Macaroni & Cheese Please!

The only mac and cheese I've eaten is the Kraft boxed variety....I remember being addicted to it when I lived with my sister during university.

I found this recipe on one of the blogs I am becoming fond of....The question is whether I should try making it knowing how much fat and cholestrol is in it!

http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2009/04/mac-cheese-lottie-doof-style/

Christmas Stroll

Balmoral Beach is my favourite place to go whether it's to contemplate life, to feel the breeze or listen to the waves to sooth or clear my head. I love going for a stroll here especially in winter!

And so, this is where I took a Christmas morning stroll today to reflect on the meaning of today - a celebration of God's perfect gift to us in His Son Jesus.

'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.'

- John 1:14

Some gifts...

Some cool gifts from generous and thoughtful friends....they certainly know what I like! Showers of blessings....

The old wooden print stamps are from one of my favourite stores called DavidMetNicole. I've made numerous purchases here including my old work desk come dining table and chapel come dining chairs.....S-O-H-O are the letters which spell out Soho - the nickname some of my close friends at church have given me! Given the Christmas season coming up I could probably use the stamps to print HoHoHo - the nickname they revert to during this time of year!

The Frankie mag is a cool Australian mag featuring art, fashion, music, craft etc. (Might try and post some pages from it later)....

The M-cups are measuring cups (I love to bake) but in a cool Matryoshkas design.

I have such COOL friends who give very COOL gifts! : )

Forbes & Burton - Brunch

A lovely brunch with some dear friends this morning to celebrate another year for me.

I have been to Forbes and Burton for an enjoyable dinner twice before so was hoping brunch would not disappoint and it didn't.

Service was laid back but attentive at the same time. Food was generously portioned and good quality.

The staff are also very fashionable in their own way!

Will return....

http://forbesandburton.com.au/

Corner Forbes and Burton Street

Darlinghurst NSW Australia

L'etoile

Tonight a dear friend J, took two of us out to dinner for our birthdays. We had a lovely afternoon and evening of fashion, food and fellowship.

We all started with the same entree of Boudin de St Jacques, Bisque de Crustaces (Silky sausage of scallops with crustacean bisque). It was silky and full of flavour....two of us mopped up the remaining puddle of bisque with the freshly baked baguette...Yummo!

For mains two of us had the Boeuf de Boucher Sauce Roquefort Sauce (Butcher's cut of beef with cheese sauce) and J had the Jarret D'Agneau Facon Navarin Printanier (Braised shank of lamb with baby vegetables). I normally eat beef medium rare but the french waitress (all the waitstaff are french) highly recommended I try it medium as it is best eaten 'this way' with the cheese sauce. You could still taste the beef as it was not drowned in a rich cheesey sauce. It was just right.

We had a side of chips and salad....the presentation of the salad was quite clever like a flowering lettuce.

We were served a watermelon granita to cleanse out tastebuds.

I was too quick to eat dessert and totally forgot to take a picture but the creme caramel was just the right silky texture, generously laid out in a oval ceramic dish with that lovely caramelised top which you could crack into with the tap of your dessert spoon.....Mmmm.

Manu Feildel was eating his dinner at the bar when we arrived and I caught him doing a bit of a jig on the way back to the kitchen. When I was at home during the week before I started working this year I often saw him on 'Ready, Stead, Cook'. He is quite a character and quite cheeky.

Dinner tonight was one of the better meals I have had this year in addition to a recent dinner in Melbourne at Pearl Restaurant.....All hope is not lost as it seemed to be earlier in the year.

THANK YOU J for such a special birthday treat!

http://www.letoilerestaurant.com.au/

211 Glenmore Road

Paddington NSW Australia

Colour, texture, design...

A lovely birthday treat from a fashion-tastic friend.

A colour of friendship

An early birthday surprise from an old time friend...it made my week!  

A piece of carrot...

Since I started my contract at work I think my blood sugar levels have surely risen....I work with many colleagues who require regular sugar hits....this is just one of the cakes we shared today. I haven't seen a carrot cake decorated like this for a while.  (This was taken with my phone so it's not very clear...)

Dad's Curry

I added the asparagus for some greens.  The beef was so tender but yet still in tact, the potatoes and carrots the right texture too.  I was so tempted to have another bowl but thought I better pace myself!  

He looks at the heart...

Trying to get back into something I should have finished months ago and struggling to feel motivated.  In trying to kick start that motivation I just finished listening to a talk a friend bought me from her time at Regent College in Canada.

One of the verses referenced is 1 Samuel 16:7:

'But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart."'

How quickly we do perceive and judge people not just on their outward appearance but also by their actions....But often it's not until we can understand their hearts and minds that we may realise we have made a totally wrong call initially.

What wonder to think that God knows our hearts and yet we need to work so hard at knowing others hearts and look beyond what we see on the surface.  

