Tag: vegetables

Knead Some Creativity? Make Stunning Focaccia Designs

Post author By Suzanne Robinson
Post date July 20, 2025
No Comments on Knead Some Creativity? Make Stunning Focaccia Designs

Why settle for plain bread when you can bake a garden? This focaccia recipe is your ticket to creating a delicious masterpiece that’s as stunning as it is scrumptious. With simple ingredients, a little patience, and a sprinkle of creativity, you’ll craft a loaf that’s golden, crispy, and blooming with veggie “flowers.” Let’s turn your kitchen into an edible art studio!

INGREDIENTS

4 cups “00” flour or bread flour if you don’t have 00 flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups warm water
2 tsp dry instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ cup olive oil

For decoration:

Capsicum, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, mushrooms, or whatever veggies spark your creativity!
Parsley, you can add other herbs if you like, for example, rosemary, chives, or basil.

I sourced all my fresh ingredients from Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Market, a true gem for any home chef. Their vibrant displays of produce are a feast for the eyes, with fruits and vegetables so fresh they practically glow with flavour. From crisp capsicums to fragrant herbs, everything I needed for my focaccia garden was right at my fingertips.

METHOD

NOTE: Preheat your oven to 200°C/390°F

Mixing the Magic: Creating the Dough

1. Awaken the Yeast

Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Make sure the water is just the right temperature—like a baby’s bath. Let it rest until it gets foamy and bubbly, like a tiny science experiment.

The dough rising in the garden as the kitchen was a bit cold

2. Stir It Up

In a large bowl, mix your flour and salt. Slowly add the foamy yeast mixture and a tablespoon of olive oil. Stir until it turns into a sticky, thick dough. Drizzle on a bit more olive oil, coat your hands, and gently roll the dough around in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap—it’s nap time for your dough.

Watch It Grow: Letting the Dough Rise

Put the covered bowl in a warm, cozy spot and let the dough rise for about an hour or until it doubles in size. Give it a gentle fold, drizzle more olive oil, and if you’ve got the patience, let it rest overnight in the fridge. This slow rise will give your focaccia a flavour boost that’s worth the wait.

3. Build Your Bread Garden

Spray a deep baking dish with nonstick spray and add a generous layer of olive oil. Tip the dough into the pan and gently stretch it to the corners, dimpling it with oiled fingers. Now, channel your inner artist! Use sliced capsicum as petals, cherry tomatoes for bold pops of colour, and fresh herbs for stems. Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top for the perfect finish.

4. Bake and Admire Your Work

Bake your creation for 30–40 minutes. The bread should be golden brown, crispy on the outside, and sound hollow when tapped. Let it cool for a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack.

Cooked and ready to eat, looks so yummy!

5. Slice, Serve, and Savour

Your focaccia garden is ready to shine! Whether you’re impressing friends or just spoiling yourself, this edible beauty is guaranteed to wow. Don’t forget to snap a pic, soak up all those compliments, and revel in the delicious fruits (or flowers) of your labour. Who knew baking could be this much fun—and this gorgeous?

The crust and the cooked tomatoes looking delicious

POST FEAST REVIEW

As a newcomer to focaccia making, I was honestly impressed that my bread looked and tasted just like store-bought focaccia—and it really wasn’t that hard to make! But I think the real art is in making it taste authentic. While I did capture some of those classic focaccia flavours, I added my own modern twist with vegetables on top. They might not be traditional, but they were tasty and added a unique touch.

WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN?

Yes, I would make focaccia again. I have never made focaccia before, and I’m absolutely taken with how you can really make it your own! While it’s still focaccia, the toppings and design completely transform it into something unique—truly a work of art. It’s amazing how a simple loaf of bread can turn into a personalised creation. Now, I’m eager to perfect the traditional flavours of focaccia and experiment with different variations. It’s such a fun and rewarding experience, and I can’t wait to bake more delicious batches in the future!

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Tags art, Baking, bread, cooking, creative, decorative focaccia, flowers, focaccia, Focaccia Flower Art, homemade focaccia, making focaccia from scratch, Todarello’s, Todarello’s Katoomba Village Fruit Market, vegetable flower decorations on focaccia, vegetables

Beauty

DIY Pumpkin Beauty Products

Post author By Suzanne Robinson
Post date August 29, 2024
No Comments on DIY Pumpkin Beauty Products

Have you ever wondered how easy it is to create your own natural beauty products? How about making pumpkin beauty products?

