Seriously Good Coleslaw (not kidding)

My friends: you need this coleslaw recipe.

You need it even if you don’t like coleslaw. Trust me on this!

Why?

Fresh lime juice (or lemon, but lime is better), cilantro, a tiny bit of honey, jalapenos, good quality mayo and a whole lotta love.

This is PERFECT with fish tacos — I’ll share those another time. But the coleslaw is everything good. It’s hard to take a pretty picture of coleslaw, but this is the finished product and it’s WONDERFUL.

Please give it a go!

Seriously Good Coleslaw

• 1/2 head purple cabbage (yes, you need this. Please don’t use prepackaged shredded cabbage)

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, washed and chopped

• 1 small red onion, minced

For the dressing, combine with a whisk:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 4 Tablespoons lime or lemon juice (lime is BEST and fresh is BEST)

• 2 Tablespoons honey

• 4 minced jalapenos (pickled ones in a jar)

The rest is easy!

• Grate the purple cabbage in a bowl. Yes, yes, yes, you have to buy the head / half-head and grate it, guys. If you cheat and shred it or use the prepackaged shredded cabbage mixture it’s just NOT GOOD. I warned you, and you’ll see…it doesn’t taste great. Just don’t, okay?? Get the grater out. It’s not that hard.

• Mix in the chopped cilantro and minced red onion.

• Pour on the dressing and mix through the cabbage.

Maybe it doesn’t sound or look sensational, but honestly this Coleslaw is fabulous with fish tacos, any kind of roasted meat or chicken, great in a taco, fantastic on its own as a salad.

HAPPY FRIDAY! I know things are tricky out there in so many ways, so here I am with a quick selfie hug from my study to say…bring your wow, not theirs to Friday.

“Your wow, not theirs.”

— Merilyn Beretta

Love this idea! I’m older AND lovelier, more fun, more myself. I hope you are, too.

Let’s LOVE our age,

Catherine x

PS.

• To everyone one of you who showed your love & support by buying copies of the The 10 Minute Fix for your sisters and mothers and friends….I want to thank you with my whole heart!

• It makes a sweet gift, and so easy to post as a letter — it’s slim enough! Available in Canada, America, the UK, and Australia at Beachside Bookshop and online at Booktopia or Amazon Australia.

I'm changing. Here's how.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about COVID and all the changes it’s brought. In our house it means that two of us now work from home. We’ve always cooked our meals and rarely ever do take-away, so that hasn’t changed. And we love our own company, so we don’t feel too isolated.

But there’s this: I don’t want to shop anymore.

Do you?

In Sydney, shops are open but people are cautious. I’m sorry that retailers are having a hard time, here and around the world. I wonder if all of us are feeling grateful for what we do have, unwilling to venture out, and focused on more important things.

I’ve never been a shopper as entertainment since I’ve been married and a mum. There are so many other pursuits I want to do with my time, and all of them involve learning. Being in the mall isn’t fun for me.

That makes me think of a tiny, important message in The 10 Minute Fix: do you know what YOU find fun?

It’s Friday and we’re all heading into the weekend. Can you be intentional about adding a little of your kind of fun into your weekend?

Like last week, I’m really tempted to do this again:

Celebrating life always feels fun to me!

Gathering my family and putting on some music, tea, sparkling water or drinks, a special plate of food and good conversation — that’s my fun. Can you plan to do some of yours?

Walking. Sitting down at the piano. Grabbing your ukulele. Kitchen dancing. Waking up to see the sunrise. Preparing an old favourite family recipe. Zooming a relative from far away. Beach walk or sending a card in the post to a friend. Using the good dishes for afternoon tea. Fun earrings!

No matter what, we are so lucky.

Enjoy your weekend!

Love Catherine x

PS. Recipe is here if you missed it (more hints and tips than ‘recipe’ but worth a read if you want perfect strawberries). And little Grace…our cute Aussie 4 year old who needs a wheelchair, we’re helping her get there! Check out Grace’s page here. Thank you!

Fleur de Sel Caramels

Hello! Today, my friends, I’m spilling all my best secrets on my blog, starting with this: absolutely to-die-for Fleur de Sel Caramels — salted caramels!

