circle of life.

i'll miss you, grandma.

Love, me

Morrocan- Indian style seafood cous cous

Inspired by a recipe from Jamie Oliver ( and recent discovery of tagine and Morrocan cuisine), I've made up this superbly tasty seafood dish that i think everyone should try making it. It's so easy and carries so much flavour that even the cheapest fish/prawns taste like lobster! :)

To make 4 servings:
1. finely chopped an onion, fry on a hot pan with olive oil
2. add garlic and chopped chilli to create nice fragrance and colour
3. grind up cumin seeds, rosemary, a bit of sage, paprika, cinnamon and sea salts to make our seasoning
4. add the seasoning into pan, mix well, add a knob of butter.
5. add hot water to cous cous and cook in microwave for about 30-45seconds. add into hot pan( as the butter has melted)
6. stir the cous cous through the seasoning,add flakes of fish, squid, prawns etc., mushrooms on top. Cut half a lemon and just add into the pan.sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper on the fish.
7. Wet a stack of newspaper / kitchen paper and cover the top of the pan completely , lower the fire --> a makeshift tagine, where the cous cous is pan fried and seafood is steamed/stewed. This way, the texture and sweetness of seafood are preserved really well.

the "tagine"

8.Simmer for about 10-15 mins, checking that fish is cooked. Open the "tagine" ( at this point, you can quickly stir the whole mixture to ensure that the seafood on top is well seasoned) sprinkle with parsley and maybe a bit more of chopped chilli. Squeeze lemon juice out of the now-very-soft lemon.

I love Swiss brown mushrooms in everything!!(:

9. Plate it up. It will smell great. and taste awesomeeee.and the best part is that it only takes about 30 mins for this wonderful concoction.

The thing i love about cous cous is that, unlike rice/pasta, it is so quick to cook and easily combined with many other exotic ingredients!!!great carrier of flavours!!

Je'taime, Glebe!

I love Glebe. One of the few places in sydney where you actually dont feel like...you're in Asia.LOL

Absolutely adore the interior design of San Churros.

Crunchy Churros and milk chocolate dip. yummmm.
Little note to remember our classy day (:

We then headed to clipper cafe for brunch - felt like we were in Venice (:

Je'taime (:


Baked eggs with mushrooms and spinach. Simple food for the happy soul (:

My sneaky photo taking at an antique bookshop

Taitai wannabe (:

My next destination - glebe market for vintage clothing!

a girly day out (:

My exam is finally over. the end of the toast, spread and coffee diet.
This morning I woke up at 6am , earliest time ever - well besides that time when i was waken up uber early to go to hunter valley with me lovely friends :D - so I decided to stock up enough glucose supply for me brain to last the 2-and-a-half-hour exam

My morning fresh start

Went to Adriano Zumbo after exam for some pastry indulgence - spent 2 hours trying to figure out how to get there, but it was all worth it. The place wasnt as high class as I thought but the cakes were definite divine. Loved the rhubarb macarons to bits.

Back to QVB for some girly shopping spree - i wanted a pair of flats and probably some poodle skirt for my friend's theme party. Couldnt get what I liked in the end, but i surely had a wonderful night with me besties -and not to forget, a sweet surprise that got me all blushed for the rest of dinner (:

At Kansai - a Japanese buffet restaurant. Eat till we drop!!!
Edamame I think it was?!?
Our all-time favourite - UNAGI!!
A whole bridge of shashimi
Dragon rolls- didnt look that great but who cares, there's more unagi:D
Yummy teriyaki salmon - ade was so disgusted that I ate the skin as well :))

At David Jones in the search for the 1950s- being hypnotised by cool *and extremely expensive* headgears and corsages

Random weird stuff :))

My friend claimed this looked like the Malay's traditional hat :/

Now it's time to plan for my lovelie's 21st. im thinking opera cake, cupcakes, cheesecake brownies, canapes. See how much time i've got (:

Body attackkk!!

Had a good workout today with me lovely neighbour. felt so good afterwards, and this was how i reward myself :) [ despite the fact that im still super unfit :/]

grilled chicken with steam brocolli and mashed sweet potato. And I couldnt resist having uber sweet corn as side (:

Seasoning for chicken: cumin seeds + rosemary + oregano + parsley + salt, pepper, olive oil. I manually ground the herbs before rubbing onto chicken --> bring out so much flavour!!
Mashed potato would prob be better with chicken than sweet potato, but I wanted a healthier choice :D

Another quick yummy lunch for the health-conscious :)
Toast topped with lettuce, tomato, zucchini, canned tuna (in brine) , sprinkled parmesan, low fat whole egg mayonnaise ( my fav., cant eat sandwich/salad without it :D ) and honey mustard sauce.

Tip from my personal trainer (aka housemate :D) :
1. if you have to have some sugar, have it right after your workout --> your muscle will utilise it immediately--> wont turn into fat.
2. Have a low carb (but NOT zero )+ high protein meal after you exercise --> hence my dinner today :)

Medball and the food critique

I had the best time today. He came to my pharmacy. Totally made my day *grins* Medball was really good, had great company. not too sure about food.

well , here is my verdict of the alternative menu @ Four Points Sheraton:

1. Entree

Scallop with saffron risotto, ocean trout roe and tomato salsa - decently good 6/10

Baby chicken with salad and vinaigrette - not too good, meat wasnt seasoned through, salad unimpressive. 4/10

2. Mains

Pan fried barramundi fillet with lemon risotto and grilled tomato - i though the risotto was really good, love the burst of lemon flavour aftertaste. Fish was average, definitely not 5 star standard. Skin was too tough,and the knife was too blunt - 6/10

Lamb cutlets with grilled asparagus and sweet potato puree. This was the disappointment of the night, considering how much i looked forward to the meat :/ Lamb was too rare, tough and contained too much tendon --> cant even cut through. There was also lots of fat - 2/10

3. Desserts

Chocolate mousse with 3 fillings - orange zest, chocolate and rasberry. i liked the mousse, fillings not impressive, the sauce was pointless, except for presentation's sake -definitely not exceptional- 5/10

Coconut bavarois with mango and passionfruit jelly - superb. the only great food of the day-8/10

Now to the highlight of the day :)

The beautiful sari that i managed to put on myself(:
Our awesome table + Mel ( prob was busy socialising :D)

Trashy time!!!

