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La Plage, Bronte Beach
2007-05-17 12:58:00
along the Bron te walk and the Bronte Swimming PoolI adore breakfast. The very concept of it excites me and as one who isn?t at all interested in engaging in anything in the early parts of the day, the prospect of having a great breakfast is enough to pry my lifeless body out of bed. The odds do get slimmer when the climate becomes much cooler, the warmth and comfort of my bed seems to stitch and hedge me in, and it would take something extraordinary to get me out.I?m sure you all know what I mean. It is a rarity to find a person who isn?t belligerent when woken up from deep hibernation, especially during cold wintry nights. I?m sure a caterpillar won?t have a bar of being taken out of the comfort of its cocoon until the time is ripe; and okay, I am no butterfly, but I feel the same way.reading the morning paper...But with every rule always comes the exception- the however. So if there is one thing that will haul me out of bed prematurely in the morning, it is a little place called L...
More About: Beach , Disasters

The Autumn Morning
2007-05-14 16:49:00
As the morning breaksSleepy eyes pry openContemplating the dayDaylight awaits,The traffic and soundsWhispers and notionsHints of commotionShades and huesAll waiting for cuesAs the day urges to beginThe autumn leaves fallEvergreens and leavesAll sounding their callYearning for beautyIts beckon so strange,Waiting and wishingFor something to changeI cannot help but thinkThat this feeling insidethis longing for somethingjust cannot abide.So I give in to you, morning lightArise and call out its nameYou have me by the handLead me wherever you please.I am in your charge,Crisp autumn wind,Blow me to wherever you please.Finishing a shift at 7 in the morning at different times comes different sentiments. There are those earnest longings for slumber, just craving to get some much needed shut-eye; and then there are those times, though seldom, that I greet the morning with expectation.You take a huge breath, the new day ahead and somehow it?s yours for the taking. As infrequent as this disposit...
More About: Morning , The A , Autumn , Autum

No Alarms and No Surprises
2007-05-12 08:08:00
Fearing a backlash from faithful readers, I thought I should post about food again. I know you can only take so much of this I love my city so much it hurts chatter. Now back to the grub. If you ask me, there is nothing more humdrum than a brownie, it?s flat, monochromatic and always tastes of chocolate. It?s almost ludicrous to expect something other than that of a brownie, because really that is what it is, and I must say that this one is no different. When it comes to brownies I don?t like to stray too much left of centre, I like to keep within the brownie boundaries and never wander off into wild interpretations and unique embellishments. I like my brownie just like that girl-next-door, you know exactly what to expect and there are no surprises. Unlike the girl across the street and down the road to the left, who?s full of twists and turns and palatal meanderings; I like to keep my brownie just as it is. I've always been this way when it comes to the brownie, even when I was y...
More About: Alarm , Arms , Rise , Alarms

A Call To All Who Love Sugar
2007-05-04 04:46:00
So the blog?s birthday was celebrated without too much fanfare; she went out for drinks with a few friends, had a bit of cake, a few presents here and there, it wasn?t too late a night and she was in bed by 11:30pm. You see, the blog isn?t too much of a party animal, especially when it?s all about her, unlike the monkey who will find any excuse to have a shindig.So for the party animal in all of us, here is a cake that spells out c-e-l-e-b-r-a-t-i-o-n, with exclamation marks included!! I first experienced the Lumberjack Cake at one of the many farewell parties we had for my friend E, who by the way is now safely back in the motherland of Africa. I had never heard of a lumberjack cake before, and to be honest all my research has come up nil on how the name came about. All I know is that this cake is probably an Australian classic and something that you would most likely chance upon flicking through an old edition of Woman?s Day.For Party Animal please refer to Exhibit A above...The c...
More About: Love , Sugar , Call

