And a month turns into 2 :(

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're fast approaching the date that this will be moved onto the official website for NaiveSpice Hampers & Catering.

Thus I will probably be off-line for quite a bit of the next 4 to 6 weeks or so. But then we will be launching our online advertising project. I know this all sounds rather boring, and I can hear you saying "what's this got to do with food?".

Basically Once this goes live from our own website it will be a blog entry a day, even if it's just a picture or a paragraph. Also I will be launching my "cook 1 thing a day" project, which is my way of setting myself goals and keeping an online repository of my work.

In the mean time, patients is a virtue :)

A week turns into a month.....

So I missed a week, and that was 4 weeks ago! It has been uber busy for me recently. I had my mums farewell, Lach's B'day, business set up, quit my job, and just general crazyness!!!! So grab your partner and dosey doe, cause here's the last months catch up:

Cooking: Mum's Farewell Cake, Lach's Party Food
Social: PWA Wresling, R&R
Project: Business set up; Finished Pantry

Food Du Jour: Chocolate Naan Bread
Restaurant: Avanti's

Cooking:

Well my mum is officially a grey nomad and off around Australia in her caravan. Last I heard she was just heading out of Broken Hill towards South Australia. I made her a farewell cake, which my soon to be father-in-law remarked "you didn't make that, it doesn't look real". Allegedly it tasted out of this world though. I took some photo's to share ---->



Also, last week my beloved turned 31. To celebrate, I organised for our friends to just "show up" at our house for a drinking session. It went incredibly well, and while this time I didn't get around to taking photo's (mainly cause I was too busy cooking and drinking) I do have a list of what we served:

...Menu...
Happy Birthday Lachlan

Smoked Chicken, Sherried Onions & Cheese Puffs
Goat Curry Triangles
Goat Casserole Pies
Cheese Stuffed Kangaroo Meatballs
Thai Chicken Crescents
Cheese balls & Crackers
Salmon Egg Rolls
Spinach & Cheese Filo Triangles
Fritto Misto
Prawn Cocktail Spoons
Spicy Salt & Pepper Calamari

Unfortunately, everyone got full and stopped eating, so we never got time to have:

Sausage Rolls
BBQ Pork Buns
Gowgees
Char Grilled Meat Balls
Mexican Platter
Chicken Noodle Balls
Corn Jacks
Popcorn Chicken
Bengal 7 spice Kumera Patties
Quessadills
Potato Bhondai
Chinese Omelette's
4 Pepper Mustard Skewers
Cheesy Crab Fondue Dip with Toasts
2 Tone Olive Palmiers
Suppli Alla Formagio
Vegetarian Spring Rolls

You think by now my friends would have learned to not eat 3 days ahead of one of my parties.


Social:

Were off to see the wrestling, the wonderful wrestling of Oz. That's right, another PWA event is on this Saturday night, this time in Cleveland.

Also this weekend, I'm heading off for a couple of days of R&R while helping a friend out. Were off to Kingscliffe to stay at Peppers Salt Resort for a couple of nights. http://www.peppers.com.au/Salt

Hooray for buffet breakfasts :)


Project:

Well NaiveSpice Hampers and Catering is now officially registered as a business entity.
Exciting Huh??? So Hopefully as of the end of next week I will have a commercial kitchen, then a health certificate, then I will be able to officially cater!!!!!! Then the website will be up by Mid August, launch party for "Hampers" end of August, and then Christmas will be here before you know it!!!!!!!!!

As for what else has been keeping me busy, well mainly the completion of my pantry/shelving for the kitchen...



And see all those little white dots in between the shelves and on every item? They're Labels...



Yes every single item is labeled and in there own special compartmentalized and categorized area. Now if only I could get the spare room that organised.

Food Du Jour:

I HAD to share this with the world.....



Yes it's chocolate Naan Bread, and while I hear most of you going "so what it's just chocolate bread, big deal?" Prepare to be astounded ... it's a base naan bread made with spring onions, spices etc that has had chocolate melted into it.... and surprisingly enough, spring onions and chocolate work well together :)

It can be found at the Indian take away food store in the Chermside food court.

Restaurant:

So as per previous weeks, Lach and I have been returning to our old culinary stomping ground, as it were, and this week we returned to a favourite of ours Avanti's. And boy was it god to be back!

