Oh, by the way...

I did have my baby. I'll get back to you on how (awesome!) that went, and how cute he is soon. For now, here he is at 9 weeks of age, enjoying his very first Christmas stocking.



The holiday season is fabulous, but tiring. I hope that, between the festivities, you have all found adequate time to put up your feet and kick back with a book.

Single Ladies (put a ring on it) Video Round Up

This song is perhaps the greatest pop culture phenomenon of the decade. It is also responsible for the spawning of videos like the ones below. My favourite is the flash mob. No falling, not a beat missed. Enjoy at your leisure.

Chocolate and Raspberry Birthday Cake

The AFL Grand Final was on again this afternoon. Apparently if the final is a draw they do a rematch the next week and this year for, I think, the third time ever that is what happened. Well, I couldn't have been less interested the first time around so, rather than watching the second effort with my dear husband, I decorated a birthday cake for our friend (I made the cake yesterday and had hidden it in the fridge over night). To be honest, I'm not sure why Leigh watches the final either. Neither of us follow a team or in fact watch any other match during the season but, in the 4 (or is it 5?) years that I've known him, he hasn't missed a single final.

I deliberately didn't bake cupcakes because, as much as I love them, I don't want to become known as a one trick pony. Never mind that they are most always different kinds of cupcakes, I still think that I ought to keep the fans guessing. The cake that I made instead is a vegan delight of rich chocolate and raspberry, with just a hint of chili. The birthday boy isn't vegan but I always do my best to accommodate vegans where possible. This is a habit formed by having been vegan myself for several years and continued because Leigh still is one. I think also I have a little bit of an ego trip about proving that vegan baking can be just as moist, rich, decadent and delicious as non-vegan baking. Sometimes even more so!

So, once the cake was constructed, how did I decorate it? I started by spreading raspberry jam in a nice thick layer on top of the cake. Then, I whipped up a batch of vegan ganache style icing and set that aside to cool for a bit. While it was cooling, I took my heavily pregnant body off for a lie down in the afternoon sun. It was apparently a little too lovely as I napped for just over an hour. This meant my ganache, which had been stashed in the fridge, was now at a spreadable consistency instead of a pourable one. It wasn't ideal, but we make do with what we have. I grabbed a nice big butter knife and, after giving the icing a quick stir, spread it all over the cake. I started with the sides, building up a little icing ridge around the jam and then, carefully so as to not cause jam explosions, spread until the top was covered as well.



I was going to leave things here, just allowing it to get to room temperature so that the ganache would regain it's glossy sheen and then piping on some chocolate roses, but a sudden flash of inspiration grabbed me. I ended up using the remaining jam, some mint from our garden, chili powder and a little bit of water to make a sugary, spicy, tooth rotting syrup to pour over the top of the cake. Once I'd imagined the syrup dripping down the sides of the cake, I just couldn't help myself!



To finish it off I used jelly raspberries and spearmint leaves(the only non-vegan ingredients in the whole thing) and little truffles, which I had made from the left over ganache. I have to admit that the whole thing ended up looking a bit christmassy, but it should taste pretty good. I think small slices will be in order though, as the cake is very rich and the topping quite sweet.



I can imagine making this cake in summer with the addition of lime and extra chili. Then, forgoing the ganache, drizzling it in syrup and making a mountain of fresh raspberries and mint on top. I would serve it outside with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (dairy or soy, of course) and glass of champagne on the side. I'm very much looking forward to spending summer evenings like these with my little family. Our little boy is only 3 or 4 weeks away now and they can't go quickly enough! I love being pregnant, but the idea of looking at, of holding, feeding, loving, and getting to know this little person is too exciting to contain.

Exist like this?

Do people really spend each day dressed like this,


eating food like this,

which was lovingly prepared in a kitchen like this?


And, if the answer is truly yes, what is it that they are getting so right and I am getting so wrong?

One day soon I will bake.

I plan to make this cheesecake after the veil of pregnant nausea lifts.

Hot Cross Buns in the Oven

They are only fruit buns. I know this and yet, every single year, I find myself getting excited about Easter buns. Warm or cold, with butter or without, sitting with a hot drink or eaten on the run; there is something about these soft, spiced fruit buns that I simply cannot resist. I'll probably eat a dozen or more between now and the end of Easter. I'll eat them at various bakeries, at the houses of friends, at my parents' house, at home. Mostly my love is for the traditional and fruity (the more orange peel, the better, but I won't be saying no to any chocolate chip ones that come my way.

