Apple bars

I have finally got these apple bars right! They look and taste similar to store bought ones but don't have all of the preservatives. Obviously the shelf life won't be as long as packaged ones but my kids like them so much I don't think they'll last the week anyway! 

There are so many other fillings you could do too - apricot, apple and berry, apple and custard, pear just to name a few! I keep mine in the fridge.

Thermomix version 

Apple bars

Pastry

155g butter or nuttelex

1 cup plain flour

1 cup SR flour

1 tspn vanilla extract 

1/3 cup caster sugar 

1 tablespoon milk if needed 

Cream butter and sugar for 15  - 20 seconds speed 4.

Add remaining ingredients except milk and mix 6 seconds speed 6. Scrape sided and repeat if necessary.

Add milk and knead for 1 minute to bring it together completely.

Roll out on floured thermomat - it needs to be about 5mm in thickness. Cut rough edges off to leave a large rectangle. Cut lengthways - I did mine about 2.5 for large bars and 1.5 for the small ones. 

Apple filling

Peel, core and chop 5 - 6 apples place in thermo bowl with 1/2 mc of water and 1 tspn sugar (optional) cook for 10 mins  50 deg speed 3. After 10 minutes mix at speed 8 or 9 until completely smooth. Pour into thermo server. In a small jug make a paste with 2 tspns arrowroot and 2-3 tspns boiling water - stir until completely smooth and then stir into your apple mix. Leave to cool and thicken in fridge.

Spoon small amounts of mixture down the centre of your prepared rectangles and fold sides in to cover apple mix.  Pastry is fragile so you'll need to be careful in this step - I found my flat cake spatula handy here to lift pastry from thermo mat. Cut into the size bars you want and carefully transfer - fold side down - to lined oven tray.

Cook at 180 degrees  for 15 minutes.

Apple bars

Pastry

155g butter or nuttelex

1 cup plain flour

1 cup SR flour

1 tspn vanilla extract 

1/3 cup caster sugar 

1 tablespoon milk if needed 

Cream butter and sugar for  2 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and mix until completely combined.

Roll out on floured board  - it needs to be about 5mm in thickness. Cut rough edges off to leave a large rectangle. Cut lengthways - I did mine about 2.5 for large bars and 1.5 for the small ones. 

Apple filling

Peel, core and chop 5 - 6 apples place saucepan with about 1/3 cup water and 1 tspn sugar (optional) cook until soft. Mash or use a hand mixer to get smooth. In a small jug make a paste with 2 tspns arrowroot and 2-3 tspns boiling water - stir until completely smooth and then stir into your apple mix. Leave to cool and thicken in fridge.

Spoon small amounts of mixture down the centre of your prepared rectangles and fold sides in to cover apple mix.  Pastry is fragile so you'll need to be careful in this step - I found my flat cake spatula handy here to lift pastry from thermo mat. Cut into the size bars you want and carefully transfer - fold side down - to lined oven tray.

Cook at 180 degrees  for 15 minutes.

Local Christmas shopping guide

Every Christmas I try to do as much of my shopping as I can in small businesses in my local area, what I can't get locally I buy online from other small South Australian businesses.  This year I have picked up some amazing things and I can't wait to share them with my family on Christmas Day!

These are some of the fabulous businesses I have purchased from and their details.  Some are no longer taking custom orders but keep them in mind for future reference :) 

Mango Ink

Purdie has some amazing things, Mango Art, Mango MOO jewellery as well as custom prints! 

www.mangoink.com.au

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LillyMOO Makings - one of my absolute favourite SA businesses.  Kirstyn has something for everyone from children to adults.  I love her style and I love the way she puts things together.  Truly a stand out in the handmade jewellery industry! 

