Our Chocolate Factory

Carrying on with our homemade Easter gifts, B and K turned our kitchen into a chocolate factory! K melted chocolate to make chocolate lollipops, and chocolate covered dried apricots                               

B and K dipping the apricots

K making her lollipops

and then they decorated them. They liked the drizzled chocolate effect so they continued in that style

B's marshmallows

We made chocolate flowers too

and made them into lollipops

  The chocolate covered apricots

K's chocolate lollipops

We decorated a branch for our Easter tree. Those Hama bead creations that we made while waiting for the chicks to hatch came in very handy here :)

we put all the treats that the children had made on the table before bagging them up

Homemade marshmallows

In South Africa one of our favourite Easter treats were chocolate covered marshmallow eggs. So for this Easter we decided to try and recreate them. Gelatin, sugar, and egg white went into a bowl and we mixed and mixed and mixed                    

and then added the pink food colouring  

put them on a cornflour dusted tray. Ok so not very egg like in shape

we made lots!

Once they were set, we covered them in cornflour

Then dipped them in chocolate            

B decorated them to look more fun for Easter

We also made them in green, and orange, and gave them away as Easter gifts :)  I realise that it's weird that I'm talking about Easter in June but I did warn you that I was behind in my posting :)     

Very Yummy!

Chilli Jam

I bought a chilli plant for hubby last year because he loves hot food and complains that he never gets to eat it much anymore because the rest of us only like a little bit of spice. However, he has only used ONE chilli in an entire year of this very fruitful plant's life! So we decided to make him some chilli jam using ALL the chillies that were on the plant at the time. The kids were excited to help make a present for Daddy.

Googs cut up the red peppers

                                      

B and I picked all the chillies from the plant and blended them.

Milo looked on :)

Kiki poured in the jam sugar. She didn't stay up there while the sugar boiled, of course.

Ta da! Chilli jam! So anyway, we only used 1/6th of the amount of chillies that the recipe called for still this jam is super hot!!!! :) So now hubby can't complain about bland food :)

Googs having some chill out time with Milo

Music camp

B and K had a weekend music camp.
On the final day they put on a show for the parents. Kiki and Googs couldn't wait to see B and K again.
 It was a fantastic setting.

There were so many parents and other family members that the kids didn't have much space to perform
B chose to sing

And K chose to dance/act



We took home two very happy but very tired children :)

The children played in the grounds before we left



 A wonderful experience hopefully to be repeated

Cold weather fun

The younger two wanted to cook supper. The more helpers you have in the kitchen the longer it seems to take :) but it's so much more fun!


We even baked chocolate and marzipan cupcakes for pudding :)

Cold weather = crafting weather. K was working on her latch hooking

Kiki wanted a go so big sis showed her how it was done



More baking. These were made with condensed milk ... not my favourite. Nice, but not the best
and we got to have hot chocolate in front of the fire :) Benefits of cold weather.