Halloween cookies.

Happy Halloween! It's not really a holiday we celebrate in South Africa - but I did make some effort by baking the above skull cookies. Remember this post? Well, I gave in to some of that skull mania when I spotted a skull cookie-cutter at Kinderfeestwinkel in Amsterdam.

Cookie Boy.

Cookie Boy makes the most fantastically intricate iced biscuits. Attention to detail and the most steady hands called for here.

Cheeseburgers? Cupcakes?

See this flickr set for a step by step of these!

Smart slice.

This Martha Stewart cake mix packaging has been around a while, but I only came across it today. Lovely. 

Seen in the 87th Art Directors Club annual.  

Bake bread - give dough - feed Africa

Join the world wide blogger bake off to alleviate poverty.

Something sweet

Gorgeous creations by Vicky Crease. The collection of iced biscuits in the first image is my favourite - I think its also the styling on the different plates that I like so much. I used to favour all white for crockery but for a while I've been coveting a set of mismatched floral and patterned plates. Hmmm... Milnerton market here I come...

What's for dinner?

Last Friday I posted some links to 'combat the blank page'.
Today I'd like to share some of my favourite foodie sites.

There are so many out there but here are some I like to visit:

Dinner tonight

Chocolate and Zucchini

Smitten Kitchen

Epicurious

Bread and Honey

Cooking is my passion

Oh, and don't forget Tastespotting.

I hope the inspiration to make something 'from scratch' strikes you - happy cooking.

Tea Party

Saturday was meltingly hot. So not tea, but rather champagne was imbibed. The opportunity to watch the unfurling of the hand-tied tea flowers was still taken up. Lots of laughter.

Tea Party

I recently bought some hand-wrapped Japanese tea flowers simply for curiosities sake. I love tea - the smoky flavour of Lapsang Souchong that will forever bring me memories of my Grandmother, the sweet milkiness of the Vanilla tea we drank in Mauritius, the bergamot infusion of the classic Earl Grey. Chai. Mint. Rooibos. Iced tea. And don't get me started on coffee....

I've waited for an appropriate occasion to 'bloom' my tea flowers...none forthcoming my conclusion was to host a tea party. Images of beautiful rose gardens, twinset and pearls, cake stands brimming with sweet, iced delicacies were conjoured up and now I'm looking forward to preparing tiny cucumber sandwiches, warming scones and baking cupcakes. (Usually no excuse necessary for the cupcakes.) Maybe even attempting to make petit fours... I'll try to shoot the results and share them with you. As for my guests, I'm sure they'll be coaxed to enjoy a glass of bubbly should the 'blooming' tea fail to please.


An already bloomed tea flower seen on preciousstyle and more tea lovliness at anotherteablog.

Bye bye birdie.

I have a good number of (beautiful) things with bird motifs. Fabric, artwork, a key rack... But in my humble opinion this is a trend that has been SO overexposed. I'm still loving bird cages... I wanted this cake for my birthday so much. Isn't it beautiful?

Baked bread = Domestic bliss?

Actually it equals frustration in my case. My baked goods never turn out half as good-looking as that beautifully styled picture in the recipe book : ) I'd blame it on the oven or the dough hook of the KitchenAid or some other tool but I think this recipe is actually ridiculously easy so I have no excuse. I'm ashamed to admit I burnt the first batch of Gingerbread Christmas cookies that I made as well! My new years resolution should be to concentrate more...onwards and upwards I guess.