A more serious note from Fraser and I today for suicide prevention day. In a world where so much is out of our control, committing to a practice we do control, is a way of establishing and reminding ourselves of our own power. Here are a few tools and habits that I have used to deal with anxiety and depression in the past. Every conversation you have about the importance of recognising and treating mental illness creates a ripple that reaches people in your circle and far beyond it. We would love to hear what practices you use when you are dealing with your mental health. It’s easy to brush over exactly how important this is especially for someone who is quietly struggling, so being kind and understanding goes a really long way. . . . . #mentalhealthawareness #stopthestigma #mentalhealthmatters #selfcare #mindfulness #loveyourself #itsoknottobeok #suicideawareness #endstigma #mentalhealthhero #mentalhealthmatters #community #iseeyou #ruok #itsokaynottobeokay #suicideprevention #suicideawarness

The @yellowstone spin-off we all need… Southern Double Crusted Cinnamon Sugar Peach Cobbler 🤤🤠 Ingredients 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (115g) cold salted butter, cubed. Plus melted butter, for brushing
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling FILLING
6 cups fresh/frozen/canned, sliced (about 3 pounds)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbs cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup whisky CRUMBLE 
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 2 tbs light brown sugar 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 4 tbs salted butter, at room temperature Instructions Preheat the oven to 400/205 degrees. 
Biscuits: In a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, and butter. Pulse until the mix clumps together to form larger pea-size balls. Drizzle in the buttermilk until the dough is “shaggy” looking. The dough will be a little dry. 
Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and pat into a 1-inch thick square. Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Stack the pieces on top of each other. Press down to flatten. Dust the surface with flour and roll the dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle. Cut into 18-20 smaller biscuits using a 1 1/2-2 inch circle cookie cutter (or just cut into similar size squares). Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze 10 minutes, to chill.

Filling: In a 10-12 inch baking dish, toss together the peaches, brown sugar, cornstarch, bourbon (if using), and vanilla. 

Crumble: Combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add the butter and mix with your hands until the mix is moist and a crumble forms. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the peaches. 

Remove the biscuits from the freezer, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Arrange the biscuits on top of the peaches/crumble. Place the dish on a baking sheet. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until golden on top. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp with ice cream and Enjoy! . . #cowboy #yellowstone #biscuits #pug #recipe #peaches #newzealand #auckland

I often get asked how I get so good at throwing things. Fraser and I train to stay kitchen fit everyday… Salted Cookie Crinkle Top Brownies 🤤 Ingredients COOKIES
1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbs granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips CRINKLE TOP BROWNIES
1 cup Nutella
2 large eggs
4 tbs salted butter, melted
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks 
flaky sea salt Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 350/180 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch square baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until combined. Add the egg, beating until combined and creamy. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, and saltbeat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish in an even layer. 

3. To make the brownies. In a medium bowl, whisk together the Nutella, eggs, butter, and vanilla until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the flour and mix until just combined, 1 to 2 minutes more. Fold in the chocolate chunks (if using). Evenly spread the batter over the cooker layer. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Then cover the pan with foil and continue baking another 10-15 minutes, until the brownies are just set. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and let cool.

4. Eat warm (a little messy, but delicious) or let cool and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. ENJOY! @propoliscollective . . . #brownies #puglove #baking #recipe #cookies #pugsofinstagram

Let’s play some bangers and make some cocktails! A Miami Vice with a giveaway 😉 #GIVEAWAY ‼️ @mancancooknz and @blendjet have teamed up to bring you a giveaway! 1️⃣ lucky winner will win a $150 gift code to BlendJet.com! See below for how to enter⬇️ 1. Follow @mancancooknz and @blendjet 2. Like and Save this post 3. Tag your bestie in the comments (1 comment = 1 entry)️ Ingredients: 2 ounces rum, divided 1 cup strawberries, chopped 1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed 1/2 ounce simple syrup 2 ounces cream of coconut 2 ounces pineapple juice Garnish: pineapple slice Steps: In a blender, add 1 ounce of the rum, strawberries, lime juice, simple syrup and 1 cup crushed ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a hurricane glass and set in the freezer. Wash and dry the blender thoroughly. In the clean blender jar, add the remaining 1 ounce of rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice and 1 cup crushed ice and blend until smooth. Pour into the hurricane glass that already contains the Strawberry Daiquiri, creating a layered effect. Garnish with a pineapple slice. (Winner will be notified on 9/4 via DM on Instagram from the @blendjet account ONLY. Open Internationally, 18+. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram.)

