Christmas Crafts ~ Snowflakes

Christmas is a great time of the year, especially great for baking lots of yummy treats. Now that my youngest boy is 2 1/2, I now have the time to get a little more creative than I did last year. And so... 

....the Christmas Crafts have begun.

I'm going to start with the less challenging of crafts and work up to the more involved. These are snowflakes made out of ice-cream sticks. They are around 50cm in length and I just copied any type of snowflake shape that I could find on some of our old Christmas cards. I think I am going to spray paint them a red gloss, but for the time being I am enjoying the natural look.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Brownies

Set a plate of these on the table and if you are surrounded by sweet lovers, be sure to move fast as these won't last long. 

This recipe can be found on taste.com.au, which is my go-to site for any recipe I would be searching for. When you find a good thing you stick to it. 

I can't say I am a HUGE fan of peanut butter BUT these are still a tasty treat. Well and truly for the peanut butter lovers. The base to this brownie is brilliant though. It had the right amount of crunch and goo. I think this might be a stable base for any brownie I want to attempt. I think I will try chocolate chunks with roasted hazelnuts... I want to try a Christmas brownie too; I'm thinking pistachios and dried cranberries with coconut. Would glazed cherries work? Would love any feedback...

Happy

I came across a situation the other day where I was challenged with the thought of should I be 'doing more?'
I went through a few struggles in my mind and am really happy with the result. Until this point in time it hadn't occurred to me that I am very content with where I am in life at the moment, and who I am.

So it may just be for a week, a month or a year... things change, life changes. But right now, I am content. I don't want anything more, I don't need anything more and life is simple. I have all I need. *Do read the fine print. I see my life as a pathway through this world till death takes me to the next. So I can put a drop-pin on this point in the path to say that these are good days.


Fineprint: I do have a 2yr old and 4yr old boy: so in no means is life not full of tense and testing moments daily... maybe hourly? 

M is for Mocha Cupcakes

I have missed baking but with a baby shower to prepare for, I was happy at home in the kitchen once more.

There is just one simple word to describe these - Y U M !

Made with melted dark chocolate and coffee powder, I was unsure how these were going to turn out. The mixture was very runny and I wondered if they were even going to rise. Sure enough within the last 15 minutes of cooking they came to form. I made them regular cupcake size.
My cupcakes were made with chocolate butter cream icing as I felt this would be better for the look I wanted.

Here is the link to this delicious recipe
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/21395/baby+mocha+cakes+with+coffee+syrup

Have you heard this Old Wives Tale?

"Hold your ear!" is what I yell to someone when they have just burnt their fingertips. It is quite funny for me to think about. And the usual reaction to me is a raised eyebrow and 'what the?'.

My Oma told me this fantastic old wives tale. And if you are reading this, you so have to try it.

Whenever you burn your finger or fingertips on something, grab your earlobe and it will instantly take away the burn.

Instantly the heat dissappears and you shouldn't even blister. Just hold your earlobe long enough for the fire to go. Wow! I think it is so awesome and I instantly grab my earlobe whenever I burn. Try it next time. Although if you are wearing earrings, make sure you don't touch the metal cause that won't help the issue at all.

Let me know if it works for you.

Homemade Pesto

I was thinking if I would almost be considered a food snob if I would prefer to make my own pesto rather than buy it from the shop? I don't think I am that bad yet. Maybe when I can't bring myself to buy bread anymore, I might have some issues then, lol.

Homemade Pesto

This recipe is a bit of a go with the flow type, so just taste along the way.

Ingredients:

Big Bunch Basil

2+ Garlic Cloves

Few Sprigs of Parsley

1/4+ cup Pine Nuts

Parmesan Cheese

Olive Oil

Salt&Pepper

1. Place basil, rough chopped garlic, parsley and pine nuts into food processor. I have done this many times with the Tupperware Happy Chopper (small quantity) and Turbo Chef too. Process till a nice finely chopped consistency.
2. Grate in parmesan cheese and add a good 1/2 cup oil. Process again.
3. Taste to see if you need salt, pepper or any more of the other components: cheese or nuts.
4. Add more oil and process until you get to the consistency that you like.
5. This will store well in fridge, just put a layer of olive oil on top to stop from browning. ALTHOUGH why waste a good thing? My batch went straight into a snappy bag, flattened and 4 sections formed with my fingers, then straight in the freezer. Happy Days.

Variation:

Rocket Lettuce & Cashews

Watch this space, now inspired to come up with some more variations.

Hints:

• Parmesan Cheese freezes well, so there is no reason not to have it in your home. Use from frozen. Store back in freezer. I freeze alot of things. 
• Buy pine nuts on sale. They are a great pantry staple in our home. So yummy on salads.

Is it wine time?

A little bit of fun in my kitchen...

Chicken & Pasta w Pesto & Greens

I love to bake. I loved to make so much that it left me feeling a bit "weighed down" so for a summer kick start the baking has been set aside and I have had a desire for lots of fresh fruit and veggies....

As boring as that may sound, it has been Veggielicious! I must have been craving a fresh food hit and who knew that vegetables, nuts, fruit and all sorts of low calorie goodness could be so good!

I have never been a fan of savory cooking. I have been reading cookbooks and flavor patterns are starting to be embedded into my mind...

So to start show casing my vegetable packed meals of deliciousness: here is one of my favorites so far

Chicken & Pasta w Homemade Pesto, A Dollop of Ricotta Fried Asparagus/Baby Spinach & Zucchini

More Cupcake Fun

I made these cute little pretties for my nieces 5th birthday.

I love how the pink cupcakes look like they have a cherry on the top.

A little bit of fun using M&M's with a play on color.

Jungle Animal Cupcakes

I made these Jungle Animal Theme cupcakes for my little mans 2nd birthday. Until now I had not made any fancy themed cupcakes and was looking forward to the challenge....and the end result.

2 hours of decorating (for only 12 cupcakes?!) was well worth the experience and effort involved. 

Mixing all the different icing colors and setting out all the 'little bits' was probably what took a little more time. Learning to be comfortable with the piping bag came easily as I got the flow going.