I got a lovely present in the mail the other day – Aeroplane Jelly sent me some goodies for Australia Day! Boxes of Lime and Lemon Jelly (Green and Gold) to help me unleash my psychedelic jelly fantasies. =)
And so, I present to you…
My Andy Warhol colours inspired sandcastle beach scene. I mixed Blueberry and Lime jelly for the “sea”, and layered Lime and Lemon jelly for my sandcastle, with a heap of buttered biscuit crumbs for the “sand”.
=)
Happy Australia Day!
Sometimes you’re so hungry, you need something cheap and quick. And especially when you’re in a place like Ikea – I never want to leave! – cheap food is an absolute find!
I had the smaller breakfast option ($2.95). Baked beans, poached tomato, bacon, sausage, hash brown and scrambled eggs all piled unceremoniously onto a plate. Hey, I never said it was gourmet, but it is cheap and the food is very decent.
Sean went for the option that included meatballs ($5.95).
In all, Ikea food is pretty much like its furniture – nothing flash, very minimalistic, but very good value. Especially if you want to spend the first half of the day at Ikea – get in early and get the breakfast!
While on a Mexican food bend, Sean and I decided to head over to Tequila’s On Main at Rouse Hill for dinner. We decided that we would order an entrée and a main course to share, as we were already eyeing Baskin Robbins nearby for dessert as we were ordering dinner. hehe.
Our entrée was the Mexican Potatoe Skins ($16.50) (pictured above) with chilli con carne. The potatoes were soft and fluffly, and the whole combination was a very appetizing one. It seemed a little odd that the potatoes really only filled half the plate, and a very large lettuce leaf was spread out over the other half, but Sean and I realizes that there was a decent amount of potatoes, just that they were piled over each other!
For our main, we ordered the Fajita ($22.50 per head). You have a choice of beef, chicken, lamb or pork as your main meat, and Sean and I chose beef and pork. The pork was absolutely delightful – tender, juicy morsels sent a burst of flavour with every bite. The chilli, carrot and mushroom did not go awry either – they were just gently warmed through to release their flavour, and diligently soaked up all the juices the meat left in its wake.
To go with the Fajitas, they served a platter of sides. There were lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, guacamola, salsa, and not to forget, the wraps. To be honest, while the sides went really well with the main and made us feel like we’ve got our money’s worth, it really wasn’t needed, since the sizzling hotplate had its own bountiful mounds for us to plough through.
It’s all good though – you’d never hear me complaining that there’s too much food given!
And to sooth our tingling palates, Sean ordered up some Sangria. Now this is the only time that Sean will drink wine, so I’m guessing that it’s pretty good. Unfortunately, I’m allergic to alcohol, and can’t really go past one sip. Hence…
I would like to present you with a recipe for Virgin Sangria!
Tammi’s Virgin Sangria (an original recipe)
2L grape juice
2 navel oranges
2 tart apples
1.5 lemons
Firstly, pour yourself a good cup of grape juice – you need the space in the bottle to place the fruit in. Chop up the fruit – I cut them into wedges before slicing them, the smaller you go, the faster the flavours meld.
Chuck the fruit into the bottle in this order – apples, oranges, lemons. The reason for this is that the apples are 25% air, and will float. By forcing them to the bottom, it’ll allow the flavours of the apple to mix in with everything else, rather than just floating at the top.
Give the bottle a good shake, and leave at room temperature for 2 nights. (You can leave it in the fridge, but then you’ll have to leave it a little longer.) Give the bottle a good shake every so often.
And tada! Virgin Sangria! It’s quite a bit sweeter than the real thing, but you’ll find that as you get to the bottom of the bottle, the rinds in the citrus fruit give a slightly bitter aftertaste that mimicks wine. To me, at least. =)
We ate at:
Tequila’s On Main
Shop GR082 Main Street,
Rouse Hill Town Centre
Rouse Hill 2155
Tel: 9629 5055
I’m so excited!!!!! Starting from February 2011, I’m going to launch a new series – Ingredient of the Month – and it’s going to be a free for all creative (or tried and tested!) cooking activity. I’ll try to get prizes lined up for the most creative entry, and everyone will have till the end of the month to create, to dream, and to cook!!
So excited!!!!!
The ingredient for February will be announced soon!!!
Watch this space. hehe.
Sean and I decided to start a new tradition this year. We love going to Yum Cha (or “drink tea” if literally translated) and thought that it’d be nice to go for Yum Cha for lunch on the first of every year!
