I am the antichrist of parenting

During my very short stint at parenting (a whole four and half months!), I have discovered there are two schools of thought for EVERYTHING amongst mothers. There’s the “acceptable” way of doing things and then there’s the “other way” of doing things which if you do this, expect finger pointing and sniggering behind your back. The methods I use to raise my baby tend to fall in the latter category. Not deliberately, it’s just the way things have worked out.

Firstly, I had a caesarean (gasp!) albeit an emergency one but I rather fancied it. So much so, that I am going to have an elective one next time around (double gasp!). The “acceptable” way of giving birth is the natural way so you can feel like a real woman and feel the sensation of birth, the way mother nature intended. Stick that.

Secondly, I don’t breastfeed my baby (gasp, ahh, clunk- that’s the sound of someone fainting and hitting the ground). Now I really did want to breastfeed and I would still like too however, I had trouble. Putting my baby on formula was the best thing for me at the time and to be honest, I’m glad I did because it has been smooth sailing ever since. Despite this, I still get “the look” from breastfeeding mothers when I announce I use formula.

Thirdly, I use disposable nappies and not the reusable variety. I am aware of the environmental impact and added financial burden however, as a 21st century gal, I figure I have better things to do with my precious time then to wash and soak nappies all day long but understand that other mums don't mind investing the time.

Other noteworthy no-nos which I have adopted include, using a dummy, circumcising my son and starting him on solids at four and half months.

In summary (yes there is a point to this tale),mothers are a funny bunch. When I became a mother I expected to enter this exclusive club where I would be welcomed with open arms. I expected streamers and balloons and a big banner which said “welcome. You’re now one of us!” (a bit over the top?). I imagined chatting with my fellow mothers about the joys of motherhood and how gifted our children are. Instead it’s all about comparing and judging each other.

OK, now here is my point (finally). Mothers, listen up. Pull your heads in. Being a mum is a tough gig so let’s be each other’s number one supporters rather than tough critics. Be open minded and respect the choices other mothers make.

This time I really am back

Phew!

Ok, so I know I promised last November that I would write stuff about our trip to Germany (I can't believe that was now over a year ago!) bu I've been busy. Yes, most of you know that I have been busy have a baby (now that's a damn good excuse for not blogging). Yes, Mark and I welcomed the beautiful Dylan in August 2011.

Before you start rolling your eyes, yes there will be baby posts (in fact my first real post will be baby related) but they will be more about my experiences as a new parent. I am still food obsessed and will still be posting heaps of recipes I've tried out (yes, I am now finding time to cook) and also reviews about places I've eaten recently.

I'm back

Apologises for the hiatus but I've been travelling (to Germany...more on that later) and now that I'm back, I've been busy settling back into work and doing "stuff". Unfortunately, this "stuff" (which hasn't really consisted of anything interesting) has caused me to neglect my blog!

Over the next month I will post some tales about my adventures in the Fatherland as well as some details about what food extravaganzas I have planned for Christmas.

My cupcakes bring all the boys to the yard...

On Sunday, I held a high tea/party lite candle party shindig at my place. For the occassion I made cupcakes and a few people have asked for my recipe. Again it is a Nigella recipe (thank you Nigella, you really are a domestic goddess) and it is easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

Ingredigents (makes 12)
125g SR flour
125g castor sugar
125g room temp butter, diced
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add SR and stir until combined. Add eggs one at a time and combine after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix to combine. Divide batter among 12 cup cake cases. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 12 minutes or until cupcakes are golden.

Once cooked, allow to cool completely before icing. Here is a great vanilla butter cream icing recipe:

Ingredients
180g room temp butter
2 cups icing sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
mix all ingredients together until fluffy.

Darwin Delights

Last weekend I ventured up to Darwin. While I was there due to unfortunate circumstances, I still managed to take advantage of some of the local food delights.

The Darwin Festival was on during my visit so one night I made my way over to the park on the Esplanade where they had live music and food stalls. I had a lovely Malaysian chicken curry and a beef massaman from local asian food restaurant, Hanuman.

On Saturday, we treated ourselves to the Parap markets. For lunch I had chicken pad thai. The green paw paw salad is also worth tasting.

Believe it or not, Darwin is a foodie paradise. One of my favourite food memories is eating chicken satay and beef massaman on the beach at sunset at the Mindil Beach markets. Life doesn’t get much better than that really.

Check me out

I am going to digress from my food themes for just one moment to show you a picture of moi holding THE Melbourne Cup. Yes, the very cup that will be presented to this year's race winner.

Yesterday, Borders in the City had a launch of the History of the Melbourne Cup and they had it sitting outside the store! (BTW - I wasn't there for the book launch, I happened to be there because I had a 40% off voucher).

