Trifle

This is a really easy and delicious trifle I took to our family Christmas gathering.

Ingredients

1 packet of jam rolls
1 packet of jelly
1 vanilla pudding mix
Cream
Strawberries
Bananas

Method

1. Make the vanilla pudding and jelly ahead of time according to the instructions on the packets and put in the fridge to set.
2. Whip the cream using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Place the jam rolls in the bottom of a large bowl.
4. Place the jelly, then the vanilla pudding on top of the jam rolls.
5. Put the whipped cream on top of the vanilla pudding, then decorate with bananas and strawberries.

We are reading .....

The Christmas Story, by Jane Werner

With Christmas just a couple of weeks away we have been reading "The Christmas Story" almost every day. This book is written in simple language and tells the story of how Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem where Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus in a manger. I hope that reading this book together will become one of our family traditions that we do at this time every year.

Choc-Orange Cookies

I bought some orange m&ms for movie night on Saturday night and since we had quite a few leftover I decided to make some Choc-Orange Cookies, using Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookie Recipe. I changed a couple of the ingredients to suit my taste and they are so good!! Here's my recipe:

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup oats

1 cup orange flavoured m&ms

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup butter

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).

2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. Lightly beat the egg in a separate bowl and add it to the dry ingredients.

4. Soften (but don't melt) the butter in the microwave and add it to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

5. Form the mixture into 1 inch balls and place them on a greased baking tray.

6. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

Baby Signing DVD

Not long after Baby Bee was born we were at a baby shop and we came across a DVD called My Mealtime Signs. We bought it along with a couple more called Bathtime Signs and Bedtime Signs. The mealtime one has always been her favourite but we don't like her to watch too much television so she's only been watching it once or twice a week.

The first sign she learnt how to do was the sign for "all gone" because when she finishes her dinner I always say "All Gone!" and do the sign. Yesterday however I was reading her a book and one of the pictures in the book was of a bib so I said the word bib and she did the sign for bib all by herself. Of course I was over the moon and made a big fuss about it.

Then last night at dinner she ate a piece of toast and I said "More?" and she did the sign for more - all by herself. It was hilarious. We had to go and show Daddy straight away and she was so proud of herself. It's so exciting to able to see her trying so hard to communicate with us.

Sweetopia

If you've never been to the Sweetopia site it's definitely worth taking the time to go and visit. Marian has lots of information about baking cakes, cookies, gingerbread houses and desserts. One post that I found particularly helpful was this one below on decorating cookies with Royal Icing. She has a step-by-step tutorial with gorgeous pictures. Enjoy!

http://www.sweetopia.net/2009/09/how-to-decorate-cookies-with-royal-icing-top-10-tips/

A Trip to the Bookstore

Last weekend my husband, Baby Bee and I went to a Christian bookstore and had so much fun looking around the aisles. As usual, we spent more money than we had planned but we came away with some really good buys.

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We bought the Fireproof DVD (neither my husband or I had seen the movie) so we took it home and watched it that night for our "Saturday Night Movie Night" date. We both loved it!! It had such a good storyline that we just want to give it to everyone we know. If you haven't seen it, you should, it is really good.

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We bought a DVD for Baby Bee called Sunday School Songs and it has the cutest little kids singing about 15 different songs. I think my husband and I like the songs just as much as Baby Bee does because we've been singing them all week.

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I bought a book for myself which is actually three books in one - The Power of a Praying Wife, The Power of a Praying Parent and The Power of a Praying Woman, all by Stormie Omartian. I've read the first few chapters of The Power of a Praying Wife and it is really good. If you are married and you struggle to know what to pray for then I'm sure you'll find this book helpful. It's broken into 30 short chapters, each one focusing on an area of your husband's life that you can lift up to God in prayer.

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I bought this book because I felt that for the last few months I'd just been rushing through my prayer time, saying the same things over and over again. I feel so much more refreshed and focused now that I've started reading this book and I'm hoping that the other two books (especially the one about praying for my children) will be just as helpful.

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Anyway, after the bookstore we stopped at the cafe for a hot chocolate and went to visit my nana who lives nearby before coming home. What a perfect day.