Simple lunch

After eating 2 sausage rolls this week, thought I better have a simple and healthy lunch....Not the fanciest of rice paper rolls but satisfactory...rare roast beef with vermicelli, carrot and cucumber.

This goes with this, and this goes with that..but it's definitely not Sussan!

These are the shoes I mentioned in my previous post.

The Clergeries were a treasure find at Pelle in Paddington and my Pradas (which also don't see the light of day very much) were purchased in New York from the Prada store in Soho.  What a treat to wear such highly esteemed designers on my feet in one day! : )

Dressing up for a wedding

I haven't been to a wedding in a very long time, but I am thankful to the Lord for this particular friend's upcoming marriage tomorrow.  Congratulations Tracey and Ray! 

I am also thankful that I didn't have to buy a new wedding outfit for once!  It's nice to know I have appropriate and reliable staples in my wardrobe.  

The mint and ivory silk dress with the Robert Clergerie ivory heels for the day.

The black art deco beaded dress with the Prada evening shoes for the night.

The mint dress is my bridesmaid dress from my sister's wedding.  I bought the evening dress on sale a few years ago and have never worn it so I am glad it finally gets to breathe some fresh air.

Man and wife...lovebirds

This is for the friends who are getting married tomorrow....I love this card - I love retro orange and brown!

Feels good to give...

a small token to a caring and thoughtful friend...at the end of what seems like a very unproductive and frustrating day!

Toblerone Chocolate Mousse

Whenever there is a special family occasion requiring dessert, I'm normally the designated baker.  With a hectic few weeks behind and ahead of me I wanted to do something I thought would be simple and a bit different to cake....I checked my recipe books and my 'Recipes I want to try' spreadsheet and stumbled across a Toblerone Mousse a friend AL from church gave me quite a while ago.

I felt a little funny opening the nicely packaged 'Happy Father's Day' toblerone without Dad having seen it.

Having tried Bill Granger's recipe in the past for chocolate mousse, I was wondering why my friend's recipe only has cream and toblerone!  Bill's uses 5 eggs....upon confirmation from AL this morning it is VERY rich!  So I was on track thinking I should combine the recipes as follows:

400g bar of toblerone

300ml cream, whipped

25ml brandy

50ml water

4 egg whites (Bill uses 5 egg whites but why waste an egg yolk!)

4 egg yolks

1. Place the chocolate, brandy and water (oops - I just realised I left the water out and was wondering why the chocolate was looking dry! This corrected itself with the adding of egg yolks) in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot water.  Place over low heat and warm until chocolate has melted.  Leave to cool for 5 minutes

2. In a small clean dry bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

3. Add egg yolks to chocolate mixture one at a time (having separated the eggs all my yolks were mixed so I added in 2 batches), beating well after each addition.  

4. Fold cream into chocolate mixture and then fold in egg whites in 2 batches, using a large metal spoon.

5. Pour chocolate mousse into serving bowls or glasses and refrigerate until set.

This made 6 large glass serves.

Served with strawberries, blueberries and more cream!

If you have a real sweet tooth - just do the chocolate and cream - that's got to be the simplest recipe ever!

 

Ottoman Cuisine Degustation

  

Stumbled across a few of the pics I took of the degustation some friends and I had last November.  Some friends had recommended this restaurant to me - apparently they sat there thinking of me as they ate!  So I thought I best try it.

It was a lovely dinner spent with some special friends.  Although I remember feeling underwhelmed by the lamb mince thinking it was bolognaise sitting on top of eggplant - my friend C reprimanded me and pointed out that the mince was an exceptional grade of mince, she did have a point!  I forgot to take a pic of the veal but I remember that was really tasty (I could use the word flavoursome - but I have a think about this word!).  I think I was also taken by the mushroom and dessert of course!

Ottoman offer an extensive al-a-carte menu which could be good if there is a next time.

first entree

cicek - zucchini flowers stuffed with goats feta & pine-nuts, served crisp with yoghurt & dill sauce

mantar - char-grilled spicy mushrooms tossed in cumin, oregano & mild Aleppo chilli

second entree

karides - Qld king prawns with shitake mushrooms & baby spinach, served with lemon & yoghurt sauce

dolma - salmon, cray & prawn wrapped in vine-leaves,lightly battered, served with savoury piquant sauce

mains

karniyarik - eggplant stuffed with lamb, pine-nuts & currants, served with yoghurt & tahini sauce

kulbasti - thinly sliced veal with mild Aleppo chilli, char-grilled, served on baby spinach with lemon mustard sauce

desserts

assiette - baklava, pomegranate ice-cream & kazandibi

 

Ottoman Cuisine

Pier 2/13 Hickson Road,  Dawes Point  Sydney 

(02) 9252 0054

http://www.ottomancuisine.com.au/Sydney

Note: The degustation was $50 less than a year ago, I am a little surprised it is now $80.  Trying to reconcile the jump in price....I will have to check in with a friend who is going soon to see if she thinks it is worth it!

