Situations Vacant

After yesterday's post, I feel like I need something light-hearted to brighten this blog back up!  I do feel better after my rant though.  I promise I usually am a pretty positive person, but like anyone I am human I do have hissy fits now and again... HAHA!

Here's a cute picture that will make you smile.  It seems Freddie is looking for a job!!

I CAN HAS JOB??

Today

My birthday today February 2nd when I turned the big 3.2. Unfortunately I feel like I turned 64, so I am dreading the day when I actually turn 64 as I'm probably going to feel like HELL.

I had a pretty nice day today.  I took the day off work (yesterday too, so I had a four day weekend) and we went to Butterfly Creek which is a mini zoo with fish, reptiles and farm animals.  I actually only really went to see the bunny rabbits and I have been going around for the past two weeks calling it "Bunny Creek". They have a mock farm yard there with about 20-30 bunny rabbits there!  I was in bunny heaven!  They were all so cute and had quite a few baby rabbits there.  One thing I wasn't too happy about was the fact that they bred rabbits there.  The fellow that worked there was trying to get me and Matt to take a bunny home.  He said he normally only approaches people who he thinks will give the rabbits a good home.  I guess he saw me baby talking and fawning over the rabbits HAHA!  Firstly, since we don't really have room for another rabbit and secondly I don't really support places that breed animals I wasn't really keen to take one home, even as cute as they were.  If I'm going to get another rabbit it will be from the SPCA where no one loves them and they need a home. I did feel sorry for all the little baby bunnies that had silly children handling them, especially the ones that were screaming that "they wanted to hold a bunny too!!" (cry me a river kid!!)  Although rabbits are docile creatures (most of the time) once tame, they still are prey animals by nature so do get scared easily and aren't as confident with people as cats or dogs.

Here are a few pictures I took of the animals

This lil fella was rolling about in the coral.  So cute!!  I love Clown Fish, they're so colourful

 

 

 

Moth or butterfly?  It was huge!

These red and black butterflies were pretty.  Matt was wearing a red t-shirt and they kept landing on him!  I was wearing a floral dress, but none of them liked me!  Perhaps I didn't smell like a flower? LOL

Cute little babies resting

I is washing my ear!

This beautiful girl had given birth that morning.  She was busy fussing about her pen.

Recovering from being tormented by devil children

Soft, fluffy and adorable *melts*

Yesterday was awesome too.  In the morning I had a Chinese Pedicure at Bliss Reflexology which starts with a foot soak, then they scrape all the dead skin off your feet with sharp blades and then tidy up the toenails.   It is WAY better than a regular pedicure as it is more hygienic (your feet soak in a disposable plastic bag in a wooden bucket) so no toe jams floating around from the previous person. I don't think I'd ever have a regular pedicure at the run of the mill mass produced places again. Although the massage chair is nice and having the nail polish is fancy, all I think about is getting a fungal infection! In the afternoon I had a lovely face and body treatment and About Face.Work kindly gave me a gift voucher for Christmas for a beauty therapy treatment so I redeemed that.  It involved a foot soak, back scrub, back massage and then mini facial.  It was lovely and the therapist Nancy was so kind and professional.  After all that relaxation I went to the movies and saw Black Swan; great movie but kind of disturbing in some parts!  I also must add that I walked everywhere yesterday! I walked to all my appointments and the movie which probably adds up to almost 2 hours of walking at a good pace in total so by the end of the day I was pretty tired.

Back to reality tomorrow with an 11 hour day at work *sigh*

Updated Post: Homemade Pizza

I made a post about a year and a half back about home made pizza dough. Genie was asking me what my recipe was and I remembered I posted about it a while back so I thought I would go back and amend it since I've definitely learned some new things since I posted back then.

You can view the post here

I hope you find the post useful if you like to make your own pizza or would like to give it a go.  I actually quite enjoy the kneading part; any extra exertion is good plus I find it a great thinking exercise :-)

Lime Chiffon Cake

First post of the year for me and almost in a whole month!  I got super busy and distracted over the rest of December and I didn't even complete the last installment of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.  I was busy sewing my little heart out for some Christmas gifts.

I thought I would post the recipe of a fantastic cake I made over Christmas and New Years. I've attempted this recipe twice, the first time was a disaster, the second was perfect even though I didn't have all the ingredients that time.

My first attempt would have been perfect except for the fact I picked up light creme fraiche instead of regular.  It was an attempt to save calories; old habits die hard I guess.  When it came to making the filling, the creme fraiche was so watery there was no way it was going to be a filling as it was more like a syrup!  The disastrous thing was, it was Christmas Day and all the shops were closed so there was no way I could just run to the shop and get a replacement. In desperation I tried first adding more icing sugar to the mixture (no luck) then in more desperation I had a eureka moment and added gelatine, but that didn't help either! I almost had a meltdown as I was due over at my family's house in an hour and a half!  I ended up turning the cake into a trifle which ended up being wonderful: a lime sponge with lime syrup, mixed berries, cream in between layers of sponge and berries and a marshmallow frosting.  I still tried to keep the essence of the cake by making the frosting too.

The recipe is from the December 2009 The Foodtown Magazine.

