I still have a blog...?

Wow.  I have not posted in FOREVER.  I mean really forever.  I can't even remember what my last post was, so I'll check.

Oh yeah.  Some spaghetti dinner.

I have a different post today, it's not edible, and I just wanted to stick it up on here so I can reference it at some point.  This blog is meant to be about all things woman, and nail polish is definitely woman (although sometimes man too..)

Gradient nails are my newest LOVE.

Just a spare dinner...

Just a picture I took a few weeks ago of the pasta 'sauce' I made for dinner.  I used about 500g of lean premium beef mince, 10 medium-large leaves of radicchio finely shredded, 8 large basil leaves, a tin of canned diced tomatoes with basil, a punnet of white mushrooms, one red onion and I think 1/4 of a medium zucchini diced up into tiiiiny pieces.

It was DELICIOUS.

It started out as spaghetti but I added too many vegetables and it ended out being served with conchiglie pasta- the little shells.

Om nom nom mushrooms.

Trying to be fancy, haha.

I'm trying to eat healthy again- I know, I say that almost every post and I keep forgetting when faced with a Grand Angus combo for dinner, but I'm trying... again...

Anyway, I was starving this morning so I decided to make breakfast using the midget mushrooms I got from the supermarket.  I have never seen flat mushrooms so small!  Some of them weren't any wider in diameter than my little finger.

I precooked each mushroom in the panini press on a piece of baking paper, with the lid up just enough so the plate wasn't touching the mushroom.

I put 1/4 of a teaspoon of tomato paste on each 'shroom- just enough to cover- a few shredded leaves of spinach, a single leaf of basil, a small strip of bacon, and a teaspoon of Kapiti Emmental cheese.

I then stuck them under the panini press- lid partly up again so not connecting- for about 5 minutes, until the cheese had melted and the last of the mushroom juices had come out.  MmmMmm!  Delicious!

Birthday Cake!

I had a small party yesterday for my birthday, which is today.  I think it's rather ironic me being a Valentines baby when I have no love life to speak of; a shame, really.  I'd love a Valentines card.  Hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge, etc etc...

Anyway, I've been watching far too much Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes and a few various other sugary shows on Living Channel lately, and they posessed and inspired me to try create my own fondant decorated cake.

It's best to use a strong-bodied cake such as pound cake to make the base, as if your cake is too light the weight of the fondant can cause the cake to sink.  I used a vegan recipe I made for my mother, but unfortunately as with most vegan cakes, I made it on the Friday afternoon and by Sunday the cake had settled and become very thick and dense... brick-like.  It still tasted good though, fortunately!

I used Chocolate Pettinice icing for the base, then used a basic soft white fondant icing for the decorations.  The ribbons were by far the easiest part.

Roll a sheet of fondant to around 1cm thickness, then cut into 2-3cm wide strips.  I cut my strips 2.5cm wide and 11cm long.  Use a ruler to keep your lines and measurements exact.  You can make as many strips as you like, just remember to keep the number even to ensure a neat bow.  I used six 'bow' strips and another strip moulded into a ring for the centre of the cake.

After you've cut the strips, fold them in half and shape into a bow-shape, then lay on their sides.  I left them to dry for 90 minutes and then used water to attach them to the cake.

A visual tutorial can be found on eHow; google "How to make fondant bow decorations" and it should come up.  I would post the links but they're split into several short videos.

Curried Potato Salad

Oh.  My.  God.

The Food Gods smiled down upon me today when my friend Kelsey and I lunched.

There's a cafe in the Pataka Museum and Gallery building next to the Porirua Public Library; Kelsey thinks it might be called Kaizen, but I wasn't paying any attention to the name.  I was focused entirely on my 'salad.'

It cost me $6.20 for a serving, and it was $11 for a larger bowl that also came with a green salad and I think bread.  The $6.20 small serving was just the right amount for lunch; I wanted the bigger one, but I definitely didn't need it!

From what I could tell, they were slightly waxy potatoes that had been boiled, skin on, and then lightly sauteed in a pan with non-streaky, non-fatty bacon, peas and I think spiced with curry powder and extra cumin.  There was very little salt in the dish other than what the bacon added, which was excellent for those watching their sodium; the meal was pleasantly light when it came to oil, the majority of fat coming from the bacon grease.

I'm craving it right now.  I want more!  I'm going to experiment later in the week- or next week, maybe- with making a similar dish.  I'll let you know how it turns out.


And now a word from my Guest Booger, Kelsey:
"I had a turkish bread with bacon, some greenery and tomato- which I took out and Allie ate- and it also had a bit of cheese and a chutney.  There was dried parsley on the top, which was a bit unnecessary and didn't add to the sandwich.  The bacon was great, none of that all-fat, no bacon bacon, and just crisp enough.  It was filling and very large; it came out piping hot and was definitely worth the $8 I paid for it."

Healthy Wholegrains and Friendly Fats

I lost my camera so I can't take a photo of my lunch, but I'm going to blog it anyway!

I'm trying to get back on a health kick again- it got sabotaged by Christmas, New Years, and dad not letting me do the groceries alone each week.  Dad means well, but he doesn't always like the food I cook because it's not steak and potatoes.

I made a delish stir fry last week but he wouldn't even try it!

Anyway, here is today's lunch!  I made it in bulk so I could use it for other lunches/dinner this week, so that's why the quantities of the beans are SO large.

Wholegrain tortilla with beans and friendly fats

Ingredients:
TO COOK:
1x 400g can kidney beans
1x 400g can cannellini beans
1x sachet of Old El Paso Burrito seasoning
3x miniature capsicums (diced)

Everything else:
1x wholegrain tortilla (I used Bazaar)
1 level tbsp avocado
1/2 a large tomato (diced)
Generous handful of mixed lettuce
2 pieces of  Heller's sliced roast chicken (these pieces are very thin, but full of flavour.  You don't need many.)
1 level tspn lite sour cream

TO MAKE:

Mix seasoning with water to packet directions, then pour into a pan.  Add beans and cook for around 2-3 minutes or until heated through, then add the diced capsicums; cook for another 30 seconds until warmed then remove from heat.

Spread the avocado and sour cream over 2/3s of the tortilla.  Lay the chicken over the top then layer around 3 heaped tbsp of the bean mix on top.  Cover with the diced tomato and lettuce, then fold the bottom up.  Roll the tortilla so the third without any avo/sour cream is on the top...

then enjoy!

I had this for lunch with a small white-flesh plum.  Delicious!

Full skirted fashion!

That's me in the background there.  My friend Kelsey took the picture before I even realised I was in it, hence her lock of hair smothering my face, haha.  You can't quite see my full dress, but this is what my Nonna made me!  I absolutely love it even though the back piece is a little too large still after several fittings.  Ah, Nonna!

I wore it with a grey matte belt to mimic the silver lines that ran through the fabric, some flesh coloured stockings, my bolero you can see there, a beautiful pair of black pumps... and lastly, my beautiful, fabulous crisp black petticoat.  It made it floof out so lovely- I'm not even holding the skirt out in that photo, that's how puffy it made it.  I felt just like Betty Draper when I was walking around, the skirt and petticoat moving forward and back.

Grazie, Nonna!  Io amo il vestito! E 'così bello!