Biome Eco Store Mother’s Day promotion and gift basket giveaway (Australia) (CLOSED)

April 19 2013
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The reason for today’s post is exciting!

Shionagh from Biome contacted me recently to ask if I might be interested in participating in their Mother’s Day promotion and to offer Australian readers a chance to win a gift basket for Mother’s Day, Sunday 12th May.  I’m so happy to promote Biome as they’re one of my favourite stores and I’ve purchased from them many times.

Biome are a specialist eco store based right here in Brisbane (stores at Paddington and Brisbane City), who offer healthy, ecologically sound choices to customers by selling vegan, ethical, recycled, reusable, palm oil free, BPA free, cruelty free and, where possible, Australian made products.  They have a wide variety of thoughtful and beautiful items including homewares, gifts, cosmetics, food, cookware and stationery, they ship internationally and can also be seen on Biome Blog and the accidental greenie.

Biome have generously offered a gorgeous gourmet gift basket as a giveaway for their Mother’s Day promotion (contents pictured just below).  What could be better than to give your darling mum a wonderful gift which she’ll not only appreciate, but will also give back to our lovely world we live in?  This gift basket is wonderful; full of decadent, delicious, healthy things, which I’m sure any mum would be happy to receive, and just for her.

Apologies to overseas readers however if you read on, you might find a gift from the online store.

1. Lemon myrtle muffin mix 2. Kale chips 3. Organic agave nectar 4. Organic drinking chocolate 5. Gypsy coconut chai 6. Macadamia nut oil 7. Raw organic coconut butter oil

Also, check out Biome’s Mother’s Day gift section for some lovely gifts for your mum on her special day!  Maybe some of the links below will inspire you:

Sweet Mother’s Day card:
Gorgeous floral, light yet resilient gardening gloves:

Gourmet, food safe, insulated lunch tote:
And there’s always Biome’s colourful Mother’s Day selection:


1. Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottle in ‘golden poppy’  2. Lifefactory glass flip-top water bottle in ‘purple’  3. Canvas coffee cup carrier in ‘orange fuschia’  4. Ecococoon stainless steel cup set in ‘retro 70′s’  5. Envirosax reusable shopping bag  6. Tightology footless women’s tights in ‘raindrop teal’  7. Certified organic tea towel in ‘green waratah’  8. Klean Kanteen insulated bottle in ‘wild raspberry’

Entry details:

  1. The giveaway is open to Australian residents only and you will need a postal address.
  2. To enter, you need to email me via the contact page and answer the question:  What is a Biome?  The answer can be found here.
  3. The winner will be chosen at random by random.org and I’ll be emailing the lucky person to inform them.  I will also ask for their full name and postal address to forward to Biome so they can send the gift basket.
  4. All personal information will be kept strictly confidential and will at no time be disclosed to any other party.
  5. This giveaway is associated with Biome who are offering the gift basket at their cost.  Neither the giveaway nor the cost of postage is transferable.
  6. The giveaway will be open from today and will close at midnight on Sunday 28th April, 2013 (Eastern Standard Time, Queensland, Australia); entry to be received by that date.

Thank you so much to Shionagh and Biome for this generous offer.

 

 

Banners used with permission from Biome

Stylish hair I covet

April 18 2013
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Hair defines a generation doesn’t it?  It can also mean the difference between pretty and knock out gorgeous.

Here are some ladies whose hair styles I love, all of which seem to stand the test of time and with, let’s face it, a bit of a crush now actually.

blondie

(Blondie via)

brigitte bardot

(Brigitte Bardot via)

winona ryder

(Winona Ryder via)

jean shrimpton

(Jean Shrimpton via)

mia farrow

(Mia Farrow via)

 

 

The quote and with, let’s face it, a bit of a crush now actually shamelessly taken from Bridget Jones Diary, UK, Universal Pictures, 2001

Bill Granger’s Asian inspired, marinated steak sandwich with homemade barbecue sauce

April 1 2013
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steak sandwich
I purchased Bill Granger’s Easy a while back and was really keen to use it.  It’s packed with delicious yet simple recipes, so full of colours and interesting flavours.  So in it I spied a fancy looking steak sandwich recently, which I thought would be great barbecued on the long weekend.

