Today I Love….Aussie Farmers Direct!

Convenience is a wonderful thing….recently my car has broken down…..which makes it hard to get my groceries sometimes.

My BFF has used Farmers Direct for a while now….she only lives 200m from the shops but is a student and I guess she loves the convenience but now I know what else she loves about this service!

 

We are planning to get the Victorian Couples Pack on a fortnightly basis (=$13 per week)….we got the first delivery and all seemed well….we put everything away and came home the next day to a horrible smell emanating from the fridge – out goes the parsley and the spinach – not good – there was some sort of funny, musty smell coming from both of them.

So I wasn’t sure whether or not to continue with it; I was however encouraged by my friend and her great experience with the service.

So the lovely farmer man actually rang me….and asked if I was happy….I was shocked!

I explained what had occurred and he offered to send us a free box for the products that were not quite right and we also discussed the midday delivery time and the amount of time the box was perhaps left in the sun and then the possibility of me leaving an esky out the front for the next delivery of produce….of course I forgot to leave the esky out – so we got the new box and everything is wonderful again – we even got a mango! We’re quite excited about this one!

When we brought the box inside, the Big Man explained to me that the box was in a different position from last time. On the last delivery, the box was left on the sunshine bearing wall of the doorstep and not tucked nicely in the corner like the 2^nd delivery was. Kudos to them! I am a very happy customer now!!

Mongolian Girl and Camel (clipped to polyvore.com)

So as you all know, the Big Man is a complete and utter carnivore and the idea of any fruits or vegetables in our house just revolts him! Except when the little munchkins come to stay and he has to set an ‘example’ – it is quite hilarious watching him eat his vegies when they are here and trying not to gag!

So anyway, this week, we got:

• 2x Fuji Apples
• 2x sundowner Apples
• 1x Canteloupe
• 1x Mango
• 2x Oranges
• 3x Green Pears (last week we got brown pears and they are just yummo!)
• 1x Bok Choy Bunch
• 2x Broccoli heads
• 2x Carrots (last week we got a whole bag so we still have some leftover)
• 1x Mint bunch
• 2x Brown Onions
• 1x Butternut Pumpkin
• 1x Potatoes 1kg bag (pink skin) From South Australia and the plastic bag even has recipes on the back!
• 2x (roma) tomatoes
• 1x gourmet lettuce green middle and red/brown edges

And here is my plan of what to do with it (for two people – note he had a pear tonight, so he is converting!)

The box of goods comes with a list, so I sit down after I’ve admired and put everything away and work out how to use it in the best way.

• 2x Fuji Apples – Lunches
• 2x Sundowner Apples – Lunches
• 1x Cantaloupe – Gift for my Dad because he absolutely loves cantaloupes and this one is gorgeous!
• 1x Mango – Smoothie – preferably alcoholic (my own special recipe!)
• 2x Oranges – Lunches/Juice (Mr. 6 adores fresh orange juice even though it’s such a pain to do he sucks me in every time!)
• 3x Green Pears (last week we got brown pears and they are just yummo!) – Lunches or Dessert
• 1x Bok Choy Bunch – Vegie stiy fry for my work lunch (make on weekend and freeze)
• 2x Broccoli heads – Vegie Stir Fry or Soup one night when man wants meat and I need vegetables
• 2x Carrots (last week we got a whole bag so we still have some leftover) – Roast/Vegie Stir Fry Conveniently I have a Beef Topside Roast in the fridge and now we have all the other ingredients for tomorrow nights dinner!
• 1x Mint bunch – Freeze in ice cube trays with water for Summer drinkies, garnish for Vegie Stir Fry and Broccoli and Pumpkin Soup. Update: Homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream shall be attempted tomorrow!!
• 2x Brown Onions – Roast/Vegie Stir Fry
• 1x Butternut Pumpkin – I will roast the whole pumpkin (chopped) with the beef and then use the remainder of the pumpkin for a quick soup for the following week.
• 1x Potatoes 1kg bag (pink skin) From South Australia – and the plastic bag even has recipes on the back! – Roast and use 1 or 2 in the soups above as well.
• 2x (roma) tomatoes – Lunches
• 1x gourmet lettuce – Lunches

I realise this amount of produce may not keep or even last wo people for a 2 week period, but we hate to throw anything away and waste food so we will just see how far I can make it stretch. Without a car right now and not knowing how I’m getting home from work every afternoon, this is a real help for me.

