happy australia day! part two

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Have a very, very happy Australia Day.

You're welcome.

happy australia day! part one

Note: Australia Day is really January 26th. Today is the observed Australia Day. So this is a few days late! 

Happy Australia Day, everyone! I really love Australia. It was the first country I ever traveled to. In fact, my trip to Australia was the first time I had ever been on a plane (well, not counting when I was like three months old or something, but I don't remember that) and it was the first time I had ever traveled anywhere without my family. It was the summer after fifth grade that I went on a People to People Student Ambassador trip to Australia. And it was one of the most amazing two weeks of my life. Australia has a very special place in my heart, and I'd love to go back. I just wish I could skip the 24 hour flight. That would be great.

In celebration of Australia Day, I've rounded up some Australian recipes. I wanted to try out making some of these over the weekend, but alas, did not have the time. They're all gluten-free, and there are no kangaroo or emu recipes. One thing I learned on my trip: emus are evil.

Pure evil.

One of the stops on our trip was at this emu/alligator farm. (I think this farm had emus and alligators. It's been a while, so the details are a little hazy!) Anyhow. This emu that you see right here tried pecking my face. I'm serious. Granted, I suppose I would be pretty cranky too if I were in a pen and people were taking pictures of me through the wire fence. So the emu and I didn't really get off to a good start.

That night for dinner, the options were either alligator chowder or emu sausage. Well, neither option sounded all that appealing to me. But, I decided to go with the emu sausage since the only experience I ever had with chowder was clam chowder, and as a 10-year-old, I hated clam chowder. I still dislike clam chowder. It's mainly the clams, I think. They're so chewy and gross. Anyway, the emu sausage seemed like the lesser of the two evils. Oh, how wrong I was. The emu exacted its revenge on me later that night.

Never eat emu.

Or kangaroo.

Or alligator.

Please.

At least I'll never eat emu again. I'm sorry, Mr. Emu.

So, you will not see any emu, alligator or kangaroo on my round-up. Or Vegemite. But, you will find other delicious Australian goodies! [gluten-free, of course!] So let's get to it!

1. Strawberry Kiwi Pavlovas. Okay, so kiwifruit is technically from New Zealand, but the pavlova is from Australia! It's said that the dish was created in 1935 at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, Australia. Though, the roots of the pavlova do go back a bit further -- and potentially back to New Zealand. Home Cookery for New Zealand published in 1929 by an Australian author, Emily Futter, did have a recipe for Meringue with Fruit Filling -- similar to pavlova. Regardless, Australia has something to do with a pavlova. And this strawberry kiwi pavlova looks delicious! And how many times can I type pavlova?!

2. Fresh Kiwi Grape Juice. Get your vitamin C with this yummy drink! And, yes, I know its kiwifruit again. But New Zealand is so close. It's like right there. Australia by association, right? And kiwis are delicious. And nutritious.

3. Gluten Free Beer Damper. Those Australians. They love their beer. Damper is a traditional Australian soda bread, of sorts. Farmers, swagmen, and stockmen often baked their damper over a campfire. Stockmen, who traveled far and wide for months and months, created the bread since it only required the most basic ingredients. This particular recipe adds beer into bread. It isn't noted in the recipe, but be sure to use a gluten free beer, like Dogfish Head Tweason’Ale or Epic Glutenator.

4. Gluten Free, Paleo Lamingtons. Lamingtons are a traditional Australian dessert, dating back to 1902. Usually, a lamington cake is a sponge cake that is coated in chocolate icing and coconut. They can also have layers of cream or jam. This particular lamington is a vanilla sponge cake layered with chocolate icing and coconut. If you're not into the paleo thing, here's a regular ole gluten-free recipe for lamingtons with a chocolate ganache glaze. Yum, yum! Is there anything better than the combination of coconut and chocolate? Okay, well, a lot of things go with chocolate. But chocolate and coconut is pretty darn good!

