Once again, this is technically not a bake post, but it’s still in the cooking vicinity. Husband also works with cauliflowers, so we often have one or two cauliflower heads in the fridge and not enough hours in the day to consume them all. Making a soup out of them is certainly a great way to use them up and fulfil my soup cravings that I have whenever the weather turns cold and wet. I googled low-calorie cauliflower soup recipes and came across this one that had great reviews and I had all the additional ingredients, so I was chuffed.
- Another one-pot wonder -
- All pureed up -
I forgot to take a final photo to show the soup in the bowl, but I think you can use our imaginations a little bit -go on! The flavour was extraordinary. I had also roasted some garlic cloves and placed one of those on top of each bowl, with a sprig of parsley – divine!
Something has drawn me to these fancy grey knitted jumpers (or sweaters as they are also known). I do love grey tones, as they often compliment whatever colours they are put with; pale pinks and blues, black and I just adore grey and yellow (silver and yellow were the theme colours for my (our) wedding. As the weather starts to chill down, I am also attracted to the warmer, heavier clothing….cosy.
The urge for baking has overpowered the urge to stay on this healthy eating plan (full time anyway) so I recently embarked upon a macaroon-baking adventure. After much research (and detailed discussions with my gorgeous foodie-friend, Victoria) I decided on choc-mint macaroons and white chocolate and raspberry macaroons. Something inside me was determined to try TWO different kinds, I have no idea why, but that’s how I roll. I have been to Brunetti (In Melbourne’s Carlton and The City) and tried various macarons – they always look so yummy and taste just as good. They are a such a perfect little delicacy that I wonder should be left to the experts?!?!
- Brunetti's gorgeous selection of macarons -
- Cute -
- The perfect gift! -
So I started with the After dinner mint macarons from the trusty Taste website. They were very straight forward, but as it was my first attempt, I was worried that if I chose a more complex recipe, they they wouldn’t turn out. I was pleasantly surprised. In fact I was chuffed, as they looked awesome (and tasted just as good). They are basically light and fluffy, chocolate-flavoured biscuits, sandwiched together with a choc-mint icing mixture. I will demonstrate how proud I am (and how good they looked) via a series of too many, large photographs…
- Starting off like a meringue -
- Resting time....about an hour to set their shape -
- How good do they look? -
- Up close it looks quite impressive -
- And yet another angle -
- Last one...I promise -
So then I got cocky and made (attempted) some white chocolate and raspberry macarons (from the Gourmet Traveller website) whilst drinking a glass of wine and chatting away to my gorgeous visiting friend, Holly. These are essentially pink-coloured light and fluffy biscuits, sandwiched together with a raspberry-flavoured icing mixture (made from real raspberries – yum!)
- Pink meringue -
- Resting time -
And I don’t have a final photo because these turned out to be a big fat failure. Their shapes were all strange, they tasted way too sweet and when I tried to pick one up, it just crumbled in my fingers. I was utterly disappointed, but I blame the wine and the chatting, not the recipe. I was able to put it behind me though, as the first attempt was so successful! Go on, go back and have another look at those awesome photos!!
Have you tried macarons? Where have you been when you ate your best macaron? What flavour was it?
As it is Anzac Day today, I decided that baking Anzac bickies for Husband and my desk-buddies at work, would be the way to go. There is a history behind the humble Anzac bicky, which is that they were part of the rations given to our brave World War 1 soldiers, as they were a food item that would last longer in their packs as they don’t have any eggs or dairy components. You can find more about the story behind the Anzac bicky here.
I baked them on Monday afternoon so I could take them to work yesterday and share them around (otherwise I would have eaten every last one). From what I could tell, there were a few different variations on the recipe, but I really just wanted the simplest, yet yummiest one. I decided on the Woolworth’s catalogue recipe that I had literally ripped out of the catalogue at the end of last week. I can be found on the internet here. Here’s how it is done…
- Wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix -
- Teaspoon-sized balls onto a tray (or two), flatten out a little -
- Yummy, yummy! -
- Ready to take to work and share -
I actually baked two batches on Monday night – the first one were in the oven about five minutes too long, and they were a stage before being burnt. Husband got these to take to work. He seemed ok with this. The second batch were lovely and sticky as I baked them for five minutes less. I got a lot of positive feedback from my desk-buddies and one lady even approached me for seconds – I love that as this is the biggest complement ever!