365, not such a big number
2007-05-02 04:35:00
It's been 365 days since my first ever Milk and Cookies post, which means that my blog has just turned 1 year old!I am notorious for missing birthdays, ecpecially those of close friends and loved ones. And since this blog is very dear to me, it would only be right that I would only realise it has turned 1 year old the day of its actual birthday. So I'm sorry poor little blog, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I can't believe that after 1 year and 165 posts later, I am still here raving and ranting about the things I put into my mouth or rather, the things I make my family and friends put into their mouths. And ever since this very first post, who knew that I would keep going and survive it, a year on, still baking and still eating a bevvy of sugary treats. It's a wonder how my waistline has survived such a sugar hit over the past 12 months! And I must say the most marked difference from this post and the more recent ones is how my photography has improved. You might be enjoying the ones I tak...
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Family Fodder
2007-05-01 05:07:00
Our family although Filipino and Chinese in background has never been one to strictly espouse only Filipino and Chinese food. We were encouraged to always explore new foods, try new things, be adventurous and never try the same thing twice. I never did develop a penchant for strange and overtly exotic foods, and so I was never the first one to put my hand up for beef tripe or fried fish eyes; however with this kind of upbringing, it has allowed my palate to expand and accommodate an entire world of cuisine. I love everything from Japanese to African and from French to Mediterranean.Be that as it may, my experienced palate at times yearns for something that reminds me of my heritage, something reminiscent of my childhood. Which brings me to these empanadas, traditionally Spanish in origin, but thanks to Spanish conquistadors and the colonisation of the Philippines by the Spaniards, this dish has been a staple in Filipino cuisine for centuries. Colonisation has never always been a ple...
More About: Family

The Penguin Parade
2007-04-27 12:33:00
A group of penguins is usually referred to as a colony of penguins. Although, when they are breeding, their colony turns into a rookery or a peguinery. When they are floating out at sea, they are then a raft of penguins. When they are on land they are a waddle of penguins. And other times they are referred to as a parcel and sometimes a huddle. So then, what is the collective noun for a group of penguin waffles? I personally am quite amused by the phrase "a waddle of penguins", but for this instance I am calling this particular breed a parade of penguins. Quite adorable is this parade, and to think that they are meant for eating seems almost a sacrilege. But now that a collective noun has been established for these new breed of penguins, that neither swim nor waddle, I can get onto explaining what exactly waffles have to do with penguins.It all started while rummaging through an old cupboard that held all of mum's old Mother's Day presents. Yes, she has such a thing, a stockpile o...
More About: Para , Parade , Arad , Penguin , Guin

Hey hey!
2007-04-25 01:46:00
I'm really not one to brag, really, I'm not. But I couldn't help but share that I got the first ever mention for Australian Blog of the Day at The Local. The website is a great resource for what's going on in the Aussie blogosphere, so the mention comes with a lot of honour and also an immense amount of gratitude. So, a big thank you to all who read this blog, and especially all who comment and leave really nice notes for me to read everyday, I really am grateful that you come and stop by everytime.

Lavender Dreams
2007-04-23 12:18:00
I read somewhere that scent is the strongest trigger for memory recollection. And somehow I think this is true. A childhood playmate of mine that I no longer have any contact with; I have no idea where she lives, what she is doing, or even what her surname was. Although my strongest memory of my time with her consists of her grandmother. Her grandmother smelt of lavender, and everytime I get a whiff of lavender, it takes me back to the days when I would play in her backyard and her grandmother would lovingly watch on through her bedroom window.She never said much and if it weren?t for that distict fragrance of lavender, those memories never would have stuck. Along with potpourri and rose scented powder, everytime I smell lavender I always think of grandmothers. Not only does lavender conjure up recollections of grannies, but there is something romantically provincial yet wildly exotic about it. It invokes imaginings of open meadows lined with rows and rows of purple flowers growing ...
More About: Dreams , Vend , Dream , Ender , Vender

The Delight of Discovery
2007-04-20 03:02:00
There was a time when all mousse was to me was the stuff that you put in your hair to help keep it up. Okay, you can now take that look of disgust off your faces, forgive me, it was the early nineties and birds nests and teased fringes were still all the rage. So were bike pants and bubble skirts, but let's leave that for another post. Fast forward ten years from then and I did eventually discover that mousse is so much more than a hair product. And it appears that the mousse that you put in your mouth far outweighs the pleasures of the mousse that you put in your hair.So of course with my limited and somewhat awry experience with mousse, I had never made it nor had any inkling as to how it was actually made. I had eaten mousse at several restaurants before, although I never got the inclination to make them for myself, until now that is. I imagined that it was very involved, with lots of of beating and whisking; I was wrong about the whisking and beating part, although I did find o...
More About: Discovery , Cover , Light , Over , Disco