Find them on facebook 'LillyMOO Makings'

Geraldton Hill Toffee

If you haven't tried Geraldton Hill Toffee yet, you don't know what you are missing! I've had to leave my order until the week before Christmas pick up because if it's in the house it'll get eaten!! Lynn does such an amazing job it looks great and tastes great!

geraldtonhill@bigpond.com

0412080241

Belly Bottom

Absolutely love Belly Bottom and I have bought some bloomers which are the perfect thing to put with a Pink Apple headband and singlet for a baby gift! 

www.bellybottom.com.au

Something super cute from KooKoo Kidz for the newest member of out extended family (a girl !!! It is a change buying pink and purple ;) ) You will always find something unique from Katie-Lee! 

www.kookookidz.com.au

Over the Fence Beauty

I am absolutely in love with Over the Fence Beauty candles! Especially French Pear and Coconut & Lime.  I bought some candles to give my sisters and sister inlaw earlier in the year but they were so delicious that I used them and had to buy more! 

www.overthefencebeauty.com.au

4 Little Babushkas. 

I always love Sarahs hair accessories for something different to what I make and I bought the perfect one to match a dress that I am giving a baby girl in our family for Christmas!

Find them on facebook '4 Little Babushkas'

So many beautiful photos to choose from to give our family of our wedding. Love Black Sheep Photography!

Some necklaces custom made by me!

And just in case Brett has to work and can't get to the shops I've bought myself something from Fable Co for the boys to give me

I absolutely love their stuff - so many gorgeous things! 

find them on facebook 'Fable Co' or email fableco@adam.com.au

If you are looking for some great stocking fillers, check out your local Newsagency and Post Office - they have some great books and gifts for the whole family! 

I can't wait for Christmas - I absolutely love it! 

Kathryn xx

One dress - so many ways!

I love dresses like these and I think everyone needs one of them in their wardrobe! I am the sort of person who likes to wear plain colours most of the time & accessorise with bright shoes & necklaces - I have so many gorgeous dresses, this navy one (from Mix Apparel) is my favourite though. 

I've dressed this one up for weddings and dressed it down for BBQ's in both Summer & Winter (tights and a long sleeved top underneath for Winter)

By changing my necklace & shoes I can make it look completely different & easily go from day to night by adding leggings - so versatile! 

Favourite Necklaces:

Pink Apple necklaces are available to custom order (the wood ones & small resin are from PA Summer 2 - 3 years ago so will be slightly different :) ) 

To view LillyMoo Makings head to www.facebook.com/LillyMOO-Makings

Shiny Things of Black Springs: www.facebook.com/ShinyThingsOfBlackSprings

Some of my favourite shoes to wear with it are these :

Top Row - Silver Walnut Ballet Flats (I bought mine from the Moonta Shoe Shop), Ivory Target canvas flats, Raspberry Pink Target Sandals.

Bottom Row - Coral Emerson Thongs (Big W - I LOVE the Emerson range - gorgeous, affordable & great quality clothing) Country Road gold thongs, Mint Target sandals.

Reading back through this blog makes me want to get dressed up & go out for lunch!! 

Happy Saturday everyone xx

Painted Bead tutorial

Don't forget to share your pics on my facebook page!!

Kathryn xx

It's a bit late, but...

Just in case you missed it - I GOT MARRIED!!! Well I should say we got married! 

I have been meaning to blog about this since it happened but life always seems to get in the way of blogging. 

Brett and I have been together for almost 10 years, and best friends for 12.  We have 3 beautiful (well most of the time they're beautiful, they're also noisy, messy, rough and tumble, smart, sometimes smelly and very sweet too :) ) boys!

I can honestly say that it was our dream wedding.  Simple, casual, laid back and no fuss.  And I planned it all in less than a month - YES IN LESS THAN A MONTH.  CRAZY!!!

In fact I was so casual about it that my dress (which was navy - it looks a bit black in photos) only arrived on the Friday prior to our Wednesday wedding.  And we picked the boys outfits up the same day - you have to love a place like Harbourtown for last minute wedding outfits ;)  

I love going as a guest to weddings, but the thought of having a big wedding with 100 guests and all of the hoo haa was nearly enough for me to have a mini meltdown! I am so glad we decided to do it this way, family only - our parents, siblings, children and nieces & nephews.  It was small, intimate & perfect :) 

Now I start a new chapter of my life as Kathryn Loveridge after 34 years as Kathryn Cross - exciting, scary and a tiny bit frustrating because Loveridge is not as easy to sign as Cross so I have spent more hours practising my new signature than I did before I applied for my L's. (Did anyone else do that??) 

We've been married for almost 2 months now & people keep asking me "How is married life treating you" and I have to be honest - it's much the same as non-married life! I do love that we are all Loveridges though :) and I'm pretty sure I get to boss Brett around more don't I?? ;) ;) 

On the Pink Apple front:  

I have to confess that my craft mojo has been hiding lately.  After a HUGE clean up in the office, which actually looked like a junk room, I am feeling excited for some fetes I have coming up and can't wait to get making this week. 