From last week, we still have a fair bit of fruit left as we haven’t quite got used to all this fresh produce yet. That’s ok though, I’m sure I’ll figure out a fruit crumble or something like that!

The cos lettuce was great and is half used by now and the chinese cabbage – oh yeah! This is now a vegie stir fry ingredient with the rest as above = hooray!

We also got the standard tomatoes, onions (used within a day or two), pears, oranges and apples (the funny spinach and parsley as described above) and I also got a Globe Artichoke – which I have never eaten in my entire life and have absolutely no idea what to do with.

That one is being gifted to vegetarian (but bacon eating – yeah, I know, don’t even go there!) – Mother.

She will know what to do with it.

Today I Love….my melamine…..

This post has been a while in the making…..sorry for my absence all you beautiful people!

I don’t know about you, but I seriously, totally and completely ADORE melamine!!!

 

OK I am kitsch,

I am vintage,

I am old skool,

I run around town with the pedal to the metal!

Oh!

What?

Sorry…….

 I cannot get enough of my plastic cups….wine glasses, to be more specific.

Although I do enjoy the odd plastic plate or bowl every now and again, wine glasses would have to be my favourite! We also have the obligatory plastic cups etc for the kids – but we are talking about me here – “Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?”

 

There are a number of reasons for my plastic obsession….I am afraid to say…..well not only can I get drunk and not worry about breaking anything – what? Oh there I go again……

 The big man washes all our dishes – ‘what a lovely man!’, I hear you exclaim! Yes, he is…..but please note said BIG bohemath man cannot wash anything that is nice or fine or delicate…..without breaking it!

 So I searched on the internet – I can get a bulk amount of plastic glasses for my function; no problemmos – but I only want 6!

 The girls and I had a lovely trip to the Taste of Melbourne Festival – we had an extremely gorgeous day out thanks to my free tickets and some delightful food and beverages!

We strolled past the Plumm stand….and we stopped…..the man behind the counter was very personable and he talked us into their deal – $20 (?) for 3 (or 4?) tastings and you get to keep the glass! Well, that sounds like an awesome deal – we are ALL IN!

I grab the glass – oh, sorry I delicately grasp the drinking implement…..

OMG it’s *&^$&*#@^%&%^&^ PLASTIC!!!!! What? No? How? When? Why? Where? How come I did not find this on the wonderful interweb? Oh, ok these glasses are only available in BULK….ie. The function glasses I already found! DAMMIT! OK, I say to the lovely personable salesman – how much for 6? Yep, bang, deal done – SOLD – done and dusted…..and I walked out with my 6 glasses – I only paid for 5 as I pointed out that my tasting deal already included the freebie glass and where was I going to transport that? Mucho goodness on the plastico…..

I don’t know if you will be able to purchase the plastic pleasure I now have in my household, but you can always hound plumm and try my dears!! I now see I got a definite BARGAIN! Go here and hound the lovely Plumm people….

Oh wow! You’ll never guess what happened tonight!!?? The big man tested them and oh look they bounce!! They passed the test then…..I LOVE these glasses!!! Yay!

Oh – Happy Birthday to me – not my blog – dunno when that was – I’ll work it out one day – 13^th October – everybody say hooray for Cat!

EDIT 31st Oct – LOOKIE what I found in the paper this weekend!!!

Glass No More!!!

Today I Love……A Real Aussie Meal Deal…….

A real Aussie Meal….

Sorry, I got distracted looking up “Aussie”

Hello!! It’s been a while, I know – Apologies!

