The best things in life are {dairy} free?

After a beautiful couple of days in Hobart (I promise to post pics soon!) I was looking forward to some downtime at home. That normally involves lots of time in my kitchen.

I couldn't wait to head over to my godson's place for morning tea with his fam on Saturday morning and promised to take some treats. 

I've admitted to the fact that I'm not much of a baker before. It's no secret, I love to eat sweets but I'm more partial to cooking savoury goodies. So I wanted to keep it simple . . . I was thinking scones with jam and cream or a tea cake or something . . . until his Mum said she's trying dairy free for a couple of weeks.

Eeeeeekkk!

Dietary requirements, I do not do!

I turned to trusty google to find something suitable and was freaked out by some weird ingredients and complex techniques many dairy free recipes called for. 

Then I found an oh-so-simple dairy free chocolate cake that seemed too good to be true.

They were deliciously moist (the sort that stick to the roof of your mouth and get stuck in your gums between your teeth) and really really easy to make. I went for the cupcake option, but I'm sure the full sized cake would be yum, especially if served for dessert with cream. Oh whoops, what was that I said about dairy free!?

Dairy free chocolate cake

Serves 12

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups plain flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

1 tspn salt

1 tspn vanilla essence

1 Tbspn white vinegar

1 tspn bicarb soda

1/3 cup olive or canola oil

1 cup water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 12 hole muffin tray or round cake tin
2. In a mixing bowl, place the sugar, then sift in the flour and cocoa. Place the bicarb on top and add the vinegar, essence, salt, oil and water
3. Use a balloon whisk, stir all ingredients until well combined. Do not overmix
4. Pour mixture into cake tin or muffin tray. Bake the cake for 35-40 mins or the muffins for 20 mins

NB. It's quite a runny batter, so I recommend mixing in a jug or bowl with a lip so that you can pour it straight into the tray. I made up a simple icing of icing sugar, cocoa and water and then topped with store-bought flower decorations.

Recipe from here

Bowled over by bathrooms

I've never normally been one to get excited by bathrooms.

My own little brown/mustard box does the job - I have a bath and a shower which I'm grateful for, but the tiles kind of gross me out and my wooden toilet seat slides off its Royal Doulton base every time you sit down (did you like that little mention? I have a Royal Doulton toilet and basin. Posh, hey?! Shame you slide off it every time you sit down though!).

Whatevs.

But during my daily morning read of the local online newspaper, I stumbled across this BEAUTIFUL home in the Adelaide Hills. And out of all the gorgeous pics in the photo gallery, the ones that excited me most were those of the bathrooms (yes, there are three in fact).

Who am I!? Excited by bathrooms? Gosh, I'll be eating vegetarian next (no way, never, not in this lifetime).

But come on . . . do you blame me?

Look at these tiles!

And that beautiful stonework . . .

Looking down the other end, all that light!

And that window (although, are they bricks from another building I can see through the trees? Not sure I'd be wanting to bathe in quite as much um, visibility!)

And look at the entrance to this spectacular bathroom . . . through what look to be concealed doors within the built in robes. Fabulous!

And then these gorgey blue tiles. Hello lover. 

And here is a pic of the outside.

Stop it, already!

I know, you've turned green, right?

Check out more deliciousness here.



All together now

The truth be known, I'm a hopeless romantic.

I'm not soppy and lovey dovey at all, PDAs offend me (that's Public Displays of Affection to the uninitiated) and I struggle with the L word, but I adore the idea of romance. Of happy endings. Of kindred spirits.

Can I be a romantic but not be romantic?

Well, this marriage proposal had me at hello. It is so cute, I love me a bit of kitsch and as a big fan of Bruno Mars and Glee, I totally loved this.

Different worlds

Can't stop playing Brittany Cairns' cover of Jes Hudak's 'Different Worlds' 

She totally had me in tears in last week's episode of The Voice. Oh, and in every ad break promoting her phone number to vote since. Just ask Bree.

Listen to the gorgeousness below (I'm having a technically challenged moment and can't work out how to insert the clip, so you'll have to deal with a link sorry peeps!)

