Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens

On Saturday afternoon we went to the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens for a wander around.  I haven't been there for about a year and it's such a nice place to look at the different trees, ferns, flowers, veggie patch and the beautiful Japanese Gardens.  The Gardens close at 5.00 pm and I will tell you that we were locked in at 5.10 pm and couldn't get out which is another story.  The entrance is being renovated so we went through the cafe and that shut at 5.00 pm.  It took a little while before one of the staff heard us and got a key to unlock the door so we could get out.  It all added to the excitement of our walk around the gardens.  We only saw half of it because we ran out of time so we will go back another day.  Here's a few pics from our afternoon.  The statues in the first pic are "The Butterfly Catchers" which were part of World Expo 88 in Brisbane.

Day in the Life - Brisbane Family Photographer

As you know I'm a huge fan of documenting our ordinary everyday lives.  Everyone documents special events, Easter, Birthdays, First day of School, Christmas and holidays however most people don't pay that much attention to the everyday things that happen at home which over time because treasured memories.  When you look at a photo of a family eating breakfast in their home you can tell by the clothes and the style of the kitchen which era it was taken in.  Wallpaper was a big hit in the 70's as was orange and brown kitchens. I can't even think this was fashion, however it was in the 1970's.

If you have recently watched the TV show on the ABC "Back in time for Dinner" it is truly a trip down memory lane of decor, style, food and inventions.  Right now, looking back, it's easy to see this however when you are in it, the everyday you think these things are no big deal and it's normal life.  If you haven't watched this series I can highly recommend it.

Documenting my "Week in the Life" for the past 10 years is very similar in that it's a snapshot of how we live our life in any given year.  These memories will become more nostalgic with time.

I have loved photography since I was 17 years old when I bought my first Canon AE-1 film camera and spent 6 weeks wages to buy it.  Similar to "Week in the Life" is "Day in the Life" where you document a snapshot of your day.  I had the pleasure of photographing Kelley and her kids for a Day in the Life session before her family packed up to move to Cairns for 2 years.  Here's a link to my photography page with a blog post of some of the pictures taken that day.  Click on the "read more" of the first post.

Don't you love the dog with it's back to the camera. I love this photo the most because lets face it, it's real life with pets and children.

There you go...such a good model and is facing the camera with Kelley, Em and Oscar.

Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding

After reading Meg's post about her recipe for Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding we made this for dessert the other night.  We make things from scratch however before the school holidays Green's had their Self Saucing Puddings for half price at $1.20 so I bought a couple of packets for the holidays.  We made two of them and then I decided to make a real one and it did not disappoint.  This recipe is Matt Preston's recipe and delicious and rich.  Here's a couple of pics I snapped before we devoured it up.  I can highly recommend giving this a go.

INGREDIENTS

• ·        1 cup (150g) Self-Raising flour
• ·        1 cup (220g) caster sugar
• ·        1/2 cup (50g) cocoa powder, plus extra to dust
• ·        60g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
• ·        1/2 cup (125ml) milk
• ·        1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• ·        1 egg
• ·        Vanilla ice cream, to serve

METHOD

1.   Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease an 1.5L (6-cup) capacity ovenproof baking dish.

2.   Sift the flour, 1/2 cup (110g) sugar and 1/4 cup (25g) cocoa into a bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, whisk melted butter, milk, vanilla extract and egg. Gradually pour into the well, then fold to combine.

3.   Spread mixture evenly into prepared dish. Combine remaining 1/2 cup (110g) sugar and 1/4 cup (25g) cocoa and sprinkle over the top of the pudding. Carefully pour 2 cups (500ml) boiling water over the top of the pudding.

4.   Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is firm. Stand for 10 minutes to cool slightly.

5.   Dust the warm pudding with extra cocoa and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream.

Holiday Activity

Last week we went to Surfers Paradise to go to "Skypoint" which is the 360 degree Observation Deck of Q1 Tower.  It was $58.50 for a family of 4 through RACQ and a bit of a treat for us.  I haven't been up that way for years and years and years as we usually visit our good friend who lives at Cooloongatta/Rainbow Bay.  There is airport scanner as you enter the building to keep everyone safe and then once in the lift, it takes 42.7 seconds to get to the 77th floor.  If you look up to the roof of the elevator there was clear glass so you could see the lift going up in the lift shaft.