For this first gorge we decided to go to Tingha Palace in Parramatta. It was bustling with families of all nationalities, and we were quietly directed to a spot on a shaded balcony. Now let the ordering begin!
We ordered Fried Spring Rolls to start off with. Crispy on the outside and steaming hot on the inside, the spring rolls were good, but nothing out of the ordinary. If anything, I felt like the pastry to filling ratio was a little bit skewed, and that it should have just a little more (better seasoned) filling.
And what’s a Yum Cha session without dumplings?
We ordered Chive and Prawn Dumplings (pictured above), and Har Gow (which literally translates to Prawn Dumplings). They were both good, flavour-wise, but I personally found the texture rather lacking. There is something about the translucent, fragile skin that gently encases crunchy, fresh prawns, that has a comforting chewiness about it. I love biting into a prawn dumpling and feeling that token bit of resistance before it gives way to my determined appetite. These ones, however, were just a little too placid and limp for my taste. But they were good dumplings otherwise!
Sean also had to have his favourite – Char Siew Pao.
It was sort of…average. It had the lovely fluffy buns around sweet, barbecued pork. Nothing mind-blowing, but definitely nothing to complain about.
Now on to my Yum Cha must-haves…
Cheong Fun!!! I love the silky sheets clinging delicately around tasty fillings, smothered in a magically sweet and salty dark sauce. Again, similar to the pork buns, it’s good, but not inspiring. If anything, we found that the sheets of rice noodles were a little too thick in some places where they’ve clumped together.
And last but not least (of the savouries)…
The Phoenix’s Claw (or braised chicken feet) are lovely and well stewed, with the strategic hits of chilli rounding up a medley of exciting flavours. Kudos to the restaurant for getting this right, as chicken feet are quite hard to cook correctly, and has to be stewed enough to allow all the flavours to meld. It also has to be tender enough to fall apart in your mouth, but not fall apart around your chopsticks. Full marks for this dish.
And now, on to the desserts!!
We ordered the Mango Pancakes and the Mango Pudding. As with the other dishes, these were thoroughly average. In fact, the pancakes were a little too clumpy and not silky enough, and there was entirely too much pancake to filling. We were left craving more desserts at the end of this meal, and it didn’t help that the dessert cart took forever to arrive at our table. For some reason, our table had been cleared and we were waiting for a good 20min before the dessert cart was called to the us.
All in all, it was an average experience. The prices were regular Yum Cha prices, and not fantastic value for money, since the dishes were so…regular. If nothing else, it’s really convenient for when we want a Yum Cha hit, but otherwise, nothing really worth traveling for.
Of course, when you go to a Chinese restaurant, you gotta spend some time looking into the giant fish tanks that line the walls!!
We ate at
Tingha Palace
Parramatta Leagues Club
1st Floor, 13-15 O’Connell Street, Parramata NSW 2150, Australia
(02) 9890 168
Well, actually I do! =) I am absolutely addicted to Jelly Slice, and this easy recipe is my new favourite thing to make. It’s a cheap option and always a great hit at a party!!
Jelly Slice Recipe:
85g Jelly Crystals
395g can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 tsp Gelatine
Juice of 1 lemon
50g butter
Biscuits (I used Milk Arrowroot)
Crush the biscuits for the biscuit base. How many biscuits you use depends on how thick you’d like the base to be. I used about 7 biscuits for the tin that I used. Melt the butter, and mix that in with the crushed biscuits. It should look like wet sand.
Press the biscuit into the tin and place the tin into the fridge while you make the other layers.
Use about 1/4 cup of boiling water to dissolve the gelatine. Once that’s done, add the lemon juice and the condensed milk. Pour that onto the biscuit base and leave to set in the fridge.
Once the condensed milk layer is set, mix up the packet of jelly crystals with 1 cup of boiling water. Leave to cool to about room temperature, then carefully pour that into the tin and leave in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.
Cut up the slice and serve!! Absolutely great for a hot summer’s day. =)
My friend Mel once commented that I show people I love them by feeding them. And that’s absolutely true. I love giving food away, and I love putting in effort to tailor it to people’s individual tastes. =) So this year, I made sauces to give away at Christmas! First up, the easiest Raspberry Jam ever!
Raspberry Jam:
1.5 kg raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1.5 kg sugar
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Sterilize your jars how you wish. I wash them thoroughly in hot water, before placing them on a tray in a cold oven and setting the oven to 110C (without fan).
Soften the raspberries in a large pot over low heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, put four little saucers in the freezer. Once the berries get going, add the lemon juice.
