Sugar free chocolate granola (with video)

Sugar free chocolate granola with fresh fruit

If you were a fly on the wall in our home early in the morning there are a number of different scenarios you might witness, depending on which day you were there. The fact is that when you have small children you never quite know how the morning is going to play out! Yesterday morning for example everyone was up and out of bed ten minutes earlier than normal, ate their breakfast quickly and got dressed promptly and cheerfully which meant we were ready to leave the house quite a bit earlier than usual. On another morning you might witness an altercation over a cereal bowl and/or breakfast cup, a world record attempt for the longest time taken to finish a piece of toast or some intense outfit negotiations… all resulting in delays, heavy sighs and a late departure for school. But one thing you will almost certainly see at some point in the morning rush is yours truly munching on a bowl of this fabulous stuff.

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Chocolate dipped figs with orange and almond

Dried figs stuffed with almonds and dipped in dark chocolate
Welcome to the start of the weekend, whoop whoop! Another busy week is coming to an end and our theme for the week has been contending with back to school germs, argh! Because nothing says back to school like a sink full of empty lunch boxes, an inbox crammed with school reminders and snotty noses. True story.

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Soy cashew chicken with jasmine rice

Chicken with honey and soy

Quick is the name of the game today and this fabulously delicious dinner will be on the table in thirty minutes, making it a week night winner! It is an adaptation of this chicken dish and I love the addition of crunchy toasted cashews and jasmine rice cooked in coconut milk.

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Recipe round up: 10 fabulous edible Christmas gift ideas

 Edible gift ideas for Christmas.

 

Happy Friday! Christmas is just around the corner (eek!) and if the thought of hitting the shopping malls this weekend fills you with dread then this post is just for you.

Personally, I love getting edible foodie gifts. But more than that, I love making and giving foodie gifts. Who doesn’t enjoy receiving a parcel of delicious goodies that have been beautifully packaged and made with love? So today I have rounded up some of my most popular gifting recipes that I am sure you and your specials will love too. And without further ado, here they are:

 

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Vanilla bean and almond meringues with mixed berry sauce

Vanilla and almond meringues with a mixed berry sauce.

At the end of November we packed our bags and headed out of the burbs for a weekend in the Overberg. This was a welcome break after a busy few weeks on the home and work fronts, plus a chance to spend some quality family time together. Our destination was a farm called Landmeterskop near Stanford and were invited to join some good friends who had been there before. What a gem of a place!

We stayed in the spacious and comfortable homestead surrounded by beautiful mountains, grazing sheep and the sounds of nature. The farm is a fabulous family destination and the children had the opportunity to feed the animals each morning and evening, milk the goats and go on a tractor ride. The grown ups enjoyed being able to switch off (there was hardly any signal on the farm) and some amazing star gazing in the evenings. Another highlight of the weekend was being able to collect fresh free range eggs in the mornings to enjoy for breakfast. Which brings me to this week’s recipe… but first, here are a few snaps from our trip.

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Brown butter cupcake brownies

 Cupcake brownies with pecan nuts and chocolate chips
I have a lovely cousin in the U.K. (hi Jules!) and every so often she sends me scrumptious recipes that she finds on the web. A few weeks ago she sent me this link and frankly, if you are going to put the words cupcake and brownie in the same sentence then you are guaranteed to get my attention…I had to try the recipe immediately! It was so darn delicious that I simply had to share it with all of you too.

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Chocolate fudge nut pieces

Pieces of fudge with nuts and dark chocolate on a plate.
Such naughtiness on the blog today! I was in two minds about sharing this recipe which was inspired by a treat by Tessa Kiros from her book (and one of my favourites on the cookbook shelf) Apples for Jam. You see, when I tried the recipe it did not come out quite the way I had expected. For one thing the picture in her book shows a toffee square that is much darker and (from what I can see) firmer than what I ended up with. I have made this recipe a few times and I tend to end up with more of a fudgy, crystalline mixture. Still, no complaints about that and the family gave these chocolate fudge nut pieces a thumbs up for blog-worthiness, so who am I to argue.

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Vanilla and chocolate almond butter cookies

Top shot of cookies and milk

 

If you are a regular Cupcakes and Couscous reader then you: a.) are awesome and b.) will probably know that I love a good cookie recipe. These cookies came about when the recipe I was actually trying to make went slightly off track, but luckily in a good way!

 

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