Formally Floral

Shirt - Mr Price, Skirt - Cotton On, Shoes - Rage

The Boyfriend and I were not in the mood to cook dinner so we headed out to La Bella for their R40 pizzas and pastas. Florals and a collar were the ideal combo for an early dinner as summer starts to approach. (Although I am entirely biased as I love florals, so I kind of think they are the perfect print for most any occasion...)

Please pardon the nasty quality of these pics. An iphone camera and dusk are not a good combo...

Put a Ring on it

Up until now my rings have been all clumped in a little dish, easy to access, but not all that pretty or organised. And then today I spotted this tree, and knew it was just what my jewellery collection needed. The branches are the ideal size and spacing for rings and the tree is so perfect as we sort of have a theme of trees and nature running through our apartment ( we even have a large decal on our bedroom wall of a tree and birds which I'll show another time)

How do you store your jewellery? I believe the right display is so important. I have a very strong problem with 'out of sight, out of mind', and if I cannot see what earrings, necklaces and rings I have I may tend to forget about them...

O Captain! My Captain!

I am pretty patriotic. I love my country. I love the people and I love what we have become. I love the way the land and the wind and the water all dance in harmony, raising her people up and into the sunshine.

South Africa has a mean past. A past of racism and discrimination. But that indeed is the past, and although there were many people involved with turning the country around, we can all agree, Mr Rolihlahla 'Nelson' Mandela was a key player in creating the nation we have today.

Everyone 'knew' a war was coming. Surely no nation could do a full 180 degree turnaround without massive bloodshed, but Madiba took the helm and led us to reconciliation through peace. Revenge was not on his agenda.

This weekend we visited the recently erected memorial sculpture off the R103, which commemorates the exact place where Madiba was captured and later sentenced to life imprisonment, although luckily for all of South Africans, released after 27 years.

The sculpture is a collection of 50 large steel columns, all between 6.5m and 9.5m tall and placed at such angles that when you stand at an exact point, Madiba's face can be clearly seen, as a flat image.

The sculpture is an awesome tribute to a living hero, a man who has saved a nation from itself, starting a new nation of peace and respect...

Somewhat Secret Strawberries

While in Cape Town we spent a night at our friends Brad and Kendall, Kendall being the creative mastermind behind Eat Cake, a company that creates beautiful origami swan chandeliers and awesome jar lights.

While visiting, for my birthday she baked the tastiest, moistest strawberry cupcakes (above), so when I got home I just had to track down the recipe and try them myself!

(I tweaked the recipe marginally as I preferred to rather drop the strawberries into the top of the batter, rather than put them in at the bottom as the original recipe suggests. When they are at the bottom they tend to form a very wet base, often causing the cupcake sponge to separate from this bottom part) 

Hummingbird Bakery’s Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes (with my basic adjustments included below)

Makes: 10 – 12

You will need

120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1½ tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120ml whole milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
12 large strawberries, chopped into small pieces
200g digestive biscuits
12-hole cupcake tray, lined with paper cases

6 strawberries, halved, for decorating

For the frosting:
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and the unsalted butter in a free-standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined. I used my fingers to help mix it in.

2. Pour in the milk and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the egg and beat well for a few minutes to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated.

3. Spoon the cupcake mixture into the cups until two-thirds full, then drop in strawberry pieces and twirl around into the mixture. I used a toothpick to push some down and get them really all over in the cupcake.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

5. Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating the icing sugar and the butter together until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat it until it is completely incorporated. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.

6. Roughly break up the digestive biscuits and put them in a food processor. Process until finely ground. When the cupcakes are cold, pipe the cream cheese frosting on top and finish with a sprinkling of finely ground biscuits, as well as a strawberry for decoration.

Side Note: Because these cupcakes have fresh strawberry in and on them, they do not keep fresh for very long. The fruit starts to go off, so best gobble these up in a day or two…

Pretty Pantry

Yes, our apartment may have a few dirty dishes as I type, and Danes golf clubs are still sitting at our entrance from this afternoon, but I do really enjoy order and neatness. As an avid baker I insist on keeping my cupboards pretty tidy and arranged, so that at a glance I know what I have, what I am running low on, and what I am all out of.

When I came across these printables form Elephant Shoe I was overjoyed as I now no longer have lots of bags all half full and pegged closed, but rather I recycled jars with happy little sticker labels. (In an ideal world these would all be lovely consol jars but being on a budget, cleaned coffee and pickle jars have to do)

I printed the nameless tags and just wrote on what each jar contains.

Follow this link to download the pdf from Elephant Shoe to make your own pantry labels too.