tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59079354934245391082024-03-09T00:21:29.139+11:00Damn right I want a cupcake!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-71945444249232016142012-01-11T18:54:00.001+11:002012-01-11T18:54:39.112+11:00Fruit mince pie ice creamI was starting to think my fridge and freezer would never be rid of Christmas leftovers, but by the start of this week I had managed to use everything but half a fruit cake and 6 fruit mince pies.
Inspired by K's Xmas Pudding Ice Cream from In the Mood for Noodles and figuring that mice pies are really not too dissimilar to using biscuits and a fruit mix, I turned the leftover fruit minceUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-35852940051158115902012-01-08T20:36:00.000+11:002012-01-08T20:36:32.758+11:00Chocolate cupcakes in icecream cones with fresh strawberry icing
My best friend and one of the most awesome people in the world had his birthday at Trippy Taco today, so I made cupcakes. We had an outdoor table and it was a pretty warm day, so we really appreciated that the staff at Trippy offered to put the containers of cupcakes in the fridge for us till we were ready for them. I have to say, the staff at Trippy are lovely. I've always had great service Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-44963770654037247472012-01-03T22:59:00.000+11:002012-01-03T22:59:20.467+11:00Chocolate and Chambord Gelato
I've got a section of shelf in my pantry now dedicated to remnants of products that I want to use up so I can declutter my cupboards and get rid of the half packets and nearly empty bottles.
From this shelf this morning I grabbed a half block of chocolate and a nearly empty bottle of Chambord and turned it into a gelato, reducing the amount of milk from a chocolate gelato recipe and making up Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-22916815324966802252012-01-03T15:48:00.000+11:002012-01-04T16:16:12.331+11:00Rich lemon ice cream (or what to do with yolks left over from pavlova)When Victoria is in the middle of one of our hottest starts to a year on record, could I really have made anything other than ice-cream for my first post of 2012?
This is an incredibly rich ice-cream recipe that my mother has been making for years, initially as way of using up egg yolks left over from one of the giant 8 egg pavlovas she would make for family barbeques. Later on this ice-cream Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-24749593282048207262011-12-29T23:41:00.000+11:002011-12-29T23:41:46.761+11:00Flourless pistachio cupcakes with rosewater icingIt's probably because I have time on my hands, but I've been in the middle of some kind of reorganisation craze since I started annual leave. I've been madly moving the contents of all the kitchen cupboards and shelves around, finding things I forgot I had. Just before Christmas I turned the shelving over the buffet unit into a book case which means I now have room in my book cases for the other Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-75644653406312772122011-12-28T16:31:00.000+11:002011-12-28T16:31:59.052+11:00Christmas pudding vodka and eggless eggnogWow, it's been a really long time since my last post! It's been an insanely busy year at work, coupled with wedding planning, unwell dogs and the general family rollercoaster having more extreme ups and downs than usual. It's nice to finally have some free time again. For a couple of weeks at least... While I am enjoying my much awaited annual leave, I'll try to put up a few posts with some Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-26386102746613290362011-02-27T20:21:00.000+11:002011-02-27T20:21:05.500+11:0030 Day Vegan Easy Challenge - recipe list and questions for vegansI signed up to do the 30 Day Vegan Easy Challenge, running from 1st to 30th March. Unfortunately I will be doing the challenge alone - the rest of my household will be trying to be supportive and eat vegan meals with me when I cook at home. Initially we had all agreed to do the challenge together, but they backed down. Ah well.
I've been going through some of my recipe books, marking Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-77496879230038294182011-02-15T22:58:00.000+11:002011-02-15T22:58:42.256+11:00Lazy...I feel like I am really failing at this blog right now. I had all these plans to get back on track and catch up on all the places and dishes that have been exciting me of late but my plans all ended up in the toilet.
