six months

Yesterday marked six months since my own beautiful mummy left us. I thought I'd be too upset to write about it. I just don't think you ever recover from the loss of a close loved one. It's always there. The pain. The cruelty of  being taken too soon. It feels so sudden eventhough you knew that was the way it was going to happen. And the questions from the little ones about why she doesn't come over anymore are always the hardest.

This photo is just so bittersweet. It was taken the day elodie was born. My sweet mum got to meet Elodie but she also started another round of chemo the very day elodie was born and in the same hospital. She knew she wouldn't see Elodie or any of her grandchildren grow up. But I remind myself that at least she got to meet Elodie and I took her in to the hospital every day for the last few days of her life. Just sitting in the room together. Sometimes it gets easier but sometimes it just feels worse as it really starts to sink in.

my flying visit to melbourne

Well I'm writing this from the comfort of my couch and all curled up in my dressing gown. It's been a long day and I have a new appreciation for how retro daddy feels when he walks in the door after a flight totally exhausted and has 3 little children jumping all over him. I am just exhausted myself. It's not often I get little daytrips away from the house on my own. Today I was lucky enough to go to Melbourne for a special Mitsubishi event for a few of us mummy bloggers....I can't wait to tell you all about it.....when I upload my photos and look at my notes. Test driving was fun.......maybe I need to test drive cars more often? 

Now of course things always go wrong when I fly to Melbourne. The first time I went to melbourne on my own for the quilt trade show the kids started throwing up the day before. The next time was blogopolis day when elodie had a high fever that morning and had to be taken to hospital when I got home....and this time around. Oh only the worst weather melbourne has seen in about 50 years. Flights were cancelled the night before leaving a huge backlog and delays. I wasn't sure when I arrived at the airport this morning if my flight was on or not.

jealous of my cookie knitting markers? thought so!

But luck was on our side and we made it there and back despite some serious delays. But nothing passes the time like a spot of knitting. Of course I totally embarrassed myself dropping my ball of yarn and watching it roll down the aisle. Thankfully it was just in reach....just. The trip home I was in knitting heaven with a triple chocolate fudge cookie, diet coke and knitting in peace and quiet.

So I'll be sharing more about my day later but I just had to share a pic of my dessert - isn't it pretty! We had an absolutely delicious meal at The Point, Albert Park. I just didn't want to start eating it as it was just so delicate and gorgeous!!!!! It had crushed meringue on it and was just the perfect end to a lovely meal. I know, it's a tough life.

p.s and a huge thanks to my flying buddies Woogsworld, Dani Mezza and Tina Gray who made the waiting around airports fun!

stay at home mummy....and lovin' it!

I've been wanting to write a blog post about this for a while BUT I didn't want it to come across all smug. Like ohhhh look at me I'm so perfect with this perfect life.... la de da. Because let me tell you there is nothing perfect about the cat weeing in your handbag and you only discover it during church last sunday or trying to toilet train twins or a craft room that you can hardly walk in at the moment. Nothing perfect here.

But tomorrow I'm off to Melbourne for a sponsored blog post and as I get ready for the event I think about how lucky I am with the choices I've made and the life I have. There are days where everything is going well, little people are behaving themselves and not jumping up and down wanting everything. Days where everything just seems to go right. On those days I'm really glad for the life I have. I'm really glad I left the banking world that I studied so hard for and made the decision never to go back. I was actually raised with an expectation that I would go to university, get a job, have a family and go back to work.

When I had Keira suddenly the question became not when is your baby due but when are you going back to work. I was a bit shocked because I'm thinking I've just had a baby. And I had always known I wanted to stay home and raise my family and so I'd just say that. Even when they are all off to school that is my full time job. Some people got it, some people didn't. Thankfully after the twins were born I didn't get that question anymore. I looked busy enough to be worrying about other things than going back to work.

