tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59503528615709590102024-03-14T20:44:17.721+11:00heavenly ingredientsWhat you put in impacts your end product. Not just in cooking, but in life also. So let's make it heavenly!Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-6697994398020055752013-09-10T12:27:00.003+10:002013-09-10T12:27:48.587+10:00Blendtec vs. Vitamix, what do you think?Ever since my <a href="http://heavenlyingredients.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/my-un-love-affair-with-my-thermomix.html" target="_blank">Thermomix</a> foray, I've been thinking about how much I miss its blender skills. The power of the <a href="http://www.thermomix.com.au/" target="_blank">Thermomix</a> was one of the key elements I was looking for when I bought it, but when my other expectations fell short I decided to sell, even though it was an awesome blender. But I knew I could get a top of the range blender for around half the price of a TM.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thermomix</td></tr>
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Now that spring is here in Sydney I really want to be able to make icy smoothies at home, and almond milk and healthy sorbet. In the last few weeks I've been doing a lot of research on blenders. I know I'm after a high powered one, I've already got a very average one sitting in my cupboard. It struggles to make banana smoothies (from fresh bananas!) so really it sits in the cupboard all the time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vitamix 5200</td></tr>
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So, I've narrowed it down to a <a href="http://vitamix.com.au/" target="_blank">Vitamix</a> or a <a href="http://www.blendtec.com/" target="_blank">Blendtec</a>.<br />
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Both seem to have some advantages and some cons. Vitamix seems to be the blender of choice for the green smoothie brigade, which is one of the reasons I want one. They are also much more widely available in Australia, even if they are twice the price of the States. <br />
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But Blendtec seems to offer an easier-to-use blender, with its square base (making it easier to clean) and pre-selection buttons. I also have loved their 'will it blend?' advertisements for years and years. Check out their <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Blendtec" target="_blank">YouTube channel here</a>. They really are a brute of a machine!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dwjej2ig4IwH_9Msu0Zx2tmZ-gmzmNp74D5SQniKtnjQ5zYHwsSSlkqRK5bUR3JVZLOzQ3LuvEzKdBrSLXOdzQpBr0JeiZu-27-UU-Kwhq-T3kyZiof-W6wsj5542dn4epIeJl6j5Sk/s1600/index.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dwjej2ig4IwH_9Msu0Zx2tmZ-gmzmNp74D5SQniKtnjQ5zYHwsSSlkqRK5bUR3JVZLOzQ3LuvEzKdBrSLXOdzQpBr0JeiZu-27-UU-Kwhq-T3kyZiof-W6wsj5542dn4epIeJl6j5Sk/s400/index.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blendtec- Wildside</td></tr>
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Price wise they are about the same. Depending on offers etc they are available for around $800.<br />
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What do you think? Have you tried out both? Or are they not worth it?<br />
<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-53287248761655207012013-09-08T20:14:00.000+10:002013-09-08T20:14:23.426+10:00what I've been up to, tamari almonds and chocolate chia puddingIt's been a long long time. Yes I know. Honestly I just haven't felt like blogging. My food obsession is most definitely continuing, and you can catch me much more frequently on <a href="http://instagram.com/heavenlyingredients#" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. <br />
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After much pondering and searching I decided to buy a waffle machine for home. I LOVE IT! Not a huge investment, think it was all of $15 from Big W. So really using it just the once made it cheaper than a breakfast at a cafe. <br />
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New runners. I'm totally in love with my bright, bright Nikes!<br />
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Green smoothie at <a href="http://thehealthyfoodco.com.au/nourish/" target="_blank">Nourished</a> in Avalon. Such a lovely cafe, and the new addition in Mosman, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bloom-The-Healthy-Food-Co/536861126355419" target="_blank">Bloom</a>, is even more beautiful.<br />
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Feeling like salads again as Sydney has burst into spring this year. We've already had a 27 degree day and that was officially in winter. This one was fresh spinach, roasted pumpkin, Jarlsberg, sesame seeds and rocket.<br />
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Rosewater & Pistachios from Jude Blereau's new cookbook <a href="http://www.wholefoodcooking.com.au/01-books01.html" target="_blank">Wholefood Baking</a>. The icing too is a healthier version too. This one contained coconut milk and rice milk, and came out fluffier than a traditional buttercream. </div>
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I've heard the raves about <a href="http://www.coyo.com.au/" target="_blank">Coyo</a> for ages and have been avoiding it. I truly love dairy and yogurt in particular so I didn't see any reason to try something positioned as an 'alternative' for vegans and veggies. I was so wrong - it is the most stunning product. I only chose the plain version, and will definitely be trying the fruit and frozen ones, asap!<br />
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Oh <a href="http://www.anyoneforpimms.com/" target="_blank">Pimm's</a>. I love you. Welcome back.<br />
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And I also thought I'd post a few simple recipes:<br />
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<b>Tamari Almonds</b><br />
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1 1/2 cups raw whole <b>almonds</b><br />
1 Tbsp <b>tamari</b><br />
1/2 tps <b>sea salt</b><br />
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Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit for at least 2 hours.<br />
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Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.<br />
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Bake on a metal tray for 10-15 minutes, turning every 4 minutes. Make sure to check on them as nuts can get burned very quickly!<br />
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Allow to cool<br />
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These are so moorish and I can really get through so many more almonds this way over raw. Although I do love those too. They are also so easy to do, I won't be paying double for tamari almonds in the shops again! <br />
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I would also recommend doubling or tripling this recipe. We can get through this amount in a day at our place.<br />
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<b>Chocolate chia pudding</b><br />
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The gorgeous Heidi Apples posted this <a href="http://applesundermybed.com/2013/09/04/chia-seed-and-date-pudding/" target="_blank">recipe</a> earlier in the week. I wouldn't generally re-post something so quickly but I've had more than a few requests for it!<br />
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I found this pudding to be very rich and decadent, so although others might choose this for breakfast I would rather have it as a mid-morning snack or dessert. Mainly because I'm not a chocolate at breakfast-time person. Apart from maybe a little Lindt on Easter Day that is. <br />
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This recipe also takes a few hours to be ready-to-eat, or you can allow the chia to soak overnight which is what I did. Chia soak up an incredible amount of liquid. I must admit, at first I wasn't sure the quantities are correct, but by morning there was absolutely no liquid left.<br />
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Serves 1<br />
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2 TBSp <b>Chia Seeds</b> (any colour)<br />
3/4 cup <b>Milk</b> (almond, regular or soy would all work really well)<br />2 tsp <b>Raw cacao</b><br />
1/2 tsp <b>Maple Syrup</b><br />
3 <b>Medjool Dates</b>, finely chopped<br /><br />
Serve with yogurt, fresh fruit or nuts <br />
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Combine all the ingredients, cover, and place in a fridge for at least 2 hours.<br />
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Stir prior to serving and top with extras as desired.<br />
Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-58255902688345207892013-06-12T06:00:00.000+10:002013-06-12T06:00:02.110+10:00The GG Bread RevolutionI've started baking bread.<br />
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As any of my readers might know, I really do love baking, but I truly have never ventured past soda bread within the realms of real loaves. I have a <a href="http://www.sonoma.com.au/" target="_blank">Sonoma</a> Sourdough addiction that is costing me dearly. But I only buy a couple of loaves a week so have just about been able to put up with the crazy $8 pricetag. <br />
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The blogger <a href="http://gourmetgirl-friend.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Gourmet Girlfriend</a>, yet another talented individual I came across via instagram, and her #ggbreadrevolution persuaded me to give bread a go. And I'm so glad I did. She uses a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?_r=0" target="_blank">New York Times</a> recipe for a no knead bread. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfaXG9nInWMZJL_1DozWho0rFwWF_NQlX95KnnlE7r1rxR3cJnfy65Z5iRnvWEJiiWae-qMbMca63sz2srdFbc6jtCsKsolqJlqNjyWpKxjE1egfgTTAXtnH9VynusNecw9B51oE2L-bI/s1600/IMG_6426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfaXG9nInWMZJL_1DozWho0rFwWF_NQlX95KnnlE7r1rxR3cJnfy65Z5iRnvWEJiiWae-qMbMca63sz2srdFbc6jtCsKsolqJlqNjyWpKxjE1egfgTTAXtnH9VynusNecw9B51oE2L-bI/s320/IMG_6426.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's really simple. Four ingredients. Flour, yeast, salt, water. And lots of time, but not much kneading. Truly, this is worth giving a go.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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3 cups of <b>plain flour</b>. Use the best you can afford.<br />
1/4 teaspoon of <b>yeast</b><br />
1 teaspoon <b>salt</b><br />
1 5/8 cups of <b>water</b> (yes, this is just a fraction over 1 1/2 cups of water)<br />
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Incorporate all the ingredients with your hands. My tip is to have wet hands at all times when handling dough - and this one is sticky!<br />
Place in a glass or ceramic bowl (not plastic, it won't rise as well) for 16-18 hours in a warmish spot. Your kitchen will work just fine for this.<br />
Turn the risen dough onto a flour surface and roll into a ball. Sprinkle flour on the top and cover with a tea towel for another couple of hours.<br />
Pre-heat your oven to 220C and place your french oven (ie Le Creuset) inside for 30 minutes.<br />
Then put the dough into the pre-heated french oven and place the lid on. Bake for 30 minutes, and then remove the lid for the final 10-15 minutes.<br />
Allow bread to cool.<br />
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Not much effort, but it's not immediate either. Miss 3 has really taken to bread making. In fact, after just a few weeks, she can almost measure and mix the ingredients without a great deal of help from me. Really the part she seems to struggle with the most is trying to not spill the ingredients everywhere! Big vats of flour are more than a little tricky for toddlers, I am slightly terrified that she will drop my 5kg container off the kitchen worktop....<br />
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It's gorgeous bread. It does have a bit of a crust and a soft and chewy inside. Not really big enough for sandwiches, but the most wonderful accompaniment to lunch or dinner. And it's the star at breakfast with jam & butter. Be sure to buy yourself some stunning quality butter.<br />
And check out #ggbreadrevolution on instagram for many more beautiful loaves.<br />
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Have I convinced you yet? <br />
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<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-60433781971622476282013-06-11T06:00:00.000+10:002013-06-11T06:00:02.096+10:00'grams of my life - The Jude Blereau editionIf you don't follow me on <a href="http://instagram.com/heavenlyingredients#" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, please do! I am much more active here than on my blog - so much more do-able with 2 littlies in tow! You can search for me under heavenlyingredients <br />
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I've just properly discovered <a href="http://www.wholefoodcooking.com.au/01-aboutjude.html" target="_blank">Jude Blereau</a>. I came across her book for children '<a href="http://www.wholefoodcooking.com.au/01-books01.html" target="_blank">Wholefood for Children</a>' a few years ago when I was researching cooking for Miss (now) 3. Whilst I enjoyed it, I just borrowed it from the library and none of her recipes entered my everyday cooking. But a few months ago I came across <a href="http://www.wholefoodcooking.com.au/01-books01.html" target="_blank">Wholefood </a>when I was sitting in <a href="http://www.jammycow.com.au/" target="_blank">Jammy Cow</a> in Mona Vale. Such an incredible encyclopedia-style book, and great introduction to wholefoods. Totally inspired. I now have my own copy and have already cooked more than a few things from it.<br />
