Category: Food

Travelling Tas

/ Renae / Leave a comment

A couple of weekends ago, Hubs and I ventured over the Bass Strait to Hobart and beyond. We arrived around 9pm on the Thursday night and were picked up by the shuttle and taken straight to our B&B. Unfortunately, the room we had was right on Macquarie st – the main one-way street into the city, so from about 2am onwards, the trucks rolling in ensured that I had a poor night sleep, and in turn, so did Hubs. Oh well. We got up (grumbling) around 8:30, had some brekky, and went to pick up our hire car. We were given a map of the Huonville area, and we made our way out to the Tahune Airwalk – a must see when you visit Hobart!

The trip there was half the fun! The roads were lovely and the scenery just gorgeous. We drove along the Huon River which was certainly a sight to behold. It actually reminded me of the Hawkesbury River, but on a much smaller scale. We stopped in at Huonville for some snacks and supplies, and also in Crabtree to check out the local shops – both delightful little towns!

We arrived at the airwalk and paid for entry. The place is run by Forestry Tasmania, and is set in the Tahune Forest Reserve. Although a bit pricey, ($46 for both of us), it was a lovely way to spend a few hours and take some happy snaps! (We did the Airwalk and the Swinging Bridges Circuit.)

 Hubs on the Airwalk
Wifey throwing a coin onto the stump…
…and missing… 3 times!!!
Wifey braving the counterlever. Man than thing moves a LOT!
(my thoughts at the time: “Hurry up and take the picture before all those people come and join me!!!!!!!!!!”)
The obligatory Hubs and Wifey shot
One of the suspension bridges. Not very scary – very cool indeed!
Hubs, as usual, took some beautiful photos and is experimenting more and more with his camera, lenses, lighting and panoramas. There are too many to feature here, but I will certainly be putting more up later on. We left the airwalk around 2pm (after an iced chocolate and sausage rolls!) and headed up the very steep road to Mt Wellington. We could feel the air getting colder, but nothing, and I mean nothing could have prepared me for the icy cold wind we encountered at the top. Oh. My. Gosh. I was NOT HAPPY!
Shocking photo, but I had to show you the pain I was in!!!! What this photo doesn’t show was how much Hubs was laughing at me!! It felt like about 5 degrees! I told asked Hubs to go and take some photos while I took shelter so we could get the hell out of there! A photo of Hobart and the Derwent River.
We drove through some fog/cloud on the way down and headed back to our B&B. After dropping the car off, we walked down to Constitution Dock for some fish ‘n chips – it was Friday after all! We picked a pontoon (after too-ing and fro-ing about 5 times!), ordered our dinner, and sat on one of the piers to eat. A great end to a great first day in Tassie!

Hot Cross Scones

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I LOVE hot cross buns, and I’ve been so distracted by goodness-knows-what lately that I’d forgotten to buy some for Easter! So on Tuesday night at dinner when we were discussing these delectable delicacies, I decided I was too lazy to walk down to Woolies to buy some, (and too stingey), but I wasn’t too lazy to try and bake some! So when I got home, I looked for a recipe on line and they had yeast in them. No yeast in the cupboard. So I googled “yeast free hot cross bun recipe” and it came up with this one. Bingo!

Now I think I’m pretty handy in the kitchen, but really, I should stick to recipes at least when it’s the first time. I MAINLY stuck to this recipe, but the end result was not what I expected. I mixed all the ingredients like it told me to: (pardon the yellow tinge to the photos – no idea how to use Hubs’ camera…)

And then did some kneading:
Then cutting out with my cookie cutter that I’ve never used before!
Then I prepared my flour and water mixture for the crosses
Then they were ready to put in the oven! I was pretty excited by this stage!
Hmmmm…. these don’t look like hot cross buns. I wonder how they taste?
Very sconny indeed. Oh well. I tried. And I’ll take them down to Sorrento to share them around. They are quite lovely as scones I must say! Thankfully we had HCBs for morning tea at work the next day, so I didn’t miss out! And maybe Hubs’ Dad will have some for us in Sorrento! 🙂 3.5 hours to go before I’m on holidays! (yes, again…)
HAPPY EASTER!!!

Pierogi Party!

