Table of contents for TAK2527 in Take 5

One of my favourite stories this week has to be Jenna’s. The baker, who comes up with genius marketing ideas to promote her business, was inspired by Robert Irwin’s recent photoshoot for Bonds, which broke the internet. Jenna persuaded her dad to pose in his jocks, just like Robert, and before he could back out, she’d secured a photographer for first thing the next morning! We love people with a great sense of humour as much as we love a donut, so combining the two gave us all a good giggle. We just wish we were visiting the Sunny Coast sometime soon so we could try one of Jenna’s chocolate-headed donut snakes! Check out her story on page 19. Amy’s on page 54 had us laughing, too. She got the…

The sun cast a golden glow on the calm, blue sea. I turned and saw a beautiful, smiling figure walking along the beach towards me. My fiancée Jade reached my side and our wedding ceremony began. “Do you take this woman to be your wife?” the celebrant asked. “Yes, I do,” I replied. Jade and I had jetted off to Thailand to get married. It felt like paradise and was the best day of my life. We’d met as teenagers. She was energetic, fun and free-spirited. She loved travelling, so even after we were married we both worked hard to go on more holidays. We had just returned from a trip to Turkey, when Jade started suffering from nausea. She came out of the bathroom one evening with a smile…

Sticky honey & macadamia chocolate cake SERVES 10-12 PREP 20 MINS COOK 50 MINS ¾ cup honey, warmed 2 cups unsalted macadamias 150g butter, softened 1 cup caster sugar 3 eggs, separated 100g dark chocolate, melted ¾ cup self-raising flour ½ cup plain flour 2 tbsp cocoa ¾ cup buttermilk 1 Lightly grease and line a 2 2cm round springform cake pan with baking paper. Pour warmed honey over base of pan. Sprinkle with macadamias. Freeze  15 mins.  2  In a medium bowl, using  an electric mixer, beat butter and caster sugar until creamy. Beat in yolks, one at a time, until well combined. Lightly mix in melted chocolate. Fold in sifted combined flours and cocoa alternately with buttermilk. 3  In a clean small bowl,  beat egg whites until soft peaks form.…

EDITORIAL Editorial Director Kate Kirsten, Editor Rachel Williams, Deputy Editor Kim Bonett, Art Director Fiona Parsons, Picture Editor Vanessa Mckenzie ARE MEDIA Chief Executive Officer Jane Huxley, Director of Sales Anna Quinn, Director of Content Sally Eagle, General Manager Entertainment Susan Armstrong, Commercial Brand Manager Jessica Ashworth, Director of Marketing Carly Bowra Subscription enquiries: Customer Service 136 116 (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm AEST) International +61 2 9692 3535 Email magshop@magshop.com.au Website www.magshop.com.au Advertising enquiries: advertising@aremedia.com.au Published by Are Media Pty Limited (ABN 18 053 273 546), 54-58 Park Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. ©2024. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without prior written permission. Take5 is a registered trade mark of Are Media. Use of trademark strictly prohibited. Licensing Inquiries: www.contentshop.com.au / syndication@aremedia.com.au Printed…

I ran away from my family… and found myself Monique van Tulder, 57, Sydney, NSW. Pulling into the garage, I turned to look at the bags of groceries. Yet another job that’s up to me, I groaned, hauling them inside. As the family’s ‘Chief Domestic Officer’, I held everything together. From making sure my husband Michael, 59, had what he needed to thrive in his finance job, to juggling the routines of our young adult sons, I did it all – the cooking, the laundry, plus caring for my ageing in-laws. And at 54, I was battling menopause. I’m burning out, I realised. I need a radical change. Decades ago, we’d been lucky enough to buy a small holiday home in the Whitsundays. So, to get away, I flew up…

Linda Kelly-Lawless, 63, Mt Gambier, SA. Hopping off the school bus, I walked to my front door. It was 1970, and I was eight years old. Inside, my mum, Joan, was waiting at the dinner table. “I need to tell you something,” she said nervously. “Your dad isn’t your biological father.” I went numb. She didn’t explain why she chose to tell me, or who my birth father was, only that he was an older man. From the anxious look on her face, it was clear I wasn’t meant to ask questions. He must be married, with another family of his own, I assumed. I felt ashamed, but it made sense – I didn’t look like my younger sisters. Laurie, the man I knew as Dad, came into the room…

