Busy baking day.....

I thought I would catch up on some school lunch baking today, it seems like ages since I have had a baking day, and the school munchies were in serious need of some topping up. I made some pikelets:

I also made some choc chip muffins

And also some cheesy vegemite scrolls

I also put on a batch of skim vanilla yoghurt using the simple savings recipe, I have tried the suggestion of another forum member and used long life skim milk, instead of full cream powdered milk. It seems to be thickening up ok, so I will see how it is a little later on tonight. I have never been able to get a skim version of the simple savings yoghurt using powdered milk to work, so if this works it would be great, it works out about the same cost, maybe 20c a litre dearer using the long life milk.  I usually use full cream powdered milk with a couple of tablespoons of the greek yoghurt starter powder and it ends up so thick that the spoon leaves a scoop mark in the yoghurt, I don't think the skim will end up quite so thick, but as long as it is thickened to a point, then that's fine with me, as I don't usually eat too much of my home made yoghurt because it's not a skim version.  I also gave the pantry a wipe out and cleared out some old, unidentifiable stuff in the bottom of the freezer as it's bin day, so my baking will now fit in the freezer!  So it's been a productive day in the kitchen.

I also sowed about 60 climbing beans, 70 peas and 8 golden nugget pumpkin seeds this afternoon. The corn I planted a couple of weeks ago is starting to shoot through the mulch, but no sign of the (kent/jap?? not sure which one they are) pumpkins yet...not sure if they will take as the seeds are a couple of years old, so I may have to dry some more and plant them out if the ones from a couple of weeks ago don't take...

I am going to have a look at the Ekka program, I would really like to go this year and watch the ring events and look at all of the judging etc....Damian loves the woodchop, I love watching the horses and the sheep dog trials and the night time events....Kasey, well she just loves the rides and side show alley and the showbags of course....so with the clash of what the adults like and what Kasey and her big brother and sister like, it makes it hard to go and for us all to enjoy ourselves.  May have to make 2 days of it, 1 for Kasey and 1 for Damian and I....just don't know if I could stand 2 days of the show....we did go last year, and we usually make a point of only going every 2nd year....we'll see what happens....

Baking Day

Today I have tried to catch up on some baking. It seems like months since I have spent a day baking, other than the odd cake here or there, which have been few and far between, I just haven't been getting around to baking. I have dropped back into some bad habits of buying biscuits, chips etc..as my time has been a bit limited and time seems so busy and the days go so fast. It is hard sometimes to stay motivated with baking when it isn't appreciated a lot. Damian isn't a big one for home baking, and Toni will eat it, but not that much, and trying to get Kasey to take home baking in her lunches is a hard fought battle.  She is only in grade 1, but already there seems to be such a large emphasis placed on taking packaged items to school and of taking the same thing as what the other kids take. Kasey doesn't take purchased muesli bars, and never has, but I have been a bit slack and have been giving her packaged biscuits and the like on more occasions than I would have liked. I am trying to get back in to a routine and also encourage Kasey to take more home baking to school. She does understand that home baking is much better for her than shop bought, but it is difficult for me to stay on target when I give her home made yoghurt, or home made yogos, homemade banana cake, pikelets, choc chip biscuits, choc chip muffins etc, but most of the time they come home because she is too embarrased to eat home cooking at school. It would be great if home cooked food was more the norm in childrens lunchboxes than store bought food, it's cheaper, more nutritious, and we know what gets put in it..... Tomorrow her school is having a no packaging lunch box day, and will have no bins other than compost bins in the grounds, which is a really good start. Kasey takes a no litter lunch anyway, as I put everything into containers, so it is no effort for me to do this....great to see them taking this initiative though. Anyway, today has been a huge baking day. I have managed to make the following:

2 Banana Cakes

Meusli Bars with Choc Tops

Caramel Slice made with home made condensed milk of course...

Moist Fruit Cake

And for dinner, garlic prawns....very yum...