Easter Meringue Nests - 5 Minute (No Cook. Gluten Free)

I am always looking for simple gluten free ideas and these little Easter meringue nests couldn't be easier to create.

Caramelised Figs With Maple Mascapone - 5 Minute Recipe

I love fresh figs and I also love Donna Hay's recipes so when a friend gave me an abundance of fresh figs from her garden last weekend, I knew exactly the recipe I wanted to try. This recipe comes from Donna Hay's 'Fast, Fresh, Simple', a really lovely book with lots of quick and easy recipes. The images are the results of my cooking and taken with my 35mm camera. 

Blueberry & Coconut Milk, Dairy Free Smoothie

Recently I posted a few discoveries, including a Raspberry Coconut Smoothie from Creme de La Crumb. I decided to have a go at creating a similar smoothie with blueberries. The result was a deliciously healthy, mid morning pick up.

A Light Brunch - Sweetcorn Fritters (Gluten Free Option) - 5 minutes to prepare & cook

I promised that when I purchased my DSLR camera, I would feature some recipes that focus on gluten free. I want to take recipe's that we know and love such as these sweetcorn fritters, and provide a gluten free option. This recipe was easily adapted by simply swapping the plain wheat flour in the original recipe for a gluten free packet mix. I used Orgran gluten free flour bought at the local supermarket. You will find pre-mixed flour for baking (gluten free) at either your supermarket or health store. This simple recipe includes 5 handy ingredients and took only 5 minutes to make these crisp, golden fritters as an easy brunch, lunch or snack. If you are not gluten free then simply substitute plain flour.  

Sweetcorn Fritters

 Ingredients: (Makes 12 medium portions)

1 egg

1 cup of flour (gluten free pre-mixed from the supermarket or health store, I used Orgran)

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup of milk

1 tin of corn kernels

pinch of salt & pepper

Method:

• Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl
• Make a well in the centre and break in one large egg
• Add 1 cup of milk (you can use slim milk for less calories) and mix until ingredients are well combined.
• Drain one can of sweetcorn kernels and mix the kernels into the batter mixture
• Season with salt and pepper
• Heat some Rice bran oil  in a frying pan (I prefer this oil as it crisps up and doesn't soak in as much as other oils, plus its healthy)
• Make sure your oil is piping  hot then drop your batter mix in large tablespoonfuls into your oil
• Fry until golden brown on both sides, they should be easy to flip with a spatula. If they appear to break, then they are not cooked long enough so don't flip yet. The right temperature and crispness will make them easy to flip and become golden brown.

Tips:

• If you make the fritters much smaller dropping heaped teaspoons rather than heaped tablespoons they make easy nibbles at a party. You can top them with a little cream cheese as they are just as nice served cold

• Rice bran oil is great for shallow frying and produces crisp results

• I serve with a little fruit chutney on the side

• When you have mixed your batter you can drop in some grated cheese for extra bite

• Make sure they are golden brown and slightly crisp at the edges

I am keen to feature more recipes and suddenly had an epiphany when I looked at these photos, something a neighbour once told me about photographing food. He was a professional food photographer with a studio at the back of his house. A bonus of being his neighbour, was that he often used to bring around the spoils of a days work, huge chocolate cakes and giant muffins. Food photographers actually cheat a little when photographing and I want to try out one of these little tricks next time I photograph a recipe. I am such a pedantic, perfectionist, always striving for 'better' and I want to be able to publish images that make people desire to pin them to Pinterest. It will be some time yet before I achieve the stylish photo's I long for, although I am really happy of the ones I took of my little Schnoodle, Poppy.

Lee oxo

Sharing this recipe with the following blog parties:

I should be Mopping the Floor
Alderberry Hill

The Dedicated House

A Stroll Thru Life

DIY Showoff

Savvy Southern Style

Not Just A Housewife

No Minimalist Here

The Real Housewives of Riverton

Mothers Day Inspiration - DIY or Buy!

