I had a fright the other day. I looked at the calendar and realised that we were just mere days away from Spring. “Why the alarm?” You might ask. Spring signals warmer weather and that means filmy, pretty dresses and then comes Summer which is…cue dramatic music duh duh dum…
Bikini weather!
Gorgonzola
I’ve been revelling in Winter, like a pig in mud I’ve been a indulging in stews, puddings and all sorts of delectable sweets. I’ve been feasting on poutine and foie gras in Canada and revelling in chicken in bread sauce in Sydney. I have paid no attention to the scales (actually we don’t have any which is deliberate as it can become an obsession) and now find myself in the precarious position of trying to down salads in this cold weather. I’ve tried steamed vegetables but these always seem to be pipped by lovely roast potatoes. In fact there has been a bit of a chip revival at Chez Elliott.
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| August 31st, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
Last week I was lucky enough to attend a media lunch for the Chiva Som Spa Cuisine cookbook. Thai Chef Paisarn in consultation with Serge Dansereau from Bather’s Pavilion cooked us a delicious four course lunch. The food was light but also flavoursome and I recall thinking “I could quite happily live on this”. Of course living on this also does entail forking out a considerable sum to stay at Chiva Som-and sadly my gold bar supply has been depleted…ok it never existed but I like pretending that I had one.
Chef Paisarn
Apart from the tasty savoury morsels we were also served this dessert. I know the idea of using what is traditionally known as a savoury ingredient (water chestnuts) might seem odd for some but this is sweet, light, gluten free, dairy free and only 50 calories a pop. I am willing to try anything so I popped one of these treats into my mouth and was rewarded with a lovely bite sized dessert. On top was a creamy custard and at the bottom was a slightly crunchy and sweet water chestnut layer.
Chef Paisarn trying to show us how to make the pandan leaf boxes
For those of you unfamiliar with traditional Asian desserts, they are quite different from Western style desserts. For starters wheat flour and dairy items are rarely used. You may find yourself eating sweet beans and in this case, sweetened water chestnuts. However despite the lack of cream and cake, these are often very tasty, especially the desserts where coconut is used (sadly which means that the dessert isn’t quite as low fat as you’d want).
Vegetable Roll
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| May 16th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
I have an odd sense of economics at best. In High School I was so terrible at Economics that no-one ever expected me to answer anything. When my teacher Mr Pretty (yes his name really was Mr Pretty) asked “Who knows what O.E.C.D. means?” and I answered in a bored voice “Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development” expecting thirty other girl’s voices to be chiming in with me only to find I was the only one, my friends and he turned around startled that I had actually managed to answer a question in Economics class. I don’t blame them, I was hopeless at it and I was surprised I knew the answer too. I’d shown no predilection for economics or money and I certainly considered “budget” a dirty word.
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| April 29th, 2010 by Not Quite Nigella
Happy New Year lovely readers! Another year and more wonderful memories made. Every year I try and concoct an original cocktail based on what I feel like drinking at the time. This year, particularly the latter half of the year, was one where I felt like I had overindulged in the worst way. I needed to detox and I needed it soon. The problem was that I had virtually no hope of doing it for a prolonged period with Christmas coming up.
Although I know a cocktail is really no place for antioxidants I thought that perhaps sneaking in some antioxidant rich ingredients into a cocktail wouldn’t hurt and show the gods that I was somewhat serious about detoxing and headed in the right direction. I also loved the idea of teapot cocktails which we had at The Loft so hence this tea cocktail was borne. It has blueberries and white tea in it which are good for you although it also has some alcohol by way of Pimms in it. The lemonade adds sweetness and a refreshing quality which you may need if 2009 has been at a fast and furious pace for you. And the little jewelled cocktail sticks are from my wonderful friend Angela from Creating a Stir who is herself such a gem!
So tell me Dear Reader, what are you up to this evening on this New Year’s Eve? Mr NQN and I will be attending a masquerade party (hence the props in the picture). What plans do you have? Snuggling up at home watching the fireworks? Braving the crowds and soaking up the atmosphere in the city? Or having a quiet BBQ with friends?
Hedonista’s Revenge
- 4 parts lemonade
- 2-3 parts Pimms
- 3 parts iced tea (I used Turkish apple tea and white tea)
- Pureed blueberries and raspberries (with 1 tablespoon of iced tea to help it blend)
- Ice
- Blueberries and sprig of mint for garnish
1. Place all except for lemonade in a shaker and shake until combined. Pour into glass and top with lemonade and stir. Serve with some extra blueberries and a sprig of mint.
Interview with Valli Little
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| December 31st, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella
Hello my pretties! Take my (severed) hand and let me give you a peek into my annual Halloween party. It’s an event that gets me going throughout the year. This month was particularly busy with the Sydney International Food Festival and before I knew it, it was the 20th of October and I hadn’t even sorted out my costume.
Luckily I had been planning this party even before last year’s finished (yes I’m an obsessive kind of person, can you tell?) and I had my menu sorted. I wanted to make different things from last year and I wanted it to be even more grisly than last year. I waited and waited and waited for my oven. It was about a month late and was on the way to me from the nice people at LG. It finally arrived and I can already see that she (and it is a she no doubt) is also something that loves dramatic entrances so we’ll get along just fine. I was set for my baking duties and so I had to get my costume together.
Bloody Brain Pannacotta and Shortbread Witch’s Fingers
I am not one for sewing. In fact the only craft I can muster up is really cooking. So I chose to buy my costume and there was one I had my heart set on, the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland (I even had the tiara ready for it). Now that I had my outfit sorted, I needed to turn my attention to the decorations. Places were selling out of their Halloween goodies and whenever I’d walk into a shop, there would be a gaggle of people amongst the Halloween section with adults and kids alike grabbing costumes and decorations.
I wanted to go more ghoulish and squeamish this year so I went with Donna the Dead, the moaning sensor activated animated moaning head. I picked up my charming severed head from The Party People in Sans Souci and discovered a treasure trove of ghoulish goodies. We got to chatting and they agreed to lend me some props for the party including these two charming mummies and a faux bloody brain and severed hand! Mr NQN dressed up as a surgeon gone psychotic and answered the door holding the body parts (he was originally to go as Hannibal Lecter holding a bottle of chianti, fava beans and a liver).
But enough dithering, let me show you the food which is always one of the most important parts to a celebration aside from the company!
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| November 2nd, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella
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