All About The F Word

This blog post is proudly brought to you by the letter 'F'..

Which (despite what you may have initially assumed) stands for FEATHERS.

Inspired by this Great Gatsby style dress, I am currently coveting all things feathers.

Here

Here

Here

Here

Here

Here

Here

Here

xx

The Grey Zone

On Sunday night I cooked roasted beetroot and sweet potato for dinner.

Delicious and healthy right?!

I then indulged in a dessert of pancakes drowned in cream and maple syrup...

Shuddup. I live alone. Usually there's noone around to judge my food choices.

This is my very own variation of a balanced diet. It's not quite perfect; but it could be worse.  

Let's be honest - I can make justifications to defend my choices until I'm blue in the face...

This, my friends, is what I like to  refer to as the 'Grey Zone'. 

Doing things that neither fall in the 'right' or 'wrong' basket.

Life is simply not 'black' or 'white'; 'good' or 'bad'.

There's a whole dimension in between.

A middle section of life that you can convince yourself is OK because it's not 100% not OK...

Still with me?

No. Me either.

Anyway, the Grey Zone can apply to all facets of life.

Today I'm introducing you to the Grey Zone Cookie.

It's made with wholemeal flour; oats; chia seeds; and stevia (not real sugar!)

But the recipe also includes chocolate and oil.

Whatevs.

They were super yummy.

Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

3/4 cup oats

1 cup whole-meal self raising flour

1/4 cup ground chia seed

3 Tablespoons Stevia

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup honey 

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the oats, flour, ground chia seed, Stevia, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, the honey, and the vanilla. Mix well. Add the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and mix well. Allow the cookie dough to rest a few minutes to let the liquids absorb into the flour.

Using a measuring Tablespoon, scoop level Tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden color and set. Let cookies rest on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Embrace the Grey Zone. Try these cookies!

xx

Lessons In Life

Mean Girls.

One of my favourite movies as a teenager.

I revisited it over the weekend and am happy to report that it was equally as entertaining over 10 years later..

So many laugh out loud moments. And life lessons.

On sex :

On secrets :

On feminism : 

On religion : 

On psychic abilities :

And sex again :

On name calling :

Fashion Rules according to Mean Girls :

On Wednesdays we wear pink.

You can't wear a tank top two days in a row and you can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week.

We only wear jeans or track pants on Fridays.

I need this for winter :

xx

Busy Doing Nothing

How is it that I can be so busy that I don't write a blog post for a week; and yet I have nothing to share?

This is one of life's great mysteries.

Anyway, luckily this thought occurred to me on Sunday afternoon so I was able to whip up some cupcakes and have something to show for my weekend.

I went back to this new favourite - 

Chocolate cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting (without the candy canes).

Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting

Another busy week ahead. Let's hope this one is more inspirational than the last.

xx

My Very Own Cheerleader

sourced here

The first 5 day work week after the holidays is always the hardest.

And yesterday I 100% believed that it was already Friday.

It was truly heartbreaking to realise I had miscalculated the days.

But here we are. We made it.

I would like to thank my wonderful puppy from whom I receive endless love and support.

I couldn't have done it without her.

xx

It Starts Here

Here it is - The ONYRP

(or Obligatory New Year's Resolution Post)

Everyone is doing it.

"Everyone?" you ask. "Would you jump off a cliff if everyone was doing it?"

Yes.

Well.. probably.

Depends why they're all jumping off a cliff in the first place. And if Jacob the Werewolf is there to save me.

Anyway, I digress.

Which incidentally is why I am posting my resolution on this here blog. Because I often become distracted by such things as sparkles and squirrels and sunshine and unicorns and cupcakes and..

Oops.. I did it again again.  

**sings**

Let's just get this whole resolutions thing out of the way, shall we?

Wish me luck.

xx

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

At Christmas Time, you really can add candy canes to almost any recipe to make it a little more festive.

Well.. atleast I think so!

I made these little gems for Christmas Day and they got rave reviews from everyone.

Go and get your hands on some discounted candy canes and give them a go - it's not too late to appreciate a Christmas Cookie.

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

ingredients

1 c. plain flour

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

1/3 c. butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

1/2 c. crushed candy canes

instructions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and whisk until combined and any lumps are broken up.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together using a mixer on high speed. 

Add vanilla and egg and beat until combined. 

Set mixer to low speed and slowly add flour mixture. 

Beat until just combined and fold in chocolate chips and candy cane pieces.

Drop tablespoons of batter two inches apart onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. 

Bake for 12 minutes or until set.

Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then finish cooling on wire racks.

xx

Candy Cane Swirl Cupcakes

Yes, it's a New Year. And yes, I am trying to focus on a healthier lifestyle. But the Christmas re-cap isn't over yet... So here we go.

I have to apologise.

Just a month ago, I wrote this post.

And now I have to eat my words.

Or my cake :)

Because I have found a recipe, which produces The. Best. Cupcakes. EVER.

And they're chocolate.

I am as shocked as you.

I wasn't looking for it. Wasn't even thinking about it. And it came into my life and changed the way I view the world. 

I will never be the same again.

I gave them a Christmas twist with some left over candy canes. I highly recommend that you do the same...

Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes

2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup almond milk (you can use regular milk if desired)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 cup boiling water

Directions

Line muffin tin with paper liners. Heat oven to 350*F.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for one minute.

Stir in boiling water (the batter will be thin, don’t worry, this is right).

Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. (I usually put the batter into a large measuring cup with a pour spout, and then pour the batter into the liners.)

Bake cupcakes for approximately 22-24 minutes.

Cool completely on wire rack before frosting.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

Approx 200g cream cheese, at room temperature

4 cups icing sugar

1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup crushed candy canes*

1 to 3 Tablespoons almond milk  (you can use regular milk; or cream if desired)

Directions

Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.

Add icing sugar (a little at a time) and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.

Add vanilla and peppermint extract and crushed candy canes*

Slowly add the almond milk, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)

Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.

Frost.

xx

*Note: Because it's the Festive Season and I had some candy canes lying around, I smashed them into small pieces and added them to the mix. This added to the peppermint flavour, but meant that I had to use a ziplock bag to pipe the icing, as some of the larger candy cane pieces wouldn't fit through the nozzle of my piping bag...

2013

Farewell 2012 - You were challenging and taught me many lessons; but you won't be missed.

Hello 2013.

I think we're going to be best friends.

xx