Macarons

The last few weeks haven't been that great. We've had a lot of sad news, some from Tony's family, some from my family and a few other things haven't turned out the way we've hoped they would. All in all it's been pretty rough.

I was moping and had just popped in to our local Woolies supermarket to pick up the necessities after a bad week (chocolate, chips, popcorn and diet coke) when I wandered down the baking aisle and saw this.

Passionfruit macarons in a box mix? I very rarely buy box mixes, I can't even remember the last time I bought one. I don't even know why I was looking in the packet mix section! Baking is a sure way to cheer myself up. I love baking, it's relaxing and then at the end of it there's a yummy treat to eat.

But here's where I fail at a foodie, I have to admit I've never even tried a macaron before. I'm more of a cupcake girl. I love cake in all it's forms (except trifle, to do that to cake is a disgrace) and truth be told, I really prefer home made cake to other sweets or cakes you can buy at a bakery or cafe.

I also live on the Gold Coast and in my suburb bakeries and cake shops are disappointing so I avoid them at all costs. I have seen macarons for sale in the cold case section at Woolworths, but just couldn't bring myself to buy them. 

So when I saw the box mix I just snapped it up. My husband was a bit shocked that I bought a box mix, he was even sceptical about them. Adriano Zumbo is famous for macarons and complicated desserts, so I wasn't sure I could even get them to turn out and look anything like a macaron. I have spent many hours watching cooking videos on youtube so had picked up a few tips and pointers. I'd also seen a quite a few disasters.

But one Wednesday night after even more sad news I cracked open the box and gave them a try. I'd read that the mix doesn't whip up too well in stand mixers as it's only a small amount, but I had no issues using my kitchen aid. I did a few steps that aren't mentioned on the box. I left them sit on the bench for about 30mins before baking (I got distracted and forgot about them after I'd finished piping, whoops!) and then let them cool completely before trying to take them off the baking paper.

They turned out pretty well and were absolutely delicious! So much so that this week I bought the salted caramel flavour to try! Yum!

Four years ago...

Four years ago I married my wonderful husband. We had a small wedding, just 40 guests, made up of our families and close friends. Our ceremony lasted only 20 mins, just perfect for two people like us who are quite shy and don't like a lot of attention. Our wedding wasn't a flashy, fancy affair. It was pretty casual and laid back, just like us. It was exactly how we'd planned it and how I'd imagined it would be.

While the wedding day itself went smoothly, our first 18 months of married life were a bit more stressful, but they do say that the first year is the hardest! Thankfully that's all behind us and I'm happy to say that life is pretty damn awesome right now. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

And now some pics! These were taken by our wonderful photographer Toni Snell!

Christmas shopping and planning

Not only am I a planner and list maker, but I love Christmas. I try and start my Christmas shopping early, not too early, but well before the Christmas rush starts.

I write down present ideas throughout the year, I just make notes on my phone and usually list the what the gift is, where to buy it and how much it is. In previous years we've bought for all of my husbands family, aunts, cousins, grandparents as well as his mum, brother and sister. Shopping for that many people means I need to be organised or it turns into a last minute frantic shopping trip. When it comes to my family there's only my parents, brother and sister in law that we buy for, but they're so hard to shop for!

Wrapping paper for this year and next year!

I've gotten a bit of a late start this year, it's already late October and so far I've only bought one present. But I have sorted out my wrapping paper, gift tags and cards. I like to buy two giant rolls of wrapping paper, I try to coordinate the colours but get different patterns. I'll all of my family's presents in one roll and all of Tony's family's presents in the other roll. They next year I'll use the same wrapping paper but swap the family's around so they're not getting the same pattern as the year before. I hate buying wrapping paper, the rolls are awkward to carry and roll about in the boot of the car. Plus this way it makes it so much easier when it comes to sorting out presents and loading up the car.