Butterfly Party

Last weekend we held a party for my daughter's first birthday. Unfortunately the day turned out cold with a light rain, but lucky for us my husband had thought to hire a marquee and some tarps from a party store. There was no way all of our guests would have fit in our living room so they were nicely protected out in the backyard.

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We had lots of fun seeing all our family, some of whom we haven't seen for quite a few months. Baby Bee got lots of nice presents and I made a butterfly cake.

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I also made some butterfly cookies but with all the excitement of the day I forgot to take any photos. It was lots of fun and I can't believe that I now have a one year daughter!

The first rose of the season

Summer Salads

If you're looking for some yummy salad ideas here are a few of my favourites:

Caesar Salad
I think Caesar Salad is probably my favourite salad of all time and this recipe is one of the best I've come across.

Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh is always a favourite at barbecues and lasts for a few days in the fridge. I use extra dressing if the mixture is looking too dry, and my dad's secret is to use couscous instead of bulghur for a finer texture.

Grilled Turkey Salad
This is a great salad to make with left-over turkey breast.

Greek Pasta Salad
This is a fast and easy recipe for a healthy meal or side-dish.

Tuna Salad
I love eating cold tuna in Summer and this recipe works well as a complete meal. I leave out the basil and rosemary as I find they can be too strong with the other flavours.

Potato Salad
This is my husband's recipe:

Ingredients
5 large boiled potatoes
1 lime
5 boiled eggs
1 cup whole egg mayonnaise
100 grams finely diced bacon
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons horseradish
2 shallots chopped

Method
1. Steam Potatoes for 20 minutes or until cooked but still firm. Rinse Potatoes thoroughly in cold water to stop cooking process. Once rinsed and still cooling splash with Juice of 1 Lime and let lime infuse as potatoes continue to cool
2. Hard boil 5 Eggs. Cut eggs in half and extract solid egg yoke into a small mixing bowl. Using a tablespoon from the mayonnaise mash egg yolks into paste.
3. In a pan fry pan thoroughly cook bacon and then allow to cool in fridge
4. In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix remainder of mayonnaise, sour cream, egg yoke paste and horseradish.
5. In another large shallow mixing bowl cut potatoes into large cubes and add quartered boiled eggs (without yolks). Drizzle potato salad dressing over potato and egg mix and gently fold through.
6. Sprinkle shallots and bacon pieces over mix.

Fruit Salad
Chop your favourite fruit into bite sized pieces and mix together in a large bowl. Chill before serving. I like to use apples, bananas, peaches, strawberries, grapes, and mandarins. If you prefer a sweeter recipe, try this one.

Crepe Wheel

Crepes are like a really thin pancake that are usually served folded with a sweet or savory filling inside. Here are the instructions on how to make this yummy crepe pinwheel.

Ingredients

2 eggs

150 ml milk

150 ml water

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

125g all-purpose flour

Method

1. Combine the eggs, milk, water and melted butter in a bowl and beat using an electric mixer.

2. Add the salt, then pour in the flour slowly while the mixer is still running.

3. Refrigerate the mixture for 1-2 hours.

4. Heat a fry pan on medium heat and melt about 1 teaspoon of butter in it.

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5. Pour in enough mixture to make a large, round shape. Move the pan around slowly to help the mixture run along the sides. (I used an electirc fry pan but a regular one on the stove top is just as good.).

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6. Cook one side until bubbles start to form on top then flip it over.

7. Cook the other side until it is golden brown.

8. Remove the crepe from the pan and place it onto a chopping board.

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9. Cut the crepe in half and spread your filling across one half. I used ham, cheese and pineapple although in this photo I think I'd only added the cheese.

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10. Fold the crepe in half by bringing the side without any filling across the other side, on top of the filling. .

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11. Fold the crepe in half again.

12. Lay the crepe on a plate and repeat the process with the other half and with more crepes.

Makes approximately 6 crepes (or 12 pieces for the pin wheel).

A few links

If you, like me, are a fan of the Duggar family then you'll be excited to know that Michelle Duggar now has a blog. Click here to go and read what she has to say.

If you haven't yet discovered The Pioneer Woman then you really need to go and have a look at her fabulous website. She takes the most gorgeous photos and her recipes are soooo good. And she's hilariously funny too.

Also, below is the link to the blog of an American girl who is working in an orphanage in Africa. She shares some very moving and heart-breaking stories.

