Vanilla, mmmmm!

Quite some time ago, in fact when Chicky was a very tiny tot Pam @ Grow Bake Run was telling me about how she had made her own vanilla essence.  She'd taken the initiative after reading all about it from Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.  Ever since our discussion (about 3 years) i've been meaning to give it a go!  Today i finally did, but i will have to wait until Christmas to see if it's any good.

To make your own vanilla essence you will need ~

a 700ml bottle of Vodka, it must be 40% alcohol or more, i chose Absolut Vodka
8 vanilla beans

Take a sharp knife and slice through the vanilla beans leaving about 2cm joined at the end.

Decant 2-3 tablespoons of Vodka from the bottle.
Add the vanilla beans to the bottle.
Add back as much of the Vodka you decanted as you can, i was left with about 1 tablespoon over (do what you like with that)

Put the lid back on and put it in a cool dark place for the next 6-9 months.
Every month or so give the bottle a shake.

Can not wait to see how it turns out!

GF & DF Protein Packed Choc Cupcakes

In a word, yum! and no one even knew they were packed with goodies :-)  I normally make my own GF flour mix but had ran out of tapioca starch so this time i went with a commercial flour mix, White Wings Gluten Free Self Raising Flour, i was suitably impressed.

Ingredients ~

10g linseed

10g quinoa

20g dried chickpeas

20 g raw almonds

60g virgin coconut oil

60g Nuttalex

120g raw sugar

60g White Wings GF SR flour

2 eggs

100g soy milk

30g raw cocoa

2t GF baking powder

1/2t Xanthan gum

1t vanilla bean paste

Method ~

Preheat oven to 180C.

Set out muffin cases on baking tray.

Put linseed, quinoa, dried chickpeas and almonds into TMX bowl and mill for 45 sec, speed 10.

Set aside milled seeds & nuts.

Put coconut oil and Nuttelex into TMX bowl and melt 2 mins, 60C, speed 4.

Add all other ingredients including milled seeds & nuts and mix 20 sec, speed 5.

Scrape down sides and repeat.

Portion out into muffin cases, approx 2T per case.

Bake for approx 25 mins until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack.

Ice if you wish or enjoy plain.

Makes approx 12 muffin sizes cupcakes.

Anzac Biscuits

Today I've made two batches of much loved Anzac Biscuits.  Here is my families favourite recipe.

Ingredients ~
2 cups traditional rolled oats
2 cups plain flour
2 cups raw sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
250g butter, chopped
4 large tablespoons golden syrup
2 teaspoons bicarb soda
2 tablespoons boiling water

Method ~
Pre-heat oven to 130C fan forced.
Put chopped butter, golden syrup and sugar into a microwave safe bowl and microwave stirring occasionally until the butter is melted and the sugar dissolved approx 1-2 mins.
Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
With damp hands roll tablespoon sized amounts into balls and flatten slightly with your hand.
Allow room for expansion between biscuits on the tray.
Bake until golden brown, approx 20 mins.
Allow to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes approx 48 biscuits.

GF & DF Oat Sultana Biscuits

OK, before you all torch me, i know that regular oats are not safe for coeliacs.  I purchased Bob's Red Mill rolled oats,  certified wheat free and gluten free for this recipe.  The packaging clearly states that some very sensitive coeliacs may not be able to tolerate these oats.  As we are still unsure of Possum's coeliac status i thought it would be safe enough to try.  People, you know your own limits if you can't have oats don't make these biscuits :-)

Inspiration for these biscuits was found here.

Oat Sultana Biscuits

Ingredients ~
60g raw coconut oil
90g Nuttelex
150g raw sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
25g tapioca starch
50g sorghum flour
50g buckwheat flour
1 tsp Xantham gum
200g Bob's Red Mill Rolled Oats (wheat & gluten free)
160g sultanas

Method ~
Preheat over to 160C.
Melt coconut oil & Nuttelex in TMX bowl, 2min, 37C, speed 2.
Add sugar mix 20 sec, speed 4.
Add egg & vanilla mix 5 sec, speed 4.
Add everything else except sultanas mix 5 sec, rev, speed 4.
Add sultanas mix 20 sec, rev, speed 4, use spatula through hole to make sure the sultanas are dispersed evenly.
With damp hands roll tablespoon size amounts into balls, flatten slightly on the tray.
Bake for approx 20 minutes until golden.
Allow to cool slightly on the tray before removing to a cooling rack.

