Fueled By Flapjacks

Strawberry Fare

2007-11-30T12:30:00.000+13:00

Strawberry Fare is a creation after my own heart, or more correctly, after my stomach. The menu is a sumptuous ode to dessert with more choice than the rest of the menu combined. That is the way a menu should be in my ideal world! The only problem with it is you are very much spoiled for choice and indecision will wrack you for more than a mere moment. You'll scan and ponder, weigh up which one sets your heart a flutter more, than pick one which only just wins over your heart's ultimate desire. Given more time and an extra few stomachs, I would happily devour all of them. Even now my heart still cries out for Strawberry Fare and if I am ever in Wellington again, my eager stomach will surely direct my feet back there. No wonder it is fast becoming a Wellington institution. Every one of my friends that has been there raves about it and believe me unless you have a complete aversion to dessert, you will not be disappointed.

Accompanied by Linda, my PIE (Partner in Eating), I pushed open the doors to SF, hungrily anticipating the sweet feast of a lifetime. We were greeted by our waiter and invited to sit by the windows. Looking around the restaurant, I was surprised to see it mostly empty. Where were all the dessert-savvy denizens of Wellington? It was after 11? My sweet tooth would wake me up well before then. I was perplexed but thought "Oh well, all the more attention for me." Linda and I were both content to stick with water to drink, knowing we would need something plain to cleanse our palates and take the edge off our dessert. Cautious about launching a full on sugar attack to our stomachs, we thought it best to line it with some savory carbohydrate and placed an order for garlic bread.

We shared our appetizer - four slices of crisp bread smeared with garlic butter. Not the best garlic bread in the world. I prefer mine less crunchy and with a more pronounced garlic flavour (I love me some garlic!), but it was just what we needed to prepare ourselves for the next step in our dining evolution. Bring on the dessert!

Linda chose the Strawberries and Cream, an awe-inspiring tower of cream and strawberries on top of a meringue base.

The view you'd get of the Strawberries and Cream if you were hovering above it.

One of the finest towers you will ever have the pleasure to set eyes on.

I picked the Devil's Dream Cake - soft mousse-like layers of white and dark chocolate laced with raspberries which is apparently "really wicked and scores 10 on the richness scale". I also discover that it also comes with fresh pear and strawberries, a crispy biscuit, biscotti, hokey pokey and passionfruit & raspberry sauce, but I added a scoop of coffee and cream ice cream and laughed off the 10/10 richness. When it comes to handling decadence, I am a veteran. Oh, but this dessert nearly got the better of me. Half way through and I was almost slouched over the table saying "No more, no more", but the fighter in me took a breather and valiantly continued on. I succeeded, but definitely hit what I call the Dessert Paradox - where it is so sickeningly sweet that it is both delicious and disgusting at the same time. By the end of it, I had a love-hate affair with what I had just eaten and thus knew it was awesome. I left so over-satiated that I felt like I never wanted to eat anything sweet again. I couldn't even look at food after that and if you know me that is no easy feat to achieve. The only thing I ate for the rest of the day was a mini turkey sub from Subway to soak up some of the sugar and dairy. But honestly, nothing can weaken the power of the Devil's Dream Cake. It stands worthy of its 10 on the richness scale and gets my seal of approval. While it is not the best cake in the world, the entire dessert in total, of which there were many components is divine, as well as devilish (you definitely feel as though you've committed the sins of lust and gluttony!). The name stands true.

Devil's Dream Cake in all its glory

When I return and I very much want to say when, not if, I shall try something different however. The banoffi pie (a honey biscuit base filled with caramel and topped with freshly cut bananas, chocolate sauce and whipped cream) was extremely tempting, as was the tiramisu, the caramel and hazelnut torte, the creme brulee, the baked passionfruit cheesecake, the warm chocolate and English toffee pudding and the triple chocolate brownie. You see what I mean about being spoiled for choice! I cannot imagine how many trips to SF it would take to sample everything on the dessert menu. So to all you people that live in Wellington, I am envious. Strawberry Fare should sit right up there with the Beehive on the list of attractions.

Strawberry Fare
25 Kent Terrace
Wellington

My Love Affair With Scones

2007-11-28T14:44:00.000+13:00

I love scones, all scones, from the humble plain tea scones to the more decadent, sweet scones. Rarely does a week go by that I do not indulge in a fresh delicious scone with a cup of hot coffee.

I think everyone has an array of 'comfort foods', those treats that are familiar and never disappoint. Scones are one of mine. Whether of the more simple variety, eaten plain or with jam (and cream) or the more luscious, sugary scones, I can always convince myself that I am savoring a somewhat healthy treat, for a scone could hardly be worse than a slab of chocolate cake. Surely those dates must count towards my 5+ and aren't those walnuts a good fat? Whatever. They taste good.

Scones are a traditional British snack, but have since become popular the world over especially in the US where they are larger, sweeter and often cut into diamonds (what I call the Starbucks-style). They fall under the category of quickbread, being made with wheat, barley or oatmeal. The name is derived from the Dutch word schoonbrood, meaning fine white bread (schoon = pure, clean and brood = bread).

One of my favourite past-times as you all know is disappearing down to Starbucks and sinking into my favourite chair with a book, while sipping on a cup of Joe and a warm (microwave heated) scone. My two favourites are the maple walnut and the orange white chocolate scone. The first is a just sweet enough scone with a subtle maple flavour and a sprinke of walnuts, topped with a thin layer of maple icing. The second is a slightly sweeter, paler scone with hints of white chocolate and orange, drizzled with a squiggle of citrusy chocolate icing.

Maple walnut scone and orange white chocolate scone

Another of my fave scones is the chocolate mud scone from Bakers Delight. They've changed slightly since their conception. Originally they were rather large and could happily constitute a meal but have since shrunk to a rather disappointing but still satisfying snack size. In my opinion they are best served warm and smothered with Nutella or peanut butter.

The date scone from Bakers Delight is another favourite. It triumphs over many other date scones I have tried at cafes which I tend to find to crumbly and dry. BD's scone is denser and more doughier, just the way I like it. I'll either munch it straight from the bag in transit to somewhere or I'll split it and munch it down with jam.

Then there is my new favourite scone, which I baked with my own masterful hands, the pumpkin pecan white chocolate scone. So eager was I to wolf this down on several occasions, I never bothered to get a good photo of it but I can tell you that it was delish. You'd be jealous. I'll never cook with pumpkin puree again though, unless I can find it in a can. Spending over a half hour pushing mashed pumpkin through a sieve just to get a half a cup of puree just doesn't seem worth the elbow grease for a scone that only had a hint of a taste of pumpkin. Hopefully it is possible to replicate without the pumpkin. What really makes this scone fantastic is possibly its blatant disregard for health, as it is loaded with butter and brown sugar. Taking a deep whiff of them as they baked, I couldn't wait to bite into it and as soon as they had cooled I quickly plated one for the official first taste. Soft, doughy and dulcet, but not sickeningly sweet, so as to still fall under the scone, not cake category - they were perfect. Biting into a chunk of melted white chocolate was divine and the flavours mixed well with the pecan, one of my favourite nuts. My recipe only made 6 large scones, but it was totally worth the effort. They did not last long, especially as my Dad sneaked back in the middle of the night to grab a second scone while everyone was heading to bed.

My scone babies cooling down

A slightly blurry innards shot

While in England I was lucky enough to a cream tea. While it is most often associated with Devonshire, I ate mine at Tintagel in Cornwall, so technically it was a Cornish cream tea. Scones are served with clotted cream and jam and a pot of freshly brewed tea which you can drink until your bladder bursts. It made for a really yummy lunch and gave me plenty of energy to run around Tintagel Castle, but unfortunately my memory of it is tarnished as I came down with a stomach bug that night and can't look at clotted cream the same way again, even though it is mostly unrelated. Hopefully someday I will return to Cornwall again and reacquaint myself with the art of the cream tea before taking a more leisurely stroll along the ruins on the cliffside.

Cornish cream tea. At the back is the clotted cream which I really should have opened, but was obviously too entranced by my meal to think of.

Closely related to the scone is the American biscuit, which I really enjoyed and tended to find were slightly crispier on the outside than a scone. Sweet scones still rule the more savory type, however much Crystal may claim the brilliance of her beloved cheese scones.

The sexy Crystal poses with a cheese scone at Fidel's on Cuba St, Wellington

The Battle of the Bulge

2007-11-16T10:37:00.000+13:00

I don't cook or bake much. This is not because I don't want to or because I can't find the time. It's more of a defensive manoeuvre to protect my waistline, to prevent my hips from burgeoning over the edge of my skinny leg hipster jeans in what has been dubbed the "love handles", to stop my buttocks from becoming tripping over the fine line from J-Lo resemblance to Roseanne resemblance. My lack of cooking is all part of my own personal battle of of the bulge. And I'm sure many of you woman out there can sympathize. None of us eat what we would like to or as much as we would like to. There is this obstinate thing called fear (of fat and heart malfunction and all the other big bad medical diagnoses out there) which is channeled into this other thing called discipline or self-control.

If we all lived in a magical world called The Land of Eat As You Please, I have to admit, I would probably never stop eating. I'd be insatiable. In fact, it's probably a good thing because I would never get anything done. Of course, I'd be one hell of a great food writer because I really would be The Girl Who Ate Everything. But alack, I must content myself most of the time with my recommended caloric intake... and sometimes less so. I don't have a balanced diet. I favour deliciousness over nutritiousness, though every so often I do have a craving for green things that grow in the garden - not snails, not grass - oh hell, there are probably plenty of green things growing in the garden - a person standing out there might have green boogers growing in his nose - I should be more specific - I mean broccoli, but often spinach, carrots, cauliflower and mushrooms (I love mushrooms)... actually a bunch of vegetables that are not green (I love kumara and pumpkin too!). This still doesn't excuse all the sugar and carbs I consume.... but what was my point?

Oh yes, alas, most of the time I must content myself with living vicariously, by fantasizing. How do I do this? Well in case you didn't know. I am addicted to food blogs. My day begins by hitting up Bloglines and checking out the deliciousness that has been whipped up in others' kitchens and gone into others' mouths. It really is a beautiful way to start your day and is calorie free! Yes, I also love a gorgeous photograph of a sunset or a beautiful building or a dew-dropped lily but food photography (or food porn as it is endearingly called) is my favourite. It is the main reason why I want a Canon EOS 400D. The XTi Rebel they call it. I call it "my baby". This might seem obsessive, but it is a good thing. It suggests ownership, it suggests that I have already gained possession of it, that it is mine. This is the kind of behaviour that books and films like The Secret recommend and it does work. I formed an attachment to this laptop before I got it, giving it the names Fawkes and it showed up, a day late mind you, but very close to schedule. Now in case you've still missed my point because I have definitely buried it within a jungle of rambling (yes it is possible to build a tangent on a tangent), I love food blogs and I suggest you take up my hobby. I like to spread the joy. It is much more enjoyable than seeing the latest fashion catastrophe of Britney Spears or seeing yet another A-List celeb emerging from Mr Chow yet again. It's food. It is something we can all enjoy. In fact, eating next to sex is probably the most shared worldwide hobby. We all do it, we all love it and I think if we all enjoyed doing it together more, the world would be a better place.

So because I have yet to put together a new food post, here are my top 5 favourite food blogs:
1/Tastespotting - The No.1 portal to deliciousness. It is a constantly updated What's Hot of food porn with pictures and links. I drool over it daily. My day is not complete until I have checked out Tastespotting 2 or 10 times (btw, 10 times is what happens when you sit on the internet all day with a tab open with Bloglines running)
2/The Girl Who Ate Everything - Robyn is my fave food blogger. Not your typical food writer, but all the better for it. None of the snobby pretension, just a down-to-earth, sometimes self-deprecating girl who loves to eat, take pictures and describe what she eats in hilarious detail. No one describes food like Robyn or shows such intense enthusiasm for gelato or macarons. She is the reason I got into food blogging in the first place and she doesn't even know it. Now she makes a living for it because she works for Serious Eats.
3/Dessert Comes First - Run by a lovely woman in Manila, this was also one of the first food blogs I fell in love with. Lori appreciates dessert just as much as I do though she does post on a bunch of other things too. She takes fantastic pictures and writes wonderful descriptions in the way that an accomplished and published food writer does.
4/The Wandering Eater - Tina lives in NYC and is also one of my daily blog reads though she doesn't update as much being a busy girl. But I'm so envious of the sophisticated New York restaurants she visits. I'm so jealous of anyone who lives in NYC.
5/A Passion For Food - Kathy writes of her almost daily eats, also in Manhattan where she moved from Hawaii. She seems to have a penchant for good bakeries.

That's your intro to the world of food blogs, or rather my world of food blogs. I search through many more but these are my daily digests.

Who Ate All The Pie?

2007-11-11T19:22:00.001+13:00

"It's alive! It's alive!" Is what you might cry if you were a) a maniac who has watched one too many Frankenstein movies or b) just way too dramatic in expressing your surprise at a new post after such a long hiatus. What happened? I'm not sure. I think I just got lazy and abandoned it for my personal "anything" blog. But no more. Yet again I shall share with you the contents of my stomach. Before they reach my stomach. How considerate of me. Some of you, if I know you know me personally might be so lucky as to consume such gastronomical delights with me and for that you should feel oh so privileged. I don't just eat with random strangers you know. I carefully select my partners-in-feast. There is a rigorous selection process. In fact, you may have been subjected to an audition and not even know it. However, there are some partners-in-feast that are more skilled than others, and for this they have attained a certain level of excellence, a veritable prowess in the art of eating. There are very few requirements for this other than a) you can eat as much as me, therefore alleviating the feeling of being a "big pig" and b) you show an incredible amount of enthusiasm for the contents selected for consumption. Are you up to the challenge? Will you become the Number One Partner-In-Feast? Will you come up with a better name than Partner-In-Feast or PIF?

Alright, moving on. We'll start with my most recent feastage. This morning. For the last two weeks in a row I have had the pleasure of eating banoffee pie. This week was to be no different, for all week Derryn and I have been planning and very much looking forward to in a somewhat obsessive way, to our Banoffee Pie Eating Expedition or BPEE if you really like to make acronyms. The day of our BPEE finally arrived and we met up at The Coffee Club in Botany Town Centre at 11am. We arrived just in the knick of time. Our plans for banoffee pie eating were almost foiled by other greedy souls. There were only 3 slices left! And I find that I must correct myself for we were actually going to eat banoffee tart. As to what the difference between a pie and a tart is, I don't know.* I'm not an expert. Yet anyway. I wonder just how many pies and tarts you have to eat before becoming an "expert". I wonder if you can tell an expert in the a similar manner to how you can tell the age on a tree, but instead of rings in the trunk, you get number of extra inches in girth. Excessive pie eating is not conducive to skinniness.

Being in full glutton mode (which arguably is my default setting but can be controlled through much will power) I ordered not only the banoffee pie, but also pancakes and a long espresso. Derryn just went with the banoffee pie which she claims really made her full. Weakling. lol. Kidding. I love Derryn, my fellow banoffee tart/pie enthusiast.

We took a seat and waited for our orders. The tart and coffee came pretty quickly. Derryn politely waited awhile before digging in, but she did start before my pancakes arrived because they took an eternity as far as my desire is concerned. I left the tart for the "dessert" portion of my meal and patiently sipped on my blessed black elixir of life (neither scientifically proven nor a culturally revered belief, but asserted by coffee aficionado, *cough* addicts everywhere).

Due my current run in with the cold virus, my taste buds were a little muted.

Bow to the tart!

This tart is divine. Dulcet creamy banana-caramel with a nearly custard-like consistency inside a sweet, buttery pastry crust and topped with caramel, a lone pecan and a single crispy, baked banana slice. Served with a dollop of cream, which it doesn't really need because this tart needs nothing added to it. It can stand alone. I have indulged in it three times in three weeks. I may not be an expert on tarts, but I'm an expert on this particular tart. Derryn very much agreed with my affirmation of deliciousness. She still raves about the banoffee pie from Lone Star Cafe, which I have yet to meet and eat.

Banoffee Tart in all its glory prior to cutting and carnage (photo courtesy of Rocket Kitchen)

And now for the pancakes. Despite the name of my blog, I really haven't been consuming many pancakes lately. Very few pancakes stand up to my criteria for really good pancakes. Not that pancakes are ever bad, but I still crave a hefty serving of huge pancakes so fluffy that you expect them to just drift off your plate and into your mouth, which in such a mesmerized state would probably exhibit some sort of tractor-beam like pull. Still, the pancakes at The Coffee Club are good. You get just enough to live satisfied but not so much that you leave completely stuffed and unable to function for the rest of the day (though on occasion this is a totally awesome sensation). You get three pancakes, which judging by size really should be called hot cakes. They come with a ball of vanilla icecream, a dash of cream, a tiny crisp mini pikelet-waffle hybrid, lightly grilled banana, strawberries and maple syrup, all dusted with icing sugar. It hits the non-breakfast filled spot and fulfills my sugar cravings. It also looks beautiful. But having eaten the pancakes here many a time, I have to say, their presentation changes slightly every time. They added the strawberries for free. I only ordered the banana as an extra (you can also choose bacon and strawberries for an extra price).

Mmm... I love breakfast. Whether it be a stack of pancakes or a bowl of porridge, I heart it. It is one of the last things I think about before going to sleep and the first thing on my mind in the morning. It is my number one reason for getting up and I feel weird if I don't eat it immediately after rising. It's a major part of my morning routine. It's also a habit to be recommended. It kick starts your metabolism and gives you energy to start your day right. Breakfast is awesome.

Derryn and I also went grocery shopping after our feast. I was happy to see that New World has added an international section. I was very tempted to buy chocolate green tea Pocky, but I didn't. But boy, oh boy, was that Men's Chocolate Pocky tempting. What is it that makes this Pocky more suitable for men, I don't know, but I'm intrigued. Does it have a mystical ingredient that makes you sprout chest hair and manly strength? Maybe I should try it and find out, if I am so daring. I was intrigued enough to buy a bottle of Zenya green tea with pomegranate. It tastes like raspberry cordial. I don't have any memory of ever eating pomegranate so I can't actually compare it to the taste of pomegranates. It's yummy and healthy tea though and good if you don't like the taste of green tea because I could not taste it.

*According to Wikipedia, tart is a type of pie that is served upside so that the crust is only on the bottom. Thus a tart is anything that does not have a top crust.

The Coffee Club and New World - Botany Town Centre, Cnr. Ti Rakau & Te Irirangi Drives, Botany Downs, East Auckland

National Doughnut Day

2007-06-01T19:54:00.000+12:00

If you didn't know today is National Doughnut Day! It comes every year on the first Friday of June. Why Friday, why June? I don't know. But any day that is an excuse to eat donuts is good in my book.

The donut or doughnut (I prefer donut, it appears more aesthetically pleasing to me) comes in two types - the torus-shaped ring donut and the filled donut, a flattened sphere injected with jam, cream, custard or any other sweet filling you can think of. Once shaped and filled these doughy babies are dropped into deep-fried oil, where they make their transformation into the delicious snack we all know and all should love.

Where donuts come from no-one exactly knows. Their sacred history is full of holes (hahaha. Get the pun?). Some claim Dutch settlers to North America invented them. But then there is America's version of the girl at the reunion who claims to have invented post-its notes, Hanson Gregory, who claims to have invented the ring-shaped treat aboard a lime-trading ship when he was 16. He obviously wasn't a very popular kid though because no-one would back him up.

