Syd and Goose

Nigella

Did anyone else watch Nigella's Christmas Kitchen this morning? I am loving so much all of the white lights strung throughout the entire house. The show is a three part series on the Food Network-the last of the series airs on December 16 at 10:30am. If you missed the first two episodes, they can be viewed here-be sure to watch for the lighted star garland that is wrapped around the stairway banister-swoon!

C Is For Cookie

I've got cookies on the brain!




all images from marthastewart.com
recipes can be found here

Summer Camp Packages

What could be better than a package full of candy!

Quick Recipe

Donna Hay Magazine is one of my favorites for the photography and styling alone-I hadn't tried any of the recipes until now and am so pleased. I made the mint pesto pasta from issue 29, Spring publication and thought I'd pass it along to you. It really is so easy and just takes a few minutes-it was a bit salty for me so you might want to keep an eye on how much you add if you aren't a salt lover. Enjoy!

Donna Hay's Mint Pesto Pasta
14 oz pappardelle or other wide flat pasta
1 cup basil leaves
1 cup mint leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
3/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
extra salt, cracked black pepper and finely grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Cook the pasta in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 10-12 minutes or until al dente. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, place the basil, mint, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan, oil and salt in a food processor and process for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Place the pasta in a large bowl, spoon over the pesto and toss well to combine. Serve with extra parmesan, salt and pepper. Serves 4.

A Cure For the Funks Day 2

A pot full of steaming hot soup

waiting to get in ma belly!
Along with a glass of red wine
or two

Snack

I'm a big, big fan of banana bread and I think that I've finally found my favorite recipe from Nigella's How to Be a Domestic Goddess. The bread is full of mashed bananas, walnuts(which I omit) and bourbon soaked raisins. The last time I made it, it was 10am and the plummer was working in the house-all that you could smell was the bourbon and I got such looks of pity. He thought I was hitting the bottle all morning. So, give it a try-I think you'll really like it-just be sure to explain to your plummer/mother/nosy neighbor that what they are smelling really is just the banana bread baking...really!