Quick Link: http://www.avanticafe.com.au/

What makes them so great???? Good Quality Pasta at Sensible Prices. Seriously, there pasta's range from the cheapest option (Spaghetti Napolitana $15.50) through to the more "Upmarket" varieties (Linguine Marinara $22.95). an if your going out for just a meal for 2, it's well worth the trip to Bardon. The bowls/plates are huge, the service is great and they make a sand crab lasagna (made from REAL crab meat, not bloody seafood extender) that is to die for!!!!!

And don't like spaghetti, rather have gnocchi? They will put any pasta with any sauce (One of my partners favourite is Gnocchi Carbonara ... Not one for the faint hearted).

Yeah sure, they also do Mains, Pizza's, Entrees, Salads, Sides, Desserts and Cocktails, but seriously, you go for pasta here, you will never eat generic "Fast Food" Pasta Again (You know who I'm talking about).

Some of my favourite highlight are:

RAVIOLONI AL VODKA $19.95
A delicate cream and tomato sauce, sun dried tomatoes and a splash of Vodka!

Sounds simple, but oh so delectable

CANNELLONI AL BASILICO $18.95

Stuffed with ricotta, spinach, pine nuts and chicken mince in our fresh pesto sauce

This is the biggest Cannelloni I have ever seen in my life, seriously, it could crush someone.

LINGUINE PESCATORE $21.95

Diced scallops and succulent prawns in olive oil with fresh parsley and chilli flakes

This is my favourite dish. It superb in it's simplicity. Baby scallops & whole prawns are lifted to a gastronomic height with a simple toss of Olive oil, Parsley, Chili & Garlic. Oh and there's Linguine :P

SALMONE AFFUMICATO $16.95

Smoked salmon carpaccio with Spanish onions, capers and Avanti’s Gorgonzola mayonnaise

And as we know I'm a sucker for an entree, and while there not the cheapest in the world, they are worth the money (though be warned, if you order entrees you may need to get a take home container for the pasta you couldn't fit in).

Well that's it for this week again, I'd say I'll see you next week, but looking back over the archives earlier, I realised I tend to average a post every 2 weeks or so, so lets say sometime in the next month huh?

Cheers

T

Catch Up Time ....

Ok, So I'm presently sick with a cold, feel like creapayola, and just wanna crawl into bed and die.

But alas the Blog must go on....

Cooking: Lots of stuff i shouldn't be....
Growing: Where's my rain???
Social: PWA Wresling, D&D 4th Ed
Project: WWE Eulogy follow up, Website development, Business set up

Food Du Jour: Edible Blooms
Oddity: RockBand Drum Kit Repair
Restaurant: Quan Thahn


Ok, So there's 2 weeks worth to catch up on here, so to start, what have i been ...

Cooking:

Well lets start with what i did in the lead up to Easter, Shall we????

There were "Recession Road" Eggs. Yes, the recession we don't necessarily have to have has hit our famous Rocky Road. Basically with all these business set up costs, i wasn't able to make your usual uber Rocky Road. So instead we created recession road, for when certain ingredients (like Malteasers, peanut M&M's and Real Turkish Delight) cost too much an thus get replaced with more economic choices (such as Chocolate Tiny Teddies, Honeycomb & Clinkers). It was a successful experiment all things said, but i still prefer the real stuff.

Easter Cup Cakes were this yeas substitute to the usual 200 to 300 eggs i make. I'm not much of a baker (it really is to precise a science for me). But these light chocolate cupcakes seemed to go down a treat. Whats with the gingerbread men???? i hear you ask, leftovers from Christmas, were almost in a recession remember :P



I also made Lemon Meringue Pie and Caramel Tart to take to Lachlan's Mums over Easter. At the time of the photos being taken i hadn't topped the caramel tart with chocolate squiggles like i wanted to, and since i ended up using all the chocolate in the Recession Road instead of remembering to keep some aside, i ended up using the left over meringue bubbles (below) to decorate it.



Then this week i made American Style Southern Fried Chicken & Gravy. It was delicious to say the least, but seriously, as an Australian, American "Gravy just seems wrong. Basically where we pour the oil off of the roasting tray and leave all the crunchy bits, and blend in a little flour and mix it up to consistency with stock or water, American gravy takes the oil from frying the chicken, pours off the majority and leaves about 3 tbsps along with all the gritty bits, blends in the left over seasoned flour used for coating the chicken and then mixes it up with a blend of milk and water or stock (i used the milk and stock combo i first poached the chicken in . It ends up a dense (very very dense) creamy sludge, that when i first saw the pictures on "Man Vs Food" i assumed must have been a packet mix or something, how wrong i was!!!!!!!!!!!! It wasn't unpleasant, just oh so different.

