The Unlikely Baker

As a young adult, in my secret heart of hearts, I wanted to be a patisserie chef. I loved to bake, had an authoritative sweet tooth, and just loved the way that cakes and tarts and other sweet goodies were put together, layer upon layer, to become a miniature masterpiece.

Baking wasn’t the road I ended up following, but I’ve managed to come back to it in the most unlikely way – through hand-sewn cakes, pies and tarts - our beloved new range available this year at all our markets.

I’ve been busy experimenting with toppings and fruit, and have a whole bakery stand prepared for Mathilda’s next month. And because they’re now sold individually, you can pick out the ones you really love – maybe a banoffie pie, or a caramel and strawberry mud cake, or maybe even a light and fluffy vanilla sponge with bright pink icing, deliciously dripping and stamped with a sugar heart…

This week, I’m putting the finishing touches on my patterns for tarts and pies, and will start to sew the first batch. I’m so hoping they’ll be as sweet as they are in my imagination!

Do you have a favourite tart or cake?

I’m always looking for inspiration, so let me know!

Nat

Baking and making the day away...

There are definitely Christmas-related smells.

For me, it’s spices: ginger, mixed spice, cinnamon and ground cloves. Sometimes even nutmeg. It was heady in my kitchen over the weekend, as I baked the most beautiful pumpkin pies; and it made me smile today, as I introduced the kids to their first Christmas baking experience – a tradition that I’m hoping to encourage within our small family, complete with all the smells, mixing, taste testing and patient waiting that goes along with it.

Our lovely Aunt and cousin have a yearly baking tradition that we were keen to get involved with; and this morning we smelled and mixed, and measured and tasted our way through Grandma’s boiled fruit cake recipe (laden with rum-soaked fruit, nuts, stewed prunes and piles of zesty peel), and a big batch of sticky, moreish rum balls.

I watched the kids mix at the table, standing up on their chairs – absolutely engrossed in the step-by-step process going on around them; best-loved carols played on in the background, spices measured out teaspoon by teaspoon, and once the lid was lifted, the strong smell of the soaked fruit filled the air. It warmed my heart – sharing this with family, and introducing it to Judah and Lou. Coming from a family of the most amazing cooks, the love of cooking and of food is something I’m so keen to weave into their young lives.

The weather turned cool and windy this afternoon, and as I tidied up, I eyed an ice-cream tub full of cherry tomatoes from the garden, which we can’t seem to eat through fast enough. And after a full, sweet day of happy cooking and comfortable chatter, I felt ready (and inspired) to do just a little more.

Relish, perhaps?

Thank goodness for Steph from Mon Petit Poppet, who luckily had posted a recipe not too long ago. The tomatoes were cut up in a flash, generously salted and peppered, and are, as I type, roasting beautifully in the oven.

Don’t you just love productive cooking days?

How was your day today?

Baking = Serenity

I bake a lot when I’m stressed.

It’s something I realised over the weekend, after a particularly challenging morning with the kids, a whole stack of sewing to somehow speed through, and what seemed like hundreds of tedious household jobs to somehow squeeze into the mix. Without really thinking about it, I put some music on, and got out my mixing bowls, some eggs, the flour – and while I chopped, fried, mixed and waited, I was aware of how much calmer I’d become. And how much more achievable all those tasks seemed to be.

I know it was probably just the act of having a small window of time to myself, but lately, it’s gone hand in hand with cooking, and I’m not necessarily complaining – and actually, neither are my family. In the last week alone, stress has led me to bake two gorgeous batches of sultana, honey and oat slice, a lovely silky lemon tart, and a hearty loaf filled with roasted pumpkin, feta and crispy bacon (spread with a little garlic and chive dip – divine!).

How do you deal with stress?

Nat

Image from here.

Right now...

It’s been a busy, flying-out-the-door, need-more-hours-in-the-day start to the week, as it usually is during the lead up to a new market. But I’m putting down my needle and thread this afternoon and stopping for a wee while, to appreciate what it is to be still - to stop, close my eyes, breathe, and relax.

I’m listening to some rainbow lorikeets fussing about in the banksias’ in our back garden, and can just see a baby bearded dragon sitting as still as stone in the fading sunlight. I baked the most moreish oat, honey and sultana slice late last night, and it’s sitting on a saucer before me, along side a fresh cup of coffee; and I’ve just picked up a book I ordered from the library – ‘Home made Vintage’ by the very clever gals at Cabbages and Roses. Perfect afternoon tea reading.

What are you doing right now?

