Thursday, September 30, 2010

Smoked salmon fettuccine



This recipe I actually found in a Woolworths catalogue. Probably wondering why I was looking at it in the first place.
Well for me personally, I don't know about the other girls, but I actually like looking through the sales that come in the mail, even if I have no intention of buying anything...YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU MAY FIND!


Anyways, it looked tasteful and easy enough to prepare, so I decided to give it a try.
NOTE: this recipe serves 2, so just increase(like what I did) to suit how many you will be serving :)

YOU WILL NEED:
  • 250 mL Philadelphia Cream for Cooking(it's new :D)

  • 150g Huon Premium Tasmanian salmon, flaked(since this product is pretty expensive, I just used canned salmon as an alternative)
  • 375g Latina fettuccine, cooked and drained(again alternatively you can just buy the raw pasta and cook it then)

  • 1tbs butter
  • 3 spring onions, sliced
  • 1tbs baby capers(I actually didn't know what a caper was till now xD)
  • 50g baby spinach
Steps to make it:
1. Saute spring onions in butter for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the spinach, capers and cream and simmer for 2 minutes.
2. Toss through the salmon and pasta and serve immediately.

HANDY TIPS PAST DOWN FROM MY OWN MOTHER :)
  1. when cooking pasta, cook it in a bigger pot. Ratio of water:pasta is 2:1
  2. cook the vegetables first but instead of simmering with the cream straight, place vegetables into bowl temporary, simmer cream and add the pasta. Stir through. When pasta completely covered, add the vegetables. This is so that the cream doesn't get any added water the vegetables may produce AND the vegetables won't be overcooked :)
Pretty simple right?

A fresh, healthy pasta to enjoy this summer :D



P.S you can always be creative and add more things :) mum asked if we could add some mushrooms hehehe

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Good things come in jars!


Ok so this one was my FIRST dinner attempt...so I'm sorry if I don't remember everything LOL

One of those instant stir fry jar sauces(if i remember correctly this one was Honey Soy...something soy :P)
Just cook your choice of meat(my choice being chicken *hehe i love chicken*),
a few vegies(bok choy and baby corn) and simmer with the sauce
and HEY PRESTO! easy cooked dinner :)

I'll make a proper review of one of these next time, I promise xP


Chicken tonight??

Hi foodlovers
As already said by Miss. Gange, sorry for the lack of posts lately(we do have other things to do besides eating LOL) and sadly since a fellow member won't be blogging for a while *stares at Nina*,
it's time for us other members to try and keep this blog alive :) and of course entertain and inform our lovely followers.

So since my eating style/method/type whatever you wish to call it is somewhat of a mystery(not only to you but to my fellow Yaya's),
some of you may not have known(if anyone at all) but I have recently been cooking dinner for my family for the past couple of days.
It isn't anything fancy, just some easy to cook meals that you may want to try and cook yourself :)

Tonight's Menu: Honey Curry Baked Chicken
Now being an amateur cook, I only cook things that don't require a lot of time of effort to make :P

For this all you'll need is:
  • Chicken fillets
  • 2/3 cup of melted butter
  • 1 cup of honey
  • 1/2 cup of mustard
  • 2 tbsp of curry powder
NOTE: Lessen the amounts depending on how much chicken you are using.
It's pretty simple!
Just mix all the ingredients together and place in a pan and let it cook in a 175 degree oven for approximately 40-60 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.
AND THATS IT!

SUGGESTION: why not try it with a small bowl of rice and a fresh salad :)

Goodbye to Nina...

Sooo! Lot's been happening and we've found ourselves extremely busy! hence the no posting >< Sorry Foodfans! I've been getting alot of complaints >< I apologize...


Just a Heads up though... last weekend on an outing with highschool friends, Nina and I and some others were involved in some betting over ten-pin bowling skills.... sadly Nina lost and her punishment is that she is not alot to blog or look at wanna-spoon until december.


