Cocktail Fridays: the strawberry Limoncello

September 19 2014
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I’ve decided to start a fresh new thing on this here blog: a new cocktail, either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, for Friday night drinks!  I probably won’t be able to commit to a post every Friday but I’ll give it a go hey?  I might add in a snack suggestion every now and again too.

This lovely little number is an ode to spring; bright lemon flavours, some fizziness and a fresh strawberry you can pop into your mouth after you’ve finished your cocktail.

Happy Friday!

strawberry limoncello recipe

 

strawberry limoncello

An old cemetery visit

September 17 2014
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I love historic cemeteries, they’re fascinating, poignant and peaceful all at the same time.  Lafayette Cemetery in New Orleans is on my wish list (I’m weird, I know!) and when I backpacked around Europe years ago, like a lot of gen-Xers, I visited Jim Morrison’s grave at Père Lachaise Cemetery which was sort of touristy yet the cemetery itself was romantic; ornate and full of history.

We visited an old, local cemetery recently and Ant and I spent an hour or so there, wandering around in the late afternoon sun looking at the beautifully aged headstones and graves, a lot of them crumbling and broken (which was fairly distressing to see at first, why can’t they be looked after better by the council?!).  There’s a gorgeous, massive old tree there and I spotted tiny yellow leaves falling down and dappled sunlight across the headstones.  As we were walking out though, we saw one with a new photograph attached of a middle aged bloke with a huge grin, hugging an older lady who looked like his mum and I became suddenly very sad.

Anyway, if you want a strangely peaceful afternoon and a healthy dose of perspective, a lovely old cemetery’s the place.





There’s always one!


Cinnamon roll cakes

September 14 2014
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cinnamon roll cakes

These are exactly like cinnamon rolls except in soft, fluffy cake form.  They really are decadent.  And oh the cream!  It makes for such a gorgeous cake.  And aren’t saturated fats good for us now or something?  Hah.

They’re at their best warm out of the oven with the icing slightly soft and drizzly, however I froze the remainder and heated them in the microwave for breakfasts and they were still deliciously soft.

As you can imagine, these cakes are ideal with a cup of coffee and I sat out on our deck while I ate one in the morning sun.  Bliss!

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1990s playlist

September 10 2014
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1990s playlist

 Oh yeah the 90s!  Talk about overdosing on nostalgia.

My uni days; an era in music which personified alternative/indie, boy bands, grunge, angry chick songs and dance music, this will always be my favourite decade because, well, let’s face it, it was the last true iconic, or at least, easily recognisable era.  So if you want to check out my mega epic awesome playlist (130 songs and counting!), click on the widget.  For more playlists, click here.

 

Home made vanilla brown sugar body scrub

September 3 2014
8 Comments

brown sugar body scrub

Years and years ago, I ordered some vanilla brown sugar body scrub from an online fancy cosmetic store for about $40.  Clearly I had more money than sense at the time …. when I used it (and it was lovely) I noted it only had a few ingredients in it and thought how easy it would be to make at home.  Not being particularly housewifely, it’s taken me this long to actually do it.

This made my skin feel soft and smooth, however, because it has oils in it, be careful while using in terms of slipping over in the bath and make sure you don’t have any skin conditions.  Be mindful also that this is quite a coarse scrub (which I really like, grrr) so you need to be gentle.

brown sugar body scrub
brown sugar body scrub
brown sugar body scrub
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Berry yoghurt cake

August 31 2014
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This cake doesn’t rise much but the crumb is so soft and rich (I guess this is what happens when you throw in an extra egg and more butter).  It’s one of those every-day, not overly sweet cakes you can make from ingredients you’d have around, like frozen berries and Greek yoghurt.  It’s super easy to whip up as there’s no icing or waiting for the cake to cool completely.  I served this with some Greek yoghurt and smashed berries and the yoghurt’s sourness was a nice foil for the berry-sweet cake.






berry and yoghurt cake
fruit yoghurt

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Salinger

August 29 2014
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salinger

the catcher in the rye

I always feel like a cliché saying The Catcher in the Rye is one of my favourite novels as a gen Xer, however I truly did love this novel when I read it at school and the several times I read it until I was around 20.  I tried reading it a few years ago and while I still consider it one of my favourite books, it wasn’t quite the same as the first time I read it.  I’ve always thought you had to be an adolescent to appreciate the moody, sort of angry character of Holden Caulfield, unlike Franny and Zooey, which is still relatable.  Like a lot of kids, reading Catcher made me feel like somebody else understood how hard it all was.

Anyway, nostalgia aside, the other day I watched Salinger, a documentary on JD Salinger’s life and relationships.  Peppered with anecdotes and recollections from over a hundred subjects including Salinger’s friends, colleagues, acquaintances and even actors including Ed Norton and John Cusack, it’s a dark and really interesting look at a man I’d never really thought much about, despite loving his books so much.  I always knew he was reclusive but had no idea of his personality, his life experiences or what drove him.  I’ve read previously that Salinger always said the only person who could play Holden Caulfield was himself.

It’s true that the movie has a sort of tabloid appeal; yes it’s a documentary but it was also released after Salinger’s death and he’s not here to defend himself from the more negative, quite invasive commentary (he would have hated all the fuss, no doubt about it, but then who wouldn’t!).  Still, it’s a fascinating look at an interesting person in a different time.

Disturbing trivia uncovered in this; three well-known violent crimes are discussed which supposedly have a connection with the novel.  That made me really think about the book’s content and Holden’s depression; I guess being a young adult in the 80s/90s I didn’t question it too much and I’ve never really thought movies and books lead to violent crime anyway.  And how odd that this novel was likely not even intended as a book for young adults or teens and yet has such a huge following from several generations’ school curriculum.

Five new Salinger works are apparently being released from 2015-2020.

 

Video from: Salinger Official Trailer

Roast pumpkin, herb & walnut pasta bake

August 24 2014
19 Comments

A pasta bake’s always a welcome, comforting dish.  I made a pumpkin pasta & walnut bake a few weeks ago, threw in some fresh herbs and roasted the vegies beforehand to give them that sweet, caramelised taste.  The roast pumpkin slightly breaks down into the pasta and cream, making this dish super creamy and delicious with garlic and onion flavours.

pumpkin pasta bake

pumpkin pasta bake

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