Dinner/dessert – Cooking at home & carrot cake

Day 19 – My carrot walnut sultana cake

Dinner – Mixed affair

I was working till 8pm today and by the time I got home mum had cooked up a storm. So what you see there is coleslaw, Greek salad, veggie pancakes, spring rolls, prawns, fish soup, mushroom stir-fry, salmon sashimi, chives with egg, capsicum salad and various pastries. It was indeed a very yummy meal! :D

Dessert – Carrot cake

During the day I had decided that I really wanted to try a carrot cake recipe. Yesterday i bought some walnut in shell and after shelling them I included it in the batter along with some mixed fruit and of course carrots. I got to admit that I used a tin too big for the cake so the cake itself was flat. But the good thing was it cooked in about 40min rather than the recommend 1 hour.

After the cake cooled down, I whizzed up some cream cheese icing and spread it on top and sprinkle some cinnamon to finish it off. Since everyone seemed busy during the day this cake was left in the fridge to cool (I am strange and I love my cakes very very cold…).

After the cake was cut up:

According to parents the cake tasted much much better than it looked. It was a very moist cake and the walnuts tasted very fresh (thanks to me for shelling) and you could see the carrots threads. According to my sister the icing was the good bit but then again she loves sugar. Finally, according to me it was mmm….the best carrot cake I have had in ages. Since this cake was so easy I could definitely consider making again.

I was quite pleased with myself as long as the tasting people like it. :D

Carrot, walnut and fruit cake – adapted from Cook’s Companion

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 125g self raising flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup mixed fruit
• 65g freshly shelled walnuts chopped
• 2 cups grated carrots

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a mixer for about a minute until combined. Then fold in the rest of the ingredients. You end up with quite a chunky mix.

Bake at 180 for 1 hour. Cool in tin and ice

For the icing I just used left over cream cheese (so not sure how much) and icing sugar.

Final notes: so easy and tasty! :D

Fruit – Green Mangoes

Day 18 – Yummy green mangoes

Last Sunday, I went with mum to do grocery shopping at Little Saigon in Footscray. This place is filled with great seasonal buys (mostly suited to the Asian population) at clearance prices when it is nearing the end of the day (say about 6pm). Green mangoes were only $1 a kilo…wow bargain in anyone’s terms. I love the place for cheap and fresh food. Not to mention they also have live seafood, fresh bread and other assortment of goodies.

The mango you see above was the last one left and I savoured every last bite. I wasn't a fan of mangoes of any variety until I came across the green version. Not too sweet yet not sour and to me it tastes just right and with a light crunch.

Now I think they have become one of my favourite fruits…:D

Water!

Day 17 – Water is the source of life

Whether you hate it or you love you need this! The recommended intake is 8 cups per day but I guess that depends on a range of factors such as the weather.

I thought I will write about water since it was a really warm spring day in Melbourne (28). After weeks long of high teens this was considered really really warm and signs that summer is just around the corner. Seeing it was warm, i think we all need an extra bit of water.

So drink up!

Snack – Fruit cake

Day 16 – Fruit cake and custard!

Heated up some dark fruit cake and added some cold custard… Mmm creamy and moist goodness!

I have always been a fan of fruit cake, I know some people may not like it due to mixed fruit and peels. But I guess with everything it is an acquired taste. I am sad that winter has gone and spring is nearly over which means that eating lighter desserts are more favoured. Ice cream here I come!

Lunch – Soba Noodles

Day 15 – Minced beef & veg soba noodles

Here it is sitting on the stove still cooking.

Inside we have some minced beef, corn, small buk choy and coriander plus various herbs. And as I like it a sprinkle of chilli flakes to give it a kick… MMMmmm

I was indeed a very nice lunch and not to mention it was very quick too.

Breakfast – Mango, banana, berry smoothie

Day 14 – Nice and healthy smoothie

Yesterday went and bought some mangoes and seeing that we had plenty of fruit in the house I decided to put them to good use.

I used:

• Mangoes
• Banana
• Raspberry
• Blueberry
• Skinny milk

As I rarely make smoothies I was surprised about how good it tasted. Here I amt think I could really get used to waking up and drinking something like this everyday. Tomorrow I will prob try something similar as well.

Dessert – Pecan Danish

Day 14 – Pecan Danish

(excuse fingers holding it up…lol)

This was you everyday variety that you simply buy from he supermarkets. Two layers filled with a nice custard in the middle. Swirled in the Danish is cinnamon sugar and topped with a layer of icing. Quite ordinary yet so very moist and smooth.

