Sweet Mary

Over the last few years I have read bits and pieces on blogs about "no-knead bread". The idea of not having to knead the bread is strangely attractive to me. Unusual I know, as most people love the kneading bit and feel they can meditate while doing so. Today, I finally baked the loaf pictured above. I started it yesterday, checking occasionally to see what interesting things were happening. It only has 1/4 teaspoon of yeast so its a slow riser. Its mean't to cook for 30 minutes but it looked so brown at 25 minutes that I took it out early. Its delicious but probably should have had the slightly extra time as it is very moist. If you try this recipe you may need to play around with the timings a bit. The men in my life have declared it a winner though so I will be cooking it again, quite soon. Click here for the recipe but also read Jane Brocket's post on the same bread - find it in her Archives section, August 2010. Scroll down to August 21st and do read more of h...

Last Saturday we drove over the Gentle Annie to stay a couple of nights at my godson's holiday home in Ohakune . We drove past the beautiful Mount Ruapehu at about six in the evening and stopped to take this photo. The first of many that we took over our two days of rest and relaxation and one slightly challenging walk. Its not far, my husband said, and very easy! Last Monday, we drove home again to be welcomed, late afternoon, by this gorgeous autumn scene on the driveway leading to the house. Last Wednesday, I finished the quilt for baby Isabelle and posted it off on Friday. Last Friday, yesterday, Nic and I had a drive out to The Paper Mulberry Cafe for a fix of their excellent date scones. Their coffee is very good too. We sat outside, at a table that was once an old blue door, the sun shining on a perfect autumn day with views across the countryside. At that point, life seemed pretty good. Last week sometime, I started to pick up and eat the feijoas from the orchard - ...