What me...?
2007-04-19 00:41:00
The announcement was made quite some time ago, but I just found out today that I got an honourable mention in last month's Does My Blog Look Good In This. It was for this photo, in the Originality category! Wow, I'm blushing already, this is a great start to my day. Coming up on Milk and Cookies: Penguins for breakfast...?

The Sweetest Name: Ciambelle Alla Nutella
2007-04-17 02:52:00
Its name in Italian sounds so wistful, so refined- Ciambelle Alla Nutella; although when it is translated in English, loses all its tender and romantic sensibilities and becomes merely the Nutella Donut. So perhaps I shall continue to refer to it as ?the ciambelle? to maintain its dignity as one of the sweetest of sweet offerings at Balmain café scene staple Bertoni Casalinga.Bertoni received the honourable mention of being the editor?s pick for best café in Sydney by the SMH Good Food Guide in 2006, and I wouldn?t be surprised if these sugary treats had anything to do with such a tribute. I have yet to see these particular ciambelles on offer at any other Sydney café, and if they can be obtained elsewhere, I would love to know, as I would like to embark on an in-depth comparison study. Of course this would all be in the name of research and edible blogging for the purpose of benefiting other would-be donut tasters. If there are other ciambelles out there, I would like to make it my...
More About: Disasters , Elle , Name , Bell , Test

Good Living Pyrmont Grower's Market, April
2007-04-09 05:50:00
This is the first time all year that I have been able to make the Good Living Pyrmont Grower's Mark et and of course it had to rain. The above picture pretty much describes the sad state of affairs at the markets; wet, grey and dreary. The seagull intently surveys the early morning market crowd, and really there was not much to it. There were the same stalls that are normally there and not many new ones. I think the weather just put a dampener on me, as I'm pretty enthused about going to the markets no matter how early, last Saturday I was just a big old grump.The crowds understandably were a lot smaller, which for me a was quite advantageous, although the cold, wet weather made me keep asking myselfy why I got up so early when I could have still been in bed. Nonetheless, these hydrangeas provided the splash of colour that was very much needed to lift everyone's spirits. Pretty in pink and purpleOne of my many token cheese shots from Formagi OcelloRoche Bros. pink lady applesAnoth...
More About: April

When It's Cold Outside
2007-04-02 10:53:00
I am not one for cold weather. It just doesn?t agree with me. I know Australian winters are hardly anything to talk about, and if anyone from Siberia is reading this post, I can see you already shaking your head, appalled. I?m sure our winters here would equate more to a Siberian summer than anything else, and you probably have no sympathy for this poor little Aussie suffering through her genial winter. But I have to say, as placid as our winters can be, I just cannot abide by the cold weather.Freezing winds, chapped lips, numb fingers and frizzy hair, the penalty of winter. My only solace in these long months of frosty torment comes in the form of food and fashion. I love winter clothing, thick woolen scarves, boots, beanies, double breasted coats; layer upon layer of clothing concealing the fact that I just ate three croissants from Victoire, oh how I love it. Winter clothes are much more forgiving, there?s no hiding the fact that you had one too many slices of lemon meringue pie ...
More About: Cold , When , Outside , Side

It's Just Another Muffin Monday or The Purpose-Filled Muffin
2007-03-27 04:32:00
There?s just something about Monday mornings that makes you want to retreat. The alarm sounds and you turn over wishing it were a Saturday morning instead. You pull the covers over your head in the vain hope that somehow that incessant beeping will magically disappear. After having pressed the snooze button one too many times, it becomes apparent that there is no escape. You reluctantly roll over until you inadvertently fall out of bed, hoping that somehow you might hit you head on the way down and sustain a massive concussion, thus affording yourself the perfect excuse to miss work. Then the stark realisation comes that you are in fact unharmed and of sound mind, so you grudgingly make that long walk to the bathroom, zombie-like, as if you were just made to walk the green mile.I am fortunate enough to have a work schedule that doesn?t require me to feel this way every Monday morning, although I still know the dreaded feeling of having had a 4-day weekend and knowing that the day is...
More About: Purpose , Fill , Another , Onda

