11 days left...

There are only 11 days left of winter. 11 days left of snuggly clothes; 11 days left of going outside without breaking out in a sweat. Only 11 days left of being able to sleep with flannelette sheets without flinging them off during the night. Only 11 days to stuff as much yummy wintry food in your belly as you can.

Embrace the last 11 days of winter 2012. You will be longing for it come December.



Eleven irresistible comfort food recipes

Snuggly clothes and chunky scarves



Cosy bars and red wine

Spiced warm cider

Listening to the rain



Bed socks



Snuggles with a warm blanket

Nights in listening to records


Enjoy x

Best ever Raspberry, White Chocolate and Macadamia Muffins

With a second weekend of hard core gardening in front of us and many helpers recruited, I knew it was my duty to ensure the weary tree loppers were adequately fuelled.

What you will need for these scrumptious muffins:

Half a cup of coarsely chopped white chocolate (95g)
Three quarters of a cup of caster sugar (115g)
Two cups of SR flour (300g)
Half a cup of coarsely chopped macadamias (80g)
1 cup of coarsely chopped frozen raspberries
1 egg lightly whisked
Half a cup of macadamia oil (125ml)
Three quarters of a cup of buttermilk (185ml)

Method:

To ensure a beautiful high rise muffin, preheat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius (you will reduce the heat once you’ve placed your muffins in the oven).

Line your muffin tins with squares of baking paper.

Combine the white chocolate, sugar, flour, macadamias and raspberries in a large bowl. Stir to combine and add a well in the centre of the mixture.

Whisk the egg, oil and buttermilk and pour into the mixture. Gently stir until just combined. Be careful not to over mix as this will also help to create a high rise muffin, you should still be able to see a bit of the flour mixture among the batter.

Spoon evenly among the pans, filling each pan to the very top.

Place your muffins in the oven and immediately reduce the heat down to 200 Degrees Celsius.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

The boys started their tree lopping at the crack of dawn so when I arrived at a more respectable hour, with freshly baked muffins, the fact I spent the morning baking instead of weeding was a distant memory.

Thanks to some wonderful friends, our very much over grown native 'garden' has now been stripped back and is ready for it's re-vamp!

Colour me...

Which colour says SPRING/SUMMER 2012/2013?

We'll give you a clue...

It's RED Silly!

Not really...

It's MINT! Or 'sea foam' as our friends in the US are calling it. This wonderfully fresh colour has made a splash all over Europe and the US this summer. How will you be using it!?

x

Fake it til you make it

We all know her... the beautifully presented hostess, who effortlessly floats around her immaculate kitchen, donning a gorgeous apron that she probably bought in Paris; That woman who can prepare an array of pre-dinner delights in a matter of seconds, wittingly contribute to all conversations as if the five course meal she's preparing is a simple as slapping a bucket of KFC chicken on a platter; Can quickly shift her attention from being fabulous to the emptiness of each guests wine glass and always insists you leave without cleaning up.

Quite frankly, these women are the sole reason the rest of us mere mortals go into coronary failure when required to host a dinner. However, with these disgustingly simple recipes you’ve actually got the chance to BE one. For a night at the very least.

Mango Sorbet Champagne Cocktail

If you start your evening off with this little doozy, you'll have your guests grovelling at your pretty little feet (because of course you've had time for a pedicure between cleaning the house and preparing a feast fit for a king). All you will need is a blender, a tub of Weis Mango Sorbet and a bottle of bubbles.

Pour your bubbles into the blender along with a few scoops of the sorbet (the more you add the better it is!). Blend until frothy and voila! You will have a beautiful fruity cocktail that will keep your guests quiet while you flit off into the kitchen to prepare your next delight.

The 'never fail' antipasto platter

The key to this platter is the quality of the ingredients. I recommend popping into your nearest continental deli and splashing out on some 'Fire Engine Red' cheese and a few hundred grams of fresh prosciutto. Pop your cheese on a wooden board next to a bunch of fresh figs cut in half and place the prosciutto on the other side of the board. Serve with a freshly baked french stick.

The quickest dessert in the entire world

In a blender, place a handful of almonds (these can be substituted for any type of nut), a block of dark chocolate (broken into pieces) and a handful of coffee beans and blend. Place this in a shallow tray and set aside.

Find yourself some amazing ice cream. I really can't go past Connoisseur...of any flavour. For this particular dessert, I've used plain old classic vanilla but also caramel honey macadamia and cafe' grande. All are equally as amazing.

