Not Quite NigellaThe cooking, eating and travel blog of a hungry blogger from Sydney, Australia featuring original recipes, interviews and articles on all things food @

Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Jelly Beans from Harry Potter

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 18:00:55 +0000

I used to work for a man who didn’t mind when I called him Voldemort, Harry Potter’s dark lord of evil. That kind of gives you an indication of how strange and twisted he was. Having said that, he wasn’t 100% awful, he definitely had moments of being kind and nice but mostly, and until [...]

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Black Crow Cupcakes

Not Quite Nigella — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:00:54 +0000

If you had asked me what my main aims were during primary school it wasn’t really to achieve great marks, be popular or become a prefect or school captain. It was quite honestly, to avoid all sport and P.E. classes. I’d rather have been in the library reading books or doing something peaceful. Having a hard ball [...]

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NQN’s Hellish Halloween Party!

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:00:29 +0000

So there I was, waiting for a batch of blood for my annual Halloween party. Not the human kind mind you, but nevertheless a batch of blood. The only problem? It was about to arrive when I was going to have a meeting with my book publishers at Penguin to discuss publicity for my upcoming book. “What [...]

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Haunted House Cupcakes

Not Quite Nigella — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:00:46 +0000

When I was a child, every day on the way from primary school I would stop off at the library. It was on the way home and I loved to pop in and make oogly eyes at the albino axolotl in the tank and borrow some books. I do like a book series-there is something [...]

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Rat Plague Brownie Bites!

Not Quite Nigella — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:00:01 +0000

I was standing in my kitchen basking in a wonderful mood. Sadly for those around me (the plants) I was singing off key and trilling as if I didn’t have a care in the world. “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” I sang. And then a packet of dried red lentils, without any [...]

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Eyeball Cupcakes For Friday the 13th!

Not Quite Nigella — Wed, 11 May 2011 19:00:12 +0000

Hello fellow ghouls! Guess what special day is tomorrow? That’s right, it’s Friday the 13th! Never mind that nothing bad had ever really happens to people on that date. I take note of the date because it gives me an excuse to make something deliciously ghoulish. I mean Hallowe’en is soooo many months away! This [...]

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Vampire Cookie Pops

Not Quite Nigella — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:00:45 +0000

Although I’m not what one would consider a goth (I mean really, do goths tan or more accurately fake tan?), I am not really surprising anyone when I say that I do all of the accoutrements of the gothic world. That doesn’t mean that I also don’t like the girly but I get similarly excited [...]

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NQN’s Wonderfully Wicked Hallowe’en Party!

Not Quite Nigella — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 18:00:43 +0000

Welcome to my Halloween graveyard! Happy Hallowe’en my pretties! It’s the Wicked Witch of the East(ern Suburbs) here! Hop onto the end of my broomstick for a personal tour of my very own Hallowe’en party! I promise to lure you into my cottage with all sorts of gruesome, ghastly and frighteningly freaky goods. I still [...]

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A Spooky Hallowe’en Gingerbread Witch’s House!

Not Quite Nigella — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 18:00:02 +0000

I have to admit that my habits of late are changing. Apart form the occasional movie which I enjoy if it’s not too commercial and “Hollywood blockbuster”, I watch much more television than I do movies. I think it’s because I often find myself disappointed in a movie whereas with a television show, I know [...]

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NQN’s Frightening Halloween Feast!

Not Quite Nigella — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:00:49 +0000

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 [...]

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