Today I was thinking why do people always tend to stick to thing they know and trust…well it is because those comfort foods taste so nice. :D

Eating out – Pumpkin Pie & Sticky Date

Day 13 – Wholefoods

Wholefoods is a vegan/veg only restaurant on the Monash Clayton campus. You can see more details of the place on their website. Seeing that I have never really eaten there during my uni times and that it was my last days of uni, I decided to give it a go.

Basically they give out really generous serves for a very small price. What you see above was only $6 which is a main and a dessert.

The pie was rather interesting. The pumpkin was the topping and below the filling was red beans. You would think that this combination may not work but proved to be quite nice.

The sticky date pudding was interesting as this was quite floury and moist and the flavour of the date offset the sauce very nicely.

After this meal I was quite sad that I did not visit this place more often during my uni times. There is a great range of foods to choose from and they have coffees for very cheap too. Damn! should have gone more often! Never mind… :(

Fruit – Sundowner Apple

Day 12 – Sundowner

One of my favourite all time apples. I love it for the crunch and the slight hint of sourness. Right now they happen to be in season which is good and means the prices are quite reasonable.

GO an try an apple rather than a chocolate bar! Or better still have both… :D

Snack – Coconut Rough

Day 11 – Coconut Rough

Speaking of which I am eating some right at this moment. The goodness of the coconut meat is toasted and smothered in rich chocolate so who could resist.

This snack is so good and even smells divine since the essence the coconut gives off is amazing. Then again, I like anything with coconut in it… :D

Snack – Chokito bar

Day 10 – Chokito bar

Suddenly had a massive craving for a chokito bar which I just happened to have in the house. Basically it is “choc-coated caramel fudge with rice crisps”…mmm.

The taste is crunchy on the outside and chewy and soft on the inside. Perfect snack… but be sure not to have too much as the fudge gets stuck in your teeth… :D

Snack – Milko Chews

Day 9 – Allen’s Milko chews

This week is the last week of classes at uni and today was my last audit tute. The tutor was feeling rather generous and decided to give out lollies, the one that i picked just happened to be a milko chew.

Upon further investigating online, i discovered they were the milkshake lollies that i used to love. I used to think they were healthy as it is milk and today I still tell myself the same thing…lol

Just milk with a large dose of sugar! :D sweet as

Snack food – Dried Asian Apricots

Day 8 – Dried Asian Apricots

One of my favourite snack foods is dried Asian fruits including apricots which is pictured above. Also any sort of berries, figs, mangoes and sweet potato are also nice.

This one here was a packet which aunty recommended. Since no one in my family are into sour stuff like me, I ended up with the whole packet. This particular packet is very very sour but not sweet and one little piece is a full flavour hit. So I don't think I will be able to finish it any time soon.

If you have been walking past this section of the Asian grocery shop wondering who would buy such dried fruits etc. , well look no further as I love them… :D

Fruit – Citrus Mandarin

Day 7 – Mandarin

Bought some mandarins last week and just got around to eating them. These ones here are Clementine which indicate that the end of the mandarin season is coming as it is after all a winter fruit. Long gone are the ones which I like better, can't remember the name atm…but you know the ones where the skin does not cling to the flesh itself.

I remember I had a love for mandarin when I was younger and I was never allowed to eat too much of it. According to my grandmother if you eat too much of it, you end up getting a blood nose, dry throat and generally are imbalanced. Today, I think there is some credit in that statement. I guess everyone has one of those tales in their family.

Now it is time to say bye bye to the late season winter fruits… but here comes SUMMER! :D

Dinner – Cous cous paella

Day 6 – Some Cous cous for dinner

Decided to make a quick dinner one night. This was a bit of a seasonal what i feel like whipping up dish. I used the below since it is what I had in the fridge/around:

• 800g basa fish fillets
• 1 carrot Carrots
• 1 bunch Asparagus
• 1 canned tomato
• 1 small red capsicum
• 1/2 onion
• 1 cup cous cous

As usual the above are just roughly what I used since I never tend to measure things our when I am in a hurry or generally…

I quite enjoyed this dish, a hint of fishiness with the freshness of the asparagus. To call it a paella isn’t true since I didn’t use rice or any stock but cous cous is so much faster to cook and really soaks up the flavours well. It tasted quite good cold as a salad as well.

Outing – Melbourne museum and the cinemas

A day in Pompeii and Mao’s last dancer

Today, had a chance to see a day in Pompeii at the Melbourne Museum. Lots of people there since it is closing soon. Better make the most of it now. It consists mainly of artefacts/recreations from the actual site with a lot of historical information. Real eye-opener.

