So sometimes I talk too much...(according to Josh) so with my monthly round-up posts this year I'm going to try something little different. I'm just going to give you the photos I took (which will hopefully be an incentive for me to take more photos) and let you tell the story! If I feel like it needs captioning I will, otherwise be my guest! I give this new plan about 1 month..ha!
Enjoy the January photos!
I loooove me some burritos. They're such an easy throw together meal. They're also a favourite of Josh's which means they fall firmly into the "farmer friendly" food category and I love adding food to that list!
I used to buy the seasoning packets for both mince & chicken burritos which we loved. Last year I discovered homemade burrito seasoning which I started using with mince and I've finally cracked the code for the crispy chicken coating! Not that there is anything wrong with using those, but I'm a total sucker for making stuff from scratch...tastes better, is cheaper and as long as you have a well stocked spice rack you can throw it together at a minutes notice. Perfect when the supermarket is an hour away! [Read more...]
Can you all please just take a deep breath with me because in exactly 1 week it will be our wedding day *passes out*
Seriously? How is it nearly here already?? And why am I not freaking out more? Now I think I might go and freak out over the fact that I'm not freaking out.
If you've been following me on instagram you might have seen that I've started a love affair with green smoothies this year. It all started with Jen & Jadah over at Simple Green Smoothies...they offer a 30 day live green smoothie challenge 4 times a year. All free, and they send you recipes for every day and ingredients broken down into weekly shopping lists <- so great. I figured there was no better time to be doing it than for the month leading up to the wedding! Their whole philosophy is that it's not a diet, not a meal replacement, just a fab, easy & delicious way to get a bunch of fruit & veges into you. I'm hooked! I've had 1 every day and I actually feel amazing. Clear skin, more energy and even though I haven't replaced a meal with a smoothie, I've been having it as a 3pm pick me up. [Read more...]
Roasted red pepper & feta dip....throw it together in 5 minutes and serve with super quick & easy pita chips!
If I'm stuck for something to snack on, I generally go for crackers and dip. As much as I have a ridiculous sweet tooth, I can't say no to a good chip & dip situation.
Once I had roasted red peppers sorted, the next step was to make something epic with them. I had red peppers, I had feta, the answer was dip. Obviously.
I'm not going to try and sell you on the beautiful orange colour...it does looks kinda nuclear (thanks Josh) but don't let that detract you from how deeeeeelish it is. Smoky red peppers, salty feta, garlic, 1 minute in the food processor and YUS! Red pepper dip perfection. [Read more...]
The easiest way to roast red peppers - you'll never buy them in a jar again!
It's party weekend! Josh is heading away with the boys for his stag do and I am going into the city to have my hen's night (bachelor & bachelorette parties for those not in NZ). I'm so excited! My sisters and friends have kept it all a complete secret so I have no idea what we are doing. All I know is that it's going to be most of my favourite females in 1 place and a big, fun girls night! What could be better?
I am definitely feeling like a bit of a broken record at the moment. I'm living, breathing and dreaming wedding plans, but in 2 weeks time it will all be over, so bear with me! Has anyone else been in this boat? So until then we're keeping it super simple in this kitchen. Which pretty much meant picking one thing and that being the main ingredient in everything I ate last week. Starting with roasted red peppers. [Read more...]
Crunchy, sweet but refined sugar free, homemade honey nut granola.
It's no secret how much I am addicted to granola. Hello original version, oh hey peanut butter banana breakfast and haaaaaiii my favourite in the entire world mocha java chocolate-caffeinated morning hit. What, you're a breakfast lover too? Let's be friends.
Mornings are just so hard right? I'm all snug in my bed and then the alarm goes off and I have to get OUT of my bed? No no no. No matter what anyone says, it's not easy. Unless it's Christmas. So I'm all about at least having something delicious to look forward to when I'm out of bed. Other than coffee of course!
December seems like so long ago already! I feel weird sharing pictures of Christmas...even though I've only just taken down my Christmas decorations!
The weekend we went to pick up our tree feels like months ago!
My lumber jack. Did I happen to mention that it's only 23 sleeps until that's my husband? 🙂 [Read more...]
Sweet banana muffins filled with crunchy walnuts...the perfect morning tea treat!