Still here, still kicking; did some blog tweaks tonite….some of you may even notice a difference (*prays and hopes*) – my links are on it now!

Pinterest? DO.NOT.EVEN.GO.THERE.

With the complete and absolute awesomeness of this website – even more and more and more beautiful stunning pictures of precious lovely products and ideas for me to look at every single day! Brilliant, I say! Bloody Brilliant!

Ah, this is apparently a monkey…..cute! 🙂

Anyhoo……back to the topic………Aussie? Oi!

“Aussie, aussie, aussie! Oi, oi, oi!!”

I am that Australian that I actually OWN a badge that says Oi!

WITH the punctuation and everything…..I’ll try and find it if you want me to….

When I was a child, I collected badges….I passed most of them on to my (other) little cousin as he also does the same thing (!) but kept the special ones that could not ever be replaced for me…..

 Damn….I’ve done it again! BACK to the TOPIC Catrina….

Note to you and me: I’d be completely stuffed if I had a word limit on my blog!

 Lately….we’ve been eating a lot of chicken….I like chicken….

BUT the big man….is obviously a BIG man and big men need the……..MEAT!

Well, apparently they do, and this one does as well…..

I’ve been even more turned off lately by reading (and hearing) about the bowel cancer levels in meat eaters and problems later in life that people suffer when they eat a lot of (red) meat. Skinny Bitch? Do you know what I am talking about???!!?? Well, you should! Look it up!!

 The big man says, I’m sick of chicken! Oh, OK, let me see what I can do about that my gorgeous sweet ‘sun and stars’….(see: Game of Thrones reference!)

 Tonight I went to the shops; had a look at the meat in the butcher and went to Coles…..I don’t think I need to explain much further when I tell you I went back to the butcher…..check this out for a gorgeous slab of true blue aussie beef!!!

Served with crunchy chips, thick onion gravy and a dirty fried egg = GOLD on a plate!!!

YUM!! Nite, nite now……xxx

Today I love….rocking my lunch!!!

So much to blog about….soooo little time….

I know you all find it as hard as me to think up new and exciting food to take to work for lunch…because when I look for ‘work lunch ideas’ on the internet – the results are a sorry state of affairs!

So we have the standard sandwich press and microwave at work- would be nice if we had a toaster as well because raisin toast is seriously the best thing for work breakfasts – second close is porridge, but that’s all another story now; be patient my pretties!

I’ve been through the can of soup and a roll, the leftovers from home, the fresh and the toasted sandwiches, tuna/baked beans in a can and I AM OVER THEM ALL!!!

I wish I had the time and the energy to make my lunch look like this every damn day! How these mothers have the time or the skill to do this is ‘Top Secret” though……

They make it sound so easy!

“Today’s “detective themed” lunch includes:  roast beef, white american cheese sandwich, watermelon slices, almonds, snap peas, celery & peanut butter“

OK, what about this then?

Today’s lunch includes: ham/cheese sandwich, blueberries/raspberries, cucumbers, almonds, Trader Joe’s Ginger Snaps

How long do you think this actually takes to prepare?

Stuff that, I say……

Here is my top 10 ‘different’ work lunches:

1. Quesadilla – a tortilla or flat bread, refried beans from the can, cheese and either bottled or home made salsa (from last nights dinner = easy, peasy!). You can whack some salad on there too after cooking if you feel like being a rabbit.

2. Pizzaola toastie – sliced bread, cheese, fresh sliced tomato and green capsicum strips – salt and pepper is a must on this one people!

3. Felafels – these keep so well in the freezer! Make them yourself or get them from your best local kebab joint. Wrap a few in a tortilla or flat bread, heat it up a little in the micro and whack some lettuce and sweet chilli sauce on that deliciousness!

4. Baked potatoes – do them the night before – in the micro if you are not cooking them for your dinner and then top them with BUTTER, cheese, tomato, maybe some sliced ham or whatever you feel – and you will have a meal!

