Raspberry and honey muffins- lunchbox treats!

Today was the boys first day back at school and to my shock and horror they weren't giddy with delight at the prospect. About the only thing I saw a hint of a smile at was when they asked if they could make their own sandwiches!!
Sandwich fillings of the day were ham, seeded mustard and pickles....of course, why didn't I think of that?
Like all kids, mine are starving hungry when they arrive home, so I made a batch of muffins to stamp out the hunger pains. I'm on a bit of a health kick at the moment (due to excessive eating on holidays), so I used whole wheat flour and replaced the sugar with honey. Max thought they were yummy and gobbled down two, while Alex wasn't so impressed and wanted the sugar back in! (our compromise was cutting the muffin in half and lashing it with butter....I think I lost that battle).

They are so quick and easy to make and great for breakfast too!

Raspberry and honey muffins

2 cups whole wheat self raising flour

4 tablespoons honey ( or 2/3 cup sugar)

1 egg

3/4 cup buttermilk

125 grams melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 190 degrees and spray a 12 pce muffin tray with oil.

In a medium size bowl add the above ingredients in order from flour to raspberries.

Fold ingredients together until well combined -don't beat mixture.

Place in muffin tins then bake for 20 minutes, cool and dust with icing sugar.

Memphis in a weekend...

Very early on in my trip I needed to head down to Memphis to visit my dear friends Sara and Shawn and to meet their beautiful 8 week old son. I was very excited about this trip because not only was I going to see some wonderful people and get to hold the cutest little baby (OK on par with my boys), I was also hoping to get a glimpse of Elvis's abode and eat a bit of Southern food.

I almost got to meet blogger Sweetie Petitti but as things go it was a weekend when she was out of town, so instead I drove through her neck of the woods and waved hello to her house (don't worry Susie, not in a weird stalking way :)) I wanted to see where she got all her inspiration to bake 1001 beautiful cookies! I am hear to report, it is a beautiful and very green part of Tennessee!

Sara and Shawn gave me a fabulous tour of Memphis and the outlining areas in their massive, kick arse truck. I swear you could hear that beast rumbling down the road a few miles before it was seen..... I have to say it made me feel very safe and almost gangsta like -well as much as this little Aussie could!

Some of my favourite sights and treats in Memphis were as follows:

See I told you he was cute!

Sara and I risking life and limb for a photo.....Elvis doesn't live in such a fabulous neighbourhood anymore.

Excuse the quality of photo but I only had my phone. This was us at the Peabody hotel, a wonderful place where live ducks waddle around in the fountain and then get marched over to the elevators on red carpet and retire to their suite for the night- priceless!

Sara cooked breakfast after being up all night feeding bubs....I think this is the first breakfast she has ever cooked me and it was awesome- go Sare!

An awesome Mint tulip at The Peabody

A fabulous newspaper for the most recently jailed and 'wanted' in and around Memphis for the bargain price of $1......I was wondering if my look matched any on the front cover??

Ooh Corky's meal......yummmm!! so, so good. Wet and dry ribs with home-made beans, really good slaw, not to mention the hush puppies!!

You have to love a shop that calls itself 'Whatever'.....wasn't jumping outta the car here though, wound down the window instead.

So there you have it, my fly by 48hour trip through Memphis. It was fabulous to catch up with my wonderful friends and to make Breck giggle outrageously, not to mention all the fun places we saw. My next stop is back in Evanston where I was treated to a delicious meal by chef Aaron, stay tuned...

Eating in America- Part 1

December just past seems like a lifetime ago!
I am happy to say I have begun 2012 with a positive outlook and thus far injury free.

The boys and I boarded our plane on December 30th and headed over to Chicago for a well deserved rest and relaxation. It was fabulous to catch up with friends, eat fantastic food and compare notes on what's new in our lives. However, I feel like I have over indulged and I know for a fact that the extra 2 kilos I am carrying around my waist is purely cheese and alcohol!! What else was a girl to do than eat her way through the complete Kerrygold cheese range, not to mention the lashings of butter wedged onto toast in the morning and home made bread in the afternoon- I was making up for lost time.

In the beginning of our adventure we stopped in to Evanston's Union Pizzeria for a feast.

 Alex was behind the camera and insisted we both looked great!

The octopus is a family favourite of ours, but one also couldn't pass on the veal meatballs!

The table was heaving by the time Heather had set us up with a feast fit for a king. The boys finally got to eat the pizza they so fondly remembered from their last visit to Union, while I got to feast on delicious greens that were served with the white bean bruschetta...

I mean, just look at that pizza!

As full as we were, somehow we managed to polish off a chocolate panna cotta...that's Alex's hand going in for the kill!