Recipe: Raspberry Vodka and Lime Rum Jelly Shots

You must know me by now with my Bloody Mary Oyster Shots and Copacabana Party Punch that I like to get a party started with a decent party drink!

I went to a friends Christmas in July party last weekend and made these jelly shots in Christmas colours red and green and they sure did liven up the crowd!

These jelly shots are ridiculously easy to make and the cost was about $15 to make 40 shots - in a bar that would get you maybe 2 shots so that's pretty good value really!

Jelly Shots

Makes 40

Ingredients

85g packet of Aeroplane Jelly x 2 - whatever flavour you like

250ml x 2 of boiling water

100ml x 2 of cold water

100ml x 2 of alcohol of your choice - rum / vodka / etc

Cooking spray - optional

Plastic shot glasses - I found mine in a Discount Store $2.50 for a pack of 20

Method

Lay out the shot glasses and spray with cooking oil - this is optional but stops the jelly from sticking so they slide out easily. I made half using the spray and half without - the spray made no taste difference although I should've sprayed them more as some still stuck so you had to stick your tongue in there and dig the jelly out!

Spraying the oil does get a little greasy so best not to do it on the tray you're going to use. Once sprayed arrange them onto a tray that fits in your fridge and you want to serve them on.

Empty jelly packet mix into a bowl and add 250ml of boiling water and stir well until dissolved.

Then add 200ml of the cold water / alcohol mix and stir in - For the Raspberry Vodka I did a half and half mix so 100ml of water and 100ml of vodka. For the other batch Lime Rum I made stronger with 80ml of water and 120ml of rum. Both set the same but the rum ones did taste stronger.

Pour the mix into a jug and then pour into each cup and fill almost to the top

Put the tray of jelly shots into the fridge and leave to set for at least 4 hours or overnight if you can (don't mind my wine fridge there is some food in the fridge amongst the alcohol!)

Admire your little cups of fun and once they are set they are ready for the party people to consume.

  

It's like being a kid again, trust me everyone will love them!


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MKR Round 2 - French Sensation

It has been a few months since our first round of My Kitchen Rules dinner parties, the first couple hosted an Italian Fantastico which you can read all about here. Last weekend the next couple hosted round two which was a French Sensation .... which means that the pressure is on for Mr P and I because we are the final couple to compete with our friends to see whose Kitchen Rules!

The food we were served at the French Sensation was absolutely beautiful I can guarantee there were high scores on the night from all of us. Can I just say I haven't stopped talking about the baked brie cheese board it was the most beautiful and tasty cheese board I've ever had - baked brie stuffed with garlic and rosemary served with croutons and a scatter of cranberries. The flavours were so amazing I can't wait to recreate this one at home at our next dinner party.

So here is a round up of the night .... the scene was set with a mix of French music from classic and modern artists playing in the background and the menu was on the TV screen teasing us right until the last course.

Menu - Not that I can read French!

To start with we had French champagne cocktails and a few different horderves ... french onion soup, croutons with caramelised onion and goats cheese and rocket wrapped in prosciutto.

Sadly, I didn't get any photos of these delicious morsels before they were devoured.

Tablescape was like a French bistro



Main - Beef Bourguignon with scallop potatoes

Baked Brie cheese board served after the main course

Dessert - Very rich and chocolatey double layered mousse

There were lots of different French wines enjoyed with each course - bubbles, white wine, red wine, dessert wine, oh so many bottles of wine! We ate for about 5 hours with food, drinks and the best company it was a really fantastic night.

Now Mr P and I need to come up with a theme for our MKR for round three ... we are thinking of either having an Australian theme because none of our friendly competition are from Australia (they are Dutch, Spanish, Irish and Kiwi) or an Indian/Bollywood theme because we love to cook Indian and I could really go to town on the decor.

What do you think is a good cuisine - Australian? Indian? Or other?

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eDesign Mood Board - Jungle Nursery

I've designed my first eDesign mood board which I'm really excited to share with you.

 

I created the mood board using Polyvore and found a great round of how to posts on House Tweaking. If you've ever thought of designing an electronic mood board then Polyvore is the way to go I found it really easy to use and a lot of fun too!