We're also crazy and visit both our families on Christmas day. It's a long day that starts too early, involves a traditional cooked Christmas lunch with Tony's family (which by dessert I've usually fielded one or two phone calls from my family asking when we'll be at their place!) then we head out to my parent's place and have a Christmas dinner of cold meats, seafood and salad or some years a barbecue. By the end of the day we've usually driven about 250kms, spent around 3.5hrs in the car and eaten way too much!

Christmas for me, takes some coordinating and planning. One tradition I love is baking Christmas biscuits. Every year I make gingerbread and shortbread. When my grandma was alive she always made shortbread for Christmas and special occasions and it just wouldn't be Christmas without it. I love gingerbread and there's just something about the spicy, gingery biscuit that says Christmas to me. I can't bake the biscuits too early, as my husband has a huge sweet tooth and baked yummies never last too long! I also have to make double batches of both biscuit mixes as there's a lot of people in my husbands family and my family like having left over sweets to nibble on in the days after Christmas.

But this year I've also been asked to bring a dessert dish. Dad asked if I could bake mini pavlovas, I made them earlier in the year and they were a hit. Even my brother who usually hates anything with fruit ate them! Well, he ate them after picking off the berries and kiwi fruit. My husbands family love the dark chocolate cupcakes I make so I'll be making those too.

I've already planned out the things I have to do during the week before Christmas. Luckily, I'm a relief teacher so I'll already be on holidays that week. My husband isn't as lucky, but he does have a week off starting on Christmas Eve. The only thing is, I've already got a list of things he'll have to do on Christmas Eve.  He'll probably grumble but it's Christmas, how can you stay grumpy for long when there's yummy foods, time with loved ones and not to mention presents!

Christmas can be a lot of work and can be totally overwhelming but if I break it down and plan it all out then things run much more smoothly. For now I just have to work on shopping for presents. Once December 1st is here the tree will go up and so will the lights along our balcony. Each year we add more and more lights to our little balcony. I love Christmas lights, one day we'll buy a house and I can be totally obnoxious with the amount of lights we have. But until then we put just a few strings of lights and make sure they're all packed away by January 2nd.

Spring is here!

Who can resist a freckle cone from an ice-cream van?

The spring weather has finally hit the Gold Coast. A few weeks ago I packed up our summer quilt, washed it and replaced it with a light weave cotton blanket, but last weekend it was too warm for even that! I eventually had to give in and set up one of the small pedestal fans in our bedroom.

The spring cleaning bug has hit our household. Tony and I have been working on de-cluttering our apartment. For two people (and two cats!) we sure have a lot of stuff. I think what the problem is, in the past we've always moved about every 18 months and in the past have used moving time as a chance to de-clutter. We've lived in our apartment for three years now and still have moving boxes that haven't been unpacked!

Our little storage shed down in the basement (it's at the back of our car space and is about a third of the size of a small garden shed) is full of a lot of our extra stuff. There's old computer monitors, boxes of spare computer parts, boxes of cd's and computer cords and cables, as well as the usual stuff like eskies, air mattresses, fold up chairs and our Christmas tree and lights. But there's also two cardboard boxes from two moves ago as well as the boxes of books. So many books.

While my husband has a hard time letting go of computer parts and has a large collection of floppy discs, (some from the early 90s!) Most of my boxes are of books.

Years ago when we first moved in together we close to a couple of really great second hand book stores. Twenty dollars would buy me anywhere between four and five books, I was a uni student so would spend my summer and winter breaks reading. We also lived in a much larger place. Our rental was a three bedroom duplex that had separate living and dining rooms. It was easily twice the size of our current apartment, so we had the bookshelves and the room to store a lot of books.

Then we moved in with family to save for our wedding and most of our belongs and all of our books went into boxes and storage. Three moves later and all these boxes of books have never been unpacked because we've never had the room.