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Then around the same time I came across a Seminar led by Jude Blereau, and by chance it was also in Sydney. I booked in straight away. The three hours there has re-ignited a passion for feeding my family the best way I can, and continuing to learn about and enjoy food. Jude spoke mainly on how to stock a wholefoods panty, and then how to meal plan and always eat well. She spoke about many of the falsehoods and food fashions that we have been through (especially low fat!!!!), and smashed them. Jude and <a href="http://foodbyhollydavis.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Holly Davis</a> (also so so dynamic and interesting) went into a lot of detail about good and bad fats, and how to use them. We also talked about what items were really necessary for the kitchen, how to choose knives, breadboards and so much more. I was straight off to buy fresh organic ghee, amongst other things, the next day. It smells totally amazing, like a bakery with a hint of sweetness, and a great base for meals. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqkMsGVg83ikx0ipH07vMbOHThgBBLqU4MvxNOlZXFtHq6YhzfEvADGh2-B93Xmogbnt1MglDDOEo8iuzLBuStNap6QSuN4gtToYPJFMZEpCT5lvCjIWQjE43GfkPjAQm0dIyPWDPtC4/s1600/IMG_6664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqkMsGVg83ikx0ipH07vMbOHThgBBLqU4MvxNOlZXFtHq6YhzfEvADGh2-B93Xmogbnt1MglDDOEo8iuzLBuStNap6QSuN4gtToYPJFMZEpCT5lvCjIWQjE43GfkPjAQm0dIyPWDPtC4/s400/IMG_6664.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The day after the seminar, I was off to my local health food shop with a long shopping list. Unfortunately I think some items will prove hard to find. Dashi flakes anyone??? I decided to make chicken stock from scratch to make poor little sick Miss 1 Soba noodle chicken soup. I really do believe that food is better than medicine. It nurtures, it shows love, it heals, it nourishes. Medicine doesn't do all those things. Thankfully, she is on the mend. And yes, strangely enough, my Doctor did tell me that there was no medicine that was going to help her get better.<br />
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Roasted Vegetable Quiche, a Jude Blereau recipe from the Wholefoods book. A tart that doesn't feel indulgent, but healthy and tasty. Delicious.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgkSO-5UdtIjRnF5SoxrNSSQ9a1AoRYW3xCXaHi8ZC_XaSAc8U9N_KsQ7AuEC8Bxnqjbe0Pbg0mLFzrAp51WIUsexoJpA9PupFlAjNrppZKEDWdT9iCNT4KEm8g-rRmdfu24kjkbBAYs/s1600/IMG_6681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgkSO-5UdtIjRnF5SoxrNSSQ9a1AoRYW3xCXaHi8ZC_XaSAc8U9N_KsQ7AuEC8Bxnqjbe0Pbg0mLFzrAp51WIUsexoJpA9PupFlAjNrppZKEDWdT9iCNT4KEm8g-rRmdfu24kjkbBAYs/s400/IMG_6681.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Raspberry muffins, another recipe from Wholefood by Jude Blereau. With these colder days I have been craving cake with my tea in the afternoon. These were just beautiful. </div>
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Can't wait to get my mits on a copy of Jude's new book, Wholefood Baking. Totally in my ballpark. <br />
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<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-30439605698907090802013-05-23T11:13:00.002+10:002013-05-23T11:13:21.024+10:00First look at Williams-Sonoma (and Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn kids!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been dying to get to <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com.au/" target="_blank">Williams-Sonoma</a> ever since it opened earlier in the month in Bondi Junction. I've been a long time lurker on the <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/" target="_blank">US website</a>, and apparently I was one of many Sydneysiders doing the same, prompting the first Australian store opening here.</div>
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I went along with my friend Sally, and our collection of four kids. We must have been mad. Luckily for us we didn't *need* anything, otherwise the kids may have been a serious disadvantage to getting some real shopping done.</div>
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Williams-Sonoma, <a href="http://www.potterybarn.com.au/" target="_blank">Pottery Barn</a>, <a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com.au/" target="_blank">Pottery Barn kids</a> and <a href="http://www.westelm.com.au/" target="_blank">West Elm</a> are all next to each other, in the pedestrian section of Bondi Junction, just across the road from the <a href="http://www.westfield.com.au/bondijunction/" target="_blank">Bondi Junction Westfield</a>.</div>
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Williams-Sonoma is truly a stunning kitchenware shop. My sort of heavenly. Everything is immaculately displayed, there are heaps of very knowledgeable staff, there is a cooking school, and the range is incredible. They sell all sorts of items that are not readily available in Australia, like <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com.au/Cookware-WS/All-Clad/" target="_blank">All Clad</a> and <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com.au/Cookware-WS/Nordic-Ware/" target="_blank">Nordic Ware</a>. The staff have all been brought over from the States for the first year of business here. I definitely got an American level of service, despite the store being super busy.</div>
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Here are my pick of a few special items:</div>
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<a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com.au/le-creuset-signature-braiser.html?sc=21&category=272003" target="_blank">Yellow signature Le Creuset</a> collection. You can't buy this colour anywhere else, and yes it totally is a perfect yellow to continue my yellow obsession.<br />
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<a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com.au/emile-henry-artisan-ruffled-pie-dish.html?sc=25&category=272200" target="_blank">Emile Henry pie dishes</a>. They had an entire section dedicated to these, more than I've ever seen in one shop. I have a blue one (quite similar to this white one below) and use it all the time, not just for pies but also for baking veggies and also for serving.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3WQXIOiGpX0PKIr3BLLpT6LN72Pn9eCVj5FQ9Yf4EZ-se_ZeYy9IWB5W3qwRkVI5Rl9QznIwxhjjp3Mub8h8SZoe8sR8v0YsmLByGa28d1s2T0Jovaq0dR1D7kgyi-u_CGQlEU7FxNU/s1600/2aaa50d00392806e255a42a720d63465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV3WQXIOiGpX0PKIr3BLLpT6LN72Pn9eCVj5FQ9Yf4EZ-se_ZeYy9IWB5W3qwRkVI5Rl9QznIwxhjjp3Mub8h8SZoe8sR8v0YsmLByGa28d1s2T0Jovaq0dR1D7kgyi-u_CGQlEU7FxNU/s320/2aaa50d00392806e255a42a720d63465.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEvWa8xZp9pX-SP-yQu9O9Ekry4219qx0xiCVOuEbSssx9hrhP66u0uJTE9KUSHMuEKth4PuJBssKOfPW9evJfAmRTiYtLbeYQcfU1NfTv-8WqvR7pZUNKB2tVypQ172v23hZLSUcuHE/s1600/b2ac6e076aab53969210b598d69295fe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEvWa8xZp9pX-SP-yQu9O9Ekry4219qx0xiCVOuEbSssx9hrhP66u0uJTE9KUSHMuEKth4PuJBssKOfPW9evJfAmRTiYtLbeYQcfU1NfTv-8WqvR7pZUNKB2tVypQ172v23hZLSUcuHE/s320/b2ac6e076aab53969210b598d69295fe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com.au/nordic-ware-egg-waffle-pan.html" target="_blank">Nordic Ware Hong Kong-style egg waffle</a> maker also caught my eye. I've been wanting a waffle maker for a while now, but haven't found many in Australia. The ones I have found are all electric, and this gas top one was very beautiful, and solid. I'm not totally sold on the less conventional waffle shape though? Any thoughts on this? </div>
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The copper pots on display also left me dreaming. I would love one of these, even just for decoration purposes! <br />
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They also had lot of imported food and food items. I'm so happy to know that I will be able to buy all the <a href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com.au/williams-sonoma-natural-sanding-sugar.html" target="_blank">sanding sugars and sprinkles for cake decoration</a> - they are seriously hard to come by here.<br />
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But husband, I was so well behaved and walked away with only an $8 ravioli cutter. Can't wait to make my first batch of ravioli!</div>
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Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn were next stop. Again, the stores are beautiful. Not over-full, but lots to see. They offer lots of help to shoppers as well as complimentary planning services. Oh to plan a nursery with those ladies!</div>
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The bedding in particular seemed so reasonably priced, and most things can be mixed and matched, not to mention monogrammed! Our kids loved the kids kitchen area where you can buy amazing retro-style kitchens and all the accessories for play. So cute.<br />
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All photos are mine or are from the Williams-Sonoma website. All of these stores will send anything to any part of Australia, and I think they are opening a Melbourne store soonish.</div>
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<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-67471529638787438652013-05-17T09:56:00.000+10:002013-05-17T09:56:00.450+10:00My un-love affair with my ThermomixSome of you may have noticed a distinct lack of posts about my <a href="http://www.thermomix.com.au/" target="_blank">Thermomix</a>.<br />
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I was given it as a Christmas present by my lovely husband. He needed a considerable amount of convincing over a fairly long period of time. It really is a huge purchase ($1935), so naturally isn't something that you would just jump into.<br />
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I had been along to two demos (these last a couple of hours each) and did a massive amount of online research, read the Choice reviews, watched YouTube videos. I also spoke to a few owners. It seems that is really is hard to find a single <a href="http://www.thermomix.com.au/" target="_blank">Thermomix</a> owner who doesn't rave and throw about 'it's totally changed my life' type phrases. Mostly they list all the things they now love to cook that they wouldn't have considered prior to having a <a href="http://www.thermomix.com.au/" target="_blank">Thermomix</a> in the kitchen. The first demo I went to made me really want one, and the second confirmed it for me.<br />
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It took a little longer to convince my other half, he certainly wouldn't be attending a demo. I think what really got my husband over the line was sitting next to a couple of his friends at a wedding, and even hearing the guy tell us how amazing the gadget was. <br />
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It arrived in early January and I was so excited I could hardly sleep the night before. My local demonstrator brought over the machine and took me through all the basics; how to wash it, put it together, look after, and we then made a vegetable stock together. That afternoon I proceeded to cook all the things that I really wanted to try TM style, top of the list were: mushroom risotto, soup and peanut butter.<br />
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The risotto turned out well, the Thermomix really does make it an easy, weeknight type of meal. It takes roughly 25 minutes, and then you remove it and allow it to rest for a few minutes, which gets the liquid to the perfect consistency. It tasted fairly good, but the saltiness of the TM vegetable stock concentrate was overwhelming.<br />
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Soup-making is also a piece of cake in the TM - no changing vessel, it weighs and times everything, cooks it, then at the end pulverises the soup into a light liquid in a few seconds flat. But the stock base again was such a strong and unpleasant flavour for me. I could also taste raw onions in the soup - the TM does 'fry' onions and garlic, but truly I would say it doesn't take them far enough to remove the raw flavour. <br />
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Peanut butter making was an utter disaster. I placed them into the steel container and allowed them be processed for quite a period of time. Much to my surprise, this does not make a butter type consistency at all, more a lumpy/mealy texture. Thermomix peanut butter requires an oil to be added, much to my surprise, as I am a regular buyer of the 100% peanut (nothing added) butter from the Natural Health stores. By this stage I was a bit crest-fallen. My demonstrator had warned me that it is a totally different way of cooking so does take some getting used to, which I understood, but I truly hadn't expected the first day results I got.<br />
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The following few weeks I persisted with trying out other recipes from the Everyday Cooking book. This is the book that comes as part of the Thermomix package. The book is basic to say the least, and to me, quite uninspiring. Most of the recipes are so unhealthy, one of the key things promoted by Thermomix, and they particularly around removing processed food from your diet. The quantities of sugar in the baked items is astonishing. I made the Anzac biscuits for afternoon tea one day and had the biggest sugar hit I've had in years. They tasted delicious, but I couldn't see me making them again. I made bolognese one night for the family and a couple of extras, and again I couldn't get over the permeating raw onion taste, and also the texture of the sauce. The Thermomix is a very powerful machine, and uses a 'butterfly' piece to soften the impact of its blades but the bolognese ended up being almost a total mush.<br />