A tiny bit fiddly, and you need to make them with love, but ooooo la la, they make a beautiful gift. I hear this a lot: “Will you make your Fleur de Sel Caramels as my birthday present?”

Let’s get started!

You’ll need a trip to the shops to get these key tools:

You’ll also need butter and heavy cream and white sugar. You can substitute any salt (I sometimes use pink Himalayan) but sea salt flakes make it special, and a box will make many, many batches of caramels.

Trust me: these are worth it! Recipe below…

And here’s the pep talk: you will NEVER REGRET learning to make these caramels and everyone loves them. So special for a holiday or as a gift, or if you want someone to adore you!

Also — you have to take the pan off the heat at 248 degrees F on the candy thermometer or the caramels will be too hard / overcooked or too soft / unset. So yes, you need one.

Some things are a little hard, right?

But hard things are usually WORTH IT.

Sending love and encouragement to you all today, whatever you’re facing or celebrating. I’m truly thinking of you.

Love Catherine x

PS. Need to feel a little (or a lot) better? A 10 Minute Fix update is coming next week! I love this book, and love that it’s floating around the world, helping women feel more like themselves. Available in Canada, America, the UK, and Australia at Beachside Bookshop and online at Booktopia or Amazon Australia.

The Best Pizza At Home

Hello, everyone.

Exciting days around here! Lots is happening and I can’t wait to share.

Tonight, we’ll celebrate and make pizza. I’ve had so many requests for my recipe. With two teen boys and multiple skateboarding friends, it’s a huge hit.

When it’s pizza night, I make my dough anytime during the day and leave it to rise. Here’s a pro tip: this pizza is better baked on a simple pizza stone that goes into your cold oven, and then you turn the oven as high as it goes. And it’s best to have a pizza spatula. Assemble your pizza on the spatula to slide onto the hot pizza stone.

‘You’re Always Fun To Be With’ Pizza Night Recipe

• Turn on your favourite happy music. (For me, that’s jazz!)

• In a bowl, mix together with a whisk:

  • 4.5 cups plain flour

  • 6 teaspoons dry yeast

  • 2 teaspoons salt

• Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1.5 cups warm-but-closer-to-hot water. Mix everything together with your hands a little.

• Plop the doughy mixture (loose, with flour bits and chunky bits…it doesn’t even look like it’s mixed much at this point) on the bench top.

• Knead it all together for around five minutes. You’ll wind up with a smooth ball.

• (While you knead, have a little daydream about your people. I think about my three guys, wishing them all the good things they need, and imagine me being there for them—healthy and fun and ready to listen.)

• Oil the bowl, pop the dough in, cover with cling wrap and let it sit in a warm place for at least an hour (or as long as you want). Pro tip: I heat up my oven to 150C when I start making dough, then shut it off to cool down. That’s where I put my dough to rise.

• Punch it down once, let it rise again for a while. Divide into 8 sections. Roll out thinly.

• Really important: put the pizza stone in a cold oven, turn it as high as it goes, and when super hot, bake pizza for 6 minutes.

Happy pizza night! See you Sunday.

Love, Catherine x

Exciting News!

I’m walking into this week like a puppy on a mission!

You guys, I have something SO GOOD to share with you on Sunday and I can hardly wait. In the meantime, I’m pulling long days with lots of fun planning — so please open those emails on Sunday morning.

(Did you know — I blog every Friday and Sunday morning at 11am, Sydney time?) This past week, I had a tech problem but other than that, I’m as dependable as they come.

See you Sunday at 11am (that’s Saturday night in North America).

Big news. Cannot wait!

Love Catherine x

PS.

• I’m Facebooking, and I feel ilke the Facebook monster under my bed is actually kind of…fun? You can join our private Love Our Age group here.

• Did anyone buy the orange jumper? I’ve had 10,000 compliments on it.

Bring Your Own Weather To The Picnic

On Mother’s Day, I’m thinking about my own mum. Here’s she is in her spry late 80s, stepping out at a beautiful barn dance wedding. She’s never too old to give things a whirl.

She enjoys JOY.

Wherever she goes, she brings her own weather to the picnic.

There’s probably not a greater compliment we can pay anyone.

When I think about all the people I am crazy in love with and admire — the friends I choose, the family I love, the family I’m raising — they always share that quality. They decide how the day will be.

