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Talking About Miscarriage

November 12, 2018 By Laura 12 Comments

A few weeks ago, I had a miscarriage. I hadn't yet had a scan but based on what we knew, I was about 7 weeks pregnant.

Physically, it wasn't as bad as they can be. Over the weekend I started bleeding which made us nervous. We went to the after hours doctor and due to where we live, were sent to the hospital for blood tests and a scan to see what was going on. The scan looked ok - there was even a heartbeat, but my hCG levels (the hormone that indicates pregnancy) were low. This meant one of two things - either I wasn't as far along as I thought, or I was miscarrying. As positive as it seemed, I didn't feel good about it. I'm not sure if somehow I knew, or if it was my own way of mentally trying to prepare myself for the worst. I was sent home with instructions to get further blood tests every other day to monitor my hCG levels as if all was ok, those levels would double almost daily. The results from the test 2 days later showed that they had cut in half which gave us our answer. 10 days later I had a scan to confirm that there was nothing there and it was clear. In a way this was a huge relief as it meant I had no need for surgery or anything else but what knocked me for six was looking at an empty screen where by that point, there should have been a baby. Emotionally, it has been completely draining.

I had only known I was pregnant for 3 weeks but believe me, 3 weeks is plenty of time to start planning. In my mind I had already moved Sadie into the spare room, into a big girl bed and thought about what colour I might paint the walls. I had thought about where the second car seat would go (in the middle probably, it's the safest place and then we still have a spare seat on the side) and I had started thinking about the names that we had on our list before Sadie was born and wondered if I still liked them. 3 weeks gave me plenty of time to imagine how Sadie would be as a big sister and if it would be a boy or another girl. Both Josh & I had even thought about how we might announce the pregnancy. And 3 weeks was certainly long enough to be over the moon excited about a new addition and to love that little baby.

To say it's been hard would be an understatement.

It's certainly not lost on me how lucky we are. We already have a beautiful healthy daughter. We haven't had any difficulty at this stage getting pregnant. The miscarriage happened early and naturally without the need for any medical intervention. But the thing is, while I can appreciate this and in some way it helps, this does not by any means make it easier. The fact is, we still lost our baby and nothing can change that or take away how much it hurts.

The thing about miscarriage is that it's so common (about one in four pregnancies ends in a miscarriage) but no one talks about it and I'm not really sure why. You announce to the world that you are having a baby and announce again when the baby is born, so what is different about losing a baby? I felt like if I didn't share this, it would almost be like it never happened and there is nothing about sweeping it under the rug that is going to be helpful for anyone. As far as I'm concerned, the baby we lost, even though we didn't get to hold it or even get to know if it was a boy or a girl, was as much our baby as Sadie is. It doesn't matter if you've known you are pregnant for 3 days, 3 weeks or 3 months - the instant you see that positive result, you are no longer "expecting" a baby. You have one.

Having a miscarriage has been by far the hardest thing we have been through but we have had amazing support from our friends and family. And if nothing else, this has made me snuggle Sadie a little longer, kiss her a few more times each night and just really appreciate how lucky we are to have her. Her little fingers wrapped around mine, her contagious giggle and her slobbery kisses have been the best medicine.

The other thing that has helped and it seems like an obvious thing, has been allowing myself to be sad about it and to grieve. I am an eternal optimist which is usually a good thing, but in this case it meant that the thoughts at the front of my mind were things like "it could have been so much worse", "other people are going through much harder things right now", "you are actually pretty lucky" But do you know what that achieves? Nothing! I had to give myself permission to ignore that because in our world, right now this is a really huge deal. By allowing myself to be sad and cry and to be honest, feel pretty sorry for myself, I have been able to process it and start to move forward.

While this post is much more personal than I would normally write on here, I've found reading others stories and experiences really helpful, so I'm hoping that this post might make one other person feel less alone on their journey.

Greek Pasta Salad

November 8, 2018 By Laura 3 Comments

This easy Greek Pasta Salad is the perfect side dish to take to any summer BBQ or potluck. With a delicious homemade dressing and only a handful of simple ingredients it's a real crowd pleaser!

Summer is officially here! Well, for now. It's been cold, windy and pretty miserable for the last few weeks and then suddenly, two beautiful days in a row! My garden is planted, the shorts are out of storage and I am ready to embrace everything summer - especially food! You've been requesting more summery salad ideas and I hear you loud and clear. No more boring green salads!! Let's jump in with an epic Greek pasta salad!...