Most of my last week was taken up with study when work sent me off on a short course, along with a heavier than usual overtime load. It's been 9 years since I was at Uni (man I feelUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-8567128200649413132011-02-06T00:53:00.000+11:002011-02-06T00:53:46.603+11:00Strawberry And Star Anise Sorbet (raw/vegan)I'm so far behind with my posts of late, it's rather embarrassing... Till this evening, anytime I sit down to write up a post, my work phone rings. I've still had time to cook, just not anything complex. Thankfully this evening has been a little quieter and I hope I will now be able to start catching up with a few quick, short posts.
Earlier in the week I made a batch of strawberry sorbet. The Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-14709790264751770442011-01-29T15:33:00.002+11:002011-02-06T00:58:11.696+11:00Jasmine Inn, Vegan Friendly Thai Restaurant - YarravilleAfter a few bad experiences ending in allergic reactions, I've become rather sceptical of thai restaurants claiming that their dishes are or can be made vegetarian. I've been places where I have explained my allergies and ordered dishes based on the kitchen staffs assurances that a dish is vegan and shellfish free, only to have an allergic reaction a couple of bites in because Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-40687748428155554992011-01-25T00:11:00.000+11:002011-01-25T00:11:51.753+11:00Raw Strawberry MousseI finally replaced my blender, with something significantly more powerful than the previous. While I would have loved to get a vitamix or a blendtech, I really could not justify spending that kind of money on a kitchen appliance, so settled on a 1200 watt sunbeam cafe series blender that I picked up for a ridiculously reduced price and seems to be doing the trick.
It's not as quiet as I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-14229092516485391512011-01-19T23:48:00.000+11:002011-01-19T23:48:07.715+11:00Raspberry Blackout Cake from Vegan with a VenganceAs the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Our Swedish family have taken the long flight home to sub zero temperatures (-28C on some days. Eep!!!).
Before we did the sad farewells at the airport, we managed to squeeze in one final dinner at our home with the whole family present. For after dinner I wanted to make a really special chocolate cake. Mum had a wonderful moist chocolateUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-45344256724225189752011-01-13T12:53:00.000+11:002011-01-13T12:53:28.932+11:00Strawberries, wine and cheese on the mornington peninsulaLast week when Melbourne's weather turned the corner into summer and we briefly had sun, we figured it was about time we took our Swedish family out of the museums and off to enjoy the outdoors. We took our visitors to spent a day visiting the food and wine paradise around Red Hill. So many wineries and so much fruit and veg for sale direct from the farms!!!! And all 10 minutes drive Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-36030414984859040632011-01-05T00:24:00.000+11:002011-01-05T00:24:50.647+11:00Braised cinnamon tofuWith all the dining out we have been doing with our family the last few weeks, on top of Christmas, we have been eating a lot of crappy food lately. Don't get me wrong, the food has been tasty and really enjoyable such as the drop in visits to Lord of the Fries, pancake breakfasts, and the night we went out for dessert pizzas (totally awesome concept that I will soon experiment with at home).&Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-3009167664847268092011-01-01T18:08:00.002+11:002011-01-02T00:22:03.790+11:00Raw vegan cheesecake with berry sauce toppingI got my fiance a slice of raw cheesecake from TOFWD while we were in the city on boxing day because it was listed as no added sugar. He loved it so much I thought I would have a crack at making one at home.This would also be the first time I have made an attempt at a raw food dessert (unless fruit salad counts...)
I searched around the web for a few recipes, and by far the best looking one Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-68319592034451766852010-12-31T17:51:00.000+11:002010-12-31T17:51:18.599+11:00Seddon Deadly Sins II (pancake heaven)With our family visiting from Sweden, we have been out to local cafes for breakfast a few times in the last few weeks. By far everyones favourite so far has been Seddon Deadly Sins.
On one visit we were lucky enough to have turned up at exactly the right time to get a table for 8 without having to book! Usually they are pretty packed but we arrived just as 3 tables of people were leaving soUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-3165593199170926312010-12-29T20:13:00.000+11:002010-12-29T20:13:50.832+11:00Asparagus, chickpea and haloumi salad with mustard aioli dressingI'm posting this salad recipe at the request of my sister in law Marion so she has an easy to find copy when she gets back to Sweden :-)
I made this salad for our Christmas celebrations and it went down really well with everyone at the table.
