"The Craft Group" plus...

We love sharing the skills hidden within our group. Rita and her husband Arthur ran a Chinese Restaurant for years.... and so who better than Rita and her daughter, Christine to show us how to make the best fried rice ever? Here are some pics and the steps involved. At the end is Chris's proper version of the recipe (as opposed to my memories of it!)  Keep looking right until the last photo which is just the cutest photo of the mother/daughter team!                                      Rita & Chris got it all together to give us a great demo! Prepare everything beforehand and have ingredients ready in little bowls... (just like in the cooking shows!) * RICE - boil on the stove the night before. 1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to the boil then turn down low and put the lid on for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice up and put in the fridge overnight. Let it dry out ...

We love sharing skills hidden amongst our group. Rita and her husband Arthur ran a Chinese Restaurant for years.... and so who better than her and her daughter, Christine to show us how to make the best fried rice ever? Rita and Chris's Fried Rice recipe: Prepare everything beforehand and have ready in little bowls... (just like in the cooking shows!) * RICE - boil on the stove the night before. I cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to the boil then turn down low and put the lid on for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice up and put in the fridge over night. Let it dry out while it cools down. So if you need to put it in the fridge still a bit warm, leave the lid slightly ajar. Chris uses long grain or Jasmin Rice. * SCRAMBLED EGG - Crack an egg into a bowl and with a fork really beat it up. Don't add anything. Then in a hot, oiled work, cook the egg, stirring and breaking it up as it cooks. Set aside. * VEGETABLES - finely chop up some shallots (or spring onion) set a...

Having had 2 little ones in the house again for 2 days, I am convinced that the most important meals in their eyes are Morning Tea and Afternoon Tea. The challenge is to find them something healthy but fun. They were leaving my house with their Mum (my sister) in half an hour. They had an hour ahead of them in the car. QUICK! Feed them afternoon tea! 2 Ingredient banana pikelets came to mind and in no time were in the pan. The 2 ingredients are 3 bananas and 3 eggs. That is really all you need to know but you can see a recipe HERE . This recipe is for pancakes but mini pancakes (pikelets) are better for little hands or for a small snack. They are of course gluten, dairy and fat free with no added sugar! http://www.kidspot.com.au/best-recipes/Healthy+25/2-ingredient-pancakes-recipe+4806.htm "Miss 6" screwed up her nose at first. Just being honest because I think she was expecting a slightly different taste. But they were all eaten. They are not like your averag...

At The Craft Group I mentioned to the ladies around me that I was after dessert ideas for Christmas. One of the suggestions sounded super healthy and easy. Kathy also told me that it was really yum too (although I wasn't 100% convinced). So I tried it and I am totally sold on this great dessert idea! I made some for our family in pretty individual glasses and I made one for a friend in a bowl, for Christmas. I made some for our own family Christmas and I couldn't stop eating it. SO nice! May I present to you... (from Kathy B with extra comments from me!)... Chia Pudding Dessert (It can be dairy free, gluten free and has no added sugar) Kathy's Chia Puddings using multi coloured chia seeds Ingredients: 1 cup chia seeds( doesn't matter what colour seeds. Kathy used colour combo and I used white) 3 cups coconut cream or milk (that is about 2 cans) Fruit slices ( mango and blueberries are our fav) Coconut yoghurt from health food shop* Soak se...

Mum & Dad had their 60th Wedding Anniversary this past week with lots of smaller celebrations rather than one big one. For one of the events I thought I would make a cake! Cake decorating is not really one of my things but it is amazing what you can learn from the internet and from talking to the lady in the cake decorating store I found not too far away. I learned a lot from the I am baker blog website which includes a video tutorial. A little tip I picked up… the blog says to use a sugar syrup on the cake first to make the icing stick and stop crumbs coming away from the cake, but the cake decorating shop said to heat up some apricot jam in the microwave and smear a thin layer of that on the cake first. Cool in the fridge and the icing will stick with no crumbs. Yay for easy tips that really work! Happy 60th Anniversary Mum & Dad!

A project a day! I have so many photos of lovely things which have not yet appeared here on the blog. So, I am featuring a new craft item every day for 2 weeks, all made by ladies at The Craft Group. To continue… Project 11: Portuguese Pumpkin Jam by Lorraine People offer to bring something for morning tea at The Craft Group which is generous and lovely. Lorraine brought scones topped with this jam which had everyone talking. Your eyes told you to expect the taste of apricot jam but your tastebuds did a little dance when realising something was different. Nicely different! And it is not hard to make…. go on, try it. Portuguese pumpkin  jam . (Makes about 3 litres) 1.5kg pumpkin (weighed after peeling), diced.                                           ...

We try to provide some gluten free options for the ladies at The Craft Group. Usually they are banned from others. (Sometimes that is easy because no one really wants them!) But the other day, Bev G provided some savoury delights that I couldn't keep my hands off, even though I have no problem with gluten. I will definitely make these the next time I have to provide a plate of little finger food for an event. Introducing... Bev's Salmon Crepes Easy! Buy a packet of frozen, gluten free crepes from the supermarket.  (In sydney the GF ones are available in IGA stores) Mix a tub of philodelphia cream cheese  with a medium sized tin of nice red salmon and add some finely sliced shallots. (optional, a blob of thousand island dressing - watch out if it's gluten free) Spread of the crepes and roll,  then cut,  then stick in a tooth pick. You won't be able to stop at one! (Bev also made some using ham, but I didn't take much notice ...