Let’s play some bangers and do some cooking using the FREE* MasterChef Cookware from @newworldnz AD

One-pot Beef Bolognese Pasta

Ingredients
1 onion, diced 
1 carrot, finely diced 
2 celery stalks, finely diced 
2 tsp dried oregano 
500g beef mince 
2x 500g jars onion and garlic pasta sauce 
3 ½ cups beef stock 
500g spiral pasta 

Method 
1. In a casserole pot, bring a generous drizzle of oil to medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, carrot, celery and oregano for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften. 
2. Add the beef mince and cook for 4-5 minutes or until browned, breaking up with a spatula. 
3. Stir through the pasta sauce and beef stock. Season with salt and pepper, then stir to combine. 
4. Bring to a boil, then add the pasta and reduce to a simmer. 5. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the pasta is tender, stirring regularly. 
Divide into bowls, then serve and enjoy. 

Get your Free MasterChef Cookware from @newworldnz . Every $20 spent = 1 sticker. 6 pieces to collect while stocks last. T&C’s apply.

Fraser and I’s car wash and bake sale now open 🧁💦 Caramel and Biscoff Loaf LOAF
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ cup castor sugar
3 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp Nutmeg 1/2 tsp ginger 
½ tsp sea salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
¾ cup grapeseed oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup smooth biscoff spread
¼ cup plain flour TO SERVE
½ cup purchased caramel sauce or dulce de leche, slightly warmed EQUIPMENT
Grease a 27cm x 15cm loaf tin and fully line with baking paper. METHOD Preheat the oven to 170°C regular bake. Whisk the flour, baking powder and baking soda, sugar, spice mix and the salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk, oil and the vanilla together then tip onto the flour and whisk until fully combined.  Put the biscoff in a medium bowl and give it a good stir. Take out ¾ cup of the loaf batter and stir into the biscoff then add the ¼ cup of flour and stir again until fully combined. Tip half of the plain batter into the tin then dollop half of the biscoff batter over the top. Don’t mix the two batters together. Add the remaining plain batter and spread evenly then dollop over the remaining biscoff batter and again, don’t mix the batters together. Bake for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover the top loosely with foil after 30 minutes to prevent it over browning. Leave to cool completely in the tin then drizzle with the caramel sauce to serve.

Let’s play some bangers and do some baking! Hummingbird Cake with @blendjet INGREDIENTS 2 ½ cups self raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups caster sugar
3 eggs
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1 x small can crushed pineapple, drained (liquid reserved)
1 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup slivered almonds CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
100 grams soft cream cheese
25 grams soft butter
5 cups (don’t look at me like that!) icing sugar
¼ cup coconut cream
zest of 1 lime
reserved pineapple juice**
¼ cup toasted shaved coconut
1 cup passion fruit curd or lemon curd METHOD Line the sides and base of a 26cm, baking tin with a removable base with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 170˚C (335˚F). Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, making a large well in the centre. In a blender whiz oil, vanilla, caster sugar, eggs, bananas, pineapple, coconut and almonds until well blended. Pour into dry ingredients and fold together. Pour into prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (one baker found that it cooked faster but I’ not sure if she was using an even bigger tin, so to be on the safe side, perhaps start checking it from 45 minutes). Leave to cool in the tin then remove and halve.

Whiz all frosting ingredients together just until smooth – if you would like the frosting a little softer add pineapple juice a tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency is a achieved. 

Spread curd onto base layer of the cake. Spoon on ⅓ of the icing and spread out. Top with remaining cake half and cover with remaining icing. Sprinkle with coconut shavings and edible flowers to serve. . . . #cake #cakerecipe #bananacake #bakingrecipes #cakecakecake #pug #puglove #pugnation #newzealand #auckland

Let’s play some bangers and make some pancakes! Our Sunday pancakes filled with gooey @picspeanutbutter big mix! Ingredients for the dry mixture: 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda pinch of kosher salt for the wet mixture: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 4 each large eggs 2 cups buttermilk 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 tsp Vanilla Toppings Pics Big Mix Maple syrup Directions Add flour and 3 tbs of sugar to a large bowl. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and a pinch of salt, and sift all ingredients together and set aside. Melt the butter over medium-low heat and set aside to cool. In a separate bowl, add your eggs and sugar. Stir to incorporate. Add the cooled, melted butter and buttermilk slowly into the mixture and slowly whisk until fully incorporated. Slowly whisk the flour mixture into the wet mixture so that no clumps form. Whisk through to a fluffy consistency and refrigerate for ten minutes. In a large skillet, generously spray non-stick spray into the pan over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 cup of the batter then drizzle over the Pics Big Mix and the top with another 1/4 cup of batter to cover. When you see bubbles forming in the middle and a nice browning on the sides, it’s time to flip them (only do this once). Plate them up with maple syrup and enjoy! . . . #pancakes #peanutbutter #maplesyrup #butter #bestfriends #pugs #pugsofinstagram #pancakeshealthy #auckland #newzealand

