22 janvier 2007
Pancake recipe made easy
Wordless pancake recipe
Click here for original size
More wordless recipes here, they are all so great!
09 janvier 2007
Wagamama
Seriously, I might sound like a grumpy mole again but I just cannot understand all that fuss around Wagamama.
In a rather uncomfortable and noisy room, this noodle bar serves Asian inspired over priced and bland dishes. "Wagamama" means Naughty Kid in Japanese and this eater unfriendly environment is indeed very reminiscant of school canteen. Are my taste buds numb or what? Why is everyone raving about this place??
19 décembre 2006
Sprout eater's record bid fails
Brussel sprouts, ewwww!
Richard Townsend, 24, of Exeter, fell seven short of the target of 43, which was set in December 2003.
Mr Townsend, who had eaten a plate of sprouts every day for the last six months, said he just "lost it".
After cramming the sprouts into his mouth with a toothpick, he said: "I do not think I could face another sprout for a few days."
But then, after he popped one of the remaining vegetables into his mouth, he said: "It's a shame to waste them."
Raised £250
The accounts administrator explained his failure, saying a couple of the vegetables "slid off the plate" meaning he could not eat them quickly enough.
He had peeled then cooked the sprouts for four minutes in order to ensure they were exactly one inch in diameter.
But the record set by Dave Mynard, from London, still stands.
Mr Townsend's record bid raised £250 in sponsorship for the Mencap charity, which will be matched by his employer EDF.
Mr Townsend decided to try and break the record as part of his mission to replace his New Year resolutions with five challenges which have to be completed before the end of the year.
He has so far achieved three of them as he has appeared on TV, met someone who has starred in a computer game and has started a celebrity-signed collection of teabags.
His final challenge is to fly in a helicopter before the end of the year.
05 décembre 2006
NZ Blogging by mail
On a bright and warm Saturday afternoon, there it was, my NZ Blogging by mail parcel. The mystery sender was Nigel, the lamb tail eater, new blogger from Hawkes Bay. THANK YOU SO MUCH NIGEL!
Opening the parcel was like opening a Christmas present. I had time to take a few photos before devouring the contents - especially the chocolates. In his wisdom, he also included goodies I can keep and cook with.
This delicious parcel, which is nothing short of a Christmas hamper contains:
-1 bottle of absolutely mind blowing olive oil from Hawkes Bay
-1 box of hand made chocolates
-1 bottle of verjuice, a versatile unfermented green grape juice. It can be used for vinaigrettes or poaching and Nigel also added it can be use in Martinis!
-1 bottle of lime and lemongrass drizzle, which I used to marinate chicken breasts before bbq them.
-1 bottle of olive sauce with horopito, delish'
-1 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from Hawkes Bay
1 punnet of gorgeous cherries and strawberries, both locally grown in Hawkes Bay
Thank you again Santa!!! And of course thank you Emma for organising!
29 novembre 2006
Hibernation is over!!!
Looks like I am back AGAIN!!!! Back for a GOOD time and a long time.
After spending all winter fiesting on -unblogable -triple cream/cheese/bacon & pasta bakes as well as bagfuls of lollies, I increasingly started thinking about this dear food blog that I so shamefully dropped out too many months ago. Flicking through my favourite food blogs and going out to dinner parties, I felt it would be so nice to start cooking properly again and more importantly resume blogging.
So here I am.
A lot happened during that period of time and Auckland food scene is as radiant as ever, shinning with all the glorious products summer brings. These past fews months have also seen the rise - and fall - of what citymix calls "Super Delis". While Newmarket Fresh is sadly closing down, Nosh seems to be here to stay, although they advertise but still do not sell macarons.
Another event that brought me back here is the 1st ever NZ blogging by mail, thank you Emma for the great initiative. I'll send the parcel tomorrow but it will not contain the lovely pecan and choc chip cookies I thought I'd include. Not because they were so delicious I had to eat them all but because, much to my dismay, I am a VERY mediocre baker. Although edible, the so-called cookies tasted more like madeleines - compact and burnt madeleines that is to say.
I will give brownies a try tonight and if they turn up burnt, flat and oily, I promise to give up baking FOREVER!!
20 avril 2006
La Gastronomie Française!
It seems to be ranking season in the food industry. Last week, Metro magazine published the list of Auckland’s best restaurants. “The French Café” was elected overall winner. This restaurant has won the prize for the 3rd year in a row.
Early this week, I came across "The World’s Best Restaurants 2006”. The number of Spanish Restaurants listed is impressive.
It is rather hard to comprehend the voting process: No Asian, South American or African (excepted SA) restaurants are listed. Does it mean they are not assessed?
French Chefs’ pride is hurt. For too long, they took for granted the fact that they would always be the Best Chefs in the World. They did not promote themselves enough. It is important to note that French cuisine is not declining, though. Young chefs have inherited a high level of skills from their predecessors. They also have the envy to move forward, to be more pro-active.
I read in a French newspaper that experienced chefs such as Alain Ducasse initiated contacts with young talented chefs to help them promote themselves better. French chefs also publish articles in foreign newspapers and they travel and learn foreign cooking techniques.