I know I have and thought it would be hard, in fact it is super easy and fun. However, it can get a bit messy, so take care.

Autumn is here, and cooler weather means hearty food; Stews, casseroles, roast meat with vegetables and more.

Pumpkin is one of my favourites. What about you?

Some things I love to make with pumpkin are mash, roast pumpkin and pumpkin chips with a little bit of cheese melted over them. What is your favourite pumpkin dish?

Pumpkin all cut up and ready to be turned into mash.

I stocked up on pumpkins from my local greengrocer, The Veggie Patch at Blackheath. Getting your fruit and veg from a local greengrocer is great.

Look at all these yummy pumpkins. Perfect for dinner and then to make some healthy and natural beauty products.

The best place for fresh fruit and vegetables at Blackheath, The Veggie Patch.

The idea of using the left over pumpkin mash means that my body is getting the vitamins on the skin, it is all natural, there is less waste, it is good for me.

“Healthy food inside and healthy natural products outside”

How to make Pumpkin Mash?

Firstly, you need to cut up your pumpkin into smaller chunks. Making all the pumpkin into similar sizes means that it will be cooked quickly, and all the pumpkin will cook at the same rate.

Once all done put a cup or two of water into a saucepan and boil the water. Once boiling add the pumpkin and leave on the stove until it is all soft and ready to be mashed up.

If you are using the mash for eating you generally add some milk and butter, plus you could add other items to the mash, for example onions, and crushed up almonds or pumpkin seeds.

If you are using the pumpkin mash for beauty products, then just mash it up and put it in a sealed container until you are ready to create your own handmade works of beauty.

The pumpkin is all cooked and now ready to mash up to be mash!

What are the health benefits of pumpkin?

Great source of fibre
High in beta-carotene
May help with reducing diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers and also help delay ageing and body degeneration.
Pumpkins also have calcium, magnesium and some B vitamins.
Beta-carotene helps boost the immune system.
Pumpkins are high in antioxidants – Vitamin C, and Vitamin E.

Testing out the Pumpkin Body Butter. It is so wonderful on my skin and leaves it so smooth.

Why is it good for your skin?

Pumpkins are a great source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. These helpful vitamins help soften skin while improving any damaged cells. What a powerful vegetable is the pumpkin!

What did I use to create my pumpkin beauty products?

All the items I needed for my homemade pumpkin beauty products. Some were good enough to eat!

Mashed Pumpkin
Brown Sugar
Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Yoghurt
1 egg
The Apple Cider Vinegar was for the Pumpkin Face Mask for oily skin, but I didn’t make this one. Read on to see the recipe for this face mask as well.
Honey
Measuring cups
Spoons
Containers to store the products in

Make sure to refrigerate your items after you make them. They are made with real vegetables and therefore will perish if not kept well. Use quickly and enjoy!

Testing out my pumpkin hair conditioner, it made my hair feel very soft afterwards. — Testing out my pumpkin hair conditioner, made my hair feel very soft afterwards.

What pumpkin beauty products did I make?

I’ve created a sheet so that you can have all the info in one spot, download all the pumpkin beauty recipes in one PDF printable.

Pumpkin Body Sugar Scrub
Mix 1 cup of pumpkin mash with 1 cup of sugar. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and mix together until you make a paste.

Making the Pumpkin Body Sugar Scrub
Pumpkin Body Butter
Mix 1 cup of pumpkin mash with 1 cup of coconut oil. You can make a smaller batch, but if you are like me you will love this and so will your skin.
I ended up putting the mixture in my blender to get all the lumps of the coconut oil out. Smother over your skin during a shower.

The Pumpkin Body Butter is my favourite product.

Mixing up the ingredients for the Pumpkin Body Butter. It is so good!

My skin gets so dry during Autumn and Winter, the cooler air zaps the moisture from my skin and means I need to be vigilant with the body moisturiser.
Pumpkin Face Mask for Dry Skin
Mix 1/4 cup of pumpkin with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of honey and 1 whole egg. Mix until all smooth, then you test it out. I left it on for 20 minutes.

