Small Steps Are Perfect & Macarons!

Happy Sunday! It’s Catherine from The 10 Minute Fix and Small Steps are Perfect—my new book!

I promised you my easy macaron recipe. Let’s do this! It’s ideal for your gluten-free friends and family.

First, though, thank you to everyone who has jumped in and ordered Small Steps are Perfect. It’s a little book of comfort & joy and I hope you love it. This morning I received another beautiful message from a reader who said, “Just got my Small Steps Are Perfect book today—when will there be a third, please…so excited!” Thanks, Ingrid. I’m grinning.

Also this:

“You’ll want to share this book, but you’ll want to keep it for yourself, so save a lot of guilt and buy two.” Love!

If you’d like to pick up a copy for you (and I hope one for a friend!), the links are below. Thank you for your support! Writers can only keep writing when readers buy and share books, and I appreciate you.

Now on to these beauties….

Can you see how delicious they are?

The pep talk: yes, you DO need to weigh everything and you DO have to be exact.

You’ll need:

1. A scale.

2. A fine metal strainer to sift the almond flour.

3. Piping bag with a round tip.

4. Almond flour, icing sugar, caster sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs, and GEL food colouring (not liquid).

Okay, let’s make this easy. All the YouTubers act like it’s rocket science but I think it can be practical and fun (that’s my take on life, actually).

The Macaron Shells:

Weigh and set aside these ingredients in separate bowls:

• 260 grams egg whites (not from a bag…from real eggs…and at room temperature)

• 172 grams caster sugar

• 312 grams almond flour

• 458 grams icing sugar

• (You’ll add a few drops of GEL food colouring to the egg whites later)

The filling:

• 230 grams (1 cup) butter

• 380 grams icing sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Make the shells:

1. Whip egg whites to firm peaks, and gradually add caster sugar. I use my Kitchenaid mixer.

2. Add a few drops of GEL food colouring and mix. So pretty!

3. In a big bowl, sift almond flour and icing sugar together through a metal strainer. Discard chunky bits. Weigh again and make sure you have 770grams total weight.

4. CAREFULLY and SLOWLY, mix the dry ingredients into the egg whites in your mixer until BARELY combined. I turn my mixer on and off, take it slowly and barely mix together. Nobody tells you to do it this way, but if you’re CAREFUL and don’t over mix, it saves you a lot of time and painful mixing by hand.

5. Then you need to macronage. Transfer the mixture to a wide bowl, use a spatula or a scraper and fold, fold, fold until the mixture falls off the spatula in a ‘figure 8’ ribbon without breaking. Then stop. Don’t overmix.

6. Pour mixture into a piping bag with a round tip.

7. Line cookie sheets with baking paper.

8. Pipe small 2 cm (1 inch) shells. Aim in the middle, hold the piping bag upright and squeeze a ‘dot' — it will spread a little. Whack the finished tray on the counter to remove air bubbles.

9. THE SECRET — let dry for 30 mins to an hour. You should be able to run your finger across the top of the shell. This creates the ‘feet’ on the macaron shell.

10. Preheat oven to 160 C fan forced. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

11. Cool, match up the shells, then make the filling in a mixer. Whip the butter for about five minutes, add the icing sugar and the vanilla and that’s it. Pipe the filling onto one shell and top with a matching shell.

This will make more than 50+ delicious macarons. They freeze really well, and taste even better the following day. Everyone loves them.

Is it a little bit tricky? Maybe, but only the first time. That’s kind of like life, too.

Enjoy!

Love Catherine x

PS. If you want to be inspired, please consider SMALL STEPS ARE PERFECT: Simple ways to find comfort & joy. You can find it here!

• in Australia

• in Canada (selling out so fast!)

• in America

• in the UK

• in Germany

Chocolate dipped strawberries...yum!

If there’s one thing that guarantees happiness, it’s strawberries!

In Australia, we’re in the middle of strawberry season — so for a celebration this week, I made Chocolate Dipped Strawberries for dessert.

They were perfect.

Want to hear all my tricks and tips?

5 tips for perfect strawberries:

1. Wash and dry the strawberries well. Make sure they’re completely dry, right up to the leaves (which you gently pull upward). Chocolate won’t stick to damp berries.

