to finish off my travel adventures...budapest, prague, krakow, milan, barcelona, sydney

I left Paris armed with two giant macaroons, (novelty and taste!) one consumed before I even boarded my flight, the other just after take off an I honestly didn't think i'd ever eat again after a Dutch Christmas and Parisian New Year!

But sure enough after landing in Budapest and being taken by my travelling companions to a restaurant named 'Fatale' boasting the biggest schnitzel in the world, I was ready to give Eastern Europe my best! I passed over the schnitzel which really was the size of a family pizza and delved straight into the cabbage, dumpling, roast pork.

my first meal in paris was salad...

yes, really salad. of all the pastry, crepe, macaroon, champagne goodness on offer, I went for salad, and after all the heavy Christmas eating we had done in the Netherlands, this was needed! But the most wonderful French find a way of making even salad rich and tasty. Dominating the vegetables on my plate were honey croutons topped with grilled slices of goats cherve - 3cm's thick, lardons of bacon, toasted walnuts and fried slices of potato. I was in a very happy place! And sharing a creme brulee with the lovely Katherine....ahhh Pari! It was a lovely finish to a stroll around Montmartre, which was still adorned in Christmas lights, little market stalls and plenty of Vin Chaud! 

travel food!!!

I have so been looking forward to this!!! High on my list of priorities for my European Winter adventure this Christmas: FOOD!

an apology and a cake (though the cake isn't for the apology...anyway)

So i've been slack. Super mega big time, terribly slack and haven't blogged for what seems like ages. So to the 3 of you out there that care, please accept these flowers as my humble apology.... 

I'll change my ways honey, i promise! It won't happen again! So now that you forgive me, onwards to cake!

remember to be impulsive!

I am loving living in the city right now! I have resolved to embrace all that is the Fringe Festival and Adelaide for the month and a bit that our little city is exciting and alive! This evening I ventured on an impromptu excursion to see a show after declaring my exhaustion and firm resolve to stay in. Must have been the gin... or it's just the fringy excitement in the air!


With one phone call from the lovely miss roeters this evening it took just 27 minutes to go from sitting on the couch, in my pyjamas, eating left over coconut ice (from the party I still haven't blogged about yet but will!!! promise!! there's just so much to write about...stay tuned!), drinking a cheeky gin and watching last night's grey's anatomy to arriving at my venue, changed out of my pyjamas, make up done AND on foot may I add!


We saw a hilarious little play, alfresco with a gorgeous red sunset! After experiencing a mighty boosh style theatrical singing, dancing, acid trip (with AWESOME costumes such as a spray painted stack hat and visor for a sea creature!) it was home again home again jiggidy jig to steam some Julie's dumplings and polish off a massive bowl of peach and basil sorbet! All before 8.30pm!


Friday night = dominated!


So if you read this in the next week go see here 'comes the son' at higher ground, well worth it! And another reminder to me....after spending the afternoon buying up and shifting a couple of hundred dollars worth of mdf for props for our school's production, it seems a hand painted telephone on a cardboard box is actually hilarious!!

how to beat a heatwave! (with lots of exclamation points!)

Summer came a little (lot) late this year, which to be honest I haven't been sad about at all. Summers that I don't spend up in Byron Bay with my family I generally spend wishing I was up there and complaining about the dry hot hotness I still haven't gotten used to after 8ish years! But just before we went back to school those Adelaide 40 degree + days hit. My solution - make more ice cream!!!
If you've read my previous adventures with ice cream making this is no easy task getting it to freeze on such a hot day before the little motor burns out but my little trick of freezing for an hour before pouring into the machine seems to work! Take that heat - you can't stop me!!

marzipan chunk cupcakes

I have been very lucky recently to have a friend working at my local library! You can't believe how handy it is to have an 'in' when it comes to public book sharing! My favourite part of this set up is the fact that my 'Library Fairy' as I call him, requests books on my behalf that he see's and think's i'll like, every now and then I get a message from the library telling me Heston Blumenthal's season 2 is ready for pick up and there they are on the reserved shelf waiting to for me... It's brilliant! 

So on receipt of my newly suggested book I discover a recipe for Marzipan Chunk Cupcakes. Now to the Library Fairy, the modern lack of interest in marzipan products is one of the great tragedy's of the 21st century, he absolutely loves the stuff and firmly believes that more attention should be paid to it's sweet almondy goodness in modern gastronomy! So something is beginning to tell me that this book suggestion may have a more sinister intent than simply food based literary altruism, but it's raining outside, the perfect day for baking and cups of tea so i've whipped up a cheeky thank you dozen.