So as you've all probably noticed, posts have been few and far between lately. I've already apologised for this and promised to get back to frequent and regular postings. However, the last few weeks i've been increasing my hours back to full time at work and as of next week will be back full time. That combined with studying and all of lifes other commitments, means that i've realised that I just can't deliver the way I would like too. Don't worry, i'm not stopping blogging completely, i'm just letting you all know that updates are more likely to be once weekly, or if I do get them up more frequently, they are likely to be shorter and mainly photos. Hopefully some time in the near future circumstances will change and I will be able to get back to 5-6 posts per week.

And with that out of the way, on to this weeks treats. With the abundance of winter fruit around in these recent chilly days, I have been doing a LOT of cooking with fruit. Lemons, apples, tamarillos (often called tree tomatoes) and pears have all made their way into cakes and the like and soon I will be playing around with more citrus and starting on the new season rhubarb. I just love cooking with fruit, I find the tangy sweetness can really lift the flavours in baked goods. And while we deep down know that the sugar rules out any health properties, I can't help feeling rather virtuous about having fruit in my cake. 

Today i've got two treats to share, the first being a take on a classic french dessert, Tarte Tartin Cupcakes and the second a dense and tangy dessert cake, Tamarillo Cake.

First up though, the cupcakes....



A plain cupcake batter topped with apple slices, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and baked until caramelised.



Next time I make these (coz they were so yummy) I think i'll add some spices and chopped apple to the batter to carry those delicious apple pie flavours throughout the whole cupcake!


Ready for your close up Mr Apple Pie???

And on to treat #2.......................

This cake was very dense and didn't keep overly well (as I find often in cakes based on yoghurt and/or oil). And being that tamarillos are an aquired taste, the same goes for the cake. I enjoyed it, however Shaun did not.



This recipe is from Taste Magazine, however has not yet been uploaded to their website. I will add a link once it has been.

So until next time, eat well, be well and enjoy life.
Tamara xxx

I know, I know. Its been a month since I last posted an entry and its completely not acceptable to leave any faithful readers I do have, hanging for that long. So first up is a big apology from yours truly, please forgive me. I don't want to bore you with the details too much, but here’s a quick run down as to why I have been so slack: I made it home from my amazing Europe trip not long after my last post and then the next day had to set about packing as we were moving the following day. Hectic, well moving is always hectic, but moving with full on jet lag, that’s just crazy. So the next week was dedicated to the fun that is unpacking and arranging a new house. Following on from that I had 21st's to attend and bonding time with my little sister, helping her prepare for her first school ball. Then there work and study, the study being the most stressful seeing as its 4 weeks into semester and my textbook is on backorder. And then its this week where I had the ordeal of having a steroid injection into the bottom of my spine and more work. Which brings me to today, and here I am finally posting. Its not that I haven’t had time to bake, I’ve got a pile of things awaiting posting, its just finding the time to post them.

I had a big bake day last Thursday preparing a cupcake feast for my workmates and here a some of the spoils: Double Choc Mint Cupcakes



Choc cupcake with a square of mint choc in the middle, topped with mint buttercream and melted dark chocolate, mmm thats my idea of a taste sensation. Did I mention how much I love Mint Chocolate??



I'm not 100% happy about the recipe yet, I feel its a little too dry, so I won't be posting just yet, but be assured, I will make these again and once the recipe is spot on, I shall share. Though the mint buttercream was 100% perfect!



Thats about it for now, but rest assured, there is more coming soon! So until then, happy baking :)

For those of you whose Italian isn't quite up with the play (like mine) the title translates (roughly) to: Absolutely Beautiful Delicious Food. And thats about the best words I can come up with to describe the gastronomic sensation that is Italian food in Italy. My choice of words doesn't do it enough justice, but like many other aspects of Rome, there are no words great enough to use. So as you have probably already guessed, yes, the food in Rome truly lived up to my expectations.

Before I go any further I will issue this warning: LONG POST AHEAD (but I think it is well worth reading, lol)

So, after plane delays and added security procedures to go through due to recent terrorist attacks in the UK, we finally got to Rome nearly two hours later than expected. The trip from Ciampino Airport to Central Rome was dotted with Ancient Roman ruins, trattorias’ and pizzerias. After a quick check in at the hotel, the first thing on everyones mind (being 1pm and not having eaten since 4am) was food, for my Dad and me the excitement was all about trying real Italian pizza! There was a Ristorante (restaurant), Lesquilino, right below our hotel which we were quickly invited into for lunch, and which quickly became our favourite place during the trip. When faced with a menu full of our favourite foods (pasta, risotto & pizza) the whole family struggled to settle on a meal. We eventually decided on a meal each and taste-tested one anothers to get the full experience. My first meal was Risotto alla creama di scampi, in English, creamy risotto with prawns. Absolutely delicious.

