Vanilla Slice

Recently I have been making an Aussie favourite, obviously called Vanilla Slice, and had many requests for the recipe. So here goes:

Ingredients:

2 sheets of puff pastry
2 packets of Vanilla pudding
container of cream (around 450ml)
1 cup milk


Roll out pastry sheets to fit the dish you'll be using. Cook them on a cookie sheet as per package directions.

Allow to cool.

Mix remaining ingredients.

Put one pastry sheet in bottom of dish. I put mine with the puffy side up. Pour mix over pastry. (you can see my pastry sheet doesn't fit perfectly. No big deal. It's still going to taste DELICIOUS.)

Spread the mixture all over the pastry.

Put the other pastry sheet on top. This time with the puffy side facing down.

Now mix some icing sugar with a little milk and spread over the top. It is to be like a glaze. I didn't have any food colouring but adding a colour would be much nicer. The colour of choice is pink.

Eat and ENJOY!! Be sure to tell me all the wonderful comments you got when you served yours up.

9/11...a view from an Aussie

There are things happen in our life that we will always remember where we were and what we were doing at the time. September 11th 2001 was one of those days.

We had just moved into a new house. We that is, except my husband who was back in America visiting his family. The children were all in bed and I was on the computer chatting with friends from all over the world. One of my friends mentioned that a plane had just hit the world trade centre. I was asking questions like "Was it a small plane? What was it doing so close to the buildings?" etc. He of course wasn't able to answer the questions I was asking then all of a sudden he said "Another plane!!! Another plane has hit!!!"

I then informed the other friends I was talking to what had happened and left the computer to watch TV. I thought for sure it would have made it to the 24hr news station in Australia....and it had.

I sat up all night watching, and crying, in shock. I needed to talk to somebody but who? Everyone I knew in Australia would be asleep. So I sat on my bed sobbing and alone. I couldn't call my husband because he was at a hotel somewhere in Vegas and this was way before we had the convenience of mobile phones.

I watched with horror as the first tower collapsed.....then the next.

I seriously needed to talk to someone and NOW!!!

By this time is was a respectable time to call my friend in Utah...so I did. She answered the phone all cheery so I knew she knew nothing about what was going on. I told her to turn the TV on. She asked "why?". I responded with "Girl, you've just lost the world trade centre!!!!" With that she turned on the television and all efforts for her to get ready for worked stopped. I was glad to finally talk to someone but it could only last a short while because she did have to get to work.

Again I sat watching the screen.

I continued to watch the screen for many days that followed. My children were all young and don't remember much except 'mum was freaking out and was always watching tv'....and it's pretty much true. My husband was due to fly home any day but now all flights were grounded and I couldn't get a hold of him to at least discuss this.

Finally I did get a hold of my husband and he arrived home only days after his was supposed to.

How did my life change because of this horror?

Well I learned more about Islam because I was afraid. I was afraid because the stories focussed on the terrorists being Muslim and we were an 'American family' with a Jewish surname, living in a community surrounded by Muslims. I wanted to know more so I asked...I didn't ask Catholics about Islam...I asked those who follow Islam about it.

I had a neighbour who was so lovely and brought over a plate of treats for us because she knew my husband was American and she couldn't think of what else to do. Not only that but a year later on the anniversary she came over again with a plate of treats because she knew I'd be thinking about it. What a kind, thoughtful gesture. I have tried to be a little more thoughtful like my kind neighbour.

I am more fearful. I jump at little things. I worry more. I don't take my security for granted wherever I am. And I especially don't like planes now whether I am the one flying or a loved one of mine.

I rely heavily on my faith. I believe there is a God who loves us and in His son, Jesus Christ. People have said "If there is a God why did he let this happen??!!" Well I believe that God has given all man their agency to act as they choose. With that comes those who choose to act in evil ways. If God stopped men from acting in their evil way then He would be taking away their agency and therefore couldn't be judged for them when they stand before God on judgement day. A great example of this is found in scripture in the story of Alma and Amulek as they watched women and children being thrown into a fire because they believed in God.

This year as the anniversary rolls around, I will be watching very little about 9/11. I believe my children should so they will watch with my husband. But I cannot. My heart isn't strong enough....even though I wasn't there. I weep at the TV commercials of shows that will be shown. I just can't do it.

Where were you when you heard about or saw the planes hitting the building? Has your life changed because of it?

The Elusive °....or degree sign

I type a lot of recipes. Whether it's to post on my blog or just to put in my file on the computer, etc, I type a lot. Everytime I've come to the temperature I have to type the complete word...degree. It gets old and it just doesn't look right.

Surely there's a way to simply type ° rather than write 'degree'. So I went in search of the 'how to'. I found help all over the place...as you do.

Some people say that if you hold the ALT key down and type 0176 the ° will show up. Other say use the ALT key and type 248. Someone suggested to go to 'insert' and find it.

I believe I have found a far simpler way......Ctrl C....Ctrl V.

Zucchinis Galore.....

This is the time of the year that neighbours are dropping off 'zucchini bread' or 'zucchini brownies'. Everyone is trying to disguise this abundant vegetable (although some may argue that it is a fruit). If there was such a thing as a 'State Vegetable' then zucchini would be it for here in Utah.

Everyone has a thriving garden here (all except me it seems) and everyone plants zucchini. There is nothing unusual about opening your front door to find a bag full of zucchinis that some kind neighbour dropped off as they went for their morning walk.

So what to do with them? Yes the bread and the brownies are lovely but I think I have hit on a real winner here. I found a recipe for...wait for it...Zucchini CANDY!!! So being the kind of person who tries different or interesting recipes at least once (Vinegar Pie  and Velveeta Fudge for example) I tried it.

These are such a huge hit in my home with my teenage sons that now I am going to have to plant a garden next year and grow my own zucchinis.

Here's my experience:

 Diced the zucchini into about 1cm pieces.

 Put them in a saucepan with the Kool-Aid and sugar to boil.

(I used orange flavour)

  Drain and place on drying racks.

 I used four trays for this recipe.

The finished product.

The recipe:

Zucchini Bites (It's not really a 'candy')

10 cups peeled diced zucchini 1cm cubes (I used three medium sized zucchinis)
3 cups water
2 pkgs. unsweetened Koolaid
2 1/2 cups sugar 

Peel zucchini,remove seeds and dice. Mix the sugar water and Kool-Aid in a saucepan. Add zucchini. Bring to the boil. Reduce to a heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Drain. Put on dehydrator trays. Dry for around 13-14 hours at 125°F. Store in an airtight container. 

I wonder if you can use the 'syrup' for another batch. It's worth a shot so I've sealed it up and put it in the freezer to use again.

I'm looking forward to trying different flavours but I need more zucchinis. Anyone got extra they want to leave on my doorstep?

Salsabol

If you have found my recipe for Eggplant Salsa then you will know how much we love salsa in our house. Today I found this bowl online that would fit perfectly in our family.

This bowl makes the art of scooping salsa onto your chip, effortless. No more fear of having the blob of salsa fall straight from your chip onto the table as you lift the chip to the edge of the bowl. Just think of the money you save right there.

Anyway...here it is and is a must for all salsa lovers.

Check out Salsabol for more information.