Choc-Walnut Slice and The White Shirt

Do mornings in your house run swimmingly or are they a battlefield?

Because this morning, just as I was leaving the house to take Alfie to school for ‘Wacky Wednesday’ there was a three-way altercation between me, Archie and Arabella over ‘the white shirt’.

Choc-Walnut Slice


Arabella came into my line of vision and asked, ‘Have you got the white shirt?’

‘I don’t have the white shirt.  Why would I have it?’

‘I phoned you from school yesterday and told you I needed it.’

‘Are you talking about Archie’s old school shirt?’

‘Yes’.

‘I told you I put it on the nature strip for the Council clean-up but I didn’t realise it was part of your costume.  As I was leaving the house yesterday afternoon to get Alfie from school and take him to swimming lessons I asked Archie to go out to the nature strip and see if he could retrieve it.  Ask Archie if he did that.’  Then Archie came into the room.

‘Did I just hear you say you put the white shirt I put in the wash out on the nature strip?’

‘No, it was a white shirt that was in the ironing basket and I put that on the nature strip’.

‘Well where’s the one I put in the wash?’

‘Did you get the shirt off the nature strip like I asked you to?’

‘No’.

‘Well why didn’t you?’  screamed Arabella.

‘Why do I have to go through a pile of garbage looking for your shirt?’ screamed back Archie.

‘Because I asked you to’, I said, and looking at Arabella I asked, ‘And why didn’t you organise this yesterday afternoon?   You shouldn’t have gone jogging and when you jog you don’t need to go over the Harbour Bridge, you can jog around the block, you don’t need a scenic tour of Sydney because if you jogged locally you’d be home in time to make sure you’re organised for school the next day’.

‘So I have no white shirt?’

‘Archie, go outside and pray the shirt is still there.’  So Archie went outside and came back with his arms burdened under the weight of more than just a shirt.

‘Why are you throwing out all my things?  I didn’t say you could throw out all this’, and he threw his worldly goods down on the couch.

‘I’ve been asking you to tidy your room for three weeks.  As you didn’t, I sorted it for you and you don’t wear those things so they may as well be on the nature strip’.

‘I’ll wear them mum;  some day.’

Arabella found the white shirt.  ‘Did you get the trousers, mum?’

‘No, they’re still at the dry cleaners.  I’ll pick them up today’.

‘Where’s my white shirt?’ asked Archie.

‘What white shirt?  It’s there.  Arabella’s got it’.

‘No, I put a white shirt in the wash yesterday and I’ve checked and it’s not there and it belongs to the Costume Department at AIM and I need it today for an assessment.  Where is it?’

‘If you put something in the wash and you need it urgently you can either wash it yourself or let me know you need it so I put it on my urgent list.  You said nothing.  I had no idea.  I’ve just put on a load of white washing so it’s probably in the machine.’

‘When’s the cycle going to finish?’

‘In 44 minutes.  Arabella, you need to get to school.  Archie, good luck for your assessment and it’s too bad you don’t have a shirt’.

What were the odds that both teenagers needed a white shirt from my Costume Department on the same day.

And as for Alfie; well he was a teeny bit late for Wacky Wednesday.

Wacky Wednesday – dressed all in blue with googly glasses and a smoker’s pipe

Choc-Walnut Slice

A sweet treat!

Makes:  16

Degree of Difficulty:  2/5

Cost:  Per slice, this is a very affordable treat.

  • 1 1/2 cups plain flour
  • 2 tbspns brown sugar
  • 125g butter

Filling:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 125g walnut pieces

Chocolate Icing:

  • 125g dark cooking chocolate
  • 60g butter

Sift flour into bowl, add sugar, rub in butter, mix with hand until ingredients cling together, press dough into greased lamington tin (16cm x 26cm).  Bake in moderate oven 15 minutes.  Spread with Filling, bake further 15 minutes in moderate oven.  When cold top with Chocolate Icing; cut when set.

Filling:  Combine eggs, cinnamon, sugar, baking powder and chopped walnuts in bowl, mix well.

Chocolate Icing:  Melt chopped chocolate over hot water, gradually beat in butter.

Walnuts, caramel and chocolate

This recipe has been adapted from The Australian Women’s Weekly Best Recipes from the Weekly.

