Super Easy White Chocolate Russian Fudge

When I was growing up, my sister and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen. We pretty much only ever made cakes and sweets! One of our favourite "sweets" to make was Russian Fudge. We used a recipe from the Rally Cookbook which you had to boil for 30 minutes until it was ready to beat and set. Usually when you're making sweets you want to make and eat as soon as possible! Although the waiting does make it taste sweeter don't you think?!

Mini Sweet Pecan Pies

This is one of those recipes that I've had for aaaaages but never done because I thought it would be too hard or fiddly. I got the recipe from a colleague at work who is a brilliant cook and baker, and whips up all kinds of things at the drop of a hat. She sometimes makes these for special morning teas at work and we all "ooh" and "ahh" about them because they look so fancy and special. They also taste delicious and are the perfect type of thing when you want "just a mouthful". So now I have discovered that they are deceptively simple!

The only ingredient I needed to buy was the Pecan Nuts. I already had some frozen sweet short pastry (yes I know, a cooks cheat), and everything else is pantry staples. 

You could make your own pastry, it's included in the recipe, and it looks pretty easy too. 

Things I'm Loving : New Plymouth

This is my first time doing things I'm loving, inspired by Meghan! This past weekend we spent a few days in my hometown New Plymouth. We don't get up there very often and sometimes I forget that it is actually a neat little city. So here are a few of my pics from the three days we spent there. 

Firstly I am loving Brooklands Zoo! It is a free (yes FREE) Zoo in New Plymouth open 7 days a week. They have all kinds of animals from monkeys to meerkats and a few obligatory farm animals too. There is also a pretty neat playground to play on as well. It's a pretty amazing facility totally maintained by the council and to a very high standard also. 

Midweek Meal: Chinese Chow Mein Rice

I would like to preempt this post by saying that 1. I am definitely not a food photographer (I took all these pics on my phone while I was cooking!) and 2. I realise this is probably the furtherest recipe away you can get for an authentic Chow Mein, but this is the name I made up, so I'm going with it!

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie

It's really not the right season over here in New Zealand to be making desserts like Pumpkin Pie. Our weather is warming up, and you're more likely to be indulging in strawberries and ice cream! BUT I can assure you, once you've had this pie, you will change your mind! It has a beautiful sweet, velvety texture, and it's hard to stop at one slice!

I got the recipe from an old work colleague who used to make it every time we had a pot luck meal. I actually hadn't had it before then, it always seems a bit confusing to make a sweet dish from a vegetable! So the thought of it might put some people off. If I had the choice of apple pie or pumpkin pie, I might actually choose the pumpkin option! 

This is really a very sweet, decadent dessert that can be eaten warm or cold, alone or with cream, ice cream or yoghurt. 

It's definitely worth a try, and if I have any Northern Hemisphere readers, here's an easy recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner!

DIY: Upcycled Necklace

Here is a SUPER easy project you can do with any jewellery that needs freshening up. It literally took me 15 minutes from start to finish!

Before I had my son, I wore a lot of jewellery and especially necklaces. If you are a mother, you will know necklaces + baby = chaos! So up until fairly recently I haven't been wearing a lot of my stash! I also used to wear a lot of different necklaces at work, but once we switched to a uniform, I couldn't really wear them anymore. 

What I've been up to! Making, Baking and Creating!

Last week I was SUPER busy! We had a short week because of the holiday on Monday for Labour Day. This doesn't really affect me given that I don't work on a Monday! But it was nice to have my husband at home with us. So I didn't get much done that day as a result, being in weekend mode for an extra day!

(The view from my deck, last friday night)