Once the berries have softened to your liking, add the sugar. Now this is the important bit. Bring it up to the boil and cook the jam, stirring often. DO NOT WALK AWAY, IT WILL BURN. Trust me, I learned that the hard way. :S
Skim off any scum that comes up to the surface with a slotted spoon or a mesh skimmer.
The jam will start to thicken after about 15 – 20 min and this is the point that you start testing for ‘wrinkling’. Take the pot briefly off the heat and spoon a tablespoonful of jam onto a frozen saucer. Place it back in the freezer for 30 sec. Take it out and run your finger through it. If the surface of the jam wrinkles and you can draw a clear line through it, then your jam is done!!
Ladle very careful (it is VERY hot) into sterilized jars and seal. Leave to cool.
1.5 kg of berries yields slightly under 1kg of jam.
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Next, homemade Tomato Sauce!
Tomato Sauce
2.5 kg of ripe tomatoes (get the best that you can find)
2.5 cups cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp whole peppercorns
2 tbsp cloves
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp smokey paprika
3 cloves garlic
1 med onion, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
0.5 cup gin/vodka (optional)
Sterilize jars. (See Raspberry Jam recipe)
Roughly chop up the tomatoes and place in a large pot. Place the vinegar in and cook over low-med heat, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, place the cloves and the peppercorn in a piece of muslin and tie with string. Submerge this in the mixture in the pot.
After the tomatoes start to soften, put the rest of the ingredients in and bring to the boil. Then simmer and reduce the sauce slightly. When you are happy with the taste of the sauce, take the spice pouch out. Keep reducing the sauce till you get a thick-ish, lumpy mixture. Take the pot off the heat. Many recipes now tell you to strain out the sauce, but why would you waste all that goodness??? I use a stick blender and carefully blend all the ingredients into a smooth sauce.
Return to the heat bring back to the boil. Ladle into sterilized jars, seal and let cool overnight.
***************
And finally…
Barbecue Sauce
Tomato Sauce
Sweet Chilli Sauce
Brown Sugar
Soy Sauce
Chillies
Pepper
Rum (optional)
Sterilize jars. (See Raspberry Jam recipe)
Put all the ingredients into a pot (I used the remainder from my tomato sauce. The amount of each depends on your personal taste.) and reduce to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.
Ladle into sterilized jars, seal and let cool overnight.
*********************
Et voila! Three bottles of love to give to your family and friends. And there are plenty of things to gift these with – cheese, barbecue spice mix, an apron…or turn up to a barbecue bearing these and I’m sure they’ll be a hit! Or make Jam Drops with the jam and gift those instead! So many ideas, and so much love. =)
Merry (belated) Christmas everyone, and a happy new year!
It’s less than a week to Christmas!! In honour of making something festive, I decided that a sunny Christmas-sy breakfast was in order. I present to you:
Sunny Side Up Eggs with Candy Cane Grissini and Cinnamon Salt
Eggs
Grissini (Recipe below)
Prosciutto
Tomato Sauce
The night before, make the grissini and shape them into cane shapes. Meanwhile, make the tomato sheets. Spread the tomato sauce either in a dehydrator, or on a piece of baking paper set over a baking tray. If using the dehydrator, use according instructions. If using the oven, set the oven to a fan-forced 50 degrees. Dehydrate till you can peel the tomato sauce off in a sheet.
Fry the egg (s) in a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Make sure the cookie cutter is stainless steel or can take heat.
Place the egg onto a plate, and wrap strips of prosciutto around the grissini. Carefully cut the tomato sheet into long strips and wind that around the grissini too. Sprinkle with cinnamon and a touch of sea salt.
Et voila! Novelty Christmas breakfast. =)
Grissini Recipe (Tweaked from Group Recipes)
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
100 ml lukewarm water
Mix the dry ingredients together. Make a well in the centre, and add the wet ingredients. Knead till smooth. Cover with cling wrap and set aside in a warm place to rest.
Preheat the oven to 180 C.
When the dough has doubled in size, start rolling out little balls of dough into long strips. Alternatively, you could use a pasta machine and the fettucine cutters to ensure a more accurate end product. Personally though, I prefer having not-so-perfect looking grissini. =)
Bake till crispy and golden brown, and then wrap with tomato and prosciutto!
It really tastes like tomato and bacon on toast haha. Great as an entree. =)
Happy munching!
Last Saturday, my tummy was very happy. Not only was the Sydney Food Bloggers’ Christmas Picnic in the afternoon, I also had a very lovely friend’s 21st in the evening! Awesome food ahoy!
