Lemon and Pistachio Slice

I'm a chocoholic. I grew up in a family of them and I always will be a member of this delicious club. But I've got a soft spot for anything lemony - lemon meringue pie, lemon sour cake and now, lemon and pistachio slice. This recipe is super easy (retro Bessemer or Pyrex optional!)

Dough Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of plain flour
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

                                                                  

                                                                              Filling Ingredients

60g butter

1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind

1/2 cup of caster sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of plain flour

1/2 cup of desiccated coconut 

                                                                               
                                                                                   Lemon Icing

1 1/2 cups of icing sugar

1 teaspoon of soft butter

1 tablespoon of lemon juice (approximately)

1/2 cup of crushed/chopped pistachios (approximately)

What to Do

1. Sift flour into medium bowl, stir in sugar, rub in butter, add egg yolks and essence. 

2. Mix ingredients into a firm dough.

3. Press the dough into the base of a greased slice or brownie tray.

4. Bake at 180 degrees for about 15 minutes, and meanwhile make the filling.

5. Beat the butter, rind and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until it is smooth.

6. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until combined.

7. Stir in the remaining filling ingredients.

8. Pour the filling over the hot dough base and bake at 180 degrees for a further 30 minutes or until the filling is set. Meanwhile, make the lemon icing.

9. Sift the sugar into a small heatproof bowl, stir in the butter and enough juice to make a stiff paste. I like a really lemony icing so I add quite a more lemon, along with more icing sugar.

10. Stir the mixture in the bowl over hot water until it is spreadable.

11. Stand the slice for 10 minutes once it has baked in the pan, then spread with the lemon icing, and sprinkle with the pistachio nuts. 

Someone stole the corner!

And now - eat!

Redecorating

First up - the loungeroom.

Being a small, renovated worker's cottage, the loungeroom doesn't provide much space to work with. Good thing there's only two of us then!

The horrendous futon is now hidden away downstairs and in it's place is this deliciously comfy corner lounge. Squishy cushions and enough room for both of us to lie down means it's perfect for movie watching, Jamie Oliver drooling and My Kitchen Rules yelling ("why would you do that? HURRY UP" - yes, I know it's terrible, it's a horrible addiction).

The couch is from Super Amart but surprisingly, it's comfortable and right now it just suits what we need. The coffee table is a replica Noguchi table that we bought from Replica Furniture - if you live in Brisbane and are in need of something new, I cannot recommend them enough! While we were there I fell in love (again) with Eames chairs and naturally, decided to get 6 of them when they come back in stock.

This little guy has got the hang of things

While delving around the Internet for cheapish decor, I came across Society 6. Entering Society 6 is like falling down a rabbit hole. You could spend hours on there and not even realise ... like 2 ... ok 3 hours, it's addictive. The prints are designed by artists all over the world and some can be made into cushions, shirts, iPhone cases, pretty much anything really. I've chosen the prints below as well as a few cushions to go with our new couch. Hopefully they'll give the place a happy, colourful vibe and once I frame them they'll adorne the walls in my office, the kitchen (the whisk print was too cool not to get) and the lounge.

ONE The Whisk Wasn't the Tallest by Marc Johns | TWO Easter Green by Colour Project | THREE Life is the Glorious Adventure by Twiggs Design | FOUR Wander by Wesley Bird | FIVE Ampersand by Matthew Taylor Wilson | SIX Tilting Triangles by Gary Andrew Clarke | SEVEN Retrographic by Budi Satria Kwan | EIGHT Orange Lollipop by Colour Project | NINE Future Globes 001 by Matthew Korbel-Bowers

So, it's getting there. Slowly but surely we'll have a home, and not just a house. And if you spend hours on Society 6, I'm sorry! (But let me know what you get)

7 Vignettes - April

A few weeks ago I was gifted an iPhone, and I've been snap happy and addicted to Instagram ever since. It's though this that I discovered the 7 Vignettes Challenged, created by the amazing Jen at Interior's Addict - it was just the creative challenge I needed. I had an absolute ball of a time putting these vignettes together, discovering stories, and perving on the beauty that can be created in this challenge.

I hope that you enjoy my vignettes almost as much as I enjoyed making them.

Day One - Favourite.

I love colour and The Beatles, so naturally this is a mishmash of the two. My mint condition Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band record I found when I was 16 (complete with cutout moustaches), a retro Micky Mouse phone, and glass vases - one filled with old coloured cotton collected over the years. 

Day Two - Layered.

My mum's fabric cupboard. Perfect in every way.

Day Three - Gifts.

I love wrapping gifts, I love receiving gifts. I was just lucky that it was my birthday the next day and these beauties were all ready to go. 

Day Four - Everyday.

A cup of tea is vital to the start of every morning.

 Day Five - Soft.

Inspired by the softness of feathers and silk, I just wanted to lay my head on this collection. 

Day Six - Rough.

Being from Central Queensland originally it would be a crime not to think of a pineapple as rough - in fact our whole town got together once a year to have 'Pinefest', I was even dressed as a pineapple on a kindergarten float when I was young. 

Day Seven - Secondhand.

Oh the choices I had for this theme! I could hardly contain myself to only three photos.

Antique books, tassels, oil lamp and typewriter

Only the best way to display old knitting needles. 

This is my family's 1926 Nash Ajax - a beautiful old cream car with red leather seats. Complete with vintage suitcases, driving goggles and gloves and a few scarves it's perfect for picniking. 

Hands down, my favourite theme to set up was secondhand. My house is full of it, I could have just photographed everything. I think the first theme, favourite, was the hardest - I just have so many favourite things it got difficult not to overload everything. 

I cannot wait til the themes for next month are listed, and a big thankyou to Interior's Addict for giving me something to look forward to!