Though many associate donuts with Americans and fat, sluggish cops, it is the Canadians that consume the most donuts and whom have the most donut stores per capita. I guess Americans just get more attention because they are louder and resemble donuts more.

Chocolate cream donut innards

As I said in Electric Satori, I am extending National Doughnut Day to NZ. Why should the Americans have all the fun? Of course, the celebration had to include the consumption of donuts so I made my way to Dunkin Donuts. I selected the traditional sugared donut and a chocolate cream donut to accompany the mini donuts my mother had already brought to celebrate the occasion.

The sugared donut, golden and delicately dusted with sugar; it was light and airy. The dough collapsed with every bite, then slowly sprang back. It tasted sweet, but not too much so. You could still taste that classic dough taste. This is the kind of donut you could eat a lot of.

The chocolate cream donut was my favourite out of the two because it was much more decadent. You couldn't eat a lot of these. The chocolate ganache filling was sweet, rich and creamy. It oozes out of its doughy home and I utter a delighted "mmmm" as the chocolate melts in my mouth. I lick the powdered sugar from my fingers with great satisfaction. It was gone too quickly, but then I only half of each donut. Not a bad lunch though.

Dolce Vita

2007-03-11T13:41:00.000+13:00

I haven't had much dedication to this whole food blogging thing lately. Blame it on whatever. I went out to dinner last Friday but I was much too concerned with stuffing my ravenous belly to take photos. I have a few and they suck. Oh well, you just should have been there!

After hanging out at Erin's apartment eating crackers and cheese, Erin, Jen and I headed down to Queen St to meet up with Roxanne. We settled on Italian at Dolce Vita on High St. Jen and I used to go here a lot when she was still at university and we had pasta cravings, so we were interested to see what it is like now that they have renovated and possibly changed owners. I think the interior is what attracted me to eat there. Deep red walls give the restaurant a cosy warmth. The beautiful antique wooden bar that I always admired is still there but has moved to the back of the restaurants rather than the side.

We perused the menu for awhile before deciding to share dishes and a bottle of red wine (which I discovered I don't actually hate but must have had a bad experience with a crap bottle of red wine a long time ago). First up we got an antipasto platter which included breads, dip, salami, salmon, ginger, olives, ham and pickle. It was pretty tasty but I found the olives way too salty and refused to touch the pickles or the ginger... ugh. The rest was good especially the salami and the fresh raw salmon.

For mains, we shared fettuccini carbonara (roasted bacon and onion in a white wine creamy sauce) and fettuccine dolce vita (delicious roasted chicken, mushroom and onion in a creamy tomato and basil sauce). I'm not sure which pasta I liked the best so I can't pick a favourite, though you can't usually go wrong with carbonara. I wish I could have eaten more of it though. I find it hard to savour the taste of things in small quantities, on account of the fact that I stuff my face too quickly. I think I prefer eating lots of one thing rather than little bits of stuff.

We also shared a pizza but I forget the name of it. It was one of the meat pizzas. It was good but nothing completely wow inducing. Just an average pizza really.

We all ordered dessert. Roxanne and I both ordered the tiramisu, Erin got the baked apple pie and Jenny got a pancake ribbon dessert (I forget the exact name).

The tiramisu was okay but frankly, I think I could make one better. My ideal tiramisu may not be entirely authentic however. Firstly, it would have a stronger coffee flavour. This didn't have enough coffee. It would also have more chocolate because chocolate is what this tiramisu lacked. All the alcohol seemed to have settled to the bottom of the sponge as well. It would have been much better if it had been evenly distributed.

Erin had wanted to order the apple tart but was informed they had run out and the waitress suggested the apple pie because it was very similar. As to what the exact different between apple pie and apple tart is, I'm not too sure. I guess they are like cousins or something.

It came out served in a glass, which was rather surprising and peculiar. I'm not sure how well chocolate icecream goes with apple part. I personally would find that the chocolate would overpower the tartness of the apple. Vanilla usually compliments apple much better. I didn't taste any of this so I can't say whether it was good or not. From my observations, Erin was either not too impressed or too full to eat much because she appeared to have just scooped out the middle.

The waitress couldn't adequately describe what the pancake ribbon dessert was but Jen took a gamble on it anyway. I actually have to say I preferred this more than my tiramisu. Who knows why I didn't go for something containing pancake. I have been acting rather out of character lately. Anyways, it was thin strips of crispy deep fried pancake doused in a sweet sugary white wine egg sauce. I don't know why I've never tried deep fried pancake but it is delicious and I wonder what a whole pancake would be like deep fried. The sauce was divine. It was similar to maple syrup but with a more eggy flavour. I could have just drunk it straight which in my opinion is the mark of a good sauce. It's not the mark of good manners or self-restraint but it makes a fine benchmark for weighing up a desert condiment. This was definitely a unique dessert.

On the whole the food was rather average, but I'd still go back to Dolce Vita during the day if I had a pasta craving. It was still satisfying.

Easter, Part 1 - Hot Cross Buns

2007-02-26T19:19:00.000+13:00

I've decided to run a series of blog entries on Easter food, which being a celebration of rebirth is much better celebrated at the time of the spring equinox, making some Easter traditions such as eggs, baby chickens and any spring decorations a little odd down here in the Southern Hemisphere, but it's tradition, what can you do? To fit in with New Zealand seasons, I'm gonna do a fall recipes series to celebrate the autumnal equinox and the dawning of the cooler months. If I were pagan, it would be to celebrate Mabon, which is the opposite holiday to what American Wiccans would celebrate at Easter, the sabbat of Ostara. I really like the ideas of the Wiccan Sabbats because I like honouring the changing of the seasons and I love a good excuse to celebrate with different foods. We need more holidays. I've even decided to create my own Thanksgiving this year but not on the date that the Americans or the Canadians celebrate it. I think New Zealand is in need of a good mid-winter holiday, something different from a mid-winter Christmas. I haven't decided on an exact date but it will be sometime in June or July.

I know I complain a lot about holiday celebrations beginning too early and Easter is not until April, but when I was at the bakery this weekend, I spotted chocolate chip hot cross buns and my belly cried out for their little doughy goodness. I don't like regular hot cross buns so I guess I got overly excited because I temporarily forgot about the existence of the chocolate chip variety. Anyways, if I'm gonna do a series on Easter-ish food, I should start early. There might be lots to cover.

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, but they go on sale well before then and people eat them whenever they want. The cross as you all know is a symbol of Christ, whose death and rebirth is the reason for the season.

Chocolate chip hot cross bun

Hot cross buns also became a part of popular culture when the street cry of English bakers was developed into a simple song to teach the basic notes of various instruments. You all know the song:

Hot cross buns,

one a penny,

two a penny,

hot cross buns.

If you have no daughters,

give them to your sons,

one a penny,

two a penny,

Hot Cross Buns

I ate a hot cross bun for breakfast. Soft on the inside, slightly chewy skin on the outside and filled with a supposed "100 chocolate chips per bun", it was a pretty satisfying breakfast. I ate it plain but would very much like to try it with nutella; peanut butter; cream; more chocolate; or mascarpone cream.

I also tried a new type of hot chocolate. Chocolate is a very Easter-ish food and a wonderful breakfast beverage. Linda gifted me with a bag of spiced hot chocolate and I thought it would go well with a hot cross bun because they are slightly spiced. I added a bit of Cadbury Drinking Chocolate to make it richer. It was pretty good. The spices were subtle and of the sweeter variety like in chai tea, not of the chili variety. I really need to start frothing my milk for my hot chocolates because it would have been way better with thicker frothier milk.

Thai, Japanese and Mexican, Oh My!

2007-02-26T17:38:00.000+13:00

In addition to doing a lot of sightseeing this weekend, I also did a lot of eating! We didn't exactly take Chris on a culinary tour of Auckland because a)we didn't have reservations and b)we aren't that rich, but food was consumed and it was tasty, so we didn't fail on the gastronomy front.

On Friday night, Chris and I decided to eat Thai and since there is only one Thai place at the mall and I had just mentioned my love of the peanut curry there, SaNook Thai Express Bistro was our culinary port of call. For once in my life, I didn't order anything with peanut! Shock horror! Check out the flying pig! Can you believe it? Something must be seriously wrong with me. Not only did I turn down peanut but earlier in the week, I turned down an excuse to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday! My gluttony compass must be broken. I wanted something a little less heavy so I ordered fried rice with shrimp, squid, mussels and shimp paste. I received a huge mound of rice which I could have finished but did not. Temperance must have finally befriended me. It was good but fairly bland tasting. I added some sweet chili sauce near the end and that was much better. You can't go wrong with sweet chili sauce.

Seafood fried rice in shrimp paste

Chris ordered my beloved Nam Prik Gai, chicken in peanut gravy. He liked it but did not show nearly as much enthusiasm as I would have. Don't ask for the Thai name of my fried rice, I no longer remember because nam prik gai is the only Thai I know.

Nam Prik Gai

Again showing some temperance and mindful of the weekend ahead, I skipped out on dessert. The lure of tapioca doused in lush coconut cream was great but I leave that for another day. After all, it's only February. There are 10 months of eating left for 2007. We washed down our dessert with hot drinks instead. Chris with a flat white (described as the perfect morning coffee) and me with a chai tea latte, which as you all know is one of my new favourite drinks.

On Saturday we visited what Justina proclaimed to be "the best food court in Auckland". I was not disappointed. Hidden away in the ground floor of an office building lies a small fast food heaven with establishments selling many Asian cuisines. I promised myself I would return to lunch with Justina at a later date in order to feast on more goods. I wasn't feeling very adventurous so I ordered my default Japanese dish of teriyaki chicken and was handed a number on a red block stand. While waiting for my dish, I wandered over to another stand to purchase a passionfruit soda that caught my eye.

Passionfruit soda

After a short wait, I was presented with my meal, which very much impressed me.

Teriyaki chicken

Plenty of succulent teriyaki chicken on a bed of rice and lettuce. The lettuce was a pleasant surprise. It was nice to have added vegies. I also received miso soup and a yummy side salad with what seemed to be a slightly sweet sesame paste.

Side salad with sesame paste (?)

I would definitely eat this again. Many other things caught my attention and if I meet Justina a lot perhaps I will try every stall at this little Shangri-La.

Chris ordered the katsu curry. I'm unsure whether it was pork or chicken. He was supplied with a huge pool of curry, which was rather yellow compared to more orange Japanese curries I have seen. It appeared more soup-like than the last katsu curry I had as well. Occupied by my teriyaki, I didn't try any so I can't inform you of its taste.

Katsu cury

I couldn't be bothered leaning over the table again to take a picture of Justina's tofu vegetable stir fry, but I did get a picture of the fabulous pot it came in. How often do you see crockery like this in a food court?

Awesome pot

Justina also got dessert. I'm not sure what you call it but it was condensed milk, red bean and ice covered in red and green flavouring. It was tasty but I just had a few spoonfuls.

For dinner, we went to Giggles Cafe and Grill in Howick. Only recently did I realise that they served Cajun, Creole and Mexican cuisine and because Chris was craving steak, I suggested it. We were seated in the front room (there is also a fully covered balcony room). The restaurant had wonderful ambiance, reminiscent of a bar in the Southern bayous of Louisiana. Coloured lamp shades hung low over the tables, providing a dim glow. Old Blues and Soul tunes played in the background and I was almost overcome with nostalgia for the South. We spent a long time perusing the menu. I was excited to see they served gumbo and jambalaya but was informed there was only one level of spiciness and that was hot. Knowing my limits, I ordered the chicken burrito instead. I am being encouraged to train myself to handle hot stuff. If I can find a suitable training regime, I may just do this. Life is too short not to eat Cajun and Creole the traditional way.

Chicken burrito

My chicken burrito was massive. You only need one to be satisfied. It was filled with chicken, cheese and spinach with salad, salsa and sour cream on the side. Very delicious and lay just within my spice barrier. My tolerance is low.

Justina ordered the vegetable burrito because she was feeling herbivorous and wasn't that hungry. However, for a not-so-hungry person she ironically received a lot of food. Her bean burrito also came with rice, salsa and sour cream, which was in addition to the side salad she ordered. She did a good job putting most of it away, but ended up creating a works of art with the remaining bean paste.

Vegetable burrito

Chris ordered the means to construct his own burritos - beef, salsa, salad, cheese, sour cream and tortillas. It looked good but I prefer to have my meals fully constructed. I'm lazy when I dine out.

Steaming beef buritto innards

Make your own burrito kit

This time I did not ignore dessert. It was hard to decide what to order. One of my all-time favourite desserts, pecan pie was on the menu, but the bread pudding also sounded delicious. I went with the bread pudding since I often make caramel pecan pie at home.

It was good but no drool inducing. It's hard to tell where it was lacking. It was filled with dates and raisins, covered in rum sauce and served with vanilla icecream and cream, dusted with cinnamon. I think it could have been sweeter and perhaps the bread could have been softer, more liquid soaked. At least, that is how I would prefer it. I also felt like the sauce needed something. Either more sugar or even better, caramel! It wasn't bad but then I am comparing it to the fabulous bread pudding I had at Bubba Gump's in San Francisco which was amazingly rich, decadent and so huge I couldn't finish it.

Bread pudding

Chris ordered the bananas foster. This would have been my third choice because it has been recommended to me before. I didn't try any of Chris' but I would like to go back to Giggle's and I'll try it then. Banana is flambeed in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and rum, then served with vanilla icecream. The thick sauce looked delicious and seemed like a good way to eat my favourite fruit.

Bananas foster

On Sunday, we had a lunch at the beach consisting of bakery foods I did not photograph. This concludes the eating adventures of Princess Buttercup and two of the delicate flowers.

SaNook Thai Express Bistro - 1 Sunset Terrace, Botany Town Centre, Auckland
Giggles Cafe and Grill - 124 Picton St, Howick

The Coffee Club Part 2

2007-02-20T16:55:00.000+13:00

I'm supposed to be eating healthy to compensate for the "garbage"* I piled into my system over the weekend, but I'm having a bit of a crappy day and this is how we roll. My body can stand to gain a few pounds, at least that is what the rational part of me tells myself.

Ma and I took a walk to get some fresh air but after a short walk, I was rather tired so we had to stop for a rest and a cool drink. I promised I would get a picture of the banana split frappe, so here it is.

The girl in the back appears to be enraptured by it. She can't take her eyes of it.

But why stop at a drink, when you can eat. The caramel creme brulee cheesecake looked both appetising and intriguing, so Ma and I shared it. I've yet to eat creme brulee so I can't tell you how authentic it tasted. It wasn't overly sweet or rich, nor was the caramel really strong. I would have preferred it richer. It did have a touch of that creme brulee-ish flavour, as if someone might have taken a torch to it. The biscuit base was a little bit like brownie with a slightly bitter taste like coffee. This cheesecake had a texture I've never had before in a cheesecake. It was much thicker than the silky ones I eat. I think I prefer slightly softer ones. I suppose it was a cross between the consistency of silky cheesecake and a baked cheesecake. Overall, not bad but I probably wouldn't eat it again. It didn't knock my socks off.

*Why, oh why does "garbage" taste so good?

More Silken Rose

2007-02-20T16:05:00.000+13:00

The lovely Linda sent me her pictures from the Silken Rose.

So behold the Tower of Cupcakes...

And the wonderful array of cafe food...

The Joy Of Baking

2007-02-19T15:14:00.000+13:00

If I had to pick a fragrance for my weekend, it would be a scent so sweet and saccharine you would just want to melt into it. This was the aroma that filled my kitchen as I spent hours baking for the 4th non-annual Silken Rose (aka Crystal's birthday party).

It was hard work but really enjoyable. I find baking really soothing. I was really in the moment and would have avoided the clock entirely if I didn't have a deadline. There is a great pleasure in taking raw ingredients and building them up to something deliciously edible.

Chocolate cupcakes fresh out of the oven, pre-frosting.

Vanilla cupcakes fresh from the oven, pre-frosting

My most ambitious, yet most rewarding task was the creation of cupcakes. I was making 2 sets of 12 cupcakes - vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream frosting. They were easy to make, but very time consuming. I won't even consider how many calories are in the little bundles of joy, but considering they mostly consisted of butter and sugar it would be alot! The cupcakes were definitely my favourite thing to make. They smelled divine. I breathed them in almost giddy with delight as I waited for my babies to grow up into big cupcakes (I didn't break the news to them that they were about to be eaten).

Vanilla cupcake with pink vanilla frosting and marshmallow flower with M&M centre.

Chocolate cupcak with chocolate frosting, after-dinner mint sticks and chocolate chips

I also made Weight Watches Cappuchino brownies, which I would say were more mocha brownies because they included dark chocolate and cocoa. They weren't as diet as the recipe however because I didn't use reduced fat butter. These brownies also contained Weight Watchers Berry Flakes. They are pretty simple to prepare and much faster than cupcakes. Once baked, I cut them into small slices and lightly powdered icing sugar over them. I liked them but I would have preferred them with more chocolate and more coffee. Some people claimed the coffee was too strong, but I could barely taste it, probably because I have acquired the taste for coffee more than some. I will probably just make rich decadent brownies next time.

I licked a lot of bowls and did a lot of dishes in the course of this weekend. How my stomach has coped with this assault, I do not know. I did have a bit of a belly ache last night. There is only so much sugar and dairy a person's body should ingest in the space of two days and I am quite sure I surpassed it.

I also made plain scones (served with plum jam and peach vanilla preserve) and sandwiches with various combinations of chicken, beef, cheddar cheese, aioli, tomato and bbq sauce. I brought home a few leftovers of these, which Ma toasted in the oven for dinner and damn are they good toasted. They are like twice as tasty! It is the magic of toasting!

I don't have pictures of the sandwiches yet or the rest of the scrumptious Silken Rose spread, but I'm pretty sure Linda took pictures of it so I'll get her to forward them to me.

The Silken Rose Cafe also served mince savories, beef sausage rolls, feta and spinach pastries, bread with dips, mini bacon and egg quiches and chocolate birthday cake. A wide assortment of teas, coffees, hot chocolates and cold drinks were also on offer for our patrons.

The night before the Silken Rose was Linda's farewell get together because she is leaving us and running off to Deering, New Hampshire! :( Satiated with baked good batter, I devoured corn chips with salsa and a plate of cheese and crackers. My body was craving savory food, so I was helplessly bound to stuff as much of it in as I could. Remember what I said about moderation? I also ate a few eclairs - some of the large home-made variety filled with fresh cream and freshly melted chocolate. Others of the miniature store bought variety filled with a delectable bavarian cream. It doesn't take long for my body to revert back to sugar consumption mode.

Linda also prepared one of our favourite desserts - ambrosia! Oh yes, another big bowl. A lush, creamy dessert made from yoghurt and whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate buttons and blueberries. Not a dessert for the faint hearted. There is a reason it's name means "food of the gods", because you have to be super-human to consume large quantities of it.

Moroccan Tomato and Garbanzo Fish Stew

2007-02-16T18:01:00.000+13:00

While perusing the supermarket the other day, I noticed a can of Moroccan style tomatoes with onion, coriander, cumin and cinnamon. I thought this would go really well with some chickpeas so into the basket it went.

