I served this at hubby's birthday at it went down a treat. It looks really fancy, but is very easy to make. Use any fruity tea bags you like, or even plain old black or green tea would work, although you might want to squash some of the berries in that case to get more berry flavour.Strawberry Iced Teamakes 2 litres4 fruity tea bags (I used Twinings Cranberry and ...
Cooking
Kulich for Easter – Russian Easter Sweet Bread
Kulich is a sweet Easter bread and a part of the Russian Orthodox Easter tradition. Hubby's family is Russian Orthodox, so I was quite excited to take up this tradition in our house. The bread is similar to the Italian Panettone. Traditionally, the Kulich, along with coloured hard boiled eggs is blessed by the Priest before the Easter Mass. It is then eaten as the first food ...
One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns
I am usually greeted with a look of confusion when I tell people that I don't like Hot Cross Buns. There's something about the smell, I think it's the cinnamon, that just turns me off. I have the same problem with Raisin Toast. But I thought it was about time to suck it up and I figured if I made them myself then I'd be more inclined to enjoy them. It's raining and dark ...
Vegan Chocolate Cake
(These are the berry version - mini cupcakes with raspberries, and raspberry glaze) I actually use this recipe quite a bit, and not because it's vegan, but just because it's yum! The recipe gets a good workout during Lent, and is a great last minute recipe because I always have everything in the pantry. It's also a great recipe for anyone with an egg or dairy allergy. To ...
Too much Basil
My basil has gone crazy this year. Hubby doesn't eat cheese, so I couldn't make a huge batch of pesto to use it up, which left me to think about what I could do with it. Well I decided to cop out and let future Abby worry about that, so I froze it. Did you know you can freeze basil and it's almost as good as new when you come to use it? It's much better than dried basil and ...
Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti
I like my biscotti pretty thin, that way I don't need to worry about chipping a tooth when I bite into one. This recipe is great for gifts and can be done in several stages if you don't have the time to do it all at once. Because the recipe doesn't use any butter, these keep really well and stay nice and crispy. Cranberry and Pistachio Biscotti makes about 70 3/4 cup ...
Baked Beans from Scratch
Baked beans are Man food. Every boy I know loves them! Girls, not so much. And think I know why. We are all subject to canned baked beans as kids. They're horrible, overly sweet mush, with nondescript flavour. This can put a person off for life! Make them yourself however, and they're a treat!Full of fibre and protein, this is a good meal for babies too. Under 12 months, I ...
5 (Almost) Instant Toddler Snacks
Here is a quick list of things that I make sure I always have on hand, so that when the cupboard seems bare, there is still some healthy options for my hungry little boy. These are some alternative suggestions to the normal fruit, yogurt, toast and dip that you might think of. I'm a bit unimaginative when it comes to snacks, so it's always good to have several options. As ...
Thai Beef Salad
This recipe is on high rotation at our place during Summer. It's pretty quick to put together, although you do need to marinade the steak. The longer the better, but if you forget, 15 mins is better than nothing. I have left the marinade off before, but it's just not the same. We put noodles in to make it more of a dinner, but you can leave them out for a light meal. Thai ...
Valentine’s Day Sundae
They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach and I suspect this applies to a lot of girls too...it certainly does for me! Hubby and I both have a huge sweet tooth and for Valentine's Day we decided to make up our own little sundaes.You won't find anything fancy on this blog for Valentine's Day. No heart shaped macarons or 10 layer pink ombre cakes...just something ...
Waste not, want not – Spring Onions for Free
I feel like a bit of a chump for not trying this sooner. All the times I've thrown out the bottoms of my Spring Onions when I could have been growing new ones for nothing! I thought that this must be a myth I've heard, but it was no effort to test out and I'm so glad I did. Also, why do these little things have so many names? Scallions, spring onions, green onions, ...
Make your own Baking Powder
You probably think I'm crazy for even suggesting this, but I promise you there's method to my madness. For years now I've been making my own self raising flour. It's just plain (all purpose) flour mixed with baking powder. Nice and simple. I like knowing it's fresh when I make it, rather than sitting in the cupboard for ages and it also means I can store less in the pantry ...