Last week Tony brought up some of these boxes from the basement. Three large 60L storage tubs and four smaller 32L ones. We spent some time sorting through them, making toss, donate, keep and give away piles. I kept all the books I know I'll reread as well as the books I know that mum would like. But a lot of them I'll never read again, or I own digital or audio copies of them. A few water damaged books got thrown out (I think they were ones I'd dropped while reading in the bath, or had gotten splashed at the beach) but most of them went in the donate pile.

And after carting around a few hundred floppy discs for the last 10-20 years, Tony went through all of them and the majority of those were thrown out too. It took a few hours but it's great to have that little bit of extra space in the storage shed again! Sadly, there's another six large 60L tubs of books to go. That's for another weekend!

To celebrate starting our de-clutter and spring clean we went out to Swell Sculpture Festival that's held yearly on the beach just south from where we live. We've been talking about going to it each year for the last six years! But this year we finally made it. I have to say, I think we timed our trip well. We went on the last day in the late afternoon. It was easy to get a park and wasn't overly crowded. Plus, the sun was setting so it wasn't overly hot and there was no glare from the water.

Birthday Pavlova!

I'm a supply teacher so I pick up a few coughs and colds each year. A few weeks ago I was teaching a darling little prep class when one sweet child coughed in my face, it wasn't on purpose, it just happened. Unfortunately that's the risk you take when working with little kids, snot and coughs happen. But I knew right at that moment that I'd be sick within days.

Fast forward a few days and one very long week on a year five class (older classes aren't my speciality!) and it was nearing my husbands birthday. Unfortunately a few days before his birthday he woke up feeling under the weather, he'd picked up my cold. The poor thing spent his birthday home sick and feeling miserable.

Usually I'm prepared for birthdays. I love lists and generally have presents bought and wrapped weeks in advance. This time round I sort of dropped the ball. We agreed to upgrade our computers for our respective birthdays this year, but Tony still needed something to open on his birthday. So the day before I ran around to pick up a few little gifts and supplies to make his birthday dinner. 

Birthday presents (and choccies!) all wrapped and ready to go, with birthday balloons. (Photos were taken very late at night after I'd finished wrapping them, hence the dark and dodgy lighting!)

Roast pork with roasted potatoes, honey carrots and steamed greens was for dinner. To be followed by birthday pavlova instead of cake. There's a bit of a theme when it comes to Tony's birthday meals. The main meal usually includes pork of some kind (last year was brinner - breakfast for dinner, with the year before being glazed pork chops) and a birthday pie. Last year I made black forest cake from scratch, I spent a whole day on that cake! And the year before was cheesecake, but I cheated and bought that from the local cheesecake shop.

Because there's just the two of us, I halved the recipe. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of pavlova, give me cake any day. I didn't want leftovers hanging around for days in the fridge so a halved recipe was the perfect amount. We got three large slices each out of it. 

Pavlova 

Ingredients

3 egg whites

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 tsp white vingar

1/4 tab cornflour

Whipped cream and fruit to decorate. (I used 250ml cream that I whipped until soft peaks. With kiwi, strawberries and bananas to decorate)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 120 and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

3. Gradually add sugar, one spoonful at a time. Allow mixture to beat until thick, glossy and sugar is completely dissolved. (Rub the mix between your thumb and forefinger to check for sugar granules)

4. Fold cornflour and vinegar into the sugar and egg mix. 

5. Spoon mix onto the baking paper and shape into a disc shape. Bake for 45 - 50 mins until dry to the touch. Allow to cool completely in the oven.

No matter how I make a pav, it cracks. I've tried so many different recipes. I've tried a hotter oven, a cooler oven. Starting out with a higher temp and lowering the temp. But I just can't make a pretty pavlova, but that's why you smother it in cream and fruit. Cream will hide a multitude of sins! It was also the first time I'd made pavlova using my kitchen aid. So much easier than using the little hand mixer! 

Decorated birthday pav just before the candles were lit! 

Next weekend my family is coming down for Tony's belated birthday lunch. I've got to make a second birthday cake (a traditional cake, I think there'd be an uproar if I tried to serve up cheesecake or pavlova with coffee!) I'm not sure what kind of cake I'll make. Something that will give us enough leftovers so my family can take some home! 