Tonight, I decided to make my Moroccan tomato stew with garbanzo beans and fish. No recipe. It is simple. I made it up. I used tarakihi (also called ocean or silver bream) fish and I'm saying garbanzo beans because that is what it said on the can. It is Spanish for chickpeas, which I guess goes with the Moroccan influence in this dish. Random historic trivia about chickpeas: the Roman emperor Cicero's name is derived from a chickpea. His name means "Big Chickpea" or "Big Head" because he had an abnormally shaped head.

But I digress... it was a good, healthy meal, though rather basic tasting. I was unsure about what sort of spices to add to the sauce so I just left it as it was, but next time I'm going to be adventurous and add some stuff from the pantry to give it a kick. A thicker tomato sauce would also be great. I wanted to add spinach but alas, we were out. I also steamed some broccoli to get some greens into me. I have to say this was a pretty balanced meal - legumes, protein, omega-3, vegetables etc.

Peach + Vanilla = Yum

2007-02-15T18:13:00.000+13:00

Not much epicurean delights to post today unless of course you are interested in seeing pictures of my potato pumpkin gnocchi and spinach in bbq tomato sauce, or the Caesar salad I ate for dinner. Even if you wanted to see those things, you can't. I didn't take pictures of them. All I can tell you is that they were good. I'm rediscovering my love for spinach lately. I know love is a strong word, especially when it concerns a substance that is green and turns rather slimy when you cook it, but I like it, for whatever weird reason. I haven't had Caesar dressing in the longest time either. I knew I would feel too guilty if I smothered my salad in it, so I resisted the urge to do so and used it sparingly. I'm sure my body will thank me later.

So the one thing I can show you is the date scone I ate for breakfast. This, in itself, is not fascinating despite how wonderful and simple date scones are. It was the peach vanilla preserve that I lightly smeared onto the scone that is the crux of my post. I spied this intriguing condiment in the supermarket yesterday and decided I must try it as I plucked it from the shelf. It is a peach jam with a subtle but definitely discernible (I say subtle because it wasn't overpowering) vanilla flavour. I liked it. It was a nice change from my strawberry jam. Next time I'm gonna slather it on thicker.

Flap Me A Jack On St V Day

2007-02-14T16:08:00.000+13:00

Aah, Valentine's Day. The day you feast with your lover. I don't have one so my mother will have to do. I do love her and I tend to view Valentine's Day as a day of love for all. It certainly takes the pinch out of it.

Ma and I went to The Coffee Club for brunch. We were both in the mood for pancakes. Okay, yeah, when am I not in the mood for pancakes? hehe.

They came out simply but beautifully served. A stack of 3 pancakes topped with vanilla icecream and cream, a small baked pikelet, a tiny silver jug of maple syrup (which I miraculously only used half of when I normally smother my pancakes in it...), fresh ripe strawberries and sifted icing sugar around the edges of the plate. The pancakes were light and fluffy. Not amazing in the way that the best Canadian pancakes are amazing but I'd say they beat Denny's because I've kinda gone off Denny's. The serving is about right if you're looking for a satisfying but not food coma inducing breakfast. The mini baked pancake/pikelet thing was a cool surprise. I'm guessing they cooked it in the pan, then placed it in the oven for a bit because it was soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Kinda like a pancake waffle (a panoffle, a paffle, but not in the way you wish for Justina). You get the best of both worlds when it comes to icecream and cream. No need to decide. I find icecream goes the best with pancakes though. The icecream is probably why I didn't need as much syrup since I had some other kind of liquid to soak my flapjacks in. I would eat this again.

I was in a coffee mood so I decided to try a Mellochino. I was mistaken in believing it would have a more distinct marshmallow flavour or a more obvious inclusion of marshmallow but I was wrong. It was pretty much a cappachino with less froth. There was a little bit of marshmallow in the foam, but not much. Overall, I don't really see the point of this drink. Personally, I think they should somehow melt marshmallows into the coffee.

Isn't the little choc marshmallow heart a delightful Valentine's touch. A server also came around the tables and gave us an extra one during our meal. I never say no to chocolate.

I promise I will order the Banana Split Frappe next time to show y'all. Ma and I were thinking about getting some cake for dessert but we figured we would do it next time just as a snack. We were practicing a bit of restraint. Their cappuchino cheesecake, maple chocolate fudge tart and tiramisu all looked delicious. Oh, the choices....

Bow To Chai

2007-02-13T13:16:00.000+13:00

Yes, I'm on a roll - for eating! I'm going okay with the eating healthy thing. But everything in moderation, including moderation. hehe. What? I couldn't resist a Starbucks fix - it is the Disneyworld of coffee shops after all... You know, I secretly work in their marketing department right.... Oh, if only I got paid to praise....

Behold, my beloved maple walnut scone. I haven't featured a picture of it for awhile. For once, I didn't consume it. Ma did.

I decided to try something new. I got the blueberry muffin.

It was good but rather average. I wasn't falling all over myself for it. Dude, imagine how good a muffin would have to be for you to be falling over yourself with giddiness upon ingestion? Positively ambrosial, I'll bet. And where can I find one? I want to fall over myself with eating glee. Normally, I just get that experience pre-eating. Methinks, I need to cultivate the post-eating delight. I could have a happy dance. I will call it the Gastronomic Jig or the Buddha Belly Breakdance. Or I will just roll around the floor with intense satisfaction and perfect disregard to the norms of etiquette.

Since I was trying new things, I also ordered the Chai Tea Latte for the first time. Why have I not tried that before? So good. Chai tea is such a comforting, satisfying beverage. This one was creamy with just the right blend of warm spices, usually cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorn and cloves. Mmmm.... much better than I make at home. Chai tea is so delicate to the senses, unlike coffee which can be a bitter affront to them. Those aspects of coffee are great if you are looking for a pick-me-up but otherwise it's gentler sister, tea, is wonderful.

Revive!

2007-02-12T15:32:00.000+13:00

Ma and I went out to the city today and I'd been looking to try Revive for a while now. It's a cafe just off Queen St that has a completely vegetarian menu. Taking a look at their menu online (which is revolving and changes every week), I decided the food looked quite tasty and healthy, which is a bonus because I'm starting my new eating regime this week ie. 3 meals a day, lotsa fruit and vegies, less sweet, sugar saturated stuff. This sounded like the perfect option for lunch out.

I was not disappointed. I ordered the North African Chickpea and Aubergine Stew with Harissa and Brown Rice ($9.80). It was delicious. Not spicy at all like I worried it might be from descriptions I read of harissa online. I'm not sure how much it resembles stew because it looked nothing like I imagined it would. I was thinking more soupy, but I prefer it this way. The tomato herb sauce was rich, but not too rich. I'm really getting to like chickpeas lately. It's not that they have a distinctly strong flavour or anything, but for some reason I find them to be rather satisfying and the awareness that you are ingesting something good for you makes it extra rewarding. The aubergine was rather sparse. I would have liked more because aubergine is one of my fave vegetables. You can't see it in the picture but there is brown rice underneath the stew. If I could make any recommendation to Revive it would be: serve more rice. I was still a bit hungry afterwards. Next time I come here, I will probably get a full side salad. If they still have the Energizing Aztec Salad with Roasted Buttercup Squash, Organic Quinoa and Corn with Chive Dressing, I will try that because it sounds great. There is also my favourite, the Caesar salad with Organic Free Range Eggs, Croutons, Tomato and Homemade Dressing. I'd also quite like to try one of their smoothies or juices. But warning folks, they don't do coffee here. You're supposed to get energy from the food, not the caffeine.

Ma ordered the Spanish Omelette with Potatoes and Apricot Chutney ($9.80). I did not taste but she informs me that it was good. It looked very appetizing and the chutney looked mighty appealing. Me thinks, I would have wanted more than a little pot of it though.

I rate Revive quite highly. There aren't many places that do healthy, balanced, semi-organic (not all organic due to an attempt to keep prices down) vegetarian meals around. Cooking classes are even offered. Definitely worth a try if you are in the area and want something low-fat. But not good for you carnivorous readers.

Revive - 16 Fort St, Auckland Central (Mon-Thurs 8am-9pm, Fri8am-2.30pm, closed weekends and holidays)

Tiramisu Thickshake and The Coffee Club

2007-02-09T15:32:00.000+13:00

This is not the most exciting review in the world because it is a beverage review and beverage shots never come out particularly fascinating but I thought I would update nevertheless.

I ate sushi for lunch but didn't bother taking a picture of that because I've eaten sushi from Oishii's Kitchen a million times and y'all know what takeaway sesame teriyaki chicken sushi would look like. Not a big stretch of the imagination.

I did however try something fairly new. I had a craving for something sweet and milky. Something in the form of a thickshake so I brought a small tiramisu thickshake from New Zealand Natural. It was good but not amazing. Firstly, it could have been thicker. I like my thickshakes thick. It did almost fooled me into thinking it was thick but I realised that it was just chunks of cake/biscuit clogging up my straw. I also would have preferred a stronger coffee and chocolate taste. The liqueur flavour was tasty but in order to have a more authentic tiramisu thickshake, I feel as though it needed more coffee and more chocolate. This is the fault of the icecream it was made with not the shake itself. It was still a satisfying beverage, however.

This is a sucky shot, I know. I was lazy and just snapped a picture of it sitting on a shelf at the store.

I actually consumed another drink (and sandwich) that is worth mentioning. I think it was about a week ago. Ma and I went went to the new coffee shop that recently opened at Botany Town Centre - The Coffee Club. Of this place, I am quite impressed. I hadn't eaten all day and was rather famished so I ordered a turkey cranberry sandwich (may or may not be it's real name, I'll check later) and a banana split frappe. The sandwich was light and delicious, served on a thick turkish bread with turkey, cranberry sauce, salad and avocado (it might have added brie as well, poor memory, this was a week ago). I would definitely recommend this as a healthy lunch. I think they toast things as well. Next time I'm gonna get it toasted. The banana split frappe was fabulous and authentic. It really did taste like a liquified banana split sundae. Definitely banana-ry, with a hint of chocolate, strawberry and caramel. I would drink this again.

The Coffee Club had quite an extensive menu. Sandwiches, pizza, other cooked meals, slices, cakes, muffins. I was quite attracted to the breakfast menu. I'm planning to go back and try their pancakes for sure. It looks like a great place to have a meal. It won't however replace my beloved Starbucks because they don't have many cozy couches for single people. It's more of a group place.

Strawberry Lemon Muffin

2007-02-08T18:39:00.000+13:00

It is very rare that I review something I don't like because a)I tend to have a pretty good radar for what is good and b)I'm not that adventurous. But I have to to say the Weight Watchers muffin I tried from Muffin Break today was gross.

I almost tried one of their WW chocolate raspberry muffins on Wednesday but changed my mind because they didn't look anywhere near as appealing as the other muffins and therefore, in my opinion, didn't seem worth it. I turned around and went to Starbucks.

But Ma brought home a bunch of WW strawberry lemon muffins and I thought I may as well try one. They are definitely on the small side when you compare them to the normal full fat muffins, so firstly that is disappointing. But the taste is what brings it down. Now I'm probably not the best person to review something that has lemon in it because its not my favourite flavour, but I can like things with lemon for example lemon meringue pie. The muffin didn't start off too bad. I managed to consume 3/4 of it. The strawberry flavour was so weak, it was barely noticeable and most definitely overpowered by the very sour taste of lemon. I understand that lemons are naturally pretty sour but that is what sugar (or in a diet muffin what artificial sweetener) is for! Also, shouldn't the more popular fruit, the strawberry be the leading taste. Not a wise decision. I'm thinking no-one honestly taste tested these. These muffins give diet food a bad name. I was also surprised to read the ingredients listing and find emulsifiers and all that chemical crap listed. I understand seeing that on stuff you buy prepackaged at the supermarket but it's odd seeing it in baked goods. I've always been under the impression that baked stuff you buy from stores is always made the regular way, just like you'd make at home. I guess that doesn't happen when you have a chain.

The moral of the story is if you are going to Muffin Break, go for whatever looks like it tastes the best, regardless of its caloric damage. I recommend the banoffi muffin or the caramel slice. Eating should be a pleasure, not a regret. You can just burn off the extra calories of gluttony later.

Curry Ala Michael

2007-02-06T19:53:00.000+13:00

Tonight I dined on a rare delicacy - food cooked by my brother, Michael. And there isn't even a blue moon this month! To what do I owe this pleasure to? A miracle? His new healthy eating habits thanks to Weight Watchers? A desire to finally embrace the culinary arts? Who knows? But the result? Pretty good.

With my mother as his assistant and trainer, he prepared a curry from a mixture of curry powder gifted to us by Sheryl, other spices and curry powder from the pantry and some Rogan Josh mix. Adding substance to the curry sauce was chicken and kumara. It was served up on a bed of jasmine rice, with a papadum on the side. It was, lucky for me, just hot enough. Not hot on your tastebuds, but just a slight tingle down the back of your throat.

I wonder what other kind of gastronomical feats my bro will undertake? I'll keep you posted.

Burger Fuel

2007-02-05T14:32:00.000+13:00

I've been eating a lot of berries this summer. By themselves, with icing sugar, with icecream, with chocolate sauce. The other night I decided to eat fresh strawberries and frozen blueberries (normally I eat them fresh but Ma couldn't get any fresh this time) layered with custard.

My presentation ain't exactly award-winning but it was a good dessert. The custard was thicker than I would have liked. I think I prefer Meadow Fresh brand over Swiss Maid. I could have made my own custard but then it would have been uber-thick to the point of near-moldable gloop. I can't seem to make custard anymore. You'd think it would be too easy to screw up but I prove you wrong on that. It is mostly that I just don't pay enough attention to how long I heat it. For some reason the picture makes it look ginormous. I swear it didn't seem that big when I was eating it. I don't know which end is misleading the pictorial end or the eating end.

My wonderful friend Crystal gifted me with her V.I.B. Birthday Voucher for Burger Fuel so I decided to use it for my lunch today. I felt I was in need of some protein and iron, so what better way to get that than with a fat and grease-laden burger. Yup, you gotta sink all four birds with one stone.

I normally order the Combustion Vege burger (sunflower seed, chickpea, cumin and corriander pattie, avocado, peanut sauce, salad, relish, aioli) but I decided to go for something carnivorous in order to get that quick shot of protein and iron. I chose the Peanut Piston (1/3lb ground beef, peanut sauce, salad, relish, aioli) to fulfill my nutritional needs. I got the burger for free because y'know I was Crystal and it was my birthday. Yes. I also decided to give the kumara fries another chance. I usually go with the safer option of spud fries which are always cooked deliciously. Kumara fries are good depending on who cooks them. You can't really screw up potato but you can screw up kumara. If the edges get too burnt, they taste so terrible you will not be able to remove the bad taste no matter how hard you try. But if they are cooked right they are delicious and much tastier than the spud fries. I guess it's like eating fugu. It just has to be done right but when it is, it is wonderfully rewarding. I got a good pretty good fryer this time but I was careful not to eat any brown crispy bits. As you can see I had plenty of aioli to dip it into. Burger Fuel make the best aioli. Definitely an A+ condiment. Perfect accompaniment to kumara fries.

I can't remember the last time I ate a beef burger so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but the Peanut Piston was just what the doctor ordered - a mouthful of scrumptiousness. Anything with peanut sauce by nature has to be good though. You all know about my love affair with peanut sauce.

An innard shot. Not particularly flattering. A good innard shot is hard to get. I don't know how Robyn does it.

After my massive lunch I was a)satisfied and b)definitely not hungry anymore. Although, I actually might be the least full out of all the times I've eaten at BF. Probably because I generally eat there at night, after I've already bombarded my stomach with other foodstuffs during the day causing maximum overload. I still doubt that I will need dinner. I don't think my stomach has even begun to digest yet.

I've also tried some of the other burgers at BF. Combustion Tofu (organic teriyaki tofu, avocado, peanut sauce, salad, relish, aioli) is good but I prefer the Vege pattie. I used to order this before I tried the Vege and have since not gone back. I've also tried the Carbon Seaside (cajun spiced fillet, sliced capscium, plum sauce, salad, relish, aioli) which I thought was very good. The plum sauce is delish and I don't think I'd ever eaten a fish burger before. Last time I was there I tried something off the specials board whose name I can't remember but it contained chicken, pesto and brie. It was okay but the least good burger I've had there. The specials change all the time though and they no longer serve it anyway.

I love Burger Fuel. One of my fave fast food restaurants and great if you are vegetarian or vegan since they have 3 vegetarian burgers and 1 vegan burger. They also serve malt shakes, which is also available in soy. I should try that sometime. I've never had a malt shake. Perhaps next time.

Nishiki and the Art of Robatayaki

2007-02-02T15:21:00.000+13:00

Today I spent some time out with Linda. First there was pain (Linda's eyebrow piercing), then beauty (visiting the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Botany) and then there was feeding. For the feeding portion of the day, we went to my favourite Japanese restaurant, Nishiki.

I did however, spy a few more Japanese restaurants in close vicinity that I might check out at later dates - there's a couple of teppanyaki restaurants and a shabu-shabu place a few doors down. Torrens Rd is a bit like a mini-Japantown.

I wasn't out for a big feast especially since I'm not used to having such a full belly in the middle of the day anymore. I'm not living up to my name all that much. I'm more like the (Occassional) Buddha Belly, which I feel is important unless one wishes to have a permanent Buddha Belly. I'm not like these other food bloggers that can pile insane amounts of fat and carbs without looking like Jabba the Hutt. Some of us must practice restraint to maintain our figures.

I'm always aware that I should try something new when I go to a restaurant but it had just been so long since I had eaten katsu that I couldn't resist ordering the chicken katsu don with sweet miso sauce. I love me some miso sauce. As I proclaimed to Linda "I could marry miso sauce". It's like the Japanese version of BBQ sauce. I'm not sure exactly what it's made of but I suspect it is miso, soy sauce and sugar. How can that not be a party in your mouth? The menu appears to have had a bit of revision since last time I visited. The lunch sets are still there but my usual old faithful here no longer comes with the sides of octopus, squid, crab and tofu. Never fear though, you still get your fill. The meal comes with a deep fried chicken cutlet topped with miso sauce on a bed of rice with salad and mayonaisse, accompanied by a bowl of miso soup. Apart from the deep fried chicken, it's pretty healthy. The portion of chicken appears to have been reduced as well but I didn't really mind since I wasn't out for a stomach stretching session. It's nice to not feeling like you have to be rolled out of the building for once.

As always it was a good meal. I can't say it's my favourite meal. The chicken was tender on the inside but crisply crumbed on the outside. I even liked the mayo which is interesting because I'm not usually a fan of mayonaisse. This was a buttery, slightly sweet mayo served in a delightful little swirl. It's golden colour initially fooled me into thinking it was butter until I splodged my finger into it. Yes, sometimes when curiosity overcomes me I resort to the childlike method of poking a mysterious object. The biggest selling point for me on this meal is the miso sauce, which could come smothered on anything and I'd probably order it. I do prefer going to Nishiki at night though to order a bunch of small dishes. I checked out their menu online and the dessert and drink menus have changed vastly. The dessert menu now includes a super sundae for a whopping $16! I cannot surmise the size of this icecream bounty but for $16 it must be fairly huge. They also now have a banana sundae, banana crepe, green tea icecream crepe, plum wine jelly and a shiratama (Japanese dumpling) set. The drink menu also now includes thickshakes - green tea, coconut, kiwifruit, banana, kahlua and strawberry (the last 3 also available with alcohol).