HOW CRUEL!!! but.. a deal is a deal. So Nina will be out for awhile... But the rest of us will try to pick up some slack!


thanks for your support!!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Bourke Street Bakery

Bakery: Bourke Street Bakery
Location: 633 Cnr Bourke St and Devonshire, Surry Hills
Overall Rating: 9.5


I assure you that you have never tasted tarts until you've tasted Bourke Street Bakery's tarts! These amazing little drops of baked heaven goodness can put me in a state of temporary insanity. I would definitely say they are quite pricey at the price of $4 each (they are not that big), but every little bite of it is worth every penny. I'm not even usually a big fan of tarts!

I didn't personally go there myself (unfortunately), but my family were nice enough to bring back enough for me to die from a food comma. There were three flavours brought back: chocolate strawberry, vanilla, and rhubarb. Apart from the amazing flavours, the tart layer was soooooo unbelievably crispy!


This is the vanilla tart, which is to DIE for! It was like a vanilla tart and creme brulee in one! Because that top bit was actually blow torched creme brulee style, so you can crack the top and eat it!


The chocolate one had a milo-like flavor to it and chunky strawberry pieces. The rhubarb flavour I wasn't a big fan of.. (I don't like rhubarb to begin with). But it still tasted nice! It was definitely my mum's favorite, which is exactly why she brought back two.

Home cooking: Mushrooms

I think I've left this update on hiatus for far too long (3 weeks?). Reason is that I've been preoccupied with work and uni work, but never fear.. Food is always strolling with me wherever I go and whatever I do! :-)

So I think the first time I've eaten deep fried mushrooms would be many years ago in Chai's house where we had one of those crazy feasts! And she was all like "omg I'll cook you guys some deep fried onions and mushrooms, we just got a new deep fryer and so I've been deep frying everything and it's so lovely and crispy and lovely and crispy and did I mention lovely? omg!" (emphasis on the tone of excitement - nah not really.. she really talks like this. That sentence within 2.5 seconds, I'm not even joking - much love chai ;D)

Anyways! So years down the track I've been spending money on these goodies from either Outback Steakhouse or Chicken King in Woodcroft, until recently when Raymond went mushroom crazy in Woollworths due to a sale. of course. A year supply of mushrooms and a limited talent for cooking? = deep fried mushrooms. I don't even remember much on the recipe for this to be honest. You dip the mushroom in egg white, and then cover it with a mixture of potato flour, salt, pepper, chilli powder - anything really? And then pop it off in the fryer - easy!


Fried Shroom

Insides

Insides


Note: Use of a variety of sauces is heavenly!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Fancy pants dinner for under $50 (Feeds 4-6)

Random hangout one day in Kellyville, lead to a random hangout at night... Felt like cooking for everyone.. so I did.
This is dedicated to Jeanaline, Laurence, Faith and also Len and T-Roy.
Thankyou for a fun day and a wonderful night =]
Here is what I cooked... all for under $50 bucks!!! (didn't get very many pictures, or any really good pictures.. we were too hungry and too excited. LOL ><)

MENU

 Spinach and Garlic-Butter Chicken with white sauce
 An aromatic combination of spinach, tasty cheese, and rich garlic butter, enveloped by a fillet of juicy chicken breast, slow baked to perfection, smothered in a creamy white sauce.


Golden Pomme Noisettes
 Crisp, golden potato gems, delicately pan-fried, lightly sprinkled with Chicken salt


Beef and Mushroom Ravioli in a creamy three-Cheese white sauce
Pillows of Al-dente beef and mushroom ravioli served with a cheddar, Parmesan and pecorino sauce, infused with sauteed onion, bacon and freshly sliced mushrooms


CrĂŞpes de Chocolate un Fraise 
(chocolate and strawberry Crepes)
French crepes encasing a generous amount of Autralia's favourite creamy nutella, Fresh strawberries and an abundance of whipped cream



Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Yaya's Tradition: FAMILY BOX AND NUGGET PARTY

Random night for 3 of the 5 of us,
this being myself, Diane and Chai.
Tonight's dinner: everyone's favourite McDonald's


So normally people would buy their individual meals and enjoy it themselves...correct?
But why not try what the Yaya's like to call a NUGGET PARTY!

