image courtesy of SMH Good Food Month
If you're in Sydney for the month of October then you have no excuse to miss the myriad of events for Good Food Month. As for me, all I can do is watch and grit my teeth in covetous annoyance that I am not in the country for perhaps the best month in the food year. If there was one pick for the whole of Good Food Month, I would recommend getting yourselves to the Sydney Food and Wine Fair in Hyde Park on November 1st. Aside from being able to sample dishes from the best Sydney bars and restaurants, your eager appetite can raise money for the AIDS Trust of Australia. Everybody wins, what more could you ask for.
So take heed this advice, do not miss out on Good Food Month and make the most out of all the free events and classes on offer. There isn't a better opportunity to get yourself more involved and immersed in the Sydney food scene than this month. I'm a little biased but Sydney has probably one of the best and most vibrant food cultures in the world so don't waste any time.
And please, if not for the love of food, do it for me, the poor little Aussie food blogger stuck in London unable to partake in all the delicious fanfare but can only sit here in envious discontent about the insurmountable hurdle that is geography.
Check the website for more details.
If you are interested in getting the lowdown on what has earned the badge of being the best in Sydney check out these articles from the Sydney Morning Herald.
It was great to see Victoire win best bread, as I've always been a devotee to this small but formidable Balmain bakery, keep that bread arising!
And it was also great seeing Mamak, a favourite, cheap, late-night haunt of ours, get some acknowledgement for being one of the most authentic Malaysian restaurants in Sydney. If you don't know where to start, try the Nasi Lemak, a traditional Malaysian breakfast dish, you won't go wrong with it.
Sounds like a title for a personal ad, but yes I am in fact hungry in this big old town. I've been in London for almost a month now and haven't a clue where to go for good food. I must admit that I have been trying to eat on the cheap lately, and cheap doesn't always equate to good. Wow, eating out in London can really eat into your budget. I had been warned before I left, although never really paid any mind to such sagacious counsel until it was my own pounds that had to be spent.
So, right now I have been straying from anything too pricey, but once the pocket gets filled with a few more pounds, I'm definitely not opposed to some fine-dining here and there.
So I'm putting out the call to any Londoners out there or anyone else in the know, for places I should wine and dine or do it on the cheap. Fancy eats, cheap eats, pub grub, be it your favourite places to go and secret finds please direct them all my way. I can't stay hungry (and poor) for much longer.
Also, I might have mentioned in previous posts but I have a bunch of dishes I made in Australia that have never made its way onto blog yet. So look out for those in the next few weeks. I don't have an internet connection at the moment, and am making use of free wi-fi in London, so posts are probably going to be more sporadic than before, until I am once again reunited with the world.
Bet you were wondering if I actually got to London did you? Yes, I did arrive safely and surprisingly not at all jet-lagged. I must attribute the lack of jet-lag to the many years of doing shift work, I've been able to throw my body clock out the window, and who needs one anyway it never did me any good.
Aside from wondering where this blogger has been for the last couple of weeks, you will probably be wondering why this blog has been left in a state of limbo. Well to be frank, I haven't felt like blogging since I got to London. Actually I haven't felt like doing a lot of the things I am normally in the habit of doing back in Sydney. Take one for example of my many vices- sleeping in, well I haven't had a sleep in since I got here and it's not because I have a job to go to, it's because I instinctively get up at around 8 am every morning. It's quite peculiar seeing as snoozing until just before midday was my thing, it was the thing I was known for and the thing that made me, me. So what's happened to me?
Cheery red vine tomatoes, gigantic wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano and lots of artisan breads
Being in this (northern) hemisphere must have turned things upside down as I also don't get my usual cravings for sugar. Now I'm all about savoury things, that's all I want to eat. Which isn't such a bad thing when there's always lots of beer to wash down the food, but when I walk by glass casements filled with beautiful pastries, my heart skips a beat but my stomach doesn't even jump.
In order to somewhat alleviate this effect from the change of hemisphere, we decided to head down to the famed Borough Markets just south east of London. The great thing about these markets is that it's open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and unlike the Grower's Market in Sydney, which is once a month and starts at the crack of dawn, the earliest it opens on a Saturday is 9 am, which in my opinion is a much more reasonable hour and goes on until 4pm. So there's plenty of time to sleep in on a Saturday and turn up around midday for some lunch.
I won't go into too much detail about the markets as I think the photographs tell a better story, but I will say one thing, I do love a market that has a stall with every type of beer imaginable. Mmmmmm, although didn't find any Duff Beer.
Richard Howard Oysters, gigantic oysters and clams with a splash of lemon juice and red wine vinaigrette for £1.70 each. GT gulped them down too quickly for me to take a photo but apparently were very delicious, although it took a while to get the fishy taste out of his mouth.
Had a slight chuckle at the sausages after I was told they were an acquired taste; buckets of olives and a stall selling an array of mushrooms.