The restaurant is now also referred to as a robata-yaki (robata for short), a name which comes from the Japanese words 'ro' meaning 'hearth' or 'fireplace'. Basically it is the Japanese way of grilling but has come to accompany the simplistic way the food is served and the decor of such restaurants which maintains a rustic feel. The name descends from simple beach restaurants where fisherman cooked over an open fire, apparently with an oar (now that's a big spatula!) In a traditional robatayaki, patrons sit around a bar in front of an open hearth and direct the chef which meats to cook, much like teppanyaki. Technically, you can see the kitchen of Nishiki and you probably could see the chefs grilling up your meal if you sat at the bar but I wouldn't say it's as traditionally as open plan. I have yet to visit the City site.

As for the name of the restaurant. I have always pondered what it meant. I assumed it would be food related like the sushi bar at Botany named Oishii, which I instantly recognized as meaning 'delicious', an important word to know if one plans on eating Japanese cuisine enthusiastically. But from my quick Wikipedia search, I discover that it refers to the art of multi-coloured Japanese woodblock printing, nishiki-e.

Robata-Yaki Bar Nishiki (Open Tues-Sunday)
3/298 Ti Rakau Drive, Botany Downs, Auckland (open lunch 11.30am-2pm, dinner 6pm-9.30pm)
100 Wellington Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland (open dinner 6pm-10pm, winter sunday 6pm-9.30pm)

Saturday Night Feastage

2007-02-01T20:27:00.000+13:00

It's been almost a week since I went to Sheryl's party on Saturday night so I thought I would post the pictures of the magnificent gastronomic experience. I love Indian food (granted it's not hot) and homemade Indian food is always wonderful. There was quite a large spread to enjoy. I had been nibbling all day but come dinner time I was starving.

Roti to soak up that yummy curry

Rice with chicken and cashew

Chickpea and potato curry - my favourite.

Lamb curry

Spinach dish. I don't know how this is made but I like it. I'm getting the recipe for this along with the chickpea curry.

Tomato chutney

Cucumber to cool and cleanse the palate.

I was so overcome with excitement upon seeing the dessert that I forgot to take a picture of it.... that night. But Sheryl gifted us with a plate of the leftovers yesterday so I have a few shots of that.

Passionfruit cheesecake made by Sheryl's sister-in-law Shalini. I loved this so much I just had to have a second helping.

Front shot of chocolate cake.

You can mostly see the thick ganache. I actually prefer a creamier, fluffier icing on a cake. I found this ganache had a slightly rubbery taste. Not sure why. I mean it was still tasty but just a little strange though it was stranger the second time around almost a week later so maybe the cake doesn't keep that well. The rest of the cake was wonderfully dense and not to sweet, though I'm definitely not opposed to a sickeningly rich chocolate cake. Despite the above analysis it was delicious. I guess I just have high standards for chocolate.

The End. Don't you wish you were there?

Rangoli

2007-01-20T13:40:00.000+13:00

On Tuesday night Linda, Jenny, Crystal, Justina and I visited Rangoli Indian Restaurant for a feast of delicious Indian food.

We were presented with a plate of papadum before we even ordered. I munched on it because I was hungry. It had a satisfying salty crunch which distracts one from the murmurs of a hungry tummy.

Jenny and I both ordered the butter chicken. I can't resist a good butter chicken. It's such a comforting dish. I love the sauce so much I can drink it straight. I'm not kidding. The portions were probably about just right. Well for normal people but honestly, I would have happily stuffed myself with more. I can easily eat a whole container of takeaway butterchicken that is meant for at least two people.

I love the rich orange colour. It must definitely be one of the most beautiful hues in the world.

Jen and I also ordered naan each. I ordered the plain, she ordered the cheese.

Justina also ordered naan but I can't remember which. I think it might have been filled or something. I didn't get a picture because she was all the way on the other side of the table.

This is Crystal's chicken korma which I tried a little bit of and found it very tasty. However, I still prefer my butter chicken despite how unadventurous it is.

I also got a shot of Linda's order which was a chicken curry, similar to butter chicken with more tomato. I can't remember the name because I don't retain Hindi well.

I would definitely eat here again but I would have to try really hard to order something other than the butter chicken. This is one of the reasons I'm not a very good food blogger. I tend towards old favourites and I'm never very good at savoring or documenting food because the minute you put something in front of me I have a vicious urge to devour it. Ah well, you can't do everything and my real purpose is just to remember what I ate because I do look back at these pictures when I'm bored.

The Ultimate Eggsperience

2007-01-08T19:14:00.000+13:00

Tonight, I intended to make a nice healthy omelette to compensate for the Chai tea frappachino and triple chocolate cake I consumed at The Office. However, my omelette was so weighty that I couldn't flip it, so I turned it into scrambled eggs. It turned out to be the best scrambled eggs ever! Soooo good.

I even found a double yolk in one of my eggs. I'm not sure but I think it must be good luck.

In case you want to replicate it. Here's how I made it. Pour a little olive oil into a pan and add some garlic. Stir a little, then add mushrooms until brown. Add tomatoes. These won't take long to cook. Remove mushroom and tomato from pan. Cook frozen spinach. Remove from pan. You could probably cook that with the other vegies but I forgot. Remove spinach. Combine eggs and milk for omelette mixture. Spray pan with cooking spray. Pour mixture into pan. Add spinach. Sprinkle lots of oregano and thyme. Add BBQ and tomato sauce. Add mushroom and tomato. Then scramble. Add a bit of pepper before serving and maybe some tasty bread.

Health Kick

2007-01-07T20:11:00.000+13:00

My healthy kick-off to the year has been going pretty well, except for the icecream. hehe. It's summer, what can I say?

Earlier this week, I tried to do something a little more exciting with my oatmeal. Normally, I just cook it with some maple syrup. This time I added some raspberry essence and some strawberries. I wanted to add some fresh raspberries but they had gone off before I even bought them and I failed to notice. Bad supermarket! I cooked the oatmeal with rice milk because I wanted to see what it tasted like. It has an interesting sweet, rice taste and looks slightly brown and watery. It's okay, but I think I prefer soy milk as an alternative. The porridge turned out alright but the rice milk made it a little sticky for some reason and it wasn't flavourful as I had imagined, so I added some maple syrup which thinned it out and made it sweeter. You just can't go wrong with maple oatmeal. This morning, I made my oatmeal with maple syrup, grated coconut and sultanas. Tasty.

I also made a fantastic breakfast on Thursday or Friday morning. I can't remember which. I had a little craving for something special so I decided to whip up some french toast. Normally I just use an egg and milk mixture to soak the bread in but this time I added a drop of vanilla essence to it. I also sprinkled sugar across just before toasting it in the pan. I served it with sugared grilled banana and maple syrup. Delicious and not too un-nutritious.

I've had curry at least one more night this week and I've eaten two stir fries (peanut satay & sweet and sour). Last night I made a pasta dish. I haven't made one in forever. It's pretty much vegetables (mushroom, tomato, spinach) and vegetarian sausage cooked in a pesto tomato sauce with garlic, oregano and thyme over penne pasta. It may not look like much but I think it is delicious and most of all it's nutritious.

Vegetarian Yellow Curry

2007-01-03T18:23:00.000+13:00

New Year's Day was a grace period where I was allowed one day to get all the unhealthy eating out of my system. For the most part it is but certain indulgences are allowed every once and awhile. My aim is to eat lots of fruit and vegies.

Tuesday went very well. For breakfast I ate cereal, a banana, a nectarine and some grapes. For lunch, 2 tomato rolls and for dinner I made a scrumptious vegetarian yellow curry. It was so easy to make. I cooked half the vegies in the microwave before hand so I pretty much just had to stir stuff around in the pan for awhile. Using canned curry paste also made things easier. The ingredients were 200ml lite coconut cream, 1 tbsp yellow curry paste, 1 potato, some butternut pumpkin, half can of chick peas and 1 vegetarian sausage. I ate it with a slice of Turkish bread and was extremely impressed with my meal. I followed it up with a dessert of strawberries and raspberries dusted with icing sugar.

I planned to make it again tonight but after shopping all day, I'm too tired to cook so it will have to be tomorrow night.

Time For Thai

2007-01-03T18:07:00.000+13:00

You thought the eating was over? You would be wrong.

On Monday night, I went out with Hecy, Justina and Linda to Spices Thai restaurant.

I love me some Thai. We shared four dishes.

The "blackened beauty" - barbequed beef and vegetables in a tasty oyster sauce.

Chicken green curry

Chicken pad thai

Praram - chicken and vegetables in a delicious peanut sauce. This is my favourite Thai dish.

I dig into one of my favourite carbohydrates - rice!

Justina and I with the aftermath of our eating experience. This is just before I scooped up all that peanut sauce like a soup because I love me some peanut sauce.

We weren't that stuffed after so we went back to Linda's house where we finished of the ambrosia. Now I have a little bit of what I will call an "ambrosia belly". It's like a pot belly but much more pleasant sounding. I haven't listened but possibly it jiggles like ambrosia.

Linda, me and Hecy finish off the ambrosia.

My Last Meal Of The Year

2007-01-03T17:31:00.000+13:00

I celebrated New Year's by going to a BBQ where I proceeded to have my last face stuff of the year. It took awhile to get the barbie going so Linda and I ate a ton of corn chips with salsa and dip, a couple of savories and some crackers with cheese.

Sometime around 9pm we all sat down at the table. This is what we ate.

Salad with feta cheese.

Steak and sausages

Honey soy chicken kebabs

Mince and mince and cheese savories

We were so stuffed by the time dessert rolled around that we couldn't eat much.

We did however consume Linda's home-made ambrosia, otherwise known as "Jenny Craig's Worst Nightmare". This gastronomic delight consists mainly of cream and yoghurt with some strawberries, marshmallows and chocolate chips thrown in. It's mostly fat with a little bit of nature. Lord knows how many calories are in this thing. I wouldn't want to know. We ate two bowls along with a couple of eclairs before we felt sick to the point that the word "ambrosia" made us groan. We had to sit carefully to take the pressure off our strained stomachs.

The delicious ambrosia.

Chocolate eclairs with bavarian cream

Dan, Tim, Felicity and I psych ourselves up for the eating.

Yum Cha

2007-01-03T17:19:00.000+13:00

And the eating continues. Last Thursday I went out for my first yum cha meal in a long time. Eaters present were myself, Linda, Justina, Annelies and Sam.

My camera batteries died on me but Linda was nice enough to take pictures of some of the food. We got lazy and just decided to eat in the second half so not so many pictures.

Some kind of pork vegie thing and a shrimp vegetable dumpling.

Dumpling of some kind. The outside almost tasted like bread. I think the filling might have had a sweetish taste.

Mmm... sticky rice. One of my favourites. I don't think you could ever get sick of this.

For dessert we ate durian tarts and egg custard tarts. The durian tarts were interesting, like the fruit itself. At once custardy, fruity and savory. They weren't bad. I liked them initially but they tasted a little onion-y, for lack of a better description and there was only so much durian I could take. Of course, stopping the consumption of durian does not cease the taste of durian. No, it is a powerful substance indeed. It will find a way to invade your tastebuds - hiding in the corners of your mouth, resurfacing in yum cha burps. And you can't get rid of it no matter how many mints you eat. Beware the durian - a dangerous fruit. It's consumption is even banned in some hotel rooms on account of the smell.

It was a very tasty outing and I would do it again but not too soon because my body has already suffered enough damage in the last week. The price is definitely a bonus. We didn't eat a huge amount but we only spent $8 each.

Christmas Dinner

2007-01-03T17:07:00.000+13:00

Now for the Porter family Christmas feast. We all went to my aunt's house where much food was delivered to my happy festive belly.

The dinner buffet - garlic bread, pesto and sun-dried tomato bread, cape seed bread, salad with a ton of feta cheese, potato salad, prawns, beetroot, ham, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, squid rings, mussels and possibly a few other things I can't see properly.

And the dessert. Chocolate log, strawberries, pineapple, pavlova, chocolates, cherries, ginger, cookies. And there was also brandy snaps with cream and Christmas fruit cake which I didn't manage to snap a picture of.

Mmm... I also had the tastiest dip made of sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. It was so good I just kept dunking and dunking those potato chips into it. I couldn't get enough.

Christmas Breakfast

2007-01-03T16:04:00.000+13:00

It seems like it is tradition to do a lot of eating in the last few days of the year. It's kinda like you have to get all the indulgence out of the way so you can give your full attention to New Year's resolutions like eating healthier.

Christmas Day is definitely a feastage day. Our family started the day with a fantastic breakfast of mint chocolate chip pancakes, croissants, bacon and eggs. Definitely filled me up til dinner time.

Home-made mint chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate syrup. Also tasty with maple syrup.

A flat pancake to show it's chocolate chips. Probably could have done with some more.

Chicken bacon.

Croissants

Harajuku Birthday Yumminess

2007-01-02T19:47:00.000+13:00

I realized that I never posted any pictures of the glorious gastronomic delights featured at my Harajuku birthday party so here they are:

The dinner buffet including rice, teriyaki chicken, mince savories, kumara and potato, nigiri sushi, salmon sushi, teriyaki chicken sushi, mini spring rolls, squid rings, garlic bread, sausage rolls, kebabs and probably a bit more. The ultimate party fare. Even less leftovers than the year before so it must have gone down well.

And my fave part, the dessert (not such a good shot because it had to be taken quickly before the masses ascended upon it) including chocolate mud cake, coconut pie, cream, watermelon, strawberries, after-dinner mints, pavlova, eclairs and green tea icecream.

A happily fed birthday girl.

"It's just like eating an after-dinner mint" says Linda and I.

Cutting the cake to symbolically mark the fact that I am now 22 years old and also allowing us to devour its chocolate mud goodness!

Birthday Yumminess and More!

2006-12-15T02:22:00.000+13:00

I've had some good eats lately and I was prepared enough to create some food porn for y'all. Yes because there is no porn like food porn! :P

As everyone knows (or should know) Monday was my birthday and you always have to have at least one good celebratory meal on your birthday. It may not be written down in stone anywhere, but it is a well-known rule. If you haven't heard of it, you are ignorant. Maybe not ultimately ignorant, but at least naive to the foodie ways. Sheryl took Ma and I out for some lunch. We ended up at a place whose name I cannot remember. I should really take photos of exteriors for that reason. Eh, if you live in Howick, it is that restaurant/bar on the corner of the Prospect building that keeps changing hands. Anyways, beautiful weather and a delicious meal. We sat outside and the waitress was nice enough to put up the umbrella to protect my lovely ivory skin. After much perusing of the menu we ordered garlic bread, a pizza and some fries to share but being that my stomach seems to dwarf most other peoples stomachs, I ended up eating at least 50% of the food.

Firstly the garlic bread. Crisp baked pita bread with a yummy slathering of garlic. I love garlic so you can really not go wrong with this.

Our pizza was vegetarian and contained spinach, mushroom, caramelised onion and feta cheese. It was delicious and fresh. Unlike many pizzas you get, it also didn't taste like it was dripping in fat and grease. This enhanced the flavours which were each distinct but harmonious. It's probably the tastiest and healthiest pizza I have ever consumed.

Lastly, we shared a side of fries which were also extremely tasty. Probably the best fries I have eaten next to Burger Fuel spud fries. They were light, thin and very crisp. I normally need ketchup or aioli for fries but these were so good they were perfectly wonderful on their own.

While out shopping on Thursday, I also ate a very tasty meal from a Korean place inside an Asian food court on a street just off K-Road (next door to Xia). It looks huge here but rest assured I did not and probably could not have eaten that enormous pile of meat by myself. Miah helped me devour it and I mean devour. We almost had chopstick fights over who would eat the last pieces. hehe.

The BBQ pork was really good. It almost didn't taste like pork though. It was sliced thin and almost reminded me of chicken in some way. There was also rice, miso soup and what might possibly be kimchi (I forget, correct me if I am wrong).

Just Like Drinking An After Dinner Mint!

2006-12-06T18:21:00.000+13:00

I went to The Office today. Oh, how I love that place! I was so excited when I walked in the door. My heart swelled. I felt as if I had come home as I walked up those steps to the mezzanine, drink in hand and sat myself down in a comfy armchair. It's like my second living room. I just feel so comfortable. Say what you will about Starbucks but they give me a cozy place to kick my feet up and refuel.

Today I decided to try the Iced Chocolate Peppermint drink. Yum. It is just like drinking an after dinner mint! (winks at Linda) Delicious. It may be one of my new fave drinks. I just wish there were more of it. It disappeared too fast. If you are passing by Starbucks stop by and try one. Cool, refreshing and sweet. They have quite an array of chocolate drinks for the Yule season. Chocolate is definitely one of the best ways to celebrate anything.

Woo... A Golden Ring Of Jello

2006-11-27T11:46:00.000+13:00

I've been lazy and forgetful with the food photos this week. I admit, I am a crap foodblogger.

I did however snap this great picture of Jenny's yellow apricot jello thing. It's delicious, wobbly and has fruit chunks in it. I could probably eat the whole thing.

Isn't it beautiful?

An Eel And A Shake

2006-11-22T18:55:00.000+13:00

Occasions where my friends and I gather to eat are always one of my favourites. Crystal, Linda, Jenny and I gathered down at Eat Asian for some small feastage. Crystal and Linda were already loading up their plates with Chinese because their stomachs could not wait a minute longer. Jen was ordering some pad thai and I was pondering with much indecision over what to eat. I considered Indian, then Thai and then decided on Japanese. I'd eyed up the teriyaki eel many times so I thought it was as good a time as any to try this delicious delicacy.

I was not disappointed - yummy, tender eel. I wouldn't have minded the teriyaki flavour being a bit stronger though. Also, they didn't give me a little pot of the nice salad sauce like they do for takeaway because I would have preferred more of it - I think it is a kind of sesame sauce.

For dessert, I ordered this banana caramel thickshake. Tasty and so gigantic I felt like I drank a whole cow - a cow with banana caramel flavoured milk that is. With all the genetic engineering this days, I wouldn't be suprised if one existed. But the best flavoured cow juice would be tiramisu.

Arigatou Gozaimasu Nishiki!

2006-11-18T15:19:00.000+13:00

Upon much begging (okay, 2 people) I finally bring you an update.

Last Thursday Crystal, Jenny and I went out to my favourite restaurant Nishiki. My mouth salivates at the thought of that place. I love me some good Japanese food. Crystal ordered her own food because she wouldn't touch some of our stuff with a 10ft pole (I swear, you don't know what your missing with the eggplant!) but Jenny and I shared a whole bunch of dishes. The more variety, the merrier and more pregnant-looking our tummies.

Jen and I both started with a melon drink. It tastes like candy! I preferred the grape one I had last time but they have crossed that off the non-alcoholic menu and I didn't feel like drinking.

We started off the feasting with california roll. Here is a picture of this delicious sushi with its bright orange roe atop a lovely plate.

Next there was beef rice which really doesn't need much description. Unless you don't know what beef or rice is and in that case, there would be a lot of description but I trust my readers are well-informed in these matters because if you didn't like to eat well, you wouldn't be reading this.

Crystal ordered these sticks of something. It looks like chicken but my memory fails me since I did not partake of these skewered delights. Maybe she will reply to this post and inform us of their contents.

Jen and I decided to try something new, so we got some fish balls. They were tasty but the octopus balls win.

And of course, we had to have our octopus balls! Mmm... tasty fried balls of squishy and flavoursome octopus.

Now we had to order the eggplant dish. Very few things can compare to soft eggplant covered in cheese and mayo. I forgot to take a picture of it but luckily I have archives!

