winning

Can I please just take a moment to give myself a pat on the back?

No I haven't done something amazing, or anything really noteworthy, new or innovative or achieved anything of epic proportions.

I just wanted to take this moment to pat myself on the back and congratulate myself - I have blogged somewhat regularly i.e. >4 times this month, which is, when averaged out, more than once a week. In a sense, a real achievement, compared to my dismal attempt during August. Booyah.

Small mercies, yes.

And most importantly, winning.

cupcake decorating class

I've been wanting to do a cupcake decorating class for...oh I don't know, a really long time now. With so many out there, it's been hard to pick just one, and also find the time to do it. So when I came across a Scoopon email one Saturday for Jennifer Graham's cupcake decorating class I quickly snapped it up.

I have been a fan of Crabapple cupcakes for so long now. I first came across Jennifer and her book when I was in a bookstore in Brisbane, looking through the sweets/cakes section for inspiration. Jenny's book provides inspiration by the bucket load and best of all, it really is a fantastic guide on baking and decorating cupcakes. There used to be a flagship store in Prahran but Jenny now mainly teaches classes at CAE in Melbourne, Flinders Lane, where her classes apparently constantly sell out. Her other classes seem really interesting and I'd love to do it, when I find some more time...

During the class, Jenny showed us 9 different designs/techniques:

• free form swirl
• signature crabapple swirl
• flat spatula
• lattice
• topiary tree
• soft serve swirl
• proposal 
• mounded 
• buttercream rose

And here is the first cupcake I decorated on the night - the free form swirl. I think simple decorations like these flowers make the cupcakes really pretty. 

I unfortunately didn't push enough icing to the edge so didn't quite get enough sprinkles on I think... 

Nevertheless, not a bad effort I guess...?!

I love chocolate frosting. I'm just not very good at smoothing it out... 

So, whilst this is supposed to be the flat spatula, it's not very flat...

I decided to jazz it up with a rose and some leaves, to hide the not so flat top... 

I absolutely LOVE the crabapple swirl. I'm just not very good at it!

It's quite pretty. Looks simple but it's not. 

Here's my attempt and again, the flower is great for hiding imperfections or bumps....

There were lots of different coloured icing and types of sprinkles.

I decided to give the blue icing a go with pink and white sprinkles around the edge, using the free form swirl. 

A very pretty effect I think which really surprised me, as I would have thought blue icing would look unnatural. Instead, it looks very sweet and much like bubblegum I think!

Ah, the topiary tree. Basically a whole bunch of piped leaves on the top of the cupcake, with roses and pearls and a sprinkling of green glitter.

Unfortunately you can't see the glitter here but trust me, adding glitter to the tops of the cakes makes them that little bit more special. It gives the cupcakes pizazz. 

At first I thought this was really hard but actually it's not that bad...

Well as you can see, I can't pipe in straight lines very well... but still, lattice designs can be very effective (once I master piping in straight lines!)

This design is very sweet with a mini topiary tree in the middle squished by two flowers on either side. 

A sprinkle of glitter adds a bit of sparkle.

We only had about 45 minutes to decorate our cupcakes so unfortunately I didn't do all of them (I didn't try the last three on the list) but I bought a piping kit so will have to try at home and post up results! 

Aside from limited time to decorate the cakes, I found the class to be extremely useful. The tips provided were invaluable and the stories shared were touching. I found it to be a very inspiring night and can't wait to make cupcakes and put my new-found skills to action! 

tesselaar tulip festival

Even though it’s spring, the weather has been fluctuating and has been somewhat erratic over the past few days. We’ve had cool mornings, rain, warm winds and apparently, in some areas hail. Today though, thankfully, was probably the very first ‘proper’ day of spring. The sun was out, temperatures soared past the mid 20’s and there was no need for a cardigan!

The day couldn’t have been better for a trip out to the Tesselaar Tulip Festival where they brought Turkey to Melbourne (the country and its culture, not the food).

We were greeted at the gate by people in costume (that looked alarmingly like traditional Dutch costumes) and were amazed at the vast fields of tulips. Before we roamed the tulips we decided to visit the alpacas – a little family of mum, dad and baby. Very cute!

For those that know me well, I can never go anywhere without eating or drinking. Nothing new to report, as soon as I saw an ice cream stand I knew I had to try it. This time though, I wasn’t on my own – if anything my cousin had a strong influence on me so we decided to eat ice cream then and there. For me, Turkish Delight (delicious by the way) and for Melissa; choc-mint.

Most of the grounds were filled with rows and rows of tulips. There were some other flowers like daffodils but the tulip is the hero of the grounds (hence the name Tulip Festival...) and the different types and colours on display were certainly impressive.

So, no need to travel to Holland folks to sit amongst a field of tulips and experience its beauty and vivid colours... you can easily do it within an hour’s drive from Melbourne!

zucchini, corn and capsicum fritters

Trends that have become apparent are the return to simplicity and a more conscious effort to understand what we eat and where it comes from. This can be seen with the number of farmer’s markets and personal vegetable gardens popping up all over urban cities. With the change in season, I’ve noticed this more and more. As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, people venture out again, and the number of people that frequent community gardens and the local markets is overwhelming. Seeing as I don’t have a veggie patch and haven’t had the chance to replant my herb garden, I love going to the markets to see what fresh produce is available. I revel in picking out unmarked, plump fruit and vegetables and the inspiration they bring. Cooking with fresh seasonal produce is so much fun in spring because I think what’s in season is so much more colourful compared to other seasons. And with that, came the inspiration for zucchini, corn and capsicum fritters. 