Wherever they go, they bring their own good weather.

It’s so important to remember.

Sending you love as you celebrate your own mothers today.

Catherine x

PS.

• Exciting new is coming…please stay tuned!

• Remember these? Want the recipe? Let me know!

Back To Basics

Friends, if you’re not an egg person, look away now.

But if you are, do you remember these little gems that graced buffet tables in the 1960s and 70s when I was a kid? If you’re looking for a protein-packed snack for you or your family during lockdown — which feels a lot like “Snackdown” in our house — maybe it’s time to get back to basics.

Devilled eggs are super easy to make. I’m also aware that many families are watching their spending just now, so I hope this simple recipe helps you. You’re on my mind…and in my heart, too.

• Boil eggs.

• Cool, then peel.

• Slice in half. Put yolks in a bowl.

• Use a hand blender to mix yolks with mayonnaise and mustard, salt and pepper.

• I add finely chopped red onion and top with a sprig of coriander.

There are so many fancy recipes on the internet, and I’m not claiming mine is the best. I don’t measure anything but just kind of guesstimate the ingredients.

But here’s the best tip for filling.

Use a ziplock bag to pipe filling into the eggs. It’s disposable, easy to use, and gives a perfectly fine result. In fact, I think mine look better than those frilly piped eggs. More appetising and fresh, somehow, and less like they were made seven hours prior.

Just scoop all the filling into a ziplock, clip a wide corner from the bag and fill up those eggs. Don’t bother with a pastry bag and piping ends. Too hard to clean.

Imperfection is okay! Today I’m inviting you to just give it a whirl…whatever that “it” is.

Happy Friday, everyone.

The weekend is on the way! Hope you and yours are doing okay. I’m thinking of you.

Love, Catherine x

PS.

• Can’t wait to see you again on Sunday with some news I’ve wanted to share! I blog twice a week at Love Our Age. You are welcome to come see what I’ve been up to.

This One Is Personal...

It’s my birthday weekend.

As an aside, this is what 54 looks like on me. No make-up on yet, and early in the morning! I don’t pole dance like Jennifer Lopez and you wouldn’t want to watch me perform at the Super Bowl halftime show (ha!). I do some basic weights and lots of walking. I appreciate and love all the variations and choices of other women for them. Personally, I choose not to colour my hair or use botox. I like to be on Team Natural and my favourite add-ons are perfume and fun rings.

(You do you! Love it! I’ll do me! Love it!) I find all women’s choices inspiring and intriguing.

But the real point of my photo is this: I am at a cross roads. This is my year to make a simple decision.

Do I go all in and back myself, or not?

Advance with what I love, or retreat?

Can you relate to this? It would be so easy — so natural — to slow down now and live in my world of what has always been.

• To stay settled into the same career and same routines.

• To drift into next year.

• To believe it’s too hard to create something new.

• To stop learning.

But we have so much life left. We do! Look back at the last five years, from 2015 until now, and think about all you’ve done in those 1,825 days.

In the next five years, we will get 43,800 hours.

Is it time for all of us to get a whole lot louder, and take up more space?

Yes, I have a million voices arguing in my head about my lack of expertise, my imperfect work, my faults (many), my blind spots (also many). Do you have those voices, too?

But I have new things I want to do.

Next weekend I’m going to share a surprise — something new I’ve been working on. I’m really hoping for your support.

I wish you were here to chat about it, and we could all encourage each other to step out into our Great Unknowns.

So there you have it: happy birthday to me.

This year, I’m giving myself the gift of backing myself and being my own best friend. I hope you will, too.

Let’s love our age (together),

Catherine x

PS.

• Beautiful flowers from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law! Pearl necklace from my dear friend and blog reader, Jen. Lovely cake from my stylish friend, Jules. Thank you all for spoiling me rotten this year. I loved every second.

• A reader asked for my gluten free, no bake brownie recipe. These are so delicious. Cut into tiny squares and enjoy a small sweet treat!

Happy Easter!

Yay, holidays!

The world may be a little scary right now, but I’m trying to pause and practise gratitude.

Holidays give me — a compulsive, committed baker — a chance to whip up delicious treats. This year for Easter I decided to make cinnamon buns with cream cheese frosting.