My wish came true! Christine, 63, Ballarat, Vic. My eyes blinked open, and a huge grin spread across my face as I remembered where I was. “Home,” I said aloud. My new home! Finally, at the age of 43, I had more independence. I had an intellectual disability, and I’d just moved into an assisted living home with other women living with disabilities. Before this, I’d lived with my mum, and it had taken years of advocacy from her to get me in here. I loved living with Mum, who had been my main carer up until this point, but as I got older, I noticed that not many women my age still lived with their parents. I wanted that independence, too, to help me grow as a person. Mum…

Pancakes with bananas & hot pecan sauce SERVES 4 PREP 15 MINS COOK 40 MINS 11⁄3 cups self-raising flour 1 tbsp caster sugar 300ml milk 1 egg Butter, for frying 2 bananas, sliced Ice-cream, to serve (optional) HOT PECAN SAUCE 90g milk chocolate, chopped ½ cup cream ¼ cup chopped pecans, toasted, plus extra to serve 1 Sift flour into a bowl. Stir in sugar and make a well in the centre. 2 In a jug, whisk milk and egg together. Gradually whisk into dry ingredients until smooth. Set aside 20 mins. 3 Heat a large frying pan on medium. Add a little butter. Add 1/3 cups of batter to pan. Cook 2-3mins, until bubbles appear and break on surface. Turn and cook a further 1-2mins. Stack and keep warm.…

Strangers used my boyfriend to fulfil their sick fantasies – then left him for dead Bobbie Cowan, 27. My children were supposed to be asleep in bed, but I could hear giggles floating down the stairs. “What’s going on up there?” I shouted. My boyfriend, Calum, poked his head over the banister. “Sorry,” he said with a grin. “We had a tickling competition and now they can’t stop laughing!” I had to smile. Every time Calum was in charge of bedtime, it was always the same. Instead of settling them down, he hyped them up – especially now he was living with us again. Calum and I met at a house party in 2015. I was 17 and he was a year older. He was funny, kind, and so handsome…

Veggie-packed crispy pork ramen SERVES 4 PREP 20 MINS COOK 25 MINS 500g pork mince 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger 2 cloves garlic, crushed ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 tbsp light soy sauce 20g packet frozen edamame 1 cup frozen corn kernels 180g ramen noodles 1 large carrot, shredded 100g red cabbage, finely shredded 2 soft-boiled eggs, halved Sliced green onion, chopped chilli, seaweed strips (optional), to serve BROTH 1 brown onion, thinly sliced 1 litre chicken stock 2 tbsp white miso paste 1 BROTH Heat an oiled, large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Cook brown onion, stirring, for 5 mins or until softened. Add stock, 2 cups water and miso paste, stir well to combine and melt miso. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer…

Giving back gave me purpose Miriam Hateley, 66, Cranbourne, Vic. Shuffling in my seat in the doctor’s waiting room, I felt jittery. Finally, my name was called. “I think you know what I’m going to say,” my doctor said. It was the news I’d been dreading. “Your sciatic nerve in your back and arthritis aren’t improving,” he said. “If you continue doing manual labour, you won’t get any relief from your symptoms.” “What about my job?” I said, panicking. “I would consider visiting Centrelink,” he replied. My mind whirled. I’d worked since I was 18. First as a flight attendant, then as a market gardener after my two kids started school. The job involved long days of weeding and planting. Now, after nearly 20 years, it had taken a toll.…

CANCER June 22 -July 23 Spiritual breakthroughs, intuitive flashes, and a new connection to the ‘unseen’ are all coming your way. And if all that sounds a little weird – it might be! Do change up your spiritual practises if they’re feeling stale. It’s time for you to unplug. ★ Start tuning into the cosmos a bit more. LIBRA Sept 24 -Oct 23 Just when you thought you had it all worked out and you knew what was what, your beliefs are about to evolve. You’re being invited to break free from old philosophies and explore bold new horizons. An exciting new cycle begins. ★ You may start to change your life philosophies. LEO July 24 – Aug 23 Your social life is due for an electric update. Your friends,…