5. Rice paper rolls – so easy to keep in the cupboard and easy to wrap with the leftover vegies and meat from your dinner. Or keep a bag of frozen vegies in the freezer and add some 2 minute noodles to those babies and you have a lovely rice paper lunch! Add some soy and chilli sauce in some little plastic containers and you will be rocking your lunch a a la bento-ish as much as we human people possibly can!

6. A plain and simple ole egg – I have one of those groovy auto egg boilers – get up in the morning – whack the egg in with the amount of water required – shower and by the time you are done, so is you egg! Note: you may need to run for the buzzer if you spend too much time under that water but then that will teach you a lesson as well! What do I do with the egg you say? Well, if you are well trained, you will already your work staples (see list below) so you defrost some bread, whack it on some crackers with some other condiments and a la we have lunch!

7. OK, I’m reverting to a staple for this one but I love it – sliced bread, topped with BBQ flavour baked beans and cheese – cooked between the sandwich press – you will feel like you are glamping at work!

8. Kind of a staple here – tuna patties – so easy to make with your leftover mashed potato from dinner – and they freeze very well – so I always have some on hand ready to go to work with me!

9. Salad – good for a hot day when it’s too hot to even care about food – I go to the shop on the way to work and grab a lettuce, carrot and some assorted greens, cucumber and maybe a mushie or two as well. Salad dressing should be in your fridge at work already. (see list below) .

10. Home made soups – always freeze well and are ten times better than the canned ones and we all know that! My recipe for cauliflower soup will follow if you be nice now biatches…….

Here is my staples list for your work food cupboard – here’s hoping you can find a stash somewhere like me!

1. Mustard – multi-purpose – whatever floats your boat

2. Salad dressing – as above

3. Cream cheese – jar or block or as above

4. Red onion – I keep mine in a little onion keeper – very good and highly recommended! Lasts for 3-4 days for me.

5. Fresh tomatoes

6. Cheese – sliced, block or as above – whatever floats your boat

7. Crackers

8. Bread in the freezer

9. Chocolate

10. Chewing gum

11. Sweet chilli sauce

12. Soy sauce

13. Porridge and/or cereal

14. Canned soups/cup-a-soups

15. Salt and Pepper

16. Herbal Teas

17. Freshly ground coffee

18. Vegemite

19. Nuts

20. Nut slice – this is awesome – more details to follow!

Looking at that, it seems a pretty big list, but most of it will fit in your drawer at work (hopefully!) and in one shelf of the fridge – so that’s fair isn’t it??? The boys have their beer in my fridge….so I have my staples as well!

OK, phew I’m done – it’s really hard isn’t it???

Hit me with your ORIGINAL tips for easy and different work lunches……

Today I love….Butter, butter, butter…oi, oi, oi!!!

Creamy yellow butter….

What can possibly be better than having some beeeeauuuutiful butter on a cold winters day on a crusty fresh slice of bread?

Or….at night time on creamy mashed potatoes…..

Or….for Breakfast on hot pancakes….

Or….some garlic butter?

Everybody say mmm, mmm, mmmmmmm……

So, here it is…..

YES, You CAN Make your OWN Butter!

I can’t believe it’s……..BUTTER!!!

Sorry had to put that one in…..

I use my Sunbeam food processor with the whisk attachment….no problems there at all….

I use 600ml thickened cream…..

Whack the cream in the bowl and add a pinch of salt….

Turn it on….I did mine on 1 the whole time and it only took about 5-7 minutes….you start lookin’ like this….

Then after a bit you’ll get it lookin’ like this….

When it starts to go splatter like this…..

Pour it all out into a strainer with a bowl, yes a bowl underneath to catch your lovely fresh Buttermilk…and then….you need to squeeze allllll the milk outta that butter baby!!!

“Je te plumerai la”

Whack that butter in a lovely pretty little ceramic dish or you could go old-fashioned style with some baking paper; roll it up and tie off the ends….

Look at that beeeeauuuutiful Buttermilk…..

