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.
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.
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
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
