Strawberry Milkshake Cake

I have been meaning to make this cake for SUCH a long time – I love making things that aren’t cake into cake, and I really like strawberry milkshake. Like really. Winner.

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Goats Cheese, Pecan and Spinach Rolls

Early this year I journeyed back to my home and I realised something. I had a terrible, and boring diet.
My love of food started when I arrived on this dry, red soil; of course there are many people to thank for this. But I’m unsure whether I could ever just pinpoint it to one person.

Living Below the Line…That Line

Did you know more than 30 per cent of children in developing countries – about 600 million – live on less than US $1 a day. When we account for inflation (this was true in about 2005/6) and the exchange rate and purchasing parity this amounts to about $2 a day.
That’s $2 a day to live. (Source)

I LOVE walking!

I’m not sure whether the title is fully conveying how much I love walking. It’s so good; don’t you love it?

For some reason walking gets this totally bad rap amongst fitness nerds – which I feel in turn will put people off exercising all together.

The past few weeks I’ve been upping my usual walks to about 10,000 steps a day; most days I’m smashing it. Go me! Plus 10,000 is such a big number.

I’ve also been attempting to fit a big hill walk in at least once a week; because to be 100% honest I just cannot commit to a gym. Commitment-phobe! Has anyone got any good Adelaide walks? I’d love to hear them.

Oh to measure my steps I’ve been using this awesome free app called moves (this isn’t sponsored), you should download it because I’m sure they will start charging soon – it’s just so good.

Banana Split Layer Cake

When I was little (like 4ft?) my family and I would go to this seafood restaurant for special occasions… I LOVED going there; it meant I could go crazy on the chip butties (chips in buttered bread – try it) and in fact just crazy on bread. Gosh I love bread. But on super-duper special occasions I could also go crazy on my very own banana split. Banana and ice cream is up there in terms of perfection.

The Comedown

Well, it’s all officially back to business here – job search, working and no more Big Gay Ice Cream, sigh; I thought I’d share my favourite pictures from the holiday (so I can relive it).

A girl obsessed.

Clockwise from top left – Black and white semi structured Zara top (it’s just too perf). Alexander Wang suspension pencil skirt with glow thread (a girl can wish). Purity Ring and their album shrines. I have such a scone obsession since the UK, I intend to perfect my scone making skills.

I get into these mini obsessions a lot, mainly on a piece of clothing, a certain wine or beauty routine. I like to embrace them, because from them are borne aspects of my personality – where you learn just that little bit more about yourself. Here’s just a selection of things that I just cannot live without at the moment. Like at all. Would die. Okay I can probably live without the Alexander Wang – but really. Please?

This Week

Los Angeles – check When people tell you Los Angeles is a car city you better believe them, our first few days were spent trying to figure out what the heck was going on. We eventually worked out LA public …

Planning

Some pictures from the past week which have mainly involved prepping for our 7 week holiday. Keep up on instagram as we travel across the USA (LA, San Fran, Chicago, Boston, New York and DC) and UK (undecided/everywhere), you can follow me at Rachie_TLC.

In more important news, my case is only 12kg, which leaves 11kg free!

My packing action plan is maybe full on, but 7 weeks away from my wardrobe is upsetting to say the least. I used a list app, and packed minimal shoes (4 – for me this is minimal).
My clothing list was this:

If you have any tips or tricks for us let me know in the comments.
It’s been emotional!

Cranberry and Dark Chocolate Wholewheat Cookies

My life is a constant struggle between my love of food, and my wish to be skinny. Let’s just avoid the whole female body image shabang (that I talk about here) and take note that these cookies have wholewheat flour, dark chocolate AND fruit in them. If that’s not a health food then I don’t even know. On that note we are also definitely avoiding new years resolutions to be skinny, eat well, go to the gym 8 times a week and generally look like Miranda Kerr.

This Week

Happy New Year to everyone! I have so much coming up this month and I jet off on the 21st, follow me on instagram – Rachie_TLC to follow my travels, as well as 365 days of photos. My new years resolutions are simple and stuff I had started prior to the new year anyway – Take more pictures, walk more (I already walk about an hour most days, but I love it so much I want to do more – good walking trails in LA, San Fran, Chicago, Boston and New York would be so much appreciated) and make more dinner for friends. This is how the last week of 2012 looked. Much Love.

1. Listened – Flume, 2. Drank – Moet to ring in the new year, complete with lively debate (read drunken) on the pronunciation of the word. Soft T?, 3. Surfed – Atlas Obscura, 4. Ate – Breakfast 5. Made – Chilli Gingerbread.

Carrot and Chilli Cupcakes

  Me and chilli have only just become friends.
Maybe friends is a stretch, acquaintances. I have an awfully low tolerance to chilli, and my boyfriends dad puts it on EVERYTHING. So I’m attempting to increase my chilli tolerance by adding it to lots of things; my favourite is super easy pasta in a lemon and chilli oil with rocket and this obviously.

Carrot cakes were one of the first cakes I ever learnt to make, I remember my mum making them when I was a child, my reaction to carrot in cake was only superseded by cream cheese in an icing. My first mouthful changed everything, it was love at first bite, carrot cake has so many perfect layers to it, the crunch of nuts, the spice and the moist cake from the juicy carrots. These cupcakes are super moist but with the wholemeal they are awesome as a standalone cupcake, it’s not as wet as your usual carrot cake.

Plus wholemeal equals healthy yeah?

Also, and I feel like this is the most important part of my blog post; please read this article on Cracked (not funny). The shooting in America is insane; like, I cannot wrap my head around it, I cannot wrap my head around America, or pro gun people, it hurts that such stupidity exists, nobody needs an assault rifle to protect themselves unless they are going into combat (whole other kettle of fish). This article sums up my feelings on this and this post by Pancakes and French Fries is also excellent further reading.

Carrot and Chilli Cupcakes – adapted from BraveTart
Carrot Cake
230 grams unsalted butter
195 grams sugar
100 grams brown sugar
½ tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon, freshly ground if you’ve got it
1 teaspoon ginger
½ chilli minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg freshly ground
1/4 teaspoon cloves ground
3 eggs
227 grams whole wheat flour, sifted
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
450 grams carrots, peeled, trimmed, and shredded
Giant handful of pecan pieces or shelled pistachios, lightly toasted
Vanilla Buttercream with 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, cinnamon and ground ginger combined.

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180° and line 2 cupcake pans.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, it will start to bubble and spit, endure this. Once the butter has stopped spitting and bubbling, it’s ready. Add the minced chilli to the hot mixture.

3. Combine the sugars, baking powder and soda, salt, spices and eggs. Whip on a medium speed until full combined, light brown and fluffy.

4. Keeping the mixer running on a low-speed drizzle in the browned butter with chilli mixture, get all the browned bits in there. That’s deliciousness! Add the flour in parts; otherwise the flour will go evveerrrywhere.

5. Shut off the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold in the nuts and shredded carrots.

6. Use an ice cream scoop to equally distribute the batter between the patty pans, bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, or until fully risen and springs back when touched.

❤