/ Renae / 3 Comments

My Nanny has been making pierogi for a LONG time. Ever since I can remember, pierogi has been part of  our family. We wouldn’t have it every weekend at Nanny’s, but certainly often enough for it to be a favourite. And I’ve only ever assisted Nanny with making it.

Until a couple of weekends ago.

A few girls at college, including Aleks from Poland, were keen for a pierogi party and they made it happen! I was SO excited, but very nervous. What if it was a disaster? What if I couldn’t cook pierogi? The pressure was intense!

We got together on the Saturday morning and with some tunes in the background, we got straight to work. We first mixed up the pasta dough and did a bit of kneading. Because we are non-discriminatory pierogi-makers, and there was a vegan amongst us, we made a few different types; the traditional pork, traditional spinach and feta, spinach and feta with rye dough, and spinach with rye dough (vegan).

 Wifey making the dough

Getting ready for kneading (with the tongue poked out in concentration)
And then there’s the rolling!
The rye dough was coming along very nicely as well! It was much more difficult to roll but Aleks did a super job!
Then cutting out the circles:
And the fun part! Filling the little friggers! I made up a traditional pork filling, but in hindsight I should have used more flavouring (salt, pepper, garlic, onion). I’ll do that next time.
This part is actually quite tricky. You want to put in enough meat to not have an “empty pierogi” once it’s cooked, but not so much that you can’t seal it, and susequently have the filling fall out during cooking. Easy does it…
Success! They look like Nanny’s! 
(Okay, so this wasn’t my first attempt – I think it was about number 6, but that’s not too bad!!)
We had quite a production line happening!
And the rye pierogi were looking fantastic also!
Next up, you boil them for about 10 minutes to cook the meat and pasta.
In the mean time, we were heating the butter in the pan ready for the final stage – frying! (Obviously we didn’t use butter for the vegan variety – oil worked well too). 
This is my “oh-my-goodness-they-look-like-Nanny’s-pierogi” look!
It seemed to be a success! And now for the taste test!
 Winners all round! They were SO GOOD. As I mentioned, the pork filling needed a bit more flavour, but the spinach and feta ones were just delish!
This was such a great day for me. I felt so good afterwards, knowing that this is something I can continue with my own family. It might take another 40 years, but maybe one day my pierogi will be as good as Nanny’s. Thanks Aleks, Alyssa and Chelsea (who didn’t make it into the photos cos she was too busy taking them!) for organising this. It really meant a lot to me and I had a GREAT time. 
Mmmmmmm…… pierogi……

I drink green tea

/ Renae / 3 Comments

I don’t know how it happened! I just started having green tea in the evenings while Hubs and I watch Boston Legal. I usually make him a herbal tea of sorts (rooibos, cranberry, chamomile, green) and I’d often have a chai tea, but lately I’ve just been making him a green tea then chucking the tea bag in my cup with some hot water to sip on. And it’s extended to my workplace! Now I’m drinking a cup in the morning AND in the afternoon! It’s funny cos I’ve always thought “I wish I liked green tea” and now apparently I do. I hear it’s good for you or something, so that’s even better!

Now I’ll just concentrate on my “I wish I liked running” thoughts and who knows what might happen!

Let there be cake!!

/ Renae / 4 Comments

A friend of ours, Sophie G-C, celebrated her birthday yesterday, and Hubs and I hosted a little par-tay at our place. I wanted to make a cake instead of buying one, so I was going to do something similar to the one I made for Hubs for his “21st” last year, ie, a big chocolate cake with lots of sprinkles in the shape of an “S”. But NOOOOO (said in a whiny voice) Hubs had to come up with something even BETTER. He said I should make a Superman cake instead! That way the “S” could stand for Sophie!

I looked up some pictures (thanks Google!) and found a couple of REALLY impressive ones, as well as a few amateur ones and had a feeling mine was going to look a little dodgy, but, I wanted to give it a go. I made my square cake, rotated it 45 degrees, chopped the top off, printed out a template, dyed some icing some Super great colours and iced to my heart’s content. And I gotta say, I was SUPER chuffed with the end product:

Not bad hey? Maybe I take after Mum even more than I thought! Here is the work in progress: (I started with a template, cut the yellow bits out and put the template on the cake. I filled in the yellow bits, took the paper off and was left with the red bits to fill in. I used red writing icing to trace around the yellow bits before adding the red icing):
And then it was just a matter of whipping the blue icing around it. Piece of cake! ha ha ha ha ha ha. Punny!
And here it is, fully ablaze! (you can see my signature choc-dipped strawberries in the background!)
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Sophieeeeeeeeeeeeee
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
Hope you had a great time Sophie!!!

