Video conferencing with Samuel

Samuel wonders who is talking?


Look at his cute smile!

Egg face

I was cooking dinner today. Cracked 3 eggs into a bowl and I got this face. Hahaha!

Peanut butter biscuits

Haven't done any baking for a while. Since I had some time this morning, thought I would try out a recipe I saw yesterday. They are quite good!


Ingredients:
1/3 cup cold-pressed canola oil
1/2 cup unsalted organic peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large organic egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp water
1-1/4 organic whole spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp organic ground cinnamon
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, at least 70% cocoa mass

Method:
Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

In a medium bowl beat together oil and peanut butter until well combined. Beat in brown sugar. Add egg, vanilla and water, beating until well combined.

Combine spelt flour, baking soda and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Stir into peanut butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks. The batter will be very thick and quite sticky.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool in tray for 5 minutes then remove to cooling rack.

Woo hoo storm

Today we saw one of the scariest storms ever. Luckily we were in a car in Brunswick and slowly crawling down the road. The build up alone was quite spectacular. The sky got so dark even though it was only just 3pm and the wind started building up. Then a giant woosh and all the rain was pouring! Started hearing loud clunking on the roof of the car and we realised it was also hailing. That was quite scary. I yelped every time we got hit. Haha!

That did not last too long. It slowed down to normal rain. But when we got back to the city, I think it must have been worse there. There was so much leaves all over the ground. The leaves must have got torn off the trees and stuck on cars so much that they looked like camouflage. There were also clusters of hail around. Pity I only had the camera phone.



Hail downstairs near our apartment

Lots of drama around as a result of the storm in the news.

Busy weekend

It's the CNY and Valentine's weekend and although we haven't got much festivities here, we did go to the city where there was a little bit of CNY atmosphere which was nice. There were lion dances going on around the shops at Chinatown and ear-drum bursting firecrackers going off. I seem to have accomplished quite a bit at home though.


Balsam flowers sprouting!


Made a simple skirt for me...


...and a new handphone pouch.


Tried out a sponge cake recipe with the rice cooker. This turned out a little like steamed cake. I know someone who will like this!

We also wanted to arrange a bunny date for Pixie with a bunny that needed a new home. But his owner eventually did not get back to me. So no bunny friend for her this time. I have been toying with the idea of getting her a companion but the thought of what if they don't get along does make me a little hesitant. I thought perhaps that was a sign that I wasn't ready yet :P

I love hay

The hay we got from Karen came in such a large bag, I thought it would definitely take a while to finish. But it looks like Pixie is going through it quite quickly. She even helps herself in the hay rack sometimes :)

Plants on our balcony now

My plants are currently not doing too badly after a spell of no plants and everything drying up. I even had a couple of nasturtium flowers. :)

The cutest face

This has been the cutest face around recently. That's Samuel, my dear nephew. I don't get to see much of him in person so we "converse" on Skype :)

Cheesecake

Attempted a recipe that came with our new rice cooker. Doesn't look too bad!

Visiting bunny friends

We visited Karen and Nimal at the Do Hop Inn today. We went round to get hay for Miss Pixie because she loves the hay they have since she boarded there.It was amazing! All her bunnies are so big and lovely! And they are everywhere in the house. Hehehe! I really do admire their dedication to the bunnies. Look forward to going to visit again but there is so much hay it will be a while to get through.

Cranberry, chocolate honeycomb biscuits

With Christmas around the corner, there are lots of nice recipes popping up in all the newspapers. These sounded so yummy I had to try them out.

Ingredients: -
125g unsalted butter
150g soft brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
100 white chocolate, chopped
60g dried cranberries
60g chopped Violet Crumble
2 tbs water

Method: -
* Cream butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Add egg and vanilla extract beating until thoroughly combined. Using a metal spoon, stir in flour sifted with baking powder, chocolate, cranberries, Violet Crumble and water. Mix well.
* Form mixture into a thick roll. Wrap in cling wrap and screw ends tightly to make a plump sausage. Label and freeze.
* Preheat the oven to 185C. Line baking trays with baking paper.
* To use, leave at room temperature to soften slightly then pinch off pieces of dough and roll into small balls the size of large marbles. Arrange on baking trays, allowing space for spreading during cooking and flatten slightly.
* Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden. Leave on baking trays for 2-3 minutes then remove to a rack to cool and crisp. When cold, store in an airtight container.

I didn't freeze all of the dough because I couldn't wait to bake some so I've got some to eat now and some in the freezer for later :)

Lovely glasses

We got these pretty Japanese glasses from Charli a couple of weeks ago. How nice of her to send them all the way to us!

Ladybug

Saw 3 ladybugs in one morning on the balcony. They are not the type of insects you would squish so when I found one in my veggies, I had to let it go outside.

Green food!

Felt in the mood for jelly yesterday when I saw the jelly packets in the supermarket so I got one - it's a lime flavour which explains the glowing colour. Hahaha....


Also got another Caramel Corn flavour - Matcha Kuromitsu which is black sugar honey syrup (yum!)

Cartoon bunny

Hehehe! Found this website while trying to find something to make Christmas cards. It's quite impressive!

Spay done

I got Pixie spayed on Monday! Something I had to make myself do however hard it was. She now has a shaved belly and a tattoo in her ear to show for it. When she got home, she didn't want to be locked in the cage and kept trying to find a way out. I let her out and she was all over the place like she didn't just have a major surgery. Had to keep her locked back in the cage because she might tear her wound. :S

So far it looks like she is doing ok. She does not want to eat her hay and pellets but she'll have papaya tablets, hay cubes, oats and coriander so that is not too bad. Still watching for more poop though...


An impatient patient


Tattooed girl

False pregnancy

I think Pixie is going through a false pregnancy phase! This morning I woke to see her busy carrying her fleece blankies around and planting them in the hay rack. When I took the blankies out, she would carry them back in again. Later on, there were even bunches of fur! :S

It was cute to watch her running around with the blankies and bunches of hay in her mouth but seeing the fur is quite heartbreaking. Luckily she has her spay booked in next week.

Clever bunny

We keep the hay in a laundry basket and Pixie goes in there to get her own hay sometimes. It is quite funny to watch because she will come flying out of the basket when she hears a noise.

Good news

"What's this news I hear?"
Today marks a day we all change our status in life. My sister has become a mommy, parents have become grandparents and I am an auntie. Pixie bunny has a human cousin (hehehe! according to a fellow bunny lover). Can't wait to see the baby!

Caramel Corn Cola

Another new flavour! I wonder if this will be fizzy?
There was Vanilla Soda but I didn't buy it :(