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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
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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...
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Weekend Snapshots: Sydney Fish Markets
2006-09-18 09:57:02
My body had gone far too long without its daily recommended intake of Vitamin-D, so G felt a sense of duty to take me out for a weekend of sunshine and shopping. After already braving the masses at both Glebe and Bondi markets, we decided to make a trifecta of it and defy all better judgement and head to the throng-infested Sydney Fish Market s. Now to be utterly cliché, Sydney Fish Market is an institution, almost like a rite of passage to experiencing quintessential Sydney. Being surrounded by such a beautiful and bountiful harbour, it is only natural that Sydney should boast one of the world?s largest fish markets. With a range of seafood only second to those of Japan?s markets, the SFM is a mandatory visit not only for tourists but for Sydneysiders alike. Just make sure you don?t come on Christmas Eve, there is no guaranteeing you getting in or out, for that matter. Unlike the weekend of torrential rain and gale force winds we just had, this weekend was the pol...
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Tart e Cucina
2006-09-15 15:36:05
Something?s not right. It?s a perfectly glorious sunny day outside and I am in the kitchen. Strangely nowadays, I?m quite happy to stay indoors, even on beautiful spring days like these, so as long as I am in the kitchen making something. Sounds absurd, but have I become a kitchen recluse?At times I catch myself edging to my front window pushing back the curtains and peering through the venetians, a bit like Jimmy Stewart, a la Hitchcock?s Rear Window sans the broken leg and wheelchair. I watch the sunlight filtering down, not a drop of it being spent on me and it seems like something is amiss, especially when in Australia catching rays is the national pastime.I admit I haven?t yet become a full-fledged recluse; it hasn?t reached that creepy all blinds down, sit in complete darkness stage yet. It?s just that since I brought home a new addition to my kitchen menagerie, I haven?t been able to tear myself away from it. You see, I got myself a new food processor and now I find myself co...
More About: Tart , Cina

A degree in Hamburgular Studies?
2006-09-14 03:24:06
When it comes to widey explored topics like these, I like to steer clear, simply to avoid becoming tiresome and monotonous. The discourse surrounding this topic has been numerous and is known to arouse heated debate; however, allow me this one occasion to possibly re-explore this already vastly disputed and at times contentious subject. The subject in question is what makes a great burger?Now this subject matter could almost be a university degree in itself as there is probably enough text surrounding it to warrant a whole faculty in tertiary education. And I am certain there are some out there that claim to be professors of this subject, or perhaps possess a Doctorate in Hamburg ular Studies . As a topic, it is as subjective and individual as any other, it?s like discussing people?s tastes in music, a conclusion can never be reached and this type of discourse does seem rather futile. There are no absolutes, just a multitude or variables adding up to no one, undeniable conclusion. In ...
More About: Degree , Dies

2006-09-13 21:21:06
When it comes to widey explored topics like these, I like to steer clear, simply to avoid becoming tiresome and monotonous. The discourse surrounding this topic has been numerous and is known to arouse heated debate; however, allow me this one occasion to possibly re-explore this already vastly disputed and at times contentious subject. The subject in question is what makes a great burger?Now this subject matter could almost be a university degree in itself as there is probably enough text surrounding it to warrant a whole faculty in tertiary education. And I am certain there are some out there that claim to be professors of this subject, or perhaps possess a Doctorate in Hamburgular Studies. As a topic, it is as subjective and individual as any other, it?s like discussing people?s tastes in music, a conclusion can never be reached and this type of discourse does seem rather futile. There are no absolutes, just a multitude or variables adding up to no one, undeniable conclusion. In ...