I've never really been a Starbucks girl. Cold drinks yes, hot drinks, not so much. But when we went to Vegas a couple of years ago and our hotel gave us Starbucks money for our breakfast I subsisted on Starbucks for 5 days. That, Ben & Jerry's and $1 frozen margarita slushies from the weird tropical looking bar next door to our hotel. Take me baaaack!
I definitely became a lonely Starbucks lover. Mostly because they had all the fall flavours...pumpkin spice latte mmmm. But the best thing about it was the banana nut muffins I had for breakfast every morning. ohhhhhh mg. I died and went to muffin heaven.
When I was a kid, banana chocolate chip muffins were my mum's specialty but I had never thought to add walnuts to them. Well thank yoooou Starbucks because these are officially my new favourite.
The banana keeps the muffins nice and um...moist (sorry, sorry, sorry) and the walnuts give them a beautiful crunch in every bite. Perfect for texture lovers like myself, but debatable if you are Josh and you "were just expecting a soft muffin". Sorry Josh.
Just like most muffins they can be thrown together in 10 minutes and without needing to use a mixer. Just a bowl and a spatula. Make sure that the bananas you use are either nice and brown or have been in the freezer. And if you are thawing them out, make sure you get them all the way back to room temperature so that all the ingredients incorporate together easily.
And don't forget the golden rule of muffin making...DON'T OVERMIX!! It seems like such a silly rule but seriously, 1 extra stir can take your muffins from soft to stodgy, and nobody likes a stodgy muffin. So even if there are a few little lumps of flour left...leave it!
They're the perfect mid-morning snack or even as a breakfast on the go. Especially with a PSL! Plus they freeze really so you can make a big batch and have snacks ready to pull out any time!
[mc4wp_form]
Smashed chickpea, tomato, cucumber & feta salad...the perfect throw together lunch for busy days.
Happy 2016! <--- seriously. How?
Also, how did my 10 days off work that seemed like such a long break just disappear? Back to work tomorrow? Ugh. At least I have lunch sorted.
Did anybody make any sorts of New Years resolutions? I'm still on the fence about them...I think it's a great time of the year for starting new habits buuuuut then again it's summer here and cocktailing is pretty high on my list of things to do. (Yes, cocktailing is a verb.)
So just because it's January we all have to eat SALAD now. But hear me out. This is less about the salad, more about the 5 minutes it takes to throw together this quick, easy & filling lunchtime meal.
Also, for the record I eat salad solely so that I can also eat allthecookies and drinkallthecocktails and not feel completely guilty about it. Word.
The easiest fudge you will ever make...perfect for Christmas parties and last minute gifts!
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3 more sleeps to go, 3 more sleeps til Santa!! I am freeeeaking out! I'm not sure about you guys but I said at the start of November that I was going to have all of my shopping done before December. Who says that?? Famous last words. I've done less than 50% of my Christmas shopping and I am working everyday including Christmas Eve...uh oh! Lucky for me I am a super star at working last minute magic!
Apparently though, this year I have really nailed the decorating for Christmas!! So before I tell you all about the 10 minute rocky road fudge that is going to save your sanity this week, let me show you these 3 DIY wonders! [Read more...]
It's the mooooost wonderful tiiiiiime, of the yeeeeear. Scratch that. It's one of the mooooost, streeeeeesful times, of the yeeeeear. Just kidding. I actually really love Christmas but it's also Josh's birthday. Tomorrow. He is one of those December/just scraped in before Christmas babies that make this time of year extremely difficult. To make matters worse...he's turning 30 this year!! So the aim of the game is to make sure the birthday doesn't get forgotten in the midst of Christmas/wedding craziness!! I won't tell you what I have for him (sometimes he reads this, hi Josh!) but it's going to be fun! As long as everything arrives...today. I'm a last minute kinda gal. Makes life interesting. [Read more...]
November aka my second favourite month of the year aka the month before things get craaaaay-zy!!
We hatched babies under a real live hen! No artificial incubation - this was for real! After we had 3 hens go broody we decided it was time to put them to the test. This one passed with flying colours.
We went away for a girls weekend to Whangamata, my fav beach in the world and road-tripped all the way up the Coromandel coast to Cathedral Cove.
We accidentally cut down 2 Christmas trees! Well, not really. Let me explain.
