Scrumptiously tasty

‘A bite of pure indulgence’

September 27, 2015 Julia 16 Comments

Welcome back to my beautiful and tasty Kitchen Corner 🙂

Today I will share with you one of my favourite recipes for an easy, quick and delicious dessert!

Ingredients:

Cake

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

Chocolate Icing

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

You will need about 2 cups of shredded coconut to cover the squares.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Grease and line the bottom of a square pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix everything really well.

Using a bowl of an electric mixer or a hand mixer, combine well the sugar and eggs. Gradually add oil and vanilla and mix until just smooth.

Slowly add half the flour mixture while the mixer is on; mix until just blended, then add the buttermilk. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, until everything is blended.

I’ve used one square baking pan, but if you have two small ones, just divide the batter between the two.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Once done, let the cake cool completely. Cut the cake in small squares.

To prepare the chocolate icing, melt the butter and mix it with milk. Whisk in cocoa powder until completely dissolved. Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, and whisk slowly until thickened. Let it cool for about 5 minutes.

To assemble, put the coconut in a bowl and set aside.

Use forks to dip and turn a cake square into the chocolate icing to coat all sides. Allow excess icing to drip off. Then place the square in coconut. Sprinkle coconut on the top, then start turning in coconut to coat other sides. Place the square on a wire rack and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes to set.

Repeat the same process with all of the remaining squares.

As I’ve baked the lamingtons, I was thinking that next time I could add some dried cranberries into the batter and make it a bit more interesting:)

It was a sunny weekend so we’ve decided to make a delicious orange and mango smoothie next to the beautiful lamingtons!

If you never made lamingtons before, this is your time…or maybe you would like to give it a twist…a sweet cranberry twist 🙂

Enjoy!

Bon appetit!

Your Girl with an Apron,

Julia

xxx

Camera Lucida

‘Camera Lucida’ – Autumn Lane

September 21, 2015 Julia 27 Comments

Welcome back to week #11 of Camera Lucida Photo Challenge

This week’s theme: Autumn Lane

1. the season after summer and before winter, in the northern hemisphere from September to November and in the southern hemisphere from March to May.

2. a division of a road marked off with painted lines and intended to separate single lines of traffic according to speed or direction.

I’ve never been a fan of autumn…probably because it leads to winter…cold and windy season!

…but I love the autumn colours, extraordinary palette of shades that always tell a story.

This week your challenge is to interpret autumn…the lane that separates the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Capture the beautiful colours of trees…the ripe and tasty autumn harvest…the fine cross line between worlds that are so close but so far apart…

The possibilities are endless…show your artistic side and be bold…try different perspectives and share your own personal take on one of the most beautiful seasons that transforms nature into an unforgettable painting.

How to join us?

Follow your host and share each week your own vision of the theme.

Create a new post with the title CAMERA LUCIDA followed by the theme name.

The content of the post is completely down to you, share just the photo or be even more creative and tell us the story behind the scene, make it your own.

Feel free to use the ‘Your Gallery’ badge in your post and link back to the last Camera Lucida challenge or just leave a link to your post in the comment box. Please tag your post #cameralucida so other participants can find the entries on the Reader. The Inlinkz it’s not available anymore for upload, so do not forget to tag and link back, this way your post will be visible to others outside your followers 🙂

You will have seven days to introduce your snapshot to everyone.

At the end of each challenge I will share with you all the entries and introduce you to their makers. Make sure you visit their blogs, share honest feedback and be supportive.

Camera Lucida - Your Gallery

An exhibition where your visual perception captures the world and gives life to a new story.

Last week’s theme was one of my favourites…Colours of Life

Thank you so much for your beautiful entries…take a moment and visit these blogs 🙂

Yen and The Green

Carol and The world of knitting

Simply Snapshots and L’art de vivre

Terri and Life and Culture

Johanna and Gossip of life

Vinneve and Chinese Festivals

Cathy and Blooming garden

Jeann and Raining colours

Marje and Fantasy card

Tessa and Strolling green

Marie and Colour by the pint

Gun and Happy pink

Sky and Colours

Adrienne and Life within nature

Christian and Dramatic colours

Loved every one of your entries…thank you for your support and love for Camera Lucida:)

PS. Please leave the link of your post in the comment box as well, because of system errors I don’t always seem to receive the notification of a link back. What can you do? I don’t want to miss any of your entries! Thank you:)

THIS WEEK SHARE YOUR AUTUMN MOMENT!

Your Gallery Host,

Julia

xxx

Red Echo Date

‘Red Echo Date’ #11

September 20, 2015 Julia 5 Comments

Looking for Inspiration?

Join us and share your thoughts behind this week’s quote

Ever step we take it’s a choice, even if we don’t think about it…

There are choices we have the power to take ourselves and some that are taken for us…and every now and then it might be a leap forward or a fall back.

…but when is it a fall back and when is it just a step back to safety?

I’ve always avoided change because of the unknown but at the same time I want to step out of my comfort zone and experience growth…I believe that dreams are not made in closed bubbles, dreams and achievements are out there, on the other side of the road, where we rarely dare to cross…either because of the heavy traffic or because we might not be able to turn back if we wanted to.

Choices we make each day take us one step closer to our goals…and some just shield us from the risk of having to adjust, because sometimes stepping back into safety is the right choice.

How do you know when is time to step forward?