I nearly fell over when we came across this stall displaying huge chunks of dark, milk and white chocolate, I tried to sneak in a bite but couldn't muster up the courage; more mushrooms the black ones are trumpettes, and quite the price.
Beautiful bunches of lavender; pumpkins; strawberries and gorgeous Spanish ham hanging from the rafters.
A little laneway to escape the crowds; a leg of pork; to my delight a tower of flourless chocolate cake- they were giving out free samples so I indulged in a couple; this is the stall that sold every kind of beer you can imagine, it's awesome.
So there you have it a little sneak peek into what I have been up to in London for the past two weeks. We did the tourist thing and visit all the attractions, I might post a few of those later on. Stay tuned for part 2 of pictures from Borough Markets, and don't worry I won't take as long as I did before.
And as you might have noticed M&C has a new and slightly improved banner. I thought, since I'm in a new place, the blog needs a new look. Granted the look hasn't changed much, but hey who would ever turn down a make-over? I know Ricki Lake guests that would be banging down doors to get one.
Borough Markets
8 Southwark St
London, SE1 1TL
PHONE: +44 (0) 20 7407 1002
OPENING TIMES
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 12pm - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm
Nearest Tube: London Bridge Station
And as you might have noticed M&C has a new and slightly improved banner. I thought, since I'm in a new place, the blog needs a new look. Granted the look hasn't changed much, but hey who would ever turn down a make-over? I know Ricki Lake guests that would be banging down doors to get one.
Borough Markets
8 Southwark St
London, SE1 1TL
PHONE: +44 (0) 20 7407 1002
OPENING TIMES
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 12pm - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm
Nearest Tube: London Bridge Station
I guess there isn't much to say other than, Goodbye! I'm off on a jet plane en route to London tomorrow via Kuala Lumpur. So exciting!
So really, it's not completely and utterly good bye, but just a farewell to good old Sydney. I'll sure miss her sunny days, resplendent turquoise beaches and great seafood, seeing as there probably won't be much of two of those three things I just mentioned in the UK. I just had a look at the weather forecast in London for the next couple of days and it looks bleak all round. Just my luck, thanks England, you're living up to your reputation. Glad I'm packing the umbrella.
So I guess, it's so long for now, the next time I'll be seeing you is in London-town and I hope you'll be following my adventures up in the other hemisphere.
You might not have noticed but posts have been particularly sparse on the blog lately, and it partly has something to do with the little announcement that I am making on the blog today. The news flash, might be exciting for some, or not so much for others but either which way there are no doubt still many food possibilities that lie ahead on the blogging front. So don't worry, I'm not going to turn into a knitting blog or anything. Not that I dislike knitting blogs but it's just that I don't know how to knit, not even a sock puppet, or a scarf, so I say stick to what you know.
Well, eating is what I know, and food, especially those of the sugary persuasion will still be the focus of the blog, and really nothing will change except for my location. So let's see if you can guess where Milk and Cookies is headed to this August for two years? The clue is in this dish.
Guessed it yet? I'm pretty sure this clue is a dead give away. So indeed, it's true, to the possible dismay of many Londoners, I am going to the land of the eternal pub crawl or at least I hope it is, and will be checking out what the city has to offer in terms of food.
Hey, maybe I'll run into Jamie Oliver at the Borough Markets and ask him why my banana and honey bread more resembled baseballs rather than bread rolls. But I'd much rather run into Rick Stein any day, I love how he's such and advocate for British food and produce no matter how much of a bad rap it gets. Too bad he won't have Chalky with him though, that dog was the shiz.
But there you have it, I'm on my way to the northern hemisphere, I'm doubtful about how it compares to its southern counterpart, but I guess it's home for a couple of years.
So I'm sure you don't need a recipe to make bangers and mash, but here's one for the onion gravy that I pinched from Jane and Jeremy Strode of Bistrode.
Onion Gravy
makes about one-half cup
100g unsalted butter
1 tsp brown sugar
2 medium onions, sliced thinly
1 tsp red wine vinegar
200ml beef stock
sea salt
fresh cracked black pepper
Melt butter in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat.
Add sugar and onions.
Cook slowly until caramelised, about 30 minutes.
Add vinegar and cook for another five minutes.
Add stock and season with salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes until sauce has thickened.
I had a really late night getting up to all sorts of shenanigans in the city last night and then fell out of bed this morning, correction- afternoon, to find that there was an article today in the Technology section of news.com.au about the Ausssie blogs nominated for the 2008 Bloggies, which happens to include this blog. It was actually quite amusing, seeing as I rate myself as one of the least technologically savvy people on the Internet.
This blog is held together through sheer providence and a lot of guesstimation; let's just say if the blog were to manifest itself in the real world, it would be held together with a glue gun and a lot of paddle pop sticks. But it is nice to be mentioned amongst the other illustrious nominees, who run some of the most popular and articulate blogs in the country.