Beauty and the Yeast
2007-03-20 11:17:00
A real-estate agent once told my mother that that best way to sell your house is to make sure you have fresh bread baking in the oven. The woman claimed that the fragrance of fresh bread in the oven was enough to entice even the most scrupulous of house-hunters into purchasing the shabbiest shack on the street. Unfortunately we never got the opportunity to test out this theory. But I must say that passing a bakery early in the morning with its perfume of baking bread floating amidst the crisp morning air was indeed reason enough to cross the threshold and buy something. The bread I guess, just sells itself, and what a beauty it is.I love bread. I love sourdoughs, I love baguettes, I love brioches, but really any bread will do. Whoever said carbs were bad should be sent to the loony bin; bring on the carb-fest any day. Carbs are great and I will defend carbs to the very end.But sadly I must confess that for some time now, I have been convinced that yeast has a personal vendetta again...
More About: Beauty , Beau

Where am I?
2007-03-12 00:29:00
Don't worry, I haven't been arrested, or left the the country, or embroiled in some sort of cross-country espionage mission. I have just been inundated with parties, farewells and shopping sprees before my dear friend E leaves the sunny shores of Oz on Wednesday bound for the majestic land of Africa, Malawi, to be precise. It's bittersweet, but she has lots of amazing things to do back home and although Australia just won't be the same without her, Africa won't be either. But don't fret, I 'll be back soon and here is a little taste of what is to come next on Milk and Cookies.
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When One Chip Is Too Many...
2007-03-04 04:57:00
I hate farewells. A close friend of mine is leaving the country in less than a couple of weeks, pretty much for good. So I have been trying to spend all my spare time with her, thus I haven?t been baking or blogging. I refuse to count down the days left before she leaves, but as that date gets closer and her departure inevitable, it seems that the only sure thing to do is spend whatever precious moments we have left together.So what we have been doing is gratuitously spending up all over Sydney, exposing her to everything the city has to offer before she leaves our fair shores. With full time work and tyring to fit in shopping sprees, outings and eating lots of foods it's a lot of hard work. It?s quite exhausting in fact, and not to mention the cost. But who can put a price on friendship?Well to offset this current lifestyle of constant shopping and feasting- it sounds glamorous but really isn?t- especially when your wallet cannot support your habit, I needed to fill my diet with s...
More About: When , Chip

Goodbye Summer: Fluking Ice Cream
2007-02-23 23:52:00
Officially, there are only 4 days of summer remaining, although our summers do like to linger behind weeks after we?ve bade her farewell. What can I say, she likes it here in Sydney and how could you not, we welcome her with open arms, plead with her not to leave come February and yearn for her return mid August.Sydney I think, is at its best in summer, some may argue that it is spring when she is her prettiest and this may be true, but all we are, are merely waking up from the slumber of humdrum winter days. Sydney is most alive in the summertime, when the sun is out, the humidity is at its peak and flies are doing their best to cling to you.Yes, nothing beats a hot, fly-infested summer. I think the locals have become accustomed to this nuisance come summer, although the visitors have a hard time coping with it. A friend studying here from Africa is convinced she is under attack, although they never seem to bother me anymore, but enough about flies. So now that we are counting down...
More About: Summer , Ice Cream , King , Good , Goodbye

Oh My Darling, Oh My Darling...
2007-02-19 12:56:00
Love. The very mention of the word can conjure up sweet reminiscence of coy glances exchanged across a room or of amorous lovers? silhouetted by the moonlight. On the contrary the very word can summon up vile recollections of bitter heartbreak, screaming matches in the car and all too messy break-ups. Whichever end of the love game you?re at, isn?t it just grand?With Valentine?s Day just over and done with, I think the topic of love and relationships is quite apt. I am by no means an expert on the subject, although it seems to me that wherever I go, the subject of relationships cannot escape me. Those in relationships talk about theirs (me included) and those who aren?t in one talk about their lack of it. Don?t get me wrong, I was single for a large chunk of my life so I don?t take being in a relationship, and a great one at that, for granted. It seems to be, for as long as I can remember, perhaps even daresay from the beginning of time, the pursuit of love has been pertinent to us ...
More About: Darling , Arli