Growing:

Where's my rain??? Seriously, my Garden is starting to die, Ive already lost 3/4 of my spinach seedlings :(

Social:

Big Weekend, Same Stuff!!!!!! PWA Wresling, D&D 4th Ed.

Project:

Well the WWE Eulogy went well, with one exception, we couldn't get the file to play, so now the only person who's ever seen it is Liam. Oh well, probably for the best really, underwear and all that ....

Have a meeting on Monday to go over the website development plan for the NaiveSpice web page (where this blog will soon be moving to). And I'm still busy, busy, busy with getting together all the stuff required for the business set up. The realization that i can make over 200 different types of finger food, and still counting, was a big one!

Food Du Jour:

I am presently researching (and getting excited about the possibility of using) various Edible Blooms as an ingredient. Some of the ideas i have are awesome.

Oddity:

Ok, Not so much odd as clever. The photo's below show my boys fixing (and steel re-enforcing) our Rockband drum kit. Yes it broke again, and instead of going through 3 months of pain in trying to get them replaced, like last time, we decided to just repair them ourselves (especially since there are no X-Box Rockband peripherals available in Brisbane or Australia for that matter, HURRY UP AND RELEASE ROCK BAND 2 OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!). We cant show you there faces on this website, you know dentists and there secret identities and all that.



Funny thing is, the drum we re-enforced is now quieter than the original. We can build it stronger, faster more reliable !!!!!!!!! Wahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Restaurant:

Been a while since i did a shout out to one of my Favourite restaurants, and the other night Lachlan and i frequented and old hangout (where we used to eat multiple times a week) - Quan Thahns, a definite west end institution.

What makes Quan Thahns great? Cheap good Vietnamese. Anyone who has followed this blog from the start will remember a glowing review of a restaurant called Happy Chef. Both Happy Chef and Quan Thahns are in that ubiquitous category (like so many restaurants) of "Chinese Vietnamese" food style. There is one simple rule to remember when eating at either of these institutions. If you want Chinese, eat at Happy Chef, if you want Vietnamese, eat at Quan Thahns. Simple as that. I don't know why but the both do they're original style of cuisine brilliantly and the one they tag on to fit in the mould is usually pretty bad (well compared with each other, which is probably unfair since they both do exceptional work).
To give an example, The other night, Lachlan and i went in for a typical meal. He ordered "Pork Chop, Broken Rice, Fried Egg and Egg Cake" with a Jasmin Tea and i ordered the "BBQ Pork on Broken rice" a Fresh Lemon Soda and a Coke. The entire meal (and i didn't finish mine) came in at $26. Usually when i order the "Crispy Skin Chicken and Broken Rice" and only 1 drink it comes in close to $20, which atm is about as cheap as MacDonalds.
I will freely admit, that is one thing i don't understand about our culture, why eat at a fast food chain, when you can get a freshly cooked (and usually healthier meal) for about the same price. Don't get me wrong, i understand the whole "I can't be stuffed going out" mentality and the lure of an easy & convenient (usually Drive through) meal option, especially after hours when everything else is closed, I think Lachlan and i would surely have perished by now if we didn't fave a 24 hour Big Yellow M just down the road. But whenever we can we always pick one of the other numerous haunts around Brisbane for a cheap eat. I mean all the big brand name "Fast foods" now are well over the $10 mark for a semi decent size meal (which you always are hungry again 1 hour after eating). And don't get me started on Pizza! Seriously, if your not getting them for less than $5 there not worth it. There now charging over $10 for a standard menu o\pizza no discounts. And almost everyone i know can eat a single pizza (of there size) in one sitting. Where as just down the road we have Windmill Pizza, that do a Family Pizza at around $25. And it's HUGE (and by huge i mean it feeds Lach to bursting point, and we still have leftovers for lunch for both of us the next day). And don't even get me started on pasta!!!!!! I can probably name a cheap option for almost any cuisine (with the exception of French and Mexican - Don't ask me why). Basically i guess what I'm saying is get out and have a look round your local area to see what's on offer. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

And on that note I'm outta here kids,

See ya next week peeps :)

T

Posting from mummy's house

Yeah, ok, so the post below was written 3 weeks ago. But then came Easter and business ensued....