Bellabox July 2012

I received my second Bellabox this month. I'm really enjoying the samples and products I get. Plus, even though it's a paid subscription and I roughly know the date it'll be arriving, it's nice to get something in the mail that isn't a bill or a takeaway menu.

This month I wanted the contents to be a surprise so I was careful not to read any blogs or look for bellabox hashtags on instagram or twitter. I did hear that it wouldn't be in a little compact box like last month but would be in a little make up bag instead, I was a bit disappointed in that. But once I got my box I was not disappointed at all!

That's four full size products there! Plus a make up brush and a trial size sample which is of a decent size. As well as the expected sample size products and a bonus sample which wasn't listed on the info card. Hiding underneath the sachet samples is a small blue zip makeup case.

I loved some of these products, but I couldn't stand some of them. But that's the fun in the sample boxes! You never know which products will impress you and which will disappoint. This months theme was Essential Beauty Buys.

• You, Me & Everybody Shady Lady Daily Face Milk (75ml RRP $9.99) I love this. I've been looking for a new moisturiser with sunscreen as I just wasn't happy with the tinted sunscreen I'd been using. I'd also tried a few moisturisers with sunscreen but I just couldn't find one I'd like. This one is 30+ and is still light without being overly heavy or greasy. I find a lot of sunscreens make me breakout but this one hasn't. Will I buy it? Yes.

• Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm (10g tube RRP $5.99) I hated this. It has camphor and menthol in it, which is a bit like rubbing a mothball on your lips. It made my lips burn and tingle plus the taste of the camphor and menthol lasts for ages. So if you have a drink of water that's what you taste. I'm sure my grandmother used to use this because while the taste was unpleasant it was familiar too. I've used it twice and was bad. The taste and smell just does not work for me. Will I buy it? No. Just no.

• Neutrogena Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser. (175g RRP $13.99) I was a bit sceptical as I remember trying neugtrogena products as a teenager and my skin reacting badly to them. But I gave it ago and I love this. I've been looking for a new cleanser for a while. I had been using L'Oreal Perfect Clean for sensitive skin. But there is something in it that makes my skin flush and burn. Not an attractive look. But I loved this Neutrogena Foaming Cleanser, it works well, it doesn't make me break out or react and the pump pack is awesome. I think all shower products should come in a pump pack. Will I buy? Yes.

• Nutri-Synergy Sensitive Skin Cleanser 100ml (500ml RRP $15.95) This product is not for me. What annoys me is when companies automatically assume sensitive = dry. I have sensitive skin but it's not dry, it's combination. This product was like trying to wash my face with sorbolene (or a thick heavy moisturiser). It also made my face flush bright red and feel like it was burning. I hated the feeling of this product on my skin and it left my skin greasy. Will I buy it? No.

• Ulta3 Nail Polish in Mulberry (13ml RRP $2.00) I've seen Ulta3 products at Woolworths and at pharmacies but I'd never tried them. The colour was a bit dark for me, I used to wear a colour very similar to this when I was in high school, these days I prefer lighter colours. But I gave it a go. It was easy to apply and dried quickly too. Will I buy this? Yes, in fact I picked up a bright green when I was at Woolworths just a few days ago.

• ELF Essentials Smudge Eye Sponge Brush (RRP $3.99) One of my friends has been raving about ELF products for the last couple of years. I've never tried them because I'm a bit wary about buying make up online and the colour not suiting me. But I didn't realise how cheap it was! I love cheap! I don't wear a lot of eye make up, so I haven't tried out the brush yet. Will I buy this? Probably not this exact brush, but I am planning on making an order from ELF in the next few weeks.

