peanut butter and chocolate freddo brownies

Oh dear, we have been eating our daughters daycare fundraiser chocolates like they are free! Eating one each night along with a cup of tea after the kids have gone to bed. It's an expensive slice of heaven but a small price to pay for a few minutes of sanity in our day! We are half way through the box, only 24 to go.....I am 2 kilos heavier (though that could be all the  lasagne I've been enjoying this winter!) and my husband, who is a keen cyclist, has noticed his waistline has ever so slightly expanded too.....We have to get through these chocolates sooner rather then later and we need to share them with people....lots of people. Maybe I could grate up the chocolates and hide them in a peanut butter brownie?.....done!

Ingredients

1/3 cup  or 70g softened butter

½ cup  brown sugar or approx 90g

2 eggs

1/2 cup smooth full fat peanut butter 0r 120g (at room temp)

1 cup plain flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon bicarb soda

good dash of salt

2 x 35g freddo frog chocolates, grated

How to make your peanut butter and chocolate freddo brownies

Pre heat your oven to 170C. I reccomend using a slice tin without baking paper as the mix is quite thick and tricky to smooth down. Just make sure you grease it well. Otherwise, use baking paper and smooth it the best you can.

In a bowl add the butter and sugar and beat until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition until light and fluffy. Stir in peanut butter.

In a separate bowl mix together the sifted plain flour and the bi-carb soda and salt.

Add the flour mix to the egg mix and fold together gently. Add the 2 grated freddo frogs and mix gently.

Add it to your slice tin and smooth down. Pop it in the oven and bake for approx 30 minutes. Take out when centre springs back and cut into 12 pieces or any size you like. Enjoy warm and with or without a sprinkle of icing sugar.

quilt crazy

I take my hat off to anyone who can sew. When I was young I thought Doris Day was the beez kneez. I remember buying pretty vintage fabrics in buttercup yellow or fabric with little cherry motifs and making my own skirts. Very simple skirts I should add. But that was about as far as I got. These days I let my Mother in law do all the sewing. You see, she is one clever lady when it comes to a needle and thread and one of her big passions is quilting. It's one of those crafts that I didn't really think about until she made my husband a quilt (one of her first) back in 2001. It was just a small one to throw over the couch but it was in these lovely olive, black and mustard tones.  She must have sensed that I was a little envious of this beautiful quilt as  I received mine a few months later for my birthday; a bright yellow and hot pink one! Over the years we have been lucky enough to have been given 7 more beautiful hand made quilts.

Last year my Mother in law moved onto making one for my Brother in law and his new wife and it was spectacular. I was SO jealous!!!  It was different shades of cream with white. Hard to explain but just stunning. My Mother in law asked me if I would like her to make one for our bedroom too. After a quiet happy dance I said, "I would love one!... in soft blues please ;-)". And this is what she came with. If I hadn't seen her working on it for nearly 6 months I would swear that this quilt had been bought from a shop. I take my hat off to you Helen!


This beautiful quilt has brought such calmness to this space. I love laying on the bed flicking through a magazine or sitting on the armchair in the corner reading with the sun on my back....bliss!

the blue circle in the middle is the centrepiece

a close up of all the tiny details

And here's my effort! My Mother in law had some fabric left over so I made a simple tissue box cover to match!

pineapple chai muffins

I was flicking through a magazine last week and came across a recipe for pineapple and coconut muffins. It made me stop and think. It made me realise that I only ever eat pineapple on pizza! Clearly something  had to be done about this..... Later that week I found myself craving some home made chai tea.  Could pineapple and chai tea thrown together in a muffin really work? Make them and find out........I dare you :)

Ingredients

7grams of ginger, skin off
10 cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tea bag of your choice (I use a plain black tea bag)
3/4 cold water
60g butter
100g brown sugar
1 egg
1x 225g tin of pineapple in juice, drained, juice discarded. Reserve 9 pieces of pineapple for the tops.
170g Self raising flour


how to make your Pineapple chai muffins


pre heat your oven to 180C. Get your muffin tray ready with baking paper, cases and/or oil spray. This mix makes 9 muffins.


Place ginger, cardamom pods, cloves and the cinnamon stick in a saucepan with 3/4 cup of water on high heat, bring to the boil and boil for  4 mins. Reduce heat to medium, add soy milk and the tea bag and simmer for 2 minutes. remove from heat, . Strain the liquid into a jug or bowl  (making sure there is no debris left in the chai tea mix) and set aside to cool. You will only use 1/2 cup of this chai liquid so at this point you could just enjoy the leftovers.