A Model for Insanity, plus Almond and Molasses Moonrocks
2006-09-11 15:06:03
It?s been?A week of sunshine,a week of rain,a week of gale force winds,a week of unpredictable weather.A week of shopping,a week of presents,a week of chaos.A week of piling workloads,a week of never-ending phone calls,a week of insanity.A weekend of seeing old friends,a weekend of making new friends,a weekend of endless chatter,a weekend of laughter,a weekend of fun.A weekend for a wedding,a weekend for a birthday,a weekend for celebration,a weekend for friends,a weekend for putting your dancing shoes on.A week of bliss,a week of food,and a week of wine.This week?A week of sleep.I?m exhausted.Almond and Molasses Moon rocks(makes 15 cookie sandwiches)adapted from this book¼ cup unsalted butter1/3 cup caster sugar2 tablespoons molasses1/3 cup plain all-purpose flour1 cup almond meal1 tsp vanilla extract¼ tsp almond extractVANILLA BUTTERCREAM FILLING¼ cup unsalted butter diced½ cup unrefined icing sugar1 tsp vanilla extract1½ tsp milkPreheat oven to 180°C. Prepare a baking with parchme...
More About: Rock , Model , Plus

Ravioli Revisited: Ricotta and Currant Ravioli
2006-09-03 14:12:03
While at work, I just came to realise that I have watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind quite a few times, many times, in fact. Maybe not as much as I have watched The Princess Bride or Dirty Dancing, but that is only because time has allowed that figure to accrue. Not that I would ever divulge how many times I?ve watched Dirty Dancing, it?s too embarrassing to recall and even you dear reader would be ashamed of this astronomical figure (I can just imagine all the men cringing at this thought). Don?t worry I can feel the collective shaking of heads right now. Let?s just say that one too many summers were spent at various friends?s air-conditioned houses watching these classic chick flicks. So probably not enough times to quote the scripts verbatim, however I do have to gag myself from sporadically blurting out my favourite lines to avoid threatening death glares from companion viewers. I think what I liked about ESOTSM was the concept of the story and the effortless ...
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Pumpkin and Sunflower Seed Scones
2006-08-30 11:20:00
I heart scones. I never thought I would have to use this already vastly exploited phrase, but there really wasn't any other way of capturing my current scone attraction. I don't absolutely love scones, I won?t go gaga over them; I simply just heart them. It's probably a lot like telling someone gently you don't love them, but you do like them, a lot. And I hope that these scones don't take it the wrong way, I really do heart them. They make getting up in the morning much more bearable. And if it weren't for them, I would be an even bigger grump in the morning than I am now. This newfound attraction to scones has come out of nowhere. I don?t know what exactly it is about them; and I wouldn?t say it has reached obsession stage, all I know is that I have had a penchant for baking them lately. I mean I shouldn?t look into it more than I ought to; sometimes I just have a need to bake. Maybe it?s their rustic nature and the fact it always reminds me of the countryside- rolling hills...
More About: Pumpkin , Flower , Sunflower , Scones , Lower

At a Snail's Pace
2006-08-27 18:53:00
They say that when you're a kid everything goes by so slowly, for the most part I think it is time that seems to drag on the most when you are young. Time, it?s every child?s adversary, especially when birthdays and Christmas only come along once a year and time just feels like it?s dragging along ever so slowly. Days upon days of waiting in eager anticipation for that hallowed day to come, where the prospect of a new bike or plaything awaits you.But when you get older, it appears as though the opposite happens and it seems that time is just slipping away through our very fingers. It seems to get the better of us no matter what age we are, we can never seem to find the perfect pace for time to pass us by. In difficult times we wish time would make haste and be over with, and then with great moments we wish we could just let time pass unhurriedly, if at all.Time, as the saying goes certainly flies by. So much so when you get older. But no matter how slowly or hurriedly time passess,...
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Can you can? Jam sessions for SHF
2006-08-23 19:33:07
I have fond memories of jam. Sweet, squishy and sticky; jam holds a certain nostalgic charm that hark back to the simplicity and innocence of childhood. Back then, I remember sitting on the front steps of our house watching the dogs play in the yard while eating a jam sandwich that I had made all by myself. You see, I was allowed to make my own jam sandwiches because they were the kind of snack you could make using a blunt knife. And seeing as that I was making this for myself, I would craftily make sure to spread extra lashings of jam on each slice so as to increase the jam to bread ratio. I would also take meticulous attention in spreading the jam all the way to the edges leaving no trace of the bread underneath. Once the other piece of bread was placed on top, I would get up on tip toes and with the palm of my hand press down on the two slices and with wide-eyed pleasure watch the excess jam drip down the sides of the sandwich. Once this happened, then I knew it was perfect.The e...
More About: Sion , Jam Sessions , Sessions