Once at the top you can see the immediate views all around and they had huge glass windows from floor to ceiling all the way around.  They have a cafe and lots of lounge couches around the place for you to sit and enjoy the view.  It was really interesting seeing the canals from high up because it's not something I've ever really seen.  If staying in a Gold Coasts high rise building you are generally facing the ocean and beach so it was interesting seeing the canals and Gold Coast Race track from up high and the beautiful surrounding mountains.  They also have special climbs up to the spire which is a separate cost and activity sort of like a Bridge Climb Adventure.  Here's some interesting facts:-

The Q1 Spire

The Q1 Spire is one of the world's longest at 97.7m. It commences at level 75, is made up of 12 sections and weighs 87.2 tonnes. The oval shaped spire starts at level 76/225m high and extends 47m above the glass fin. Powerful arc lights illuminate the spire which can be seen from 200kms away.

The Q1 Building Gold Coast

• The Q1 Building is taller than the Chrysler building in New York City.
• Q1 is one of the tallest residential buildings in the world.
• Q1 is 322.5 metres high.
• SkyPoint has one of the World's fastest elevators taking you from ground to Level 77 in 42.7 seconds.
• Australia's only beachside Observation Deck .
• Offers stunning 360 degree views of the entire Gold Coast, from the surf to the hinterland and beyond.
• SkyPoint is 230 metres above sea level.
• There are 1331 steps from the ground to Level 77.

Here's some photos from Level 77.

Around here

Around here it's Queensland Winter school holidays and a perfect time for the beach.  No crowds, the days are 22 degrees and surprizingly the water was beautiful.  Here's a few pics from Rainbow Bay.

Around Here

Around here I haven't taken as many photos over the last few weeks and find after I do my "Week in the Life" photo project I tend to have a little break from taking photos.  My WITL 2018 photo book arrived from America and I love it.  I have to go back and complete 2013 and 2015 and turn the photos into a photo book but at least I have taken the photos.

I have recently joined "Old Brisbane Album" facebook page where people post old photos of Brisbane and if they can a current photo of the same thing.  I've seen lots of tram photos and old Brisbane City Council buses when they were orange back in the day and it reminds me how important my "Week in the Life" project is by documenting everyday life.  The clothing, the cars, the buildings you can really tell what era a photo is and while life today might not seem that interesting in 20 years time it will be.  It's been such a great page to join and a lot of it has been a trip down memory lane for me.

This Friday the kids are on school holidays so it will be nice to spend more time with them not having to rush out of the house each day for school.  It's hard to believe we are at the end of half way through 2018 already.

Here's a link to some recipes that might be of interest over the school holidays.

These are amazing Raspberry Lemon Muffins, more like a cake really but 100% delicious.

Best bread roll recipe ever and they are so light and fluffy.

Swedish Meatball recipe which is so tasty and 100% better than Ikea meatballs.

Our very famous Chicken & Leek pies that the kids love.

Five Seed Bread which the kids love and Sienna made this a couple of weeks ago and it's more of a "Toast" bread so yummy and healthy for them.

This is my Mother In Law's recipe and amazing...Apple Slice recipe.

Our home made pizza base recipe.

Black & White portrait.

Our friend's dog will be visiting again over the holidays while his family are away.

Good old Aussie Kookaburra

My tween-ager.

Healthy Banana Bread Recipe

I've previously written about a fantastic Banana Cake Recipe here which is sweet and delicious but has lots of sugar and is a cake vs bread recipe.  We usually make this cake to take camping and it always goes down really well and is a 10/10 recipe.

Lately for school lunches I have been making this healthy Banana Bread recipe which has been great for using up those bananas that are at the bottom of the crisper.  I make this, then cut it into slices and freeze them in individual zip lock bags and then into the freezer.  On school mornings I can grab the packets out and pop them straight into the school lunch boxes.  The kids don't like butter with their Banana Bread however I love spreading some real butter on my slice with a coffee for morning tea.  I forgot to take a photo this afternoon before I cut it up and put it in the freezer so I'll settle for a coffee picture.  If you use the link below to the original recipe you can see a picture of the cooked Banana Bread.

HEALTHY BANANA BREAD RECIPE (posted on Cookie + Kate)

I like to type out the recipes on my blog because I've found over the years when blogs shut down I lose the recipe, so I have the link and also post it here for myself.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup
2 eggs
1 cup of mashed ripe bananas (approx 2 large bananas)
1/4 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of baking soda (NOT baking powder, they aren't the same ie bi-carb soda)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sale
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 and 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
Optional - 1/2 cup of mix-ins like chopped walnuts

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 165c or 325F.
2. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey together with a whisk.
4. Add the eggs and beat well.
5. Mash the bananas and add to the bowl.
6. Add milk and whisk.
7. Add baking soda, vanilla, salt and cinnamon and whisk to blend.
8. Stir in flour until just combined.  Some lumps are okay.
9. Pour batter into greased loaf pan and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.
10. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
11. Let the banana bread cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes.
12. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before slicing.

I can highly recommend this recipe and I have been making it as my go to recipe to use up the old bananas.