Place butter and sugar into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer untl pale and thick.  Add the egg beating well. Fold through flour and pineapple (don't forget to keep 9 pieces aside) , alternating with the chai liquid until well combined. Pour into prepared muffin tray/cases and pop a slice of pineapple on the top of each muffin mix.  Cook the muffins for about 25 minutes, checking them as you go. Set aside in the tin for a few minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack.  Enjoy warm from the oven or at room temperature.

Strawberry Muffin Goodness

 Whenever I head to the markets I always have to take some tasty morsels with me to ward off "market fatigue". Even if I've had a decent breakfast of porridge and a cup of tea, after 20 minutes of walking around a market I start to channel Bear Grylls, "Ooooh, is that a grasshopper? mmmmm, this little fella is just oozing with good protein!" That's why I really have to take something with me; especially if I'm going with friends!  
 I like muffins that look kinda healthy. Ones that are preferably filled with a fruit of some description. Ones that don't make you feel so guilty about eating them at 7am! I think this recipe kinda covers all those things........brown sugar is good for you, right?

Strawberry Muffins with oats

 Ingredients

 300g plain flour, sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder, sifted

½ teaspoon bicarb soda

Dash of salt

2 eggs, beaten
155g brown sugar
1 cup natural yoghurt
½ cup melted butter (approx. 115g, pre melted weight)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

From 1 punnet of ripe and sweet strawberries, I used 185g (with stalks still on) Take stalks off and slice.

¼ cup oats or quick oats, toasted (You can do this on a piece of baking paper in your microwave. Set to 850 watts, microwave at 20 second bursts for 1 minute. Make sure they don’t burn. Moving them around after each 20 seconds)

Combine ½ teaspoon each of brown sugar and cinnamon, for dusting

 Method

Pre heat oven to 190C. Spray your 12 hole muffin tin with olive oil spray or pop in cases.

Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb and salt into a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat the eggs in the base of another bowl. Add the brown sugar, yogurt, melted butter and vanilla. Mix together until all well combined.

Add the wet mix to the dry mix and fold together gently using a rubber spatula. Adding half the strawberries and mix through gently.

Fill your 12 hole muffin tin with your mix. On the top of each one, place the remaining strawberries and top with the oats. Sprinkle with the combined brown sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 15 – 18 minutes. Just check that they spring back to the touch. They should be lightly browned. Leave in the tin for 5 mins then take out and place on a cooling rack. Enjoy! If taking to a picnic, once they are cooled you can pop them in zip lock bags and keep at room temperature.

Dude Food

Are you watching Masterchef? I love watching the challenges. Not so much the eliminations or even the inventions tests but I happened to see the adds for the "Dude Food" Invention test  that's coming up on on Sunday night and I was reminded of my husband a few months back. I was about to make my usual Spaghetti Bolognaise when my husband gave out a huge 'man' sigh.  Knowing this was his way of saying, "Not Spag Bol again!", I asked him what he would like for dinner. His response, "meatballs?". Phew! I thought he was going to say somethng from here!

Sorry about the meatball pic! It's not the best and I completely forgot the parmesan cheese! So forgive me! Also, the pic above is a little 'man corner' I created for my husband. How cool is the He-Man cake tin?

Spaghetti with Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
10 ripe cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
salt and sugar

500g beef mince
1 carrot, grated
3 broccoli spears, finely chopped
1/2 large or 1 small corn, kernals removed
salt and pepper

250g Egg pasta Vermicelli

Method

Fill a large pot with water. Pop the lid on and put over a high heat.

In a small saucepan add a good dash of extra virgin olive oil and pop over a low heat. Add the onion and garlic and a touch of salt. Sweat over a low heat for 5 minutes.

In a microwave dish add the corn kernals and broccoli and microwave until done (about 2 minutes) Set aside

In a large bowl throw in the mince and add the carrot and salt and pepper.

Add the cherry tomatoes to the small saucepan along with a another dash of salt and a sprinkle of sugar. Add a touch of water. Raise the heat to medium but keep an eye on it that it doesn't catch on the bottom.

Add the corn kernals and broccoli to the large bowl and give it a good mix through. Get out a large saucepan, add some olive oil to cover the base and pop over a medium high heat.

meanwhile, make your meatballs. If you make them small then they are easy to eat bite-size morsels and they will also be quicker to cook too! Have them all ready to go so they will have the same cooking time. When your pan is hot enough, add all the meatballs, starting with the centre of the pan and working your way out. Adjust heating if need be. You don't want to nuke them!

