Sun, Sea and Sand...

It's nearly midnight and I have only just finished wrapping the families Christmas and stocking presents. The whole house is fast asleep and as I am obviously not, I thought why not get my very late holiday diary post out! I really cant leave it any longer!! So coffee has been made, a treat of ice cream and homeamde chocolate sauce to accompany it. - yes I know ... not very SW! But lets just say that has been and is a tad impossible at my mums! I will get back on track! eventually :/

Right... So what have I been up to???? Gosh so much over the last two weeks!

The week before last we had my step fathers grandson Angus and his gorgeous girlfriend Bree to stay which was lovely. Lots of beers and delicious Aussie tucker was had and Bree was an amazing playmate to Ben!

Hello Aussie lamb!!!!

We then ended the week by spending Sunday at the market in Esperance again, mum completely stealing the show with her gorgeous brownies and Christmas boxes.

It was a fairly busy week yes but not as much as last week, which started off relaxed but soon changed.

At the beginning of the week Mum, Ben and I spent our afternoons going back and forth to the beach Roo spotting and having fun ute adventures. So much fun was had in the ute that Benji has now fallen in love with driving and tends to spend most of his time going "broom broom" and driving an imaginary car! :)

Still no picture of a Roo...even though I have seen hundreds! sigh...

The end of the week was full of family arrivals, first my OH on Wednesday and the my Brother on Friday.

Both occasions were of course marked by a trip to the beach. 

Thursday was spent driving the ute along the beach and swimming in the gorgeous turquoise water. We also got to try abalone for the first time thanks to some of mums friends. I just loved how we all piled into the kitchen and helped prepare it. I will infact be sharing the recipe with you all soon.

When my brother finally arrived  and was settled we took a trip to a little secret beach over the rocks at Little Warton. We spent the morning fishing and swimming which was amazing. We had a whole beach to ourselves and every inch a picture of beauty, an example of gods handy work at its finest!

The week was then ended by cutting down our fabulous and meticulously chosen Christmas tree - and trying to fit it in the house, some chopping and trimming was definitely needed.

I am saving the pics of the finished tree for my next post! All about Christmas of course.

I absolutly adore it here and hate that in just a few short weeks I will be leaving! But not yet...I still have time to enjoy the gorgeous country and precious time with family!

Till my next update...see ya!

Tommy's Corn Fritters...

I promised you another delicious recipe today and deliciousness is what you will get! Thank You to my mummy darlings other half Tommy for letting me share his recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups corn (frozen or fresh)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
2 tblsp chopped parsley and chives
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp tumeric
3 tblsp flour/gluten free flour
3 tblsp cornflour
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle ontop

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 200C. Grease a brownie or muffin tin.
2. put everything into a bowl and mix until combined. Save a little bit of chives to garnish.
3. Divide into the tin and bake in the oven for 20 min or until cooked and golden. Don't worry if they puff up slightly.
4. Serve straight away with a sprinkle of chives.

These little bites of deliciousness are great as a side or a snack on their own. Everyone will love them, young and old, that's if they like corn that is! There is always someone...

Happy baking and eating all.

Jet lag has come and gone...

This post is very late I know as I promised them on Sundays, but things were a tad crazy last week with jetlag, getting use to time zones ect. We are however all adjusted and back in functioning order now...well just about :)

Last week, our first full week, was filled with lots of trips to the beach and getting to know the locals, the locals being the amazing wildlife. On Monday we took a drive down to the Duke of Orleans beach near Condingup and met the most wonderfully handsome Pelican. We watched him swim, said alot of 'hiya's' and  fed him a few fish that some naughty fishermen had left on the shore. I even managed to capture the fabulous moment when my fearless son introduced himself to his new feathered friend. I only got one picture though as the pelicans open mouth was a tad startling, not that Ben seemed to care.

Last week we also finally came face to face with the delightful little frog that gently croaks us to sleep at night, the Banjo Frog and what a gorgeous little frog he is! He almost looks painted and if he is an ornament on my mothers shelf rather then a real creature. The pond here is full of them as well as our shoes, Ben's buggy, we even had one riding on the wing mirror of the car. Its a good thing I like frogs!!!

Things were not  all about pelican befriending and frog spotting though. Mum and also did a bit of 'foot modeling' for my step dad and his gorgeous Barefoot Sandals, as well as a whole lot of Brownie baking for her Benjamin's Brownies stand at the Esperance Market on Sundays. They are a talented pair my parents.

Over all it has been a super busy, exhausting, up and down week but still so enjoyable and wonderful! I love being here with family and taking in all the beauty and wonder this country has to offer. It really is wonderful to be here.

Orange Cake

Yesterday my mum and I had a few ladies from her bible study over for tea to say thank you for all their prayers over the last year. Everyone brought something yummy with them and our contribution was a deliciously zesty Orange Cake.

This is the first time we have mad this cake but it wont be the last. It has such incredible flavor and a wonderful texture. A tea time favorite for summer.

Here is how you make it...

Ingredients

cake
1 orange
180g melted butter
3 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 self raising flour

icing
2 1/2 cups of icing sugar
2 tblsp melted butter
zest and juice of 1 orange

Method

you will need a processor for this recipe...or allot of patients and chopping skills :)

1. Preheat your oven to 180. Grease and flour a ring tin.
2. Process the whole orange. Add the butter, eggs, sugar and flour and process/mix until mixed.
3.Pour into your tin and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. In the mean time make your icing. Again just all into a bowl and mix.
4. Once the cake is cooked remove from the tin, cool and ice.We kept a little behind to put on the cake once the first layer of icing had set. And don't be neat about things, you want it to drip down the side.
Serve with a sprinkle of orange zest and a lovely cup of tea.