Quirky much?

It seems when we are sick and our battered bodies are summing up all its energy to fight the flu, we tend to seek comfort food.

Comfort food has many connotations. It could be a warm stew, warm chocolate mud cake or even a sloppy joe.

Its a complex matter - A comfort food for one, could be detestable to another.

It's quite humourous when i stop and remember what foods brings certain people comfort.

A close friend's ideal breakfast is rice with bacon and sunny side up eggs with bbq sauce. She loves to crack the  yoke, spread it on her rice, cuts the bacon with her a soup spoon and a fork, and adds the bbq.

My brother enjoys buying a fresh hot cheese pizza and placing it in the freezer for 10 mins, he is convinced the cheese tastes even better. He loves to sandwhich the pizza together and doesn't seem bothered by the oil that has set ontop of the cheese.

The hubs loves a slimy spinach stew. Its watery, has a slight texture of runny muscus and enjoys slurping it.


As for me. Throw me a bowl of salt laden instant noodles with a side of msg and canned tuna anyday.

The instant noodles need to be extra hot and a spoon of hot satay sauce added to the mix. The slurping, the msg high and the bloated stomach is the bonus that comes with my fetish.

I know its quirky, and quite embarrassing when i'm sharing it with others. But i'm a instant noodle closet fan and i hope one day to be able to start a noodle revolution. I'm thinking gourmet fresh hand made noodles with thicky satay sauces, prawns and sprigs of corianders all in one sealed container. Or maybe a fresh laksa soup pack with chicken breast and bean sprouts.

But alas, one battle at a time.

I'm still trying to convince myself that even though it tastes good- its not making me any better.

Quirky Truffles.

Are we there yet?!

There are few things i get myself into without first considering the pros and cons. But i have to admit, this was trip was a "dive first, and, hope for water" type of scenarios.

I'm off to the snows today with four children, all in primary school, and none of them are mine! Gulp.

 It started with a booking for a romantic getaway and somehow the extended family's phones were dialing my number and i ended up with four others. The last few days I've stressed the hub out by murmuring food ideas and scribbling down dinner plans.

My poor grocery trolley had the shock of its life when we entered through the sliding doors. A young married working couple with no children, replaced their health oriented products with underage snacks. Individual tiny teddy cookies, jelly and fruit cups, cheese and dip snacks and the mixed chip packets. I was almost tempted to make individual lunch packs with the classic brown paper bag and names scribbled in front.

I can definitely understand a parent's dilemma of being active in their children's life and making sure you give them foods that they like. Add to the list - healthy fresh food, that is a full time job! I'm praying i can match up a packet of crisp with some strawberries to subsidise the fat content.

One thing to draw from this experience so far?

 I'm starting to get an itch to write to Parliament and request for Mother's day to be a public holiday.

 Did i forget to mention that one of the little ones likes to dribble?

Wish me luck!

Truffles

Fish and Chips

There's nothing like hot fish and chips burning your finger tips as you finish from a swim at the beach.

Today the hub n I find ourselves in Cronulla at the "South Beach Sea Foods". There's a browning old newspaper cut off in the front of the store, proudly displaying  the 5th ranking in Sydney's best fish and chips.

My order was the today's special of grilled John Dory with fries and garden salad and the Hub orders the salt and pepper soft-shell crab and a grilled fish burger.

I remember a lazy soak on the beach a few months earlier for my birthday with the girls and the hot grilled fish with lemon and pinches of salt in a fluffy bun with thick mayo and lettuce was divine. Comfort food rightly deserved after many hard hours of sitting in the waters gossiping!

This fish and chip store has invaded so many of my fond memories. Spontaneous beach trips, hot summer nights dips and lazy Saturdays.

I hope you'll discover a favorite beach side  eatery of your own. And don't skimp out on the fries... It's all part of the experience

F. Truffles.

Lets Zumbo!

                                        

For all those dieters out there, I'm sure you can relate, when one declares "junk food day". Its the one day of the week that you can freely feed and load on fatty food, allowing yourself some freedom to enjoy life and make that diet more bearable for another week.