5. Gluten Free Anzac Biscuits. Anzac biscuits are basically an oatmeal cookie. Wives would send anzac biscuits to their solider husbands since these biscuits kept for long periods of time. Original anzacs were a hard tack bread, a bit different from the anzac biscuits of today! These biscuits have been long associated with the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) -- hence, anzac biscuits! I'm pretty sure I wrote a paper on anzac biscuits in sixth grade. These would be delicious with some tea! I could go for that right now.

Hope you have a fantastic Monday, and a fabulous Australia Day!

a classic viennese affair

Okay, so we're back to The Letter Box! Clearly, I am an indecisive person. Changing my blog's name sounded like such a great idea the other night while I was drifting off to sleep. But then, after changing it, I started not liking the new name. The more I thought about it, the more I didn't like it. It just sounded weird. And then, the internet was all wacky yesterday because someone ran into a telephone pole down the street. So I couldn't even change it back! I know, this long story about my blog name sure is thrilling. Let's get on to the good stuff!

Sophomore year of college, I had the incredible experience of studying abroad in Vienna. I absolutely fell in love with the city. The to-die-for cakes and pastries, the cobblestone roads, the beautiful old churches and buildings, the museums, the violin players in the Stephansplatz, the u-bahn (it's just fun to say!) Vienna is a truly gorgeous city that is just saturated with art, history, and culture. If I could, I would so move there in a heartbeat. Except my German is a bit rusty. Well, like really rusty. I'd have to work on that.

So of course, I felt compelled to create a Viennese-inspired wedding board. How romantic-slash-totally-awesome would it be to get married in Vienna? Yes, please.

1. First, we have a classic column-style gown, perfect for an evening soiree in such a historical setting.

2. Lots of gold accents, inspired by Klimt's paintings. A gorgeous gold-toned crystal headband for the bride.

3. Gold nail polish, with 18 karat gold flecks! Because you need a little bling.

4. Beautiful hand-made clutches that can be personalized for your bridesmaids!

5. Gold teardrop earrings covered in crystals completes the glamorous, classic look.

6. Vienna's Rathaus (City Hall), decorated for the holidays, looks straight out of a magical fairy-tale land (image from here)

7. A fox and mink jacket keeps the chill away as you celebrate long into the night!

8. Cafe Sacher, home of the famous sacher-torte. Instead of a traditional cake, serve up sacher-torte, an Austrian classic!

9. The Wallpaper City Guide to Vienna will keep your guests busy during their stay.

10. Beautiful deep blue sparkly shoes are your "something blue" and the perfect finishing touch to your classic ensemble!


Now, someone take me to Vienna! Please?

organization + indecision

So, as you can see, I decided to change the name of my blog. Nope, I changed it back! I wasn't too sure about The Letter Box -- I liked it, but I wasn't feeling it. I am a very indecisive person. I had like three other names for this blog before I came up with The Letter Box. And now I'm changing it again. Who knows -- maybe I'll go back to the Letter Box. I felt that I needed something a bit more cohesive with my portfolio and other social/interwebs media. (mediums?) I needed some streamlining. And every time I look at my portfolio website (named k. louise photography), I always think mmmmkay louise. Like, mmmkay? Get it? I know, I'm weird. Thus, mmkay louise. Nope, now my blog is back to the Letter Box! We'll see if it sticks. It's hard coming up with a name and branding and stuff that all goes together! Anyhow. This is step one of doing some streamlining and organization. I need some serious organization. My life needs some organization. Seriously. Here are some tips that you can use to get your stuff in line and organized.

1. Some ideas from Better Homes and Gardens for strategic organization and storage. Oh, I could use some of these. I wish my desk area looked like the one in the picture. Currently, I have piles of paper. Not the best organizational strategy.

2. LOVE this idea of using washi tape to make a calendar more organized and pretty!

3. Real Simple's Ultimate Bathroom Organizer guide. I'm sure I've got some products sitting around that are, oh, about five years old.