I didn’t realise how easy it was….and I didn’t realise a lot of people don’t know this as well….what other things do you know of that seem really hard to make but turn out not so bad? I have a few up my sleeve for you…..

But wait, there’s more – Deep Fried Butter…. 🙂

Today I Love….Hot Potato Martini….

I’m back – No, I’m serious – I believe I’ve found that mojo thingy now….yes, you read it correctly people….

Oh and hey, google this topic and this post is pretty much all you will find!! Anyhoo….

Yummy, yummy in my tummy!

Baked potatoes that is…I believe I have spoken about my beloved Hasselback potatoes as well?? They are seriously and wonderfully so easy to make….

I think I really should have made a tag called “Baked Potatoes” for my blog like my “Mexican” tag cos I just L.O.V.E them soooo much!!

And oh decadence and oh sophistication, here I come!

With my big, fat, hot and steaming……Baked Potato!!!

Whoever thought of this should get a medal or a gold star or one of those awesome little smiley stamps that everyone loves and always uses now! 🙂

My fave Baked Potato topping is…..a whole lotta garlicky butter….and it’s gotta be real butter, sorry folks….topped off with some crispy, crunchy bacon, melted cheese (lots of that!), a little bit of coleslaw and some spring onions and sour cream to garnish…yeah I’m pretty boring and regular with my baked potatoes – what’s your fave recipe for them??? xxx

Note: I will update the toppings on this soon…..as stated previously I cannot even find where I found this little beauty!! So far I know we have bacon, sour cream and….. ;0

Ventanas Atlanta GA – Loaded Baked Potato In A Martini Glass | Foodspotting

All pics courtesy weheartit.com

Except the main pic which was sourced from twitter pics – source t.b.a

Oh and I just had to show you this cos I love it so much – print available on etsy.com – let me know if you would like the link x

Today I love….Choc Chic

Oooh, oooh, ah-ha!

You’ll be saying that too after you see these little beauties!!

Go on!

 

The two best things ever in this world – shoes and chocolate….are now combined!!! Wish I had thought of this idea….if only they would ship to me down under!

Here are just a few of their designs:

I love this from their site as well:

“Serving suggestion

We’ve heard people like to fill their chocolate shoes with champagne, drink the champagne from the shoe, then eat the shoe. Sounds good to us”

Chocolate Shoes and Handbags | Bristol chocolate shoe and Handbag makers

Today I love….A $1000 Ice Cream Sundae

You wouldn’t read about it…..I was telling my Mr. Big just the other night about this lovely little (well HUGE actually) concoction and ta da!!

One of my top 100 fave celebs (another post on the way about this folks!) a la Kandee Johnson went to the restaurant that serves this obscene dish!!!

Golden Opulence sundae

$1,000

First dates looking to impress or sweet-sixteens in search of something special strike gold, quite literally, at Serendipity 3, the legendary New York City eatery where celebs are often spotted. The restaurant’s golden opulence sundae is covered in 23-carat edible gold leaf and is also rich in flavor thanks to Tahitian vanilla ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla beans and chunks of rare Chuao chocolate from Venezuela.

In lieu of Hershey’s syrup and a maraschino cherry, this sundae is drizzled with one of the world’s most expensive chocolates, from Amedei Porcelana, and then adorned with candied fruits, gold covered almonds, chocolate truffles and marzipan cherries.

The dish also features a dollop of sweet Grande Passion caviar served with a mother of pearl spoon and a gilded sugar flower. The whole shebang looks as good as it tastes, served in a Baccarat crystal goblet (yours to keep) with an 18-carat gold spoon (not included).

Menu pic courtesy: Facebook | Kandee Johnson’s Photos – Wall Photos

Today I love….Greek Balls….

Ok….yeah, yeah….apologies in advance for the post title….

Not this sort of Greek Balls!!!

NO NO NO You bad, bad people!!!

Oh, damn…not these ones either….

Source: Google “Greek Balls”…go to images….you will unfortunately find these pics and many more gems!!!(???)

