Family Food

Do your family have a peculiar food fancy? Our is pancakes. Now, we all like the big fluffy cake like pancakes... especially buttermilk stacks with maple syrup & banana. But in this house, we have a dark secret. An obsession, a yen, a love...

for crispy edges...

To find this delicious treat is quite easy. I am the owner of a 'secret' family recipe. It's acutally for crepes if truth be told, but they're always called pancakes here. It's just how we roll. (Roll, get it, like you roll crepes?! Ah, I crack myself up...) It's been handed down generation to generation - well since 1963's publication of Step-by-step Cookery for the Australian Women's Weekly in it's bright orange cover. It's been converted from imperial to metric by my Mum and I am going to share it, just in case there is another family gripped by crispy-edge-itis:

1 cup plain flour

pinch salt

1 egg

1 1/4 cup milk

Just sift the flour & salt, put in the egg & whisk in milk until you get a thin batter.

Cook in a pan with butter

They're actually like little flat Yorkshire Puddings - incidentally it's my pudding recipe as well except I bake in muffin trays with 1 tsp of oil in a very hot oven for about 10 mins.

They are delicious rolled up with lemon and sugar, jam, syrup and even fruit. If my family's little secret disgusts you, I apologise - I just feel safe sharing my dirty laundry on my little blog ;0) Perhaps you could share your family's food quirks to make me feel less freaky?

Wordless Weekend

Photo by Me...

My Darling Rabbit

Ah, the firstborn. They're always at a disadvantage as they're the one you 'learn' on. I expected things of Anna-Jayne I never would of Poppy as my parenting style has changed and I've become much more relaxed and realisitic in my attitudes.

She is an official 'Aspergian' and with that comes many challenges and special talents.

She knows all about Echo-location, more facts about animals than you can poke a stick at, and can sit for hours playing Nintendogs on her DS or cataloging her Littlest Pet Shops into 'groups'. She also is fond of tissues, rocks, shells, sticks, leaves and all types of other natural matter and I will find 'homes' for her Littlest Pet Shops made of the above materials in every conceivable nook and cranny in her room. Organisation is not something she'll ever come to naturally I'm afraid, despite lists, picture cards and cranky Mum routines. There are so many other things about her that I will share in the coming time but they're just a couple of little Jaynie-isms....

We have had so many break throughs in the past year which seemed to culminate in a wonderful weekend. She had been invited to a schoolmates Birthday party. She had such a lovely time, as soon as we got there, she was off with her friends. There was a 'Guess the Lollies in the Jar' game. I asked her if she'd like to guess. She said "No, I'll just get it wrong anyway and not win" as a Mum, my instant reaction was "well, you've got to be in it to win it" but I let it go as I'm learning more and more when to 'let things be'.

I went to take the little ones for an icecream and when I returned to pick her up, lo and behold, she ran up to me "I WON! I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE WON!!" Her first ever prize!! She was so very proud. I have no idea who got her to enter but I'm so glad they did. She never wins.... she's not very co-ordinated, she'd rather gallop like a pony in a running race than be competitive. But in this, she did! She'd also won 3 other 'prizes' in games (I think due to a very lovely Mum who's seen her in the past come away empty handed). She proudly went around to everyone and shared her Lolly jar (which incidentally had 109 lollies). *Bless*

She was showing me all her loot when she saw her little friend had not won anything. I mentioned to her that she didn't seem to have anything and perhaps it would be kind to see if she'd like one of Jaynie's prizes? Albiet a bit confused, Jaynie dilligently asked if she'd like her glow-in-the-dark stars (no thanks)? Her special soap (again no thanks)... but she said - oh I'll have your skipping rope. Instantly - I could see on Jaynie's face, that she wanted that BADLY. I was instantly stuck. She'd been so giving & kind to her friend and now it was kind of backfiring. I quickly jumped in and said "Oh Jaynie, what a lovely friend and a wonderful person you are, I will get you the loveliest most beautiful skipping rope this week"... and with that, situation defused.

So my beautiful girl will be the proud owner of the most beautiful skipping rope I can find on pay day... and she's reminded me about it 154 times and counting since Sunday...........

Vietnam Jobs

This morning I went to the Doctor to see which vaccinations I'll need for my trip. I already have had quite a few of my shots from when I went to China so this time I'll need Typhoid, Hep A Booster, Tetanus Booster and Swine Flu.

I can't say I'm thrilled with the idea of loading my body and immune system with so many bugs but when faced with the opposing consequences ie: the full fledged diseases, I'm happy to do it. I know of so many people's varying ideas on Vaccines but for me, I feel better that I've made this decision.

I organised my passport on Friday so just waiting for that to get back and then it'll be onto getting a Visa! Although, I haven't spoken to my Mum yet so it feels strange to be organising all these things without her knowledge!