And then I also found out that I had come first place in last month's DMBLGIT hosted by The Food Traveller. The photo is of grapefruit soufflés that I baked in its own skins. The recipe is here is you are interested.
Wow, I am definitely feeling the love right now and I'm hoping it won't come back to bite me in the you know what. All I can say is that I appreciate all the applause and certainly hope I won't turn into a one trick pony and will endeavour to keep the blog looking pretty and sounding fresh for you all.
Click here to see the other winners.
I've been blogging for sometime now and it never occurred to me until recently that I have never formally introduced myself. You know the fundamentals- who I am, where I'm from and that I have a penchant for anything sugary. But that's really about it.
The web can be a good buffer between you and the real world and as much as I would like to remain an enigma, that dark horse, mysteriously blogging from her unassuming little corner of the world, I thought that it would be nice to actually introduce myself properly and break the ice.
Hello!
I'm a Jennifer, but it's usually Jen or Jenni that i'll answer to. You might even find that I will respond to "hey you" or "oi!", I'm really not that fussy.
London is my home for the time being, but Australia is always going to be a great place to live and if you are ever here in Sydney for a visit, make sure you give me a holler. Here are a few recommendations on where to visit, foodwise.Fine Dining- Tetsuya's, Aria's, Becasse and Astral to name a number of world class dining places.
Quintessential Sydney- Harry's Pies for a late night bite, North Bondi Italian for the signature Sydney view, Sydney Fish Market to sample the finest seafood Sydney has to offer or Doyles at Watson's Bay for that stunning view of the harbour.
Thai- Chat Thai in Haymarket, Spice I Am in Surry Hills, Sailor's Thai at The Rocks.
Bakeries/Pastries- Bourke St Bakery in Surry Hills, Adriano Zumbo and Victoire in Balmain, Brasserie Bread in Botany Bay, Epi d'Or in Kirribilli and La Gerbe d'Or in Paddington's Five Ways.
Chinatown- check out everything it has to offer and cross over George St and venture into what's is now affectionately coined as Thainatown.
Red Light District Bites- Hernandez Cafe for the coffee and the bohemian atmosphere, Burgerfuel for gourmet burgers and live it up with the young, hip and happening at Favela, The Lincoln and Dean's Cafe. Juju's for some late night karaoke and immersion into Japanese culture. There's also Guzman Y Gomez, which isn't your regular Taco Bell. Venture down Darlinghurst Rd and you will stumble across gems like sushi happy hour at Zushi and a barrage of tiny cafes, all good.
Breakfast- Fifi Foveaux and Bill's in Surry Hills, an early morning bite and a walk afterwards from Bronte Beach, Campos Coffee at Newtown, Brasserie Bread if you are in the area, Sonoma Bakery in Glebe.
Just to name some off the top of my head.
WHY THE PRIMATE ALTER EGO?Most of you think I look like a chimpanzee and I don't blame you. My profile picture looks a lot like a chimp. But it's not what you think. I am not hiding behind this furry face because I think I look like a hideous beast and couldn't bear showing my face in in public.
Frankly, I didn't know if this blog was going to be any good, so it was easier to go ahead with blogging and risk shame, failure and my ego knowing I had this monkey façade to hide behind. The web can be a mean place, and there are a lot of crazy people out there that pick on you for no reason. I thought having a monkey front this blog would deter people people from being too unkind.
And besides if you catch yourself abusing an innocent monkey you might want to think twice about what kind of person you really are. Look at him, how could you ever be cruel to that face? How?
Now that the food blogging scene has proved less intimidating as I thought it would be, It's high time for me to finally emerge from my cover. And it doesn't seem so bad to be out in the open. But, I do still prefer to keep my monkey frontage, just because he's a little easier on the eyes. Just look at him there, looking so jet-settingly cool in his swanky London hotel room.
WHY BLOG?
Hmm, that's a good question. I kind of fell into this blogging this unassumingly. I decided to start a blog without knowing anything about it and a year and a bit later, here I am still baking. I guess, I always wanted to write and never had an outlet, I always loved taking photographs although never had a chance to showcase them, and always wanted to cook but never had the courage. I guess this blog just became the perfect conduit to house all those passions. And I guess, it was the perfect way to indulge all of these hobbies anonymously, until I could safely come out, so to speak.
And besides all that, all evidence suggests that I am Asian and female, which are two very strong factors that basically predetermine that I must blog about food. Funny that, I never thought of myself as fitting into a stereotype but there it is, a female Asian food blogger- the perfect demographic for the discourse of food online.
THE PHOTOS.
I am completely self-taught, with absolutely no formal training. And I say it often and I'll say it again- that sometimes my amateur-dom does show. I don't have a fancy camera, or a fancy lighting kit, my "studio" is my bedroom, which houses a makeshift area in which I take all my food photos, amongst all my clothes, shoes and dirty laundry- tres chic!