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It also felt to me that I had been totally removed from the cooking process, which I now realise quite how much I love. Cooking has become a type of therapy to me, and it's hands on and sensory when you do it the old-fashioned way. You know the dough is ready from look and feel. You add a little bit more salt or spice on taste. You continue to stir in stocks until the consistency is perfect. The Thermomix locks the ingredients into a steel container, and although you can turn it off and check, it doesn't feel the as when the food is bubbling away on the stove. <br />
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Another aspect of the TM which I struggled with was converting recipes from my existing cookbook collection to Thermomix-style. Much of the time the order in which you do things is reversed, and it is difficult to guess times and speeds for most newbies as the machine is capable of doing so many things at the same time. The Thermomix forum was a great recipe resource, but also a veritable rabbit warren of information, much of it posted by individuals rather than the company. It was possible to find a version of what you wanted on there, but probably with the chef-inspiration removed.<br />
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After a couple of months the guilt of having this white elephant in the kitchen just got too much. I finally fessed up to my husband that I didn't love my Thermomix and wanted to sell it. He laughed for several minutes at the irony of it all. Luckily for me, these machines are rarely found second hand as they are so well loved! I sold it for a little under the buying price within a few days. <br />
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I would like to make clear that I didn't dislike everything about the Thermomix, it just didn't do all that I wanted it to. And for over $1900 that meant I was super critical. It made incredible mashed potato, and smoothies, and custard. Really top notch, and so easy. No need to continuously stir that custard for 10 minutes, it does it all for you.<br />
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The moral of this story is that my trusty Magimix food processor has now earned its spot on my kitchen counter. Love the simplicity!<br />
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Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com150tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-75740905472260589512013-03-06T06:00:00.000+11:002013-03-06T09:10:23.339+11:00Baby led weaning part 2Fast forward a couple of years. Baby number 2 is on her way. Miss K is still not eating consistently well, most dinners in particular are time consuming and laborious. We have some few and far between 'a-ha' moments; eating a whole junior pizza, loving popping edamame at home, consuming bucketloads of carrots and humous, huge excitement at a sushi train experience. All very positive.<br />
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But I knew that second time around I had to approach food differently. You know, that quote by Albert Einstein kept popping into my head 'the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result'. I had long time been a reader of <a href="http://homemadeheart.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Homemade Heart</a>. Talia is an inspirational yummy mummy. But what really caught me the most was her calm & positive attitude to food. And the many very detailed posts on how she started to feed her little girl Tabitha. I decided to spend more time looking into it. But truly, I was already convinced that giving a baby the freedom to explore food was the right way to go. Here are a few of Talia's posts to read a bit more on BLW: <br />
<a href="http://homemadeheart.blogspot.com.au/2011/01/baby-led-weaning-tips.html" target="_blank">Baby Led Weaning part 1</a><br />
<a href="http://homemadeheart.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/baby-led-weaning-tips-part-two.html" target="_blank">Baby Led Weaning tips part 2</a><br />
<a href="http://homemadeheart.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/fast-food-for-toddlers.html" target="_blank">Fast food for toddlers</a><br />
I ordered the <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/search?searchTerm=Baby+Led+Weaning+Gill+Rapley&availability=1,2&hasJacket=1&searchLang=1&redirected=true&gclid=CNuGiK6l5bUCFQRapQodPUUALw" target="_blank">Baby Led Weaning book </a>and read the first half of the book. I found the book reassuring, but also highly repetitive. It did make me feel that I wasn't completely insane to be going this way, it is a tried and tested method of weaning a baby, but just not particularly a mainstream one. <br />
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I started weaning Miss L a little earlier than recommended. Probably just after five months. She has always been a very physically strong bub, she was sitting in her highchair well at around four months. So I decided to give her baby rusks to get her used to holding things in her hand. At this point, hand-eye coordination was not the best, but that's all part of the process. After a couple of weeks or so she was getting a decent suck on these things!<br />
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Following on from that I started preparing broccoli and carrots for her, and cooking them reasonably well. Broccoli was highly successful right from the start. They have a solid-ish stalk to hold onto, and the buds at the top are soft on the gums. Carrots took a little longer, but she was shredding a third of the carrot baton quite quickly too.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUwW-TBAYIIYNshAXJfrZ7mnOQoC8rf6ps6bSUeptulmG2IW-qSk-mcf7AfCa1hhvf4cE_55fhNPwErUTJmyfbDKw9LqbQr7prTVBA8KbZZz1tDhsOs4tlIP_PB75_dhgWlowTGVJaas/s1600/IMG_5431.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUwW-TBAYIIYNshAXJfrZ7mnOQoC8rf6ps6bSUeptulmG2IW-qSk-mcf7AfCa1hhvf4cE_55fhNPwErUTJmyfbDKw9LqbQr7prTVBA8KbZZz1tDhsOs4tlIP_PB75_dhgWlowTGVJaas/s320/IMG_5431.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peas and tinned tuna</td></tr>
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At six months the range of foods that she would eat had multiplied massively. Rice (we used sushi rice mainly, it's chunkier and a bit sticky), salmon, burgers cut into strips, chunks of potato, batons of roast pumpkin, skinned cucumber, shards of roast chicken, slices of pear, nectarine, banana, watermelon. Humous sandwiches, cheese slices, tomato...<br />
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I really can't remember everything, but I really wasn't making extra or different food for her at this time. It was just about adapting what was being served for her needs. I just had a simple rule in my head - needs to be grab-able and not a choke risk. Anything that is too small to start with is a big no no at this age. So peas, grapes and blueberries were definitely off the list. When I was cutting things up for her I tried to make them as long as possible. Roughly a third of the length of the food sits in the baby's palm, so two thirds for actually eating. In theory at least. Obviously it can be more than a little messy at times.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss L is fab with her pincer grip at 10 months</td></tr>
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So that really leads to the two things that seem to shock or turn people off the very idea of baby led weaning. Mess & choking risk. I really saw it this way - Mess happens anyway. Babies always want to be able to hold their own spoon, and flick it and throw it on the ground. They always get their sleeves and collars grimy, even when wearing a bib. Things always end up on the floor.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden picnics. A great anti-mess option!</td></tr>
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Choking is a whole different matter, and potentially a lot scarier. The section on this in the Baby Led Weaning book was excellent and very informative. Babies are much more likely to choke/react badly to something that hasn't been put into their mouths by them. Which makes total sense. And they have to learn to deal with lumps and learn when to break them down by masticating at some point. Never be far from your bub when they are learning to eat. Sitting next to them is best. I've never had more than a couple of coughs from either baby, but certainly miss L is dealing with food much better.<br />
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Now at ten months Miss L is a wonderful eater. She tries and enjoys everything. She is focused on the meal. She is motivated by food enough to cross a room for a slice of fruit or a sandwich. I've only seem her grimace at the taste of food a couple of times, but that hasn't stopped her from going back for another bite. I put that down to being surprised by the taste of something, rather than not liking it. This morning I sat with her at playgroup and she consumed a full bowl of mixed morning tea. It contained sliced banana, mandarin segments, rice crackers, rice cakes, hot cross buns and a sweet biscuit. All in very small quantities, but she ate the lot. Other mothers are constantly amazed by how well she eats for such a little one.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homemade tuna sushi - now a favourite in our house</td></tr>
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Our only difficult moment with BLW has been starting at daycare. I explained on day one that she doesn't like being spoon fed (bar yogurt and the odd weetbix, which are always fed by me). This message wasn't really getting through as in the first few weeks I was having daily feedback that she was eating well at morning and afternoon tea (fruit, veggies and sandwiches) but not eating much lunch, which was generally food that had been pureed for the babies, such as chicken & vegetable noodles. I talked to the Director about my concern, and ever since her carers have let her get on with it and embraced the mess. They too tell me that she eats very well and is very entertaining to watch!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newspapers are a must! That's her bowl at the back of the pic too.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-4917622015746822722013-02-22T06:00:00.000+11:002013-02-22T06:00:04.336+11:00Baby led weaning (Part 1)<br />
Food is very important to me. And has become more so since having a family.<br />
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It's also hugely time consuming. Buying, preparing, making, feeding, cleaning up. It's a huge portion of my day as a (currently) stay-at-home Mum. But it's also something that I wanted to do right.<br />
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With my first little girl I feel inclined to say that I did it <b>all wrong</b>. That may sound a little harsh, but we really did have a hard time with things. I don't feel that she ate 'normally' until she was over 2. I struggled with feeding her to the point of tears, both our tears that is.<br />
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She didn't want to eat, and would sometimes consume maybe half of her recommended calories for the day, and then fill up with milk. This continued for a long time because I would feel relieved that she would drink milk, but then that had the knock on effect of making her less hungry at meal times. <br />
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My first food advice came from our local Early Childhood centre. My mothers' group was given a date when our bubs were 4 months old to go back and go through the first steps of getting your child to eat. There was some very specific advice, but most of it went like this:<br />
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- sit them in a high chair, and do not feed them until they can sit upright for a short period of time (supported)<br />
- start with bland foods, like rice cereal. These are 'best' for baby and are a low allergic food.<br />
- blend & sieve everything so there are no lumps. Your baby will not be able to cope with these.<br />
- introduce new foods slowly, every 4 days or so. That way you will know if they have an allergy.<br />
- spoon feed everything.<br />
- homemade purees are best, but new baby products in supermarkets are getting much better.<br />
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They also told us that the World Health Organisation keeps changing their minds about when is best to start solids. Between 4 and 6 months. So they told us that 4 months would be fine.<br />
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I eagerly sat my little girl in a highchair and gave her the rice cereal watered down with formula a few days later. She seemed interested in having something in her mouth, but didn't eat it. This continued for weeks - we would do a few spoonfuls of one thing or another, but nothing really got consumed. I made pumpkin and apple purees at home, and these got spat out - I was unable to get rid of the lumps completely, and resorted to store bought baby foods.<br />