Makes approx 30 biscuits.

Bolognese

This recipe makes enough for 4 family meals.

Ingredients ~
2 brown onions
4 cloves garlic
1 large carrot
1/2 large sweet potato or 1 small sweet potato
6 medium mushrooms
1kg beef mince
2 jars Dolmio Classic tomato sauce (could use any pasta sauce you like)
1 jar Val Verde tomato sauce
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano

Method ~
Peel & quarter onions then chop 3 sec speed 5 in TMX, empty into slow cooker.
Peel garlic then chop 3 sec, speed 6 in TMX, empty into slow cooker.
Quarter carrot & sweet potato then chop, 3 sec, speed 6, empty into slow cooker.
Chop mushrooms 2 sec, speed 5, empty into slow cooker.
Place all other ingredients into slow cooker and stir well.
Cook on low 6-8 hours stirring occasionally.
Serve over your favourite pasta, we like spirals, GF for Possum :-)

If you don't have a Thermomix you can grate all of the veggies or use a food processor to chop, or dice very finely yourself.

Eat for dinner tonight then divide up the remainder and freeze for another time.

YUM!

The other day i started my morning routine like usual.  Had breakfast whilst checking my e-mail, Facebook, blogs, forums etc and on my travels i stopped by at Grow, Bake, Run.  My good friend Pam had posted a recipe for Quick Chocolate Pudding.  Well, you know when you can't get a song out of your head, ALL day i was thinking about this recipe.  Just waiting for my little people to go to bed so i could give it a whirl.

Eventually all was quiet and i set to work.  It was very quick to make indeed and very yummy!  It's gone to the top of my list of yummy snacks :)  I could not possibly keep this gem to myself, enjoy.

Sewing for Chicky

About a month ago i joined Pinterest.  Wow!  I quickly started following a few people i know and some of the things they were pinning were cute.  Especially the little girl dresses!  I have not sewn for quite some time.  I really burnt myself out on a sewing project a while back and put everything away and have not been inspired since.  Which to be honest is a real shame because i do really enjoy sewing.  Seeing all these cute dresses was exactly what i needed to get inspired and motivated again.

I sent Rusty out to Bunnings to pick me up a cheap trestle table so that i had somewhere to sew.  Then i set up the overlocker and sewing machine.  Off we went to Spotlight and both Chicky and Flossy picked out some cute fabrics.  I just bought what i thought because i didn't have a pattern in mind just yet, but i was thinking of a pillowcase dress for Chicky similar to this one.

Source: familyfriendlyfrugality.com via Amber on Pinterest

For Christmas Chicky received an Australian Girl Doll Emily and i knew that you could get patterns for American Girl dolls and matching dresses for their bigger friends so off i went looking.  I found this pattern.

Source: youcanmakethis.com via Amber on Pinterest

For the most part this pattern was great.  I made Emily's dress first and found a couple of things to do differently, like cut the arm holes before overlocking the side seam so that you don't cut through your stitching.  Can you tell i have not sewn for a while LOL, you'd think i would have automatically realised that was a problem when reading through the pattern instructions.

The only other issue is that i feel the pattern runs large.  I made Chicky the 5T.  Whilst she is 4 and wearing size 4 i was sewing the dress so that it would fit for next summer.  It really is too big.  In all honesty it is probably closer to what i would call a size 6.  I tried it on Flossy and it was a little small but she is wearing 7 & 8's.

Chicky modelling her new dress.

Emily & Chicky in their matching dresses.  Cute!

Flossy in Chicky's dress.  If the arm holes were a little larger it would fit her pretty well.

Bottom line is - the dress is lovely.  The pattern is pretty good.  I will sew another of these dresses however i will be sure to adjust the size :)

Happy sewing

Amber

Look What We Did Today!

We had a massive toy purge and reorganised our main learning space, yay!  Just in time for school to start back on monday.  So here's what it looked like when we emptied EVERYTHING out ...

and here's what it looks like now.