I inherited an old SLR film camera from my dad when I was 17 and basically taught myself how to use it. So it slightly amuses me when people email and ask for photography tips because I feel so inadequate. Currently I am using a Canon EOS 300D SLR digital camera. Because I am a cheapskate, I only have the lens that came with the camera which is an EF18-55mm 3.5-5.6f Canon Zoom lens. It does the job for now, but I am planning to buy a 50mm 1.4f USM Canon lens, which will give me better bokeh and in general, prettier pictures.
OTHER THINGS ABOUT ME... THAT YOU PROBABLY DON'T NEED TO KNOW
I got stitches in my head when I was 4 after an accident in the bathroom.
I used to be terrified of swimming in large bodies of water.
I get adverse reactions to insect bites and eating melons.
Ignorant and stupid people along with dictators and terrorists aggravate me.
I've never won a running race but beat a bunch of boys at Tekken on Playstation (Score:20-8). Nintendo Wii is my next frontier.
Am tone deaf, but very skilled at the triangle, tambourine and egg shaker.
Prefer to drive a manual (stick) than automatic.
I have a dog named Jack who is a constant source of laughter. He loves cockroaches and ladies perfume.
I don't know how long this zeal for blogging will go on for, but right now that desire is still raging. I will only continue to do it as long as I am loving it. So if my gusto for it will ever start to wane, then I will probably have to retire or take a short hiatus and get my bearings back.
Anyway there it is, a little snapshot of who this blogger is...
Since when did self promotion become so shameless? I don't know, but if reading this is making you cringe, don't worry, I feel the same way and that feeling grows at an exponential rate while I'm writing this. Although for some reason I still cannot get my fingers to stop typing. Perhaps that is why self promotion is so shameless, it's a guilty pleasure; its blatant and immodest, yet it's so easy to yield to it's beguiling temptation.
So what am I promoting? Well, this blog. I woke up this morning to realise that I was one of the finalists for the 2008 Bloggies in the Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog category. Unbeknownst to me someone out there nominated this blog and to my surprise it is now one of the finalists. Who would have thought? I had never even heard of the Bloggies before and to realise it had been going on since 2001, I feel so ill-informed about my own medium.
So I just wanted to say THANK YOU to whoever it was who nominated me for the Bloggies, you can choose to remain anonymous if you want as there is no reward for you in coming forward other than getting a showering of gratitude from me for thinking of this little blog. But while we're dwelling on thankfulness and appreciation, I might as well point out that you too can vote for me by going to their website.
So that it's not all about me, there are also a number of other great blogs, some of them Ausralian, up for a Bloggy, so why don't you go and vote for them too. Voting closes at 10:00pm EST, Thursday, January 31 and the results will be posted on their website Monday, March 10.
Ahh 2007. Here it came and there it went.
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement in the past year, I honestly don't think the blog would have lasted this long if it weren't for such faithful blog friends that leave lovely comments and visit every week. If If it were possible, I would call for a virtual group hug right now. You all have put a smile on my face and I can only hope that the blog does the same for you.
I just wanted to wish all of you a Happy New Year and hope that 2008 is a cracking good year for you and your family. Here's a little glimpse of what was cooking in my kitchen the past year. Hope the next year is just as delicious.
Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement in the past year, I honestly don't think the blog would have lasted this long if it weren't for such faithful blog friends that leave lovely comments and visit every week. If If it were possible, I would call for a virtual group hug right now. You all have put a smile on my face and I can only hope that the blog does the same for you.
I just wanted to wish all of you a Happy New Year and hope that 2008 is a cracking good year for you and your family. Here's a little glimpse of what was cooking in my kitchen the past year. Hope the next year is just as delicious.
Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to 2008. It's been a crazy past 2 weeks and in my absence it's been pretty quiet around here at Milk and Cookies, I'm sure you have noticed. I had planned on a really thoughtful Christmas post just before the Yule to wish everyone a nice Christmas, but I guess that thought just never came to fruition. I had panned on baking a really nice fruitcake or perhaps posting about a chocolate panettone recipe, however that I never got around to either. So I'm sorry I haven't been more attentive to the blog of late, although there hasn't been a lack of food and eating, I can assure you of that.
And although this may sound a little trite and overdone but I really do count it a privilege to be able to blog, and of all things, blog about food. I know that most of the world's population do not have such frivolity to indulge themselves in and know that this food blogging thing is a concession I don't want to take for granted especially when our subject matter is something of an unfathomable luxury in other nations.
So I just wanted to briefly appreciate all those of you who were able to show their generosity for this year's Menu For Hope and of course to all of those who were involved in making it happen in every region and undoubtedly Pim, of Chez Pim who has been at the helm of this fundraiser for the past 4 years . We have completely eclipsed last year's total by an astounding $29.360.88 (USD). And according to Pim's blog the total now stands at $90,286.00 (USD)!!! Geez-Louise!
