Woodland Antics

We had a Devonshire Tea picnic this week... Australia has made me a tea drinker and a scone lover.  (I've also become a fan of Vegemite but that's for a whole other post titled Things I Never Thought I'd Try) I have to share the links to the scone and cream recipes... Scone Recipe Devonshire Cream Recipe They are incredibly easy to make and sooo delicious. Promise! After tea we played charades...... soldier penguin jedi polar bear chickens tree thirsty in the desert Two lions falling in love I was the boy, Fiona the girl I mention this because to her it was important frog  above and below: mad scientists For the life of us Fiona and I couldn't get this one  My favorite of all. Mostly because of Reed's laugh: Koala's Oh man did we act so foolish and laugh so much! After this we played hide-and-seek. Some of my favorite memories growing ...

We have a new favorite snack in our house. Avocado Toast. It's easy to make, healthy and oh so delicious.  So I thought I'd share the recipe.  {if you can even call it that.} Toast some bread {I use whole grain} Mash an avocado and squeeze some fresh lemon over it. Spread it on the toast. Top it with feta cheese. Sprinkle with green tea salt. {to make green tea salt open a green tea bag and mix some of the flakes with salt.  I store it in a baggie because we can't get enough} Easy peasy lemon squeezy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In other news~ Last night we had an earthquake here in Melbourne. It was as you'd expect, the house shook, the windows rattled and it sounded like a truck was crashing through the house.  Ryan was on the train coming home from rock climbing.  He didn't feel a thing.  The kids were asleep in bed.  I ran to their room.  Reed was in the top bunk and had woken up. He told me he was shaking, then...

The weather outside screams SPRING!  My internal clock shouts FALL! A battle that ends in a draw. We picked flowers and baked some apple pies. I t was my first attempt at making mini pies in muffin tins.  I think they turned out cute, I know they tasted fantastic. What I liked about making mini pies~ * The munchkins are able to be creative and be absolutely involved in the process. *Each pie is unique *They are perfectly portioned to send in a lunch box or share with friends. *Baking time is reduced by 20minutes. *Each bite has the perfect ratio of filling to crust. Needless to say I'm sold on the mini pies. Happy Baking, Trudy

The past couple of mornings have been rainy & chilly. I don't mind much, it reminds me of Fall. We've been passing the hours playing quiet games and creating with homemade playdoh. Butterfly cake baking in the oven After a long day at work Daddy can't resist joining in the fun.  I have to say this playdoh is way better than the stuff you buy in the store. It's so much softer and easier for the kids to roll out and squeeze through all their various tools. Here's the recipe. {you really must try it.} 1 cup flour 1 cup water 1/4 cup salt 2 tsp. cream of tartar 1 Tbls. vegetable oil few drops of food coloring Just dump all the ingredients into your pot and give them a good stir.   Put your pot on the stove and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it forms into a ball.  As soon as it joins into one big glob, take it off the heat and dump it onto your counter.   Wait ...

I can't say I love cooking.  I enjoy it enough.  I do love eating delicious food and the feeling I get when I serve a delish meal to my family.  The easier the meal the more I enjoy it. I know some of you that check in on our blog are just like me So  Here's a couple of recipes I made last night that are simple and delicious. This is a salad that I often make with chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, corn and avocado. It's super easy & if you're like us and don't eat much meat it's a great way to get some extra iron into your diet too. In the morning or around lunch  rinse & drain a can of chickpeas. Then put them in a ziplock bag with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and marinate in the fridge until dinner. 15minutes before your husband gets home from work hungry for a nice dinner... Cut up the onions, tomatoes, avocado( if you have cucumbers on hand them too).  {don't get caught up on the amount of each ingredien...