Homemade Hamburger Buns

November 5, 2018 By Laura 56 Comments

Homemade Hamburger Buns - a simple recipe for the best hamburger buns you will ever eat - soft, pillowy and perfect for burgers!

If there is one thing that ruins a great burger more than anything, it's putting it in an average bun, am I right? So because we are coming into summer, prime burger making and eating time, I thought it was only appropriate to make the bread baking challenge recipe for this month the most delicious, soft and fluffy homemade hamburger buns ever!

I've been making burger buns for years but I've never been 100% happy with any recipe. So in the name of perfecting them for this month, I have made dozens and dozens of burger buns - they are now a compulsory meal each week until we get through them all! But the good news for you is that the recipe is now perfect, and you won't need to look for another one again.

As always, there are step by step photos in the post and a video at the bottom showing you exactly how to make them.

Click here to pin this post to your bread recipes board on Pinterest to save it for later

Step 1: Make the dough and first rise

The dough is simple – add water, yeast and sugar and leave it for 5 minutes for the yeast to activate. I love this step as you know for sure that the bread will rise if your mixture gets all bubbly and foamy! If this doesn’t happen, your yeast may be old or expired, so you will need to ditch it and start over. It’s great that you can figure this out at the start, rather than going through the whole bread making process to be disappointed! Add the flour, salt, and melted butter and milk (I like to melt them together in the microwave so that the milk is warm too)

Mix together until a dough forms and then knead either by hand for 7 minutes or in a stand mixer for 5 minutes. Place back in a clean bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave somewhere warm to rise until doubled in size. This usually takes about an hour.

Step 2: Shape & second rise

Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it onto a lightly floured surface and split the dough into 8 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper or a silicone liner. Leave the dough uncovered and put back in a warm place to rise for another 45 minutes – the buns will almost double in size again and will go puffy.

Step 3: Baking

Whisk together an egg wash - 1 egg with 1 Tablespoon of water and brush it over the risen buns. This is what gives them that glossy golden brown look. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 14 minutes until golden brown all over.

Now either eat them immediately (I would definitely suggest making Josh's famous homemade burger patties to go in them!) or they also freeze really well, so place in a snaplock bag once they've cooled down, freeze and just pull out as many as you need!

Happy burger making!

Other bread recipes to try:

4 ingredient No-Knead Bread

Pizza Dough

Homemade Bagels

Homemade English Muffins

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Made this? Tag me on Instagram @thekiwicountrygirl and hashtag it #thekiwicountrygirl.

Print Recipe

4.54 from 32 votes

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Homemade Hamburger Buns - a simple recipe for the best hamburger buns you will ever eat - soft, pillowy and perfect for burgers!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Rising time1 hr 45 mins

Total Time2 hrs 30 mins

Course: Bread

Cuisine: New Zealand

Servings: buns

Calories: 241kcal

Author: Laura

Ingredients

1 cup warm water (43°C/110°F)
2 ½ teaspoons active dried yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ cup (125ml) milk
75 grams butter
4 ½ cups high grade flour (bread flour)
1 ½ teaspoons salt

Egg wash

1 egg
1 TBSP water

Optional

Sesame seeds for sprinkling

Instructions

In large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, yeast and sugar. Let it rest for 5 minutes until foamy.
Add the milk and the butter to a small microwavable jug and heat until the butter has melted.
Add flour, salt and milk/melted butter to the yeast mixture and using either a wooden spoon or the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer, mix on low speed until a dough forms.
Continue to knead by hand for 7 minutes or with the stand mixer for 5 minutes on medium speed until the dough is soft and springs back when lightly touched.
Shape the dough into ball and place in a large lightly greased bowl (or leave in the bowl of your stand mixer). Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Lightly punch down the dough and turn out onto a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll into smooth balls. Arrange them on 2 baking trays lined with baking paper or a silicone liner, leaving plenty of room between each bun and leave to rise in a warm, draught free place for about 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size again and puffy.
Whisk egg wash ingredients together and lightly brush over the buns and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 200°C for 14 minutes until golden brown on top and underneath.

Nutrition

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If you tried and loved this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below!

