Cherry Eton Mess

I had fun making the melted snowmen for Christmas gifts but somehow ended up with spare meringue so I decided to make an Eton Mess. With visitors coming for Christmas and Cherries being at the their peak I adapted the traditional recipe to suit the festive season. Cherry Eton Mess using only 3 ingredients looks pretty, tastes delicious and is incredibly easy to make. Recipe will be available on our cheekyricho YouTube channel but don't just keep it for Christmas time this can be enjoyed all year round. http://youtu.be/PR7TQ4jGmcA

Last day for the Builder Boys

A mixture of old timber floor and new, being given a savage sand to remove decades of old polish and scratches  this is a comparison at the top between brand new timber compared to old polish in the centre and right with the bottom left showing how the old floor is coming up Like brand new. We have all worked so hard to get it to this stage, my family arrives tomorrow. There is much to be done furniture repositioned, lawns to mow, presents to wrap, removing of a fine film of construction dust from every visible surface throughout the entire house and Christmas cooking to prepare. The builder boys are finished we have a farewell feast for all of them today .

Roast pork with all the trimmings a double sized loaf of Banana Bread. Mostly prepared in the outdoor roaster BBQ because I was afraid the sawdust would infiltrate the cooking zone. Just a few finishing touches and we are ready for Christmas plastering, painting and fixing out to follow in the new year but it will be watertite, insulated and smells of fresh timber and paint.  My 3 favourite natural fragrances are fresh timber, fresh mowed grass and freshly laundered laundry. Tomorrow I will smell all three. I am ecstatic with the building progress and am really looking forward to cleaning the dust and stickers off the new windows and sitting down to Christmas Dinner with family that I love in comfort and space. Santa couldn't make me any happier!

The Sander Boy working very hard at trying desperately not to drop his sweat on the newly  finished timber. 

My delightful new floor with it first coat of finishing applied. We have settled for a satin finish. Not long now.

Who wants to work at my house?

The ceiling is batonned ready for the gyprock ceiling. The scurry is on because the floor Sander is coming tomorrow. We got it finished in the nick of time.

The builder boys had choc chip banana muffins one morning.

Christmas Cake cookies another day.

Apple Pie Fries the first morning.

Warm buttered Banana Bread. They haven't had the same meal or smoko twice since they have been coming to work on the house. Today is Friday which is "Pieday" so I wowed them with the biggest Shepherds Pie I have ever seen or made. It was delicious filled with veges, meat, bacon rich flavoured gravy made with homemade stock, smothered in fluffy buttery mashed potatoes that was such a huge pot it gave my arm an ache to mash it. They must've been impressed because they whipped out camera phones to take a photo of the spread and then came back for second helpings after generous first serves. Plenty of pesto Parmesan crusty whole meal bread, salads, corn cobs and for dessert there was choc caramel slice, rum balls and Christmas Cake. I tell you it was good to sit down and eat.

So I will ask you again, who wants to come work at my house?🔨🔩

Christmas Cake Cookies

The builder boys are back so I made them a batch of Christmas Cake Cookies for Smoko. These are high fibre with a soft fruity, spiced, nutty centre and crispy edges. A little dust of icing sugar and they are ready for your Christmas Morning tea too. Much more portable than sliced cake. Pop These onto a plate With a big glass of Eggnog there's no chance Santa will skip your place, they are even healthy enough for reindeers to munch on.