Have you ever made Anzac Biscuits? What is your favourite Anzac Bicky recipe?
I have discovered some new music that I can’t help but listen to. The artist’s name is Joshua Radin and he’s an American singer, songwriter. He has released three albums, two of which I have recently purchased and am finding myself listening to over and over again. They aren’t new albums, but they are new to me.
- We Were Here (2006) -
- Simple Times (2008) -
After doing some research I have discovered his official website, which doesn’t really reveal too much about him. Wikipedia seems to have more information about his career and where his songs have been on television program soundtracks. This is where I discovered that he had numerous songs on Scrubs. It still amazes me how many great songs Zach Braff chose for many episodes of Scrubs. I guess it also helps that these two were college friends. I digress…
This music is mellow and relaxed and when I listen to it, I feel myself slowing down as he sings. My favourite tracks right now are ‘They Bring Me to You’, ‘I’d Rather Be You’, and ‘Brand New Day’ from Simple TImes and ‘Everything’ll Be Alright’ and “Winter’ from We Were Here. I love so many of his lyrics, but I think these are my favourite so far…
You looked like the sun, I was the only one,
who could stare until you were shining on me,
and as we drank our wine and let the world fade away,
the sunrise tried to end it while we tried to stay.
The rest of my life can’t compare to this night,
and only the heartaches have given me sight,
they bring me to you, they bring me to you.
Lyrics from ‘They Bring me to You’
- A bit cute -
This is one of his few video clips – ‘I’d Rather Be WIth You’…
Here’s a link to YouTube video where he performs two of my favourites, ‘Brand New Day’ and ‘I’d Rather be With You’ live…
What do you think? Have you ever heard of Joshua Radin? If not, what are your thoughts?
I have a thing for pretty tea cups. I don’t own many, but I love looking at them…online….in shops…..at people’s houses. There’s something just so special and beautiful about a pretty teacup.
I’m putting my fashion-self out there in saying that I recently made a purchase at Suzannegrae. I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, and many of the items in-store are not my cup of tea. However, I have recently purchased two pairs of pants that I really love. When I was younger, it was one of those shops that Mum shopped at and, “I would NEVER buy anything there!” (“OMG, ROFL, WTF?” -FYI, this is current teenage language). But as my age moves further away from the 30 mark, I find myself attracted to some of their designs.
The first ones are black pants that I have been wearing to work. They are called a slim-leg jegging, and are described as having a two-way stretch. There’s no need for ironing (bonus) and they suck everything in at the top (love). They are flattering, go with almost anything and I feel good in them.
I also had my eye on some green soft denim jeans that they stock. I was convinced they would look terrible on me, but when I tried them on, I was surprised that they looked quite good – well I think they do!?!?! They certainly have the tendency to be unflattering, but paired with the right top, they are really cute.
As soon as the weather starts to turn cold, I get a massive craving for soups and warm, comforting dinners. In the past two weeks I have made FOUR different soups – overkill perhaps? I want to share them all with you as I love them all and hope that you can all make these on your colder days and nights. I want to start with pumpkin soup as I have actually trialled this one THREE times (starting to sound a bit soup-crazy…almost soup-natzee-like – ‘No soup for you!’…I had to say it!)
This recipe is from Michelle Bridge’s Crunch Time book (I have mentioned this before). After some research, it turns out Michelle Bridges has shared this recipe with Better Homes and Gardens, so you can find it here.
It is super-easy to make, with very few ingredients.
- One-pot wonder -
The first time I made it was with a more mature butternut pumpkin and less liquid and this gave a great flavour and a lovely thick consistency. The second time, I used a younger butternut pumpkin and more liquid and the flavour wasn’t as good, and the texture was a bit thin for my liking. The third time was similar to the first, but with half butternut pumpkin and half kent – the result was still not as thick as I’d have liked, but better than the second time. And if you’re wondering about my extended knowledge of pumpkins, Husband has taught me everything he knows as he works directly with pumpkins on a daily basis – perhaps this sounds like the strangest thing so far!?!?
- Mummy bowl of yummy pumpkin soup -
- Baby bowl of yummy pumpkin soup -
It was really lovely with the cumin in the soup and the coriander as a garnish. I adore natural yoghurt, so that made a lovely addition also.
