Mussels in a pot

Brrr....it's turned cold at night. In winter there is hardly much more inspiration other than to cook nice hearty meals in a pot. I remember a colleague sharing with me once, many years ago that her favourite gourmet meal for about $5 was mussels in a pot.

Of course, the same lot of mussels nowadays would cost us about $10 to $11 nowadays (the price of inflation...grrr) but that's still a cheap eat for two grownups.

The hardest work in cooking mussels would be in the debearding and the scrubbing of the barnacles off the mussel shells. Beyond that, they are really easy to cook. I made mine one night with just onion, chillis, diced tomatoes, capsicum, coriander, champagne and a dash of cumin and salt. You can use about any combination of spices as it pleases your palate and make sure there is quite a bit of liquid and that the base 'stock' is well and truly simmering hot before you put in the mussels, stir through and close the lid on the pot for 10 to 15 minutes and let the hot steam cook the mussels. Discard the ones that aren't open and tuck in to the yummies that are cooked through.

I served my pot up with spaghetti, but you may substitute with bread, rice, whichever carb tickles your fancy. The best part is soaking up the yummy juices with your carb of choice.

The batch I made was so good it didn't last long enough for me to take any pictures, but I trawled the net for links to awesome recipes for you to follow if it is your first time. Trust me though, you can use your imagination with this one...

 Source: Home of Longevity Magazine
Source: Basil & Fig

April Bellabox

Be Fashion Forward. That was the theme this month. And I am trying to stay true to the theme by donning my heeled pumps and doing a few more OOTD posts than I would normally do. This month's bellabox has been well worth its weight in the subscription.

Included in the sturdy box (last month it was a calico bag, but we are back it would seem on the luxe box) has been

1) Comvita Brightening range: samples of the Facial Exfoliant, Facial Serum and Moisturiser of which I really liked the exfoliant and serum for their texture and finish and the serum especially absorbs really quickly. The moisturiser on the other hand didn't absorb well and was really unpleasant to put on, dragging on the nice soft skin after exfoliation and matting the glow from the serum. Mr.HEA declared I smelt like clay that night and wouldn't peck me on the cheek goodnight. So this Moisturiser doesn't get a tick.

2) Ulta3 Nail Polish Range that retails at $2 for 13mls! Cheap as chips nail polish that doesn't chip easily, goes on smooth and dries quicker than normal. I got the enchanted colour which is a little onyx in the bottle, purply in one coat but finishes after 3 coats like a pearly charcoal.

3) pureDKNY Verbena scent sample: a sweet pure scent that has some complex undertones after you let the scent linger. It's actually quite a fresh perfume and I can see it suit the young woman perfectly as it isn't overpowering, but holds its own in a demure way.

4) OP Therapy summer scrub: Luxe smelling sea salt scrub that really does remind you of that summer away with it tropical hints. The sea salt is coarse but not at all rough with all thes essential oils that gets absorbed whilst you slough away the dead cells, leaving behind new baby soft skin.

5) Nak Aroma Hair Oil: Giving off a soft baby powder scent, this Hair Oil tames wild frizz, perfect for the newly found humidity in Sydney. It is waxy and gel like from the bottle but absorbs surprisingly quick into hai leaving a nice sheen and quite the salon finish. I got the 10 mls which will probably last me about 15 uses? At $11.95 for 100mls, I definitely will be revisiting this product.

6) Hollywood Feet gel cushions: Using these in high heels gives relief to the balls of your feet to be sure, but I have wide feet and will need relieve for the sides of my big toes rather. Still really thoughtful of the team to at Bellabox to include these for all the shopping in heels the ladies will be doing this fashion week!

This is my last bellabox for a little while. Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed the thrill of it in the last three months, and will miss the excitement of not knowing what each month's delivery has in store for me, but its given me so many products that I want to introduce into my routine (which is really what I joined for) that I want to do just that for the moment and then sign up again when I am ready to try new things again. Hope you enjoyed the last three months as much as I have with the bellabox!



Perfect Pizzas and a lovely Anzac day

Having a mid week day off with all your friends is one of the best things sometimes. I hadn't had a chance since Christmas to properly catch up with this bunch and so when Anzac day came on a Wednesday and we had no other plans, we all jumped at the chance of a get together.

The idea was a pizza lunch party where I supplied the pizza dough and everyone else brought a different topping of choice and we made our own pizzas. It was great fun and also an opportunity to let our 'kids' get to know each other.  See, my other post about me not being at the stage of having kids, my friends are in the same boat I suppose, but they still wanted to have the companionship and be able to pour their love onto a little one and so, they have gone and acquired pets. One a full grown staffordshire terrier and the other, a fourteen week old 'spoodle' (Cocker spaniel cross poodle), both brought together at our place for the first time.