What is a nugget party you must be asking?
Well yes, it involves nuggets and it feels somewhat of a party LOL
But with a little TWIST!

Instead of just nuggets why not enjoy it with a side of a FAMILY BOX!
Oh...did i mention the best part yet.... you need to get these with EVERY KIND OF SAUCE from Mc Donalds :D
no joke! it makes it 10 times better...TRUST!


NOTE: it's a minimum of 5 nuggets per person, so depending on how many people are with you
you may like to buy some more nuggets on the side :)

SAUCEY GOODNESS!
Barbeque sauce, mustard, mayonnaise, sweet & sour, ranch sauce, honey mustard and ketchup
(and Mc Chicken sauce which we forgot to get)
Don't be afraid to mix sauces
It makes it more yummier with a bit of everything :D

All in all, a meal good for 5(however eaten by 3 here)
at a total less than $30
pretty good don't you think?



Wednesday, September 8, 2010

10 of the best SYDNEY EATS IN SYDNEY CHALLENGE

 10 of THE BEST SYDNEY EATS according to Sydney Morning Herald


So above is the link to the top 10 eats according to Sydney Morning Herald....
ooooh big words.. big words...
 Now ladies *looks at other YAYA'S* it seems we have a challenge before us.


I think we should try something from each of these places before the end of the year and blog it for the people? how's that sound??? we game?


so here are the places....

ONE. Favourite burger 

Rockpool Bar & Grill66 Hunter Street, Sydney, 8078 1900
Rockpool wagyu burger.
Rockpool wagyu burger.
TWOFavourite breakfast
Cafe Giulia, 92 Abercrombie Street, Chippendale, 9698 4428 [Very close to my uni]
Cafe Giulia.
Cafe Giulia. Photo: Domino Postiglione
THREE: Favourite pizza
Lucio Pizzeria, Republic 2 Courtyard, 248 Palmer Street, Darlinghurst, 9332 3766
Lucio De Falco of Lucio Pizzeria.
Lucio De Falco of Lucio Pizzeria.
 FOUR: Favourite vegetarian menu
Bentley Restaurant & Bar, 320 Crown Street, Surry Hills, 9332 2344
FIVE: Favourite bar with food
Bloodwood, 416 King Street, Newtown, 9557 7699
SIX: Favourite bar
LL Wine & Dine, 42 Llankelly Place, Potts Point, 9356 8393
SEVEN: Favourite pub
Four In Hand, 105 Sutherland Street, Paddington, 9362 1999
EIGHT: Favourite sushi
Sake Restaurant & Bar, 12 Argyle Street, The Rocks, 9259 5656
NINE: Favourite gelato [heaps excited for this one]
Pompei's, 126-130 Roscoe Street, Bondi, 9365 1233
TEN: Favourite cafe
Le Monde, 83 Foveaux Street, Surry Hills, 9211 3568

LEZZZDOODIZ =] (that means let's do this by the way)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

COOOOOOOKIE!!!

http://www.mrsfields.com.au/

"cookies again chai??? really???" you ask.... and to that my reply is..... "NO TRUST ME. *serious face* Cookie above all cookies!!!! and it's singular.... COOKIE... not cookies"...

SO!!! Happy Birthday to My fellow YAYA'S, diane and kit. On Friday night, in the high end streets of Sydney, at Jen's apartment, the 5 of us reunited..
 kind of like the way the power rangers do to make that giant awesome baddy fighting machine.... The 5 of us came together to make that giant awesome food eating monster. haha

Maybe the others will blog about the rest of the food... but i personally felt the need to share with you, the people... about our GIGANTIC COOKIE CAKE!!!!

