13/2016 - Food Glorious Foooood

 

I am one of those embarrassing people who always takes photos of their food. And when one stretches their birthday celebrations out over a series of days, some delicious food of questionable nutritious value is bound to ensue.. From late night chocolate fondue with a good friend,  to delicious brunch with my parents, to tasty cupcakes made with love by two adorable munchkins to just the most insane milkshake (complete with cronut and macaron) it's been a big week for my stomach. Or it's been a week to make my stomach big. Either way - it's salads and exercise for me from Monday onwards!

 

 

 

 

9/2016 - Art and Noms

Well this week has certainly gotten away from me! With hectic workloads keeping me at the office late and a new exercise routine getting me up super early I'm a wee bit exhausted! But apparently not too exhausted to make the stinking hot trek all the way through Northbridge up to Chu bakery for some delicious food and a brief sit in the shade in Hyde Park the other day! I don't walk in that direction very often but every time I do I notice different bits of street art. This huge piece is a collaboration between Perth artists Martin E Willis, Jessee Lee Johns, Daek William, Kyle Hughes-Odgers and Pures HD. With so many different styles smooshed together there's so much to see!

 

Yum! Totally worth the sweat.... The Perth Fringe Festival has just started so I'll be busy with some more fun things this week (and hopefully taking a few more photos!!).

5/2016 - Tis The Season

So one week after Christmas I started seeing Cadbury Creme eggs popping up everywhere. And I resisted. For a while. But one can only resist so long...

3/2016 - Health

I don't know about you guys, but December was a total naughty food gorge-fest for me. So much so that I hit the point of being sick of chocolate. Seriously. That doesn't usually happen for me. So! Along with everybody else I'm at the point of trying to health again. Which for me requires healthy snacks to get me through the day and help me to avoid the bad stuff. I find when I'm after new healthy but not boring recipes I usually turn to the Chocolate Covered Katie blog and this time was no different. Crunchy oat bars, soft oatmeal almond butter cookies and spiced nuts... now the hard part is to not eat them all in one hit!

175 - Oh So Much Baking

If I was to pick out a smell that says 'Christmas' to me, it would be the smell of fruit, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves bubbling away on the stove. I am ever grateful to the lovely workmate who gave me the recipe for this boiled fruit cake - I don't even like fruit cake but this one... oh my... at somewhere between a cake and a pudding it's just so moist and delicious! So I thought, rather than just tease with photos this time, I'll share the recipe!

Letty's Boiled Fruit Cake

Ingredients:

125g Butter

1 Cup White Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup Milk

750g Mixed Fruit

3 Teaspoons Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/2 Teaspoon Cloves

2 Eggs

1 Cup Self Raising Flour

1 Cup Dry Sherry

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Method:

Place butter, sugar, milk, fruit and spices in a saucepan over a high heat. Stir until boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Let fruit cool. Add sherry and baking soda. Beat eggs and add to the fruit mixture. 

Sift flour into mixture and stir until combined. 

Pour mixture into a deep round cake tin and bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees Celsius, 350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 1 hour 10 mins or until a skewer comes out clean. 

As a finishing touch I usually poke some holes in the cake with a skewer while its still warm and drizzle a little more sherry over the top.

Enjoy!!

139 - I Regret Nothing!

So OK. Usually, I try to be very healthy. Or at least pretty healthy. I don't know why but this week has been the week of the binge eat. This morning I introduced Mum and Dad to the glorious-ness that is the Mary Street Bakery in Highgate. I love this place, definitely one of my favourite breakfasts in Perth (and the pastries, oh my gosh...). This was a lot of food. I have a food baby for sure. But man... so good.

Mary Street Bakery are pretty well known for their cakes and pastries (especially the salted caramel doughnuts). So you know we had to take some home with us... 

137 - Hot Apple Pie Pancakes

Nothing like hot apple pie pancakes on a chilly Sunday morning (love that steam!). I used to do pancake Sunday's every week.. I haven't done it in a while - need to get back onto it I think! I got the recipe from one of my favourite healthy recipe sites - Chocolate Covered Katie (with a couple of tweaks) so these ones aren't even that bad for you! Win! Recipe below just in case anyone want to make these sometime...

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup plain flour
• 2 tbsp oat flour
• 2 small apples, finely-chopped
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 2/3 tsp baking powder
• Pinch tsp salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp brown sugar 
• 1 tbsp vanilla protein powder
• 1 heaped tbsp light creamed cottage cheese
• 1/3 cup  milk of choice, or more for  thinner pancakes
• 1 tbsp oil 

Method
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add wet. Mix, but don’t overmix. Cook on an oiled (or sprayed) pan, on low-medium, flipping each pancake once. I topped these with more chopped up apple and a little maple syrup. Deeelicious. Also the recipe made 4 pancakes, so there would be enough to have a really major breakfast for one, or a more restrained meal for two. Im saving my two spares to be reheated for a quick breakfast before work during the week...