Couldn't Resist - another Bazaar find

I love vintage!

There's just something about having something that's handed down from someone else that gives you a sense of history... and well for lack of a better word, connectedness. Maybe it is because I grew up with hand-my-downs most of my childhood being the youngest of four girls! LOL!

This darling, oh so darling tray isn't quite vintage but it looks it doesn't it? M's response when he saw this - "It looks old! Is that rust??" Pretty convincing I must say :) The rust spots look almost real, but they are carefully painted on to give it that weathered look. 

I couldn't resist. Just couldn't. Vintage. Cute. Cupcakes. I was sold! 

Making it Personal

We were blessed to be hosted by our friends over the June holidays. Before we left I searched for a simple but practical gift for them. And of course it had to be cute too :)

Here's what I found at a Bazaar - a pretty darling vintage metal box to keep notepads or whatever else they fancied.

I personalized it by adding a clear label with a simple Thank You note from all of us...

...and added a stack of home-printed and designed note paper stationary to place inside! These were cut carefully from A4 paper with a small cutter by my most helpful assistant, N :)

We had a great time - and our hosts were so wonderful! Can you imagine stocking up on snacks for the kids so we could bring it along on our outings?? Thanks again D and LP! Hope you liked the simple personalized gift from us :)

Father's Day Desert

Scrummy apple mango cranberry pie topped with vanilla ice cream! 

To celebrate Father's Day for the girls' awesome daddy, M, we decided to prepare him a delicious home cooked meal :) While he relaxed with a good book, N and I got our elbows dirty and prepared dinner and desert! K was blissfully taking her nap but I promised her she will get to put the finishing touches on Daddy's meal. 

Apple Mango Cranberry Pie Recipe

4 small green apples - cored, skinned and cut into cubes

1 small apple mango - remove skin and chop flesh into cubes

Handful of frozen cranberries

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1/2 tbs molasses (or brown sugar)

3 small squares of frozen puff pastry

1- Put the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and molasses in a bowl and mix well. Add the mango and cranberries and mix again. N helped to cut the apples and mix everything together.

2 - Spray or coat the baking dish with oil

3 - Pour the fruit into the baking dish.

4 - Tear the small squares of puff pastry sheets into small pieces. N did a great job of this altho her fingers felt frozen after a while :)

5 - Place the pieces evenly onto the baking dish of fruit

6 - Add a few bits of butter unto the pastry

7 - Pop it into a pre-heated oven 180C for 30mins till pastry is nicely browned

8 - Serve with a generous scoop of vanilla ice-cream and enjoy it with your kid's hero :)

This Hits the Spot! Strawberry Sorbet on Vanilla Ice Cream

Last week we had a couple of people over and at the end of dinner the ultimate question was posed - Any dessert? I had the boring option of grapes or vanilla ice cream. Then it came - why not have all the above with an added zing! 

Vanilla ice cream topped with strawberry sorbet and grapes... All I needed for the sorbet was 

1 cup of frozen strawberries

One packham pear - skinned and seeded

About 1/2 cup of organic oat milk

 Threw all that into the blender and ta-da! Lovely strawberry sorbet to top a scoop or two of Bud's Vanilla Ice Cream. Perfect! As my dear friend said - she was looking for something to fill this "hole" in her tummy, and she found that this simple dessert hit the spot! It sure hit the spot for me, although I didn't even know I had one to hit :)

Here's a not so pretty picture I almost didn't take cause we were all too busy enjoying this yummy dessert!

Seriously Good Whole Wheat Banana Cranberry Muffins

Last night, I had a bunch of very ripe bananas and nothing to serve my kids for breakfast the next morning. So I went looking for a healthy yummy muffin recipe. And have I found it! Absolutely NO refined sugar or refined flour in this yummy moist delicious muffin which had the best blend of sweet, salty and sour (from the cranberries!). Oh and no dairy either! Took under an hour to whip up half a batch :)

All good! And SO GOOD!

