Saturday 13 September 2008

I Think I Blinked!

I'm not quite sure what happened to yesterday. It was superbly beautiful, considering it was meant to have rained. I vaguely remember some drops somewhere in the day ~ can't remember when though. I happened somewhere in the blur that was my day. I stole four crackers out of the staffroom at school for 'lunch' at 3.45pm!!!!!

The day ended very well with a parent-teacher interview for Miss Mischief. Yes, she has areas she struggles in...we know what they are. They just require repetitive practice to build up her skills. However, she's trying her best, she's willing to learn and eager to try hard. She is becoming more confident when sharing her thoughts with the class and is a delight. Our current challenge to overcome is with friendships. She's not so brave and is more inclined to glue herself to me or some other adult, that put herself in the path of possible rejection from her friends.

Having said that, she's working on her birthday plans and has (without any prompting from me) chosen three lovely girls with gentle natures to share her day. I think with those three a sleepover would work just fine.

It's been a while since I've shared a recipe so I'm going to post what we had for dinner last night. It's from America so quite sweet....but it's sooooooo good! I've adapted it from the original for what I have easily available.

Sweet Apple Pork Chops

Pork forequarter chops (enough for your family)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon golden syrup
nutmeg ~ a few decent shakes
  1. Place the chops in a casserole dish.
  2. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the chops (make sure some of the liquid gets under the chops).
  3. Bake for one hour at 170C (fan forced)/190C (conventional oven)
Serve with mashed potatoes and whatever other vegies you like. Pour the juices from the casserole dish over the meat and potatoes.

If you happen to have a crockpot, just pop the whole lot in there and cook on low. I forgot to put it on in the morning cos I was distracted by being on hold with the digital box people, before school.

2 comments:

Left-Handed Housewife said...

Are American recipes sweeter than most? It wouldn't surprise me. I have to say there's enough sugar in this one to satisfy even my sweet tooth, which is impressive! Normally I'm not one to mix sweet and savory, but pork chops are the grand exception.

I think your Miss Mischief sounds awfully nice. I hope it's a fun sleepover for her.

Frances

Tracy said...

Oh yes Frances. US recipes are much much sweeter than a recipe originating in Australia. In baking I will often reduce sugar by 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup, depending on what it is. I have a dinner roll recipe where it has 3 tablespoons of sugar ~ I use just half of that!

I have some friends and my FIL who have just visited the States to spend some time with my BIL. Both households & my BIL have all said that food in the States is much sweeter than ours...even the bread. Don't get me wrong ~ we love our sweet things too, but Aussie tastes are quite different, it seems.