 

This is one of my designs for a boy's jungle themed nursery and I'm proud to say the Mum to be absolutely loved it. I've seen the after photos of the room and let me tell you seeing the vision and inspiration come to life and being the one who created the shopping list for them to pick up some bargains and bring the room together on a budget was such a great feeling. Hopefully this will be the first of many of these eDesign projects :)

 

Now remember, I don't have kids of my own so I wasn't sure how I'd go sourcing nursery furniture and decor but as it turned out I did a pretty damn good job if I don't say so myself!. And I admit it I had a lot of fun doing it as well there is so much cute stuff out there for kids rooms. If I had kids I think I'd be redecorating their room every year!

 

So check out my first eDesign mood board ...

 

 Ektas Jungle Nursery by jarrahjungle on Polyvore

 

 

1. Art ideas - There are some really cool wall mounted animal heads that you can get from Etsy which would add interest having different textures and dimensions coming off the wall. Putting a frame around the head or an object will really enhance it as well. The art work can be hung above the cot, high enough out of reach of little hands.

2. Cot - A similar wooden cot was already purchased for the room so my design was based around incorporating that piece of furniture. I picked out similar dark tones of green and blues for the rest of the furniture - chair, ottoman and even the rug so it would work together.

 

3. Lamp - A bedside lamp is a must for night time and can sit out of reach on top of a set of drawers. Keeping with the jungle theme this Jonathon Anadler lamp would be a bit of a splurge and I also found a more reasonably priced Target jungle themed lamp shade.

 

4. Nursing Chair and Ottoman - I suggested buying a chair so comfortable you could fall asleep in it (and probably will!) something with a high back and padded arms. An ottoman with a lid to rest your feet on that doubles as storage for toys etc down the track is a good idea.

 

5. Rug - A patterned or striped rug will go well with this theme and hide any marks or stains. Because the floorboards and cot are dark wood I suggested a lighter coloured rug to lighten up the space.

 

You can see the mood board on Polyvore here with links of where you can buy the items.

So, tell me I'm dying to know - what do you think of my mood board?
Any improvements or suggestions for the next one?
I'd love to hear some feedback!

 

[Image via Polyvore collage my own]

 

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Washing, Cooking And Winning!

A few weekends ago while Mr P and I were having a weekend getaway relaxing in our hotel room and winning money on the roulette table our awesome plumber spent the day at our house finishing all the plumbing in the kitchen - fitted the kitchen sink and tap, installed the dishwasher and the gas stove.

 

Now the kitchen sink is in the sink saga is just a distant memory and I'm so happy with the smaller sink. It gives me a lot more bench space with the drainer on the other side too so it was worth the stress that day to work it all out properly. We are trying to sell our fancy Clark sink on Gumtree .... fingers crossed we sell it without losing to much money.

 

 

We procrastinated for weeks on a kitchen tap and only decided 2 days before we had to have it there's nothing like a bit of pressure to push you to make a decision! We chose a mixer tap with both round and square features because the handles of our kitchen cupboards are square but the bench tops are bull nosed and round so this kitchen tap was perfect with its mix of both features.

It's important to keep your fittings in the same style so they match - we took this on board when we did the bathroom renovation which was all round fittings including the shower heads, taps, bowls, handles and mirror.

 

 

The dishwasher we bought a few weeks ago and that has now been installed. After my white Vs silver appliance debate we opted for a white dishwasher so it sits in the bank of white cupboards and drawers and blends in. I'm really happy with our choice on this because it looks more streamline and you don't really notice it whereas if it was silver it would stand out and be a distraction. Who wants to be reminded about dirty dishes? Not me!

 

 

Turning it on for the first time was a momentous occasion ... I read the instruction manual like it was a juice magazine, did the salt test to check our water is suitable, then filled the baby up with our dishes and turned it on and listened to it purr like a kitten ...

 

No more washing up in a bucket in the laundry trough

No more smashed bowls because they're balancing on the drainer on the washing machine

No more chipped nail polish from washing up by hand
WOO FREAKIN' HOO!

 

Now onto the cooking side our gas cooker was installed which means I officially survived 7 weeks of renovating and cooking without a proper kitchen to cook in. It's been such a treat to cook with gas compared to our old electric stove/oven. We converted to gas as part of the renovation and now have a brand new electric oven and gas stove all hooked up and ready to use. I also managed to sell our old oven/stove on Gumtree for $95 so that was good to get a bit of money back.