2. Don’t cheat and use your microwave! Heat the chocolate in a double boiler. Just bring an inch of water to simmer in a pot, and place a bowl (plastic or glass) on top. Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

3. Add oil. Break up one block of baking chocolate (or chocolate chips). Add to the bowl. Then add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil — this is what gives the beautiful sheen. Stir until melted.

4. WAIT. Don’t dip too early. Let the chocolate cool and thicken a little before you start dipping. This may take 10-15 minutes. Line a tray with baking paper for the dipped strawberries. If the chocolate is cool, it won’t pool as much at the base of the berry.

5. Cool at room temperature, then pop in the fridge. Leave the dipped berries to cool for at least 5 minutes on the benchtop. Then put them in the fridge to harden. The chocolate won’t crack off the berry when you take a bite.

So easy and so delicious.

I hope you enjoy your weekend — and if you’re in Australia, I hope strawberries are on the menu!

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Need some courage to start something new?

• Looking for fun silver shoes for $7?

• How about a 10 minute fix for whatever’s wrong?

You asked for Carrot Cake!

Happy Sunday!

Did you know this about me? When I worry, I bake. And when I’m happy, I bake. (It’s fun being my co-worker and my friend!) I’m always surprised when people say they can’t bake. To me, it’s the most creative, beautiful experience: the warm oven, the anticipation your family feels when they walk through the kitchen, the shared treat at the end, the gifting to people you love.

All of it, for me, is joy.

I know — sugar. But my rationale is this: a cake — like a dress — makes a day special. Put on a dress and people appreciate it. Bake a cake, and people love it. I don’t bake all the time, but when I do, it makes me happy.

So last week: 1980s Carrot Cake…with cream cheese frosting. On Instagram, you said you wanted the recipe.

Yes, it tastes old-fashioned and yes, it uses a tin of crushed pineapple and an entire block of cream cheese. My friend Tammy shared this recipe with me, and I’ve made it twice since.

Carrot Cake

(To make enough for a layer cake — two round tins)

• 2 cups grated carrot

• 400g tin of crushed pineapple, drained

• 2 cups plain flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (bi-carb soda here in Australia)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar

• 4 eggs

• 10 tablespoons oil

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add eggs and oil, then stir in carrot, pineapple and walnuts. Mix well. Pour into two cake tins, greased and lined on the bottom with baking paper. Bake at 180 C / 350 F for 35 to 40 mins. Test for doneness in your oven! When a toothpick comes out clean, it’s baked. Cool on a rack.

Cream Cheese icing

There’s a trick: soften the cream cheese and the butter! Make sure the butter and cream cheese are really well combined with no lumpy bits.

• 250g cream cheese (the large block!)

• 125 g butter

• 500 g icing sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix the butter and cream cheese well in a mixer. Then add icing sugar and extract and mix until smooth.

Now, the fun part!

I like to cut each cake in two.

• Just place Cake #1 on the plate, then slice off the top with a bread knife. Spread some icing on the ‘bottom’ cake half. You don’t need to be perfect, but spread a layer.

• Top with the other half of Cake #1.

• Spread some icing on top of Cake #1.

• Put Cake #2 on top. Slice off the top half of Cake #2, and add a layer of icing, then put the top on.

• Then ice the whole thing.

You can try to be perfect here if you want to, but my goal is this.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone. Have some fun, and be fun to live with!

Love Catherine x

PS.

• The rosemary lemon cake — it’s my favourite.

• The best ever chocolate cake — our go-to family birthday cake.

• Bill Granger’s flourless chocolate cake — fussier, but we also love this one for birthdays.

A super (easy) side dish for your Easter feast!

Hey, Happy Easter!

I hope your day is filled with chocolate, a long walk, sweet family, loyal dogs and lots of friends!

Just quickly, before I zoom off to the airport to pick up my favourite guy who has been away on a business trip, I wanted to share this amazing side dish with you. If you’re serving beef, lamb or pork for Easter dinner, you may want to try it.

It’s embarrassingly easy but oh-so-good!

Every time I serve this, my guests always ask for the recipe. It takes 30 seconds to make.

