Kitchen Wench

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How do you tell when your store-bought herbs are fresh?
2006-11-08 22:42:02
When you unwrap their newspaper covering to discover a very much alive worm wriggling around amongst the shoots. Hey, at least it proves it’s pretty much straight outta the ground! This little fellow was placed into my rosebed in the hopes that he’ll help them to grow up big and strong, and the coriander was used in my rice paper rolls Technorati Tags: coriander, cilantro, herbs, worms, organic
More About: Store , Your , Herbs , Stor , When

Shik Hae for the Soul
2006-11-07 22:42:01
Now, let me state for the record that Korean cuisine is not easy. There are some that are less painful than others, but many dishes require lots of pre-preparation and hands-on work. Rather than letting this dissuade you, it’s more of a personal challenge for me, to see if I can recreate the flavours that I’ve grown up with from my mothers cooking. Sometimes, this proves a mite difficult as she doesn’t follow written recipes or measure quantities, but by standing by her side, tasting the progress and making notes, I think I’m getting closer to the mark It’s approaching summer here in Australia (though you’d be forgiven for thinking that we’d hopped back to winter weather today in Melbourne), and on those hot, stinking days when you’re in dire need of a refreshing drink which isn’t carbonated and liquid sugar, I turn to a traditional Korean drink known as shik hae, a malted barley drink which is an absolute pain in the ARSE to m...
More About: Soul

The Butterfly Effect Meme
2006-11-07 22:42:01
Gee, there are a lot of these memes circulationg the blog-o-sphere, aren’t there? This particular one was created by the mind of Dan from SaltShaker, and has been slowly travelling around as it’s not an easy one and needs a bit of thought: My thought in this meme is food items or events that changed your foodie life. Not some ?oh, it?s the first time I didn?t put jelly on a peanut butter sandwich and used bananas instead? sort of change, unless you truly feel that affected you profoundly. That?s the key - it affected you profoundly, in some manner. A moment you can look back at and say ?that was a defining moment?. The questions are simple, the answers might be harder - an item, person, event, or place that had that effect on you, and why. They don?t have to be big splashy things - sometimes it?s something very small and simple that changes the way we view the world - the famed ?butterfly effect? (and I?m not talking about the Aston Kutcher movie). So, to those who want ...
More About: Meme , Effect , Butte , Butterfly , Butter

A year older, not necessarily a year wiser?
2006-11-02 22:33:01
“RING RING” “RING RING” I opened one eye and looked at my phone, which sat on my bedside dresser illuminating the room in it’s hazy glow. I closed the open eye, reached out, pressed a button and held it to my head and mumbled “mmmph. Wah? Whossat? Whassatime?” “Hey gorgeous - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” “Youuuurfreakincrazy…whassati me? Wanna sleeep…” “Hehehe, I just wanted to say happy birthday! I’ll let you get back to bed now!” And so began my birthday. Not exactly the best start, as I’d only gotten 4 hours sleep and after having my first ever pilates session the night before, was in an excruciating amount of pain, but the day itself has turned out lovely and finished with a lovely home-cooked meal courtesy of my mother Remember what they say, kids - the road to hell is paved with good intentions. That, and waking your friend at 5am with a phonecall because you want to be the first to con...
More About: Essa , Wise , Year , Sari

Fate or luck?
2006-10-26 23:21:01
Having a dog means that you need to exercise them regularly, so I try take Mr. Woofy out for walkies every night. Tonight, the park that we usually do laps at was overrun by the local baseball club, so we just started to amble around the neighborhood, aimlessly looking for another park where my canine companion could run freely and roll around in the grass. After about an hour of traipsing around, we finally found a small park he could run around in, so I took his leash off so we could both explore at our own individual paces.All of a sudden, I heard a maddened barking, and thinking that he’d cornered another cat, rushed over to where he was. By the time I got there, he’d jumped back and was looking quizzically at a small little lump in the grass - closer inspection revealed that it was a tiny little baby bird, no more than about 10cm long (4 inches). It was clearly in shock, but still breathing strongly and I was nervous and unsure as to whether I should leave it alone ...
More About: Fate , Luck

My little angel (WDB #57)
2006-10-23 05:09:02
Just a quick entry as I’ve got to head off to the doctor to get my test results, but here is my and Mr. Woofy’s entry for this week’s Weekend Dog Blogging! Mr. Woofy is certainly my angel, but with wings he is very much a little cherub! Sleepy angel in the sun, though he mixes with mortals, he likes wearing his wings on special occasions See all the other adorable woof-angels at Sweetnicks as part of the round-up for Weekend Dog Blogging #57 Technorati Tags: weekend dog blogging, WDB, golden retrievers, dogs, angels
More About: Angel , Little , Litt