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Comments

  1. What a week! Although we haven’t met in person, I know that telling the kids “tough luck” wasn’t easy for you. It’s really tough to want to be all grown up and at the same time expect Mum to fix everything for you because it’s all like too much hard work. I think that’s the hardest lesson of all.

    Wacky Wednesday was BRILLIANT!

  2. claire @ live and love to eat says:

    Alfie is too cute! They’re lucky to have you! <3

  3. Your kids are amazing, but this is what we all live something like that 🙂 Archie seems so lovely I want my hair blue too 🙂 Blessing him. Thank you dear amazing mother and blogger friend, Charlie, this is absolutely so delicious, so delicious… Have a nice and calm day, 🙂 love, nia

  4. Eva Taylor says:

    Oh my, how on earth did you spawn such selfish children when you are so lovely? Fortunately you have adorable Alfie! I must say, you came up with a fantastic costume for whacky Wednesday! He looks wacky in a very adorable way.
    Caramel and nuts and chocolate! Wow. I believe I have everything in my pantry, but dare I make it with walnuts? There are such allergies here. I’ll review the recipe and see if almonds can be substituted. I’m hoping to make these Friday night for JT to take in on Saturday!
    Eva http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com

  5. Minnesota Prairie Roots says:

    This behavior sounds so typical of teens. At least Alfie stayed out of the melee. He looks adorable.

  6. Jenny @ Ichigo Shortcake says:

    That is such a cute story, even though I’m sure it was quite frustrating at the time. 😛 I SO adore that photo of Alfie!!! He’s got a talent for acting, that expression is gold. 😀

  7. Sweet Posy Dreams says:

    Thank you so much for the picture of Alfie on Wacky Wednesday. I needed a chuckle. He looks fabulous.

  8. Love Alfie’s Wacky Wednesday get-up! Just awesome!!!! And who knew white shirts could cause such chaos. 😉

  9. omg, Alfie’s costume is too much! hahaha, so cute. Oh those teens…I think you should boycott helping them with anything 😉

  10. hahaha Alfie is such a cute kid, I just love this picture!
    I am so going to make this chocolate walnut slice, I want it now! Pinned!
    Hugs Charlie!

  11. Cute Alfie … I see you have Harry Potter glasses in your Costume Department. 🙂

    Great looking chocolate bars. Are ‘slices’ very popular ‘down-under’?

    http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/

  12. Victoria at Flavors of the Sun says:

    Love this story. Sounds so normal to me. And I adore Alfie’s Wacky Wednesday look. Too cute.

    I never met an Australian slice I didn’t like, sweet or savory, and this is no exception. And so easy!

  13. Jed Gray (sportsglutton) says:

    Hilarious Wacky Wednesday outfit. Too cool!

  14. The Squishy Monster says:

    Love Alfies get up…toooo cool! Also, this slice looks lovely and melt in your mouth 😉

  15. Oh man, I love making sweet slices! Wacky Wednesday is an awesome concept indeeeeeeed.

  16. After all those years at school, I’m surprised your house isn’t overrun with white shirts like ours is! 🙂

  17. Jennifer Cullen says:

    Alfie is awesome! The other two remind me of mine! Hope the day became less “who’s on first?”

  18. InTolerant Chef says:

    I solved the clothes problem by making my children responsible for washing their own once they hit 16. It made my life so much easier 🙂
    Our mornings though are still filled with hurry-ups, where’s-your-homework, and that-top-is-not-uniform-code. Never a dull moment!

  19. Tina @ bitemeshowme says:

    My goodness. What an eventful morning you had! I don’t know how my parents did it with four kids. Now, if it’s a chaotic morning it’s most likely because I made it that way. Usually that means snoozing the alarm and running over an hour late. Hahaha. Love the whacky wednesday costume. Made me laugh out loud, literally.

  20. That opening photo has me salivating. So much chocolate, so many walnuts. YUM! Did your shirt dilemma bring back memories! Like you, Mom would be after my brother and me to clean our room. Sometime about 2 – 3 weeks into it, she’d come into our room, vacuum cleaner running, opening the shades as she told us to clear out. We’d waited too long. All this at about 7:00 am on a Saturday morning. I laugh about it now but no one was laughing on those mornings. And woe to the boy that asked where such-and-such was! It was far better to just wait until the laundry was done and we were given our clean laundry to put away.