So decadent!

Later we’ll walk the dog and share a meal together. The sun is out here in Sydney, and my eldest son has planned to do most of the cooking. My youngest cleaned up the garage without being asked.

Every one of these things — sunshine, a dog we love, a meal together, family, a safe home with no one unwell, a garage to clean — go on my gratitude list. As a family, we also have the capacity to help out with COVID care for others, and I’m grateful for that.

Wishing you and yours a beautiful weekend, with lots of small things to be thankful for…

Love Catherine x

PS.

• Want the recipe for these Cinnabon copy-cat cinnamon buns with frosting? Let me know!

• My favourite reader comments from Friday’s post about creating a ‘secret zone’ in your home: on Vancouver Island, Elizabeth and her husband have turned their living room into a temporary gym. Near New York, Colleen is having nightly ‘private’ dance parties with DJ Questlove on YouTube. So many other great ideas, too: kitchen table turned mask-sewing studio, starting a new podcast in a closet-studio :), growing herbs in a cut-open bag of soil on a balcony. Love your ingenuity!! Read about my secret zone here.

Delicious (Healthy-ish) Raw Brownies

Craving sweets?

I hear you! This has been a crazy time for trying to keep healthy, so I thought I’d share my favourite no bake brownies.

Welcome to my kitchen! If you’re new, you need to know that I’m an author and a baker. My comfort zone is standing at this bench top creating delicious treats for family and friends. I’ve had to stop myself from baking every day during this pandemic.

Yesterday, I caved and made these to share with you. They’re delicious, easy and a little bit healthy (no sugar, but one cup of dates).

Raw Brownie Bites

• 1 1/2 cups walnuts

• 1 cup pitted dates

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• pinch of salt

Chop the nuts finely in a food processor. Remove. Chop the dates roughly with a knife — you may want to warm them a little in the microwave to make this easier — and then whiz in a food processor. (I’m not gonna lie…this can be a pain in the backside! Persevere. It’s worth it.)

Combine cocoa, dates, nuts, salt and vanilla together. Mix by hand or in a food processor. You’ll get a sticky ball of delicious mixture.

Wrap in baking paper and refrigerate. Slice. Serve.

These brownies will be PERFECT when things are back to normal and you invite that gluten-free, dairy-free vegan friend over for lunch.

Also PERFECT during a global pandemic when you want to be a little bit healthy while having a tiny sweet treat.

Easy. You might have everything in your pantry now…

Enjoy your Sunday. Together, we’ll get through this to the other side.

Catherine x

PS. Hello, new friends. Thanks for joining us! Read more fun posts here!

Mauve, violet, grey...celebrate!

Today I’m showing you something pretty…just because we can.

I believe with my whole heart that it’s always a good idea to have a ‘celebration dress’ in my closet.

A stylist friend of mine showed me this mauve-violet-grey dress and urged me to get it. Today, it’s on sale in Australia for a ridiculously low price. If I loved Math, I would say it’s something like 75% off full price.

And it is just so pretty: fully lined, crafted from heavy, lovely fabric.

Want to take a look?

Here it is on a model. (Currently I’m drinking coffee in my pjs and writing, so not as easy to photograph it on myself - ha!) But trust me, it looks equally pretty even in a larger size than she’s wearing.

The colour is beautiful, the neckline isn’t too plunge-y, the fabric is thick enough that it smooths and holds everything together. In short, if you need a fancy, beautifully made dress (no regrets!) this one is it.

You’re welcome!

If you’re ready to celebrate at a moment’s notice, that event will often come along.

Enjoy today…let’s love our age.

Catherine x

Love Our Age: a Manifesto!

Oh, I could write a book about this!

When I was dreaming up LOVE OUR AGE, I spent nearly 18 months thinking about what it meant to enjoy the last half of my life.

I started with 15 life lessons, and narrowed it down to these — the way I am and the way I want to be.

Let’s Love Our Age ~ a manifesto

1. Choose happiness.

2. Be a beginner.

3. Start today.

4. Have some fun — and be fun to live with.

5. Believe in love.

6. Make honest things (not perfect things).

7. Live beautifully.

8. Love our age.

Thank you for following along on this journey…and please let me know if there’s anything you’d add to the list!

Love Catherine x