We only ordered one dessert this time - our favourite, green tea ice with green tea icecream and rice balls. I was quite astounded with the presentation this time. This bowl was ginormous but Jenny and I can always finish this dessert. I sure was cold when we finished, and fat. A little more food and you might have had to roll me out. I wonder what that would sound like?

Diwali Delights

2006-10-23T14:43:00.000+13:00

I've been looking forward to Diwali for quite a long time because you get to have a nice Indian feast. Yes, one of the best things about holidays is the food.

My neighbours gifted us with a plate of some sweets on Sunday. Very kind of them.

Some don't really look Indian and I suspect they probably aren't but what I tried was tasty.

Sheryl's array of Indian sweets and snacks. The brown blobs at the back are my favourite. Sweetened condensed milk with sweet spices deepfried. Actually most of it is probaby deep-fried, rendering it very fattening indeed. I didn't try the puff things at the back but I'm told they were very hard to bite. I'm unsure of most of the ingredients. The white balls had coconut. The rest probably all a mixture of condensed milk and different spices. The offwhite balls at the front have the texture of sand but taste sugary. Very unique.

Chicken curry. A little hard to make out on account of the steam blurring up the picture.

Indian fried rice. Very flavourful.

A type of Indian flat bread. Great for soaking up curry.

Hot soup puffing up clouds of steam.

This dish contained two of my favourite vegetables: spinach and aubergine. Despite it's appearances it was quite tasty. I would have had more had it not been for the abundance of other dishes on the table.

A yoghurt based dish with something similar to falafel but not falafel.

This was my favourite, a yellow curry dish with the falafel like thing.

This is a very delicious peach torte served with a deliciuos nutty icecream and kiwifruit.

Pizza And Fondue Party

2006-10-23T11:28:00.000+13:00

I've eaten quite a few good things in this last week or so but I have an unfortunate lack of pictures for some of it. Noteably the Japanese lunch I ate with Jenny. I will take a picture when I next go back there. I ordered the unagi don which was eel cooked in miso, soy and lemon juice on a bed of rice. It was pretty good and because it wasn't doused in teriyaki sauce, I could sample the taste of eel which actually tasted a lot like a type of fish. Jenny ordered the sashimi don which was half cabbage, half rice and a bit of sashimi. It was in the hugest bowl so you can only imagine how much cabbage Jen ate.

Anyways, as those who were present at the occassion know, I had a little fondue shindig last weekend. I made some homemade pizza.

This is the dough making process. It's the best part of making pizza.

I didn't get some full pizza shots because I was too slow but here's my plate. I was trying to be a little experimental with my pizza flavours but they didn't really turn out nearly as good as I had planned. The satay chicken was a bit dry and the satay sauce went kinda hard. The shrimp and surimi sweet chili was okay but the sauce went a bit hard on that as well. The pesto was also a bit dry and needed more flavour. The only pizza I found successful was the much more Italian style meatlovers pizza. I guess I should stick to what I know. I guess you can't go wrong when you smother a pizza in sauce, cheese and meat. Next time, I'm just gonna make a bunch of meatlovers pizzas.

The dessert was my favourite part despite the fact I fried my tongue right and good. The fondue set Jen got me for my birthday last year was ultra-powerful, running on methylated spirits rather than the meagre little candle some have. We poured a ton of Hershey's chocolate syrup in. Justina sweetened it up a little bit more when she dropped a bit of dark chocolate in while attempting to make chocolate chocolate fondue. We dipped strawberries, apple, pear, orange, banana, donuts and marshmallows into the fondue until we were way too overloaded with sweetness.

It was a good night. My apologies to my girlies who couldn't make it. Hopefully you can make it to my next great shindig.

Salmon Eggs Benedict

2006-10-11T19:43:00.000+13:00

I knew I should have taken my camera with me today but alas, I did not. I had a really delicious meal though that is well worthy of me documenting even without the visual evidence.

I was feeling a little low on energy so being the creature of habit I am, I popped into the cafe at the bottom of Kate Edgar (which I've been to every Wednesday for the last 3 weeks). I can't remember it's name. I am such a good reviewer. lol. But if you go to Auckland Uni, you know what I am talking about. I pondered the menu for awhile before deciding on the Eggs Benedict with salmon. Such a good choice. I wasn't expecting something that good from a cafe at university so I was pleasantly surprised. It was nicely presented with the toast, spinach, salmon and eggs all stacked up on top of each other and doused in hollandaise. It looked extremely appetising. The salmon was very flavourful and blended perfectly with the hollandaise and soft poached eggs whose yolks ran when I broke them with my knife. The toast was tasty with just the right amount of crunch to softness ratio and appeared to be lightly buttered. There was a good amount of hollandaise too. Enough extra so that I could slide bits of toast around in it. I would definitely eat this again. The best eggs benedict I have ever had. A perfect harmony of ingredients. I'll get a photo next time. For now, just imagine it.

Post-Assignment Celebration!

2006-10-06T17:57:00.000+13:00

Hooray! An update, at last! Let the gastronomic delights be adored!

I found myself with a sushi craving as the hours ticked closer to noon. I particularly had a craving for eel. I headed to Bien Sushi and Donburi on Shortland St. I decided to keep my meal light to save room for dessert so I just go 4 pieces. Despite, the miniture proportions I carefully savored every bite and every bite was delicious!

On the top left is my beloved teriyaki eel sushi. I love the texture of eel - it's so moist and soft. It goes perfectly with teriyaki. However, for some reason the addition of the teriyaki makes me think it tastes like chicken but with a nicer texture. I've yet to discover what eel actually tastes like.

On the top right is sushi with pork in a sweet miso sauce. Tasty but nothing prolific. I like anything with miso.

On the bottom left is squid sushi. I quite liked this. It tasted different to the other raw squid I have had. Hard to describe but it had a definite seafood taste unlike the eel.

On the bottom right is my favourite (next to the eel), inari sushi. You can't go wrong with inari. Sweet vinegar rice in sweet bean curd. It's double the sweet and triple the satisfaction.

After my little Japanese feast, I headed to Michel's Patisserie near Chancery to have the post-assignment celebration cake I have been planning. It's a good enough excuse to eat cake, though one shouldn't really need an excuse to eat cake. I stared a long time at the glass display, full of so many cakes and pastries that I could have happily eaten all of. I finally settled on the chocolate mousse cake and a hot chocolate. The cake was good (not amazing though). It was made of light moist chocolate sponge layered with light chocolate mousse and topped with chocolate ganache. The hot chocolate was pretty good too, though I've yet to find a hot chocolate that really makes me jump for joy. I rate this higher than average though because some tend not to have enough chocolate or have a bitter taste that I will only allow in blocks of dark chocolate.

So that was my day in fooding. I thought y'all would appreciate my update. I had you in mind as I was eating.

Lining Our Stomachs For Frozen Italian Delights

2006-09-20T19:58:00.000+12:00

At last, I have food porn to entertain you all with. You will have to excuse the bluriness of some of the pictures. I admit that I am a crappy photographer who has not yet learn to probably handle her camera. I'm lazy. I will learn in time. With my excuses out of the way, I bring you today's fooding.

Jenny, Crystal and I headed down to a Japanese place. I can't remember the name which is why I am not a food journalist. I should really start making a point of writing this stuff down in a notebook. Anyways....

They do some great sushi.

The one one of the front right was very unique - pesto, sun-dried tomato and avocado. Sushi - Italian style. I'm a sucker for anything with pesto but y'know it wasn't like the best sushi ever or anything. But it totally gets thumbs up for creativity.

The sushi on the top right is chicken with a sweet sauce. Quite tasty. On the bottom left is my favourite inari. Mmm. Sweet rice in bean curd. Yum. On the top left is teriyaki eel sushi! I'm so happy I finally got to try some eel and I am not sorry. It was delicious. I loved the texture so soft. Combined with the teriyaki sauce, it actually had somewhat of a sweet taste. I could definitely have eaten more of this. Perhaps I should order a whole meal of teriyaki eel next time I go for Japanese.

Jen and I also shared this dish of chicken katsu curry. This is another thing I've been wanting to try since I saw it on The Girl Who Ate Everything. It was good. Not like "Oh, I want to eat this every day of my life" good but generally satisfying. It wasn't hot which is good because I can't handle anything less than the mildest of mild dishes. It reminded me of a Indian curry my mother cooks but less spicy. As far as katsu goes though, I still maintain you cannot beat Nishiki's chicken katsu with miso sauce. Actually, so far I have yet to try any Japanese as good as Nishiki. Crystal we must take you there sometime.

After lunch, we headed down to the Ferry Building to fulfill our gelato cravings at Valentino's. I love gelato. So smooth and creamy. I sampled a few new flavours including bubblegum (which tasted just like strawberry bubblegum!) before deciding on my usual chocolate and Italian cookies and cream. The chocolate was dark, rich and delicious as always. The cookies and cream was mostly cream which was good because the cream is the part I enjoyed - really tasty. But the cookies were a little strange. I didn't like them. It's really hard to explain how it tasted but it was kinda sweet and plasticky. I think it's about the only thing I've seen Valentino's do wrong. I guess gelato is their specialty not cookies. They do serve things like sandwiches and soup though. Jen and I couldn't really figure out why you'd want to order those things unless it was to line your stomach before loading it with gelato goodness.

Thai Flame

2006-09-14T12:34:00.000+12:00

It's been awhile so I thought I would finally getting around to making my post from Saturday night. A group of friends and I (Linda, Matt, Crystal, David, Jenny and her Matt) went out for dinner to Thai Flame. I had a great time hanging out with friends but that's not what this blog is about. It's about food. I don't eat my friends so they can take a backseat.

Naturally, I ordered something with peanut sauce. I forget what it was actually called but it was vegies and tofu with peanut sauce. It was pretty good but probably the worst kinda praram dish I have had. I found the peanut sauce too water. It needed to be a lot thicker. It looks thick on top but quickly ends up being like a peanut soup, which is kinda hard to coat the vegies in. The mushrooms weren't as flavoursome as I would have liked. Nothing seems to compare to the mushrooms at Khao now. Also I did not like the addition of celery because celery is gross and horribly crunchy. No amount of cooking seems to soften celery. I wasn't a big fan of the corn either. This all sounds very negative but anything with peanut is always still quite tasty.

For dessert, I ordered the chocolate mud cake. Next time I go back I will try the deep fried icecream. The chocolate mud cake was delicious. Perfectly moist and not crumbly. I'm kinda having difficulty remembering it clearly now. It was topped with a flood of rich chocolate sauce and served with cream (which I scooped into the chocolate sauce because chocolate goes well with everything desserty). Reminiscing makes me want to eat chocolate cake.... yum.

Here are the banana rolls and vanilla icecream with what looks like caramel sauce that Jenny and her Matt consumed.

This is the dessert Linda and her Matt shared - passionfruit cheesecake. Doesn't it look delicious. Linda graciously offered to pose with it. Isn't she sweet too?

And here is a waitress carrying a flaming chicken. I bet you gotta have sure feet to carry one of those. Imagine the kind of accidents you could have...

And that's about all I have to say about that.

50 Things To Eat Before You Die

2006-09-05T16:30:00.001+12:00

I saw this list awhile ago but since I have nothing else to post, here ya go.

BBC's 50 Things To Eat Before You Die

1/Fresh fish
Yes, unless you mean "I just caught this like two seconds ago" fresh. One of my goals in life is to someday eat fresh fish at the Tsujiki Fish Market in Tokyo.
2/Lobster
3/Steak
4/Thai food
5/Chinese food
6/Ice cream
7/Pizza
8/Crab
9/Curry
10/Prawns
11/Moreton Bay Bugs
I'm pleased to know that this is not actually a bug but a lobster.
12/Clam Chowder
It's probably a tragedy that I went to New England and didn't try lobster but I'll do it next time.
13/Barbecues
14/Pancakes
lol. You know I've done this one!
15/Pasta
16/Mussels
Ew, ew and more ew.
17/Cheesecake
18/Lamb
19/Cream tea
One day I will have a tea party and we all shall have cream tea.
20/Alligator
21/Oysters
I think I've eaten oysters. Can't remember what they taste like though. I'm put of trying them because I don't particularly like stuff that comes from a shell.
22/Kangaroo
23/Chocolate
24/Sandwiches
25/Greek food
I may have eaten Greek food but I don't have any distinct memories of it.
26/Burgers
27/Mexican food
28/Squid
29/American diner breakfast
I've probably eaten a diner style breakfast but apart from Denny's which I don't think counts, I've never eaten breakfast in an American diner.
30/Salmon
31/Venison
It's possible I've eaten venison too. I did go to a deer farm but I can't remember so I won't count it.
32/Guinea pig
I'm not sure I can see this being fulfilled. My friend used to have a pet guinea pig and I babysat it once and I don't think I could eat a guinea pig without thinking of him.
33/Shark
34/Sushi
35/Paella
I've been meaning to try and cook paella....
36/Barramundi
37/Reindeer
Wouldn't this be a fabulous Xmas dish? haha.
38/Kebab
39/Scallops
40/Australian meat pie
I'm counting this despite the fact I haven't had an Australian meat pie because NZ meat pies are pretty much the same thing. Perhaps they are even better. Why let the Aussies win?
41/Mango
42/Durian fruit
Must prepare some kind of fumigation system before I do this. Possibly eat it outdoors.
43/Octopus
44/Ribs
45/Roast beef
46/Tapas
One day I will eat tapas in Spain. Yum.
47/Jerk chicken/pork
48/Haggis
I'm not feeling a great desire to eat haggis despite it's place on the list.
49/Caviar
50/Cornish Pastry

My score is 31/50. Not bad but then most of these are pretty easy. I have a list somewhere of really strange foods to try. Maybe I'll dig that up sometime when I have nothing to post. Let me know what your scores are.

How Healthy Are You?

2006-09-04T19:26:00.000+12:00

Not much too report on the fascinating food front. I ate some fairly good stuff on Michael's birthday but I didn't get any pictures so it's not really worth mentioning.

Instead I will post a quiz.

You Are 68% Healthy

Your diet is quite healthy, but you don't too crazy with what you eat.You know how to eat what's good for you, but you're also careful not to deprive yourself.

How Healthy Is Your Diet?

See, I'm not unhealthy! These foods I post about are only 'sometimes' foods. I mainly exist on a diet of toast, honey, maple syrup, oatmeal, rice, bananas, mushroom, broccoli, cauliflower and tofu.

High Time For Pie Time

2006-08-20T17:35:00.000+12:00

So I don't think I've eaten anything remotely nutritious in the last few days but I have had a whole heap of yum. I've just thrown out the left-over pastry dough because I've already eaten way more of that than I should have and I know it will just tempt me next week when i'm returning to normal eating mode.

Justina came over yesterday for the dinner I promised her a long time ago. The first half was a little complicated and I really needed assistance. Okay, more than assistance. Ma probably did just as much cooking as I did. I am quite hazardous. Anyways, it turned out quite tasty. Well, y'know people smiled and didn't complained which was a good sign. They also assured me it was nice (and I trust that they were not lying). I made Cajun shrimp fettucine. Spicy and creamy with little shrimps. I have made shrimps the plural. It sounds cuter because I find shrimps cute. I even wore my Bubba Gump t-shirt with the cute little shrimp relaxing at the spa. We served the fettucine with toasted French bread.

And for dessert, my favourite! Caramel pecan pie! Mmmm.... you should all be drooling. At least you would be if you knew what caramel pecan pie tasted like which is DELICIOUS. And what makes caramel pecan pie tastier? When it is accompanied by cookies and cream icecream!

I think I came close to giving JC a sugar coma.

Today I had more pecan pie and icecream. Plus I ate the plain leftover pasta for lunch and dinner. I also ate a cheese toasted sandwich and the extra pastry dough. Now I'm done. Back to my vegies. Back to my nutrients. Back to my cycling.

The Forces Of Nature Formerly Known As...

2006-08-18T22:10:00.000+12:00

Prepare to be amazed at the monstrous eating habits of Lauren and Jenny. We did not rival Kobayashi and I'm not by any means totally fully (there's always more room in my belly), but we did a pretty good job tonight at my fave Japanese restaurant, Nishiki. This was the best meal I've had in a long while.

BTW, I did not consume all the food in these pictures by myself (though I probably could have). I halved everything with Jen.

Jen and I both ordered the grape soft drink, which tasted like grape candy. It could have been made from grape candy for all we knew. Maybe that's where the froth comes from.

Next up, we were presented with California rolls (also spelled Canifornia rolls, just to be confusing). These were delicious. The best sushi I've ever had. This sushi had the perfect synthesis of ingredients - the crab and avocado blended together beautifully. I'm also delighted by the orange colour of the roe, which makes a wonderful crackling sound in your mouth.

Now come the gyoza or dumplings. They had been nicely burnt. Yes, we have discovered that things can be nicely burnt. It added a nice crispiness and slight chargrilled flavour.

We also got some rice to accompany our meal. Jen ordered beef rice and I got plain rice.

Our last little main dish was our personal favourite. Eggplant with a sweet sauce, topped with cheese. I could happily eat this every day. Perfect - sweet, savory, squishy and just the right amount of cheese.

Now if you think we stopped there, you'd be wrong and you really don't know us well enough. Dessert? Hello! Since we love our green tea stuff, we went all out on the maccha front.

Firstly, green tea cake. Delicious. Sweet and moist, filled with cream and red bean and topped with chocolate.

We also ordered our favourite dessert - a mountain of green tea ice topped with red beans, a ball of green tea icecream and rice balls. This is a dessert to be shared. Even I agree with this. Jenny and I embarked upon an excavation, quickly quarrying deep into the mountain (they should bury a surprise inside). We've decided the ice looks like a volcano, the red bean being the lava. The icecream blob is a monster, which ended up cowering on my side of the volcano to hide from Jenny. We've decided that the rice balls are "gelatinous balls of nothing". Really. I like the squishy texture but they don't taste like anything. We were shivering by the time we finished eating. Big cold mountain. What wasn't devoured had melted into a green puddle. This mystical mountain doesn't last long.

And here lies the aftermath of the forces of nature known as Lauren and Jenny (minus the two dessert dishes).

I love food. This meal was incredibly satisfying. If you don't believe me, you should have heard the strange, ginormous and deep rumble of a burp I did upon returning home. Justina you would have been so proud. If only you were here to hear it. You're never here to hear them. I'm like the tree that falls in the forest.

Peanuts!

2006-08-10T19:27:00.000+12:00

So I met up with Jenny for the second day in a row. Yes, we love to go fooding together. Today, we decided to eat Thai at Khao down on High St. What a delicious decision. You really don't need to be a genius to figure out the main ingredient of the dish I picked. Peanut! Oh, how I love my peanut sauce. I ordered the vegetarian praram, which is vegies and tofu covered in peanut sauce. It was good, very good and healthy. It had the best mushrooms I've ever tasted - so juicy and full of flavour. I love my mushrooms. Really great tofu too. Really great tofu, you say? What kind of person loves tofu, you say? Well ha! I do. I like tofu. I think I might actually like it just as much as meat. I love the way they cooked it too - soft on the inside, springy on the outside. And that sauce, I could probably drink it straight. Actually, I have a feeling I may have done that at some point in my life. That wouldn't surprise me at all.

My praram. I didn't photograph the rice. You all know what a mound of rice looks like.

Jenny ordered the Khao Rice. I forget the description but it had chicken, mung beans and peanut among other things. I am oh so informative.

