Calm in a tea cup

Everyone knows that tea is delicious, but it can also be a nutritional powerhouse that provides an excellent source of antioxidants that can be linked to energy, fluoride levels, bowel health and some anti cancer properties. Stir Tea has an enormous range of fabulous tea from all over the world for you to choose from. Personally I find the white tea with pomegranate very hard to go past, this leafy white tea is blended with safflowers, rosehips and pomegranate to produce a refreshing tea for all occasions. Grab a pack and dust off the teapot because this is a cup of tea you don't want to miss!

Stir tea is based in Queenstown and can be purchased online at www.stirtea.co.nz

Stir fried Brussels sprouts

I went and saw Jax Hamilton- form Masterchef and she cooked this as one of her dishes. Her advice was to sneak the sprouts into the house so no one sees them because no one will eat them otherwise.
I totally agree with her, it is so worth getting this one to the table without any one knowing what it is because they will not have a clue that what they are happily munching through is actually Brussels sprouts. There is no boiling, that is the main thing which automatically makes them a million times better than the green mush my mother used to serve up! I encourage you to give these a try- the farmer and I have been enjoying them just about every night with tea.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 Brussels sprouts
• 1/2 tsp seasame oil
• 1 Tblsp olive oil
• small knob of butter
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 2 rashers streaky bacon, sliced thinly
• 4 spring onions thinly sliced
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs (or Tblsp fresh)
• 1 Tblsp soy sauce
• 1 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley

METHOD:

Purchase the sprouts in secret and prepare them while no one is watching- that is the secret to this recipe.
Take the sprouts and cut them in half, then slice thinly. Put them in a colander and rinse with cold water. Allow to drain. Using a large frying pan or wok over a medium heat, pour in the oils, butter and season with plenty of ground black pepper. Allow the butter to melt and then turn up the heat and add the garlic. Cook for about a minute and then add the sliced bacon. Fry until golden and then add the Brussels Sprouts. Mix in with the bacon and garlic for about 2 minutes until the sprouts start to wilt.
Now put in the spring onions, herbs and soy sauce. Taste and season. Cook for another two minutes or until they are as cooked as you prefer. We like them to be crispy at my house but you choose.  Now finally toss in the parsley and remove from the heat.

TIPS:

• Serve as a side dish with pretty much any meat but chicken is particularly good.
• Make sure you don't go overboard with the sesame oil- it has a very strong flavour.
• grab a copy of Jax Hamilton's book Jax Cooks, because it is great!

Fabric beach balls

I made these fabric beach balls for my friend Ange's baby shower last weekend. I thought that a nice handmade gift would be a bit special and you also know that your gift will be unique if you make it yourself. I am by no means a great sewer and these were really easy to make and the result was great. These remind me of the kind of thing that my gran would have made for her friends and for us when we were little, really traditional.
Affordable gifts that are made with your hands, from your heart- can't go wrong. 

Instead of re-writing a tutorial, visit Purlbee and use theirs, because it is great and really easy to follow.

I am sure that any little person will get loads of hours of fun with these little gems- I filled mine with washable cotton filling and pre-washed all the fabric so the balls can be put in the washing machine after messy play (which is the best kind)!

Enjoy xx
A

Simply the Best Banana Cake

I am not a very good baker, I think it is because I tend to sort of throw a bit of this and that into my cooking instead of strictly following a recipe. So when a friend asked me to bake two cakes (yes TWO!) for a joint thirtieth- I freaked out a little. The Farmer's Aunty Lesley was immediately called in for a crisis meeting because she is an AMAZING baker. Lesley also has a pretty impressive cook's office and from that she shared this fantastic banana cake recipe that even I have managed to have good success with. Pity I drank a bit much wine to remember to get a picture of the two cakes- one had a tractor ploughing a paddock iced on top and the other was a helicopter on a landing pad (a farmer and a chopper pilot turning thirty- the Woman's Weekly cake decorating book would have been so proud!).

Making a high cake keeps it really moist and delicious

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/2 c self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 c castor sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 1/2 c mashed bananas (about 4 big bananas) 
• 1 c oil

METHOD:

Sift the flour and soda into a bowl. Make a well and stir in the sugar, eggs, banana and oil.
Mix gently to a smooth batter. Pour into a greased and baking paper lined 20cm round tin.
Bake at 160 degree Celsius for approximately 1 1/2 hours.
Ice with chocolate or cream cheese icing.

TIPS:

• I use a 20cm cake tin to produce an impressively high cake. If you prefer to use a larger tin, adjust your cooking times- it will take less time to cook.

I baked this cake and iced it with chocolate icing ready for decorating

Using rolled out fondant icing, I cut out this flower and put it on the cake