5 years on since keira was born and I'm still loving what I'm doing. Sure there are absolutely crazy days when the office job is looking oh so much more civilised. But at the end of the day this is definitely how I want to spend my days. When I was a working girl I used to grab half an hour before my bus in the morning to knit on the couch and I used to wish that I could just knit all day and not go into the office. Unfortunately I don't get to knit all day but I do get to squeeze some craft time into my days.

And I love that I have a nice little collection of regular blog reads where they have also decided to be a stay at home mummy for life. When your own little world isn't filled with friends who love staying at home and doing their craft you can always go online to find friends who do. I love that. And I also love that these days there are ways we can make money at home while still looking after our little ones. And let me tell you I've tried a few - Avon, Tupperware, online store, selling things on ebay, markets, working for a magazine, teaching craft and now through my blog.

I guess I'm writing all of this because I also know that some of you tell me that you enjoy reading this blog because I am a stay at home mummy and have made this my full time life. And I am not ashamed to say I'm loving it and this is exactly what I want to be doing. There is so much pressure and incentive to return to work after you've had your baby that it's almost as if people just expect that you will go back to work. And for some people that is a necessity which I totally get. I've told retro daddy if high school fees x 4 are too expensive that I would return to work if I have to. No idea what I'd do or if I'd be more productive than listening to people's problems or stories in the staff kitchen.

But there you have it! I did it! I said it out loud that I do love staying at home with 4 little ones and am pretty happy to keep doing it even when society expects otherwise. And if I was to have another baby that would be totally fine too....hint hint retro daddy.

The Search for Australia's Trackmaster + Giveaway

Sponsored by Nuffnang

Well we have just one little Thomas & Friends fan here. He is very much outnumbered by the Dora and princess fans being the only boy amongst 3 girls. But he loves his Thomas. And as usual when I have to write a blog post about something that includes a YouTube video for kids, they are climbing all over me. And we have to watch it again and again and again.

If you have a little Thomas fan at your house then you are going to love this competition. And I actually think this is the biggest competition I’ve announced on my blog. The search is now on for Australia’s Trackmaster. And the prizes are huge. HUGE. Are you ready for this?

First prize - a trip for 4 to Thomasland in the UK with accommodation, car hire and $3,500 spending money thrown in. I’m not kidding you. And $500 worth of Thomas Trackmaster toys as well. AND your little Thomas fan will be titled Australia’s Trackmaster. What I love about this competition is that the whole family wins since you all go to the UK on a family holiday. And what a holiday it will be. I’m sure you could swing by Oxford St or Liberty of London for a spot of shopping too.

Now it’s really easy to enter. All you need to do is video your little Thomas fan saying the following tongue twister 3 times - "Thomas runs clickety clack on Trackmaster track that I click clack.". There are tips and some more information here. Here is Keira giving it a go:

You can view other entries on the Search for Australia’s Trackmaster website here and there are some real cuties on there. And when you’ve made your video just enter it here. Don’t feel like making a video? Then be sure to pop over and vote for your favourite video. And this would be how not to do it - keira's blooper

And another one! Honestly, we had more bloopers than proper videos! You know it goes once you get the sillies......

So get your thinking caps on and get creative with your entry to show that you really have Australia's biggest Thomas fan living at your house! I can't believe you win a trip to England with your family and all that spending money! Good luck and I really hope one of my lucky readers wins...............be sure to let us know your entry too so we can all vote for you.

Oh and I get to giveaway a Thomas playset to one of my lucky readers! Just tell me a little about your Thomas fan and why they'd want to win a new playset. Too easy. The competition is open to Australian residents only.

zucchini slice

I have to admit I've never made zucchini slice before but since it was pouring with rain and a dreary sunday I decided I'd bake something delicious for lunch. And retro daddy loved it so much he said I just need to add pastry on the bottom and it would taste like his beloved egg and bacon slice from Sunbeam bakery in mentone. Growing up his mum would always buy egg and bacon slice for special occasions and so now someone misses it. In fact we spent our first Christmas together in Paris when retro daddy was living there, all that lovely food around us but all he wanted me to make - egg and bacon slice from Sunbeam in Mentone.  

