Macadamia, Fresh Mango and Lime Syrup Trifle in Comfort double walled glasses

I want to sing “Black and Gold, black and gold, black and gold….” ( by Sam Sparro) when I see this picture!!

Silisleeve in Black on Comfort double walled glass with scrumptious Macadamia, Fresh Mango and Lime Syrup Trifle

Notice anything different with the silicone sleeves on the glasses here? I decided to remove the standard silicone sleeves that come with the Comfort Glasses and use the ‘silisleeves’ that we sell separately in a set of 2 in 5 gorgeous colours.  These ‘silisleeves’ are designed to fit our ceramic ‘daily fix’ cups but they are also a pretty good fit and nice variation on the Comforts.

Macadamia, Fresh Mango and Lime Syrup trifle with RED Comfort glasses.

The red looks smashing as well, don’t you think? Now, here’s a warning for you. The Macadamia cake is completely moorish so while you are dividing up the cubes, be sure not to fall into the trap of ” one for the glass, one for me, one for the glass, one for me “ – you’ll end up with no cake!  Thinking outside the square, because the macadamia cake is so yum, keep that in mind if you just want a coffee cake instead of dessert.

Macadamia, Fresh Mango and Lime Syrup Trifle

August was a very busy month for make my day.  Ange and I headed to New York for our first showing at the NYIGF - New York International Gift fair. One word – ‘FABULOUS’ describes how the show went for us ( more on that later) and FABULOUS also describes how we found New York to be the the hours we had to spare while we were there.

In Food

On the First night of the show although we were jet lagged and all talked out we managed to rustle up the energy to cab it over to the Lower East Side and have dinner. A Brazilian restaurant on the corner of E 9th Ave and Loisaida or 145th Ave C called Esperanto caught our eye. It’s corner position and colourful outdoor seating drew us in… then the menu sealed the deal. We were hungry!

Plantain crusted Goats Cheese served with sauteed leeks and cilantro pesto

I don’t think the table cloth could have been more perfect for our colour inspiration! Plantain crusted goats cheese was delicious.  For main I had another traditional meal -  Moqueca Bahiana (choice of shrimp, crab, fish or mixed) cooked in a pot with coconut milk, dende oil, peppers, tomatoes, onions, cashews and served with rice and farofa. Filling and tasty as well.  We thoroughly enjoyed this spot and wish we had more time to enjoy the live music that came on as we were struggling to keep eyes open! Next time….

In Art & Design

The view across the street from our table at Esperanto was of some fantastic street art by visual artist Jonathan Matas. I’m going to have to spend some more time really absorbing this piece but the impact on the streetscape was dazzling.

street art in New York City

In Nature

Take a trip into the heart of New York’s historic floral district and find some amazing florists that literally had Ange and myself  running around in a dazed and confused excitement. The one that got us was Starbright at 150 W 28th st. Unfortunately had no camera DOH!!! but the images are in my head still.  So here’s a little stretch on the ‘nature title’ that I think I can get away with it because New York is a jungle right and that’s nature!  What a great picture taken by Angelina -  the very talented and colourful lady herself.

New York - nature

Smoked Salmon and Gorgonzola Cheese Savory Muffins

Serving the muffins in our Adapt-a-Bowls will add a nice touch of colour to your table and keeps everything tidy until you’re ready to eat. The Cookin’ Canuck’s recipe fit perfectly into 12 of  the adapt-a-bowls. Make sure you use a barrier spray  (olive oil spray) to the inside of the adapt-a-bowls and then they slide out easily.  These were absolutely DEVINE!

gorgeous colour with the adaptabowls, gorgeous placemats and the muffins!

I served them warm (not hot) so the gorgonzola was extra soft.  The combination of salmon and beautifully gooey cheese flavours packed a punch and you couldn’t eat only one.  Infact,  I think we had at least 2 each.  They were washed down with a light apple, orange and guava juice served up in the beautiful ‘Show-off’ double walled bottle.  All in all, a very tasty and filling brunch.

'Show off' - double walled serving and storage bottle with apple , orange and guava juice.

