I'm a real housewife now! =)

This was my breakfast this morning:

 

That's right, fresh cut bread and home-made apricot jam. YUM!

I feel like a proper housewife because this week I made apricot jam (jelly for the Americans among us). It really is simple, just 1kg sugar to 1kg fruit then cook slowly on low heat. It just takes *hours*. For some reason though, jam to me is the measure of success as a housewife. I just feel so 'proper' standing in an apron & stirring. Why? I have no idea. We really don't eat jam that much (unless it's apricot!). And surely success as a housewife would be measured by what? a happy husband? a comfy home? Doing the best I can? Hmm... Will have to think about that more.

Unfortunately I have been flaring since I made it. :( The Prince woke me up this morning by putting a piece of bread-&-jam under my nose until I worked out what it was & woke up to eat it! Pretty good wakeup I reckon!

So what's your greatest success? What makes you feel like you're succeeding?

Christmas cooking win!

This Christmas we decided to make some gingerbread cookies for our friends and neighbours. A nice, cheap present. (I was about to type 'easy' just then, but it definitely wasn't easy!) The Prince had to help me roll out the gingerbread because it was hard from being in the fridge, but here's the finished product!

And yes, that is a mince pie dipped in icing at the back of the photo! I blame the Prince!


All wrapped up:

See, I can cook, sometimes! Now if only I could think of something for dinner...

Chrismas rose

Rose: A Christmas that wasn't too expensive! We put spending limits on our presents, and came out very well in the end I think.

Cooking Fail gets worse!

So, after yesterday's spectacular cooking fail I'm sure you're all dying to know what happened next! I assumed that the cookies would dry out on the drying rack, but after a few hours I picked them up only to discover: soggy mess! It was gross, to say the least! 

I thought the solution would be to put them in the oven for a bit to dry out, but as you can see above, they just sort of...melted.

yuck. 

I am very lucky to have a Prince who will eat, literally, anything. (the missing cookie above was eaten whilst soggy, even before the oven disaster!)

Rose: Congats to Prince William & Kate Middleton on their engagement! I always thought he would marry me, but I found my own (dare I say better?!) Prince. All the best for their life together, I'm sure it won't be an easy road! xx

Cooking Fail

Look what's on my kitchen bench:

 

How wonderful, homemade cookies fresh from the oven. 

WRONG!

These are store bought cookies we were given. Surprisingly delicious. Why are they on the rack?

Because I dropped them. In the bin. Where I'd just emptied my Robot Vacuum.

So I rinsed them off & put them on the rack. Cooking fail.

Reckon they're still edible??

~Stretchy P. xx

To organic or not to organic?

A few months ago when Goopa launched I tried to find 'the list' of what you need to eat organic & what doesn't matter as much. With Goopa we basically ate everything organic, but now they're taking a break over the warmer months we are back to conventional produce :( :(

So, here it is, via Mamamia: What to try & eat organic

Try & eat organic:

• Celery
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Blueberries (Domestic)
• Nectarines
• Sweet Bell Peppers (capsicum)
• Spinach
• Collard Greens/Kale
• Cherries
• Potatoes
• Grapes (Imported)

 The ones you don't need to worry about so much:

• Onions
• Avocados
• Sweet Corn
• Pineapples
• Mangoes
• Sweet Peas
• Asparagus
• Kiwi
• Cabbage
• Eggplant
• Cantaloupe (Domestic)
• Watermelon
• Grapefruit
• Sweet Potatoes
• Honeydew Melon

So there you go. What do you try & eat? Do you care about free range eggs or fairtrade items?

Blatant Plug

Organic Veggies for those in Melbourne!


If you're like me, you really want to eat organic veggies, but just can't afford them. Well - an answer is at hand!!


Some friends of mine are starting up a business called Goopa (good old fashioned produce) where they offer cheap organic, pesticide-free and regular fruit & veg. Did you know normal organic shops put the price up by 200%? What a rip-off!


http://goopa.com.au/

Plus, if you join by the 15th of October you waive the VIP membership fee. So hop to it! Your taste buds will thank you!