Springtime Strawberry Ice-Blocks

Blend one punnet of strawberries with a couple of tablespoons of strawberry jam and freeze. Mmmmmm!

Mulberry Pie!

Welcome Spring! 

And in our neck of the woods, springtime equals mulberry time! 

So here's a little story and a recipe I would like to share with you.

 We always stop off on our bikes at a local tree on the footpath, but this year, the man came out of his house and invited us in to pick as many mulberries as we could, as he couldn't keep up with them. He got us a stepladder and everything. "That man is really kind", Kees whispered to me. And he is. Thanks Jason, our new neighbourhood friend!

 This is one amazingly productive tree! We ate until we were sick, picked a huge container and barely made a dent in it. It was still loaded with ripe mulberries. And they are whoppers - check out the size of them:

After sharing our haul with friends at the beach, we took the rest home to make mulberry pie. This is a perfect pie to make with young children - really quick, easy and tactile.

Here's the recipe:

 In case you need clarification, that's 4 cups mulberries, 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup flour. Or, tip as many mulberries as you've got into a big bowl, throw a bit of sugar and flour in and start mixing.

While you and your helpers are mixing, preheat the oven. Grease your pie dish and lay a puff pastry sheet in. I baked ours for 5 minutes but you probably don't need to.

The mixing is fun; very easy and satisfying as it turns a really wonderful rich purple colour.

Take your dishes out of the oven and spoon in the berry mixture. A very serious task for a certain little baker.

Slice your pastry into strips then arrange on top in a lattice pattern.

Your pie is ready for the oven! 

Bake on moderate for about 15 min then on low for about half an hour or until you think it seems ready. Leave to cool for a while, as it needs to set a bit. If you can wait ;0)

Then enjoy your delicious mulberry pie!

Mmmmmm. Yum.

Botanic Gardens

Our local botanic gardens is such a special place. It is a perfect location to bring the children to meet friends for a play or for a bit of homeschooling activity. It's beautiful, the gardeners are friendly (albeit eccentric, including Tam), it's enclosed (!) and we usually have it all to ourselves. There's a creek, rainforest, bush, flowers, herbs, veggies, bats, insects, frogs and birds. And trees to climb. And in spring, a beautiful lush meadow!

Spring Maleny Days

Our days at Maleny are too picturesque not to blog. So here are a few memories from our last beautiful visit. Thank you so much Everest/Doonans for a gorgeous day! xoxo

Happy days.

Spring Corner

Celebrating Spring: PurpleLilacMauveAmethystViolet