    • hotlyspiced says:

      My mother had no sympathy or compassion and she would be in my room first thing every Saturday and Sunday morning with her vacumm cleaner on high revs making sure I had no chance of a sleep-in. And like you, there was no laughing on those mornings xx

  21. Claire @ Claire K Creations says:

    I think you should go on strike Charlie at least for the big kids!

  22. Suzanne Perazzini says:

    Alfie looks gorgeous and oh, so wacky. You do have a full life with that costume department. Maybe you should close it down.

  23. Juliet Batten says:

    At least Alfie looks happy!

  24. yummychunklet says:

    What a great wacky Wednesday outfit!

  25. Jackie Brown says:

    Love the outfit…. and man I would have been yelling with all that happening lol…. Have an awesome day 🙂

  26. Saffronandhoney says:

    haha Alfie looks great :)And yes, after all that, a sweet treat is very much necessary 🙂 Looks fantastic!

  27. hahahah. Alfie looks great! love the hair…

    Mmm that slice looks so good and sounds so easy! Seriously tempting to grab a copy of that AWW best recipes book..

  28. Barb Bamber says:

    You are always so entertaining!! I felt like a dog chasing his tail listening to the remarks between the three of you!! I’ve definitely been there and, perhaps like you, I thought.. hmmm what did they just say.. oh, well, I think I’ll just go have a little Choc-Walnut Slice..

  29. tania@mykitchenstories.com.au says:

    You know what…… I am glad I only had one Id go bonkers. Where on earth do you find the time to cook?

  30. Argh!! No wonder you’ve had a bunch of sweet recipes lately! I’d be needing calming through chocolate after this kind of interaction. Alfie looks brilliant – well done despite the late notice. 🙂

  31. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says:

    Alfie is so cute!! As for the white shirt debacle, I felt my blood pressure rising immediately! 😉

  32. gardencorrespondent says:

    Sometimes I wonder how I’ll fare when the boys get to be teenagers! Hopefully I’ll manage to keep as level a head as you always seem to. Now I’m off to see if I can’t rustle up the ingredients for those lovely squares!

  33. I am exhausted!!! Funny thing is I remember it well and very happy to be without it.

  34. Great hair Alfie.

  35. Oh my. Like Denise below, I am exhausted and I wasn’t even there! What a start to the day – and of course, next week, no one will want any white shirts and you’ll probably have a surplus. I am sure they’ll always want this slice though and I imagine you need a hefty dose of it this week!

  36. Delia (Postcards from Asia) says:

    I’m sorry but I couldn’t see past the yummy pics of that awesome chocolate treat. What does “moderate oven” mean in degrees (be it Fahrenheit or Celsius)?

    • hotlyspiced says:

      Hi Delia, a moderate oven is 180C or 375F – thanks so much for pointing that out; I should have put that in the post xx

  37. What is Archie and Arabella going to do without you Charlie 🙂 you have to help them organise everything hehe
    Alfie’s such a cutie and you did a great job with wacky Wednesday hehe ~
    Ohhh this chocolate walnut slice seems easy enough I should be able to make it too 😀

  38. Sigh. I don’t know how you do it all, Charlie. But Alfie looks great…and so do the choco walnut bars!

  39. Sophie foodie files says:

    Archie is looking kind of COOl! These bars delight me enormously!
    Yum Yum Yum! Cool pics too! 🙂 xx

  40. It was a Wacky Wednesday for the whole crew, wasn’t it! The chocolate walnut slices look like a perfect way to celebrate just getting through the day! 🙂

  41. Oh I love all that brown sugar in the filling! The bars look delicious! Archie’s costume for wacky Wednesday was too much fun! Hugs, Terra

Trackbacks

  1. […] leftover from my Christmas baking that really needed using.  I found this recipe next to the Choc-Walnut Slice recipe I posted yesterday: Brandied Fruit […]

  2. […] leftover from my Christmas baking that really needed using.  I found this recipe next to the Choc-Walnut Slice recipe I posted yesterday: Brandied Fruit […]

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