change of plans saturday

Don't you love it when your plans for a day totally change but it turns out to be a better day than you had planned. We had organised to take my dad on a picnic for fathers day and his birthday. Everything was packed and by the door but just as were leaving the rain started. Don't you hate that! So instead of picking up the hot chickens we went to a gourmet pizza place where we had the outside terrace all to ourselves.............this is important when 5 small children are involved.

my summer knitting plans

Well I know some people are winter knitters but I'm an all year round knitter and love knitting in the warmer weather. I don't get as much done but I do love it. Favourite yarn to knit with in summer? Has to be Bendigo's cotton in 8 ply! Huge fan of the Bendigo cotton as it's silky and knits up beautifully and every year Bendigo add new colours to the range. They also tend to take a few colours away which sees me stocking up on my favourites.

Seed Photography - Elodie's newborn session

Well it seems like a very long time ago that I took Elodie to see the lovely Nicole at Seed Photography for her newborn session. Nicole very kindly offered to take Elodie's photos and I jumped at the chance as we had never done that with our other little ones.

George, I love you!

I know I've mentioned it before.........my secret crush.................George Clooney!

I love this ad which I saw on breakfast tv this morning.....he just gets better with age.

finishing off Quilts for Queensland

Well I'm almost there. In the last 48 hours I managed to finish 8 quilts and have another 4 to finish off today. To keep them easy and manageable we've been doing the fun and modern ones backed with polar fleece or matching flanalette (why can I never spell that word??????).

just grab your camera

Sometimes you really do have to stop what you're doing, grab your camera and just capture it. So often I just wait for a special moment or occasion to take a picture. But before you know it another month has passed, someone has grown some more or lost a tooth or doesn't want to get in a photo. Elodie might lose the rolls on her thighs.

My quinoa burger

A while ago I repinned the most delicious looking quinoa burger I'd ever seen. I love quinoa but it's been a while since Ive made it. But then I googled quinoa burger and found another recipe and bought the ingredients for that one. Then I went back to pinterest and realised it was a totally different burger recipe - one was vegan and one was vegetarian. I then realised I didn't have any cottage cheese for the vegetarian one. So I decided to take a bit from each recipe and what I had to create my own quinoa burger. And they are so good.....................

My Quinoa Burger

1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 can of chickpeas, pureed
3/4 cup grated cheese
1 finely grated zucchini or carrot
1/2 red onion finely diced
1/4-1/3 cup plain flour
handful each of fresh herbs (I used flat leaf parsley and coriander) OR tsp dried herbs
1Tbsp vegetable stock powder/concentrate
salt and pepper to season

Boil 2 cups water and a dash of salt. Once boiling add in your quinoa and bring to the boil, simmer for 20 minutes until cooked and the water is absorbed. Place into a large bowl. If you have a thermomix or food processor then finely chop your onion and zucchini and add in the rest of the ingredients (except for the flour) and process for up to a minute. Add this mixture to your cooked quinoa and plain flour and mix well. Add in extra flour or seasoning if needed.You want your mixture to be sticky thought (too sticky to handle) so if you don't need the flour then don't add it. I dropped large Tablespoonfuls into a frypan of hot oil, flatten with a fork once in the pan then shallow fry with some oil ( a couple of Tablespoonfuls of oil is good)

It was a hot day when we enjoyed these and all I can say is double the ingredients because you are going to want to make some more! We just ate ours quick and easy style with tomato sauce but next time I'll do sliced tomato, beetroot, cheese and tomato sauce. They are so tasty and good for you and best of all the kids ate two each and still wanted more. I think some corn kernels would be a great addition to the burger mix too. Make these and tell me what you think............

retro 'moneybags' daddy

Sometimes retro daddy surprises me! I mean really surprises me! Those of you who know me or him or read this blog often enough will know that he runs a tight ship with the home finances. There are no splurges with him. No impulse buys. Why buy another pair of work shoes when I have a perfectly fine pair here? - that sort of thing. So last night was our big school fundraiser - a golf day followed by a big dinner and auction. I had heard that the kinder artworks sell for big dollars.

