These are amazing!

It's been ages since I last posted on this blog. We've been busy with work, as usual. Greg is only just beginning to feel like he is recovering from pneumonia, and he has taken today off to rest and to get correction done. We are both heading into exam time at our schools, and my Yr 12s have a SAC tomorrow. The students are becoming rather stressed and anxious!

I made my Yr 12 class some flourless chocolate cakes, and the reaction was a unanimous "OMG These are amazing!" Greg had one in his lunch too and his reaction was exactly the same. So, I am including the recipe here:

The amazing flourless chocolate cakes
180 g butter, chopped 220 g quality dark cooking chocolate, chopped 1¼ cups caster sugar ¾ cups almond meal 1 cup cocoa powder, sifted 5 eggs
Preheat the oven to 140⁰ C. Place the butter, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Place the almond meal and cocoa in a bowl and whisk in the chocolate mixture. Add the eggs gradually, whisking until well combined. Grease or line muffin tins. Spoon in mixture and bake for 30 mins or until firm. Allow to cool in the tins. Serve warm or cold.

Zoe and I finished reading "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle. It was an exciting book to read, including lots of science and adventure. I can see why it is a classic fantasy novel for children. I suggested we use "A Wrinkle in Time" as the stimulus for my school's Art competition, and the girls thought it was a great idea.

I am knitting a couple of things at the moment, so nothing is finished yet, and am looking forward to getting some sewing done once school becomes a little less demanding.

I am doing lots of running in preparation for the Melbourne Run half marathon. June 22 is the date and I am now up to about 16km on Sunday mornings.

Zoe has been cast in the role of narrator for her school musical, Aladdin. It has really inspired her to sing, and her voice is developing a character and sweetness that was unexpected.

Busy but happy!

Perfect

Mother's Day doesn't get much better than this:

Perfectly selected gifts - bedsocks, a padded coathanger and a box of Haigh's chocolates (my favourite);

7:45 am start for the Melbourne Mothers' Day Classic 4km run, which Zoe and I did in under 24 minutes (and a cute pink Tupperware sandwich container in the showbag);

Breakfast at Laurent (chocolate croissants and a bowl of coffee);

Jaffa muffins made with Zoe for my mum;

Lunch at Mum and Dad's;

Zoe off for the afternoon at a friend's house;

Some knitting and maths while she is gone!

Perfect!

Zoe has finished reading "The Recruit" by Robert Muchamore. Here's what she has to say about it:

This book was definitely for 11 year olds and older because the themes of the book are not suitable for younger children. I found the book very interesting. I liked the main character because he had to be pushed to do things but he liked the things that he had to do in the end. This is the first in the Cherubs series and I want to read more!

I finished "Magician" by Raymond E Feist yesterday. I am reading it for book group - fantasy is not a genre that I get excited about. This one didn't grab me for a while as I really dislike the cliched stories of dwarves who live in mountain mines and elves who are beautiful and live in trees. Also, the formal style of the dialogue I find irritating. However, the range of this novel is better than I expected because the perspective varied from both sides of the battle (of course there is a battle) and neither side had all the right or moral high ground. It wasn't a simple tale of good triumphing over evil. There was also an exploration of different political systems which held my interest. Several of the characters were appealing and I did end up caring about what happened to them. I might even read further into the series.

Greg is reading "All Quiet on the Western Front" and finding it very depressing. Another book for work, of course.

Babies and Banana Bread

We had a very busy and creative weekend. Our friend, Christina, is expecting her first child in mid-June and we offered her our old Emmalunga pram. It's a beautiful thing, with bassinet and stroller components. Used by only one child! But what a lot of use - lots of walking as we only had one car when Zoe was small, and I even used it when I went running. This pram participated in the Mothers' Day Classic around the Tan in Melbourne!

So Greg spent the weekend cleaning it, and I made a new cover for the stroller bar which was somehow lost at my sister-in-laws. Look at it now, beautiful, hey?

In the same weekend, I also finished the little jacket I am knitting for the baby. Since we don't know its gender yet, I thought this lovely pistachio green might do for either sex, and when it's born, I can choose which ribbon is best for the tie.

Zoe was inspired to bake her first cake, entirely without assistance. It's a lemon-iced ginger bread cake. Very yummy.

I have been collating recipes given to me by my aunts. I hope to make a family recipe book with contributions from everyone, as a means of recording and preserving all of the old recipes from cakes, slices, chutneys, jams and meals that we have enjoyed since we were children. My aunts have been very generous and given me some gems, including a number that my grandma used. It's taking a bit of time to type them all up but I am enjoying it immensely! This is my banana bread that I will be including in the book. I cut it up and freeze it in slices for Zoe and Greg's lunches. Healthy and delicious.

Both Greg and I are unwell now. He has pneumonia and I have an ear infection. Poor thing - he's been home for three days already, and he hates missing his classes.