Spicy chickpea, chicken & baby kale salad

July 19 2015
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Spicy chickpea chicken kale salad l a splash of vanilla I love me a chicken salad, it’s the one thing I make or order from cafes quite regularly.

This one is a little different though; spicy roast chickpeas give the salad a lovely crunch and flavour.  The crisp salad, herbs, flavoursome chicken pieces with a bit of parmesan made this a lovely lunch last week.  I stuffed some of my salad between 2 toasted pieces of buttered seed and oat bread and it was delicious.

Spicy chickpea chicken kale salad l a splash of vanilla

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Citrus vodka cocktail

July 17 2015
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I haven’t made cocktails in absolutely ages I realised the other day.  So I bought a heap of grapefruit and oranges and whipped up a fresh, zesty, ruby grapefruit orange cocktail packed with citrus flavour.  And you could make this with any other white spirits; Bacardi or gin for example.

Citrus vodka cocktail l a splash of vanilla

Citrus vodka cocktail l a splash of vanilla Citrus vodka cocktail l a splash of vanilla
Citrus vodka cocktail l a splash of vanilla
Citrus vodka cocktail l a splash of vanilla

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Christiania; Denmark’s free town

July 15 2015
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This seemingly utopian communal society I spotted via Messy Nessy Chic recently, came about from an actual hippie commune in Denmark in the early 1970s.  It has quite a history and immediately brought to mind Nimbin, northern NSW, near where I grew up and it also made me think of my mum’s sister’s family and the commune they lived on in Petaluma, California, when I was little.

Part social experiment, part commune and part fairy tale, Christiania’s gotten quite a bit of press in the last few years and it looks like a very creative, interesting place.

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Ginger spice & apricot toasted oat clusters

July 12 2015
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ginger spice granola l a splash of vanillaI whipped up a deliciously spicy, crunchy, cold weather inspired toasted muesli a while back, just from ingredients I had on hand.

It’s not full-on ginger in flavour, just enough to give a sweet, warm flavour however if you’re a real ginger fan, add a bit more fresh or ground ginger to the recipe.  This is nice with or without the dried apricots and you can always leave them out, but I do love the warm sweetness of them with the ginger.

Brilliant for a wholesome breakfast or sprinkled over fruit for a quick crumble.
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Baked sweet potatoes with spicy lemon chickpeas

July 5 2015
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You guys, these are so good!

And you might think lemon and sweet potato are an odd pairing but actually, the zesty lemon works really well with the sweet, creamy potato, particularly with spices.  This is a bit of a fancy take on the baked potato with topping I usually make, and it made for a hearty, super delicious and comforting lunch-time dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Love Wins

July 3 2015
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rainbow flag love

So we all know that last Friday, 26th June 2015 the US Supreme Court handed down a historical ruling in favour of same sex marriage (I loved the White House all lit up in rainbow colours in honour of the decision, so beautiful and fearless!  I can’t imagine our current government doing anything like this).

And even though I’m Australian, I think this decision is significant for us and for all other countries too.  Let’s do this Australia.

And, random I know, but have a gander if you feel like watching the 10 greatest lip sync scenes in pop culture, because who doesn’t love a good lip sync on a Friday.  Happy weekend!

Soft & fluffy wholemeal blueberry oat streusel muffins

June 28 2015
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These rustic muffins are relatively healthy and wholesome and I gave them a fluffy texture by using wholemeal cake flour (basically just cornflour added to plain wholemeal – makes for a really soft crumb but with added fibre and such).

These are packed with blueberries and a bit spicy with a light crunchy topping; they’re just the thing for morning tea.

blueberry oat muffins l a splash of vanilla

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Happy Friday (and Glastonbury the Movie)

June 26 2015
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I spotted this trailer for Glastonbury the Movie in Flashback recently (initial release in 1996 and re-released in 2012 with extra footage) and it looks brilliant.  As the official site says, this is old school early 90s Glastonbury, before mobile phones and social networking, when it was all about the music.

Fun times for those who were there!  Have a great weekend all.

 

Images and trailer from: Glastonbury the Movie in Flashback