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

A Party Dress

I went shopping last weekend to find a dress for Baby Bee to wear to her 1st Birthday Party next month. At the first shop I went to I saw the most adorable dresses - for $45! They were a bit out of my budget so I went to a couple more stores and found the perfect one for $24. It even has matching knickers.

I brought the dress home and one day last week I washed and ironed it. I had it hanging over a rail in her room, ready to hang up, until I saw this.....

Daddy decided that teddy could wear the dress until Baby Bee needed it. Haha!

Sugar Cookies and Birthday Parties

There's only one month until my daughter's first birthday party and we're planning a butterfly theme. I'm going to make a butterfly cake and some butterfly cookies like these ones. I'm not the best cookie decorator so I decided to start practising early. I made these sugar cookies to take to playgroup earlier in the week.

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I used Peggy Porschen's sugar cookie recipe with royal icing.

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Sugar Cookies

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Ingredients

200g unsalted soft butter
200g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
400g plain flour, plus more for dusting

Method
1. Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until well mixed and creamy.
2. Add the egg and continue beating.

3. Add the flour and mix on low speed until a dough forms.

4. Put the dough into a ball, wrap it in cling wrap and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it briefly. Roll it out to about 5mm thickness.
6. Use cookie cutters to cut out the shapes and place them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
7. Put them back in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
9. Bake in the oven for 8-12 minutes until the edges become golden brown.
10. Let the cookies cool completely before icing them.

Royal Icing

Ingredients

2 egg whites

4 cups icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

water

food colouring

Method

1. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

2. Add the cream of tartar and beat a little bit more.

3. Pour in the sifted icing sugar slowly while continuing to beat the mixture.

4. When it's all mixed through test the consistency of the icing by running a spoon across the top. If the icing falls back into shape within 5-10 seconds it's ready to use. If not, start adding a teaspoon of water at a time and mix it through until you get the right consistency.

5. Add the food colouring and stir through.

Spring is here!!!

Today is the 1st of September, which marks the first day of Spring in Australia. And what a beautiful day it was. I heard someone say that it was as though God flipped a switch and the weather turned from cold and wet to warm and sunny. The sky was blue, there was a slight breeze blowing and I was able to walk around in a light top with short sleeves. I am so glad that the winter is over and the warmer weather is on its way.

For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth her green figs,
And the vines with the tender grapes
Give a good smell.

Song of Solomon 2:11-13 NKJV

Image courtesy of www.art.com

Chocolate Rice Cream

Ingredients
1 tin of sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup of cooked rice
1/2 cup milk

Method
1. Combine condensed milk and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously.
2. When the mixture begins to thicken, add rice and milk.
3. Continue stirring over heat for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.
5. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
6. Sprinkle icing sugar, coconut or chocolate sprinkles on top.

Serve chilled. The consistency will be thick and creamy.

Serves 6

What's been happening at our place

It took me twice as long as it normally does to vacuum the lounge room today since Baby Bee (10 months old) kept trying to climb onto my back. :) I was on my hands and knees vacuuming under furniture and she kept grabbing onto my back trying to stand up and climb on for a piggy-back ride. I normally hate vacuuming but it's a lot more fun now that I have someone to 'help' me.

In other news, we've been spending a lot of time on the kitchen floor lately as that's where Baby Bee is eating most of her meals. She hates the high chair and squeals when I put her in there. I know, I know, I should just persist and require her to eat all meals in there (in fact I think I gave that advice to my sister a few months ago - when I was still exclusively breast feeding haha!). For the most part the kitchen floor works well, except for when she sneezed a mouthful of cauliflower into my lap.

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And finally, I'm so excited to announce that Baby Bee has now learnt how to dance. We had some music on this morning and she was bouncing up and down and clapping her hands. Unfortunately though, I think she may have inherited her mother's rhythm.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

These spring rolls are great for a summer lunch because you serve them cold. They're also much healthier than fried spring rolls.

Ingredients
8 spring roll wraps
50g tin of shrimp, cooked and shelled
3 lettuce leaves, shredded
4 teaspoons minced coriander
1 small cucumber, grated
1 carrot, grated
vermicelli noodles
1/2 an avocado
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Method
1. Place one spring roll wrap in cold water until it is soft.