Well here i am at my mum's. I've volunteered to stay over the night, so i can be here tomorrow morning for her garage sale. Unfortunately she has to work, so i said I'd keep watch.

So in this weeks exciting episode:

Cooking: Still ....
Growing: Watercress & Mint.
Reading: "Spice Notes" by Ian Hemphill (Midway through "S") - Almost there.
Social: David's B'day
Oddity: My Cat 's breath smells like watercress :)
Project: WWE Eulogy

Cooking:
Oh Lord the cooking!!!!!!!!!! When will it ever stop???? Well hopefully in the next 4 weeks, otherwise I'm behind schedule.

Growing:
We grabbed some watercress at the market the other day. It is definitely an acquired taste. But just because we don't like it doesn't mean it wont come in handy in the future, so i planted it.


Plus it looks SOOOOO pretty.

And our mint that has battled on throughout the drought has had a second lease on life thanks to the recent rains. It looks so green and yummy and smells fantastic. Thank god for all the rain, do i know when to plant a garden or what?



Reading:
Yes STILL.... Just try to not think about the library fines. At this rate i will have bought it by the time I've finished reading it.

Social:
While i sit here, waxing lyrically while i wait for my mother to get dressed for dinner, i am missing out on Davids Birthday. Not only is it his birthday party, but today was the very last day of his University studies. He's now officially a teacher (be afraid, be very afraid, lock up your children). HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE, WISH I WAS THERE.

Oddity:
While Lachlan and i agreed whole heatedly that watercress was definitely NOT our thing, it seems my beautiful kitten Brand LOVES it. Like i said i potted it up and he kept eating it back and (accidental) pulling it out of the soil. We've sat it outside to recover a little

Project:

WWE Eulogy ... shhhhh it's a secret.

It's Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... again :)

Well yes, it's time to blog again. Since I'm up to date on everything atm I actually have time to do a decent post.

Save Now

So on today's Menu we have:

Cooking: 3 Batches of Olives, Cheese Stuffed Salmon Rice Balls, Char Sui Pork & Crispy Veg Spring Rolls, Mulled Port Wine Jelly, 4 Batches of Mustard, Mustard & Pepper Infused Olive Oil, Honey Vinegar, Chinese Spiced Rice Wine, Ice Tea Cordial, Green Olive Paste, Rosemary & Mint Jelly, Lemon Balsamic Jelly, Lemon Vinegar, Lemon Infused Olive Oil, Herbed Vinegar, Mint Sauce,Rose Water Cordial, Lemon & Mustard Chutney, Salt Preserved Lemons & Limes!!!! Plus Sticky Rice Hotpot and Chinese Greens for the Girls tonight.
Growing: Apple Cucumbers, Lemon Basil, Cos Lettuce, Mignonette Lettuce, Golden Shallots, Spinach, Radishes & Spring Onions to start.
Reading: "Spice Notes" by Ian Hemphill (Up to "P") - Yes still .... been a little busy!
Project: Clean House for Mind Harmony
Education: Certificate IV in Small Business Management
Social: ROCKBAND!!!!!!!!!!!! Rock out MF!!!!!!!!!!!
Logo: For my Mummy
Oddity: My Cat decrees it's Christmas NOW!!!!!!!!!!


Cooking:

Quite the list huh???? As I said, have to test cook 150 product lines over the next few weeks so here's 23 of them, which i have to have done by next Friday. Phew!!!!!!!!
As for the Cheese Stuffed Salmon Rice Balls & Char Sui Pork & Crispy Veg Spring Rolls, there just to use up leftovers. And we have Sticky Rice Hotpot and Chinese Greens for the Girls, who are coming round tonight for Rockband (see below). And also on this weeks menu is Cumquat and Pineapple Marinated Pickled Pork Skewers, Kangaroo Mince Tacos and finding some way to use Lambs Fry. Why must Lachlan continuously decide we should eat offal cause its cheap?????