One thing I struggle with is making dinner after I’ve come home from work. The very last thing I want to do is spend time slaving away in the kitchen – I’m too hungry and impatient to cook an elaborate meal. I want to make something that is simple to prepare, fast to cook and assemble and deliciously fresh and tasty to eat. Perhaps I should get myself Donna Hay’s book Fast, Fresh, Simple... Yes, friends, Christmas is coming up and so is my birthday... hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

I went shopping over the weekend and while in the local grocer was inspired by all the beautifully bright colours. Off I went, loading my basket with corn, zucchini, capsicum, cucumber and other necessities (yes, chocolate). Once at home, I pored through my cookbooks at home and found a recipe for zucchini fritters – something I’ve always wanted to make. Given how inspired I was I decided to do a little experimenting and throw together a hodge-podge of the ingredients I bought and bam – zucchini, corn and capsicum fritters.

These are so simple to make. Really. I’m not lying. They hardly take any time at all to cook (and eat). Plus, you’re getting 3 veggies in every fritter. Win-win I say.

Zucchini, corn and capsicum fritters

preparation time | 5 minutes + 10 minutes standing time for zucchini
cooking time | 10 minutes
makes | about 8 medium sized fritters (around 5cm in diameter)

1 big zucchini
2 spring onions
½ red capsicum
1 whole corn cob
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup plain flour
½ teaspoon of baking powder
Olive oil or another oil of your choice for frying

Tzatziki
1 cup plain or Greek, full-fat yogurt
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
Grated cucumber, as much or as little as you want
Pinches of salt and pepper
1 small minced or crushed clove of garlic 

1| Cut the rounded end of the zucchini off and coarsely grate into a colander. Stir the salt through and let it sit in the colander. Make sure to put a bowl under the colander as water will drip out and you don’t really want zucchini water dripping all over your kitchen bench.

2| While you’re waiting for the water to extract from the zucchini (amazingly, this does happen), finely slice the spring onions and chop up the capsicum into cube-like pieces (it’s ok if they’re not perfectly cubed – it will add a rustic charm to the fritters). To remove the corn kernels from the corn, cut all the way down the corn cob with a sharp knife, as close to the cob as you can.

3| With the back of a wooden spoon, try to press out as much water from the zucchini as possible. Amazing isn’t it?! Mix in the corn and capsicum. Add freshly cracked pepper. You probably don’t need to add any more salt at this stage. Salty fritters are not really that tasty. Trust me, been there, done that.

4| Mix the egg, flour and baking powder into the vegetable mixture. You’ll see the mixture come start to come together and form kind of a sloppy dough. That’s ok – it’s what you want! Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a fry pan (non-stick skillets work best – less mess!) until it shimmers. Drop small bunches of the vegetable mixture into the skillet, a few at a time, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Flatten the fritters slightly with your spatula – it will make cooking and turning them easier. Cook over a moderately high heat and until the edges are golden, flip them over and cook until the other side is golden.

5| To make tzatziki, mix all ingredients in a bowl and flavour with salt and pepper to your taste. Dollop on fritters before serving.

penguin parade

The Penguin Parade on Phillip Island is a magical event. Yes, it happens every day at sunset but it’s still magical. I’ve been twice now and whilst in theory, the experience shouldn’t change, it was different for me, both times.



There is actually quite a lot to explore around Phillip Island. There are plenty of wineries, beaches, wildlife parks, even a chocolate factory! A day trip isn’t really enough time I think to explore the Island in its entirety which is a great excuse to go back, particularly when family and friends come to visit!



September is one of the better months to go – the penguins are plentiful and the weather is not too cold. And I end the post with this last thought – sunset is a beautiful time on the Island. 

why hello spring!

Finally! It's here! What I hear you say?! Spring! That's what!

What better way to welcome spring than take a day trip around Victoria? Now I don't normally take day trips around Victoria, on Fridays no less but I had an RDO and my parents and sister were in town visiting. So with that in mind, I capitalised on the beautiful weather and pleasant company. Off we trekked to Ballarat... after a few wrong turns here and there on the Western Ring Road we finally got there.

Ah Ballarat, aren't you a sleepy little town. To be fair to Ballarat, we probably should have stayed longer in the town and visited Sovereign Hill but after I baulked at the amount of time needed, at a minimum, to explore it, I made the executive decision to quickly say goodbye and start the trek to Daylesford. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have the time to spend 3-4 hours in Sovereign Hill. Instead we dropped into the art gallery for a quick squiz, takeaway coffees and organic sweet potato chips (which were delish by the way and were gobbled up very quickly) and headed to the lake. Good thing Ballarat is only an hour's drive from Melbourne so I'm sure I'll make the trek again (so I keep telling myself).



Onwards and upwards (literally) to Daylesford. We drove through Hepburn Springs before arriving at Lavandula Lavender Farm, a lovely quaint place that is all things lavender. As the name suggests, they harvest lavender (and lots of other beautiful flowers dot the farm) but also harvest olives, and an array of animals call it home too. We were lucky enough to have arrived at just the right time for a tour of the house on the farm, recreated to replicate the home that was lived in so many years ago. A two bedroom home for, if I remember correctly 13 kids?! The guys on the farm have done a fantastic job restoring the home – it really takes you back on a journey of a time that is so foreign to me. No electricity?! Unheard of!












Still no lavender – it gets harvested in January apparently but still, a beautiful day to enjoy the grounds and a lovely lavender lemonade and scones or in my dad’s case, a lavender champagne.

massive FAIL

Wow. So much for posting, and I quote "more regularly in August". I couldn't even do that!

And with this I vow, in the month of September, I will post at least once.