Ok so as an update to my previous post about the truffles, I have just been informed by a friend that the way to get smooth glossy chocolate coating on your truffles is to add coconut or vegetable oil into your melted chocolate! Genius! Will be using that method next time...
For now, it's feeding time at the zoo!
Stay beautiful x
30 Nov 2013
Asiatics are in full bloom, Calla's are on their way up and I have little bean seedlings planted and hopefully about to come up in my little seedling tray out in the garden shed! woohoo!
Life is delicious today....especially since I just made some healthy(ish) chocolate truffles!
Oh YES.
Now I'll try give you the recipe, but to be honest I was experimenting and hoping for the best so I'll give you my best measurements from memory...just tweak them slightly if its not coming together. Just add more of the wet ingredients if its not binding together into nice firm balls.... (I may have giggled just then...sorry sorry, I try to be a grown up most of the time)
Ingredients:
- 1 C LSA (ground linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds) or just ground almonds will work too if you dont have LSA...you can actually make LSA pretty easily in a really good blender or food processor, just thought I'd mention that before you get caught out (like I did) buying it at the price of diamonds from the healthfood stores haha)
- 4 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract with seeds (essence is a no no in my books, but go ahead if you haven't got the real stuff, we cant all be fuss pots like me :P )
- Nowwww I squeezed a bit of honey in...I dont really know how much...maybeee 1 tablespoon maybe 1 and a half? not really sure, so maybe just squeeze a bit in and see how you do, not too much, we dont want them to be really sweet and we dont want them to be uber sticky when you go to roll them.
- 3 heaped tsp unsweetened cocoa
- 1 splash hot water (i used a splash out of a just boiled kettle) this is just to moisten the mixture to make it easy to roll but if its the right texture to roll dont worry about it.
- Annnd about 150g of dark (I'm talkin the uber dark bittersweet 72% cocoa, dark chocolate, not this pansy "dark" chocolate that Cadbury puts out lol)
Method:
- Soooo basically just combine everything above except for the dark chocolate and roll it into balls.
- Grab a heatproof bowl and a small pot, chuck some water in the pot (just a wee bit) throw that baby on the stove top and get it boiling. Put the bowl on top (preferably a bowl bigger than the pot cause you don't want the bowl to touch the water in the pot) and put your chocolate all broken up, in the bowl to get melty. Alternatively you can melt it in the microwave, but I have never succeeded with this method, it always ends up going past being melted and cooks into a burnt gross turd looking lump...so I don't recommend doing it that way, but hey you might be a microwave pro, in which case, go for your life!
- Now your chocolate is a melty puddle of glossy goodness, dip/roll/whatever your truffle mixture in the chocolate and place on a nonstick baking sheet then put in the fridge to set, or freezer if you are impatient like me! ...Don't ask me how to get a nice smooth coating, cause I haven't mastered that either, and i kinda like the rustic (yeah that's right I'm dropping a "rustic" bomb...which is really just messy, dressed up)
And voila, kind of healthy truffles! ...come on we all know dark chocolate is good for you...antioxidants or something something :D
Well my 3 year old miss muffit and hubster loved them so that's a win in my view!
have a go, get messy (or RUSTIC!) and if you feel so inclined, leave me a comment and tell me how yours turned out. Maybe create your own version, add chopped up apricots or something?? I dont know, but I'd love to hear what you tried!
Back to flowers...here are my lovely Asiatic lilies making a stunning appearance in my front yard!
Callas are shooting up, not long now until the first flowers come out I should hope!
So back in May I sent my wonderful Mummy a Rose plant for Mothers day called "Mum in a Million"
Now of course May in NZ is not rose flowering season, so what turned up to my mums place was a stumpy little pruned rose plant...not much to look at...BUT NOWWW ooooh lala, this rose is stunning. She said it has a devine purfume which wafts all through her courtyard and into the sunroom. Yum yum! Gotta get me some roses growing I think. *credit goes to my Dad for the rose photos*
Ok, well that about covers it for this entry
For now, be delicious, get summery, stay beautiful! x
19 Nov 2013
Hello hello!
