Earl grey and honey milkshakes

These milkshakes are inspired by one of my favourite ingredients of all time, honey.

I add honey to almost everything! You can use it in your tea, mix it in salad dressings and even add it to pizza! Yes, I said pizza. The saltiness of the bubbly cheese mixes so well with the sweetness of honey – its absolute perfection! Don’t even get me started on the health properties of honey. The list is too long to mention here but to give you an example; recently it’s proved a lifesaver in our home as a soothing throat and flu remedy (hot toddy alert!) 

You would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of this versatile product from nature.

I partnered up with Woolworths to share these decadent Earl grey and honey milkshakes with you because, well, who said milkshakes are exclusively for summer? 
Or perhaps you need to bring a boy to your yard, pronto!?
Everyone knows a sure fire way to achieve the latter is through milkshakes.

I leave you with this parting thought from the only other honey fan that is more obsessed than I. 
The incomparable Winnie-the-Pooh.

“Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.” “Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called.”

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Ingredients:

Serves 2

• 2 earl grey tea bags
• ½ a cup of boiling water
• 2 tablespoons of honey 
• 1 ½ cups vanilla ice cream
• 1 cup milk
• ½ a cup of cream
• Whipped cream to top
• Chocolate to decorate
• Honey to drizzle

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Instructions:

Add the tea bags to the boiling water and let seep for 4 minutes. No longer as the tea will become bitter!

Add the honey and stir. Let the tea cool. You can add two blocks of ice to speed up the process.

Blend together the tea, ice cream, milk and cream until light and frothy.

Serve topped with whipped cream, chocolate and a drizzle of honey!

-Melissa 

*This blog post is sponsored by Woolworths all opinions are my own

The Bee's Knees

Anyone who knows anything about me knows I love a dinner party. The food, the people and of course the wine are major key points to throwing a successful dinner party (that and staying sober whilst cooking) 

I recently started playing around with a few cocktail recipes. I think that they are a lot of fun and bring a little something extra to the table. They are quick and simple and you can serve them as a welcome drink! They really are a great way to start the evening. Not to mention that they will get all your guests tipsy and that way everyone will think your food is amazing no matter what! 

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Ingredients:

• 2 shots of Gin
• 30ml lavender honey syrup
• 30ml lemon juice

Lavender Honey Syrup:

• 125ml honey
• 60ml boiling water
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender

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Instructions:

To make the lavender honey syrup, combine hot water with honey and stir until evenly mixed. Add lavender, stirring to combine.
Let cool, approximately 30 minutes, then pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove lavender.

For the cocktail, combine all ingredients in a shaker full of ice.
Shake vigorously for 10 full seconds. Double strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lavender sprig.

-Melissa

honey nut granola

Honesty is key. It keeps relationships healthy, people humble and most of all opens doors for love and all other wonderful things to walk through.  I believe that homemade food speaks of honesty. It just tastes better and in the case of this recipe, it's true. I love recipes that you can use in several different ways. It allows you to get creative and have fun because that’s what cooking is all about.

This honey nut granola is great because not only can you make a granola that keeps for up to two weeks but you can also make seed bars which are great for lunch boxes and snack attacks.

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Ingredients:

• 300g Rolled oats
• 300g raw mixed nuts, cashew, brazil, almonds
• 100g mixed seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 250g butter
• 200g honey
• ¼ dried cranberries
• 1 cup dried mixed fruit, chopped
•  ¼ cup raw cocoa nibs, if you would like

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Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 180 celcius 

Melt butter and honey together in a sauce pan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in cinnamon. 

Mix together the oats nuts and seeds and combine with the butter mix.

Spread on a well oiled oven tray and put in the oven and bake for approx 45mins until golden and tossing every 10mins so as not to burn.

When ready remove and toss through the dried fruit and cocoa nibs. Once cool store in an airtight container.

For granola bars:

After 20 minutes of baking compact the ingredients into a dense brick like shape. Continue to bake on 160C for a further 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Once cool slice into bars.  

Serve as granola bars or with fresh full cream yoghurt and freshly sliced banana. 

-Melissa 

rhubarb and honey tart

Rhubarb is not something I was not familiar with growing up as a child. I’m not sure why, but we just never used it. In my adult life I must admit the first person I saw use rhubarb was Jamie Oliver. He grows it in his garden and he uses it in so many recipes. Thanks to him I got the bee in my bonnet and decided to hunt down a great recipe. This one is so tasty because of it's layering of not only rhubarb but frangipane and honey which balances out the tart flavours of this celery like plant. I’m rather excited that I have discovered rhubarb and there are definitely many more exciting recipes to come. 

For this recipe you can use your own home made puff pastry or store bought puff pastry. If you get a good store bought puff there is no judgment here. Although I do think that home made just tastes better.

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Serves: 6 

Ingredients:

Puff pastry:

•    250 grams cake flour

•    Pinch of salt 

•    250 grams butter

•    5ml lemon juice or brandy 

•    175ml ice cold water Filling:

•    1 cup almond flour

•    6 tbsp. castor sugar

•    ¼ cup cake flour

•    ¼ tsp. salt

•    6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

•    3 eggs

•    1 tsp. vanilla

•    1 fresh bunch of rhubarb roughly 500g (I like to go for the reddest stalks)

Instructions:

preheat oven to 200c

Puff pastry:

Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Rub in a piece of butter the size of a walnut. 

Add lemon juice or brandy to water, make a well in the center of flour and pour in about 2/3 of the liquid.

Mix it with a palette knife or a round bladed knife. When the dough is beginning to form, add the remaining water.

Turn the dough out on to a clean counter that has been dusted with flour. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes, and then roll out to a square about 1.3-2cm thick.

Beat the remaining butter if necessary to make it pliable and place in center of dough. Fold the dough up over butter to enclose it completely (sides and ends over center like a parcel)

Wrap it in a cloth or in greaseproof paper and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes 

Flour your clean worktop, take the dough out, the join facing upwards, and bring rolling pin down on the dough 3-4 times to flatten slightly.

Now roll out to a rectangle about 1.3-2cm thick. Fold into three, ends to middle, as accurately as possible, if necessary pulling the ends to keep them rectangular.

Seal the edges with hand or rolling pin and turn the dough half round to bring the edges toward you.

Roll out again and fold in three (keep note of the turns given)

Set aside in refrigerator for 5 minutes. Repeat this process, giving a total of six turns with a 15 minutes rest after each two turns. Then leave in the refrigerator until wanted. 

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Roll out pastry to fit a baking sheet. Place pastry on greaseproof paper on baking sheet and keep chilled in the fridge or freezer until needed. If the butter in the pastry melts it will not puff up.

To make the almond paste, pop everything in a food processor and blend until thoroughly mixed. You can mix by hand but make sure you use good elbow grease! 

Evenly trim down the rhubarb stalks. Gently sauté stalks in a little butter and pinch of sugar until they begin to soften. Set aside to cool.

To assemble the tart: spread the almond paste evenly over the pastry. Place the rhubarb on top of the almond paste sideways next to each other-like little soldier and fold in the sides of the pastry. Brush the sides with a beaten egg yolk.  Place in the oven and turn heat down to 180C and bake for 40mins, checking towards the end that it does not brown too much.

When removed from the oven dust with icing sugar.

To serve: drizzle with honey and cut 

-Melissa