the cake's a winner!

The only thing harder than buying a gift for a man, is buying a gift for my Dad!

At 58, he has everything he could possibly need (and more) and anything else he wants is bought the moment it flashes into his mind.

So as you could imagine, I've racked my brain thinking of an original gift that he'll love and not toss aside the minute he sees his birthday cake. But nothing. Not an iota of an idea! So off to Bunnings I go for yet another gift card... ho hum.

So to distract from the lack luster gift, maybe I could create something special?

First the card...

I started with a brilliant idea but turns out I didn't have any of the materials I needed. So this is what I ended up with:

Hmmm... not off to a great start! Boring present, dud card...

But then I stumbled on a brilliant idea on Pinterest. It was so easy to make and I think it's a winner!

What do you think? Dad LOVES Kit Kat's, Mum LOVES cake and who doesn't love Smarties?
It's the perfect cake for my Dad's birthday and I have to admit, I think it looks brilliant!

Let's just hope it is so glaringly brilliant that it distracts Dad from the rest of his present!

Happy birthday Dad!

Michelle xx

home is where the heart is

When I purchased my first house, I was so eager to give my close family and friends a tour! 

Even with the embossed wallpaper, shag pile carpets, silk tassel light shades and a jungle for a backyard, I still loved it. 
I worked hard to get it and it was mine!

So of course I was elated and humbled when invited to a friends housewarming today. I just couldn't wait to see how she had transformed her own house into a home... A home where she and her partner will make a life together. 
 Home, where their heart will be. 

And here's what I made to add to their housewarming gifts:

Michelle xx

homemade flatbread

I am totally addicted to making this flatbread at the moment! It's from Donna Hay's A Cook's Guide and it's the quickest and easiest flatbread I've ever made. If you'd like to try it but don't have this cookbook, I've added the recipe to this post so you can enjoy yummy hot flatbread too!

You will need:

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon caster sugar

1 1/3 cups lukewarm milk

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon olive oil and extra for brushing

sea salt for sprinkling

Place the yeast, caster sugar and milk in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Place the flour, table salt, oil and yeast mixture in a bowl and mix until a smooth dough forms. Turn the dough onto the bench or a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Add extra flour to the dough if it is sticky. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Press the dough into a lightly greased slice tray, brush with oil and sprinkle with salt (at this step I also add freshly minced garlic).  I've also tried this flatbread with fresh rosemary and parmesan or olives - equally as delicious! 

Bake for 15-25 minutes (depending on your oven) or until golden brown.

Serve hot or gather your favourite fillings and make yourself a Mediterranean focaccia. My absolute favourite combination at the moment is roasted capsicum, feta and slices of fresh mushrooms, red and green capsicum and red onion, toasted in the sandwich press. Try it, you wont be disappointed!!

I'm off to enjoy the rest of my lazy Sunday! 

Bye for now...

Michelle xx

winnie the pooh party

Before you read on and question "Hang on, I thought you were a Social Worker?!?" I should let you in on a little secret... I'm a Social Worker by day and a secret wanna-be Event Stylist by night! 

With my secret exposed, I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite recent briefs. A gorgeous lil' man was turning 1 and his party was themed around his favourite character, Winnie the Pooh. With brief in hand, this is what I created:

A couple of dozen handmade cupcake toppers...

The handmade personalised sign and the candy table...

'Piglets strawberries n' cream' and 'hunny bears' (honey gummy bears)...

'Meringue hives' (lemon flavoured meringues) and 'Tigger's red balloons' (jaffa's)...

What bear doesn't love 'hunny joys'...

And I would never style a party without my signature Oreo pops...

Lemon cupcakes with the handmade cupcake toppers and strawberry flavoured jelly in Winnie the Pooh themed paper cups...

Personalised giant lollipops...

And a matching card...

And present, for the gorgeous lil' birthday boy...

Happy Birthday Dimitri - I hope you loved your candy table as much as the adults did!

Michelle xx

loving these december buys!