I expected retro daddy to sit quietly during the auctions amazed at the bidding and prices being paid - instead he bid! and kept bidding and bought keira's class artwork! I was so excited - it's such a gorgeous piece and is sitting in our loungeroom. Now that it is home it actually reminds me of a quilt and is just perfect. Everytime I walk past it a little smile comes onto my face and I get all happy again that he bought it.

But you know 5 year olds don't you! Keira smiled when I said her daddy had bought her the artwork - but her eyes lit up and she jumped out of bed when I told her he also bought her the Barbie princess hamper in the silent auctions!

And me - well he made sure I came home with one of the baking hampers! So there you go - sometimes your husband can really surprise you! He has decided he wants to buy the kindy artwork for each of our little ones when they are at school! Again - total surprise!

So thank you retro daddy! We love you!

UPDATED Just wanted to add since a few of you have asked. These stars were cut out for the children and then they have paper mached the little squares of paper over the top. It looks like a varnish or spray was sprayed over the top and then they were professionally mounted and framed at the framers. I should point out this thing is huge at almost 1.5m wide and a 1 metre high. And 2 days on and I'm still loving it! The principal and keira's wonderful teacher have also made a star too.

Skinny Cherry Cobbler

OK well if you're on facebook you'll already know that I turned PW's Blackberry Cobbler into a cherry cobbler on the weekend. I had hoped to try out a German Cherry Cheesecake Crumble ( I know - how good does that sound) but retro daddy forgot to bring home an extra tub of creme fraiche to make it. But I really really wanted dessert so I made a buttery and delicious cherry cobbler. Grandma betty loved it so much and told me she used to make this in the olden days!

Retro daddy loved it so much but told me I was evil for making it. He's on a diet. Thank you for making dessert would have been nice. But anyway, during the week I turned the cherry cobbler into a skinny version.  And I'm happy to report it's delicious. Not as buttery as the full fat version (obviously) but if you're on a diet this is a sweet treat to enjoy. So this is PW's Blackberry Cobbler made into Skinny Cherry Cobbler and I made mine using the Thermomix!

butter for greasing
1 large jar of morello cherries (or up to 2 cups berries)
110g diet margerine (I use nutellex lite), melted
1 cup caster sugar (and an extra 1/4 cup for sprinkling)
1 cup self raising flour
1 cup skim milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

If you have a thermomix place your raw sugar in your TM bowl and process for 9 seconds on speed 9. Add in flour and milk and whisk for 30 seconds on speed 3. You might need to scrape down and process again for another 10 seconds to make sure all the flour is off the sides. Add in your melted margerine and vanilla and process for 20 seconds on speed 3. You want a nice thick batter like pikelet batter, if it's too thin just add a Tbsp more flour and process again.

If you don't have a thermomix just whisk your flour, sugar and milk together until smooth. Whisk in the melted butter and vanilla.

Grease a pie dish well and pour your batter into the dish. Drain your jar of cherries well and spread over the batter evenly. Sprinkle with the extra 1/4 cup of sugar over the top and bake for 50-60 minutes in a 160 degree oven. Now just to confuse you I'm so used to making clafoutis that I keep putting my cherries in the dish first so I get a higher sort of pie look but if you put your cherries on top your finished result will look different!
 

Now you can sprinkle with icing sugar before serving and serve with cream. I decided a dollop of creme fraiche would be good - it was - but then realised that probably undoes the diet friendliness of the recipe. You choose. This is really popular with retro daddy who was happy to see I'd made his something to fit in with his diet and healthy eating. Enjoy. I take no responsibility for how many servings you decide to eat. You could substitute with other fruit.

eleven months

How on earth can this baby of mine be 11 months already! I just want to say all those cliches like time flies when you're having fun and where does the time go. It really has gone so quickly. I have a big feeling that she will be my last baby and so I have been hugging her extra tight, kissing those big squishy cheeks at every opportunity and letting her sleep next to me every night.