We love a steak sandwich in Australia, it’s kind of a tradition (along with chicken parma with a pint at the pub and falafel kebabs at 3am after a night out but they’re a whole other story).  Bill’s steak sandwich with gorgeous Asian flavours of ginger, spices, garlic and soy sauce is delicious!  I added some seasonal vegetables for some crunchy freshness piled onto a crusty Turkish roll, and we decided to barbecue the steaks after briefly marinating.  I find this guide to testing steak helpful and you could also check out how to cook the perfect steak for more info.

First I made the awesome barbecue sauce which was fragrant, sticky, spicy and reminded me of toffee.  I mean who doesn’t like barbecue sauce?  Well homemade, particularly this homemade, is far superior, yet super easy and you can use it for so many things, such as a dip for chips (like hot chips and gravy but better) and instead of relish for a cheese sandwich.  I’m also thinking of making a barbecue chicken pizza using the sauce as a base, using it with vegie lentil burgers and oh .. maybe even to spice up some savoury mince pastries.  You get the drift.  It’s kind of amazing.

Anyway, then we fired up our little barbecue …

bbq

bbq

steak sandwich

steak sandwich

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Chocolate hazelnut breakfast oats with coconut milk

March 27 2013
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I didn’t realise that chocolate oats were a thing until I searched recently and found quite a few recipes.  I think it’s inspired!  This cacao flavoured, nutty, creamy breakfast dish is also very timely considering Easter’s just about upon us.

I love hearty, healthy oats and will always try something a bit different with them.  Inspired by this recipe, these luxuriously flavoured oats are a wholesome and delicious treat for breakfast and will give you loads of energy throughout the long weekend.

The cacao powder brings the oat mixture to a silky texture, similar to custard and I really enjoyed the dark chocolate flavour combined with the subtle coconut.

So try this!  I really can’t imagine any chocolate lovers turning this down and, as someone who finds it very challenging to even go a day without something sweet, I can honestly say I already felt like I’d had dessert and didn’t crave any more sugar that day.

choc oats

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St Patrick’s Day slow cooked Irish beef pie with parmesan soda bread crust

March 17 2013
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To celebrate this year’s St Paddy’s Day, I thought I’d make a hearty beef stew with Guinness.  It doesn’t get more Irish than that hey?!

I’ve never made one with a soda bread crust before (although I’ve made soda bread and am mad for it) and thought it looked really interesting.  It was super easy but I did change quite a lot; I don’t eat lamb for example, so used beef and thought I’d throw in a bit of Parmesan for the soda bread and a couple of other things.

I loved using Guinness in this recipe as it’s wonderful for slow cooking.  I actually prefer it to red wine for beef casseroles, as it’s slightly thicker, darker and the flavour isn’t as strong as red wine but still makes for a rich casserole.  The crusty, savoury bread was delicious as an accompaniment baked on top of the flavoursome beef and as you eat it, it soaks up the thick sauce.

However …. we seem to have misplaced Autumn this year in Australia so it was a bit warm for slow cooking and bread baking.  Still, it was well worth it.

beef soda bread stew

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Whisk & Pin (Australian made)

March 13 2013
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There’s nothing I love more than a site featuring gorgeous sweets, I just can’t resist them.  Even home bakers appreciate beautifully made, healthy baking mixes and desserts and they make great gifts.

Whisk & Pin, a company based in the Blue Mountains from whom I’ve ordered regularly, now have a sparkly new gourmet food site!  Their products are handmade with the best ingredients and include delicious cookies, tea, baking mixes, dried fruit, conserves, muesli and chocolate treats (and hampers will be available soon!).  Check them out.

Cranberry and orange organic pancake mix:

pancake mixorange pancakes

Apple and fresh fig jam:

granny-smith-fig-jam

Bite sized cookies – gluten free chocolate mud and pistachio and cranberry shortbread:

20120828_whisk-041pistachio-cranberry-cookies

Organic muesli:

organic-muesli

Dried orange:

dried-orange-bag

Note: I wasn’t asked to profile or review this site nor did I receive any payment to do so.