Tag: Apple

Categories
Recipes

Pretty Pastry Apple & Rhubarb Crumble

Are you a crumbles or pies aficionado? If so, chances are you’ve whipped up a few in your culinary adventures! You might have mastered the classic pastry tops – whether it’s the fully covered version or the artful weave of long pastry rectangles, creating a delightful basket-like appearance.

Why settle for ordinary when you can jazz up your pie or crumble into a showstopper? Elevate your dessert game and turn it into a jaw-dropping centerpiece that’ll leave your guests amazed!

Creating a visually stunning baked crumble is a breeze—grab your favourite cookie cutters and get creative! With a plethora of patterns at your disposal, the possibilities are endless. I opted for quirky choices like flower shapes (with funky-edged cutters) and whimsical stars. The result? Not exactly flowers or stars, but a unique blend that looked out-of-this-world!

Preheat your oven to 180° Celsius or 356° Fahrenheit.

Prepare to level up your dessert game! Follow these steps to create a show-stopping crumble or pie that steals the spotlight at your dinner party! 🌟

Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Market

I love hitting up Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Market for my fresh produce fix! It’s the jackpot for top-notch ingredients at unbeatable prices. But let me tell you, shopping there isn’t just about stocking up—it’s a vibrant burst of colours and a haven of friendly faces!

Yummy looking rhubarb at Todarello’s Katoomba
Fresh produce in my trolley at Todarello’s Katoomba

On my recent visit, I snagged a bunch of rhubarb and scored four juicy green apples. This place is a treasure trove! 🍏✨

Now armed with my fresh ingredients I’m ready to start my apple and rhubarb crumble.

Granny Smith apples at Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Market
Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples at Todarello’s Katoomba

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 Apples ( I chose green apples but you can use red ones if you wish)
  • 1 big bunch of rhubarb
  • Shortcrust pastry ( you can make your own from scratch – in this recipe I used frozen shortcrust pastry to save time)
  • A little water to cook the rhubarb before it goes into the dish with the pastry
  • Cookie cutters for the top of the crumble or pie
  • Egg yolk to brush the top pastry before you put it in the oven
  • Cream or ice cream for serving
The rhubarb softened from a little cooking in a saucepan
and ready to put in the dish with the pastry.

Filling the crumble with the rhubarb and apples – it looks so bright!

Apples cut up ready for the crumble
The rhubarb from Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Market

METHOD

  • Chop the apples (have the apples thinly sliced).
  • Chop up the rhubarb into bite-sized pieces.
  • Cook the rhubarb with a little water to soften it – Cook for around 10 minutes or less depending on how fast it softens up.
  • Add pastry to the bottom of the dish for the crumble or pie, make sure that the pastry goes to the side of the whole dish. Ensuring that all the area is covered with pastry means that when you cut into the crumble or pie it will have a nice side crust. Cook the pastry a little in the oven to ensure that when you put in the other ingredients it isn’t soggy and the base holds. Cook for around 10 minutes, until a little golden but not too much as you will need to cook again when the ingredients are in the dish and you don’t want to overcook the pastry.
  • Create delicious layers of goodness in your dish! Start by adding half of the rhubarb to the bottom, followed by a layer of apples. Repeat this delightful pattern of rhubarb and apples until you’ve used up all your ingredients. This layering technique ensures that the crumble gets evenly coated with both rhubarb and apples, guaranteeing a flavorful bite in every spoonful!
  • Use the pastry to cut up different shapes to form the top crust of the crumble or pie. Layer them so they look nice and also cover the top of the crumble or pie.
  • Use the egg yolk to brush the pastry on the top and then put it in the oven to cook.
Cutting the pastry with cookie cutters to form the top of the crumble
Adding the pretty pastry top to my crumble

All ready to go into the oven – Apple and Rhubarb crumble with cut-out pastry for the top of the crumble. It is also brushed with the
egg to make it a nice golden brown.
  • Cook until the pastry is golden brown and the rhubarb and apples are bubbling away and are very cooked through. Cook for around 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
  • If you have cream, you can whip it with electronic beaters or by hand. I like to put the cream into my blender and put it on the chop setting. I do this for a few minutes and it makes instant whipped cream. I call this the cheats whipped cream!
Such a pretty-looking Apple and Rhubarb Crumble
Cooked and ready to eat! The pretty apple and rhubarb crumble all ready to serve.

It is so YUMMY and an easy dessert to impress everyone!

So yummy and looked stunning

Enjoy, and I hope you and your guests love this as much as we do.

More Rhubarb Recipes

Rhubarb from Todarellos at Katoomba

Sign up for my newsletter

Stay current with all the things that are happening on Mummy to Twins Plus One. Don’t miss a thing by signing up for my newsletter. This newsletter will list all giveaways and fabulous things that are happening.

This post has affiliate links

Categories
5 years and beyond

Now You Can Take 3D Photos

Hubby has come across a new app on the iPhone that allows you to create your own 3D images. Yes how cool is that.

The app is called Seene and it allows you to capture and share your 3D photos, it is a free app so go to the App Store and give it a go!

Check out our first go at 3D photography. They will get better once we learn more about how to take them, but great go for a first try. Below are the girls in 3D. Just put your cursor over them to see the image move around.

This is not a paid rave about this new app, just wanted to share. What things do you think you would want to make 3D?

 

Categories
News

Is Technology Making Us Smarter?

According to a story on news.com.au by Jackie Sinnerton, technology is making us smarter. This is apparently due to being exposed to more information and a wider vocabulary. I do agree the more things you are exposed to the greater chance you have of learning more and absorbing the information, this is especially so for little kids who have been described as sponges due to the fact that they soak up everything around them.

