Real Food

Hello :) I had a nice morning on this Christmas Eve. I went to this lovely pop up shop in Darlinghurst which...

What a great idea! I stocked up on some organic spelt pasta flour as I bought myself a pasta machine earlier in the year but am yet to use it. Now there's no excuses!

I also bought some honey soaked chai, which sounded amazing & can't wait to have a big pot of chai tomorrow :)

Extra virgin olive from The Little General & Adrian in the background.

I loved the concept of the shop, showcasing quality hand-made products from so many local businesses. There was a fabulous selection of products also including chutneys, jams, rose petal jelly, shortbread, toasted muesli etc! Although today was the final day of trading, you can follow them on facebook. 

And afterwards we had morning tea at a cafe in Surry Hills called kawa. I had this refreshing mint tea, with green tea & brown sugar in there as well. 

How will you be celebrating Christmas tomorrow? 

Hannah x

Camping at Bundeena

Hello :) At the beginning of the week I went away camping at Bundeena; a short ferry ride from Cronulla. Myself and 3 good friends spent our days swimming at the beach, reading in the shade, grilling lots of veges on the BBQ, going for walks around the National park & making travel plans for the year ahead. The weather was perfect & it was a great time to go being just before the busyness of school holidays. We had the most peaceful, relaxing and rejuvenating break. Lots of photos were taken, and here's the highlights!

Our tent! 

Having fun assembling the tent!

One friend brought some henna... such a cool idea!

We used the BBQ facilities a lot & here's our first dinner consisting of red onion, eggplant, zucchini and vegetarian sausages. How amazing is the round zucchini in the corner! We stumbled across them at the markets, where we stocked up on supplies the day before.

Sharing our table with a cockatoo. 

On the second day we went & had coffee at a local cafe, which turned into lunch. Here's my omelette, complete with creamy feta and delicious toasted bread. Such a luxury while camping!

We made travel plans...my friend Renee and I hope to go to Europe for a month in July :)

Check out these weird little bugs near our tent...hmmm!

Scones, fruit & a little milk for brekky.

Birdseye view of dinner. Grilled veges, toasted bread, chickpea/cucumber/four bean salad, tuna, wine, ginger beer...yummmm!

A little cottage by the sea. They're living the dream!

We relaxed at a small secluded beach just around the corner from the main beach at Bundeena. It was the perfect weather for a swim...

Friends :)

I really enjoyed my quick camping holiday...it's such an inexpensive & relaxing way to spend a few days.

Do you like to go camping?

Also, have a great Christmas everyone! 

Hannah x

Favourite Teas

Hello :) Tea is always part of my day. I'll usually drink a cup in the morning, make a pot for a few cups in the afternoon, and another in the evening. Something I love about selling tea at the markets, is I'm not only selling a fabulous product; but it's the ritual as well. I find when I'm busy or stressed, I'll just go to the kitchen and take a few minutes to pick a blend, pop on the kettle, brew, wait and sip.

Some of my favourite teas at the moment include...

Melbourne Breakfast. This one is a robust black tea with a comforting hint of vanilla. Even though I don't drink too much black tea, a cup of this in the morning is nice, and the vanilla touch isn't too sweet, so it's easy to drink.

Iron Buddha Oolong. I'm new to oolong and bought a small amount a few days ago. Oolong, a semi-fermented black tea is in between a black and green tea. I've really been enjoying its subtle earthiness in the evening...

Bo He (field mint). This medicine-grade mint tea is the best I've tried. It has such a bold flavour, and is definitely refreshing and cooling, meaning it's great in summer. Sometimes I make this as an iced tea, and it's delicious, especially with a few sliced strawberries!

I've in fact just come back from the markets, selling the Little China Tea tea range as I usually do. It was a super windy day, so I'm glad to be home, curled up in bed with a big mug of oolong. At the markets I wore these teabags earrings (yep, they're real teabags!), which seemed appropriate for my stall, and they were quite a hit! So fun!

What teas have you been sipping on lately?

Hannah x

Cauliflower Couscous

Hello :) How has your week been so far? I had a most lovely day swimming at the beach, stopping by Bourke Street bakery for some carrot cake and coffee, and planning a few holidays for the summer. Life is pretty great at the moment! I'm definitely enjoying my break and have a nice balance between work and play.

The meals I've been making lately have been simple as usual, and have made this light cauliflower cous cous a few times in the past few weeks. It's adapted from a yummy cauliflower pesto in the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, a definite favourite already. I have made it as a pesto (basically the same recipe) to have with pasta, but I prefer it as more of a couscous, eaten by itself or as a side.

Recipe: Cauliflower Couscous (adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)
Ingredients-
1-2 small cauliflower heads, trimmed of leaves, cored, and cut into large chunks
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup pine nuts or almonds, toasted and cooled
1/2 cup or so of parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pepitas
Few tablespoons of sun-dried tomatoes, drained if in oil and chopped
1 tablespoon drained capers
Half a bunch of fresh parsley
Generous drizzle of olive oil

Methods-
1. Pulse half the cauliflower in a food processor until it looks like mixed sizes of couscous. Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl, and repeat with the second batch, adding it to the same bowl when you are finished.
2. Pulse the garlic, almonds, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, capers and parsley in the food processor until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Transfer to the bowl with cauliflower, add the olive oil, pepitas, a few pinches of salt, and stir until combined.
3. Enjoy on it's own, or you may like it as a pesto or as a salad with lots of green veges. Yummo!

This dish is such a winner! It's light, full of fresh flavours, and best of all... you hardly notice you're eating raw cauliflower. I suggest you make a big batch on a Sunday, for easy lunches during the week.

Enjoy your week! See you soon...

Hannah x