There's nothing more the Hub enjoys then a combination of carbs, sugar and lard. Where else but a patisserie? We tend to choose the most deadly cakes and sweets and sit on a bench, carefully halving the pieces to ensure a fair portion. One place we return to often is Adriano Zumbo's store, behind every glass cabinet is new desserts drummed up by the staff as well as some traditional favourites.  So next time your on a "junk food day" go on and treat yourself. And take a victim along with you...

...... being bad is so much more enjoyable with company.

F. Truffles

See what's in stores this month

adrianozumbo.com

GFWS

The Good Food and Wine Show has been one of my favourite events of the year, it also gives me that extra push to pursue great food. Winter is usually long and dreary so the timing is perfect to experiment and create some new dishes at home.

I must mention the lay out this year. It was much more friendlier and easier to navigate compared to last years set up. The middle section was not as congested due to the planners moving the main eatery from the center and replacing it with a food demonstration area. There was more sitting areas and access to bathrooms as well.

There is some thing i would have liked to see more of, Sydney is a big melting pot - full of different flavours and infusions and hopefully we can see more variety in the stalls. Recipes and produce from countries such as Vietnam, Germany, France, Britain, New Zealand and South America was absent. Even the one cheese stall last year was not on the floors at all, no, not even Coon, King Island Dairy or the everyday shredded cheeses.

None-the-less GFWS has opened up its doors and i was pleased to see Paddy the Irish Baker, Malaysian food, a Tunisian stand and also a Smoked Salmon stand representing Canadian Salmon.

All in all its exciting to see how the Australian palate is changing and people are flocking in to explore and learn more about foods.

I can't wait to see what's install for 2011.

Happy eating

F. Truffles

Mum... Lemongrass please.

My mum has only found recently her green thumb.

Now her front and back yard is a tropical oasis with papaya in the front a mini mango tree, basil, mint, chili, pumpkin, winter melons in the back and also the beloved lemongrass.

So when i come to her front door there isn't a real need for lengthy conversations. I knock, she yells out and i reply " lemongrass please mum!". Its a beautiful relationship.

Lemongrass is very fragrant and has a lot of potential, one tip is not to overcrowd the dish with too many flavours.

I really enjoy using this next recipe that you can access through the link.

http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-vietnamese-lemongrass-chicken/

I add 1 or 2 sweet small thickly cubed sweet potato and any white potatoes with the chicken whilst frying.

The final step i add a can of coconut cream and a can of chicken broth or water. Then simmer till curry thickens.

Enjoy with Jasmin rice or Baguettes.

F Truffles.

I'll try one thanks

It's still daylight outside and I'm tucked into bed.

My feet is sore, tummy full and had just a little bit too much to drink!

Yes another Good Food and Wine Show has arrived and left my bank accounts slightly under my liking.

I'm a big fan of new ideas and new flavors so I whizzed around fairly quickly concentrating on stalls that were new.

Smoke salmon from Canadia, warmed apple berry cider, premade shortcrusts dough and chocolate ravioli with raspberry fillings were tasted and fussed over.

The cheese appreciation class was deadly with combination of bubbly, triple cream Brie and some honey with infused truffle.

But I shall say no more and I can't wait to post the links and wonderful flavors we came across.

Nap time

F. Truffles

Can we get the garlic mayo too?

I can't forget the first time i stepped into the famous charcoal chicken restaurants in Granville.

The clutter, the noise and oddly the hair dryer.

The height of the experience came down to the addictive Lebanese garlic mayonnaise, it almost melts on your tongue and goes perfectly with the smokey chicken.

Winter is here and so is the dreadful flu and so i have found the perfect recipe that will not only taste great but also helps build your immunity system.  Pssst- perfect for kids too.

Just triple the ingredients if you want to make a decent amount for the family.

Enjoy

F Truffles...


http://thefoodblog.com.au/2010/04/fast-and-easy-toum-the-best-lebanese-garlic-sauce-recipe.html

Hint- for a lighter healthier option i used 2/3 of lite vegetable oil and 1/3 of olive oil.