It's refreshing but still creamy, you can really taste the mango and the combination of the toasted coconut and white chocolate is perfect because nothing is too overpowering.
What's your favourite ice cream? Do you prefer scoops of ice cream or ice creams on sticks? Ice cream or sorbet?
I recently finished reading The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland. I loved everything about this book. I'm terrible at writing anything but here goes a disjointed book review...
At first glance, I already knew I was going to love The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland - it has flowers, and it has fairytales - two of my absolute favourite things. What I wasn't expecting was the emotional depth that this book had throughout. Holly Ringland is a master of her characters and stories. Everyone felt like a real, fully formed person. I think it served as an important reminder that everyone is unique in that no one ever has to go through the same things you have to in life, however, everyone is always going through something. Alice is the main character in this book, but every character has a story. I thought there were many strong female characters in this book and I appreciated how they brought each other up. As for the male and romantic relationships in this book... It felt so accurate. The feeling of loving someone so much that you can overlook all flaws. I think the way Alice moved forward from her emotionally and physically abusive relationships was good in that she realised what she did and did not have control over.
On a lighter note, I absolutely adored Ringland's descriptions of food. It's one of my favourite things the see in a book and this book had the perfect amount. It also made me want to travel around Australia a lot more. I've lived here all my life and there are so many places that I haven't been! I've decided that there has to be more Australian fiction... And I also need to read a lot more Australian fiction!
I can't wait to see what Holly Ringland brings us next and I'm so thankful to have read this amazing book that encourages me to have courage, take heart.
I went shopping... And I bought some stuff. Which I didn't need. But I really liked what I got and I went with my friend Georgie which was really fun and we had a good time :)
These biscuits are so easy and fast to make - they are my go to when I need to make something but I'm rushed for time.
Traditionally these are made without the cinnamon and with lemon zest. But I loveeeee cinnamon <3
Ingredients:
100g butter
110g sugar
2 eggs
100g flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Cream together butter and sugar.
Add eggs and mix until incorporated.
Add flavourings and mix lightly.
Add flour and mix until just combined (don't overmix!)
Transfer into a piping bag and pipe onto baking paper.
Pop in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the edges are golden.
Leave to cool.
Caesar salad is my favourite salad. I don't particularly like salad. But Caesar salad is favourite and is actually something I tend to crave (along with Lebanese food, Korean BBQ and ramen). It's not a very healthy salad, which is probably why I like it so much!
Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing
Ingredients:
2 baby cos lettuces
5 eggs
third of a loaf of bread
3 slices of bacon
3 chicken thighs
garlic powder
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper
paprika
Italian herbs
olive oil
grated parmesan
butter
1 minced garlic clove
teaspoon of Dijon mustard
anchovies (optional... kind of)
half a lemon
splash of Worcestershire sauce
grated parmesan
100 ml olive oil
To make to croutons, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Cut the bread into 2cm chunks and dress with olive oil, salt, paprika, cayenne pepper and cheese. Put in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden.
Season the chicken with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika and Italian herbs. Place in a pan on high heat with olive oil and butter. Cook until golden and cooked through.
Cut the bacon into 1 cm pieces and fry until crunchy.
Boil eggs using your preferred method. I boiled mine in the Thermomix for 15 minutes at 85 degrees Celsius.
To make the dressing, mince the garlic and anchovies and place in a bowl or pitcher with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Add the juice of half a lemon and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Mix together and slowly pour in the olive oil and make sure it's emulsified. Add the cheese and taste to see if you need to adjust.
I made pan fried barramundi for dinner the other night. I had it with white and brown rice, and lots of vegetables. Barramundi is one of my favourite fish to eat (salmon is my absolute favourite) and it was on special at Woolworths this week so it was the perfect opportunity to eat it. To those who are not familiar with this fish, (such as my spell check...) it is a white fleshed fish which is also know as Asian sea bass. It lives around South-East Asia and Australia so I can see why many people might not know of it. I've used a mix of white and brown rice in this dish because the brown rice provides texture and a nutty flavour and the white rice kind of softens it out. I really like the combination.
Pan Fried Barramundi with Rice and Veggies
Ingredients:
One fillet of barramundi
200g mushrooms
200g cherry tomatoes (I used perino)
butter
olive oil
salt
1 capsicum
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
white rice
brown rice
Start by cooking your rice as it will take the longest. I used a rice cooker so I followed those instructions, but if you're doing it on the stove: 1 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of white rice, 3 cups of water, take to the boil then leave to simmer for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and wait 10 minutes. When you're rinsing your rice, make sure the water runs clear.
Heat butter and oil in a frying pan at high heat. Salt your barramundi fillet on both sides and then place skin side down in the pan. Flip after 6 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy. Cook for another 6 minutes and then set aside.