First Time With Soufflés
2007-02-14 11:54:00
If there were ever a desert that could be described as the most theatrical, I think the soufflé would be an earnest contender. No sooner than when they emerge from the oven, all proud and puffed up that they turn into something completely different. Their dramatic exit from the oven is punctuated more so by their dramatic deflation. All in one act they go from gloriously risen to depressingly deflated; the soufflé is a culinary thespian if there ever was one.Seasoned ?soufflérs? are probably hardened to the melodrama of making soufflés. All that business of whisking and delicately folding the egg whites into the mixture, then all your work is undone the moment they come out form the oven. I didn't know how to take it at first, it was my very first time making soufflés and I truly thought that all my work would last at least more than just a brief moment. Luckily, although most of the soufflé?s puff is lost in the first few minutes, its taste is not lost.They say that you should nev...
More About: Time , First , First Time

A Summer's Day Out
2007-02-14 00:29:00
When summer in Sydney is at its height, there is no better way to spend it than to get out in a boat and head off for a picnic by the beach. G and I spent last Sunday navigating our way through the super yachts and luxurious marine vessels of the well-to-do Sydneysiders and dropped anchor at the secluded Collins Beach. The only way to get there was by boat or by foot through the national park so the small beach was only occupied by several families and us. It was great to have the beach almost to ourselves and as we anchored by the shore, there was a great sense of serene seclusion that so often seems to escape us in city life. The beauty of our city is that you can feel like you are so far away, yet still be right in the midst of the metropolis as beaches and national parks are in such close proximity to each other. It?s a hard life that we live, as we spent the afternoon having lunch, lazing in the sun working on our tans, (well G didn?t have to) and cooling off in the water. It?s...
More About: S Day

If It Ain't Broke...
2007-02-08 11:22:00
You know that something is broken when you have to start hitting it to make it work. I first found this out when I was 14. It was 1996 and our television began its slow decline into disrepair. First it would flicker black and white, then green and red, then blue all over. Colour television, this familiar luxury afforded by our generation soon became a distant memory.Our routine of watching hours of cartoons every afternoon after school soon came to none, as futile attempts were made to convince our parsimonious father to buy us a new TV. It was only until my sister and I became so fed up with the thing and began to beat it violently that we found a way around this problem. Blow after blow to the top of the TV with a closed fist seemed to make the picture get better and better. I guess we thought that no damage could be done, how much more broke could this TV get?Well, I have now been in denial about the condition of my car radio for quite some time but it looks as if the same fate i...

Weird Things About How I Eat and What's in My Trolley?
2007-02-02 05:25:00
If you are one of the several bloggers who have tagged me for a meme then wondered whatever happened to the response, then all I have to say is that I am sorry. I do eventually get around to them, but it just takes me a while. What happens is that I get tagged, then I completely forget about it, then through some random spurt of memory recollection I remember that I promised someone a while ago that I was going to do a meme. Well to kill two birds in one stone, here is a meme that Marce of Pip In The City tagged me with some time ago: 6 food oddities about myself and an event that I assured Rachel at Food Maven I was going to join, but never did called What's In Your Basket? So here they are:6 FOOD ODDITIES ABOUT ME First of all, for most people that have known me for sometime, seeing the word food so close to my name is an oddity in itself. It was well renown that I liked to eat, although my reputation never went as far as being known to enjoy making food and especially to the poi...
More About: Weird , About , Roll , Things , Thing

