learning your colour tarts

these delicious little pantone tarts are the creation of french food and style blogger emily griottes.  mmmm….edible colour

collection I : cornucopia

i have decided to begin a series of “collection” posts, themed around certain interests of mine, namely: food, illustration, design, packaging, the great outdoors, literature etc.  i have such caches of internet-scrounged images that inspire and motivate me on a daily basis, so i thought why not share them.  who knows: someone might be out there needing a little dose of visual stimulation?

i am starting off with most everyone’s favourite: food.  i recently became (and trust me i do cringe at how pretentious it sounds) a pescetarian – meaning i eat only fish and seafood as my source of “meat”, other than that it is vegetarian all the way.  so here is a collection of vegetarian/pescetarian recipes i have been hoarding…

vegetable fritter salad

sweet potato veggie burger

wintery vietnamese spring rolls

white bean burgers with sundried tomatoes and rosemary

lentil meatballs with lemon pesto

zucchini & ricotta pancakes

browned butter mushroom panini

salmon with quinoa and toasted seeds

egg, avocado & arugula breakfast sandwich

tuna sandwich with coconut & cilnatro

peri-peri pumpkin with haloumi on a sweet couscous salad

{click on images for their recipes}

console jars & christmas cookies

more handmade gifts that i sweated over this festive season – this time of the delicious variety…

cinnamon christmas cookies

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
cinnamon sugar

– preheat oven at 180°C whilst, in a mixing bowl, cream together sugar and butter; beat in egg & vanilla
– combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder & salt
– add to butter mixture & blend well
– cover & refrigerate 2 hours or till firm enough to roll into balls
– shape dough into small balls about 3/4-inch in diameter
– roll in cinnamon sugar to coat
– set cookies 1-inch apart on lightly greased cookie sheets
– bake for 10 minutes or till the edges are lightly browned
– cool slightly on pans, then remove to racks to cool completely

(makes roughly 42 cookies – i doubled the recipe)

marketeering

i have been an i heart marketeer for nearly a year now but i know there must be many of you, not living in durban, who have never been to this gorgeous monthly affair.  so i thought i would post some pictures courtesy of the i heart market facebook page & the lovely lauren stetterberg-jenkins’ blog glossary

a is for artichokes

avocado eggs benedict via foodie bride

banana almond crossaint bread pudding via its to die for

caponata via not without salt

deep dark chocolate cookies via divine baking

edamame, almond pasta with lemon pesto via the kitchn

fennel & edamame pasta via the parsley thief

gallete of roasted vegetables via cook your dreams

homemade granola via my baking addiction

italian strawberry cake via always with butter

julius (orange) via tastespotting

kalamata olive pesto & broccoli sprout sandwich via prairie table

lentil, pea & bacon salad via slouvaki for the soul

mushroom sandwich via stone soup

nut & seed bread via scandiefoodie

orrechiette pasta with spek, baby peas & pecorino cream sauce via what katie ate

pastel tres leche via nook eatery

quinoa caprese via food blog & the dog

roasted cauliflower via a couple cooks

shaved summer squash salad via the farmhouse table

torte dobos via smitten kitchen

udon noodles with miso & walnuts via guardian UK

very easy coconut ice-cream & coconut-crusted bananas via citrus & candy

white bean puree via stone soup

yoghurt & dark chocolate cake via how sweet it is

zucchini bread via bradley kitchen

Avocado to Zucchini

i have a  rapidly enlarging collection of blog recipes and thought what better way to share them with other foodies & food-styling fans than an A to Z recipe list?  so i hope that, after browsing these few recipes, you feel inspired to raid the market, fire up the oven & arm yourself with culinary weaponry!

is for…avocado toasts via pinterest

is for… breakfast burritos via sprouted kitchen

is for…chocolate fudge cake via what katie ate

is for…dumplings & mushrooms via designsponge

is for…egg & spinach wraps via whole living

is for…feta & zucchini fritters via cook your deam

is for…grilled vegetable pizza via martha stewart

if for…hazelnut pie via what katie ate

is for…italian street food : piadinas via the kitchn

is for…japanese noodle bowl via BBC good food

is for…korean rice salad via wall street journal

is for…lemon meringue pie via sprouted kitchen

is for…mango-avocado salad via fresh 365

is for…naan bread via the pioneer woman

is for…orange pull-apart bread via the whisk kid

is for…panzanella via what katie ate

is for…quinoa salad via gluten-free goddess

is for…raspberry chocolate tart via my easy cooking

is for…summer salad via alexandra’s kitchen

is for…thai chicken & noodles via the parsley thief

is for…umeboshi & avo salad via tokyo terrace

is for…veggie sandwich via 101 cookbooks

is for…wild mushroom soup via scandi foodie

is for…x-factor cookies via raspberri cupcakes

{honestly, with many friends to back me up on this statement – this is the BEST choc-chip cookie recipe ever!}

is for…yoghurt almond cake via designsponge

is for…zucchini with tomatoes & basil via f+h+t

one jar of cinnamon stars please…

i’ll admit i had never baked a batch of “roll-out-and-cut” cookies until i found this ridiculously-easy, wheat-, butter- & oil-free biscuit recipe … but then went a little bit crazy as i proceeded to bake a wheelbarrow-full of them!  but this barrow o’ biscuits has a destiny: see my little jars that i packaged up for friends…

{recipe taken from the wonderful book 500 biscuits}

weekend delights!

we are making this divine french cheesecake (tourteau de chevre) for our saturday family lunch!  it is not as sweet as ordinary cheesecake so we will be topping each slice with suger-balsamic-marinated strawberries!  i will report back on the tourteau’s potential awesome-ness…

more tea, vicar?

dear friends + savoury delights + sweet nibbles + the fabulously grand Oyster Box Hotel = 1 Amazing High Tea

succulent delight!

open on the last weekend of each month neville trickett’s St Verde is well worth the visit.  nestled in the dargle area of the midlands, st verde has a most fascinating succulent garden and nursery to browse through for botanical buys or pure visual pleasure.  there is also a little cafe that boasts the best cheese, herb & corn muffin (i am not alone in this bias)!

{images: my own from various monthly meanderings}

whimsy at malva

whimsy’s Johanneburg home, Malva, was featured in this month’s House & Leisure magazine (August 2010).  It is a gorgeously decadent lifestyle emporium sitated in the very trendy Arts on Main.  Why not pop over for a visit and one of Cara de Kock’s fantastic cupcakes from the instore Cupcake Factory?

longing for summer berries…

this recipe and photography from Cannelle et Vanille left me pining for summer and the bounty of berries it brings…