Breakfast with my Puppy

I know he's not a puppy any more - in fact he's 2 in April! But I think he'll always be my puppy no matter what :)

And yes, I do spoil him - he had croissants with me :)

This tea smells AMAZING

Breakfast is served :)

Sydney

I haven't been overseas in over a year. Since purchasing the business, finances are being extremely stretched at the moment. I'm actually living on my university diet again (mainly consisting of 2 minute noodles and toast). I am praying that things get better :\

Last week I took a day off work as Paul had a management training course in North Sydney to attend (if his boss is giving him a free hotel room, I ain't staying home alone!) I organised lunch with my mother and walked around Sydney CBD alone while I waited for her.

I haven't had a long, lonely stroll like that since my university days! I have to say it was quite pleasant. Made me realise that hey, I might not be able to go overseas now but my hometown Sydney is quite a fine city.

Hyde Park Ibis

St Mary's Cathedral

Sydney Tower
View from Hyde Park

A small treat I got for my mummy :)

QVB Clock

Happy Valentine's Day

So my husband doesn't believe in Valentine's Day. Never has and probably never will at this rate. I can see his point - why should we celebrate a holiday that is purely commercial and is only for generating useless gift sales? Shouldn't we be able to express our love on any day we want?

I will admit, he utterly spoils me for my birthday and Christmas... but it's not the gifts or the getaways, it's the sentiment that I cherish most! Before Paul came to Australia we used to hand write letters to each other. Even though we talked online (and on the phone!) pretty much every day. We'd send each other silly little things. He sent me 4 or 5 maple candies because he wanted me to try them. I sent him a lock of my hair and a small cushion I'd received as a gift and didn't want!

Since we've been together, Valentine's Day has never been observed. I decided this year however, that I would try to break (our) tradition and do something on Valentine's Day. Something small. But sentimental. Home-made.

I made a chocolate cake that in the past got me a simple, wordless kiss on the cheek after Paul tried one bite. That small gesture spoke volumes to me! Like the time he took a bite of a sugar pie I'd made and said he felt like he was back in his childhood Summer town, Tadoussac (where we got married in Quebec, Canada). I'd only worked with fondant once before so decided to attempt it again. Something simple. Something I could work on mid-week after work so that it could be ready for Valentine's Thursday.

It took me much shorter than I expected - one evening for baking, next morning for crumb coating then 25-ish minutes for fondant decorating! It went more smoothly than I had anticipated!

Paul's response was:
"But you made me a girly cake"

Roxanne "Nigella" Fry

...at least that's what a friend called me in a comment on one of my Facebook pictures!

My love of food - my real love, a love beyond a Big Mac and fries, truly began when I was a teenager. It all began when I discovered the beautiful Nigella Lawson. She simply embodied everything I wanted to be - intelligent, beautiful, a fantastic cook and, using the phrase that she herself coined - a domestic goddess. If you don't know what I mean, just watch one of her cooking shows and listen to how she describes her ingredients. One of my favourite quotes from her whilst incorporating chocolate into a dessert: "Sooner or later everything gives way to chocolate, which is after all the natural order of things."

So here are some pictures of my recent kitchen creations:

Brioche French Toast
(with maple syrup and powdered sugar)

Sablé Breton (Breton Biscuits)

Mini-meat Croissants
I cheated and used ready made puff pastry

For the mini-meat croissants, stir fry mince meat (I think I used veal mince I had in the freezer) with one chopped onion and a couple of cloves of garlic, any herbs of your choice (I used fresh parsley) and salt and pepper. Cut a puff pastry square into small triangles - if I remember correctly I cut the square into 16 first then halved each 1/16. Place a blob of meat in the centre of each triangle then roll into a croissant shape, tucking the "feet" around to form crescents. I simply used water to seal the edges. Bake at about 200C until golden brown (using a beaten egg wash before baking helps the browning)

Smashed Meringue for Making Eton Mess

Eton Mess with Meringue, Raspberry Jam,
Chantilly Cream and Home-made Custard

Cheap and simple food here! Salmon
with mi goreng instant noodles
and salad with a red wine vinaigrette

Always fry salmon or other fish skin-side down first to avoid curling of the skin.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Paul made some suggestions - I added rolled oats and
sesame seeds!