It's funny how many things you find when you're cleaning up - so many beads I forgot about, and some I've had so long that I'm pretty sure they're vintage ;) 

I've been doing lots of cooking lately and have rejoined the gym so if you have any raw/clean eating recipes please share :) 

Hope you are all well, 

Kathryn xo 

What do cupcakes, red lips and a country town have in common?

What do cupcakes, red lips and a country town have in common?

Read on & find out! There should be more people in the world like you Purdie, what an amazing achievement! x

I’m a country girl through and through.
For almost all of my 35 years, I’ve called Balaklava home. I thought I knew everything there was to know about country living.

But it wasn’t until last Wednesday when I experienced first hand, just how much heart a country community can have.

My mother-in-law passed away 12 months ago after a brave 25-year journey with Multiple Scle-rosis. We watched her slowly deteriorate and her quality of life cruelly being snatched away. It was heart breaking.
Wanting to do something in her honour, I organised a fundraiser in my local town of Balaklava.

 

 My wonderful team of helpers and I ran a cupcake stall, coinciding with the national “Kiss Good-bye to MS” campaign held during May.
And what a response we got!

To my disbelief, we pre-sold almost 40 dozen to local businesses, schools and workplaces and sold another 20 dozen on the stall. To come home with only three cupcakes, from almost 700 was quite simply amazing.

The stall was a sea of red and white, with cupcakes beautifully decorated with gorgeous red lips, red stars, jaffas and red sprinkles. Some people even said it was the most professional ‘trading table’ they’d ever seen!
We also sold show bags & raffle tickets and held a ‘guess the number of red & white lollies in the jar competition”.

More than $4,000 was raised from cupcakes and show bags alone.
I am forever grateful to each and every person and business who helped and supported in any way. It was a total team effort.

Days like last Wednesday is what living in a country community is all about.
I went to bed that night feeling incredibly blessed and humbled.
But most of all, I was full of pride. Proud that our little community helped make someone’s life with MS easier and edged that bit closer to a cure.
Well done Balaklava - for a small town, you have a massive heart!



- - - - - -
Footnote: MS is a debilitating condition, that slowly affects the messages from the brain to the body. It’s affects more than 23,000 Australians, most being diagnosed between 20 and 40 years of age. Of those affected, 3 out of 4 are women.

Introducing my Next Guest Blogger - Meg Mader - the person behind NAR Design & The Country Business Mums workshops & luncheons in Clare!

     

Thankyou so much to my next guest blogger, Meg Mader for sharing her painting tutorial! 

When I was asked by Kathryn, along with many wonderful creative women, if I would like to do a guest blog I immediately jumped at the chance and then thought ‘what on Earth do I write about?’. For those of you who don’t know me, I organise events for Country Business Mums which is how I met Kathryn. I feel like a bit of an imposter being a part of the Handmade in SA community but as it turns out it has been a wonderful excuse to get back into painting.

In a past life I used to paint. Every day I did something because it was fun and messy and expressive and just wonderful for the soul. Then I fell in love, had children and … no time. There was always something more important to do. So here it is – my big return to painting. Please excuse the dodgy work but it has been quite a while.

My favourite way to paint is finger painting. Here is my step-by-step finger painting nude:

Materials – A stretched canvas, some acrylic paint, water soluble oil pastels and some cotton buds (they act as tiny fingers).

Find an image of a nude to work from then start with a light sketch of shape and shade.

Darken the shadows and add some highlights if you like.

Add a few blobs of paint.

Here comes the fun part! Spread the lovely paint around with your fingers. Make sure you work it into the areas that you have pastel.

If there is too much paint wipe off the excess.

Using a palette (or better yet – your hand!) get some fresh paint to use for highlighting with your fingers and the cotton buds.

Squirt on some paint for the background and spread it all around (don’t forget the sides of the canvas!)

And done! (NB It is good to try and get some background colour in the image and some image colour in the background)

Ok, so it’s quite messy and amateurish but it was fun and I really feel like I achieved something today – and I don’t mean getting the dishes done!!

So I challenge you, next time the kids are doing it, get in on the act and have some fun!