Seating Circles & Donut Muffins

Beginnings of our Seating Circle which will be in the centre
of our Bush Medicine & Bush Tucker garden

Wow, what a weekend already! We had a productive day at the Community Garden today with the beginnings of our Seating Circle.  Down the track it will be the centre of our Indigenous Bush Tucker and Bush Medicine Garden; but things have to start somewhere...........

So that's what we achieved today....It was all hands on deck....or tyres & bricks really. We are using some reclaimed bricks to help fill the tyres. But it's lots of hard work, as the bricks need to be smashed up and the earth dug up to make the seating level.

We still have lots to do, there's more filling in for this level, then another level of tyres needs to be built on top. After that the framework goes on to make the timber seating....then we will start incorporating the garden around it.

Invitation for the Working Bee
for starting our Seating Circle

Another Seating Circle made from reclaimed tyres, rubble & timber.
I presume this in the one from either Kiama Primary or Kiama Community Garden

Seeing Kiama Community Garden's seating has given us the inspiration to build our own seating. You can check out the beginnings of their seating area here. I'm sorry I don't have a colour photo of the finished circle yet, but next time I visit them I will take a camera.

Kiama Primary School has also built their own seating circle in their permaculture garden. You can check out a great post about the construction on Darren's blog at GreenChange here.

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We had a lovely lunch cooked on our little barbecue, which is also in the plans to be moved and enlarged....but here's what we dined on for today's lunch: 

• Freshly caught by Darren (that morning) Kingfish and Cuttlefish. I wrapped the Kingfish in foil after placing it on a bed of Warrigal Greens and scattering aromatic herbs from the garden, before laying lemon slices along the fish. It was then cooked on the makeshift barbecue we have at the moment. I sliced the cuttlefish ribbon thin and tossed it in olive oil before being quickly frying it off in a very hot pan. It only took about 1 minute to cook the cuttlefish and I can still taste it. 
• Yummy Meat Patties and Vege Burgers and different breads supplied by Angela
• Delicious and filling Fried Rice by Marty
• I made a salad from fresh pickings in the garden including Nasturtium petals and young leaves, marigold petals, chives, lettuce, cucumber and many herbs. A simple dressing was made from lemon juice & olive oil.
• Coffee and tea was also served throughout the day, along with herbal tea brewing on the barbecue too.
• Yesterday I also made a batch of Donut Muffins to take along....these were a great hit with everyone. I'd say especially the children.....but I think the adults enjoyed them just as much. I had to hide them yesterday afternoon from DS17 or there might not have been enough to take to the garden...lol. 

There was plenty to go around. I'm glad I made a double batch, and the mini size went down well while everyone was working.......

So here's the recipe for the Donut Muffins....this is a new recipe for me....but I will certainly be making them again....so easy....but ohhhhhh so doubly yummy!

Donut Muffins

175g (6oz) butter, softened

200g (7oz) caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

375 g (13oz) plain flour

3/4 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

250mls (9 fl-oz) milk

Topping

100g (3 1/2oz) caster sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

25g (1oz) melted butter

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Grease your muffin pans well with melted butter.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until light, fluffy and creamy.
4. Add the eggs a little at a time, making sure the egg is incorporated well before adding more.
5. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, nutmeg and salt.
6. Add half of the flour mix to the creamed mixture along with half of the milk.
7. Gently fold the mixture together until well combined..then repeat using the remaining half of the milk and flour.
8. Spoon mixture into the muffin pans filling them to roughly 2/3 full.
9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven. Or until lightly golden or clean skewer tested.
10. For the topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. 
11. Fresh from the oven after removing them from the muffin pan, paint the tops with melted butter, then toss them in the cinnamon sugar.
12. Eat them warm from the oven or eat them cold....if they last that long. 

Donut Muffins

Here's wishing all the ladies that are

celebrating Mothers Day

this Sunday.....

a very happy Mothers Day !

Left Overs on Pizza

Many thanks to Rhonda at Down to Earth for this concept.

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join. To take part, post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to here from your blog by saying you're part of "On my mind". Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When you've done that, come back here and add a comment below, with  a link to your blog.

Last night we had home made pizza's, with left overs....I had a few slices of silverside left from during the week, and also about half a cold oven baked chicken. So that is what we had on our pizza's. I have to tell you...they were just as yummy as the last pizza's I made.

