Helter Skelter

I love easy-peasy desserts and snacks that are sure to WOW, but are so simple and quick to throw together that an impromptu get-together with friends is catered for.

Today I share with you a recipe I've been making (throwing together? haha it's hardly a recipes!) since I was around 14, but since my original peanut butter swirls I've established some firm favourites just for this post.

First things first - you only need 8 ingredients (I didn't photograph the puff pastry) to make 5 different kinds of swirls!

Let me present to you the scrummiest pre-dinner canapés that will have your guests begging for more (I know mine were)

First, defrost one sheet of puff pastry until it is workable but not so soft that it begins to get difficult to move. Cut the sheet into rectangles then into half again so you get little triangles of pastry, then line them on your baking tray. Pre-heat the oven to around 200 degrees Celsius.

Once you have a mosaic of puff pastry, break off small (literally tiny) chunks of feta, cut olives in half (I used green stuffed with tomatoes, so that's the red stuff you see) and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for around 15 minutes until crisp - the ones pictured are not yet baked.

Now that canapés are out of the way, it's time to think about dessert.

Firstly, and my favourite, are nutella or peanut butter swirls (maybe next time I'll make nutella AND peanut butter swirls)

Spread some (or a lot) of nutella on a sheet of puff pastry, then roll as the photo above shows. Roll it as tightly as you can, because cutting into them will make them fall apart slightly. Then cut them into little chocolate-filled discs, and bake for slightly less time than the canapés - keep an eye on them, you'll know they're done when they're brown and crispy but not burnt.

Do the same process for the peanut butter.

Now onto the last variation I'm going to share with you is a rather delicious combination of cinnamon, butter and raisins. 

Like the nutella and peanut butter versions, spread the pastry sheet with butter then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon. Slightly press in some raisins before rolling and cutting into disks; you know the drill.

^ these were delicious but because of the raisins I might suggest cutting the pastry into triangles like we did for the canapés - plus more raisins get in every bite then!!!

Let me know what variations you like best, or give me some of your recipes!!!

Colour of Your Dreams

The past two weeks I've been so lucky to experience two great shows Sydney has to offer - the first being the Vivid Light Show, and the second the Lion King.

The Lion King was incredible - an explosion of colour, music, lights and staging were so poignant that it brought back memories of when I watched the performance more than 10 years ago!

Today, though, I'm going to focus on Vivid - although it's been running in Australia for 6 years now, I've never seen it. 

Dress from: SheInside

We had bought tickets for a cruise around Sydney Harbour, and so after a rush of not knowing where to board (wharf 9 hehe) we perused the harbour, with unobstructed views of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, and the buildings around Circular Quay which had laser lights creating spectacular exhibitions. 

My personal favourite? The Museum of Contemporary Art, which had a plethora of patterns and colours bouncing off the building. Absolutely stunning!

The only downfall of the cruise was that we didn't get to see any of the installations on the walkway around the Harbour - no screaming at realistic looking (and sounding) butterflies....

BUT last night my boyfriend and I went again to Vivid and this time we walked around from Circular Quay to Darling Harbour - it was the last weekend of Vivid and it was so super packed with people!

I would definitely recommend Vivid to anyone in Sydney at the moment - last night tonight so check it out!! xx