Juju!

© Kara Rosenlund

Almost forgot to show you what I received from Timothy O for my birthday!

A Juju Hat.

These spectacular headdresses are traditionally worn by the village chief in the Cameroon region of Africa for special tribal festivities. Rooster feathers are gathered and woven onto a raffia fibre base to display a beautiful oversized circle, which can also be folded up for easy transport - not that mine is going anywhere; I think it looks right at home in the living room!

I absolutely love it!

Thank you Louise at Table Tonic!.... and ofcourse Timothy O.

K xx

Market Reminder!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

I have spent the day preparing and pricing stock and I must say that I really think I have out done myself this time - I can measure this by how much I actually want to keep and NOT sell! Hahaha!

Just finished packing the ute, plus the inside of Frankie and had to make an SOS call to my wonderful parents and ask them to take some stock into the market in their ute too for tomorrow! Thank you Mum and Dad! I love you!

Available will be a fantastic and an 'en masse' array of flatware, french tumblers, pickling jars (perfect proportions for vases), glass cake stands, a huge collection of baking tins in various shapes and sizes and really so much more. You simply just must come! So much beautiful stock to share!

I'm so excited! Delirious in fact! (apologies for any spelling errors).

Early night for me!

Hope to see you there!

K xx

Hello Aunty!

©Kara Rosenlund

That's right, I am now a proud Aunty...... Aunty Kara, hehehe, I like it. I have never been an Aunt before, being an only child I wasn't too sure if becoming an Aunt was on the cards for me, however Timothy O's clever brother and sister-in-law welcomed a gorgeous little boy into the world this week!

So, in pure decadent Aunty style, I decided to make an outrageously high cake to celebrate and eat a slice for breakfast..... bring on the sleep overs I say!!!

K xx

P.S I'm so in love with this little glass cake stand that arrived this week... not sure if it will make it on to the trestles at the market...

Our Engagement Party

©Studio Sixty

Thought I would share a few images from our recent 1930's themed Engagement Party that we held in a little old croquet club by the sea at Woody Point at Redcliffe.

It was so wonderful to see everybody dressed up in full swing, very authentic, sipping out of champagne coupe glasses, playing croquet, conversing on hay bales and generally having a glorious afternoon in the winter's sun..... Thank you everybody for all your efforts.

If you would like to see more pop over to Studio Sixty's blog

K xx

Why, Hello Winter.....

© Kara Rosenlund

Well, it is Officially Winter in Australia! I adore this time of year. Big wide blue skies, open fires, bringing out the winter knits and the cooking...ah... the cooking! Whats not to love! I'm actually planning an out of town winter picnic this Sunday with my parents and Timothy O; I'm thinking roast chicken sandwiches, a hot soup of some sort in a flask and a tea cake with some of the lovely mandarins Timothy O's colleague Mr Scott gave him, courtesy of his very own tree! Love it!

top image vis nnhihkbs

Saying it with Food - Mum's Birthday Lunch

© Kara Rosenlund

What a weekend of old fashioned fun! I had a lovely surprise visit from my good friend Miss M on Saturday as I was preparing for my mothers birthday lunch. An apron was immediately placed over her head and off we went together beating, simmering, stirring, glazing and laughing together for the next few hours. What an amazing autumn afternoon idled away in the kitchen; food, friendship and a lot of fun.

On the list to prepare for the surprise menu was Sand Crab Lasagne (mum's favourite), Chocolate Stout Cake (a new family favourite) and Sparkling Pink Jellies with Strawberry Gelato!

Glad to report that the family had a wonderful sunday on the deck, watching the age old trees dance in the autumn wind while eagerly anticipating the next course.

Here is the recipe for Sand Crab Lasagne; we only make this recipe when crab is in season; which my mother tells me are only the months which have an 'R' in them. I love a good old fashion rhyme!

Sand Crab Lasagne

INGREDIENTS

600g crab meat

60g butter

1/3 cup flour

2 cups milk

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 diced onion

1 clove garlic crushed

800g can whole peeled tomatoes (2 cans)

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp fresh basil

1 tsp italian parsley

1 tsp oregano

instant lasagne sheets

1 litre fish stock

120ml white wine

800 ml cream

3 tsp tomato paste

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Melt 60g of butter in a pot and stir in 1/3 cup flour and cook for 1 minute. Heat 2 cups of milk in a separate pot. Remove butter mixture from the heat and gradually whisk in the warmed milk. Stir over low heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Boil constantly for 1 minute. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes. Then stir in 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and season.

Heat olive oil in saucepan and add 1 diced onion and 1 clove crushed garlic over medium heat until soft. Add whole canned tomatoes, undrained and mash a little in the saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp freshly chopped basil, parsley and oregano and season.

Stir 2 tbsp of white sauce through the 600g of crab meat. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom of an ovenproof dish, top with instant lasagne sheets, crab mixture and white sauce. Repeat layers starting with the tomato sauce and then finally ending with white sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes on 180 degrees. While the lasagne is baking combine 1 litre of fish stock and 120ml of white wine in a pan and boil to reduce to a glaze. Add 800ml cream and reduce to a thick sauce. Whisk in 3 tsp tomato paste and season. Spoon over individual serves of lasagne.

This recipe is courtesy of Gillian Hirst from Il Centro fame.