tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61300184206573169402024-03-14T07:22:02.541+11:00I'm hungry tooBrendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.comBlogger151125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-86262379732659370622013-01-24T15:20:00.000+11:002013-01-24T15:20:47.812+11:00Banoffee Pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have to thank my sister-in-law Natasha for making a Banoffee Pie and bringing it to one of our parties over 10 years ago. Everytime I eat a slice, it always reminds me of her :) It's one of those desserts that still makes me go weak at the knees. Even after all these years. Mmmmm my saliva glands are working overdrive just typing this post.</div>
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<b>Ingredients</b></div>
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1 can condensed milk</div>
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200g Digestives (half a packet)</div>
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100g butter </div>
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300ml cream</div>
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2 ripe bananas</div>
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Bar of chocolate </div>
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<b>Method</b></div>
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1. Place the can of condensed milk in a saucepan filled with water. Make sure the can is fully submerged in water during the boiling process as the can could explode. Whether this is a myth or not, I don't know but I'm not willing to risk it! Boil for 2.5 to 3 hours. Allow to cool compeletely (also stores really well so you could boil up 3 cans and keep it for use later)</div>
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2. Crush the biscuits and mix in the melted butter.</div>
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<b>NB -</b> You could use a food processor, it would be a lot easier and faster. But I just used elbow grease - rolling pin and baking paper</div>
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3. Press the biscuit mixture down firmly into the tin (best to use a springform) with the back of a metal spoon. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour or more. Just before you assemble, whip the cream up.</div>
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4. Now to assemble. Pour the caramel over the biscuit base</div>
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5. Now for a layer of sliced banana</div>
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6. Next is the whipped cream</div>
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7. And finish off with grated chocolate.</div>
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The tense moment of removing the pie from the tin</div>
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When it's out in one piece and I breathe again</div>
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<br />Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-34366256321238298502012-12-30T18:46:00.001+11:002012-12-30T18:46:22.464+11:00Fruit Christmas Tree Centrepiece<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This year we were having Christmas at our house and I vowed to keep it as simple and easy as possible. But as I planned I found more things I wanted to try and also saw somewhere online a fruit Christmas tree I really wanted to create. It took me around an hour to assemble from start to finish. Mainly because I was making it up as I went.</div>
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You will need:</div>
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- Apple</div>
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- Carrot</div>
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- 1/2 kg green grapes</div>
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- 2 handfuls cherries</div>
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- Mango</div>
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- Small piece of watermelon</div>
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- Heaps of toothpicks</div>
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- Christmas shaped biscuit cutters</div>
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1. To start with you need to halve an apple. Place one half down and poke a tookpick at the middle on the top. Discard the other half of the apple.</div>
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2. Stick the top of the carrot down into the toothpick on the apple (ignore the other pieces of fruit in the photo. I was testing out a couple of things but it didn't work and I didn't have a photo of just the carrot and apple)</div>
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Again bear with me I know it looks fully assembled already as I forgot to take progressive shots as I was in the zone.</div>
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3. So keeping in mind, I should only have a carrot on an apple at this stage. The next thing to do is stick a toothpick at the base right down the bottom of the apple, attach a cherry to that. Work your way up in a spiral with toothpicks and cherries. When you are happy with the spiral of cherries then fill the gaps with green grapes all over. You should eventually create a cone shape.</div>
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4. I chose a candy cane biscuit cutter for the Christmas tree decorations, stamping out half a dozen little candy canes from mango. And finally the watermelon star at the top with a tiny star biscuit cutter. Attach them with 2 toothpicks. I found this more secure especially for the mango because it's so fiddly and soft.</div>
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Voila! My Fruit Christmas Tree centrepiece! </div>
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There was loads of food, but I was distracted with hosting, preparing, cooking, and clearing/cleaning that I forgot to take photos of everything.</div>
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This years menu was:</div>
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Starters - baked brie with crackers and vegetable sticks<br />Entree - Prawn and avocado stack<br />Mains - Turkey, glazed ham<br />Sides - Procuitto wrapped asparagus, Parmesan Crusted Roast potato, Couscous Salad, Egg and Potato Salad<br />Dessert - Trifle<br />
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I think the winner this year for me was the parmesan crusted roast potatoes. Definitely going to make those again and share the recipe. The baked brie came in second. Simple because it was so easy and delicious. All you had to do was poke a few slices of garlic and sprigs of thyme into the cheese, wrap it in baking paper and bake for 30mins at 200 degrees C.<br />
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Starters - Baked brie</div>
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Entree - Prawn and avocado Stack </div>
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Dessert - Trifle</div>
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Thanks to Mum and Chhay for their contributions as I wouldn't have been able to pull off Christmas lunch on my own!</div>
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To all my readers, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas filled with great food, laughter and plenty of love! I'll also take this opportunity to wish you a very happy, safe, healthy and prosperous new year. Thank you all so much for being part of this blog. I know this year has been a little slow on my end so thank you for sticking around. Happy 2013!!!!</div>
<br />Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-71240352139585634592012-11-21T13:54:00.001+11:002012-11-21T13:54:12.776+11:00Profiteroles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oh Profiteroles! These babies are baaaaaad. In a good way. I feel I'll
be making these a lot more now that I've experimented and found a choux
pastry recipe that is actually good and easy to do. My first trial were
disasterous! Balls of dough that were hard, yet chewy and even when I overbaked them, still managed to taste doughy and undercooked. Yuck. But because I had already made the creme patissiere I decided to look for another recipe and bake another batch and much to my delight, they worked out! </div>
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<b>Creme Patissiere</b><br />
<span class="element">1 3/4 cups milk</span>
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1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste<br />
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<span class="element">3 egg yolks</span>
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<span class="element">1/3 cup caster sugar</span>
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<span class="element">1/3 cupplain flour</span><br />
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<span class="element"><b>Method</b></span><br />
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1. Warm milk and vanilla in a saucepan </div>
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(Oh Costco, how I love your large squeeze jars of vanilla bean paste! And at $25 a pop, comes out a lot cheaper than the small jar I usually get from the local supermarket)</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2. Meanwhile, whisk eggs and sugar until thick. </div>
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3. Next whisk in the flour and then followed by the milk mixture.</div>
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4. Pour it all back into the saucepan and cook on low heat for 5mins, whisking continuously.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
After about 5mins the mixture should have thickened considerably.</div>
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5. Pour it into a jug, cover and place in the fridge to chill.</div>
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<br />
<b>Choux Pastry for the Profiteroles</b><br />
<br />
40g butter<br />
1/2 cup water<br />1/2 cup plain flour<br />
2 eggs<br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Method</b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
1. Place butter and water in saucepan and bring it up to the boil.</div>
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2. Add the flour and using a wooden spoon mix it vigorously until the mixture comes away from the side of the saucepan and forms this big doughly blob.</div>
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3. Place the dough into a large bowl, along with the egg. </div>
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Beat it till you get a thick batter.</div>
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4. Spoon the mixture onto baking paper and bake for 20mins at 180C</div>
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<b>Assembling the profiteroles</b><br />
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1. Pipe the creme patissiere into the pastry<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zpgmuRMq9fs/UKBzHPjDGLI/AAAAAAAADjQ/FkIT-C_8o74/s1600/IMG_8090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zpgmuRMq9fs/UKBzHPjDGLI/AAAAAAAADjQ/FkIT-C_8o74/s320/IMG_8090.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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2. Melt some chocolate in the microwave (I find the microwave the easiest. The whole baine marie method is a little cumbersome unless you are mixing it with cream and making more of a ganache)</div>
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3. Dip the pastry into the chocolate and place it on a wire rack to set.</div>
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<br />Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-45744680727051622262012-10-31T10:05:00.000+11:002012-10-31T10:05:23.483+11:00Jelly Worms in Biscuit Dirt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s5DzoCPOTzg/UI-38D0nEXI/AAAAAAAADa4/zit3tSm0S1I/s1600/IMG_7989.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s5DzoCPOTzg/UI-38D0nEXI/AAAAAAAADa4/zit3tSm0S1I/s320/IMG_7989.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Happy Halloween!<br />
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I've never grown up celebrating Halloween, but this year the Jelly Worms recipe was going viral so I had to try it. Seemed easy enough.<br />
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The recipe I used as a guide can be found <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Bowl-of-Worms-Anyone/" target="_blank">here</a>. However, I made a few adjustments.<br />
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<strong>Ingredients</strong><br />
- 1 packet jelly crystals (best to use a red/pink flavouring like raspberry)<br />
- 2 tablespoons powdered gelatine<br />
- 1 cup boiling water<br />
- 150ml cold water<br />
- 50ml cream<br />
- Green and red food colouring (optional)<br />
- Plain chocolate biscuits (I used Arnott's Choc Ripple)<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<strong>Method</strong></div>
<div align="center">
1. Place the packet of jelly crystals and powdered gelatine into a large jug (this is to help make it easier to pour into the straws later).</div>
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</div>
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2. Pour in the boiling water and mix until crystals and gelatine have dissolved. Allow to cool.</div>
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</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EBwJi42VgOo/UI-4LJrrJJI/AAAAAAAADbE/aTd1DroHfHE/s1600/IMG_7951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EBwJi42VgOo/UI-4LJrrJJI/AAAAAAAADbE/aTd1DroHfHE/s320/IMG_7951.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div align="center">
3. Meanwhile, flex out all your straws then bundle them and secure with a rubber band. Pop them(bendy side down) into a tall glass or even an empty milk carton (The higher your container is, the longer the worms.</div>
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</div>
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4. Pour in the cold water and cream into the now slightly cooled jelly mixture. Stir well.</div>
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<strong>NB</strong> - Now is also the time to add green and/or red food colouring to get your desired worm colour.</div>
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5. Carefully pour your mixture into the straws and chill for at least 4 hours in the fridge. </div>
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It can get a little messy</div>
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After 4 hours</div>
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6. Crush some chocolate biscuits (I used about 5) and scattter them onto a plate.</div>
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(I crushed the biscuits by wrapping them in baking paper and using a rolling pin)</div>
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7. Pull out the straws from the glass and you should be able to squeeze them out individually. If there is too much resistance, run it under luke warm water (NOT hot water as it will melt the jelly mixture)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HCLWLabaajM/UI-5E2a882I/AAAAAAAADbo/f6k0M1MJl3M/s1600/IMG_7977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HCLWLabaajM/UI-5E2a882I/AAAAAAAADbo/f6k0M1MJl3M/s320/IMG_7977.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
My son had fun squeezing the "worms" out </div>
