my’bitchin’kitchen

this is the perfect drink for a stinking hot day.  all of the flavours in this cocktail scream summer to me - mint, berries and fresh lime are a recipe for refreshing, fruity & delicious goodness.  we had these on christmas afternoon while sitting in the spa, and couldn’t get enough of them. (these are also extremely easy to drink, so be warned!)

 you don’t need to have all (or any) of the cocktail equipment to make this either - just a trusty old rolling pin will do the trick!

ingredients - to make 1

handful of frozen raspberries + extra to garnish
3 slices of lime
5 fresh mint leaves
150ml ginger beer
60ml white rum or vodka
crushed ice

method

cup your hand and place 4 mint leaves in it. cup your other hand and bring it down over the other, so that it makes a clapping noise (be careful not to squash the mint, you want to release the aroma and flavour without bruising it - also a good trick when using mint in salads).  place a handful of raspberries and 2 slices of lime in a highball tumbler.  using your rolling pin (or muddler if you want to get all professional on me), muddle the contents. add 4 of the mint leaves and top with crushed ice. pour spirit and ginger beer over the ice and stir. garnish with extra mint leaf and raspberries.

i look forward to making this delicious breakfast at the beginning of every summer, when my favourite stone fruit arrives - nectarine. i used turkish bread because that is what i had on hand, but i much prefer making this with sourdough or brioche. Continue reading

mum’s hams are the best and we usually can’t wait til christmas to make them, any excuse will do!

juicy on the inside and caramelised and crunchy on the outside - what more could you ask?

(see that one pale little square of missing fat? i just couldn’t wait!) Continue reading

i am writing this post with the assistance of self proclaimed coffee expert extraordinaire; joshua.

josh and i recently visited the hip hop & happening city of melbourne to celebrate my birthday and our 4 year anniversary!

among many restaurants and cafés on our to-visit list over the weekend was the reputed caffeine depot in carlton that is seven seeds specialty coffee. run by melbourne coffee king mark dundon (also founder of successful cafes brother baba budan and st ali) seven seeds is a boutique perfectionist coffee roastery /plantation / café complete with its own research lab.  the face of this coffee hub appears to be not much more than a whole in the wall … oh but it is so much more! if it weren’t for the many recommendations, we may never have discovered this little gem.

inside is a workshop, decked out with all the unique yet understated trimmings you would expect from a boutique café. exposed beams and naked brick walls create a warehouse feel to the place; characterised by hanging lights with cute & quirky red knitted teacosy-like beanies, ecclectic ammo boxes on each table which store sugar and cutlery,  pneumatic piano rolls recycled into wallpaper, but most importantly, a sexy, shiny synesso fed by three robur’s (the ferrari of coffee grinders).

to top it all off, their music of choice was fat freddy’s drop - they had me at hello.  they have gone to every effort to make this place the number one destination for coffee addicts (now all they have to do is find it).

Continue reading