A very Strange thing...

Hi all!

I'm sorry, been rather MIA lately... I havent even done much cooking except for a batch of instant brownies the other weekend, which hardly constitutes as cooking, but it was nice to hold the handymix, smell the chocolate mixture and turn on the oven and smell the wonderful baking delights!

Anyhow, something really strange happened on my blog... maybe someone out there will know the answer, and maybe it isnt really that strange after all! 2 entries ago, I blogged on my new cooking books and inserted photos on it... and guess what, yes it has disappeared!!! No joke! Gone!!! I checked on my dashboard and it is meant to be there, but now it has gone! Disappeared off the face of the blog!

Are there blog police out there??? Have I violated or committed some sorta crime? Maybe the Nigella publishers have come and managed to somehow take it off the site... oh dear.... this is real weird!!!

Take care all............ I hope to post some food stuff up sometime!!!

Love, Liz :)

Poker Championship Night!

Had a lovely loooong weekend! The way a long weekend should be! Plenty of food, fun & friends!!! :) Eulynn and Terence hosted a "Poker Night" and provided loads of food, drink and atmosphere!!! Hehehe! (Will this be an annual/half yearly event???!!!) Thank you heaps guys, always such a blessing to receive such warm fellowship and good food!

In celebration of this event, and with a set of new Nigella cookie cutters that I got for my birthday, I made the agar jelly and used the tiny alphabet cookie cutters to mark the event! The top layer is made with coconut milk and the bottom layer was clear with green pandan essence! Refreshing on a hot summer's day! :)

Hope you all (in Perth) had a lovely long weekend too! Cant wait for Easter now!!! :)

2 New Friends!!! :)

Honestly, there is something just so very very exciting about cookbooks! It's unexplainable - perhaps it is an obsession? I know my friend, Eulynn will totally understand what I mean! It's like there are these wonderful, creative secrets hidden in the glossy, mouth watering, ever so tempting pictures, pages with food that can send your senses wild!!! Truly, a very nice afternoon would be a nice cuppa tea or coffee and a brand new cookbook or magazine on my lap!

So the above 2 books are new additions to my cookbook family - WELCOME WELCOME! I have heard so much about Nigella, and her Snow flecked brownies are THE best, no calories are spared, but hey if you're going to be eating calories, make sure you make it worth your while! But her books are always on the pricey side, and I find that her ingredients are weird... some weird animal or vegetable..... BUT.... this time, her book "Feast" seemed to well, really look like a feast! So yes, I decided to treat myself with some birthday money from my aunty and bought it!

And then the other book, "Dinner with friends" has some awesome recipes as well... it has different cuisines and geez, it all looks so darn yummy!!! Ahhhh these two "friends" sit faithfully by my bed, pages and pages of glorious food, ready to get to work! Really it should be called inspiration.

Stay tuned............. hopefully I shall get some time to try them out!

For those in Perth, have a happy long weekend!!! :)

(p.s. I've been SO busy lately, I havent had a chance to try out new recipes or even use my friend's bday gift to me yet! Looks like Vday month and flavour has come and gone... o dear...! Ahh - ha today I got another very nice birthday present that shall be put to use in the not too far future.....!:))

Happy CNY!

Our dinner last night!

Happy Chinese New Year all! :)

Breakfast in Style!

This is my 3rd breakfast weekend in a row! :) I love going to breakfast - although just before u wake up, you question yourself why you made an appt so early in the morning when all you feel right now is to sleep........ BUT it is always worth it! So, at 830am, we went for a lovely breaky @ Bluewater Grill @ Heathcote, at Applecross. I didnt take many pictures, but it is a FANTASTIC place for breakfast - actually it is a fantastic place full stop. A couple of years ago when I went, the service was bad, like terribly snobby! But they seemed to have got fairly decent staff now :)

The weather was a little windy on Sat so they sat us inside the restaurant. The outside would have been fantastic, visualise this, you are seated under one of those umbrella tables, and there is beautifully manicured lawn infront of you, and beyond that is the swan river with city views! :) ahhhh... fantastic..... :)

They haven't actually got a website, but it is called Bluewater Grill and for $14 you can get a delicious continental breakfast that includes salmon and wonderful baked products and fresh fruit, and for $27.50 you can get hot food as well! Highly recommended - this is a great place - both day and night. Next time I go, I'll have to take some ambience and surrounding photos, rather than just this plate of food :P

A Sweet Heart!

In celebration of V-Day, I baked some heart shaped pineapple tarts! :)

I think next time I make these, I should bake the pastry first then put the filling and then bake it for a few mins! I have been finding that if not, the filling dries up, either that or you dont get a nice golden brown pastry colour! Next time!!! :)

You know what's interesting about these tarts? It actually tastes better the day and days after.... it is a little too crispy the first few hours after it has baked... it seems to "settle" after a few hours...!

Due to the busi-ness that every weekend promises to bring, I wasn't able to make my other V-Day themed item this week! But stay tuned - Shona gave me an awesome gift - which will assist in the next "fruit" from the Kitchen! :)

Hope you all had a lovely V-Day and CNY! :)

Btw - I have got permission from Gerard to advertise his blog here, check his blog out @ http://longingforsimplicity.blogspot.com/ - you will definitely be extremely amused - esp with his V-Day theme! :P

A Girly Breakfast!

Up and ready to go this morning we were! :) I had some of my girlfriends over this morning for a girly Birthday Breakfast! :) We had a great time - must do it again next time! Age must really be showing, instead of the late night coffees, breakfast is quite the option these days!

Thanks gals for coming and thanks for your gift! :) - thanks WanSee and Joey too (unfortunately weren't able to be at the breakie *sniff sniff*)

Desserts @ The Hyatt

As they say.... a picture speaks a thousand words.... :)

Enjoy! :)

"Love is In the Air...!"

Inspired by a friend's blog @ Simply Life (I'll add in his blog if I get permission!), who is going to blog about love n relationships this month since it is Valentines Day... got me thinking!!! Why dont I have a Valentines Day theme too! And my favourite colour is PINK! Perfect perfect perfect!!! *big smiles*

So for the month of February - at least once a week, I'll try to bake/cook something either pink, or in a heart shape! *claps hands* Imagine a heart shaped piece of steak, or a pink loaf of bread! Hahaha jk! I promise it will be eatible! :) Ahhh I'm so excited now! So hopefully you'll stay tuned, and check out what gets created...! :)

By the way, if any of you have great V Day themed food ideas or any cool stories along the theme, do share! :)

See ya all soon!!! :)

Happy Aussie Day!

This officially must be one of the hottest weekends in history... I literally felt like a muffin in an oven! Worst than feeling like a "char siew pau" when I had my facial the last time! Perth is known to have some really hot days, and this weekend was one of them! We reached about 41 degrees yesterday I heard and today was 40 and tomorrow is I think going to be 40 as well! Argg!!!

Anyhow, to celebrate Australia Day we had some friends over and had a BBQ as well as a potbless. Wow there was so much food! We had steak, lamb, kebabs, salads, chicken, noodles etc etc! It was a food galore! It was awesome! :) Fellowship was fantastic, people were great, overall a great Aussie weekend - the way it's meant to be!!!

(Thanks Gerard for taking the photos! See below...)