So good luck to all those who are in the raffle, I know I am crossing my fingers, hoping and wishing that I win this year. I have my eye on a certain prize- AP38.
Winners will be announced on Chez Pim, Wednesday January 9, 2008.
So it seems that this Christmas the blog has been suffering from a little neglect and it's high time I show it some love again so next on Milk and Cookies: Berries
Yay Pie! and Hooray for Bananas! blogger Ames has generously presented me with the Yummy Blog Award, and I graciously accept! Thanks so much Ames for the honour and my first duty as the newest inductee into the Yummy Blog hall of fame is to dub another yummy blogger with the award. I guess it's a sort of pay it forward system in the blog world.
The Yummy Blog Award is a hard one give away, where do I start, there's a plethora of yummy blogs out there and many worthy of being awarded. It's almost as hard as picking what I'm going to wear every morning so I thought I would give it a couple of days of thought. So after a few days it wasn't hard to finally settle on this particular blog, one that I have only recently discovered, but have instantly loved.
I am passing on the Yummy Blog Award to Karen the Mad Baker, she proclaims to be mad about pastry, cakes and all things baked and I have to say I cannot find any evidence to the contrary. Her sweet concoctions are so enticing and I don't think anyone out there can ice a cookie as well as she does (I'm insanely jealous). So instead of trying to beat her at her own game I thought that I would just honour her with an award that she more than deserves.
And if you happen to live in Singapore then you are in luck, Karen takes orders for her scrumptious cakes. And if you ever doubted how yummy she actually is, well she's all booked out this Christmas. So you have to satiate your curiosity for her cakes in the next year.
Congratulations Mad Baker!
We just got hit by a massive hailstorm. I was taking a lazy Sunday afternoon nap to recover from a big weekend but was awakened by the sound of loud thunder claps and the ear-splitting racket of what sounded like bombs exploding. The storm lasted for about 15 minutes and started off with pea-sized and golf ball-sized hailstones, although about 5 minutes into the storm it took a turn for the worse when the storm started dropping hailstones the size of tennis balls.
Our yard was littered with enormous hailstones but didn't completely cover the yard, although they packed enough of a punch to put holes in roofs and dent cars. No sooner than when the storm hit that the sun emerged from its grey shroud and melted all the hail, leaving tennis ball-sized craters as evidence.
We were lucky enough to escape with only a few cracked tiles on our roof although some people weren't as fortunate. Good luck to all those cleaning up after the storm.
I turned 26 yesterday! Last year, for my quarter-century celebration, I lived it up in "sunny" Melbourne. This year, I was tossing between going back south to shop it out or just staying in Sydney and having a big do. Although when it came to crunch time, I opted for spending the weekend with just a few of my closest friends.
It started off with a birthday eve dinner on Saturday night at my friend I and H's house with some beautiful homemade lasagne, a few bottles of McGuigan's wine and a chocolate birthday cake (sans the candles, thank goodness) to top off the meal. The wine always makes for an interesting night that ended with a few misadventures that we will definitely look back on in a few years and laugh about.
Sunday, was spent in a more leisurely fashion with a trip to the markets with the girls and a visit to Hurricane's Grill at Bondi Beach. Almost as iconic as the Beach itself, Hurricane's is a carnivore's delight. The place does have a meagre vegetarian selection but the amount of carnivorous feasting going on would probably be too offensive for sensitive vegetarians. Especially when one of their signature dishes is a full rack of pork or lamb ribs that includes a "standard issue" bib and moist towel to catch and wipe the juicy aftermath of all the rib-eating.
There were four of us girls however we only ordered two dishes. If you ever see the portion sizes of these dishes you will probably understand, and all for a reasonable price. A full rack of ribs with chips ($30) and a 300g beef burger with monkey gland sauce and baked potato ($17), was shared between the four, and none of us left the restaurant lacking. And as you can see, every rib was cleaned to the bone, every piece of flesh proudly gnawed off and our fingers bore testament to our satisfaction.
If you are wondering what the monkey gland sauce was about, well let me assure you that no monkeys were hurt in the in the making of this sauce and nor are there any glands involved. From what I gather, and I'm sure that many South Africans can better explain, monkey gland sauce is a tomato based bbq sauce that tastes somewhat like a relish or a chutney. It can be made with various of ingredients however most sauces usually contain tomatoes, onions, Worcestershire and Tobasco sauce.
