Friday, December 30, 2011

Ricotta Pancakes with Roasted Strawberries




Christmas was very different for me this year.  I spent it with my wonderful boyfriend cooking a very simple roast chicken with mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and green beans.  We spent two days just being lazy.  Lazy meaning we stayed inside and not left the apartment.  Watched some movies.  Lots of Christmas movies.  I feel great now.  After a few days of not working, I feel rejuvanated.  Ready to tackle the week. 

And these ricotta pancakes...

Not that it requires much tackling.  I just measured all my ingredients in a bowl the night before and just combined everything when I woke up the next morning.  I even left my whites out at room temperature.  (They really whip much easier when they're not fridge cold).

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas with their loved ones and eating lots of turkey and ham.  Everyone tells me Aussies eat lots of prawns and oysters and have barbeques to celebrate the holidays.  I really can't let go of my Canadian roots and bought a nice organic chicken to roast for dinner tonight.

Will post some updates soon.  For now, it's time to relax from a crazy month of work. 

Cheers!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Blueberry Rhubarb Olive Oil Cake With Oat Crumble



 When Jeremie and I are lucky to have a day off together, we like to walk around Circular Quay, a big tourist area.  I've been there many times and whether it was a weekend or not, there's always lots of people walking around.  There are so many restaurants, bars, and coffee shops to choose from it can make your head spin.  The world renowned restaurant Quay, Rockpool, and Aria are all in the neighborhood.  Our usual spot is this place called Opera Bar.  Named so because it's so close to the Sydney Opera House.  The Opera Bar is busy all the time, and there's always live music. Once the sun goes down, the view is spectacular.  Being right on the edge of the water, the view of the Harbour Bridge on one side and the infamous silhouette of the Opera House on the other, it's a hard view to beat.


Right ahead is the Opera Bar.  It's right across the water from Quay Restaurant.

After a big day of walking around, we usually stop by a cafe to unwind.  One afternoon, I ordered a banana muffin thinking I haven't had one in a long time.  Bad choice.  It was dry and had no traces of mashed bananas in it.  To top it off, it had a strong banana extract flavour and a few banana chips.  My hopes of eating a banana muffin were crushed... or mashed. 

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Missing My Mom's Cooking- Chinese Steamed Fish



I've never missed a good home cooked Chinese dinner.  Not even when I moved to Toronto for a year.  Planning a dinner was always something like a good bowl of pasta, vegetable soup, stew, and if it came down to it, a sandwich or a bowl of cereal.  (Sorry mom).  Chinese food was never something that came to mind when thinking of what to make for dinner.  These past few months, it was all I can think of.

Friday, December 2, 2011

J'adore le Chocolat


It's been about five months since I started at Kakawa Chocolate.  I've learned so much even though I'm only there a few days a week.  Tempering chocolate, making caramels, nut brittles, and marshmallows are all something I do on a regular basis.  I've recently been able to start hand dipping chocolates, something I still need to practice. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Breakfast Muesli Scones


Before I start on my next post, I need to mention a few things. I'm trying to change the look of Spotted Banana for a more personal feel and reflect who I am a little more. If you've already noticed, there are a few minor changes to the layout of the page already. I'm not a computer person by any means and trying to understand all this computer stuff is mind boggling. But nonetheless, it's a good start for me to try to up my computer knowledge. So, that being said, it'll be a slow work in progress. Now that I've got that out of the way, let's get to the good stuff...

There's one specific brand of muesli Jeremie and I always buy that has a bit of fruit and nuts, and honey toasted until it's nice and crunchy. When our local supermarket stopped carrying our favorite brand, we've been buying all different brands of muesli to find one we both liked. Still no luck.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Finding Beauty In What We Eat




I'm very fortunate as a cook to see so much beautiful produce coming into the kitchen everyday.  Whether it be a case of sunshine coloured Meyer lemons, deep blue coronation grapes, bundles of carrots so colorful they resemble crayons, or quince so fragrant they perfume the whole walk in cooler. I take for granted how easy it is for restaurants to access produce this special (it literally is a phone call away) that I get disappointed when I go to the supermarket and see the same boring stuff.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Lemony Buttermilk Dressing



What to do with that little bit of buttermilk left over? After using it to make some breakfast muesli scones (recipe coming up soon), I've only used half of the carton. I always buy buttermilk for a recipe with good intentions of actually using all the buttermilk. But each and everytime I have failed. Slowly day by day as I rummage through the fridge looking for other things, it gets pushed to the back and eventually I forget about it... until I find it a few weeks later to discover that its gone bad. So my buttermilk repertoire never expands.

This time it's different. I actually made an effort to use up the buttermilk. A lemony dressing kissed with delicate herbs and just a hint of garlic.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Feathery Light Pavlova





I adore Pavlova. It is one of my all time favorite desserts. A soft and spongy meringue base with a crispy exterior, topped with whipped cream and fresh seasonal fruit. This dessert is so feathery light, you'd think you were eating air. In fact, it was created to honor the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova.