The big THREE-OH-MY-GOODNESS

/ Renae / 2 Comments

As many of you witnessed, and as some of you heard, I turned 30 in January. I hope I don’t sound like I’m in denial, but I’m really not too fussed about turning 30, because, as they say, you’re only as old as the man you feel, and since Hubs just had his 21st birthday last year, I’m still a spring chicken! Ha ha…. Actually, if truth be told, my ageing stopped around 26, as it was such a great year for me. I know physically, I’m feeling older each year, and hopefully I’m becoming more mature (boring!) and sensible (if only!) but really I’m feeling pretty damn good!

Anyway, back to the party! The usual suspects were there, and I had an amazing time! My bro brought along some of his home brew on tap which was SO awesome, and as usual, my Dad manned the BBQ while Mum coordinated the activity in the kitchen. It was most certainly one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had, and perhaps one of the last I’ll be having at Mum and Dad’s place which makes me a bit sad. I’ve had almost all of my birthdays there, with parties ranging from sleepovers with a few gal-pals, to 12-hour-long bonanzas. I’ve had themes such as a “nerd party”, one-day-cricket party, a 70s Hippy party, and a Mexican Fiesta (oh boy).

This year’s theme was “Wear something you bought on holiday” which gave me the opportunity to frock up in my silk transformer dress that I bought in New York. It’s the first time I’d worn it as a dress instead of a skirt (more than meets the eye!) and it looked HOT! Oh, and it WAS hot. Summer in Brisbane – gotta love it!

Enough of my rambling. I can hear what your saying. “SHOW ME THE PHOTOS!!!”

Mum and I. Cheers!
Dad and I (and his…. ahem…. apron 🙂 (and my rockin’ dress!)
Kturtle and I, and the Keggerator! Look at those beers! Yum…
 
And the brewer himself, sampling one of his taste sensations!
My map of the world cake that Mum and I made. (Yes, it’ totally awesome.) There are 30 candles on there (duh) and each candle represents a place where I’ve been. I had a couple left over so I also added some places where Hubs had been, as well as 2 places I’ve only stopped-over in. Hey! They totally count!
And of course, with Hubs always being the one taking the photos, I don’t have any of the two of us together 🙁 Oh well. There are obviously plenty more, but you get the general idea. Thank you EVERYONE who was able to come along. It was really special to spend the afternoon shooting the breeze. I really loved seeing you all and look forward to more celebrations to come!
One of my presents was a helicopter ride over Brisbane, but that will be a separate post. Oh! And I’m not done blogging about South Africa either! More tales to come…

The Food – Wifey stuffing her face…

/ Renae / Leave a comment
…with a muffin the size of her head… (no matter what flavour muffin you order, you get butter, jam and cheese with it. Incidentally I ordered a bacon and cheese muffin, while Hubs opted for the choc-chip variety. Both were equally scrumptious!)
And a coffee (or 3) to wash it down! (At Mugg & Bean you pay about $2.50 for bottomless cups of coffee. I couldn’t have more than 2 in one sitting, but Hubs went back for a third. For someone who doesn’t really drink coffee, it was kinda funny to see the caffeine kick in!!)
Then there were the Oliebollen – or “Oil balls” which are a Dutch delicacy to be had at New Years. (Shocking photo, but delicious, deep-fried goodness!)
And I’m told you NEVER forget your first Koeksister! The crispy outside, the gooey inside, the syrup running down your chin. Oh boy. It was awesome.
Vodka Martini anyone?
Or perhaps a Kahlua cream coffee for a mere $4?
 
Best. Brunch. EVER!!!
 
 Frogs eggs for dessert, anyone? (It wasn’t REALLY frogs eggs. That’s just what they called it! At least, that’s what they TOLD me…..)
And one of the best dinners EVER, with a bit of everything.
 
