Anzac Biscuits

I came across this recipe for Anzac biscuits surfing the internet one night and thought the ingredients would perhaps create something that I would love to devour. I was right. Against my better half's better judgement and pleas I constantly modify recipes to my liking. I modified this recipe a bit, I just can't help myself. Also...I didn't even realize until I went to mix things together that I needed to convert. So in a rush I pulled up the first online conversion program I could find and plugged in the numbers, averaging...kind of approximately. I do not think they were right. Also, my store didn't have golden syrup, as a website later warned would happen. I decided to use maple syrup instead and later found out that you can use honey instead of golden syrup. Also, just to rebel I used almonds instead of walnuts. And I didn't use parchment paper. Yup, I'm a bad recipe follower.

These "biscuits" originate from Australia and New Zealand and were known for having a long shelf life and being very tasty.

They came out pretty much like the recipe said-crunchy on the outside and chewy one the inside. I have plans to modify these more, these biscuits are defiantly here to stay!

Here's the recipe with my incorrect conversions. Cooking and baking is an art-it doesn't have to be perfect, if you're willing to be open minded about the out come.

Lemonade...and other juices

It's lemonade time again and I thought while I was at it, I'd do a few more beverages as well.

I love freshed squeezed orange juice. I've never had it better than at the Java Kai in Kauai. The oranges there just taste so...perfect.

I'm here and there are oranges so why not.

The last time I made lemonade, I juiced all the lemons by hand. This time I had the assistance of that contraption up there. I have to say that juicing by hand is less stressfull on the hands and arms, but that juicer thing might be a little quicker. I also blended up some strawberries with a tad bit of lemon juice to thin it out.

In the end we made standard lemonade, a family favorite, as well as a rather odd orange juice mixture that turned a little bitter over night and a strawberry pineapple lemonade. We even made strawberry lemonade and strawberry pineapple popsicles!

I recently got my hands on an old citrus press and can't wait to try it out. We gotta hurry up and drink all that juice we just made!

Lemonade

There's usually three kinds of drinks in my fridge- water, milk-he/soy-me, and lemonade. Recently our power was out for four days and consequently, the food in our fridge and freezer got warm. But it kind of was a blessing in disguise because I cleaned out the fridge and decided that from now on, packaged food would be kept to a minimum in our house. What I can make, I make. What I can't I'll try my darnedest to get as waste free as possible. First thing I was asked to get at the store was lemonade, Newman's Own to be exact. After thinking about what goes in lemonade I figured it couldn't be too hard. Making it myself meant not having to recycle a container in the first place, and that felt good. I know not one container makes a dent in the grand scheme of things, but I'm going to continue to make it here in my kitchen and create one less demand for packaged lemonade at my local Safeway. 

Sorry, Safeway. :(

I bought about 10 lemons, not knowing exactly how much I'd need.

I looked up a ratio of lemon juice, sugar, and water and it said

1 cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Heat the water and sugar in a pot on medium heat until dissolved, then add the one cup of water and mix. Put in whatever container you're going to store it in and start adding water. I originally mixed in the

4 cups water

but found it rather strong, and I love strong lemonade. I probably added another cup of water to my taste, so feel free to play around with it. I also recommend adding smushed strawberries or other fruit-be creative!

I didn't have many pictures because after hand squeezing 10 lemons, the rest was a piece of cake!

Fire Starters

The last few days at my house were cold and a mix of snow and slush, followed by almost 7 inches of snow over night last night. Needless to say, the fireplace has been in use and it was time again to make my yearly stash of fire starters. I don't remember where I got my "recipe" from, probably a magazine article from somewhere, but I've been doing it for a while and they always work well for me, and use up some materials in my house that I would have otherwise disposed of.

Here's what you're going to need.

~An egg carton or cartons-you can do many at a time if you wish.

~Lint from your dryer-the more the better.

~Candles-about 1-2 medium candles per carton. Light and let stand until melted 1/2 inch down.

First, detach the top of the carton by cutting it off. You will not need this part.

Now, pull apart the lint and stuff it into the holes in the carton.

Carefully pour wax over the lint trying to distribute evenly.

I like to use a second candle, making sure the lint is saturated.

Then let cool.

Cut out individual squares after it has cooled. If the wax is still warm, it will be kind of gooey to cut thru.

Save extra fire starters in container, I suppose they last indefinitely, but I usually use all mine up in the winter, and what I have left I take camping.

Put a piece of kindling or two-you wont need more than this because of the fire starter you just made-and the wood and place the fire starter underneath. You can put a few pieces of paper around if you wish. Light fire starter only and let stand. Tend to fire as normal once started.

Enjoy your fire!

~I like to lay in front of mine with my cat and fall asleep.

Another cake, just because.

I had an extra cake that Rory wanted to eat, so I just used some frosting I had

 already made up and called it good. He said it was the best one yet!

Mom's Senior Pictures Recreated

This was a gift for my mom for Christmas a few years ago. My mom's senior pictures are in the middle and I recreated them with my older sister and myself. I know these aren't actually made by hand, I just wanted to share them.

Guitar Rack

My design, Rory's construction. Simple, but effective. He stained a 1x4 board and

secured it to the wall. We then spaced screws apart, holding the guitars up as a

reference. Then, we wrapped the screws in a stretchy gauze type fabric until all parts of the screw were squishy. So much floor space now! 

Family in Tie Dye

My wonderdful family in their tie dye from me. :)

~I love you all, thank you for sending me your pictures!~

Wide Noodles and Sour Cream

Today I successfully made my moms homemade wide noodles and sour cream recipe. I've grown up eating this stuff and I cherish it during holiday feasts. This year, however, I just simply did not get enough, so I had to make it myself, for the first time, by myself. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, it was actually quite simple. You just...

Mix the ingredients

Roll out the dough and cut it up

Boil the noodles



Heat up the sauce

Combine the noodles and the sauce

Enjoy with ham. :)

Clay Figures

Ashleybugcraftsandphotos.webs.com and I were making clay figures for terrariums on New Years Eve. My bear turned out well... see for yourself. It's really not as easy as it looks! Clay is kinda tricky to work with. I hope with practice I will get better.

Tie Dye

This has been an ongoing project for a while now...

I've been reminiscing about those childhood days of camping at thousand trails and doing tie dye. Great times.

I had a good time tie dyeing. I love how it's not perfect, it can't be! It's fun to try new things, new techniques to see what you can create. I kept a journal of different designs I was doing and how they turned out, so when I was looking for inspiration I could just look thru my book. I had an awesome setup in my bathroom using a dog crate to dye the shirts and let them rest. I used the table that goes inside the crate to transport my shirts around on to keep everything neat and tidy. You can always find things around your house to use!

Here are some of the shirts I have done recently. I wish I could post them all but there are so many!

(PS<The underwear was a Christmas gift to my dad, I did a bunch of them for him, socks too. ;)

Raku

I won a relay for life raffle at work a few years back and Ashleybugcraftsandphotos.webs.com and I got to try some Raku. The instructors house was way back in the woods and had all this crazy art everywhere. They built the house themselves and it was full of cute and interesting little quirks. They had already premade some vases and plates and various things ready for us to glaze and fire. He asked for a volunteer putting things into and getting things out of the kiln, and of course I was eager to get my hands in there! It was blazing hot and a little intimidating but I had so much fun and would absolutely LOVE to do it again!