Well after a full on week with family visiting from the UK, I am slowing getting back on track with my usual daily routine!
Had a fabulous time, my hubby's Dad and Step mum made the trip out to visit us and meet their new grandson Alexander. Suuuuch a lovely week, we'll miss them!
Anywayyyy today i was feeling a bit prematurely Christmasy, so i chucked on an old classic Christmas movie, Santa Clause (from 1985!) for my daughter to watch. Possibly a wee bit young for it, she loved the first half where its all set way back in history, but once it got to the modern day she lost interest, don't think it was quite as magical at that point. I still enjoyed it though! Made me get all excited and feeling like going, SQUEEE!! Love love love Christmas!
And what I love love love most, is making delectable home made goodies to give as gifts...2 kids, on one income, you start to get good at making home made gifts, and to be honest, as an adult I appreciate the home made gifts so much more. You can pour your heart and soul into a home made gift and it makes it that much more special than something you just popped into a shop to buy.
So I've been hunting around wondering what things I might make this year for the family, as they are all heading down our way for Christmas this year. (Thank goodness! I do not fancy making an 8 hour drive up north with 2 small children in the car....and besides that I don't think all our luggage would fit in our car for the trip!!)
So today I stumbles across this on pinterest!
30g butter
350g caster sugar
300g good quality white cooking chocolate, broken into squares
(0.126 standard drinks per piece)
Line a square 20cm cake tin or baking dish with baking paper.
Measure out 125ml of Baileys and pour into the saucepan.
Add the milk, butter and caster sugar and put the pan over a low heat. Stir occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted(this takes about 10 min).
Turn up the heat to medium and stir while the mixture gently simmers. You want the bubbles to be calmly breaking the surface for 10 min. Remove pan from the heat and stir in chocolate and the last 25 ml baileys. Keep stirring until chocolate has melted and you have a smooth consistency. If the chocolate is slow to melt, put the pan over a low heat and stir until smooth. Transfer to the tin and chill for at least two hours. Cut into small squares.
Well after a full on week with family visiting from the UK, I am slowing getting back on track with my usual daily routine!
Had a fabulous time, my hubby's Dad and Step mum made the trip out to visit us and meet their new grandson Alexander. Suuuuch a lovely week, we'll miss them!
Anywayyyy today i was feeling a bit prematurely Christmasy, so i chucked on an old classic Christmas movie, Santa Clause (from 1985!) for my daughter to watch. Possibly a wee bit young for it, she loved the first half where its all set way back in history, but once it got to the modern day she lost interest, don't think it was quite as magical at that point. I still enjoyed it though! Made me get all excited and feeling like going, SQUEEE!! Love love love Christmas!
And what I love love love most, is making delectable home made goodies to give as gifts...2 kids, on one income, you start to get good at making home made gifts, and to be honest, as an adult I appreciate the home made gifts so much more. You can pour your heart and soul into a home made gift and it makes it that much more special than something you just popped into a shop to buy.
So I've been hunting around wondering what things I might make this year for the family, as they are all heading down our way for Christmas this year. (Thank goodness! I do not fancy making an 8 hour drive up north with 2 small children in the car....and besides that I don't think all our luggage would fit in our car for the trip!!)
So today I stumbles across this on pinterest!
Definitely giving this one a go! Baileys white chocolate fudge! mmmmmmm!!!!!
recipe here:
150ml Baileys
50ml milk30g butter
350g caster sugar
300g good quality white cooking chocolate, broken into squares
(0.126 standard drinks per piece)
Line a square 20cm cake tin or baking dish with baking paper.
Measure out 125ml of Baileys and pour into the saucepan.
Add the milk, butter and caster sugar and put the pan over a low heat. Stir occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted(this takes about 10 min).
Turn up the heat to medium and stir while the mixture gently simmers. You want the bubbles to be calmly breaking the surface for 10 min. Remove pan from the heat and stir in chocolate and the last 25 ml baileys. Keep stirring until chocolate has melted and you have a smooth consistency. If the chocolate is slow to melt, put the pan over a low heat and stir until smooth. Transfer to the tin and chill for at least two hours. Cut into small squares.