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8. Place them over the crushed biscuit dirt and there you have your plate of worms!</div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-52039712849746990032012-10-10T16:11:00.001+11:002012-10-10T16:16:13.209+11:00Building a Wood Fired Oven<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a treat, my first guest blogger is my husband. Here to explain how he set about building a wood fired oven. Thank you so so so much!!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having borrowed a wacking plate it was time to get started on a long awaited project for my dear wife - her wood fired oven.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Firstly I read up alot on a very informative website to get the basics right - </span><a href="http://www.traditionaloven.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">traditionaloven.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then it was time to get stuck in. <span style="color: blue;">I compacted the dirt behind a garden wall and filled it with road base and compacted it some more to get a solid base to start. Then it was time to call in the reinforcements to put a layer of sand on top.</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2BgrtNEZzI/UA9KBKj_fxI/AAAAAAAADQw/2BTkf4W2Xxw/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x2BgrtNEZzI/UA9KBKj_fxI/AAAAAAAADQw/2BTkf4W2Xxw/s320/1.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stablising the sand with cement ready for a sheet of compressed 15-20mm concrete1800mm*1800mm approx.and getting the levels right</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F48D_tU7rRc/UA9KX5gUAkI/AAAAAAAADQ8/pjZ5WM7DX0U/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F48D_tU7rRc/UA9KX5gUAkI/AAAAAAAADQ8/pjZ5WM7DX0U/s320/2.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is a few steps here just not captured by the photographer, the compressed comcrete sheet was laid on the bed in the previous photo and a concrete footing for the outside wall was poured around it between the brick and timber above then the fun part, a row of bricks layed to the outer edge of the compressed sheet. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qox_2EM-MNM/UA9KsLBcReI/AAAAAAAADRE/bB8CbxuxS_M/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qox_2EM-MNM/UA9KsLBcReI/AAAAAAAADRE/bB8CbxuxS_M/s320/3.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><span style="color: blue;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Moving on, two rows are now layed on the outer edge and the internal filled with loose bricks filled with sand and clay mix for stability.</span>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hW1B6UgsciM/UA9LBgpou6I/AAAAAAAADRM/h8zWG43og98/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hW1B6UgsciM/UA9LBgpou6I/AAAAAAAADRM/h8zWG43og98/s320/4.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Here I and the apprentice grabbed some hebel and layed a bed for insulation under the fire clay tiles to hopefully retain the heat.</span>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wBGS7w474kI/UA9LWF7zJvI/AAAAAAAADRY/SPYb-AeluNs/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wBGS7w474kI/UA9LWF7zJvI/AAAAAAAADRY/SPYb-AeluNs/s320/5.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bpg7xg4_uF0/UA9MTshCmRI/AAAAAAAADRg/d2TbUmMlziI/s1600/6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bpg7xg4_uF0/UA9MTshCmRI/AAAAAAAADRg/d2TbUmMlziI/s320/6.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">From a distance the barbecue on the right will need some TLC next.</span>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XUo4lV5xyEg/UA9MkBi8GNI/AAAAAAAADRo/tyovWXaWuas/s1600/7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XUo4lV5xyEg/UA9MkBi8GNI/AAAAAAAADRo/tyovWXaWuas/s320/7.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On top of the hebel I’ve layed the fire bricks in a rectangular pattern with the entrance taking shape. It is nessary here to think about your choice of oven door and flue. I will be able to close off the flue and use an external door so I don’t need to step the bricks so the door has a ridge to seal against in the opening.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L9BhRRax1ao/UA9NGWt2M4I/AAAAAAAADR8/MYwHhaLvvyM/s1600/9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L9BhRRax1ao/UA9NGWt2M4I/AAAAAAAADR8/MYwHhaLvvyM/s320/9.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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</span><span style="color: blue;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now comes the floor refractory tiles 300*300 layed on the fire clay sand mix thin layer over the hebel so I can get the surface as even as possible.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4DktE0p70q4/UA9NX0dVH6I/AAAAAAAADSE/x6jsfkqq8JI/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4DktE0p70q4/UA9NX0dVH6I/AAAAAAAADSE/x6jsfkqq8JI/s320/10.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Then the arch way, with patience and a grinder anyone can do it build a wooden former or have a fun like I did with packing</span>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rr7kUSs0evY/UA9NqO-q72I/AAAAAAAADSQ/nh72nNxEqOM/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rr7kUSs0evY/UA9NqO-q72I/AAAAAAAADSQ/nh72nNxEqOM/s320/11.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After
it all set it was time to build some form work for the concrete roof
unfortunately the camera wasn’t handy and I dropped the
ball with taking photos a bit. But basically I used two semi circular
pieces front and back and put ribs lengthways across the top I filled
this with sand and covered the whole lot with plastic and started to
mix the refactory concrete. This is where the
kids got to have a little fun again the concrete needs to be packed by
hand little by little and left to dry.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The two kiddies got to use it as a cubby house once they cleaned out the sand
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With a little help I got a damper made up for the chimney so I could close it off when not in use and keep heat in too</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KJWb-7V3PsA/UA9O8sA8I8I/AAAAAAAADSs/29tevEJ79NM/s1600/14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KJWb-7V3PsA/UA9O8sA8I8I/AAAAAAAADSs/29tevEJ79NM/s320/14.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*INTERMISSION*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bren - We lost 3 days of work because husband dearest lost his ring. But 3 days is nothing as the whole oven took around 4 months in total to complete.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In desperation we rigged up a sturdy net made from chicken wire so we could sift through half a tonne of sand, one shovel full at a time, but to no avail. Eventually found it cemented into the oven....surprise surprise! Like father like son. Except my father-in-law never found his wedding ring. And my mother-in-law suspects he welded it into the pipework of their old family home!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But hey, it was totally worth it in the end! And no damage to the oven except for a small patch-up.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy days! Now back to work!!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Starting to take shape now I rolled out the fibreglass insulation blanket and covered it with chicken wire before adding the sand and cement render above the first coat is thin and messy but it gives you a solid base for the next coat when it dries</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KPMbRf0zg68/UA9QSgoz6vI/AAAAAAAADTc/Fl6UiLbq0gE/s1600/19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KPMbRf0zg68/UA9QSgoz6vI/AAAAAAAADTc/Fl6UiLbq0gE/s320/19.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Two further coats of render and one still to come the final one is a premix acrylic render I got to give a nicer finish and hopefully water proof a little better</span>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Gi5FLjIYzI/UA9bcGiCHSI/AAAAAAAADT0/yWtkl-2zXwM/s1600/20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Gi5FLjIYzI/UA9bcGiCHSI/AAAAAAAADT0/yWtkl-2zXwM/s320/20.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;">After a month of small fires we finally got it to a reasonable temperature to cook so with a few homemade tools its time to get cracking</span>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fxo-HXmwZzg/UA9buGHdg0I/AAAAAAAADT8/uvprlPoWM8o/s1600/21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Fxo-HXmwZzg/UA9buGHdg0I/AAAAAAAADT8/uvprlPoWM8o/s320/21.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pizzas are cooking pretty good at approx. 300 to 320 degrees.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using the residual heat for dinner the next day the heat holds over 24 hours above 180 so it’s great for slow cooking.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The finished oven with final cement layer</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppqYc7-9MlM/UCCKxZqdlNI/AAAAAAAADVg/wpYKPFHvrNo/s1600/IMG_7527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ppqYc7-9MlM/UCCKxZqdlNI/AAAAAAAADVg/wpYKPFHvrNo/s320/IMG_7527.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here is some of the food we've made in the oven already:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pizza</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wPuZ0SxS_x0/UA9qNiVX_nI/AAAAAAAADU0/A7pzmEHKxRU/s1600/25.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wPuZ0SxS_x0/UA9qNiVX_nI/AAAAAAAADU0/A7pzmEHKxRU/s320/25.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lasagne</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overnight slow roasted pork</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvTDcV1oewU/UHTxYD7ToJI/AAAAAAAADaM/idyj3G6WJOQ/s1600/IMG_7449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvTDcV1oewU/UHTxYD7ToJI/AAAAAAAADaM/idyj3G6WJOQ/s320/IMG_7449.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beef casserole</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-89143655154768330512012-08-29T14:53:00.002+10:002012-08-29T14:55:28.514+10:00Cola Chicken Wings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u47neQSI7es/UDW0PIWZWtI/AAAAAAAADXs/LMPtxepzcEs/s1600/IMG_7587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u47neQSI7es/UDW0PIWZWtI/AAAAAAAADXs/LMPtxepzcEs/s320/IMG_7587.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Masterchef is over for the year (well and truly over actually....excuse my lateness) but it hasn't stopped inspiring me to try <a href="http://www.masterchef.com.au/recipes/cola-baked-chicken-.htm" target="_blank">one of their recipes</a>. And with a BBQ for a group of rowdy friends (in the most endearing term honestly!) I thought these would be perfect. </div>
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<span class="ingredient-amount"><b>Ingredients </b></span><br />
<span class="ingredient-amount">750ml </span><span class="ingredient-description">cola</span><br />
<span class="ingredient-amount">1 cup </span><span class="ingredient-description">firmly packed brown sugar</span><br />
<span class="ingredient-amount">3 cloves </span><span class="ingredient-description">garlic, grated</span><br />
<span class="ingredient-amount">1 large </span><span class="ingredient-description">brown onion, grated</span><br />
<span class="ingredient-amount">2 tablespoons </span><span class="ingredient-description">soy sauce</span><br />
<span class="ingredient-amount">1kg </span><span class="ingredient-description">chicken wings, cut at the joints</span><br />
<span class="ingredient-amount"></span><span class="ingredient-description">Juice of one lemon</span><br />
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<a class="add-to-shopping-list" data-recipeid="1074" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6130018420657316940"></a><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>Method</b> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">1. Preheat oven to 140°C fan forced.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">2. Combine cola, sugar, garlic, onion and
soy in a bowl.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZXabl6CwN8/UDW0doymdeI/AAAAAAAADX0/qH9iwymG6wk/s1600/IMG_7571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZXabl6CwN8/UDW0doymdeI/AAAAAAAADX0/qH9iwymG6wk/s320/IMG_7571.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">3. Arrange chicken wings in a single layer
in a deep oven tray and pour over cola mixture.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Z_3mw9XlR0/UDW1FdkyAuI/AAAAAAAADYI/Mct1hTXS3ns/s1600/IMG_7575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Z_3mw9XlR0/UDW1FdkyAuI/AAAAAAAADYI/Mct1hTXS3ns/s320/IMG_7575.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">4. Bake for 3-3.5 hours or until sauce is
thick and very sticky.</span> </div>
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I doubled the quantities to make sure I'd have enough which is why there is more than one tray in my photos - just making that clear.</div>
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I really really liked these chicken wings, but I got mixed reactions for them. My family didn't enjoy it, saying they were too sweet (I heated them up in the microwave the next day so maybe that's why?) Sweet meat is just not something my family enjoy.</div>
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On the other hand the party guests loved them (as did I). So just depends on whether you like sweet meat or not. And also if you like a good beer to chug down whilst gnawing on one of these cola wings ;)</div>
Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-87951300278530515512012-06-20T14:51:00.001+10:002012-06-20T14:51:17.704+10:00Korean Inspired Marinade and Shallot Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes Korean <b>inspired</b> so not quite like the traditional bulgogi, but hey I think I'm on to something....<br />
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<b>For the beef</b><br />
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
600g sliced beef (sirloin is a good choice)</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
1/3 cup soy sauce </div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
1/4 cup shallots (cut roughly into 2 inch pieces)</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
2 tablespoon sugar <br />
1 tablespoon vinegar<br />
1 ½ tablespoon rice wine (sake or sherry)<br />
1 ½ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tablespoon vegetable oil <br />
1 tablespoon sesame oil<br />
¼ onion sliced<br />
3 clove garlic, minced <br />
1 teaspoon black pepper <br />
1 Nashi Pear or 2 kiwi fruit</div>
<br />
<b>Method</b><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
Combine all ingredients and mix until sugar
is completely dissolved. Allow to marinate for 2 to 5 hours. </div>
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<b>For the Shallot Salad</b><br />
<b>Ingredients</b><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">1 bunch shallots</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">1 teaspoon white vinegar</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">1 teaspoon sugar</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (you can find these at any Korean grocery store)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">4 drops of sesame oil</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Method</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">1. Cut the shallot lengthways for long thin slices.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">2. Toss and combine all ingredients.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Thank you Kuny for this nifty kitchen gadget!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I no longer have to painstakingly slice my shallots with a knife</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">So how does it work....see below</span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Slot root side of the shallot onto the needle end (obviously you have already cut the roots off)</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Keep threading it in till you get at least 3cm through the cutter</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And then pull it through</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
You end up with these really long curly strands</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Add all the ingredients into a bowl and toss away</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
I don't like to eat the salad straight away. I prefer to make it in advance for at least 30mins so the pepper flakes soften and the flavour intensifies</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IU-5KLQAV5w/T8wbNQ02PZI/AAAAAAAADP0/xCf7mYBY62A/s1600/IMG_7041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IU-5KLQAV5w/T8wbNQ02PZI/AAAAAAAADP0/xCf7mYBY62A/s320/IMG_7041.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Grilling the meat over charcoals</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-srsorolVixU/T8wbyE9KeII/AAAAAAAADQI/_RtDC_sAOrE/s1600/IMG_7044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-srsorolVixU/T8wbyE9KeII/AAAAAAAADQI/_RtDC_sAOrE/s320/IMG_7044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
How I like to eat my Korean inspired beef and shallot salad </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r5TpjhTYJ9Y/T8wcYj2Nk6I/AAAAAAAADQc/yCKBgO6PKHk/s1600/IMG_7046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r5TpjhTYJ9Y/T8wcYj2Nk6I/AAAAAAAADQc/yCKBgO6PKHk/s320/IMG_7046.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-83341375161067491062012-05-29T13:11:00.000+10:002012-05-29T13:11:23.309+10:00Chocolate Fudge Brownie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
When a very close friend of mine asked me what she could bake for the Biggest Morning Tea (whilst keeping in mind that it had to be easy and fool-proof because she hasn't made desserts before) I directed her to this <a href="http://www.cooked.tv/recipes/chocolate-fudge-brownies.html" target="_blank">chocolate brownie recipe</a>. It had pictorial instructions which are always very helpful and it seemed like a simple enough recipe anyway. Oh how wrong I can be.....but not to despair, there is a happy ending.....</div>
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<br /></div>
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I can't remember the last time I made a chocolate brownie. I've made <a href="http://imhungrytoo.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/bbq-cupcakes.html" target="_blank">brownie cupcakes</a> in the past, but not an actual brownie as such. And looking in my pantry I already had the ingredients so thought I'd give it a go, just in case you know.</div>
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<strong>150g of Butter</strong></div>
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<strong>300g Dark Chocolate</strong></div>
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I only had a 250g block of dark chocolate so made up the 50g with milk chocolate </div>
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<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
Melting chocolate using double boiler method</div>
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<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<strong> 1 1/2 cups of Brown Sugar</strong></div>
<div align="center">
<strong>1 teaspoon Vanilla Essense</strong></div>
<div align="center">
<strong>3 eggs<br />1 cup Macadamia Nuts</strong> </div>
<div align="center">
Go in a bowl</div>
<div align="center">
(continue to check on the melting chocolate and stir occasionally)</div>
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</div>
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<strong>3/4 cup of Plain Flour</strong> Sifted in</div>
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<div align="center">
Mix it really well with wooden spoon</div>
