Friday 27 December 2013

Christmas Cranberry Detox Smoothie





Eaten too much over Christmas? Well now is a perfect time to start a healthy plan for the New Year and this smoothie recipe is a great one to get you off to a great start without losing the Christmas spirit already!

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh cranberries
2 bananas
4 tbsp honey
1 cup of orange juice






Method:

  1. Put all the ingredients together into a blender and BLEND!

There you have your finished Christmas Cranberry Detox Smoothie.



Wednesday 25 December 2013

Old adventures . . . of Christmas in Fortaleza, Brazil

FIRSTLY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!!! 

PRIMEIRO, FELIZ NATAL A TODOS GENTES!!!!

Christmas 2005 was spent in Brasil in the city of Fortaleza, before going on holiday to Salvador for a few days. It was strange that it was so hot and sunny over Christmas and we actually spent Christmas Day on the beach :)

We were working with a church in Brasil, so as part of the children's work we arranged that they do a nativity play in the church at one of the Christmas services...Mary got stage fright, so it went a bit pear-shaped.

Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus in a Brasilian Christmas Nativity - Igreja Batista Alianca

Brasilian's are not into Christmas as much as they are New Year, but there were, a few decorations up, these are a few in the square in the city centre. Looking carefully there is a star above the clock tower and a white Christmas tree to its right, which was lit up at night.

City Centre Christmas Decorations

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Advents Kalender Tee - Day 24 - Good Evening Tea

Advents Kalendar Tee



As you may remember last year my sister-in-law created AdvenTea which we used to count down to Christmas and blogged about (see my AdvenTea blog posts from 2012).









Well, for Christmas last year from my mother's friend, Eva, in Germany we were given this...

...so we have kept it in a "safe" place until now to do a German "Advents Kalendar Tee".



The twenty-fourth tea is: Good Evening Tea


It's ingredients are:
Balm
Chamomile
Sage
Lavender
Hops


Smell: calming chamomile with s hint of lavender

Taste: more sagey

Score: 7/10

Monday 23 December 2013

Advents Kalender Tee - Day 23 - Happiness Tea

Advents Kalendar Tee



As you may remember last year my sister-in-law created AdvenTea which we used to count down to Christmas and blogged about (see my AdvenTea blog posts from 2012).









Well, for Christmas last year from my mother's friend, Eva, in Germany we were given this...

...so we have kept it in a "safe" place until now to do a German "Advents Kalendar Tee".



The twenty-third tea is: Happiness Tea


It's ingredients are:
Cocoa shell
Rooibos
Cinnamon
Anise
Licorice
Vanilla Pod


Smell: Christmassy with cinnamon & vaguely chocolatey

Taste: of bitter chocolate without the creamy aspect

Score: 8/10

Sunday 22 December 2013

Advents Kalender Tee - Day 22 - Peppermint Tea

Advents Kalendar Tee



As you may remember last year my sister-in-law created AdvenTea which we used to count down to Christmas and blogged about (see my AdvenTea blog posts from 2012).









Well, for Christmas last year from my mother's friend, Eva, in Germany we were given this...

...so we have kept it in a "safe" place until now to do a German "Advents Kalendar Tee".



The twenty-second tea is: Peppermint


It's ingredient is peppermint


Smell: minty

Taste: minty

Score: 9/10

Saturday 21 December 2013

Advents Kalender Tee - Day 21 - Vital Tea

Advents Kalendar Te



As you may remember last year my sister-in-law created AdvenTea which we used to count down to Christmas and blogged about (see my AdvenTea blog posts from 2012).









Well, for Christmas last year from my mother's friend, Eva, in Germany we were given this...

...so we have kept it in a "safe" place until now to do a German "Advents Kalendar Tee".



The twenty-first tea is: Vital Tea


It's ingredients are:
Lemongras
Green Tea
Lemon Verbena
Orange mint
Indian basil (tulsi)
Orange Peel
Lemon Peel


Smell: vaguely citrusy

Taste: like green tea with a hint of lemon

Score: 7/10

Friday 20 December 2013

Advents Kalender Tee - Day 20 - Lemon Green Tea

Advents Kalendar Tee



As you may remember last year my sister-in-law created AdvenTea which we used to count down to Christmas and blogged about (see my AdvenTea blog posts from 2012).









Well, for Christmas last year from my mother's friend, Eva, in Germany we were given this...

...so we have kept it in a "safe" place until now to do a German "Advents Kalendar Tee".



The twentieth tea is: Lemon Green Tea


It's ingredients are:
Green Tea
Lemongrass
Lemon Verbena
Lemon Peel


Smell: lemony

Taste: of green tea with a hint of lemon surprisingly!

Score: 9/10

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes


Ingredients:

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake

Cake:

55g margarine
225g soft light brown sugar
115g crunchy peanut butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
100ml milk
chocolate spread

Icing:

100g butter
200g icing sugar
1-2 tbsps milk
2-3 tbsps peanut butter (or more as required)



Method:


Cake:

Add half a tsp of chocolate spread
  1. Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 or 180C.
  2. Beat well together the butter, sugar and peanut butter.
  3. Gradually beat in the already lightly beaten eggs and add the vanilla extract.
  4. Add the flour and baking powder and fold into the mix gently whilst adding the milk slowly.
  5. Spoon 1 tsp of the mixture into each of the paper bun cases and make a small well in the mix.
  6. Add half a tsp of chocolate spread into the centre of each bun and top with another tsp of the cake mixture.
  7. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
  8. Allow to cool.

Icing:

Cool the cakes before icing
  1. Put icing sugar and butter together in a bowl and add the milk very slowly whilst mixing very well until it is a thick consistency.
  2. Add the peanut butter and continue to mix well.
  3. With the back of a spoon spread the icing onto the tops of the cooled cakes.


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