Every year Josh spends the few months leading up to Christmas scoping out the side of the roads he drives down to find our Christmas tree and yesterday was Christmas tree day! Only we got there, found the one that Josh had picked out and he cut it down but there were 2 growing right next to each other! So of course, we couldn't leave one by itself! We now have one beautiful, tall, perfectly shaped, scraping the ceiling tree in the lounge...and the second tree has found its home in the bathroom! It is equally as beautiful, but luckily much smaller. We are officially those people they were talking about on the radio the other day that go totally overboard at Christmas. [Read more...]
This week. Whoa. Here is a snapshot because it's been kinda hilarious.
I put up the Christmas lights, made snowflakes out of popsicle sticks, tried and failed (still a work in progress) to make a gingerbread house, we had baby chicks hatch and I substituted snacks for way too many meals.
But what this week will really always be known as: "The week I was in a hurry to pack my bag for dancing and accidentally put in a pair of Josh's jockeys instead of my shorts and had to dance in men's underwear."
It happened, it was super comfortable and I owned it. I subsequently risked running out of gas on my way home because although I was happy exercising with girls I know in my Josh's undies, there was not a chance I was stopping at the petrol station. Knowing my luck it would have been one of those chance meetings with a primary school teacher/old boyfriend/workmate and I wasn't willing to take that chance. Good news is that I made it back into town yesterday morning without running dry. But I take that chance again today because my card has expired and they haven't sent me a new one yet so I had to put a measly $10 which was all the coins I had of gas in my car...eeek! I live life on the edge. [Read more...]
Dark chocolate coated almonds...the perfect holiday treat!
I have amazing self-control when it comes to chocolate in our house. I'm not bragging about it, I just seem to have the gene that enables you to eat a couple of pieces of chocolate and stop. I clearly took the only one as my mum and sisters can easily inhale an entire block of chocolate in about 30 seconds flat.
I do have one exception though...scorched almonds. These guys? Hide the box...I will actually sit there and mindlessly eat them until they are all gone.
The only problem I have with them is that recently I've noticed that they've CHANGED the chocolate to almond ratio. It used to be perfect. Just enough chocolate to satisfy the sweet tooth but not so much that the almond is overpowered. Well not anymore. The last scorched almonds I had - way too much chocolate! #firstworldproblems [Read more...]
Fresh, fruity, cold & refreshing banana berry smoothie bowl - the perfect summery way to start the day!
Well hello there summery Saturday morning smoothie bowl, how you doin?
I kind of feel like I've arrived a little late to the smoothie bowl party. Although, in saying that I think the first time I saw one was sometime way back in the depths of winter when I was snuggled up on the couch with my blanket drinking hot chocolate. No one was going to tempt me with a cold smoothie bowl topped with fresh fruit for breakfast at that time of year...gimme my porridge!!! But now that summer is just around the corner...Tuesday!!!...and I can get out of bed without running for the cover of a nice big hoodie, that smoothie bowl is alllll I want every morning. [Read more...]
I have never met a person that doesn't like garlic bread...have you?
I think it's because there is nothing better than buttery garlicky carb loading as a side dish to dinner. Or a before dinner snack...or just a quick bite to eat at any time of day!
This garlic bread is so easy to make you will never buy garlic bread again. The garlic butter is a combination of softened butter and a little bit of neutral oil which when blitzed together make it perfectly spreadable and the addition of crushed garlic and fresh parsley make it so tasty! You can use any type of bread you like for garlic bread but ciabatta is our favourite, and I would highly recommend using it. [Read more...]
Gooey raspberry cheesecake swirled through rich chocolate brownie...a match made in heaven!
I'm going to make an extremely bold statement. This is THE best brownie I've ever eaten. Phew, felt good to get that off my chest.
I've eaten a lot of brownies in my time. Regular brownies, brownies with bits & piece added in, cookies & cream brownies, mint brownies...but it's these ones. These gooey, pink delicious raspberry cheesecake brownies that have stilled my brownie loving heart.
The base is a super chocolatey, dense and fudgy brownie...strong enough to hold up to the topping but not rock-like in any way shape or form. And then the killer blow - raspberry cheesecake topping with pretty swirly patterns and dotted with fresh raspberries. Because we all know that if it looks pretty, it tastes better!
[Read more...]
October was such a busy little month here!
#1 - The All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup!! (Technically that happened here on November 1st but the actual game was in the UK on October 31st so we will run with that!) Go All Blacks! We made this epic overnight breakfast casserole to celebrate.