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By now the chocolate should be melted</div>
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Pour the melted chocolate into the flour mixture </div>
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Stir until well combined</div>
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<div align="center">
Pour into a greased and lined fudge tin</div>
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Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 55mins</div>
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When done</div>
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So here's the thing, I baked this at around 1pm, allowed it to cool and carted it over to my parents house to eat after dinner. I had such high high hopes that this would be fantastic. And I had a lot riding on it because I told my friend this would be fool-proof and perfect for a beginner baker. Thought it would be so good that I would share it amongst my family and they would all be in awe. Boy was a wrong. Seriously wrong. It was dry. It was crumbly. It was not chocolate fudge brownie as I knew it. My heart sank. To think I suggested this recipe to my friend who thought I was a decent enough cook to ask me for advice. And then for her to bake this and take it to work for a charity event and it sucked?! But I did say there was a happy ending right? Read on......I took my leftover brownie home that night (and sure there was a lot left). I wouldn't throw it in the bin because I hate to waste things. Thought I'd have it with ice cream the next day so it wouldn't be as dry. Everything is better with ice cream.</div>
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The next day I was doing some work when I thought I could do with a chocolate break and remembered the brownie. Hmmm should I? It can't be any worse than it was yesterday. So I cut myself a little slither and took a bite. No way! The fudge brownie fairy came overnight and worked her magic and turned my dry, crumbly thing into....what....an actual chocolate brownie?? </div>
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I couldn't stop at one slice. Not even 2 or 3 or 4. I just kept eating it. I had my Miranda moment from Sex and the City. You remember that episode where she wouldn't fork out for an expensive chocolate cake but instead made her own one? The cake she threw in the bin to try stop herself eating anymore, only to open the lid and eat it straight out of the bin! Hahaha! Yeah....that was me....except I didn't throw mine in the bin. I walked out of the kitchen several times only to come back and pick at it some more, until there was all but one piece left. Damn it was good!</div>
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I don't know what happened. But for some reason overnight, it made it right. Perhaps I cut it up too soon? Do brownies need to be made the night before? Well either ways I know now that this recipe does work and will be making it again. Mmmmm could do with some brownie right about now.</div>
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Oh, and my friends brownie for the Biggest Morning Tea, turned out to be a major hit!</div>
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I love happy endings ;)</div>
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</div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-30719645221914695682012-05-21T13:44:00.000+10:002012-05-21T13:51:49.679+10:00Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0zqzAHMk48g/T7mGRV7m25I/AAAAAAAADJk/5aiz48XeoP8/s1600/IMG_7126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0zqzAHMk48g/T7mGRV7m25I/AAAAAAAADJk/5aiz48XeoP8/s320/IMG_7126.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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When my husband offered to make anything I wanted to eat, this was what I requested - seared scallops with cauliflower puree. I love seared scallops, but haven't tried to make it again myself because it's turned out terribly the last couple of times. I overcrowded the pan, the pan wasn't hot enough, I cooked the scallops too long, ended up steaming them rather than searing them.....list goes on.</div>
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This time, however, beautiful! Restaurant quality even ;) But that just means my husband is a great cook, not me haha!</div>
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<strong>Ingredients</strong></div>
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10 scallops</div>
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1 tablespoon olive oil</div>
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Salt</div>
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Lemon</div>
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<strong>For the cauliflower puree</strong></div>
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Half a head of cauliflower (roughly chopped)</div>
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About 1 cup milk (or enough to cover the cauliflower in the saucepan)</div>
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2 tablespoons butter</div>
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Salt & pepper</div>
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1. Place cauliflower, milk and butter in a saucepan. Simmer for 10mins.</div>
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2. Blend while still hot (another thing I learnt is that if you blend it once it cools you might get a grainy texture). Season to taste.</div>
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5 dollops of cauliflower puree for the 5 seared scallops</div>
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3. Pre-heat the frying pan and add oil. Meanwhile, pat dry the scallops and sprinkle salt all over (yes, another not: Sprinkle the salt as high as you can because this will make sure you don't have clumps on one area of the scallop)</div>
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Once you can see the pan is hot enough (ie you will see smoke coming off the pan), throw in the scallops making sure you do not overcrowd the pan (another note: do not swirl the pan as this will release the juices from the scallops which will affect how sweet they taste later). Cook for 1min on one side and then turn and cook for 30 seconds on the other side.</div>
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Smokin!</div>
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4. Put them straight on top of the puree and serve.</div>
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Yet another note: Allow the scallops to rest on the puree for about 2mins before you eat it. In my eagerness to try one it was really chewy, but later trying the others with a squeeze of lemon juice, I found them to be delectable! </div>
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Translucent on the inside, perfectly cooked! Well done chef!!</div>
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And that cauliflower puree.....yum! I literally drank it out of the blender (coz I'm all class!). What an awesome dish. Thanks so much Laurence! I just have to convince him now to do these blog posts for me heheheBrendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-33273014629410103842012-05-16T14:27:00.000+10:002012-05-16T14:27:50.783+10:00Boston Baked Beans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mother's Day this year wasn't much of a relaxing one for me unfortunately. The hubby tore a ligament in his foot and also went and caught Man-Flu as well. He says he'll make up for it next weekend. I can choose something I want to eat and he'll cook it. I'm still deciding......</div>
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Right so I was to bring a dish to my brothers place where we would celebrate Mother's Day at his house this year rather than battling the crowds over yum cha or dinner. I was asked to bring a side dish. And since it's cold, so very very cold (my fingers are frozen just typing on the keyboard for this post), I decided to do a hearty side dish that's warming and filling. Couple of clicks later I settled on the Boston Baked Beans from the Taste website (recipe <a href="http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/27230/boston+baked+beans">here</a>).</div>
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<strong>Ingredients</strong></div>
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2 teaspoons olive oil
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1 medium brown onion, chopped
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4 middle bacon rashers, trimmed, cut into 3cm pieces
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1 large garlic clove, crushed
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1 teaspoon smoked paprika
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2 tablespoons brown sugar
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2 tablespoons tomato paste
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1/3 cup golden syrup
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1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
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2 x 400g cans borlotti beans, drained, rinsed
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2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes</div>
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Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan-forced. Heat oil in a flameproof ovenproof
dish over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring, for 3 minutes or until softened. </div>
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Add bacon and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes or until bacon has
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Add paprika. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant.</div>
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Add sugar, tomato paste, golden syrup and worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring,
for 3 minutes or until combined.</div>
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Stir in beans and tomato. Bring to the boil.</div>
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Bake for 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened and beans are heated
through. Serve.</div>
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You know what, this would be great as a breakfast with toast and a fried egg. I personally found it a little too sweet for my liking but my dad approved (he had one of his molars taken out and could only have soft food so he enjoyed this with some rice....poor guy!)</div>
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</div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-23237736460671282162012-05-07T13:27:00.001+10:002012-05-07T13:27:34.109+10:00Elmo Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vBoZSqgccKE/T6ceTAyW6zI/AAAAAAAADGw/MkWFlBbEgtw/s1600/IMG_6953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vBoZSqgccKE/T6ceTAyW6zI/AAAAAAAADGw/MkWFlBbEgtw/s320/IMG_6953.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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For my little girls 2nd birthday I made her an Elmo cake. This is actually an easy character cake to make. The one thing that worried me the most was getting the icing black enough. Remember that icing will set darker (as I found out) and luckily it did because Elmo was initially more a dark pink than red (used up the last drop of the Wilton red, yep all half a jar of it!)</div>
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What you will need:</div>
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1 quantity of vanilla cake (baked in a round tin)</div>
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1 quantity of buttercream</div>
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Black food gel</div>
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Red food gel</div>
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2 extra large marshmellows (I couldn't find them so I made some white fondant)</div>
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2 brown smarties</div>
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1 Monte Carlos biscuit</div>
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Cut a peak at the top like so.</div>
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Mark a big smile and scoop out to form Elmo's mouth.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SefWW-1tgxM/T6ci9WnSBzI/AAAAAAAADH8/1cVC9fKg99E/s1600/IMG_6937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SefWW-1tgxM/T6ci9WnSBzI/AAAAAAAADH8/1cVC9fKg99E/s320/IMG_6937.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Dye 1/3 of the buttercream in black and the remaining 2/3 in red.</div>
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Apply onto the cake. </div>
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I suggest doing the mouth first. </div>
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I found applying the icing really fun and somewhat therapeutic (sad yes) but it's so much easier than other cakes because you don't have to be perfect and smooth, infact you should be rough while you slather on the red because it's meant to look like fur. I ended up using a dipping/flicking motion to try get a "fluffy" look. Fun!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLEtHlR0FCg/T6cf_fGd8BI/AAAAAAAADHo/Ldn2QMJYA44/s1600/IMG_6939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bLEtHlR0FCg/T6cf_fGd8BI/AAAAAAAADHo/Ldn2QMJYA44/s320/IMG_6939.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ah right, now the eyeballs. I couldn't find extra large marshmellows or this would have been an even easier cake to decorate. So went with making some white fondant, rolling them out and sticking them on the top of the cake with toothpicks to secure them in place.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7P9zkF_b4ug/T6cfdhPbmgI/AAAAAAAADHY/e2u3r3HIQ-M/s1600/IMG_6942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7P9zkF_b4ug/T6cfdhPbmgI/AAAAAAAADHY/e2u3r3HIQ-M/s320/IMG_6942.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PqN8xb_RzbM/T6cfPU-KyZI/AAAAAAAADHQ/wLPpOy5ZOkw/s1600/IMG_6944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PqN8xb_RzbM/T6cfPU-KyZI/AAAAAAAADHQ/wLPpOy5ZOkw/s320/IMG_6944.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pop on a Monte Carlos biscuit for his nose...</div>
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Add the smartie pupils and there you have Elmo!</div>
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Happy 2nd birthday my dear sweet girl.</div>
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May all your hopes and dreams come true.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdTNlnqVbBE/T6ceCazSmSI/AAAAAAAADGo/uDZZCvQyckg/s1600/IMG_6957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cdTNlnqVbBE/T6ceCazSmSI/AAAAAAAADGo/uDZZCvQyckg/s320/IMG_6957.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-47523648393127302242012-04-27T14:40:00.000+10:002012-04-27T14:40:26.759+10:00Banana and Milo Smoothie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IM_InjLsa74/T5oXrlF6yvI/AAAAAAAADFw/gmDacqvYiDI/s1600/IMG_6902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IM_InjLsa74/T5oXrlF6yvI/AAAAAAAADFw/gmDacqvYiDI/s320/IMG_6902.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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I don't think I have dedicated a post to a drink recipe before. This is a first! I know it seems like a boring predictable smoothie but it is currently my favourite drink at the moment. And thank goodness bananas are back down to $2.50/kg instead of the $14/kg a few months ago!</div>
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This came about because I had 2 leftover riped bananas. I had used the other 3 to make banana and walnut cake but was stumped as to what else I could bake with banana. Until I realised I could make a banana smoothie. And why not add some milo for a bit of a chocolate kick but without the guilt. Thus came the banana and milo smoothie.</div>
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2 small (or one very large) ripe banana</div>
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250ml milk</div>
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2 Tablespoons milo</div>
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1 tablespoon honey</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-crDOOh-miCI/T5odXgplgMI/AAAAAAAADGM/4Tyhsl_RLdg/s1600/IMG_6896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-crDOOh-miCI/T5odXgplgMI/AAAAAAAADGM/4Tyhsl_RLdg/s320/IMG_6896.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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<strong>Method</strong></div>
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1. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend.</div>
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2. Pour it in a tall glass and sprinkle some milo on the top.</div>
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Mmm love that milo crunch on the top. Did you ever scoop milo straight out from the tin and eat it??? Or is that just me.....</div>
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The only straw I had.</div>
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You know I think it tastes even better through a loopy straw ;) </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GVOC9lS88yM/T5oWxNngRYI/AAAAAAAADFY/nxa6ewmiYls/s1600/IMG_6905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GVOC9lS88yM/T5oWxNngRYI/AAAAAAAADFY/nxa6ewmiYls/s320/IMG_6905.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-51091084075790858662012-04-24T14:28:00.000+10:002012-04-26T21:21:17.675+10:00Transformers Party<br />