Asparagus, Chickpea and Haloumi salad.
This volume made to served 15 people.
Ingredients
300 grams of sliced mushrooms
4 bunches of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-60768903882869441052010-12-28T18:17:00.000+11:002010-12-28T18:17:02.195+11:00Gasometer IIIt's been a busy week with Christmas preparations getting all the food ready for Christmas, two days of Christmas celebrations (Swedish tradition is to celebrate Christmas eve) and spending time with the family doing touristy things around the city.
On Monday though the family all went to visit old friends and we were left looking for ways to fill our day. After spending most of the day Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-89557509379233864902010-12-24T00:52:00.000+11:002010-12-24T00:52:28.479+11:00Christmas cake - traditional and vegan versions.Usually at Christmas time my mum goes into a baking frenzy, pumping fruit cake after fruit cake out of her kitchen as her traditional Christmas gift to her friends and one for the family to eat on Christmas day. This year however she has not baked a single thing because she doesn't have a kitchen. She started renovations back in July after the stumps on one side of the house went, and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-56922093228536310722010-12-23T18:49:00.000+11:002010-12-23T18:49:02.464+11:00Home made vegan chocolatesPart 2 of my posts on home made christmas presents will be a little longer than the first. This was a lot more time consuming than the white christmas and had to be done in stages. Like with the white christmas, I made everything gluten free and vegan as I was also giving some of the chocolates to K and Toby from In the Mood for Noodles.
I got started making chocolates when I was Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-59493321152061956192010-12-23T10:30:00.000+11:002010-12-23T10:30:01.183+11:00White Christmas - VeganSince this is the first year in a long time that I have actually had some time off work at Christmas (with the exception of last year when I was in Sweden for Christmas) I have actually had the time to make some Christmas gifts this year. Not a lot of time to blog about them, but time to cook at least.
The first I will post about was the simplest. This White Christmas only took me 10 minutes toUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-86305018693602386902010-12-22T23:27:00.001+11:002010-12-22T23:31:28.523+11:00Shakahari - CarltonWith the family over from Sweden we have been doing a lot of dining out while we have been out and about doing things around the city. There are a lot of blog entries just waiting for time to post them. So many photos of food and so little time to post...
Last nights dinner at Shakahari though was so good it warranted forcing some time to write an entry.
One of my sisters in law had herUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-58849892757415785412010-12-15T23:38:00.000+11:002010-12-15T23:38:10.303+11:00Nigella's 'Slut red raspberries in chardonnay jelly'. Veganised.Slut red raspberries in chardonnay jelly. Just the name of the dessert was enough for me to want to make it. I've also never made a Nigella Lawson recipe before. And it seemed a good way to use up the cheap bottles of $4 wine I seem to get given every year at around this time.
Nigella's original recipe can be found here. The recipe in the link is Nigella's take on a recipe she was sentUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-70900570139710298512010-12-13T22:19:00.000+11:002010-12-13T22:19:05.717+11:00East Brunswick ClubI can't believe it has taken me this long to get around to going to East Brunswick Club! Ok, so it is on the wrong side of the city for me and finding excuses to be in the area is a challenge, but I still should have found time to get there long ago.
I was taken by surprise by the size of the portions here! Massive! If we had known how big the serves were we would not have Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5907935493424539108.post-18967217243866444372010-12-06T22:54:00.003+11:002010-12-06T23:45:46.314+11:00Kri Kri Mezethopoleion - Veg friendly Greek restaurant, CBDSaturday night I took my mother and mother in law to see Hairspray. For pre theatre dinner, I wanted to find a restaurant as close to the theatre as possible so they would not have to walk far. My trusty smart phone app gave us a list of all the nearby veg friendly restaurants in the Spring/Little Bourke street area and we settled on Kri Kri Mezethopoleion, a greek restaurant on Little Bourke.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3