On a brighter note

Thank you for your lovely comments on my last post. What a beautiful community this is.

We had a very slow weekend – even if I briefly forgot about the time of year and got caught in stifling crowds on a Saturday afternoon (note to council: when you organise your excellent backyard chooks workshop again, please steer clear of shopping centres in the run up to Christmas).

We even booked to go away on a little camping holiday. Somewhere where Luca can finally sleep in a tent under the stars. Somewhere he can watch our very own campfire and toast homemade marshmallows. Somewhere where Sydney can swim in a mountain river and we can hire a canoe and spot the odd platypus. All the fresh air will mean the boys will nod off quickly and sleep soundly, and we can sit by the riverbank with a glass of red...

Who am I kidding? There's no point spinning it. It is what it is. Two nights away with our children. In a tent. Two nights.

Did I mention we're sleeping in the one tent? Or that we're somehow going to divide ourselves up between a double air bed and a single air bed?

The funny thing is I'm almost looking forward to it more than I did our Hunter Valley trip.

What do you think – do we need our heads read?

Now who hasn't entered my giveaway?





Brown sugar

Luca has asked to go camping. He wants to make a fire and he wants to sleep in a tent. We've said summer's not far off. A few times now.

In the meantime, he's seen Jay Laga'aia and children on TV with marshmallows on sticks. 'What are those white things called?', he asked.

Marshmallows are not high on my list of things to make. But I'm not about to buy any. 

Junk food doesn't have to be junk. Made with unrefined sugar and gorgeous eggs from FIG, it's not junk out of a packet. It's a treat. Even better, he's learning about sugar dissolving in water, what a sugar thermometer does and what happens when you beat egg whites.

Pillowy soft squares of homemade marshmallow. Straight on the barbecue.

We stood on the decking under a cold dark sky and toasted our squares. Burnt bits of sugar and melting goo underneath.

I didn't think I would, but I went back for more.

Guess who stopped at one and turned his nose up? 'Daddy, can you make them nicer next time?'.

I can't wait to go camping now and take a tin of these with us.

From the River Cottage Family Cookbook. I love Hugh. Don't you?

Psst, have you thrown your name in the hat for some organic cacao and coconut goodies?