Lor Ann's Flavouring Oils

Vanilla extract is a wonderful thing. But sometimes you just want something different. And I don't mean fake strawberry. I recently dicovered Lor Ann Flavouring Oils and I am seriously hooked. I generally use them in buttercream (actually, every batch of vanilla buttercream I make now has a few drops of Marshmallow added in for fun and yum). These oils are readily available at a huge number of cake decorating and chocolate making stores here but not everyone has the same range. I usually order online from Inspired By Chocolate because they're really nice people and have about 50 flavours. I would suggest ordering the dram bottle to start off - a little goes a looooong way.

Here's a few of my faves :

Watermelon

Cotton Candy

Bubble Gum

Marshmallow

This was for a competition - I won! (sorry about the photo)

Bubblegum, Cola, Cotton Candy, Marshmallow

These oils really are a lot of fun and make for a nice surprise when people first taste them. I highly recommend starting a little (or big) collection.

My Poor Freezer

Before the boys came along, my freezer usually contained the following :

- a bottle of Absolut vodka. I never drank it, but a freezer needs vodka, no?
- several blends of coffee
- chicken carcasses waiting to be 'stocked'
- at least 3 flavours of gourmet ice cream
- maybe a packet of spinach pastizzi
- lots and lots of ice cubes

Nothing more, nothing less. Everything had it's place and sometimes I used to just look in there to make myself happy.
Now, my freezer contains the following :

The little yellow-lidded container is my coffee. How long does coffee actually keep in the freezer? Forever, I hope. Because that's how long that's been there. I'm more of an instant girl these days. Or if I'm truthful, iced instant coffee. Unintentional iced coffee.
And on the outside of the freezer, back then? Nothing. I used to be an appliance purist. But now?

All the mothers I know ask 'why didn't anyone ever really tell me what labour was going to be like?' I'm wondering why nobody told me what would happen to my freezer.

RIP My Wooden Friend

Many years ago, before I left home, I had a glory box filled with all the things that I would need when I married a prince and moved into a castle. There was the dinner set with the little country ducks around the rims. Why? That is actually a very reasonable question. And the answer is 'I dont know'. Maybe because it was 1987? That's my excuse for a lot of things. There was heirloom crystal, a set of silver cutlery, mixing bowls and a million tea towels. Pretty much nothing of any real use. Except a wooden spoon.

Of course, I didn't marry a prince but all my treasures came with me when I made my way out into the world. And all were unused except the wooden spoon. It was with me as I learned to cook - honey soy chicken wings with 2 minute noodles anyone? Time and time again it was packed into a box and moved with me or sat in the box at my mothers house while I travelled the world. I lost or gave away so many things over the years but that spoon was a constant in my kitchen.
Sure, I had other spoons over the years but every time I cooked, my fingers would instinctively seek out that particular spoon. Nothing else felt quite right in my hands. With time, the spoon grew beautiful. Smooth as marble and so full of love. It helped me cook every meal I made for S when we were starting our lives together, vegetable purees for my tiny sons, sauces, pasta and cakes. So very many cakes.
In honesty, I didn't realise how much I loved that spoon and possibly didn't treat it right - although I did rescue it from S's Secret Kitchen Drawer Downsize of '04. But now I think it should have had it's own special place in my kitchen. Not just shoved in the jar with all the other utensils. I put that spoon with a silicon spatula, for God's sake! I'm sorry.
Anyway, last night S was a bit cranky with the kids and was telling them that when he was little, he would get smacked with a wooden spoon and they were very lucky that didn't happen to them. To prove his point, he whacked my dear, dear spoon onto the counter.

And broke it's neck. I couldn't breathe. As tears welled up in my eyes, he said 'Hello? It's a wooden spoon. What are they? Like 89 cents?' I tried to explain what that spoon and I had been through together and he couldn't see that it wasn't just a spoon. And he didn't say sorry. I tried to point out that even he picked that spoon out of all the wooden spoons in the jar. Didn't that prove it's magic? Why didn't he picked the $20 beauty from Wheel and Barrow (because he would have got splinters from it, that's why. Shame on you Wheel and Barrow.)
He didn't say sorry. My spoon is gone. I may never cook again.

I Heart ALDI - Please Don't Judge Me

I decided before I had Fletch that I would definitely be a disposable nappy user. But it was going to be Huggies. And only Huggies. Every week when I was pregnant, I would add a packet to my groceries in preparation for his birth. The cashiers at Coles would whisper to me 'you should buy the ALDI nappies'. As if! I would never, ever, ever put anything from ALDI on my precious newborn's bottom and besides, I had never set foot in an ALDI store anyway.

At our first (and only as it turns out, but maybe a story for another time) prenatal class, the nurse recommended ALDI nappies. Um, no.

The sister at the baby clinic recommended ALDI nappies. Um, no again.
The girls at Mothers Group recommended ALDI nappies. What is wrong with everyone?
My girlfriends recommended ALDI nappies. (Blocking ears) la la la
I learnt to drown everyone out when the talk turned to ALDI nappies, and I spent most of my husband's pay that first year on Huggies. And I was happy. And Fletch's bottom was happy.
Shortly after Fletch's first birthday, with Jarvy's birth mere months away, I was faced with the financial implications of buying two boxes of Huggies every week and it made me very nervous. I decided to give ALDI one chance. I was sure they'd fail me but that would give Husband time to look for a second job.
I'll never pretend the ALDI nappies are as quilted and soft as Huggies but they are very, very, very good. And we have never looked back. Jarvy even wore them as a newborn - hopefully he never finds out that I favoured Fletch's bottom. Given that they are half the price, I would venture to say they are better than Huggies. And the ALDI wipes? Heaven.

Anyway, to get to the point, for the longest time I only ever bought nappies and wipes there and didn't even glance at anything else. Then one day I really needed peanut butter and didn't really want to go to Coles when I was already in ALDI so I tried the ALDI brand, and it changed my life. Gradually, I added little bits and pieces and I can honestly say, every single ALDI product we have tried has become my family's favourite. I now do almost half my weekly shop there. I must admit I don't often buy their meat or fresh produce, but I am more of a butcher/greengrocer shopper. They look okay though, and cheap, cheap, cheap.

Here's the list of ALDI items we can't live without :

Mamia wipes - we might be out of nappies, but I still use a ton of wipes for some reason?
peanut butter
raspberry Jam
Scotch Finger biscuits (my boys won't eat the Arnott's ones)
Cavallo biscuits (trust me, eat them)
chocolate (European chocolate for $3 a block!)
chicken crackers (waaaay less salty than others)
pasta sauce
brekky juice
paper towels (the best ever)
yoghurt
cheese slices
frozen strudel
pizza bases (in the bread aisle, you may never order pizza again)
baking staples (sugar, flour etc)
school snacks - tiny teddies, muesli bars etc
juice poppers

I do pick up other things from time to time but these are the things I can't live without. And neither can you. It's not about money, it's about filling your cupboards with great stuff. Did I mention Cavallo biscuits?