A season of learning - Part 2

I've learnt a few things whilst having time off about how I've reacted to retrenchment and the various aspects that result from it....

• Money permeates so many areas of our lives.  It not only affects how we survive in terms of shelter, clothing and food but also how we socialise and in some ways how we are generous with others.  It also can be attached to our status in society...there were times when I was afraid I wouldn't 'fit in' or 'belong' given I live amidst a community that is quite blessed and well off in many ways, if I needed to adjust to a simpler lifestyle long term.
• Retrenchment may be a common statistic but it happens to real people.  There were times when I was reminded that there were 'lots' of other people in the same situation - at times it was a good reminder to realise I wasn't alone in my struggles, but at other times it wasn't great when people unintentionally reduced me to a statistic! Not receiving responses from many job applications does effect your self esteem no matter how hard you do try to remember it isn't something personal.  It's made me evaluate who I am as a person within and not to measure myself so much on my worth in terms of my job or how much money I earn.  It's funny how we can so easily measure ourselves and others on things that really not as important as we think.
• For those who do experience retrenchment, I think it's important to lean on God and family and friends.  Retrenchment is in the top 4 most stressful things that can happen in life - including loss of a loved one, losing your home and divorce.  I was quite proud and didn't want people to think I couldn't handle things on my own.  But in the end it was a great help to be able to feel supported and cared for.
• Prayer support has been so essential in getting me through this time.  Friends prayed for me when I couldn't pray for myself.  I believe it's the answered prayers of many who have sustained me during times I really needed it.

A season of learning - Part 1

After some reflection and having finished my thoughts on the past several months, I decided it was a bit detailed and personal to publish all my thoughts in this space.  But I will still post on the main things that I wanted to share.

From the time I was retrenched I held onto the following verse in Jeremiah:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

It was not until I really gave things to God in prayer that I realised I had not followed through with the remaining verses:

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with ALL your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, …”  (Jeremiah 29:12-14)

A friend asked me how do you give something to God?

I think it's not just ‘trusting’ or rather expecting God to answer our prayers, it’s truly believing He knows best for us, being open to any answer He may have and handing this over to Him.  I guess God is open to us and we need to be open to Him and His calling in our lives.

A season of learning...

Well, today marks the one month anniversary of my contract job.  I can't believe it has been a month already.

I've been wanting to write a series on what I have been learning since I was retrenched in December 2008, so I think it's a good time to start the series before more months pass by.

Whilst I chose to take the first 3 months off especially over the Christmas and New Year period, it was always in my mind as to how I would cope emotionally, spiritually and mentally.  I knew if I were to be retrenched it was mainly going to be a season of learning to trust God with different parts of my life, ones that I hadn't covered or delved into more deeply before.

A psychologist once told me some of the most stressful things in life include losing a loved one, illness, not having a home and losing your job.  

For me, losing my job affected me in more ways than I had originally thought - spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically...the whole lot.

When I've spoken to old colleagues who were also retrenched, the word 'rollercoaster' comes up alot.  That's certainly what it has been for me - a rollercoaster of ups and downs and often times feeling like I have chronic PMS!  

A bit of sunshine

Made me smile

Rick Stein Sunken Chocolate Cake

I made this last week for my bible study group - it's one of my favourite things to make.

I don't generally eat chocolate cake but this recipe is light and moist.  Never fails!

Rick Stein Sunken Chocolate Cake

225 unsalted butter

225g good-quality plain dark chocolate (I use Cadbury dark cooking choc and it works fine) broken into pieces

50g almond meal

60g plain flour

6 medium eggs at room temperature, separated

50g light brown sugar (I use the normal brown sugar in the cooking section)

175g caster sugar

Icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Thick cream to serve

******

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Grease a 23cm spring form cake pan and line with baking paper.

Place butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water).

Leave until melted, then stir until smooth.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together almond meal and flour.

Place egg yolks in a large bowl with light brown sugar and whisk until pale and creamy.

Gently fold in the melted chocolate, followed by almond mixture.

Place eggwhites in a large bowl and whisk into soft peaks, whisk in caster sugar a little at a time, to make soft meringue.  (If eggwhites are too stiff, you will find it difficult to fold into rest of cake)

Fold into chocolate mixture with a large metal spoon. (I use a slotted metal spoon to help airate the cake)

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 mins or until a skewer inserted into cake still comes out a bit wet (this cake is best when slightly undercooked)

Cool, then carefully remove from pan and pull off paper.  Cut into wedges, dust with icing sugar (if desired) and serve with cream (and strawberries!).