Newsletter
Scrumptious Scone Recipe
If you 're not a fan of hot cross buns, particularly during Easter when the supermarket shelves are lined with assorted fruit and spice variations, scones are a delicious alternative. I tweaked the original Donna Hay scone recipe by halving the ingredient amounts, adding vanilla essence and using soy milk instead of regular milk. The result was a scrumptious scone with a light crisp top, soft on the inside, with a hint of vanilla.
Scone Recipe
· 1 ½ cups of sifted self-raising flour
· ¼ cup caster sugar
· 37g cold chopped butter
· 3 drops of vanilla essence
· ½ cup milk, plus extra for brushing the top of the scone mixture
Preheat oven to 170ºC
Place the flour and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine.
Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the flour mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk and add the vanilla essence.
Use a butter knife to gradually mix the milk into the flour mixture until just combined.
Lightly knead the dough till everything is combined
Roll 6 balls of dough and place on a lined baking tray. Keep them spaced close to each other so the dough rises up rather than sideways
Bake for 20 mins
Serve with cream and or jam
What’s all the hoo ha about organic cotton?
In a nutshell, organic cotton is cotton grown using methods and materials that have a low impact on the environment. The seeds used to grow the cotton are untreated meaning they are not genetically modified, as opposed to conventionally used GMO seeds that are scientifically designed to yield more fibre and resist pests. Organic production of cotton on the other hand, replenishes and maintains soil fertility through crop rotation, and it reduces the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers, making it better for the environment and farmers.
People with allergies and chemical sensitivities can benefit greatly from using organic cotton products, as the organic cotton is grown without the use of toxins such as formaldehyde or arsenic. We’ve seen enough thriller and crime movies to know that formaldehyde and arsenic can kill. Constant exposure to minute amounts of these toxins in many everyday households items including furnishing and fabrics, means our cells are constantly fighting the effects. No wonder many of us are run down and falling inexplicably ill.
We have sourced Organic Cotton Turkish Towels that are made using traditional methods on hand looms, and dyed using natural dyes so that our bodies can take a well deserved break. They look great, are very practical (use at the beach, as a bath towel or throw), generous in size, and lovely to touch. Gold stars all round.
RenBath House
I’ve had a couple Korean bath house experiences in my 20’s that left me shaken and stirred and wondering why anyone would willingly go back for more. After my first experience I thought the therapist was having a bad day and was taking it out on me by, scrubbing, kneading and pummeling my skin and muscles, so I thought it would be unfair to dismiss the bath house experience entirely. With this in mind, I booked myself in at another establishment and found myself being tossed around, scrubbed, kneaded and pummeled yet again, this time the added bonus was that my therapist also walked on me. Needless to say I never went back. Bath House
Having spent a couple of years working in a spa environment after my initial bath house experiences, I learnt that not all bath houses are the same and they don’t need to be exercises in torture. There are luxurious establishments that provide a place of serenity and offer treatments that leave you feeling soft and renewed. The Ottoman Turkish Baths in Sydney and The Peninsula Hot Springs in Victoria, are places to go for a Turkish Bath house experience, where you’ll be swathed in a Turkish Towel and can amble about in slippers.Over the years I have created my own bath house experience at home and almost religiously spend Sunday evenings giving myself a facial, putting a treatment in my hair, painting my nails, and other beauty type things that make me feel refreshed and sparkling. An hour of me time every week is magic and on occasion I treat myself to what I like to call a beauty tune up and enjoy the benefits of being pampered by an aesthetician.
Turkish Towels
Earlier this year Mr B and I travelled to Bali for a bit of relaxation and inspiration and found both to be abundant in supply. On the 3rd day of our trip, I decided to check out the shops near our hotel and indulge in some feel good shopping. Walking along the road in Seminyak one shop caught my eye, it had a display of what I thought were scarves in the front window so I made my merry way inside.
On display were Turkish Towels, I’d never heard of them before and it was at that moment that a mild obsession began to form. I was to learn that Turkish Towels also know as pestemals had a number of uses including, bath towel - one that you can wrap yourself in over and over and over, beach towel, sarong, tablecloth and even a scarf. I knew I had to add them to our lifestyle collection and set out to learn more about this versatile weave.
Turkish Towels have been around for hundreds of years and have been used in bath houses, also known as hammans, a place of physical and spiritual purification. Turkish Towels are given to bath house users to wrap themselves in as they make their way through the bath house hot room, cool room and bathing areas where they are washed, scrubbed and massaged. These days the towels are available for use by anybody inside and outside of a bath house.
Upon returning home I began sourcing Turkish Towels and found a range that were handmade, using traditional hand looms and coloured with vegetable dyes. Vegetable dyes are obtained from renewable sources, are biodegradable and are less toxic than synthetic dyes which makes it better for our health. 100% Cotton towels are soft on the skin and will continue to soften with each wash. They are highly absorbent, lightweight and fast drying.
Towel Care:
Wash before useMachine wash in warm or cold water with like colors.
Tumble dry on low heat or line dry.
There is no need to use bleach, harsh detergents, dryer sheets or tumble dry on high heat.
Available in a variety of colours. For use as a bath towel (please note, these are much bigger in size than a bath sheet), beach towel (you can acquire a decent patch of sand at the beach as soon as you lay the towel down), tablecloth, picnic rug, sarong, scarf and even a blanky.
Miss Ren
Fathers Day Gift Ideas