DIY Baby and Toddler Canvas Swing

November 3, 2018 By Laura 19 Comments

How to make a DIY baby swing. Step by step photos and an easy to follow tutorial to make a canvas swing perfect for babies and toddlers that will give them hours of fun!

I'm pretty sure this was the project that got me all sorts of excited about DIY projects.

It was one of those times where I knew exactly what I wanted to give Sadie for her first Christmas - a cool canvas swing for her to play in for hours at a time (dreaming?) under the shade of the big oak tree while I sat by drinking a mojito or something - but didn't want to pay the $220 for a ready made one. The battle was that I wasn't willing to compromise on how much I wanted a canvas swing and pay $50 for a plastic one that would probably fall apart in a couple of years. So I did a bit of searching and came across a tutorial showing step by step how to make one of these swings - and it looked surprisingly easy! I gave it a go, and it really was pretty simple. Sewing in a straight line. Drilling a few holes in some dowel and attaching some rope (thanks Josh). Hanging from a tree. And what ensued was actually blissful hours of swinging in a beautiful canvas swing under the oak tree! Not to mention the extreme satisfaction that came from Josh & I making Sadie's Christmas present together - how very Little House on the Prairie of us!...

How To Transplant Seedlings

October 27, 2018 By Laura 1 Comment

How to transplant seedlings - from preparing the garden, to how big the plants need to be and the ideal conditions to transplant in, here is all you need to know about transplanting and re-potting seedlings.

You've made your garden plan, planted your seeds inside and are in the process of hardening them off. It's almost time to plant them outside so today we learn everything you need to know about how to transplant seedlings!

First up, let's talk about re-potting seedlings. This will be necessary if you have planted a lot of seeds in a seed tray or you have planted them in small cells that they have outgrown before they are ready to go in the ground. I started most of my seeds in small 6 cell punnets and put 2 seeds in each cell as I didn't know how many would actually germinate. They all did really well so I ended up with a lot of plants growing with not a lot of room. As they were still too small and it was far too cold to plant in the ground, I needed to give them more room to grow before they were ready for the garden, so I transplanted them into bigger pots that would allow them plenty of room. This process involves preparing the new pots and watering them well both before and after re-potting....

Easy Slice and Bake Cookies (with 9 flavour ideas!)

October 18, 2018 By Laura 17 Comments

This recipe for easy slice and bake cookies comes with 9 flavour ideas! Perfect for school lunches or homemade gifts, the cookie dough can be made in advance and frozen for cookies in a snap!

Have you made slice and bake cookies before? I feel like they were the original chocolate chip cookie. Before mixers, before we decided that dough needed to be chilled and well before any fancy special ingredients were even a thing! This recipe for easy slice and bake cookies is the original that my mum used to make when we were kids! She would make a big batch, roll them up, put them in the freezer and could pull them out to bake at a minutes notice. Perfect for visitors or school lunches when you spent Sunday outside in the sun instead of getting ready for the week....

How To Make Yoghurt

October 14, 2018 By Laura 46 Comments

Making yoghurt at home is easier than you think and is so much cheaper than buying it. Here is my guide for how to make yoghurt at home using three simple methods!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting The Kiwi Country Girl.

I've had a yoghurt maker for years and have always bought the packets of powder to make my own. It was easy, fun and definitely cheaper than buying ready made yoghurt. But then I learnt that you could make it entirely from scratch without even using the packets and I was intrigued. Just milk and yoghurt needed? Obviously I had to learn!

I looked up a few tutorials online and tried, but only had mediocre success. It was ok, but not like I thought it would be. So I asked my aunty (the one who is responsible for us having chickens, making vanilla extract and homemade granola) and she gave me her method. I was determined to make it work, and I did!

The best thing about making yoghurt at home is that once you've made it once, you can keep using the leftover yoghurt to start the next batch which means it is super cheap to make! I buy 2 litres of milk which costs around $3.50 meaning 1 litre of yoghurt costs me $1.75 to make. Not bad considering buying 1 litre of yoghurt (even plain and unsweetened) is around $5 or $6! We usually get through 1 litre of yoghurt per week, so even with my terrible maths, that means we are saving about $175 per year. I can think of plenty more things I could spend that on....

How To Harden Off Seedlings

October 10, 2018 By Laura 3 Comments

You've planted your seeds and taken great care of them inside - don't let your hard work go to waste. Here's how to harden off seedlings to ensure they do well once planted outside!

