I love using tea towels to wrap cook books. I think it's a great way to wrap them up that's a little bit different. It's really simple but looks like you've gone to lots of effort. It's nice for house-warming presents too.You need a fairly large tea towel for a regular sized cook book, so keep a look out for jumbo dish cloths. Finish it off with a wooden spoon, whisk or a few ...
Holidays
Decorative Plates DIY
If you're on Pinterest, then you've probably seen this idea before. While this will work with Sharpies (and I've tried it) the result is not dishwasher safe. I love my dishwasher and get a bit annoyed by things that aren't dishwasher safe.Pebeo Porcelaine 150 paints and pens are dishwasher safe. They give a lovely glazed ceramic look to your work. I used the pens and like that ...
Felt Christmas Ornaments
Does your sewing machine have a heap of decorative stitches? Did you think how cool they all were when you bought it? Have you EVER used them?? This is the prefect project to test them out.If your sewing machine doesn't have any decorative stitches on it, tracing around Christmas cookie cutters onto the felt and then hand embroidering over the outline would look lovely.It's a ...
Play Felt Christmas Tree – No Sewing Needed!
Does your toddler like to play with your Christmas tree? Do you get panic attacks every time they go near it? Especially when they go near the side that has your favourite glass decoration on it that you got on holiday 5 years ago and you know you can't ever replace?? I'm hoping that this play tree will solve my problem. A little tree just for your kids to decorate and play ...
Anzac Biscuits
It's cold and stormy today, and the weather has put me in a baking mood. With Anzac Day tomorrow, I thought I'd make up some Anzac biscuits. These biscuits were originally sent by wives to their soldiers during World War I. They had a long shelf life so travelled well. Back then, the recipe didn't use any butter, but over the years it has been added to improve the flavour 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 ...
Candy Cane Brownies
I love to put Candy Canes on the Christmas tree, but we seem to forget that they're there and I've always got some leftover after I take down the tree. Chocolate and mint go great together and this recipe is a delicious way to use up any leftover candy canes. The mixture is all made up in the saucepan, so you don't have too many dishes to clean up. Candy Cane ...
Gravlax
Gravlax is a salt and sugar cured salmon that looks and tastes lovely and posh but is super easy to make. All you need to do is cover the salmon with the salt cure and leave it for a few days to cure in the fridge, then you cut it up. I prefer the taste of Gravlax to smoked salmon and when I make a batch, I do a bit more than planned and we eat it for brunch with scrambled ...
Peach Sangria
I made a jug of this up for New Years Eve and it went down a treat! It's probably a total abomination of Sangria to add the peach schnapps, but it was a lovely addition. It's been really hot these last few days so I'm sure another jug will be chilling in our fridge soon enough. Peach Sangria makes about 2 litres 1 peach, sliced 1 orange, cut into quarters and ...
Spinach and Cranberry Salad
Well here's my twelfth, and therefore last day of Christmas. It's been lots of fun putting together all these Christmas posts and I hope you've enjoyed reading them. This salad is a staple in our house during the Summer. I get requested to make it every Easter and we often have it at home for a light dinner. What I love about this salad is that it's a great way to to use up ...
Gingerbread Ice Cream
What could be better for a Southern Hemisphere Christmas dessert than gingerbread ice cream? This tastes just like gingerbread and you don't need to turn the oven on to make it. Christmas Day is forecast to be quite hot here in Melbourne, so we will be having this as a light and cooling dessert. Gingerbread Ice Cream makes 1.5 litres* 2 eggs 2/3 cup (150g) packed brown ...
Peppermint Schnapps
Day 10 of my 12 days of Christmas...and time for a drink! Peppermint Schnapps is a lovely and refreshing aperitif and makes a nice, home made Christmas gift. I can't figure out if there is a difference between Peppermint Schnapps and Creme de Menthe, but I don't think it matters. This recipe is made using grain spirit. It's also known as Polish spirit or Everclear. You can ...
