THESE DAYS

/ Pink blooms all over the house

/ We don't watch much TV in this house (and only ever PlaySchool) so Everly was enjoying her special treat - standing mere centimetres from the screen, as you do! (Notice the hand in the pocket?)

/ One beeswax candle for the birthday boy, and one amazing cake. (Everly is currently obsessed with cake! We have made a few in the past couple of weeks, and we've been reading this lovely children's story a lot lately. The other morning she found some coins on Mark's bedside table, so we told her about money and we inspected the numbers and pictures on each coin. We told her we could put them in her money box so she could buy something one day. I asked her, 'What would you like to buy with your money?' and she quickly exclaimed, 'Cake!'. Oh, this girl is most definitely my daughter!)

/ She loves pockets

/ Mark's empty coffee cup. Mark loves coffee. Me, my addiction comes and goes in waves. I'm currently only having one a week when we go to the bakery on Saturdays.

/ Toes!

/ Her first ever boiled egg. She didn't like dipping the soldiers in the soft egg, but loved it when I spread the cooled egg on her toast.

/ My favourite egg cup (by Donna Wilson)

/ I will never stop loving her curls!

/ Hiding vegetables in banana bread (thank you Claire for recommending this lovely recipe)

/ Fresh from the oven

/ Still obsessed with her stainless steel water bottle (from here) 

Joining Emily from The Beetle Shack in a weekly collection of snaps. 

BLACKBERRY UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Blackberry upside-down cake

This cake reminds me fondly of my childhood, of the heavy-yet-still-deliciously-moist German cakes my Oma would make. Sunday morning I found myself in the kitchen - I needed to make a cake for Mark's belated birthday celebration with his parents and I had half a container of blackberries from the farmers' market needing to be used. A quick Google search pulled up this delicious recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. A few minor adjustments were made - unrefined raw sugar (you can use rapadura sugar if you prefer - I had just run out!), spelt flour to make it easy on the stomach, and almond milk to replace the buttermilk. We can tolerate small amounts of butter in this house, and I wanted the soft crumb that butter yields for this special occasion, but I'm sure you could easily substitute with coconut oil. This cake was absolutely delicious and was gobbled up entirely in less than 24 hours! I'm sure it would be just as lovely with blueberries, raspberries, plums, peaches, apples or pears - actually any fruit in season! (And I do intend trying out every single option!) This cake will now be the go-to cake in our house - yes, it's that good! 

375 g blackberries
200 g unrefined organic raw or caster sugar
150 ml almond/rice/soy milk
1 tablespoon of lemon juice, vinegar or natural yoghurt
200 g white spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt
120 g unsalted organic butter, softened
2 large free-range organic eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one lemon

Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Butter a 22cm round cake tin, line the bottom with baking paper, then butter the paper. Dust with flour and shake out any excess. Scatter the blackberries into the tin in an even layer, sprinkle over two tablespoons of the sugar and shake to coat evenly.

Combine the milk and lemon juice/vinegar/yoghurt and set aside to sour. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, or in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and remaining sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and adding a bit of flour if it looks like curdling, then beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Add the flour and milk alternately, folding in until just combined.

Spoon the batter carefully over the berries, smooth with a spatula and bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for five minutes, then invert on to a plate. Dust with icing sugar, if you like, to serve.

JUST US TWO

 

We woke and remembered there were no bread or eggs in the house. I had an idea, something we hadn't done before. A special breakfast date, just her and I. We quickly dressed, hopped in the car and drove the short trip to nearby Croydon. There is our favourite little strip of shops and cafés, all nestled in a row on Queen St. (You will often find us here on Saturdays!)

We sat at a little table in Queen Street Café. We shared scrambled eggs and bacon on gluten free toast. I ordered Everly her first (soy) babycino. She loved the little flecks of chocolate on top, but was a little unsure about the rest of the foam. She stirred it with the spoon but left it relatively untouched. Maybe next time. Coffee for Mama in a bright yellow cup.

Everly loves to watch. She watches people talk, laugh, eat, drink. She points to them, then looks back at me, grinning. Every little nuance is a delight to this observant girl. I have to remind her not to point or stare too much.

When we'd finished breakfast, we walked around the corner to Croydon playground. It sits right along the train line, where trains come every few minutes. We hear the bell Ding-ding-ding! as the boom gate lowers to stop the traffic, signalling a train is on its way. The children run to the fence to watch the train pull up. We all wave and sometimes the driver pulls the horn - Choo choo! 

Everly's favourite part of the playground is the slide, but most of the time she is simply content wandering around, sometimes squatting to inspect flowers and leaves. Often she watches the other children - she listens to them talk, watches them play. Sometimes she'll wander up to a group of Mums and stand there, staring up at them, listening intently to their chatter. After a while I have to go over and redirect her to something else, a little embarrassed that I appear to have the only child in the whole playground who doesn't like to play on the equipment! My Everly, she is different. But, oh, I love her so!

We had a brilliant morning together, just us two. I know Everly wouldn't have realised the significance, but I wanted to take some photos and write down my thoughts from the day so I can remember it always.

THESE DAYS

/ Everly and her Daddy picked a flower from the garden before he left for work one morning. She left it tucked behind her ear all through breakfast, and then proceeded to flick through the local street mag
/ Mustard butter popcorn with fresh chives (recipe by Heidi Swanson, from her cookbook Super Natural Everyday)
/ Gluten-free and dairy-free fluffy coconut pancakes, made with coconut flour. I had almost finished devouring them when I thought to take a photo! (recipe from Nourishing Days)
/ Raw peanut butter cookies (recipe from Sprouted Kitchen, but I added 2 tablespoons of coconut oil)
/ Humble summer broccoli and garlic past (recipe from Whole Larder Love, with some leftover pan-fried ham thrown in)
/ A storm came rolling in Friday night... but then kept on rolling by. No rain or cool change for us unfortunately.
/ Squeals of joy after learning how to jump off the concrete step in Oma and Nonno's backyard (see the mid-air shot here)
/ I love her smile
/ More proof that my daughter is not quiet! (Luckily, photos don't come with sound!)
/ She loves to help Oma hang up the washing
/ Learning to love being in the picture (even with greasy hair and no makeup)

Joining Emily from The Beetle Shack in a weekly collection of snaps.