A Memorable May

Yep. That's right. Another month has managed to slip by. Although, on reflection, what a month May turned out to be!

Did you miss my other monthly recaps?

• Jolly January
• Fantastic February
• Magical March
• Amazing April

I had a feeling that this month was going to be a wonderful one. And it sure was.  Filled with fun, festivities, fitness and food – what more could a gal want?

There were house developments - including new blinds...

And some DIY artwork...

And a fancy new mirror.

Reading reflections...

Party planning 101...

Mother's Day baking,

and a new 10km PR!

Winter warmers again...

And again...

And again...

My new favourite baking treat...

That has proved to be wonderfully versatile...

A trip to Melbourne to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday...

(blond hair *sniff*)

As well as a Moroccan inspired party of my very own.

And let's not forget some local Canberra sightseeing....

As well as a chilly night watching the rugby.

Funnily enough, although I did a lot of cooking this month, I only turned to the Mystery Box once!!!

marjoram.

Oh well - there is always next month right???

And in fitness news, May was filled with my MOVE it, TONE it, DRINK it challenge - designed to encourage 1 hours of activity a day, a focus on pushups and situps, and accountability for drinking more water. I am pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge, so much so that I have a new personal challenge I will be launching tomorrow (which Mr BBB is also taking part in!). Stay tuned.

But for now…. t’was certainly a Memorable May - and here's to a Jammin' June!

What about you? Was your May memorable?

Pear and almond friands (gluten free)

Happy Monday lovely people!

My weekend disappeared, as it is known to do, in the blink of an eye. I did, however, find time to do my favourite weekend things. Working out, market meandering, lazy brunches, sports watching, reading, coffee drinking....you get the drift.

And then there was the baking. Oh how I love the baking.

Particularly when you find out some family are dropping in for a cuppa on Sunday afternoon.  Because why just have a cuppa, when you can have a cuppa and a freshly baked friand lol.

Using my pineapple and coconut friands recipe as a base, I subbed fresh pear for the pineapple, flaked almonds in place of the flaked coconut and left out the coconut flour all together (replacing it with GF flour).

I also halved the recipe, to make 6 instead of 12, with no dramas.

The result?

Incredibly light, fluffy....

And moist freshly baked friands.

The pear added a nice subtle flavour, while the flaked almonds added a great crunch.

Friands really are turning into my 'go to' sweet treat.

   

Not only can they be made using only 1 bowl and a whisk, they also go from thought to table in just over 20 minutes!

Oh and did I mention they taste pretty good too ;)

What about you? Any ideas what my next friand flavour should be?

Rollin’ at the Rugby

Last night Mr BBB and I braved the Canberra cold to watch our local rugby team play the Stormers at Canberra Stadium.

And although our team (perhaps expectedly) did not claim victory…

It was a great opportunity to try out my new long distance camera lens.

Oh and a new bread roll I discovered at the markets.

With an impressive ingredient list!

Given the food options at the game are limited, we decided to BYO dinner instead.

  

And these rolls were the perfect base ingredient.

 

Mustard, organic ham, cucumber, cheese, avocado and lettuce.

Throw some fruit and nuts in on the side….

And we had ourselves a perfect little rugby dinner!

 

Easy, healthy, and not to mention a lot cheaper than the $6 luke warm meat pies lol.

ooooh and the verdict on the spelt rolls???

Soft and fluffy, with that telltale nutty spelt flavour.

Delish!

What about you? What is your favourite snack to take to a sports game?

Friday night feastin’

   

Wowza - where did this week go? Oh yeah - that's right - it was filled with parties and wonderful house guests!

The last few nights, however,  have actually felt really quiet. I guess going from a house of 10, to a house of 2, will do that to a gal.

Confession: Feeling somewhat 'cooked out' after last weekend's Moroccan feast, Mr BBB and I have been living off toasted cheese sandwiches the last few days. Tonight, however, I was keen to get some vegetables into this body of mine. And, rather than hit the shops for new ingredients, I wanted to use up whatever we had leftover in the fridge.

Hence this rather random, yet delicious, sausage and cabbage chilli was born.

Sausages, carrots, cabbage, mushrooms and celery...

Sauteed in a little olive oil until soft...

Then in went some chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, water, chilli powder and paprika.

And just before serving....

The beans! Chickpeas and broadbeans.

Meanwhile, I had a batch of this cornbread baking in the oven.

 

Delicious - yes.....but sadly a little too sweet for my liking.

And when I sat down to dinner, I was so glad that I had gone the 'cooking' route this evening...

As this big bowl of comfort food was just what I was craving. Topped with a little grated cheese, natural yoghurt and fresh parsley...

Finished with a slice or two of cornbread.....

And we had ourselves quite the Friday night feast!

 

T’was delicious!!!

What about you? What are you up to this wonderful Friday night