Tangy Italian Salad

We were having an Italian themed lunch day at work today. Here is the salad I took in, I made it up as I went along. I called it Tangy Italian Salad.


Salad Ingredients:

2 x 200g Greek feta cheese
1 pck of two chorizo sausages
1 large bunch of fresh parsley
1 large jar of sun dried tomato strips (well drained)
1 jar of roasted sweet red peppers (well drained)
1 jar of kalamata olives (pitted and drained)

Dressing Ingredients:

1 lemon juiced and 1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tble spoon of apple cider vinegar
1 tble spoon of olive oil
1 x 12 g tube of Gourmet Garden Oregano paste
1 x 12 g tube of Gourmet Garden Basil paste
1 x 12 g tube of Gourmet Garden Garlic paste
Pinch of sea salt flakes, good grinding of black pepper
1 large tsp of sesame seeds

Method:

Dice sausages and fry off in a non stick pan. Drain well on paper towel, set aside to cool. Dice feta in to smallish cubes. Add diced feta, cooled sausage, sun dried tomato strips, chopped roasted peppers, kalamata olives and chopped parsley to salad bowl. Toss lightly.Whisk all of the salad dressing ingredients in a jug and pour over the salad. Cover with cling wrap and place in the fridge for the flavours to merge overnight.

Enjoy XxXxX Joey

Birthday Cupcakes

Here are the cupcakes that I made for my daughters birthday party's this year. We had so much fun making them. They are almost to pretty to eat.

Our First Home Grown Pineapple

Two years ago we bought a pineapple from the Supermarket. We ate the pineapple and saved the top to plant in our garden so the kids could watch it grow. As it was our first time growing a pineapple we weren't sure if the plant would produce a fruit. Finally after 2 years we have just harvested a big, juicy 3 kg pineapple. It smelt so sweet and was absolutely delicious. Home grown produce tastes so much better than store bought. It's such a great feeling knowing that you have eaten something that you have grown from scratch.

Corned Beef studded with Cloves, basted with Orange Juice, Seeded Mustard, Brown Sugar and Honey.

This is a family favourite that I'm sure you will all enjoy. A jazzed up version of Corned Beef.

Ingredients:

1.5 kg of Corned Beef

Pickling spices; Mustard, Bay leaf, Pepper Corns (Red and Black), Dill Seeds, and All Spice.

1 Large Brown Onion

1 Large Carrot

1 Stick of Celery

1 small fresh bunch of parsley

1/2 a cup of Brown Malt Vinegar

1/4 of a cup of Brown Sugar

Ingredients for Basting Glaze:

The juice and rind of 1 freshly squeezed Orange

1 tble spoon of Seeded Mustard

1/4 cup of Honey

1/2 cup of Brown Sugar

40, Whole Cloves to stud the fatty top layer of Corned Beef

Method:

Rinse the Corned Beef under the cold tap of the kitchen sink.

Place the Corned Beef in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the pickling spices, brown malt vinegar, brown sugar, roughly chopped brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped carrot, celery and parsley to the pot.

Bring to the boil and simmer for about 1 hour.

Drain Corned Beef; score the fatty top of the Corned Beef into small diamond shapes. Prick each diamond in the middle with a small sharp knife and stud with a clove.

Place the Corned Beef into a large roasting tin lined with non stick baking paper( Fatty/Clove side up). Mix the basting ingredients together until combined. Pour the glaze over the Corned Beef and cover with foil. Bake in a 160/ 180 deg oven, (basting every 20 mins) for 40 mins to 1 hour. Take the foil of for the last 20 mins so that the top fat layer renders and goes all sticky.

Take from the oven, carefully remove all the cloves. Let sit for 10 minutes to rest.

Serve with boiled new potatoes, honey sesame carrots, green beans and white sauce.

I also use the reduced basting Orange Sauce to spoon over the meat to serve.

Even those who don’t enjoy Corned Beef, really love it this way.

Enjoy !