Other than that huge excitement we spent a bit of time just hanging out around the house. Lots of time in the garden...it's spring planting time!
And check out our strawberry patch already. [Read more...]
Update January 2024: I now exclusively use the water bath method for canning/bottling everything as an extra layer of food safety. I have never had any problems bottling them this way but now prefer the water bath method in terms of ease and having a higher success rate with jars sealing. To water bath these pickles, I leave ½ inch headspace at the top of the jar before placing the lid on and processing in a water bath canner for 5 minutes. Laura
In my experience, there is no fence sitting in the gherkin debate. You either love them or hate them. While Josh falls very firmly into the haters category I am a 'can't get enough - eat them whole out of the jar - put them with everything' - true gherkin lover! So of course when I found out I could grow them and pickle my own it had to be done.
A couple of years ago I tried. I bought 1 gherkin plant and planted it in a spot that just happened to miss the part of the garden that was watered. I ended up with a very sad looking plant and about 3 gherkins to show for my efforts. Fail.
This year I planned ahead. I planted 8 seeds, reserved a spot up a trellis smack bang in the middle of our big vege garden and ended up with a gherkin forest and kilos of gherkins from 8 epic plants!
I spent ages on the internet trying to find a recipe to pickle gherkins and in the end gave up. They had long lists of ingredients and some of them even said to brine the gherkins for 7 days. 7 DAYS!! I don't know about you but when I'm pickling stuff I don't have 7 days to wait. I also don't have the bench space to leave a tub of brining pickles sitting around for 7 days. So I made up a recipe. I still brined (is that even a word) the gherkins, but only for a few hours. Much more like it!
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I would like to state for the record though that this is not a drink that should be solely saved for occasions when you can not chew. This is a milkshake for any day!
But I'd also like to state that this is in no way, shape or form healthy. I considered calling it a smoothie but I feel like the word smoothie is kind of associated with things that are good for you. Very misleading. This is a straight up creamy, chocolatey treat. Except for the banana...semi healthy! Which makes me think it's ok to have for breakfast. But don't be taking advice from me...this is the girl who eats chocolate for dinner in the car on the way home late from work on a Tuesday and follows it up with wine. I'm such a responsible adult.
Do you guys remember that day that I made homemade tortilla chips and I was the happiest girl in the world because it was like all my snack dreams had come true and because I had met my foodie match. Me & tortilla chips were tight.
Well, with no offense intended because I still lovelovelove those tortilla chips, I'd like to introduce you to my new BFF...homemade CORN CHIPS!! Actual legit put them under nachoes, dip them into guacamole and pour yourself a margarita because we're going to be here a while, corn chips.
Arriba!
Happy Halloween! Have you made these easy Halloween treats yet?
But let's talk about the real reason we are here. The reason that the entire country (and probably our neighbours across the ditch) has come to a halt for the next 24 hours. The Rugby World Cup final. Tomorrow morning. 5am. I am so nervous.
If there is 1 thing I can teach anyone not from New Zealand it is this - nothing, seriously, NOTHING, brings our nation together like the All Blacks, in particular the once every 4 years World Cup. What makes it even more nerve wracking are these things:
Oh yea, and:
4. Even though they are our closest geographical neighbours, the sporting rivalry between New Zealand & Australia is extreme.
So there's kinda a lot at stake, you feel me? [Read more...]
Halloween Chocolate Mummy & Skeleton Cookies
Halloween Candy Chocolate Bark
Chocolate Mousse Graveyard Cups
Halloween is probably the most under celebrated holiday in New Zealand. We're happy to drink with the Irish on St Paddy's Day, eat a ton of chocolate at Easter and get right into the spirit of Christmas but Halloween kind of falls by the wayside a bit. Don't get me wrong, there are still Halloween decorations for Africa in all the big stores but no one I know really celebrates it. Maybe the fact that I've always lived in the country where the closest neighbour is at least 300 metres down the road which makes for a huuuge trick or treating mission has something to do with it. I'll work on that. It makes me kind of sad though, because if you know me at all, dressing up is kind of my thing. And what better time of year to do it than Halloween?
I think I've probably left it a bit late this year to do anything major, but I did make a couple of spooky treats for anyone who is celebrating!