What does strike me as funny is that, until next Easter, I'm very unlikely to think of, bake, or seek out fruit buns. What is this spell which they cast over me for two or three weeks of a year? I'm not religious, so the christian adornment should have no influence ove me. I suppose it must be the sheer availability of them at this time of year. Probably also the numerous advertising campaigns, each claiming their buns to be softer and more fruity than any bun before. Whatever the reason for my annual cravings, I'm quite happy to take the path of least resistance. To take it with a pat of butter and a mug of hot chocolate.

mmm..yummy.

Speaking of buns, we have a bun of another kind cooking away at the moment. It should be fully baked in late October. Unless it turns out to be as punctual me and my two sisters, in which case it will early November.


image via Gourmet Traveller

Swap sent, swap received.

I'm happy to report that my swaplet's treasure trove has arrived safely but, unless she's caved in to the temptation since I read her blog, hasn't yet been unwrapped.

I also received a very lovely package of my own! It was wrapped in gold paper, addressed with care and sent accross the ocean to arrive in my eager hands. I didn't think for a moment to wait for actual Valentine's day (it's not like Christmas, right), so I tore to the inside in seconds. What I found was a delight of red and white spotty and hearted goodness. There was a story book of gorgeous paper cut outs, some red bath roses and a very sweet handmade valentine, all nestled into white paper.



Thankyou to my funny, sunny Valentine. Please make your webself known as I'd love to find out more about my thoughtful sender. *



Here's wishing you all a cheesy, heart shaped, funny Valentine's special!

*Found Her! She was hiding over here, and she is oh so sweet.

SWAP! In the name of love

Amanda over at First Milk has organised a Valentine's Day swap. The rules are simple: be a blogger and be prepared to send handmade hearty valentine wishes to a stranger in the post. I don't know if she tried to match us by our interests, or simply by our willingness to post international, but I like my secret valentine. Here is a sneaky peek of what I'm about take the post office for her:



Thankyou, Amanda, for spreading the mail box joy.

Pledge to Read the Printed Word

Look! Up there, right hand corner. I added a pledge button.

I must confess that when I read about this I was, initially, awfully smug. I thought to myself, "Pfft. As if i need to pledge such a thing. I love reading! I know my way around my library and I have to restrain myself from buying more books because we're running out of room for them!" Then, I started to think about what I was reading at the moment, and how many books I had read in last few months. It wasn't many, it wasn't nearly enough.


[Judging by the piles of books that exist all over our house, I still need to work on my self restraint.]


When I was ten, eleven, twelve or so I would go to the library and get out ten books, which was exactly how many we were allowed to have out on our card at once. Sometimes I spent hours browsing until I found exactly what I wanted. I would then take my reading ration home and glutonously consume them all at once, safe in the knowledge that I could return for another ten next week. These days are quite a different story. You would find me, hovering between the shelves, with two or three books, fretting over which one to get this time because surely I won't have time to read them all.

I know that I have less time now than then but, seriously, it's not that much less. Afterall, I still have time to get caught in the blog train (you know, where you start reading one blog and link to another, and another and so on), to take up skating, to garden, to make mayonaise and chocolate stout. There are plenty of things to do, ways to fill the hours, but surely I could find more time to read as well.

Not only could I, but I absolutely will. Hand on my heart, I promise.

I can't help but think ...

...that it would be ok to wear these on a week day, if I could dance like Gene Kelly.

Response to 'Not loving your wedding' on APW

I just read this post over at A Practical Wedding about the guilt that women feel if their wedding isn't the most fantastic day of their lives. This rang a bell for me because, although I loved our wedding, and adore being married, there were times during the engagement when I felt scared, or unhappy about things and didn't feel like I could talk to anybody about it. Lucky for me, I have a long suffering friend who was happy to dry my tears and listen to my frustrations, and also give me a smack of reality when I needed it, but I wonder what happens to the people (I assume that women aren't the only ones who feel like this) who don't have an Amy?

Are the ones who go on feeling lost and confused, the same ones who get shepherded into the world of bridal magazines and unrealistic expectations? After all, there must be a certain amount of security in being told exactly what your wedding is meant to be like, to look like and to feel like and, leading up the wedding, it may ease the fears and give the desired sense of control. The trouble is that on the day that you actually get married, you have to put down the pen and checklist and just roll with it and, if you're not prepared to do that, all the drama is going to be overwhelming, and all the unraveling plans, devastating.

