Wardrobe Wednesday

Since my 7th form ball wasn't actually THAT long ago, the photos are not really worth a mention. However, I did dress up this past week to celebrate me finishing Uni forever!! Yes that's right, I am no longer a student!! After six years, and two degrees, this is a HUGE achievement, made even more glorious by the fact that I have a job to go to. Double win!
This photo features my gorgeous man too, looking rather solemn may I add. We had several out-takes with the good ol' timer. Many funny faces ensued but this was the most normal of the bunch.

My dress was a bargain, $15 from a little shop in Dunedin called Nooz. Shoes were another bargain, end of season at Wild Pair a few years ago. (I'm very short so high heels are a fav of mine when I'm trying to pretend I'm a grown up!). My necklace is from an amazing costume jewellery shop in Christchurch called Mask. I bought it when I was a teenage and still love it. Paddy's shirt is from yd, jeans from Meccano and his shoes are No 1 Shoe Warehouse.  Wearing a dress without stockings is a huge deal for me as I'm extremely self conscious of my pale skin. I'm very proud of myself for making this public!

Check out more gorgeous gals here.


Two things to mention:
1) Be sure to check out the gorgeous giveaway at willow + moxie. Devon Smith is divine!
2) This blog has a link to an amazing, FREE sourdough ebook.  You must, must, must check it out!

Home Sweet Home?

No, home actually is quite sweet. It's the flu I have that isn't so. Yes, that's right, day 2 of freedom from University and I have acquired Paddy's horrible, cottonball-head, bones aching, sore throat, snotty nose, feeling like death flu. Safe to say, I'm not impressed! To rub it in even more, I rolled over yesterday morning and said "I feel like s**t". To which he perkily replied, "I feel GREAT! I should have given my flu to someone days ago!". I repeat, not impressed!

It's ok though I suppose, as I'm on holiday and he is in the throws of performing his latest play, and working. I'm just grumpy because it's 26 degrees in my garden right now, and I would much rather be out there than moping inside because I can't bend over from the aching!

I will be back when I feel better and have achieved something worthy of posting about!
xx

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

I am always on the lookout for recipes that are quick and easy, yet impressive. Oh and they should also be delicious. I'm doing morning tea this week to thank my colleagues for having me the past 3 months. So along with scones, this cake will be part of the spread.



Lemon Yoghurt Cake with Lemon Drizzle
125g butter, softened
1 cup caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
3 eggs
1 cup flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup yoghurt

1. Heat oven to 160°C fan bake. Grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin. Combine butter, sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with yoghurt, stirring to just combine and form a smooth batter.
2. Spoon mixture into prepared tin and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cold, remove the cake from the tin and spoon over lemon drizzle icing so it covers the top and runs down the sides of the cake.

Lemon Drizzle
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
Juice of 2 lemons
Extra grated lemon zest to decorate

1. Combine icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and stir with the back of a spoon to form a smooth and pourable icing. Add a little boiling water if necessary, to achieve the correct consistency. Decorate with lemon zest and flowers.

This cake is so moist and delicious, and the drizzle turns crispy, and adds an amazing coating to the top of the cake. Serve with yoghurt. Prepare for sticky fingers and happy faces. Enjoy!

Recipe from here.

Scone Success!

Some people find it hard to believe that I have never made scones before. I had perhaps dabbled with them in my preschool years, but it is not something I remember. However, I have been spending a small fortune buying delicious scones from the cafe where I work, and it really needs to stop. I know most people can make scones with their eyes closed, but honestly, I am not most people. I seem to have a knack of not being able to do things that even the most domestically-challenged person can manage. See here for other examples of my odd incompetencies...

So, this weekend, I decided to conquer my fears, and give it a go. I turned to my trusty Edmonds Cookbook for the answers, with a few modifications of my own, of course. I said to Paddy that I probably should have tried plain scones first, but it's not really my style. He agreed.

I used the basic scone recipe from Edmonds, and added about 1 cup of chopped spinach, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, and some pepper to the milk mixture. Then I shaped, and sprinkled with cheese before baking.

I was skeptical, but they actually turned out really, really yummy. I was chuffed! Following this success I got a bit more adventurous. My next batch of scones included a pottle of sundried tomato pesto and 1/2 cup grated cheese, with more cheese sprinkled on top. These we also yummy, and I think had more flavour than the last batch.

And if you thought I might have made enough scones for one weekend, you were wrong... Things got crazy, and I turned to pinwheels. I have an unreasonable love for cream cheese, so it was only fitting that my next batch included it. For this batch, I added half a pottle of basil and garlic pesto to the mixture. Then, I rolled out the dough until it was about 1/2 cm thick, smeared on cream cheese and the remaining pesto, rolled the dough up, and sliced into pinwheels, which I topped with cheese before baking. Boy oh boy, I think I hit the jackpot with these babies. Very, very yum.

The work cafe can kiss my money goodbye, as I am most definitely making the scones from now on!

 Thanks to Devon, for her company during this scone expedition, and her selfless clearing up of any scraps.

A Long Time Away

I have been very slack with this blog lately, in action, but most definitely not in thought. Living away from home is hard. I am not around the people I care about most, I am not around my things, or in my space. But, after 3 months, and a lot of action, it is almost all over. I am 2 weeks away from being home again. Home to my loved ones, my garden, my sewing machine, my kitchen; home to my home.

I have spent these past 3 months working my butt off, finishing my degree, getting a job (yippee!!), and pondering life, and the direction I hope it will take. I look forward to getting back to my home, my space, and reviving this poor, wee neglected blog. What I have not neglected these past few months, is reading blogs. I am very, very humbled and in awe of all the amazing people out there, who inspire me daily to do better, to try harder, and to be true to myself and what I want for my life. Thank you to all those people who take time out of their day to share their wisdom, their thoughts, and a tiny snippet of their life, which truly helps me to strive for more, and makes me a better person.

Braided Bread

I had a baking binge when I was home last this weekend, having been making mental lists all week. Top of my list was having a go at the gorgeous braided bread from this wonderful blog.
The recipe and technique are here, and I did exactly as I was told. It's not quite as smooth and sexy-looking as the model bread loaf, but I'm still pretty pleased with my efforts!

The recipe is a delicious, rich dough, which I am definitely planning to tuck away for future use. There are tons of different ways to braid bread, that I never even knew existed! I can't wait to have a go at a new style this weekend, I've got challah in my sights...

Spring Garden Salad

Two of the things I miss most about living away from home at the moment, is my garden and kitchen. I love to cook, and I especially love to cook with ingredients from my own garden. I have been sitting on this salad recipe for a while, and finally today, all the stars aligned, and I was able to give it a go. All ingredients were picked fresh from my garden, except for the apple, which was from my local Farmer's Market.


 Spring Garden Salad (serves one)

- a handful of spinach
- 1 small beetroot
- 1 small fennel bulb, save some tips too
- 1 apple
- mint leaves
Dressing
- equal parts of plain yoghurt and mayonnaise (about 1 Tbsp of each)
- drizzle of mint syrup
- squeeze of lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste

Chop apple, beetroot and fennel into bite sized pieces. Finely shred mint and fennel tips, and rip spinach leaves into a desirable size. Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake; dress salad. Serve immediately.

This was the epitome of fresh, crispy, seasonal flavours, I loved it! I look forward to more meals cooked from my garden, in my kitchen, throughout the rest of spring and summer!