No knead to buy it, make it yourself. It's certainly not a new idea, but it never gets old. With a new lockdown upon us and wet weather preventing little chance of outside activity, it's all about indoor fun and trying to reduce screen time. With a few pantry staples and a nine-year old's enthusiasm for cooking and colour, this worked out to be quite a fun exercise. One kg of plain flour and a small box of salt managed to yield us a mountain of silky, brightly coloured dough. The sheer pleasure of kneading the soft, warm dough straight out of the pot was a welcome surprise on a chilly morning ..read more

Or should I say greenies. I promised my daughter we'd do some baking to make some holiday treats. She had something sticky and sweet in mind and I had just found a recipe for brownies with a twist. Added vege and no added sugar. I got all the ingredients ready to make cooking with an 8-year-old a little less chaotic. When it came to adding the grated zucchini, I heard a shrill of "I'm not eating that, that's disgusting". An hour later after the chocolatey slab had cooled and squares cut, I said, "try it, if you don't like it, all the more for the grown-ups". Well, thankfully my good intention ..read more

Lockdown has brought out the crafty in many of us. I've been talking with some girl friends and admiring some pretty damn fine handiwork. Mostly from people, who like me, do not usually have or can find the time to devote to crafts. Lockdown has conjured up a homely vibe in some, a yearning to get back to simple pleasures, put down devices and be constructive, in a very practical, hands on way. Weather that be planting a vegetables garden, making pickles, kneading bread or knitting. With homeschooling, working from home, cooking 3 meals a day, 7 days a week – time for ourselves is not in abun ..read more

How far will twenty bucks stretch in the hands of an eight year old? A fun and educational activity for kids to get a better understanding of the value of everyday things they take for granted. After being inspired by the ABC show 'Teenage Boss' we came up with a fun activity that our eight year old daughter was giddy with excitement about. She had to design a meal plan for herself which included breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks for a whole day that cost no more than $20. There were no restrictions and no coaching, just a gentle reminder to make good decisions. In theory, she could ..read more

One pot magic, this is definitely one of our family favourites. It's a recipe that changes each time I make it, so no hard and fast rules. It's packed with delicious flavour and a lot of the good stuff we all need right now. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Ingredients A good glug of olive oil 1 red onion (chopped fine) 3 cloves of garlic (minced) 1 tbs grated ginger 2 tsp grated turmeric 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tsp sumac Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 preserved lemon (pulp removed and chopped fine 4-6 chicken thighs 4-6 cups of chicken / vegetable stock 2 carrots (diced) 1 handful of green beans ..read more

This was a definite case of 'it's about the journey not the destination'. I went into the activity with somewhat trepidation, expecting a dye bomb to go off and stain everything in a 1 km radius. Not the case, in fact we had a lot of fun. We got organised – outside – with plastic down, rubber bands, old t-shirts, table clothes, singlets, dye bottles, water, plastic bags for keeping each items after they were sodden with dye. We'd researched the technique and knew we wanted that classic swirly tie dye look, you know the one, ultra hippy, super cool. After we dyed everything and found even more ..read more

I noticed these at the grocer this week and couldn't resist. A little time consuming, but well worth the effort. Ingredients 8 Zucchini flowers 300g ricotta Zest from 1 large lemon 3 tbsp basil chopped 1/4 cup grated parmesan (Grana Padano) Salt + pepper to taste 1/8 tsp chilli flakes Batter 2/3 cup plain flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbs olive oil 200ml chilled light beer Method Gently snap off and discard yellow stamens in centre of flower. Mix ricotta, lemon zest, chilli, basil, cheese, salt & pepper. Spoon a teaspoon of the ricotta mixture into the centre of each flower, then twist petals at e ..read more

Because ginger acts as nature's antiviral and antibacterial and is packed with antioxidants, we're trying to put it in everything at the moment, both savoury and sweet. Here's an easy biscuit recipe for the those mid afternoon snacks. Ingredients 100g salted butter, cubed 75g light brown soft sugar (I used coconut sugar) 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger 100g golden syrup (I used maple syrup) 250g self-raising flour 1½ tbsp ground ginger (I also added ½ tsp cinnamon) 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 small egg yolk, beaten Method Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Line two large baking trays with bakin ..read more

This 'Peeps at home' blog is my little self indulgent way to keep myself sane, while documenting how our family and friends are adapting to this brave new world of self isolation and home schooling. Welcome to those that have found us. The plan is to share ideas, recipes, funny moments, poignant moments, and various other titbits. Peeps for keeps Peeps as in people. Your special and immediate people that you will be spending vast amounts of time with. It could be your family, your partner, your kids, your housemates, a relative, a friend, or even an ex. Whoever it is, they are your peeps for ..read more

No knead to buy it, make it yourself. It's certainly not a new idea, but it never gets old. With a new lockdown upon us and wet weather preventing little chance of outside activity, it's all about indoor fun and trying to reduce screen time. With a few pantry staples and a nine-year old's enthusiasm for cooking and colour, this worked out to be quite a fun exercise. One kg of plain flour and a small box of salt managed to yield us a mountain of silky, brightly coloured dough. The sheer pleasure of kneading the soft, warm dough straight out of the pot was a welcome surprise on a chilly morning ..read more