seeds to seedlings.....hopefully

I had a ton of sunflowers in my garden this year - they are so beautiful! It's amazing how such a huge flower can grow from a tiny seed. I was just amazed, as were the kids. They loved watching the progress of the plant....the excitement when they could see the yellow petals emerging!!

So when some of my sunflowers died, I decided to keep the seeds.  I chopped off the heads of the flower and painstakingly removed each seed and popped them in an envelope.  I have easily about 600 seeds!! Seriously, no kidding!  And I still have a couple left in the garden to de-seed!!

I'm going to plant these in the spring in little pots and when the seedlings start to emerge I'm going to transplant them outside and with any luck I'll have 600 sunflowers!! LOL! I'll be delighted if I even have one:)

I also kept the seeds from our Halloween pumpkin this year! A friend of mine kept hers last year (from just one pumpkin), sowed them and they yielded about 8 pumpkins!! Going to give it a try!!

Treasures

When I was growing up my mother had a huge tin of buttons. Whenever she found a button she would pop it in the tin! She was great at sewing and making things. If a particular item called for a button all she had to do was look at her private stash and she normally found a suitable one.

Being a child, I thought this tin of buttons was the best thing ever. I would search through them picking out my favourites.

I asked my sister to loan me the tin for a day or two and I strolled down memory lane today:)

Raisin Cookies

I'd say these could be considered a much healthier option that the chocolate chip cookies! Mine don't look like the ones in the cookbook, but they taste yummy! Instead of the fruits listed in the recipe I used currants as they were the only fruits I had! Also, for some reason mine turned out quite crumbly.....

Ingredients:
60ml/2 1/2 fl oz/ 1/4 cup suunflower oil
75g/3 oz/6 tbsp butter, softened
110g/4 oz/ 1/2 cup soft light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g /4oz/ 3/4 cup jumbo oats (I used regular porridge oats)
150g/5oz/ 1 cup plain wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
110g/ 4oz dried apple
25g/ 1oz cranberries
25g/ 1oz blueberries (I used 6oz currants instead)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and prepare two baking sheets.

Mix the sunflower oil, butter and sugar together in a large bowl.
 Beat in the egg and vanilla, then stir in the oats.
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon over the sugar and oil mixture and mix in.
Add the dried fruit and stir until they are just combined.

Drop dessert spoonfuls of the mixture on to your baking sheets, leaving lots of space between them as they spread and bake for about 10 minutes until pale golden.
Leave on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes to harden and set a bit before cooling on wire racks.

I went for a very brisk 45 minute walk this morning....I have been eating way too many home-made cookies and they have to settle somewhere!! Don't want them settling on my hips though! My Mom used to say "a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips". I really enjoyed the fresh air and the cold. Just showered and changed and my face is still purple, but I feel great!

Matt Cardle sings Come Together - The X Factor Live show 7 (Full Version)

Whole lotta chocolate chip cookies

I made these the other night but didn't get to photograph them as they all disappeared too quickly!!

These are so rich and full to the brim with chocolate that I call them "evil"!

Ingredients:
125g/4 1/2 oz plain flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
...25g/1oz cup cocoa powder
125g/4 1/2 oz good quality dark chocolate
85g/3 1/2 oz butter, softened
175g/6 oz soft light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
350g/12 oz milk chocolate chips
55g/2 oz white chocolate chunks

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
Sift the flour, baking soda and cocoa into a large bowl and set aside. 

Break the dark chocolate up into little pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of hot water. Let it cool slightly.
 

Cream the butter amd sugar together in another large bowl until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and the vanilla extract.
 

Stir the melted chocolate into the mixture, the the milk and white chocolate chunks.
 

Fold all this gooey mess into the flour mix and drop small spoonfuls of the mixture on to your baking sheets, leaving good gaps between them.
 

Bake for 10 minutes (maybe less, depends on your oven), then leave them on their sheets to harden slightly before transferring them to wire racks to cool.

 

Butterscotch Cookies

Another delicious recipe from Kate Shirazi's book "Baking Magic"....

Ingredients:
125g/4 1/2oz butter
175g/6oz soft light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
...150g/5 1/2 oz plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
200g/7oz milk chocolate chunks

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line two baking sheets.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar and stir it around until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts bubbling, then take it off the heat immediately.
Beat ...the mixture to cool it down a little, then add the egg, beating it in quickly.
Add first the vanilla, then the flour and baking soda.
Once everything is well combined, add the chocolate and give it another quick stir.
Take small spoonfuls of the mixture and plop them onto the baking sheet leaving loads of room between each blob to allow for spreading.
Bake for about 10 minutes.
Leave the cookies on the baking sheet to firm up for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

These are just as delicious as the Coleman Cookies, maybe even more so due to the extra chocolate!!

Coleman Cookies

I bought a fabulous baking book at the weekend - it's full of delicious and really simple recipes - Baking Magic by Kate Shirazi. These are the Coleman Cookies.....

 

 

 

Ingredients:
125g/4 1/2oz butter
175g/6oz soft light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
...150g/5oz plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g/4oz chocolate chopped into chunks

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 190C/350F, and line two baking sheets.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, the add the sugar and take the pan off the heat.
Beat in the egg, add the vanilla extract, then sift in the dry ingredients, giving it all ...a good stir.
Stir in the chocolate chunks.
These spread so leave a good gap when you spoon little piles onto your baking tray.
Bake for about 10 minutes. Leave for a few minutes to settle before sliding them on to a wire rack to cool.

They are seriously delicious!