You can even find pavlova bases in the supermarket. (Aussies love their meringues and pavlovas). But it tastes so much better home made.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Bondi Beach


I finally went to visit Sydney's famous Bondi Beach yesterday. It's really not far from where I live. Two train stations and a short bus ride later, we got off and the streets where busy with locals and tourists. There is a main street with all the shops, restaurants, and cafes where everyone hangs out. And just a five minute walk across the street, is the beautiful beach. We went on a Sunday and the beach was just buzzing with energy.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Speaking Australian

Since arriving in Sydney, I've picked up some common words used regularly. Sometimes I find myself caught between using Canadian language or Australian language. (Plastic wrap? Or cling film?) Yes I know it sounds weird, since both countries are English speaking, but each place really has it's own distict lingo.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Nut Brittle


I couldn't wait until closer to the holidays before I post this recipe. It's ridiculously easy to make, and only requires a handful of ingredients. This used to be a staple on the petit four plate at Boneta. The recipe was to boil sugar, water, and butter to a specific temperature. But the recipe seemed unstable at times, turning my brittle into something almost grainy, like a bad fudge :(
Caramel ready for butter

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Anzac Biscuits





So we've finally settled into our more permanent apartment. We were lucky our studio is equipped with a full kitchen including a dishwasher, oven, and stove top. Most studios in Sydney consist of a kitchenette... if you can call it that. I've visited some places that just have a portable burner, bar fridge, and half a sink. Although our kitchen is small and not equipped for much fancy cooking, I've decided that baking biscuits is a good start.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Sailing the Rough Waters

It's been a rough couple of weeks in Sydney. I never imagined our journey would be this rough. Apartments are hard to find and most furnished and somewhat affordable one bedroom units close to the city are run down and dirty. Nicer, modern apartments need to be leased through an agency, but require a lot of paper work and documents to support our employment/ financial stability that it makes it nearly impossible for people from overseas to find a decent place. Shared apartments are a hit and miss. Some cram as many as four people in a bedroom and even rent out their living room. And when you find a comfortable room in a shared modern apartment, the existing tenants don't necesarily pick you. They pick roomates that can move in immediately. Don't even get me started on the whole couple situation! A majority of shared apartments don't want to share with couples for whatever reason.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

First Stage

Top: Confit Yuzu, Strawberry Balsamic, Chocolate Nougat
Middle: Chilli, Crispy Praline, Peanut Butter
Bottom: Mango Passionfruit, Green Tea, Lychee

I went to my first stage since arriving in Sydney. It was at a boutique chocolate shop called Kakawa Chocolates. It's still fairly new. Their doors opened less than two years ago. Just by looking at their website, it's obvious they make beautiful chocolates. Their pictures alone made me want to work there. The fact that they make their own ice cream sandwiches and gourmet chocolate bars, that won me over.

Everything they make there is fresh. Their production is in small batches, and made more frequently. They make these delicious hand wrapped soft caramels in five different flavors.

Vegemite


What is Vegemite? The name doesn't sound appealing. The fact that the spread is a deep brown colour is even more off putting. The main ingredient in Vegemite? Yeast extract. I can't count how many times I've walked by it at the supermarket, picked it up, and put it back on the shelf. It's been somewhat of a mystery to me right up until a few years ago.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Japanese Sweets



Brownies, cheesecake, mile high lemon meringue pie, chocolate fudge cake... all these sweets conjure up images of classic American desserts. Chewy, crispy, creamy, fluffy, sticky, and all very sweet. Nothing wrong with sweet, but sometimes my teeth ache from eating something so sweet I feel the need to have to brush my teeth after. We are so accustomed to such sweet things we forget that all we need is something that just doesn't taste savoury to finish our meal.

This is when I discovered the art of Japanese sweets. I honestly didn't know much about Japanese sweets until I went to Japan. It opened my eyes as to what is considered a dessert.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Home Sweet Home For Now



The past ten days after arriving in Sydney has been to say the least, stressful. We arrived at 9 am and pretty jetlagged. We made reservations at a hostel and ended up staying there for 8 days before we could move into our temporary apartment. It was my first time staying at a hostel and it wasn't as bad as I thought. We made sure to book a private room (which didn't have an ensuite bathroom). The bathrooms and kitchens were shared and everyone buys their own groceries and cooks their own meals. This kind of accomodation encourages people to be more social, although the downside is that there are some rowdy people that just want to party.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Changes

Nightlife on the streets of Kyoto

I can't believe it's been one year since my last entry. Alot happens in one year. I've started and finished my first pastry chef position, moved out of my apartment, travelled through Southeast Asia, and now living in Sydney for a year. Phew! Yes it's been a whirlwind of events as I'm still trying to wrap my head around all that's happened. The biggest thing for me so far has been my travels.