Not a normal colour post for me. I would never usually say gold, brown with blue would do it for me, but having spent time over christmas in the gold brown and blue captial of the US…otherwise known as New Mexico, I was reminded of the striking contrast of these colours!

In Nature

icing on the rock

New Mexico is an amazing place to take pictures.  Everything is in stark contrast to something else.  There’s no blurring.  Even in winter when you’d expect things to be subdued there’s the bright blue sky,  golden brown earthen rock and green pinon pines. The first time I drove past these weather rounded volcanic rocks snow hadn’t hit them yet. One week and one snow storm later, they looked bizarrely like icing on a cake.

In FOOD

chocolate banana pecan cake from the blog of delightful bitefuls

Feeling a bit peckish…need something sweet for morning tea?? How about this  Chocolate Banana Pecan bread…heaven on a stick! I’ve done it again but I love the sweet servings Mary puts up on her blog delightful bitefuls. I couldn’t go past it as it just perfectly matched with the above!

In ART

MetalRokJeweler rings rock!

Sometimes you come across someone who’s so creative they can make anything. I reckon this clever girl Angelina Cimino is one of those.  Self described as a ‘Creative Gypsy’ ,  her designs are all original and hand made, one of a kind pieces.  I can’t pick my favourite here but the Sunstone Oval Cabachon ( the brown stone) was the one ties this together. In truth, I want them all! Check her out on MetalRokJeweler and if your after individual pieces that shout out ‘cool’ then look no further.

I’ve spent ALOT of time in the northern hemisphere over the last few months missing the best of our summer here.  The best of our summer has been pretty poor so when the sun was out this weekend I finally got to hang out, swim and have an icypole ( or popsicle whichever you call it!)…oh joy!

nectarine mango and orange popsicles with 'the sting' honey dripper as the handle!

Not a normal icypole I can hear you thinking! Yes, these were pretty special  – homemade nectarine, mango and orange icypoles/popsicles.  Although a little funny looking they were refreshing, a great combination of fruity flavours  and I got to try out our honey dripper ‘the sting’ as something other than it was intended for! Don’t ask me why I thought of it….it just popped into my head!

In August last year I found this post on Katie Goodman’s blog Good Life Eats as she was clearly enjoying the long hot summers new Mexico brings.  Because I’m always thinking of how make my day gear can be used in ways other the obvious, using ‘the sting’ as the handle for an icypole looked possible, interesting and would brighten things up a little.  It’s the perfect length, sturdy and the fins on the sting means that it has traction (??) with the frozen product around it, not just sliding off.   So when I saw a bunch of nectarines that had been refused in school lunches because they were too soft, the nectarine, mango and orange icypole was made!  I’m a good mum after all!

nectarine mango and orange popsicle with 'the sting' honey dripper as the handle

I puréed the nectarines until they were completely smooth and then added orange and mango juice to sweeten it.  Katies idea of using aluminium foil to hold the sting in place worked perfectly!  now we just need more of summer so I can enjoy a few more summer lazy days.

mouthwatering!

I’m a regular reader of Paul Lowe’s blog as he ‘chases the sweet things in life ‘ (his words!).  On Monday’s,  he reminds us to shoot back to his beautifully photographed online magazine Sweet Paul Magazine where there is a wonderful world of gorgeous recipes with images that entice.  If you haven’t seen this yet,  you really have to have a squiz and you’ll be hooked.

When I was first flicking through the pages of the magazine I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw the regular feature called From Mormor’s kitchen. My mum is a proud Norwegian and so  when I figured out Paul was also Norwegian,  in true patriotic fashion, I thought “he’s now even cooler than he was before!”

1000 layer cake via the Sweet Paul Magazine. Crepes, layered with lemon curd topped with whipped cream and candied lemon zest

I’d never made lemon curd before and found it surprisingly easy and ridiculously yummy.  I didn’t have a double boiler,  so as I have in the past I improvised with a smaller metal saucepan resting on top of a larger one with the water boiling underneath. It worked.  Now I can make lemon curd I think I’ve opened up another whole can of ‘beauties’.  Yes that is our  lemon squeezer and keeper in the picture there.  It’s so therapeutic to squeeze lemons in this.  It also stores any left over juice or wedges that you don’t use, keeping them from going hard in the fridge. Look at that lemon curd oozing out the sides of the cake!

