Spring Treats!!

I love spring and daylight savings. Despite my quarter life crisis, I went for a walk this afternoon and there were sprinklers going, I love the smell of water / rain on a warm day : ) And spring is really my favourite season I think, the weather improves, there are baby animals about, the days are longer and brighter...not to mention we have a whole new season of foods to play with! No longer do we crave big bowls of hearty meals to warm our bellies, but colourful plates of fresh fruit and vegetables!

This week I have discovered my new favourite salad....


2 tomatoes, 1/2 a cucumber, 1/2 a small tin of four bean mix and 1/2 a cup of pumpkin that I cooked in the microwave. It was so filling and really yummy, I love pumpkin and now that it is salad weather, I can see it becoming a regular!

Now onto more important things...like DESSERT...last night I whipped this up and it is also going to become a summer regular...


Raspberry Meringue Icecream

2 lt of light vanilla icecream
300g frozen raspberries
100g Petit Vanilla Meringues (available at Woolies)

Let the icecream soften, but not melt.
Place raspberries and meringues in a bowl and crush with a fork. Combine with icecream and put back in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.

The meringues gave it a deliciously sweet flavour which contrasted nicely with the tart raspberries. Only problem was it all disappeared last night!! And I have so many other combinations I want to try....home made cookies and cream...or even a few tspns of honey would be delicious!

For the main course we had a Vegetable Tortilla Stack which I have wanted to make for a long time, but I needed a new springform pan, which I got last weekend!

So here is what you need:

4 x wholegrain tortillas
1 x tin diced tomatoes
2 x capsicums (red and green) diced
1 x onion diced
700g pumpkin diced into small cubes
1 tspn freshly diced thyme
1 tspn freshly diced oregano
250g extra light ricotta
1 cup grated cheese

Cook the onion and capsicum in a fry pan until soft.
Add pumpkin, diced tomatoes and herbs. Simmer until pumpkin is tender.
Place one tortilla in the bottom of a lined springform baking tin and spread with 1/3 of the ricotta. Top with 1/3 of the vegetable mix and 1/4 of the cheese. Repeat layers, finishing with the fourth tortilla topped with the remaining grated cheese.
Bake at 180C / 160 fan forced for 15 mins or until cheese is golden.
Let stand in the pan for 10 mins then remove the outer ring of the springform tin. (I was super nervous here, but it all held together!) and be sure to cut with a sharp knife so all your filling doesn't fall out!




I have recently moved my store from Ebay to Etsy and last night I was experimenting with making some cupcake toppers because I was trying to make some for a friend who is going into hospital next week, and I came up with these. I'm really proud of them and I made heaps so I thought I'd put them on Etsy too and see how they go!



Hope you all had a fantastic day!

Em x