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For my sons 5th birthday he asked for a transformers theme party. I thought yeah that's cool, I love Transformers, until I realised I had to incorporate it into the games (because normal pass the parcel is apparently for babies). So my DIY attempt was to spray paint a box silver and texta in the symbols to replicate the Allspark Cube from the show. </div>
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The Allsparks Cube for pass the parcel.</div>
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It'll do for a 5 year olds birthday!!</div>
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Filled up with the goodies</div>
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There were other games like tug-a-war between the Autobots and the Decepticons and do your remember bullrush as a kid? That, but incorporating Transformers once again with me as Megatron and the kids as the Autobots (thanks Stephie for helping me out as Starscream!). </div>
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I found some printable masks online. Here's the <a href="http://images.search.conduit.com/ImagePreview/?q=transformers%20printable%20masks&ctid=CT2786678&searchsource=1&start=35&pos=5">Bumblebee one</a>, and this is the <a href="http://www.techfever.net/2011/02/hasbro-to-release-transformers-cine-mask-3d-glasses-for-the-young-geeks/">Optimus Prime one</a> I used (thanks Hasbro!). I bought a packet of thick A4 paper from Officeworks and printed them off, cut out and stapled some elastic on. Masks done!</div>
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And well my parties aren't complete until we've smashed a pinata. This time I used a mutipack chip box and filled it up with lollies, pulled the string through, sealed the opening and then paper mache it. I cut out an Autobot and a Decepticon logo and pasted one on each side.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9NyXItlXFcU/T5YfNCcMfeI/AAAAAAAADEA/vErBYl5Cf_8/s1600/IMG_6799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9NyXItlXFcU/T5YfNCcMfeI/AAAAAAAADEA/vErBYl5Cf_8/s320/IMG_6799.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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And the food? Well there was loads of food! But I was too busy to take photos. So the cake will have to do. Although I baked the cake, the credit has to go to my husband. He was the one who cut out the Autobots logo and shaped the cake. He did such a great job too!</div>
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Filling it in with white chocolate ganache</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eY5IcjxTQV4/T5YgE_hGB5I/AAAAAAAADEY/tzCYuL_sZh0/s1600/IMG_6755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eY5IcjxTQV4/T5YgE_hGB5I/AAAAAAAADEY/tzCYuL_sZh0/s320/IMG_6755.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I kept the main cake for my son to cut and made mini cupcakes for the kids to just help themselves afterwards. Easier with less mess.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T-SxbJo5zqA/T5YhIoaslWI/AAAAAAAADFI/RmJNhI7JkuI/s1600/Transformers+cupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T-SxbJo5zqA/T5YhIoaslWI/AAAAAAAADFI/RmJNhI7JkuI/s1600/Transformers+cupcakes.jpg" /></a></div>
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Transformers edible icing toppers</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hLhnH5EMQg0/T5YhH1xChbI/AAAAAAAADE8/qpHcBJJeZls/s1600/Transformers+cupcakes+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hLhnH5EMQg0/T5YhH1xChbI/AAAAAAAADE8/qpHcBJJeZls/s1600/Transformers+cupcakes+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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Happy 5th birthday little man!</div>
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I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful boy like you.</div>
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Love you more than life itself.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hjk8cmhF2nY/T5YfdrDRUcI/AAAAAAAADEI/FU-O8lqfxI8/s1600/IMG_6772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hjk8cmhF2nY/T5YfdrDRUcI/AAAAAAAADEI/FU-O8lqfxI8/s320/IMG_6772.JPG" width="213" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9A4BnH7RL14/T5YiA6U8ofI/AAAAAAAADFQ/JSYKYKNKHTo/s1600/IMG_6771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9A4BnH7RL14/T5YiA6U8ofI/AAAAAAAADFQ/JSYKYKNKHTo/s320/IMG_6771.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
Optimus Prime beanie from <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jordis-bundle-of-beanies/316499371725138">Jordi's Bundle of Beanies</a></div>
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</div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-19671878519445515072012-04-06T14:08:00.007+10:002012-04-06T15:26:11.432+10:00Corn Fritter PancakesSince going to the <a href="http://www.organicfoodmarkets.com.au/">Marrickville Organic Food Markets</a> and trying corn fritters there, I've been dreaming about having more. But I haven't been in over 3 months I believe, so resorted to making my own.<br /><br />Why have a not made them before now??? They are so easy and so delicious!! Seriously.<br /><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728140965646897842" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qxWWzUq-wbQ/T35x2_i_ErI/AAAAAAAADD4/CTCGSLsnFDg/s320/IMG_6615.JPG" border="0" /><br /><strong>Ingredients</strong><br />2 eggs<br />1/2 cup milk<br />1 cup self raising flour<br />Can of corn kernels (420g), drained<br />1/2 teaspoon salt<br />Small bunch of chives (chopped)<br /><br /><div align="center"> 1. Mix all the ingredients together</div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_w13l0EJ1KU/T35ts4spljI/AAAAAAAADDg/6rVlFI2n8zM/s1600/IMG_6605.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728136393963181618" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_w13l0EJ1KU/T35ts4spljI/AAAAAAAADDg/6rVlFI2n8zM/s320/IMG_6605.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">2. Pour 2 dollops onto a hot pan and flip it once you see pockets of bubbles forming.</div><div align="center">You could get really fancy and cook them in egg rings to form a perfect circle.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ha-wo1ZWAnY/T35tsQWnqEI/AAAAAAAADDU/vXfWjboBwo4/s1600/IMG_6607.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728136383133362242" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ha-wo1ZWAnY/T35tsQWnqEI/AAAAAAAADDU/vXfWjboBwo4/s320/IMG_6607.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">My rustic pancake</div><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4AH0_McIeGM/T35tsNx90II/AAAAAAAADDI/kOGjWo-nVXE/s1600/IMG_6608.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728136382442754178" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4AH0_McIeGM/T35tsNx90II/AAAAAAAADDI/kOGjWo-nVXE/s320/IMG_6608.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">3. Serve with sour cream, sweet chilli sauce and some more chopped chives.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9lvZtm_iwtU/T35trjU_NhI/AAAAAAAADC8/ZNbWg8LD1vY/s1600/IMG_6610.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728136371046921746" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9lvZtm_iwtU/T35trjU_NhI/AAAAAAAADC8/ZNbWg8LD1vY/s320/IMG_6610.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4HpWbgB3PNQ/T35trLwVXlI/AAAAAAAADCw/vfp5OahJ1HA/s1600/IMG_6619.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728136364719169106" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4HpWbgB3PNQ/T35trLwVXlI/AAAAAAAADCw/vfp5OahJ1HA/s320/IMG_6619.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="left"> </div></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-86473273391392253322012-03-10T20:34:00.012+11:002012-03-12T14:39:12.159+11:00Taste of Sydney 2012<div><div><div><div>I first visited Taste of Sydney in <a href="http://imhungrytoo.blogspot.com.au/2010/03/taste-of-sydney-2010.html">2010</a> and then again in <a href="http://imhungrytoo.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/taste-of-sydney-2011.html">2011</a>. This is the third year now and it never fails to disappoint. I had done my research days in advance on what each restaurant was serving and highlighted the main ones I would definitely try, because I'm like a Taste of Sydney pro by now hahaha!<br /><br />First one to greet us was <a href="http://www.fourinhand.com.au/restaurant">Four In Hand</a> (Colin Fassnidge). And oh what a sight indeed!! A full pig on a spit....more on that shortly as I was running a little late for the cocktail class at <a href="http://www.sensology.com.au/default.aspx">Sensology</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5qGNIGmUyxI/T1sl3A274WI/AAAAAAAADB0/Fx6A8Cp6ovg/s1600/IMG_6469.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718205778930426210" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5qGNIGmUyxI/T1sl3A274WI/AAAAAAAADB0/Fx6A8Cp6ovg/s320/IMG_6469.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKP-6Rt8ZFU/T1sl2V7IwiI/AAAAAAAADBo/gHbwwe1-5vk/s1600/IMG_6470.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718205767405322786" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKP-6Rt8ZFU/T1sl2V7IwiI/AAAAAAAADBo/gHbwwe1-5vk/s320/IMG_6470.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QFhmzePNyrM/T1sl1xJJuSI/AAAAAAAADBc/j3AbhSv51nE/s1600/IMG_6471.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718205757531994402" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QFhmzePNyrM/T1sl1xJJuSI/AAAAAAAADBc/j3AbhSv51nE/s320/IMG_6471.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I made it to the 2pm session and it was the Cosmopolitan class<br /></div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718204466789270530" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c-ffK4gGZ6k/T1skqowGxAI/AAAAAAAADBM/CY5jmnFSwCM/s320/IMG_6420.JPG" border="0" /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c-ffK4gGZ6k/T1skqowGxAI/AAAAAAAADBM/CY5jmnFSwCM/s1600/IMG_6420.JPG"></a><div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;">And guest Manu Feildel (bonus!!)<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5udElRiItmE/T1skqBYU1KI/AAAAAAAADBE/KYwUuhw-1cg/s1600/IMG_6422.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 214px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718204456220546210" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5udElRiItmE/T1skqBYU1KI/AAAAAAAADBE/KYwUuhw-1cg/s320/IMG_6422.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Damn focus!<br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVX2Tv_U8Ug/T1skpt71AvI/AAAAAAAADA4/isI8si7BqkA/s1600/IMG_6431.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718204451000746738" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVX2Tv_U8Ug/T1skpt71AvI/AAAAAAAADA4/isI8si7BqkA/s320/IMG_6431.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Now with the alcohol down (on an empty stomach may I add), off to the food and first up on my list was <a href="http://www.montpellierpublichouse.com.au/">The Montpellier Public House</a> (Matthew Kemp). The last 2 years his dishes have been my favourite each time and so there was no hesitation on my part when it came to choosing who I'd like to begin with.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mbTzrbEvRCM/T1snrWTR3fI/AAAAAAAADCA/KB4xy2HNh7Q/s1600/IMG_6451.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718207777551277554" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mbTzrbEvRCM/T1snrWTR3fI/AAAAAAAADCA/KB4xy2HNh7Q/s320/IMG_6451.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">1. Crisp Brisket of Pasture Fed Beef with Creamed Wild Mushrooms from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.montpellierpublichouse.com.au">The Montpellier Public House</a> (Matthew Kemp) 10 crowns<br />And the man has done it again with a trifecta! OMG was this freaking good! By far the best dish of the day and possibly his best yet. Now if only I could get a photo with him.<br /></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n0PAEk2a_fs/T1skpC6U6hI/AAAAAAAADAs/v-ttJLkYE8k/s1600/IMG_6432.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718204439451724306" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n0PAEk2a_fs/T1skpC6U6hI/AAAAAAAADAs/v-ttJLkYE8k/s320/IMG_6432.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">2. Seared Petuna Ocean Trout with Ginger, Chilli, Shallot sauce, served with Carrot Sambal & Basmati rice from <a href="http://www.flyingfish.com.au/">Flying Fish</a> (Peter Kuruvita) 12 crowns<br />Beautifully cooked trout and the sauce was sublime. Great having rice to mop up that sauce too.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kyyl1tyhyds/T1sjpV5TVXI/AAAAAAAADAg/KeIMpyL9_VI/s1600/IMG_6435.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718203345036072306" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kyyl1tyhyds/T1sjpV5TVXI/AAAAAAAADAg/KeIMpyL9_VI/s320/IMG_6435.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />3. Roast Suckling Pig, Coleslaw, Onion Ring and Hot Sauce from <a href="http://www.fourinhand.com.au/restaurant">Four In Hand</a> (Colin Fassnidge) 12 crowns<br />Here is that piggy we saw earlier. There was no doubt I was going to try this even before I saw the full spit roast. If I see suckling pig on the menu, it's mine. And this was delectable. Crunchie onion ring and a lovely hot sauce to go with the meat.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUFwrohBHdQ/T1sjo6YQc5I/AAAAAAAADAU/25exvJwzXLU/s1600/IMG_6436.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718203337649714066" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OUFwrohBHdQ/T1sjo6YQc5I/AAAAAAAADAU/25exvJwzXLU/s320/IMG_6436.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qPb7ghvjpIs/T1sjoNmDZ_I/AAAAAAAAC_8/1r8UGLgOjQE/s1600/IMG_6439.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718203325627983858" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qPb7ghvjpIs/T1sjoNmDZ_I/AAAAAAAAC_8/1r8UGLgOjQE/s320/IMG_6439.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />4. 'Murray Valley Pork Belly' with Prunes and Char-gril led Silver Beet from <a href="http://www.letoilerestaurant.com.au/">L'etoile</a> (Manu Feildel) 12 crowns<br />Another one I can't go past is pork belly. Absolutely devine. They were juicy, fatty and bouncey in texture. Just everything I love about pork belly.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EMZoaYmE6E8/T1spGkgqGlI/AAAAAAAADCM/9-bPwLDGAF4/s1600/IMG_6441.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718209344733583954" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EMZoaYmE6E8/T1spGkgqGlI/AAAAAAAADCM/9-bPwLDGAF4/s320/IMG_6441.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div><br /><div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718203331809900050" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-um3PYudSWSI/T1sjokn79hI/AAAAAAAADAI/s7AzzEd_6wg/s320/IMG_6438.JPG" border="0" /><div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">5. Braised Shoulder of Lamb with Polenta and Green Sauce from <a href="http://www.montpellierpublichouse.com.au/">The Montpellier Public House</a> (Matthew Kemp) 12 crowns<br />After a loop around I couldn't resist going back and trying the second dish.<br />A very generous serve of lamb. Beautiful beautiful lamb. Just fell apart when you poked it with the fork. I woke up this morning craving lamb thanks to this dish hehehe<br /></div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CcTrgOgfmS8/T1shv4vfqrI/AAAAAAAAC_A/DNHoygiTHIg/s1600/IMG_6453.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718201258446138034" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CcTrgOgfmS8/T1shv4vfqrI/AAAAAAAAC_A/DNHoygiTHIg/s320/IMG_6453.JPG" border="0" /></a><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br />6. The Dog - Miniature Artisan Frankfurter Chilli Dog from <a href="http://www.charlieandco.com.au/">Charlie & Co.</a> Diner (Justin North) 8 crowns<br />We saw so many people walking around with either a burger and fries or hot dog with fries so thought we'd give it a go too. Not a bad hot dog, the bun was really good. And the potato chips really hit the spot.<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ee2lDEQTeII/T1spG5fVK1I/AAAAAAAADCY/-znrpDjbcXo/s1600/IMG_6449.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718209350365162322" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ee2lDEQTeII/T1spG5fVK1I/AAAAAAAADCY/-znrpDjbcXo/s320/IMG_6449.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">7. Slow Cooked and Caramelised Short Rib with Bone Marrow Persillade from <a href="http://www.quartertwentyone.com.au/">Quarter Twenty One</a> (Justin North) 12 Crowns<br />From his 'Dog' to something a little more fancy. Not as tender as I expected and the parsley in the persillade was too overpowering.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lcWR3QUC2DQ/T1spHVf5O_I/AAAAAAAADCk/zEJxxARS2hU/s1600/IMG_6442.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718209357883718642" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lcWR3QUC2DQ/T1spHVf5O_I/AAAAAAAADCk/zEJxxARS2hU/s320/IMG_6442.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">8. Fritelle di Baccala, Patate e Tartufo - Salt cod, potato and truffle fritters with tarragon mayonnaise from <a href="http://www.atavola.com.au/">A Tavola</a> (Eugenio Maiale)<br />At this stage I was really full and suffering from a bit of sunstroke so excuse me for leaving the knife in the picture. Anyhow, these golden balls were all kinds of yum! Nevermind that I was full, I could have inhaled another 10 of these babies easy.<br /></div><div><div><div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GHRItRMgxkU/T1shvVYSZaI/AAAAAAAAC-0/SDyTxxJtpiE/s1600/IMG_6455.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718201248953558434" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GHRItRMgxkU/T1shvVYSZaI/AAAAAAAAC-0/SDyTxxJtpiE/s320/IMG_6455.