Nat

Georgie Porgie Puddin’ and Pie…

I was pretty excited to find out this week that it’s the year of the homemade pie. Yeah, I know – with eight months already gone, celebrations on the virtues of the humble pie are a little late; but I’m all about embracing delicious things, so today I’m appreciating the goodness and loveliness that is all things pie-like.

Our pie maker gets a decent workout in our kitchen – almost on a weekly basis. Do you have one?

Our regular pie fillings include:

-         Leftover bolognaise with fluffy mashed potato and freshly grated parmesan

-         Basil pesto, chicken, bacon, pine nuts, fresh cherry tomatoes and roasted mushroom

-         Roasted vegetables (pumpkin, potato, red capsicum, mushroom, and zucchini), Danish feta and sweet chilli sauce

-         Leftover chicken curry

But my absolute melt-in-the-mouth all time favourite pie filling definitely has to be chicken and tarragon. So far, it’s the only recipe that sees Judah and Lou licking their plates clean and asking for more… which can be a rarity with toddlers!

Nat’s deliciously good chicken

and tarragon pie

Ingredients:

About 40g of butter

2 tbs plain flour

1 leek, ends trimmed and thinly sliced

1 ½ cups of chicken stock

½ cup of thickened cream

1 ½ tsp dried tarragon

Pepper

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

4-6 large-ish mushrooms, thinly sliced

Olive oil

1 egg, whisked (if making a big pie)

And for the cheating bit:

Store-bought shortcrust and puff pastry, thawed just a little

What to do:

Add a splash of oil to a frying pan, and cook the mushrooms until soft. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon, and return the pan to the heat. Cook the chicken pieces in batches until cooked through. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat until bubby and foaming. Add the leek and cook for five minutes, or until the leek softens. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for five minutes, or until the mixture starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and gradually add in the stock, whisking until smooth.

Whisk in the cream, tarragon and pepper to the flour mix, and season with salt. Stir through the chicken and mushrooms. Set aside to cool completely.

If you’ve got a pie maker: Line the pie shell with store bought shortcrust pastry when just warming up. Spoon in the pie filling, and top with a circle of puff pastry. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes, or until the base of  the pie is golden.

If you’re going for a more traditional pie: Line a 22cm springform pan with the shortcrust pastry and gently press to mould to pan. Spoon the chicken mixture in, and place another sheet of puff pastry over the pie filling, trimming the edges to fit. Pinch to close, and cut three small slits in the centre of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Brush the pie with the whisked egg before placing in the oven (at 180°C). Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until crisp and golden on the top. Set aside to cool slightly before eating.

Oh goodness, I do love pies. They’re just made to be shared, aren’t they?

Do you have a favourite pie recipe?

Nat

Ps. And my favourite pie movie? Waitress, with the gorgeous Keri Russell. ‘Bad Baby Pie’ still gets me giggling…

Image from here.

Grateful #15 - What are you thankful for today?

I’m really loving winter this year; all those crisp, clear-sky mornings, icy fingers and toes thawing out in hot baths, endless cups of tea, and a (flimsy) excuse to bake deliciously hearty dinners and belly-warming desserts.

I think winter is a time of reflection for me as well; is it for you too? I’ve been thinking all week about how fortunate we are, how we’re surrounded in love and care, have the most wonderful family and friends, and have a world of opportunity at our feet. I just love that path that we’re on at the moment.

And in particular, this week I’m very grateful for:

Home-grown loveliness. This week, we were all about pumpkin and herbs. Having pulled an enormous pumpkin from the garden a couple of weeks ago, it was time to use it – so I happily set to baking and making! First up, two batches of awesome pumpkin, parmesan, chive and bacon muffins (so good with garlic and chive cream cheese), which was lovely for snacks and rush-out-the-door breakfasts. Then a massive pumpkin and spinach lasagne, with layers of potato, ricotta and steamed chicken thrown in for good measure. I was so proud of our pumpkin effort, and that this one nurtured vegetable had fed our family all week. It gave me a renewed energy towards our sustainable garden, and how wonderful it’ll be in summer when things are really bursting and blooming with goodness.

Sisters. I’m always, always grateful for my lovely sister; but sometimes I see her in a whole new way and I can’t help but be amazed at her all over again. This week, I admire her for her patience, as she quietly and steadily works towards her dreams and goals. And I can’t wait for all of those wonderful long-cherished wishes to begin unfolding in her life.