• Royal Moroccan Hair Repair Shampoo, Conditioner & Serum. Sachet samples (Shampoo & Conditioner 300ml RRP $17.95, Serum 100ml RRP $29.95) The scent of these products was strong. It took me by surprise at first. I got two washes out of the samples and the product worked well. But by the second use I noticed my hair was getting greasier a lot quicker than normal. I do have dyed dark reddish brown hair which frizzes easier and this product took care of the frizz well. I tried the serum once, but I'm not a fan of serums as they weigh my hair down. Will I buy this? I'm not sure, I'm on the fence about this product. 

• Givenchy Pi Neo (For your Mr. BB.) Sachet sample (50ml RRP $80) First of all, I hate getting perfume or cologne samples in sachets. What is with that? If you tear open the sachet how do you apply it without it getting everywhere? I carefully cut this sachet open with scissors and sniffed it (and got my husband to smell it who said it smelt like hand sanitiser) but I still managed to get it on my hand which I then managed to get on my face leaving me smelling this for hours. Oh, and this was the only way I could smell it. From sachet you can't smell anything! Will I buy this? No. 

• Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub 15ml. This product wasn't listed on the info card, so I'm not sure if Bellabox ran out of room or if it's bonus sample. I really loved this scrub. I've been using a scrub by Biore but it just wasn't scrubby enough. This Deep Clean scrub is perfect, it has a nice fresh citrus smell and has enough little scrubby beads in it to feel as if it's really working, without feeling like you're sandblasting your face. Will I buy this? Yes!

Overall I was really impressed by this months Bellabox. There were so many products and so many full size ones at that! The little make up case is perfect, it holds just enough and is small enough to easily throw in your handbag. I can't wait to see what Augusts BB will have!

Tux the Penguin Cake

We're in the middle of birthday season for my family. My mother's birthday was last month and my husbands is next month. But this month it was my brother's 28th birthday. He doesn't like a lot of fuss so we usually just celebrate with a low key barbecue, but this year he suggested going out for lunch and chose a Ribs and Burger place close to where I live. After lunch my family came back to my place for cake, coffee and presents!

I'd bought my brother some Bucky Balls and a gift card. I also made him a cake. I make most of the cakes for family get togethers and birthdays. I usually stick with cupcakes, but to be honest, I'm getting sick of making cupcakes. I also couldn't find a way to decorate the cupcakes that would suit my brother. Everything thing seemed to cutesy and I didn't just want to stick with chocolate ganache as that's my usual icing.

I searched through my recipe books for a cake and saw the penguin cake in one of my Australian Women's Weekly party cake books (I think it's the Party Animals? book) They call it the Penguin Prince cake and in the book they also put a red bow on the cake. I was a bit reluctant to do this cake, it involved cutting out the penguin shape from a pattern in the book and it just seemed like a lot of bother. I haven't made a carved cake since year ten home ec! But nothing else seemed to fit, so I bit the bullet and made the penguin cake.

My brother has always liked Tux, the linux mascot. He used to have a tiny little Tux keyring. He's been a linux user since high school so a Tux Penguin cake seemed appropriate.

This cake was a challenge. I didn't have the right sized cake pan, it was just a smidge too small, but I knew that once I carved the cake I'd have tonnes of scraps left over. So I used one of the larger off cuts to build up the sides Tux's feet.

I'd also never worked with black icing before, or iced a cake like this where you have multiple colours of icing. I bought black americolour icing which didn't actually go black, but more of a deep grey. I think instead of starting with a white buttercream, I should've started with a chocolate to get a deeper colour. I also got black icing everywhere! Thank goodness my bench top is black granite so doesn't show stains!

I put the cake in the freezer for 20mins before carving it, then crumb coated the cut edges before putting it back in the freezer. I transferred it onto the cake board and started icing! Starting with the white, then the yellow and finally the black. I piped the icing on before smoothing it down with a heated spatula. The eyes were the trickiest part! I messed them up twice! The second time I got them right, then went to pat down a small peak in the icing with my finger only to transfer food dye onto the white icing.

