a tasty disaster

Too many cooks spoil the broth right. Well in this case it only needed one cook to ruin it. Myself. Jamie Oliver I am not, and attempting to make a recipe with guesstimation of ingredients does not always work. I used my 'just add extra sugar' motto as that usually tends to help. Unfortunately when the thing you are attempting to make is caramel and needs exact ingredients it doesnt always work as well!. Ah well.

I was attempting to make gluten-free, white chocolate caramel shortbread. I made gluten-free, white chocolate toffee biscuits. And when I say toffee I mean teeth breaking stuff. Also mouth scorching stuff - in my haste to try my caramel concoction I removed the top layer of skin from the roof of my mouth.

But regardless of my burnt mouth and the fear that I could crack a tooth with each hard bite they were still rather tasty.

If you wish to make your own (USE MEASUREMENTS!!) then here are the ingredients / instructions...

Shortbread : mix together till crumbly then pat into greased baking tray. Cook for 20mins on a medium heat.

250g Rice Flour

100g sugar

150g butter

Caramel :
Whilst shortbread is cooling mix together caramel over a boiling heat. About 7 minutes will do it...10 minutes will turn it too much into toffee...(!) so when it starts going darker and slightly thicker take straight off heat! Spread onto the cooled shortbread and leave to cool.

400g Condensed milk

100g butter

50g sugar

 

Chocolate topping :

Microwave / melt 300g white chocolate and spread on the top of the caramel. Leave to set. Voila!

 

Emily x

 

Dumpling Delight

Squid and green beans with cumin




pork and fennel dumplings



So on Sunday evening I got taken to Barilla Dumpling, an extremely popular Asian Restuarant. Fluro lighting and plastic tableclothes do little to dim its appeal, and the que for a table was out the door.

An impressive menu with even more impressive prices -  $10 for 20 pork and fennel dumplings, its hard to not be taken with the place. The busy surroundings adds to the atmosphere of the place, and with the asian written board menu its not hard to picture myself back in Vietnam. The food (as in Vietnam) comes out when its good and ready, so don't expect your dishes all at once.

After an extensive debate we settled on three options - pork and fennel dumplings, squid and cumin with green beans, and the fried french beans with spicy salt - something which my dining companion raved about. And once I had tried it I could see why. Covered in almost a tempura batter, they were light and crispy, and oh so delicious.



fried french beans with spicy salt



Condiments ahoy each table have their own pots of soy, asian vinegar, and mild-chilli oil...something which pleases myself as I like to drown each chopstick held bite. Tea also comes complimentary to your table. And something to make the purse strings even happier...Barilla is a BYO so you can have your own cheap bottle of plonk without having to worry about shelling out the average $50 charge for one in a restaurant.

Don't expect great service, or lush surroundings, but do expect delicious food that is great value for money. A must visit for any Aucklander with tastebuds!

Emily x

Hold the press : ive found the best invention ever!

 Okay. Steady yourselves people. As after 25 years I've just found a simple kitchen appliance that makes everything tasty, and practically gourmet (in my eyes!). Enter the 'immersion blender'.

I cant believe it. All I did was chop up some nearly-off veg, cook it then blend it in the pan with some chicken stock and I feel like Gordon Ramsey right about now. Its so tasty! And SO smooth. And I thought making your own soup was quite a hassle. How wrong I was! Oh gosh I want to eat/drink this all day.

I'm about to become the soup woman. Right now I would happily forgo packing the hair-straightener's to make room for my immersion blender. And its oh so easy to clean! Believe me, coming from the girl who finds two minute noodles a right faff to make, this soup could not have been easier! 

Immersion blender, I applaud you.

Emily x

Corking stuff!

If anyone ever visits Melbourne, or even lives in Melbourne and is looking for something to do I cannot recommend highly enough the Yarra Valley wine tours. Myself and five girlfriends took a Sunday to refresh our palettes, and get slightly merry along the way. Starting off on the champagne, and ending on the fortified's (with cheese!) we all came to the conclusion that a man with his own vinyard is like the new Ryan Gosling. Something we all want!

Costing around $100 you get picked up from the city and driven around several wineries, touring and tasting each one. A beautiful Italian lunch was included in the price... mmmm bellisimo! My favourite day in Melbourne to boot.

Seriously whether your a wine lover or not, this is great day out. Im already booking myself in for Christmas time...!

Emily x