School supplies and curricula are on the Ikea shelving unit.  Dressups are all hung nicely on the clothes rack.  Thanks D for this great idea! 

Some bigger extras that i couldn't find a better home for. 

LOVE the Ikea Trofast frames housing cars, threading 'stuff', trio, little people, playdough 'stuff' and duplo.  Smaller unit to the right housing baby doll clothes, Possum's toys, train set and doll house 'stuff'.  Probably need to move the world map and multiplication charts a bit higher on the wall now. 

Finally the top of this sideboard looks neat.  Mostly taken up with books, the CD player, the mouse house and a ready supply of paper and pencils in the draw units.  The crate with wheels at the end is our new library crate.

Our workboxes all loaded ready to go, science in a nutshell kits to the left and ontop of the Trofast frames are out BUILD materials.

You might be wondering about the desks.  We usually school on the kitchen table which is just on the other side of the half wall where the workboses are.  Although i was talking with Rusty this evening about getting a large table that we can all sit around so that we don't have to pack away at mealtimes.  We will see what happens there.

We are all really looking forward to getting started with school this year.  Just a few more things to finish organising tomorrow and we will be back to our full schedule on Monday!  We have really enjoyed schooling 'lite' over the summer.

Warm wishes

Amber

Menu Plan 9 Jan

We had a few hits and misses last week with the new recipes.

The GF & DF pancakes we tried were, um, unpleasant, texture was fine but they were completely overpowered by the almond extract.  The only person to finish their serve was Rusty and that isn't saying much, he will eat anything!

The Indulgent Granola was a hit!  It was YUM, YUM, YUM!!  Not only did it feature for breakfast with yogurt but Rusty and I snuck some with homemade ice-cream for dessert one night :-)

The GF & DF Blueberry Muffins received mixed reviews.  Flossy, Bugsy & Chicky decided they didn't much care for blueberries after all.  Rusty, Possum and I thoroughly enjoyed them.  I did change the recipe a little to suit us and what i had on hand, switched almond meal for buckwheat flour, backed the sugar off, used rice milk instead of water.

A few of the evening meals got bumped again as we had things come up.

This week is Bugsy's Birthday!  So he will be choosing what we eat that day.  I'm not going to bother listing what we are eating for lunch, it isn't very exciting, sandwiches, scrolls, leftovers, fruit or some combination of those.  Here is what's cooking this week.

Monday

Breakfast - Fruit toast (EDC hot cross buns, but as a loaf) with TMX smoothies

Dinner - GF sausages with roast potatoes and steamed veggies

Tuesday - Bugsy's 6th Birthday

Breakfast - TMX rice porridge

Dinner - Homemade Pizza with homemade garlic bread (TMX pizza dough & bread dough) & Birthday cake

Wednesday

Breakfast - Cold cereal

Dinner - TMX spaghetti & meatballs

Thursday

Breakfast - TMX porridge

Dinner - GF rissoles with TMX GF & DF green potato rosti and steamed veggies
Pantry - Indulgent granola

Friday

Breakfast - Cold cereal, heading to the city.

Dinner - Pick something up in the city.

Saturday

Breakfast - Granola & yogurt

Dinner - Vegetable cous-cous with cabbage noodles

Sunday

Hitting the road and heading away for a holiday.  Wont be posting a menu plan next week, see you when we get back :)

Amber xxx

TMX Green Potato Rosti (GF & DF)

Adapted from EDC.

500g potatoes peeled and cut into quarters, nadine & sweet potato
1/2 onion peeled & quartered
1 clove garlic
Large handful of baby spinach leaves
200g GF flour
1 egg

Place all ingredients into TMX bowl and mix on 6 for 10 sec, scrape down edges, mix on 6 for 15 sec.
Fry tablespoon amounts in hot oil on the stove top.
They are ready when they are golden brown.

Menu Plan 2 Jan

We had a very busy week last week catching up with friends impromptu so i didn't get to cook much of what was on my list.  Not to worry it will feature on the menu this week :)

If you didn't see the update on Possum his poor tummy is struggling so he is going wheat and dairy free, again.  I will be trying out a bunch of recipes for him and use my TMX where possible.

