Relaaaaax

Relaaaaax, originally uploaded by SadieandLance.

I've rediscovered cross stitch. Sure it's a bit traditional, but it's easy, mindless and relaaaaaaxing, especially thanks to the stitch generator Suzy put me on to. Happiness.

Working with Real Dough

I quite enjoy a dabble in the land of playdough. My specialty? A duck; complete with tail, wings and beak (quack, quack). What really floats my boat though is the land of real dough. I've been busting to get my hands on this ever since I saw Kate talking about her bread.

I dabbled in some interim loaves while I waited for my copy to arrive at Kinokuniya:


I've tried many homemade bread recipes over time, and although I found Nigella's white dinner rolls (above) to be a home baked revelation, for me Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day is where-it's-at.

The recipe base follows the same process as the No Knead bread but this book gives you permission to store your dough for up to 2 weeks! Just cut a bit off each day and bake away. And still no kneading!



So far I've tried the basic dough and done a few different types of loaves, a "rustic" loaf (below) and the Focaccia above. This is the best tasting home made bread I've ever had - and it's so easy to make.


And in about 1 hr the next batch, olive oil dough, will be ready to move to the fridge. And all I did was throw some ingredients in a container, mix with my hands for a bit and leave on the bench!

Move over Martha I'm a working Mum baking homemade bread whenever I feel like it!

Get your playdough on

Excuse me but I made playdough this week. Does that make me a good Mum? (rhetorical question) It was fun and a nice little work out for my arms, plus the end result kept The Smurf quite while I played with some real dough.

Despite the internets telling me not to no-sirey-under-no-circumstances-ever-ever make more than one colour, I did (I'm hardcore like that). Birds to you internets. I've stored them separately and The Smurf can just play with one colour at a time. Unless we're feeling really rebellious then he can play with all colours at once and make his own brown playdough. Nothing wrong with brown.



Despite the fact that people have been making their own playdough for eons I still had to make friends with google to find a recipe. I learned that it's pretty much uniform around the world and varies only by cooking or not and cream of tartar (makes smoother dough) or not. In the end I used a recipe found in a collated cookbook I got from Grandma - one of those local school fundraising things.

To save you time, should you have the inclination to make playdough, here's the recipe. (PS if you choose to include the Cream O.T the recipe's on the side of the tub).

You need:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup salt
• 3 TBsp Cream of Tartar
• 2 TBsp cooking oil
• 2 cups water
• food colour (as many as you like, rebel)

You need to:
- Mix dry ingredients in a saucepan and oil (and your colour if you're using just one) and mix in water gradually.
- Cook over a low heat, stirring until the mixture starts to leave the side of the pan and become like dough (dah).
- Remove from the heat. Grab some dough, add a colour and knead until the colour is incorporated and the dough smooth.
- Repeat for each colour.
- Ready.

Store in the fridge in a container or in zip loack bags. Tell your Smurf to try not to eat it.

Don't panic

There is craft. It's a little bit limited but I assure you there's craft. It's currently of the knitting variety and you may be interested to know it's knitting from the stash. Pardon me while I engage in a bit of self congratulatory patting on my back.

Craft aside, excitement levels are sky high here. We're spending tonight watching The Bushfire Relief concerts (on the teev, days gone by we would have been there with a line up like that) and hands up who can't wait for Midnight Oil or Split Enz. Whoop!

Mum, Dad, Thermodynamics etc

Like the Simpsons obey the laws of thermodynamics, in this house we obey the law of Desmond Dekker.

We love a bit of family dance time here in casa Sadieandlance and we tend, at the moment, to lean towards the world of ska, dance hall, two tone and rude boys. The Smurf well he cracks a jig at any music. So, why wouldn't we take advantage of skank o'clock to deliver some wholesome morals (to make up for the times we're playing the Ramones/Hold Steady/Bikini Kill etc etc).

Sing along all you Smurfs out there!

Honour your mother and your father dad
Your days may be long on the lam
Children obey your parents and the law
For this is a law from the prophets

Love your parents as though you love yourself
Do unto others as they would do to you

Honour your mother and your father dad
Your days may be long on the lam
Children obey your parents and the law
For this is a law from the prophets

Love your parents as though you love yourself
Do unto others as they would do to you

Honour your mother and your father dad
Your days may be long on the lam
Children obey your parents and the law
For this is a law from the prophets

- Fricken hilarious
- Best if parents sing enthusiastically at top of lungs while skanking around the lounge room
- Great for scoring brownie points if done in front of the in-laws. We-really-are-wholesome.
- This is actually a really cool song