HURRICANE' GRILL
130 Roscoe St
Bondi Beach, Sydney
PHONE: (02) 9130 7101
Open 7 nights for dinner 6:00pm till late
Lunch on Sundays from noon
HURRICANE'S EXPRESS TAKEAWAY
PHONE (02) 9365 3450
Open 7 days noon till 10pm
There were four of us girls however we only ordered two dishes. If you ever see the portion sizes of these dishes you will probably understand, and all for a reasonable price. A full rack of ribs with chips ($30) and a 300g beef burger with monkey gland sauce and baked potato ($17), was shared between the four, and none of us left the restaurant lacking. And as you can see, every rib was cleaned to the bone, every piece of flesh proudly gnawed off and our fingers bore testament to our satisfaction.
If you are wondering what the monkey gland sauce was about, well let me assure you that no monkeys were hurt in the in the making of this sauce and nor are there any glands involved. From what I gather, and I'm sure that many South Africans can better explain, monkey gland sauce is a tomato based bbq sauce that tastes somewhat like a relish or a chutney. It can be made with various of ingredients however most sauces usually contain tomatoes, onions, Worcestershire and Tobasco sauce.
HURRICANE' GRILL
130 Roscoe St
Bondi Beach, Sydney
PHONE: (02) 9130 7101
Open 7 nights for dinner 6:00pm till late
Lunch on Sundays from noon
HURRICANE'S EXPRESS TAKEAWAY
PHONE (02) 9365 3450
Open 7 days noon till 10pm
Where has Jen been?
(a) abducted by aliens
(b) living in a monastery at the foot of the Himalayas
(c) joined the army
(d) nursing a hangover
(e) none of the above
The answer is... well mostly E, but for a few days it was D
In case you were wondering, I am alive and I'm all right. I just haven't been blogging. I know. Shock, horror! What do you mean, there couldn't possibly be a life outside of the blogosphere? That's ludicrous!
It seems that real life has been getting in the way of blogging, and even though I haven't been posting at the prodigious rate of my blogging youth (meaning a year ago- 1 blogging year is probably equal to dog years) I have been eating and cooking at pretty much the same rate I was before. It has just been a crazy few weeks with work, helping plan a friend's wedding, planning a friend's birthday, planning my own birthday, Christmas looming and my grandfather passing away a few days ago.
And in case you were wondering the hangovers came from the birthday and the Melbourne Cup drinks we had, I didn't win anything.
So you can imagine I've just been through the whole gamut of emotional states in a mere couple of weeks, and haven't had the time to get my fingers typing on a computer until now. I guess that you cannot really complain when life gets in the way of blogging, it only makes for more blogging fodder later on. But I have been doing okay, and although finding out about my grandfather's death from a stroke was very sudden and unforeseen, I am in good spirits. He lived a great life and I couldn't be any prouder.
Another thing I am pretty proud of is being one of the finalists, for DMBLGIT October. The photograph of my baked gnocchi was one of the picks made by the host her self, the very lovely Jennifer of Bake of Break. So thank you to all the judges and to Jennifer for allowing to me to be part of the illustrious few that get to flaunt the Good Looking Blog badges. So flaunt I will.
Related post: Gnocchi, Two Ways
(a) abducted by aliens
(b) living in a monastery at the foot of the Himalayas
(c) joined the army
(d) nursing a hangover
(e) none of the above
The answer is... well mostly E, but for a few days it was D
In case you were wondering, I am alive and I'm all right. I just haven't been blogging. I know. Shock, horror! What do you mean, there couldn't possibly be a life outside of the blogosphere? That's ludicrous!
It seems that real life has been getting in the way of blogging, and even though I haven't been posting at the prodigious rate of my blogging youth (meaning a year ago- 1 blogging year is probably equal to dog years) I have been eating and cooking at pretty much the same rate I was before. It has just been a crazy few weeks with work, helping plan a friend's wedding, planning a friend's birthday, planning my own birthday, Christmas looming and my grandfather passing away a few days ago.
And in case you were wondering the hangovers came from the birthday and the Melbourne Cup drinks we had, I didn't win anything.
So you can imagine I've just been through the whole gamut of emotional states in a mere couple of weeks, and haven't had the time to get my fingers typing on a computer until now. I guess that you cannot really complain when life gets in the way of blogging, it only makes for more blogging fodder later on. But I have been doing okay, and although finding out about my grandfather's death from a stroke was very sudden and unforeseen, I am in good spirits. He lived a great life and I couldn't be any prouder.
Another thing I am pretty proud of is being one of the finalists, for DMBLGIT October. The photograph of my baked gnocchi was one of the picks made by the host her self, the very lovely Jennifer of Bake of Break. So thank you to all the judges and to Jennifer for allowing to me to be part of the illustrious few that get to flaunt the Good Looking Blog badges. So flaunt I will.
Related post: Gnocchi, Two Ways
Guess what this is...
If you guessed that this a badly injured Bichon Frise bleeding on a yellow rug, then no. Look closer, you might recognise something?
Find out very soon... stay tuned.