As a beginner gardener I was so cute. Hey, let's throw a bunch of seeds in some dirt, leave them outside and they'll grow right? And not only will they grow, but they'll produce soooo well that I'll be drowning in homegrown produce. Ha! I had so much to learn. But that's my job now - to tell you the mistakes I made and help you learn from them so that you will actually have the problem of too many fresh veggies from your garden!...

Homemade Soft Pretzels

October 3, 2018 By Laura 8 Comments

You will love this easy recipe for delicious homemade soft pretzels - how to make them at home with step by step photos and instructions - they taste just like the ones at Oktoberfest!

Bread bakers! How are you enjoying the bread baking challenge so far? Let's recap - month 1 we had No-Knead Bread - the simplest of all bread recipes and so delicious and month 2 was homemade English Muffins which were super popular. This month, we tackle Homemade Soft Pretzels.

The first time I ate a soft pretzel (or bretzel in Germany as one of you has informed me) was actually in Germany at Oktoberfest. It was 2012, I was wearing a dirndl, had a stein of Hofbräu in one hand, a giant pretzel bigger than my face in the other and it kind of felt like all my dreams had come true. Since then, I've eaten a few soft pretzels but none have compared to the original. And I'll be honest, these aren't quite the same - nothing can compete with the atmosphere in those beer halls! But they come pretty close, and I think if I ate one of these with a beer, put some oompah music on Spotify and shut my eyes, I might just be back there!...

30 Minute Sweet & Sour Pork

October 1, 2018 By Laura 8 Comments

I can guarantee you will be ditching the takeaway shop in favour of this easy 30 minute sweet and sour pork recipe once you try it. Quick, tasty and much healthier than the bought version!

Sweet and sour pork is one of our all time favourite takeaway dishes. It's delicious and is pretty consistent across the board at Chinese takeaway shops. Battered pork. Delicious sauce. Simple! So obviously given the lack of takeaway shops within a 60km radius of our house and the abundance of home kill pork in our freezer, I need to know how to make it at home.

I've made a few versions of sweet and sour pork over the years. Back in the early days of this blog I published the recipe for the sweet and sour sauce I originally used for this dish (go and check it out if you feel like laughing at some horrific food photography!) It's the sauce that this recipe is based on but with a couple of tiny but important changes that have made this recipe our new favourite.

Click here to pin this post to your easy dinners recipes board on Pinterest to save it for later

While there was nothing wrong with the sauce I was making, I always felt like it was missing something. So I looked through all the sweet and sour sauce recipes I could find and one thing jumped out at me when I saw this recipe from Rasa Malaysia. Oyster sauce! I was skeptical, but I had a bottle in the fridge so thought I'd give it a try. And it was the key! Don't panic if you don't have any, the sauce is almost as good without it, but if you have it - give it a try and tell me what you think!

The other thing that took this recipe from good to great was coating the pork first. It's not a traditional batter and may sound weird, but trust me on this one. A little bit of cornflour to start with, and then coat the pork in egg and pop it straight into a pan of hot oil. It seems like you are missing a step by not coating it again in flour or breadcrumbs as you would anything else, but this is what gives the pork that characteristic Chinese takeaway texture and flavour. It is awesome!

The easiest method I have found is to coat all the pork in the cornflour and then tip all the pork pieces into the whisked egg, mix it around so that all pork is coated and then dump the whole lot in the hot oil. Super easy, takes much less time than individually coating each piece and if you get a bit of extra egg in the pan it's all good! You could deep fry it, but I prefer to only use a few tablespoons of oil in the bottom, get it nice and hot and then let the pork get crispy on one side before flipping it all over and finishing it off.

Then all that's left to do is add the veggies - the peppers and pineapple are what I think make this dish even better - pour in the sauce and serve on rice.

This recipe is:

Quick! Another real life 30 minute meal
Much tastier than than the takeaway shop version
Has colourful veggies in it!

You really will struggle to go back to the takeaway version after you've made this sweet and sour pork (which you can totally make with chicken too!)

Other easy dinner recipes:

Easy Butter Chicken

Chicken Burrito Bowls

Cheesy One Pan Mince Pasta

Sausage & Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner

Made this? Tag me on Instagram @thekiwicountrygirl and hashtag it #thekiwicountrygirl.