Place your cut onions and minced garlic in the pan. Once softened, add the diced capsicum. Follow with sliced mushrooms. Cook until moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated and the vegetables are starting to brown. Add the whole cherry tomatoes and make sure the pan is at a high heat so they blister a bit. Then turn the heat off and add the baby spinach. The residual heat from the pan will wilt the spinach.
Hope you like it! Are you a fan of fish? What's your favourite?
The other night I made cottage pie for dinner! Actually it took two nights! That's just me though - sometimes making things over a longer time frame actually makes me less stressed haha. You could probably stew the meat for an hour and it would be fine, but I like to try for three. This recipe also makes a lot! I will freeze it and I can get around three cottage pies from it. I only freeze the meat mixture though, and I make the mashed potato fresh. Just in case you're wondering (I'm pretty positive that you aren't haha) cottage pie is made from beef and shepherds pie is made from lamb. But I'm pretty sure no one cares...
Cottage Pie
Stew ingredients:
1kg oyster blade steak
5 carrots
5 onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of plain flour
salt and pepper
herbs of your choice (I used mixed Italian herbs)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
200mL red wine
2 cups of boiled water
2 bay leaves
Worcestershire sauce
3 anchovies
Mashed potato ingredients:
500g potatoes (I used 8)
butter (as much as you like... haha...)
3 tablespoons of milk
Handful of grated cheese
Cut your beef into small chunks, around 1cm cubes. Toss in flour, salt, pepper and herbs. Cook at high heat with oil and a teaspoon of butter. While the meat is browning, cut the carrots and onions to a similar size to the beef. Mince the garlic. Once the meat has browned, add the carrots, onions and garlic and put the lid on to allow it to sweat. Once the vegetables have softened, add the red wine and make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Once the wine has evaporated, add the tomato paste and cook it out a bit. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and a couple of anchovies. Add the bay leaves and the hot water. Simmer for a minimum of 1 hour, but up to three. It's a good idea to cool it down a bit before you put the mashed potato on top so they have a more defined layer.
Cut the potatoes into quarters and place in a pot with cold water and salt. Boil until tender. Drain well and mash with butter and a bit of warm milk. Salt to taste.
To assemble: Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put a layer of the meat mixture on the bottom of an oven safe dish. Put the mashed potatoes on top and rough up the top. Add the cheese on top. Put in the oven until the top is golden, around half an hour.
Hope you like it and give it a go! What's you're favourite pie? I think mine is chicken and leek. I'm definitely more into the savoury pies.
Last weekend I got a ragdoll kitten! I am so obsessed with him! His name is Theodore and he is 11 weeks old. I have always wanted a cat, but my parents always said that I could have one when I moved out. The day finally came! Ragdolls are super affectionate cats - often being called 'dog-like cats'. Theo is the best kitty ever! He follows me everywhere and loves to cuddle. I feel very blessed to have such a sweet cat!
If you'd like to watch him, he's on my YouTube channel!
Have you guys heard of ragdoll cats before? Do you have any pets? Cat or dog person?
I kept walking past this ad for the Magnum Double Hazelnut at the train station and it must have worked because I really wanted to try it. I'm a big fan of hazelnuts, magnums, and ice cream, and this had it all together. To watch me eating it see my YouTube video:
Overall, I'm pretty disappointed :( It wasn't hazelnutty enough for me and the balance of sweetness didn't really work out for me because of the way I like to eat my magnums (outside in). The middle ended up tasting like nothing. I still liked it because it was ice cream but I feel like they could have done a much better job with it. Something involving a crunchy hazelnut praline and more dark chocolate?
Have you tried this ice cream? What are your thoughts? Also, what is your favourite ice cream? Mine are Gaytimes!
Last weekend I made some roasted chickpeas! They are so yummy and I ended up eating them all by Tuesday even though I thought it would last me at least until the end of the week!
They are flavoured with ground paprika, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt! I also coated them in olive oil to make sure the seasoning stuck to the chickpeas and also to help make them go crunchy :)
Please watch the video recipe to find out how I made them!
I just uploaded a video of what I ate for dinner last night. It kind of takes you through my method of cooking my dinner in the afternoon, just after I've come back from work.
First I minced my garlic, using salt to grind it into a paste. I then placed my chicken pieces in the bowl and added all my seasonings. For this chicken I used:
Light and dark soy sauce
Sesame seeds
Sesame oil
1 egg
Plain flour
Corn flour
Fresh garlic and garlic powder
Cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
All purpose seasoning
Rice wine vinegar
I guess my point is that you should put in flavours which you like! This is a fairly easy way to make fried chicken. I sometimes do it where I marinade my chicken in my chosen flavours, coat it in flour, then egg, then flour again. This results in a crispier chicken, however I find the method that I demonstrated in the video is less fussy and quicker when all you want to do is eat dinner.
Would you like me to show you the other fried chicken method? Do you like this kind of video or would you rather a proper recipe?