Check out the easy video recipe on our cheekyricho YouTube channel.

http://youtu.be/J_f7VudwYJI

Cheekyricho 3 minute 2 ingredient meringue and melting snowman

I made 2 ingredient meringues in 3 minutes in the microwave and they are crispy sweet and airy . They looked like melted snow so I got to thinking, why not  make a melting snowman? I have these mega marshmallows I got from costco, I was going to make toasted kalmia shots with them but this idea took my fancy. Can't light a camp fire this time of year as it's brushfire season here in Australia and I dare say a snowman wouldn't last very long in the strong Aussie summer sun. So here is our fun contribution to the Christmas table decoration. It's very cute, very easy  and very festive you can check it out on our cheekyricho YouTube channel. http://youtu.be/piFq2HGfdrw

Best Banana Bread

II asked the builder boys what they would like for smoko today and Warren said Banana Bread. Now I'm not one for strong banana flavoured food, I eat bananas when they they are still firm and before they get any spots on the skin. This can be a problem when you have a banana tree because it's feast or famine, all under ripe- ripe-to shickered. I make smoothies, Icecream and muffins with ripe bananas and luckily I had some ripe ones today. I have sitting on this recipe for sometime and this is outstanding. Not too strong in banana flavour just the natural sweetness. I didn't have to call them twice for smoko the banana bread did it for me. These normally shy boys really enjoyed it one even had 3 slices. Definitely making it again for them. Check out how easy it is on our cheekyricho YouTube channel. http://youtu.be/NdddrsusR-k

New Floor for the new room.

Warren the builder boy is laying our new floor. He has this nifty little secret nailer which looks like it belongs in a farm shed  and he let me have a go of it. Pull, step, tap and done. The roomba is gonna love charging around the new room, less obstacles, I know Tilly loves it.

Before then almost after except for the finishing lacquer.

Just have to sand and polish the old floor to match the new and insulate, line then walls and I can get back to my Christmas preparations. It's cooler today and raining so the painting will have to wait until the trailer load of rubbish,which is even heavier and dirtier now that it's all wet, is unloaded at the dump ready for the next big clean up load. Richo is secretly happy it's raining because he can't mow today and his old back has been having trouble trying to pretend he's keeping up with the builder boys. 

Christmas Pudding in a Mug 2 minute video recipe

It's pretty hot in Australia at Christmas and for those of us who enjoy a Traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings that Christmas kitchen can get pretty warm. We have been asked to present an Aussie Christmas menu so we decided to invent a delicious Christmas Pudding with all the traditional flavours BUT cooked in just 2 minutes in the microwave. This makes enough for 2-3 serves and is so amazing you will be using the recipe for more occasions than Christmas.

Team it with our home made cheekyricho 2 minute mug custard and you have a traditional winter dessert in about 10 minutes. http://youtu.be/gLcLjdnkU_A

We served it in a Funky Santa Plate and no one would have ever guessed it was just whipped up. Check it out and around 60 other Christmas Videos on our cheekyricho YouTube channel. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a comment and let us help you have a wonderful hassle free Christmas.

http://youtu.be/5Ye7khF_P5o

It's jungle here too!

You don't need to visit a wildlife park to get up close and personal with nature when you live here. The birds were going crazy squarking and dive bombing a large Goanna which has taking up residency (for reasons best known to himself) in the wattle tree. He is so well camouflaged you can just see his back and tail on the right side of the tree trunk just above the green leaves.

I decided to have a swim it was boiling hot and the concrete was too hot to stand on so I was half hopping and half marching across to the pool when I had to stop dead in my tracks. There sunning itself on the edge of the pool with its tail dangling into the water was a snake. That's the first time I've seen one in the pool. It must've been the sight if me in my swimmers that made him take flight or fright and thankfully he decided to cut short his swimming session. He bolted straight up a palm tree and rustled around in it for ages, whilst I swam my laps with my eyes firmly fixed on that palm, in case he changed his mind. We often get water dragons around the pool but Tilly asks them to leave and they generally do. Recently there has been a batch of baby ones hatched and they have embarked on some kind of underwater endurance competition. They are small (about 15cm or 6 inches long) thin and wiry. On the bottom of the pool they look for all the world like a piece of bark. I tried to Pick one up with my foot the other morning thinking it was a piece of bark the pool cleaner had missed and it moved. Richo said it's amazing how well a squeal will travel over water.

