So the warm summer months are approaching down under and it’s time to bring out the flip flops. It’s also 2 months till we get hitched. We’re pretty excited (which reminds me I still have to make our invites).

But just the other day I was missing the best part about winter:

- collecting pinecones

- drawing on foggy windows

- warming my hands with a hot mug, preferably filled with something sweet and decadent.

- stepping into rainy puddles

And this morning I got to have one of those as a treat! A very lovely customer sent me a surprise mail package..

a box of hot chocolate mix and marshmallows! UNREAL!

That’s the best thing about my work, I get to meet so many wonderful people from my shop and blog. So thank you Allana, you just sweetened the rest of my day! CHEERS!

Hello! I am typing this from our new place, with our very fast internet. While sorting out the kitchen box, I came across this sushi maker set I bought in Japan.

So for tea time snack, I made some bite sized sushi. I only wish I had cute utensils to serve them with! Come over for tea, I’ll make some more!

I made curry laksa for dinner, a rich coconut based curry soup eaten with yellow mee or bihun. In Malaysia we have the best curry laksa in town and we also have a variety of laksa; curry, sweet and sour or chinese laksa. Infact each state in the country will most likely have it’s own unique laksa dish. You can read more about it here.

One of the best laksa dish I have tasted was during our travels to Borneo and after a day of hiking, I sampled their Sarawak laksa. It was totally different from the normal curry laksa I was used to and the burst of intense new flavours in my mouth was too good to be true! I nearly cried!

So tonight I am having two bowls for dinner because this reminds me of home!

We have chillies growing in the garden! They’ve finally turned red so I plucked two pods and threw them into my hot pot to spice things up!

Hot pot recipe (for lazy people):

- 1 litre chicken/vegetable or beef stock. Use any ready made liquid stock or boil your own stock with chicken bones.
- Use any vegetables you like; carrots, celery, onions, tomatoes, peas or potatoes.
- Chop into cubes.
- Combine everything into the pot. Boil and stir..
- Add half a jar of tomato paste
- Add garlic salt and pepper to taste.
- A dash of Worcestershire sauce
- Throw in two handfuls of pasta shells. Or you can also use mixed beans or lentils
- Add fresh parsley and thyme.

Serve with buttered rolls.
* Chillies are optional!

If you have a chilli recipe, please share with me…I’d love to know whatelse I can make with my chillies!

I know my mum is reading this because she called me yesterday to let me know she had stumbled upon my blog. And that she was going to read it religiously from now on. So hi mum, just letting you know that the weather here is good, crisp autumn my favourite season. I’m sitting in the kitchen in a bathrobe eating breakfast, strawberry jam on toast and green tea.

I love this mug. It says ‘Good golly, it’s Robertson’s time!’ I have no idea what it means. Anyone care to explain? But this mug is super cute, I love golliwogs, reminds me of my favourite book, ‘The three golliwogs’.

Does anyone eat their toast in triangular slices or is it just me?

- Use longer bacon strips as they wrap easier.
- Slice some capsicum into thin strips.
- Gather the asparagus into a bundle of 4 to 8 (if you have longer bacon strips you can use up to 8 asparagus)
- Wrap bacon strip around the asparagus and 2 strips of capsicum.
- Pan fry or grill.

Serve with sour cream

I love croutons, they go well with hot soup, cold salads and pasta.

- Cut 2 slices of normal white bread. Cut into small cubes (with skin).
- Add a good dash of olive oil into a baking dish.
- Sprinkle some sea salt
- Add a dash of mixed herbs (thyme, rosemary, parsley just to name a few)
- Mix the seasoning and add in the bread. Mix well
- Bake in the oven till golden brown. Enjoy!

Sometimes on a lazy day…I serve croutons on a bed of tomato pasta.