2013 Books - June

Bittersweet - Cathy Marie Hake

I enjoyed this book - I've mentioned this author a few times before. Would recommend.



The Diary of a Provincial Lady - E.M. Delafield

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, but I don't think it would be everyone's cup of tea.



Fancy Pants - Cathy Marie Hake

Yet another book by this author that I enjoyed. Would recommend.



Fly Away Home - Jennifer Weiner

Not much to say about this book except I enjoyed it and would recommend.



Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain - Portia de Rossi

This book was recommended to me by my cousin. I found it well written and a compelling, sad and interesting book. I've chosen it as one of our July book club books. Would recommend.



The Goodbye Quilt - Susan Wiggs

Somewhat maudlin throughout, I still enjoyed it and I guess I would recommend it.



Already Home -  Susan Mallery

I really enjoyed it and would recommend.



The Only Way Is Up - Carole Matthews

Although I was absolutely disgusted with the main character's choices at one point, other than that I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.



The Illustrated History of the Housewife, 1650-1950 - Una A Robertson

A very interesting non-fiction book. Would recommend.



The Christmas Wedding - James Patterson

Enjoyed it and would recommend.



Chewing the cud: Tales of a dairy-farming housewife - Bridgette Jochems

Another non-fiction book. Lightly and amusingly written, I did enjoy it and would recommend it.

How to make perfectly shaped burgers

I love homemade burgers but making the patties so that they are shaped well and cook evenly can be tricky. Here's the way I do it. I've demonstrated with a veggie burger mix, but obviously this works just as well with meat burgers.

First you'll need some parchment paper (or I guess you could use foil or greaseproof paper.)



You'll also need a circular form. I have this nifty set of circle cookie cutters and use the largest one.



Place the cutter on the paper.



Then scoop in your mixture. I like to use a large scoop to keep each burger the same size.







Press down on the mixture with the back of a spoon. Get it nice and compact in there so your burger holds together well.



Remove the cutter and voila! A nice, neat burger patty.



Because it's pretty much the same thickness throughout it will cook evenly. You can obviously make them as thick or thin as you like.



Just flip the patty over onto a hot pan ...



... and peel off the paper.





My pan holds 3 patties, so while the first 3 are cooking I go ahead and form the next 3, using the same papers from the first batch.



One more tip: when forming meat patties, use the end of the spoon to make a tiny hole in the centre.





Your patty won't shrink!



Another tip: your patties can be frozen on the wax paper, ready to fry at a moment's notice. Just stack them in an airtight container and peel one off when you want it. Cook from frozen.

Now go forth and make some yummy burgers.

Our first two years

We arrived in Auckland on 20 June 2011. Our first two years in New Zealand have held plenty of ups and downs. I put together this little slideshow - the pictures flash by quickly and some may not mean anything to anyone else but each one triggers distinct memories for us, both happy and otherwise. After all, life is made up of both kinds of moments. (My NZ friends and those who have visited us from abroad - watch out for glimpses of you, your kids, or memories we've made together.)

I finished another quilt

I am thrilled to have finished a second quilt! This one is just for snuggling under in the living room or for use on beds as needed - in other words, it wasn't made for anyone in particular, just general use. Here's the post talking about the fabrics, and of course I had to repost the picture of two-year-old Noah in his trendy shirt that became the lead fabric for this quilt.



Anyway, here is the quilt:



The back is voile, which I thought was a little flimsy so it's a double layer - one layer of white voile and then the floral voile.



I just did simple straight-line quilting with my walking foot:



A closer shot of the backing fabric:



I had some of the binding fabric leftover from Noah's quilt and it was a perfect match so I used it on this one too:



And of course a label finishes it off.



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