Bravo to Buckwheat
2006-10-22 17:09:01
Buckwheat is one of those foodstuffs which is sorely unappreciated. It doesn’t appear on too many menus or as a featured ingredient, and most people mistakenly think of it as just another grain. In terms of the botanical, buckwheat is actually a fruit though often referred to as a ‘pseudograin‘ because of it’s grain-like qualities. Yet another reason to sing its praises is that buckwheat is (like quinoa and rice) naturally gluten-free, making it a safe food for coeliacs. There are a few buckwheat dishes in Korean cuisine, one being a jelly made from buckwheat flour (which is another post in itself), but my favourite is a cold noodle dish which goes down a treat in summer! Buckwheat noodles are called soba in Japanaese cuisine, and in Korean are called ‘meh-mil’ - you should be able to buy them under either name in most Asian grocery stores, and it’s quite worthwhile having them in the pantry as they are versatile and go well in most noodle s...
More About: Wheat , Bravo , Heat , Buck , Buckwheat

?Your breath stinks like chocolate!?
2006-10-21 05:03:02
Every bite of these chocolate laden discs is one of sheer pleasure This was the exclamation from my brother after I’d consumed one of these chocolate chocolate-chip discs of doom, and he was absolutely right. Those who know me know that I’m not one of ‘those’ chocaholics - you know the ones, with noses tuned to the scent of cocoa beans, who can be found lurking in the dark corners of chocolatier stores with noses pressed against the glass of the truffle display, and who’d sell their mother’s right lung for a box of their most desired chocolates. Which is kind of a shame if their mother had already donated the left one to the aforementioned chocaholic, when their own had to be removed due to excessive cocoa powder inhalation. So, whilst I enjoy the odd bit of chocolate here and there, I often go weeks or months without a single morsel passing my lips. At work last week, one of the girls was running around and distributing finger-like little slices...
More About: Your , Chocolate , Cola , Breath , Late

Mr. Woofy Sulks (WDB #56)
2006-10-21 05:03:02
I had a bit of a bake-a-thon this weekend, and since I tried a few new recipes, I had to photograph them for the blog. Now, the undesirable positioning of our house means that it is difficult to get natural light for photography, the house itself is dark most of the time despite large windows in every room, and you can only get direct sunlight in the middle of the backyard, or from the second storey balcony. Ever seen a plate fall from a second storey balcony onto concrete? Let me tell you, it isn’t pretty. Especially if you have to go and sweep the area 2-3 times to make sure you got the last of those tiny shards of porcelain, due to worry about a certain woofer’s delicate paw pads. Since then, I stick to ground level when I need to take photographs, which means that Mr. Woofy is a constant companion. I thought I’d take some pictures to illustrate his dedication to all things munchable. Disembodied dog head - everytime I elbowed him away, he’d rush straight...

Bea?s Bars of Gold
2006-10-21 05:03:02
Even when I’m happy with a recipe that I have, I am always willing to try new ones to see how they compare. This weekend, it was the world of financiers that I ventured into again. The same type of baked good, the result was vastly different to what I had expected - not that this is a bad thing! The usual recipe that I used to create these little golden delights (they are meant to be bars, but as I lack the equipment, I just use mini muffin tins) is one by Clotilde from the famous Chocolate and Zucchini blog, however, months ago I had seen a post by Bea at La Tartine Gourmande about the same mini-cake, though the recipe was quite different! The results looked amazing, so I wrote the recipe down in my little ‘must try’ book, and promptly forgot all about it. Until this weekend. Whilst giving the pantry a bit of a clean out, I found a half-used packet of hazelnut meal and then recalled that Bea’s financier recipe called for this particular ingredient! Since I ...
More About: Gold , Bars

Empa-whos-a-what-now?
2006-10-21 05:03:02
Whilst I obviously still need to work on my pastry-shaping skills, these unassuming brown domes held naught but tastiness inside! I love food blogging events, I’ve participated in two so far and both have been marvellous. The last I took part in, Blogging By Mail, introduced me to the wonderful Brilynn, the blogger behind Jumbo Empanadas. As soon as I found out who I was sending my care package to, I eagerly went to the blog in question…and went ‘huh??‘. Before I go any further, in defence of my ignorance, I’ll point out the fact that I am still new to the whole ‘expanding culinary boundaries‘ thing, and that Latin American food is something that is not bountiful here in Melbourne, Australia. So, whilst I understood the ‘jumbo’ part, I had to google to find out what the heck an empanada was! Ahhh, wikipedia to the rescue! Essentially, it is just a stuffed pastry, not entirely unlike the Italian calzone. My research revealed that...
More About: What , Hat