Chickens.

Chickens.

Aren't chickens awesome? 

I could watch them for hours. Walking about, pecking, flapping their wings, just clucking about.

And they lay eggs! So cool.

It's hard to keep up with how many we have as we get more and give some away all the time

But usually we have around 10 - 15

We've recently had one of our awesome chickens hatch 11 eggs.

They're so cute. And soft. And cute ..

I'm planning on taking lots of pictures before they turn from the 'cute and soft' stage to the 'featherless ugly' stage.

We also have another hen sitting on eggs 

so we'll have more cute little feather balls :D

I can't wait!

:)

Weekly Walk

Here are some photos I've taken on my walks this week :)

:)

New Bed :)

I got a new bed!!

Woo Hoo!

As you can tell I'm quite happy about this.

I set it up yesterday and had my first night's sleep on it last night! It's super comfy.

And . .  It's a double bed

Which awesome because I've only ever had single beds.


I think I'm going to love the extra moving room :)

ignore the messiness. I'd just been lying on it :)

I'm yet to get a new duvet that will cover the whole bed :P

I'm also excited to choose new sheets, duvet cover and valance

I'll do a room tour in the next few days :)



Also there's a huge giveaway over on Oh My Tookies.
It's her first ever giveaway and it's amazingly big :)
You can check that out here.

 :)

The Daily Tay

Giveaway

Hey guys! :)

Check out this awesome giveaway over at The Daily Tay

There are heaps of possible entries to be had.

So what are you waiting for? Get on over there and enter :)

Life lately through pictures :)

Sunday pancakes. Jesse the cat. Bedroom view. Salad. Homemade muesli. Sunglasses. Baby Chickens.
Happy Monday :)

Banana, Nut and Oat Muffins

Banana, Nut and Oat Muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins:

2  1/2  cups flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1/4 cup chopped brazil nuts

1/2 cup wholegrain oats

1 cup milk

2 eggs

125 grams butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup mashed ripe banana

Topping: (optional)

Wholegrain oats

brown sugar

(enough of each to sprinkle on top of each muffin)

a tiny blob of butter for each muffin

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C.

Line 12 deep muffin tins.

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Stir in almonds, brazil nuts and oats.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.

Lightly mix egg mixture and banana into dry ingredients until just combined. 

Do not overmix.

Divide mixture between prepared tins.

Sprinkle oats and brown sugar on top and add a tiny blob of butter to each muffin. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until risen and light golden.

Stand muffins for 5 minutes before removing from tins.

Enjoy :)

Alarms and some pictures

Well I thought I'd talk about alarm clocks 

This morning I woke up about 10 minutes before my alarm went off. It happens all the time, no matter when it's set for. And each time it seems like I haven't had enough sleep to get up but there isn't enough time left to get back to sleep before the alarm goes off.

I think they call it #firstworldproblems :P

Does this ever happen to you? If it does, I feel for you.

Anyway, here are some photos to cheer you up, in case you woke up before your alarm this morning

These are my favourites from the photo's I've taken lately

Hope you like them :)

Weekly walks :)

Hi all! :)

I hope your week is going well so far

The following pictures are some that I've taken on my Ipod Touch while out walking my usual tracks

part of the route I sometimes walk

Sunset

Kiwi footprints :)

Pig footprints

pampas, which is actually a weed

Gorse flowers (also a weed)

I hope you enjoyed the pictures :)

I'll post more pictures of the tracks that I walk, the route these were on takes about 40 minutes along a dirt/mud and grass track.

The tracks are drying out a lot lately so that makes it easier to get around without slipping and sliding about.

Baking Week

Normally I try to avoid baking. I figure I can't eat it if it's not there, so it's easier if it's not there.

But recently I've found so many delicious recipes that I just couldn't resist,

Here are some pictures of what I made :)

Lemon Curd Tarts

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Cookies

Banana, Nut and Oat Muffins

My favourite would have to be the lemon curd tarts. Yumm! The cases are made from polenta pastry and then filled with lemon curd. I got the recipe from Annabel Langbein's cookbook Free Range Cook.

The Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin Cookies recipe is from Julie Ann Art's Blog. The only thing I changed was that I cooked and mashed my own pumpkin as I don't think you can buy it easily in New Zealand, also I had a large supply of home-grown pumpkins :)

The Banana, Nut and Oat Muffins recipe is modified from the Edmonds Cookbook's banana chocolate chip muffins. I left out the chocolate chips and added almonds, brazil nut and oats :)

I also made some Crispy Flat Bread and Ham and Cheese Twists, both from Annabel Langbein's Free Range Cook cookbook

So with all this delightful baking in the house I don't think there is a need for more baking for a while. (although when I do I'm going to try this recipe :P)

And to be fair, a lot of it is to take racing this weekend :)

Happy Friday :) 

x

Giveaway on Casey Wiegand's blog :)

Check out this awesome giveaway on Casey Wiegand's blog! :)

http://www.thewiegands.com/2012/09/september-group-giveaway.html

She is so amazing, you can check out her blog and follow her at www.thewiegands.com :)

Recent Photographs :)