Admittedly, I have done far too much shopping this month! There were the Christmas gifts, the baby gifts, the gifts for all of the parties in December and January, the Boxing Day sales and of course, a few buys for yours truly. Now I'd love to share them all, but some of my favourite buys have yet to be gifted, so they'll stay under wraps for now! But take a look at some of my other favourite buys and gifts I received over Christmas:

Decorative berry branches - These wooden branches don't look like much now, but wait until you see what I have in store for these (check the blog later this month!). I bought these from Supply and Demand - my new favourite store! They stock excess homewares and decorator items from stores such as Adairs, Bed Bath and Table, Freedom, etc., and I just can't get enough of it! And best of all, they're cheap!

Sunbeam SmartBake - I finally got a bread maker!! I made my first organic wholegrain loaf over a year ago in protest against the $9 loaves I was buying from my health food store. Even though my loaves tasted so much better (and cheaper!), I hated the mess and the time it took kneading and repeatedly checking the dough as it rose. But this lil' baby means no more kneading, no more rise checks and no more mess! And it makes pasta dough and jam too! With all of this yummy bread I'll be baking, I secretly wonder whether my man bought this to benefit me or him?? hehe

Ceramic pie weights - If you enjoy baking like me, do yourself and the earth a favor and buy yourself some ceramic pie weights. They'll last forever and eliminate the waste involved in using new rice or beans each time you need to blind bake your pastry. My lovely sister must have read my letter to Santa because she added these and the Donna Hay Christmas magazine to my Christmas gift... Now I can't wait to start baking!

Glasshouse candle - I received this Christmas edition but I have loved the Glasshouse range of candles for years now... especially the caramel scented candle! These candles are made from non-toxic wax and all natural lead-free cotton wicks, so they're good for you and the environment. I've seen these at Bibelo and Peter Alexander, or check your local stockist on the Glasshouse website.

T2 Relax - Such a gorgeous mix of chamomile, juniper berries, flowers (hibiscus, lavender, rose petals), vervain leaves and lemongrass... I'm already addicted! Get some for yourself at T2.  

The Big Bang Theory Season 4 - I'm not a big TV fan but I absolutely love finding a great series and snuggling up for a few solid hours. My newest TV crush is the Big Bang Theory - An American sitcom based on the contrast between geeky and socially awkward friends Leonard, Sheldon, Raj and Howard and their beautiful neighbour Penny. If you haven't watched it before, grab yourself a copy or borrow mine... it'll have you in stitches!

Leather Journal - Last, but certainly not least, my new gratitude journal. Yes, 2011 was beautiful in many ways but it also brought many challenging moments and decisions. And although I am deeply grateful for all of the blessings in my life, it can be difficult remembering all I am grateful for during the difficult times. So as a constant (grounding) reminder, I really hope I take the time to jot down all of the small things I am grateful for each day. Why not do the same for yourself?

Michelle xx 

christmas eve lil' feet style

Christmas Eve dinner at my house... It was so lovely having everyone together, eating and being merry! And I survived - albeit with a few heart palpitation's, a chocolate stained sofa and so much food it'll take a whole year to work off!

Now with the last of the family gone, I thought I'd share some pics of Christmas Eve at my place... lil' feet style!

  

 

  
The table is almost done and I realise we need another table to fit everyone else! Oh my, of all the Christmas lists, I not once stopped to think whether I had enough room or enough tableware for everyone! To my dismay, I had to set up in both the dining and lounge rooms AND shock horror... another (not matching) dinner set!

In between setting up the dinner buffet and carving the roasts, the heat got to me a little so I retreated under the cooling vent... therefore no photo's of the dinner but, take a look at the sweets!

Some lavender cupcakes and Croatian walnut crescents from my lovely mum...

And as I mentioned in my earlier post today, a mountain of yummy sweets from the Queen of Sweets - my beautiful and talented sister Kat...

And her mouth watering Nutella tiramisu...

And when Kat asked what sweet I wanted this Christmas, and I replied 'scones!', I never thought she'd bake them immediately after dinner! Oh my goodness, hot scones with fresh jam and cream... my sis, she is just amazing!

So there's a glimpse of Christmas Eve dinner at my place! Now, I'd love to stay and chat but I think I may need to roll into bed before doing it all again tomorrow!

PS. Don't leave any milk and cookies out for Santa because he's got all of my leftovers to get through! 

Michelle xx

and the christmas baking continues!