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Even two months after starting, we were getting through maybe half a packet of spinach and apple puree a sitting. And then a lot of spoon avoidance. Many meals were taking me 45 minutes to an hour, the time it took to distract my little girl and sneak a spoon into her mouth.<br />
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By about 9 months the eating was not improving. Miss K's mothers' group contemporaries were eating stews and rice and mushed up pasta at this point, and getting through good quantities too. I just convinced myself that we would get there through persistence and getting her to try new things that she would love! But instead Miss K was becoming anxious around meal times, just like her mum, and was instantly regurgitating anything with lumps, or anything unfamiliar. Granted, I was still tricking her into having all sorts of things put into her mouth that she didn't really want. But the vomiting was a really bad turn of events.<br />
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I spoke to the Early Childhood Centre and they referred me to a speech pathologist. This is the most common first call for eating problems as sometimes the muscle structure in the mouth can impair eating. She confirmed that there was no physical problem there, just a resistance to food. She encouraged a very gradual introduction of lumps. Say from slightly lumpy mash potato to mashed rice in purees, to adding couscous. None of which was new to us.<br />
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At this time I also started letting Miss K have more handheld food. Her friends were eating biscuits and sandwiches at this point. I saw no harm in giving her things to feed herself, especially when they weren't too messy. Looking back, I think this was the way through. These foods became more acceptable to her, and more interesting. She seemed to take more enjoyment in food. She ate fruit like bananas and pears. Slowly things started to improve.<br />
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During this time I was also reading <a href="http://homemadeheart.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Homemade Heart</a> by Talia. Her blog is great reading for both Mums and foodies, and she goes into great detail of how she went with <a href="http://www.babyledweaning.com/" target="_blank">Baby Led Weaning</a> with her little Tabitha. Including lots of photos!<br />
This was a totally new idea to me, essentially it involves letting the baby decide how and what they eat. Messy yet successful I decided to do further research prior to having baby number 2 which I will go into in Part 2 of this post....<br />
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Sorry for such a long blog post. These thoughts have been going through my head for a number of years now, I always knew it would be a long one!<br />
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Laura x Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-12931785179585423702013-02-21T11:45:00.001+11:002013-02-21T11:45:36.269+11:00Double MoVida day - Melbourne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A few weeks ago I headed down to Melbourne with my sister to meet my Dad to go to the <a href="http://www.australianopen.com/index.html" target="_blank">Australian Open Tennis</a>. He flew from Perth to meet us there. It was such a special long weekend. Out of the three of us, I had spent the most time in the city, and I wouldn't call that much.</div>
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We met at Rod Laver Arena and spent a full day watching Li Na and Djokovic, amongst others. Such a treat.</div>
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On the Saturday we headed to <a href="http://www.prahranmarket.com.au/" target="_blank">Prahan market</a> in the morning to meet some friends. Amazing market, and no comparison for Sydney (or is there something I'm missing?) It even had an <a href="http://www.essentialingredient.com.au/our-stores/the-essential-ingredient-prahran/" target="_blank">Essential Ingredient</a> inside it, really who could want for more? </div>
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After that I was getting a few tips from Melbournites and Instagram buddies, so decided to wander along to the <a href="http://movida.com.au/bakery/" target="_blank">Movida Bakery</a> in South Yarra.</div>
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We had already managed to book a table at <a href="http://movida.com.au/movida-aqui/" target="_blank">Movida Aqui</a> for that evening, but that wasn't going to stop my enthusiasm for a full day of Movida food. Not at all. Going to Movida in Melbourne had been at the top of my foodie places to go for at least a couple of years. </div>
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The bakery is a tiny little place, tucked down a street that looks like it goes nowhere interesting. They only range a few things there - sandwiches, pies, a few cakes and breads to buy for home. But obviously all of it is amazing. </div>
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We had to try the salted caramel doughnuts (I'm so not a doughnut sort of girl either) on recommendations! Blew my mind. Soft and unctuous, and the caramel had just enough salt to stop that complete sugar overload feeling. I would travel for these, seriously.</div>
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We also shared a spanish style lamb & capsicum pie. Perfection. </div>
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After a whole day of city exploring we managed to find Movida Aqui. It's in the heart of the business distract, nested behind the head offices of NAB. </div>
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My Dad and sister patiently waiting for our 6pm table. We were famished!<br />
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The restaurant is larger than I expected, but divided by a very large serving area. It had a polished warehouse feel to it with unfinished ceilings and exposed lighting. But furnished with beautiful wooden tables and I totally love those chairs (please get in touch if you know what they are!)<br />
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There were six of us eating - and I was chosen to order as I am a bit more familiar with Spanish food than the others. I must admit, with share plating and six of us there was a lot of diving in before photos were taken. I did capture a few though.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quail a la parilla with sweetcorn puree, pomegranate and pine nuts</td></tr>
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I wouldn't normally order Quail, but something told me this dish would be very special. Amazing. I've definitely never tried sweetcorn puree before, and with the pine nuts and pomegranate it made for a sweet and perfect entree. Like I said, wow.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arroz negro</td></tr>
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The arroz negro (black rice) is a squid ink based paella with seafood. The black is totally overwhelming, it looks like the charred remnants of food when it arrived at the table, but had that beautiful paella glisten. Surprisingly the flavour is not disimilar to that of the classic paella, the squid ink almost playing a mind trick. It was divine. There really aren't many places in Australia where you could expect perfect paella, but I knew that it wouldn't disappoint.<br />
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We finished the meal with chocolate con churros and the Flan con pestinos. Simple but perfect.<br />
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The other dishes that I didn't manage to photograph were:<br />
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The mixed hams & chorizo tabla<br />
The carrillera de buey - beef cheek in Pedro Ximenez on cauliflower puree<br />
Alubias verdes - Sautéed green beans with Manchego and bread crumbs <br />
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We also had a jug of sangria. It's been a long time since a meal made me this happy. Bring on a trip to Sydney Movida, soon. <br />
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<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-60365275101644929072013-01-29T11:35:00.000+11:002013-01-29T11:35:16.540+11:00Gelato Messina and a food bloggers meet up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I finally got to cross something off my food to do list yesterday. <a href="http://www.gelatomessina.com/" target="_blank">Gelato Messina</a>. And I was so not disappointed.<br />
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It was voted best gelato in NSW in 2012 for the Good Food Guide. That's a pretty big win. And I had seen the fabulous <a href="http://media.smh.com.au/food/gelato-adventures/messina--the-future-of-gelato-3702044.html" target="_blank">Jill Dupleix visiting the Darlinghurst shop</a> and chatting to the Nick Palumbo.<br />
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As an added bonus to getting to eat Sydney's best Gelato on a rainy public holiday, I was also meeting up with the lovely <a href="http://applesundermybed.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Heidi from Apples under my Bed</a> and Hannah from <a href="http://eatyourfreakingvegetables.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Dear Asparagus</a>. Heidi is a really talented photographer and writer, and also a nutritionist by trade. I've been reading her blog for a couple of years or so and have always thoroughly enjoyed reading her recipes and all about her travels (I'm still totally jealous about the amount of time she recently spent in Sicily). We're more instagram buddies than anything else as my blog is a bit dormant at the best of times.<br />
Hannah and I have also been in touch a bit via our blogs. Honestly, so lovely to meet you both.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double scoops all round!</td></tr>
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We visited the Surry Hills shop. It's a tiny little hole in the wall with only a few spots to sit down. But as you can see the gelato really is the queen here. It has a retro feel with the letter boards for the flavours sitting at the bottom of the freezers and flashes of bronze everywhere.<br />
There are at least 30 giant mounds to choose from, with six or seven seasonal & unique flavours on rotation. White peach bellini or Poached fig in marsala, apple pie or bounty, pear & rhubarb or salted caramel and white chocolate (their best seller) along with the classic Italian flavours of gelato and sorbet.<br />
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I went with Salted coconut and mango salsa (a sorbet) and pistachio gelato. I'm a little obsessed with nut gelatos at the moment, and couldn't go past trying this one. The salted coconut was just incredible, new flavours popping with every mouthful. And the pistachio made me very very happy, a little less sweet than many others I've had recently. </div>
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Gelato Messina also have a large range of ice cream cakes that to me look like sculptural Zumbo creations. My next birthday cake perhaps?</div>
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Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-53629628563347394652013-01-09T06:52:00.002+11:002013-01-09T06:52:58.849+11:00My Thermomix arrives this morning!After much deliberation and a lot of persuasion, we finally decided to purchase a <a href="http://www.thermomix.com.au/" target="_blank">Thermomix</a>. My local consultant is coming to my house this morning to run me through the main things I need to know about the machine, and then we are going to make a vegetable stock concentrate together.<br />
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I honestly feel like I'm a child again and I'm getting a huge present on my birthday! Beyond excited.<br />
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I'm looking forward to trying out the essential Thermomix recipes and getting to grips with my new machine. This will no doubt mean that more than a few Thermomix experiments will appear on these pages in the next little while, so maybe this will bring about a return to blogging too!<br />
I also joined the <a href="http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/" target="_blank">Thermomix Community</a> last night - incredibly large and very supportive forum for TM users. <br />
Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-39054778227475811542012-12-03T14:13:00.002+11:002012-12-03T14:13:47.381+11:00Grams of my life, part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Another week in Instagram. I take so many photos these days with my iphone, I'm not sure anything much would get recorded if I didn't have it. Especially my beautiful babies. The little one is getting big so quickly. At 7 months she is crawling all around our house, pulling herself up on things and bouncing whenever she can. I've been told more than a few times that she has the makings of an early walker, serious eeeekkkkk!<br />
