“I think I’m a little bit excited in the pants” says Steph giddily when a plate of food is set in front of her. A little later we say “We have four girls and two meatballs” and immediately burst into laughter. For those that think that I’m hanging out with a particularly rowdy bunch of girls, you’d be slightly off the mark for today I’m hosting a “Meet My Suburb” Walking Tour of Kensington and Kingsford with a bunch of fellow food blogger gals Betty, Reem, Steph and Trina. In our best effort to eat but still fit into our clothes, we’re going to stop and eat and then do some walking. We were very lucky and had some lovely warm weather this particular weekend which made the stroll down Anzac Parade all the more enjoyable (and the iced drinks at our pit stops all the more satisfying). Our tour started at High Noon on a Sunday at Pondok Buyung where we were baying for brains…

The Bain Maries at Pondok Buyung

A few days before I had emailed the group asking them if they wanted to try brains. The answers were swift and decisive and all in the affirmative so we fronted up to the colourful bain marie display and ordered a plate of lamb’s brains, fried chicken and chili chicken along with a Es Campur and Es Telur drinks. In order to eat as much as possible, all 5 of us split a plate which thankfully doesn’t bother any of the shopkeepers there as we eat and go (ok and chat for a while but no-one was waiting for a table I promise). Total damage for the group at this stop? $17.

Mixed plate with 3 selections $11

Close up of the brains-don’t they look oh so brainey!

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So I’ve been doing the talking for a while and now I’d love to hear back from you! I’d be ever so delighted if you could fill out this 5 minute survey on how to improve NQN which of course comes with an added incentive – the chance to win 1 of 3 Nigella Lawson Living Kitchen aprons worth $80 each! Simply click on the link below and complete the survey and you’ll be in the running to win one of these aprons – shipped anywhere in the world!

Click to Start Survey Now

Thankyou very much in advance for your help. I hope that it will allow Not Quite Nigella to become a bigger and better place

I’d also love to hear from you for another separate reason. A lovely friend, her sister and I are putting together a cookbook project called Secret Nanna Recipe.

About the Secret Nanna Recipes Project:

Everyone’s grandmother has one. The pudding she made on special occasions, the soup she made for Easter or the pickles she made after the summer cucumber harvest.

These recipes are not just merely formulas for food. They are the sensory embodiment of our childhood memories, the sweetness in the sorrow of loss, the practical handing down of skills from a mother or even a mother country. In short, they are precious and worth preserving.

We are asking you to join us on a journey back in time.

Please share your grandmother’s recipe with us and we will endeavour to include it, along with a photograph and some words, in our new cookbook, Secret Nanna Recipes.

Furthermore, if you would like to submit your mother’s recipe instead of your grandmother’s, that’s OK too. Some people’s nannas have passed away or simply didn’t cook!

Get Involved

Here’s what we need you to do;

1. Post or email us the recipe
2. Post or email us a high res photo of your Nan
3. Send through 150 words about your Nanna and her recipe.

Email to:  secretnannarecipes[at]gmail[dot]com (replacing the [at] and [dot] with @ and .)

Mail to:  Emma
28 Garners Ave
Marrickville NSW 2204

For the 150 words, please answer one of these questions;

1. What is your fondest memory of your Nanna?
2. Tell us about the time of week/year she made this recipe and why? Was it for a religious festival, harvest season of a particular fruit or vegetable, was it a Sunday family ritual?
3. What was your Nanna’s kitchen like?
4. What was the best advice she ever gave you?
5. What did she teach you about cooking?

Deadline: Tuesday June 30th, 2009

Note: 5% of the profits from the sale of the Secret Nanna Recipe cookbook will go to Meals on Wheels

Lots of love,

Lorraine/NQN

xxx

One reason why I love food bloggers is not only do they understand me, they’re a truly inspiring and mindblowing bunch. Take my blogging buddy Barbara from Barbara Bakes, an amazing mum that came to Australia recently with her family. Not only did she give me 2 awards which I cherish, she included me in her Pay It Forward after I asked her about the cinnamon chips that she used in the fantastic Cinnamon Apple Candy Cane Kolache with Cinnamon Drizzle as I was dying to make it. Check out her blog for more delicious meals and lovely commentary.

Of course our Quarantine inspectors got into this-luckily they didn’t remove anything!

Fast forward a short time and the package guy (who just laughs at the amount of packages I get) handed me a huge box. I had no idea who would be sending me such a huge package but a quick glance showed me that it was Barbara. To say that I was excited was an understatement. The box was HUGE and beautifully packaged up.

Inside there were the much anticipated Cinnamon chips, 3 bags in fact which means that I can let myself go wild with them, Candy melts in green, blue, yellow and peanut butter (all fabulous colours that I find hard to make with gels as they’re so strong in colour), a packet of Lime Jello (Utah is the state that consumers the most Lime Jello and they even had a Green Jello pin for the Salt Lake City 1992 Olympics!) a brownie serve from a fancy pants store Orson Gygi, 8 packets of Reese’s Limited Edition “The Big One” Elvis Peanut Butter and Banana Creme cups, a peanut butter mould to make my own peanut butter cup flavours, an Elvis CD and a lovely CD where Barbara takes me on a photo journey of her hometown and assembling my package! It was a good thing that my neighbours weren’t home such was the screaming and jumping with excitement!

I stashed the PB cups in the fridge for a bit to firm up and after a very long 10 minutes ripped them open to reveal the most delicious Peanut Butter cup flavour. The Banana creme is just right inside them and a perfect foil for the rich peanut butter and chocolate. You see Barbara is a clever cookie and when she asked me what I might like in my package I mentioned hearing about the Elvis cups but not being able to get them here. So she looked on ebay and found some for me. So not only are food bloggers generous and friendly, they’re also very clever

Hershey’s Cinnamon chips-I was so excited about these!

Here is some information on Pay It Forward:

“There are so many lovely giveaways in blogland, bloggers eagerly commenting and abuzz with the excitement of winning an unexpected gift, but that’s it. Someone wins, and then the generosity comes to a screeching halt and we go on with our lives. Nice, but lacking in momentum. This giveaway is a little different, however, because the “receivers” are also to become “givers”, if you will. In fact, that’s the most important rule of the game… ”

The rules: I will select three people who leave a comment on this story for the next week until midnight on the 1st of March, and will send them a gift within the next 365 days. I am willing to post anywhere in the world, so don’t let that stop you from commenting. The catch is that you must have a blog and be willing to do the same thing.

If you just want to leave a comment but don’t want to be part of Pay It Forward just say that in your comment

I leave you with Barbara’s recipe for Green Jello and cream cheese salad. It’s a deliciously light and fluffy cheesecake mousse pudding that, light as air with an intriguing flavour.

Lots of love,

NQN

xxx

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