Growing:

So last night i picked up Apple Cucumbers, Lemon Basil, Cos Lettuce & Mignonette Lettuce seedling as well as Spinach, Radishes & Spring Onion Seeds. I also found a couple of Golden Shallots that had sprouted in the potato basket.
Still have about 150 Mutant Cherry Tomato Plants of Doom (TM) to plant somewhere too. The story behind the Mutant Cherry Tomato Plants of Doom (TM) started when I last decided to plant out a garden (this gardening thing is a continual failing of mine, where every 6 months or so i decide i want a veg & herb garden again, which eventually fails and i despair, and then 6 months later i start again). Inevitably everything died, and i despaired :( but then 1 remaining tomato plant (unidentified) came back from the dead by striking a root straight through the base of the pot and into the ground. It went ballistic and grew with nothing but the occasional sprinkling of grey water from Lachlan or myself (when we bother to remember) Did i mention it was 8 foot tall? Towards the end we were getting a 2L ice ream tub of cherry tomatoes ranging in size up to ping pong balls every 2nd day. Unfortunately during those horrific stories we had, we lost the cherry tomato plant, the trellis had blown over and snapped off the tap root. Lachlan was devastated. When his boss asked "did you lose anything in last nights storm?", Lachlan replied " yeah my Cherry Tomato plant". His boss said that it was lucky it wasn't anything important like a roof or a fridge, to which Lachlan replied "Yeah but i like it more than i like most people, it gave me cherry tomatoes and asked for nothing in return". A very typical Lachlan answer. What was not typical was that Lachlan took the last of the fruit and dried the seeds!!! then he even went so far as to plant out a whole heap of them in a pot. Unfortunately they all grew (see photo's below). And now i have nowhere to put them. I'm thinking of just putting them straight down the side of the house. We need a little shade through there :)



Reading:

"Spice Notes" by Ian Hemphill (Up to "P") - Yes still .... been a little busy! See above and below peeps :P

Project:

Clean House for Mind Harmony - So I'm trying to keep my house clean and sparkling, because i found out that when m,y house is clean my life is much happier. Though I am wondering if it isn't making me a little batty????

Education:

Certificate IV in Small Business Management. ALMOST THERE. Final day of NEIS training is Tuesday. Hopeful and nervous. It's now or never time.

Social:

ROCKBAND!!!!!!!!!!!! Rock out MF!!!!!!!!!!! Lach DL Pearl Jam's "Ten" album for Rockband today. Something for Melanie and Kate to look forward to tonight (I'm dreading it). Because that's what my life needs ... more Eddie Vedder.

Logo: For my Mummy, So she can see my logo.










Oddity:

And as a final note.

So as i am sitting here Blogging, my Darling Princess Cindypoos (our gorgeous grey kitty) decided to drag in her Christmas stocking from out of her toy box, while mewling at the top of her lungs. Think i may have to sit down and explain to her that Christmas only come once a year.

Cooking: Preparing to test cook all 150 items for Naivespice Hampers & Catering, so I can take photo's for the upcoming website.
Growing: Mutant Tomatoes of doom
Reading: "Spice Notes" by Ian Hemphill (Up to "P")
Food Du Jour: Figs!!!!!!!!!!
Social: Role Playing, D&D 4th Ed

Restaurant: Del Ugo @ South Bank

Project: 1st Draft of Business plan

Oddity: My cat has a power plug
Logo: "Houston, we have a logo"

A quick post today, because as you can see above I am VERY VERY VERY busy atm.

Cooking:

As stated, I am trying to get all 150 product lines I want to release for Naivespice Hampers and Catering test cooked so I can take photo's of each one for the website.

Growing:

Mutant Tomatoes of Dooooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's a long story, and I promise when I get around to actually planting them out I will explain it to y'all, But they are coming along nicely and are about 10cm high atm.

Reading:

"Spice Notes" by Ian Hemphill (Up to "P"). Yes Still, I'm actually up to "Q" atm.

Food Du Jour:

Figs!!!!!!!!!! We went to Del Ugo for a friends birthday and both my partner and I tried figs for the first time. I'm now wondering how I survived without them for so long.

Social:

Role Playing, D&D 4th Ed - I'm a gamer from way back and this is the latest campaign I'm partaking in. If your really interested the Wiki can be found at Obsidian Portal.com. The Campaign is called "Clockwork War"

Restaurant:

Del Ugo @ South Bank - This was the second time my partner and I partook of the glorious fare at Del Ugo, this time to celebrate a very dear friends birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELLE). The meal was fantastic (and as much as I would love do go into detail I really don't have the time at the moment). The only let down was the Chef's over excitement with chili. Moral to the story kids? Check your stock sauces for flavour, salt, sweet & heat before serving to the general public.

Project:

1st Draft of Business plan - COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeee. You have no idea the elation I feel at this atm.