• Drain a tin of baby beetroot.

• Stir in enough horseradish cream to coat the beetroot generously.

My Canadian and American friends are asking right now, What is beetroot??? It’s the Aussie name for canned beets (not pickled). Yes, you could boil or steam your own fresh beets.

Trust me. So delicious.

Enjoy your long weekend. Wishing you all the happiness (& chocolate eggs) that you can find today!

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• If you have Netflix…have you watched Brene Brown’s Call To Courage? If it’s time to be brave, say YES. You’re so worth it!

• Ready to write YOUR book? I’ve loved writing mine! I’m teaching a new online class for beginner writers. Perfect if you’re new and need to learn how to start. Find all the details here! 5 Wednesdays in May.

Love & Chocolate...

Happy weekend! Welcome, all the lovely new readers…

You probably have everything in your pantry to make this cake today. It’s the cake that debuts at every family birthday and celebration in our house.

It’s the cake that Ruby makes in my new novel, Love Lie Repeat. (Yes, out now!)

The scent of this cake — especially the chocolate glaze — will drift through your entire house. Have I sold you?

The recipe is here. (If you’re gf or df, make all your usual substitutions for flour and butter.)

The secret of this cake is olive oil, balsamic vinegar, no eggs, and coffee!

For a quick update on all things Aussie — autumn is here. It’s glorious.

Tibouchinas are blooming purple (also in my novel!) and the air smells like Orange Jessamine /Murraya blossom.

Time to rest a little today…agree?

Time to appreciate our beautiful autumn and bake for the people you love.

Enjoy your weekend!

Love Catherine x

PS.

• ABC radio chose Love Lie Repeat as the April young adult book club pick for Queensland and Victoria! My interview goes live tonight. I’ll share next week.

• Juicy book talk! Want me to drop by your book club (in real life or video overseas)? Let me know. Book deals, writing YOUR book, we can talk about all of it! All you need to do is pick Love Lie Repeat. Available at all bookshops in Australia and online overseas here.

Good Week, Tough Week?

Hello, everyone — and a huge welcome to all the new people!

I’m sharing two things with you today: a recipe and a conversation! First up, I was a guest on The Bubble Hour, a fantastic podcast all about recovery and sharing our stories. The Bubble Hour is hosted by my Canadian cousin, Jean Greer McCarthy. You’ve met Jean here before when I wrote about her blog, Unpickled. We talk about writing your own story, recovery, perfectionism and life. Jean is a wonderful person, wise and kind.

You can listen here!

Here’s Jean, me and Alana (L to R) — the three cousins who used to curl our hair in those pink foam rollers and have sleepovers at our farm. Man oh man, being part of a big family is fun. Memories! (I didn’t get the Greer Girl hair, but we ALL got the smiles!)

Thanks, Jean, for helping so many people with their recovery journeys.

Enjoy your weekend, and hug the ones you love.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• Love Lie Repeat, my new novel, is perfect as a conversation starter for mothers and daughters. Authors love readers! You can buy a copy at your local shop or here with free worldwide delivery. Readers help writers create more books. Thank you.

• Recipes! I told you I’d deliver all April long and here’s the first one. It’s the Love Lie Repeat fruitcake from my book launch made by Jules Van Mil. You can get the recipe here. Jules did a beautiful job decorating it, didn’t she? The cake is divine!

The Best Berry Shortbread Cookies

What’s better than family and holidays and cookies?

Yum.

You’ll definitely want to make these Raspberry Almond Cookies with White Chocolate Drizzle. Last year I made them for my publisher and carried them on the train. On that commute, strangers gazed at my cookies longingly. I made a blog-friend, shared the recipe with everyone, and became the most celebrated author in the city — ha ha!

Now you can, too.

And it’s quick and easy!

Whip up the dough in your mixer, thumbprint the cookies and fill with raspberry jam.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, cool and drizzle with white chocolate. The secret is to fill a ziplock bag with melted chocolate and snip off the end. It’ll give you more control as you decorate.

The recipe is here, from last year!

Enjoy — these cookies are perfect for Christmas and as giveaways that everyone loves. It will take you less than an hour to whip up a batch.