XxXxX Joey

Homemade Baby Powder

Homemade Baby Powder

I have not long finished whipping up a batch of my sister Kimmie's Lavender and Rose Baby Powder. I purchased some stainless steel icing shakers from the kitchen section in the supermarket to put the powder in. The mesh in the lid of the shaker stops the lavender and rose petals from falling through. You just get the soft scented powder. I decorated them with cute stickers/decals. I have given them away to all the new mums that I know for their beautiful bubbas. They were so happy with their gift. It smells so dreamy! My family have all started to use it as well. My girls love it and it smells divine. There are no nasty chemicals also - which has to be good! The recipe for the talc is available on her blog. http://theserendipitycafe.blogspot.com/

Origami

Origami

I recently joined a fabulous forum http://lickyalipsdelish.com/forum/ and will be starting a thread on Origami in the arts and craft section of the forum. Here are some bright and colourful Origami pencils that I have made. I would love for you to join me there to chat about Origami and for you to post both piccies and info on any Origami pieces that you may have made. Hope to see you there soon :]



Love Joey


xxx

An Autumn Day At Mount Tamborine

An Autumn Day
With Dear Friends






Three weeks ago a very special friend and her little dolly (that’s what I call her baby daughter 12 months) and I spent the day together at Tamborine Mountain. Mount Tamborine is a beautiful place nestled in the hinterland of the Gold Coast, Australia. It’s a favourite place of ours to go together when we both have a free week day. Nice places to eat, lovely little one off shops to get lost in along Gallery Walk, local produce (avocados, macadamia nuts, fruit and veg ) beautiful homes and gardens, lots of treasures to be found. There are some very talented Artists,Craftsmen and women who live on Mount Tamborine. My favourite season of the year is Autumn. The magical colours of the leaves: yellow, orange, red, burgundy and the faded browns that have fallen and carpeted the ground which crunch when you walk on them are a real delight to my sight and soul. You just don’t get those colours on the Coast.



On one of our stops we visited the Nardoo Lavender Shop. I absolutely adore Lavender with its wonderful purple colour and soft, sweet calming aroma. What a beautiful place to spend some time wondering around and having a little look and smell. The shop sells a vast array of wonderful gifts. You can find old treasures, garden accessories, pampering products, creams, scrubs, soaps, beautiful linen aprons and tea towels. They stock many different types of dried lavender and oil grown from all over Australia and the world. I did not know that there were so many different aromas of lavender. Some have a soft scent, some quite bold and some very spicy. I purchased some dried lavender and some oil to make some of my sister Kimmie’s special Lavender Baby Powder.



For lunch we had decided to have a picnic at the Mount Tamborine Botanical Gardens. What a pretty little spot this is, so peaceful and relaxing. There must have been 10 Kookaburras sitting in trees and perched on top of pergolas around us as we sat by the lily pond eating our lunch and watching the ducks swimming. What a beautiful sight this was. We were very spoilt as there was only a handful of other people there. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. After our picnic we walked off our lunch by strolling around the 11 hectares of gardens broken in to different themes, the cherry blossom walk, the fragrant rose garden, the wisteria covered pergola, the tranquil Japanese garden with a running stream and a vast array of other Autumn trees and plantings. It has the most beautiful stone bridge to cross. The gardens are run by a dedicated team of local volunteers; it is a real credit to them, a gorgeous pocket of paradise.



There is only one way of topping off a magical day like this before winding our way back home down the mountain. It’s a visit to the Witches Chase Cheese Company. I am the biggest cheese fan in the world! Let me tell you, I adore the stuff. If there were to be no more cheese in the world tomorrow well I would lie down and cry. Anyway back to the cheeeese, sorry I’m drooling. I purchased a 1/2 piece of Camembert and 2 cups of the most delightful homemade blood orange sorbet, another one of my weaknesses. In case you’re wondering if I ate both cups well I’II set the record straight, one was for me and the other was for my darling friend to enjoy on our trip home. A wonderful day was had by all.





Love Joey

xxx