No Bake Clinkers Slice

Earlier this week, via Facebook, I discovered a very dangerous blog called Bake Play Smile.  The particular link was for Lucy's (the author's) "Easy No-Bake Bars & Slices".  The name says it all, really.  Dangerous, I say... dangerous!  Her blog should come with a warning label... a big flashing neon warning label!

I had to (yes, had to!) print off all the slice recipes attached to the link so that I can attempt them all myself.  I will not be weighing myself before, and definitely not after, making all the slices.

I loved Clinkers growing up, and still do, so of all the slices, the Clinkers Slice stood out and became the obvious pick for the first slice to attempt and here it is:

I'm pretty proud of myself, seeing as I  only realised as I went to make the slice that I didn't have the right equipment for the second step.  Most of our stuff is in storage at the moment, while we wait to move into our new house at the beginning of next month.  My food processer is included in the items in storage!  Not to be discouraged, I decided to (no)bake on and do it by hand.  Unfortunately I didn't even have a rolling pin I could use to crush the biscuits, so it did take a little more time and energy, but I got there in the end, albeit with more chunks of biscuit than is probably ideal!  Then the clinkers... thankfully I had put my good Global knife set aside to be with me at this temporary accommodation, or else I would have been in all sorts of pain.  As it was, my hand was sore hand chopping all the required Clinkers (they are hard little lollies when you start chopping them... I guess that goes with the name ('clinker' has a number of meanings, including cement!).  I finally managed to finish them and it was very satisfying tipping them into the bowl, ready for the next step!

The rest of the steps were a piece of cake, thankfully!

In addition to Step 7, I also added coconut oil to the chocolate, as Lucy suggests in her "How to Cut Perfect Slices" post on her blog.  Boy, that coconut oil smelt delicious!  And it worked a treat, so I'm very glad I took the time to buy and add it to the slice.

After I left the slice in the fridge overnight, plus much of today as I was out and about all day, I let it sit for 20 minutes before attempting to cut the slice (I'm very good at following directions exactly!).  I don't think I did too badly, but need a bit of practice to get it even prettier.  Having said that, it's the best looking slices I've ever cut!

In regards to taste, it's very yummy, but I'm disappointed that I can't taste the Clinkers as much as I thought I would.  That could be because of the disbursement not being as thorough as it would have been, had I crushed them in a food processor like I was suppose to.  I look forward to making them again once we're in the new house and I have my food processor back.  In the meantime, this slice will not be left uneaten!!

Grandma Ellie's Legacy

A long time ago (3 years ago, almost to the day!), I received a precious parcel from my aunty in the USA.  Having never really knowing my grandma (she died when I was very young, and lived in the States, while I lived in Australia before she died), it was a wonderful connection to her and I felt closer to her.  Previous to receiving the package, my aunty had also given me Grandma Ellie's recipe tin.  One of my favourite recipes in the tin was her brownie recipe, which is so easy to make and everyone who tries it, falls in love with it.

Included in the list of people falling in love with it, is a dear friend of mine.  She is a chef by trade and has recently started a new job at a cafe attached to a nursery in Cairns (beautiful cafe; if you're in Cairns, go and check it out: Vines at Limberlost!).  So, you might be wondering what this has to do with Grandma Ellie's brownies... well, my friend loved the brownies so much, she asked me for the recipe (which she won't share with anyone else in the cafe - they are her special items!), so that she could make them at the cafe.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to go in there on a day that she had made them, before we moved away from Cairns, but she did forward me a picture of them in the display cabinet, as she promised she would!

Although I call them Grandma Ellie's brownies, she insisted on calling them Nelle's Brownies.  In any case, I know what they are, and where they have come from, so this is very special to me.  I am so excited that Grandma's legacy shines through in these yummy brownies and it means so much to me that my friend insisted on having them in the cafe.

Apparently the brownies are "getting quite a reputation" at the cafe.  So, if you are in Cairns and can pop into the cafe, hopefully the brownies will be there in the display cabinet.  Order one, and know that you actually know the beautiful story behind the delicious dessert you definitely won't regret trying!

I'm Back, Baby!

So, it's been almost one year since I've posted on my blog.  And I stopped feeling guilty about it.  When I was blogging regularly, I had a lot more time on my hands.  But working 4 days a week, and a full time mum, wife and many other things, I realised that blogging just wasn't a priority, so I didn't even keep thinking about it, let alone feel guilty for not writing.

However, circumstances have changed and I'm hoping to start up my blogging again.

When I last wrote, I was living in Cairns, working for MAF.  My family and I are now living in Melbourne and I'm not working at all!  Big Spring took a call (he's a Lutheran Pastor) to a new position within the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA).  He's no longer a pastor of a particular parish, but a pastor involved in families, children and youth ministry Australia and NZ wide.  He was able to choose to be based out of Adelaide or Melbourne and with all of our families located in Victoria, it made sense that we chose to be based in Melbourne.  We moved down two weeks ago, today!  We are currently in temporary accommodation while the LCA go through the process of purchasing a manse (house) for us.  It's a little frustrating not having all our things (currently in storage), but we did get about 10 boxes of extra personal items to use while we are in this place (a fully furnished house), so it feels a little more like 'home'.

At this stage, I'm not looking to get back into a paid job.  I'm actually looking forward to being at home a lot more; I'll have more time for baking and experimental cooking, which I absolutely love doing, but wasn't able to as there just wasn't enough time or energy.  It also means that Little Spring will get the best of me, instead of a tired, busy, grumpy mummy after school.  I never felt that she got any quality time out of me.  I'd be getting home from work (picking her up from after school care on the way home) and just when she wanted to play with me, I'd more often than not have to decline as I needed to clean, cook dinner or collapse on the couch and just relax for a minute.  It wasn't ideal and I felt horrible.  But now, I can get a lot of that done during the day, ensuring that when she gets home from school, we can have quality time together.  And I just LOVE that and our relationship is blossoming more and more!

Basically, this means that, although I might not be blogging on a daily basis, I do hope I can blog more regularly than I have in this past year.

So, welcome back to me and more importantly, welcome back to my regular readers... however many or few that may be!