2. Remove the wrap from the water and lay it flat on the bench.

3. Place a small amount of each of the remaining ingredients down the centre of the wrap and fold it over, tucking in both ends.

4. Allow the wrap to dry slightly, then peel off the top side and pull it over again to make it tighter.

5. Make the remaining spring rolls in the same way.
6. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Tip: You can buy the spring roll wrappers from regular supermarkets but I have found that the ones from Asian grocery stores are better quality.

Makes 8 Spring Rolls.

Go to Tammy's Recipes for more yummy things to make.

Teddy Bear Pictures

A few weeks ago my mother-in-law gave me an old teddy bear calendar that she found stashed away in a box. The pictures in it were so cute that I wanted to find a way to display them. Then, as I was looking through some things on the bookcase in the study I came across a picture frame that we bought last year but hadn't put up yet. So I cut the teddy bear pictures to fit the photo frame and hung one of them on my daughter's bedroom wall.
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As the year goes on I'm going to take that picture down and replace it with one of the other ones.

We have a teddy bears' picnic:
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A spring teddy:

A summer teddy:

Teddies reading books:

Teddies playing instruments:

A teddy bear birthday party:


And a teddy bear Christmas:

I'm so happy with how they look! To find out what worked for everyone else this week go to We Are That Family.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A few weeks ago I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and for some reason they turned out awful. Well since tomorrow is my turn to host playgroup I was trying to decide whether to make another batch with a different recipe or just buy a packet from the store. Then I came across Geri's award winning recipe. That's right! Geri won first prize in the New Mexico State Fair with this Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. So I decided to give it a try. And I'm so glad I did! They look good, they taste great and they have that wonderful slightly-crispy-on-the-outside-chewy-on-the-inside texture that I love.

So, go ahead and give them a try then go and thank Geri for sharing her award-winning recipe.

I resigned.

Six years ago I left a comfortable office job to become a teacher in one of the most "challenging" schools in Sydney. I started half-way through the school year and taught a kindergarten class of only 16 children. They would come to school each day excited to see me and eager to learn. Inside my classroom things were happy and safe.

When I left my classroom I was thrown into the violent chaos that enveloped the rest of the school. Playground duty was the worst as I would regularly have to break up fights between boys who were bigger than me.

The next school year saw that violence and chaos come into my classroom. I would cry each morning on the drive to school and cry on the way home remembering the awful events of the day.

At the end of the first term my friend encouraged me to apply for a position going at her school. It was a private, Christian school and I knew from talking to her about it in the past that it was a great place to work. I told her that I would think about it but in my mind I had already decided that I wouldn't bother. A lot of other people would be applying for the job and I still had six months of study before I would finish my final year of university to get the additional teaching qualification. I also only had 9 months of teaching experience. My husband (who was my fiance at the time) encouraged me to give it a shot and even spent about 3 hours redoing my resume for me.

Well, by an act of God I was given the job to teach second grade. My new classroom had clean, white walls, my own office, a computer room for the children and a wet area with sinks and art supplies. I had a large, noisy class, but they followed the rules and respected my position as their teacher. Playground duty was actually fun as I could walk around and get to know different students. The principal and the staff were caring and supportive and every morning we would gather together before school for devotions and prayers. It was probably one of the best schools in Sydney.

In September last year I left that school to have a baby. I was given 12 months maternity leave with the option of returning to a full-time or part-time position.

Well my 12 months leave is almost up so today I went back to my school and gave the principal a letter, resigning from the second best job I have ever had. I don't want to be a teacher any more because now I have the best job I have ever had. I get to be a mum.

I wake up every morning excited about what the day will bring. I can't wait to hear those little waking up sounds coming from my daughters room as she begins to stir in her cot. I can't wait to pick her up and feel her tiny arms wrap tightly around my neck and feel her soft cheek smush up against mine. I can't wait to see what new thing she will learn how to do today.

Do I miss teaching? Sometimes. If I think of a great lesson or craft idea that I'd love to be able to do with a group of students. But then I remember that in a few more years I'll be able to do it with my own children and it will be even more fun.

Show Us Your Life - Favourite Vacation Spot

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I'm joining in Kelly's "Show Us Your Life" party today to share our favourite vacation spots. Our favourite place to go for holidays in Australia is Shoal Bay. We went there for a long weekend and stayed at the Shoal Bay Resort and Spa. We had a beautiful one bedroom apartment so there was lots of space and we could walk across the road to the beach.