After a short hiatus from baking and blogging, I have finally found the inspiration to pick up the wooden spoon once again and get back into the groove. It was only fitting that this luscious Strawberry Brulee tart from Bourke St. Bakery in Surry Hills would be just the thing to shake off all that blah that I found myself in. Not to mention the trip we took to the Hunter Valley for a wedding- who doesn't love a good excuse to go away to the country?
Besides going away on our short-lived road trip, I've been keeping myself busy working on other projects, but now that I've given myself sufficient respite from the kitchen I am ready and raring to get in there and get my oven mitts back on. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, or should I say the stomach?
And it's great to see that you all didn't stay away from the blog while I was gone...
Pictures from our weekend in the Hunter Valley coming soon.
In my grand tradition of responding to memes dutifully tardy, here is my response to Kelly, Myriam and Jerry’s tag of 8 things you didn't know about me. And to keep this post somewhat food related and to also provide a smooth segue into the following pear and hazelnut recipe, I thought I would share some quick facts about pears as well. (The pear facts come from all over the Internet)
JEN FACT #1
She was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Australia when she was six with her family. She has called Australia home since then.
PEAR FACT #1
Pears that are left to ripen on the tree will turn mealy and unappetising. So most ears are actually picked before they are ripe and are left to ripen in the shop or at home.
JEN FACT #2
Jen once had to get stitches in her cranium when she was about 5, after an unfortunate mishap while trying to prove she was old enough to bathe herself. To avoid being too graphic, all I will say is that she put her head under a faucet when the accident occurred.
PEAR FACT #2
A flavourful pear will actually have brown speckles on the skin, known as “russeting,” which enhance the flavour of the pear.
JEN FACT #3
In the same year, Jen almost had to get stitches in her chin, after another unfortunate sporting accident where she miscalculated the trajectory of an incoming ball and consequently dove in to catch it only to find the ball falling about a foot from where her chin eventually hit the ground. Ouch!
As you can see Jen is pretty accident prone.
PEAR FACT #3
Pears contain no cholesterol, sodium, or saturated fat!
JEN FACT #4
Jen and some of her mischievous friends in Year 9 got caught skipping school a number of times and had to stay back and scrape gum off the bottom of the desks. A friend's dad (who we thought was the coolest) actually helped us by picking us up from school after detention and telling our parents that we had some sort of after school study group. To this day our parents have no clue. Maybe up until now, sorry Mum.
PEAR FACT #4
How do you judge a pear’s ripeness? Apply gentle thumb pressure near the base of the stem. If it yields to gentle pressure it's ripe. Others simply tug on the stem; when it comes out, it's ready to eat.
JEN FACT #5
Inadvertently ended up in the local newspaper when she was in Year 6. The newspaper was doing an article about the first ever students to use the internet at school. What really happened was, the group of boys who actually were the ones who used the Internet were away at a football match so our teacher said that we could go in on their behalf and alas, our photographs ended up in the newspaper.
PEAR FACT #5
A pear is a nutrient dense food, providing more nutrients per calorie, than calories per nutrient.
JEN FACT #6
Jen secretly loves to eat Nutella and peanut butter straight out of the jar. It's kind of embarrassing, but everyone has their vices and this is her Achilles heel. So let's just keep that one to ourselves okay.
PEAR FACT #6
Pears will ripen faster if placed next to bananas in a fruit bowl and they stay fresh for longer if kept in a fridge.
JEN FACT #7
Another food fact about Jen is that she cannot stand to eat cereal of any kind in the morning. But come night time, it's cereal all the way. She must have some sort or glitch in her internal body clock or something.
PEAR FACT #7
In some Eastern cultures, pears are also known as the fruit of planning. People who consume pears are believed to have superior organisational skills.
JEN FACT #8
Jen hates to drive. She prefers to be the passenger and will find any excuse not to drive anywhere.
PEAR FACT #8
Levulose, which is the sweetest known natural sugar, is found to a greater extent in fresh pears than in any other fruit.
And if you want to know some more bizarre things about this blogger, then check out this meme about the weird things about how I eat. And without making this post seem like an hour of aimless palaver about myself, here is the recipe for a pear and hazelnut bread pudding I made recently. It’s a simple and rustic recipe that can be prepared in no time. Most of the time spent is in its baking, so all you have to do is lazily sit back and wait for this sumptuous dessert to emerge from the oven.
Custard is probably one of the most comforting things about winter, and this bread pudding oozes comforts all over. From the smooth custard and the sweet vanilla soaked bread to the caramelised pears and the melted layers of Nutella, you will find yourself going for one heaped spoonful after another. The pudding is surprisingly light considering it contains custard and bread, and the sweetness is not overly cloying but never leaves you wanting. It’s the perfect after-dinner dessert to curl up on the couch to.