I really enjoyed the day, simple as it is, cooking with close friends, sharing a lovely meal and a few cuppas, having the dogs run around beserk, going to a park in the sunshine, all lent themselves to another beautiful memory creation.

I didn't take many pictures of the day, but here's what I got:

Pizzas! Made with the perfect pizza dough recipe which I share below

OOTD: A lovely boutique stripped top with cascading ruffles from the markets paired with zigzag stockings

And then layered with my tan Misonni scarf and a beige Portmans pleather jacket

My Darling friends gave me a very belated birthday present: A Mystique candle and...

Leona Edminston stockings! Perfect for the wintry weather we are coming into!

 Now, for the Perfect Pizza dough recipe (No kidding, this really is the perfect pizza dough).

It makes 4 thin-crust italian-style pizzas.

1. Sift 500g of "00" or strong white flour into a bowl, and add a pinch of salt, and a 7g sachet of dried yeast. Make a well in the centre of the flour and then slowly add 360ml of warm water, stirring as you go with a wooden spoon or the dough beaters of a food mixer. After you've added in half of the water and the dough is coming together, you can begin adding in 60ml of olive oil too. Keep mixing until all the oil and water has been mix in with the dry ingredients and it forms a soft dough.

2. Place the dough on a clean floured surfacem and knead firmly, using the heel of your hand, folding the dough over as you go. Do this for about 10 minutes, until it become soft and spongy.

3. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place (you can preheat the oven to about 50 degrees celcius and leave the bowl in there) for about 30-40 minutes or until it has doubled in size.

4. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface again and knead with your knuckles for a couple of minutes to knock out the air. Divide the dough into four and roll each piece out as thinly as you can, rolling away from you and turning as you do so that it is round. It does tend to spring back a little too.

5. Transfer onto a hot, lightly oiled baking tray and fill with your toppings of choice. Bake in oven at 250 degrees celcius for 15 minutes.

6. Serve Hot!

Random things until I find my voice

Hmmm... there have been a few things to mull over of late, amongst which are the questions of where our marriage is headed towards. Somewhere underneath the happy shopping and warm cups of Nespressos shared with the Husband, there are conversations that we are having that I have not shared with my blog or my family and friends.

That is, no we are not expecting as I have had a lovely sushi lunch today and am enjoying a casual drink tonight out of our wedding favours of Hendrick's Gin & Tonic.
When I was at Nobu just over a week ago I ordered this very drink and heard a man amongst the patrons explain to his female companion why there was a cucumber in my drink as I carried it to the sushi bar. I do not understand why it works either, but the cucumber accentuates just how smooth and almost menthol-like the finish is on this particular scottish gin. Absolutely divine.

I digress. Anyways, there isn't much I am prepared to share yet, mostly because the conversations have not led anywhere remotely concrete yet. But I can share this. There will not be any little HEAs in the horizon. I might be clucky, but there are other things Mr.HEA needs to achieve first before we head down that path and as impatient as I am, I hope to be able to support him in his dreams, pursuits and ambition. At least for now, when I can afford the time.

I promise I will share, and then explain my decision further to those of you who might judge differently. At this point in time, I am still easily swayed otherwise, so I cannot write with certainty.

There are other things to be happy about in the meantime, beyond being able to drink irresponsibly and eat without reservation just about anything I might fancy...I also am able to shop at whim and put more time into building my career. Ahhh, that next step. I have been taking a few meetings with our stakeholders by myself of late. Lotsa autonomy at work and empowerment which I treasure dearly. Today over coffee with a client, I found that my milk jug had left a rather curious stain on the wooden table and I could not resist a happy snap.

Perhaps this was life's way of letting me know that there is something happy to smile about still. Even in something as simple as the embrace of a loved one, the kiss of a friend and the smile of a milk stain.  

New fixation with animal prints just got worse

I know you have seen these from earlier this week, but since then it's gotten just a tad more nagging.

I have gone off the rockers with my obessession with exotic print. Sped along of course by gorgeous fashion bloggers' impeccable tastes: Crashing Red's outfit to the Emporio Armani store launch had me floored and so walking in to my health care provider today and faced with the unbearable prospects of potentially losing out on claiming my full $200 eye care benefits, I decided the only way to salvage the situation was to buy oneself a pair of designer frames.
I had to cover a significant gap of $292 for these, so I am really hoping that the obsession will last me at least until the end of the year to justify the spend

These Fendi Snake skin glasses are a bit out there considering I intend to wear them to work. However, I have always been conservative with the eyewear so I figure this would be a welcome change to spice things up.
I have also got my eye on these pants from Zara to satiate my appetite should I be able to find them and pull off the look:

Source: Zara

Leaving you with an OOTD for good measure:

 wearing Burberry Blue Label Jacket in Black, Gap skinny jeans, Forever New Metallic tank, open toed wedges by Wittner and Black Abbey tote from Gucci. And rocking the Rebecca Minkoff iPhone cover.