Whole Wheat Banana Cranberry Muffin Recipe

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup grapeseed oil (or olive oil)

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/4 cup hot water

1/2 cup of frozen cranberries (frozen crans were superbly sour..if you want something not so shocking, try dried)

1. Mix together whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt. Add frozen cranberries to the mix to coat.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, honey and eggs. Add 1 cup mashed ripe bananas. I like chewing into my nanas so I left them pretty chunky.

3. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix, alternating with hot water. End with dry.

4. Mix quickly until the batter is all moist. Don't over mix or your muffins will turn out hard (at least that's what everyone says!).

 

5. Spoon into lined muffin tin. This recipe will make 12 muffins.

6. Pop into pre-heated oven. Bake at 170C for 16-18 mins.

7. Burn your lips on the hot-from-the-oven yummy wholesome muffins! 

Indulgence - Chocolate Walnut Cupcakes

This certainly looks like indulgence, doesn't it? Well, you betcha! Chocolate walnut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting with a a touch of orange peel. All I can say is YUM YUM YUM! Made these for my sister's birthday. I used the never-fail chocolate cake recipe I learnt from an American colleague of mine when I did a stint of teaching. Super easy, super delicious! Don't even need to use a mixer (for the cake that is)

American Chocolate Cake Recipe

1. Melt 6oz(170g) butter.

2. Mix in 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Leave to cool.

3. Sift 2 cups flour, 2 tsp bicarbonate soda & 2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp. of salt

4. Add 2 cups of sugar (I used 3/4 cup brown sugar to reduce the sweet)

5. Add in 2 beaten eggs and mix

6. Add 2 cups of boiling water and then butter & cocoa mixture. Stir like a crazy person :) Don't worry about the lumps, they will soon disappear. (I added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts at the end)

7. Pour into cupcake liners (makes about 20 cupcakes) or into greased cake tin

8. Bake at 170C for 18 mins (45 mins for normal cake) until firm in the centre

9. Cool them on a wire rack and FROST and decorate!

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

1. Cream 4 oz butter and 8 oz cream cheese till fluffy

2. Add 1 tsp. vanilla essence and gradually add 2 cups of sifted icing sugar (to taste and consistency)

3. Add zest of one orange, mix it in

4. FROST!

and indulge... :)

Blessed Mother's Day

What a privilege it is to have moms and for some of us to be moms ourselves!

Being the youngest in a family, I grew up with an insatiable desire to be heard, to be considered a voice in the family. The desire to be heard and do things "my way" often rubbed against "mom's way". Now having become a mother myself and experiencing first-hand the challenges and celebrations in motherhood, I have grown more in honour and respect of my mom and many many other fabulous moms out there! If you're a mom and I have had the blessing of peeking into your journey as a mom, thank you for being an inspiration to me!
Her children arise and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praises her.
-- Proverbs 31:28
If at first you don't succeed, do it the way your mother told you to.

-- Author Unknown

I never knew how much love my heart could hold until someone called me "mommy."
-- Author Unknown


Here's a simple craft I whipped up for the kids at cg last Friday. A pretty victorian lace handbag card for mom! Which mom doesn't need another handbag? :)

Here are the supplies you need to make this simple craft.

Coloured A4 size cardstock, folded in half, cut to resemble bag shape, narrow end on the folded edge

Paper doilies, cut in half

Craft gems for the snap button

Chenille sticks and beads

Single hole puncher

Double sided tape

Craft glue 

Labels that say happy Mother's Day, Hand-made with love for the best mom, etc (optional)

1. Use double sided tape to attach the half doily to the folded card. Be sure to align the straight edge of the doily with the folded edge of the card.

2. Punch two holes in the top of the bag. These holes are where the handle of the bag will be

3. Thread beads on a chenille stick leaving about 2 inches on either end free from beads

4. Attach the ends of the stick to the holes

5. Glue a craft gem to the doily in the front of the bag to resemble a snap for your bag.

6. Decorate with labels or drawings :)