Nigella could learn a thing or two...

Well, people!
You'll be happy to know that since the Big Brown Moth cake from a few posts back, things have gone from strength to strength for me in the kitchen. Here's the same recipe, done in a round cake tin, with the same chocolate ganache and real black cherries:


I had originally planned on using marachino cherries, but when I saw these, I simply had to use them. The dark cherries against the ooey-gooey chocolate... Heaven!
Having Best Boy around on the weekends means that I now have a willing and hungry lab mouse to test my cooking and baking on. And I really couldn't be happier!
So far I've mastered a choc-pud for two... (Aaaaaaaaaw!) The look on Best Boy's face when I served it up was absolutely priceless. I'd whipped it up in no time at all and it was scrumptious! And then last week I wowed him with a warm banana tart-tartin (served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream) that had him in dreamland.
And as far as the savoury dishes go, I'm having loads of fun cooking things like:
Various kinds of roast chicken (Moroccan; peri-peri; BBQ spice)
Red Thai Chicken Curry and Basmati Rice
Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta
Oven Braised Guinness Beef Stew
Egg Fried Rice
... And much, much more!
I've even made some home made pies using the left over Guinness Beef Stew as filling. That was a really winner, especially if you keep them in the freezer and then pop them in the oven with some potato wedges for a simple, hearty, no-fuss dinner.
I made a tuna / rice casserole that I wasn't too keen on... I'm not sure if that's because it wasn't good, or because I'm BATTLING to find ways to get cheap / high-protein tuna into my body without GAGGING. When it comes to fish, it appears that I unfortunately have very expensive taste! Unless it's sushi or SUPER fresh fish done in a restaurant by a professional chef, I really. Can't. Do it.
I have tried just about everything. The only frozen / convenience fish that I like is crumbed and that flies against EVERYTHING I believe in, as well as my "no-major-carbs-after-five" rule. Oh well. I'm still trying and experimenting. I made some divine fish cakes a while back, but they did take time and I think I was too tired from work to enjoy the messy experience. Maybe if I make them and freeze them over the weekend I'll feel better about it. I make mine with mashed potato and egg (to bind), so they're completely gluten and fat free which is GREAT. It's just that they take time.
Oh! And Best Boy LOVES my heart shaped breakfast muffins on a Sunday morning. Oops. I just realised how naughty that sounded. *wink*
Here I am cooking up a storm in my mom's kitchen last Sunday, being extra silly when my friend Trysten pointed the camera at me!


(And thanks Gail for the pic of the cake... Stunning!)

Like OMG, you guys!

I have finally joined the world of... ONLINE SHOPPING!
And my very first purchase was this outstanding cook book by my all time hero, Nigella Lawson. I've been hooked on the "Nigella Express" show for ages now, feverishly typing the recipes onto my cell phone (where I won't lose them) while Nigella deliciously (and effortlessly) shares all her time-saving, flavour making kitchen secrets. So when my best mate Noodle told me that she'd seen the book on an online shopping spot called Take2 I decided to go for it, and make the culinary investment of a life time. Now... Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Jamie Oliver. He's one of my heroes too. His recipes are also quite quick, fuss-free and, of course, packed with flavour. But there's something about Nigella's less-than-10-ingredients, ready-in-10-minutes, but still unbelievably decadent approach that speaks to the "Domestic Goddess" in me. She's the original, no doubt. But, dammit! I'm on my way to being a close second!
And yes... I can feel you from way over here, - feel you wondering WHY it's taken me so very long to join the wicked-convenient world of online shopping. Well, let me first share that I have only JUST started doing the online banking thing. Uh-huh... I have always felt the need to see the FACE of the person that I'm handing my hard earned moolah too, just in case! It's a been a long, winding road that has tested my determination with many a trust-issue inducing speed bump along the way, but I've finally made it. I ordered last week and a week later, the book was on my desk.
If that's not wicked awesome, I don't know what the fuck is!
And I know what you're thinking... This rush that I'm feeling is really just the start of yet another downward spiral into dept and financial ruin. It might be. But, knowing me (and as much as I've always had a weakness for nice things) I've always somehow managed to stick to my means.
Oh my gosh. It feels like Christmas!