The 21st was held at Emperor’s Choice Restaurant at King’s Street. Now I’ve got this real phobia about eating Chinese food in Sydney – just cause I’ve had quite a few bad rounds of pseudo Chinese food here – but this restaurant just blows my mind every time! The last time we had gathered here was for another friend’s birthday, and I was so surprised that there really was such an awesome place to eat that I missed how exquisite the food really was.
Just as a note, the way Chinese banquets go is that you order loads of food, it comes out one or two dishes at a time and gets placed on a lazy susan in the middle of the table, and then everyone dig in!!
First up was the cold platter of fresh oysters, and salmon and lobster sashimi! This is one of my food dreams come true. The seafood was fresh and succulent, and I think I’ve really developed a taste for lobster sashimi (much to the demise of my wallet).
Then we had little pockets of wonder that were spring rolls. I am though, quite ashamed to say that I was so happy eating them that I forgot to take a moment to discern what was in them. They were really yummy too though!
Then duck! I love duck.
The poultry equivalent of red meat, the firm flesh with a layer of crispy skin is accentuated by a tangy plum sauce. Duck’s quite easy to get wrong and overcook, but this was tender and silky – I think I finished a third of the plate myself.
And at every birthday dinner (said in a sage voice) there must be noodles.
The belief is that the long strands of the noodles are for a long life. (The Chinese can put auspicious meaning into any dish.) The soft noodles were matched with coral crab. How awesome is this? Sashimi and crabs in the one meal! I only usually get such a choice at the fish market!
Besides the noodles, you gotta have rice of course.
The fried rice with bits of tender tender beef was not too oily, and went so well with the salt and pepper squid and eggplant dish that I unfortunately didn’t manage to get a decent photo of!! =( The salt and pepper dish had little fluttery feathers of seaweed that I eagerly heaped onto my rice and mixed in for that extra crunch.
There was also the succulent wagyu beef on a bed of sugarsnap peas. I know it’s not the healthiest thing, but oh how I love fat in my meat. I’m sorry, but lean meat really doesn’t do much for me. Must. Have. Fat.
The dark, juicy pieces of meat coupled with the crunch and the sweetness of the sugarsnap peas was a party in my mouth, but nothing can compare to the dish that was to come…
The Shandong chicken is Emperor’s Choice Restaurant’s signature dish (招牌菜 for those of you who know mandarin). Juicy pieces of chicken are drenched in a tangy, spicy…heavenly sauce. The mild spice from the chilli stimulates your taste buds while the tang moves in for it’s delicious attack. The soft meat and the crispy skin joins in the melodious harmony of tastes and textures as flavours explode in all directions.
YUM.
The last time I came here was for another friend’s birthday, and this dish has haunted my dreams ever since. I would definitely go back there just for this, if nothing else.
And what’s a birthday dinner without fish?
Oh how I’ve missed a whole fish steamed to perfection. Not that there’s anything wrong with fillets, but sometimes you just want to taste the soft flaky sweetness of a fish that is served off the bone. I really regret wolfing down my bowl of rice and not keeping it so that I can drizzle the sauce that the fish is cooked in over it. And the best part is that you’re assured the freshness of the fish too. Fish that is not fresh definitely cannot stand up to the delicate process of steaming, and that this beautiful fish was soft and had no fishy smell was a testament to the freshness of it.
It was such a good dinner, and of course, watching your friend turn 21 is such a joyous occasion. I especially recommend eating here during celebratory occasions – you’ll have excellent food memories to accompany the memories of whatever you’re celebrating.
Food and friends – isn’t that what life is all about?
We ate at:
Emperor’s Choice Restaurant
147 King Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
(02) 9232 1881
The Sydney Food Bloggers’ Xmas Picnic 2010 was such a blast! It was such a lovely feeling to unwind for an afternoon – especially when that new job has me so beat all the time! It was just food and friends, and a much-appreciated chance to chill out.
And then there was the Kris Kringle!! Everyone had to bring a gift worth not more than $10, and contribute them to the pile. I contributed some homemade jam (which I had second thoughts about after I saw all the other cooler things that came out of the pile) that Peter got. I’m so glad that he liked it! =)
There were also Ninjabread cookie cutters that everyone fought over.
Thanks to Chocolatesuze and Grabyourfork for organizing!! I had a lovely time. =)
P.S. Sorry for the rather taciturn post. I was just really exhausted for the most of it. Also sorry that I don’t have everyone’s dishes down pat!! If you’d like to pop me an email or a comment ‘claiming’ your dish, please do and I’ll make the edits. Thanks guys!