I think we always know the answer but we fight it … we need external validation, assurance that stepping forward is a success and not just a guess!

How do you choose between growth or safety?

Here are the contributions to the last R.E.D challenge…living the moment and fear of failure 🙂 Thank you for sharing your thoughts and life experiences!

Jess and Tips against Depression

Margo and What does failure looks like?

Amanpan and Failure is just a new opportunity

Take a moment and read these inspirational posts!

…thinking of joining?

Join us and find some inspiration behind the echo of the week:)

How can you join?

The challenge is about sharing your thoughts behind the quote of the week…it will be your choice the way you do it, it is your echo:)

Write a story…capture the words in a photo or come up with a new quote which shares the same topic!

You can leave your own quote in the comment box or write a new post!

If you decide to write a brand new post about it, copy the R.E.D logo, ping back to the last Red Echo Date post and tag it #redechodate so others can find it in the Reader or leave a link of your entry in the comment box:)

With each post I will share all of the entries from the previous week:)

This week share your thoughts about stepping forward or stepping back!

Your R.E.D host,

Julia

xxx

Feel Good Being You!

‘Take the gold step’

September 16, 2015 Julia 9 Comments

Welcome back to your Fashion Guide 🙂

Take a quick trip with me this week and step into the gold shoes!

Metallic…gold…and earthy fashion

Your flashy metallic fashion is not just for … after dark:)
You can never go wrong with gold or silver
Get styled and pair it up with earthy colours or just simply white and black
Be sporty and wear metallic with jeans and sporty shoes
Wear it with nude make up
Go bold and add shine to your wardrobe

Tip of the week 🙂

Always Accessorise!

Your Fashion Girl,

Julia

xxx

Camera Lucida

‘Camera Lucida – The Colour of Life’

September 14, 2015 Julia 42 Comments

Welcome back to week #10 of Camera Lucida Photo Challenge

This week’s theme: The Colour of Life

Colour – the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light.
Life – a particular type or aspect of human existence

I’ve been looking for something out of the ordinary and I’ve actually found it 🙂

A very interesting collection of owls…not ordinary owls, but an expression of art and visual effects which I’ve never seen before. What captured my attention was the vivid and detailed colours that tell a story in the most extraordinary way!

This week your challenge is to find and capture the tone of life…the colours that make your heart beat faster and your eyes open wider…take a snapshot of the rainbow that shows the true colours of life…seize the moment of a beautiful red apple before you take a bite…catch the bright colour of the sunset that takes all life to sleep…immortalise the striking green wake up of the nature…showcase the appetising look of the most tasty and colourful dish…SHARE the colour of your life 🙂

How to join us?

Follow your host and share each week your own vision of the theme.

Create a new post with the title CAMERA LUCIDA followed by the theme name.

The content of the post is completely down to you, share just the photo or be even more creative and tell us the story behind the scene, make it your own.

Feel free to use the ‘Your Gallery’ badge in your post and link back to the last Camera Lucida challenge or just leave a link to your post in the comment box. Please tag your post #cameralucida so other participants can find the entries on the Reader. The Inlinkz it’s not available anymore for upload, so do not forget to tag and link back, this way your post will be visible to others outside your followers 🙂

You will have seven days to introduce your snapshot to everyone.

At the end of each challenge I will share with you all the entries and introduce you to their makers. Make sure you visit their blogs, share honest feedback and be supportive.

Camera Lucida - Your Gallery

An exhibition where your visual perception captures the world and gives life to a new story.

…and here it is!

Another beautiful expression of the way you see the world 🙂

Thank you for all the entries in last week’s challenge…take a look at this beautiful collection of talented photographers…make sure you don’t miss a Sign!

Cathy and The Garden Angel

Jeann and Greek experience

Mark and Story of signs

Johanna and The Ravens

Yen and Coffee Smile

Simply Snapshots and Letters

Terri and The surf sign

Marje and Funny Signs

Gun and Black and white signs

Marie and Out of business

Carol and The harbour

Vinneve and Pinnacles

Sky and Sign journey

Christian and The sign

…take a moment and visit these blogs…stop at the sign and see which way it will take you!

PS. When you post your entry, make sure you tag it #cameralucida and link back to the last Camera Lucida post! This way I will receive a notification of your entry and others will be able to find your post in The Reader!

THIS WEEK SHARE YOUR COLOUR MOMENT!

Your Gallery Host,

Julia

xxx

Scrumptiously tasty

‘Tempting Morning Embrace’

September 6, 2015 Julia 10 Comments

Welcome back to my beautiful and tasty Kitchen Corner 🙂

**Red pepper, asparagus and pepperoni folded omelette**

I am happy to have you back…taking the healthy cruise with me 🙂

Today I am sharing with you an old classic…the beautiful omelette with a twist, in the real sense of the word!

Ingredients: Butter, 3 eggs, 200 g asparagus, half red pepper, finely chopped, a few slices of pepperoni cut in small pieces, salt, black pepper, a pinch of dried coriander/ basil/ oregano, 50 g feta cheese, fresh parsley to serve.

Salad: baby tomatoes, fresh radish, lemon juice.

Method: Wash the asparagus and red pepper, finely chop them both.

Melt a small piece of butter in a pan, add the red pepper, asparagus, pieces of pepperoni, pinch of salt and black pepper and sauté everything for about 5 minutes. Mix the 3 eggs in a bowl, add the dried coriander/ basil/ oregano mixture.