pizza pinwheels

woah! double recipe trouble! C has been working which means the craft room slash office has been out of bounds. I have been working in my next favourite room - the kitchen! These party delights are very moorish, warning: it is hard not to stop munching the little beauties!

 

This recipe is a bit hap-hazard as I just make it up as I go along but it means that you have the freedom to add and remove what you like.

What I used:

2 puff pastry sheets

1/2 a red capsicum, finely chopped

few squirts of tomato paste

finely chopped spring onion

grated cheese

finely chopped basil

Pre-heat your oven to around 190-200.

Lay your pastry sheets out to start defrosting - this should only be about 3 minutes before they're workable, don't leave any longer as they will be very floppy.

Spread out your squirts of tomato paste onto the sheets - go right to the edges.

Sprinkle your toppings (just like a pizza) on top.

Roll up the square into a log.

Cut 1 inch slices from the log. (what's a more appetising word than log? stick?)

Lay out your slices on an oiled baking tray, give them enough room to expand.

Chuck in the oven for around 15 - 20 mins until pastry is puffed up and golden brown.

I know how tempting it will be to grab one of those little circles and shove it in your gob straight away - beware - they are super hot nuclear reactors so take care and blooowwww (yes I learnt the hard way!). Eat hot or cold. Hurray.

mint berry frappe

Fzzzz, its been hot. As I mentioned on my last post I was going to try out a Mint Berry Frappe. It was delish and sooo refreshing. Here's the recipe for my cooler-downer.

Few tips of mint - save one for the garnish
A handful of frozen berries (you can get these in a bag from the supermarket)
3 or 4 ice cubes
4 freshly squeezed oranges

 

Chuck it all in a blender and ta-da! If don't want such a thick result add more orange juice. Next Frappe will be pineapple and mint with a sneaky dash of vodka.

homemade gifts

Here are a couple of easy Christmas pressies that I put together last week. The lavender for the pillows were from the harvest that I had in November (see here). I put them in little calico bags with messages printed on them and tied them up with ribbons. I also kept a few for myself to go in the coat wardrobe and under my pillow on the bed.

The purse is made from some fabric that I got for my birthday in October. I used a Crafty Minx pattern. I love the colour and the cute retro teacups.

Christmas Day was fantastic as usual, I love catching up with the family and over-indulging. We had our little fur baby with us for the day and she was quite happy about all the pats and cuddles. (Unfortunately was so wrapped up in the day I forgot to take some photos! durr).

I'm putting together my plans for the next few weeks off (so excited!), hopefully the weather continues to be magnificent (27 today) and it should consist of some crafty projects, visiting relatives, days at the beach, new years parties and resolutions, leash-training Lucy, soap-making and many ice cold ciders! To cool down this afternoon I'm going to make a mint-berry frappe (I'll post the recipe if it works!).

muesli bars

These healthy treats are a great lunch box addition or handy snack for unexpected guests. Give them a whirl!

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup desicated coconut
1/3 cup wheatgerm
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 sunflower kernels
1/2 pumpkin seeds
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup flax seeds
100g butter
1/2 cup honey
1/8 cup brown sugar

Grease and line a square tin with baking paper.

Cook oats, coconut, wheatgerm, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds over a low heat in a fry pan. Stir occasionally for 8 mins but don't let it burn!

When light brown, transfer this mix to a metal bowl.

Stir in the cranberries and flax seeds.

Cook butter, honey and sugar in a saucepan and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer without stirring for 5 mins. Add the wet mix to the dry.

Stir until combined and then spoon into your tin. Press down on the mix firmly and pop in the fridge until set. Chop up into slices and store in a tinfoil-lined container.

Munch at your desire.

Christmas Cards

The festive season is officially here and as we spend our weeks 'catching up' and weekends frantically Christmas shopping and at 'work-do's' crafters around the world are relishing in the opportunity to celebrate the craftiest time of year.

These cards are my first contribution to handmade festiveness and I am really happy with the result. I embroidered some Christmas images onto some calico and then machined sewed these onto cards. The interior is stamped with my new alphabet stamps (see older post).

Look out for some recipe's, more craftiness and some Christmas Day pics coming soon.

You may be wondering what happened to the boot camp wrap-up. Unfortunately C had some bad family news so this past week has been a bit up the wahzoo and I didn't make it to the last class. The one result I can determine from the experience is the motivation and knowledge of my capability to actually exercise more in the New Year. I don't think I should have any trouble with that since we now have a little canine ratbag to keep entertained.

boxing boot camp day five

'arg me knees' is the first thought of the day. For some reason both knees have decided to go very funny and have objected to any impact. This meant that boot camp was a lot less intense than usual but I modified my moves and still managed to 'work out'.

It's the last class on Wednesday. In hindsight I should have weighed and measured prior to starting the training for a comparison at the end. My pants do a feel a bit lighter though and I will attempt to perform an assessment on fitness/weightloss later in the week.

Blog hijack!

A welcome little treasure has joined our family and she is proving to be an exhausting yet delightful addition.
Meet Lucy.

Downward facing dog

boxing boot camp day four

I had my first motivational crisis today. After corporate carnage all day I was so fatigued that I began to internalise a really complicated situation in my head. To go or not to go. To fight or flight.

I went. How could I let my diary down?

I went through the motions and built up my second layer of sweat for the week. As the exercises now are routine I focused more on the psychology of the trainers. How do they motivate us?

Blackmail is one option. If you don't finish three reps of burpies, star jumps, press ups, sprints and jogs in the allocated time then the whole group has do to ten burpies. Guilt pushes you through. Or you just pretend you did three, like Jules said "I'm gonna lie".

Temptation is another motivation. "Nearly there, one more sprint and then you can rest", "It's the last class of the week", "Almost done, Almost done". I think this is the technique that I am most responsive to. I do like my rest and being told that I can have some if I just do a  little bit more means I will follow through.

Positive reinforcement. "You're doing great guys", "You are the fastest group", "Great work, great press ups".
This verbal condescenion grinds my gears. I have built up a resentment towards them as their pathetic excuses for compliments are hollow and totally de-motivational. Oh and I also find their jokes about doing an extra ten press ups hilarious*.

Can you tell I'm tired? And maybe a little bit grumpy? I need some yoga to balance me out.

*I'm being sarcastic. I sweated all my wit out today.

boxing boot camp day three

We need a montage. A sporty fit montage. Pump some iron, do some lunges, punch and jump. Very exercisey.

16 degrees, drizzle and a cold breeze were a motivation tonight to get the muscles pumping. I almost enjoyed myself. And, ohhh this is the best bit, there was no sprint, jog, sprint, jog. Hurrah!

Stitch did afflict me halfway through my star jumps and my hip is starting to act up but apart from that I am feeling fitter. I think wearing a muscle tank also motivates the punches more so than a baggy tee. I felt like a real exerciser.

I wonder if I'll keep this up after bootcamp. I can see myself gently jogging around the neighbourhood. I could be one of those people, you know the types, the ones that run for fun. Imagine that.