Donna In My Pantry, Gok At My Target.


My real life kitchen is as far from the Donna Hay test kitchen as you can imagine. The kitchen at SSG Manor is not one that you could walk into and mistake for a magazine shoot or kitchenware store display. The only time I ever get it sparkling clean and free of clutter is the morning of the day I’m due to fly out of Sydney. It’s a kitchen decked out with sturdy and practical wipe clean surfaces rather than stainless steel and glass with accents of wood. At least I’m wiping those surfaces clean, I suppose… with a spritz or two of Spray’N’Wipe rather than an organic, plant based cleaning product. There’s lots I love about my kitchen though, the slate floor, the breeze that always hits it at the right time of day and the fact that it’s mine and I feel that I work in harmony with it whenever I’m there pottering around in my ugg boots and track pants.

So I had my full dose of reality check when I found these dry goods labels in the current issue of Donna Hay magazine. It’s taken me this long to discover them because I’ve only just sorted through all my mail from the two months I was away in Perth.
There were at least three different rice labels in the set…. ditto for sugar and flour..
I wasted no time in giving the contents of my pantry a quick veneer of Donna Hay blue and white. I couldn’t help but pat myself on the back when I stuck the caster sugar label on the appropriate canister. I actually have a genuine vanilla pod stuck in my sugar. Something Donna herself advocates in a past issue of the magazine.
I celebrated introducing some semblance of order and chic to the pantry with a cup of tea and some cake. T2’s Creme Brûlée black tea is a new discovery of mine and I’m loving the rich and decadent flavours. It’s just the tea to be having with an indulgent afternoon tea on the weekend or a more modest one during the week (so that you don’t feel too deprived with your weekday handful of Arnott’s plain biscuits).
Elsewhere in the kitchen, I dusted off my Emanuel Mouli for a bit of baby food making action.
We’ve reached a critical moment in Baby SSG’s discovery of solids. I’m officially over orange coloured food. I’m bored of the orange stains that grace bibs, face flannels and tops. In search of something to break the monotony, I decided that now would be a good time to introduce green peas to Baby SSG. I boiled some frozen peas for a few minutes before passing them through the mouli and mixing the puree with some unsalted butter for some extra fat and flavour. The advantage of using the mouli is that it made short work of separating the outer coating of each pea from the softer and more easily digested flesh within. I was reading somewhere that this makes it easier for babies to deal with peas.
It took about 3 cups of frozen peas to make enough puree to fill a Qubie tray. And yes, the bright green stains that now grace Baby SSG’s bibs have added some excitement to meal time.
I have a soft spot for my local Aldi. Specifically, the nonnas and pops who frequent it. They’re always up for a chat in the checkout queue and they never fail to get the line laughing. They’re also always full of praise whenever they look into the stroller and see that I’ve gotten the bambino to sleep. Remembering the sleep deprivation that being a parent is, they cast an eye over my Aldi coffee pods to check that I’ve got something in a reasonable strength to see me through the days and nights…
The other thing with Aldi is that once you go in, it’s way too hard to leave without buying anything. The entrance is guarded by a one way gate and the only exit is via the very narrow checkout. So how could I leave without buying these Lacura blushes? They’re $4.95 each and there are two colourways – rose and coral. Each has a highlighter shade included in the compact as well. They felt impressively soft on the back of my hand and between the two shades, I’m sure I’ll be able to create that elusive pinky, golden, plum shade that I’m looking for.
It’s been a while since I’ve been to any other department in Target besides toys and baby wear.
Target’s PR department just sent me this press release which is going to change that. Guess who the new Target Style ambassador is? The glasses gave it away… it’s Gok Wan!
Image courtesy of Target Australia.
Starting next week, Target stores will be filled with Gok’s real people, real fashion style edit. Gok’s involvement with Target sees him select his favourite pieces from all departments including womenswear and kidswear. It’s a year long campaign and the first lookbook features women’s workwear and accessories.
I’m going to keep an eye out for these Dayne elasticised ballet flats ($35).  They look like they’ve a comfortable, cushioned sole and I love that red!


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