The cup weighs 4kgs and is worth $150,000. It is a shame I am not a fast runner otherwise I would have run off it.

The guy next to me is Mel Schumacher. He was the jockey who won the Cup in 1958.

Very cool indeed.

Anniversary at Anise

Last week, Mark and I celebrated our 4^th wedding anniversary and to honour this occasion, we did what we do best – go out to dinner! We ventured back to our old neck of the woods, New Farm to go to a restaurant which we have never been to before even though it has been there for many years – Anise!

Anise is a small, 21 seat European style wine bar and restaurant. There are no tables and chairs, everyone sits around the bar. I must admit at first I was not too keen on this but it turned out to be heaps of fun and really added to the ambience of the place.

The bar featured an impressive wine, spirit and cocktail menu. The friendly staff were really knowledgeable about the menu and were more than happy to chat with you about the different wines/spirits and even offered a taste of anything you weren’t familiar with.

The food menu is French inspired and it changes seasonally. We were treated with the winter menu which featured a great range of warming comfort food. My dinner consisted of the following.

· Entrée: pan seared scallops with boudin noir, celeriac puree & Caperberry noisette

· Main: grain eye fillet with carrot & Swede dauphinoise, truffle honey glazed carrots

· Dessert: profiteroles with gianduia (choc/hazelnut) ice cream, praline and chocolate ganache.

Each dish was cooked brilliantly and combined a variety of different flavours and textures. Very cool.

Find Anise at 697 Brunswick Street, New Farm

Finally, a cool coffee place in Brisbane City!

Have you checked out the great new coffee shop in the city called The Coffee Supplier? Mark calls it "under the boom gate" because it is just that - it is located down a lane way (off Elizabeth St in the city), then under a boom gate and then at the end of a warehouse. The interior is very industrial with exposed bricks and wooden beams, and the original artworks adjourn the walls. The actual coffee is great and they roast their own beans. I recommend you venture down the laneway and under the boom gate!

Aria Adventures

Last Thursday, I ventured out to Aria. No not the music awards, Matt Moran's Brisbane version of his iconic Sydney restaurant. May I say that I was most impressed and the whole experience lived up to my expectations. The food was amazing and the service was friendly and efficient.

For entree, I had the Kingfish (serviced with spanner crab, avocado, harissa and a smoked tea seasoning). I am told by a reliable source (ie fellow foodie and babysitter of Colin, Jono) this is one of Moran's signature dishes. Very nice indeed and as Matt Preston would say, it was plated beautifully.

Main course consisted of a roasted rump of lamb with piperade, smoked eggplant and a roast onion jus. Everything but the eggplant was delicious. The lamb was cooked perfectly and it was super tender.

For dessert, I had the jam doughnuts with strawberries and cinnamon ice cream. I am not sure why I was drawn to this because I am not really a big doughnut fan and they had a dark chocolate tart on the menu, but I am glad I did. I am still day dreaming about these little babies and I had no idea that doughnuts could taste this good. If you go to Aria and have only one course, make it the doughnuts!!

I also recommend going for lunch as they have a set price. It is $55 for 2 courses or $70 for 3. If I went at dinner time, I would have paid $30 for the entree, $50 for main and $20 for dessert. Lunch is definitely a bargain!! Just a little hint!

Now go on and enjoy it for yourself.

Italian Sausage Ragout (serves 4)

This meal is perfect for those weekday nights when you feel like something warm and hearty but don’t have the time to make a stew or casserole.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 gloves garlic, crushed
500g Italian Sausages, skins removed
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup red wine
400g can chopped tomatoes
Italian parsley, chopped
Shaved parmesan

Method
1. Heat oil in a hot frying pan and add onion and garlic. Cook until onion becomes translucent.
2. Add the sausage mince and cook until browned.
3. Add the rosemary and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the red wine and again, cook for 2 minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil and reduce heat and allow the ragout to simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce reduces slightly to thicken.
6. Serve over pasta and top with a generous amount of parmesan and parsley

As you all know, I caved into the end of financial year sales (EOFYS!) and purchased the Kitchen Aid pasta attachment. Last weekend I gave it a test run and can I just say, it is fabulous. I went a little overboard with the amount of pasta and made quite a lot. As a result, my normal little wooden pasta hanging thing (that's its technical name) wasn’t big enough so I had to improvise and use the clothes horse. Now, little Colin loves pasta and he spent the whole evening circling,starving shark style, under the drying pasta. It was very cute.