I’m off for a walk now, to try and work some of this off!

A weekend walk

/ Renae / 1 Comment

Hubs and I have decided to do some long walks over the weekends (by long I mean anything between 5 and 10km BTW) and last Saturday we had a great day exploring the Melbourne Botanic Gardens. The weather was sensational, and after walking into town from home, we wandered around for a few hours, enjoying the sunshine (we both got sun burnt) and each other’s company.

Matching Crumplers! (I’ve been wanting this photo taken for AGES!)

Turkish Delight! Yum!

We checked out the local flora and fauna…
And played around a bit too!
We also checked out the Shrine of Remembrance.
 

We then headed to our favourite place in Chinatown, Shanghai Dumplings, and stuffed ourselves silly for $20!

Mmmmm… dumplingicious! 
(I know I look a bit spaced out, but I was sunburnt and tired from all our walking!)
And washed them down with a couple of Tsingtaos!
We then headed off to Pellegrini’s (a “Melbourne Institution”) for a coffee
And we finished off a big day out by seeing Sherlock Holmes at the movies, which, by the way was a great movie! It’s lots of fun with a bit of mystery and mayhem. Really really enjoyed it.
All in all and amazing day with Hubs, exploring this great city we live in, and enjoying it while we can!

Day Trippers

/ Renae / 2 Comments

We have been fortunate enough to have access to a car the last few weeks (thanks to Lsl buying herself a Ute from down here, so we have to road trip it back to Brisbane starting this Friday!) so we decided to take it for a spin down to Torquay a few Saturdays ago. The weather was so lovely in the morning, that I insisted we get out of Newman for the day. The thing about Melbourne weather though, is that it seems to incorporate the surrounds as well. On our way down the sun vanished, but we were determined! (Well, I was determined. Hubs was in a making-Wifey-happy mood which suited me just fine!)

We arrived and went for a walk down the beach. It wasn’t actually as cold as I expected, and the bay water was pretty nice too.

And now for a game of “how much you think I pay?”

(Back story: My Grandpa is a bargain shopper and becomes very pleased with himself when he saves lots of money, and he likes to pose the question “how much you think I pay?” and is chuffed when we name a price WAY higher than what he paid! It’s good fun!)

So I bought this purpley-pink top from a Kathmandu sale

and I pose the question: How much you think I pay? Now, I SHOULD leave it at that and tell you the price after you guess, but I’m not that patient, so I’ll put the price right at the end of my post and you can tell me how WRONG you were in your guesses 🙂

After our walk on the beach we went and checked out the Rivers clothing store and got a few bargains there as well! (A post for another day.) While we were inside it started pouring down so we shopped until it eased off. We left and dropped our stuff off into the car and as we were doing so it started to pour down again so we ran to the cafe we had decided to eat at, but not before we got quite soaked 🙁

 
It was pretty funny! But it still wasn’t too cold which was lucky!
It was a lovely little hippie cafe with a great view!

We ordered a lamb shank pie, some avo, cheese and tomato toasties and a couple glasses of red wine.
Absolutely delish! It was then time to go home, so we decided to take the “scenic” route. In these here parts of town, this must include some evidence of hooliganism!

(That wasn’t us BTW. Hubs wanted to be a bogan but I’m such a party-pooper!)
We made it home by 5:30pm, ready for some home-made Wifey roo burgers. A delicacy in these here parts of town!



Full price $74.95 (who would PAY that???)
What Wifey paid: $6.95 (yes, I’m a bargain shopper too!!)

Toast just doesn’t cut it

/ Renae / 2 Comments

I’m a cereal girl (living in a cereal world?) and I had toast for brekky this morning and there are so many things I don’t like about toast for breakfast:

1. it takes too long
2. it doesn’t fill me up for more than half an hour
3. too many decisions to be made about what to put on it in the morning (jam? peanut butter? honey?? I’M STILL HALF ASLEEP!)
4. I get distracted very easily so there’s only a 50% chance that I won’t forget about the toast being cooked and burn it beyond recognition
5. I’m hungry now (see 2nd point)

I have a whole week of this!! (we are leaving on Friday and ran out of cereal last Friday and there’s no point in buying a whole new packet just for a week…)