1000 layer cake - from Sweet Paul Magazine crepes, layered with lemon curd topped with whipped cream and candied lemon zest

So the kids come home from school and I am the best mum in the world!  The cake lasted about 30 seconds. For the observant people,  I promise that rolled up Norwegian flag in the back is not a prop!! Mum dropped it off 2 weeks ago for me to affix to the house.  Better do it I think .  AND just so you know..I’m also very proud of my Australian heritage.  I’m “half Norwegian – half Australian”  OR  “half viking -half convict”!

Kids arrive home from school and are SUPER happy. Mum you're awesome. 1000 layer cake from Sweet Paul Magazine

I want more!!!! (1000 layer cake from Sweet Paul Magazine)

Here’s something that can work as a wonderful easy,  and intriguing breakfast that isn’t the traditional ‘cooked breakfast’.  I think you’ll make some friends with this one.

Caramel Apple Granola (Muesli) in Comfort Double Walled Glass

Donal admits these are quite sweet for a breakfast ( oohh yes they are!! ) and he served them up in smaller pots but I figure in this house,  and for the people I know,   I could make them up in larger serves like in our 300ml COMFORT double walled comfort glasses and they would not only look great but be a complete and filling breakfast as well.   Just look at how the caramel apples entice!

Caramel Apple Granola ( Muesli ) 'Brekky' in COMFORT double walled glasses

Basically I used 4 apples instead of 3, as called for in Donal’s recipe,  and the caramel apples made enough for 6 servings.  I made 3 layers of a store bought toasted muesli ( toasted granola ) then generous  amounts of a lovely organic vanilla yoghurt.  With the caramel apples gracing the top it allowed the caramel to seep through the layers adding more delicious sweetness all the way through.  I’ve made my own toasted muesli before but just didn’t have any on hand so I did cheat a little today.

Caramel Apple Granola ( Muesli ) 'Brekky' in COMFORT double walled glasses

caramel apple granola (muesli ) 'brekky' in Comfort double walled glass

This was an absolute winner in my household and with a couple of guests. Simple!  I’ll definitely be making more of this as a ‘brekky  special’ .

(For those not familiar with aussie slang..brekky is breakfast. We like to shorten everything,  unless it’s a good story!)

Colour starts my motor for what I have to do each day. It excites, inspires and can make a crappy day into a happy day.   I love seeing it’s application whether man made or by design.

In NATURE

Purple and yellow after the rain

I go for a walk every morning with my lovely little pooch.  It had just finished raining and the sun was starting to burst through.  These flowers were stretching up and begging for the sun to open them up. I think if I had gone back  1 hour later they would have been sunning themselves like we used to on the beach!

In FOOD

Blackberry Pie Muffins by Mary @ Delightful Bitefuls blog

Last week Mary from Delightful Bitefuls left a comment on this here blog and that’s how I wandered over and saw the inspired images and recipes! I love that blogs can expose us to a world of experience that you may never have come across if you don’t jump in and have a look!  At Delightful Bitefuls it’s so easy to navigate through the recipes.  I was looking for a muffin to bake a little different from the usual.  This  Blackberry Pie Muffin had a core ingredient that is so reminiscent of summer in Australia  “Blackberries!”  Since summer is looming close and I’m craving the heat it caught my eye. Of course the gorgeous images really did get me as well. I remember having stained purple fingers from picking blackberries from the bushes behind mum and dad’s house before the council used to spray them.  In retrospect I’m thinking we must have been mad as the blackberry bushes down this way are a lovely home for Australia’s poisonous snakes – tiger snakes, brown snakes, or red bellied black snakes!

In DESIGN & ART

'Birdie' By Shae Acopian Detar

This image titled ‘Birdie’ is a fantastic form of fine art photography by  Shae Acopian Detar.  It’s one of those pictures that I can’t find words for  (different for me!!!)  but I know that it struck something as soon as I laid eyes on it.  It was revealed to me via the quirky blog of Erin Loechner Desgin for Mankind. Finding thought provoking art is her specialty.