You are so welcome!

Love Catherine x

PS.

• In Sydney it’s Jacaranda Snow-ing — purple snow everywhere! I finished my book launches for JACARANDA SNOW this week. Thank you for supporting this beautiful project. (Books available here and in good bookshops in Australia).

• And for anyone who’s ever asked me about writing a picture book, I pulled together all the information you’ll need in this quick, comprehensive How To e-book, available now! You can find it here. It’s a clear, quick, no-nonsense guide.

Book Signing & Delicious Tomato Soup!

Hello!

Lots of this has been going on! I’ve been signing copies of JACARANDA SNOW all week. It’s available in select bookshops in Australia and online here. If you’ve pre-ordered, thank you so much; on Tuesday I’m posting books to you with love from Sydney. Here I was at Beachside Bookshop in Avalon…you guys, what a privilege to sign books! I was grinning.

It was a busy week, so for Saturday lunch I threw together my favourite "I Have Not Been Shopping and The Fridge is Bare and the Teenagers Are Staring at Me” tomato soup. It’s always delicious on a rainy day, so I thought I’d share it with you. It works surprisingly well as the first course for a dinner party. But shhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone how easy it is. (You can make yours without sherry, but increase the sugar a little or substitute with apple juice. That’s what Dr Google recommends!)

Then I made some scones with cheddar. But will someone PLEASE send me a better recipe? These scones were like Canadian hockey pucks, except white. And brown.

The soup was amazing!! I thought the scone situation was going well. They look so promising, right??? But I need your help. The scones were okay, but kind of heavy and dumpy and meh, so what’s the secret?

The soup, however, is worth it.

Sending love (& hoping for scone recipes in return!) Please comment here or email them through.

Catherine xx

PS.

• My little book signing workshop…thank you for supporting JACARANDA SNOW!

• Like my dragonfly top? There’s a beautiful story behind it.

• Try my sister’s Lemon Chicken Soup … so delicious!

Fleur de Sel Caramels and a Sweet Bookshop

My friends, I'm spilling all my best secrets on my blog. Like this one: the most amazing homemade Fleur de Sel Caramels. Honestly, if you learn how to make them and share with friends, you'll get regular requests. I hear this a LOT: "Will you make me your salted caramels as my birthday present?"

It's the perfect balance of sweet, salty, creamy. One pan of these caramels and you'll be hooked.

But first: something even sweeter...Libby Armstrong's beautiful bookshop in Avalon, Beachside Bookshop. My Aussie friends, have you been there? I dropped in recently to tell Libby about my new picture book, Jacaranda Snow. Libby has curated the greatest selection of novels for adults, children's books, beautiful new releases, young adult novels and more.

The shop smells like hyacinths and looks so good. In winter, it's warm and toasty inside. In the summer, it's close enough to Avalon and Newport to drop in and grab a good book for the beach. 

Best of all, Beachside Bookshop has this incredible old-fashioned vibe. You walk in and feel loved. It's Libby and her team. She told me this:

One last pic of the window seat... I have always wanted one! When I was there, the cutest little girl was curled up with her Mum reading. (For all you Mums out there, Happy Mother's Day!)

Now...on to the caramel-making!

Fleur de Sel is a little hard to find, so you'll need all this below, plus butter, cream and white sugar. And yes, you do need the candy thermometer. You won't get the right consistency without it.

Have a sweet weekend, my friends.

Love Catherine x

PS.

If a friend sent you this email, you can sign up for your own weekly dose of happiness here, on my author's website! All welcome!

And just for fun...potentially my favourite photo of my mum, the original Catherine Greer (I'm Catherine Greer Version 2.0). She rode a camel in Australia at age 85. I plan to be just as awesome. Happy Mother's Day, Mum.

Mussels and Muscles

Welcome to everyone new this week! I seriously love that you're here! 

Every weekend I try to give you something you can use. Happiness hacks. Things to try. Hugs and love from Sydney.

Lately, a lot of people have asked me, "What's the name of your blog, Catherine?" And I tell them I'm an author (traditionally published, not self-published) and my blog is part of my author's website. I say I blog to give something back to the world... instead of engaging in endless self-promotion. So that's me, in a nutshell. Every weekend you'll get something useful. And yes, you'll hear about my books, and I promise never to bombard you.