I do question the person or family that cannot afford all the gadgets and technology and doing things the old fashioned way. Reading books, exposing their child/children to the same things but not via a computer tablet, or an iPhone (note, I have the series 4). I do agree if you can afford the technology all the better, however it is expensive to make sure that you have what your kid needs in this technology age. We would love to give the kids an iPad each, but we are not made of money. It does not need to be an iPad, it could be a Google Nexus each or something similar. Maybe the Microsoft Surface (release date for 26th Oct 2012 – not sure what the cost of this product is as yet, waiting to see) when it comes out. We are not picky but it really all does come down to money. We cannot purchase one we will need to get two, so every cost is doubled.

In this age of technology it is a must to expose your child/children to computers and any technology that will help them with their future and of course school work. No computer skills will be a negative in the future, everything is computer driven and related. I must say that the iPhone that I was lucky to get for my birthday this year was very easy to use and with no lessons the twins are using it like masters.

My girls have done most things early, but not sure if that is a sign of genius or just smart little girls. I do know they have been told they are advanced in some areas, but also in some areas they need to do more. So in regards to advancement who knows really. In the news.com.au article there is a link to a Mensa Test. I never do well at intelligence tests, not that I am dumb but my brain does not do well with these type of questions. I like more creative things, I tend to find that I lean towards to the arts more than the maths and sciences. Maybe this is why I don’t do well with an intelligence test.

Why not test your smarts and take the Mensa Mini Quiz, answers are listed as well just in case you want to know if you are getting it right. Not everyone can be geniuses or have a high IQ. I do think my kids are smart but it does not bother me as long as they are happy. When they are older the girls find something they like to do, and manage to make a living out. You can only wish for happiness and that they do well. If they are clever at some subjects or certain areas, I do hope the school sees this and pushes them to do more, although hard to know until they are in school as they are still in pre-school. Why is it everyone has to have advanced clever kids, why can’t they just be average? I know it is more interesting if they are smart and excel and everything, however many successful people were average and have done very well.

Many kids that are very smart give up trying as they think it all comes naturally to them. When they go to a selective school with all smart kids they find it hard to keep up as they are now not the smartest person in the room.  This is a big shock to some kids. The average student tends to try harder and achieves while some over achievers and high IQ kids don’t want to pursue a career as a doctor, lawyer or politician and some decide the pressure is too much. I have seen this happen.  While this is just some things that I have witnessed and is not indication for all, so don’t think that average is bad, it sometimes can make you try harder and do very well at life.

Do you think we are getting smarter? Is it due to more information or that parents are teaching more things to their children and in turn the kids are learning more? As a stay at home mother I find that the kids benefit by me being here and teaching them, but vice versa, if I was working they would be learning things at care and also to pre-school so maybe it is much of a muchness. Send in your comments, and why not continue the discussion on our twitter or facebook pages.

Categories
News

Serious Gear Lust

I have had serious lust over the iPad’s and would just love to own one. I know it is a terrible thing to admit, but it is true. Having a tablet would definitely be a help in life, while out with the kids I could be doing work, and at home I could take the tablet to bed (how strange to say take a tablet to bed, you know I mean a laptop device, not a bex or a tablet) to read articles for university, and of course if I have any further spare time, I will use it to surf the web or just read for my own interest.

Finding out that there is a mini iPad about to be launched is great news, and that it might be cheaper than the other iPad’s on the market. This mini iPad will be launching in October some time so I’m keen to find out more, although the article about the mini iPad claim that the launch will be more likely for September. We will have to wait and see.

It is not just the iPad’s that have managed to wake my gear lust; it is also Microsoft’s Surface, again coming in October. From what I understand there is no cost listed currently for these devices and I would love to have one also. You might just say that I am keen to have a portable device that I can take with me, out and about or to just retire and read books or articles with. The desktop computer just does not cut it anymore. One amazing thing about Microsoft Surface is that the cover for the tablet becomes the keyboard, no need to purchase the keyboard separately.

Do you lust after products that you cannot have? Is it just me that wants a tablet? I also find the term tablet a bit strange…I feel like I am asking for a pill/medicine. I know it is not, but that is what it sounds like. A bit like when I first heard of the Nitendo Wii, it took me a moment to understand that people were talking about a product and not wanting to go to the toilet. I know silly, but how many others have had the same issue? I am up with technology and very savvy with it, and sometimes the names for products just throw you.

Send in your comments, or stories about what things you lust over. My list is getting longer and longer, however I will stick with either an iPad or the Microsoft Surface for the moment.  It will be interesting to see how Google, Apple and Microsoft go with very similar products and what prices they will sell at.  Having a price point that is more competitive might mean the organisation that wins the business will corner the market.

Categories
3 years and beyond

Technology

Julia's home built computer
Julia’s home built computer

Julia's computer
Julia’s computer

For a while now the girls have been building make shift computers out of an old keyboard, mouse and a puzzle for a screen. Julia has built it again today, and you will see how clever it looks in the pictures.

It makes me think the girls are saying they want a computer. I would love to get them a tablet, like an iPad to learn, however it is the cost that is associated with these products. We would need to get two as sharing with that type of thing is not an option.

Maybe the new Microsoft Surface will be more affordable to purchase, and this will have to wait until we have money. Microsoft has not listed the costs of the new surface computer yet, should be available in October.

If Apple or Microsoft want to give away any iPad or Surface tablets we are happy to receive them, we can be the testing ground for them. I know this will never happen, but you don’t know… I can only dream.

 

The girls have figured out how to play, stop, pause shows with the television remote control. If they need to go to the bathroom, they pause what they are watching, come back and press play. Very clever indeed.

I wonder what other equipment or devices Julia or Lillian will build?  As you will see the computer even has a rest place for your feet, very convenient.  Do your kids build things that look like the real things? If so what have they created? Send in your comments and stories.