This is my jam.

Baked some Jam Drops this afternoon and thought I would document the recipe/process Instagram style :)

1. Start off with 125g softened butter and 3/4 cup white sugar (I used castor sugar).

2. Cream butter and sugar :)

 3. Mix in 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used essence) and 2 beaten eggs.

4. Add 1 & 1/4 cups plain flour (sifted), 1/4 cup cornflour (sifted) and 1/2 cup desiccated coconut.

5. Mix :)

6. Roll the mix into small balls. I used just a bit more than a teaspoonful for each ball and made approx 36.

7. Flatten/make little wells in the centre and fill with mum's homemade strawberry jam (or whatever other kind of jam you prefer).

8. Bake in the oven (I used 160C fan forced) for 15 minutes. Then let cool on tray.

9. Enjoy :D

Get baked

On Thursday during my lunch break on a trip to Woolies for afternoon snacks, I whizzed past the baking aisle to see that the Donna Hay macaron mixes were on special and figured I'd give them a go. They are relatively simple to make, as traditional macaron recipes require you to measure out all the ingredients precisely (weight wise, not volume wise) but this mix just comes in little sachets and all you need to add is some water and cream. 

The only trouble I had was that the lids didn't rise properly to create the little 'feet' they should have (my friend later mentioned that the Donna Hay magazine says you should tap the bottom of the tray to remove air bubbles- Gee, thanks for excluding that little tip on the box) and a lot of the filling kind of burst/ran out of the sides. Although, that was easily fixed I just removed the overflow and was left with reasonably round shapes to work with. 

The 'ganache' was more like cake icing, so I put them in the fridge and boy do they taste amazing once the filling has chilled a bit. They're not overly sweet, but are quite filling. So if you've ever wanted to try making your own macarons, but have been put off by all the fiddly processes and ingredients, I highly recommend you give this a try :)

To market, to market.

Last night masses descended upon Forrest Place for the opening night of the Twilight Hawkers Market, and we decided to join them.


Our menu for the night consisted of; sesame balls, spring rolls, coconut water, spiral spuds, nachos, paella, donuts (both plain and jam filled) and crepes.


Needless to say I went home and fell into a deep food coma, and no doubt I will be back a number of times during the rest of the season as this event continues throughout summer until the end of March.


More info here.

Show me your drawers.

No, not those drawers... pervs.

I ordered some new makeup storage from ebay a few weeks ago and it finally arrived today :D My makeup 'storage' previously consisted of an old Fererro Rocher box stacked with my bits and bobs. Now I've got a lovely set of clear perspex drawers to keep everything (well, my most used cosmetics) in order. My lesser used items are still stashed in the cupboard below, but hopefully this will help keep my benchtop nice and tidy. 

It looks so pretty and clean and shiny! From the bottom I've got: Eyeshadows/mascara, face powders/bronzer/blush, eyeliners and lipsticks and on the top, there's just enough room to keep some moisturiser, foundation and fragrances. Of course one day I'd like to have a large and impressive enough collection to warrant one of the bad boys the Kardashian girls have, but for now this will do just nicely :)

Bounce.

Last night's ball game. More to come over at Shooty Hoop$' Facebook page.

Melbourne via Instagram.

So for the last 2 weeks I've been over in Melbourne for work and since I'm lazy I didn't bring my camera with me so I thought I'd do another my-life-according-to-instagram post.


We ended up having to work an extra day so I didn't get to do as much wandering around the city as I would have liked (kicking myself for not taking more photos of the street art), but we did end up getting to the football and some rooftop bars on a chilly night.


I kind of lost my shopping mojo while I was over there, which I guess is a good thing, since I'll have more moolah for Hong Kong at the end of the year :)


Chai and macarons from Brunetti. Eagles vs Cats. Botox @ the Croft Institute. Old distiller also @ Croft. Post night out breakfast (at lunch time). Post-post night out breakfast cupcake from Little Cupcakes. Room service wagyu beef burger. All the crap I managed to fit in my handbag. Bentley inside Thoroughbred. More macarons.