Pear and Hazelnut Bread Pudding
adapted from Fresh Living, June 2005
serves 4
butter for greasing
6 slices of oatbran & honey bread, crusts removed, halved diagonally
2 tbs Nutella
2 beurre bosc pears
2 eggs
2½ cups (625ml) milk
1 tbsp raw caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Grease a 20cm square ovenproof dish lightly with butter.
Spread one side of each slice of bread with Nutella.
Stand a pear on a chopping board. Holding the top of the pear with one hand, cut three 1cm thick slices either side of the core to make six slices. Discard the core. Repeat with the remaining pears.
Layer bread slices and pears alternately into dish.
Place eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract in a jug and whisk until well combined.
Pour over the bread and pears.
Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the bread to soak slightly.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the custard is set.
Set aside for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
I've confined myself indoors while recovering from what the doctor has now diagnosed as Laryngitis. So I have been giving Jack my dog a good run for his money as I've been pretty stiff competition in terms of barking it up. He's given up trying to out-bark me, i've won the past few rounds. The cough still persists and I've pretty much lost my voice, so on a social level, there is really no point in me going out or hanging out with anyone.
So as I veg out at home alone, with the dog, lemon and honey tea in hand, the heater on, blankets strewn all over the couch and laptop firmly secured on where else but my lap, I browse the wide world of the web. I'm filling up my del.icio.us album with lots of tags of recipes I want to make and alas here are a few other things i've found that have caught my eye.
Believe it or not, this is a toaster that I found on designboom.com. The toaster is called "Glide" because the toast simply glides through that little opening where the bread is heated by two aluminum hot plates and takes less time than a conventional toaster. It looks very space age and it's definitely innovative, it's probably the most exciting toaster I have ever seen and takes away the banality of waiting for your bread to toast early in the morning.
The photograph at the top of the page also comes from design boom and was one of the designs shortlisted for their ceramics for breakfast category and is, I think, the neatest and prettiest way to squeeze your oranges in the morning. The set includes the teapot, the squeezer and two cups. And if you want to see how this Cuban designer's vision for the citrus teapot came to life then go here.
Simple but ingenious, are these little salt and pepper shaker ghosts. I found them on the same website where I found the Glide toaster and the teapot. They are so adorable I cannot help but love them. A whole family of ghosts ready to dispense salt and pepper, what could be better?
Aside from gawking at cutesy home appliances, i've also been passing the time by wading through the Hubble Telescope website and marvelling at the beautiful photographs of this wondrous universe that we happen to be part of. It's a sobering thought to think Earth is a just a remote speck is this cosmic giant that is the universe, I can't help but feel small.Several hours have passed and now and I have moved onto the Apple Trailers website. I've seen it being touted all over the place by many other food blogs (so why not this one too) as the next big thing in cinema for all foodies alike. Perhaps daresay the next big thing since Chocolat? The only time a rat will be welcomed into a kitchen, Ratatouille is the new movie from Pixar. Not out in cinemas in Australia until August 30 there is still a while to go before we can see this little gastrnome in action. But already, I can't help but love Remy, just look at him!
Anyway, I think this is it for me and my internet browsing. Signing off until next time which will hopefully be about something I made in the kitchen.
You might be asking, why the influx of posts in the last few hours? Well the answer is that I won't be posting on the blog for a whole week. And this time, it's not just neglect but I am actually going to be away, so I thought that I would leave you with a few extra things to look at and muse over. I feel like this blog is my kid, so I feel the inclination that I should leave it an appropriate amount of rations while I'm gone. It must be that maternal instinct kicking in.
I will be at a conference for a whole week and thus will be away from my laptop, my kitchen and that seemingly endless supply of sugar and butter. I might be able to sneak a peek or two at the blog, probably only short enough to read your comments and put them up. But during the week i'll try to secure myself a short pocket of time where I can make a quick detour to the supermarket and replenish my dwindling pantry. And soon enough there should be a new array of goodies for you to chew on.
For now, let me take you down memory lane and see what sweet (and some savoury) provisions i have made for Milk and Cookies so far. Hope you enjoy! And if it's any consolation I will be missing all of you terribly while i'm away.
From left to right, top to bottom:
1. Vanilla Cupcakes
2. Pumpkin and Sage Ravioli
3. Chocolate Espresso and Mascarpone Tart
4. Carrot Cake Cookies
5. Asparagus and Parmesan Cigars
6. Chocolate and Clementine Cake
7. Chocolate Delights
8. Marsala Souffle
9. Cinnamon Snails
Coming soon on Milk and Cookies... something with Wattleseed!
1. Vanilla Cupcakes
2. Pumpkin and Sage Ravioli
3. Chocolate Espresso and Mascarpone Tart
4. Carrot Cake Cookies
5. Asparagus and Parmesan Cigars
6. Chocolate and Clementine Cake
7. Chocolate Delights
8. Marsala Souffle
9. Cinnamon Snails
Coming soon on Milk and Cookies... something with Wattleseed!