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The buckets and buckets of roses above formed the aisle for a wedding we went to last weekend. In the <a href="http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank">Botanic Gardens</a> in the middle of Sydney, they had their ceremony within the <a href="http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/welcome/royal_botanic_garden/venues_and_weddings/weddings/wedding_reception_venues/Marquee_Function_Locations/rose_garden" target="_blank">Rose Garden</a>. The last week of November may be the perfect time to have a wedding, the Rose Garden itself is so beautiful and they had thousands of roses looking absolutely perfect just in the beds around the wedding venue. This was an utterly stunning wedding, and as a guest it was perfect. After the ceremony we were served Bollinger and canapes whilst looking across the Botanic Gardens and down to Sydney Harbour. The break between ceremony and celebration was almost 2 hours, I didn't mind a bit as we caught up with friends and took in Sydney. We then ambled down into the heart of the gardens to the <a href="http://www.trippaswhitegroup.com.au/our-venues/Botanic-Gardens-Restaurant/3" target="_blank">Botanic restaurant</a>. They did a fantastic job and we were totally spoilt. Matching food & wines, macaron towers, photo books for guests to take home, Polaroid walls. Best barramundi I've had in absolutely years! <br />
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Back to reality, and I'm eternally on the search for the best yogurt. It feels like Australia is just starting to get to the point of premium, local, healthy yogurts that England was producing when I left 10 years ago. I still find myself thinking back to how beautiful the Yeo Valley products were and think how silly I am to be missing yogurt. Still, it's true.<br />
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<a href="http://www.roamingcowdairies.com.au/" target="_blank">Roaming Cow</a> is very special find, the natural yogurt is so silky and mild. I chose it for my 7month old. It's so tricky to find yogurts that are suitable for babies, full fat but with no added sugars and flavours, gelatines etc etc. Gippsland is the only other one that is widely available but it is much more tart. So Roaming Cow gets a huge thumbs up in our family. I may or may not be consuming more Roaming Cow than the little one.<br />
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Coffee at Outpost espresso. Favourite spot.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/This-is-London-Miroslav-Sasek/9780789310620" target="_blank">This is London</a> by M. Sasek. These books are absolute retro classics. The prints are just adorable, I think they would be stunning in frames in kids' rooms too. We gave this to a friend of Miss 3 who had a birthday last week. Many of the major cities have their own books, apart from Sydney, but there is a <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/This-is-Australia-Miroslav-Sasek/9780789318541" target="_blank">This is Australia</a> version available. <br />
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Our first Gardenia this year. They always make me so happy when they appear, and yet so sad that they only last a matter of days. Sensational perfume.<br />
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First cherries of the season. Apparently they have had a fabulous year in Young, NSW. So bring on the cherries. My telly watching snack of choice at this time of year!<br />
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Digestive biscuits. Blast from the past. I picked these up at Coles for the base in my Chocolate Key Lime pie recipe, and nibbled on a few during cooking. So comforting to have biscuits from childhood. <br />
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A trip into the city on Friday morning, lovely to Sydney all decked out for Christmas. I headed to <a href="http://www.laduree.fr/" target="_blank">Laduree</a> to pick up some macarons for my sister's 30th birthday. The shop is situated in the middle of the Westfield and has a little cafe too. They are much more of a classic macaron than the Zumbarons. And very special if you are into macarons.<br />
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Little one travelling on the bus in the heat. She was the perfect shopping buddy.<br />
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First stop in the city was Becasse bakery. They make superb french pastries, probably the best I've had in Australia. I'm still sad that Justin North had to close the rest of his little corner on level 5 of the Westfield. I loved what they were doing and had a wonderful birthday meal there too.<br />
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We had 6 close friends over for lunch yesterday. The theme of the day was lime, I think I went through 15 limes in the preparation of all the dishes. 8 or so for Nigella's Chocolate Key lime pie (do it, do it!) 1 on the grilled sweetcorn, 1 in the guacamole, 2 on the barbeque chicken with lime and garlic, another in the beetroot dip.... Might have been a good idea to work out that they are not in season in Sydney right now.... <br />
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A gift from T2 from one of our guests. <a href="http://t2tea.com/shop-xmas/t2-tealeidoscope/take-me-to-morocco-2/" target="_blank">Take me to Morocco teas</a>. I had such a lovely weekend.<br />
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Have a great week everyone xxxHeavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-74197177094333329082012-11-19T21:17:00.002+11:002012-11-19T21:17:42.560+11:00Grams of my life - InstagramMy blog has been very neglected recently. Having 2 kids in the house makes things very busy, I'm sure you can imagine.<br />
I keep up with what's happening on Instagram. If you haven't looked it up yet you really should! Although the app is key to using and liking other images, Instagram have recently they have also launched user profiles. Here's <a href="http://instagram.com/heavenlyingredients" target="_blank">mine</a><br />
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And some recent photos:<br />
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Feel like I've spent hours at the Apple Store in Chatswood over the last few days. My mac finally died after four years, but that has meant that I was able to upgrade to a beautiful Macbook Pro. Exciting!<br />
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My local beach. Freshwater. We are so so lucky.<br />
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My first taste of Barambah Organics yogurt. Blissfully thick, and the hint of cinnamon makes it a little bit different.<br />
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Chickpea curry. Simple and wholesome.<br />
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Some new cookie cutters bought by my Dad for our family in a great baking shop in Fremantle. They had everything! Miss almost 3 is learning letters so he thought these would be perfect to combine with a bit of baking. </div>
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My helper making sure the icing sugar is 'perfect'!</div>
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Our family loves gingerbread, especially this Hummingbird Bakery recipe that contains a large amount of ginger, some Tate & Lyle Black treacle and ends up being not too sweet. We're trying to extend the gingerbread season as much as possible and I'm also planning a few gingerbread gifts for my toddler's teachers.<br />
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Come follow me on Instagram - I'm heavenlyingredients. see you there!<br />
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<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-12690690712726656972012-07-04T17:33:00.000+10:002012-07-04T17:33:03.168+10:00Early birthday present from T2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://t2tea.com/" target="_blank">T2</a> is one of the only 'high street' shops that I totally love. (The other is <a href="http://www.kikki-k.com/" target="_blank">Kikki-K</a>, but that's a whole other blog post...) The concept is spot on. They adore tea, and everything to do with it. I also think their range of teas and accoutrement is fabulous.<br />
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They treat <a href="http://t2tea.com/tea-ware/t2-collections/" target="_blank">teapots, cups and saucers</a> like fashion shops - they change them all the time, and are always linked by a theme. It seemed to be all about decadence when we were in there today, and my local store had a whole wall of vintage teacups too.<br />
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My lovely MIL treated me to an early birthday present, T2 loose leaf <a href="http://t2tea.com/shop-for-tea/scented-flavoured/black/earl-grey/" target="_blank">Earl Grey</a>, a black square tin (I already have a collection of these and love them!), a honey spoon and 2 tea scoops. At T2 they also let you have free samples - we both chose <a href="http://t2tea.com/shop-for-tea/scented-flavoured/black/cr-me-brulee/" target="_blank">Creme brulee</a>. So delicious, and perfect as a black tea. <br />
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Thank you for my bday present xx<br />
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<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-73683731094539348472012-07-03T16:16:00.001+10:002012-07-03T16:16:41.042+10:00Do you thermomix?I'm a gadget queen. Ok, I am, but only in the kitchen. I love having every little bit and piece that I need for making the perfect pasta, madeleines, cupcakes, stews, stocks... the list goes on.<br />
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When I started watching <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/KitchenaidAustralia" target="_blank">youtube videos about the Kitchenaid</a> and saw how beautiful it was, I just had to have one. So impatient too, I could only wait so long after I had ummed and arrggged about the perfect colour. <a href="http://heavenlyingredients.blogspot.com.au/2010/11/yellow-kitchenaid-love.html" target="_blank">Majestic Yellow</a>. Which of course was being discontinued and gave me even more reason to buy once I found one. Think I got the last one in the country in David Jones in Bondi Junction. I just had to drive across and have a look, and then it was love at first sight. I continue to adore it, but have to admit that it is hard to justify, on health grounds(!), making cupcakes every week. Still, it gets some use.<br />
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More recently I've heard lots of chat about the <a href="http://www.thermomix.com.au/" target="_blank">Thermomix</a>. They do everything. Chop, beat, mix, whip, grind, knead, mince, grate, juice, blend, heat, stir, steam and weigh! I was told upfront how expensive they are which just made me shrug. I can't imagine my husband would be very understanding about that, even though I think the multi-use factor probably does justify the cost. <br />
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Then last weekend I went to the <a href="http://www.goodfoodshow.com.au/cityhub/sydney?/sydney.asp" target="_blank">Good Food & Wine festival</a> and popped to their stall. The demonstration was fabulous, and so was the sample (some sort of gluten free chocolate almond dessert with orange custard). I'm so almost sold. I would love to host a demo at my place, but I realise that I probably couldn't say no after that...<br />
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$1939.... big ouch!<br />
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Do you own a Thermomix?Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-14168248999473129322012-07-02T09:20:00.004+10:002012-07-02T09:21:31.094+10:00my kitchenMy beloved kitchen!<br />
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I can hardly begin to tell you quite how wonderful it is to design your own space. Making sure there is space for everything. Choosing the width of your drawers, the finishes, the fittings, the appliances. My heart flutters a little when I get home and see my dream kitchen is still there, waiting for me.<br />
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I spent a long time looking at kitchens before deciding what I wanted. It's such a big decision, and not something that I wanted to have an ounce of regret for. Every since we bought our place, almost three years ago now, I've been flicking through <a href="http://homes.ninemsn.com.au/real-living/">Real Living</a> and <a href="http://homes.ninemsn.com.au/house-and-garden">Australian House & Garden magazine</a> for ideas. Anything mentioning kitchen special on the front cover, I was totally there. Then there were the posts about other kitchen makeovers - I love <a href="http://retromummy.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-my.html">Retro Mummy's kitchen</a> so much, but the Hampton's style did not feel the right style of kitchen for our 1960s house.<br />
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We ended up deciding on very simple polyurethane handle-less cupboards and drawers in white. I love white white white, and wanted to use other colours as accents. It's a really modern feeling kitchen, but I knew that if we ever decided to sell that the place wouldn't offend either. It's got oodles of drawers for easy access. They really have changed the way I cook and prepare. I spend so much less time looking for things, and reaching into dark spaces that I can't see into!<br />
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Another pre-requisite was the biggest possible kitchen island. And I got it. It's a dream size, and we spend so much time sitting and eating around it. I no longer have to cook away in a tiny little 3m x 3m kitchen space with no company, everything is open. I think the island itself is 1.6m x 1.8m! I can see my little girl drawing, doing play dough and reading, because she can sit and do that on the other side of the island to me.<br />