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />What another fabulous day! Even the muddy ground and squelching grass couldn't dampen our spirits. Not when food is involved anyway. Shame I didn't get to try the Crisp Pork Belly, Pickled Daikon and Chilli Jam in a Sweet Roll from <a href="http://www.longrain.com.au/sydney_intro.htm">Longrain Restaurant</a> (Martin Boetz), it was unfortunately sold out by the time I found them. But we did try their Ping Pong cocktail (Lychees & Passionfruit Pulp are added to Eristoff Vodka, Lychees and Fresh Lime Juice - 12 crowns), mmmmm that was extremely refreshing.<br /><br />I have to thank <a href="http://mcdonalds.com.au/#/home">McDonalds</a> though because I won a $100 voucher from their I Spy promotion and with that voucher I purchased these Taste of Sydney tickets. I couldn't think of a better way to enjoy my prize!! I wonder how I will obtain tickets next time....my luck will surely run out and I will eventually have to pay that entry fee one year ;)<br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-35060961289161485762012-03-02T10:48:00.004+11:002012-03-02T13:25:02.297+11:00BaklavaA long long time ago I attempted baklava and failed miserably. Second attempt many years later yielded a better version, but still more improvements needed. And it is entirely my fault, not the recipes. So for future reference do not use a cast iron roasting pan for this recipe as it tends to continue cooking long after you have taken it out of the oven. Lesson learnt the hard way. If I had used a normal thin roasting pan I'd say it would have been fabulous. None the less, it was edible and better than I expected so all in all, still a good one.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OqZ2EqpUHgg/T1AP-aj_hLI/AAAAAAAAC-o/y_vc6VZqtZ0/s1600/IMG_6271.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OqZ2EqpUHgg/T1AP-aj_hLI/AAAAAAAAC-o/y_vc6VZqtZ0/s320/IMG_6271.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715085492089750706" border="0" /></a><br />I went with this recipe <a href="I%20went%20with%20this%20recipe%20here%20from%20Lifestyle%20Food.">here</a> from Lifestyle Food.<br />I omitted the orange flower water because a) I didn't know what it was b) I didn't know where to buy it c) she said optional.....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Another note to remember - buy already shelled pistachios!!!<br />These babies took me over an hour to shell.<br />By 240g I gave up and chucked in 60g of almonds to make up the rest of the 300g I needed<br /></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I089iWGHWjs/T1AP9ztkSQI/AAAAAAAAC-c/-ji5OxI08ko/s1600/IMG_6233.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I089iWGHWjs/T1AP9ztkSQI/AAAAAAAAC-c/-ji5OxI08ko/s320/IMG_6233.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715085481660926210" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I liked that I had some rather large pieces of nuts and then some that were ground to a pulp (it's all about texture right? Let's go with that)<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2fMzRW76FfI/T1AP9YJsl5I/AAAAAAAAC-Q/aW4zH6iKNBI/s1600/IMG_6239.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2fMzRW76FfI/T1AP9YJsl5I/AAAAAAAAC-Q/aW4zH6iKNBI/s320/IMG_6239.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715085474262718354" border="0" /></a><br />And the fun part - layering the filo pastry and brushing it with melted butter.<br />You need to be really quick here. No time for photos for every layer.....<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_83rRzHzQk/T1AP9HVONvI/AAAAAAAAC-E/dMQFe8RZnaY/s1600/IMG_6242.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r_83rRzHzQk/T1AP9HVONvI/AAAAAAAAC-E/dMQFe8RZnaY/s320/IMG_6242.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715085469747656434" border="0" /></a><br />5 layers of buttered filo pastry then the scattering of nuts<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LMt-p381UXg/T1AP85w5EDI/AAAAAAAAC94/DzAG6zZC2rU/s1600/IMG_6246.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LMt-p381UXg/T1AP85w5EDI/AAAAAAAAC94/DzAG6zZC2rU/s320/IMG_6246.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715085466105614386" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Skip a few repeated steps and here I am trimming the edges<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hl65Nyml76o/T1ANOuU6yuI/AAAAAAAAC9g/g-WgLcGjsoI/s1600/IMG_6250.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hl65Nyml76o/T1ANOuU6yuI/AAAAAAAAC9g/g-WgLcGjsoI/s320/IMG_6250.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715082473738259170" border="0" /></a><br />All trimmed and cut into diagonal pieces ready for baking<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jxjDKJ6YBzo/T1ANOM3XYVI/AAAAAAAAC9U/rEm2aaQwtj0/s1600/IMG_6253.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jxjDKJ6YBzo/T1ANOM3XYVI/AAAAAAAAC9U/rEm2aaQwtj0/s320/IMG_6253.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715082464755933522" border="0" /></a><br />The syrup before I boiled it<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CKkE4Hnhuy8/T1ANN5ThGCI/AAAAAAAAC9I/I_ZU09WcmJA/s1600/IMG_6258.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CKkE4Hnhuy8/T1ANN5ThGCI/AAAAAAAAC9I/I_ZU09WcmJA/s320/IMG_6258.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715082459505301538" border="0" /></a><br />The syrup after being boiled for around 15mins<br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GifFtAG43dQ/T1ANNT0pfnI/AAAAAAAAC88/du6qOit8KzA/s1600/IMG_6262.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GifFtAG43dQ/T1ANNT0pfnI/AAAAAAAAC88/du6qOit8KzA/s320/IMG_6262.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715082449443716722" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Voila!<br />Off to a good mates Lebanese themed dinner housewarming :)<br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-udRbZTZaH1I/T1ALysS4TBI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/i1htrMH5LaU/s1600/IMG_6269.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-udRbZTZaH1I/T1ALysS4TBI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/i1htrMH5LaU/s320/IMG_6269.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715080892644871186" border="0" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--b1hGuKsFns/T1ALya5n-NI/AAAAAAAAC8M/a0-llm1Pb60/s1600/IMG_6271.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--b1hGuKsFns/T1ALya5n-NI/AAAAAAAAC8M/a0-llm1Pb60/s320/IMG_6271.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5715080887975540946" border="0" /></a>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-85734931458700539362012-02-09T13:34:00.006+11:002012-02-09T15:49:49.144+11:00Sausage Rolls<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JR-1MSminrE/TzM1Q8S3hLI/AAAAAAAAC8A/PutT-0iRhjc/s1600/IMG_6057.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706963717987992754" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JR-1MSminrE/TzM1Q8S3hLI/AAAAAAAAC8A/PutT-0iRhjc/s320/IMG_6057.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Sausage rolls always take me back to memories of high school lunch. My best friend and I would always split our lunch in half and share it. I would bring a chicken, lettuce and mayo sandwich while she would buy a sausage roll from the canteen. We still laugh at the thought now when we go out to eat and buy something we both like and share it, optimising on variety :) Only a select few really get me.<br /><br />So now that I'm all grown up, I like to try and make my own, although they really don't compare to the ones we use to get. I miss that greasy over processed meat and onion (yes I could see the onions in them back then, which was probably the only "good" thing in them), but yes I have come a long way since then.<br /><br /><strong>Sausage Rolls</strong><br /><strong>Ingredients</strong><br />250g chicken mince<br />250g pork mince<br />teaspoon oregano<br />teaspoon parsley<br />1 carrot (grated)<br />1 onion (grated)<br />1/2 cup breadcrumbs<br />tablespoon worcestershire sauce<br />salt and pepper<br />2 squares of puff pastry<br />egg wash, chia seeds (optional)<br /><br /><strong>Method</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><div align="center">1. Bung all the ingredients in a large bowl (except for the pastry, egg wash and chia seeds) and mix it really well</div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G3E_t0wvFB8/TzM1Qv3InRI/AAAAAAAAC70/DA76rIwyHlU/s1600/IMG_6034.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706963714650447122" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G3E_t0wvFB8/TzM1Qv3InRI/AAAAAAAAC70/DA76rIwyHlU/s320/IMG_6034.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">2. Cut each pastry sheet in half. Spoon mixture into the centre of the cut pastry and shape it as you go to look like a long sausage (you should get about 5-6 long rolls)</div><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ys8jAPKXc3Q/TzM1QHtlffI/AAAAAAAAC7o/xqs6feJCbC4/s1600/IMG_6037.JPG"><span style="color:#000000;"></span><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706963703872978418" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ys8jAPKXc3Q/TzM1QHtlffI/AAAAAAAAC7o/xqs6feJCbC4/s320/IMG_6037.JPG" /></a><br />3. Fold over the pastry, wetting it with water so it sticks better, and cut it into thirds</div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0RY-2myUQbk/TzM1Pv52QMI/AAAAAAAAC7c/IGyZA6fjqac/s1600/IMG_6039.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706963697481957570" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0RY-2myUQbk/TzM1Pv52QMI/AAAAAAAAC7c/IGyZA6fjqac/s320/IMG_6039.JPG" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G8fx-PP0Vc8/TzM0KApqumI/AAAAAAAAC7M/rByett5vX68/s1600/IMG_6042.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706962499386653282" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G8fx-PP0Vc8/TzM0KApqumI/AAAAAAAAC7M/rByett5vX68/s320/IMG_6042.JPG" /></a><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">4. Place them seam side down, brush eggwash over the top and sprinkle with chia seeds.</div><div align="center">Cook at 180 degrees for around 40mins</div><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wljjwN9mVA4/TzM0JvlvgPI/AAAAAAAAC7A/US0vWvj3H2M/s1600/IMG_6043.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706962494806786290" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wljjwN9mVA4/TzM0JvlvgPI/AAAAAAAAC7A/US0vWvj3H2M/s320/IMG_6043.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M-GTJ3J_yio/TzM0JOkgkNI/AAAAAAAAC60/vtkQyIHmJIU/s1600/IMG_6044.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706962485943242962" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M-GTJ3J_yio/TzM0JOkgkNI/AAAAAAAAC60/vtkQyIHmJIU/s320/IMG_6044.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GKoFXHXIz7k/TzM0I3QVyxI/AAAAAAAAC6o/qXAe07g_vOg/s1600/IMG_6047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706962479684635410" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GKoFXHXIz7k/TzM0I3QVyxI/AAAAAAAAC6o/qXAe07g_vOg/s320/IMG_6047.JPG" /></a><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b3dW4H24EWE/TzM0IUKPASI/AAAAAAAAC6c/xnXmxRXZ2pA/s1600/IMG_6048.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706962470263783714" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-b3dW4H24EWE/TzM0IUKPASI/AAAAAAAAC6c/xnXmxRXZ2pA/s320/IMG_6048.JPG" /></a><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UWou53CWoYM/TzMy7qHd1yI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/a8Rn8NxCmPE/s1600/IMG_6049.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706961153307825954" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UWou53CWoYM/TzMy7qHd1yI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/a8Rn8NxCmPE/s320/IMG_6049.JPG" /></a><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sOg4yWsYgPw/TzMy7Afo_cI/AAAAAAAAC6E/wvCsm3Td0Uc/s1600/IMG_6051.JPG"></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6-jkIUCaNFg/TzMy6oDcHkI/AAAAAAAAC54/zX9W_X9ner8/s1600/IMG_6053.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706961135574195778" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6-jkIUCaNFg/TzMy6oDcHkI/AAAAAAAAC54/zX9W_X9ner8/s320/IMG_6053.JPG" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Gotta be quick, see those little fingers at the top coming for the rolls?<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ow3xrH6v48Y/TzMy6OfvKJI/AAAAAAAAC5s/WNZhpf9I24s/s1600/IMG_6056.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706961128713562258" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ow3xrH6v48Y/TzMy6OfvKJI/AAAAAAAAC5s/WNZhpf9I24s/s320/IMG_6056.JPG" /></a><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-14283051419442563492012-01-08T14:25:00.017+11:002012-01-10T22:44:40.872+11:00Christmas 2011<div><div>Round 2 Christmas was at our house so that means another 3 recipes to share with you.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OR_mPM9tqYA/TwkSVCQZxaI/AAAAAAAAC00/4Y1pzHwmATw/s1600/IMG_5912.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695103356378924450" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OR_mPM9tqYA/TwkSVCQZxaI/AAAAAAAAC00/4Y1pzHwmATw/s320/IMG_5912.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />First is a very easy trifle recipe. Forget baking the sponge! Or cooking up the custard! Time is of the essence and I had turkey, stuffing, salad, roast pork and potato bake to worry about as well. I really didn't need to add more to my list to do. So yeah, I went with the bought sponge and custard. Come to think of it, I never make custard. The carton stuff I find is always better...hmmmmm could just be my cooking.....anyway, onto the recipe, like this post isn't long-winded enough.....<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div><strong>Easy Peasy Trifle<br /><br /></strong></div><div><strong>Ingredients</strong></div><div> Packet sponge fingers (or a jam roll would be really yummy too)</div><div>2 packets of straweberry jelly</div><div>Carton of custard</div><div>1 or 2 cans of diced peaches and pears (get whatever fruit you prefer)</div><div>600ml cream</div><div>Half a block of chocolate<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div><strong>Method</strong></div><div align="center">1. Place a single layer of the sponge at the bottom of the bowl</div><div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695125158864269394" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--K3QOgpjHao/TwkmKG1-sFI/AAAAAAAAC5U/Sl3lXQvNCJs/s320/IMG_5714.JPG" border="0" /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">2. Make jelly as per instructions on the box and pour the cooled jelly over the sponge fingers. Place in the fridge to set (around 4 hours or overnight just to get some of it out of the way)<img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695119938392315810" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rpo78ScB-gk/TwkhaPEeV6I/AAAAAAAAC5E/Ogi53MytfFA/s320/IMG_5717.JPG" border="0" /><br />3. After the jelly has set, squirt the custard over it<br /></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rpo78ScB-gk/TwkhaPEeV6I/AAAAAAAAC5E/Ogi53MytfFA/s1600/IMG_5717.JPG"></a> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rpo78ScB-gk/TwkhaPEeV6I/AAAAAAAAC5E/Ogi53MytfFA/s1600/IMG_5717.JPG"></a> </div><div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695106467897019026" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mj8hygyK7CA/TwkVKJkICpI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/FP4-0DZ9IWI/s320/IMG_5776.JPG" border="0" /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />4. Next goes the fruit<br />5. Followed by the whipped cream (forgot to photograph both these steps)<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VwaH6OI3vR4/TwkhZHcVZHI/AAAAAAAAC44/CyVTKDeeB4k/s1600/IMG_5720.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695106458424470802" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qZPBSyq8CGA/TwkVJmRsbRI/AAAAAAAAC2E/RaqL1KVWBfM/s320/IMG_5777.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />6. To finish off, shave/grate chocolate on the top<br />(We ended up using 2 bars of flake and crumpled them)<br />Seriously with this dessert, anything goes!<br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aemEJjtFf0I/TwkOtyz4nlI/AAAAAAAAC0A/mIt1fHZYUGQ/s1600/IMG_5921.JPG"></a> </div><div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695099383682997842" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aemEJjtFf0I/TwkOtyz4nlI/AAAAAAAAC0A/mIt1fHZYUGQ/s320/IMG_5921.JPG" border="0" /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BZTPXBfXd1E/TwkOtg7MpPI/AAAAAAAACz0/X9QblanPxqw/s1600/IMG_5923.JPG"></a> </div><div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695099378881832178" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BZTPXBfXd1E/TwkOtg7MpPI/AAAAAAAACz0/X9QblanPxqw/s320/IMG_5923.JPG" border="0" /><br />The second recipe is another dessert. Yeah one wasn't enough....(however, the trifle was so easy it doesn't really count)<br />We decided to make creme caramel because it's one that can be made the day before and it can set in the fridge, again it's all about managing your time on Christmas day isn't it?<br /><br />I went with this <a href="http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/1787/crme-caramel">recipe</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Dissolving the sugar and water in saucepan<br /></div></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695119919165039730" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VwaH6OI3vR4/TwkhZHcVZHI/AAAAAAAAC44/CyVTKDeeB4k/s320/IMG_5720.JPG" border="0" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Getting thicker<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gh0YavEKeAE/TwkhYz2tNvI/AAAAAAAAC4s/Of2LLrrYZnI/s1600/IMG_5722.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695119913906943730" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gh0YavEKeAE/TwkhYz2tNvI/AAAAAAAAC4s/Of2LLrrYZnI/s320/IMG_5722.