Using a big ice cream scoop, scoop your icre cream and roll it carefully in your nut/chocolate/coffee mix. Cover the whole scoop and serve it to your guests in a glass with a spoon. If you're really fancy, you may even like to serve it with a shot of frangelico.

And there you have it, three recipes to ensure a cool, calm and collected hostess. A hostess who actually has time to enjoy her creations and get a teeny bit 'pissy pants' with the rest of her guests!

Olive another one thanks!!!

6 girls + 1 Sunday afternoon + 7 plates of food - 6 boys = HIGH TEA!

Our monthly gorge is scheduled for this Sunday afternoon and we've decided on a 'bring a plate' high tea party.

I haven't really stopped thinking about it all week. What am I going to make? What is everyone else going to make? What delicious things will I be eating? And how the hell am I going to control myself?!

We girls always tend to overdo it on the sweets so I thought I'd pull out an old savoury muffin recipe from the archives and give it a practise whirl before the big day.

The muffs came out beautifully and have been sent to work with Geordie so I can continue to save room in my stomach for Sunday. Here it is!

Olive and Pesto Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
375 grams of grated vintage cheddar cheese
1 bunch of chopped spring onions (white part only)
200 ml of buttermilk
100 grams of pitted, chopped olives
50 ml of readymade pesto (I use the basil flavour but any flavour will do)
80ml of sunflower oil
1 extra large egg (or 2 small)

Method

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the cheese, spring onions and olives and mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, pesto, oil and egg and mix well.

Good ol' Tupperware bowls

Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

Just incase you didn't know what dry and wet
 ingredients looked like when they're mixed

Spoon into muffin pans with non-stick cooking spray and bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 20-25 minutes.

Remove and place on a cooling rack.

Serve warm with a dollop of Greek yoghurt or butter!

Advanced Style

Sick of being confronted with shades of orange, heavy make-up and hair extensions on 20-somethings? They appear across all fashion media, not least those of the glossy variety. It's not that these women aren't stylish and beautiful, but what about the majority of the population who are not 20-something white females? Do we suddenly become less fashionable and fall into a black hole of style when we hit our forties? Do we forget how to dress? Fear not...Ari Seth Cohen’s blog celebrates the confidence, beauty, and fashion that can only be achieved through the experience of a life lived glamorously.

Cohen's blog and new book, aptly named Advanced Style are a collection of street fashion unlike any seen before; recognising the over 60 who are found perusing the racks of high end stores in some of the most fashionable cities of the world. These timeless images are inspirational and prove that age is nothing but a state of mind. I don't know about you, but I will step out my front door a touch prouder of my early signs of aging (the whole 25 years worth of them)!

Cohen and his Grandmother - his inspiration for the blog.

Check out the pastel nails.

Can you believe she is 82?!

Best Ever Orange and Poppy Seed Muffins

I recently came across the BEST EVER orange and poppy seed muffin recipe, and in keeping with NNG tradition, I must share it! I don't usually like muffins, they tend to be sickly sweet and leave a layer of sugary grit on your teeth. This recipe manages to be fresh and zesty whilst remaining dense.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 2 2/3 cups plain flour
• 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius. 
Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in sour cream, orange juice, zest and extract.
In a separate bowl combine flour, poppy seeds, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture into wet mixture, and stir until incorporated.
Scoop into muffin tins, lined with paper-liners, until two-thirds full. Bake on the ope shelf for 15-18 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Spoon over orange syrup while warm.

Orange Syrup

• 2 tablespoons orange juice 
• 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract
• 1/4 cup icing sugar

In a small bowl stir the orange juice into the icing sugar until combined. Spoon over warm muffins.

Makes approximately: 16 muffins

E.N.J.O.Y

Oops

For those of you who read my post about layer cakes last week and are waiting to hear of my dismal attempt, I'm sorry. I did not bake the layer cake.

Instead, I drank a lot of wine and ate a bunch of yummy food.

I offer you this as an apology:

White Magik

One of my favourite labels, Lover have just unvieled their new Bridal Collection 'White Magik'.

For all those brides-to-be who are less inclined to wear something like this...



It's swallowed the groom!

 ...and are looking for something a little less 'formal', this might just be what you have been searching for. If not as your wedding gown, perhaps as a costume change for the reception or as an old fashioned 'leaving outfit'?



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