Banana Ice Cream and a Little Surprise!

Question: What could possibly be better than ice cream that is GOOD for you?!

Answer: Nothing. There is nothing.

So I found a recipe (if you could call it that) for banana ice cream and needed to try it.

This is what I took from the recipe:

1. Chop up some ripe bananas. Skin off. I used 5.

(You might want to separate them. Stuck together a little. Not too much of an issue though)

2. Put them in the freezer.

3. When frozen, take banana pieces out of freezer and put them in the blender.

(Note: WAY too many bananas in here. They wouldn't pulse properly. I took out about half and it worked perfectly)

4. Once the bananas have come together and look like delicious soft serve ice cream, either eat it right now or put it back in the freezer to re-harden (so it feels like real ice cream!)

I did the above and decided to add a little honey as well. Oh and a dusting of chocolate.

Mmmm, its REALLY good. I feel terrible going to the freezer for a scoop so often but then I realise that its good for me! How lovely!

I went out earlier, to buy croissants this morning for my love and I on Valentines day.

I like the fact that breakfast and a card is the extent of our V-Day celebrations. We're of the opinion that we love each other every day and show it! But it's still kinda nice to get a card and have some breaky...

I made his card this year... Two reasons;

1. I'm poor.

2. He's a boy and doesn't really care much for that sort of thing.

On the way back inside, I noticed that my sunflowers have started flowering!!

I'm so excited because I wasn't sure if they wanted to or not...

Yay!

On the menu tonight: Desert Raisin dukkah coated lamb backstraps with mash and green beans!

Can't wait!!

Inspired!

Oh deary me!

How could anyone go past this???

I am going to make it this weekend. I also plan to make a caramel sauce to make ripples through it. Yum yum!

Also on the cards for this weekend is me finally painting some psyart of my very own...

I'll be sure to post my results!

Enjoy your weekend!

As slow as a...

This week just won't end.
I feel like it should be at least Friday...
Now that the weather has changed and it actually IS a wet week, I really hope this has no further effect on how exhausting this week already is.

With Lips and Teeth to Ask How My Day Went...

I used to think that the type of music you liked defined you as a person. This, to some extent, may still be true but I'm finding that some of mine and my friends music tastes have changed over time...

But we're still the same people, aren't we?

At school, the type of music you listened to decided what group you were in. Decided where you belonged in the playground... The poppy, top 40 listeners stuck together, the heavy-metal lovers were in a clique, the people who enjoyed rock, hip-hop, rap, R 'n B and alternative styles all had their own groups too.

Generally people who enjoy the same type of music enjoyed being in each others company. This still rings true for me, I like to go to gigs and festivals with my friends who like the same artists as I do.

But nowadays, I enjoy more than just the typical rock and heavier type music that I used to stick to...

What does it matter if I thoroughly enjoy some psy-trance or industrial metal every now and then? I'm still me! Who cares that I listen to folk and country-influenced music? And so what if my ipod plays classical and reggae music? Does it change who I am? No. Does it change who I should be friends with? Not at all...

But I do tend to wonder what group I would be in, if I were to go back to school today...

Just call me Bilbo Baggins - The Daydreamer!

Just call me Bilbo Baggins! My latest getaway feels like it was as long and as adventurous as one of the Lord of the Rings movies! (stories to follow, when I have my photos on hand)

Unfortunately, as always, it had to end this morning and I am back to a harsh reality. Work and daily life seems so utterly draining and unimportant when you get a taste for doing what you want, when you want. Of course, these pleasures couldn't be afforded if it wasn't for this 'work' business but its always good to dream...

Rainbows & Sugar, What More Could a Girl Want?

Last week or the week before, I was looking online at "awesome cakes."

Yes - that is what i typed into Google Images. Do yourself a favour and check it out! There are some amazing creations that pop up...

One that really took my fancy was the rainbow cake. I instantly knew I would be baking that cake.

Correction, I knew that I would be attempting to bake that cake.

Anyway, fast forward a few days and it was the eve of my girly night. What better to make than a rainbow cake?!

I began making it in the way I assumed it was done, with the help of a few photos online. I just used a basic vanilla sponge cake recipe, you can easily use a packet one too. Here is my messy kitchen in the process!

Once I had mixed all the colours that I wanted to use, I began to put them into my lined cake tin. Purple first, then blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Pour each colour directly in the middle of the last.

Obviously next you have to cook it! If you are using a packet cake, follow the directions they provide. Otherwise, 190 degrees for (depending on your cake tin size) about 35-40 minutes. Don't worry, since you use 7 bowls in total, you get excessive bowl-licking opportunity. That's definitely a plus!

Here it is once it had been cooked - I wasn't sure if it had worked or not and I had to wait until the next night to see... Though, it did look promising.

So it was finally time to cut the cake. I called everyone inside for the big reveal... Did it work?

I couldn't wait to find out. I was afraid that the colours may have just mooshed into one another.

But then...

TA DAAA!!! It worked! Perfectly! Yahoo! I was stoked.

Rainbow cake=SUCCESS!

This week I have been commissioned to make a marbled rainbow cake. I shall post a photo if it works.

Give this one a go, it's not hard but it's really impressive! The only thing I would do differently next time is to make more purple and less red. The purple gets pushed to the side and you can barely see any but there seemed to be an excess of red.

After the marbled one, I will be making red and green cupcakes for our Christmas dinner!

Enjoy!

Here is the finished rainbow marbled cake!

High Five For Homegrown

Uh oh! It's my turn.

Tonight I was stumped as to what I should make for dinner - a common problem when it's my turn to cook. I made an attempt to go across to the shops and hoped something would inspire me when I got there. Thankfully it did.

I decided on chicken pasta and that I was going to cheat and use a BBQ chook. I got home and still didn't feel good about it. Idea! I'll use heaps of my very own home grown herbs! No, not that kind of herb...

Oh, what a fabulous idea!

They come in so handy - I think everyone should have at least the basics (parsley & rosemary - duh!). It makes for such a good addition to an otherwise plain meal.

And they are so hardy! What more could you want?!

We have parsley, basil (thanks to mum's cutting (that we left wrapped in wet newspaper on the bench for a week - what did I tell you, hardy!), garlic chives, rosemary, onions, broccoli and garlic. The last two don't seem to be doing too well. I'm going to blame insects and birds because it's obviously not me...

High five for homegrown herbs.