Conversations: Coffee Shop

A boy and girl sit close together at a coffee shop. While she sips on her chocolate milkshake and he munches on a burger, she notices the stares they're getting from passersby observing the couple's intimacy.
Girl: ... I don't think these people have ever seen a couple in love before...
Boy: Well. We're not in love.
Girl: We're not??!!
Boy: Nope... We're past that now. We ARE love.
Girl: :D

Older. Wiser. Fitter.

Kinda like: Simpler, better, faster...
That's the way I feel at 35.
Yes people, Carmen has officially had yet another birthday and turned another year older... and she feels just fine, thank you very much!
Now that I'm hitting the gym pretty hard and feeling slimmer/fitter, I find that I'm sleeping better and feeling good. Those hard-to-hear old cliches about how good exercise is for you are all true, I'm afraid. There really are no short cuts to feeling good. One of the lessons I've learned in my grand old age is that you just have to get off your ass and DO IT ALREADY!
And... after the year I've had, I think I needed the extra surge of endorphins and adrenaline to lift my spirits and clear my head. It's been a year of fresh starts (moving into my own place), adventure (spending Christmas and New Year with good friends in Canada) and sad endings. For a while, I closed the door on a relationship that I thought would be forever, opening myself to a new level of sadness that I'd never experienced before. On the one hand I made wonderful new friends, and on the other extreme I watched a devastated family bury one of those new friends after he decided he couldn't go on any longer and ended it all. His passing opened my mind to thoughts I'd never had before. I wondered just how sad one would have to feel to take one's own life. I wondered how sad I would have to be, and I marveled at the inner strength and spirituality I managed to find, deep down inside, to pull myself through my own sadness. I thought about how, in our modern day quest for independence and privacy we've somehow opened ourselves up to a lonelier, more isolated existence. In my folks' day, by the time you were 35 you were having the 3rd kid, moving into your second (bigger) home and had at least 2 cars in the driveway. Those plurals seems to elude us at 35 today... I was reminded of the wonderful people and things I have in my life, and how I should thank God everyday for letting me know them and have them around. I realised how vain and arrogant we are to think that all the brilliant opportunities that God gives us will just keep coming forever; that we can turn our noses up at those opportunities, thinking they'll never dry up.
After a year of putting on a brave face, this has been a birthday FILLED will spoiling, love and attention and, I must be honest, I reveled in every second of it. I took a few days off, planned one little activity for each day and pretty much soaked up the peace and quiet of my place, my book and my state of mind. Oh! And I got my hair done... YAY.
Two of my favourite kids in the whole wide world treated me to a surprise party in the front yard, as I was leaving for work.



Declan and Astin, thank you so much for my precious card, pretty flowers, mini chocolate muffin birthday cake (with twirly candle), hugs and kisses. The best part was watching the two of you in a MAD scramble, trying to get the surprise ready without me finding out. *pfft*
My folks and brothers spoiled me rotten with gifts and calls from far, far away.
And my cell phone/facebook/email didn't stop with all the messages from friends and family, near and far.
After not having seen each other for ages, Best Boy treated me to a wonderful seafood lunch, showing me that the door hadn't closed, but opened onto a new level of grown up stuff. Thanks, Best Boy. Or should I call you "Mushashi" now? I can't wait to taste some of the Japanese food you're learning to make.
I've even started baking again. It's been the biggest dream of mine to bake up a storm for my loved ones every Sunday, but for some reason in this year of change, I'd never gotten around to breaking in my new oven with one of the thousands of recipes I've been collecting over the years. Somehow, this weekend, it all felt right and I baked a chocolate butterfly cake. Here it is straight out the oven.



And here it is after I'd smothered it in chocolate sauce and Flake.



My mom and I had a good chuckle that it looked more like a MOTH than a butterfly (seeing as it was all brown and stuff), but it was delicious anyway. Chocolate, brandy and coffee: a winning combination. I'll be making another one for book club next week so look out, girls!
Yeah... It's a new year for me. A new beginning. My Chinese sign is Tiger, and next year (2010) is the Year of the Tiger so I'm looking forward to adventure, prosperity, love, happiness, new beginnings... All that good stuff.
Thanks for joining me on this crazy rollercoaster we call Life.
I'm looking forward to the next 35 with an open heart and open mind.

HaikuNunu's "Sunrise"

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Insightful Graph: 1

HaikuNunu's "Dreaming"