Raspberry and white chocolate

Woke up this morning to a beautiful day. Roman, however was not so keen to wake up.

BTW - he doesn't know his dog coat is pink...

He gave me the worst look when I insisted he get up.

Not happy

Anyway, yesterday MOTH made THE BEST MUFFINS IN THE WORLD and took them to work. I only got one :o(

So, I thought I'd sneak a photo and share the recipe with you all...

Let me know what you think - they are really good.

It's Easter and I've got no eggs

Autumn is that time of the year when the chooker moles molt. It's their off season in egg production when they lose and then grow new feathers and slacken off in the egg production department.

We have 5 mature chooker moles and 6 point of lay (new ones who are about to start laying) but I'm only getting one egg a day from Louise (short for "Geez Louise, you're a big chicken").

MOTH is beside himself, unable to supply at work.

What else can I do to make them happier so they will lay more eggs? I built them a bloody palace, they free range every day, their feeders are always full, they get all of our food scraps (except the ones they're not allowed)... fussy!

PS Kerri and Kelly, here's MOTH's hummus recipe...

MOTH - the dealer

MOTH works in an office with lots of young, Gen Y, beautiful people who, well, aren't necessarily very practical people. But they really want to be and MOTH has identified a niche opportunity in this space.

Known for his culinary skills as a wonderful cook, MOTH regularly takes home made left overs to work (like his curries that he makes from scratch - herbs from the garden stuff) and takes great personal delight in sharing the wafting aromas of his dishes with others in the lunchroom. He is often asked for recipes and treats this like, well I can only describe it like a fisherman who has spotted a brown trout and teases it with the fly until it is caught. You see, MOTH is slowly setting out to teach a man to fish.

He has a book that he records his favourite recipes in. I've managed to capture some to share with you.

Made from wild guava we found growing on our property a few years ago

Free range eggs are the secret to this recipe

Now to the crux of this story... MOTH sells the eggs I collect from the chooker moles to his work colleagues for $5 a dozen. This (as previously mentioned) funds his caffiene habit. And with the recently constructed chooker mole palace, we are now able to increase our flock. So 5 moles is now 11 moles and MOTH's supply has just doubled.

So, he has started to introduce recipes to the egg recipients, effectively getting them hooked like a cocaine addict!

Now they are much nicer than the ones you buy in the shops. The moles get to roam free every day, scratching around in the bush litter and keeping our lawns free of grubs. So, their eggs are big and the yolks are bright orange, not yellow.

One girl even told him recently (and was very chuffed with herself) that she had learnt to poach and egg but she had tried on a store bought one before trying it on one of his eggs.

My prediction is our eggs will be $10 a dozen by Christmas!

PS   Spot the 3 chooker moles in this picture...

Housebound and going crazy

It's raining.

This is the view from the deck over the valley. Behind that ridge you can just see is a view of Redcliffe et al. and across the bay to Moreton Island. Not today [sigh].

The animals who know where their bread is buttered have all found somewhere in the house to snuggle down.

Baillie won't be needing her sunscreen today on our very expensive leather poofie...

Moet just launches into a pose every time someone comes near her with a camera (I swear she was asleep on the bed when I went to take the photo).

Roman has managed to get prime position next to the fire. Pity it's not on but there is no dry firewood today.

TC (tabby cat) is all fluffed up on a chair next to me.

I don't deal very well with being stuck inside, so I had a plan devised before I got out of bed - I would bake.

I've just pulled the last of the biscuits out of the oven and, well, today's baking wasn't without one disaster. Our oven has the quietest timer in the world and I can never hear it. So one batch of biscuits came out charcoal. But besides my momentary lack of attentiveness, all in all, a successful day.

I made some Chocolate chip and lavender biscuits. I love the flavour of lavender and, whilst I admit I did use pure essence this time, I would much prefer to use the flowers themselves. Just need to find somewhere that sells edible lavender.

The other biscuits I made are Orange and Rosemary biscuits. These are more like wafers and are amazingly awesome with cheese on them, especially blue cheese.  I got the recipe from a family member when on holiday in NZ a few years ago - thanks Linley. This, I will share:

Orange & Rosemary Biscuits

8cm spray fresh rosemary (I use way more than that, usually 5 - 8 times more)

125g butter

200g castor sugar

1 large egg (is there any other kind when you have you own chooker moles?)

1 large orange finely grated zest

250g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Finely chop rosemary (leaves only).

Lightly cream butter and sugar.

Beat egg in a large bowl and add butter mixture and whisk lightly.

Stir in rosemary and grated zest.

Sift flour, salt and baking powder into mixture.

Stir with a wooden spoon until you have a soft dough mixture.

Flour hands and board and cut mixture into two. Make each piece of dough into a sausage shape, about 25cm long. The diameter should be a bit bigger than a 50 cent piece.

Roll up in cling wrap and chill in fridge until hard. Once hard, remove cling wrap and cut into tiny slices (the thinner the better, I usually make mine around 2 - 3mm) and place on a baking tray.

Bake at 180 for 6 - 9 minutes until pale gold in colour. WARNING: Do not forget about them like I did, they burn super quick.

You can also put you sausage shaped dough in the freezer and slice it frozen for a quick, tasty home made addition to your cheese platter.

Fresh out of the oven
Not perfect but I know they will taste awesome!

Enjoy!