introducing hildegard

there's a new arrival at the little brown house. she comes from a varied and far-stretching background although given that she's around 500 years old (and looking damn good for her age too, if we might say so) that isn't really surprising. in her time she's been a saint, a healer, a witch, a philospher, an arguer-with-mighty-fat-know-all-men, and cookie baker extraordinaire (to name but a few of her professions) and she comes to us with a killer eye for fashion and a feisty feminine wisdom we don't know how we ever did without. given all the things she's done and seen, it's hardly surprising she looks a little intimidating. but please, don't be shy! if you're in wanaka pop in and introduce yourself to hildy and if you're lucky she might even share a wry comment and a knowing wink with you. xx

well done natalie!

a few weeks ago we sent you all word of the "haiti fundraiser dinner and auction" our friend natalie was organising and held in wanaka on the 17th of february – many of you came along on the night or sent donations even if you couldn't be at the dinner and we, along with natalie, would like to thank you warmly for this. it's thanks to the support of everyone who cares that events like this are such a success, so pat yourself on the back! and what a success the evening was! because we know you'll want to hear, we'll let you know just how fantastic a fundraiser it was: natalie's dinner and auction raised a grand total of $5000 along with a further $2000 raised by a mt aspiring college mufti day ... all $7000 of which went to the new zealand red cross relief effort in haiti. the people at red cross were so impressed with natalie's effort that they've asked her to work on their fundraising committee in dunedin. we're not surprised at all. we'd like to congratulate natalie and thank her for showing us all that (yes, it sounds corny but you have to admit it's true) just one person can make a big difference. xx (p.s. natalie is the one in the middle of the photo, aided by her trusty fundraising sidekicks outside wanaka new world prior to the dinner and auction.)

the best chocolate birthday cake ever!

our family is a chocolate one and if a birthday or special event appears during the year, it is almost always celebrated with chocolate almond cake. although we may branch out once in a while with some other chocolatey alternative, it is the chocolate almond cake that is our unfailing favourite.

which is why it was the birthday cake of choice for niki's birthday tea party here at the little brown house just a couple of days ago. even though niki's birthday cake disappeared almost as soon as it came out of the oven, it's a pretty safe bet that, should you come to the lbh, you'll find a slice of chocolate almond cake waiting for you (we love it so much we pretty much always have one here!).

and it's not just the finished product that is fantastic with this cake - it's the whole process of making it. there's something intensely therapeutic and definitely a little bit magic about heating up and slowly mixing the glossy, dark chocolate. the smell of it fills the kitchen and i challenge any self-respecting chocolate lover to resist this cake.

and don't worry about serving it with anything because it is just perfect by itself (although, if you want it is a stunning match with balsamic strawberries).

sigh.

chocolate almond cake

180g dark chocolate (only the finest please. at least 70% cacao)

175g butter, softened

125g unrefined sugar

200g ground almonds

4 eggs, separated

for the icing:

100g dark chocolate

50g butter

heat oven to 150 degrees celcius. line a 25cm springform cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides.

break chocolate into pieces and melt in a copper (or other heatproof) bowl over a pot of simmering water. don't boil the water or you'll burn the chocolate.

cream together the butter and sugar until soft and creamy. add the ground almonds, egg yolks and melted chocolate and mix thoroughly.

whisk the egg-whites until stiff, then add them to the cake mixture and fold everything together with a big metal spoon (be careful not to break the air in the egg-whites). pour into the cake tin and bake for 35mins (the middle should be a little squishy). allow to cool a little before removing from the tin.

to make the icing, melt the chocolate and butter together in a big heatproof bowl over simmering water then drizzle over the cake and leave to set.

yummy.