Frying pan with homemade sweet and sour pork

Print Recipe

4.92 from 12 votes

30 Minute Sweet and Sour Pork

I can guarantee you will be ditching the takeaway shop in favour of this easy 30 minute sweet and sour pork recipe once you try it!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: people

Calories: 677kcal

Author: Laura

Ingredients

Sauce

¼ cup sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce (optional)
½ cup hot water

Coating for pork

⅓ cup cornflour
1 egg

Stirfry

400 grams pork steaks
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ red pepper
½ yellow pepper
½ cup pineapple pieces

Instructions

Sauce

Add the ingredients for the sauce to a small jug or bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

Prepare the pork

Add the cornflour to a small bowl and the egg to another small bowl and whisk. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium/high heat. While it is heating up, pat dry the pork steaks and slice into 2cm pieces.
Add the pork pieces to the bowl with the cornflour and toss to coat evenly (you may need to do this in 2 batches)
Once the pork is coated in cornflour, dredge it in the egg mixture and then place it in the hot oil. Let it fry, without stirring for a few minutes to allow the coating to get nice and brown. Flip the pork pieces over and cook for a further 2 or 3 minutes until cooked through.
Add the peppers and pineapple and fry for 2 minutes.
Pour over the sauce and bring to the boil, and then simmer for 3-4 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Remove from the heat and serve immediately on white rice.

Nutrition

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If you tried and loved this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below!

How to Start Seeds Indoors

September 27, 2018 By Laura 2 Comments

Growing plants from seed isn't scary or hard and is a great way to have more control over your growing season and to grow a bigger variety of plants. Here is my step by step guide to show you how to start seeds indoors!

When I first started gardening I assumed that starting plants from seed was for people who knew how to garden and had been doing it for years. Wrong!! With a bit of knowledge and by taking the time to take good care of your seeds and give them the best start, anyone can grow seeds!

I tried planting from seed a few years ago but I hadn't done my research and I ended up just putting the seeds in pots, leaving them outside exposed to the spring weather conditions (which in the Waikato in New Zealand can be all over the place!) and hoping for the best. I had some success - my zucchini and cucumber plants did really well, but nothing else really grew. Now I know that seeds need a bit more TLC than what I was giving them!...

Homemade Shrewsbury Biscuits

September 22, 2018 By Laura 6 Comments

My favourite classic sugar cookie recipe with cute cut out shapes and delicious made from scratch strawberry jam in the middle...homemade Shrewsbury biscuits!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting The Kiwi Country Girl.

I am so excited to share this recipe for homemade Shrewsbury biscuits with you today...they taste exactly like the real thing! You all know how obsessed I am with creating homemade versions of store bought biscuits and the greatest thing is, you guys are too! You loved my homemade 100's & 1000's biscuits, mint slices and hokey pokey squiggles but today we are making it super simple. Classic sugar cookies with cute cut out shapes and delicious homemade strawberry jam sticking them together! Shrewsburys!...

Easy Cheese Scones

September 18, 2018 By Laura 2 Comments

Everyone need a good recipe for easy cheese scones. These scones are quick to make and are packed full of flavour with plenty of cheese and mixed herbs!

I think I've talked about this before, but does anyone else have real problems with being creative at lunchtime? I find it really easy to mix it up at dinner time, I'm happy to eat the same homemade granola every morning for breakfast but when it comes to lunchtime I find myself usually just eating leftovers or snacking all day! Then if someone tells me they're coming for lunch, it's panic stations!

So I am determined to up my lunch game. And easy things - because I spend enough time in the kitchen as it is without needing to be in there all morning making something for lunch! This recipe for easy cheese scones is a winner.

10 minutes prep, 10 minutes cooking and 10 minutes to eat them all up. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty happy about 30 minutes start to finish including eating time!...

Pumpkin Spice Bread

September 15, 2018 By Laura 6 Comments

This easy recipe for moist, delicious pumpkin spice bread (or pumpkin loaf) will be your new favourite quick bread!

Hi, it's me, still confused about the seasons. But I'm not even a little bit sorry to be sharing the recipe for this outrageously good pumpkin spice bread with you today!

This was just supposed to be a test recipe. Something to make now to use up the pumpkin puree in my fridge and save the recipe to tweak next year. You know, when it's actually autumn and pumpkins are actually in season and we are ready for warm cosy recipes.

