21st October 2012
There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. — Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady Anna, Duchess of Bedford, was the wife of the seventh Duke of Bedford, and is widely credited with the very civilised custom of taking afternoon tea. During Anna’s time (1788-1861) it was customary for…
17th October 2012
When my godson Benjamin was younger (he’s ten now) there was nothing he liked better than spending time with the coolest godmother in the world – aka me. He once spent an entire month with me when he was four; his parents were travelling in Europe at the time. We used to have the most awesome time together; we’d play,…
15th October 2012
I’ve been talking about this for weeks, but I’ve finally completely revamped Sybaritic Pleasures! Personally, I’m loving the blog’s new look and feel, but I’d love to hear what you think. Do you love it as much as I do? I hope so! I took one look at the blog the other day (as it was all coming together) and…
16th September 2012
I like them warm, and stacked, and soaked in syrup. I sometimes like to top them with flavoured yoghurt or eat them with butter; I even sometimes like to eat them with ice cream or topped with plain jam. Oh, and they marry beautifully with fruit. My favourite? Red luscious strawberries nestling on top of the pikelets. Just make sure…
13th September 2012
So, I have a confession to make. It’s about coconut. I _adore_ it. It may not come as a complete surprise to those of you who have been faithfully reading my posts (just in case you missed the confession that I adore Bounty, here’s a link), but I just can’t have _enough_ coconut. That warm beautiful nut with its coarse…
5th September 2012
You may have just done a double take. Beetroot PUDDING, I hear you ask, with horror in your voice? Yes, indeedy. You see, beetroots have a higher sugar content in them than most vegetables. They’re already partial to dessert; they take to extra sugar and ghee and milk like I take to wine. (Really.) Somebody recently told me that beetroots…
25th August 2012
Recently my new foodie friend Martyna posted her recipe for delicious homemade cherry ripe bites which arrived promptly in my inbox. I read through it and wanted it instantly; although I’ve never eaten Cherry Ripe before, it sounds like the sort of chocolate I’d love. Besides, her other favourite chocolate bar is Bounty, which is also one of my favourite…
22nd August 2012
I don’t care who knows it, but I am an absolute _citrus fanatic_. I love _anything_ citrus; I mean, my favourite perfume is described as ‘woody, with notes of orange and grapefruit lending it a touch of spring’. I mean it. I adore everything to do with citrus. A friend had a birthday recently and I was asked to ‘rustle…
7th August 2012
When I first travelled to Australia in the late nineties, Sydney didn’t have as vibrant a food scene as it does today. But what it did have were new things for me to discover and fall in love with. I learned to love vegemite on buttered toast, and Tim Tams were obviously too gorgeous to resist. But my favourite discovery…
6th August 2012
The weather’s changed recently. Late summer has slowly given way to a complaining and stuttering monsoon. The newspapers are full of reports of the monsoon failing this year, and drought has been predicted in several parts of the country. Having said that, it doesn’t feel different from last year. I’m comfortable enough to work quietly in my study with just…