My Happiness Blog is for you. 

So this weekend, I'm giving you mussels. And muscles.

Mussels are not everyone's favourite, I know, but if you were like us... walking around drizzly Point Grey in Vancouver in winter (thank you so much, Glenn & Adele, for the beautiful guest rooms!) and you hurry into the coziest, cutest cafe called Burgoo, and you order a steaming bowl of their Mussels Cocotte, you might just think you're in heaven.

Mussels are surprisingly easy to make, and go on high rotation as a starter at my dinner parties. A pan of mussels and a baguette produce that 'Dig in, let's start a fun conversation' vibe. 

I believe in celebrating all the good things in life, like Sundays, and better-than-expected test results, and family, and ordinary days where everything is okay. (How amazing -- we're all okay today! It's an ordinary day! Time to celebrate!)

That's me.

I am the person who takes photos of a teenage basketball player who doesn't want his photo taken while we sit in a traffic jam because... hey, hello, ordinary life! Ordinary is good. I want to remember it!

Mussels Cocotte from Burgoo

• Saute 6 strips of bacon (chopped) and one diced onion in a frying pan (you'll need a pan with a lid).

• Add 1/3 of a bottle white wine (or alcohol-free cooking wine). Increase heat to high and reduce liquid (4-5 minutes).

• Add 1 cup of cream and cook for 4 minutes.

• Stir in 1 cup of chopped Continental parsley and 1 tablespoon dijon mustard.

• Add 1 kg fresh mussels. (I buy mine in a bag from the fish market; they're already cleaned and de-bearded). 

• Put the lid on the pan and steam for 8 minutes. Discard unopened mussels! 

Serve immediately to mussel-lovers who will also love you.

You are so welcome!

Have a beautiful weekend, everyone. Be fun to live with!

Love Catherine x

PS.

If a girlfriend forwarded you this email, you can get your own every weekend by signing up here! Yay! Love to have you!

Classic 1960s Lemon Bread

I know food isn't love.

But let me say this: some nights, when your teenage rower is so tired after training, when he still has hours of Latin to study for his Half-Yearly exam, when you tell him to go to bed for 30 minutes and you promise to wake him up to do homework, sometimes then, food becomes love.

Tonight, love was Lemon Bread in the guise of a deliciously old-fashioned recipe from the 1960s.

As I whipped the butter with the sugar, squeezed two lemons, folded in a cup of flour, I remembered this son at four, not seventeen.

He used to love my Lemon Bread fresh from the oven after preschool.

Now he's in Year Twelve.

Soon he'll be gone, grown into a man.

Every mother knows the old cliche: the days are long but the years are short. It's been around forever and it's true.

Classic 1960's Lemon Bread

You can mix one gorgeously light, fluffy lemon loaf in a few quick minutes, and when it's done baking, you can serve up love to tired hearts.

You'll need two lemons (or lemon juice!) and butter and eggs, flour and sugar, baking powder and milk. You likely have all this right now.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees fan forced. (350 F in North America). 

• Cream 1/2 cup butter with 1 cup white sugar

• Add 2 eggs

• Gently mix in 1 1/4 cup plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 cup lemon juice.

• Put batter in a loaf tin, greased or lined with baking paper.

• Bake for 45 mins (fan forced) to 1 hour. Check with a skewer...your oven may bake faster or slower.

Spread your love.

Enjoy your weekend!

Catherine x

P.S.

Hi to everyone new! If a girlfriend sent you this email, you can get your own weekly email here! One fun happiness note every Saturday night or Sunday morning. (I'd fit you ALL at my kitchen table for Lemon Bread if I could.)

Almond Raspberry White Chocolate Cookies

Hi, friends!

A shout-out to two of my fabulous sisters today: Dar and Cookie (yep, it's a nickname!).

Dar smuggled several jars of homemade raspberry jam into Australia. It's probably illegal but she is a superior jam-maker. Think luscious Canadian raspberries, very little sugar, packed to the brim in a mason jar. And Cookie (of course!) gave me this recipe. 