BUT ANYWAY:

THIS is what I’m talkin’ ’bout Willis…..

Catrina’s Greek Balls

So go and get yourself about 500g lamb mince –

Safeway is normally the place to find it but we found it at Coles tonight as well!

Then mix it up in a bowl with:

1/2 diced onion

Fresh coriander seeds – ground…or coriander powder

Oregano to taste

1 Egg

2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs

2 tsp crushed garlic

Diced fresh parsley (from your garden – of course!)

Make the mix up and shape it into lovely little balls…..about 3cm big

Fry them up till they are hot and toasty and then serve the lovely balls on top of a fresh pita bread with Tabouli, sliced onion, tomato and lettuce as well if you like – don’t forget the yogurt/cucumber/garlic dip = Tzatziki!!

Then….roll it up and go, go, go for your Greek Balls!!!

Today I love….Meringue Rings

I’m a fidgeter…what about you???

I like to fidget….so I believe I really, really, really need one of these…or maybe more than one???

I love, love, love them so much I just want to eat them all up right now!!!

“Check out this tasty looking ring! The important word to look out for in the previous sentence is ‘looking’, the ring might look like a tasty little meringue, but unfortunately (or fortunately) they are not made out of egg whites and sugar, but industrial grade silicone, the kind of stuff that’s in your bathroom…But lets look at this in detail, shall we? Designed to look just like a little meringue, these rings are absolutely uber-delish. The silicone that’s used by German designer Tanja Hartmann makes those rings look so real that you immediately want to start sucking on them. Luckily they are made out of silicone and not sugar and egg whites, because that makes them a lot more durable then the real thing and trust us, sucking on your finger doesn’t really go down all that well in public.

In any case, the ring comes in 3 sizes, and whilst the silicone is stretchy, don’t opt for the smaller size, it will be so tight that it’s uncomfortable!

Now order the ring and start googling for the meringue recipe, we can tell you’re already anxious for a soft and fluffy sugar thingy…”

And they are cheap, cheap, cheap!!! Yay for us!!!

Charles & Marie

What do you think?

Well, my meringue recipe is now definitely coming and on the way folks….stay tuned!!!!

All images courtesy We Heart It

Meringue Rings – US Store View – English

Today I love….Under-estimating the eating power of Amen….

“I wanna take a minute or two and give much respect to….a man who’s made a difference in my world….”

“Whatta man, whatta man, whatta mighty, mighty good man!!”

“Yes my man says he loves me, never says he loves me not….”

But guess what? He is THE biggest carnivore I have ever known…and that is saying something considering I lived with 5 big growing males at one time in my life….so here is the ultimate menu for my Mr. Big….I hope you have already eaten…please do not look at this post if you are hungry!!! :0

Appetizer – Ribs

Entree – Pizza

Main course – Pasta

Dessert….ice cream, of course….

I know….this is definitely not Mr. Bigs’ style…but it is sooo good I just had to share!!

This is more to his taste…..

Mmmmmmmmmm…………

YUMMO!!!!

All images courtesy We Heart It unless otherwise specified….

Today I love….Cupcake Wars

Today is the RSPCA Cupcake Day!!!

So I hope that you are all munching away on pretty, lovely, yummy little cupcakes and of course, donating lots of $$$$ to a good cause!!!

If you missed my post about the RPSCA Cupcake Day, you can find it here….

In the meantime….

There is a war going on in our kitchens…..

A war over CUPCAKES!!!!

Love, love, love the idea…….

“Cupcake Wars pits Cupcake vs. Cupcake in Food Network’s tastiest competition yet.

In the latest episode, 4 cupcake makers vie to have their treats presented at the Alma Awards.

Judged on taste and presentation, only one will win the gig.

We are about to put on our helmet, pick up our frosting gun and go to battle.

The war is on!”

Cupcake Wars : Cupcake Wars : Food Network

Look at this amazing photo I found while searching for the above pics:

All images courtesy We Heart It

Today I love….lovely lamb (Glamping recipe)

Get some lovely, lovely lamb from your lovely local butcher….