Oddity:

My cat has a power plug (see Photo Below)

Friday is Blogday!

Cooking: Donuts, Bagels, Sticky Rice Hotpot
Reading: "Spice Notes" by Ian Hemphill (Up to "M")
Food Du Jour: Lemons, Organic Australian Garlic
Social: Lot's of Rock Band

Watching: Watchmen, Man Vs Food, Bizarre Foods

Restaurant: Sushi Station Toombul

Project: Setting Up "Naivespice Hampers & Catering" as a commercial entity, still working on the herb garden

Oddity: Realizing i might actually, finally be realizing my dream...

Salut,

So I am going to make a concerted effort to blog every Friday. But we all know how that goes ...

Cooking: So since the last post i have cooked DONUTS!!!!!!!!!!!! And in typical Naivespice style I didn't just make donuts. I made 6 dozen donuts in 8 varieties including classic cinnamon donuts holes, vanilla bean glazed, coffee glazed, chocolate iced (with sprinkles & nuts), real fruit strawberry glazed, passion fruit iced, balsamic strawberry filled & honey peanut butter filled. It was a lot of fun but i very shortly realized why i hadn't made donuts for 6 years :)

The latest food craze in our house is going by the name of the "Sticky Rice Hotpot". The main reason for this is it's incredibly economical, can be compiled from stuff straight out of the fridge/freezer and pantry and can feed a lot of people all at one, as demonstrated on Friday Night when i used it to feed 6 people on short notice (served with wilted Chinese greens and pork wontons). I've included the recipe below, because i think everyone should have a copy of this. I stumbled across it the other night when i was trying to find a recipe for sticky bamboo rice parcels. Alas these delectable morsels require glutinous rice to make. Having only mediums grain rice (and only 1 cup at that), the last of the frozen lupchong sausage in the freezer, some leftover BBQ chicken (though the actual recipe calls for raw chicken, BBQ worked just as well) and some dried shitake mushrooms, i was immediately enamored by a recipe that only needed these meager ingredients and only took 20mins to cook from start to finish. It really is my new hero, and comes with the rave reviews of all 6 people who ate it on Friday night.

And finally i Hope to make bagels sometime I'm the next week (I've had such a craving for them for a month now. Unfortunately I have to test cook all 150 product line too, so I can get some decent photos for the website. Oh well, no rest for the wicked as they say.

Reading: Yes, i know I've been reading this book for ages, but it's a bloody big book, and it's pretty intensive reading, though thoroughly fascinating (at least if your into the propagation, history and processing of herbs & spices it is). I have learnt a lot though and have been tormenting my friends by sprouting off my new found knowledge at every given moment.

Food Du Jour: Well I'm back in love with lemons again (or did i just never fall out of love with them?). Saw some lovely one at the new markets at Radacliffe square today. I really can't think of a fruit more versatile than a lemon. I promise i wont sit here and gush about them anymore like some kind of smitten groupie. I will gush a little about the Australian organic garlic though (Hehe). I finally found some today at the a fore mentioned market. It was great to finally see something I'd heard so much about and hopefully next week i will be able to pick some up (when I'm a little richer).

Social: Lots , and lots, and lots, and lots, and lots, and lots of Rock Band...

I realized the other day that I'd almost forgotten the joining spiel for BCC Libraries (as learnt by rote over the last 6 years) and i got incredibly excited about this until my companion pointed out that all that memory space had been replaced with Rock Band lyrics :(

Watching: I know everyone else in the world has had the pleasure of having seen Watchmen already, but as per usual I'm only just getting around to it tonight. I'm looking forward to ranting and/or raving about it next entry.

Also I'm watching both Man Vs Food (http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_v_Food)& Bizarre foods (http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Bizarre_Foods) at the moment.