We use Almond Raspberry White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies for one of our favourite Christmas traditions.

I made it up. And it's hilarious.

CHRISTMAS NINJAS.

On Christmas Eve, the four of us dress up in embarrassing matching outfits. The first year was Onesies. One year was Aussie flag boxer shorts, t-shirts and Christmas hats. And this year....well, this year is a surprise, in this package.

The boys open the ninja gift on Christmas Eve, then out we go in matching outfits to "ninja deliver" cookies.

The mission? Drop off cookies, ring the bell and run like...crazy. And never, ever get caught. 

We've had to scale walls, deal with dogs, commando-crawl across front gardens. And best of all, our Christmas Ninja tradition gave us the most hilarious dinner party story EVER. (But it's got lots of swear words in it, so I can't tell you unless you come over.)

You can see why kids love it. Right?

Feel free to steal the idea, moms-with-little-kids. I think it's the best holiday tradition I've ever created.

Almond Raspberry Shortbread Cookies

• 1 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons plain flour
• raspberry jam
• white chocolate 

Cream butter and sugar. Mix in almond extract and flour. Roll into (1 inch / 2 cm) balls and place on cookie sheet. Make an indentation and fill with jam. Bake at 170 C fan-forced for 14 mins (Australia) or 350F for 12-16 mins (North America). Cool. Drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Then package up and be Ninjas. But only if you want to!

Sending you big hugs this Christmas.

Love, Catherine x

PS. We celebrated a major milestone this week...Ls to Ps. I love teenagers. I truly do. Can you see that big grin on Luke's face that spells FREEDOM? Ha! (And just for you, more fun recipes... best chocolate cake and best salad ever ...or take a peek at what I've been up to on Instagram.)

The Perfect (do nothing) Homemade Gift

Joy! Presents! Parties!

Sometimes during the holidays we need help, people.

Every week I try to give you something to make your world a little better. Today it's this: the Perfect Do Nothing 12 Minute Homemade Gift.

Easy! Healthy! Lovingly made! Delicious!

1. Buy natural almonds.

2. Preheat oven to 180 C fan-forced (Australia) or 350 F (Canada & America).

3. Roast for 8 - 12 minutes. Sprinkle with Himalayan pink salt (or any salt). Cool.

Serve at a party. Wrap up as a pretty gift. Perfect with bubbly and appetisers, or with fruit and coffee and dark chocolate as dessert. Amazing in every salad you make. These are ridiculously better than store-bought Roasted Almonds.

Happy holidays. You're soooo welcome!

Have fun this weekend (and be fun to live with!)

Love Catherine x

PS. Some weekend favourites for you:

• The most amazing pipe organ in Sydney Town Hall!

• Cathedral bells at St Mary's are here.

• My favourite Christmas animation with GORGEOUS music (3 mins), watch "Walking on Air" from The Snowman here.

How to love December

Does he look a little menacing to you? 

22 days, my friends. That's it. And let's face it, though we all love the holidays (I love Christmas!), the mental load of joy-making usually falls on women. 

What's mental load, you ask? Emma, the brilliant French cartoonist, explains it here. It's truly something to think about; click that link and take time to have a look. (I'm currently loving all things French, like my fabulous collaborator and friend, Helene Magisson!)

The solution?

A bit of this:

Sit down, lovely person. Sit down and take it all in.

Do what you can -- and rest as often as possible. 

Between the gingerbread houses and the school plays, end-of-school-year in Australia and the gift buying and wrapping, in between the dips and appetisers and toasting with bubbly, tree trimming and catch-ups, work life and friend life and family joy...

rest.

Inhale the beauty all around you this season.

Look in the eyes of the people you love. Absorb what they're saying. Be present for your crazy-wonderful friends. For your family.

Hold each sparkly moment in your fingers.

And rest.

Enjoy your first weekend in December. We are all so lucky to be here.

Love, Catherine

PS. Last year's gingerbread house photos are here -- let me know if you want my sister's incredible recipe! This weekend, I'm in the middle of these ones...

Lovely, Easy Winter Soup

Hello from Sydney, where we're cuddling up!