Words To Eat By
2007-01-29 19:57:00
When I come across a good thing I like to stick to it. I have a pair of brown sandals that I bought about three years ago that I refuse to replace. They are comfortable, stylish and are wearing a bit thin, but I have yet to find another sandal just like it and I am reluctant to let it go. A year ago, I came across a brand of organic muesli that I really loved. It had just enough crunch that when mixed with some yoghurt, it didn't turn into a soggy mess. After that I just couldn't bring myself to buy another brand, even when it costs me $8 a pop.Call it loyalty or call it stubbornness, but when I see something that works I run with it, which brings me to these cookies. These cookies contain an ingredient that has proved itself a winner in our household; an established favourite, I have seen cookies that contain this one ingredient polished off even before I get around to prying the cookies off the baking sheet. Don?t worry, you won?t need to scale steep cliffs or endure blistering ...
More About: Words

Happy Australia Day
2007-01-26 14:10:00
Bondi BeachI might be 24 hours too late, but I just wanted to wish everyone a great Australia Day. In whatever way you chose to celebrate it, I hope you did it with a bang. rockpool at AvocaWe have ourselves a magnificent country, so go ahead and enjoy every bit of it! Luna Park, Sydney
More About: Australiana , Happy , Stra , Australia Day

HHDD #6: F is for Fritter
2006-10-03 11:21:01
What?s round, flat and fried? Fritter?s of course!The versatile and modest fritter makes its name on the big stage as this month?s theme for Hay Hay it?s Donna Day #6. Donna says that ?for breakfast, a light lunch, supper or side, fritters in all their variations are sure to hit the spot,? and I couldn?t agree more. There isn?t a food that comes to mind that you couldn?t turn into a fritter; there are banana fritters, corn fritters, potato fritters, fish fritters you name it and I bet you, you can fritter it.So I?m making the call?Come one, come all, this is your chace to flip it and reverse it.To offer up your latest and greatest in fritters;be it savoury or sweet any type will do,as long as it?s round, flat and fried,whatever flavour, it?s totally up to you!What: Hay Hay it?s Donna Day #6- F is for Fritter!When: Post your recipe by the 15th of October, 2006Where: email your post to milkandcookieblog@yahoo.com.auHow: email me your name, blog?s name, recipe title, post?s URL and you...

For the love of buns
2006-09-28 22:57:03
A bun so good it deserves to be pictured from all angles. From above, poppy seeds abound.Many people have their rituals at breakfast, many of them are simple, some eloquent. But when merely getting out of bed is an uphill struggle, morning rituals are the last thing on my mind. I usually falter out of bed after a short wrestle with my doona, then sleepily make my way to the kitchen, stare blankly into the refrigerator for a few minutes, close it, then open it again, find nothing and then just stand in the middle of my kitchen for a really long time. That?s probably as ritualistic as I get. I have never been one of those people that leap out of bed bright-eyed and primed for the day, I am usually barely-conscious and half-baked. A friend says she usually needs her 8 hours of sleep to function properly, I honestly think I need at least 13 hours to even be close to fully operational. But the chances of this actually happening are slim, very slim.When it comes to the perfect breakfast, ...
More About: Love

Christmas comes early for food lovers
2006-09-26 22:48:02
All gastronomes in Sydney are anticipating with bated breath, forks in hand and palates salivating for the imminent arrival of this year?s Good Food Month. The month of October will be jam-packed with food festivals, events and courses; so if you are a Sydney-sider or in Sydney during this time make sure you take advantage of the good food on offer. Go here to see the calendar of events. Apart
More About: Christmas , Love , Lover , Christ

Fortune Factory
2006-09-23 04:27:03
As a child I always wondered how those lovely fortunes came to be inside those little fortune cookies. A lady at the local Chinese restaurant would always plonk a bowlful of them in the middle of our lazy susan after each dinner and we would proceed to crack open the cookies to see what our fortunes would bring. Not that our family ever took such superstition to heart, what interested me more than the fortune itself was the baffling question as to how they got inside those cookies in the first place. When you are seven, these are the worst of your quandaries. It was one of those mysteries that just stump you as a kid, much like the mystery of how the fridge light knew when you were going to open the fridge door so it could turn the light on. Was there a little man in there responsible for turning the light on whenever you opened the door, and if so how come we never saw him? How did this man come to be so stealthy and nimble inside the cold fridge? Questions abounded and so did conf...
More About: Fortune , Factory , Fact , Tune , Fort