HAHAHA Both Kit and Diane are 22... and Diane is spelt with one N and the typos are intentional (good job nina =])
Since highschool we've always teased diane about being old, and people always spell her name wrong.. i did for the first 2 year i knew her.. hahaha.. soo nina being the genius that she is, decided it would be funny to tease her through personalisation... and it was hilarious.. but probs not to you.. it's one of those "you had to be there" things...  I DIGRESS
anyway!!!
BACK TO THE GINORMOUS COOKIE!
Look at the sailor moon like uniting pose... how sweet :)

Mrs Field's.... all i have to say to you is... "well done.. you legend"
This "cookie cake" is bigger than your average cookie obviously... but it was sooo yummmm... CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA!!! need i say more... AND THE ICING!!!! I'm salivating now!!! -_-"
It needs not be microwaved (however note: microwaving would only make it better) but yeah.. it's not needed!!! It's sooo soft, with just the right amount of sweetness and the perfect amount of macadamias! Enough macademia's to fully satisfy you, but not too much, so that each macadamia experience is a surprise, a treat and a delight. *salivates more*

I guesstimated wrong. If you observe the image below.. I cut the line where i thought we would stop eating the cookie.. coz i swear we were all borderline food-comaing after dinner feasting already... and boy i was wrong -_-
The line is just below the "dianne" I thought we'd only eat south of that line.... we ended up pretty much finishing it... except for the spoon.. the word happy.. and the word kit (which she took home)
We did well... too well.. LOL

It was amazing.. and amazingly easy to devour.
Job well done ladies :)
Feasting was wonderful... we must do so again soon.. LOVE YOU!!! :)
Our dessert selection for the night... (CLOCKWISE) Neopolitan Ice-cream; Mungo (red bean) ice cream; giant cookie; Apple cinnamon muffins a la kit; and chocolate cake... mmmmmmm
SPOONS!!! *sings*(8) one of these spoons is not like the other... one of these spoons just doesn't belong.. can you tell which spoon is not like the other by the time i finish my song?(8) *singing ceases*

=]

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Café Review: Chobib Edition

My boyfriend and I went shopping along Oxford St, Paddington a little while back and when lunch time came around, we were in the area where there are no restaurants! But then, we noticed this big graffiti sign on the wall - "Café" - with an arrow pointing to a direction downhill, off into a little side street.

We decided to go check it out and it turns out it was a really nice, simple cafe - nothing fancy. It was much different to your ordinary cafe - the baristas and waiters are doing their work with the machines facing the wall - so there isn't that espresso machine blocking them from view like your regular cafe.

We ordered a sandwich each, unfortunately, I've forgotten what was in them exactly.


(This one I believe has steak and rocket inside)



(This one probably has chicken in it - or was it turkey and cranberry? Can't remember)

Anyway, they were both VERY delicious. I recommend you go for a visit NOW. It is somewhere near Oxford St x Victoria ... I think.

Friday, September 3, 2010

SOUPS UP!!! and baking too =] MOLO or wonton soup "the chai family recipe"


BEST SOUP IN THE WORLD!!!
This particular soup was my favourite soup of all time growing up.
Every Birthday and Christmas, this soup (my mum's version of course" was my only request.
Nothing compares to my mum's recipe. and she passed it down to me :) YAY!


Now I'm sharing it with you!!! But not all the secrets ;) some things are sacred. LOL

Ingredients
onion, garlic, wonton wrappers, water chestnuts, pork and/or chicken mince, chicken (for boiling/stock only), MSG (aji no moto LOL), salt and pepper

seriously... that's all you need. but it's all about quantity and technique ;)

Basic Method


I also had leftover wonton mix mince so i made pastries with puff pastry... kinda like... pork pies?

and i created a desert too :)

Cinnamon/Brown Sugar/peanut twists =]

ENJOY!!! I know I did ;) 

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Banana pancakes


"Can't you see that it's just raining
Ain't no need to go outside...
But baby, you hardly even notice
When I try to show you this
Song is meant to keep ya
From doing what you're supposed to
Like waking up too early
Maybe we can sleep in
I'll make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it's the weekend now"

-"banana pancakes" jack Johnson


I made banana pancakes!!! Well mostly. Lol. My mum made the mix from scratch (none of this premixed nonsense) lol and I added banana and fried it up good (in butter of course... rich, creamy butter) ;) [thanks madres]
No doubt, another product of healthy (debatable) procrastination... like most good food ideas and experiments. :)


raw ingredients
mmmmm banana goodness
see ya on the flip side
taadaaa!!! nomnomnom time =]