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />After about....13mins boiling you get the caramel.<br />It's not really a caramel though is it? More a toffee no?<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bVJozUjNNpM/TwkhX-gFg4I/AAAAAAAAC4k/JvI13oQfugg/s1600/IMG_5723.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695119899584988034" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bVJozUjNNpM/TwkhX-gFg4I/AAAAAAAAC4k/JvI13oQfugg/s320/IMG_5723.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">First goes the caramel into your tin (in my case I used a quiche dish)<br />If you have a flan dish, go with that. And MAKE SURE you check that it fits into one of the trays in the baine marie water bath thingy, not like me. I ended up trying to fit it into a paella pan in the oven. And then found out the paella pan was too large for my oven. All this after I'd put the boiling water in and everything....grrr<br /></div><div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0U2X_eVm5U/TwkhXdOZ81I/AAAAAAAAC4U/9geaWJ2iEw8/s1600/IMG_5726.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695119890652459858" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0U2X_eVm5U/TwkhXdOZ81I/AAAAAAAAC4U/9geaWJ2iEw8/s320/IMG_5726.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Cooking the milk and vanilla<br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cbT71Y-2W5M/TwkZYK5FM6I/AAAAAAAAC4I/_zadik8lRYU/s1600/IMG_5728.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695111106818028450" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cbT71Y-2W5M/TwkZYK5FM6I/AAAAAAAAC4I/_zadik8lRYU/s320/IMG_5728.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BNToFztLpVo/TwkZV_NceYI/AAAAAAAAC4A/VWymndEpSJg/s1600/IMG_5729.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695111069322475906" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BNToFztLpVo/TwkZV_NceYI/AAAAAAAAC4A/VWymndEpSJg/s320/IMG_5729.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Beat eggs and sugar<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kxHeyMylbK4/TwkZVlKCGAI/AAAAAAAAC3w/vu7WgO7yZtY/s1600/IMG_5730.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695111062328842242" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kxHeyMylbK4/TwkZVlKCGAI/AAAAAAAAC3w/vu7WgO7yZtY/s320/IMG_5730.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Pour the milk mixture into the egg mixture<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dSjjLgvketo/TwkZVD824RI/AAAAAAAAC3k/Ii17ThcCVe0/s1600/IMG_5732.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695111053415211282" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dSjjLgvketo/TwkZVD824RI/AAAAAAAAC3k/Ii17ThcCVe0/s320/IMG_5732.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Strain it into the dish<br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pzoz_cFDf7k/TwkZU4t22GI/AAAAAAAAC3Y/lDAJpgL81DI/s1600/IMG_5735.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 214px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695111050399504482" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pzoz_cFDf7k/TwkZU4t22GI/AAAAAAAAC3Y/lDAJpgL81DI/s320/IMG_5735.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;">Bake in a water bath for around 45mins at 160 degrees.<br />NB: make sure it's only the 45mins because I tested it at that time and it seemed too wobbly so left it in for another 10 or so minutes and found it a little too firm. Especially if you leave it in the fridge to set overnight, 45mins cooking time is best.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEX97c508OE/TwkYJVXM8aI/AAAAAAAAC3M/pJpUEMLB988/s1600/IMG_5750.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695109752419053986" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEX97c508OE/TwkYJVXM8aI/AAAAAAAAC3M/pJpUEMLB988/s320/IMG_5750.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />The next day.<br />You can see the custard has shrunk in size and the caramel now comes up over it. YUM!<br />Although I think I took the caramel (toffee) a little too far this time. Shame on me!<br /></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4DP4rsVB8JU/TwkOtBCcS5I/AAAAAAAACzo/nE4iaMEkYDg/s1600/IMG_5924.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695099370322283410" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4DP4rsVB8JU/TwkOtBCcS5I/AAAAAAAACzo/nE4iaMEkYDg/s320/IMG_5924.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Recipe number 3 is ricotta wrapped with chargrilled vegetables.<br />I got this recipe from one of the Woolworths magazines.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients</span><br />250g fresh ricotta<br />1/4 cup finely grated parmesan<br />1/3 cup grated mozzarella<br />1 tablespoon finely chopped chives (or basil)<br />2 tespoons finely grated lemon rind<br />Salt & pepper<br />Chargrilled red capsicum<br />Chargrilled eggplant<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Method<br /></span>1. Combine ricotta, cheeses, chives, lemon, salt and pepper in a bowl.<br />2. Cut chargrilled capsicum and eggplant into 4cm wide strips.<br />3. Place 2 teaspoon of cheese mixture onto one end and roll enclosing cheese mixture.<br />4. Secure with a toothpick and place onto serving platter.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Chargrilling the vegies was the hard part. Suppose you could buy the already chargrilled vegies in the jar.<br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uFogCpT35hA/TwkYJKR1oEI/AAAAAAAAC3A/f8Jhf-rpoN4/s1600/IMG_5770.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695109749443764290" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uFogCpT35hA/TwkYJKR1oEI/AAAAAAAAC3A/f8Jhf-rpoN4/s320/IMG_5770.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vzO1CY_3qT0/TwkYHx8fSiI/AAAAAAAAC24/srTFU6awnhY/s1600/IMG_5772.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695109725731899938" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vzO1CY_3qT0/TwkYHx8fSiI/AAAAAAAAC24/srTFU6awnhY/s320/IMG_5772.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_36IgkbLlbM/TwkYHCKPu5I/AAAAAAAAC2o/jlU9RjfpDKo/s1600/IMG_5773.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695109712904698770" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_36IgkbLlbM/TwkYHCKPu5I/AAAAAAAAC2o/jlU9RjfpDKo/s320/IMG_5773.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I ended up marinating mine in extra virgin olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic for a couple of hours<br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jAIc5Yxo7Tk/TwkYG-Nm-lI/AAAAAAAAC2c/MTWKpGo48gk/s1600/IMG_5774.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695109711845063250" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jAIc5Yxo7Tk/TwkYG-Nm-lI/AAAAAAAAC2c/MTWKpGo48gk/s320/IMG_5774.JPG" border="0" /></a><div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The stuffing mixture<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DXNnnjyzQKs/TwkVJOhSphI/AAAAAAAAC14/-JHUfeKlvig/s1600/IMG_5847.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695106452047439378" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DXNnnjyzQKs/TwkVJOhSphI/AAAAAAAAC14/-JHUfeKlvig/s320/IMG_5847.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FR0QFl43c2k/TwkVIrvRGLI/AAAAAAAAC1s/mFeHd-UjlJY/s1600/IMG_5854.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695106442710816946" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FR0QFl43c2k/TwkVIrvRGLI/AAAAAAAAC1s/mFeHd-UjlJY/s320/IMG_5854.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">These went down a treat!<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KaaTdxUA3BE/TwkVIJIWaaI/AAAAAAAAC1g/Ot99f5zo1Po/s1600/IMG_5857.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695106433420781986" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KaaTdxUA3BE/TwkVIJIWaaI/AAAAAAAAC1g/Ot99f5zo1Po/s320/IMG_5857.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TDk1o558bXs/TwkSXOw02gI/AAAAAAAAC1U/qwH9fIJqcHM/s1600/IMG_5858.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695103394095880706" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TDk1o558bXs/TwkSXOw02gI/AAAAAAAAC1U/qwH9fIJqcHM/s320/IMG_5858.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />So what else did we have for Christmas?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Second hor d'oeurve -<br />Smoked salmon, mayo and dill on crakers<br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rO0db4C81qo/TwkSWbE7BkI/AAAAAAAAC1M/c4K4FvEp0hc/s1600/IMG_5860.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695103380221527618" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rO0db4C81qo/TwkSWbE7BkI/AAAAAAAAC1M/c4K4FvEp0hc/s320/IMG_5860.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Roasted sweet potato and pine nut salad<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W7dsohYIl5Y/TwkSWKrOOSI/AAAAAAAAC08/y4YwGJu0yFw/s1600/IMG_5910.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695103375818766626" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W7dsohYIl5Y/TwkSWKrOOSI/AAAAAAAAC08/y4YwGJu0yFw/s320/IMG_5910.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;">Roast turkey, roast pork (because not everyone in the family likes turkey), ham, potato bake, traditional irish pork stuffing and of course some gravy to help it all down.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OR_mPM9tqYA/TwkSVCQZxaI/AAAAAAAAC00/4Y1pzHwmATw/s1600/IMG_5912.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695103356378924450" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OR_mPM9tqYA/TwkSVCQZxaI/AAAAAAAAC00/4Y1pzHwmATw/s320/IMG_5912.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LjG7nZckcLo/TwkSUyJJihI/AAAAAAAAC0k/QPw9klXNdyA/s1600/IMG_5913.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695103352053533202" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LjG7nZckcLo/TwkSUyJJihI/AAAAAAAAC0k/QPw9klXNdyA/s320/IMG_5913.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zznv4OC5jL0/TwkOu4aClzI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/F1QcMLSHaW0/s1600/IMG_5915.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695099402365081394" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zznv4OC5jL0/TwkOu4aClzI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/F1QcMLSHaW0/s320/IMG_5915.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Mmm pork crackling, how I love you<br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9xm4OTk6XQA/TwkOudxDgHI/AAAAAAAAC0M/3WzqJ31uTD4/s1600/IMG_5916.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695099395213852786" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9xm4OTk6XQA/TwkOudxDgHI/AAAAAAAAC0M/3WzqJ31uTD4/s320/IMG_5916.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>That concludes our Christmas celebration lunches for 2011 :)<br />And by now it is 2012 so happy belated new year! May you be blessed with love, laughter and happiness!!!<br />xoxoxo<br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-9458570415984191162011-12-29T10:46:00.011+11:002011-12-29T12:23:37.122+11:00Caramelised Onion, Asparagus and Feta Salad<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XYSHL-56xs/Tvu6OEChkiI/AAAAAAAACzc/bIt9HmAffcc/s1600/IMG_5596.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691347304878019106" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8XYSHL-56xs/Tvu6OEChkiI/AAAAAAAACzc/bIt9HmAffcc/s320/IMG_5596.JPG" /></a><br />There was 2 Christmas lunches this year, one at my bros the week before and another at my house on actual Christmas Day. So it was almost a full week of celebrating (for the kids anyway with all their new toys).<br /><br />My contribution this time was a caramelised onion salad (recipe <a href="http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/22113/caramelised+onion+salad">here</a>) and a black forest cake.<br /><br /><div align="center">Butter, onion, brown sugar and red wine vinegar </div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o_vY0Jtr0Sc/Tvu6NaZi-4I/AAAAAAAACzQ/DIdJEAg_ZbU/s1600/IMG_5582.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691347293700291458" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o_vY0Jtr0Sc/Tvu6NaZi-4I/AAAAAAAACzQ/DIdJEAg_ZbU/s320/IMG_5582.JPG" /></a><br /><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">After cooking for 5mins, it didn't look thick enough yet</div><div align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mWhRBZnd8Ao/Tvu6MjgiOlI/AAAAAAAACzE/ZTc_ISCgkO8/s1600/IMG_5583.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691347278965652050" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mWhRBZnd8Ao/Tvu6MjgiOlI/AAAAAAAACzE/ZTc_ISCgkO8/s320/IMG_5583.JPG" /></a></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Cooked a further 5mins made sure it was thick and caramelly<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mmh1lP41IwI/Tvu6MEKOXQI/AAAAAAAACy4/vzcl5vgTrig/s1600/IMG_5586.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691347270550576386" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mmh1lP41IwI/Tvu6MEKOXQI/AAAAAAAACy4/vzcl5vgTrig/s320/IMG_5586.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Next is the asparagus<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0y540TO3ps/Tvu6LrwgZDI/AAAAAAAACys/UoRgfJIXBNw/s1600/IMG_5588.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691347264000255026" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x0y540TO3ps/Tvu6LrwgZDI/AAAAAAAACys/UoRgfJIXBNw/s320/IMG_5588.JPG" /></a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>There was a red capsicum chopped and thrown in there as well. Don't think you can make much out with all that feta I crumbled on top</div><div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ModVu-GhAxI/Tvu4vCGo22I/AAAAAAAACyg/kdD1GM58gIE/s1600/IMG_5590.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691345672270830434" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ModVu-GhAxI/Tvu4vCGo22I/AAAAAAAACyg/kdD1GM58gIE/s320/IMG_5590.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXqyhtQyvVw/Tvu4ufRR7XI/AAAAAAAACyU/g6j-DElyM0E/s1600/IMG_5595.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691345662920224114" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OXqyhtQyvVw/Tvu4ufRR7XI/AAAAAAAACyU/g6j-DElyM0E/s320/IMG_5595.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6domKxtwmcc/Tvu4t8WvHyI/AAAAAAAACyI/h50ylre-lXI/s1600/IMG_5596.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691345653547867938" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6domKxtwmcc/Tvu4t8WvHyI/AAAAAAAACyI/h50ylre-lXI/s320/IMG_5596.JPG" /></a></div><div> </div><div>And the <a href="http://imhungrytoo.blogspot.com/2009/09/black-forest-cake.html">black forest cake</a><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SOWsIvtkH0A/Tvu4tT0fK7I/AAAAAAAACx8/3OCaJCkMCCA/s1600/IMG_5601.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691345642666798002" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SOWsIvtkH0A/Tvu4tT0fK7I/AAAAAAAACx8/3OCaJCkMCCA/s320/IMG_5601.JPG" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4jTMfwkQqcA/Tvu4tEjv2uI/AAAAAAAACxw/e23dk-TSBeQ/s1600/IMG_5606.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691345638570056418" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4jTMfwkQqcA/Tvu4tEjv2uI/AAAAAAAACxw/e23dk-TSBeQ/s320/IMG_5606.JPG" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Roast lamb (best roast lamb ever!)</div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KnpY52gQ194/TvusBLWq64I/AAAAAAAACxk/I4oskGJoduE/s1600/IMG_5613.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691331690340477826" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KnpY52gQ194/TvusBLWq64I/AAAAAAAACxk/I4oskGJoduE/s320/IMG_5613.JPG" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Spinach and cream cheese dip<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RG51vQvXbsQ/TvusAPnu-HI/AAAAAAAACxc/6lctlVtHx_0/s1600/IMG_5615.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691331674305919090" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RG51vQvXbsQ/TvusAPnu-HI/AAAAAAAACxc/6lctlVtHx_0/s320/IMG_5615.JPG" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vl_0Z8cB4sY/Tvur_-QdekI/AAAAAAAACxM/rA6ADzxmNxk/s1600/IMG_5617.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691331669644900930" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vl_0Z8cB4sY/Tvur_-QdekI/AAAAAAAACxM/rA6ADzxmNxk/s320/IMG_5617.JPG" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Fried rice<div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6NktTsAiiRo/Tvur_BqN10I/AAAAAAAACxE/16smZ-tXYbk/s1600/IMG_5622.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691331653378365250" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6NktTsAiiRo/Tvur_BqN10I/AAAAAAAACxE/16smZ-tXYbk/s320/IMG_5622.JPG" /></a></div><div> </div><div>Cooked prawns with lime dipping sauce</div><div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MmPRhyj3UKo/Tvur-uRXKcI/AAAAAAAACw0/46g2otlHRr8/s1600/IMG_5623.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5691331648173844930" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MmPRhyj3UKo/Tvur-uRXKcI/AAAAAAAACw0/46g2otlHRr8/s320/IMG_5623.JPG" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-64375155031919187212011-12-16T12:50:00.009+11:002011-12-22T13:15:31.324+11:00Chicken, Leek and Smoked Bacon Pie<div><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvaBcwjTuQM/TuqlteRDmpI/AAAAAAAACto/Lj9fU08oJ_E/s1600/20111104-IMG_5218.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686539680145971858" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvaBcwjTuQM/TuqlteRDmpI/AAAAAAAACto/Lj9fU08oJ_E/s320/20111104-IMG_5218.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />I always keep a frozen package of pies in the freezer. You never know when you get a craving for a pie with peas and mash ;) And I'm just like a kid, a total sucker for the mini pies and sausage rolls....mmmmmm. I'd be one of those adults that hover over the kids food at the birthday party. Think fairy bread, mini pies, mini sausage rolls and baby frankfurts and of course loads and loads of tomato sauce! Do they still make that for kids parties? Not the ones I've been to anyway, I think it was just my era...........