4. Some inspirational, organized closets from Apartment Therapy. It's so beautiful and...organized!

Ahh. Now I feel inspired to get ORGANIZED. I think it's time for a Staples shopping spree, no?

happy mlk jr day! + pecan pie muffins [gluten free, soy free]

I have always held Martin Luther King, Jr. as one of my heroes. One of my earliest memories of learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. was in middle school when we had to memorize his "I Have a Dream" speech. I'm sure that the civil rights movement was covered in elementary school, but by now, elementary school is just a haze of American Girl, Pokemon, Tamagotchi, and Hanson. I specifically recall analyzing King's speeches and watching documentaries on civil activists and heroes, like Rosa Parks and Malcolm X in middle school. Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr. -- those were the two people I would have named as my heroes back then. I still do to this day. Sure, there are many more people who have been added to the list since then, but there's just something about Martin Luther King, Jr. I remember having a tough time watching those documentaries on the civil rights movement -- the hatred and cruelty of people boggled my 12 year old mind, and it still kind of boggles my mind. Anyhow, today is all about celebrating the life of a great man, a hero -- Martin Luther King, Jr. In memory and celebration, here's a link to a video of his "I Have A Dream" speech. Here is a list of 10 things you may not have known about MLK. Also, a list of quotes by MLK here and here. A couple of my favorites are: 

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

"Hate is too great a burden to bear." 

And today, I decided to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. by creating a riff on one of his favorite foods -- pecan pie.

I didn't exactly want to make a pie since we already had a lot of pie over the holidays. I wanted to make something small and snackable. Muffins. Now, I know that these muffins aren't much to look at. I was a bit skeptical at how they were going to turn out. I feared that they might be a bit too dense and chewy. However, they taste exactly like a pecan pie morphed with a muffin. Yum. Delectable for both breakfast and dessert! And snacks in between. Don't you just love it when a food can do double-duty? Or triple-duty? 

pecan pie muffins

gluten free, soy free

makes about 10 standard sized muffins 

adapted from Black Hawk Wife

// ingredients

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I like Bob's Red Mill)

1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cup softened Earth Balance soy-free spread

2 eggs

// directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin pan with some vegetable shortening or soy-free cooking spray. In a bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and pecans until it's all well incorporated. Using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer, beat the soy-free spread until it is creamy. Break the eggs in a separate bowl and beat them with a fork. Add the beaten eggs to the creamy soy-free spread and beat together. Then, stir the dry ingredients into the egg-spread mixture until just combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling the cups about 2/3 of the way. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. (The muffins will not rise a ton -- don't worry!) When muffins are done, take them out and let them cool on a wire rack. Then, devour!

photo friday #4

 

Point of Rocks beach.

Have a beautiful long weekend, everyone!

pantone color of the year

So I'm sure you've all heard by now that Pantone named Emerald as the color of 2013. It's an...interesting choice. Whenever I think of emerald green, I think of the '80s. Although I suppose the '80s was more hunter green than emerald green. Anyway. I'm actually starting to really like emerald green. It can be very fun, vibrant, fresh, and alive. Green in general is a very lively color -- an instant dose of energy! Here are some ways you can add some emerald-ness into your life!

1. A beautiful printed flare dress (yes, it has pockets! Score!) Gap - $59.95

2. Geo-modern chevron dangle earrings. Forever21 - $4.80

3. This handy-dandy crossbody bag to stash all your must-haves. Target - $19.99

4. Gorgeous suede high heel pumps. How fantastic would these look with a little black dress? Or some beige trousers? The perfect pop of color! Piperlime - $129

5. A dark green velvet chaise that's perfect for curling up on and reading Sense and Sensibility. Or The Hobbit. Or Confessions of a Shopaholic. Or whatever you happen to be reading. Urban Outfitters - $649

6. A dark and moody nail polish -- so much drama! You could paint your nails on your velvet chaise! Just don't spill anything, like I always do. On second thought, I would not recommend painting nails on the velvet chaise. Sephora - $14

7. How about these adorable green gingham cupcake liners? The perfect addition to your baking arsenal. Sur La Table - $4.95

8. Another perfect addition to your arsenal -- this green KitchenAid mixer. Bake up a storm with this baby; make some delicious cupcakes to fill those adorable liners! Or muffins. Either one. Or both. Macy's - $349.99

9. Add a burst of cheer and color to your home with this witty emerald green print. Amanda Catherine Designs on Etsy - $15