Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding

We only moved from Wellington just over a year ago but my gosh it seems like a lifetime ago.  We were pre-baby, living right next to town with a magnificent view overlooking the beautiful harbour.   We used to just stroll on down to the centre of town and go to one of the many amazing eateries right at our door step. Life is most definitely very different now with a little 10 month old to chase around!!

One of our 'locals' was this funky American-style diner at the bottom of our road that did the most ah-mazing Reese's peanut butter chocolate milkshakes.

I've been feeling rather nostalgic recently and missing our Wellingtonian mates and local haunts so I thought I might recreate a little piece of our windy city life by making Chocolate Peanut Chia Puddings as a healthified homage to our Welly life.

Grammed: Miso Kimchi Udon Noodles with Kale and Tofu

Kimchi miso udon noodles with fresh kale, bok choi and spring onions from our vege garden 🌱🍜 #sofresh #gardenbounty #plantsusuallydieonus

A post shared by Nessie@bakingequalslove (@bakingequalslove) on Feb 11, 2017 at 1:39pm PST

This is a super quick super yum meal we have pretty regularly on our weeknight dinner rotation.  We usually have it as a vego meal but you can add some pan fried chicken or a softly boiled egg for extra protein

Grammed: Pink coconut rice salad bowl

Pink coconut rice salad bowl to make up for the copious amounts of ice cream and chocolate consumed this week #onholiday #buddhabowl

A photo posted by Nessie@bakingequalslove (@bakingequalslove) on Feb 10, 2017 at 6:30pm PST

I bow down to all the mom bloggers out there - man I don't know how that do it! In between running around after a mischievous little munchkin I've found it really hard to blog.  So I've made the leap and ventured into the wonderful world of Instagram! 

Hopefully that will be a way to keep up with a little bit of bakingequalslove blogging in between proper posts! If you are also on instagram you can find me here at: https://www.instagram.com/bakingequalslove/

So as the first 'grammed post - here's a super quick and easy recipe for Pink Coconut Rice Salad Bowl.

Christmas Gingerbread Bundt Cake

It has been 9 months since my last post but it might as well have been a lifetime ago! Since my last post we have welcomed our gorgeous little girl into the world and the months have just flown by. Life is so full and hectic and magical with a little one. It has been the most incredible experience watching her grow and become a little person. And now all of a sudden Christmas is here!

Christmas is a million times more fun with a kid isn't it? For our first Christmas as a family of three we decided to go with a living Christmas tree! The idea is that we will get to watch the tree and our little girl grow up together.  New traditions for our brand spanking new family.

Speckled Easter Egg Cake: Chocolate cake with whipped vanilla buttercream frosting

Happy Easter everyone!

My goodness, looking back it has really been a wee while since I last posted.  To be honest the last couple of months have been a bit of a blur. I was working silly hours at the hospital and not getting time to do much else - no baking, no prepping for baby related things, barely any sleeping.

Then it all came to a screeching halt when I started having a tricky time with my pregnancy.  It was pretty scary and things have been touch and go for the last little bit, but now we are finally on the home stretch! I've stopped work and have been doing lots of resting interspersed with scrambling to get our house and lives ready for our little one's arrival.

And I had some time to finally do some baking ... this Speckled Easter Egg Cake for the Baking for Hospice Easter Round.

Happy New Year, Happy New Things and a Nutty Quinoa & Roasted Kale Salad

Happy New Year everyone!

Hope you had a spectacularly awesome holiday period with your loved ones.

My goodness, I can't believe it is 2016 already!  Where has the time gone? Looking back it has been a couple of months since I last posted. Well, have I got lots of catching up to do with you, dear readers.

They say things in life often happen in threes.

Luckily, it was three good exciting new things that have come our way.  

Life changing, mind blowing, wondrous things.

Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes aka Ferrero Rocher Cupcakes

I've just finished an amazing rotation in obstetrics and gynaecology, one of my very last as a medical student (4 weeks to go eek!).  I was part of an incredible team of doctors, midwives, nurses, and health assistants who worked passionately and tirelessly over crazy long hours to help mums bring little bubbas into the world.

What a responsibility. What a rush. What an incredible privilege.

So what better way to thank these amazing human beings/super heroes than with some scrummy thank you baking: Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes. Like a Ferrero Rocher in a cupcake.

Baked Cinnamon Apple Mini Doughnuts

As you ramble on through life, Brother,
Whatever be your goal,
Keep your eye upon the doughnut,
And not upon the hole
~ Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin

Hello everyone!

Very sorry it has been such a long time between posts. I'd taken my eye off the doughnut for a little while, concentrating on getting through my last year of medical school, but am hopefully getting my baking mojo back!

I thought I'd come back with a bang with these Baked Cinnamon Apple Mini Doughnuts (a.k.a. doughnut holes or cake doughnuts).  I am a doughnut fiend and these wee delights are actually one of my favourite recipes I have ever baked.

Big call I know, but they just hit the spot. There is really nothing like the smell of cinnamon sugar doughnuts at a rugby game or fair.  It's like a siren's call.  And now you can recreate it at home and as a healthyish baked version too! Baking dream fulfilled.