<br /><br />Meat pies are a tick for me, but I detest the frozen chicken and vegetable pies. Even the so called "gourmet" ones. Sargents make a particularly bad one.<br /><br />So yeah, if I want a chicken and veg pie, I'll have to make my own one.<br /><br />Found this sweetly hickory smoked bacon at Woolies I wanted to try out. Loved it in the pie. But of course regular bacon will do the job, this was a little more fancy.<br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oIg4HsVHT10/TuqpMPi2raI/AAAAAAAACwc/nJ7gH_qvglY/s1600/20111104-IMG_5187.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686543507304918434" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oIg4HsVHT10/TuqpMPi2raI/AAAAAAAACwc/nJ7gH_qvglY/s320/20111104-IMG_5187.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chicken, Leek and Smoked Bacon Pie</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients</span><br />1 Tablespoon oil<br />700g chicken thighs, chopped<br />6 slices of smoked bacon (shortcut, rindless)<br />1 carrot, diced<br />1 leek, thinly sliced (white part)<br />6-8 mushrooms, sliced<br />2 Tablespoons plain flour<br />1 teaspoon of preferred herbs (I used oregano)<br />1/2 cup cream<br />1 cup frozen peas and corn<br />1-2 sheets puff pastry<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Method:</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;">1. Heat oil in pan and cook the diced chicken, transfer to a bowl.<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-td4QhlXdyYo/TuqpL4qukOI/AAAAAAAACwQ/zuO4nh1WAqQ/s1600/20111104-IMG_5190.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686543501163925730" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-td4QhlXdyYo/TuqpL4qukOI/AAAAAAAACwQ/zuO4nh1WAqQ/s320/20111104-IMG_5190.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">2. Now cook the bacon (2mins)<br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3b6-sBMi4C8/TuqojlNRgGI/AAAAAAAACwE/ECLa5sZHOjI/s1600/20111104-IMG_5191.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686542808745345122" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3b6-sBMi4C8/TuqojlNRgGI/AAAAAAAACwE/ECLa5sZHOjI/s320/20111104-IMG_5191.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;">3. Add carrot and leek, stir well<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-go5uI5xz8RI/TuqojPaDI1I/AAAAAAAACv4/Z-rv6EYOELg/s1600/20111104-IMG_5192.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686542802893349714" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-go5uI5xz8RI/TuqojPaDI1I/AAAAAAAACv4/Z-rv6EYOELg/s320/20111104-IMG_5192.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">4. Add the mushrooms<br /></div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COvzWNJJGzU/TuqoijIOl8I/AAAAAAAACvs/AQcRY6Yk8xY/s1600/20111104-IMG_5194.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686542791007442882" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-COvzWNJJGzU/TuqoijIOl8I/AAAAAAAACvs/AQcRY6Yk8xY/s320/20111104-IMG_5194.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">5. Throw in the flour and cook for a further 3mins<br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ooq8LlPOL8Y/TuqoiNPmH8I/AAAAAAAACvg/VBMUuBmISBk/s1600/20111104-IMG_5195.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686542785132765122" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ooq8LlPOL8Y/TuqoiNPmH8I/AAAAAAAACvg/VBMUuBmISBk/s320/20111104-IMG_5195.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jPpjJFjrX_c/TuqohxSxONI/AAAAAAAACvU/RHkuUgNLNVk/s1600/20111104-IMG_5196.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686542777629882578" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jPpjJFjrX_c/TuqohxSxONI/AAAAAAAACvU/RHkuUgNLNVk/s320/20111104-IMG_5196.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">6. Add the chicken and herbs. Cook for another 5mins or so<br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fca1PCqrp_s/TuqnLrT4uXI/AAAAAAAACvI/0tWOWwtSBVE/s1600/20111104-IMG_5197.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686541298555206002" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fca1PCqrp_s/TuqnLrT4uXI/AAAAAAAACvI/0tWOWwtSBVE/s320/20111104-IMG_5197.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">7. Pour in the cream<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xjxcrD1arGk/TuqnK1UWDII/AAAAAAAACu4/_UsbwmbMXdo/s1600/20111104-IMG_5198.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686541284061613186" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xjxcrD1arGk/TuqnK1UWDII/AAAAAAAACu4/_UsbwmbMXdo/s320/20111104-IMG_5198.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">8. Add the frozen veg and stir it through<br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLkB7BXjkA8/TuqnKd71L_I/AAAAAAAACus/qHa83YQNGg8/s1600/20111104-IMG_5200.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686541277784780786" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLkB7BXjkA8/TuqnKd71L_I/AAAAAAAACus/qHa83YQNGg8/s320/20111104-IMG_5200.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">9. Scoop them out evenly into 4-6 ramekins (depending how big your ramekins are).<br />You could line the base and edge with shortcrust pastry and blind bake it first, but I didn't.<br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pldh-YxkekA/TuqnJ_dTmRI/AAAAAAAACug/BLcMSzI5cJM/s1600/20111104-IMG_5202.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686541269603686674" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pldh-YxkekA/TuqnJ_dTmRI/AAAAAAAACug/BLcMSzI5cJM/s320/20111104-IMG_5202.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">10. Top it with puff pastry and maybe brush an eggwash over it.<br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bifjnAn4Ibo/TuqnJt8dsOI/AAAAAAAACuU/zcDHP2P4E0E/s1600/20111104-IMG_5207.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686541264902533346" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bifjnAn4Ibo/TuqnJt8dsOI/AAAAAAAACuU/zcDHP2P4E0E/s320/20111104-IMG_5207.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">11. Bake at 180 degrees for around 20mins<br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HgOK75ZAOHs/TuqlvWWU0bI/AAAAAAAACuI/ewf0xGhk3SY/s1600/20111104-IMG_5208.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686539712380326322" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HgOK75ZAOHs/TuqlvWWU0bI/AAAAAAAACuI/ewf0xGhk3SY/s320/20111104-IMG_5208.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZbUHfRhiYk/TuqluRFOnPI/AAAAAAAACtw/Qfq4CP6WF0Y/s1600/20111104-IMG_5216.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686539693786569970" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_ZbUHfRhiYk/TuqluRFOnPI/AAAAAAAACtw/Qfq4CP6WF0Y/s320/20111104-IMG_5216.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvaBcwjTuQM/TuqlteRDmpI/AAAAAAAACto/Lj9fU08oJ_E/s1600/20111104-IMG_5218.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686539680145971858" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jvaBcwjTuQM/TuqlteRDmpI/AAAAAAAACto/Lj9fU08oJ_E/s320/20111104-IMG_5218.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-safZPs1dEkw/Tuqls1W2u7I/AAAAAAAACtY/5m44OMbSMjs/s1600/20111104-IMG_5228.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5686539669164440498" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-safZPs1dEkw/Tuqls1W2u7I/AAAAAAAACtY/5m44OMbSMjs/s320/20111104-IMG_5228.JPG" border="0" /></a> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-12841585156208592282011-12-04T22:12:00.007+11:002011-12-04T23:03:32.064+11:00Garfield CakeI already felt old years ago, but the sight of 30 candles on the cake my husband made for me sealed the deal.....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8hWK14BA0QA/TttX4UHvYTI/AAAAAAAACtM/MoqfP3AmNRM/s1600/Garfield4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8hWK14BA0QA/TttX4UHvYTI/AAAAAAAACtM/MoqfP3AmNRM/s320/Garfield4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682231979843477810" border="0" /></a><br />But I guess he is forgiven seen as he stayed up past 12 midnight baking it and then spending another 3 hours decorating it the next day as a surprise for me.<br /><br />I really was only given a chance to take photos of the baked cake, not the assembly part because I was banned from looking.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pGy0tiApaH0/TttXmDXz-DI/AAAAAAAACs0/EgIpkrbfzxU/s1600/IMG_5306.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pGy0tiApaH0/TttXmDXz-DI/AAAAAAAACs0/EgIpkrbfzxU/s320/IMG_5306.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682231666109839410" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOn8qzT65_Q/TttXmWAAd8I/AAAAAAAACtA/aGrdCQ6LrJI/s1600/IMG_5304.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oOn8qzT65_Q/TttXmWAAd8I/AAAAAAAACtA/aGrdCQ6LrJI/s320/IMG_5304.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682231671110268866" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xJWznQNW1t4/TttWTz9tpJI/AAAAAAAACso/IFUoDgr1kUI/s1600/IMG_5309.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xJWznQNW1t4/TttWTz9tpJI/AAAAAAAACso/IFUoDgr1kUI/s320/IMG_5309.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682230253224567954" border="0" /></a><br />Did manage to get this photo (courtesy of my friend Jo)<br />How he put it together I really don't know.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KMiaGCgU8fg/TttWTrBuvjI/AAAAAAAACsc/gzKdgFxonv4/s1600/IMG_5326.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KMiaGCgU8fg/TttWTrBuvjI/AAAAAAAACsc/gzKdgFxonv4/s320/IMG_5326.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682230250825498162" border="0" /></a><br />And after carving (hacking) at the cake, he somehow produced this masterpiece!<br />I am in awe. I am no longer the cake baker/decorator anymore in this household. Hubby can now take over all of the kids birthday cakes after this one ;)<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ISAE2aCQAHw/TttWSsDF4pI/AAAAAAAACsU/pFYCrUtydUk/s1600/Garfield2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ISAE2aCQAHw/TttWSsDF4pI/AAAAAAAACsU/pFYCrUtydUk/s320/Garfield2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682230233919775378" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Td7SQnuEfhM/TttWStKTN6I/AAAAAAAACsA/ixQLGQp0_NM/s1600/Garfield3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Td7SQnuEfhM/TttWStKTN6I/AAAAAAAACsA/ixQLGQp0_NM/s320/Garfield3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682230234218444706" border="0" /></a></div><br />Thank you so much :* )<br />You are the best, love you always and forever<br />xoxoxoBrendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-142668523542966512011-11-04T14:27:00.005+11:002011-11-05T16:09:21.845+11:00Kit Kat Maltesers Cake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2grR4CnM1cM/TrNeiBxiyhI/AAAAAAAACrA/d9QgTk7H2YM/s1600/IMG_4834.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2grR4CnM1cM/TrNeiBxiyhI/AAAAAAAACrA/d9QgTk7H2YM/s320/IMG_4834.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670980294474385938" border="0" /></a>Hey chocoholics, I have a cake that you will love ;) It is absolutely loaded and I dare you to eat more than one slice....<br /><br />What you will need<br />1 chocolate cake (I used <a href="http://imhungrytoo.blogspot.com/2010/09/shoe-cake-toppers-happy-30th-birthday.html">this</a> recipe)<br />Chocolate ganache (also in the above recipe)<br />3 packets of the family size kit kat<br />A large bag of maltesers<br />Ribbon<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Assembling:</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Once the cake is baked and cooled, make the chocolate ganache and spread it all over the cake<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dXNjeuUHVK0/TrNelHVofkI/AAAAAAAACrk/UFde9S5330k/s1600/IMG_4826.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dXNjeuUHVK0/TrNelHVofkI/AAAAAAAACrk/UFde9S5330k/s320/IMG_4826.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670980347507539522" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Break up the kit kat fingers and place them upright around the cake<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5x8zEQp0A6k/TrNekOu0dLI/AAAAAAAACrY/E-URWgGXlZk/s1600/IMG_4827.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5x8zEQp0A6k/TrNekOu0dLI/AAAAAAAACrY/E-URWgGXlZk/s320/IMG_4827.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670980332312360114" border="0" /></a><br />Tie a nice ribbon around the cake. This is to keep the kit kats from sliding off and it looks pretty<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KeQTi_KbQAE/TrNei4tH8OI/AAAAAAAACrM/AkTRVp3nofI/s1600/IMG_4832.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KeQTi_KbQAE/TrNei4tH8OI/AAAAAAAACrM/AkTRVp3nofI/s320/IMG_4832.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670980309219799266" border="0" /></a><br />To finish off, dump the bag of maltersers on the top!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-howg-HMDG7A/TrNdJUERjEI/AAAAAAAACqc/8YQ3pByNzsc/s1600/IMG_4841.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-howg-HMDG7A/TrNdJUERjEI/AAAAAAAACqc/8YQ3pByNzsc/s320/IMG_4841.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670978770376428610" border="0" /></a><br />How easy was that?<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jiYJP-OTpQc/TrNdISKo6TI/AAAAAAAACqU/jqyzuBSrBAk/s1600/IMG_4844.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jiYJP-OTpQc/TrNdISKo6TI/AAAAAAAACqU/jqyzuBSrBAk/s320/IMG_4844.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670978752686385458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NN3DMt0kaPY/TrNdJ8QcS2I/AAAAAAAACqw/rN9QfxoPnTc/s1600/IMG_4839.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NN3DMt0kaPY/TrNdJ8QcS2I/AAAAAAAACqw/rN9QfxoPnTc/s320/IMG_4839.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670978781164882786" border="0" /></a>Happy 30th Jo!<br />Can't believe we've been friends since we were 4 years old, how time flies when we are having fun :)<br />Love you loads!!!<br />xoxoxoBrendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-61568908535811635052011-10-13T10:28:00.006+11:002011-10-14T15:53:00.923+11:00Ham CongeeNow you've probably never heard of Ham Congee before today and yes it does sound odd because it's not the traditional version like Century Egg or Chicken Congee. This ham congee is one I've grown up eating, usually after Christmas when the leg of ham we have served up for Christmas day doesn't all get eaten. So instead of throwing out the bone, Dad keeps it and boils it up with rice and Bob's your uncle - Ham Congee.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9SQkJaMC0Q/TpYmAa-30dI/AAAAAAAACm0/w95bwDhL8do/s1600/IMG_4680.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9SQkJaMC0Q/TpYmAa-30dI/AAAAAAAACm0/w95bwDhL8do/s320/IMG_4680.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662755370149859794" border="0" /></a><br />When I was in Woolies doing some grocery shopping there were some leftover leg hams at the deli counter being sold for really cheap. Around $2 each, with loads of meat still attached to them. They weren't going off or anything like that, just the leftover bone after carving slices off to sell. I knew straight away I'd make the ham congee, I wasn't willing to wait till after Christmas again (which is actually a bad time to have congee because it's summer and extremely hot and more the weather for cold cocktails....I digress). Ummm yeah so I figured I might as well attempt dads ham congee for the first time. After making 2 calls to determine how much rice I needed and how much water this is what I ended up with.....<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ingredients</span><br />Leftover ham leg bone (1.5-2kg)<br />1 1/2 cups rice<br />2 litres water<br />2 tablespoon of vegetable oil<br />Shallots/spring onions to garnish<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Method</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The leg bone with meat still attached<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YHtei3iO8aw/TpYmAH3T8rI/AAAAAAAACmo/3YiNJR9QwEE/s1600/IMG_4647.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YHtei3iO8aw/TpYmAH3T8rI/AAAAAAAACmo/3YiNJR9QwEE/s320/IMG_4647.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662755365017875122" border="0" /></a><br />1. Slice as much meat as you like off the bone and set aside<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FLt-8fWBBgc/TpYl_sWLbVI/AAAAAAAACmc/zypOLfAhn78/s1600/IMG_4650.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FLt-8fWBBgc/TpYl_sWLbVI/AAAAAAAACmc/zypOLfAhn78/s320/IMG_4650.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662755357631147346" border="0" /></a><br />2. Add the bone to the pot with enough water to cover it.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXU0r3PDSf0/TpYl_MFALuI/AAAAAAAACmQ/GflgXN_pytQ/s1600/IMG_4656.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXU0r3PDSf0/TpYl_MFALuI/AAAAAAAACmQ/GflgXN_pytQ/s320/IMG_4656.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662755348969172706" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">3. Allow to boil for 5mins to bring up all the impurities<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F5guUvfV4iU/TpYl-zM7afI/AAAAAAAACmE/z_MOwzjBtLc/s1600/IMG_4658.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F5guUvfV4iU/TpYl-zM7afI/AAAAAAAACmE/z_MOwzjBtLc/s320/IMG_4658.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662755342291528178" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">4. Strain the bone and pour out the water.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q1WLAR_StR0/TpYkE6mM5QI/AAAAAAAACl4/3qTq7--nusg/s1600/IMG_4659.