My brother is a mechanic and all-round handy guy, so often has grubby hands. I made up a pot of this to give to him for Christmas. It's lovely and moisturising for hard working, dry hands. It's great to use after a day gardening, cleaning or even packing (I always find my hands get really dirty and dried out packing boxes). The sugar scrubs off all the muck, and the honey and ...
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Gravlax
Gravlax is a salt and sugar cured salmon that looks and tastes lovely and posh but is super easy to make. All you need to do is cover the salmon with the salt cure and leave it for a few days to cure in the fridge, then you cut it up. I prefer the taste of Gravlax to smoked salmon and when I make a batch, I do a bit more than planned and we eat it for brunch with scrambled ...
Peach Sangria
I made a jug of this up for New Years Eve and it went down a treat! It's probably a total abomination of Sangria to add the peach schnapps, but it was a lovely addition. It's been really hot these last few days so I'm sure another jug will be chilling in our fridge soon enough. Peach Sangria makes about 2 litres 1 peach, sliced 1 orange, cut into quarters and ...
Choc Banana Loaf
I have never been able to figure out the difference between banana cake and banana bread. I think one is baked in a round cake tin and the other in a loaf tin, otherwise they're pretty much the same. I've found a loophole by being non-committal and I'm calling this choc banana loaf. For me, the addition of the dark choc chips makes this 10 times more amazing than a regular ...
Stock from leftover Roast
We enjoyed some delicious roast duck on Christmas day. I always make stock with the bones leftover from a roast because it's basically free and not to mention, yum! The duck made a lovely dark and rich stock, which I think I will use in a risotto. The stock is also nice as a soup base with some tiny pasta and a few diced veggies.If you're feeling frugal you can collect the ends ...
Spinach and Cranberry Salad
Well here's my twelfth, and therefore last day of Christmas. It's been lots of fun putting together all these Christmas posts and I hope you've enjoyed reading them. This salad is a staple in our house during the Summer. I get requested to make it every Easter and we often have it at home for a light dinner. What I love about this salad is that it's a great way to to use up ...
Gingerbread Ice Cream
What could be better for a Southern Hemisphere Christmas dessert than gingerbread ice cream? This tastes just like gingerbread and you don't need to turn the oven on to make it. Christmas Day is forecast to be quite hot here in Melbourne, so we will be having this as a light and cooling dessert. Gingerbread Ice Cream makes 1.5 litres* 2 eggs 2/3 cup (150g) packed brown ...
Peppermint Schnapps
Day 10 of my 12 days of Christmas...and time for a drink! Peppermint Schnapps is a lovely and refreshing aperitif and makes a nice, home made Christmas gift. I can't figure out if there is a difference between Peppermint Schnapps and Creme de Menthe, but I don't think it matters. This recipe is made using grain spirit. It's also known as Polish spirit or Everclear. You can ...
Christmas Stocking – Tutorial
I'm really picky with the shape of Christmas Stockings, and I think I've finally settled on a shape I love. These stockings are quick and easy to make up and there is no end to the options for decorating these. They can be made from felt, burlap, Christmas fabric, velvet, old felted wool sweaters...the list goes on. Christmas Stocking You'll need: Main fabric - approx 40 x 60 ...
White Chocolate Christmas Cake
I first saw this recipe in the Sunbeam Christmas Recipe book and just reading the ingredients had my mouth watering. Hubby prefers light Christmas cake, so I thought this would be right up his alley. I've tweaked the ingredients a bit from the original, but it certainly does not disappoint. I also did some more testing with the Fresh Express and grated the chocolate up ...
Glitter Letters
Well, I'm now past the half way mark and pretty surprised I've managed to keep up all the Christmas posts. Roman has a cold and a new crop of teeth coming through this week :( He likes to get them in batches, which means we don't get a lot of sleep during the weeks he gets new teeth. I'm being very productive in my down time though, and these festive crafts are lots of fun. ...
Tefal Fresh Express Winner – Take 2!
Well, after 3 days the first winner did not get back to me, so sadly for Amelia, but excitingly for everyone else, I have selected a new winner.The winner of the Tefal Fresh Express giveaway is:Karen McNeil!! Congratulations!Karen said: My favourite kitchen gadget is the coffee machine... No explanation required I am sure!Karen, I have sent you a message on Facebook ...
