Some tracks from the upcoming release of The Great Gatsby are available for listens via Spotify:

More baking - this time a purple and white swirled rosette cake for the mother of one of my best friends who is celebrating a birthday this weekend. Can you believe this is my first purple cake? It’s travelling to Okaihau today so I hope it has a safe trip!

More baking - this time a purple and white swirled rosette cake for the mother of one of my best friends who is celebrating a birthday this weekend.

Can you believe this is my first purple cake? It’s travelling to Okaihau today so I hope it has a safe trip!

Been baking. These are vegan cupcakes with cream cheese flavoured duotone buttercream roses. I know, cream cheese and buttercream do not sound vegan. Did you know professional buttercream is made from vegetable shortening? It keeps better*. Thank goodness - doing a cake decorating course without sampling the frosting would have been rather difficult. These babies will be sold off to sweet toothed TRN staff to help me recoup the ridiculous amounts of money I’ve been spending on baking stuff lately… *Apparently most use meringue powder though (with egg) to get the buttercream to “set” a little.

Been baking. These are vegan cupcakes with cream cheese flavoured duotone buttercream roses.

I know, cream cheese and buttercream do not sound vegan. Did you know professional buttercream is made from vegetable shortening? It keeps better*. Thank goodness - doing a cake decorating course without sampling the frosting would have been rather difficult.

These babies will be sold off to sweet toothed TRN staff to help me recoup the ridiculous amounts of money I’ve been spending on baking stuff lately…

*Apparently most use meringue powder though (with egg) to get the buttercream to “set” a little.

Cute! I helped Nathalie at work to make a cake for her little brother Aaron’s 8th birthday this weekend. It’s a dirt race-track with grass, if you can’t tell!

Cake is eggless chocolate cake with vegan chocolate buttercream, the grass is tinted vanilla buttercream.

The banner may be my proudest moment, so THAT’S why I bought those tiny wooden pegs!

Facebook chat is the lowest form of communication. The only people who do it are your best friend from the third grade and your aunt. Sending smoke signals would be cooler.
Ryan O’Connell
Photo galleries at work sometimes have amazing images submitted. Coast has a competition to “win a second honeymoon” by submitting a photo from your wedding day. This has to be my favourite image, but there are lots of W T H photos too.

Photo galleries at work sometimes have amazing images submitted.

Coast has a competition to “win a second honeymoon” by submitting a photo from your wedding day. This has to be my favourite image, but there are lots of W T H photos too.

Why I Read Thought Catalog

Sometimes there are hits.

After the storm

Go-to playlist. Piles of folk/pop/dance/rock (I hate genres), that feels good and is perfect to read or work to.

Spiced roast veges

For Alex.

Tasty variation on the standard roast vege fare. Substitute whatever you have - pumpkin, sweet potato, potatoes, garlic, shallots, spices etc. This is what I used in a dish for girlfriends here for Friday night potluck… Would be nice with pumpkin/sunflower seeds too.

Ingredients

  • 2 large smooth golden kumara (sweet potato), peeled and cubed to roughly 1in pieces (this makes it faster to cook)
  • 1/4 small golden pumpkin seeded, peeled and cubed
  • 1 tin chickpeas (drained)
  • 1 medium brown onion, peeled and wedged
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp paprica
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp garam marsala
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Canola oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

Combine the spices in a small bowl or cup.

Oil a large roasting dish, add the kumara, pumpkin, onion, and chickpeas, stir to coat lightly in oil.

Sprinkle 1/2 the spice mix over the veges, stir and then add the remaining spices. Stir to coat the vegetables in spices.

Bake in the oven, stirring every ten minutes and testing the kumara until it’s cooked - soft when tested with a skewer. I’d say at least 30-40 min.

Sugar free Raspberry/Chocolate vegan Smoothie

Fiona had the most amazing raw, gluten/vegan raspberry and chocolate cake for her birthday last weekend. So good.

I’ve taken to slicing and freezing overripe/surplus bananas for smoothies. I find they make them super creamy even without any kind of milk, more so with milk. A thicker “smoothie” negates any ice cream craving, this recipe is better than ice cream. And the banana flavour is not very pronounced. Okay, getting on with it:

  • 1 cup frozen raspberries
  • 1 frozen banana (ideally, sliced)
  • 1.5 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup soy (or other) milk

Chuck everything together and blend thoroughly. I like to use less milk so everything blends but is very thick, then eat it with a spoon.

It’s not hugely sweet, but the sweetness of the banana keeps the cocoa from being to bitter and the raspberries lend a tart deliciousness.