In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Vivid.”
The VIVID–ly coloured ingredients for the Spicy Baked Eggs I made for breakfast this morning:
Fresh colours
Galleries
I’m Ba-ack…(with a bang)!
Did you miss me? I certainly missed you!
My earlier prediction that my blog would likely take a back seat as I became busier with work and study unfortunately came true. I don’t like to make excuses, but over the last couple of months, both have done a monumental job of sapping my time and energy (my creative energy, in particular) and regrettably it meant my blog went untouched…from my end anyway!
I especially want to express my heartfelt apologies to the amazing bloggers who continued to contribute to the “I Made It! Monday” event in my absence – I will soon follow up with a round up of their fantastic achievements.
I can’t promise you (or myself) that it won’t happen again, but now that uni’s over for the semester, I have some extra time on my hands…for the time being, at least! I’ve also recently resolved to stop letting work get the better of me – it’s…Just. Not. Worth. It! On a brighter note, during my time away, I have still been doing plenty of ‘food touristing‘ – I even managed to squeeze in a visit to my old hometown of Adelaide, which involved a lot of good food and wine – so I have stacks of tasty anecdotes to share with you.
Already as I’m typing this, I feel so much better – I really, really missed this. And I missed scouring through all my favourite blogs (I haven’t had the opportunity to do much of that either)…I have so much to catch up on!
After all of that, you’re probably wondering what this ‘bang’ I referred to in the title is supposed to be…surely this (a mere whimper thus far, if you will) can’t be it?
Well, it had a lot to do with this morning’s breakfast. Not only did it wake me up in a physical sense, but it provided that ‘kick’ I needed to get my blog-jo back.
I’ve always wanted to try making Shakshouka or Huevos Rancheros, because they always look so delicious and relatively easy to prepare, especially considering the ingredients include items that are pretty stock standard in most pantries and fridges. I skimmed the internet to get some general ideas and ended up formulating my own version from a few different recipes based on what I had on hand:
Spicy Baked Eggs with Chorizo
Ingredients:
- 2 eggs (the larger the better)
- 1 chorizo sausage, sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, sliced
- 1 small or half a large onion*, sliced
- 1 small or half a large red capsicum, sliced
- 2 tsp paprika (I used 1 tsp smoked, 1 tsp sweet)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (strictly optional – I can’t stress that enough! My eggs didn’t just provide a kick, there were some punches thrown in as well!)
- Tin of chopped tomatoes
- Fresh herbs (parsley or coriander), chopped
* I only had brown onion on hand, which worked fine, but I think red (Spanish) onion would be perfect for this dish.
Method:
Note: this served two of us. You don’t have to be strict with the measuring either – feel free to mix it up to your personal tastes. I’m sure next time I make this I’ll rework it a bit (almost certainly omitting the dried chilli flakes…phwoar!)
*Sigh* – it’s good to be back! 🙂
Freshly Baked: Hot Cross Bun and Butter Pudding
With many thanks (and kudos) to KitchenSpells for this deliciously inspiring way to use up the last of our Hot Cross Buns…it was the perfect dessert for a cool, wet Autumn evening.
Refer to the KitchenSpells blog for the full recipe and more delectable images.
Needless to say, my Other Half will be on a red-hot lookout for leftover Hot Cross Buns in the next couple of weeks (I’m not sure if I have the heart to tell him he won’t have much luck). 😉
Fresh flavours: Prawn Laksa
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Fresh.”
Call it strange, call it convenient, but this week’s “Fresh” Photo Challenge happened to coincide with the very weekend I was considering preparing a Prawn Laksa for dinner.
There is just so much to love about classic South-East Asian flavours such as lime, chilli, fish sauce and coconut – the perfect fusion of sour, hot, salty and sweet. I’ll admit I took a shortcut and used a store-bought paste, but the results were still tastebud-tingling terrific (even if I do say so myself)!
I don’t cook fresh seafood all that often, so in case I don’t do so again for a while, this will also be…
My pick for OhMyGlai!’s Flavour of Month for April: Prawn/Shrimp
Dessert in a flash!
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Ephemeral.”
Affogato (Italian translation: “drowned”)
An indulgent combination of rich, creamy icecream drowned in hot espresso and – should you be so inclined – a sweet drop of your favourite liqueur (traditionally amaretto, but I’m personally very partial to Frangelico for a lovely hint of hazelnut).
For it to work, however, it must be prepared in the most fleeting of moments…
Dessert, coffee and a nightcap all in one…what more can one ask for?
Oh, range o’ ‘licious treats
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Orange you glad it’s photo challenge time?.”
If I have to break one rule here, it’s that ALL of these images have to do with food (it kind of goes with the territory of having a specifically-themed blog), but I have gone for a bit of variety in terms of where they were taken.
It’s amazing just how much food comes in all shades of orange (and how many random food-related shots I take at any given time)…!
A bag o’ oranges, Swan Valley, WA
The cafe/bar at the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome
Base ingredients for Marsala Pork
Cooking Moroccan Chicken with Apricots
Peachy-keen, jellybean!
My favourite soup – Thai Pumpkin
Chef Claudio’s kitchen, Tuscany
Ready to be roasted
Blossom the Travel Bunny captivated on Portobello Rd, London
Fabulous pizzeria window display, Notting Hill, London
Little St. Patrick’s day meringues
Mint Fizz cocktail, Koh Samui
My Favourite Recipe: Stand-by CHOCOLATE Brownies
Donna Hay makes a comeback in my response to this week’s ‘My Favourite Recipe’ challenge which is (ladies and gentlemen)…the one and only, no-introductions-necessary, gloriously decadent…chocolate.
Funnily enough, though, there is no actual chocolate in this recipe – well, not of the dreamily-sweet-glossy-dark-chunks-of-heaven variety, that is. However, it does fulfill the difficult task of satisfying even the strongest chocolate craving with the help of just a few pantry staples…and this is why I love (and rely on) it so much.
Stand-by Brownies
(from fast, fresh, simple by Donna Hay)
Ingredients:
- 150g butter
- 1¼ C caster sugar
- ¾ C cocoa
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- ½ C plain (all purpose) flour
Method:
You can even watch Donna prepare the brownies herself!
Thanks to my fellow Blogging101 graduate B.TX for setting up this challenge! I implore all my fellow foodies to support this wonderful weekly event!
Confessions of a Food Tourist 