Celebration Cupcakes for a Royal Wedding Party

On the eve of the Royal wedding we’re planning a girls’ night out: bling, tiaras, champagne and a royal wedding cake. Actually it won’t be an exact replica of either of the two Royal birthday cakes being created for this very special event. The first, a regal multi-tiered brandy soaked fruitcake that Kate helped to [...]

Baking Bread at Home

Kneading the dough for a loaf of bread is a gentle 10 minute upper body workout but there are more good reasons for baking your own bread. For one thing you know exactly what goes into it, no added artificial colours and preservatives. Then there’s the heavenly smell which wafts through the house while it’s [...]

Easter roast with Wine and Chocolate

Great to have Easter dinner sorted – due to a chance encounter! I had just filled my shopping basket with fresh veggies at Nosh in Ponsonby Road when I spotted Marcus Gillum at Liquor King next door. He was hosting a small blind wine tasting. The challenge: to guess what four different wines were and [...]

Feijoa smoothies: Health in a Glass

Lucky us! Our neighbours are collecting bucketfuls of feijoas at present and they keep giving us bags of them. Fijoas are so aromatic and juicy when they have just fallen off the trees and been freshly harvested. The flavour is somewhere between guava and pineapple with a trace of lemon. Apart from cutting them in [...]