Leaving a legacy...

 My granny, Daphne, was a lady that left a legacy. She was an amazingly generous and loving woman and there are many times that I wished she hadn't died while I was so young because there was so much more that I could've learnt from her.

 

But isn't life like that sometimes...things don't always plan out as we wish them to. Which just reminds me how important it is to make the most of life and enjoy the people that I have been blessed with in my life.

 

One of the legacy's that my gran left for me was her passion for baking and blessing people with cakes. I don't know what it is, but there is something special about making cakes that are designed after people's personalities and likes. Maybe it's because it takes so much time so there's a lot of love poured into it. But whatever it is, it is always fun to see people's reactions when they see the cake that was made just for them.

When my gran died, I inherited all her cake decorating tools and equipment. This cake was made for a friend's wedding and the pillars between the tiers came from Granny Daphne. They have actually been packed in a box in South Africa for a while, but I finally got them here, so it's the first time I've used them. Turned out pretty good!

 

 

 Whenever I'm working with the tools I inherited I say a little thanks to the One above for blessing me with people in my life who have left a legacy, and not just a legacy of belongings, but a legacy of something so much deeper...a legacy of living your life to be a blessing for others!

 

Which makes me think...what legacy am I going to leave behind?

 

Have a great week, everyone!

 

Love,

Heidi

 

Love conquers all...

There are times in life when love is frustrating. There are times in life when love is exhilarating. There are times in life when you wonder why and yet there are times in life when you would never let go. The longer I live, the more I realise that love is a choice and it takes a lot of hard work. There are times when love comes easy, and there are times when it doesn't come so easy. But I have learnt that sometimes it's ok to put my expectations aside and just accept and when I do that it usually turns out better than I would have expected in the first place. I have learnt that sometimes I don't need to pick on the small things, but can just let things go and it will be okay anyway. I have learnt that my way isn't the only way. I have learnt that sometimes saying a little prayer is enough and I have learnt that love is never worth giving up on!

"The fire of love stops at nothing. Flood waters cannot drown love and rain cannot put it out. Love cannot be bought and it cannot be sold. Love is invincible."

 

Valentine's Day is a fantastic time to show those around you that you love how much you appreciate them. Celebrating love doesn't need to be limited to one day a year, but there is something special with the celebration that Valentine's Day has become. 

To my one sweet love - I am grateful got who you are and who you have made me to be. The best is yet to come!

Let love be victorious! Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Love,

Heidi

 

 

Passion for life!

Last week-end I made a delicious dessert for a newspaper that I write recipes for. I was actually planning on getting it up on the blog before Valentine's Day but this week-end and week has been BUSY! But rather late then never...and there is always time to spoil the special people in your life. So if you haven't done anything yet to celebrate Valentine's Day, here's a perfect recipe that will make just about any heart melt.

Passion fruit and white chocolate dessert:



(This recipe is enough for about 2 people)

100g white chocolate
2 passion fruit (or granadillas as they are called in South Africa)
½ dl crème fraiche (50 ml)
1 egg, separated
1 tbsp sugar
2 dl cream
6 digestive biscuits, crushed
25 g melted butter

1. Melt the chocolate carefully. Let it cool slightly. Mix the passion fruit, crème fraiche and the egg yolk into the melted chocolate.
2. Beat the cream until stiff peaks form.
3. Beat the egg whites and sugar in a separate bowl, also until stiff peaks form.
Fold the cream and egg whites carefully into the chocolate mixture.
4. Mix the crushed digestives and the melted butter. Press into the bottom of 2 small bowls. Fill the bowls with the creamy mixture. Put it in the fridge for a couple of hours, or freeze, depending on which consistency you want.
*There will most likely be some of the creamy mixture over, but that freezes very well and makes a delicious ice-cream for some other occasion.
5. Decorate with fresh raspberries and a chocolate heart.

* I have a lovely friend from Öland that organised some Tupperware rings for me. I have been longing to use them to make cute individual desserts and I finally got around to it. Once they were frozen I pulled the ring off...I think that they turned out very cute. Thank you, Elin!

Hope you all have a great day!

Love, Heidi

Valentine's Day Special...part 2

Hello everybody!

I hope that you have all enjoyed the week-end! It's the start of another full of new and exciting possibilities...sometimes those possibilities are easy to see and other times they are more hidden, but they are usually always there!

There is just one week left until Valentine's Day, so I hope that you are being imaginative and thinking up fun and special ways to spoil those around you.

Here is a cute and cosy breakfast idea...perfect for a Valentine's breakfast in bed!

Egg-in-a-basket:



It's a very simple recipe.
1. Take a slice of bread and a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Cut out a heart from the middle of the bread.
2. Heat up some butter in a frying pan. put the bread and the cut-out heart in the pan and crack an egg into the hole. Let it fry on medium heat for a few minutes before turning over and frying the other side.
3. Can be served as is or together with some bacon and fried tomatoes for a real yummy English breakfast.

"There is no remedy for love but to love more."
-- Henry David Thoreau

Have a great week!

Love,
Heidi

Valentine's Day Special...part 1

Hello everyone!

Today is the first of February...we are already 1 month into the new year. Sometimes it's important to stop up, remind ourselves to make the most of the days that we have and not get swallowed up by all the stress in the busy world around us. I'm reminded of that often with my little son who is growing up so quickly. One day he will be a grown man, and I want to make sure that I enjoy every day and every different stage of his life.

It's so important in life to show your family and friends that you love and appreciate them, and what better time to do it than Valentine's Day. Obviously we should show our love and appreciation on more then just 1 day of the year, and often times those little extra tokens of love are appreciated much more when they come as a surprise, BUT I still think that Valentine's Day is a lovely time to celebrate love!

So during the next 2 weeks I will be putting up some tips and ideas about how you can spoil those special people in your life.

Here is some inspiration from some of my favourite blogs and websites to get your imagination going...

Check out these conversation heart cookies by Annie's Eats.

There's nothing more romantic than strawberries and chocolate. These one's come from Simply Recipes.



Cute cupcakes from Martha Stewart.



And finally...a lovely 3 course meal that will shower your love on whoever eats it, from The Pioneer Woman.



Lots of love to you all!

Love,
Heidi