In NATURE

kangaroo paw

I wrote about the kangaroo paw from my front garden a couple of weeks ago.  They are positioned in my front garden where they catch the morning sunlight just perfectly.  Kangaroo Paws are also the type of plant that once they like where they are, you don’t have to pay them any attention and they will thrive! Wow…that’s a quality that would be great to have in anything I reckon.

In FOOD

Rhubarb Berry Steamed Pudding by Eat the Love blog - MrJackHonky

How good does this look! .   Rhubarb Berry Steamed Pudding made by the very talented Irvin Lin otherwise known as Mr. Jack Honky on his wonderfully entertaining blog Eat the Love.  Irvin has such an honest approach to writing and pours so much of himself into his food.  It’s obvious he loves it.  I know I’m gushing but there’s nothing like a creative person allowing you to watch their process of creation.  He’s also super nice..thanks for such a great blog   I challenge you to read it and not feel the same way and have a few belly laughs along the way.

In ART & DESIGN

Free World By LiV S GRØNLUND 2001

I grew up with a  famous, and beautiful,  Norwegian artist as my aunt!  LIV S GRØNLUND.  She was, and still is,  my idol.  I can look at work from anytime in her career and still be awed.  The image above is of one of her paintings titled ‘Free World’ which she did in 2001.  I wish tante ‘Liv’ was sitting here next to me explaining the ideas behind this. It would be so interesting to see whether what I take from it is close to where she was going!  I’ve seen her exhibit before and she has a lovely gentle softly spoken nature which becomes entrancing when she’s talking about her work.  You may have caught the blog posting dedicated to LIV not long ago.   How amazing are her paintings? (gushing again!!!) – If you want to see more…go to her gallery

Because I have  ‘Austericans’ or  ‘Ameralians‘ in my house who are interested in Halloween ( in case you’re not following me here..I married a tall fellow from the US  ) I thought I would have a little Halloween fun.  I started with a recipe of Lightened Up Pumpkin Muffins from the wonderfully family friendly blog of Alison Lewis Ingredients Inc.

Halloween Pumpkin Muffins - note the bird on the gorgeous place mat, just out of reach of the spider....a little detail I only just noticed after uploading the shot!

When I told my daughter they were pumpkin muffins she naturally replied like most Aussies “HUH?”  because she was expecting something sweet. ( NB -for my North American friends…down here we use pumpkin mostly as a vegetable so unless you’ve had pumpkin pie etc it’s kind of weird to think of it as a sweet thing.)    But the allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger  along with the sweeteners like brown sugar are such an amazing combination with pumpkin and after tasting it…I got the green light to proceed.

Alison’s recipe calls for canned pumpkin purée which is easy to get off the shelf there but not a common thing here as we don’t usually use them in pies etc to bake with.  So I grabbed the butternut pumpkin from the fridge,  steamed and puréed some.  I only used half but still have enough for another batch. The recipe made enough for 6 larger muffins in the black  Adapt-A-Bowls.  I wasn’t paying enough attention when I was putting  the mixture into the bowls and they rose in the craziest cookiest way! (pronounce like spookiest ).  I was going to make another batch but then I realised how perfect they were for this!  I lavished them with mountains of orange icing and  the result although ugly normally…was very spooky we thought. Who wouldn’t be spooked by muffins like that!  The gorgeous silicone placemat in black made a lovely eerie partner,   especially with the bird looking like it was posed to eat the spider!

Halloween Pumpkin Muffins - cooky ( pronounce like spooky) and spooky?

I most likely negated  the ‘lightened up’ part of it by adding the mountains of oozing orange icing ( frosting) and the spider webs and face were surprisingly easy to do with black icing pen.   By the way…Alison’s recipe uses a lovely sprinkling of icing sugar  and or pecans for the topping and look gorgeous.

So…. here’s my first halloween effort and aside from looking crazy it was very effective and tasted scrumptious!  We’ll do them again next week just in time for the day.

Halloween Pumpkin Muffins