Okie im sleepy.good nite world!

Healthy change

what i've learnt today:
1. there are people who drink 20 liters of water a day ( from Karen Gibson's lecture) - my diagnosis: they definitely have a drinking problem :/
2. After 2 months, Yanni and I discovered that his surname is Lu. Or Loooo. Whatever. Haha.
3. As much as I hate communication assignment, it actually helps to take my Hx taking to the next level!
4. Always trust that Ben Lai WILL cross the road even if the light is green and a gigantic bus is approaching. it's the kind of adrenalin rush you would *literally* die for.
5. Dior poison is no longer made in 100ml bottle:(
6. Brumby's butterless banana cake is made with SKIM MILK!!! --> the more reason to love it

My "pizzata"
a combination between pizza and frittata, a delicious option for low carb diet!

What's in it? sausage, chicken, green peas, tomato, celery, carrot, zucchini, cheddar, mozarella, fetta cheese, eggs ( My Italian roommate totally condemned me for adding meat into the classic frittata but well, my theory of savoury food is that they have to contain some animal proteins:D)
I also like to chop things up into cubes/ slices when im on my low carb diet because it allows me to measure the number of servings i'm having. For some weird reason,I tend to eat less when things are all chopped up !?! (i.e i can eat 2 steaks, but only 1 bowl of minestrone)
The wonder of this dish is that you can use all those little portions of leftover vege/ meat that dont really make a meal on their own, but definitely add up to a nutritious dinner. Make sure you don't overload on the meat ( i used a sausage and a chicken thigh fillet for 3 servings) because eggs already have pretty high protein content.

Creamy baked rice WITHOUT creme

On the topic of healthy eating, I've found an awesome way to make creamy rice/pasta without using the fattening creme. The secret lies in just 1 whisked egg, some low fat milk + a sauce base. Trust me, you probably can't tell the difference:)

My favourite breakfast/snack /yoghurt add-ins.
Medball tomorrow (:

What's on my shopping list today:
bangles for the sari i'm wearing to medball
perfume - no real purpose except I really liked it(:

Le moment

Life is all about the moments. Moments of happiness and of disappointment. Moments to remember and those to forget. And then there is the moment when one falls in love.

As for me, NOW is the moment I adore photography and good food. I don't take the best pictures. or cook the best dishes. But they surely capture my moments, the things i care about most (:

And if you dont already notice, I have a special obsession for all things pastry. from savoury pies to elegant souffles.

For a start, here are some creme puffs i made today. Not excellent, but yummy enough to satisfy my sinful obsession (:

Fresh puffs from the oven

filled with creme patissiere and dusted with icing sugar. Voila!

Quick and easy to make, yet uber yummilicious.
[make about 20 average sized puffs]

Choux pastry
220g hot water
200g eggs
100g butter
150g flour

Method:

Preheat oven at 200 degree C.

Simmer the hot water till bubbles form, be careful not to let too much water evaporate. I think the key to make these babies stay puffy yet stiff for a long time is the proportion of water and flour. Add butter, continue to simmer. Take off the heat, quickly add flour, mix thoroughly then put back onto the heat. Continue folding the flour until the dough looks shiny ( or a shiny layer appears on the bottom of saucepan) I guess the special thing about choux pastry is that the pastry is cooked through before its baked!! * another cool reason to be obsessed with pastry*

The dough is slightly cooled in a running electric mixer for about 2 minutes*, then gradually add eggs till dough is well mixed and reaches a good consistency. I usually test dough consistency using the gravity method i.e spoon some dough up and count number of seconds it takes to drop back into the mixer. A good consistency for choux pastry is probably about 8-10s. Piping the dough into the right shape is also important as it determines what final product you get. If you use a zig-zag kind of nozzle, you'll prob get something like eclair. For creme puffs, just squeeze out a generous lump, then quickly flick the bag to form a little tip on top.

Just before putting them into the oven, dip your finger into water and slightly tap that sharp tip on each of the lumps. This water literally acts like sunscreen preventing the top (which is a very thin layer compared to the fat bottom- typical pear shaped figure of the puffs :D ) from burning and also provides some extra moisture for the rising of the dough. Bake for about 15-20 mins.


* many choux pastry recipes dont require this cooling process, but i personally like my eggs to stay fresh and not too well cooked in the hot dough.

Creme patissiere - the convenient way
creme fraiche ( i used Dairy Farmer's full cream - just as good)
thick custard ( can be bought from supermarket or homemade using egg yolk and milk)
vanilla bean ( or vanilla essence)
Liquor, optional (preferably creme-based like baileys. I used kalua, which made the creme filling taste a bit like tiramisu)

Method:
Whip the creme, then add everything else. continue whipping if creme becomes runny. pipe into each cooled puff. be generous :)

Dust with icing sugar. or dip into hot chocolate. decorate with some strawberries. Or even make a strawberry sauce since they are so cheap these days!!

Then , it's divine :)