They acknowledge foreign talent of course but their pride make them go forward. It is very sane competition, other sectors of French industry should learn from it.
I cannot wait to read next year’s ‘World’s Best Restaurants”.
28 février 2006
A French 4x8 meme
Anne from "La Station Gourmande" just tagged me for the 4x8 meme, Merci Anne! The below meme is the French translation I - unsuccessfully - posted on my French blog a few months ago
4 metiers que j'ai exerce
Conseillere en investissements
Traductrice Free lance
Employee dans un magasin de farces et attrapes
Assistante Ressources Humaines
4 films que je pourrais regarder en boucle
Hercules return (Un film Australien sur fond de peplum Italien)
Alice de Woody Allen
N'importe quel episode de Miss Marple (oui, je sais, je suis ringue)
In the Mood for Love
4 endroits ou j'ai vecu
Pont-Croix
Paris, France
Brixham, GB
Auckland, NZ
4 sites que je visite quotidiennement
Le Monde
Ma banque
New Zealand Herald
Plein de blogs culinaires
4 programmes tv que j'adore regarder
Cadfael
Ready, steady, cook (A vos marques, prets, cuisinez)
Lost (A regarder avec des personnes qui ont des theories farfelues sur le denouement)
The crocodile hunter (Un Australien farfelu a l'accent Australien a couper au couteau se promene dans l'outback Australien en manipulant toutes sortes de reptiles ou araignees extrement dangereux)
4 plats/aliments preferes
Chocolat
Macarons
Pates
Epinards
4 endroits ou je prefererais etre
J'adore Auckland, c'est une belle ville a taille humaine, je ne peux pas penser a un meilleur endroit ou vivre en ce moment. Je compte bien visiter:
-Bora Bora
-Aitutaki
-Helsinki
et en ce moment n'importe quel endroit ensoleille, quel dommage d'etre verrouille dans un bureau alors qu'il fait si beau dehors.
4 peronnes a qui je vais transmettre ce questionnaire
hmmm, n'importe quelle personne souhaitant participer
09 février 2006
Food Awards
"Cuisine judged best food magazine in the world
02 February 2006
New Zealand food magazine Cuisine has been judged the best of its kind in the world at the Gourmet Media World Festival in Cannes, France.
The festival, which bills itself as the international rendezvous of all media professionals dedicated to food and drink, awarded Cuisine Best Food Magazine with one of only four golds given out.
"It
is an immense honour to be judged best food magazine in an
international competition and gives credence to our belief that this
country has some of the best food writers - and food - in the world,"
Cuisine editor Simon Wilson said."
Well done New Zealand, small country, big on taste... They tend to stick beetroot everywhere, though
31 janvier 2006
4 x 8 meme
Barbara from winos and foodies just tagged me for the 4 x 8 meme (Woooohooo my first meme)
4 Jobs I've Had
Financial advisor
Free lance translator
Employee in a trick or treats shop
Human ressources assistant
4 Movies I could watch Over and Over (4??? that's a lot)
Hercules return
Alice
Any of the Miss Marple series
In the Mood for Love
4 Places I've Lived
Pont-Croix, France
Paris, France
Brixham, UK
Auckland, NZ
4 Websites I Visit Daily
Le Monde
My Bank
New Zealand Herald
Various food blogs
4 TV Shows I love To Watch
Cadfael (not on TV anymore)
Ready, steady, cook
Lost (I love watching it with people who have all sorts of theories on the plot)
The crocodile hunter
4 Of My Favourite Foods
Chocolate
Macarons
Pasta
Spinach
4 Places I'd Rather Be
I adore Auckland it's a
beautiful, human-friendly city. I cannot think of a best place to live
at the moment. I can se myself visiting:
-Bora Bora
-Aitutaki
-Helsinki
and right now, I'd rather be anywhere sunny and outdoor (such a shame to be at work when it's so bright and sunny outside :(
4 People I'm now Obliged to Pass This On To
4??????
4 people who do not blog,...... useless
I'm
going to make a French version of this meme and send it to 4 of my
French buddies. (I might have to rename it too as "Meme" means "same"
and "even" in French)
23 janvier 2006
Kiwi winos
Read on Spitton
"Just been reading through last Tuesday's scribbled notes; some
stunningly good Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminers kick off the list. I
concentrated on whites for the simple reason that I ran out of time
before I got to try the reds. Had a welcome diversion from the 'best
of' tables with an introduction to Mike Just a winemaker who took the 25th Anniversary New Zealand Wine Tasting
as an opportunity to launch his own range (Clayridge Vineyards) to the
UK. He is also winemaker for Maven Wines and Auntsfield Estate which I
also had the pleasure of slurping, spitting and scribbling my way
through.
It was the Maven range that really stood out - the
packaging is superb, each wine in the range labeled with vibrant
photographs of local huts, barns or bridges in an over-saturated,
blurred style. Sadly the website is down otherwise I would direct you
to look before I write-up the notes; I will have to scan the images in.
The stuff inside the bottles wasn't bad either!
[...]"