This is our apartment balcony.

This is the view from our balcony.

This is the view at dusk.
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This is the beach across the road. We took this photo at sunrise so the beach was deserted.

We went on a whale-watching tour and saw some whales....
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... and some dolphins.
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I have two favourite holiday destainations outside of Australia. The first is Ottawa, Canada. I lived in Ottawa for a few months when I was in my early twenties and it's just the prettiest city. There is so much to see and do there.

There are lots of beautiful buildings, like the famous Fish Market Restaurant.
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You can even go ice-skating on the Rideau Canal. I didn't do that because I'm from Sydney where you have to drive five hours to see snow in winter. When I was a kid we did drive for hours and hours to see snow and when we got there all that was left was a tiny piece of ice in the grass. haha!

My second favourite place is Breckenridge, Colorado. I went there for a holiday when I was living in Kansas about ten years ago. It was summer time so there was no snow but the little village had lots of adorable shops and beautiful picnic areas. I didn't own a digital camera at the time and my photos would look terrible scanned in here so you'll just have to go to the link to see what it looks like. Or even better, go there yourself. You'll love it!

Ah, I've had so much fun looking through old photos and walking down memory lane. I really hope we get to go back to all of these places one day.

Fish Finger Parmigiana

This meal is so quick and easy, and your kids will love it!

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1. Place some frozen fish fingers in a baking dish. (You can use frozen, crumbed chicken pieces if you prefer).

2. Bake them in the oven according to the directions on the packet.

3. Just before the fish fingers have finished cooking, take them out of the oven. Spoon some spaghetti sauce across the top and sprinkle with grated cheese.

4. Put them back in the oven and continue baking until the cheese has melted.

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If you want some other quick and easy meal ideas, go to http://www.lifeasmom.com/

Easy Monster Cake

This cake is very cute and super easy to make.

1.Bake two round cakes, a large one for the body and a smaller one for the head.

2. Let the cakes cool then ice them with green icing.

3. Decorate with various lollies and sprinkles, using two lollipops on the top for horns.

The recipe for this cake came from The Australian Women's Weekly Kids' Bithday Cakes book.

Sunrise

This was the beautiful sunrise I saw from my kitchen window yesterday morning.

And look at this cool feature on my new camera. You select panorama and it automatically takes three photos and stitches them together to make one wide photo.

It's freezing cold and drizzling with rain here today. We're not going to playgroup because Baby Bee still has a cold so we're just going to stay inside and snuggle up all day. I've got a loaf of fruit and spice bread baking in the oven, warming up the kitchen and making the house smell yummy and I might just have to make some hot chocolate to have with it for morning tea :)

Visiting Family and Apple Pie

Last Friday, Baby Bee and I went down to visit my mum, sister and grandparents for the day. My mum and grandparents had just returned from a holiday in Queensland and they brought back lots of souvenirs and presents for us all. I got some gorgeous earrings, a recipe book and some Australian animal cookie cutters. I think will be good for play dough as well when Baby Bee is old enough to use it without eating it all :)

We had such a nice lunch with risotto, veal and vegetables and chick pea tabbouleh. I made an apple pie for desert and this was the first time I'd ever tried making a pie with the lattice top and it was so worth the extra effort. Look how pretty it turned out.

If you click here you can see a cute, little video review from Sugar Pie Farmhouse of a Pyrex pie dish, which is what I used to make this pie in.

My husband couldn't come with us because he had to work so I made him his own little apple pie the night before so he didn't miss out :)

"Hello, Cupcake!" by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson

"Hello, Cupcake!" is one of my favourite cake recipe books. It has so many original ideas for cupcake decorations, with easy to understand instructions. Each recipe has a full-page photo (I love to see how the recipe is supposed to turn out) and there are some extra photos showing you how to do different steps in the method. At the back of the book there are recipes for different flavoured cupcakes and frostings and tips on how to create different effects.

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There are six sections in the book showing cakes for birthdays, animals, Thanksgiving, Christmas and other special occasions. If you're looking for some really fun and creative ways to decorate cupcakes then I think you will love this book.

