Bits and pieces for July

Quilters really are the most amazing people, they are sharers. They love good food and don't hesitate to share recipes when someone compliments them on their food. Recently I acquired a recipe for ANZAC biscuits which is different to the one I normally use and I have made them several times just lately which included a double batch to take to Whangarei with us this last weekend when we visited the girls. Scarlett, our granddaughter just loved them as I had put raisins in them.

ANZAC biscuits with raisins 

Last weekend our youngest daughter Georgia had her school ball and she was totally over the moon when it was announced that she was the Queen of the ball! Here she is with Trae who was chosen as King of the Ball.

Georgia and Trae

I have been reorganising my sewing room and it is working much better, however I do still have some more to do in there before it is presentable to the world. I am really enjoying spending time in there and will often just wonder in and then think that I will just squeeze in some more stitching. As a result of this the quilting on Home Coming Lane is coming along very well and the end is indeed in sight. I can't wait to get this quilt up on the wall and I am working exclusively on this quilt at the moment, which is unusual for me. I am quilting it in four sections and when the quilting on all four sections is complete I will show how I intend to put it together.

Home Coming Lane under the needle

The two gridlock quilts - the blue one and the purple and green one are about to begin their journey to their owners. Both of the quilts are gifts for my nieces in Australia and although they are the same pattern the quilts look totally different due to the colours used and the placement of the colours. I really loved making these quilts and I am sure that the girls will love these quilts as much as I do. I love blue and put in some of my very special fabrics into the blue quilt. I adore purple especially with pink and love how this quilt turned out especially with the green. I will miss these quilts.

Both quilts have 36 different fabrics, however the blue has the constant fabric in the t's where the purple quilt has different greens which gives it a completely different look.

My machine is calling me, so until next time - happy stitching everyone.

Donna-Maree

ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day was a quiet affair in our house this year with nobody attending the dawn services as we have in past years when the children were involved in Scouts and Girl Guides. This year we watched the dawn service from the comfort of our bed supping a cuppa.

The above photo are the biscuits that I made especially for ANZAC Day which I have never done before. I was considering why this year and not other years and all I can come up with is that my appreciation and understanding has shifted somewhat and that I wanted to mark that somehow. So we had an ANZAC biscuit or two with our cup of tea following our lunch. I have to say that it is years and years since I have made these biscuits. 

I don't recall ANZAC Day being a big thing when I was younger. It was something that my father was involved in, as he was a driver in the Air Force but not something that as children we were involved in. I don't recall any special attention to it at school either. 

I then started to wonder about the history of the biscuits and how they came to be and why they were called ANZAC biscuits. I had figured that there were no eggs or milk due to the fact that they were in short supply because of the war and totally understand the need of making nutritious foods go a long way.

So of course I had to do a little research and isn't it amazing what we can find out when we google it. They were originally called 'soldier biscuits' - check out the info by clicking on this link - ANZAC Biscuits. The recipe that I used has similar quantities of ingredients to the one on the website but mine came from the Edmonds Cookery Book and uses a different method which I prefer. Here is the recipe that I used:

125g plain flour

150g sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup of rolled oats

100g butter

1 Tablespoon golden syrup

2 Tablespoons boiling water

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, coconut and rolled oats.

Melt butter and golden syrup.

Dissolve bicarbonate of soda with boiling water and add to butter and golden syrup.

Make a well in the dry ingredients, stir in the liquid.

Place spoonfuls of biscuit mixture onto a greased biscuit tray, allowing room for spreading.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in preheated oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or approx 375 degrees F).

Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking tray.

Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy and thanks for visiting.

Cheers

Donna-Maree