The rest of the family enjoyed pizza, Rughetta e Salmone, salmon with rocket, among others.

I absolutely adored the thin crusted, wood fired, goodness.

That afternoon we spent exploring the Colosseum, beyond amazing, before taking a siesta due to the extremely hot afternoon sun (30+ degrees Celsius everyday). The evenings events was visiting the beautiful, illuminated Fontana de Trevi (Trevi Fountain) and being harassed by street hawkers to buy their goods. Around 10pm we found another restaurant for dinner and once again faced the dilemma of what to choose. My dinner choice was Spaghetti Pomodoro el Basilico, a simple pasta with tomatoes and a lone leaf of basil. It was nice but a little on the salty side and the entire meal was also let down by bad service. Other choices that night were Cabonara (also a little salty), Lasange and an absolutely delicious Ravioli of Spinach and Ricotta. (No photos of that meal sorry-camera batteries were already, after one day, running way to low).


Peroni-Italian Beer (and Dads new favourite drink)

Lunches after Day 1 were very simple affairs of bread or crostini with proiscutto and cheeses, or panini shared between the family. On the last day we had a gorgeous pizza (the best I have ever tasted) from a little Trattoria. It was served cold, a thin crust topped with cherry tomatoes, olives, anchovies (all very sparse), dried oregano and olive oil. Absolutely delicious. The original thought for lunch the last day was McDonalds, which I refused point blank to eat (McDonalds is disgusting in NZ so why would I torture myself with it in Italy, in my opinion the greatest country for food in the world), so Mum came up with a compromise that we would have whatever we came too first. Thank God it was that gorgeous Trattoria. (Again, no pics of lunch, sorry, but once back in NZ I will attempt to recreate that beautiful pizza, and of course post it on here).


Lesquilino-our favourite (family owned and operated) restaurant, great food AND great service. On our 4 day, 3 night stay, we had lunch here once, dinner once and copious afternoon drinks sessions.

Day 2 was bus tour day. I love the bus tours, you get to sit in an open topped bus and enjoy all the main attractions and also get on and off as you please. The sights were absolutely incredible, ancient ruins combine with amazing architecture from many centuries. After settling in for some afternoon drinks (Campari and Soda followed by a few bottles of Rose) for a few hours we decided to stay on for an early (by Italian standards) dinner. This was my favourite night, the best pasta dish I have ever tasted, Spaghetti alla Vongole (clams). The pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente and topped with the sweetest clams on the shell and the most beautiful sauce of the cooking juices from the clams, extra virgin olive oil and pepper. The description once again doesn’t do it justice, but it was absolutely stunning! 



And my only dessert for the entire trip was had that night, Tiramisu, and once again, absolutely delicious!

Other meals enjoyed by the rest of the family (and taste tested by me) that night were; Alfredo, Risotto al Quattro Formaggio and Risotto e Funghi Porcini.




A selection of the meals enjoyed by the rest of the family.

Day 3 dinner was at the request of Laura, who was that day celebrating her 18^th birthday and she choose Chinese. Yes, there are LOTS of Chinese restaurants around Rome, in fact the one we went to was right next door to another Chinese one. A nice meal, though I would have preferred to have eaten Italian again. I had a delicious Wonton Soup, Vegetable Fried Rice and Sweet and Sour Pork.

 
Mixed Grilled Vegetables from dinner, Day 2. Absolutely Delicious. (Courgette, Aubergine, Carrots, Spinach and Beans).

And then it was Day 4 and time to head home. Had dinner at the airport whilst waiting for our flight, a very uninspiring panini and a Bounty bar, so yes it must be true, airport food is bad, no matter where in the world you are!


My little brother and I making a joke out of the tradition of red roses! (Day 1)

So that was the foodie part of my Adventure in Rome. Only one more week in Europe before I head back to NZ L , I can’t believe its gone by so fast. I will definitely be back to experience more in a few years time though (especially Rome, which was amazing, especially the Vatican). So for the time left I will be exploring the Southen part of Britain and hopefully will have a few more foodie adventures before I head home.

Until then, acconntentare si dentro magnifico Italiano cibo, indulge yourself in great Italian Food.

My Europe Adventures: Part One

First off I must apologise, there are not many photos food related or otherwise. Reason being, with my food in London I was so damn excited by the array of delicious morsels that I plain forgot and in Paris I forgot to take the spare batteries for my digital camera. The ones in my camera ran out after being in Paris only a few hours, honestly, what sort of idiot goes to Paris, one of the most beautiful cities in the world and forgets to check the camera will last!

