My Monthly Loves: May 2015

Every month I see Tara from Vegetaraian posting about the things that she has loved. She posts such interesting ideas that it always leaves me thinking about the things that i’ve loved in my kitchen (and life!) and thinking that I should really stop being so selfish and share them all with you!

So, this month i’m loving

IMG_8167#1 The cutest sieve ever.

Hubs and I bought this sweet little colander from Villeroy and Boch at Peters of Kensington when we first moved into our apartment in February. This one is a little bit late but I love it every damn month and use it all the time. Particularly now that its winter and we are steaming and boiling all the veggies for dinner. Not to mention all the pasta we make that needs to be drained in this little baby. I thought it would be super exxy because of the label but it was only $24 and then it was on sale further! Run, don’t walk people.

P.S. I know that my hand looks like it belongs to a child. Oh well.

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#2 Spelt flour from Whispering Pines Organics

Up until recently I didn’t really care that there were other types of flour other than the normal plain and self raising. Then I read this post by Heidi from Apples Under My Bed and, suddenly, it was something I HAD to try. So I played around with the recipe a little and came up with this Spelt Quince Cake which is perfect to warm your belly from the winter chill. This flour does something special to make a springy crumb and adds a lovely nutty flavour to the cake. Ive been using it in everything now to just see what magic it can impart on all my usual recipes. I’ll keep you posted!

IMG_8131#3 Freezer Meals: Nana’s Lasagna

Between work and uni and life in general, hubs and I really struggle sometimes with finding nutritious meals that don’t take too much time to cook and don’t sacrifice flavour for speed. Luckily my fabulous mother in law and hubs’s nana keep stocking our freezer with delicious pasta bakes and lasagnas! Hooray! We just pop them in the oven for half an hour and its all easy peasy. Thank god. These dinners have been a real life saver and i’m certain that they taste so good because they’re made with so much love. And cheese.

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#4 Pecans

These little beauties came fresh from the farm. There is a post coming about the lovely day that I spent with hubs and his family picking pecans and eating damper. They are a real pain in the butt to shell but the taste is so much better than the ones that you buy in a packet from the supermarket. Now all I need to do is figure out how I can shell them without tearing all my fingernails off in the process because they’re so damn tasty and so damn nice in everything i’ve baked with them so far. Again, stay tuned!

So my lovelies, what are you loving this month?

The Most Exciting News of the Year

Ok so i’ve been a bit remiss this term with my posts but I have a super super good reason. Ive been pretty focused on something outside of the kitchen, something a bit closer to my heart. Let me make the most exciting announcement of the year and tell you

I’M AN AUNTY!

Meet Emily

Meet my new baby niece

Emily Rose O’Neill

This is pretty much the most exciting thing to happen this year. Little Emily is the first baby in my family and she is absolutely perfect. I’m already planning all the Disney movies i’m going to take her to, pink frothy skirts i’m going to make for her and all the birthday cakes i’m going to bake. I’m pretty much just a bundle of excitement for the future!

So only a brief post today but such a damn important one.

Love, love, love!

Southern Highlands Love: Artemis Wines Cellar Door

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One of the things that I love about the Southern Highlands is the abundance of wineries that can be found nestled in the rolling hills around Mittagong and Berrima. I also love the bakeries, restaurants, antique shops, friendly people, beautiful countryside… maybe I just love everything. Anyway, hubs and I have been slowly working our way through the numerous cellar doors in the area over the last few years. When we stopped for lunch at Eschalot recently (super highly recommended by the way!) we were directed to try the pinot noir from Artemis, a local winery. We were both so taken with it that we immediately looked up the opening hours of the cellar door to see if we could make it after lunch. Unfortunately, our lingering lunch meant that we missed the closing hours and so, a return trip was necessary. As if we needed an excuse to come back!