Buttermilk, yoghurt.... we're talking about fermenting milk. Sounds dubious but it is very healthy. If you want to take probiotics for your gut, then buying Yakult can be expensive. So, instead, why not make your own KEFIR? From 'Homemade Mommy' Elly has looked into it and has mastered it. It is a bit tricky at first but once you have worked it out, it is quite achievable and cheap as chips. You can eat the 'grains', make a milky drink or add it to cooking. (Introduce it slowly though to avoid some side effects! ) If you are a part of The Craft Group, Elly is happy to provide you with some Kefir grains to get you started. I found this blog post from "Homemade Mommy" really informative. Read before you try. She has a link you can click on for an informative post on fermented foods in general and how they are good for you. I am no expert on this topic, just sharing that Elly has some 'starter' grains if you are interested. But I am i...

  At our Cancer Council Morning Tea last thursday, all the ladies brought a small plate of something to share. Lorraine L brought quite a few 'somethings' to share. Her cupcakes were SO nice and quite a few were Gluten Free. Let's be honest, cup cakes are usually all about the icing (just ask my kids!) But Lorraine's were really nice to eat as well as nice to look at (or lick the icing off). Now in this blog post we would like to invite Lorraine's friend, Jane W. in the UK to join us in a cupcake!  I know Jane, it's a bit far to travel to join in a morning tea so here are a few cakes for you to choose from... And to make the whole cake experience more real, click "read more" below for the recipe and make some for yourself! Thanks for sharing the cakes and recipe with us Lorraine!

Needing ideas for homemade Christmas gifts? Just google "Gifts in a jar" you will be amazed at the ideas out there! We received this jar last Christmas. It is a dry ingredients mix for cranberry and white chocolate cookies. Super yum. You'll find the recipe here.

Do you have to bring something to a Christmas function and you want it to be a bit cute? Butternut biscuits are placed on top of each hole in a muffin baking tray. Put in a moderate oven for a few minutes and they'll become soft. Gently press them down to form a little bowl shape. Let them cool completely. Next, fill with either melted chocolate or caramel pie filling from a can. then decorate with a mint leaf and some red M&M's. You are so clever!

I had so much fun making these goodies to give to all the guests at my party. I wanted to hand make something which showed how much I appreciated everyone coming to help celebrate. I made a wrapped, super sized freckle chocolate for everyone! Step one: melt a packet of "Choc Melts" according to the packet's directions. I figured out that adding just a tablespoon of melted copha in with the chocolate helped to form smoother shapes. Step two: spoon some chocolate into patty cases in a muffin tray. Make them about 3 mm thick.  Thin and even is best. Step 3: pour heaps of 100's and 1000's into each case. When they are completely cooled (the fridge helps), shake the loose 100's and 1000's off over a bowl. They can be used again. Step 4: Now cut little pieces of plastic wrap and wrap each freckle individually. Maybe just taste test one to make sure it is OK.  ;) Step 5: Make and print on your computer some circles with a...

Dear Pressure Cooker, I am sorry I have been ignoring you. Please don't be jealous. My new Slow Cooker has been out on the bench a lot and I do admit that I love it but I will never replace you. Thank you for rescuing me the other night. I knew I wanted to do something with the kilo of chicken thigh fillets sitting ready in the fridge and I did have plenty of vegies but what I didn't have was TIME! I had 20 minutes to make something out of that chicken and in 20 minutes.... which included the preparation time, you gave me and my family a super yummy and healthy meal. You are the best. It didn't take me long to chop some onions and put them with the chicken pieces (each cut in half) into your big shiny pot. Throwing some mixed herbs, salt and pepper onto the chicken didn't take long. That all browned a bit on your base while I quickly speed-peeled 6 whole carrots and washed and top'n tailed a heap of green beans. I had no time to peel the spuds so gave t...

It's the monday long weekend and it is cold and raining and you know you really need some soup.  Here is a great recipe from a friend of Tahlia's which she shared on her blog here . Go over to see how the recipe goes, she has done a great photo tutorial so you can't go wrong. The main things you need are some chorizo sausages, zucchini, frozen peas, onion, chicken stock, garlic and cummin. Thanks Tahlia, I have made this a few times, for quite large crowds too (thus the styrofoam cups) and it has been a huge hit!

Today my culinary skills are soaring to new heights. And I am gracious enough to share my secrets with you. This recipe takes cake making to a whole new level. 2 ingredients. That's right. Just 2 ingredients. And today I am here to share the recipe with you: Cola Cake Ingredients: 1 packet cake mix               1 can of Coke Method: Mix and bake There you are. That is it. I am good at a few things and one of them is taking something short and simple and making it long and wordy. So here is my tutorial on making a cola cake! STEP 1: Buy a can of coke and a chocolate cake mix. STEP 2: Assemble on the bench everything you will need. The 2 ingredients, a bowl and a spatula, some spray oil and a baking tray. If I need to make a cake for a crowd or to take on a picnic, I often bake in a pyrex dish like this. It is easy to transport and I just cut and serve from the dish.  Classy I know. (I took that idea from my...