A Tale of Two Cakes: Part II
2006-08-18 19:24:04
Okay, so maybe the last cake I made was a bit of a misguided venture, nonetheless disaster was averted and I was able to turn the recipe from what seemed like a faux pas, into an inadvertent smash hit. You might say it was the Britney Spears of cakes; you know right from the start it?s wrong but yet people are strangely drawn to it and buy it?s albums. Anyway, I was just glad the cake was edible,
More About: Cakes , Cake , Part , Tale

A Tale of Two Cakes : Part I
2006-08-17 19:21:02
Where the proverbial cake is concerned, of course I want to have my cake and eat it to. The very purpose of cake is for its eating; there truly is no need for cake unless it is to be eaten. Imagine telling a little girl who has just turned two that she is not allowed to eat her birthday cake but merely look at the thing. Well that right there is temptation at its best, deliberately goading her to disobey orders. Cake s are irresistible and not only to two year olds, but to adults alike. The last time I was at kids? party, I recall it wasn?t actually the seven year olds that were stealthily sneaking past the cake swiping a finger full of coffee buttercream icing, but the parents of those very children. And when it comes to cakes, the citrus varieties are always my preference , and luckily we are smack bang in the midst of citrus season. This first cake came about after a stroke, not of genius but of unintentional dyslexia. For reasons unknown, I had read a recipe ...
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Sconey Island: Orange and Currant Scones
2006-08-14 19:15:02
Sometimes life can feel a lot like Coney Island , an endless circus. You go from one act to the other jumping through hoops, breathing fire, taming lions, perhaps even handling large smelly mammals. And even though all these acts may not be arbitrary and meaningless, as you swing from one trapeze to the other, you think, perhaps a pause is required. Even though you may be in mid-air and in mid-flight, and there is nothing to catch you but a flimsy piece of netting, you know that letting go of that bar and getting out of that circus will essentially do you a world of good. In this post-modern, technologically advanced, self-reliant world it is easy to forget that we are actually humans, not machines. So amidst busy schedules, due papers, mounting exams, film shoots and stressful jobs, four girlfriends were able to take some time out of their own personal circus and get together for lunch. Life gets crazy, but being able to take time out with some of the most important people in...
More About: Orange , Rant , Land , Scones

Citrus Covered: Rosey Red Oranges
2006-08-11 19:09:05
Ever since that faithful rainy day when I decided to abandon the snugness of my doona and make the sleepy trek to Pyrmont Grower?s Market , I haven?t been able keep my mouth shut. About what? Well, about these oranges. Rose y Reds are my new citrus love. And yes, I admit, I am overtly passionate about lots of other foods, namely chocolate, pastries and cookies; however being the fickle foodie that I am, I have fleetingly turned my affections elsewhere. So for the time being, my next few posts are going to involve this beautiful fruit. What say you are so special about Rosey Reds? Well, you will just have to taste them for yourself. There is no benefit in me providing you with an inextricably verbose description of how wonderful it tastes when the best thing to do is to sample it for yourself. If Rosey Reds are not available where you are from, then my oh my, what a quandary you are in. I will pity you for a moment but then I will proceed in continuing to gorge on my stash o...
More About: Orange , Cover , Over , Citrus