Trying out my new Pumpkin Face Mask for Dry Skin
Pumpkin Sugar Lip Scrub
Mix 1 teaspoon or 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin mash with a 1/4 teaspoon of olive oil (or you could use coconut oil), and add 1 teaspoon or half a teaspoon of fine sugar (I used brown sugar).
Mix all ingredients together, and then rub on lips to exfoliate.

The brown sugar I used in the pumpkin beauty products. Adding a little bit of this made the Pumpkin Sugar Lip Scrub smell amazing!
Pumpkin Hair Conditioner
Mix 1 cup pumpkin mash and 1 cup of yoghurt, plus a teaspoon of honey. I couldn’t help myself as this mixture smelt amazing I had to have a taste, and it was so yummy!
What other hair conditioner could you eat as well?
Leave for 30 minutes. Have a shower afterwards to make sure it is all washed out.

The Pumpkin Hair Conditioner is complete and ready to use.

The The Pumpkin Hair Conditioner smelt so yummy I had to have a taste, and yes it was wonderful!

I didn’t make the below pumpkin face mask. My skin is rather dry, so I wanted a mask that will help my skin feel more hydrated.

Pumpkin Face Mask for Oily Skin
Here is the breakdown of how to make this other pumpkin face mask:
Mix 1/4 cup of mashed pumpkin with 1 whole egg, add 1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar and mix together. Leave on for 20 minutes then wash off.

All pumpkin beauty products that I made. The one in the big bowl is the pumpkin face mask for dry skin, I was about to put it into my recycled yoghurt container.

What else can you make with pumpkins?

For the body: Soap, foot scrub, and other face masks.

To eat: Cakes, soups, pumpkin butter, pies, drinks, bake the seeds to eat later, muffins, smoothies, add to your breakfast cereal (oats), use the mash as baby food or addition in meals to help kids eat more veggies.

For fun: Halloween lanterns and bowls for a dip at parties.

I hope this post gives you some inspiration to make your own cheap pumpkin beauty products.

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Originally published April 14 2018

Recipes

Make Chilli Tuna Veggie Noodles

Post author By Suzanne Robinson
Post date September 4, 2023
No Comments on Make Chilli Tuna Veggie Noodles

If you are like me you sometimes run out of things for dinners. Yes sad but true. This tasty recipe that I’m about to share only uses some items from the pantry, fridge and takes no time at all to cook.

It is easy, quick to make and of course super yummy, that said you need to like chilli’s. I do love chilli so therefore this is not an issue. If you don’t you can substitute another type of flavour to not have it as spicy. Remember this recipe is flexible so you can amend it to suit your tastes.

Ingredients

2 x John West Tuna Tempters Chilli 95g. I was only cooking for myself so 2 cans were ample, however if you needed more spice or sauce you might find you need to add more cans, say 3 or 4.
Bok Choy
Capcisum
Onion
Udon Noodles
Carrot
Champignons/mushrooms (As I had the champignons in the pantry these were used. If I had fresh mushrooms I would have used them.)
Sesame Seeds for sprinkling on the noodles if you wish or you can crush up some almonds and use them for some extra crunch.

All the vegetables cut and ready to be added to the meal.

Method

I got all my vegetables chopped and ready, all aside from the onion were put in a bowl.
Put on a pot of water to boil. Once boiling add the udon noodles. These should cook for about 5 mins. I like mine soft so I might cook mine a little longer. If they are nearly to the softness I like I take the pot off the heat and leave them in the hot water until I’m ready to serve. This way the noodles are hot and just the way I like them.
The udon noodles cooking away.
When a pan was heated up with some olive oil I cooked the onion until it was translucent.
Cooking the onions.
Now add the other vegetables to the pan and have them simmer a while until they are partly cooked. I like to have the bok choy mix around in the olive oil to add a bit of flavour. I leave it for about 5 mins or so.
It is now time to add the chill tuna. To make the most out the sauce you need to make sure you get everything out of the tin. I like to add a little water that allows tuna that has stuck to the bottom and edges to dislodge and the water adds to the sauce. This is when you will know if you need an extra tin or so for the sauce. It does depend on how many will be eating but you can adjust this so don’t worry.
I’ve added the tuna and now getting the rest out of the tin by adding some water. The addition of water also helps with making more of the sauce.
Remove the noodles from the water if they are still there. Split up the noodles into warm bowls.
If you would like sesame seeds/almonds sprinkled over the noodles now is the time to do this. You also could add a little soy sauce to the noodles for flavour, but not too much or it gets too salty.
Your sauce is now ready with the vegetables. Add it to the bowl with the noodles.
Your meal is ready and you can now eat! If you wish you can also to garnish it with parsley/coriander.