The most exciting and interesting part was the body cast of the victims of the volcanic debris. Your heart goes out to them. Some people’s last moments were spent praying while others tried to protect each other from the inevitable.

The whole exhibition although not very big (takes about 1 hour to go through but due to queues too much much longer), gives you a glimpse into what life would have been like back in those days.

On another note, went to see Mao’s last dancer and thought it was a fantastic film and one of those soppy happy endings which I just fall for… lol. Even then there were parts of the film which I disliked but overall great film which I am likely to purchase when it is released eventually. Now I am wanting to read the book… ahhh add it to the exponentially expanding list of books to read.

Overall a great Saturday out in glorious Melbourne!:D

My Baking – Healthy Cupcakes

Day 5 – My banana/mixed fruit cupcakes ("healthy")

Had some bananas sitting around the house for a while just waiting for it to brown to be able to use it in cooking. The older the banana the better the flavour in the end result. This was basically a mix of what I had around the house.

Below are approximate measures:

• 1 ½ self raising flour
  
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
  
• 2/3 cup natural yoghurt
  
• ¼ cup mixed fruit
  
• 2 very old/brown bananas mashed
  
• Bit of milk for brushing later
  

I wanted the cakes to be slightly on the healthier side and thus did not put in any oil/fats and no extra sugar. I guess it was a bit an experiment.

Well the end result was quite nice. Slightly sweet due to the dried fruits and not too dry thanks to the yoghurt. Since no extra oil was used the sides stuck the patty cases which were slightly annoying but still very edible.

I quite like this as the flavour was just right for me although family thought it was too "healthy"... sigh... you can't please everyone.

Fruit - Nectarines

Day 4 - Nectarines

Since the days are getting warmer, although it sure doesn't feel like it today in Melbourne, the summer fruits have started arriving. Although slightly pricey and not so good as peak of the season, who could resist. Couple of weeks ago it was $9.99 a kilo but now prices are around $6 which is reasonable to some degree...

Today mum decided to buy a couple. Here is one below.

Personally this was slightly sour for me, I guess since season hasn't quite started. My favourite vaierty is the cruchy white ones later in season. Bring on summer fruits! Can't wait!

Vegetable - Broccoli

Day 3 – Broccoli – part of the cabbage family

The super green power food. The all hated veg when we were younger.

Recently this veg has become more appealing to me; I guess as you age you tastes change. Steamed, stir fried, blanched or whatever method you choose it is a refreshing vegetable. The colour of it offsets nicely against a mirage of wonderful food.

Most of all you should note the health benefits of the broccoli. Full of nutrients such as vitamin C, K and A and is high in fibre who could resist this health packed food.

Go and get broccoli...although some will recoil at the thought...lol

Apple - Pink Lady

Day 2 - Pink Lady apple:

According to Wikipedia this is a cross between "Australian apple Lady Williams with a Golden Delicious" so it is an Aussie invention. Aren't you proud?

This week Pink Lady happened to be on special at ALDI for only 99c a kilo so who could resist. I had one tonight for dessert...mmm... :D

I like it as it isn't too overly sweet like Fuji (which mum/dad/sis tends to prefer). It isn't super crunchy but not mushy either so I guess that comes from being a crossed apple...

If you haven't had one recently... Go out and buy ONE!! :D

Little cupcakes (Original)

Day 1 - Beautiful Little Cupcakes from friend's birthday!


Making my first entry here of random (hopefully daily) food posting. I choose my friend's cupcakes from her birthday. They are from The Little Cupcake Shop or as my friend likes to refer to them as the "original" one since the other ones popping up all over Melbourne aren't quite as good apparently.

She had many flavours including a couple of classics, like lemon, cookies & cream (the best one), chocolate etc...so nice!!!

Personally I think the best bit is the icing alone, somehow the bottoms (choc/vanilla) or aka the cupcakes were not as moist as I like...but that's just being picky.

Random Food of the day

Decided that from now on will try to post one random food that I have over the course of one day...or recently if nothing interesting appeals to me

Will start from tomorrow since already brushed my teeth for now... :P

Following so many blogs

Following so many different food blogs atm...the amount of stuff you can learn by just sitting in front of your computer is amazing... :D

But I really should be getting on with the much neglected uni work after the mid sem break...sigh... :(

Will need to post up some stuff later...being making lots of interesting bit and pieces recently :D