31/365 – Engagement

7:11 pm, January 31st, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Posted in 365, boythings, cuteness, girlthings, local, photography by Jarod

For the full story, head here.

An engagement.

6:59 pm, January 31st, 2010 | 11 Comments »
Posted in boythings, geekery, girlthings by Liz

So if you’re not following either of us on twitter, facebook or flickr, then you might not have heard. Jarod proposed this morning, and I said yes. So that means we’re all engaged! Hurrah!

So here’s the quick FAQ:

How did he propose?
Well, Jarod the engagement ring sent me an email this morning explaining that Jarod had lost my engagement ring, but luckily there was a series of clues which would help me find it. The first of which was under my keyboard.

There were about 14 clues in total, leading me around the house and out to places like Canada Bay (where we had our first picnic) and the car park at the Friend in Hand hotel (where we met). After about 2 hours and back at home, the final clue said ‘Let’s do this already…’ and he did the whole down-on-one-knee thing.

The funniest part was at Canada Bay – Jarod had buried the clue in the sand, but the tide had come in since he’d buried it that morning. Result? The clue had been washed away. Oops.

What does the ring look like?
Like this!

What does that mean?
It means we’ll pick out a ‘proper’ ring together, eventually.

Did you know he was going to ask?
Kinda. He’s not a very good secret keeper. But he made me work for it.

What does Train think?
She was rather annoyed this morning with all the commotion. She was trying to sleep. This afternoon she was able to catch up on her lost sleep and so is now much happier.

So how did you guys meet anyway?
We met online through flickr. About a month or so later Jarod came to a Mic in Hand (while I was manning the door) and we met in real life. Three months later he moved in with me. Hurrah!

When’s the wedding/engagement party/free booze happening?
Dunno! We only got engaged this morning, you see.

Any questions I didn’t cover? Chuck em in the comments ;)

30/365 – A good day.

11:38 pm, January 30th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Posted in 365, girlthings, local by Liz

Two days in a row Jarod has gone to bed before me… without either of us discussing a 365. Which means you get another crappy shot of me covering my face. But this time I’m covering my face with something cool.

See that blue thing on my finger? I made that. Along with another ring, and two bangles. Pretty nifty, huh? Today I went on a bqueen resin workshop in Newtown to help the lovely Kt celebrate her birthday. It was a great deal of fun and concentration. AND it involved safety goggles. While the option was there to go for really cool colours and swirls and fun things, I stuck with slightly transparent (and a little bit shiny) colour.

During the workshop we only had time to completely finish the one bangle, so the rest need finishing in the near future, but it should be pretty easy. By finishing I mean the edges on one side just need some making smooth done to them.

After the workshop we were joined by Jarod and a group of friends for Kt’s birthday dinner. This was also a great deal of fun, and involved much less concentration. And then after dinner we found a not too packed gelato place and had dessert.

Most of the night I was barefooted because I wore the pair of shoes which cause me pain because I haven’t the patience to wear them properly. By the time we got home my feet were filthy, but I didn’t step in vomit or glass, which is a win.

29/365 – Cop out photo.

8:09 pm, January 29th, 2010 | No Comments »
Posted in 365, photography by Liz

Bleh.

Three Champagne Glasses

6:02 pm, January 29th, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Posted in Render, boythings, geekery by Jarod

Wholemeal Banana Choc Chip Muffins.

9:05 pm, January 28th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Posted in girlthings, liz cooks sometimes by Liz

So, Jarod and I are trying to be healthier. Or something. Reduce our sugar intake, blah, blah, blah. This means bad things for my baking. I took this recipe and replaced some of the ingredients with gooderer ones. Or something.

Ingredients
60g butter
2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
2 eggs
1 big ripe banana, mashed
1 cup or so of milk choc bits

How to
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a medium muffin tray (12 sections) with paper cases. Melt butter in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. Put a mixing bowl (not siftable!). Stir in sugar. Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients.
3. Lightly beat milk, eggs and butter in a jug. Add to dry ingredients, along with mashed banana. Using a wooden spoon, gently mix ingredients until just combined. Stir in choc bits. Don’t beat the mixture or the muffins will be tough.
4. Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin cases. Bake for 20 minutes or until firm on top. Let cool.
5. Eat. Nom nom nom.

28/365 – Train is a plane spotter.

7:55 pm, January 28th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Posted in 365, girlthings, photography by Liz

Usually Train spends her time looking down into the laneway below, searching for other cats. Every time a plane goes past, she will stare up at the big shiny metal birds. I think she’s annoyed at the noise it generates. It blocks out everything else.

