Why does being sick always upset my wallet?

I've taken the day off work because I'm feeling awful and sick. In between naps and while lazing on my couch feeling sorry for myself, I end up opening my laptop and spending far too much time online window shopping. I think I've window shopped into the thousands now, however am proud to admit I haven't yet bought a single item!

I have very little reason to wear sky high heels anymore, what with walking to work (and working in a super casual office) and my commitment to saving up for my dream holiday which means infrequent nights out partying.

Despite all of that, I find myself lusting after these sparkly Nine West heels. Who doesn't want to feel like a silver-clad Dorothy?

Perhaps practicality should take over and I could go with these ballet flats from Asos:

Or I could go super practical and get some gumboots.. glittery Vivienne Westwood for Melissa ankle length gumboots are practical, right?

Homegrown salad with beetroot, nectarine and goats cheese

If there is one food that dominates in my household, it's a salad. This obsession comes in many forms, from the carefully crafted gourmet variety to something as simple as lettuce leaves and a dressing (OK, maybe just rocket and olive oil). One thing I love is to try creating a new recipe and so comes the one below which was the result of a weeknight fridge raid.

There's nothing more satisfying than using up what's left in my fridge. Even better is when the meal includes something homegrown. In this case, it was the salad leaves which came from a salad mix seed blend I've planted in my balcony garden.

Homegrown Salad with Beetroot, Nectarine and Goats Cheese
One Serve

Mixed salad leaves (a couple of handfuls should do it)
1 Nectarine (I went with white)
1 Medium fresh beetroot
30g Goats cheese*
Drizzle of beetroot vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)**
Juice of half a lime
1-2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

Clean (but don't peel) the beetroot, cover in foil and bake in a pre-heated oven at 160ºC for 40 minutes (or until tender but still firm). Let beetroot cool, or if you have time, refrigerate till cold. When cool, peel off skin and cut into small cubes or wedges.

Segment the nectarine into thin slices. Arrange salad leaves on a plate or serving platter. Scatter on beetroot cubes then slices of nectarine. Crumble over the goats cheese. Squeeze lime over the salad, then drizzle over beetroot vinegar and evoo right before serving.


* My sister isn't huge on goats cheese, so I used feta in her salad which worked equally as well.

** I use Nicholson Fine Foods Euro Style Spiced Beetroot Finishing Vinegar which is worth every penny! Otherwise, a good aged balsamic vinegar will do the trick

The Kitchen Splurge

So I couldn't help myself.

Today Peters Of Kensington had their grand re-opening sale and I may have spent money that should be in my holiday savings account. To be fair, I got some great buys and am not feeling too guilty..


Recent buys included..

A Scanpan 'Classic' cookware set, $279 - RRP $1090! You can't really go wrong at that price, right? Plus my current cookware set was bought several years ago for about $10 a saucepan. It's coped, but I'm getting a little tired of using low flame for fear of melting the plastic handles (and the smell of burning plastic that accompanies).

  

In an effort to drink more water and stop buying exxy bottles of water from the gym, I bought a SIGG Red Cross Water Bottle for $29 - RRP $35. Not on sale per se, but seeing as I was ordering anyway..

My favourite candles of all time, Ecoya are slightly cheaper at POK so I thought I'd pick up another Vanilla Bean candle at $20 - RRP $35. Serious shame they don't stock the French Pear candle, which is my bedroom scent (yes, even my bedroom has a signature fragrance!)

Time to replace my tired, overused tea towels. Favourite brand is Lintex Linens and a three pack cost me the same as one costs at my old kitchen supplies store. $6 for a three pack:

Last item was a new OXO balloon whisk, replacing my old, weak and half broken whisk (from the Kmart clearance bin.. eep!). $10 - RRP $23:

The best part of all? All I need to do is sit back and wait for it all to be delivered to my doorstep :)

(all images from Peters of Kensington)

Cheat's Ribs

Most nights when I get home from work I'm far too exhausted to put much effort into my meals. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook and try new things but after a long working day my energy supplies dwindle.

So came about my Cheat's 4 ingredient ribs (despite the name, please no associations with the book!). In the past when I've cooked ribs I boil up a BBQ marinade/sauce that takes no fewer than 20 very random ingredients. Tonight I cheated and used a pre-made spice blend, a bottle of BBQ sauce and some beer. The results were surprisingly delicious!

Cheat's Four Ingredient Ribs
Serves 2

500g pork ribs
1/4 cup BBQ spice blend (I used Herbie's Smokey Barbecue Spice)
200ml beer
1/4 cup BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 160ºC. While oven is heating, line a baking tray with foil (be generous as foil rips easily and the ribs get sticky). Lay ribs out on the tray and rub spice blend liberally all over ribs. Pour beer over the ribs before covering with more foil and placing in the oven. After an hour, remove the top layer of foil, pour over BBQ sauce and let bake for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and 'carve' the ribs up into single pieces before serving.

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Those who know me know one major thing. I am a little obsessed with Nigella Lawson. My most worn and beloved cookbook is Nigella's How to be a Domestic Goddess.

One of my favourite recipes from the book is the Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares which are super indulgent (and eerily reminiscent of Reese's Peanut Butter cups). Considering my love of chocolate, peanut butter and Nigella, I decided to try my hand at making the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake from her latest book Nigella Kitchen.

Here is the cake after it had cooled in the fridge for a few hours. You can see the crust was a little overcooked (a bit beyond the desired golden brown). While the crust was slightly overdone, the filling was just right. Smooth and velvety with the right blend of salty peanut butter goodness and smooth rich chocolate.

I recommend this for a special occasion. While it's lovely and quite unique, it's full of thigh-adding calories and you can really only handle a small slice without feeling like you've overindulged. I should admit that I'm not huge on cheesecake and will only make it on the rarest if occasions. I also found the crust a little too crumbly so ended up massacring my slice to scoop up the peanut butter cheesecake interior and slightly sour chocolate topping, leaving the crust rubble behind..

Recipe from Nigella Lawson.

Balayage

I must admit I've been lazy with my hair in the last 6 months. After losing my hairdresser to Melbourne (and then to a new career..) I've done absolutely nothing with it and it

In the spirit of trying something new and starting 2011 with a bang, I'm going to try out balayage.

With dark brown hair I don't want to go too wild and risk damaging my hair, so I think subtle is the way to go, a la Jessica Biel..

Or Rachel Bilson..

First step is to find a new hairdresser who knows how to achieve the look.. Have I mentioned how I hate the dreaded search for a new hairdresser? Sigh..

The first one..

I'm hoping Shoes & Choux will be a new start for me, somewhere I can share my thoughts, ideas and random musings throughout the year. Hopefully by the time 2012 rolls around (can't believe I'm thinking of this already!) I will be able to look back at what I've achieved in the year.. Here's to a new start!

To kick things off, here's a little of the inspiration for my blog. Fingers crossed I can be bothered to share my latest shots here as I learn my way through photography..