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q1WLAR_StR0/TpYkE6mM5QI/AAAAAAAACl4/3qTq7--nusg/s320/IMG_4659.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662753248332539138" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">5. Place the bone, sliced meat, rice, water and oil in the pot<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S7g32cy7s6Y/TpYkEIFx7wI/AAAAAAAAClw/WTH1CX2qPy0/s1600/IMG_4660.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S7g32cy7s6Y/TpYkEIFx7wI/AAAAAAAAClw/WTH1CX2qPy0/s320/IMG_4660.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662753234774781698" border="0" /></a><br />6. Leave it on a gentle simmer for around 2 hours.<br />I would check it every now and again and stir it once in a while just to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom or getting too thick. Add more water if you find it a little too thick.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vB38WpRDw2Y/TpYkDliYCyI/AAAAAAAAClg/ZttZZo7fKAU/s1600/IMG_4664.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vB38WpRDw2Y/TpYkDliYCyI/AAAAAAAAClg/ZttZZo7fKAU/s320/IMG_4664.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662753225499478818" border="0" /></a><br />Garnish with extra pieces of ham and shallots<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kPLD8tF1_EY/TpYkDRfgsBI/AAAAAAAAClU/sPjF9H2Trx8/s1600/IMG_4678.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kPLD8tF1_EY/TpYkDRfgsBI/AAAAAAAAClU/sPjF9H2Trx8/s320/IMG_4678.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662753220118753298" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tCWp1-F30VU/TpYkCxCdicI/AAAAAAAAClI/Yz89Sp_cxMc/s1600/IMG_4679.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tCWp1-F30VU/TpYkCxCdicI/AAAAAAAAClI/Yz89Sp_cxMc/s320/IMG_4679.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662753211406977474" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-53563367662593114432011-10-03T14:58:00.008+11:002011-10-03T16:15:36.892+11:00Siu Mai Cake (FAIL)To celebrate my brother's 36th birthday I made him a Siu Mai Cake. He loves yum cha and the choice would either have been Chicken Feet or Siu Mai, I decided on the Siu Mai. However it ended up being a FAIL.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iMZ5EocTF-Y/Tok_k5LjDoI/AAAAAAAAClA/SNOJrJmQFu0/s1600/IMG_4544.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iMZ5EocTF-Y/Tok_k5LjDoI/AAAAAAAAClA/SNOJrJmQFu0/s320/IMG_4544.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659124309824835202" border="0" /></a><br />The yellow fondant for the outter wrap got stuck and then it cracked....and cracked....and just kept cracking and splitting. Sigh....I had this image in my head, but sadly it didn't turn out how I hoped. Oh well, it's the thought that counts right???<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here's what Sui Mai would look like at Yum Cha (photo courtesy of <a href="http://cokeworldcitizen.blogspot.com/2009/06/gurney-plaza-ko-fu-loft-round-2.html">Cokeworld Citizen</a>)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E9E9ffvlaWI/Tok_krebCdI/AAAAAAAACk4/210yWd2QiKc/s1600/Real%2Bsiu%2Bmai.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E9E9ffvlaWI/Tok_krebCdI/AAAAAAAACk4/210yWd2QiKc/s320/Real%2Bsiu%2Bmai.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659124306145905106" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here's the assembly:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I made 2 vanilla cakes to give it the right height and proportion<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uydywWDLF78/Tok-PvjlGLI/AAAAAAAACkw/_S8A3AW2mTQ/s1600/IMG_4518.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uydywWDLF78/Tok-PvjlGLI/AAAAAAAACkw/_S8A3AW2mTQ/s320/IMG_4518.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659122846952396978" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Laying the rolled out yellow fondant down, then the first sponge goes on top<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o7hzfwDK8lk/Tok-PBujz8I/AAAAAAAACko/1dOV6ntJB9A/s1600/IMG_4520.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o7hzfwDK8lk/Tok-PBujz8I/AAAAAAAACko/1dOV6ntJB9A/s320/IMG_4520.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659122834650419138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Covering it with buttercream<br />Then the next sponge on top (no photo)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cBnND3cxbOM/Tok-Owp8L6I/AAAAAAAACkg/OXuJp_u1P3Y/s1600/IMG_4522.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cBnND3cxbOM/Tok-Owp8L6I/AAAAAAAACkg/OXuJp_u1P3Y/s320/IMG_4522.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659122830067642274" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I crushed some Arnotts Milk Coffee biscuits then mixed this into the buttercream to give it some "pork" pieces<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y6N9ei9Gw4Y/Tok-OYUqOUI/AAAAAAAACkY/IbpnCJz1WDQ/s1600/IMG_4523.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y6N9ei9Gw4Y/Tok-OYUqOUI/AAAAAAAACkY/IbpnCJz1WDQ/s320/IMG_4523.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659122823535933762" border="0" /></a><br />Smothered the biscuit/buttercream mix over the top<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PftXjpQ0-hM/Tok-N2HCTpI/AAAAAAAACkQ/g9QkA7gQsmA/s1600/IMG_4524.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PftXjpQ0-hM/Tok-N2HCTpI/AAAAAAAACkQ/g9QkA7gQsmA/s320/IMG_4524.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659122814351986322" border="0" /></a><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nrg0zwFv8cg/Tok2MBuC3qI/AAAAAAAACkI/QWX4_ZSkifE/s320/IMG_4525.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659113987015630498" border="0" /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nrg0zwFv8cg/Tok2MBuC3qI/AAAAAAAACkI/QWX4_ZSkifE/s1600/IMG_4525.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br />And this step is where it all went downhill....<br />Bringing the fondant up and covering the sides<br />(and this was considered the good side)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm-IM_qQ1kg/Tok2LoD_MiI/AAAAAAAACj4/bAgKXgEOt24/s1600/IMG_4529.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm-IM_qQ1kg/Tok2LoD_MiI/AAAAAAAACj4/bAgKXgEOt24/s320/IMG_4529.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659113980128342562" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0UWfvKM8UU/Tok2LaexQyI/AAAAAAAACjw/WdHF8HjGvsE/s1600/IMG_4530.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q0UWfvKM8UU/Tok2LaexQyI/AAAAAAAACjw/WdHF8HjGvsE/s320/IMG_4530.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659113976482579234" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2anAqRhGIpc/Tok2LLC1JsI/AAAAAAAACjo/tcp4xfJqiQw/s1600/IMG_4533.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2anAqRhGIpc/Tok2LLC1JsI/AAAAAAAACjo/tcp4xfJqiQw/s320/IMG_4533.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659113972338861762" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Next was the balls of orange jelly for the fish roe<br />Ehh, it didn't quite work how I'd planned....but neither did the rest of the cake anyway<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WoLkERxK4-0/Tok0KmUXdrI/AAAAAAAACjY/sFSvMaT172U/s1600/IMG_4541.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WoLkERxK4-0/Tok0KmUXdrI/AAAAAAAACjY/sFSvMaT172U/s320/IMG_4541.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659111763457046194" border="0" /></a><br />Ok, so plan B.<br />Grab one of those tubes of jelly and snip little pieces off.<br />Voila! Fish roe!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xXFiuBKC-nM/Tok0LGRrBhI/AAAAAAAACjg/UmFf9qIfdFA/s1600/IMG_4535.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xXFiuBKC-nM/Tok0LGRrBhI/AAAAAAAACjg/UmFf9qIfdFA/s320/IMG_4535.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659111772035679762" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G9eL37v6iLg/Tok0KUf56MI/AAAAAAAACjQ/aRq3dEB-j4o/s1600/IMG_4543.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G9eL37v6iLg/Tok0KUf56MI/AAAAAAAACjQ/aRq3dEB-j4o/s320/IMG_4543.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659111758673602754" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WYkretVebQA/Tok0KAV94uI/AAAAAAAACjI/urIRewYhY8I/s1600/IMG_4546.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WYkretVebQA/Tok0KAV94uI/AAAAAAAACjI/urIRewYhY8I/s320/IMG_4546.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659111753263211234" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And there you have my sad attempt at a Siu Mai Cake<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WDFPsVourDk/Tok0J5Ab-2I/AAAAAAAACjA/kZH7Ym99URQ/s1600/IMG_4547.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WDFPsVourDk/Tok0J5Ab-2I/AAAAAAAACjA/kZH7Ym99URQ/s320/IMG_4547.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659111751293860706" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6130018420657316940.post-67804209212013852602011-09-22T12:28:00.008+10:002011-09-22T13:53:31.767+10:00Mini Hamburger Cupcakes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qg9Zz5u8z3o/TnqkKg7DZeI/AAAAAAAACi4/w2ZcEIzUMBQ/s1600/IMG_4347.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qg9Zz5u8z3o/TnqkKg7DZeI/AAAAAAAACi4/w2ZcEIzUMBQ/s320/IMG_4347.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655012782660347362" border="0" /></a><br />This year for Father's Day I decided to make hamburgers, but not just any old hamburger. These are actually cupcakes. And they are dead simple. Especially because I decided to use chocolate biscuits as the patty rather than make a batch of chocolate cupcakes and then having to cut the top off and the bottom off to get the right size patty, thus eliminating all the fuss and wastage too ;)<br /><br />What you will need:<br />- A batch of vanilla cupcakes (buns)<br />- Sesame seeds (on top of the buns)<br />- Packet of Arnott's Choc Ripple biscuits (meat patty)<br />- Packet of Strawberry Rollups (tomatoes)<br />- 250g unsalted butter + 1 cup icing sugar + a splosh of red food gel (tomato sauce)<br />- Yellow fondant (cheese)<br />- Shredded coconut + green food gel (lettuce)<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Here's what I used<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mrzfaSXMCFw/TnqjQ_BaNwI/AAAAAAAACio/EntBl9fcK4M/s1600/IMG_4307.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mrzfaSXMCFw/TnqjQ_BaNwI/AAAAAAAACio/EntBl9fcK4M/s320/IMG_4307.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655011794307659522" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Make your vanilla cupakes using your favourite recipe, remembering to sprinkle the sesame seeds on top<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gX77inYSjB4/TnqjRd7-iUI/AAAAAAAACiw/dxEVzI9X5nM/s1600/IMG_4306.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gX77inYSjB4/TnqjRd7-iUI/AAAAAAAACiw/dxEVzI9X5nM/s320/IMG_4306.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655011802606373186" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Place a handful of shredded coconut and 2 drops of green gel into a zip-lock bag and give it a good shake around<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nxFYbob0jmY/TnqjQvl_HPI/AAAAAAAACig/sLwvogEn2kY/s1600/IMG_4310.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nxFYbob0jmY/TnqjQvl_HPI/AAAAAAAACig/sLwvogEn2kY/s320/IMG_4310.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655011790166105330" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N2MRfVYiOwM/TnqjQFq-emI/AAAAAAAACiQ/-fldGhJePp4/s1600/IMG_4317.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N2MRfVYiOwM/TnqjQFq-emI/AAAAAAAACiQ/-fldGhJePp4/s320/IMG_4317.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655011778912746082" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Strawberry fruit Rollups. From memory they use to be a lot darker in colour.<br />And I don't remember them having cartoons printed on them. Sheesh marketing these days!<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mfgRMXpnIyQ/TnqjQdaofsI/AAAAAAAACiY/Yj8jA0v7zKs/s1600/IMG_4313.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mfgRMXpnIyQ/TnqjQdaofsI/AAAAAAAACiY/Yj8jA0v7zKs/s320/IMG_4313.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655011785286647490" border="0" /></a><br />Cut circles out of it to form the "tomatoes"<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Y4APBt1ZVQ/Tnqhf-mNJpI/AAAAAAAACiI/OvHXTvqAEmE/s1600/IMG_4320.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4Y4APBt1ZVQ/Tnqhf-mNJpI/AAAAAAAACiI/OvHXTvqAEmE/s320/IMG_4320.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655009852868339346" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Time to roll out and cut the "cheese" into little squares<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_szO5SspoMY/TnqhfBBkaBI/AAAAAAAAChw/cTK1n3hIi0A/s1600/IMG_4328.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_szO5SspoMY/TnqhfBBkaBI/AAAAAAAAChw/cTK1n3hIi0A/s320/IMG_4328.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655009836340111378" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Cut the cupcake lengthwise<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yn9w1KGOTLE/TnqhfqFVgqI/AAAAAAAACiA/VP8CgQVL1LM/s1600/IMG_4325.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yn9w1KGOTLE/TnqhfqFVgqI/AAAAAAAACiA/VP8CgQVL1LM/s320/IMG_4325.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655009847361766050" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-usH0I7-fS8I/Tnqhfop3WzI/AAAAAAAACh4/F-rV7fobyJM/s1600/IMG_4327.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-usH0I7-fS8I/Tnqhfop3WzI/AAAAAAAACh4/F-rV7fobyJM/s320/IMG_4327.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655009846978108210" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Assembly time!<br /><br /><br />Starting with the bottom "bun"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JVH1tkqLbhA/Tnqhe9vogLI/AAAAAAAACho/qTyN_7wXnpU/s1600/IMG_4330.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JVH1tkqLbhA/Tnqhe9vogLI/AAAAAAAACho/qTyN_7wXnpU/s320/IMG_4330.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655009835459575986" border="0" /></a><br />Followed by the "patty"<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wwYU8rcaLts/TnqgIrfJrmI/AAAAAAAAChg/RI1ulvPVOPk/s1600/IMG_4331.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wwYU8rcaLts/TnqgIrfJrmI/AAAAAAAAChg/RI1ulvPVOPk/s320/IMG_4331.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655008353089859170" border="0" /></a><br />And a slice of "cheese"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wPMZJE8ewBI/TnqgIXmS5JI/AAAAAAAAChY/mVpb1TxRmXI/s1600/IMG_4332.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wPMZJE8ewBI/TnqgIXmS5JI/AAAAAAAAChY/mVpb1TxRmXI/s320/IMG_4332.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655008347751113874" border="0" /></a><br />Put the red (yes mine looks more like pink) buttercream into a zip-lock bag and snip one of the corners off<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1h7U9IRXtiY/TnqgIO42HCI/AAAAAAAAChQ/tjZ5e0KSb4o/s1600/IMG_4334.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1h7U9IRXtiY/TnqgIO42HCI/AAAAAAAAChQ/tjZ5e0KSb4o/s320/IMG_4334.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655008345413000226" border="0" /></a><br />A squiggle of "tomato sauce"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9WsenQd0yY0/TnqgH07nWqI/AAAAAAAAChI/DhiEx4Byk6Y/s1600/IMG_4335.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9WsenQd0yY0/TnqgH07nWqI/AAAAAAAAChI/DhiEx4Byk6Y/s320/IMG_4335.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655008338445294242" border="0" /></a><br />Topped with slices of "tomatoes"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nlY3_0N-I5Y/TnqgHsH14BI/AAAAAAAAChA/CpkgX7wg15M/s1600/IMG_4337.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nlY3_0N-I5Y/TnqgHsH14BI/AAAAAAAAChA/CpkgX7wg15M/s320/IMG_4337.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655008336080658450" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And of course a pinch of "lettuce"<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HgjJLGY_Clc/Tnqei0dwstI/AAAAAAAACg4/qZBaHWXu4N4/s1600/IMG_4338.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HgjJLGY_Clc/Tnqei0dwstI/AAAAAAAACg4/qZBaHWXu4N4/s320/IMG_4338.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655006603153289938" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Finish off with the top "bun"<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzhA1AJYqWQ/Tnqeit7xKII/AAAAAAAACgw/Kadb5qhqg-4/s1600/IMG_4340.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bzhA1AJYqWQ/Tnqeit7xKII/AAAAAAAACgw/Kadb5qhqg-4/s320/IMG_4340.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655006601400100994" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And there you have a mini hamburger cupcake with a side of fries (you know those French Fries chips from any supermarket)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_yiFxlDqlG8/TnqeiZpd91I/AAAAAAAACgo/fMAUoYHmFC0/s1600/IMG_4347.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_yiFxlDqlG8/TnqeiZpd91I/AAAAAAAACgo/fMAUoYHmFC0/s320/IMG_4347.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655006595954636626" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ASAArTitCQ0/TnqehyDMY4I/AAAAAAAACgg/ZzBqosdePFg/s1600/IMG_4351.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ASAArTitCQ0/TnqehyDMY4I/AAAAAAAACgg/ZzBqosdePFg/s320/IMG_4351.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655006585325118338" border="0" /></a><br />Nom nom nom<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TAmFdB568J4/TnqehmQesuI/AAAAAAAACgY/R0cIXQ9Mujo/s1600/IMG_4356.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TAmFdB568J4/TnqehmQesuI/AAAAAAAACgY/R0cIXQ9Mujo/s320/IMG_4356.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655006582159618786" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div>Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02288907348149212445noreply@blogger.com5