She is without a doubt the most easy going and happy baby I've had. And she's always smiling - in fact the only time she cries is when she is overtired or she's finished her meal and realises you aren't going to give her anymore food.

Oh my she's a keeper.

We're still not crawling. She likes to use her bottom to move a little bit off her mat and stretch as far as possible to reach things. By the time you get to baby number 4 you're not too worried about these things.

And I can't believe that next month she will be one! But she will always be my little baby!

knitting en francais

Sometimes I do crazy things...........like ordering french knitting magazines because I'm so in love with the patterns. It all started when I found this pattern on ravelry and added it to my favourites. Slight problem. It's in french. From a magazine. Published in 2010. Uh oh

So then I started googling and trying to get my hands on a copy.

Oh, so you're probably wondering by now if I read french. Um. A little. My sweet mummy was a french teacher but I was no star student. My reading is better than my writing or speaking.

Oh ok then. So have you knitted something written in french before, retro mummy? Um, no.

ohhhhhhhhh ok then....good luck with that!

My facebook friends tell me I can use google translate, they directed me to Jorth's translations here , I found this and of course there is always ravelry.

If you are as crazy as I am, then you can purchase the magazines direct from their website with very reasonable postage here. But if you want the cardigan that I really wanted then I had to buy that issue here. And let's just hope these don't become nice to look at magazines and that I actually use them.

All images from the Phildar website here.

my green decorated cookies

Keira was asked to bring in green decorated cookies today for a special treat day at canteen. Green decorated cookies. I don't really decorate cookies and I don't really do green so I was a little stumped for ideas. I found some fancy ideas on pinterest but they were a bit too fancy for 10.30pm the night before.

So I took milk arrowroots, a quick batch of cream cheese frosting that I tinted green, desiccated coconut to make grass and then topped with a tiny teddy and a snake. Now I actually wanted fruit rings which I've used before on a cupcake to make floating tiny teddies................but retro daddy couldn't find any fruit rings at the supermarket. So he suggested snakes and bought them home from the shops. Only problem was that he managed to bring home a bag without green snakes in it. But at least there is some green on the cookies and keira has decorated cookies to take the canteen. And the best thing about these cookies is that 5 year olds think they are really cool. Phew.

Denyse Schmidt Winding Roads

Well I can sleep tonight. I have almost the entire collection of Denyse Schmidt's latest collection for Spotlight at my house. It was a nice excuse to head across town to Birkenhead Point to pick up the fabric and do a spot of shopping as well. Retro daddy who nevers buy anything for himself even came home with new shoes so it really was a good day for everyone.  Win Win.

Until we got to the carpark and a very stupid lady decided to reverse at high speed out of a carspot without looking and without warning heading straight to retro daddy and my darling finn. Retro daddy screamed, I screamed, she kept going and then stopped as she passed me to roll down her window and calmly tell me 'sorry, the parking sensors didn't detect you! 

I was speechless and gave her the filthiest look I could muster while still in a state of shock that her car was about to hit my family. I couldn't even move I was just so shocked. She then decided to apologise to grandma betty next to me who wasn't having any of it either! My goodness me - I have parking sensors which I use so I don't hit a kerb when I reverse in. I don't use them to detect pedestrians walking in a carpark so I don't have to look, go slow or use my commonsense.  We actually split up the kids with us so we can walk carefully in carparks and near roads so it's definitely left us a bit shocked and grateful no one was hurt. I think I'll stick to my local Spotlight from now on.........

the finished present

Well I spent Thursday night doing a little stitching and am happy to share with you the finished present for keira's little friend. I am in love with the tee and it's patchwork feel and am thinking I'll try it on a little cushion next.