After sitting in Khao until they kicked us out (closing time), Jenny and I headed to Michel's Patisserie after I saw their sign. I'd been wanting to go there after seeing it on the bus in Newmarket every day. Something with the word patisserie in their name has to be good. I wasn't wrong. They had an impressive and tasty display of cakes, tarts, brownies and cheesecakes. It's a pity they don't do tastings like gelato. How cool would that be? I can dream...

I decided upon this....

Tiramisu! One of my favourite desserts. This my friend was a favorable tiramisu. I consider a good tiramisu a nice melding of the different flavours where one does not overpower the other. This did just that and it wasn't sickly sweet. Jenny proclaimed that she could have eaten a whole tiramisu log. I would quite like to be there to witness that. I give this a thumbs up - tasty, moist and light.

This is Jenny's cake. It had a name starting with a C and ending with torte. I'll just call it a chocolate torte with almond and apricot. Delicious and moist with thick rich ganache. The tiramisu won though.

As I write this I'm drinking hot chocolate and munching on banana and walnut loaf. I wanted to try a piece before Dad devoured the rest. It's a reasonable fear. He ate like half a loaf in one day! That's my excuse for eating yet more cake like food. Sugar, sugar, my terrible f(r)iend. My stomach already hates me so it's not gonna do much worse. I think there's something wrong with my digestion. My stomach hasn't been right in weeks. I don't know how to fix it. I'm trying to find the perfect eating regime, but have yet to appease the growling devil. Tell me, dear stomach, what shall I do? Most of you will look at me and say, "Uh, Lauren stop eating tiramisu and banana loaf, that might help." Maybe. But I don't know if that is the source of my problem. You see, even when I am not eating such delicacies, it still moans at me. I eat vegies, I eat fruit, I eat yoghurt, half my food is low-fat. I don't eat crazy things every day. I am somewhat disciplined. Maybe it is just going through a phase. I should just respect it and let it get on with it. I really should treat it better though. Do you know what I would really like lately? Out of season fruit like strawberries and raspberries. Sure, they have berries at the store but I doubt they are sweet and ripe. Oh, LA and your Farmer's Market on Fairfax, I miss you. Ripe golden raspberries in the middle of winter. Gotta love that Californian climate.

Calzone

2006-08-08T20:13:00.000+12:00

I have yet to cook those waffles I've been talking about. I was going to do it Sunday but I woke up with a cheese craving and made myself cheese toasted sandwiches instead. What can you do...?

I did however make some more pizza dough. It took longer to make this time. I wonder if I got the water measurement wrong because for some reason I had to keep adding more and more flour. I let the dough rise for about 2 hours this time and got a nice large ball, which really needed a good twack to push the air out. Bakers really must have good stress relief. Ma made 2 pizzas for dinner and I used the leftover dough to make 2 huge calzone, which have served me as dinner for the last two days.

The calzone was so tasty. It pretty much had the same ingredients as the pizza, only the dough was folded over and sealed to make a big pocket of deliciousness. I stuffed in quite a lot. For awhile, I thought they were gonna be too fat. It had tomato paste, tomato sauce, mushrooms, tomato, some leftover beef from spaghetti bolognese and one calzone had cheese. I brushed the top with olives oil and Ma sprinkled a bunch of thyme and oregano over. Can't you just imagine how good they smelled? Dough and spices filled with pizza stuffing... drool now or forever hold your tongue.... I baked 'em with the pizza and stored them in the fridge.

Okay, so it doesn't look particularly beautiful here especially not against my retro plate. Actually, it looks kinda pasty. This is the not quite as good looking calzone. It has a few holes. But don't let it's exterior fool you. It is tasty. It really does look huge when you compared it to the size of your plate. Now you can also compare it to the size of my belly for it is gone.

That is it for doughy delights for this week. Tomorrow I'm back to stirfries. I need a good plate of fried vegies.

My New Breakfast Friend

2006-08-01T18:52:00.000+12:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I am now the proud owner of a waffle maker! Woohoo! I have wanted one for ages. I was hoping to get one for my birthday or something, and now I don't need to because I got one for free! It's cool, it's old school and it looks like it was born somewhere around the 80's. I can make retro waffles! My Poppa gave it to me. I'm looking forward to some great waffle fun. No need for the frozen variety. I can have fresh waffles on demand.

It's she beautiful.

Gelato!

2006-07-31T20:25:00.000+12:00

Today, I met up with one of my favourite eating partners-in-crime, Jenny. After deciding upon Japanese for lunch we headed up to a little joint underneath the Princeton apartments on Symonds St. I ordered chicken katsu with teriyaki noodles and rice with miso sauce and turnip kimchi (a little Korean touch). I love that I got noodles and rice. No need to choose between the two. Overall, the meal was just okay. It wasn't the best katsu I've had. I prefer Nishiki. The rice was a little dry. I prefer my rice sticky. The teriyaki flavoured noodles were also just mediocre. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was something a little bitter maybe about the teriyaki. Perhaps too much soy sauce for my liking? It was the first time I've ever tried kimchi. I can't compare it to anything but it wasn't really my thing. I get the feeling that if eaten in large quantities it would be a little too spicy for me to take. Still the meal was fairly tasty and satisfyingly filling. When Jen decided to skip her midday class, our sweet tooths fixated upon icy Italian delights. Jenny led me down to the gelato shop down at the ferry building. I tried a few flavours before settling on zabajone (wine, honey and spices) and chocolate gelato. The zabajone was a gold medal winner and it was delicious. A very unique taste. The flavours blended very nicely without anyone overpowering the other. And the chocolate, oh the chocolate. This one a silver medal. It was my favourite. Just the look of it was amazing - a rich dark colour. It was like eating dark chocolate with a creamy texture. Heavenly. I'm definitely going back there again! I had a nice sugar high that lasted for about half an hour into my philosophy lecture. Gelato makes life peachy!

I ate another one of my green tea cupcakes and I change my mind about amending the density. I really do like it that dense. The funny thing is, it had the weight of a small brick. I'm gonna stick one on the scales tomorrow. For some mysterious reason, the icing has gone lightly patchy in places and rock hard. Seriously, I tapped it with my finger and unless there were foley artists concealed behind my back, it made a distinct tap. Intriguing. I probably put too much icing sugar in it but it amuses me greatly.

More Maccha Power!

2006-07-30T20:24:00.000+12:00

Today I embarked on a new baking escapade - green tea cupcakes! I love green tea and I love cake so what's better than green tea in miniture cake form? I had a bit of trouble at the beginning. My butter I'd mixed with sugar and egg was all lumpy. The recipe said "soften" not melt but I think a better direction might be "almost melted". I ended up submersing my bowl in a hot water bath to de-clump it. The batter was a thick, delightfully green colour. It actually matches the decor of the living room quite nicely. I made 8 cupcakes, one being a little runt. I wasn't entirely sure what setting to put the oven on. I deciced upon fan bake but later was told, it would have been better on classic bake. This explained why my cupcakes were cooking quickly on the outside but not the inside. I had to leave them in quite awhile because it was gooey in the middle. The outside was quite hard and crisp when I took 'em out. They hardly even squished when I squeezed 'em. I covered them with chocolate icing and a sprinkle of chocolate chips.

So how did they turn out? Well, I liked them! That's all that really matters right? Taste is a little bit subjective. They were incredibly dense but I like my cake dense. The maccha flavour was subtle and the chocolate complemented it nicely. Dad wasn't a big fan, but all the more for me right. This was only the first attempt anyway. Baking is still largely unchartered territory for more. It's a fragile art. Next time, I will bake on classic. I might also go for a slightly more moist batter, with just a little bit more air. They were just a slight bit too dense. I also think more chocolate would be good.

So my final verdict... cupcakes = cute and tasty.

Pumpkin Lasagne

2006-07-28T23:04:00.000+12:00

I've had some technical difficulties for a few days but finally I can post the pictures of my wonderful pumpkin lasagne. I definitely can't take full credit for this beauty though. My father helped me immensely by cutting the onions. I can barely stand being in the same room as fresh cut onions. Last time, I cut them my eyes watered and stung so badly I could barely open them. Ma also contributed a lot. In fact, she may have done more than I did. I started off fine but got a little confused and hesitant shortly after softening and mashing the pumpkin. After waiting quite awhile for Ma to come home and help me, I was feeling quite lackadaisical. Still, this lasagne would not have been created had I not been inspired by a cookbook last weekend.

Here's the lasagne fresh from the oven, just waiting to be devoured by hungry mouths.

And here is the closeup. It may not look fancy but it was damn tasty! Dad thought so too, despite asking "Where's the meat?"

The lasagne was filled with pumpkin, onion, garlic, a dash of chardonnay, tomato, oregano, thyme, basil and ricotta. It was topped with a glistening cheesy layer of mozzarella and cheddar. It supplied me with two nights of delicious dinner.

Pocky

2006-07-25T00:03:00.000+12:00

I take back what I said about Pocky. Pocky rocks! You just need to pick the right moment to consume Pocky. After way too much sweet stuff, I casually ate a stick of Pocky and it was so good. The crunchy saltiness of the pretzel and the sweet nuttiness of the sesame combined for the perfect flavour sensation. Pocky is deeply satisfying. You just need to find the right moment to satisfy with Pocky Kurogoma. Those Japanese foodstuff people really know what they are doing. There is a subtle genius to Pocky just waiting to be discovered.

I had a strange experience today. I needed to eat lunch and knowing I would have a long day, I decided it should be a big lunch. I pondered where to go. I didn't have a particularly great desire or craving for anything but it was almost like I was possessed or much more likely a slave to habit. It was almost like I didn't have a choice where to eat. My feet just lead me to Denny's. It was like I needed to fulfill some sort of culinary destiny. I even tried to order something different but the words would not come out of my mouth. I am hopelessly programmed to say "Large pancakes, please". It is possible that I have been brainwashed.

I was pretty tired today. I don't really make good decisions when I'm sleepy. I was buying coffee and the chocolate cake just looked so pretty. I didn't get a picture but the icing was so smooth. I had to try some. It was good chocolate cake. It was a beautiful dark brown and perfectly sliced. It was wonderfully moist and thick. The sweetness factor also seemed to be just right. However, the more I ate, the sweeter it tasted but my spoon ploughed on. The flavour began to taste almost alcoholic, intoxicating. Eventually, I could handle no more. I gave up just before my final few bites. I could not eat anymore. This cake was meant for small slices. It should also probably come with a warning not to operate heavy machinery.

Fresh Home-Made Pizza

2006-07-23T19:42:00.000+12:00

On Saturday, I had a hankering for a banana split. I hadn't eaten much yet so I thought why not fulfill this craving? I was not disappointed. My creation was quite satisfying.

This is it right here. Banana topped with Caramello icecream, chocolate and caramel sauce, sprinkled with hundreds and thousands. Delicious.

I've been eating vegetarian lately. Definitely getting my five plus a day for sure. Tonight, I cooked what could probably be described as a vegetarian bolognese over spiral pasta. The bolognese part consisted of tomatoes, tomato sauce, bok choy, mushroom, eggplant, thyme, oregano, garlic and olive oil. Sound familiar? Yeah, they are infallible ingredients.

On the menu for Sunday was fresh homemade pizza. Completely from scratch. I made the pizza dough myself. I've never made any kind of bread before so it was quite an experience. It was much simpler than I though it would be. Mixing, kneading and leaving it in the hot water cupboard to rise. My favourite part was when I punched it to release the air. Never has baking produced such a brilliant squeal of glee. Deflating dough is fun but I am easily entertained. The pizzas contained a base of tomato sauce and some leftover canned tomatoes. On top was some fresh tomato, mushroom, vegetarian sausage, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, oregano and thyme. I was pretty sure they would turn out delicious once I caught a whiff of their scrumptious fragrance. By now you must have figured out that I love my Italian spices.

In my excitement to eat the pizza, I almost forgot to snap a picture. I raced off to grab my camera just as Ma was slicing up the last pie. So behold, a half pizza in all it's glory.

And this is my plate of individual slices. Not artistic arrangement here. I wanted to chow down!

I bought Pocky today! I've been wanting to try black sesame flavour for awhile and I finally saw it at the supermarket. I love the word Pocky! It gives me such pleasure to roll it off my tongue. Pocky, Pocky, Pocky. Anyway, it's good but not that good. I prefer black sesame desserts. Frankly there was too much pretzel stick and too little black sesame flavour. Apart from the name, maybe the whole Pocky phenomena is over-rated. Still, it's a nice munchable snack.

A Matcha Made In Pond Slime Heaven

2006-07-21T17:49:00.000+12:00

I took my first look at the world of competitive eating yesterday. ESPN was playing the Annual Hot Dog Eating competition run by Nathan's in Coney Island. I already knew who won but it was still pretty fascinatining watching the gurgitators stuff their faces like crazy. How they don't choke is beyond me? It's not the prettiest sight in the world. You'd be put off your food for sure sitting across the table from them but it's not about that. Apparently, the fitter you are, the easier it is because there is no fat to constrict your belly from expanding. That explains why a skinny 16 year old could finish the 72oz steak in Texas. The winner was Takeru Kobayashi from Japan with 53 1/2 hot dogs and buns! Incredible. I couldn't even eat that many in a week. I'd love to know how his stomach reacts afterwards. I would have indigestion for about a month. You really can't help but be amazed by these people.

The picture below is of my dessert last night.

Green Tea Custard and Pears

It looks like pond slime but I swear it tasted much better than it looks. It could have done with a little more sugar but still green tea stuff is tasty and it made a nice twist from the usual custard flavour. I was planning on baking it in the oven but I couldn't be bothered. That would definitely have improved the presentation. When I'm not in such a hurry to stuff my face, I will do that. Expect more green tea delicacies soon. I have a whole packet of matcha powder sitting in my cupboard. I'm thinking either muffins or cookies next. I am only limited by my imagination.

The Denny's Experience

2006-07-16T20:13:00.000+12:00

I am so full. JC and I went to Denny's for breakfast this morning and I totally stuffed myself. I ordered an oreo shake and large pancakes. I also devoured the tiramisu with vanilla icecream. I wasn't going to get the tiramisu but I wanted to see if it was any good. It wasn't. Actually, they shouldn't even really call it tiramisu. Firstly, I couldn't hardly taste any coffee. Also the cream barely tasted like mascarpone and lastly, I could hardly taste chocolate. What's up with that? It's pretty much a spongecake with cream. But yeah, what was I expecting, it's Denny's right? Well frankly, I was expecting a bit more. But I'm over it. I did digest it fairly well over the course of the afternoon but I decided to get rid of last night's extra fish (into my stomach). I figured it would turn gross if I left it in the fridge too long so with a nice slathering of my new favourite condiments (sweet chilli sauce), I chopsticked it into my mouth. Then I ate a couple of Cruskits for some carb balance or something. I don't know that was my reasoning but really I just felt like eating a couple of Cruskits.

Oreo Shake

Stacked with cream and topped with a chocolate stuffed Oreo. First you dunk it, then you suck it.

Large Pancakes

Naturally, these must be slathered in maple syrup.

P.S. No pictures of tiramisu because a)I forgot to take one and b)it was too mundane tasting.

Garlic Fried Salmon and Taro Cake

2006-07-14T18:22:00.000+12:00

I decided to have a simple dinner tonight because I've been eating way too many carbs lately. Really, my diet is probably more than half carbs. Vegies and meat are probably about equal. Anyways, I'd already eaten enough bread. I tried that new crumpet toast. Very nice. Looks like bread, tastes like crumpet and porous like Spongebob. I smeared Nutella and honey on it, but I'd be interested to see how it soaks up some maple or golden syrup.

Yesterday I scored some fresh salmon on sale for $5 so tonight I decided to fry it. Get my protein and feed my brain with fish nutrients. I pondered for awhile about how to cook this salmon but decided on a somewhat Italian method. I did it in the frying pan because the stove is my friend. I cooked some garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil, then sprinkled the salmon with thyme and oregano before frying it in the garlic oil. I then laid it out on a bed of lettuce with a light coating of parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of the extra garlic oil.

It turned out pretty good and tasted very healthy. However, I could have done with more garlic. I couldn't really taste it and I love my garlic. Also, the salmon could have been cooked through a little more. If I wanted to make this dish less healthy, I could have added a nice creamy sauce or dressing. But next time I get salmon, I think I'm gonna make some kinda Cajun pasta.

I ate my cool purple taro cake today. It was pretty good but not amazing. It really just tasted like coloured spongecake. There was no particular taro taste. I'd make my own but the taro at the store doesn't look like the type of taro used to make cake (as in it doesn't look the least bit purple although I know they do add food colouring). Anyway, cake is good. I like cake especially when it looks like a pretty purple log.

Food Tour Of America Part 2

2006-07-13T23:18:00.000+12:00

Even though it is late and I should be retiring to my bed (to sleep, rather than make an indent with my buttcheeks in the semi-upright position), my sleep patterns are far too awry to allow me to do so. Instead, I'm going to ramble about food.

If you are wondering what I ate for dinner, this is it...

Another one of my famous (or world famous in MY reality) sweet and sour stirfries. Since last night, I've had a vegetable craving, mostly for mushrooms. Why, mushrooms? I don't know. It's a particularly odd thing to crave. I mean they are a grey fungus that sprouts from the ground, but yet my body said "Lauren, you want mushrooms, lots of mushrooms." I was feeling sick at the time and I thought maybe my body was protesting it's lack of vegetables of late. Our cupboard has been pretty sparse lately but we picked up groceries today so I could use anything I so desired for my dinner. Stirfries are like the easiest, laziest food ever that does not require a microwave. A chimp could do it. This particulary stirfry contained mushroom (of course), baby corn, bok choy, chicken, sesame seeds and sweet n sour sauce, all piled up on rice. I was very hungry and this totally hit the spot, satisfying my vegie craving.

And now for the real treat of the evening. I'm currently copying Justina's photos from America. Since she is a much more avid photographer than I am, she has a lot more photos, some of which being photos of food. It brings back happy memories, even though most of it isn't even food I ingested. But I was there to watch it's consumption, so I was part of the experience. Plus food is fascinating.* There's probably more where this came from because I haven't finished going through the discs yet. Big thanks to Justina for the pictures. I give you full credit for their beauty.

Introducing Lauren's Food Tour of America Part 2.

Boston Chowder (otherwise pronounced "chow-dah"), lobster roll and oyster chips. New England is famous for it's seafood and here you have three different kinds. A thick clam chowder with oyster chips for dunking, plus creamy lobster sandwiched in bread. According to Justina, it was pretty good and I'm kinda sad I didn't participate in this quintessential Boston meal. Next time...

Boston Cream Pie. Justina and I shared this at the Bull and Finch (or Cheer's) bar. As the name suggests, I was expecting a pie and upon delivery of this dessert, I was a little confused. It's a cake! I guess some crackpot just called it a pie way back when and the name stuck. Apparently, it was so named because it was traditionally baked in a pie dish because they were more readily available than cake tins. Despite my initial confusion, I dig the quirky twist. Cake is pie. Pizza is pie. How many other kinds of pie are there?

Peanut Butter Brownie With Icecream and Cream. This dessert should have been mine, but Justina has a mean habit of stealing the last order of a dessert I have my eye on. Still, my sundae dwarfed her measly brownie. My dessert would have kicked her desserts ass in the playground. I'm so not bitter, not at all. The photo is dark (Hard Rock have crappy lighting, Justina is in fact a fabulous photographer) but doesn't it look delicious.