Bill's Ricotta Hotcakes with Leatherwood Honeycomb
2006-08-09 14:46:00
I am no longer mad. The chaotic mess that I did call work for the past few weeks has diminished back into the reclusive and relaxed contentment that it is today. I usually don?t mind coming to work, although the past few weeks were unbearable. Thankfully, the annoyance felt before has diminished along with the stress. And although the disdain I still possess towards this channel that we have just launched still exists, I have chosen to just let its noise disappear into the backdrop of my work. I shall only give it my attention when it is absolutely required, and that is the only way we can coexist peacefully.After that taxing week at work, I set off of on a relaxing four day weekend. Even though I only set off en route for my kitchen, it provided me with the adequate respite. To start off my relaxation crusade, I decided to make Bill Granger?s famed Rico tta Hotcakes, and although the recipe was accompanied by instructions on how to make honeycomb butter, I decided to use the fresh h...
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Victoire Bakery, Balmain
2006-08-08 19:03:06
If I were to establish a niche in the food market, bakeries would probably be my thing. I just love bakeries, for me the discovery of a new bakery is cause for sheer elation; it?s like a drug, addictive and insatiable. I am constantly on the hunt, eyes wandering and nose twitching to and fro, searching for evidence of rising dough and baking bread.The smell of fresh bread baking, the sight of beautiful pastries displayed pristinely in glass cabinets and the sweet taste of satisfaction after the first bite. It is all these things that I truly savour about bakeries; there is just something tangible and sensual about them, perhaps because they are indeed such sensory places. They are places were you can engage each of your senses and in that engagement arises the pleasure of the experience.The sight of buttery croissants, rich brioches and pain au chocolat; the sweet fragrance of mascarpone and strawberry rhubarb tarts, quiches and madeleines; the crumbly texture of crunchy palmiers or...
More About: Main , Alma , Bakery , Baker

Blood Orange Curd
2006-08-06 19:00:11
In keeping with this recurring theme of crimson coloured foods, here is a recipe for Blood Orange Curd. Blood Oranges are characterised by their bright crimson coloured flesh and are sweeter than the Navel and Seville orange varieties. Although the end result looks nothing near crimson, the distinctive sweet nature of the blood orange is nonetheless palpable. A busy work schedule has consequently left any cooking or baking of any sort by the wayside. And sadly the ingesting I have been doing has been of a different and unsavoury sort. We are currently putting together a network feed for a particular ?music? channel to send to New Zealand and thus are required to ingest (yes, that?s the industry term) countless mind-numbing hours of their content. One can only take so much of that gratuitously crass miscellany that this certain ?music? channel likes to call programming. Being subjected to another episode of asinine individuals setting themselves on fire, or having to wit...
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Look Ma, No Cupcakes!
2006-08-06 19:00:11
What is this I hear you say? Is this a lame attempt to pass off a collation of photos from the month passed, as a post? The answer is yes, why not. With no time for actual cooking and blogging, the best I can do is to make-do with this food post, sans the actual cooking. Also because, I am quite proud of the fact that it has been almost a month and a half since my last cupcake. If you have been reading this blog for some time, you will be aware that I embarked on a self-imposed cupcake sabbatical; I think the exact words went something like ?spreading my culinary wings? yada yada yada. So I would like to draw attention to this insignificant yet satisfying feat in my short and inexperienced culinary existence. I have since begun to explore and spread my wings in the kitchen. If it had not been for this sabbatical I would not have been able to step out of my ...
More About: Cakes , Cake , Look

Beetroots Are For Grownups
2006-08-06 19:00:11
Children are probably the fussiest creatures on earth. I know this because I was one of those fussy children. Children are one of the greatest sources of irrational aversions and predilections. Their fancies are capricious and their whims illogical. For example when I was young, I refused to eat anything green and would only drink milk if it was flavoured with chocolate. I also demanded that the crusts be sliced off my sandwiches, as that they were too dry and my rice had to be shaped into a dome before serving. I hated onions because I disliked the crunch I heard once they were in my mouth. I hated celery because it ?smelt funny? and I hated beetroot because, well because it was beetroot, I just didn?t like them. Beets are just one of those vegetables that are not forthcoming to children. The sight of beetroot on a youngster?s dinner plate is sure to be met with whines of disapproval. I have yet to meet an adult that liked their beets as a kid, most say they had a strong dis...
More About: Beetroot , Roots , Root , Grow

