White Christmas Slice

Need something sweet and christmassy to make? Make this! It's yummy!

1 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
125 grams butter, melted
2 Tablespoons honey
1 egg, beaten

220 gram block of Cadburys Dream white chocolate(any white chocolate will do)
3/4 cup rice bubbles
80 grams glace cherries
60 grams sultanas*
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 160C. Grease and line a slice tin.

Combine the flours, oats, sugar and coconut in a bowl.

Mix the melted butter, honey and egg, then pour into flour mixture and stir until combined well.

Press the mixture into the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Set aside in the tin and make topping.

Break the chocolate into squares in a microwave safe bowl. Melt the chocolate on 50%, stirring every minute until smooth.

Stir in remaining ingredients. Spread this mixture over the base while still warm.

Let cool in the pan, then place in the fridge to set,  before cutting into 20 even squares.


*You can use a mixture of craisins(dried cranberries) and pistachio nuts here for something a bit more fancy.

Adding to Lydia's Christmas Link up

November garden

This patch, at the front of the house, is looking all gorgeous and stuff at the moment. It's a sea of blue and burgundy.

Nigella

Agapanthus

Snapdragon

Rose

Where the ferk is the paint place owl?

My place in time #88 - A shop that's no longer open

This post has been a few months in the works. I took the above photos back in August. 

It's the old Paint Place shop. The signs are still up, but no one is home. It's been closed down for a few years now.

The previous owner Andrew, now works at the nearby Banner hardware store.

I was in Banner yesterday buying plants. What else?! I bought a chilli plant, some capsicum plants and some lettuce seed, just incase you were wondering. If your weren't I was going to tell you anyway.

I happened to see Andrew, and asked about the owl on top of the shop. I had only noticed it earlier in the year and wondered how long it had been there. He asked if I was walking when I noticed it. Low and behold I had been. Apparently it was common for people to only notice it that way, instead of just driving past.

He informed me it had been there for about three or four years.

No word of a lie, I drove around the corner after our convo, and I'll be buggered if the owl wasn't there! I was like What the Ferk! The owl is gone!

I am wondering if Andrew too looked for the old owl when he left work, after being reminded, and is What the Ferking about where the owl has gone!

Where the ferk is the paint place owl?!

Rarely I blog on a Tuesday. Today was one of those days :)

The big sandhill

My place in time #16 - An outing with friends

We went out for a drive with our neighbours and friends. They have kids around the same age as our kids. 

We actually went to dig up wild garlic near here, and took them to the 'big sandhill' for some sand boarding fun. We made the mistake of not taking lunch, we would have stayed longer and even driven over to the beach.

I've been coming here since I was a kid too. It's at the end of the dump road, or where the dump used to be. It's where many a four wheel driver come to test themselves, to see if they can make it up the hill in one go. The kids were lucky enough to see a few get up there. They youngest of our friends boys, was uber excited. It made his day. Seeing a motorbike come out of the dunes topped it off for him and he didn't stop telling us all about.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Mud cake muffins

These should be called McFatty Fat cakes. Or Mudguts Muffintops. They are so good, and I ate too many *hangs head in shame*. My name is Alicia, and I am a chocoholic. As I've aged my preference has shifted to dark chocolate, probably why I love these so much.

Mud cake muffins sounds much better. 

If you're a recovering chocoholic, I suggest you call your support person. You're going to need them. With almost a whole block of wonderful dark chocolate, these muffins are irresistable.

Mud cake muffins

175 grams butter
175 grams dark chocolate, broken up 
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup plain flour, sifted with the cocoa
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave on 50% for 30 second increments, or in a saucepan on a medium heat.

Place chocolate mixture in a large mixing bowl. 

Add sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar to get out any lumps.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.

Stir in flour and cocoa, then the milk.

Place cases into a 12 hole muffin tin. Fill* cases with cake mixture and bake for 25 minutes.

I've frosted with chocolate buttercream icing and sprinkles.

*This recipe uses plain flour so the cakes will not rise in the paper cases.

Try some green icing and christmas themed sprinkles to bring these into the christmas season. (I know I may just get Batman slapped for even mentioning the C word in November)

It will be here all too soon and I am in no way prepared. What I do know, after hosting the family last year, and travelling the year before, I just want to relax and let the holidays just float by, as much as possible. No stress. NO commitments. We'll see how that pans out!

Linking with Ann for Things I know.

Mount Gambier Christmas Pageant 2014

Chewbacca drum major. He must've been cookin' in that outfit!

Love the bagpipes, AWESOME! 

More AWESOME. The ghostbusters theme song