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And then to space. Our kitchen designer told us that he would easily be able to trump the space of our last kitchen. I'm so happy with it. We have hidden storage under our island, a huge pantry with pull out drawers to chest height, wine racks, open shelving and even a cupboard for my ever-growing cook book collection. I don't have to stack items upon items upon items to get them in the cupboard. Love it!<br />
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The finishing touch was the splash back. If we had designed this a few years ago I'm sure I would have chosen a glass splash back. But I've seen so many over the last little while and really wanted to go with tiles. I love the subway tile look too, but I got a lot of opposition to that. So, inspired by Martha Stewart we chose dark blue penny tiles. I was so nervous that I would hate them, as they are such an important feature of the kitchen. But I adore them, they totally make the space, and bring the contrast to the white that it so needed.</div>
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Have you ever designed a kitchen? And what do you love or hate about your current space? </div>
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<br /></div>Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-26860174586399362292012-05-26T21:19:00.000+10:002012-05-27T06:58:00.482+10:00news & a peek at my new kitchen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been away for more than a little while. This is the first reason for that. I gave birth to a little girl in mid April. We are all so happy to be welcoming another girl into our family. She is so very special, she looks physically a lot like her big sister, but with twinkling and very knowing blue eyes.</div>
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I'm reminding myself to enjoy the mothering a newborn experience more consciously this time. Being a first-time parent was wonderful in so many ways, but also so overwhelming with feeling so ill equipped to properly look after a little person. Those feelings have passed, now I know what babies need. Human touch. They love to be held and rocked. It's time consuming but not really all that hard. </div>
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The other big life event that has been taking up our time is a huge renovation. It has affected about half of our house and the worst part coincided with baby L arriving. Yes, really! We were very lucky to have lots of family support to help us through. I honestly think I might have had a break-down if I were a first time parent, but somehow this time we made it work.</div>
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Excitingly I have a brand spanking new kitchen. I love it so much. The whole process from thinking about what I wanted, to design, choosing the surfaces and colours, and all the details was so much fun. </div>
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I plan to reveal a bit more of my kitchen in the next few weeks - stay tuned.</div>
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Laura x </div>
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<br />Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-45617420423554792602012-02-15T08:52:00.000+11:002012-02-15T08:52:22.409+11:00Sugar Free GranolaI like to be healthy at breakfast time. Starting the day well is very important to me, and then we have the odd treat, like bacon & eggs or pancakes and pastries on weekends.<br />
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There are a couple of things that I love to eat during summer, and then during the winter I like to mix it up a bit with porridge.<br />
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The first is a sort of mixed up bircher muesli, which I'm pretty flexible with the ingredients, but always using the base of rolled oats. I'm never quite organised to leave this to soak overnight, but I find that 15 minutes or so whilst I'm having my first cup of tea for the day is more than enough for the flavours to start to mix.<br />
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Ingredients for my cold oats are roughly 2/3 cup of oats with a handful of frozen raspberries and a handful of frozen blueberries, soaked in either yogurt (greek yogurt or vanilla <a href="http://www.jalna.com.au/">Jalna</a> are constants in my fridge) or full cream milk. Then add in a sprinkle of slivered almonds, finely sliced dried apricots and sometimes a few dried sour cherries. And a few chia seeds if I have them. I will also use a fresh mango, nectarine or peach if there's one sitting in the fruit bowl.<br />
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It's pure goodness, a satisfying and ice cold breakfast if you include the frozen fruit. Oats are great for cholesterol, but also for satiety, and I find that I don't normally need any morning tea if I've had oats in the morning. The frozen berries also turn the milk a deep berry colour, something akin to what cocoa pops do, only the healthy & natural version!<br />
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My other favourite breakfast is homemade granola. I'm a bit addicted, and not just to the taste, but also the whole process of making granola. It smells wonderful, and the roasting of the nuts make them super special, and intensify the crunch. This version is a healthier granola, and sugar free, unless you choose to add dried fruits at the end. (Here's a <a href="http://heavenlyingredients.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/granola.html">link</a> to the other granola I love to make too). I honestly don't think that flavourwise the dried fruits are essential, the granola is sweet on its own, but they add another softer texture to the muesli.<br />
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I served it this morning with a few sultanas and sour cherries (again!) and a dollop of greek yogurt. Gorgeous weekday breakfast, something I look forward to it when I wake up.<br />
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This recipe is from the <a href="http://au.phaidon.com/store/food-cook/breakfast-lunch-tea-9780714844657/">Rose Bakery Cookbook</a>, my favourite cook book for the moment. And that is a big call with my cookbook collection growing each month!<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
300g <b>rolled oats</b><br />
100g <b>whole natural almonds</b><br />
120g<b> sunflower seeds</b><br />
120g <b>pumpkin seeds</b><br />
1 Tbs<b> wheatgerm </b><br />
125ml (1/2 cup)<b> apple juice</b><br />
4 Tbs <b>sunflower oil</b>, or another neutral oil<br />
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<b>Dried fruit</b> such as apricots, sultanas, raisins, sour cherries - to taste, optional<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
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Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mrOjF2U-3aMykyEuT0VCqQ7Hjgfgum2gv4IW0e7QRq30E5l6HPTm-XE6I1MQdqGxh7SY8vOTYEF6CSJ_htkuaQGMzZiY1ZYcCqq53pPPUs65qM8H0J1gHrd3lb1bhrELV4pD_MxoM_8/s1600/IMG_2306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mrOjF2U-3aMykyEuT0VCqQ7Hjgfgum2gv4IW0e7QRq30E5l6HPTm-XE6I1MQdqGxh7SY8vOTYEF6CSJ_htkuaQGMzZiY1ZYcCqq53pPPUs65qM8H0J1gHrd3lb1bhrELV4pD_MxoM_8/s320/IMG_2306.JPG" width="238" /></a></div><br />
Mix all the dry ingredients and coat in the sunflower oil and apple juice.<br />
Spread evenly over a large baking tray.<br />
Place in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, turning the granola every 15 minutes or so to ensure the muesli is toasted evenly.<br />
Allow to cool before mixing in dried fruit.<br />
Serve as an accompaniment to other cereals, or by itself, or with yogurt.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span id="goog_531489488"></span><span id="goog_531489489"></span>Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-72575954800262457992012-02-03T20:28:00.000+11:002012-02-03T20:28:18.400+11:00What I've been cooking lately<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAaqiDnhhbWTNlDE-nV03J3n5H5_XNc7iMaliTY3cAeUWDEIrVoPdq-aGkBp7VE84OMdKTVAclRUCW6QJ3kX5spzxbPRKRuYsb70hBjT6ZQt0qdYu6H7Zhd35s4E3fdLJ2hyi8Habzv5o/s1600/DSC_1505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAaqiDnhhbWTNlDE-nV03J3n5H5_XNc7iMaliTY3cAeUWDEIrVoPdq-aGkBp7VE84OMdKTVAclRUCW6QJ3kX5spzxbPRKRuYsb70hBjT6ZQt0qdYu6H7Zhd35s4E3fdLJ2hyi8Habzv5o/s400/DSC_1505.JPG" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've been absent a lot from my blog lately. I could apologise, but really this is probably the way things are going to be for a while. Blogging twice a week would be ideal for me, I never wanted to be a once-a-day sort of a blogger, but even that is way beyond my capacity right now. The little girl keeps me more than busy most of the time, and we're also renovating our house. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That hasn't meant that I've forgotten about food altogether, I still love spending time in my kitchen, and find that even on my tiredest days I am revived by preparing and eating something that I truly enjoy. Mostly that means old favourites that I don't feel like writing about. Pesto, curries, baked eggs.... </div><br />
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I've started experimenting with jams too. These strange fruits are a native Australian fruit that we found in my Father-in-law's garden. Like many of those not-so-nice fruits the literature says they are 'good for jam'. Most things are good when immersed in their weight in sugar, but anyway, I thought I would give it a go.<br />
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They are strange things, very solid, with a pale flesh that could be compared to an unripe nectarine or peach. Each fruit also contains 4 to 5 very solid black stones that need to be removed. The preparation part for the jam was a lot more arduous than using traditional stone fruit I must say, even with my sharp Global knives I struggled to cut into the black apples. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_XN2bpLnPP6dio3cUyW1YYima2J6Ph115gti2-qzF6cmCqh2tePRnHrcu52Ohs0kOEEJUXNHyZPnFSc8gu8K0wLiHdsAfzCPYZS-HVaXm5rRHljajWtt8wZAbx8fC-iJOfCqNA5K-BY/s1600/DSC_1510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_XN2bpLnPP6dio3cUyW1YYima2J6Ph115gti2-qzF6cmCqh2tePRnHrcu52Ohs0kOEEJUXNHyZPnFSc8gu8K0wLiHdsAfzCPYZS-HVaXm5rRHljajWtt8wZAbx8fC-iJOfCqNA5K-BY/s400/DSC_1510.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The rest of the jam making process was fairly normal, although once finished I found that the fruit was still very solid, rather than soft like other stone fruit would be. It was quite edible but a bit of a fail overall. There is a reason why we don't see black apple jam on the shelves of Coles!<br />
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Another little experiment was making praline, inspired by <a href="http://au.phaidon.com/store/food-cook/breakfast-lunch-tea-9780714844657/">The Rose Bakery cookbook</a>. The bakery is a beautiful little cafe near the Gare du Nord in Paris which I visited on my last trip to France in 2007. They have no website for me to link to, but here's a lovely review by <a href="http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2003/11/rose_bakery.php">Chocolate & Zucchini</a>. They bring English style food to Paris, that is less delicate and refined, but healthier and really tasty. <br />
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The book is gorgeous and I hope to be cooking a few other things from it over this rainy Sydney weekend. Granola, Pistachio cake and some of the savoury tarts are all on the to do list.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chopping almonds </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the sugar syrup</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caramel setting over the almonds</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJRbYheb8UAKnzRj3p6iu_WoT80K6h1tIQdQKHH0XSygGTGMhj8zh7r0mL1BsKUXMkEvNIBc8OkyZkynd2mjwbofMa4wTIbNqAenma1-X-dVcrn9AEr1r8IQXc5hyMMEmG_eOCj1XU7s/s1600/IMG_2208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJRbYheb8UAKnzRj3p6iu_WoT80K6h1tIQdQKHH0XSygGTGMhj8zh7r0mL1BsKUXMkEvNIBc8OkyZkynd2mjwbofMa4wTIbNqAenma1-X-dVcrn9AEr1r8IQXc5hyMMEmG_eOCj1XU7s/s400/IMG_2208.JPG" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Praline shards in my Magimix</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxe87kRB93gMmp0IQgn29Y2pQCMEvUjGKW9C_GGhO8faDLm9QZNOpaqAUDBbUzmmi-fCiEBQrcv35x2V9-bYZOiw7YG_tTUnZJbgRdOyCGwL5VNM6pZx4HzIZCtOk3Z6QZH4AmdyUr3CQ/s1600/IMG_2209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxe87kRB93gMmp0IQgn29Y2pQCMEvUjGKW9C_GGhO8faDLm9QZNOpaqAUDBbUzmmi-fCiEBQrcv35x2V9-bYZOiw7YG_tTUnZJbgRdOyCGwL5VNM6pZx4HzIZCtOk3Z6QZH4AmdyUr3CQ/s400/IMG_2209.JPG" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blitzed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8-KuTpY3tjIU1Os3wkdIR7xi3btZj0ed2fUtBuFvTL9LTq9Luuy0sqAEByAB2AJ8nr7ORFn2j3jaNUHUPJPu6EzlyU-uv6GeEfiPSEsniR_ocreol1wQfvC_IoUegefGpqFgrMoQg-U/s1600/IMG_2221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8-KuTpY3tjIU1Os3wkdIR7xi3btZj0ed2fUtBuFvTL9LTq9Luuy0sqAEByAB2AJ8nr7ORFn2j3jaNUHUPJPu6EzlyU-uv6GeEfiPSEsniR_ocreol1wQfvC_IoUegefGpqFgrMoQg-U/s400/IMG_2221.JPG" width="297" /></a></div>The praline is so beautiful. The nuts make it less sweet than a pure caramel dust would be. I sprinkled it over Connisseur vanilla ice cream. And the best part is that I now have 2 jars full in the cupboard which can be used to sprinkle over cakes, muffins, ice cream and yogurt.<br />
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Have you tried <a href="http://www.twinings.com.au/">Twinings new Australian Afternoon Tea</a>? We bought some at the weekend. It's a strong but beautiful blend, something that would be more suited to the morning for me personally (I'm more of an Earl Grey or herbal girl in the afternoons).<br />