‘What’s that?’ I spent a few moments every day this week sitting still, while my Lou pointed at various things and asked Whas that? - waiting only a second for me to respond before finding something else to ask about. All those new words! I’ve noticed that the 'whas that' game seems to have unlocked her understanding of language, and has allowed her to speak in more complete sentences – which is so wonderful! Admittedly, some of her sentences are parts of random words sandwiched together, but it’s still lovely to listen to. I’m also aware that it won’t be long before she’s speaking beautifully, so I’m enjoying her sweet baby language while it lasts.

What are you grateful for this week?

Nat

Ps. Join in! We’re linking up with the delightful Maxabella Loves – you can add your link to her Grateful post, or write your grateful list in the comments section below.

Grateful #10: What are you thankful for today?

We all lead such busy lives; I’m guilty of breezing through the day, barely stopping, slurping tea on my way to the next task, shooing the kids away from whatever project I’m working on that day. I’m guilty of not stopping to appreciate anything, and being wrapped up in my own busyness.

So, this week, I’m grateful for:

Small moments of loveliness. This week, I made a point of stopping; and it was based on a blog post I read by the lovely Gill at Alice Becomes.

Gill wrote a post last week about wanting to live in the moment, and how she decided to stop at 7:14pm one night to be present, still and grateful. And it really resonated with me – because I don’t do it nearly enough, and wish I did it a whole lot more.

So this week, I stopped.

A lot.

I stopped to listen to my children chatter to eachother during the day. I fell in love with the fact that they fall all over eachother every morning after a big sleep, and hug like they’re long lost friends, returning from an adventure. I paid attention when they read stories together, when they held hands out to the car, or danced together to new music, Lou stamping her feet off-beat to the rhythm, Judah strumming his three-stringed guitar.

I wallowed in the gorgeous smell of roasted apple and blueberry muffins, hot out of the oven; the extra sweetness of marshmallows in hot chocolate; fresh cut lavender and snapdragons in a vase in our kitchen, straight from the garden.

I lounged like a cat in the sunny spots, and found lots of excuses to be outside. One afternoon, I planted onions, leeks, carrots, beets, sage, coriander, a chilli tree, and a honey-bee attracting grevillea; I stopped to appreciate the warmth of the sun as it broke the chill of the wind, and the loamy damp smell of fresh turned earth.

I stopped to appreciate the stillness of the house late at night, my feet in new woolly sock, the soft glow of the lamp over my sewing machine. And I watched our sad-faced dog dream, legs jerking, yapping a sleepy bark which made me think she was on the chase.

So thank you, Gill – I’m so grateful for your blog post, because I had the loveliest week following your lead.

What are you grateful for this week?

Nat

Ps. Link your Grateful post back to the addictive-reading Maxabella Loves, or write your grateful list in the comments section below. You can also follow and comment on Gill and Nic’s 7:14pm project here x

Image from here. I’m the queen of post-it notes for reminders…

Marvellously moreish muffins

Rainy or overcast days seem to require baking, and these have quickly become my absolute favourite to make – they’re deliciously wonderful and smell amazing fresh out of the oven...

Roasted nectarine, ricotta and honey muffins

Makes 12

1 ½ cups self-raising flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup olive oil

1 egg, lightly whisked

¾ cup milk

125g fresh ricotta

½ cup honey

3 ripe nectarines, stone removed and sliced

2 tbs olive oil, extra

1 tbs brown sugar, extra

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12 cup capacity muffin tray with paper muffin cases or lightly grease if non-stick.  In a small bowl, combine nectarine slices, and the extra olive oil and brown sugar. Toss to coat evenly, then spread over a lined oven tray. Bake until golden and soft. Set aside to cool slightly.

Combine flour, bicarbonate of soda,  and sugar in a bowl; make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, combine honey, milk, olive oil, and egg. Pour into the well, and stir gently to combine. Fluff the ricotta and add gently to the muffin mix.

Spoon the mixture evenly among the muffin cases. Push a couple of slices of nectarine into each muffin, and then arrange the remaining slices on the top. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the top of the muffin springs back slightly when gently prodded. Remove from the oven, and set aside to cool slightly.

Enjoy the gorgeous warm honey smell as it fills up your kitchen. Muffins best savoured with a nice cup of tea in a pretty cup, and a lovely, quiet, sunny garden spot.

Nat

 

Cool, calm and collected in the kitchen

Every time I look at these cards, it makes me feel like baking.
In my imagination, my fake self is baking ridiculously beautiful cakes and tarts, wearing a sweet frilled apron and high heels, and has perfectly coiffed hair. The kitchen is gleaming, the children are clean and sweet as sugar, I'm multi-tasking like a professional, and even manage to sit down (daintily) for a cup of real tea in a china tea cup.
You can see it too, right?

Available in our Etsy shop now!

Nat