous pink hibiscus growing....

And a red hibiscus....

When we first moved in I thought this was a massive birds nest....I now know it's a possums nest....hope they stay up there...

So that was my very cold day today...how did you all get on with your day and was it as exciting as mine...hehehe.....I hope you're all nice and warm and for those of you who have wood fires please think of me freezing in front of my gas heater :( I'm missing my wood fire more and more...

Well now as promised to those who have already asked on Instagram (yep still loving it) here's my recipe for the super delish Lemon Meringue Pie......and on the weekend I'm making my famous Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce so stay tuned...Au revoir...xo

Lemon Meringue Pie

Pastry
70g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
130g (3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon) plain flour
30g (1 tablespoon plus 3 teaspoons) caster sugar
120g cold butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)

Lemon Filling
56g (4 tablespoons plus 3 teaspoons) cornflour
170g (3/4 cup) sugar
180ml (2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons) fresh lemon juice
230ml (2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup) water
60g butter, cut into pieces
3 large egg yolks (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)

Meringue
3 large egg whites
170g (3/4 cup) caster sugar

Begin by making the pastry. Place the self-raising and plain flours, caster sugar and butter in a food processor. Process on medium speed for about 20 seconds, until mixture resembles fine fresh breadcrumbs (there shouldn't be any large chunks of butter).

Add egg and process on medium speed for about 15-30 seconds, until egg is incorporated and mixture clumps together.

Form dough into a flattened round and place in a freezer bag or wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Combine cornflour, sugar, lemon juice and water in medium saucepan. Stir until mixture is smooth.

Place saucepan over medium-high heat and stir constantly until mixture reaches the boil (this will probably take about 7-10 minutes). Reduce heat to low and continue stirring for about 30-40 seconds, until mixture changes from cloudy to transparent and becomes thick and smooth.

Remove saucepan from heat and vigorously stir in butter and egg yolks. Continue stirring until all the butter has melted and the ingredients are well combined

Pour filling into a small container, cover and refrigerate until cold.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced). If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position.

Roll out pastry between two sheets of baking paper or on a lightly floured board to fit a 23cm (9 inch) pie plate (pastry should be about 4mm thick and 29cm diameter). Lift pastry into pie plate and gently press into dish.

Trim pastry overhanging the sides.

Place a sheet of baking paper on top of the pastry and fill with pastry weights or uncooked rice.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Celsius fan-forced) for 10 minutes. Remove weights/rice and baking paper and bake for 10-15 minutes more, until the pastry is a light golden colour. Allow pastry shell to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius, or 190 degrees Celsius fan-forced. If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the middle position.

To make meringue, place egg whites in a large bowl of an electric mixer and beat on high speed until at soft peak stage (when the beater is lifted, a peak will form and then droop over). Add the sugar gradually, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Once all the sugar has been added, continue beating until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and glossy. To test whether the sugar has dissolved, rub a small amount of meringue between your thumb and finger. If you can still feel sugar crystals, beat the meringue for another minute then test again.

Spoon lemon filling into cooled pastry shell and spread evenly. Dollop meringue on top of the lemon filling. Spread meringue to cover filling. Form peaks in the meringue with a spoon (we press the back of a spoon against the surface of the meringue, then lift the spoon to form a peak).

Bake for about 7-10 minutes, or until meringue is lightly coloured.

Allow pie to cool to room temperature. Cover pie and refrigerate until cold.

Slice chilled pie into wedges and serve. Store pie in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The pie will also keep quite well if left in pie dish and cover with glad wrap which is what I do.

The end result and well worth the effort....I know this recipe seems like there's a lot involved but it's really quite simple as everything is done in stages....Enjoy and let me know how it goes - Michelle xo