Monday

Breakfast - GF & DF Pancakes - new recipe

Lunch - Pizza scrolls (TMX white bread recipe)

Dinner - BBQ rissoles with TMX mashed potatoes & steamed veggies
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX Fruit loaf

Tuesday

Breakfast - Fruit toast with TMX smoothies
Dinner Prep - TMX rice

Lunch - Pick n Mix

Dinner - Chinese style fried rice with spring rolls and sweet & sour sauce
Pantry/fridge/freezer - Indulgent granola - didn't get to try it out last week & TMX GF & DF green potato rosti (recipe to come)

Wednesday

Breakfast - Granola & yogurt
Dinner prep - TMX potatoes & eggs for salad

Lunch - Ham & cheese scrolls (TMX white bread recipe)

Dinner - Home made chicken nuggets with potato salad and GF & DF zucchini fritters
Pantry/fridge/freezer - GF & DF vanilla cupcakes probably do choc icing instead - new recipe

Thursday

Breakfast - TMX rice porridge

Lunch - Pick n Mix

Dinner - TMX spaghetti & meatballs
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX white bread

Friday

Breakfast - Cold cereal

Lunch - Sandwiches

Dinner - Home made sausage rolls (TMX filling)
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX sorbet

Saturday

Breakfast - GF & DF Blueberry Muffins - new recipe

Lunch - Pick n Mix

Dinner - Tacos

Sunday

Breakfast - TMX porridge

Lunch - Pizza scrolls (TMX white bread recipe)

Dinner - BBQ GF sausages & salad

The Road Less Travelled

Once upon a time to have an intolerance to food was almost unheard of, now however everyone you speak to is avoiding something for some reason or another.  I'm not trying to make a joke of this, i know it's serious, i just find it interesting the way the 'food world' is changing.  The road less travelled is now the well beaten track soon to be the superhighway i'm sure.

For me personally i have avoided pork in any form other than ham or bacon for years.  It upsets my tummy and i spend the night on the loo.  For some reason the curing process in making ham or bacon changes the proteins enough for me and i can deal with it.  I also now avoid fresh pineapple after having several tingly mouth, itchy tongue episodes within minutes of eating fresh pineapple.  I'm terrified of anaphylaxis!  That's such a shame because fresh pineapple is YUM!  Again i can eat tinned pineapple because there is something in the canning process that changes the proteins enough to be tolerable.

BUT, i digress.  The real reason for my post is Possum.  After much trial and error with his foods and meds it would appear that the poor poppet is very sensitive to wheat and dairy.  Eating either of these causes constipation, restless nights, frequent night waking and nursing for comfort, tummy pain and screaming episodes lasting up to 3 hours mostly at bedtime or in the middle of the night.  So we have decided that until further notice we will be going wheat and dairy free for Possum.

We are meeting with Possum's paediatrician in January and i am hoping that he will finally take me seriously and send us off the the gastroenterologist, allergist and dietician.  Last time he brushed it off and to be honest i wasn't sure exactly what we were dealing with.  I was hoping it was just an adjustment phase to eating real foods.  Looks like i was wrong.  I'm still holding out hope that his gut is just immature and that he will eventually be able to eat wheat and dairy, but in the meantime i'm looking up and cooking lots of new recipes!

Menu Plan 26 Dec

I'm keen to try out a few new things whilst hubby is home this week.

Sunday (Boxing Day)

No cooking for me, still visiting family.

Monday

Breakfast - TMX crumpets, a new recipe for us

Lunch - TMX Ham & Cheese scrolls

Dinner - Sausage sizzle
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX Vanilla custard (EDC)

Tuesday

Breakfast - TMX rice porridge
Dinner prep - TMX pie filling

Lunch - 'Pick n Mix' crackers, dip, fruit, left overs TMX Hummas (EDC)

Dinner - TMX Chicken & vegetable pie, kids loved this one!  This time going to make them as pot pies and skim some of the liquid as it was a bit too wet last time.
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX Vanilla ice-cream (EDC), TMX white bread

