Pink and Perfect

This weekend featured a couple of a baby-related celebrations, thankfully none of them mine :)

There is one on the way, which called for pink macarons and High Tea;

And one already arrived:

Trying to get a start somewhere, I offered to photography my friend Nicole's daughter Lily Grace so I can start building a portfolio. I've been reading Anne Geddes autobiography, and while there are no pot-plant babies in the near future for me, it's interesting to see how other people have built their careers. I've also found a local wedding photographer who'll let me tag along on some jobs for experience.

The purpose of all this is for me to try as many different avenues and see what I enjoy. I've found a passion in this hobby, but I'm not sure yet where I want to take it. This afternoon I'm off to photograph somebody else's Valentines Day and it's a paid job for a change. Cheers to a few more on the horizon!

A Taste of France at Home

One thing I love the most about France is macarons. Made correctly, they really are a sweet little party in your mouth - and they're almost impossible to find here in Adelaide. I bought a macaron recipe book in France and after a little time spent translating, Grant and I decided to bake some of our own.

They were pretty tasty, but don't take our word for it. There was taste-testers lining up for them and the batch of 40 didn't last long (even the dodgy ones got eaten).

Apple & Caramel Macarons

Little Cupcakes

Chai and Cupcakes from Little Cupcakes

7 Degraves Street, Melbourne

A Taste of Latvia

As if I hadn’t experienced enough hospitality yet, I took up my penultimate invitation and flew to Latvia, just in time for Russian Orthodox Christmas. My lovely Russian friends with whom we had many a dumpling in Caen took me in from the cold in Riga, and I got to experience another part of Europe, where had I not had people to visit would otherwise not have been to.

One of the thing that sticks most about my time in Riga is the food. For memories’ sake, I asked Katja and Polina to write down everything we tried. Both the Russian and Lativan Lido’s took me back to my Sizzler days (circa 1992, but at 1971 prices), but introduced me to some of the tastiest food this side of the Eastern block.

I’ve done my best with the Russian, Latvian and ango-version spelling, and due to the dark, cost nature of the restaurants, I didn’t take any photos. These photos are all sourced elsewhere (click for links), but give you an idea of the cuisine, which is delicious.

борщ (Borshch) - traditional red soup with sour cream and garlic

Холодец (Holodiec) - boiled meat and jelly

Hvorost - fried pastry, similar to Italian crostoli

блины (Blini) - Russian pancakes

Mors - hot brewed cranberry drink

Soļanka - soup with garlic, sour cream, black olives and lemon

Pelēkie zirņi - Latvian grey peas with bacon and onion

Голубцы (Golubci) – cabbage leaf rolls with meat and rice

Драники (Draniki) – potato pancakes with sour cream

Low Cholesterol, Low Fat

I'm getting ready to leave, with a few last minute essential details to cover, such as which meal I would like on my plane flight. I have to hand it to Emirates, their online customer service is great. I've chosen my seats, now for dinner:

Who knew in-flight cuisine gave you CHOICE??!

PS: I love that you can purposely choose a Bland Meal.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It was ZERO degrees when I went for a walk this morning. That's quite chilly where I'm from. I was thinking about all the Christmasy things that don't make sense at home - snowmen, hot pudding, fireplaces... but now they DO! It's cold and frosty and all I want is a roaring fire and some cocoa and snow! Lots of snow! I've instructed my Swedish friends, whom I'll be spending Christmas with, to make sure there is plenty for my arrival next week.

Recipe and image from A Field Journal

Tonight I'm making Mulled Apple Cider, in celebration of my LAST DAY OF UNIVERSITY. Yes, after 7 years, it's about time I had something to say for myself. I haven't officially graduated, but I had my last class, and have just two papers to hand up and I'm done!

So here we are, Kate and Katie, on our last day of school, in front of our French University. It's exactly 2 weeks till 25 December and it's beginning to look a lot like... Christmas!

A French Safari Health Tip

Bon Appétit!

It's stocktake time at Euro Res, but there are no amazing sales or bargains to be had (unless you want to rifle through a Carrefour bag of odds and ends, I'll accept donations). Sure, I'd rather sell it than store it, but this stocktake is more of the culinary nature.