Add salt to the large pot of water and throw in your pasta. Pop 10 minutes on your timer.

Check your meatballs. Start with one of the outer ones. They should turn over easily with out breaking. If they do fall apart then they need more cooking on that side. If they are ready, turn over and pop the lid on. Cook for a few minutes or until cooked through. When ready, place on absorbant kitchen paper.

Drain pasta and place in bowls. Top with meat balls and tomato sauce. Adding fresh ground black pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a huge amount of shaved parmesan cheese. Hopefully the dude in your life will be happy with this!

more weddings!

I really do love weddings! as you are all well aware ;-) we hit the road to Kiama on the weekend, amidst the rain and bitterly cold breeze, to attend my Cousin's wedding. Saturday was such an awful day but Sunday, though still a tad breezy, the sun was shining and everything glistened like it was Spring or as a wedding day should!
Here we are, me and the hubby at Peace Park, Kiama, just after the nuptials (My daughter thought it was called Pizza Park.....te-he.)  Don't tell anyone but this is the 3rd time I have worn this dress! It's a Diana Ferrari and I fell in absolute love with it as soon as I laid eyes on it. When I tried it on, 1) I was in disbelief that this beautiful garment even fit me and 2) I discovered that it was an extremely flattering style; big arms! - not a problem;  pot belly! - where?; no boobs! - hello ruffles! and how amazing is that green tone? As my friend Caroline said, "You must wear that colour from now on!"......so, do you want to know how much this miracle dress cost me?............$6....yep, I know!

I go here at least once a week. I discovered it about a year ago while getting myself completely lost but that's when you happen upon amazing little places and knowing that the money they make is doing good things is a nice little bonus......it doesn't make me feel so bad about buying a brand new Diana ferrari dress with the original tag on it for $6......(!!!!!!) My most recent purchase, a stunning summer evening dress in  dark purple by Jacqui E with the original price tag of $149.95, I paid - $6. yep. Majority of  the clothes are 2nd hand but there are these little hidden gems with orginal tags in there if you have the time to look. Just remember to save me a dress or 2!.....size 10 please ;-0

back to the wedding!  here is the wedding cake. A beautiful orange and poppy seed cake that looked classic and tasted delicious! How cute is that little topper? To put it into perspective my Cousin is extrememly tall. He's like 6ft 4. His bride is tiny or just taller then my 6 year old! So I thought this sweet little topper was them all over....

Happy Weddings! oh and I should just mention that my husbands 3 piece suit cost $25. yep.

weddings and other happy things

We have had an old PC kicking around in our garage since 2003 (!) It had some photos on it, like our wedding photos and baby photos of our first born.......eeep! It was one of those things where we both kept saying, we'll transfer all that to our laptop when we get a chance....well, 9 years later I finally found the time ;-)

I LOVE looking through photos. Any photos. Even 1000 photos of you on holidays in {insert dull destination here} . I will look at every one; I just love it! The photos, Oh, they took me back. We had such a wonderful time organising our wedding. Every little piece of it. Since having the fox & the spoon on Etsy, I have had a number of lovely ladies purchase vintage pieces for their own weddings which I think is SO exciting. I love to see photos afterwards too and hear their ideas. They are all so clever and I guess these days there are so many more options online too. One of these lovely ladies now runs her own wedding and event planning business in Perth. You can see Kristy's wonderful work here. Her own incredibly beautiful wedding (and I am not just saying that!) was featured on Style Me Pretty which you can view here. I hope you take a look as I think she just has a wonderful style and well, she's an all-round lovely person too.

I thought I would share 2 photos with you from my own wedding and our engagement party. The cakes! At the time of our wedding I was working full time and selling my own cakes  at markets on the weekends. I was pretty busy! Everyone told me and my own soon to be husband warned me, not to make my own wedding cake (or else!) so I didn't.....even though to me, a wedding is all about the cake!.....Luckily, My Mum knew a lady she use to work with by the name of Renee.  Similar to me, she was making cakes at home but was looking to open her own shop. So we gave Renee the opportunity to make our engagement cake and I was so incredibly happy with the look and the flavour I also begged her to make our wedding cake!  She opened her shop soon after our wedding and she has since opened 2 other stores in Sydney. She is of course, Renee from Babycakes and you can see more by visiting her website here .

Happy Weddings!