Will let you know how it turns out :D
For now, get Christmassy and stay beautiful! x
6 Nov 2013
Today = Rain rain and more rain! Stupid weather can't make up its mind...stunning hot clear weather one day, storms and wind knocking down trees the next....Spring in this country is ridiculous!
Whats a mum to do to keep a bored 3 year old entertained?
playdough, where's wally books, playing shops...and of course, making smiley face sandwiches together!
Raspberry jam, banana, raisins and cream cheese...who wouldn't wanna eat them!
Miss 3 likes to deconstruct them, eating them bit by bit...starting with the pupils and the nose...kind of creepy when you write it down...specially if you hadn't read the first part or seen the picture hahaha....anyway...this is just a mumsy post today, nothing particularly florally going on here!
Stay dry, stay beautiful x
Whats a mum to do to keep a bored 3 year old entertained?
playdough, where's wally books, playing shops...and of course, making smiley face sandwiches together!
Raspberry jam, banana, raisins and cream cheese...who wouldn't wanna eat them!
Miss 3 likes to deconstruct them, eating them bit by bit...starting with the pupils and the nose...kind of creepy when you write it down...specially if you hadn't read the first part or seen the picture hahaha....anyway...this is just a mumsy post today, nothing particularly florally going on here!
Stay dry, stay beautiful x
5 Nov 2013
Hello hello!
Its been almost exactly a year since my last post, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!
So apologies for that, and lets get the last 12 months covered!
We've moved cities,
Spent 9 months growing a little human in my tummy,
Been admitted to hospital 3 times, twice for hyperemesis, (pregnancy and I do not agree with one another...now I've got my 2, I am shutting up shop!!) and once to give birth...
Our adorable new baby boy is already 11 weeks old, no idea where that time has gone!
So far he is like 100 times easier than his big sister was, hes just chilled out, eats, sleeps, poops and all with very minimal crying...not to mention, sleeping 12 hours at night, woop woop! (His sister was a nightmare and wasnt even close to this kinda sleeping at night until she was about 8 months old!)
So thats the personal life events covered, now we're back to business. Planning to open a floristry business with a good friend of mine, perhaps some time mid-late next year and in the mean time,still keeping my hand busy with the floristry from home.
Our new house doesn't have much of a garden, so i have started a new collection of flower pots out the front. This spring ive had a gorgeous display of Rannunculus and Tulips, along with the ever present splash of colour from my Antirrhinums and Violas.
This stunning vase was given to me by my brother and his wife for my birthday this year, doesn't it look incredible with all those gorgeous bright Rannunculus? <3
Anyway, so for now I need to run as my 3 year old has risen from her afternoon nap and its snack time!
Stay beautiful x
Its been almost exactly a year since my last post, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!
So apologies for that, and lets get the last 12 months covered!
We've moved cities,
Spent 9 months growing a little human in my tummy,
Been admitted to hospital 3 times, twice for hyperemesis, (pregnancy and I do not agree with one another...now I've got my 2, I am shutting up shop!!) and once to give birth...
Our adorable new baby boy is already 11 weeks old, no idea where that time has gone!
So far he is like 100 times easier than his big sister was, hes just chilled out, eats, sleeps, poops and all with very minimal crying...not to mention, sleeping 12 hours at night, woop woop! (His sister was a nightmare and wasnt even close to this kinda sleeping at night until she was about 8 months old!)
My two beautiful children, Alia and Alexander.
Mummy snuggles with Mr Chubby Cheeks x
So thats the personal life events covered, now we're back to business. Planning to open a floristry business with a good friend of mine, perhaps some time mid-late next year and in the mean time,still keeping my hand busy with the floristry from home.
Our new house doesn't have much of a garden, so i have started a new collection of flower pots out the front. This spring ive had a gorgeous display of Rannunculus and Tulips, along with the ever present splash of colour from my Antirrhinums and Violas.
Anyway, so for now I need to run as my 3 year old has risen from her afternoon nap and its snack time!
Stay beautiful x
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