I have 12 breakfasts, 12 lunches and 11 dinners left in my little house. I have to get through:

• 3 kinds of pasta
• half a box of couscous
• 4 sachets of rice
• ravioli in a tin
• paella in a tin
• haricots blanc in a tin
• peaches in a tin (I was worried about a nuclear holocaust, obviously)
• puréed tomatoes
• popcorn
• 4 mini jams
• crackers
• 20-odd tea bags
• 1 litre of olive oil
• 1/2 box muesli
• 2.5 jars of pesto
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 onions
• 1 leek
• a lemon

So I'm thinking - crackers with onion and jam for breakfast tomorrow, and maybe a solid carb pasta/rice/couscous salad with a cup of tea for dinner? Ravioli is a dessert, isn't it? Oh wait, that's tiramisu.

Hmmm. Let's go back to that divine restaurant in Malta... house-made tagliatelle scented with truffle and rosemary, served with Xewkija mushrooms and parmesan cheese.... Pan roasted tenderloin of locally-reared pork with char-grilled sweet and sour pumpkin, rosemary, thyme and pumpkin seed gravy infused with local honey... hot soufflé with Grand Marnier...

Or the time we went to La Poterne in Caen with Katie's parents... Tarte d’andouille de vire et de livarot moulin de carel... Magret de canard, foie gras et pommes confites... crème brûlée...

There's always the Vegemite in a tube if I, you know, get hungry.

Any ideas?

Communal Living 101

Living just doors away from your friends has its advantages. Sure, parties get big pretty quickly, and we're all sharing one washing machine between 59 apartments, but let's accentuate the positives.

Like making Russian dumplings with your Russian friends. Or schnitzels and glü wine with the Germans. There was the mighty Australia v Britain Mite-Off between Vegemite and Marmite, and the big Spanish lunches complete with sobremesa. You can borrow saucepans, spatulas, butter, pasta, spices... You can introduce each other to all sorts of delicious oddities, and never have to venture outside.

Now please excuse me, I have a curry waiting in No. 36.

Here's one I prepared earlier...

Warning. Contains actual vitamins.

Poached eggs + Carrefour muesli + Carrefour yoghurt + nectarine.

= Cheap.

= Real.

= Beautiful!

Desperate Times

I've been watching the euros slip away all year, but perhaps excessively so since summer. 3 months of travel made a good dent in the bank account, and the last few weekends have been more of a sledgehammer approach to spending.

So, in order to ensure I don't starve over winter and make it to the other side of Christmas without resorting to begging, I'm being even more creative with meals. I've been good generally, and manage to keep food bills down to around €30 a week.

Semi-recently, my local supermarket - the much-adored Carrefour - brought out their own line, aptly named Carrefour Discount. Their in-store promos and leaflets tell me I can have a complete meal for €1. See examples:

Let's look at the Repas Tonus. I'm not sure of the translation for that one but I'm going with Toning Meal, aka Jenny Craig. I can have 100g of tabloulé, 100g of spaghetti, a mince pattie and a tub of yoghurt for 92c. But I have to buy the following:

Taboulé 95c for 500g

Spaghetti 40c for 500g

Mince Steak €4.69 for 10

Yoghurt €1.46 for 8

Total: €7.49

Then I have to eat the same thing for a week.

I'm not anti-homebrand as mentioned, but I am pro-variety. I am also pro-fresh, and I note the lack of vegetables in said "complete meal". Granted, there are coloured flecks in the taboulé, but the paella in the Spanish Meal comes from a can. I could eat the garnish but it's not included in the price. Actually, there's a warning at the bottom of the leaflet: Pour votre santé, mangez au moins cinq fruits et légumes par jour, or Eat Your Daily 5, for the anglophones.

So, fellow students and discount-lovers, proceed with caution. Of course I know they're only suggestions. We all need ideas on how to create a low-budget meal, so I'm going to take them on board and see what I can come up with. Heck, I might even take a picture of it and call it Food Styling. I've gone as far as I can with Mi Goreng noodles, it surely won't hurt to try something new.

It's not always the inside that counts...

Pastiglie Leone

Why, oh why did I not buy these when I saw them in Italy? I was in Turin, where they're made... what is wrong with me? Time to call in a favour from those relatives I think...

Wait. Do they sell them in Malta? Malta is close to Italy, right?

Grant?

Eggs and Artichokes

Location: Caen Sunday Market