New York Pizza. Yet another kind of pie. Mmm. Cheese, pepperoni and a dash of basil leaves top this mouth-watering beauty. I can't remember if it had sauce or not. I can't tell from the picture. I would have liked more toppings but unlike back home, you pay per each extra topping so I can't imagine the final figure for what I would have concocted.

Chicken, pesto, tomato and mozzarella crepe from Profi's Creperie at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. This is Justina's but I ordered either the same thing or something similar. I don't think I'd had a savory crepe before but it was good. Anything with pesto is. Besides, the crepe is related to pancakes and that is always a plus. This was a very interactive eating experience for us. We got to sit at a thin counter, watch them pour the crepe batter on the cooker thing and then add all the ingredients. Fascinating. I loved Reading Terminal Market. It had such an eclectic, almost haphazard set-up but had this cool homely, urban vibe. They also sell lots of baked goods made by fine Amish folk.

Here ends part 2. There is more but I'm actually starting to get kinda sleepy now. I promise more installments to come. Together we shall embrace the travel food porn.

*Apparently, it's weird to announce food is fascinating in public. I grabbed a roll of taro cake at the vegie store today and said to Ma like "I've got to try this because I find it's purpleness fascinating", with much emphasis and excitement on the fascinating. She gave me a funny look. Maybe she was just jealous that I possess such a strange passion for odd coloured foodstuffs.

In Search Of Hot Chocolate Satisfaction

2006-07-12T15:55:00.000+12:00

I stopped for a warm drink and a snack while out shopping today. I ordered a hot chocolate from Swirl because I remember them having the best hot chocolate. I don't know if they've changed something or if my taste has changed, but it really wasn't anything special. Hot chocolates have a way of disappointing me lately. They never have enough chocolate and are never thick enough. I want a hot chocolate that resembles a rich creamy soup. I want something like Filipino tsokolate which is so thick it sticks to the sides of the cup. This stuff looks more like pudding than a drink. I tried to mix cream into my hot chocolate last night thinking that would bulk it up but it only served to make it taste creamier. I think the only way to get what I desire is to make it with plenty real melted chocolate or make it the Filipino way by roasting and pressing my own cocoa beans to form the tableas they use for tsokolate. It's like my own search for the holy grail except I'm searching for the perfect hot chocolate.

I decided to try some of Swirl's baked goods. I bought a chocolate chip cookie with white and milk chocolate swirls on top. It was good. It's hard to make a cookie taste bad. It had a good texture. Nice and firm, not crumbly. But it could have been sweeter and more buttery. It actually had a strange, almost slightly savory taste. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what it was but for the life of me, I just couldn't figure out what the flavour was. Any ideas, anyone? It wasn't salty so I know they didn't mix up the sugar or salt. Maybe they put some kind of weird herb in it or used a very unique sugar I'm not accustomed too. I ate the whole thing but it's not something I would get again. They did have these cute little pecan tarts which resembled miniture pecan pies. I might try one of those next time, if I decide they warrant the exorbitant $3 price.

Speaking of Filipino stuff before. If any of you are like me, meaning you like to drool over pictures of food (otherwise known as food porn), you should check out Dessert Comes First, which is written by Lori who lives in Manila. Just like me, dessert is her favourite meal and she has the most delicious pictures. I got addicted to looking through her archives. Many late nights spent salivating in virtual delight. At least, it's a calorie-less addiction.

Penne And Pasta

2006-07-09T14:28:00.000+12:00

Finally, I have energized my camera and got into the kitchen to cook up a small feast. First course was a penne pasta dish with eggplant, garlic, mushroom, tomato, chicken, tomato sauce, olive oil, oregano and thyme. I was excited to be able to cook something with eggplant (or aubergine) because I don't think I've had it since I was in Chinatown San Francisco. Normally it is so expensive, so I was lucky enough to find a lovely round eggplant at the vegie store by my gym. The whole dish turned out deliciously scrumptious. And the smell, oh it smelled delightful. Such a beautiful fragrance of tomato and herbs. It's especially great for something we invented without a recipe.

For dessert, Ma and I baked a rhubarb and apple pie. We made the sweet, buttery pastry ourselves because we discovered we didn't have enough fresh ready made pastry in the freezer. It actually worked out quite nicely because it gave me a chance to learn how to make it. I love pastry. I always eat pieces of it raw. Yummy. We added some cinnamon and nutmeg to the fruit to give it a bit of a kick. The pie turned out great.

We served it with some fresh cream. There was actually more apple in the pie than rhubarb (next time we'll have to buy 2 packs) but you could still taste the rhubarb. It gave it a nice, slightly sour taste. I loved the pastry on edge of buy. It was crisp and tasted like shortbread. Dad had two slices, he liked it so much. My only lament is that I wish I had eaten it a la mode. It would have been better with icecream rather than cream.

This last shot is supposed to showcase the apple rhubarb innards but it turned out a little blurry.

Date Baby

2006-07-06T16:51:00.000+12:00

It's been awhile since I posted. I really haven't eaten anything remarkable lately nor do I have a working camera to take pictures with yet. I doubt anyone really cares. Because Fueled By Flapjacks is now beating Buddha Belly entry-wise, I decided I'd better boost the food entry count.

My mother and I somehow started talking about pregnancy cravings the other day. I was curious to know what sort she had when she was pregnant with my brother and I. With Michael, she craved sweet 'n sour. While she was growing my chubby bubby butt, she craved dates. Yup, I'm a date baby. I wonder if the food your mother craves bears any affect on you post-birth. I can't say I have overwhelming love or desire for dates. Sure, I like them but I've really only had them in date scones. Of course, mothers probably eat a bunch of other stuff during their course of pregnancy too. Dates are very high in sugar though which could be why I have such a sweet tooth. Mmm sugar.

I was thinking it would be quite a cool tradition if we ate what our mothers craved on our birthdays. Kinda like a nice nod to our pre-birth food heritage or something. A nice acknowledgement of our time in-utero. For some people, it might be more like a cruel punishment though. Like if your mother devoured pickles and icecream. Yuck. Just the sight of pickles makes me cringe. They look like pond scum.

So now I have a poll for all 4 of my known readers. What did your mother crave when she was pregnant with you?

Chocolate Cake, Thai and Japanese, Oh My!

2006-07-01T21:02:00.000+12:00

There has been a lot of fooding this week. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries on Tuesday and I could not photographically document some of my experiences. I will do my best to describe the meals which I consumed. For those more visually inclined people, you'll just have to use your imaginations.

MONDAY
Ma baked a chocolate cake for Dad's birthday. While it was much more aesthetically pleasing than the last cake I baked, mine was tastier. But then that's a given when you choose real chocolate over cocoa powder. It was a little on the dry side, but pair it with some cookies and cream icecream - yummy.

TUESDAY
We went out to Spices thai restaurant to celebrate Dad's birthday. My meal was accompanied by green tea but that's not so exciting, really. We ordered three appetizers but I only ate two of them- curry puffs and chicken wings. I like the curry puffs the best. Unfortunately, being in such tiny morsels, they were gone all too quickly. For my main dish, I ordered the same thing I got last time - the praram (chicken stirfry with vegies and topped with peanut, garlic sauce). I could have ventured out towards new tastes but it's just so good. Thai peanut dishes are the best. For dessert, I decided on the banana rolls which turned out to be spring roll style rather than fritter or tempura style. They were delicious. The roll batter not being too thick you could taste the banana a lot better. My only problem was trying to eat it with my knife and fork without it flying of the plate.

Chicken wings and curry puffs. Not a great shot. My family aren't too accomodating of my food photography.

The praram or peanut lover dish. Beautifully laid out on its green leaf bowl.

Banana rolls with cream and vanilla icecream.

WEDNESDAY
I went to Japanese with Jenny. Again, I didn't venture out. I know I should but I just get this overwhelming desire for my fave dishes. Next time, I promise. For an appetizer, I received a little baby octopus, some squid and some mayonaisse crab thing. Tasty. I'm still amazed that I can actually put a whole baby octopus in my mouth without resorting to gag reflex and better yet, enjoy it. For the main dish, I got the chicken cutlet with miso sauce. It also comes with tofu, miso soup, rice and salad. I have totally got to buy some miso sauce because I love it. Jen and I shared green tea shaved ice and icecream with red adzuki beans and glutinous rice balls for dessert.

The baby octopus, squid and crab meat.

The wicked jelly candle they lit to heat up Jen's meal.

I made the coolest pancakes last night. I decided to do something a little more fascinating than standard pancakes. I'd never tried banana pancakes before so I thought, why not? They were delicious and gooey. I put marshmallow in one which added extra gooeyness. Yummy. I topped my pancakes with maple syrup and some bacon for protein.

It's a pity I still haven't charged up my batteries because I had tasty teriyaki chicken, salad and miso soup for dinner. I'm sure you would have loved to ogle its takeaway goodness.

I hope you enjoyed my week in food.

Breaking My Fast

2006-06-26T14:15:00.000+12:00

At last an update, you exclaim! Why so long, you ask? Well, something must have been seriously wrong with me because save a bowl of porridge over the weekend, I pretty much did a 40 hour famine! I know! I voluntarily didn't eat! I must have been sick or crazy. I was in one of my fussy moods again. Nothing seemed good enough to eat. I even turned down pizza! I finally broke my fast yesterday at lunch. I met up with Ma on her lunch break. I ordered a spicy chicken panini and a hot chocolate. I also finally got to try biscotti. I picked chocolate and mixed nut flavour. It is was much more flavourful than I thought it would be. Sweet and crunchy. Might have to eat me some biscotti more often. Lunch seriously filled me up though. I guess it was like an overload to my stomach after being empty for so many hours. I thought I might explode. Eventually, I digested and dinner was made possible. I made a two very satisfying pesto and parmesan toasted sandwiches. I've decided parmesan is one of my favourite cheeses. It's nice and mild. I can even it it plain, which I don't normally do. It also goes in a lot of my favourite Italian dishes. It went perfectly with pesto because it didn't overpower it. I finished up my day with a caramel slice because y'know I needed to make up for my low calorie intake from the previous day. Well, it seemed as good an excuse as any.... It was really yummy, in case you were wondering. Muffin Break make the best caramel slices. But the ones at Botany seem to be the best. The other branches ones don't look as good. Of course, the best caramel slices are probably home made but I lost my recipe. I got happy memories of Alana and I making 'em though. Mmmm... caramel... and chocolate... and biscuit. A good combo.

I'm rambling lots today. Anticipate lots of food porn coming soon though because today is Dad's birthday and there were rumours of a cake being made. Tomorrow we are going out to Thai for dinner. Then on Wednesday I am eating lunch with Jenny. I'm thinking Japanese for that but we'll see. It'll be a good fooding week, I expect. My tummy is excited.

I apologise for the lack of pictures. I wanted to upload a picture of the biscotti but Blogger wouldn't let me.

Baby Food Sammich

2006-06-19T13:42:00.000+12:00

Inspired by Elvis' much loved grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich, I decided to make my own for lunch. I didn't have a recipe so I made it up. Slight modifications will be made if I ever make this again. Unlike Elvis, I mashed my banana and I probably used less peanut butter. I also added some caramel sauce. I didn't fry it in a pan like most recipes of the famous sandwich call for. I used a toasted sandwich maker instead. How did it turn out? Well, it kinda looked like a sandwich stuffed with baby food. haha. The banana was extremely gooey. Methinks I should just chop the banana next time. It probably could have done with less banana and more peanut butter. I really couldn't taste the caramel at all because I didn't put much on it. I bet this recipe would be quite tasty with some jam. Maybe I'll try that next time. Either way, it was an interesting experience. I will dub this version the Baby Food Sammich (mispelling intentional).

I realise this picture sucks but I was feeling to lazy to adequately document the experience.

Food Inferiority And My Growing Snobbery

2006-06-18T21:19:00.000+12:00

You know what I hate, other than when I screw up my Startmenu toolbar so it is displayed vertically rather than horizontally and I can't remember how to fix it. I don't like being disappointed, especially by food. Sometimes you eat something that you think will be amazing, but after eating you think "That really wasn't worth it." The amount of calories you consume just isn't worth it. So many foods are just so-so. I'm sure my tastes are changing. I'm becoming a little bit snobbish in what I pick nowadays. I'm prone to claiming many foods inferior due to their quality of ingredients. Anything chocolate flavoured should be primarily made of chocolate, for example. Twenty other ingredients should not come before it on the label. Much of the food I ingested today was a disappointment, but I guess I brought that upon myself, denying my pancake eating instincts for mock-Chinese food. I went with my father to see how much I could cram into a large polystyrene container. Reason would suggest that you should just pick either a)noodles or b)rice with maybe one or two other dishes. Unfortunately, when faced with a myriad of different foods in a smorgasbord array gluttony takes over and you just have to stuff as much as you can into your box. The results are yes, edible and sure, quite tasty but the flavours all mix together and your left with rather a confused mish-mash of pseudo-Asian food. I think the addition of the lemon chicken was rather a foolish one because it infected everything on the left side with a lemon taste that I didn't enjoy too much. Alas, I was curious to see what lemon chicken tasted like. If you're wondering. Chicken in a lemon sauce. Yeah, so exciting. Next to the lemon chicken I also shoved rice, noodles, a springroll, sweet n sour pork, BBQ pork, 5 spices chicken, a deep fried squid, some kind of beef, egg foo yeung (sp?) and maybe other random things. That's one of the problems with buffets. The individual tastes of a dish gets lost among the others. You force so much upon your taste buds at once that you're brain just can't compute them all. I wasn't exactly expecting gourmet cuisine from a foodcourt, but I think I'm over takeaway Asian. It's just not worth it. I've decided I'm going to make a list of things worth eating and things not worth eating. That way, I can avoid eating underwhelming foodstuffs from this point onwards (save new things I try). Life is too short and my waist line is too fragile to waste my time on inferior foods.

The moral of the story is... when in doubt, always make pancakes for dinner. You will never be let down by the awesomeness that is a pancake.

Breakfast Is The Best Meal

2006-06-16T18:35:00.000+12:00

... even at dinner time. I never dreamed that I would find a good enough replacement for my cereal, but not only did I find a breakfast food good enough, I found something amazing. Really. I love my oatmeal. I love it. It's so tasty and comforting. I mix one of my other favourite substances with it - maple syrup. This transforms it into a deliciously nutty maple delight. The taste very much resembles a Starbucks maple walnut scone, only in a less solid form. Did I mention it also smells delicious? I ate it twice today, for brunch and a second dinner. Yeah, I had a second dinner. The first dinner (inari sushi and some surimi) wasn't filling enough, so I had to eat a second dinner. I never knew I'd find love so soon.

I know it looks like goo but I promise it is supremely yummy.

Oooh, I had my first proper bowl of udon this week. Ma and I stopped into 277 while my dad was getting his surgery and I got teriyaki chicken udon. So much better than the udon I made, which probably barely even qualified as udon because it wasn't in broth, it was in a bowl of miso soup. It was tasty and slurpy (though I tried not to slurp too much because Aucklanders don't really dig that thing so much). I couldn't get a picture though because I forgot to put my XD card in my camera. Next time.

Oh yes and here is a picture of the delicious inari sushi that is now making friends with the oatmeal in my belly.

And You Thought They'd Thought Of Everything...

2006-06-14T21:40:00.000+12:00

This was just too good not to post! In Taiwan there is a restaurant with a toilet bowl theme! Not only do you sit on a toilet but you eat out of a (mini) toilet! They also feed you stuff that can look a lot like, well, y'know.... So gross, but so funny. Let's just hope they don't go a step further and actually make the toilets operational. Ewww....

I'm so eating there if I'm ever in that city!

Here are some links to articles and pictures from Usa Today and MSNBC. The mere text is gross enough, I don't want to spoil my blog with actual pictures of the oddity. Enjoy!

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

2006-06-13T18:26:00.000+12:00

Mmmhmm tonight's dinner was good. Unfortunately, not enough for seconds. Just as well cuz I would have had alot and I am trying to cut down here. It's probably the hardest Italian dish to screw up actually. Pretty simple but so tasty. It had just the right amount of cheese flavour, wasn't too eggy and the bacon flavour didn't overpower. All the ingredients seemed to be in perfect harmony. I am turning into quite a good cook.

Here's the recipe...

SPAGHETTI WITH EGGS AND BACON (SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA)

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
150g bacon, cut into matchsticks
1 clove garlic, crushed
400g spaghetti
3 eggs, at room temperature
75g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Serves 4

1/ Bring a large pot of water to the boil. In a medium frying pan, heat the oil and saute the bacon and the garlic until the bacon renders its fat and starts to brown. Remove and discard the garlic (I couldn't be bothered doing this but you really couldn't notice the garlic). Keep the bacon and its fat hot until needed.
2/ Add salt and the spaghetti to the boiling water, and cook until al dente.
3/ While the pasta is cooking, warm a large serving bowl and break the eggs into it. I actually used the pot the spaghetti cooked in. Beat in the Parmesan cheese with a fork, and season with salt and pepper.
4/ As soon as the pasta is done, drain it quickly, and mix it into the egg mixture. Pour on the hot bacon and its fat. Stir well. The heat from the pasta and bacon fat will cook the eggs. Serve immediately.

Pimp Your Cereal AND Your Snack

2006-06-12T19:01:00.000+12:00

I heard about the coolest restaurant today. Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe! They have all these different kinds of cereal and you can choose a bunch and combine them with different kinds of milk. So awesome. I can't believe no one ever though of that before.

I also discovered Pimp That Snack which is definitely worth a look. They take your favourite snacks and pimp em up giant size. It's gotten enough attention that Viacom, who have 'Pimp My Ride' and 'Pimp My' trademarked forced them to chance their name. My favourites are the giant Oreo, Kit Kat, Creme Egg and Lindt Lindor Ball. It almost makes me want to attempt my own pimped out snack creation.

Tonight we had stuffed roast beef. I didn't know you could stuff roast beef so I really learnt something today. We had yummy roasted potato and kumara with herbs. I declined to eat any mixed vegies, apart from two (a piece of carrot and corn) which somehow found its way to my plate. Vegetables should never come from a frozen form. It is wrong. The fridge is as far as the refridgeration process should go. Besides I don't like em cut into little pieces like that. I don't know, it's like unnecessary processing. It's cut up into small little pieces of carrot, corn and peas (well peas are small anyway, but I'm not a fan of them) like I can't chew my own food. It's both boring and insulting. I have tastebuds and teeth, yo.

I followed up my dinner with pudding in a teacup. It's a delicacy I invented. All the cool kids are doing it. It means you eat less, but it seems like your eating more.

Chicken Pesto Spaghetti ala Lauren

2006-06-11T18:18:00.000+12:00

Faced with a dying basil plant, I just had to make something with a pesto sauce tonight. Basil is such a yummy smell, I would have liked to enjoy its fragrance awhile longer but no, it was to become a pasta sauce. I had intended to follow a traditional recipe for pesto sauce but found I did not have enough basil for this. Inspired and growing more confident in my cooking skills by the day, I aspired to create my own pesto sauce. I'm not even sure of the quantities of ingredients I put in it because I was constantly tweeking it but it contained basil leaves, garlic, salt, olive oil, water, pine nuts and parmesan. It didn't exactly resemble the pesto sauces I have seen but it tasted good.

This picture doesn't really bring out the green colour, nor does it look gormet but it was good. Trust me.

