I'm standing knee deep in boxes.  

The removalists have gone.  The renovations are complete.  Sleep is slowly returning.

Ahhh....the pure joy of unpacking your personal possessions after they have spent time in storage.

Just as joyful as slicing into this lovely gluten-free bread.  It slices like a dream.....

These lovely biscuits are dedicated to my sweet tooth.

It's not often I get a visit from her these days, but when she does pop by for a visit.....holy smoke!

Not one to enter a door elegantly, she will stumble her way through, tripping over anything and everything that is in her way, and when the door closes behind her, I exhale.

On her latest visit, I found this recipe......

Did you know you can buy bread mixes in a box at the supermarket?  Apparently, they're made for our convenience.  

Seriously?!  

A box filed with fake ingredients and loads of sugar, designed to make us feel like we're bakers.  That we're filling our bodies with goodness just because we've switched the oven on.  I like to think we're a little smarter than they give us credit for.  I like to think I am.....well, at least occasionally.

Okey dokey, I've had my rant, so now to a quick bread recipe THAT IS packed full of nutrition and nothing fake in sight.

I read this line somewhere recently..."For children, Christmas means days of anticipation and then delight."  Cross out the first two words and this line could be about me.

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!  SERIOUSLY!

Apart from decorating the tree, creating gifts by hand is one of my all time favourite things which is why I jumped at the chance to be apart of Claire K Creation's Foodie Secret Santa! 

The assignment - Be given three fellow bloggers from somewhere in Australia.  Create edible Christmas gifts.  Package them up and send them on their merry way.

Here's my gift.....

Here is the treat I made my boss for his birthday earlier this month.

I didn't get a pay rise!  

Is that saying something about my baking skills?

Want to know the two reasons I chose this particular recipe for the Secret Recipe Club's 2014 Cookie Carnival?

Made with rosemary and thyme, this cookie brings up memories of curling up on the couch with my cup of tea watching the English murder mystery show with the same name.

And....

It's shortbread.  Enough said.

Did you know that by adding bananas into your diet you can help combat depression, make yourself smarter, cure hangovers, help protect against type II diabetes AND cure the itch of a mosquito bite?

Nope..they're not just for monkeys!

These little angels were my "goody bag".

Handed out at my Annual Christmas Picnic on the weekend.

They're light and fragile with a slight hint of spice.

These are the biscuits I want with my tea.  

Simple and plain.  Dry and sweetless (I know, not a real word!)

They are not a celebratory biscuit and they're not award winning, but they're a round circle of pure comfort.

In fact, they're not sweet at all, which is perfect for my taste buds and my cup of tea, but for others upping the syrup content may be your answer, or perhaps a switch to raw honey or pure maple syrup would be your prerogative.

Whatever your decision - eat them on the day!

2010 was the last time I was in New York.  

Some days it feels like a lifetime ago, others, like yesterday.

Aromas and songs can transport me back to the moment we munched on ice-cream in Brooklyn, or to the cheese and olives we collected from the Garden of Eden Gourmet.  However, the one memory that always springs to mind and that I didn't indulge in at that time....

Perhaps chocolate is a more sexy choice for cupcakes and perhaps vanilla would be my normal, personal choice, but somehow the humble root vegetable known as carrot was all I could think about.

So on a glorious Saturday afternoon I grated, sifted, stirred and baked.

This recipe is gluten and refined-sugar free, but I didn't notice.

The colour White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection, and is often associated with safety and cleanliness.

This makes me laugh out loud as I made this cake for my brother....innocence....yeah right!