Tag: make your own

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In Praise of the Crappy Gingerbread House

Loves, I made my first ever gingerbread house from scratch and it really, really elooks it 😆 I think the world is breathing a sigh of relief right now that I became a writer and not an engineer because this house is held together with determination and a half kilo of spakfilla!

The recipe quantities were wrong so there were last minute ‘recipe rescue’ emergencies, AND it’s gluten free (which always adds a difficulty factor of 150), and I had to use paper stencils rather than cutters. But… it is really yummy! 🥰

The point of the gingerbread house is that I made it with my kiddo and it was fun and he got to see that things go wrong (quite a lot!) but we can work through it and we can still be proud of our efforts and progress. Progress is something I think we should be applauding far more than we do. We tend to celebrate achievements and ‘the best’ of everything, the top academics and the fastest runners (which is absolutely worth respecting and valuing) but I’d love to see a world that ALSO champions effort and progress and the courage to mess up and try again.

So, yep, I’ll be serving up this gingerbread house on Christmas Day because it too is an achievement of which we can be proud. (And also ‘cause it took hours to make so there’s no way we aren’t going to enjoy it! 😆)

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Gilberta’s Pasta Recipe

If you have read Three Gold Coins you may remember the pasta making scene with Gilberta. The character of Gilberta is a fictional one but she is lovingly named after the real Gilberta (Sangiorgi Nuccitelli Gilberta), who taught us how to make pasta when we were on retreat in Tuscany. Here are some photos and Gilberta’s recipe, as she gave it to us. I have written the method as best I can remember of the great pasta making day.

Gilberta’s Maltagliati Pasta

Ingredients

1 kilogram of Grano Duro Wheat, Type 00 (double zero), plus more if necessary when kneading

10 eggs

Extra water if needed.

Method, part one

  • Either use a plastic bowl or a wooden cutting board. Make a well in the centre of the flour, add the eggs and fold in with your hands.
  • If the mixture is too dry, add sprinkles of water if necessary.
  • Knead until the mixture has the consistency of your ear lobe. It should be stretchy but spring back. Sprinkle more flour if it’s too sticky.
  • Let it rest for ten (Italian) minutes. This is a good chance to drink some wine. 🙂

Method, part two

  • You need to have plenty of space to roll out the pasta and leave it to dry. The pasta sheets can’t be on top of each other or they will stick. Use a cotton cloth to lay the pasta out on because it will absorb whatever scent you put it on.
  • Cut off a slice of pasta and squeeze it to the thickness you need to put it through the pasta press.
  • You ideally need two people—one to feed the press and the other to catch sheets at the other end.
  • Flour between the sheets so they don’t stick to each other.
  • If the pasta breaks, roll it up again and put back through the pasta press.
  • Dry the pasta sheets for ten (Italian) minutes.
  • When it’s dry, cut or tear it into smaller pieces then boil as you would normally boil pasta.
  • Serve with your favourite sauce and homemade table wine.
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Creative Tuesdays

Creative Tuesdays: week #4, Homemade Bath Salts

Beautiful handmade bath salts with homegrown and dried herbs.
Beautiful handmade bath salts with homegrown and dried herbs.

Here is this week’s Creative Tuesday activity: homemade bath salts. (With a guest appearance from my inner perfectionist.)

I used epsom salts; dried rosemary, sage and lavender from my garden; and fine essential oils of lemon, orange and patchouli (Ahimsa oils).

Rosemary, sage and lavender are all good ‘muscle oils’. Lemon, orange and patchouli are all good for them mind.

This was such an easy thing to do and I almost felt like I cheated a bit with this activity. (Which is complete rubbish, of course, and just my inner perfectionist telling me that if it’s not ‘difficult’ then it can’t really be ‘valuable’… she’s full of nasty stuff like that, my perfectionist.) I’m really pushed for time this week, and I’ve never done it before, so it was a great one to do in an intense week when I still wanted to challenge myself and keep my commitment to my weekly goal. (So I now hereby tell my perfectionist to go find something productive to do because ‘yay me, I created something!’)

And if you want to make your own, all I can say is this smells divine! And, I get to enjoy a long soak in the bath with them!

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Win! Eat! Create! This Saturday, Brisbane.

Be sure to share this FREE event around! I’m so excited about this, a real life ‘Pot-pour-tea’ bar, just like in The Tea Chest!! And, you could win this gorgeous six-piece tea set!

Win this tea set!
Win this tea set!

I’ll be bringing a smorgasbord of ingredients (fruits, herbs, spices, teas) for you to come and try making your very own blend of tea. AND, I’m giving away cupcakes! AND, anyone who buys a book (or BYO for a signing) will go into the raffle two win this six-piece pink heart set of teacups and saucers!! (The box is a little worn but the goods are good!)!

You’ll find me at Angus & Robertson, Brookside shopping centre, Osborne Road, Mitchelton, Saturday 2nd August, from 11-2pm. I hope to see you there!