They are both American travel/food shows. The first, man Vs Food is presented by a charming chap called Adam Richman. For those who abhor gluttony, seriously, don't what this. For those intrigued by American food and food culture (like myself) it is a MUST SEE. Of course there is a down side and now my housemate wants everything "chicken fried". The Second, bizarre foods, is presented by Mr Andrew Zimmerman. Now whereas i am truly enamored by Adam Richman and his passion for food (and his amazing ability to describe the food), i am not at all impressed with Andrew Zimmerman's presenting techniques, as i feel he lacks some pizazz and his show could really use with some more description of the items he's eating. But what really impressed me about this show is the things he eats. Now I'm pretty adventurous and some of my friends are down right horrifying when it comes to what they will eat, but if i can say one thing at all, it's that watching bizarre foods has definitely been an education and most certainly lives up to its name sake. This show is most definitely NOT for the faint hearted. For example, this weekend I'm going on a "Balut" hunting expedition with a friend thanks to this show (for those who are curious, Balut is a fertilized duck egg that is allowed to grow to 18 days old and then is boiled, before eating .... YUK). To Give you an idea of what to expect from the shows here are some links:

Man Vs Food: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT5eYEBwWH8

Bizarre Foods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuzqYJ2xKxM

Restaurant: OMG!!!! This could be a verrrrrry long blog just from this one subject alone. Ok I

have been meaning to rant about this for a while now, but Sushi Station at Toombul is DA BOMB!!!!!!!!!!! I was recently introduced to it b a couple of friends of mine and now its become a tradition. We go to Sushi, eat and talk, then head back to someones house to watch Firefly. It's become one of my favourite things to do recently. Now i can hear you all saying "So what, it's just another sushi station", but trust me, it isn't. From the moment you walk in it's just Awsomesauce. There is one staff member (who i think may be an owner) who is just fantastic (must find out his name). They will make anything for you fresh to order, everything is uber fresh and sooo deliciuos, and most things have a neat twist (like the beef tataki - one of my personal favourites when eating sushi anywhere - which has a Tartare style sauce on top which complements the rare beef fantasticall). And if you go in and only ordey 1 thing, make it the Tempura Icecream. When a friend of mine described it to me as "sort of like deepfriend ice cream but with tempura batter instead of sweet crumbs, except the tempura batter has a cake consistece" i thought "your mad, tempuras is crisp and savoury and delish" BUt she was right. It's like vanilla cake covered vqnilla icecream, and i've even heard a roumour of a chcocolate variety. Another thing i really love about these guys is what i like to call "mystery steam basket". Unlike most sushi places that take there steamed gyoza and place it on a cold plate to cool and congeel, Sushi Station actually put the little steam basket the food is seamed in on the train, lid and all. Now sure i could look under the lid and try and figure out whats under tere as the train trundles by, but i do love my randomness, and so i love grabbing a steambasket off the train and opening it up to a yummy surprise (spicy pork dumpling? vegetarian gyoza? seafood wonton?). But my life is full of small pleasures :P

Project: Yes, the rumors (well some of them at least) are true, Naivespice is actually looking like it may become a viable business entity. Lots of work to do yet and it is very early days, but hopefully we will be officially launching in August. Still working on the herb garden .....................

Oddity: There's been an awful lot of ups and down recently, but I've actually come to realize that its all working out for the better and even though i was thrown into opportunities head first, it was better this way, as i probably wouldn't have done it otherwise. The moral to the story??? Give up your day job, as opposed to giving into the fear of the unknown every day of your life. otherwise when you look back (and it"s closer than we all realize) you'll be stuck saying"If only..."

And on that note au revoir,

T

I survived Christmas!!!! Now for the real challenge...

So the Christmas Hamper Project was a huge success, and now all that needs to be done is to gather and correlate the feedback, finalise the hamper content and search for government grants and licenses etc.

But all that aside, atm i have a little spare time on my hands, especially since I've canceled Easter this year (yes that's right kids, no Easter for anyone!). The Economic downturn has hit hard (some harder than others) and thus my usual frugal demeanor has had to be ousted for a more sensible approach until things start to look up again. Thus no Lindt Easter Eggys this year and no 3 day party :(

On the bright side, all this spare time means more time to Blog, work on all those 1/2 finished projects and catch up with friends.

So as part of the blogging thing, I'm gonna include a condensed version of what Ive been up to and life in general, to save all those who would like to know the specifics without all the waffle (but for those who like waffles, read on).

So the condensed version will basically look like the following:

Cooking: Roast Pork; Yogurt Cheese (for Sue... finally); Pea and Ham Soup
Reading: "Spice Notes" by Ian Hemphill
Oddity: I labeled and cataloged my spice collection the other day (see photos below)
Education: Pulling apart and re-assembling a computer for the first time
Food Du Jour: Smoked Paprika
Social: Wrestling at Logan Diggers Club on Saturday Night (DON'T ASK)
Project: Herb Garden

Naturally the subjects will change from time to time.









Anyways, gotta go pull down my Facebook page. Will type more later

T