'cause there's no-one here to say we can't have cake for breakfast'

I have developed many of the recipes for our breakfast table, though this slice needed no tweaking, It's delicious.  Thanks Kerri! ½ cup peanut butter 2 heaped Tblsp coconut oil ¼ cup maple syrup or honey 2 cups oats ½ cup sunflower seeds ¼ cup pumpkin seeds ¼ cup flaxseeds ¼ cup shredded coconut ¾ cup chopped dates Line a baking dish with baking paper. Place the peanut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup in a large pot - melt. Remove from heat. Add everything else. Press into prepared tin. Chill in fridge for at least an hour. Cut into slices Keep in an air tight container in the fridge as the coconut oil will soften and the slices will fall apart.

 We don't have parties at Toad Hall. We have gatherings...and if you were lucky enough to be here on Saturday night, you had the opportunity to join the  Games Night Gathering.  The weather was wet! All around the motu, nothing but rain.  With everyone in the house feeling a little locked-in, we made the call to have a shared meal and get the games happening in the front room.   A jig-saw got set up - which is still going. Table tennis is always a hit (see what I did there!) We re-arranged the couches and made a safe-zone around the dart board. Disclaimers were signed. Gareth made a platter of crumbed fish and various guests added to the table with dishes to share. It was a grand feast. A fun night of good food and great company.  I love my job! The next gathering is this coming Friday for Absolute Bowie Tribute .  We'll gather for a shared meal before heading to The Cabana for a night of David Bowie.  Gareth and I will be doing rock-scissors-pape...

  As should be expected, the unexpected happened Hosting a horticulture team, a home coming, baking success and failure, upgrades underway and some unhelpful appliances! We've had a bit of everything over the past few weeks... We hosted a group of seventeen horticulture researchers for four days and they were a delight. They enjoyed their stay and were comfortable in the building needing little from us aside from the usual breakfast, cookie jar and housekeeping of communal areas. All chores done by early afternoon. Nice. I have spent my afternoons baking at a leisurely and curious pace. Three new recipes were developed. Cherry slice Apple pie - the best ever Milk bread - a fortunate accident! Gareth, had a plan for his weekend to paint feature walls and install shelves in the cabin block rooms that will be home to 6 wine makers in just a few weeks time.  Fiona came home! Fiona is a Toadie from Scotland. Her son stayed with us years ago as a backpacker while sorting his immigra...

A delicious light, fresh cherry tart. Serve with yoghurt for breakfast or ice cream for dessert. Pre-heat oven to 170°C Line a slice tin with baking paper Base 1½ cups flour (can use gluten free flour or almond flour) ¾ cup coconut - I use shredded rather than desiccated ½ cup brown sugar ¼ tsp salt 180g butter - softened but not melted Put all ingredients in a food processor and mix until it forms a dough.  Press into a slice tin. Bake at 170°C regular bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool Topping 60g butter ¼ cup caster sugar 2 Tblsp cream 1 tsp vanilla essence 150g chopped almonds 50g thread coconut ½ cup berry jam (I used 4 fruits) A punnet of fresh cherries - halved and pips removed, drained. Mix the jam and berries together. Spread this mix over the base. Melt the butter, sugar and cream together in a pot. Add vanilla, almonds and coconut,  Mix gently so everything is well coated. Spread over the jam on base. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden. Leave in tin until cool...

  Born out of error, this bread is similar to Japanese milk buns. Very light and fluffy. Serve with real butter and your favorite berry jam.  1 cup of milk - warm in microwave for 1 min 50g butter - melted 5 Tblsp sugar or 3 Tblsp honey or maple syrup 3 tsp yeast with bread improver 2 eggs - lightly whisked 3½ cups flour ¼ tsp salt Load all ingredients into a bread maker pan and set mode to basic. Easy!!