Anyways, so we went to London on Saturday. My first experience on the underground was a little scary (but now i'm almost a seasoned pro) and the sheer amount of people was both amazing and terrifying. NZ's landmass is very close to that of Britain but we only have a total population of 4 million. Londons population alone is 8 million. I started the morning off by finding a Starbucks to get a coffee fix (while on the topic of Starbucks, my advice is to avoid coffee in Hong Kong-had Starbucks there and could barely drink it-I think they use cream instead of milk, and even at home I don't drink milk unless it is low-fat), and then we spent the morning perusing the Portobello Road Markets, which were amazing. There were so many bargains to be had. When I reached the food/produce end of the market I was in heaven. The selection avaliable was amazing and the prices so cheap. The fish were fresh as and the butchers were exactly how you imagine an old fashioned butchers shop to look like. If only we had markets like that in NZ.

Next up was Harrods, the massive, luxurious department store. Mum reasoned that after a morning spent bargain shopping we should indulge ourselves in some luxury. From the moment I set eyes on the building I was just blown away, and the food halls inside, lets just say I could set up camp and never leave. It is better than heaven. We decided to have lunch there and settled on a Tapas Bar. As people queued to get inside the resturaunt I was sitting there drinking champagne and indulging in the most amazing paella.


Mum and I @ Spanish Tapas Bar in Harrods, drinking Champagne (the real stuff)

We had a few tapas with our drinks, chilli prawns, octopus marinated in paprika, cod with roasted tomatoes and aioli and a beautiful mrange, mint and red onion salad. Followed up with the paella, full of seafood, octopus, prawns, cockles, mussels and some chicken. The spanish sure know how to do seafood, and do it well! It was the most salivating meal I have ever eaten. I am most fussy when dining out (I find often that food does not live up to what I make at home) but I couldn't fault this meal anywhere, all seasoning was spot on and everything cooked to perfection. It was the most amazing food experience thus far in my life.
So thats my Spanish in Britain.

I spent the last 2 days in Paris, however due to a very fussy eater accompanying us on the trip (wouldn't even give any traditional french food a second look-even struggled with croissants) I didn't get to experience much of the true french cuisine. I did notice that there were omelettes on almost every menu, they must be obsessed with them. Lunch, the first day I had a Croque Monsier a la Provencale (hamcheese and tomato toastie sandwhich with herbs provence) which was basic but very nice. Dinner that night was at a Middle Eastern/French Bistro where I had the best Falafel Kebab I have ever tasted. Kebabs in NZ will never live up to my standards again, lol. We had dinner around 9.30 then trotted off to the Eiffel Tower just after they turned to lights on, one of the most stunning things I have ever experienced. The next morning was a quick breakfast of yoghurt and fruit with a selection of mini pastries, mmm. I can't believe how good the yoghurt tastes in the UK and Europe. I hate yoghurt back in NZ but here I just can't get enough!! Lunch that day put my french to the test, the menu all in french and the waiter not speaking any English. I must've been spot on as we got exactly what we ordered. Not bad for someone who only learnt French for four months about 8 years ago! Dinner wasn't an option as we only made it to the train station just in time due to French Taxi Drivers being completely useless (thats a whole nother story) so we made do with some Hagen Daas(?) Icecream, mine Tiramisu flavour, delicious!!!
I was disappointed that I didn't get to explore and experience the actual food of France, so next time I go I wouldn't travel with anyone so then I can just do my own thing.

So back in England at the moment, hoping to do some sightseeing around south England this weekend and then off to Italy on Wednesday. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This time I will remember spare camera batteries, lol, and I will remember to take pics of my food, I promise.

Until then.........Happy Eating 
Tamara xxx

It seems like winter has finally arrived after our long indian summer with the temperatures over the last few days falling significantly. Put simply, it has been FREEZING. (Though this morning seems to indicate a return to the indian summer). So winter woolies on, curtains drawn at 5, heater on high along with electric blankies and most importantly, heart-warming winter comfort food. Gone are the BBQ's and salads, incoming we have casseroles, mash, pies, soups and puddings.

To coincide with the first full week of winter, my June issue of Taste arrived yesterday, full of winter warming recipes. On the cover, a glorious self-saucing pudding based on the NZ/Aussie Classic, the Anzac Biscuit. Did I mention I love anzac biscuits, caramelly and chewy with golden syrup, oats and coconut? Have I expressed my delight for self-saucing puddings? Do you see where i'm going? 

Yep, the pudding made its way onto my 'must try immediately' list. And so last night I did just that!



Anzac Self-Saucing Pudding