Dipping Etiquette
2006-08-06 19:00:11
To dunk or not to dunk; I say, dunk all you want. Dunk breakfast, noon and night; coffee, tea or milk. Before you make all those vague expressions at the computer screen (you probably already have), I am talking about dunking your cookies, crackers, biscuits and the like into a drink. Whatever your preference, dunkers and non-dunkers alike are all accepted here at Milk and Cookies. The Romans did it with their biscotti and I?m sure the Victorian nobilities snuck in a few dips here and there during afternoon tea while no one was watching; everyone dunks don?t they?Reading this discussion-thread got me thinking about the whole nature of dunking and the protocol surrounding its execution. Should you dunk in public? Or should dunking be confined to the privacy of your own home? Should those happy to dunk, impose their dunking views on those who are opposed to dunking?I was initially taken aback by this fellow?s predicament. He was pro-dunking, although his girlfriend and her family were...
More About: Etiquette , Ique , Ping

Sweet Treat: Chocolate Ganache Sandwich Cookies
2006-08-06 19:00:11
If there is one thing I love to shop for even more so than kitchen paraphernalia or food, it is shoes. My love for shoes even rivals that of my many other loves such as gelato and chocolate. If I had the financial means I would probably even consider starting my own shoe blog; for me more reasons to go and buy shoes is an extremely good thing. G knows all too well that it only requires the slightest rationalisation and I will be off on an unabashed shoe spree. Grounds for shoe shopping can range from the sensible- ?I need new shoes because my old ones are beset with holes?, to the slightly imprudent- ?Oh look, shoe sale! Let?s check it out!? to the utterly impulsive- ?I must have those shoes, now!? This must be why I don?t own a house, I?ve ?shoed? all my money away. I write of my shoe obsession, I mean devotion as that I foresee the very same fate with cookies, however this fanaticism with cookies will be a lesser financial threat than say this shoe habit. My insatiable a...
More About: Cookies , Sweet , Chocolate , Sand , Cola

Morning Glory
2006-07-21 20:53:00
This morning at 7:30am, I left work, stepped outside and was met by what I can only describe as a torrential downpour. The street was flooded with water and the mesh awning above the front entrance was caving in under the weight of all the water it had collected. As I made a swift bee line for the car, I noticed how incredibly beautiful it actually was. I raced back up the front step to get a better view.The striking thing about this portrait was that despite all the rain, the sun was still shining incredibly brightly. The scene was nothing short of surreal. It was the most glorious display of nature I could only imagine and was the perfect reception back into the land-of-the-living after another round of night shifts. The sky was lit with brilliant hues of yellow and orange and the deafening sound of pattering rain was strangely exhilarating. Like witnessing a violent thunderstorm I was awed by this exquisite act of nature. There were no words to describe it other than breathtaking...
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Waiting For My Brilliant Career
2006-06-03 16:09:00
If there are two things that cause me to salivate most, they are cookies and gelato. The utter elation I feel upon entering or let alone catching sight of a gelateria is unmatched. Extreme is one?s passion, that at one point I even considered becoming a gelato taste-tester, I?m serious. There?s no question about it, the girl loves her cookies and gelato.Such was my fanciful childhood ambition that even to this day, I will go around telling people that if my career in communications were to go bust, my plan-B was to be a gelato taste-tester. Oh to be that valiant soul who would taste every new flavour of gelato before it is let loose on an unsuspecting public. This was to be my noble cause, until I hit a slight snag when I couldn?t find job listings for ?Gelato Taste-Tester? on seek.com.So if anyone is indeed searching for that fearless individual to try all manner of gelato flavours, I am here waiting for the call. In the meantime I make do with my Giant Espresso Cookie Gelato Sandw...
More About: Career , Waiting , Brilliant , Wait