Your quick and easy dinner is now ready to eat. Chilli Tuna Veggie Noodles you will find so good that you will add it to your meal plans.

Enjoy and I hope you love this as much as I do!

Family

Eat A Rainbow

It is National Nutrition Week – 16th of October to 22nd October, and the aim is to increase the amount of veggies and fruits we eat each day.

Did you know?

“Less than 1% of Australian children and teens get enough veggies each day, yet over 1/3 of their daily energy comes from ‘discretionary foods’ such as biscuits, lollies, fast food and sugary drinks.”

The Teeny Tiny Stevies are the National Nutrition Week Ambassadors that are inspiring kids and also to parents.

“Kids Music That Doesn’t Suck” Zoe Foster-Blake

The sisters behind Teeny Tiny Stevies, Byll and Beth started as a fun project but has become very popular with kids and adults alike. The sisters have been playing Australian Folk Festivals since they were teenagers, including Woodford, Port Fairy, and the National Folk Festival in 2016. Oh and also travelling to Canada for the Folk Festival circuit in 2011.

If you wish to catch the Teen Tiny Stevies live here are their dates throughout Australia:

TEENY TINY STEVIES LIVE DATES

Fri Oct 14th – The Little Bookroom, Carlton Vic (10.30am Musical Storytime!)
Fri Oct 21st – National Nutrition Week Event, Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne
Sat Oct 22nd – Ararat Primary School, Ararat Vic
Sat Oct 29th – The Lost Lands Festival, Werribee Mansion Vic
Sun Nov 6th – Darebin Music Feast Closing Party, Preston Vic
Fri Nov 11th – The Children’s Bookshop, Sydney NSW (9.45am Musical Storytime!)
Sun Nov 13th – Newtown Festival, Sydney NSW
Dec 27th – Woodford Folk Festival, QLD

So what can you do to add more colour to your plate?

You should aim to “eat a rainbow”. Add different coloured vegetables and fruits to your meals.

The different varieties gives you a good mix of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre and phytochemicals.

Another interesting fact:

“The Australian government could save $58 million in health expenditure if only males ate as much vegetables as females.” *Source: http://bit.ly/2dZMJDP

Try for 5

The theme of this years Nutrition Week is to aim to add 5 veggies or fruits to your day. Yes add 5 vegetables of different colours. If you do your body will thank you.

If you consume plenty of fruit and veggies it can help reduce your risk of some cancers, heart disease, stroke and also diabetes.

#TryFor5

Different coloured fruit and veggies ready to eat. Don't they look yummy! — Different coloured fruit and veggies ready to eat. Don’t they look yummy!

My aim with the kids is to expose them to more fruits and veggies. They are fussy eaters and it has been a huge challenge. The plan is to have a new food on the plate each night and they have to at least taste it. I hope this goes well… or else I can hide it all again.

What do you do to make sure your kids eat more fruit and veggies?

Tags cooking, dads, eat a rainbow, eating fruit and vegetables reduces your risk of heart disease, family, food, fruit, Health, healthy eating, I Ate A Rainbow, kids music, mums, National Nutrition Week, parents, Teeny Tiny Stevies, vegetables, Zoe Foster-Blake

Things to do

Our Preview of The Easter Show

Post author By Suzanne Robinson
Post date March 27, 2015
No Comments on Our Preview of The Easter Show

As you might already know the kids and I were lucky enough to have a preview of the Sydney Royal Easter Show. It was a HUGE day. We all got up very early as we had to be there by 9.30 for 10am. Yes this does not sound bad but when you are coming from the Blue Mountains and leaving in peak hour it can all go wrong so easily.

I thought it best to have more time up my sleeve so planned to be there for 9am. I did not want to be late. That would just be terrible!

We did hit a lot of traffic but all was good due to allowing extra time. Thank goodness for Google Maps and getting up early, oh and kids not whinging due to getting up early.

The show officially opened on Thursday (yesterday to be precise) and of course they are expecting about 900,000 or more people to visit. Now that is a lot of people coming over to your place for a visit! Glad I don’t have to tidy or organise for this event.!

