A series of "Squishy Fruit" Recipes...

I hate waste. Maybe it is because I was raised by a mother, who in turn was raised by a mother who lived through the Depression and did it tough. Or maybe it's the adding up of the fruit and vege bills, trying to feed four children with healthy foods. Or maybe it's because I need the money for fabric,anyway, whatever the reason, I have a whole pile of recipes that use up "squishy fruit". You know, the kind of fruit that lives in the fruit bowl, untouched as it's no longer in it's prime.Or the kind of fruit that has travelled to school, remained uneaten, and then travelled home again...to live in the fruit bowl, until it's demise. Or the type of fruit that's been used as a bowling ball as the kids couldn't find the actual one that went with the plastic ten-pin bowling set..

Anyway, you get the idea...

So the first recipe is...



APPLE RAISIN CAKE

Ingredients
1 and 3/4 Apples peeled and diced ( the recipe says Granny Smith, I use whatever)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teas baking soda
1 teas cinnamon
1/2 teas nutmeg
1/2 teas mixed spice
125 g margarine (my boys are lactose free and this works well with Nuttlex)
1 egg
1/2 cup sticky raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Put diced apples in bowl, cover with sugar.Add margarine and eggs, mix. (It may look a little like the margarine isn't mixing in too well. Don't worry, it will work out fine when the flour is added.) Then add spices and raisins (and walnuts, if using). Sift baking soda and flour together. Add to mixture. Cook in square pan (20cm x 20cm) for approx 35-40 min at 180 degree C. It's cooked when it's golden on top and a skewer comes out clean.

This cake is good warm, with custard and icecream, as a dessert. It also lasts well...if it survives that long. To make it look a little nicer, add a dusting of icing sugar...

Have a great week!

A lovely day out...

Once again this year I went to...


That's right..Girls Day In the Country!(too bad for any of the male crafters out there!!)Run by the lovely Kerry from Cottage on the Hill and our tutor for the day was the wonderful Anni of Hatched and Patched.
The two projects we had to choose from were a wallhanging..



And a woollen purse..



Mine ended up a little less random than Anni's sample - wish I could have done it like that, but I'm not much good at random! :-)


It was a great day, catching up with fellow quilters- especially the lovely Lzi, who promised us all she would do a blog post soon...

Have a great week...all the best!

Missing in action...

Sorry, haven't been back to post for what seems like a long time! It's been another busy time - getting back into the swing of school, several lots of visitors,etc etc. And I've been operating at an 'exhausted' level so not much crafting going on...thus not much to blog about!

So just a quick post as I remembered I once mentioned showing you my Sunshine Boy's quilt (and I'll be back with Boo's soon). Here it is..

Made at a retreat at Cottage on the Hill it's a Thimbleberries pattern which came together really easily!

And I've been looking for a portable craft- as I sit next to swimming lessons, cricket games etc, so I bought these the other day


I am going to attempt to knit socks! Wish me luck as my knitting skills are a little hit and miss!

And just to share a kidlets story. I woke this morning to find leaves strewn through the living room...leading all the way from one side to another. It's never pleasant to wake up to chaos and I muttered at Boo "What did you think you were up too??". He replied, "Making you a fairy path, Mum"...as if it was the most normal thing in the world. I smiled...as I handed him the dustpan....

Hope you're having a good week!