Wow another post!

How about that - two posts in four days!

I'm rather chuffed that you all liked my first attempt at making baked apples so much. Here's the "recipe"

I cooked eleven granny smith apples, because, y'know, left-overs are good. Though I expect that quantity may be a little large for most of you at home.

So, wash the apples and remove any stickers. Remove the core (and save them for Bek's bunnies), and with a knife lightly score a line through the skin around the apple. This is so that they don't explode all over your oven when they're cooking (ie, a good idea!).

First stuff a dried apricot down the hole - it jams in the bottom and keeps all the rest of the filling in when you serve it. Fill the rest of the hole with assorted dried fruit. Last night I used sultanas, pineapple and date (chopped into quarters, half a date per apple), along with the apricot.

In a saucepan I put about 3 tbsp of honey, a dash (1/4 tsp?) of allspice, a larger dash (1/3 tsp?) of ground cloves, and an even larger dash of cinnamon (1/2 tsp?), and then poured in some water (maybe 2 tbsp?), and stirred over a medium heat until it started boiling.

Line all the apples up in an oven-proof dish and pour the honey sauce over them. Make sure you cover the skin on top (so it glazes in the oven) and pour a little down inside each apple too. Bake at 200C for an hour. Top with icecream and enjoy!


We had a big group last night, only missing Rosie, who was celebrating her second anniversary (priorities, girl :P), and Alana, who was feeling sniffly and tired.

Rebecca brought a show-and-tell. She has knitted a wonderful tea cosy with a rose and leaves on the top. So amazing, especially from someone who, when she joined us, had not knitted before. Definitely a natural.

Eleri went slightly crazy with the camera, so I shall post some of the shots of what we were all working on. I was knitting a pair of socks while stuffing up the lace pattern - after most of you left I had to take the needles out and pull out about 10 rows. Very sad.


I was also helping Viv start knitting her first pair of socks, and showing her the very funky crochet cast on method for starting socks at the toe.


Jocelyn was knitting with a lovely multi-coloured baby wool, while Bek began appliqueing a second red flower to her doona cover.


Emily worked on her cute sheepies (no photos! Sorry :( )and Rebecca took apart her hot water bottle cover to add ribbing to the closure. We talked about fixing the pattern for the hot water bottle cover, so I shall hopefully do that later today and post it here (OMG, a third post!!).


(To explain about the hearts, Viv 'hearted' us all... Lillian the cat also got one - it's still stuck to the cat flap!)

Eleri did important work by reading a magazine and wishing she'd bought a french mansion :) Though she had contributed greatly by providing us all with yummy grapefruit marmalade - thank you!