27/365 – Someone got a haircut

8:04 pm, January 27th, 2010 | No Comments »
Posted in 365, boythings, photography, roundups by Jarod

Pretty sad when a haircut is the highlight of your day… and thus the 365 entry of the day.

Daring Bakers Jan 2010: Graham Wafers & Nanaimo Bars

8:14 am, January 27th, 2010 | 18 Comments »
Posted in daring bakers, girlthings, liz cooks sometimes, photography by Liz

I decided 2010 was the year I’d attempt Daring Bakers. At the very least, I can now say I’ve done at least one challenge.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

Graham wafer: a sweet cracker that bears some resemblance to a cookie — digestive biscuits are the closest approximation.

Nanaimo bar: a dessert of Canadian origin popular across North America. A type of chocolate no-bake square, it is named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. It consists of a wafer crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light vanilla or custard flavoured butter icing, which is covered in chocolate.

The process:

1. The start of the graham wafers.

2. Adding in the butter.

3. My graham wafer dough ready for cooling. (No photos of the dough making process because it was sticky business!)

4. Dough poked, ready for the oven.

5. Crushed rice bubbles (while waiting for the wafers to bake).

6. Baked graham wafers! Tasty.

7. The base of the Nanaimo bar.

8. Adding the middle layer.

9. It seems I can’t count and missed adding the image for number 9.

10. Chocolate top and ready for the fridge!

11. Cooled overnight, sliced and ready for the eating.

While I did make the graham wafers with plain flour (staying Gluten Free was not mandatory), I did enjoy the challenge. Both graham wafers and Nanaimo bars are something I’ve never tasted before, let alone made!

Graham wafers seem to be a big thing in America. While they were tasty, I probably wont be making them again an time soon. The Nanaimo bars were delicious – but so, so, so sweet. Those slices I cut were way to big for an individual serving for us. But we did make our way through most of the bar by the end of the week.

The recipe:

Link to the full challenge recipe.

Gluten-Free Graham Wafers – Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Gluten-Free Graham Wafers – Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.

2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.

4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).

6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.

7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.

8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.

9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

Nanaimo Bars – Ingredients

Bottom Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

Middle Layer
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (40 mL) Heavy Cream
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254 g) (8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

Top Layer
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Nanaimo Bars – Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.

2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.

3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

Adjustments made by Liz: Recipes were halved to create a smaller batch. Wheat based flour was used. Coconut in base layer of Nanaimo bars was replaced with crushed rice bubbles.

Many thanks go to Lauren for hosting this month’s challenge. It was a great challenge to start Daring Bakers with!

26/365 – 52kms of Centennial Parks Finest

7:45 pm, January 26th, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Posted in 365, bikes, boythings, local, photography by Jarod

I really really really shouldn’t have, but this morning I rode 52kms of Centennial Park. Why shouldn’t I have? Well, now I’m feeling extremely tired, have a sore throat and generally feel eww.

Classic over training I guess. Oops.

FebuSave, job hunting and Australia Day.

9:59 am, January 26th, 2010 | No Comments »
Posted in febusave, girlthings, internets by Liz

Firstly, you may have noticed that there’s a new button in the sidebar. I’m supporting ANZ’s initiative to encourage women to start saving and be more money confident.

Did you know…

- Less than one third of women surveyed said they were very confident about managing everyday finances.

- 45% said they had saved less than they planned to over the previous 12 months

- 2.76 million women (41%) are saving no regular amount monthly

- More than half (58%) of adult women in Australia have less than $5,000 in savings with 33% having less than a $1,000

- 1 in 3 women believe they wouldn’t last longer than a month if they lost their job tomorrow

- 1 in 4 women are not at all confident about their future financial security, claiming they live pay to pay with little savings

They are not fantastic figures. And despite paying off and closing my last credit card in Feburary 2009, I have yet to have any substantial savings (of my own) either. By joining FebuSave I’ll be saving as much as I can while posting about it.

You can visit the FebuSave site (a part of the Be Money Confident site) for more information about FebuSave. You don’t need to sign up to FebuSave start saving, but sometimes committing to something publicly can help you reach your goal.

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In other news, I am searching for full time work. I’m pretty good at stuff, and while I’ve been trawling seek for suitable options, I realise that other people might have heard of something not advertised, or that might be hard to find. There is a short summary of what I have experience in and what I am after on lizchristie.com and I would really appreciate it if you could pass it on to anyone you think might be interested, or if you could let me know of any positions you know of that might suit. I am looking for work in the Sydney CBD / Inner West area.

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And on a lighter note – Happy Australia Day! Today on friendly miaows there is a totally suitable/unsuitable photo to celebrate the day. And I also forgot to mention – friendly miaows is in the sixties! That’s a lot of cat photos.