It took me hours to ice this cake. Luckily I had a few tv shows I wanted to catch up on, so played those in the background while working on it. This was also the first time I'd made buttercream since I got my Kitchen Aid for my 30th birthday in March. Holy cow is it easy to make buttercream now! I loved my pink mixer before, but after making buttercream in it, I love it even more!

The cake turned out pretty good, I see a few flaws in it. I'm still not happy with the eyes and I couldn't get the icing as smooth as I would've liked. But it's not bad!

Next to book. And before I'd smoothed down the icing and messed with the eyes.

My brother was really impressed! He didn't want to cut into it for ages, and in the end would up taking the head and feet home. (I held my breath when he cut it, as he decapitated Tux!) 

The only thing is, is how do I top this for his birthday next year? Or the year after for his 30th? I think I've set the bar a little high now! 

Bellabox June 2012 Review

Last month I received my very first Bellabox. Bellabox is a monthly subscription sample box where for $15 a month you receive samples consisting of beauty products and other goodies. I wasn't expecting to get a June box as I signed up pretty late in the month, but I was pleasantly surprised when it turned up. I had a pretty good idea what would be in the box, as I'd already seen a few reviews on youtube. It was a pretty good mix of products. Some products were a hit, some were a miss and some were things I'd never try if they hadn't been in my Bellabox.

(Please forgive the iphone and instagram pic!)

Inside the cute little box is a card with an introduction and it talks about the theme of the box, June being a Winter Escape theme. On the reverse is a list of the products you receive, their use and their recommended retail price. I should also add that when you sign you for Bellabox you fill out a small survey so each month the box is tailored to suit your skin tone and type plus your personality and preferences.

In my June box I received - 

• Benefit Porefessional Pro Balm 7.5ml sample (full size - 22ml, RRP $58). - For me, this was a meh. Yes it covered up my pores and helped disguise them. But would I buy this? Probably not. The price is just a bit too steep for me. (I'm cheap and I love my pharmacy/drug store make up and beauty products)

• Pure Fiji Body Butter in passonflower sample pot I'd say around 30ml or 40ml (full size 235ml - RRP $29.95) - I really liked this. It surprised me as at first sniff, the scent was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a heavily floral nearly sweet scent but this was a clean, fresh scent. And I loved the way it sank into my skin. I'm not normally a fan of body butters. I find them heavy and greasy but this was perfect. Will I buy this? Yes!

• Kiss Dress Nails (I recieved the full size product RRP $13.99) - This is a product that I'd never buy for myself. When I see nail stickers I think of the press and stick nails I had as a child. I'm not really into nail art and it's only in the last few months that I've started wearing nail polish for the first time since my wedding which was four years ago! But I gave them ago, I was surprised at how easy they were to put on. They were a little fiddly when it came to trimming the excess sticker but if I can do it, anyone can! I'm not sure how long they'll last. So far they've made it 24hrs without any peeling and the package states they'll last up to 10 days. I usually get about 4 days out of my nail polish so we'll see if they last that long. Will I buy this? Yes. It seems like something fun I might do for a party or over summer as a lot of the prints seem summery to me.

• Gatineau Aqua Memory Moisture Replenish Cream 15ml sample (full size 50ml RRP $104) - I didn't like this product. It left a film on my fingers and face. It was odd and hard to explain. It made my fingers feel slimy but super dry all at the same time, they nearly squeaked when I rubbed my fingers and thumb together. I tried it twice before giving up on it. My husband tried it once and while it was moisturising he didn't like it either. Will I buy this? No.

• Phyotocare Pure Papaya Ointment (I received the full size product 25g RRP $6.60) I really wanted to like this product as a lip balm, I've used and loved other pawpaw ointments as lip blams. But this just didn't feel right on my lips. The minute I licked my lips or got some in my mouth the texture changed and it went grainy. I have been using it on my cuticles at night before bed and it's working well as a cuticle treatment. Will I buy this? Probably not. I do like that it has no petrochemicals but the texture isn't right for me.