Iv'e been trying to find some lovely Mothers Day inspiration both "DIY or buy" and here are my favourite  finds:

Love this this cute cake bunting from Sweet Living Magazine. You'll find a link at the end of this post to print out the bunting. You can  then cut out the flags, fold and glue over a piece of string then affix to your cake with wooden skewers.  

 I'm excited to be giving away a gorgeous book from Penguin called "Cake Star" by Jade Lipton in a few weeks time. Jade was one of last years judges on "New Zealands Hottest Home Baker". Jade's book is full of wonderful  ideas and images for cake and cookie decorating.  You can have a sneek peek inside on my Facebook page. If your not the greatest cake decorator in the world, these little ideas I found below are easy for anyone to re-create. (Please note the images below are not from Jade's book  Cake Star).

Some little cake inspiration for Mothers Day...

Love this idea  above from "Best Cupcake Ideas" - You can buy a ready made flower or even place a real rosebud on top or if your artistic enough, make your own flower.

Source via 

Easy Peasy! Individual Berry Sponge Cakes. I love simple ideas and after seeing some little rasperry sponges, I came up with this 5 minute idea which I tried out on my mum today and she loved them as they are so light. 

Image : Lee Caroline - A World of Inspiration

5 Minute Berry Sponge Cakes

Ingredients:

• 1 store bought sponge cake 
• fresh raspberries/blackberries or blueberries
• 2 tablespoons of blackberry or other fruit jam
• Fresh whipping cream or butter cream (I prefer fresh cream as its light and not as sweet)
• 1 deep round Cookie or circular metal cake cutter
• Icing sugar/powdered sugar for dusting

Method:

• Cut your sponge into 2.5" diameter circles with a deep cookie cutter in the shape of a circle
• slice the sponges in half, they should be around 3/4" deep for each slice
• whip your cream and layer on top of half your circles
• Mix your jam with your fruit and scoop a reasonable amount out to cover the top of the lower sponge
• Place your second peice of sponge on top of this 
• Finish with a dusting of icing/powdered sugar

Credit source: Lee Caroline - A World of Inspiration

You could buy these Lavender sea salts from Terrain for $24 or be creative and DIY and tie on a pretty tag (recipe below)

Basic Bath Salt Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Epsom salts
• 2 cups Coarse sea salt or Dead Sea Salts
• 5 drops of high grade lavender oil
• Lavender food colouring or mix (5 drops of blue and 4 drops of red colouring together)

Method:

• Combine Epsom salts and sea salt together in a glass or glazed porcelain bowl.
• mix the food colourings together in a small bowl to desired colour (I prefer pastel shades)
• Mix the colouring into the salts mixture stirring thoroughly
• Spread the salts onto a lined tray or cookie sheet and dry in an oven on warm temperature, this is to prevent clumping.
• When dry place in your mason jar and tie on a pretty tag

Make sure when mixing the salts that you wear gloves as the lavender oil is quite potent and you don't want to get the oils on your skin or in your eyes.

Love these mothers day cards from Rifle Paper Company, only $4.50 each...

Lovely botanical Journal - $15 also from Rifle Paper Paper Company

Earl Grey Apothecary candle from Terrain $20.00 (Terrain are offering free shipping on Mothers Day gifts)

Lavender organic soy candle from Terrain $24.00

Gorgeous Peony Archival Print from Cush and Nooks - $16.00

Linen and moleskin Rose cushion also from Cush & Nooks

Sweet apron from Vintage Roses Love $38.95

Love these Maisy slippers from Wallace Cotton NZ$39.90

Link for Bunting download...

Download the Mothers Day Bunting  from Sweet Living Magazine

Sharing this week with:


Rae Gun Ramblings

Show off your cottage monday at The House in the Roses

Craft-O-Maniac Monday

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style

Ivy and Elephants 

Transformation Thursday at Shabby Creek Cottage

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Time Travel Thursday at the Brambleberry Cottage

Show and tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Hope you've found plenty of  Mothers Day inspiration from my finds

Lee oxo

&

Poppy