But then I made it. And ate it. And continued to eat it and may have actually eaten almost the entire loaf because it was unbelievable. And I knew it would be wrong on so many levels to not share it right now. Plus, I'm still working through a glut of pumpkins that we harvested in May so I've got a bit of pumpkin going spare! And I couldn't just give you a recipe for homemade pumpkin pie spice and then leave you hanging!...

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice

September 12, 2018 By Laura 3 Comments

How to make Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice. It only takes 5 ingredients and 5 minutes - it's the autumn edition of DIY spice mix recipes and is perfect for your fall baking!

I have to explain something to you. I'm very seasonally challenged at this time of year. It's the food blogger in me! Don't get me wrong, I am 1000% ready for spring and summer but at the same time, suddenly all my northern hemisphere blogging friends start posting cosy pumpkin recipes and I'm wishing autumn back!

I think it's because spring food just doesn't hold the same appeal as the delicious warming spice flavours that come with autumn. Pumpkins, chai spices and cosy drinks as the leaves change colour.

So give me a minute here and let me share a couple of fall inspired recipes before we launch into summer content. Starting with a new homemade spice mixture! You know I'm obsessed with homemade Burrito Spice Mix (and you guys are too!), BBQ Spice Rub and making Butter Chicken spice mix so today I thought I would mix it up and give you a sweet mix. Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice!

For us down here in little old New Zealand, the whole pumpkin spice craze isn't anywhere near as big as it is in the US. When we were there over autumn a few years ago I got a taste of it - pumpkin spice lattes, cupcakes, pies and everything in between. And unsurprisingly given my love for autumn and pumpkins, I was hooked....

Our 2018 Summer Garden Plan

September 10, 2018 By Laura 8 Comments

Our 2018 summer garden plan - what we are planting and how we are preparing and taking care of the garden this year!

I've only been gardening for a few years. I helped my mum out a bit in our garden when I was growing up and pottered with my Grandad in his garden but never really got into it. I always enjoyed it, but flatting at uni and traveling overseas weren't really the right times to be setting up a garden. So when we moved back to where Josh grew up and found ourselves on the same section as his parents with a huge vege patch, I knew it was time to get my feet wet.

And I drowned.

No really. We had one large outdoor garden and a couple of side gardens and I figured I might as well go big or go home. I bought all the seeds. Like, actually all of them. And all the pretty ones! If I was going to have a garden, I was going to grow candy cane striped beetroot and cute baby carrots and do it well!...

Homemade English Muffins

September 3, 2018 By Laura 7 Comments

You will love this quick recipe for homemade English muffins! They have all the nooks and crannies that the store bought ones do, but they're made from scratch and taste SO much better!

Welcome to month 2 of the homemade Bread Baking Challenge! How did you like the No-Knead Bread from last month? So many of you made it!

Let's get into this month's challenge! English Muffins or Muffin Splits are something we eat a lot of. They make epic breakfast muffins for the weekend and are a really easy snack. Sadie loves them too!

I thought they might be a bit tricky to make, but they are actually really simple! They are a nice follow on from the no-knead bread we made last month as they only require a quick 2 minute knead in the bowl before letting the dough rise.

As always, there are step by step photos in the post and a video at the bottom showing you exactly how to make them. ...

Easy Tabbouleh Salad Recipe

August 28, 2018 By Laura 1 Comment

This easy tabbouleh salad recipe is so simple! It takes 10 minutes to throw together and is the perfect healthy side dish for picnics, BBQ's or potluck dinners.

It's finally starting to feel like we are on the spring side of winter...YAY!!! I always feel a huge sense of relief at this time of year. I'm over the rain, the cold and the dark. It's lighter at night, I'm starting to think about my summer garden and BBQ's and picnics are on my mind!

It's also the time of year when I'm getting pretty sick of the things that are in the garden. I mean, I love broccoli and silverbeet but I am just hanging out for tomatoes, peppers and zucchini!

This easy tabbouleh salad recipe is the perfect in-between season salad. It uses what is growing in the garden - parsley, spinach, mint and lemons - but with a whole new spin on it! It's winter veggies meets summer salad! I like it - and you will too!...

Growing Strawberries in Raised Beds

August 22, 2018 By Laura 1 Comment

I've already given you my top tips for planting strawberries, now let me show you how we are growing strawberries in raised beds this year!