Think fires, cozy pjs and winter flowers like these potted gerberas I found at Harris Farms last week. So pretty. Nearly a metre tall, two pots for $12. Incredible!

Lots of this has been going on:

And soup. Lots of soup!

In winter, we often eat soup for dinner. It makes the house smell like love. Are you with me?

Lemon Chicken Soup is favourite recipe from my sister in Saskatchewan (Canada). The secret? Fresh lemon juice. I love the flavour of freshly juiced lemons, so I use around half a cup.

Easy Lemon Chicken Soup

• 5 cups of chicken stock

• 1 cooked, diced chicken breast

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 cup of cooked rice

• 1 cup of milk (with 2 tablespoons of cornflour) or use milk + cream

• Sprinkle of Lemon Pepper seasoning

Heat and then simmer until soup has thickened.

Half of you are wintering with me in Australia, and about half of you call Canada and America home...so if you're heading into summer, you might want to check out this incredible Thai-inspired salad instead.

Have a good weekend, everyone. Be fun to live with!

Catherine x

Best Easy Chocolate Cake

Everybody needs this recipe, really.

You have all the ingredients in your pantry (except maybe the block of baking chocolate for the glaze). You can whip up this cake in one bowl. It tastes old-fashioned, fudgy and delicious.

It's fast, as in 5 minutes to make and 35 to bake.

You need a cake for a barbecue? This is the one. You need gluten and/or dairy free? This can be it. (see *note below)

Plus it has the benefit of being a conversation starter because it contains olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And coffee. Let's do it.

Best, Easy Chocolate Cake

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

• 1/2 cup cocoa

• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 3 tsp vanilla essence

• 1 1/2 cups cooled coffee

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C, fan forced (170 conventional & around 325 F in Canada??)

Grease a 20 cm (8 inch) cake tin and dust with a little bit of cocoa. The size of the tin is important -- don't use a bigger tin or the cake will be too flat. It's a dense, fudgy cake.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Whisk. Make a well in the centre and add olive oil, balsamic vinegar, vanilla and coffee. Whisk until smooth.

Bake for...well, in my oven it's 35 minutes at 160 C, fan forced. Test for doneness in your own oven.

Delicious Chocolate Glaze

Melt and mix together:

• 150g dark chocolate 

• 125 g butter (or 150ml coconut cream if you're dairy-free)

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Important: let the glaze cool and harden slightly before you pour it over the cake.

*You can go dairy & gluten free if you use coconut cream for the glaze and gluten free flour for the cake.

Have a fun weekend, everybody.

I hope lots of unexpected joy comes your way!

Way Too Easy Lemon Ice Cream

Christmas. We need to feed people. It never seems to stop. 

I'm trying to get better at entertaining, which means I'm trying to sit down and enjoy people more and run around less. Enter my Lemon Ice Cream.

If you need a fast, delicious dessert, it'll take you 2 minutes to make in the morning.

Lemon Ice Cream

• 2 large lemons
• 1 cup sugar (caster/berry sugar is best)
• 600 ml thickened cream (2 cups whipping cream for Canadians, a reduced amount because it's thinner).

Zest the lemons (yes, you have to) and juice them. Mix zest, lemon juice, sugar and cream. Pour into a metal cake tin and freeze for a few hours.

You'll serve 8-10 happy people. This lemon ice cream is so full of flavour (okay, and cream and sugar) that you don't need much. It tastes like...

...sunshine in a bowl. It truly does!

The bottom will melt a bit, so get it to the table fast. And when you're asked for the recipe (which you will be, I promise), please feel free to share...from my Aussie home to yours, wherever you may be.

Sunshine in a bowl. We all need more of that.

Merry Week-Before-Christmas!

Easy Gingerbread

Sixteen years ago when Luke was born, my sister Rena came to Sydney. She taught me a lot about babies, and she also gave me her recipe for gingerbread houses. 

Every year without fail, I've made my sister's gingerbread. And every year I think of her as my kitchen fills with the scent of ginger and cinnamon.

If all you've known are those gingerbread house kits from a box, my sister's recipe makes moist, fragrant, spicy gingerbread that begs you to make a fresh cup of coffee and enjoy.