We've teamed it with some hairclips and a cute hairclip holder from Please Eloise (every little girl and their mummy needs one of these) and ta da. One finished present. Now on to the present for next Saturday's party and I'll try not to leave the stitching till the night before!

p.s. Totally off topic but those of you who came to my last Mathilda's Market know how crazy it got. So I've organised to have 2 stalls at my next Sydney Mathilda's on Sunday December 4 so there will be plenty of room for you to spread out and take your time at the baskets. It also means I can bring more goodies for Christmas! Also I never serve anyone in the first 30 minutes so if you can get out of the door early go for it!

p.p.s I met a lovely lady at the last Mathilda's who lived near me and wanted to know where she could learn to sew. Spotlight Belrose have learn to sew classes starting in October on Tuesday's or Saturdays. I'm pretty sure the sign said $130 for 6 lessons and you work on your own pattern with the teacher. Just call or drop in to the store at the sewing counter to find out more!

the party circuit

Oh look the party circuit has started again........and you mummies know I'm not talking about parties I'm invited to. We seem to have lots of parties in a row then it all goes quiet and then they start up again. I was giving away dresses to the first parties but then I never heard anything back about them so ditched the dresses and started buying the presents but now I'd love to make the presents again. I decided to use the cute font from the Don't Look Now Worry Doll pattern and a pink tee. You can never go wrong with pink for a girl turning 6.

I must admit that my O is looking a little sad as I couldn't for the life of me find my sharp pointy scissors to really get into the circle!

Now usually I would do blanket stitch around my applique but these are smaller letters than I'm used to so I'm going to do a simple running stitch by hand which should look cute and finish it off. We'll team it with a few things we picked up at Please Eloise and I promise to show you the finished product tomorrow.....................I'd love to hear what is your favourite/most popular present that you make for   birthday parties.

knitting a kina

Why finish the 3 other projects in your knitting basket when you can start a new project! The story of my knitting life. I couldn't resist trying out the millamia yarn that I bought from Suzy Hausfrau - thanks Suzy for my voucher. I think I'll be back for more millamia. It has a real spring to it and knits up perfectly. No splitting and it reminds me so much of Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. I know I bang on about how good Bendigo is but it's also nice to use something a little more luxurious for baby projects.

I'm knitting the Kina on 3.5mm's and it's knitting up beautifully. I'm very proud of my neat edge and cast on with a 3mm. I'm actually making this for Elodie rather than the baby Kina - why? Because I couldn't find my baby kina pattern but I'm going to tell you that I wanted to make the larger size because then it doesn't sound like my craft room is totally disorganised and I can't find anything.  Thankfully Elodie is growing fast so it's a good excuse.

And that reminds me! I don't think I ever showed you the finished Baby Kina which is super cute! I knit this in Bendigo Luxury 4ply and it's so soft and sweet. Unfortunately I didn't have it ready for Elodie....and it's still not finished or had it's buttons sewn on yet. But thankfully it's always nice to have a few baby projects stashed away to give as presents.

And just a little tip, I know it can be sometimes daunting substituting wool when you're a beginner knitter so I thought I'd share what I do on ravelry. So you're going to need to join Ravelry if you're not already on there. There are tabs along the top of the page for patterns, yarn, forums etc. So if I know the pattern I'm after - let's say Kina then I search Kina within patterns and then click on the specific pattern. Now you have a pattern page and over on the right there is a box that says 'About this pattern' and it will have the number of projects that have been knitted for the pattern. Click on the number and it will bring up pages and pages of Kina projects and what yarn and needle size has been used. To narrow it down you can search for yarns you like to use like Bendigo, patons etc by using the search button at the top of the screen.  I hope that makes sense and just ask! It's a great time saver and way to find inspiration! If you ever have a question about my knitting or a project just ask...always happy to help!

choc chip, coconut and raisin cookies

I woke up this morning and knew it was going to be a baking day today. I knew we'd eaten the last of the biscuits the night before, I knew we had half a bag of white choc chips in the pantry and I also knew that there wasn't much to snack on. To get me through the cleaning and major decluttering that is still going on here. So I took a recipe from CWA classics and using what I had turned it into the most delicious cookie ever.