Ask that lovely shopkeeper for some ‘souvlaki‘ meat or maybe lamb backstraps if they decide to look at you like you have two heads….

In the morning after your yummy bacon and egg or pancake glamping breakfast, grab that lamb and marinade it for the day……season it with some ground paprika, lemon juice, and dried oregano and a splash of the good ole olive oil and then soak that lamb baby for the arvo while you go exploring/fishing/bike riding/bird-watching……

Skewer that lamb when you get back from the lovely wilderness and baste it in the liquid – keep a bit for later on and seal and wrap your meat up in foil….cook it over your fire….not too close! Over hot rocks is best and cook that baby for about 45 mins per kg. Unwrap it and cook till the outside is crispy and golden brown….

Serve your deliciousness sliced and dressed with lemon juice and wrap it in a pita bread either whole or split in two for the little munchkins with sliced red or brown (white) onion, sliced  (cherry ones are the best for this) and shredded lettuce and get yourself some tabouli if you are really feelin’ fancy!  (Let me know if you want my tabouli recipe too folks!) Dress this little wrap of wuvly goodness with a mix of crushed garlic – hit it with at least 2-3 cloves or 5 if you are daring….and a tub of greek yogurt….

Do it like this to share it round the campfire!!!

You can also boil/steam some little potatoes cut into slices – (but I personally like quarters = more crispy sides!!), and then fry them in a pan till crispy and you have your own home made chippies to go with it!!!

Like these:

Salad + meat + chips = YUMMY warm glamping food!!!!

Today I love….Eating ice cream in front of the heater

Betcha can’t guess what I’m doing right now??

Well not quite that, but I do have a plan…and it involves ice cream and heat….another conundrum….

There is nothing better when it is cold than rugging up nice and warm with ugg boots, leggings, jumper & blankie and then eating my favourite ice cream…..

All toasty while sitting in front of the roaring hot heater!!!

Don’t forget to lick it…..quick!!!!

All images courtesy We Heart It

Don’t forget to check out my Honey Ice Cream and One Ingredient Ice Cream posts….mmmmmmm

Today I love….Kings of Pastry

16 Chefs

3 Days

1 Chance

It’s the Tour De France of Dessert!!!

Now that our beloved Masterchef is over what are we all to do with ourselves every evening at 7.30pm? Hopefully our networks will put a show on that is worhty of our time wasting abilities….but that may be wishful thinking….

In the meantime, check out “Kings of Pastry” for some dessert porn!!!

“This is no MasterChef-style cook-off…The tension is almost unbearable.”
Sydney Morning Herald

Here we go again – they call them macoroons!!!

Check out this fantastic blog post on the delectable macaron definition spelling debate:

Footpath Humm

Kings of Pastry

Today I love….Hasselback Potatoes

My grandfather taught me to make these….a very long time ago….and I love, love, love them!!!

They are of Swedish origin and yes, they do take a little longer to chop up than normal roast spuds but the upside of this is that the potato does cook quicker and you will end up with beautifully crunchy roast spuds EVERY time – guaranteed!!!

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Nutmeg/Garlic if you’re feelin’ fancy!!!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Chop your potatoes in half length-ways so they are as long as possible. Place one half of a potato, cut side down on a board and make thin, evenly spaced cuts at 5mm intervals, about two-thirds of the way through.
3. Place in a bowl. Repeat with remaining potatoes.
4. Add oil and seasonings as you wish to potatoes. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
5. Place in a roasting pan. Bake in oven, turning occasionally, for less than 1 hour or until golden brown and crisp. Transfer to a serving bowl to serve.

Today I love….Edible.com

Okey Dokey folks – Who wants to make some Hornet Honey Aioli???

“Edible aims to bring you delicacies that you may never have considered or perhaps seen before, whether it be recreations of ancient aphrodisiacs consumed in the court of Queen Cleopatra, Insects eaten by the street traders of Phnom Penh or more sedate but equally interesting fayre such as rare chewing gum from Japan with unique weird and wonderful flavours to rare chocolate, teas or coffees found by our epicurean explorers around the globe.”