 

Of course the most exciting news about buying the Electrolux oven and stove was that we won a trip! Flights from Perth to Sydney with a night in 5 star accommodation and to dine at Peter Gilmour's Quay Restaurant. Pretty exciting stuff and I entered the promotion to be given a Global Knife set and had no idea I'd win the major prize! The knife set arrived last week and our old Global Knife set has been cast aside.

The trip will be the perfect reward after all this renovation work to be able to celebrate in Sydney in style :-) 



We were the WA winners of the promotion!!!

 

So now all the plumbing and cooking is sorted other than the range hood which we purchased the other weekend but can't install it until after the splash back has gone on. There are so many things to remember when renovating one step follows another you really need to be super organised!

 

The kitchen splash back is our next project - we went tile shopping but couldn't really find what we wanted so we have decided to go for a glass splash back and have had 2 quotes and now just need to chose a colour and a glass company ... I will keep you posted.

 

For updates on the kitchen as I go Like Jarrah Jungle on Facebook and you'll never miss a thing! 

 

[All images my own - Promotion image via Electrolux]

  

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Where I Turn For Inspiration And My Happy Place

Whenever I find myself in a bit of a slump and lacking motivation and inspiration I head towards the closest book store or library and get lost amongst the isles of pretty and interesting book covers.

A book store offers a totally different vibe to me and I can't wait to get my hands on those new untouched books with their crisp pages and new smell. I'll usually reach for interior design and decorating books that I can't afford to splurge on but feel so much better once I've looked at them. When it comes to these types of books I'm not a reader I'm a flipper. I can't take in all the inspiring pages quick enough!

 

The library is a favourite for me too and I go there about once a fortnight. I've managed to borrow almost every single book for my Book Club reads from the library over the last 2 years which has saved me a fortune. There is something very quiet and comforting about the library. It has a different smell almost a bit dusty and old school. I'll stalk the shelves until I see something that catches my eye and get out books based on opening the book at a random page and reading a few lines.

 

Books are my inspiration and visiting these book places brings me up when I'm feeling down. I guess you could call it my happy place.

 

Where do you turn for inspiration? Do you have a happy place?
 

 

[Image via my Pinterest - find me here]
 

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Book Club: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

The June Book Club pick was The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

This is the story of Don a science professor who has an aspergers type personality and in his awkward matter of fact way creates a questionnaire for a perfect potential wife, aptly named The Wife Project.

Don reminded me of Sheldon from the American TV show The Big Bang Theory, he has that nerdy persona about him where he'll answer questions factually and won't do things unless they have a purpose. His days are timed down to the second with only practical activities, he doesn't do anything just for fun including his meal plan of eating the same dinner on the same day every week.

This book is one of those ugly ducklings turned into a swan type story where you're rooting for a happy ending. You can't help but like Don and his frank up front lateral thinking. The other characters in the book, his womanising best friend also a professor and his wife and of course a girl named Rosie also add a bit of interest.

I would recommend this book to everyone, both young and old. I would especially recommend it to high school kids as I think it's important to be aware that everyone is different and just because they are doesn't mean they should be estranged .... you never know what someone else is really going through.

I give this book 4 stars

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:

1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch re-runs of Neighbours than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd pass up a pack of tim tams for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read

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Recipe: Mexican Bean and Rice Salad

I whipped up this quick and easy dish in my Makeshift Kitchen the other day - a Mexican Bean and Rice Salad. It's one of those dishes you can make with cupboard ingredients and if you have a rice cooker it's even easier! It was a delicious side dish to serve with roast chicken marinated in Mexican spices ... with a dollop of yogurt on the side to cool down your mouth from the hot chilli and spices!

 

 

Mexican Bean and Rice Salad

 

Ingredients

2 cups white long grain rice

420g can sweet corn kernels, drained

400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 long red chilli, finely chopped

Handful of chopped coriander

2 tbs lime juice

Drizzle olive oil

Salt and Pepper

2 tbs Natural yogurt (optional)

 

Method

Cook rice (in rice cooker if you have one) and lightly fluff with a fork

Stir through corn, beans, chilli and coriander

Stir in lime and olive oil and season well with salt and pepper

Place lid on for a few minutes to allow rice and added ingredients to warm up

 

Serve with a Mexican main like this marinade roast chicken and a dollop of yogurt on the side

 

Bon Appetit or as the Mexican's say Provecho!

 

[Image my own]

 

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