And it's easy. I promise.

If you or a friend/daughter/sister want Rena's gingerbread recipe (plus house instructions), email me, leave a message in the Comments or Forward to a Friend (link is below - so they can request it from me if they want it). The recipe is ideal for making gingerbread people, too. I know Rena wouldn't mind sharing with you. We come from a long line of women who love to share with others...it's our best quality as a family.

Your kitchen will smell like Christmas.

And because I can't resist, here's a funny story for you: when Luke started school I thought it was a GREAT IDEA to make 25 little houses for his classmates for Christmas -- so tiny, how hard could it be?? Well, it was I'M STILL UP AT 3AM hard. Forever after, I've made big gingerbread houses for each class to share.

Wishing you a happy start to the holiday season from 'snowy' Sydney...here's hoping you can make time for all the traditions you enjoy.

Get Ready to De-Stress

This was my lunch on Friday.

I know, I know...so bad! But I've had a lot on this week, and chocolate is my Boyfriend. Ha!

Everything happens end of November. Christmas prep, finishing off projects before summer holidays, and if you live in Australia, end of school year. 

You know what this means: teacher gifts, concerts, gingerbread houses, finding yet another dress to wear. Plus I was decorating the school hall with a fabulous friend for the Year 6 Graduation Dinner (high school starts in Year 7 in Australia). 

Just generally overcommitting. You??

On top of this craziness, I signed up for a Literary Speed Dating event. That's why I had a chocolate lunch. Someone opened a Max Brenner right across from the conference centre, so what was I supposed to do?

You might be curious about Literary Speed Dating. It was my first time. You rush into a conference room and get in the publisher's queue. You have 3 minutes to pitch. A bell rings and you get a YES (send it to me) or a HMMMM...THANKS FOR COMING! LOVE YOUR DRESS! 

I was a little nervous, but it went well.

Amidst all the hustle, I got a text from one of the Heart Girls, my forever writing friends. She's very funny and her books are hilarious. I was rabbiting on about parties in December and how we should all just relax and breathe...and she sent this:

So true :) 

Happy end-of-November, everyone!

Surrender

If the ideal day is like hand washing your delicates and hanging them on the line to dry in the sunshine, my day felt like whites and darks dumped together in a washing machine, then shoved in the dryer in lumpy tangles.

Life is not Pinterest Perfect.

And this is a problem for me because I loooooooove being in control.

Cue my Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. Here's the perfect picture I took for you a couple of weeks ago on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Delicious pureed pumpkin, steamed and mashed and mixed with spices. 

Are you thinking I'm a domestic goddess? That my floors are clean? Well, here's the reality of my kitchen bench top:

These photos remind me of the suit of armour we all sling on every morning. How are you? and I'm fine can cloak a myriad of worries. 

Meanwhile, time ticks on; small things go wrong or right.

Big things catch us by surprise.

I thought about surrender and control when I took Holly to the groomer this week. Shih Tzus don't shed, but their hair, like ours, just keeps growing. She's nervous in the car and trembled as I clipped her into her doggie seatbelt. Then I idled in the driveway for a while searching for a podcast, while she sat in the back shivering.

She had no idea where she was going (To the VET??? A haircut? What? WHAT?!?)

I glanced back. 

'Yeah, babe,' I said, 'I can relate.'

Sometimes I feel exactly like a dog in the backseat of a car, with my little dog mind desperately whipping around in circles. 

That's why I love this Julian of Norwich passage from a book she wrote in the 1300s. I guess it's kind of a prayer or a mantra. She was a mystic, and is believed to be the first English woman to write a book in the English language. Imagine it...she knew that only men write books.

And then she wrote one.

The image, if you look closely, is a bone ceiling.

It's a shot I took of Fiona Hall's sculpture 'Mrs. Macquarie's Folly' at The Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney. The ceiling represents animal bones. The spines represent Norfolk pines that colonists thought would make excellent timber masts for ships...but they were wrong. The knots in the wood caused natural structural weakness. The masts cracked. 

So much of colonisation didn't go exactly to plan, but here we are, still standing.

To me, that bone ceiling is heartbreakingly beautiful.

And there's a message in it.

Carry on.