Let’s play some bangers and do some baking! Kūmara (sweet potato) and Orange Chocolate Cake 🤤 Recipe inspired by @whanaukai Ingredients Cake 2½ cups plain flour
1 cup caster sugar
⅔ cup brown sugar
1 tsp each baking soda and baking powder
1 tsp each ground mixed spice, ground cinnamon and ground ginger
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 packed cup grated orange kūmara
1¼ cups rice bran or other neutral vegetable oil
4 large eggs, size 7
finely grated zest 1 and 1/2 orange
1/2 cup orange juice 100g of dark chocolate Grease 2 x 20cm springform cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 160°C regular bake. Sift all the dry ingredients together into a large bowl and stir to combine.  Put the kūmara, eggs, oil and zest in a food processor and pulse quickly to combine. Fold into the dry ingredients, along with the orange zest and orange juice. Fold in the chocolate. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn the oven off but leave the cake in for 5 more minutes. Remove from the oven and ice once cooled. Chocolate Frosting 180g dark chocolate 3 Tbsp cream 190g softened butter 2 scoops orange flavoured protein powder (I used @macr0mike ) 1/2 Cup icing sugar 2 tsp vanilla Add the chocolate and cream to a small bowl. Gently melt it in the microwave in 20 second bursts. Once smooth, cool for 5 minutes. Add butter, icing sugar, protein powder and vanilla to a bowl. Whip until light and fluffy. Add the warm chocolate mixture a Tbsp at a time to the butter mixture as you whip continuously. Once it is all incorporated, refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken. #carrotcake #cake #sweetpotato #recipe #fyp #pug #pugsofinstagram #proteincake

This one goes out to @barbie #iamkenough Pink Lemonade Cupcakes Ingredients FOR CUPCAKES: 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 2 ½ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 1 ½ cups white sugar 1 lemon zest ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature 2 large eggs, room temperature 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ½ cup freshly squeeze lemon juice ¾ cup milk a few drops pink food coloring FOR PINK LEMONADE FROSTING: 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature 3-4 cups powdered sugar 1 lemon, zest + juice a few drops pink food Instructions For Cupcakes Heat oven to 350/180 degrees. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Add in the butter and beat until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Add the flour mixture and milk and mix. Mix in the food colouring if using. Divide the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake cupcakes for about 18-20 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely on a cooling rack. For frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on high speed until pale and smooth, about 3-4 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, lemon zest, juice and food colouring. Mix on low speed for a minute and then increase to medium-high speed to beat until well combined. Frost cupcakes with buttercream. Decorate with sprinkles and hearts and enjoy!

Let’s play some bangers and make some margaritas! @blendjet Frozen Mango Margarita! With a little twist 😉 Lime and Tajin, for the rim 1 1/2 cups silver tequila 3/4 cup Cointreau (orange liquor) 1 cup fresh lime juice 4 cups frozen mangos 1/4-1/2 cup agave syrup 3-4 cups ice Garnish 3/4 cup coconut milk (optional) Mango ice blocks Blend everything together, top with coconut cream and a mango ice block. Enjoy! . . . #mangomargarita #margarita #cocktails #cocktailrecipes #pug #pugs #pugsofinstagram #summercocktails #frozencocktails

This is how Fraser and I stay in shape while eating all the treats… White Chocolate and Raspberry Blondies Ingredients
220g salted butter
1/2 cup honey 
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup Strawberry jam
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries ICING
2 tbs melted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tbs freeze dried strawberry powder
1/4 cup hot milk
1 tsp vanilla extract Instructions Preheat the oven to 350/180 degrees. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.

Add butter to a medium pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown, until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl. Let cool 5 minutes. Whisk in the honey, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, mixing until just combined. 

Add spoonfuls of the jam to the dough. Sprinkle over the white chocolate. Then, fold the jam and chocolate into the dough, creating swirls of strawberry jam throughout.

Spread the dough out into the prepared dish. Evenly sprinkle the fresh strawberries over the dough. Bake for 22-25 minutes, just until set in the center. 

To make the icing, mix all ingredients in a bowl with 3-4 tablespoons of strawberry powder. Add additional milk to thin, as needed. 
Drizzle the glaze over the bars. Let set for 5 minutes. Cut into bars, snack, and enjoy! . . . #baking #rasberries #blondies #whitechocolateblondies #recipeoftheday #puglove #pugsofinstagram #bakingfromscratch