Sunday, February 26, 2012

cafe time



the friar's cafe - a century old church refurbished into a bustling cafe, this was where we visited last weekend for afternoon tea. i loved the beautiful stained glass windows and antique wooden decor. 



the most delicious chocolate almond torte i've ever 
eaten! it's a rich cake with a beautiful balance of 
dark chocolate, nutty textures and creaminess. 



flourless orange cake with a punchy citrus flavour, 
silky texture and a pleasant hint of sweetness.



hot chocolate with that lovely layer of creamy milk
foam, and served with a slice of yummy almond biscotti


Saturday, February 25, 2012

pumpkin tortilla

for the past two week i've been living away from home, which means i've been missing my family and friends in melbourne, and also missing the well stocked pantry at home! 

so here i've set up my own little pantry, with the bare minimum essentials and groceries that require minimal, or more often, no cooking at all. having been surviving mostly on salads which only require a bit of slicing and assembly, i do get a craving now and then to cook something. and perhaps try something new too. 

i had half a pumpkin left in the fridge, and also almost a dozen eggs which had been sitting there for nearly a fortnight, oh, and the onions were on sale at coles so i had a kilo of those... perfect for a pumpkin tortilla! 


tortillas are spanish omelettes, which are traditionally made using potatoes, and eggs of course. seeing i had some pumpkin handy, the idea just came together quite nicely. the little cooking experiment in the kitchen turned out rather neat. the recipe i've made up is pretty straightforward, and uses only 3 ingredients plus oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. the pumpkin and onions are full of flavour, and the eggs give it a good protein boost, so it's quite an appetising and substantial, yet healthy meal. 

pumpkin tortilla recipe

ingredients

one quarter large kent pumpkin - diced to 2mm cubes
two brown onions - halved and finely sliced
7 large eggs - lightly beaten
oil - 3 tablespoons 
salt & pepper to season the eggs

five simple steps

1. heat 1 tbs oil on in a frying pan and half cook the pumpkin ( approx 7 - 10 minutes )
2. meanwhile, in another pan / saucepan, heat 2 tbs oil and cook onions till golden brown
3. preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius, and line an 18 x 18cm baking pan ( or similar sized round baking tin) with baking paper whilst letting the pumpkin and onions cool
4. place the pumpkin and onions into the baking pan and pour the seasoned egg mixture into the pan
5. bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through

buen provecho! ( spanish for 'enjoy your meal !' )




Monday, February 20, 2012

life is like a bento

the past few days have been a bit whirlwind busy, but with so much going on, every little morsel can be enjoyed in its own. rather than rushing every minute and scoffing down things in a blur, why not try a bite of each dish that the smorgasbord of life offers?

life is so much better in bite sized pieces - much like bentos!  

here are a few for inspiration, all courtesy of anna the red. she has a gallery of wonderful character bentos that is really quite a gourmet buffet for the eyes! they're super creative, a very cute!







and isn't this just perfect for much love monday  
such lovely and adorable sheep








hope you're having a bento-ful start to the week - full of creativity, colour and inspiring bites of life!