Check out their departments!

Insectivore – edible insects like Locusts and Beetles and oh, wait people – it’s an oven baked Tarantula!!!….

Aphrodisiacs – products like a 24 carat gold lollipop (gimmee, gimmee!!!), Scorpion Vodka and pearl dust….

Carnivore – meat and fish products like crocodile thai curry, reindeer pate (excuse me??!!) and ostrich eggs….Masterchef THAT baby!!!

Herbivore – fruits, nuts and vegetarian products like weasel and civet coffee and monkey picked tea – wow!!! Are they battery monkeys or free range I wonder?

Herbs and Spices – Wild Black Vanilla Bean Pods….

The English Garden Collection (What? For some sanity here??) – Nope – it’s Worm Gin!!!

Apothecary – Skincare range – Monkey Picked Tea Wash and Scorpion Extract Wash….

Happy Shopping!!!

About « Edible.com

Today I love….One-Ingredient Ice Cream

Usually I freeze my old bananas to make into a banana cake…..(this is my Mumma training here)……

Then I found this great idea for using up the old frozen banana stockpile…..

It is way too cold in my part of the world to be eating any ice cream whatsoever but I hear there is a massive heat wave in the US of A so maybe someone over there will find this helpful and cooling – please let me know if you make it!

The best thing about this recipe is how easy it actually is to make!

The second best thing is it contains no fat, no cholesterol and no added sugar – just yummy, creamy and sweet bananas!

You will need about 4 frozen bananas (or 1 per person). Break them into chunks (if you can, muscle woman/man) and put them in the food processor. Pulse the processor a few times to break up the chunks then turn on full bore and run for about 5 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally (make sure you STOP the food processor 1st!). Place the mix in a bowl and re-freeze to firm for about 15 minutes or bugger that and just eat it!!! A spoonful of Milo (or drinking chocolate) and some chopped nuts goes beautifully served with the ice cream.

Yes, so the title of this post is ‘One Ingredient Ice Cream’…..theoretically you could do this with ANY frozen fruit – berries probably work best but let me know what you try (a mix of fruit maybe?) and please let me know how you go!!!

If you are still feelin’ HOT HOT HOT, check out my Honey Ice Cream post!!!

This is also a great idea – get your bananas and fill ’em up with chocolate chunks then bake ’em or whack them on the barbie (BBQ/Hotplate for you non-Aussies out there) to get some chocolatey banana-ery goodness!

Or aren’t these pretty????

Pretty damn easy for the little kiddies to do as well I say….

Today I love….my day today

Yes, I do agree!!!

Things have been very, very, very boring here lately….

Well, it’s not all my fault…the interweb has been shhhhhhh!!!! Oh, so quiet lately…well, to me anyway….

I really don’t want to bore you all with the doldrums of my daily existence….but I fear I have no other option….

This is my life today in pictures…..

8am – Up

9am – Work

10am – Breakfast

11am – Work

12pm – Work

1pm – Lunch

2pm – Work

3pm – Work

4pm – Leave work/Shop

5pm – Haircut (explanation required here, I know!)

6pm – Pub? Yes, please!

7pm – Pub

8pm – Home/Cook/Masterchef class – smoke it up!!! With some hard herbs…thanks to Georgie!!! And OMG OMG Iron Chef Sakai will be on soon!!! Woop, woop…(happy dance)…

Um, hello??!!! This place is awesome….I wish it was mine….

Most (99%) images courtesy We Heart It

Today I love….Food Arranged by Color

Well, this is just SUPER-COOL stuff!!!

I love, love, just freakin’ love all this food arranged by colour – what a great idea! The colours are so bright and vibrant and simply gorgeous!!!

By Linda Lundgren, a talented food stylist from Sweden

You’re making me hungry now!!!

Food Arranged by Color