Using my new Kenwood mixer...(I've never had a mixer that is hands free...wooohooo) I added 3 1/2  cups of homemade yoghurt......and about 5 cups of Self Raising Flour....and mixed it on a low speed until a dough was formed. I made the dough into four balls.



I'm not getting any credit for showing you my new Mixer, and I have had it for about 2 weeks now...My last whizzer I bought at K-Mart about 15 years ago.....so it has done me well. It's been giving that burnt smell every time I use it for a few months now......So I bid it fair well...and move on..... Move on to bigger and better whizzers that is......I'm excited at all the attachments you can get for it.....and what other kitchen appliance's it can replace.When buying an appliance we try to buy the best we can afford at the time. I think it's no point buying junk...if I buy junk, I usually get nothing but trouble. (Except for my freaky whizzer that went for so many years). If I recall though, back then it was still the best I could afford at the time and it had a huge 2 litre bowl...lol

Back to the leftovers pizza!
For the base sauce, I used my soup starter....adding garlic and lots of herbs is always a good thing on a pizza  and this starter is excellent for a pizza sauce.

Now for the leftovers......from top to bottom working from Left to Right.

Cheese
Chicken Stuffing
Capsicum
Silverside
Chicken
Tomato
and beaten egg (from the fridge)

 All that, makes this......3 times.

 After being in a hot oven until golden brown

and cooked through in the centre..... You get this!

We were so full, I didn't make up the fourth ball of dough...But we will use it for a dessert tonight. The boys have been bugging me for chocolate brevilles lately. So I guess I'll make something similar using the dough instead of bread...and in the form of a roly poly......

I'm sorry I haven't included a photo with this recipe...I don't like doing that....but here is the recipe anyway.......
Donut like dessert with chocolate centres. 

1. Prepare 2 slices of bread by buttering on one side each.....
2. With slice A, place on bread board with butter side up......then place slice B on top of slice A, with butter side down. 
3. Now on the unbuttered top of slice B....spread Chocolate Spread over the entire piece of bread.
4. Lift up Slice B and place on the sandwhich toaster...with butter side still down....
5. Then place slice A on top of Slice B with butter side on top. 
6. Shut the lid of your sandwich maker and bake until golden brown.
7. After removing your Chocolate Toasted Sandwich from the sandwich maker....
8. Dip the sandwich halves into cinnamon sugar, then enjoy!

And there you have one of the quickest desserts out there....and oh soooo yummy...almost like a freshly cooked donut with a chocolate centre. They are very yummy, but I only buy chocolate spread once in a blue moon....so it is definitely a treat for us.

These donut like desserts are just as yummy with home-made jam 

inside them instead of chocolate spread.

I've got plenty of work to do today....and more seeds to sort....Yesterday, for some silly reason, I decided to change not one but two lounge-rooms around.....so today I need to get more organised...there's stuff everywhere here at the moment...Look what happens when your unattended, no one to answer to and it's pouring rain outside.....

When the boys come home from work and school, I will get them to help me move the longer lounge from the back lounge-room to the main living area and put the couch that is there, in the back lounge.
Why....so I can sit beside my hubby when he comes home...and even lay down beside him with my head on his knee. This will make night-time television nice and cosy.

JUMPIN JOHNNIES - homemade yeast free donuts - 1853

Tell the kids they are “Mummy’s special donuts”   

You got to LUV EM, best to make a double batch because they will disappear as you cook them and you will not get any.

 

Source: First Catch A Kangaroo  - A letter about food written from the Bendigo goldfields in 1853
for a printable copy of the recipe; with 4 copies on one page to share go to 

 http://www.docstoc.com/docs/71459080/HOME-MADE-DONUTS 

 

3 tblspns sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

Grated rind of a lemon

2 ½ cups Self Raising Flour

 icing sugar or cinnamon sugar to roll them in

1 Beat eggs and sugar, add other ingredients and mix well.

2 Heat oil in pan. Test with bread cube.

3 Drop teaspoonfuls of mixture into hot oil.  They will turn themselves. Sometimes they need help!

4 Once brown on both sides, quickly drain on kitchen paper and roll in icing sugar. 

5 Enjoy hot or cold.