Wednesday

Breakfast - TMX pancakes

Dinner prep - TMX rice and sweet & sour sauce, going to try this recipe (sauce only) and use the TMX
Lunch - Sandwiches

Dinner - Chinese style fried rice with spring rolls and sweet & sour sauce
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX fruit loaf

Thursday

Breakfast - TMX Smoothies & fruit toast

Lunch - 'Pick n Mix' crackers, dip, fruit, left overs TMX Hummas (EDC)
Dinner - Home made pizzas (TMX pizza base EDC)

Pantry/fridge/freezer - This indulgent granola, new recipe

Friday (New Years Eve)

Breakfast - Granola
Dinner prep - TMX apple crumble

Lunch - Left over pizza

Dinner - BBQ Rissoles with TMX mashed potatoes & steamed veggies and for desert apple crumble and ice-cream
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX white bread

Saturday (New Years Day)

Breakfast - BBQ Bacon & eggs with toast

Lunch - Sandwiches

Dinner - Tacos

Sunday

Breakfast - Fruit scones (TMX butter & flour)

Lunch - 'Pick n Mix' crackers, dip, fruit, left overs TMX Hummas (EDC)
Dinner - TMX Baf's chicken & veg, new recipe

TMX white bread, yummy!

This makes a very yummy, light, versatile loaf.  I use this as a base recipe for all the lunch scrolls i make.  It is so good my children like to eat it as just bread and butter, they don't want to spoil the flavour by adding a spread!

1 egg
20g olive oil
Approx 220g luke warm water
3 tsp instant dried yeast
500g white bread flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt

Zero scales.  Put olive oil and egg into TMX bowl then add enough lukewarm water to make the liquid up to 300g.  It will be around 220g depending on the size of your egg.

Add yeast.  Mix on 3 for 30 seconds.

Add flour, sugar and salt.  Slowly turn dial from closed lid position to 7 and mix just long enough for dough to begin to form.

Mix 2 mins on interval.  Rest for 1 minute.  Mix a further 2 mins on interval.

Shape into a ball, put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with gladwrap and allow to rise for about 1 hour.  I normally sit my bowl in the oven unless i'm cooking something else at the time.

Turn out onto a floured surface and shape your loaf.  I normally make two balls and pop them into my loaf dish.

Allow to rise a further 30 mins then place into a cold oven.  Set the oven to 220C and cook until golden and when tapped the base sounds hollow.  Approx 40 mins.

If your children are anything like mine this loaf will be gone in the blink of an eye, yum!

Menu Plan 18 Dec

Inspired by Jo at Quirky Cooking I'm sharing my menu plans too.  Not nearly as creative or inspirational, but helps me keep my week on track and shop for what we need so it limits wastage!


Sunday
Breakfast - Fruit scones with jam (TMX butter & flour for mix)
Lunch - Crumbed fish & fruit platter
Dinner - Sausage sizzle

Monday
Breakfast - Cereal quick easy, another trip to the city
Lunch & Dinner - will pick up something in the city

Tuesday
Breakfast - TMX porridge & make TMX fruit loaf (EDC Hot Cross Bun recipe) to take on a playdate for afternoon tea
Lunch - Sandwiches
Dinner - Rissoles & TMX steamed veggies

Wednesday
Breakfast - TMX smoothies & toast
Lunch - Corn chips, salsa & fruit platter
Dinner - TMX spaghetti & meatballs AIO meal (new recipe for us)

Thursday
Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - Sandwiches
Dinner - Tacos

Friday
Breakfast - Cereal, quick & easy, heading to my parents place for Christmas!  Won't be cooking until we get home.

Saturday

Christmas Day!

Sunday

Boxing Day!

Merry Christmas!

Cactus Flower

Yesterday afternoon the children announced that a small cactus in our garden was about to flower.  On closer inspection it sure was!  I hadn't even notice that it had a bud on it before they mentioned it, oops!

9.30pm

7am

Flossy stayed up as late as she could manage to try to see the bud open but it wasn't quite open at her bedtime.  She was afraid it was a one night only flower as Nana & Poppy have a cactus that flowers for one night only and you wouldn't want to miss it, stunning!  She was up early and headed straight outside to see if the flower was still alive.  To her delight it was still alive and looking even better than it did last night!

