Posts tagged Christmas

The Christmas 2011 Recap

Food For Thought January 5, 2012 4 Comments

I have committed food blogger FAIL. Usually, when there are occasions like Christmas that have lots and lots of delicious food, I am extremely snap-happy. This year though, I was *ahem* distracted by babies, and so you have seen the only food shot that I managed to get.

So much for being a food blogger first haha.

Anyway, back to the Christmas recap.

As usual, there are presents spilling out from under the tree. While looking at it, I did briefly have a thought that in the Christmas fairytales, that’s probably how Christmas trees come about. They are borne, fully decorated, out of a sea of presents.

Of course, Christmas isn’t Christmas without a bit of DIY, which Sean decided to sit out and let his mother handle, haha.

Too many cooks may spoil the broth, but you can’t have too many spectators, it seems.

And….

Here’s what I got distracted from the food by:

We got Sean’s nephew a tuxedo bib to match Sean’s tux tee! :D:D

I know it’s cheesy, but I love the whole matchy matchy thing with babies.

HOW CUTE IS HE???????

And although I was quite fixated on taking photos of the cute baby, I did participate in other Christmas activities too.

Boulé, or Pentaque, or Bocce or whatever you like to call it, is very much like lawn bowling to me.

Basically what you do is throw this little wooden ball thing, and then try to bowl your metal ones as close to it as you can. You can do all sorts of things like knock your team mates’ balls closer, or knock the opposing team members’ balls away. That sort of thing. It was my first time playing, and I found it really close to ten-pin bowling. It seems that the lower you can go, the better the movement because there’s no bouncing off the grass getting in your way.

Anyway, that was the very quick Christmas recap of 2011! I had a very relaxing Christmas, which was great since I’ve had a stressful year.

How about you? How was your holidays?

Money for Jam

Review May 19, 2011 2 Comments

Lookee what I got in the mail!!!!!!!

I love food gifts. (Note: I bet you can already tell which one’s our favourite!)

Anathoth has very kindly sent me some very yummy jam, and given that I’m not a big jam person, IT IS YUMMY. Anathoth is a New Zealand company and also makes relishes and I’ve seen them making the rounds at food festivals like Taste.

So Sean and I decided that some toast was in order.

MAN was that Cherry Berry Jam a winner! We got sent both Cherry Berry and Rhubarb and Red Berry, but while the Rhubarb and Red Berry was a good jam, there was just something about the chunky, glossy, fruitiness of the Cherry Berry jam that made us want to devour the whole tub!!! As you can see in the picture above, what started out as, “Oh we’ll crack it open and have a taste”, turned into, “Oh goodness we need to leave some in the tub for the photo!!!!!”

Martyna from the Wholesome Cook even serves up the jam as a lovely accompanying sauce!

Swedish meatballs anyone? =)

The gift of food!

Recipe December 30, 2010 5 Comments

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.

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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.

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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!

On the Sunny Side of the Street

Recipe December 20, 2010 2 Comments

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!

Sydney Xmas Food Blogger’s Picnic 2010

Food For Thought December 16, 2010 6 Comments

Camembert with Cranberry Sauce and Walnuts from Georgia at Bakery Bookery.

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.

Orange and pistachio cupcakes from Angie at Angie Lives to Eat.

Mini chocolate Christmas puddings from Vivian at Vxdollface.

Chicken drumlettes from Josh and his mom at Belly Rumbles.

Strawberry Santas from Ayana at Absolutely Ayana.

Springrolls from Julie at I Dream in Chocolate.

Salmon Quiche from Clarissa at Eat My Shots.

Slow Cooked Ribs from Billy at A Table for Two.

Macaron tree from Cleony at I eat sweet.

Pork and Brie rissoles from Simon at The Heart of Food.

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!

Nuffnang Christmas Party!!

Review November 19, 2010

Went to the “Blue Hawaii” themed Nuffnang Christmas Party at the Bavarian Bier Cafe! Just as a note for anyone who is going to BBC in the city, there are two – I actually went to the wrong one. =( (Sorry to Cate and Ann who waited for me!!)

There was a prize for most Hawaiian, of course, and I dressed up too, but Cate definitely took the prize with her inflatable palm tree!! Congrats!

She won a blue Shuffle for her efforts. =)

There was a bar tab too, but as mentioned before, I can’t drink beer. They had interesting selections of Lychee and Peach though! And served in a very cocktail-looking glass!

And the food. I missed out on the cheese platter, but I had the vegetarian platter, and a meat one.

The Mushroom and Garlic Flemmenbrot was absolutely divine, with its buttery mushrooms and crisp base. A little cold, but still AWESOME! Definitely one of the more memorable bites of the night.

The rosti was tasty, but really, no one can go wrong with a rosti!! Mmm potato.

I’m not quite sure what this was, but I remember tasting avocado, and that it was fruity and light. Very refreshing when you’ve had the meat platter (coming soon my lovelies!).

I’m not quite sure what this was too – but it was quite nice. Nothing memorable though.

And finally…

The MEAT PLATTER!

A selection of schnitzel, potato wedges and…

PORK BELLY. Juicy pork belly with its succulent meat and crispy cracking. And the sauerkraut. YUM.

This, and my previous experience with the BBC has told me that their pork belly is definitely worth paying for. Time and time again, it’s never failed.

Man this will haunt my dreams tonight.

We ate at:

Bavarian Bier Cafe
16 O’Connell Street Sydney, NSW 2000
02 9221 0100

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Milk and Cookies

Food For Thought November 4, 2010 6 Comments

I have placed a ban on myself with regards to cooking. If not, I’ll never finish all the essays that I have to write. But, that still leaves all the time I spend taking the train into the city!! So I made some crocheted milk and cookies.

They’re actually really simple. Just make three discs – 2 brown and 1 white – and then stitch them together.

And they’re practical too.

I made them as coasters!! I can’t justify making so many of them if they didn’t have a use. haha.

And you can make whatever cookie you want. I made jam-filled ones too!

They are so easy. And great to leave out for Santa! The only challenge here is to stop Sean from eating them all!