Raspberry and Chocolate Muffins (plus some muffin tips!)

Why hello there! It has been a while I apologise, a fair bit of news but will stick to the essentials and will try my hardest to curb my rambling habit.
Firstly, my partner Pete and I have found ourselves in Paihia, Bay of Islands, in New Zealand's Northern island. It is absolutely stunning here, quite a small town but a major tourist spot in the busy summer season. After buying a campervan in Auckland we traveled up the East coast and decided to stop off here to find work for over the summer period. We were both very lucky in finding jobs, Pete as a barista/waiter in a lounge bar on the wharf, and myself as a pasta cook/waitress in an Italian restaurant. I have learnt an awful lot and it has been amazing so far. I feel so lucky to have landed a cooking job that required no previous professional experience. To begin with I was 100% certain I wasn't going to be able to cope, contemplating bailing after the first few days! But I really am proud of how, after nearly 2 months, I feel confident with my abilities in that kitchen and have even helped train up others. So it has been a big learning curve!

At Pete's work place, tea time treats like muffins are a big seller with the tea and coffee. Every morning a fresh batch of muffins is made, and with a bit of hanging around and hint dropping I have managed to land myself the task of morning muffin maker! :) As I work nights, I have all day free to hang around Pete's work place, helping free of charge but probably just making a nuisance out of myself!

Raspberry Bakewell Cake

I love Summer. I mean I reallyreally adore it. Winter definitely has it's positives, there is little more comforting than snuggling up in front of the fire in the living room on a nippy evening, munching on toasted marshmallows or chestnuts, but when Summer comes around everyone seems to walk around with such a happier outlook on life. People in the street just seem...smiley! And one of the BEST things about Summer to me is berries. If I had to choose between a life devoid of fruit or a life without sweet treats, I'm afraid I would have to give up the sugary sweets (but lets not even think about this as ever being a possibility)

I get through an obscene amount of berries in these few months, it's an expensive addiction, but I very rarely bake with them because, in all honesty, I eat them before they get a chance to be made into something else! But this time I saw a recipe I fancied and, determined to make it come to life, bought the berries especially (I hope you appreciate the self discipline required for the one night they were sat in the refrigerator)