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We had a few friends over for dinner last night and I turned to Nigella. I've made this Greek lamb, lemon & chilli dish a few times, it's easy to pre-prepare the oven trays and put them into the oven for an hour or so when needed. The chilli and lemon make the dish special.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeN8rmjjKYtHxvdJA0xp7_ipN6g1jaKVOzpdMzc0fOiXu9zorjUbkXzmEZVUlLI0N-lifFVkfWxdW5QTTFMbN8QlpcGKVWJr_LejofSmAmqjP0GCx_oQT9YmeTXjB_NFrcUdAMGVi8Ys/s1600/IMG_2241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeN8rmjjKYtHxvdJA0xp7_ipN6g1jaKVOzpdMzc0fOiXu9zorjUbkXzmEZVUlLI0N-lifFVkfWxdW5QTTFMbN8QlpcGKVWJr_LejofSmAmqjP0GCx_oQT9YmeTXjB_NFrcUdAMGVi8Ys/s400/IMG_2241.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I served it with fresh bread and a green salad. Simple, uncomplicated dinner.<br />
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For lunch today I used some of the lamb cutlets left over from last night and quickly fried it with some halloumi. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8KDHLSiDLuAdk8R-H7EhsRPRhyZ6ZLv1UYym7QJhlw2dkErsDwyOrLlbsvvRQzQvUZAa5Av5wq7y3f_xLe12ZfEJpi_AsNhAFIYn86lt8Vh1v9Kk2bYa45TGTLPFF3n_mqDVxf4vR2A/s1600/IMG_2251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8KDHLSiDLuAdk8R-H7EhsRPRhyZ6ZLv1UYym7QJhlw2dkErsDwyOrLlbsvvRQzQvUZAa5Av5wq7y3f_xLe12ZfEJpi_AsNhAFIYn86lt8Vh1v9Kk2bYa45TGTLPFF3n_mqDVxf4vR2A/s400/IMG_2251.JPG" width="297" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QknMesinVxkvqj983gFU2RZsz1W9sayE5R3thMd-5PDpD6prQTCe9c2AlC3ZZFoKP1MTxXcY28wGL-wuYnxWgoMM0-gIaHiI-zcRxGtaTpxI7brMWMYQ1-jlqxYv-_wwhCQlIVsQ4aM/s1600/IMG_2255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QknMesinVxkvqj983gFU2RZsz1W9sayE5R3thMd-5PDpD6prQTCe9c2AlC3ZZFoKP1MTxXcY28wGL-wuYnxWgoMM0-gIaHiI-zcRxGtaTpxI7brMWMYQ1-jlqxYv-_wwhCQlIVsQ4aM/s400/IMG_2255.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>These were added to a winter salad of Israeli couscous, roasted pumpkin and a few green salad leaves with a bit of lemon juice on top. A strong combination of flavours, but just what I was after on this cold and wet Sydney day. <br />
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My new Emile Henry pie case awaits for this weekend, I just need to find the perfect beginner's recipe tonight to work out what to make. Any suggestions would be welcome.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-48q25H0k4yO5qgFpWrDMgGMqJEExl5w-WjxBBiNtrSOittuKxYennvutrdDK7Fjnpz1JPgsKdhpsyUF999Rpv4odqrEFVY-rdESRakv5LH21QXxFybqJRFHEoMVhQms7AyWV3uScclo/s1600/IMG_2237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-48q25H0k4yO5qgFpWrDMgGMqJEExl5w-WjxBBiNtrSOittuKxYennvutrdDK7Fjnpz1JPgsKdhpsyUF999Rpv4odqrEFVY-rdESRakv5LH21QXxFybqJRFHEoMVhQms7AyWV3uScclo/s400/IMG_2237.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Have a great weekend everyone xHeavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-28455905846063679012012-01-07T06:00:00.002+11:002012-01-07T10:09:28.835+11:00Baked chocolate & cherry custards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These chocolate custards are a little bit of decadence. As much as I love to look after my health, I do love my chocolate, especially anything that makes a star from dark dark chocolate. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HZPpy47Mwf91ZBmmjHHGYUxppv1btxwhwIbxkPSDTs85l3sVAfvsMwJUH1BM33_Q3d-UAIrfMLh9xGQReS5bcJx_OiZK56FP4v0uJoXqmo-OWTATPB5UOz3xZEU-P-TKxxkwCwFnMd4/s1600/DSC_1490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HZPpy47Mwf91ZBmmjHHGYUxppv1btxwhwIbxkPSDTs85l3sVAfvsMwJUH1BM33_Q3d-UAIrfMLh9xGQReS5bcJx_OiZK56FP4v0uJoXqmo-OWTATPB5UOz3xZEU-P-TKxxkwCwFnMd4/s400/DSC_1490.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>So, I compromise by making these little ramekins that probably hold 100ml at the most.<br />
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These custards are dense and creamy, and you only need a little pot to satisfy. I like to include cherries, they make very good friends with dark chocolate. I used cherries in juice, rather than fresh ones, but really just because I happened to have them in the cupboard.<br />
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Serve with double cream or even sour cream.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggo2sQMa0nePBh95xuovvthdRkDQJH1X_QV20TAj6tG4y4s4bmIsGCJ2sSL5jbpdwowZHzQeMLDjx1BIjwyYMv9_AKlFQIHL36lkrsbzA5pQIM2naONls3Js6B5tGM6BPZqU1a7UCdaI0/s1600/DSC_1496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggo2sQMa0nePBh95xuovvthdRkDQJH1X_QV20TAj6tG4y4s4bmIsGCJ2sSL5jbpdwowZHzQeMLDjx1BIjwyYMv9_AKlFQIHL36lkrsbzA5pQIM2naONls3Js6B5tGM6BPZqU1a7UCdaI0/s400/DSC_1496.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3lqF98E7riXhlH2P334KDdnccpUf_CAv526Z7wU4UuosnojEUVWIbgytYcHXFSmZmYdDovvQMV_cWy_5ePheJCqqG_A4zL0NhYggAdQ0t0DkStPQNJtuuCGjjvQtQgAA7Il4wGJgWXg/s1600/DSC_1498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3lqF98E7riXhlH2P334KDdnccpUf_CAv526Z7wU4UuosnojEUVWIbgytYcHXFSmZmYdDovvQMV_cWy_5ePheJCqqG_A4zL0NhYggAdQ0t0DkStPQNJtuuCGjjvQtQgAA7Il4wGJgWXg/s400/DSC_1498.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Baking them really makes for a very straightforward dessert. Just make sure you add the boiling water to ensure an even distribution of heat through the custards.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgvsgG2wWhwrEXPl6PysOYQH6DOHfCe5pACMrpv53gdJRgKiyej-sXHtEH-iRguiWFE0CY_K7ewh-R_xicqQ4zJM1elpx20L_6dx2nvnlFUZgiwd37Wr1v3Nc23AKNvdtFX0Xeq-Ecmjw/s1600/DSC_1489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgvsgG2wWhwrEXPl6PysOYQH6DOHfCe5pACMrpv53gdJRgKiyej-sXHtEH-iRguiWFE0CY_K7ewh-R_xicqQ4zJM1elpx20L_6dx2nvnlFUZgiwd37Wr1v3Nc23AKNvdtFX0Xeq-Ecmjw/s400/DSC_1489.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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125g dark chocolate, chopped<br />
1 cup milk<br />
1 cup single cream<br />
2 eggs plus 2 extra yolks<br />
90g brown sugar<br />
1/2 cup cherries (raspberries would also work well)<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
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Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees. <br />
Place the dark chocolate, milk and cream in a saucepan over a low heat until evenly melted. Do not allow the mixture to boil.<br />
Place the eggs, extra yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Then slowly add the hot chocolate mixture and continue to whisk.<br />
Divide the cherries between the 6 ramekins and pour in the chocolate mixture.<br />
Place the ramekins in a baking dish and pour in some hot water that reaches half way up the ramekins.<br />
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Bake for 35 minutes, or until just set. If you are using larger ramekins it may take slightly longer.<br />
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PS - thank you to my mum for this beautiful Indian tablecloth which was a Christmas present. So beautiful.Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-29294070827952631692012-01-03T14:41:00.000+11:002012-01-03T14:41:19.639+11:00White rocky roadSomething that is bound to put smiles on faces. This is one of the extras I prepared for my little girl's second birthday. It didn't last too long.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ITKQKBujV3A/TwJw2vfmqbI/AAAAAAAAA5g/aeJiQ0q44Hw/s1600/DSC_1136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ITKQKBujV3A/TwJw2vfmqbI/AAAAAAAAA5g/aeJiQ0q44Hw/s400/DSC_1136.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Rocky road isn't really cooking or baking - just melt some chocolate in a double boiler and make sure all the ingredients are evenly coated. Lots of fun to do with kids, the only hard part is limiting their sugar intake a little bit. My sister loves to add raspberries (the lolly variety) and snakes - they look great. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> I'm not the biggest fan of white chocolate, but I decided on this occasion that it made the rocky road look a little more festive. Plus it doesn't hide the ingredients in the same way as milk and dark chocolate, they really seem to pop out of the white.<br />
The ingredient that really makes this is the turkish delight. I love the rose variety on its own, but this makes it super special. The sour dried cherries are a bit hard to find in the shops, I managed to track some down at my local health food shop. I love adding them to muesli too. <br />
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<b>My white rocky road</b> (adapted from <a href="http://www.notquitenigella.com/2008/12/15/christmas-wonderland-rocky-road/">Not Quite Nigella</a>)<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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500g <b>white chocolate</b> (can substitute for milk or dark)<br />
175g <b>honey coated macadamias</b> (regular unsalted macadamias will also work fine)<br />
1 1/2 cup mini <b>marshmallows</b><br />
250g <b>Turkish Delight</b> cut into smaller pieces depending on size<br />
1/2 cup <b>shredded coconut</b><br />
1/2 cup <b>dried (sour) cherries</b><br />
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<b>Method</b>:<br />
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Line a square baking tin with baking paper (roughly 20cm x 20cm).<br />
Break up the white chocolate into squares and place in a double boiler (to make a double boiler, heat a pan of water with roughly 2cm water and place a heat-proof bowl over the top). Melt & stir until you achieve a consistent and pour-able chocolate.<br />
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix through the melted chocolate. Push into the baking tin and allow to cool slightly before placing in a fridge for a couple of hours.<br />
Cut into small chunks to serveHeavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-89458800274299339052011-12-28T21:30:00.000+11:002011-12-28T21:30:14.299+11:00Christmas at our place<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5P1JNyuZCsI/Tvrcbuq_HEI/AAAAAAAAAzo/PoDb48jq7wM/s1600/DSC_1468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5P1JNyuZCsI/Tvrcbuq_HEI/AAAAAAAAAzo/PoDb48jq7wM/s400/DSC_1468.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mum's salad of blanched beans with baby tomatoes, boccocini, pine nuts and pesto dressing</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Christmas was ultra special for me this year.<br />
My whole family collected in Perth at my parents' house for a fortnight, the house continually overflowing with people, and of course, food.<br />
On Christmas Day itself we decided to celebrate outside, and in the evening. Perth can be extremely hot at this time of year, but we enjoyed between 28 and 30 degrees rather than the 42 degrees they have been experiencing since we came home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ol_tp1VTy8/Tvrc4llrNYI/AAAAAAAAAzw/0SwakkVHZZM/s1600/DSC_1469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ol_tp1VTy8/Tvrc4llrNYI/AAAAAAAAAzw/0SwakkVHZZM/s400/DSC_1469.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister's Nigella-inspired salad of watermelon, lime, spanish onion, feta and black olives</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We had a big breakfast in the morning of blueberry buttermilk pancakes and fruit platters, then spending a peaceful day opening presents. The little girl got more presents than she could focus on, but she did seem grasp a little of the concept of Christmas this year. Watching The Snowman on Christmas Eve with all the family was a big highlight. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K87DFJ3AHPE/TvrdUSPLKhI/AAAAAAAAAz4/xBc9_un2lIg/s1600/DSC_1470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K87DFJ3AHPE/TvrdUSPLKhI/AAAAAAAAAz4/xBc9_un2lIg/s400/DSC_1470.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My salad</td></tr>
</tbody></table> I was happy to be only contributing a couple of things to Christmas Day food-wise. As much as I love spending time in the kitchen, I have no desire to spend the whole of Christmas Day in there.<br />
I simple baked pumpkin in maple syrup and tossed it through a spinach and pine nut salad (yes, there does seem to be a pine nut theme here!).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6wwmMatRSI/TvrdnyaqcUI/AAAAAAAAA0A/yHbDr_zc8NQ/s1600/DSC_1471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6wwmMatRSI/TvrdnyaqcUI/AAAAAAAAA0A/yHbDr_zc8NQ/s400/DSC_1471.JPG" width="266" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The main event was my Godmother Susie's Galantine. Something new for me too. It's a totally boneless chicken stuffed in a duck then stuffed in a turkey. I'd never heard of it before, but apparently it's not new and is very popular in the UK. It was delicious, although I can't say it was always easy to tell which meat I was eating. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ddT_dCNvnyM/Tvref8eZIPI/AAAAAAAAA0M/hPaeNzbIkK4/s1600/DSC_1476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ddT_dCNvnyM/Tvref8eZIPI/AAAAAAAAA0M/hPaeNzbIkK4/s400/DSC_1476.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our festive table</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xOK8ZkeR1p4/TvrgSI3xqkI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/VQ_UL8l7XsM/s1600/DSC_1479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xOK8ZkeR1p4/TvrgSI3xqkI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/VQ_UL8l7XsM/s400/DSC_1479.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br />
