Ah, yes… the inevitable thrills and spills of a glamorous day at home on maternity leave (ie, sporting a side ponytail, wearing tracksuit pants and breast feeding the baby on the couch whilst watching an Oprah re-run on the telly). This episode of Oprah, The One-Week Vegan Challenge, piqued my curiosity enough so that I…
A LIVING CENTERPIECE
Take 1 small concrete planter box, a selection of small plants (I bought a 6 variety pack), plant, water, allow to grow and spread organically and there you have it… a gorgeously green living centerpiece for your outdoor table. All the items used to create this centerpiece were purchased at Plantagen.
RUSTIC COCONUT CHOCOLATE BARS (AKA ‘I never need to buy a Bounty bar again!’ part 2)
I did it! Yes, no less than two days after dreaming up a reconstructed Bounty bar using my coconut macaroon recipe, it has materialised in my kitchen (shame on me!). The results are nothing to be sniffed at. Moist, fluffy, coconutty and chocolately, they are less sticky-sweet than the factory produced, plastic-wrapped original that inspired…
BABY'S TOY BOX, PART 2 (AKA cheeky monkey)
Here is Baby’s Toy Box addition number 2; a cheeky monkey (IRL a small plush toy that hangs by the tail from my baby’s play gym). “Cheeky monkey” is something I call my baby sometimes when he gives me a cheeky smile or does something funny. And he loves his cheeky monkey toy. It was…
COCONUT MACAROONS WITH RASPBERRY DARK CHOCOLATE (AKA 'I never need to buy a Bounty bar again!', part 1)
A spontaneous weekend afternoon tea with friends calls for an easy, quick and impressively yummy homemade treat. A friend had recently given me a lovely block of 70% cocoa fair-trade chocolate infused with raspberry. I decided to take a chance on a recipe I’d seen a long time ago for kockostoppar (Swedish for coconut macaroons)….
BABY'S TOY BOX, PART 1 (AKA a friendly T-Rex)
When I worked as a nanny, travelling around Europe a few years ago, I would occupy some of my time while my charge slept by drawing her toys. When I left the position to return home, I presented her family with a scrapbook filled with photographs I’d taken during our time together and the drawings of the…
VERY BERRY WATER
Whilst perusing the Donna Hay website, I came across a lovely image with accompanying directions for flavouring water using green apple and mint leaves, raspberries, or lemongrass and ginger. There is nothing revolutionary about this idea, but I found myself inspired by its pretty simplicity. Peeking expectantly into my seldom-opened freezer bottom drawer, I discovered…
TORTA DELLA NONNA (AKA a slice of sunshine)
My second blog entry and recipe number one contains, among other ingredients, marzipan. It’s appropriate given my blog title, no? Surprisingly perhaps, I am not a huge marzipan fan, but it has really grown on me since I moved to Europe and I definitely appreciate its almond-y goodness in certain sweet treats. This is one…
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS (AKA "Hello friend!")
Have you ever watched an episode of MasterChef and wondered how you would fare in a challenge? Ever come across inspirational ideas online and thought to yourself “I’d like to give that a go… maybe one day… if I can find the time…”? Have you pondered the satisfaction one must glean from making pesto from scratch, successfully baking a…