Menu Plan 10 Dec

We've got a VERY busy week ahead of us with several trips to the city scheduled along with several other appointments in town.

Saturday
Breakfast - TMX pancakes
Lunch - Cold meat & salad sandwiches
Dinner - Kebabs with TMX rice & steamed vegies
Pantry/Fridge/Freezer - TMX Beef and vegetable puree for Possum

Sunday
Breakfast - TMX rice porridge
Lunch - Sandwiches (heading to the city)
Dinner - BBQ with the inlaws at their retirement village kids Christmas party in the city

Monday
Breakfast - Fruit salad & yogurt
Lunch - Sandwiches
Dinner - Tacos
Pantry/Fridge/Freezer - TMX choc custard

Tuesday
Breakfast - Cereal (quick & easy, heading to the city)
Lunch & Dinner out in the city

Wednesday
Breakfast - Cereal (quick & easy, heading to swimming), dinner prep cook rice (TMX) and refrigerate
Lunch - Fruit plate & crumbed fish
Dinner - Chinese style fried rice with spring rolls and sweet & sour sauce

Thursday
Breakfast - Fruit smoothies (TMX) with toast, dinner prep cook potatoes (TMX) and refrigerate
Lunch - Sandwiches
Dinner - Tuna patties & steamed veggies

Friday
Breakfast - Cereal (quick & easy, heading to the city)
Lunch & Dinner out in the city

Saturday
Breakfast - TMX Pancakes
Lunch - crackers, dip (TMX hummus), fruit
Dinner - TMX Chicken & vegetable pie (new recipe)

TMX Pancakes/Pikelets

We like to call them pancakes, but really they are pikelets :D  Here is my TMX recipe adapted from the Golden Wattle Cook Book.

420g plain flour
5 teaspoons of baking powder (TMX home made)
55g sugar
4 eggs
430g milk

Put everything in the TMX bowl.
Mix on 5 for 10 seconds, scrape down sides, repeat, repeat again.
Cook in a greased pan on the stove top.
More than enough for a family of 6, yum!

Rusty, chief Saturday morning pancake cook, 2 pans on the go so we all get to eat sooner :D

Pancakes cut and served with real maple syrup for dipping.

Gingerbread for the Gingerbread House

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Kids Cooking Book.  We love the AWW Cookbooks, lots of tried and true, yummy recipes :)

This recipe will make MORE than enough for the Gingerbread House we made, if you use the same template we did.  I put the link in the Gingerbread House post.  If you just wanted to make cookies or gingerbread men you could halve the recipe.

250g butter
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup golden syrup
6 cups plain flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground clove
4 teaspoons bicarb soda
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Before you do anything make sure you have enough spices on hand.  Don't assume you do because you have a bottle in the cupboard.  I JUST had enough when i made mine and they are now on the shopping list!

Preheat your oven to 180C.

Make sure you have enough baking trays and that they are big enough to fit on your house pieces so they are flat.  You don't want a wall with a kink in it :)

Put the butter, sugar and golden syrup in the microwave and 'nuke' them in small increments stirring in between until the butter is melted and everything is combined.  You don't want it bubbling madly, you just want it melted and combined.  SMALL increments!

Put it aside for a few minutes to cool.  You don't want to add the egg to it straight away or you will cook it.

Once slightly cooled add all the other ingredients putting the egg in last.  Stir with a spoon to combine.  If it's very crumbly here you can add a little more beaten egg.  You want it to feel like playdough.

Turn it out onto a floured bench or cheat like it do and put it on some baking paper.  Knead the dough lightly until it has all come together into a large blob.  Now separate it into 6 portions.

Roll each portion out until it is even and around 5mm thick.  Then use your template and cut the piece out making sure you cut the doors or windows where appropriate.  I do all of this on baking paper so i don't have to move the piece, i just slide the baking paper off the bench onto the baking tray and pop it into the oven.  Sound like a pro don't I, i've only done it once :P

You'll have plenty of dough, so once the house pieces are all done grab the cookie cutters as set to work.

Cook each piece until golden brown then cool on a cake rack.

Now your ready to make your royal icing and put it all together.  Have fun!