More Iron-On Embroidery

Have a look at this iron-on emroidery that Katie did for her little girl. You'll have to scroll down a bit to find the little green dress with the letters on the top. That's what I'm hoping to make. And I love the matching green shoe with the white ribbon. So adorable!! I bought some white ribbon when I bought the emroidery the other day but my little girl won't keep shoes on her feet yet so I'll have to wait until she's a bit older :)

I have to say also that I only found Katie's blog a couple of weeks ago and she is just the sweetest girl. I left her a comment with a question and she sent me back two long emails with so much information. She's a busy mama of two little ones so I really appreciated the time she took to help me.

Summer Drinks

Following on from my earlier Summer Menu posts, here are some of my favourite drinks for summertime, and some that I can't wait to try when the weather gets warmer.

Banana Milkshake

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

Put all ingredients into the blender and mix. Serve in a tall glass.

Tropical Frappe

Ingredients:
6 fluid ounces fruit juice
2 tablespoons cream of coconut
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 ripe banana
6 large ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until the ice is crushed and the mixture is thick. Serve in tall glasses with a straw. Sprinkle ground nutmeg or cinnamon on top and garnish with fresh fruit.

Fruit Punch

Ingredients:
3 litres of fruit juice
1.25 litres lemonade or soda water
1.25 litres ginger ale
800 grams tinned fruit salad or diced fresh fruit
fresh mint leaves (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together in a large glass bowl and serve cold.

Mango Lassi

Ingredients:
3 glasses of yogurt (use a glass you will serve the lassi in, to measure)
1 glass of crushed ice (measure as above)
1 glass ripe mango pieces or pulp
Sugar to taste/unsweetened fruit juice or pulp
a dollop of thick cream for each glass (optional)

Put the yogurt, mango, ice and sugar/juice/pulp in a blender and blend till smooth.
Pour out into glasses, top with a dollop of cream.

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup orange juice (or other juice)
1 large banana
1/2 can peaches, drained
1 cup whole frozen strawberries
1/2 cup pineapple, drained

Whirl in blender until smooth. Makes two big servings. You can add your own variations, such as fresh peaches, papaya, or coconut milk for a tropical taste. The essential elements are a banana, the whole frozen strawberries, and some juice.

Strawberry Ice Cream Soda

Ingredients:
strawberry jam
crushed fresh strawberries
heavy cream
strawberry ice cream
soda water
whipped cream
more berries for garnish or cherries

For each ice cream soda, put a heaping tablespoonful of strawberry jam and a heaping tablespoonful of crushed fresh strawberries in large (16 ounce size) glass. Add 2 tablespoons heavy cream and a big scoop of strawberry ice cream. Fill up to 2/3 full with soda water, then add another big scoop of strawberry ice cream. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and a garnish of chopped berries, if desired. Serve with straws and a long iced teaspoon.

Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:
1 package (10 ounces) frozen strawberries, thawed
4 cups milk
1 pint (2 cups) strawberry ice cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

In an electric blender, combine half of the strawberries, milk, ice cream, and lemon zest. Blend at high speed for 1 minute; transfer to pitcher or tall glasses. Repeat for second batch. Strawberry smoothie recipe makes about 8 cups.


It can add such a nice touch to serve cold drinks with colourful ice cubes, so I have included some ice cube recipes below.

Strawberry Ice Cubes

Servings: Makes 1 to 2 trays

Ingredients
1 lb strawberries, halved (3 cups)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Purée all ingredients in a blender until smooth; strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large glass measure. Freeze in ice-cube trays until solid, at least 4 hours.

Add 2 or 3 cubes for a glass of lemonade.

Lemon Ice Cubes

Ingredients

1 medium lemon
1 qt. cold water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Cut each lime into 1/4-inch-thick slices; cut each slice into 4 wedges. Stir together 1 qt. cold water and 1/4 cup lime juice. Fill each compartment of 3 ice cube trays evenly with lime juice mixture. Place 1 lime wedge in each ice cube compartment. Freeze 8 hours or until firm. Makes 42 ice cubes











Watermelon Ice Cubes

1 large watermelon

Cut watermelon into workable pieces. Remove the seeds and the rind. Puree the watermelon in a blender or food processor. Pour the puree into ice cube trays and freeze.