The neighbours have chooks and they are so well,  fed birds from all over the neighbourhood are coming for the banquet. Unfortunately the rats and mice have discovered the smorgasbord so they have begun supplementing their free grain diet with Richo's veges from the garden, pumpkins, passion fruit, pawpaw and tomatoes have worn the brunt of their lust for diet variety. Tilly the terrier is particularly interested in their activity and frequently hunts into places she can't reach them and then grizzles or barks until she gets help with the hunt. 

We have some serious building happening here at the moment and this was discovered in the wall by the apprentice builder when he was removing some bricks to install the new air conditioner. I would've been far less calm than him if that cold wet thing had landed on my hand, especially given the number of discarded snake skins that had been pulled out of the roof that morning. He was so gentle allowing it to hop back onto its brick and carefully placing it on the second storey scaffold without disturbing it too much.

 It's not just the rodents, reptiles and amphibians. The ants have moved in away from all the building disruption and managed to to invade my you beaut coffee machine. Cafe Latte with essence of ant anyone???? Grrr. I needed that coffee after the night I just had. 

Richo found the largest spider he has seen Barr the bird eating variety in a zoo inside the house. Reckons it was so large you could take fillets off it. Though I'm not sure it there is a market for spider fillets! 

At 1.23am it's brother or bigger cousin crawled over my throat, face and hair. I didn't see it but I felt its cold body on my skin. I estimate it weighed just under a kilo😳 I jumped out of bed punching at my own head like a ninja on steroids. Too frightened to call for help, Tilly came to My rescue but didn't know from what and my heart was pounding so hard I could hear it. Needless to say that was the end of my nights sleep. I couldn't find the spider and was convinced it would come back.

I am a real DIY person but not DIY Safari and definitely not inside my own home. I'm thinking of changing my doormat to NOT WELCOME!!

Renovation Chaos

Some time ago my house was Damaged by a storm we have finally been able to organise tradesman to assist with the repairs and it's hot, noisy, dusty, disruptive and exhausting. We have had power outages over an inch an a half of rain onto a demolished roof which caused flooding downstairs. There was unbuilding, then building then clean up and it's not even half finished. The affected rooms have been gutted, a piece of roof sheeting fell down narrowly missing my head and smashed a window. I have been making hot meals and smoko everyday for the tradesman team and making the odd trip to town to collect building requirements and supplies. With only 20 days until Christmas I am having trouble believing I will be sitting down in a renovated air conditioned room to enjoy Christmas dinner with my family, safe in the knowledge that the roof has been thoroughly repaired 

.

Empty and ready for repairs.

Tilly and Richo getting things ready for the builders.

Floor covered and room stripped downstairs.

No turning back now! Lucky we are in the middle of a drought.

Thats a bit better now if the weather would just hold until it's finished.

That shiny stuff on the floor is rain water, lots and lots of it. What a mess! Hasn't rained for months. I want to know who told the storm I had no roof!!!

They don't call us the drought breakers for nothing! Stay tuned for more progress updates!

Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup

I was after a low carb vegan soup which was nutritious, satisfying and tasty. This is what we came up with. It smuggles some veges into the kids. We served it with some homemade cheekyricho Vegan a Cheese which I molded into a spoon shape, a crusty bread roll spread with Vegan Cream cheese. Both of those vegan cheese recipes will be coming in the near future. We are quite enjoying our foray into Vegan territory, mainly because these recipes can be readily enjoyed by non vegans as well. We are particularly impressed by the ready availablility of good quality animal Product substitutes even in most local Supermarkets nowadays. We hope we can inspire you to consider trying some Vegan dishes as they are surprisingly good for the environment and easy to

Make and delicious to enjoy.

Tilly and Gary hiding from the builders

Tilly doesn't like all the noise the builders are making. As soon as the power tools and demolition work begins she grabbed her friend Gary the purple comfort bear and took him to bed to keep him safe.

Here she is with Richo checking out the building progress. That roof will be part of the sunroom floor this time next week. Tilly and I can't wait, it's our favourite room in the house.