Sarah/Donna Hay’s Raspberry- Spiked Chocolate Brownies

This recipe belongs to a friend of a friend, Sarah but it also happens to be a Donna Hay recipe. Sarah is a brilliant cook and I have had the pleasure of attending one of Sarah’s afternoons teas where she cooked up a storm. This recipe is no exception. I have modified the method a little to suit my tastes

Ingredients
200g dark (70%) chocolate
250g butter
1 ¾ cups (205g) brown sugar
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/3cup (40g) cocoa powder sifted
1 ½ cups raspberries (I use frozen)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Line and grease a square 23cm cake tin.
3. Over a low heat, melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan. Mix should be smooth and glossy when melted.
4. In a bowl, mix sugar and eggs until mixture in light and fluffy and the sugar has dissolved.
5. Sift flour, baking powder and cocoa over sugar and egg mix, add the chocolate mix, and stir to combine (be careful not to over mix otherwise the dough will become tough).
6. Top with raspberries and push a few of them down into the middle of the mix.
7. Bake for 45mins or until set (should be fudgey in the middle).

Enjoy

The Grand New Financial Year Backflip

Remember my post from last week about the new financial year resolution, and how I said I will be saving my pennies for our upcoming overseas adventures? Well, forget about it and pretend that post never existed!

Yesterday I made a purchase. It wasn’t a huge purchase, but it wasn’t a small purchase either.... I bought a Florence Broadhurst print. It is really lovely and will look amazing in our bedroom above our bed. Look at the image above for a sneak peak of what the print looks like.

The print is fabric stretched over canvas.

I made the purchase online (god bless the internet) from Signature Prints in Sydney (http://www.signatureprints.com.au/). I will receive it in approx 3 weeks.

Signature Prints sell a wide range of other Florence Broadhurst prints, as well as fabric and wall paper. If you were clever (unlike me!) you could simply buy the fabric and stretch it over canvas yourself.

OK, I've got my Florence and my Kitchen Aid pasta attachment, enough spending!

I've done it!

I have taken advantage of the mid year sales and finally purchased myself the Kitchen Aid Pasta Roller & Fettuccine Cutter Attachment Set.

The attachment has the pasta roller which is perfect for making lasagne sheets, or pasta sheets for ravioli or pappardelle, and a fettuccine cutter.

As you would know from my previous posts, I have been day dreaming about owning this set for ages. I love pasta making and this set, together with my kitchen aid will certainly take out all of the elbow grease.

I bought the set online from Peters of Kensington (http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/)

Pasta anyone?

Food heroes

I was listening to Triple M’s The Cage a few weeks ago, and a listener shared a story about his son’s school project.

The boy’s project topic was “Who is your hero?” His answer? Well, it was:

“Steak!
I love steak because it is yum and it makes me happy. It is nice when well but a bit pink.”

In an era of badly behaved sporting heroes, and hypocritical and untrustworthy politicians, I reckon this kid is spot on the money. Non human heroes are a far safer bet!

My non human hero (besides bubble tea) would have to be carrot cake. It too is yum and makes me happy but I am also astounded by the fact that an ordinary vegetable could be so tasty in cake. Who came up with the idea? Genius.

I love the fact that every bite is like a little party in my mouth and everyone is invited. Come on over nuts, cinnamon, and cream cheese icing….

I only wish my beloved carrot cake was kinder to my thighs BUT I’m sure with all the carroty goodness, one serve of carrot cake would also be equivalent to one serve of vegetables. That’s probably the best justification of them all!

What is your non human hero?

An Ode to Bubble Tea

My work colleagues would appreciate this post more than anyone else because they witness, almost on a daily basis, my addiction to bubble tea.

What is bubble tea? Wikipedia defines bubble tea as “a sweetly flavored tea beverage. Drink recipes may vary, but most bubble teas contain a tea base mixed with fruit (or fruit syrup) and/or milk. Ice blended versions of the drink are also available, usually in fruit flavors.”

To this sweetly flavored tea beverage (I love that definition!) you add a choice of toppings which includes fruit jelly and pearls. Pearls would most accurately be described as little black balls of hard snot, but they are actually tapioca balls.

My bubble tea of choice is the honey milk tea with pearls. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. It’s sweet
2. It’s tasty
3. It makes me happy
4. It reminds me of a summer’s day
5. It’s an all in one beverage and snack
6. It could be used as a weapon (by shooting the pearls out the straw)

Happy 2010/2011

Happy (belated) new financial year!!! I get really excited around this time of year (probably not as excited as David Koch would be but more excited than the average person!!). Why this madness? Well, why not, there’s a lot to be excited about. There’s the end of financial year sales (hello Myer), tax cuts (thanks K Rudd), and it’s a time to make new financial year resolutions. What are my resolutions? To continue saving for our overseas adventures. We are off to Germany, Poland and France in October this year. We would also like to go to Norway and Denmark in the next couple of years so we will have to save our pennies for that.