• Olea Olive Leaf Drops 6 drops (12 drops RRP $6) I've taken Olive Leaf Extract before so knew to expect that bitter after taste. These drops had Manuka honey as an ingredient so I thought that the honey might lesson the after taste but it didn't. Will I buy this? Probably not. I did eat all the drops as I came down with a cold but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy them.

• Fan Di Fendi Fragance Fun Loving. (30ml RRP $95) I hated this sample. First of all the packaging. It was in a little square sample which you tear open. The way you sometimes get moisturiser samples. But perfume is a lot thinner than moisturiser so once you open it the product just drips and runs everywhere. It's meant to have warm floral notes but all I could smell was the leather and patchouli which reminds me of my uni days in Far North NSW. Will I buy this? Definitely not. 

Over all I was impressed with my first Bellabox. Two full sized products and five sample sized products. I definitely received products worth more than the subscription fee of $15 a month. I got to try a few products that I would otherwise have never tried. The main reason I subscribed to Bellabox was exactly that, to try and find new products I love, or workout what products I don't like without having to buy the full size versions.

Now that I'm 30 I've found my skin has changed, it's a lot dryer (especially in the cooler months) and it's more sensitive than when I was a teenager. Cleansers that I've used in the past now many my skin react flushing red or with breakouts where in the past if I ran out of cleanser could use soap and water without a breakout or bump. I can't even think of doing that now! Nor would I!

I'm going to stick with my monthly subscription Bellabox for a few more months and see what other products turn up for me to try. My July box came in the mail a few days ago and I've already started trying a whole new batch of samples!

Pink Strawberry Mousse

My husband Tony had a combined bucks night/ Lan weekend to go to this past weekend. While I was picking up all the necessities (beer, coke, chips, lollies, chocolate) for him, I saw strawberries for sale. I haven't bought strawberries for ages! I've been burned buy the ones that look ripe in the store, but once home are a pale pinkish green colour and are tasteless. But I could smell these strawberries the minute I stepped into the supermarket so I just had to buy some. And seeing Tony wouldn't be home all weekend, I knew I wouldn't have to share!

After I'd dropped Tony off for the weekend (owning one car has benefits of being a lot cheaper, but also means occasionally we have to juggle if we both need the car on the weekend) I got home and was watching some trashy tv while googling recipes for this weeks meal plan. Those strawberries in the fridge were bugging me, I wanted them but I also wanted something sweet. Strawberry muffins or some kind of baked goods with strawberries just wasn't appealing. Then while browsing Best Recipes stumbled upon a recipe for strawberry mousse.

Years ago, in my first year at uni, one of my house mates had made this very recipe. I'd made it a few times before losing the recipes in one of my many moves. I'd forgotten about it until now. Oh my goodness, the taste is delicious. Light, creamy, sweet but not too sweet and nothing overpowers the taste of the strawberries. Delicious!

It is a bit fiddly, you have to mash the strawberries, whip egg whites, whip cream, and melt gelatine. But it's worth it. I dare you not to eat spoonfuls of the mix before it goes into the fridge to cool, it's just that good!



Strawberry Mousse
Ingredients
1 punnet of strawberries
1 teaspoon gelatine
2 teaspoons water
2 egg whites
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method
1. Wash and hull strawberries, mash well (I blitzed mine in my mini food processor for a few seconds until roughly chopped into small pieces)
2. Combine gelatine and water in small heatproof bowl or mug. Stand mix over hot water. (I put the gelatine and water into a coffee cup and sat that in a saucepan with small amount of simmering water.)
3. Whip egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add in sugar, mixing until sugar dissolves.
4. Whip cream until soft peaks form.
5. Fold egg mixture into cream.
6. Combine strawberries, gelatine and lemon juice. Fold gently into cream and egg mixture.
7. Pour into mould or serving glass. Refrigerate until set. (I served mine in a glass with some grated chocolate on top. Then I ate the rest the next night straight from the container.)