Kevin brought a Christmas pudding that he made himself in the middle of the year. Moist and full of flavour. I only need a little taste of Christmas pud to reach my yearly quota, but I was more than happy to have a few mouthfuls of this. Accompanied by brandy butter.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BeyJCCcdIc0/TvrkF-d8U4I/AAAAAAAAA0g/d8EdyiYZHVc/s1600/DSC_1480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BeyJCCcdIc0/TvrkF-d8U4I/AAAAAAAAA0g/d8EdyiYZHVc/s400/DSC_1480.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-esMxN0VUS04/TvrktEbPleI/AAAAAAAAA0w/irl2Yp43f9Y/s1600/DSC_1482.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-esMxN0VUS04/TvrktEbPleI/AAAAAAAAA0w/irl2Yp43f9Y/s400/DSC_1482.JPG" width="266" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My dessert contribution was a Donna Hay Cherry Pavlova. Unusually for me, I was forced to take the choice of Pavlova to a full family vote! As I only made one during our holiday it was quite contentious. The classic mango and passionfruit combo was almost made, but I got a large vote for trying something a little bit more festive. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cherries don't exactly add the juiciness of mangoes and passionfruit, so Donna's suggestion of a cherry syrup worked so well. I boiled the cherries in the sugar syrup for 15 minutes until a deep cherry colour was achieved. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CfoC0mDkeGQ/Tvrl1-vJU6I/AAAAAAAAA08/KlZ1xhf0Tqk/s1600/DSC_1486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CfoC0mDkeGQ/Tvrl1-vJU6I/AAAAAAAAA08/KlZ1xhf0Tqk/s400/DSC_1486.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We finished up with more than a few plates of chocolates, turkish delight and some gingerbread made by the little girl and I. A very memorable Christmas and I'm missing everyone so much already.Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-9336023905939762822011-11-27T21:10:00.001+11:002011-11-27T21:11:19.053+11:00The Great Australian Pavlova Blog Hop - Brown sugar pav with strawberries and blueberries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kukTnJzlN6bbZragt-w8J4kOHwvR4KlTCb0kb8CvE4-prfACfsIA5SDr5b_Ih-rzUcZjPqlhfRyHhEbnOqbNporLtL4aWdGKGdioeLgMJfNfdo3zcXTOj5s3uQoVzlLeQPhh4Wagl3I/s1600/DSC_0935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kukTnJzlN6bbZragt-w8J4kOHwvR4KlTCb0kb8CvE4-prfACfsIA5SDr5b_Ih-rzUcZjPqlhfRyHhEbnOqbNporLtL4aWdGKGdioeLgMJfNfdo3zcXTOj5s3uQoVzlLeQPhh4Wagl3I/s400/DSC_0935.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
When my twitter friend <a href="http://84thand3rd.com/">84th & 3rd</a> contacted me about the Great Australian Pavlova Blog Hop I was thrilled. My <a href="http://heavenlyingredients.blogspot.com/2010/11/yellow-kitchenaid-love.html">Kitchenaid</a> and I were brought together to make Pavlovas quite frankly. I love making them, and sharing them. They seem to be the ultimate crowd pleaser for some reason, the sort of dessert that is only worthwhile if you are feeding over 8 people or so, perfect for a weekend barbecue or dinner party, but without looking like you've spent 10 hours slaving in the kitchen to produce it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPUXvJeG54tJzM07uMLyCllJ2WikKssdAWcPqqb7lLnz3vpHc9REe5aG5ZaComqcfX8i6Qit4ZWH4EHU5oO9QHpugaZIPdvqWZsi8bWJp0LXmrXr-9qCTM6ZKstV3XbglMhMbXfmM2vc/s1600/DSC_0933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIPUXvJeG54tJzM07uMLyCllJ2WikKssdAWcPqqb7lLnz3vpHc9REe5aG5ZaComqcfX8i6Qit4ZWH4EHU5oO9QHpugaZIPdvqWZsi8bWJp0LXmrXr-9qCTM6ZKstV3XbglMhMbXfmM2vc/s400/DSC_0933.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
This pav was an experiment with brown sugar and trying to find that caramelly but not so sugary sweet perfection. I went with the lovely <a href="http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/14521/pavlova-with-brown-sugar-and-strawberries">Bill Granger's version</a> of the brown sugar pavlova that also combines Greek yogurt with cream that again can counteract the dense sugary layer's sweetness. Keeping it simple and seasonal I scattered over strawberries and blueberries. Bliss.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vjH-25BVq0MAJXA1kPsbGq9D3RObn5TYVox2P_XQ7VNQ136wlA-y1g9FRl-4VG45jfJWSy6awEZAkPU3lsQ0KwNiPLtljRrIzRVLmicAXHYK2WkrdLz7H1Js5Wry42aMsc8wR7ACZOg/s1600/DSC_0889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vjH-25BVq0MAJXA1kPsbGq9D3RObn5TYVox2P_XQ7VNQ136wlA-y1g9FRl-4VG45jfJWSy6awEZAkPU3lsQ0KwNiPLtljRrIzRVLmicAXHYK2WkrdLz7H1Js5Wry42aMsc8wR7ACZOg/s400/DSC_0889.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Numerous ingredients for the meringue</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Bill Granger's recipe calls for a number of techy baking ingredients that I'm not that familiar with. Arrowroot, cream of tartar and cornflour. But the combination did absolute wonders for the centre, it was soft and mousse-like and maybe just a little bit chewy. I'll be including them in the mix again.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WfQUwlzbL6X6lZ5F18gBeUWSz_TW2_HP5GN77D0TZIBREbKJv8d2Y3S0nI9cOhYHMDhpxVZTW-cfBSACGP98H8itlici6CYD6jQUnjHKzDDTTkwP0LMCc4Sb_KyKKDOWT0aFUDMeZu8/s1600/DSC_0890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WfQUwlzbL6X6lZ5F18gBeUWSz_TW2_HP5GN77D0TZIBREbKJv8d2Y3S0nI9cOhYHMDhpxVZTW-cfBSACGP98H8itlici6CYD6jQUnjHKzDDTTkwP0LMCc4Sb_KyKKDOWT0aFUDMeZu8/s400/DSC_0890.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchenaid doing its thing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduXFqIunEG9-KrbnmmVk1X2xiuoxnjk8Y6nf6NwccWCKe_QSvCYnI21EPdMj5K-OD41ini34nw2-t52xNcTPffTIkUQo13Cyg-DFpKm0QI3yLAxfibXsLrODyubcNzArOlQhLeoJDA90/s1600/DSC_0898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduXFqIunEG9-KrbnmmVk1X2xiuoxnjk8Y6nf6NwccWCKe_QSvCYnI21EPdMj5K-OD41ini34nw2-t52xNcTPffTIkUQo13Cyg-DFpKm0QI3yLAxfibXsLrODyubcNzArOlQhLeoJDA90/s400/DSC_0898.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The meringue shell starting to crack...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZX-uzcW5FG1-Sinap3eZRv9qijjXwaBOuAdgTDLQnZWiv-GyMojgn5bBMbtjEucMBIwIPyKWXzwqLjX6zBW3Z-e7qYNBSLsmus9ctlN8vn1qVGVv2gEz9qs_ACyT-4JNWowi0i6PGibo/s1600/DSC_0904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZX-uzcW5FG1-Sinap3eZRv9qijjXwaBOuAdgTDLQnZWiv-GyMojgn5bBMbtjEucMBIwIPyKWXzwqLjX6zBW3Z-e7qYNBSLsmus9ctlN8vn1qVGVv2gEz9qs_ACyT-4JNWowi0i6PGibo/s400/DSC_0904.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pouring the cream & greek yogurt mixture onto the shell</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYa3y0AAZiocdO5D845Jlpz6Wz4jLOFQbKKzlW3HrOv-oEahQ2Z38uBjLb4LJgwPtjwee-GJudGyr4EUmI7oJMG1z0j6FFbgnzWMcRX5ceiZgiHsGBEwQyTMq91AiBeI-grE81FgFtrY/s1600/DSC_0907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYa3y0AAZiocdO5D845Jlpz6Wz4jLOFQbKKzlW3HrOv-oEahQ2Z38uBjLb4LJgwPtjwee-GJudGyr4EUmI7oJMG1z0j6FFbgnzWMcRX5ceiZgiHsGBEwQyTMq91AiBeI-grE81FgFtrY/s400/DSC_0907.JPG" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helping hand from the little cook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXeHYnFXdEGX6U6pXWrakrjOytPvxeu_2JmDNaAxMSlE588bKbniQ__7KF8kk22JI-aF5kRcE-3TQ-tHxgGpYvEnsGlsLbqQgWBt3aXiTFhedg7S4sX7Mhkef7-VOt8i8aw27hdFUtFU/s1600/DSC_0939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXeHYnFXdEGX6U6pXWrakrjOytPvxeu_2JmDNaAxMSlE588bKbniQ__7KF8kk22JI-aF5kRcE-3TQ-tHxgGpYvEnsGlsLbqQgWBt3aXiTFhedg7S4sX7Mhkef7-VOt8i8aw27hdFUtFU/s400/DSC_0939.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quite decadent for Friday afternoon tea?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__O6rWNznZQLubZAWPpT6Wfpb3EIJPMHzvFrJUqc7Dz8xsoaGwA_l1pejooXBRH3PWsV07jH_SCqwwFPNVHHUwUZ5hWSl7GrBNnYNeT1K3UBK2idH1saGvPAhWwpiZ-EHqyTQsJ4lbiY/s1600/DSC_0940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__O6rWNznZQLubZAWPpT6Wfpb3EIJPMHzvFrJUqc7Dz8xsoaGwA_l1pejooXBRH3PWsV07jH_SCqwwFPNVHHUwUZ5hWSl7GrBNnYNeT1K3UBK2idH1saGvPAhWwpiZ-EHqyTQsJ4lbiY/s400/DSC_0940.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sharing bit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfAEPYqIADajfxt-o_Yt_c6pcyKqjSMAp3KnfOViC43EP-Z8oj0Q6qVJ8QqpDCQRVtVSz5hldZeVZPcB-t_00TJRr7UfYCmbxVlqoev1-5y6v3zmhwlfRkiZCdBc8gEdTa7AJxVx8dpQ/s1600/DSC_0942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinfAEPYqIADajfxt-o_Yt_c6pcyKqjSMAp3KnfOViC43EP-Z8oj0Q6qVJ8QqpDCQRVtVSz5hldZeVZPcB-t_00TJRr7UfYCmbxVlqoev1-5y6v3zmhwlfRkiZCdBc8gEdTa7AJxVx8dpQ/s400/DSC_0942.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table>Please make sure you visit a few pages on the Great Australian Pavlova Blog Hop. They are well worth the visit. <br />
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</script>Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-16486330184482978582011-10-24T20:17:00.000+11:002011-10-24T20:17:35.658+11:00Silo, Canberra<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1CJXczC4pQFDTR1ktLKevAdOGce74nq9AK9nZ9m1biGZHxtMUq8DryWnZS_6H0aBJG0u42xW7wDhNrlO9a9_8Z02Foy6yjj4eAMxPTQQjPSPxjB4NqzR8QQNZPH7q8L7l445aQ66XOA/s1600/DSC_0850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1CJXczC4pQFDTR1ktLKevAdOGce74nq9AK9nZ9m1biGZHxtMUq8DryWnZS_6H0aBJG0u42xW7wDhNrlO9a9_8Z02Foy6yjj4eAMxPTQQjPSPxjB4NqzR8QQNZPH7q8L7l445aQ66XOA/s400/DSC_0850.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Last week we headed down to <a href="http://www.visitcanberra.com.au/">Canberra</a> for a few days holiday. For Sydneysiders, Canberra is not exactly known as a classic tourist destination. It's almost the opposite of Sydney's sparkly busyness that is saturated by people, cars and culture. Canberra is serene, quiet, organised but if I'm completely honest, a little bit lacking in energy.<br />
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But truthfully, this change in pace made for a great holiday. Canberra makes things so easy. Nothing is more than 10 minutes drive from where we were in Kingston. There was a superb range of museums and galleries just around the corner, and no need to hop in the car to get great coffee or groceries.<br />
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<a href="http://www.silobakery.com.au/">Silo</a> is probably the rose-coloured tint for me. One of the best bakeries/cafes that I have ever experienced. We first went there 12 months ago on the recommendation of <a href="http://www.notquitenigella.com/2010/09/29/silo-bakery-kingston-canberra/">Not Quite Nigella</a>, and we're disappointed. This Canberra visit I made sure I could fit more than a few visits in.<br />
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This place is constantly busy. Even when we turned up for breakfast before 8am we had to wait for a table. But with good reason. Everything they produce is outstanding and is baked in house.<br />
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Unfortunately I only took my camera the one time we went, for a light breakfast of coffee, juice and croissant. On another occasion we had a gruyère omelette, and vegetarian quiches (ooops forgot my camera!)<br />
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The croissant was the best I've ever had outside France. The right balance of crunch on the outside with soft buttery inside.<br />
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We also sampled Silo's Sunrise juice, freshly squeezed orange and raspberry. A gorgeous combination which both the toddler and I really enjoyed.<br />
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With <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars">Good Living</a> to accompany my breakfast, who could want for more. A must if you visit Canberra.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQ97OlOSdDZoNJDDDPnECAlRzoOv3vtGGWnsYq1aRtgABE7_8QtYgtRykV3CyBhXYXRoCnvvOse4Udgmz_0qha7ZNo57GYjKEehgUier4gnMs4Ba6XOavd2zwSR1qaTLca_bu9qS8zhk/s1600/DSC_0844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQ97OlOSdDZoNJDDDPnECAlRzoOv3vtGGWnsYq1aRtgABE7_8QtYgtRykV3CyBhXYXRoCnvvOse4Udgmz_0qha7ZNo57GYjKEehgUier4gnMs4Ba6XOavd2zwSR1qaTLca_bu9qS8zhk/s400/DSC_0844.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950352861570959010.post-81053484372029221492011-10-11T19:00:00.000+11:002011-10-11T19:00:27.975+11:00Baking with and for toddlers part 2: banana breadI have something to admit. This was my first time baking banana bread. Yes really.<br />
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Banana bread to me has a slightly evil element to it. It's cake masquerading as bread. And calling it bread seems to make it an acceptable foodstuff to eat at breakfast. Honestly, it's cake, and great cake at that. But I'm not going to be baking this every day so I'm sure I can achieve some sort of moderation with it.<br />
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Bananas are practically a foodgroup in our household these days. Even when bananas went up to $14/kilo here in Australia, we couldn't give up our habit. The little girl says only a couple of words in the morning before she starts shouting 'naannnaaa' and then 'more please'. She normally eats at least one, sometimes two. It will be a sigh of relief for our grocery bill when they come back to $3/kilo. <br />
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We found some relatively cheap (very ripe) organic bananas so I decided it was time to try out making banana bread. And I knew that the preparation would keep us busy for an hour or so. The little girl loved pouring in the ingredients, and mashing the bananas, despite the massive temptation to eat them! We'll definitely be making this again, it went down a treat just with butter and also toasted. Very dense and moorish. The little one loved it too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Link to recipe by <a href="http://www.figandcherry.com/recipes/breakfast/dense-and-moist-banana-bread-recipe/">Fig and Cherry</a>Heavenly Ingredientshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05602440315871993303noreply@blogger.com5