Danielle Quarmby: Curiouser and Curiouser

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wattleseed Carrot Cake


This is one of my mum's recipes, amended a little and with the addition of Outback Pride's ground wattleseed.

Ingredients

1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
1 cup plain flour (white)
1 tsp bicarb of soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons Outback Pride Ground Wattleseed
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
4 medium carrots

Step One

Sift flours, bicarb of soda, cinnamon and wattleseed into a large bowl. Add sugar and oil, and mix well.

Step Two

Grate the carrots and set aside. Put eggs and sour cream into a separate bowl and mix well.

Step Three

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and combine until smooth. Add the grated carrot and mixed well.

Step Four

Grease and line two loaf tins, or just one round baking tin. Pour in the cake mixture. Bake at 180 degrees for about 45 minutes, pierce with a skewer in the middle to check if it is cooked through.

Step Five


Stand for a few minutes, and then turn onto a wire rack to cool. When cool, spread with the Cream Cheese Frosting and serve.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Combine 120g cream cheese, 1 teaspoon lemon rind (or try Ground Lemon Myrtle for a herby lemon tang!) and 30g butter. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar and stir until smooth.


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Winner

I got Sienna to pick a winner for the 'i love dirt' giveaway out of a hat, and the lucky person is...

Sylvia!

So off the book shall go all the way to Germany. Probably with me at the end of December, though, as I have already taped shut a parcel for you which will be heading that way today - yay!

I also wanted to share today these beautiful gifts the kids recently received from that very same lovely crafty dame - Sienna has been prancing about wearing the apron and although the other tees are too big for their respective boys at present I am sure they will pop up in many photos later on :)



Thank you so much, we love them! And what a great idea, this hand-made feel of personalising pieces as gifts - what a clever chook Sylvia is :)

Sunday, November 08, 2009

More

More faves from yesterday afternoons shoot - I was pretty grumpy because of my top wisdom teeth having totally cut through (my right one is hurting a lot) and the kids got pretty crazy, but it was worth it to get some fun shots!


Saturday, November 07, 2009

Love Love Love this photo


091107-Reeze01, originally uploaded by DanielleQ.
Kell, Reeze and I did a photo session at a local studio this afternoon (I took the photos - Reeze was itching to, but time ran away and also we all got too exhausted I think with the 5 crazy kids running around).

Just looking through and editing some this evening but this is an absolute fave already. Reeze looking so gorgeous and vibrant, one of those private joke kinda things ;)

Jonathan Livingstone, anyone?


Friday, November 06, 2009

Heartbreaking reminder

Roly-Poly

There he goes...




at 3 and 3/4 months old, Cedar is 6.4kg and 64.7cm long! I love this Sooki Baby romper, it reminds me of my dad :) (click to enlarge)

Thursday, November 05, 2009

oh my. LOVE IT

Sunny days, sweepin' the clouds away...



On my way to where the air is swee-e-e-et,
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

(I just love Google's homepage image for Sesame Street's 40th anniversary!)

'i love dirt!' giveaway


"I Love Dirt! presents 52 open-ended activities to help you engage your child in the outdoors. No matter what your location—from a small patch of green in the city to the wide-open meadows of the country—each activity is meant to promote exploration, stimulate imagination, and heighten a child's sense of wonder."

Due to a lucky win I have just received a brand new copy of this fun book - the only thing is, I already have it! So it's time to share the love...

To be in the running to win 'i love dirt!' simply leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite season! Mine is Autumn :)

For an extra entry, post a link back to this blog on your blog, facebook or twitter and leave a comment showing me where the link is (it doesn't have to be to this giveaway, just to the blog in general - why not use one of the fun new 'Curiouser' widgets from the left sidebar?).

I will draw a winner on Monday 9th November, after 9:30am Melbourne time.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Congratulations Sylvia and Jeff!


40_wochen_3, originally uploaded by SylviaK.

"Spencer Lionel King is here! Mom and baby doing fine. Papa proud. We will rest a few days but see you soon."

He was born on 3rd Nov - that is, 4th Nov here in Melbourne, when Ash, Cedar and I had just walked back from dropping Sienna off at school!

Can't wait to see photos :) Can't wait to meet him!

Squirrels and tree hugs

Some fun finds on etsy today...

Squirrel Village by cindymindypindy



Forest scene mushroom gnome hut by cocoondesigns



In the Garden charm necklace by HazelnutCottage



The Owl and the Pussy Cat Art Print by Printspace



Tree hug by laurageorge