The Birth Of The Trickosphere

2006-06-11T15:00:00.000+12:00

Ma and I did a lot of cooking today. She started off the day by cooking up a nice batch of scones which made a very tasty lunch. After my belly settled a little we went to pick up some supplies because I wanted to cook some food of Linda's party.

First, we made little smoked fish pies with a bread instead of pastry. I really actually can't take much credit because I didn't do a whole lot. I was more of an assistant in this endeavour. I cut the bread into circles and I spooned the smoked fish mixture into them. That is the extent of my help.

I do however take full credit for the making of what I have now dubbed Trickospheres - rum balls with a trick. The trick being that it is made with brandy instead of rum. It's a hard name to remember of the top of your head but I trust it will catch on in time.

My (Dirty) Love Affair With Porridge

2006-06-09T22:18:00.000+12:00

You know how they say "give peace a chance", well today I decided to "give porridge a chance". It really was that much of a gesture. See, the first time we met, I wasn't particularly impressed. In fact, they way it greeted me was more like an assault on my tongue. But this sensory attack was back in my Brownie days and in hindsight I realised this may have had more to do with the way it was prepared than the nature of porridge itself. After my much lamented divorce with Light 'N Tasty last week however, I had to get back out there and play the field. All the other lovers of porridge claim it to be wonderfully comforting in the morning and I have to say I give my second rendezvous with this age old tradition a thumbs up. The gooey texture is a little strange at first, but it grows on you. It's milky, nutty goodness warms you deep in your belly whilst gently calming the snarl of hunger. I added dried cranberry and apricot plus some sugar to sweeten mine, but the oatmeal I chose was of such quality I think it would have been quite tasty naked. I'm looking forward to all the different things I can do with my new friend oatmeal.

Dude, I just read that whole paragraph over and while I was going for a slight romantic innuendo, I didn't mean for it to be that sexy. Out of modesty, I could delete it but I find it funny. After all, food is a sensual experience. Maybe you didn't even notice, in which case, I've just alerted you to the fact and made myself look dirty all at once. I'm telling you it was unintentional.

I also tried rooibos tea today. Rooibos is African slang for a Dutch word and means "red bush", hence its other name red bush tea. The plant is actually green, but it has a nice red colour once it is fermented. It's very good for you and has a delicious slightly, nutty sweet flavour. It's been said to aid insomnia, irritability, headaches, nervous tension, hypertension, relieve stomach cramping and some allergies, and boost the immune system. I was also impressed to learn that it is great for irritated skin and contains anti-oxidants which help slow the aging process. I'm thinking I might try it as a toner. Food you can wear on your face. It doesn't get any better than that?

I made one of my simple signature dishes tonight. Usually, I'm a lazy cook. All I really need to be happy at dinner time is a stove with a frying pan and a rice cooker. Tonight, I cooked up one of my more recent variations on the tofu and rice/pasta dish. Tofu with mushroom, baby corn, sesame seed, pumpkin seed and sweet and sour sauce over rice. Except, I ran out of sweet and sour and had to supplement mild sweet chilli sauce. Simple but tasty.

BTW: The oatmeal/porridge at the top is not the actual bowl of porridge I consumed this morning. By now you know my food photos never look that professional. I'm to eager to chow than to do the food equivalent of ikebana.

Buon Apetito!

2006-06-08T18:36:00.000+12:00

I've never tried to cook an authentic Italian meal before so I thought it was about time I tried. There were a few minor mishaps along the way, but the result was, according to my Dad, "the best thing you've ever cooked". I made lasagne al forno.

The recipe is too long to include here, but if you want it just ask. Sorry I can't add more pictures. My computer is being weird. Really I'm just thankful it let me add one. More to come once I overcome whatever is wrong with this mangled machine.

It took two hours to make, although it is supposed to take longer. When I skimmed over the recipe I didn't realise that the 'let simmer for 1 1/2-2 minutes' was actually 'let simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours'. Oopsies. Just means the flavour in the bolognese sauce didn't sink into the meat as much. It was quite an involved recipe. I've never used so many pots and pans in my life. When we had finally made the meat sauce, bechemel sauce, softened the lasagne sheets, grated the parmesan and layered it in the glass dish, I turned around to put it in the oven. This is about 5 minutes after I asked Ma if she had turned on the oven (it looked different) and she answered yes, so thinking Ma knows best I didn't give it a second thought. Well, Ma officially gets the award for dumbest mistake of the day. She hadn't turned the dial around to fanbake. The oven wasn't on! Double oopsies. We had to wait another 15 minutes for the oven heat up and then a further 15 minutes until the lasagne cooked. lol. Dad was quite hungry but he was satisfied in the end. It was pretty good. I'd only change a few things. Add some tomato sauce or paste to the bolognese meat sauce, simmer it for longer and maybe add a little something else to the bechemel because it needed a little bit of a kick. I had two helpings which my Ma pointed out was my meal plus someone else's. haha. When I put the effort into cooking, I like to reap the award. It's okay though, I'm back to the gym and eating healthy tomorrow.

I brought myself some new breakfast food to replace my beloved Light 'N Tasty. I got some Weetbix which I'm gonna either eat with milk or crunchy with yoghurt. I'm also going to experiment with this thing they call oatmeal porridge. I was never a fan of it before but I think that was because I never put any sugar or anything with it. I really wanted to buy some quinoa to try but I think I might have to go to a health food store to hunt that down. It was the staple food of the Mayans but it's just impossible to find here in NZ. This morning I ate leftover rice with milk, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. It was quite good but would have been better with more cinnamon and maybe cream instead of milk, which kinda defeats the point of a healthy breakfast. I'll let you know how my breakfast experiment goes.

Food - Space Style

2006-06-06T21:48:00.000+12:00

One thing I regret not trying while in America was the freeze-dried space food you can buy at Kennedy Space Center. I was quite curious, but alas, it was quite expensive and since I was only halfway through my great American exploration I was trying to limit my expenses.

Apparently shrimp cocktail is very popular in space, but they eat pretty much everything. Food also tastes different supposedly due to the shifting of body fluids. I wonder if I could handle spicy food in space then? I found a cool article on eating in space.

I find the bit about spilling quite funny. If you don't clean up your mess it might just hit you in the head later. I'm gonna mention that to Ma next time I mess up the kitchen.

The Yummiest Scone Ever

2006-06-05T13:49:00.000+12:00

Food news is a little dry today so I thought I would showcase my favourite scone that comes courtesy of Starbucks - the Maple Walnut Scone. So good. I buy way more scones than I do coffee.

I have this habit of taking pictures with a chunk already eaten out of it. Just shows I can't wait to eat stuff, I guess.

Sweet Fudgy Goodness

2006-06-04T15:28:00.000+12:00

Today I made some yummy fudge for my friends and I to enjoy. It turned out brilliantly. I only had one small hitch. I ran out of dark chocolate but luckily I had some Dairy Milk in the pantry to supplement it.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE

Ingredients
About 1 1/2 blocks of chocolate
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter

1/ Melt chocolate, condensed milk and butter in a microwave proof bowl on medium for 3-5 minutes, or until chocolate has melted. Make sure to stir several times.
2/ Pour into greased or baking paper lined dish (8x8 inch) and refridgerate until set.

The ingredients - so simple. Condensed milk is so yummy. You just know I licked the can.

Yummy fudgelicious goodness. It was hard to stop eating them.

I also had a spent a great night of eating with some of my oldest and best friends. It was a small feast of chicken, bread, cocktail sausages, coleslaw, chips and dip, fudge, chocolate cake and rum 'n raisin icecream.
I had to include a picture of Justina's quiet rage with poultry. She sure did mutilate that chicken good.

A totally candid shot of me eating our feast.

Goodbye Light 'N Tasty

2006-06-03T11:47:00.000+12:00

Today, I must bid my favourite cereal goodbye from my diet. It's a sad day. We've had so many great times together. I never knew a cereal I truly loved before Light 'N Tasty. He opened my heart. But alas, I can no longer stomach our relationship and we are forced to part ways. It is a reluctant divorce but something has changed about him. He's different. He says he's "New and Improved" with "bigger and better fruit". But he's changed for the worst and to stop my stomach from doing that weird full but empty thing we're it feels like acids are slowly eating out my insides, I must let him go. It was good while it lasted but you're just not the same. Goodbye Light 'N Tasty. I loved you well.

The Other White Meat

2006-06-02T18:46:00.000+12:00

I was bumbling around the internet, looking up random things, as I do and I came across a reference to canned rattlesnake meat. I had never heard of this before but I guess you can get just about everything in a can these days. I decided to look up this rare delicacy. While not every family in America is chowing down on some snake, it's not that uncommon. I think one day I'd actually quite like to try. I imagine it would taste quite a lot like alligator, which tasted like chicken. I even managed to find some rattlesnake recipes. Baked rattlesnake, barbequed rattlesnake, deep-fried rattlesnake, dijon grilled rattlesnake, rattlesnake and beans and for the health minded even rattlesnake salad. Tasty. You're really only limited by your imagination. Remember that quote from Forrest Gump that Bubba says:

"Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it,
boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole,
shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon
shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad,
shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."

Well, rattlesnake could be like that. Just about that only thing you can't do is rattlesnake sashimi because raw rattlesnake meat carries dangerous bacteria that can cause Salmonella poisoning. Expect pictures of me feasting upon rattlesnake next time I visit America.

Black Sesame Pudding

2006-06-01T21:10:00.000+12:00

For dessert, I made black sesame pudding. I'd love to say that it was gourmet and back breaking to prepare, but it didn't require too much skill. All I really did was mix the packaged ingredients with milk, bring to the boil, heat for 1 minute, cool and refridgerate. Not a lot of elbow grease there, but I didn't screw it up and that should be applauded.

Only two words there I can actually understand but luckily there are English instructions on the back.

Cooking the pudding on the stove. I was quite worried I was burning it because it took way longer to boil than I thought.

Setting the moulds. I had to eat an Aunt Betty's pudding for lunch just for an extra cup.

Yummy. Dad thought it looked like an eyeball. You should have seen it wobble. I was shaking it around and giggling. I could have had hours of entertainment.

Puppies Of The Sea

2006-06-01T20:05:00.000+12:00

Tonight was one of those not too common, but more increasingly frequent nights when I cook my family dinner. I think my growing love of cooking is a natural progression from my love of eating. It's also preparation for a somewhat domestic life, I expect to have later on in life. I get starry-eyed thinking about all the feasts I can cook up for my kids. Tonight's dinner was predominantely Japanese. The main consisted of fish, prawn and cucumber tempura on rice with miso soup.

The raw ingredients - cucumber, pre-cooked prawn, tempura mix and red cod. I didn't take a picture of the miso soup but that came from little individual packages of miso soup paste.

Tempura batter - Very simple to make - just add water and mix.

Chopped seafood - Don't it just look so tasty. I love prawn. They're so cute. Like little puppies of the sea.

Cooking the tempura was quite dangerous. That hot oil sure does like to spit at ya. Ma kindly served as my assistant. I needed a bit of hand flipping the tempura and trying not to burn myself. The batter didn't really stick to the prawn very well. Maybe because I forgot to de-shell them. Oops. They were quite crunchy. lol. But I did remember to pull the heads off so that's something. I felt quite brutal ripping heads off my little puppies of the sea but it had to be done. Who wants to eat those little black eyeballs? I'm sure digestion will be hard enough eating their shells.

Bon apetit! My delicious meal complete. That's satay and sweet and sour sauce at the top. Not very Japanese but it's what I felt like dipping my tempura in. The cucumber is serving as a makeshift divider between the two.

Despite the hot oil trying to give me a facial and forgetting to de-shell the prawn, I rate this dinner pretty well. All agreed it was tasty.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho... It's A Pirate's Life For Me

2006-05-31T19:56:00.000+12:00

Dude... this is so cool. Blackbeard's favourite drink was called the Kill Devil. It's ingredients? Rum laced with real gunpowder. Wicked.

Decadent Chocoholic Cake With Cream Filling

2006-05-31T16:38:00.000+12:00

I thought I would include the recipe for my "masterpiece" should anyone interesting in baking it stumble upon this site. So I won't be accused of stealing someone else's recipe as my own, I got it here. It's modified though because I added my own twists with the icing and cream.

Ingredients

Cake
2/3 cup butter
8oz bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream

Filling
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup mascarpone
1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Icing
chocolate
icing sugar

Garnish
1 small bar white chocolate, grated

1/ Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Line a circular cake tin with grease proof paper.
2/ Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over hot water. Stir gently until smooth.
3/ Beat eggs with sugar and then stir in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract.
4/ Fold in melted chocolate and butter mixture gradually. Then fold in sour cream.
5/ Pour batter in pan and bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centre comes clean. Allow to cool.
6/ Cut cake in two pieces horizontally. Of course, you could also take the less risky option and bake two separate cakes in the first place. This may reduce the probability of a cake avalanche.
7/ To make filling: pour whipped cream, mascarpone, sugar and vanilla extract into a bowl. Beat with electric mixer until it forms a peak.
8/ Spread filling over bottom layer of cake and carefully place second layer on top.
9/ To make icing: melt chocolate (as much as you want, depending on how rich you want it) in saucepan over hot water. Mix in icing sugar (use as much as you need until you get the consistency you want) and when smooth spread over cake.
10/ To garnish, sprinkle grated white chocolate over icing.

More Benefits For My Sweet Tooth

2006-05-30T20:17:00.000+12:00

Chocolate improves brain function. So next time you're temporarily lacking in smarts, chow down on some Dairy Milk. Chris could totally use that for a selling point of his Snickers meal replacement theory.

Oolong the Rabbit

2006-05-30T16:59:00.000+12:00

Isn't this bunny so cute! It looks like has a pancake on his head. Although, it could be a rice cracker. Not sure. Oolong is from Hokkaido, Japan and was somewhat of a web celebrity until his passing a few years ago. His owner taught him to balance many things on his head and blogged all about Oolong's travels. Rest in Peace, Oolong. Much respect to anyone who can balance food on their head.

Perfect Pancakes

2006-05-30T12:03:00.000+12:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I am obsessed with pancakes. They are my all-time favourite food. So simple, yet so delightful. Mix em, fry em, pour on some syrup and you have an instant mood enhancer. I get so excited that I dance and giggle as I'm cooking. It's quite strange. There's probably some nostalgia mixed in with my love of pancakes. I have memories of my (late) favourite Nana cooking stacks of flapjacks for me when I was little. I love them. Of course, when I mess up a pancake, I treat it as a great tragedy. Despite the simple recipe, the perfect pancake is not an easy feat - the perfect pan temperature is required. They are quite a temperamental breakfast food. But the other day, I made the kind of pancakes that brought tears to my eyes - they were so beautiful, so evenly cooked. The best I've made to date.

BEHOLD!

The Creation Of A Masterpiece

2006-05-29T21:27:00.000+12:00

Here is a tale of a tragic misadventure in cooking...

The ingredients

Boy, did I have such grand hopes for this cake. The finished product however, did not turn out quite like I planned. It started off fine but just kinda went downhill. I managed to salvage it for the most part. The initial mixing and baking went quite well. I especially enjoyed the time honoured baking tradition of licking the bowls. The batter was rich, creamy and oh so chocolately.

It was halfway through the baking stage that things began to go awry. The top began to crack which I think is the source of the cakes downfall. I let it cool for a whole hour before trying to cut it in half to fill. But the fissures in the surface of the cake caused a shocking disturbance. Tragically, there was an avalanche and the sides of my cake collapsed. My beautiful cake fell apart. I tried to cut it in two but ended up with almost a dozen pieces. I could have just pronounced it dead right there, but goshdarnit, I wasn't going to give up. I decided to spread the mascarpone filling over the undamaged bottom half and try to jigsaw the broken pieces together using the mascarpone as a kind of glue base. Nice idea in theory but the puzzle was much to difficult to reconstruct. I had to choose another plan. I considered cutting the edgges off and making a very small cake, but this would not do either. I formulated a better plan to salvage my baked good. I cut the base of the cake in half and placed one half on top of the other. This created half a cake. I then took two of the largest broken pieces and sandwiched them together with the mascarpone filling. I now had two half cakes. In fact, if you look at the cake on the right hand side, it looks just like a perfect half eaten cake. I collected all the broken bits in a bowl.

Looks aren't everything - they still tasted fantastic. My final step was icing the cake. This would play a major role in its beautification. Unfortunately, my bad luck did not stop here. My concentration was not only thrown off by my previous disaster but I had also accidentally written eggs instead of egg whites in my recipe. It took me about 5 minutes of mixing sugary yellow goo to figure out my icing was never going to become fluffy. By this point, I had run out of eggs and could not mix a fresh batch of icing. I attempted to create a different kind of icing using the whipped cream and chocolate. My luck would again run me afowl. After melting the chocolate, I got distracted with something else. The chocolate hardened and I could not mix it with the cream. I was officially out of eggs, whipped cream and chocolate. Dad was nice enough to pick up some more chocolate for me. Traditional icing using dark chocolate it would have to be. I mixed the melted chocolate with icing sugar and carefully smoothed it on the cake, attempting to disguise its inadequacies. I completed my cake by sprinkling grated white chocolate on top.

It didn't turn out like I planned, but it passed the taste test. Sometimes you just gotta let the mistakes slide and enjoy the fruits of your labour, whatever they may be.

Highlights from America

2006-05-29T14:20:00.000+12:00

America - land of comfort food and huge portions. Never has my stomach rejoiced so much on holiday. Day after day, I happily stuffed myself. I'm missing pictures of some of my favourite meals - the Excalibur buffet in Las Vegas, Demo's Spaghetti and Steak House in Nashville, Golden Corral Buffet and Grill in Raleigh and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in San Francisco. But I did take SOME photos to remember my eating experiences.

Hollywood, CA - Cheezy fries at Johnny Rockets at Hollywood & Highland. The ketchup smiley face was cute. I still find American cheese strange. This cheese wasn't that bright coloured, but what's up with orange cheese?

Niagara Falls, ON - The thickest, fluffiest pancakes I've ever had! So good. It was all you can eat, but I honestly couldn't fit more than one plateful. I'm not 100% sure but i think it was at the Continental Pancake House.

Niagara Falls, ON - Eating icecream in Canada. One of my life goals achieved.

San Francisco, CA - Mmm.... IHOP, how I love you. This was from my first IHOP experience. Chocolate pancakes completed with chocolate chips and cream. Very yummy. I wanted more.

Tijuana, Baja California - Quesdillas at a Mexican restaurant on the Avenida Revolucion. Simple and tasty. I'm so very proud of my Mexican eating experience.

Bevery Hills, CA - You know a dessert is big when it's about the size of your head. There was no way I could finish this brownie sundae at the Hard Rock Cafe at the Beverly Centre. It was delicious but I think the thing I liked most was that it seemed bottomless. I hate when desserts are over too quickly.

And this what I looked like at the END of the trip.

Welcome

2006-05-26T13:51:00.000+12:00

Greetings folks! Welcome to the chronicles of my eating experiences. Food is one of my greatest pleasures in life. Nothing will bring such wild and childish excitement to my face like a stack of freshly cooked pancakes or a bowl of hot pasta or a steaming hot pizza or... you get the point. I love to eat. I spend most of the day thinking about food but I practice self-control. If I ate every time I thought about eating, I'd be writing a blog about weight loss instead. So prepare to feast your eyes as I showcase my gastronomical delights.