Of course I also used my thermomix. I love to do any cookie or cake in the thermomix because I turn my raw sugar into caster sugar as a first step and go from there. These cookies remind me of ones my mum used to make when I was in primary school - maybe even kindergarten. That makes these extra special.

125g butter, room temperature
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup choc chips (I used white)
1 cup coconut (shredded or desicated)
1/2 cup raisins (or sultanas or any other dried fruit chopped up)

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. I do this either in my thermomix for 1-2 minutes on speed 3 or in my kitchen aid. Add in egg and mix gently together until combined. I did this for 15 seconds speed 3 in the thermomix. Add in remaining ingredients and combine well so everything is evenly distributed. I did about 30 seconds on speed 3. Roll into small balls and flatten. Leave enough room for your cookies to spread. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes or until they are looking golden. Now you'll need to leave these to cool as they are too soft to take off the baking tray so I just lift my paper off my baking tray and put that on the cooling rack while the next tray goes in the oven. You should get 3-4 trays of cookies from one batch.

Enjoy! I challenge you not to go back for more. What am I talking about? Go crazy! I did! And you could play around with the ingredients too like white chocolate, macadamia and craisins or how about dark chocolate, date and pecans! Somebody stop me...........

CWA Classics

It was like all my christmases had come at once when this book of biblical proportions arrived on my doorstep. And honestly, I'm not exaggerating, it is the size of my bible!  888 pages! I had been out for the morning and came home with cranky little ones, so opening up the big box to find this book made my afternoon....it made my week actually.

Penguin kindly sent me one of their latest releases, CWA Classics to review here on my little blog. And it's no secret that I love CWA recipes and use my CWA book regularly. It's my go-book for recipes with basic ingredients, fool proof baking and old fashioned recipes. Inside the book you'll find soups, stews, main meals, cakes, slices, jams, preserves, biscuits and pies. Is that enough for you? This book just takes the CWA cookbook to a whole new level with photos of almost every recipe and beautifully styled photos at that. It is just a beautiful book that you'll want to keep and use everyday.

I flicked through the book (already so impressed) and then got to the dessert and baking sections. It does not disappoint ladies. We are talking almost 400 pages of sweet recipes. My kind of book. But from the CWA ladies who are known for their perfect sponges and cakes - I would expect no less. From old favourites to some new ones I hadn't heard of like malteser cake. And I just love how each recipe mentions the name of the contributor and where they come from in Australia. And some include a little story behind the recipe. A personal touch for such a big book.

I decided to give the never fail chocolate cake a whirl and it did not disappoint. In fact I'm going to rename it the 'never stop eating it' chocolate cake! I just kept going back for more. It is a rich and delicious chocolate sponge and didn't last long. I've never added coffee or alcohol to my sponge cake before but it makes for a beautiful and rich cake.

Never Fail Chocolate Cake
2 cups self-raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons instant coffee
4 eggs
1/2 cup Brandavino (or brandy, sherry, port, marsala - read this)
180 g butter or margarine, melted
dash of vanilla essence

MAKES 1 LARGE OR 2 SMALL CAKES (SERVES 12–16)

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease one 23-cm cake tin or two smaller tins. Sift flour and cocoa into a bowl and combine with all other ingredients. Pour into prepared tin/s and bake for 45 minutes.Serve plain or iced.

So if you love baking, if you love your grandma's cooking, if you are a proud australian cook, if you are new to cooking, if you need a present for someone who loves to cook - then this is your book. And the best bit? $49.95 is the recommended retail price. Considering how much you pay for fancy cookbooks these days, this one should definitely be coming to live at your house or on your present list. I'm already thinking that Christmas is sorted for all the special ladies I know.  

And expect to see me make a lot of recipes from this book in future. It's a winner. Thanks to Penguin for so kindly sending a copy to live at my house. It's a wonderful book and a credit to each and every lady who contributed a recipe and the beautiful photos and styling of the book.