I wish you all the best for the next 6 months and beyond!

Best of the Markets

As you all know, Wednesday is my favourite day because it's market day in Brisbane city. This recipe shows off the best produce from the Jan Power's Farmers' Markets. The salmon (beautiful Atlantic Salmon from Tasmania) is from the Princess Charlotte Seafoods,the tomatoes are from Classical Tomatoes*, and the herbs are from Zesty Herbs.

Salmon with tomato and lime salsa

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 tsp caster sugar
1 tbs lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 bunch coriander leaves
½ bunch mint leaves
1 punnet grape tomatoes, halved
2 spring onions or ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
2 fillets salmon or ocean trout fillets
2 tbs olive oil

Method
1. Preheat the grill to a medium/high heat
2. Place the chilli, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and sesame oil in a bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Tear the herbs in a separate bowl and add the tomatoes and onion.
4. Season the salmon fillets with salt and black pepper, then set aside.
5. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick ovenproof frypan over medium-high heat. Add the salmon and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Transfer the salmon to the grill and cook, skin side up until crispy and the salmon is cooked to your liking.
6. Just before serving, toss the dressing with the tomato mixture.
7. Place the salmon on a plate and top with the salsa. Serve with lime wedges.
8. You could serve this with steamed jasmine rice as well.

* Classical Tomatoes: these are the greatest tomatoes I have EVER tasted. The tomatoes are grown on a farm which are organic, poison free, they are pollinated by native bees, and they are grown to classical music.

Asian style chicken and corn soup

It is definitely getting colder so we’re all in need of some warming comfort food. This recipe is a nice twist on the old favourite, chicken and corn soup. The fresh coriander and chilli really freshens up the soup! I guarantee this will keep the winter blues away.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
400g chicken thigh fillets, chopped
1 brown onion, thinly sliced
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
4cm piece of ginger, grated finely
1 litre of good quality chicken stock
420g can creamed corn
310g canned corn kernels. drained
A dash of fish sauce
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced (and deseeded if you prefer)
½ bunch fresh coriander, chopped

Method
1. In a hot deep pan, heat olive oil and add onion. Cook until onion is translucent (do not allow to colour) and add chicken. Cook chicken until sealed all over.
2. Add garlic and ginger to the chicken and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Again, do not allow garlic and ginger to brown (this changes the flavour of the garlic and ginger and may cause them to go bitter).
3. Add the stock, creamed corn, corn kernels and the dash of fish sauce. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken has cooked.
4. Divide soup amongst 4 bowls. Garnish with the coriander and chilli.

Bundy, steak and Belgian delights

My apologies for the hiatus, I’ve been too busy going out and around, in and around! This means that I now have plenty to write about in this blog post.

Last weekend Mark, Colin and I made the trek up to Bundaberg to take advantage of the long weekend and to see the family.

On the way to Bundy, we stopped at Laurel Tree Cottage coffee shop in Childers for a much needed coffee and breakfast stop. Coffee and bread is obviously very rare in Childers as the price of coffee and toast was astronomical! We paid $4.50 for a small (very average) coffee, and $4.50 for 2 pieces of thin toast with vegemite. Definitely by-pass this place if you ever venture for a Bundy or beyond adventure.

We stayed at one of the very few pet friendly accommodation options in Bundy, Absolute Ocean Front Caravan Park at Bargara. As the name suggests, the park is absolute ocean front. Our cabin was right next to the water, if we were any closer, we would have been in the ocean! The cabin was basic but contained everything you need for a weekend away. I highly recommend it. Address is 117 Woongarra Scenic Drive, Bargara.

Unfortunately I didn’t experience any gastronomical delights in Bundy this time but can I just add that I enjoyed 2 local delicacies – a rooster roll from Red Rooster and a fruit flan from the Cheesecake Shop. I will not comment any further...

On Wednesday night, I had dinner at the Regatta Boatshed and can I just say that its steaks definitely give the Breakkie Creek Hotel and the Norman Hotel a run for their money. I ordered the 300g eye fillet. A tasty bit of meat from the Angus, Hereford cross from the southern darling downs farming group. The lucky cow was pasture fed for 30 months and 100 day grain fed before it ended up on my plate. I have not had a steak that tender in a long, long time; it just melted in my mouth. The Regatta Boatshed is located at 543 Coronation Drive, Toowong.

Now what would a post be without some reference to French food. Tomorrow Mark and I are off to the Belgian Beer Café (Ok so it’s technically not French food but it is close enough). Mark and I are also celebrating our 12 month anniversary in our lovely townhouse. We will be cracking a open a bottle of Moet (very French) to celebrate. More on all that next week…