Hotly Spiced

Quick and Easy Herby Roast Chicken

hotlyspiced — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:19:06 +0000

Prior to leaving for our overnight stay in the Blue Mountains, I took a leg of lamb out of the freezer and left it on the bench to thaw out for a Sunday night roast on our return. I do try to be organised! On our way home and after we had visited The Sweetest [...]

The Oriental Hotel, Springwood

hotlyspiced — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:06:30 +0000

By the time Carl returned from his excursion with the in-laws, we had well and truly over-stayed our welcome at Lilianfels, plus it was time to return to Sydney in time to become organised for the working week. We started heading back down the mountains (because I’m of Kiwi extraction I’m going to have to [...]

Lilians, Lilianfels, Blue Mountains

hotlyspiced — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:25:30 +0000

Whenever I’m staying in a hotel or resort I always like to experience the buffet breakfast. For a five-star resort, I think the buffet breakfast at Lilians Restaurant at Lilianfels in the Blue Mountains is very good value. At $25.00/person if you book at the time or checking-in or $35.00/person if you turn up without [...]

Lilianfels, Blue Mountains

hotlyspiced — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:26:54 +0000

Recently Carl and I left Sydney for a weekend in the Blue Mountains, a 90-minute drive from Sydney. Carl had been asked to speak at a function being held at the sensational Lilianfels Resort. In usual style we began packing two hours after we were already supposed to have arrived so we threw a few [...]

Boat House, Balmoral Beach

hotlyspiced — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:49:41 +0000

It’s been one of those weeks where I’ve had to see the osteopath due to a seized-up back. He has diagnosed me with lap-top syndrome where I have been spending too much time lying down on my couch glued to my lap top gazing into the blogosphere. The cure is to shut my lap top, [...]

Dairy-Free Creamy Pasta and…Leftovers

hotlyspiced — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:08:23 +0000

The day after the launch of Lorraine’s book was Carl’s birthday. To celebrate, I organised a family dinner at a restaurant we have been to quite a few times and I have previously let you all know about. We like it because it’s casual, great for children, is BYO and inexpensive. Later that day, Arabella [...]

Not Quite Nigella, the Book

hotlyspiced — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:58:59 +0000

When I started my blog two years ago, no one was reading it. Carl’s job every night was to click in and out of my blog to cause something to show up on my blog stats. But quickly Carl’s fingers wore out. As did his keyboard. So as I didn’t know of any blogs besides [...]

Asian-Inspired Glazed Ham

hotlyspiced — Sun, 12 May 2013 09:45:05 +0000

Happy Mother’s Day! Don’t you just love Mother’s Day? It’s that one day of the year where you get to sleep-in then lie in bed while the kids bring you breakfast in bed and hand over lots of heartfelt gifts while telling you just how amazing and special you are. Don’t you just love it? [...]

In My Kitchen – May 2013

hotlyspiced — Thu, 09 May 2013 10:07:37 +0000

In my kitchen I have some edible dried flowers given to me by Rebecca when we celebrated her birthday at a high tea recently – yes, Rebecca brought gifts to her own party. I have seen a lot of recipes lately using flowers; there’s even a new cookbook out where every recipe has edible flowers [...]

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Hummingbird Cake

hotlyspiced — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:41:00 +0000

Recently a few bloggers and I organised a get-together for a Sunday afternoon. We were to catch up at the Radisson Blu Hotel in O’Connell Street, Sydney for a high tea. During the organisational process that incredibly involved 94 group emails, it occurred to us that on the day we were to get together, it [...]