October Challenge

The challenge for October 2011 is:-

Purchase or make extra personal items such as shampoo, deoderant, soap and stock up on 'girly items' like sanitary pads/tampons etc. 

I'm not sure if there are any products out there that the menfolk need to stock up on - I'm guessing my husband couldn't care two hoots if he wasn't able to shave for a while.  If he needs moisturiser, he runs off with mine (your secret is out, Phil!!).

Picture c/o http://www.sweetsavings808.com/ an American blog by Karissa, who writes about fantastic freebies and cool deals you can get...if you live in America (which I don't) :(

This is her awesome third post about stockpiling, and where the photo comes from: http://www.sweetsavings808.com/2011/03/living-on-less-part-3-stockpiling.html

Week 40 of the 2011 Food Storage Challenge

$10 Challenge
Store 2 kgs powdered milk

$20 Challenge
Store 4 kgs powdered milk

Powdered milk again.  Make sure you check the use-by date on your powdered milk.  I once purchased some that had to be used up within 2 months.  I use a tablespoon of powdered milk each time I make bread, but I didn't get to make that much bread!

Other options if you already have enough powdered milk, or if you don't wish to store it are sweetened condense milk, or evaporated milk.  I like to keep both of those in stock too, as I use them whenever I make Nigella Lawson's Flan (aka Creme Caramel).  It gets devoured quickly here, and I confess, I could eat an entire thing by myself.  Well, almost by myself.  Over two days perhaps ;D

Week 39 of the 2011 Food Storage Challenge

$10 Challenge
Store 5 kgs wheat

$20 Challenge
Store 10 kgs wheat

If you can't store wheat, store flour, or rice, or whatever your family eats most of. 

This wheat can be put through a grinder to make bread, or tortillas daily if needs be.  I do have some wheat stored (20 kilos, or something like that), but I tend to store more flour as I used to be allergic to wheat when I was a child. Some people can develop intolerances for whole wheat in breads.  I am not willing to risk that should I need to rely solely on my food storage.

You can sprout wheat too, and munch on that.  There is a recipe for 'Swamp Water' floating around in my food storage folder which uses ground up wheat grass.  I have tasted it.  I was very nearly sick.  I don't think I'll be making that unless my life depended on it - and I'm seriously hoping it won't come to that! ;D

Freezable Lunchbox Snacks

I love being able to stock my freezer door with some easy-to-grab snacks that I can throw in lunch boxes in the morning.

Portions of the following are easy to individually wrap, freeze and grab:-

• Muffins
• Cupcakes
• Focaccia
• Slices
• Brownies/Blondies
• Sandwiches

Today I made a chocolate brownie and parmesan herb focaccia for lunchboxes tomorrow as we were running low on freezer items.  They made for a great after school snack this afternoon, then they were sliced up, wrapped and into the freezer they went.

Usually I use make Cherry Blondies, but I didn't have enough white chocolate, and couldn't open the jar of Morella Cherries I had (doh!), so a chocolate cakey brownie it became.

Here's the recipe:-

Ingredients

100 grams butter
180 grams white chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1 cup pitted cherries
Icing sugar, to dust

Prepare a slice pan - I am not into my brownies looking really pretty on the crust, so I throw baking paper in a baking dish.  Less mess.  Easy!

1. Melt butter and chocolate in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat.  Set aside to cool for 5 mins.
2. Add sugar, eggs and flours to pan.  Stir to combine.
3. Spread into prepared slice pan.  Press cherries into mixture
4. Bake for 30 mins or until edges are firm and top golden in a 180 degree C oven.
5. Cool in pan. Dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Week 38 of the 2011 Food Storage Challenge

$10 Plan
Replenish the Kitty Tin

$20 Plan
Replenish the Kitty Tin

If you have been doing the 'Kitty' method, where you put the $10 or $20 into a jar or tin each week, and use only that money to purchase your Food Storage, this is where you would put that money in and leave it in for this week.  There are some expensive things coming up that you need to 'save' up for, like vitamins.  In order to get ones that will actually be of benefit, you'd need to spend a bit of money on those.

And how cute is that kitty tin?

Just Dance!

I started Ballet when I was 4 years old.  My father was a ballroom dancing teacher (now retired) and I attended a well known Performing Arts High School, so I have grown up with dance all around me.

Sadly my husband doesn't dance.  That's a whole 'nother story that I'd better not go into here, but I miss being able to dance.  I don't have anyone to dance with anymore.  Or so I thought...

I decided this week I was going to teach my children how to dance.  I may have bribed my son with a few gobstoppers.  Anyways, it worked, and he actually smiled! He also kept checking the windows to make sure no-one was peeking in.  Self conscious much?

We started with a basic Samba to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy-QL2eCU3Q and we have a few things left to fix up, but we're having fun.  Even Phil joined in today, once he saw how much fun the kids were having, and agreed (at least for today) that it was a good thing.  We'll see if he has the same opinion when I make him dance again ;D

We're doing a Waltz next.

Anyone else want to join in a dancing challenge and see if you can learn a dance a week for a month?  I think the Jive will prove to be the most fun!! 

If you are not a dancer either, I will accept shaking imaginary maracas in your hands, alternating shoulders and wiggling your hips. :D

Cake Pops. What ARE they exactly?

I think they're an American-ish sort of a thing.  We have cupcakes here, and mini muffins, but I'm hearing more and more people talking about making cake pops.

What are they?

I like to bake, these things can't be that hard to make, surely?

I did a search.  This site has a crafty Mum who loves to make all things miniature cakey: http://craftsmumship.com/tag/cake-pops/

She made these:-

Isn't Lorelei clever!!

Apparently there are cake pop makers, just like donut or cupcake makers.  I have a mini donut maker, but I consider my oven and muffin moulds to be my cupcake maker.  I can't imagine using one of these things to make cake pops though?

Cake pop maker

So it looks to me like there are two different ways of making these:-

1. Make up a cake batter and use the cake pop maker to bake the cakes into a mini circle.  They're 'stickable' once they have cooled (insert stick), then dip into coating.

2. You have a pre-made cake, cool it, crumble it up and mix a little liquid or icing, then form into balls, stick with a skewer, cool again and dip or cover with whatever you like.

I've made mini Christmas puddings complete with icing.  These may frustrate me more.  At least the puddings don't have to balance on a stick!

However I do have a son obsessed with Lego.  I think these may be just the thing to cheer him up on his next birthday ;D

More detailed instructions here: http://www.livinglocurto.com/2010/06/lego-cake-pops/