xx

the promise of mousse

a few days ago, two gorgeous women all the way from coff's harbour wound their way up the beautiful wildy garden path and stepped into the little brown house. and my, how their visit made our day! beautiful luella and virginia (who had been sent up by the lovely lydia from gallery 33 with strict instructions to try our hot chocolate) came bearing warmth, enthusiasm and a fantastic sense of humour. they totally rocked our socks ... so much so we wanted to share their lovely smiles with you too! we sent them safely home with the recipe for our hildegard intelligence cookies and virginia left us with the promise of her chocolate chilli mousse recipe (ahhh! bliss! watch this space: we too promise to share!). wanna know what really made our day more than anything? well, according to virginia, the little brown house is "heaven on a hill". aw shucks ... we've got to admit that the whole "heavenly" aspect is thanks to lovely people like these two ladies and all of you. xx

the spirit of pistoulet

as you are all already aware, we're great believers in the creating of strong, creative and supportive communities in the virtual sphere. we know how important a sense of belonging is!so we were super-duper excited to be shown mary tiegreen's "spirit of pistoulet" fanpage on facebook the other day. the spirit of pistoulet is one of our very special favourites because it is all about (among other things) the importance of community – community in the sense of having people around you with whom you can share your thoughts, dreams, troubles and, most importantly, your love of food. it's all about how we can find inspiration and/or help in our surroundings and the amazing good that little things done out of great love can achieve (i admit, that genius little statement is thanks to thanks mamma teresa!). in fact, this book all on its little lonesome is a great source of inspiration for us here at jt (as most of you probably already know. we're a little bit obsessed with this book). all you need to do is read it to find out why – it's all about the experience of things, and about the time and care that is put into them.so check it out ... join if you're a fan ... help us spread the love! xx

frida love

we're very excited about the beautiful vintage-style handmade brass jewellery that has just arrived at the little brown house. handmade by my mexican heart, every piece is a celebration of kahlo's distintive and intensely emotional art work ... and, by extension, a celebration of the colour and vibrancy of mexican poplular culture.

we're in love with the rings: they're a bold statement to the world of your appreciation of kahlo's art (and so lovely and solidly big on your fingers. if that makes any sense).

enjoy looking!

xx

thoughts on love letters

with valentines suddenly looming ahead of us (is it really that time of year again? it feels like we only just had last valentines!) we got to thinking about how a holiday that celebrates love should be about letting everyone we love – not just our lovers or secret crushes – know how we feel about them. and, as much as we're huge fans of the internet, we can’t think of a better way of telling someone just how fantastically out-of-this-world we think they are than a good old fashioned love letter. of course, there are a number of factors that will up the success rate of your love letter – you can’t just go scrawling it on refill and shoving it in an old bank statement envelope before thrusting it in front of the recipient muttering “here! this is for you” with a scowl on your face. you need to treat and present it with all the love you want it to express. so (thanks to an extended amount of time walking around thinking about just what kind of a love letter we would like to receive ... and we really would like to receive one. please.) here are some of our ideas on just what will win you the “best person of the year” award in someone you love’s books: - first up, you’re going to need to consider who exactly you’re writing to. as we already mentioned, we’re being very liberal with the meaning of the term “love letter” so go ahead and write one for your best friend, for your grandma or for your little brother. just be sure to adjust everything to suit (we don’t think you need to be giving your granny a love letter telling her how hot you think her ass is. for example). - which brings us to choosing the words you’re going to use. we’d suggest thinking about what it is that you really love about the person and them alone and then writing it down. easy peasy. - finally – and this aspect is NOT to be underestimated – you’re going to have to think about presentation. you’ll have to choose stationery that will be special to the person, find a nice pen to write it in, and anything else you might want to adorn your love letter with. go crazy. use stickers, stamps, wax seals, collage … whatever takes your fancy. what’s important is that it’s personal. and, just like that, you’ll have a love letter that will truly make the day of the person receiving it. the thing to remember in the whole process is that it’s the entire experience of receiving a love letter that counts – the surprise of it, opening the gorgeous envelope, reading the hand-written words telling you why you’re fab and that warm fuzzy feeling of knowing someone cares so much about you. if you stick to the "treat others as you would like to be" rule you can’t really go wrong – just give them something that, in their shoes, you would love to receive. and, hey, who knows, you might just get one back …

xxx