It's Christmas Eve and I'm thrilled to have all of my family over for dinner tonight. The house is finally clean, the decorations are glistening, the sides are almost done and the roasts are about to hit the oven. Now for the sweets... Thankfully my lovely sister (the queen of sweets) will be making the majority of the sweets but I thought I'd add my signature Oreo Pops... but with a twist!

Oreo Pop puddings! And since my family aren't pudding fans, I think these will go down a treat!

Michelle xx

reindeer cookies

With only 7 days until Christmas, it's full steam ahead with the planning, shopping, cleaning, decorating and baking. But amidst the festivities, we're also in the thick of renovating and landscaping (crazy, I know!). So with a hoard of hungry helpers, I decided to whip up a quick batch of cookies to have at tea break, but I couldn't help myself... they had to be in keeping with this years theme!!

I used my own sugar cookie recipe but got the idea to decorate them from this lovely blog. I think they're pretty cute...

Happy Christmas baking to you all!

Michelle xx

handmade christmas cards and favors

It's been a busy few weeks and although I've done an insane amount of Christmas crafting, I've barely had a moment to even think about posting some of it! But after hand making over 65 Christmas cards and 60 favor bags (in the 'Hey, Rudolph!' theme of course!), I think I owe it to myself to show some of it off! Here's what my close family, friends and colleagues will be receiving this Christmas...

The handmade Christmas cards:

And the favor bags, each with 2 handmade Oreo pops and a cute reindeer peg:

I've had such a fun time making these and I really hope everyone likes them! 

See you all very, very soon... 

Michelle xx

kourabiethes

Kourabiethes would have to be the staple sweet of any Greek Christmas, Easter, Birthday, Name Day... actually, any day is a good excuse to indulge in these sweet treats! But like most European families, there is always a recipe that eludes the younger generation, and this is one of them! 

Be foolish enough to ask the older women in the family for their recipe and surely you'll get the evil eye. Everyone knows these recipes, which have taken decades to perfect, are never to be shared and will surely go to the grave with these women! Or you may feel fortunate enough to come across a Greek woman who offers her recipe... but beware! The recipe will always have something missing... usually the most critical ingredient! My grandmother will lovingly demonstrate her recipes but when you turn your back, she'll be hiding behind the cupboard adding her secret ingredient to the mix!

So with many failed attempts using many *altered* family recipes, I realised desperate times call for desperate measures! It was time to throw icing sugar to the wind, ad lib and trust my baking instincts... and what do you know? They turned out to be pretty darn delicious! 

Now here's the dilemma... every time there's a function, I'm asked to make kourabiethes. I rarely get the opportunity to make something different and I'm getting bored! So I'm going to break the Greek chain and public expose my recipe! Tag, you're it! You have the recipe now, so I can make something different for the next function!

But seriously, try these for yourself. They're super indulgent, so not an everyday food, but definitely worth the effort and the calories!

500 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons caster sugar
25 grams vanilla sugar
2 cups sifted plain flour
2 cups sifted self raising flour
1.5 cups almonds (crushed in a food processer)
1 tablespoon ouzo (optional)

a whole heap of icing sugar!  

Preheat your oven to 170-180 degrees (depending on how strong your oven is!). Using an electric mixer, cream the butter then add the egg yolks, caster sugar and vanilla sugar. Now, using your hands, mix in the almonds, ouzo and 1/2 cup of each flour. Work the mix, while continuing to add the flours, 1/2 cup at a time. If you need more flour, add plain flour only. What you should end up with is a sticky dough that is too sticky to roll but not so sticky that it sticks to your hands.

Roll your kourabiethes into balls and crescent shapes and place them on lightly greased non stick baking trays.

Place the trays in the oven and bake for around 25 minutes. Now, I say 'around' because I've baked these in 3 different ovens and each time, they've baked for different times depending on the strength of the ovens. I would keep a watch on the kourabiethes from 20 minutes onwards and take them out as soon as they have changed color (but not browned!) and appear cooked. They will seem tacky, even soft, to the touch. If your kourabiethes have cracked, don't panic because the icing sugar will hide all of your baking fau pas! When cool, sift a ridiculous amount of icing sugar onto the kourabiethes. This is a crucial step... don't omit or go stingy on the icing sugar!

So the kourabiethes are ready to eat... Greek tradition dictates these delectable treats crumble with every bite and leave a conspicuous trail of icing sugar on your shirt! Enjoy!

Michelle xx