So what did we think of the preview of the Easter Show?

The kids did not know at first where we were off to. Once we arrived I told them we are seeing the Easter Show before the public sees it. They did not know what public was. I then said, “We are seeing the show before anyone else does. It is not open yet and opens tomorrow”. This was understood and they felt very special about being at the showground.

First of all we were taken to every part via a train. It was not a massive train, more like a little train that takes kids and tourists around a show.

The girls waiting for us to leave on the train. It was very nice to be taken to every event at the show!

Our first stop was the Woolworth’s food pavilion.

They were still setting up the exhibits and doing final touches on the great artwork that uses vegetables and fruit. It looked amazing and is so clever. So much time and hard work has gone into this visual display.

Due to ANZAC Day being the 100th anniversary the show is commemorating this in the displays. You will note that they have signs with “Lest We Forget” and great tributes to our brave soliders that fought for us all.

Stop 2. Then we were off to see the animals

The big highlight was the animals. The girls really loved this part of the day!

Fun patting the animals #animals #Easter #EasterShow #kids

A video posted by Suzanne (@mummytotwinsblog) on Mar 24, 2015 at 5:21pm PDT

Moo moo at the Easter Show! #EasterShow #Easter #fun #holidays A video posted by Suzanne (@mummytotwinsblog) on Mar 24, 2015 at 5:16pm PDT

Last stop was to see the motorbikes in the stadium

The kids were amazed at the skillful guys that jumped in the air with their motorbikes. They were daredevils and it was very impressive!

Julie Power who is a reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald was also at the preview of the Easter Show. Julie’s article mentioned the blog! Check out the fab story here!

If you are going to the show have a fun time. Make sure to plan your day with the Sydney Royal Easter Show website.

Tags animals, ANZAC 100th year, ANZAC's, dads, easter, easter school holidays, easter show, family, family day out, farm, fun, mums, parenting, school holidays, Sydney Easter Show, Sydney Royal Easter Show, things to do, vegetables

3 years and beyond

Kids Don’t Crave Vegies

Fruit and vegetables. Image by FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My kids don’t enough food, let alone veggies, and I thought this was not good, until I read this article from Holistic Kid – 4 Food Groups All Kids Should Eat. In the article it says that children are born with “weak digestive “Qi” (energy) so it makes sense that in their formative years, kids need foods that are easier to digest than brussels sprouts.” This might be true, as my girls don’t eat a lot of veggies and if they do, maybe a bite here or there.

I have been trying to hide, vegies and fruits into foods and sometimes it is a winner and sometimes not. Do you try and hide food so that your child gets more nutrition? I add vitamins to the girl’s milk and they actually ask for the medicine in the milk, they must like the taste. I must have the only kids that actually want the vitamins added to their milk.

The reason for the vitamins in the milk is that my girls have always been under weight, and have never eaten a lot. I would like to make sure that they are getting adequate vitamins for growth (and who knows when a growth spurt will strike) and also to keep the girls well from colds and flu.

So what does the article recommend kids eat? Good question, they are broken down into four areas, and they are:

Saturated Fats – Whole dairy, eggs, nuts, avocados, healthy oils, olive oil and so on
Bone Broth (this surprised me, but makes sense – Mums homemade chicken soup “The minerals, gelatin, and glycosaminoglycans in bone broth promote proper development of bone and dental structure, as well as healthy hair, nails and joints. Bone broth can also help with digestive problems, food allergies, and immune health.”
Cultured Foods – Yoghurt, “Cultured foods contain naturally occurring probiotics that provide kids with a wide variety of health benefits by populating the digestive tract with healthy bacteria.”
Seasonal, Local Produce – Although the article says that we as parents should not lose sleep over kids not eating more fruit and veggies it states that kids should at least have some every day. The recommendation is to take your kids to the markets and purchase local produce. Local produce is meant to taste better as it has a more flavour.

Do you think your kids are not getting enough vegetables? My girls seem to have fruit it is just the veggie issue; however with the view of the Holistic Kid article it appears that if they are having a bit that is fine too. Send in your comments.

Tags 4 Food Groups All Kids Should Eat, bone broth, cultured foods, fruit, holistic kids, mom, mommy, mother, mum, mummy, not eating fruit, not eating veggies, Penta-Vite Vitamins for kids, saturated fats, seasonal local produce, vegetables, veggies