sticky date pudding

have you ever wondered why you have to pay so much for a sticky date pudding outside, when the ingredients are clearly quite simple and making it is indeed easy-peasy...

well, i have thought about it many times before and haven't quite derived at a good enough answer. even more so, when i tried my hand at making them over the weekend. what i found tricky was getting them out of the muffin tray. i had to wait for them to cool but of course i didn't and struggled to pop the individual puddings out of their moulds.their tops are evidence of my impatience. heh...

i love how moist they turned out and the bits of date i could still chew on, which gave the pudding a really good, balanced texture. microwave it for some thirty seconds with a generous drizzle of toffee sauce for a light, after-dinner dessert. for an even more sinful treat, top the pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream!

i give this recipe 4/5 stars!

to terri

this post is dedicated to my dear ol' cousin, terri, who is also currently away from home.

ree, this garlic rice recipe is one of my favourites because it is so simple to whip up and tastes as good as, or even better than any jap take-away. it can also keep for about a week and that saves me alot of time.

i hope you enjoy it as much as i have :- )




what you will need:
three chinese bowls of cooked short-grain rice (overnight is best)
60g minced pork, seasoned with sesame oil, salt, pepper and soy sauce
one large egg, mixed
one whole garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp oil

method:
1. heat pan on medium fire and put in oil
2. fry chopped garlic till fragrant
3. add in minced pork and cook well
4. add in rice and fry till well combined. push rice to one side of pan and pour in egg mixture. make sure egg is cooked and nicely scrambled. stir together with rice.
5. season with salt and pepper.
6. serve!

A plate of Banh Cuon Tom Thit always completes my trip down to Richmond, where I will spend a good couple of hours shuttling in and out of the little convenient stores. Also known as rice noodles with pork and shrimp, this Vietnamese appetiser is a colourful mix of rice noodles, fried mung bean balls, bean shoots, pate and home-made fish cake. This is a great alternative to beef pho, which fills you up way faster. If you still need your daily carb intake, have Banh Cuon Tom Thit with a bowl of hot fluffy rice!



thank you dee, for the photo :-)

post-essay

what do three girls do after a week of essay madness? hit the streets and satisfy their food cravings, of course...

i have been dying for waffles of a certain kind for the longest time and even went to the extent of searching for a waffle maker in the department stores here. it's strange that they will only bring the makers in during the christmas period. penguin shaped ones even. but heck, how can i wait till then.

so we checked out Waffle On along Degraves on thursday afternoon, after popping our papers into the chute in school. we were entertained by the owner and his two helpers, whilst they buzzed around. i was puzzled as well, like why on earth would french blokes be selling belgian waffles... but okay, i needed my fix, i didn't want to ask too much and if you haven't been sleeping well for three days, you just want to keep quiet.

i had the $5.00 set - belgian waffle with ice cream and a strong long black. Sher had hers with hot chocolate, while Dawn just snapped very tak glam photos of us! aside from lousy seating, the waffles scored a good 4/5 in my tummy. they were served fresh from the iron; crispy on the outside and a little gooey inside.



here's sleepy me and sher with one of the helpers who pounced behind us when we were taking a photo. -_-

egg and cheese melt on rye bread

dawn and i found a recipe online for egg and cheese melt, so she decided to give it a go this morning. i had mine with some brown mushrooms on the side and washed it all down with a glass of soy milk. yummers.

a nice hearty breakfast totally kicks start our day!

acro-cadabro-adobo

i couldn't agree more that you just can't go wrong with chicken adobo. only that the amount of soya sauce that goes into the dish really scares me. pictures and recipe later because im dog tired . i have to survive the paper.

oat muffins

always handy to have eggs, butter, milk, flour and sugar at home. you'll never know when you need some kitchen therapy. no bananas in this because they cost a bomb at the supermarket; 12 aussie dollars a kilo. i could buy several hands back home...

ready...set...go

btzz btzz!

so ive caught on the disease of taking photos of my food.