If you saw my post a few weeks ago about how to grow strawberries, you'll be feeling well equipped to plant strawberries in your garden this year. We have grown strawberries for a few years now but this year we have decided to do it a little differently. Today I thought I would share with you how we are growing our strawberries in raised garden bed...strawberry farm style! This is a total experiment for us (as is all of my gardening!) but I thought it would be fun to share so that you can see how it works!

Our strawberries have always done extremely well - until last year when we somehow ended up with wild strawberries growing rampant in our patch. Not only did they take over the entire garden, they didn't even produce any berries! As our strawberry plants were due to be replaced anyway, we decided to pull everything out and start over and we figured we would take this opportunity to set up our plants to try and maximise our berry production!...

Oven Baked BBQ Pork Ribs

August 19, 2018 By Laura Leave a Comment

Oven baked BBQ pork ribs using my homemade dry rub recipe. They are slow cooked in the oven for 3 hours before being smothered in a made from scratch BBQ sauce, making them melt in your mouth delicious!

Remember how you were under strict instructions to make a batch of my homemade BBQ Spice Rub earlier in the week to prepare you for something epic? Well, the time has come, so if you missed the memo, RUN! Go and make the spice mix because you are not going to want to miss out on making these oven baked BBQ Pork Ribs today!

These are the ribs that I harped on about a few days ago. The ones that I had been making for almost a year before I really nailed the recipe. This is it. Because obviously I wouldn't let you make subpar ribs - Josh doesn't let me make subpar ribs!...

BBQ Spice Rub

August 14, 2018 By Laura 10 Comments

Easy to make, flavourful BBQ Spice Rub! Perfect for ribs, chicken, beef and more! It also makes a great homemade gift for anyone who loves to BBQ!

BBQ Spice Rub is not something that was ever really on my radar. Sure in New Zealand we do a lot of barbequing but it's more of a "throw a steak on the barbie and you're good to go" kind of situation. Simple, summery and perfect.

But then in 2016 we travelled to the Southern USA and came to the realisation that without even knowing, our lives had been totally devoid of real barbeque. In the Southern states we visited - Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee - barbeque is more than just a method of cooking, it's practically a religion. We ate more spicy, slow cooked, basted and completely delicious meat in 3 weeks than we ever had before. And we were converted....

Double Chocolate Muffins

August 10, 2018 By Laura 2 Comments

The best recipe for double chocolate muffins! Simple ingredients, quick to make and super chocolatey. Enjoy now or freeze for a quick portable snack!

I'm not totally sure why it has taken me this long to get a recipe for double chocolate muffins up here. I have plenty of other easy muffin recipes - blueberry muffins, raspberry & white chocolate muffins, banana chocolate chip muffins and more but it's taken a while to get this one perfect. Well good news for you...it's perfect! Yay for double chocolate muffins! ...

10 Reasons to Keep Backyard Chickens

August 7, 2018 By Laura 1 Comment

If you're thinking about getting chickens but still need a little convincing, (or need to convince someone else!) here is our list of 10 reasons to keep backyard chickens!

I had never been that fussed on chickens - to be completely honest with you, they kind of freaked me out a little. But when we stayed with my aunt & uncle who keep chickens and saw how great it was being able to just go out to the backyard and collect the fresh eggs everyday I was sold. We got home and within a few weeks plans were in motion for our chooks and we have never looked back. I love having chickens so much that I even managed to sell the idea to a couple of my workmates who got a few of their own - and they live in the city!

But if you need a little convincing, here are 10 reasons to keep backyard chickens (townies included!)...

Crusty No-Knead Bread

August 2, 2018 By Laura 18 Comments

Kicking off the Monthly Bread Baking Challenge with this super easy, 4 ingredient, crusty No-Knead Bread recipe! Mix the ingredients, leave overnight, shape and bake the next day! You'll all be bread makers in no time!

Welcome to the first Monthly Bread Baking Challenge!

In case you missed the intro post yesterday, here's a recap:

Monthly Bread Baking Challenge:

At the beginning of each month I will post a new recipe for a different type of bread. We will start slowly, and work out way up to more complicated recipes. Each recipe post will be accompanied by step by step photos and instructions, tips and tricks and a video showing you exactly how to do it.
I want you to bake the same recipe that month and share it with me! Comment on the post letting me know how you got on, email me, or share a picture on Instagram (and if you do, tag it #thekiwicountrygirl)

So let's get right into it! Homemade, crusty no-knead bread!...