ANZAC mango cheesecake

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In what can only be described as a momentary lapse in judgment, I decided to do our weekly grocery shop with three kids in tow today. You see, I normally do my weekly shop online. Items are ordered from the comfort of home, they arrive the following day and are delivered literally to my kitchen bench. How easy it that!?

I’m not really sure why I decided to ignore my weekly ritual today.  I did tell myself that it might be nice to do a little aisle wander, see what was on special and what new items had arrived on the shelves. How naïve was I!

For what actually ensued was 3 bored kids who argued and moaned the moment we selected a trolley,  and were well and truly over the whole experience before we even got through aisle 1. It also meant that way too many treats snuck their way into the trolley – and the bill at the end was much more than I would ordinarily spend.

One saving grace was the lovely mangoes we picked up – at a price indicative that the warmer months are coming. And they quickly reminded me of this lovely little cheesecake we made a while back for our Father’s Day linner.

With ANZAC biscuits as the base, this no-bake cheesecake was jazzed up with a jelly layer and topped with fresh mango and passionfruit. I followed this recipe , substituting the lime jelly for mango jelly, and foregoing the mint leaves (only because I didn’t have any on hand).

The result was a beautifully tropical dessert that was pretty easy to pull together – and that could be made a day in advance.

But yes, in case there is any doubt, I will be going back to my regular online grocery order from next week…

Costco finds

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I am not opposed to Costco, as such. But when I was informed that I could not even enter the recently opened Costco without being a member, well it really had no appeal to me. For why would I spend $90 on a membership before I even knew whether the store was something that (a) I would like and (b) that I would actually frequent? The concept just seems so counter-intuitive to me. However, over the weekend I relented on my rather uninspiring Costco protest when an opportunity to have a ‘gander’ at the store with my sister in law arose. And let’s just say I did not walk away empty handed. IMG_4329
Returning home with some ‘essential’ items, but also some ‘not so essential’ items Winking smile  M&Ms for him, peanut butter for her. IMG_4330 Some of my favourite muesli bars, and a rather large bag of quinoa. IMG_4331 Laundry supplies… IMG_4335 Baby wipes and newborn nappies (which we plan to use initially, then switch to cloth). IMG_4338 And, in a moment of pure indulgence, a ginormous bag of my favourite sweet treat. IMG_4333 I could not resist. So what did I think of Costco? Truthfully, it was ok. Suitable and useful for a purpose, but probably not somewhere I would frequent all that often. Although, it was rather busy when we were there, suggesting that the broader community is enjoying the opportunity to buy in bulk. What about you? Are you a Costco fan?