Fresh Mint Tea

Fresh mint tea is one of my favourite drinks to have on a cold afternoon. This is so much more fragrant and refreshing than the dried variety (although that’s very nice too). It’s a also great way to use up the out-of-control mint growing in your garden (which grows like a weed where I am).

I find the secret to good fresh mint tea is to use a lot of mint (the more the better). If you like you can strip the leaves from the stalks and brew them in a pot but I love the method of just dunking the whole stalk in the cup as its so quick and easy. Make sure to shake and wash the leaves well (if they are coming from the garden there are usually quite a few little bugs about!)

You will need:

5 (or more) mint stalks per cup of tea

Freshly boiled water

Method:

Place the bunch of mint in a tea cup and pour over the boiled water. Let sit for about 3-5 minutes. You can use a teaspoon to bruise the leaves against the side of the cup to let out more of the oils. Take out the leaves and serve.

This is can be nice with a slice of lemon or some honey. It’s great iced too or even blended with other herbs/teas. My favourite is just plain though like I’ve done here :)

What are your favourite ways to drink mint tea?

Linking up with: Let it Shine Link Up

Spring-Time Parsley Flower Arrangement

Amelia Flowers, Garden, Home

I love creating small arrangements from flowers I find in the garden. Although it’s the middle of winter here there are actually still quite a number of flowers about. I noticed these parsley flowers were particularly pretty at the moment as they were just starting to bloom. I’m usually disappointed to see these as I know this means the plant is on its way out, but today I thought I’d make the most of them being around.

I paired them with a few little forget-me-nots and some pretty pale pink flowers. The parsley stems were covered with a fairly large amount of leaves which I snipped off and put aside (to use in my lunch!) I think they have such a delicate beauty and look great just even on their own. I’m hoping they will dry well too. Even though they are winter flowers, I love that they bright, sunny spring-time feel.

Have you ever used parley or other vegetable/herb flowers in an arrangement before? Which ones are your favourite to use?

Shopping Picks: Earrings

Amelia Shopping

A few pretty earrings this week….. I had no intention of a 4th of July theme here but it seems to have happened!

Please note that some of these links are affiliated which means I may earn a few cents for your clicks. Learn more at my disclosure page :)

1. Sharp Angles Rhinestone Studs FOREVER 21$2.80

2. Limited Edition Mesh Diamond Shape Earrings ASOS $11.50

3. Femme Rhinestone Bow Studs FOREVER 21 $3.80

4. Standout Rose Studs FOREVER 21 $3.80

5. Sapphire Taylor Drops BAUBLEBAR $68

6. Pearl Petal Drops BAUBLEBAR $36

7. Nali Orange Earrings ASOS $15

8. Weekday Seesaw Earrings ASOS $17

9. Pave’ Round Drop Earrings BAUBLEBAR $44

Which ones are your favourite?

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Amelia Recipes

I watched some Masterchef a couple of weeks ago and as soon as I saw these cookies I knew I had to try making some. I love simple recipes and as I also eat a gluten free diet, I’m always on the lookout for great ones without any grains.

I’m pretty sure that on the the show they used regular Kraft peanut butter. I made a bit of a mistake by buying a peanut butter that I thought was with coconut oil but turned out to be be with coconut meat and no added extra oil. It was yummy but a little drier and claggier than usual. I also used coconut sugar instead of white as it’s slightly healthier and has a rich carmel taste that I thought would go great with the spread.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

This is the original recipe here.

My adaption:

Ingredients:

1 cup Peanut and Coconut Spread (Peanut Butter)
1 cup Coconut Sugar
1 egg
A good few pinches of salt (as my peanut butter was salt free)

Method:

1. Place peanut butter, sugar and salt in mixing bowl. Beat egg in separate bowl then add to other ingredients. Stir well to combine (Masterchef uses an electric beater but I found hand mixing fine).

2. Form mixture into round bowls and press down with fork (as the peanut butter I was using was drier than usual, these didn’t flatten at all for me in the oven, so I actually pulled them out towards the end and flattened them even more with a spatula – Masterchef’s one seemed to flatten really well).

3. I cooked mine for about 14mins at 190oC (375oF). The original recipe only calls for 9mins, so see how you go.

This made 16 cookies for me.

They tasted amazing. They were especially great with a drink of milk or as an icecream sandwich. I did find them a little claggy and dense still, but I think that was primarily from the spread I used. I like normal peanut butter better so I imagine they would taste better using that. I think perhaps adding a bit of coconut oil might have helped too, or an extra egg. I look forward to trying these with some other nut butters – such as almond or cashew. Hopefully they will work out just as well.

I really only made these so I could make ice-cream sandwiches! This is a homemade vanilla bean ice-cream. On Masterchef they also served them with a great recipe for an instant apricot icecream.

Have you ever made cookies like these? Let me know how they work out for you. :)

5 Ways: Yellow Neon Crystal Necklace

Amelia Ways to wear

I think splashes of neon can be so pretty in an outfit, especially when paired with lots of colour. I discovered this great statement necklace during the week at Baublebar and thought I’d do a 5 Ways with it as it was something a bit different. I started off with a few casual looks and ended with a couple of dressier/party looks. Hope you like them :)