Yes, click here for the beauty, do it!

Pinterest pic

Ode to Can

Ode to Can.

There’s a four lettered word

As offensive as any

It holds back the few

Puts a stop to the many.

You can’t climb that mountain

You can’t cross the sea

You can’t become anything 

You want to be.

He can’t hit a century

They can’t find a cure.

She can’t think about leaving 

Or searching for more.

Because Can’t is a word 

With a habit of stopping

The ebb and the flow of ideas

It keeps dropping

Itself where we know

In our hearts it’s not needed

And saying “don’t go”

when we could have succeeded.

But those four little letters

That end with a T

They can change in an instant

When shortened to three.

We can take off the T

We can do it today

We can move forward not back

We can find our own way.

We can build we can run

We can follow the sun

We can push we can pull

We can say I’m someone

Who refuses to believe

That life can’t be better

With the removal of one

Insignificant letter.

Who else was intrigued by the bus shelters and billboards with the simple word 'CAN'T' over this past fortnight? I flew into Hobart on Thursday and noticed them plastered all over the Apple Isle as well. Too lazy to jump on my computer to look it up, I brainstormed with Bree to try and work out what it all meant.

It all made sense when Toni Collette appeared on our TV screen . . . and we were excited by her gorgeous little poem and 'storytime' approach.

But how disappointed I was to find out that this beautiful campaign and creative was for a BANK! Bree and I had guessed charities, kids' causes, Australian celebrations, arts and culture . . . but a BANK?!

What a waste of a brilliant idea! Hats off to M&C Saatchi for its creative genius, but I'm so disappointed it's been wasted on a bank.

Here's the full ad featuring the gorgeous (yet wasted) Toni Collette.


(And yes, I know what you're all going to say - it's done its job if people are talking about it . . . but I'm sure not switching banks because of it. Not after those horrific "determined to be different ads" with the bad American accents! I just would've loved it being used for good rather than a BANK!)

Not such a silly sausage

There are some dishes that excite all senses.

This is one of them.

Colour, flavour, texture, scent, warmth, spice, tang, comfort.

I have made a few variations of this before, but never combined all these flavours in one.

Out. Of. This. World.

I served it up as a side dish in the first instance (with pesto chicken and smashed roast potatoes) but then froze up the leftovers and ate it in its own right the next week. Just as good reheated - you should've smelt my kitchen!

A great dish for a single gal (although, I'm not sure how good it is for my new healthy eating regime?!)

Blah to that, it's Winter and I will NEVER sacrifice taste.

PS. Yes, that is a Laguiole fork. Susie Q (aka Mum) outdid herself in the birthday present giving stakes this year, and treated me to not the Laguiole steak knife set . . . but the whole cutlery set! Take note dear readers, writing an online birthday wishlist to your Mother can really work in your favour!

Garlic chickpeas and chorizo

Donna Hay

Serves 2 as a main

3 chorizo, sliced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 Tbspn shredded lemon zest

250g cherry tomatoes

1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained

1/2 cup basil leaves

1 Tbspn lemon juice

finely grated parmesan, to serve

(I also added a handful of pitted kalamatas and LOVED them)

1. Heat a non-stick fry pan over medium-heat. Add the chorizo and cook for 3 minutes each side or until the chorizo is golden and crisp.
2. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook for 1 minute.
3. Place the tomatoes in a sieve and press to split and release some of the excess juice and the seeds
4. Add the tomatoes and chickpeas (and olives) to the pan and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until heated through.
5. Stir through the basil and lemon juice.
6. Divide between serving bowls and sprinkle with parmesan to serve.

Recipe from Fast Fresh Simple - Donna Hay

Overseas . . . kind of

I'm off to visit one of my besties today so am signing out for the week.

Really looking forward to five days exploring Hobart with her and her little one. I've been working some pretty crazy hours lately so am dreaming of long sleep ins, lazy afternoons, copious amounts of coffee, open fireplaces, cuddles with Grace and ugg boots. Oh, the simple things!

Happy week lovelies. May your days be filled with little adventures of your own

xo

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