 Baking the apples is the key to success with this deep dish pie. Nana would approve! The pastry is worth the effort so don't cheat with store bought! Pre-heat oven to 150°C Line a deep pie dish with baking paper. Pastry 3 cups flour 1 cup self-raising flour ¼ tsp salt 1¼ cups milk 175g butter 1 tsp vanilla essence Put flours and salt in a bowl Melt butter and milk together over low heat. While warm, add the milk mix and vanilla to the flours. Use a blunt knife to mix into a dough. When it's cool enough to handle, mix by hand. Divide the dough for base and top. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about an hour. Prepare the apples 1 bag of apples  - peeled, cored and quartered. If using small apples just halve them. Juice from a couple of lemons - I used bottled lemon juice. Coat the cut apples in lemon juice and arrange in a single layer on a lined baking tray. Bake for about 20 minutes. Some apples will dry, some will breakdown, depending on the type of apple. Don't let...

 Every minute spent organizing is an hour earned  - Benjamin Franklin We probably all agree that being organized, having a plan, everyone being on the same page, working toward the same goal is the easiest way to complete tasks.  Well, that's all well and good until something unexpected happens. With potentially 51 guests in the building at any one time, something unexpected is to be expected. People do things differently. They use space differently. They use things and spaces - even after nearly 13 years - that we had not thought of or seen before. Really odd stuff...like cooking rice in an electric jug. Boil rice in water - kind of makes sense.  We now provide rice cookers in our guest kitchen. Planning the week ahead, revising the plan the day before, confirming the plan at morning team meetings...it's a constant and shifting plan to be organized. And then...the dryer stops working and the heavens open with a down pour! The plan changes.  I asked my boys...

 I serve this salad with halloumi, marinated in sweet chilli sauce and grilled on the bar b q. Perfect! A hand full of mixed fancy lettuce - slice finely 2 spring onions - sliced ½ cucumber - diced ¼ cup Chopped walnuts ½ red capsicum - finely sliced ¼ cup pumpkin seeds ¼ cup sunflower seeds Throw everything together and blend gently or layer on a platter. Dress with lemon juice.

  I use gluten free pasta for this salad. Stick with a quality brand and everyone will enjoy it. Fresh herbs from the Toadie garden bring this dish to life. 1 cup Penne pasta 1 Tblsp butter ½ tsp tumeric 1 small brown onion - diced ½ red capsicum - finely sliced ½ yellow capsicum - finely sliced 1 tsp fennel seeds Large bunch parsley - finely chopped Fresh Thyme Fresh Marjoram Boil pasta in salted water and drain. In a frying pan, melt butter and sauté onions. Add turmeric Add capsicums Add fennel seeds. Once capsicums are just soft - don't let them break down,  Add onions and capsicums to the pasta and fold together allowing the butter mix to coat the pasta. Add all the fresh herbs. Fold and serve.

  This post, for the most part, is to try and correct a technical thingie of how the blog is presented on a phone, as apposed to a lap-top. But I am making the effort to test with content of interest. I hate technical stuff!  I don't understand it.  I don't want to figure out what terminology on the screen actually means. Personally, 'the thingie, is used a lot to describe pretty much everything technical. Our wifi support and my brother get quite frustrated trying to help me. I still don't know how to answer 'What version of windows are you running?' The real issue is:  How do we get into gear to do the tasks we don't like doing?  They still have to be done.  Procrastination is the thief of time...lack of 'figuring it out energy' is... whatever is worse than a thief. An organized crime racket? So, immediately two things come to mind: 1. Skill level is fine, but the job is crappy and/or energy is low 2. Skill level is low, so the job seems crappy and...

I use the bread maker for this dough. It makes two loaves of light and fluffy brioche bread. Served with cherry tomotos and fresh basil from the house gardens. Always a winner at breakfast!  1 cup milk - warm (1 minute in microwave) 50g  butter - melted 3 Tblsp liquid honey - or maple syrup 3 tsp yeast 2 eggs - lightly whisked 3 ½ cups flour ¼ tsp salt Add above ingredients into bread maker pan.  Start dough setting and allow to knead until dough looks silky and stretchy - about 10 mins Add 170g butter Continue knead cycle. Leave 1 hour - this is the natural step of the bread maker. Keep an eye on it, as the dough has been known to overflow the bread pan. Messy!! Pour dough into a glass bowl and cover with cling film. Put in fridge until dough is completely cold, At least an hour.  Can be left over-night. Prepare 2 loaf pans with baking paper. On a floured board gently kneed the dough,  Divide the dough in two.  Divide each half of dough into 8 balls and ar...