Being realistic, even if your wedding is the happiest day of your life, there's still going to be bits that you grit your teeth over later. Don't expect it to be perfect, it won't be. Instead, allow yourself to experience it for exactly what it is and try not to compare it to much to what you envisioned, because out of all the mess, the glory, the drama, the tears and the elevation, you are going to find some truly amazing moments.

When I went on to read the comments for this post, what concerned me was the number of ladies still planning their weddings, who are scared that they won't enjoy the day. My advice to them is to put on a Doris Day record and drop the needle on Que Sera Sera. The future is not ours to see, but it is ours to create. The more one worries, stresses and frets, the less room is left for joy.

It sounds easy to say but, honestly, don't stress too much about how you will feel on the day. Whatever will be, will be, but you're not going to enjoy any of it if you are busy peaking out over what you should be feeling. You may even find that the bits you didn't plan, like the impromptu jam session between your uncle and your husband's band, or that really sweet thing that Aunty Jill whispered in your ear, or rocking out to your favourite old mix tape on the way to the ceremony, are the bits that you remember the most. Of course, that's easy for me to say, our whole wedding was pretty organic, and also a lot more about our community than about ourselves. For us, part of having a good time, was seeing that everybody else was having a good time.

I can't promise that it will be like this for everyone, but after the ceremony I was pretty much untouchable. That was the thing that we had been building up to, that was the big one. We drew a line around it, owned it, and made it exactly what we wanted it to be. The party, that's easy stuff. Like any other party, it's the people (and the music) that make it or break it. Also, like any party, you're not going to be silly with joy the whole time, but that doesn't mean that the whole thing can't be positive. So, if you love your ceremony and love the people you invite to celebrate with you, everything will fine. It may even be better than you imagined.

p.s. The photo is not me having a trantrum, but of busting a move and singing my heart out to Under Pressure (Bowie/Queen). Rather than making a song list, we just asked a friend of ours to spin records and trusted that it would be as spot on as he usually is. As you can see, he did just fine.

The breakfast rule, or, when does brunch begin?

Recently a friend was trying to convince me that it was ok to have breakfast and brunch in the same day. I thought this was rubbish, as my understanding of brunch was a mash up of breakfast and lunch for those days when you sleep until is too late for the former, but too early for the latter. I argued this point to no avail until she left the breakfast table at my house to meet friends for an alledged brunch, which I maintain was actually a morning tea. If only I had been less distracted by my cup of tea and had thought to bring the dictionary to the party. According to the Australian version of the Collins English Dictionary (kindly gifted to the boy and I as a wedding present), brunch is a noun describing a meal eaten late in the morning, combining breakfast with lunch, and morning tea is the Australian equivalent of elvenses, comprised of a mid-morning snack with a cuppa. So, to the double dippers among you, I wave my dictionary in victory!

I know it's not earth shatteringly important, but I do enjoy being right almost as much as I enjoy a good breakfast.


I had an especially good breakfast this morning, after spending a little time in the garden. I watered and weeded and trimmed some of the more unruly plants. I finally got to eat one of my strawberries before the birds noticed that it was ripe, and I picked three more cucumbers off one of our very productive little plants.


By this point it was already a sunny and clear day, so I thought I might stop for a breakfast of zucchini chutney, gouda cheese and freshly picked cucumber on toast. I sat on the back deck and looked out at our little slice of urban jungle with the satisfaction of knowing that this is only the begining. Leigh and I will have our lives to grow and craft the garden, the home, the lifestyle that we dream of.


While we planned our wedding we had to take a long hard look at our values because we realised that every decision we were making was symbolic. We didn't just sign up to be together, but to be part of our community. This means that we have to garden, and cook good, healthy food, and have parties, and make experiences worth having because we promised each other that we would actively build the world that we want to live in. If the wedding day represents the ideal life, then every day after that is about building it together.


This year's resolution is simply to do things. To do them with thought, and care, and grace, but still to stop making excuses and get on with the doing. Doing, however, cannot happen on an empty stomach, so always, always breakfast first.

Somebody Told Me

Somebody told me that, although we didn't remotely match, we were the most cohesive bridal party that they had ever seen. It's true, we all looked like rock stars!

Thanks for the cups of tea and the karaoke session in the car. Thanks for the love and the friendship. Thanks for being there.

2010 will be a good year, I think.