Lime Chiffon Cake

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons cooking oil

1/2 cup lime juice

3 tablespoons cold water

1 teaspoon each: finely grated lime zest, vanilla essence

3 egg yolks

8 egg whites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Filling

250ml creme fraiche

1/2 cup sifted icing sugar

zest of 1 small lime plus 2 teaspoons of juice

Frosting

1 cup sugar

4 egg whites 

1/4 cup cold water

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon vanilla essence

1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 160 degrees celcius.  Line the bases of 3 x 20cm round sponge tims with baking paper.  Grease the lined base and dust with flour, tapping out any excess.

2. Sift the flour, 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder and the half teaspoon of salt into a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the oil, lime juice, water, zest, vanilla essence and egg yolks until just combined.  Add to the flour mixture and beat on medium speed until smooth (the mixture will be thick).

4. Place the egg whites into a clean bowl and, with clean beaters mix until foamy.  Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the remained quarter-cup of sugar a tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.  using a large metal spoon, fold the egg white mixture into the flour mix.

5.  Divide the mixture equally betwen the prepared tins.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the cakes spring back wen lightly touched.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the tins and cooling them completely on wire racks.

6. To mke the filling, use a wooden spoon t mix together the creme fraiche, sifted icing sugar, lime zest and juice in a bowl.

7. To make the frosting, place the sugar, egg whites, quarter-cup of water and cream of tartar into the top of a double-boiler (or a bowl over a saucepan) with simmering water.  Beat on high until you have a firm mixture.  Remove from the heat and add the vanilla essence, continuing to beat until the frosting is cool and holds a stiff peak.

8. Once the frosting is make, assemble the cake by placing one cake layer on a plate.  Spread with half the filling mixture, top with the second layer followed by the remaining filling and finally the third cake.  Spread the frosting over the sides and top of the cake, swirling it on attractively with a flat knife.  The cake is best eaten on the day it is frosted.  Keep in a cool room until you're ready to serve it.

All cut up and ready to be served

Glorious!

Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Week Eleven

Another recipe with coffee this week.  I have few words this week so I'm going to get pretty much straight into the recipe. I did want to add that this is the first time I've used an electric beater for years!  I must say it was so much easier and required much less effort.  Before this is was just my wooden spoon and my arm muscles. I think I creamed the butter and sugar a bit better too because it was so easy.  Thanks to my mother for giving me her electric beater!

Warning: This cookie is super sweet with the frosting, so if you do not like super sweet then I would advise using either a cranberry glaze or a thin coating of the frosting.  I'm in a sugar coma after tasting the frosting then eating a cookie.

Espresso Cookies with Cranberry Frosting

175g unsalted butter

1 heaped cup of caster (fine) sugar

1 egg

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

3 heaped Tbsp ground coffee

3 Tbsp espresso coffee (or very very strong brewed coffee)

Sift flour, cocoa and baking powder into a bowl and set aside.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy then add egg, ground coffee and vanilla extract and beat into butter and sugar.  Add dry ingredients to wet and mix with a spoon, then add espresso and mix well.  Roll dough into golf ball sized balls and slightly flatten on baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes at 300F then  remove from oven and let cool before frosting.

Frosting

1/2 cup frozen or fresh cranberries

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup confectioners sugar

In a saucepan, simmer the cranberries, water and 1/2 cup sugar until it reaches the thick syrupy stage (about 15-20 minutes simmering) and then let cool.  Beat confectioners sugar and butter until light and fluffy then add cooled cranberry sauce.  Beat again for several minutes then spread on cooled cookies.

Week 11 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Twelve Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Week Ten

I made this last year as a Christmas gift for a workmate.  I placed it in a clear box with a pretty ribbon and she was thrilled at the gift; mainly at how it was presented because she said it looked so professional but also the taste.  I personally love almonds and coffee.  There isn't much I don't like really when it comes to food and flavours but almonds and coffee are definitely one of my many favourite flavours.  This isn't a cookie per se but something you could include in a gift or a cookie tray as an alternative.  This recipe comes from the Australian magazine "Super Food Ideas" which is packed with fantastic recipes each month.  I particularly love the Christmas issues because they always have great ideas.

Almond and Coffee Bean Brittle

1 1/2 cups caster sugar (fine white sugar)

1/2 cup glucose syrup

2 cups blanched almonds

1/2 cup almond kernels

2 tablespoons coffee beans, crushed

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Grease a 20cm x 30cm pan.  Place sugar, syrup, 1/4 cup cold water and a pinch of salt in a pan.  Cook, stirring for 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat to high and bring to the boil.  Cook, without stirring for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add blanched almonds.  Cook for 10-12 minutes on low to medium heat, swirling pan occasionally or until sugar turns golden.  Remove from heat.  Meanwhile, combine almond kernels, coffee beans, vanilla and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl.  Carefully add to sugar mixture.  Stir to combine.  Pour mixture evenly over base of pan.  I used 2 x round pans because I didn't have a rectangular pan.  Set aside for 2 hours or until cooled completely.  using the end of a rolling pin, break into pieces.

Week 10 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Motivation Diary: 2nd December

No chance of that walk this morning; I didn't even hear my alarm go off (I turned it off and immediately went back to sleep).  I had to get Matt to pull me out of bed this morning.  SO TIRED.
Two more days of work to go this week!

I didn't post my training from yesterday so I will try and get to that tomorrow.