Birthday Schmurfday

In honour of your 27th, I shall eat an extra slice of chocolate praline at tomorrow's buffet dinner. I miss you. Most days it sucks that we reside in different countries. No matter, a broadening of culinary adventures I say! Happy Birthday Doll!

Kitchenaid Round 2

What can I say? I'm having an incredibly fun time in the kitchen with the lads, although they are having a tough time negotiating the depth of the bowl, resulting in a few messy disasters :p


Wilfred Contemplates

Donna Hay's Lemon cakes sans passionfruit syrup
Ed was right, it's all about the mixer.

I have been having very bad office worker aches on my left shoulder. It's a dull nagging muscle ache that refuses to go away. I went for a quick 30min javanese shoulder massage yesterday and it hasn't done the shoulder any good. I've tried those sticky medicinal patches from China and it still persists. HELP! It's really keeeeeling me! And it doesn't help that I've been cooped up doing assingment after assignment, sitting hunch back hacking away on the computer on the days that I don't already sit and hunch at work. My parents of course say that I'm just fat and lazy and should just go do some exercises.

"Your kitchenaid is no more Veeergin?"


Indeed so!
Nigella's mincepie pastry recipe with apple filling.

We are not moving afterall. Dad felt that the house wasn't perfect and decided to forgo the deposit rather than be miserable down the road. Shoooot. Grand plans for lofty room with tree on balcony and country style kitchen down the drain. No matter, I'm picking up on talks of the possibility of renovations to the existing apt so let's see if I can squeeze in a suggestion, or 2 or 3 :)

I have to say, personally we are begining to find Kino's offerings alot more extensive as compared to Border's. For one, Kino's cookbook section is far more extensive and comprehensive than Border's. I couldn't even find any of Nigella's books on display in Borders!! Criminal. Having some respite from work and assignments today, I was really looking forward to utilizing Border's 20% off on cookbooks, but alas, did not find a single book that evoked any inspiration in this novice baker. I was really close to getting Bill Granger's Open Kitchen, but the concept seems somewhat similar to Jamie O's 1st 2 books so I'm going to hold off for now. What I would give for a hole in the wall bookstore with stellar cookbooks for the picking! Either I'm not well informed or just lazy, in the meantime its back to Amazon and getting round to setting up that vPost account.

I LOVE dairy in every conceivable form. Milk, Cheese (Of the safe milky creamy variety, the pungent french cheeses taste like prawn paste to me), Chocolate (Milk, White, Dark not so much), Creams (Single, Double, Whipped, Powdered), Ice Creams. Give me a serve of diary and I'll go weak in the knees. My all time favourite diary product however, has got to be yoghurt, and this love is shared with most in my family. My mother has plain set yoghurt every morning topped with a choice of jam from her ever growing jam collection, or sometimes (Horrors!) Marmalade. I am, unlike my mother, a little less refined and like mine with really cheap runny honey which you can get from NTUC or your friendly neghbourhood convenience store for less than $2.50 a bottle, none of that expensive Manuka honey nonsense that she tries to slip into my bowl in the mornings (although Manuka honey on it's own has been a very good alternative therapy for everyday sore throat and gastic issues). We have been buying Paul's full fat set yoghurt the past couple of months and I have to say, Australian dairy made products are really quality produce. Paul's is beautifully creamy, rich, goes down easy and doesn't leave a bitey aftertaste in your mouth. I can eat a third of the 900g tub and not feel sick after. Of course you can be really elaborate and have ganola and fancy fruits like berries or bananas even, on top of the honey, I however find alot more joy in simplicity.

Perth-Mandurah-Margaret River 2006
Last November, we made a trip to visit friends, had grand hopes about catching crabs and drank wine in the afternoons.

Mandurah is a quiet seaside town and an easy 1 hour drive from Perth, where our grand hopes for crab catching were meant to be realised. The process itself was enjoyable for us Singaporean city dwellers, but I suspect, if you are living in Perth and go out on boats every other weekend, the prospect of spending an afternoon casting nets filled with rotting fish with no crab to show for, might have been a rather silly afternoon :) It's a sleepy town where you're bound to find someone with a bucket full of squid/prawns getting reading to cast a line along any stretch of water. It is also home to the Miami Pie shop, which you can't miss as you will have to pass it if you make your way to the boating area. Their signature outback pie made with kangaroo meat, was highly recommended, but we found it to be a little bland. However, the steak and oinion and steak and guiness pies were juicy, tasty and full of meat. We loved it so much that we made a point to go back for round 2 and 3, but much to our dissapointment was closed on the third trip. A must go for pie lovers.




We were extremely lucky to have Kim, Shifaa's supervisor to host 4 of us, along with Shifaa's other supervisor and his wife. It was a cosy stay, Australian style, complete with wearing of shoes in the house (it's an asian cleaniness thing this walking barefoot in one's home, which I honestly, am grateful for, of course the Japanese take it one step further and offer you house slippers when you enter) a generous Aussie Barbie for dinner which also became breakfast Barbie, bird watching and star gazing.





After Mandurah we headed back to Perth for a day and then it was off to Margaret River, which is about a 3.5hour drive from Perth City. In retrospect, it would have made more sense to go straight to Margaret River from Mandurah, so do that if you're planning to go. We stayed at Waterfall Cottages (http://www.waterfallcottages.com.au/), because Hendri had specifically said "I want something in the middle of a forest Jo". So forest surroundings it was with a small waterfall nearby and no mobile reception and internet access to speak of. A perfect set up for a cheap B grade slasher flick. We knew we were in for a treat when we drove quite a distance into forest area with free range kangaroos bounding alongside our car to get to our cottage. They provided an extremely well stocked kitchen and we even had a fire place. The owner Sue was warm and helpful and has 2 very friendly lovely dogs that would gladly roll over for a tummy rub complete with leg flicking action.






We only made it to 3 wineries and 2 resturants on our list, and of the 3 wineries, these 2 stood out for us:
Voyager Estate http://www.voyagerestate.com.au/home.html
This was the most impressive of the lot with a colonial facade, and in addition to the vineyards had rose gardens and a HERB GARDEN! The steak we had at their resturant was divine.




Vasse Felix http://www.vassefelix.com.au/frames.htm
We had the appetizer sampler and their beautiful famous sparkling white wine to start off, and slow roasted goat for mains. We brought home 2 bottles of the sparkling wine (my mother and I finished an entire one whilst baking christmas cake). I have to say though that the dining ambience at Voyager was far more impressive, Vasse Felix is alot more casual.






After Margaret River we spent 2 days in Perth and Shifaa brought us to her's and Pam's favourite Italian resturant for dinner Ciao Italia. It is your cosy family run Italian joint, complete with jolly Italian music and an even jollier ower. Everyone there seems delighted with their jobs, even the dishwasher looked happy. We had the seafood marinara, lagsane and a traditional bolognase. The pastas were fanstastic, though a little soft for my liking as I usually like mine Al Dente but they were delicious nonetheless. The portions are HUGE, so I would recommend sharing a pasta and a side if you are not big eaters like us :) Even I was struggling, whereas Shifaa the seasoned pro, had no problem wolfing down her entire plate of marinara.



On our last day we went to Freemantle for the 2nd time and spent the day at cafes and bookstores. A very bohemian laid back place with good fish and chips, reminds me very much of Glebe in Sydney, but bigger and better.



All in all, a good inexpensive trip, somewhere we definately plan to return to, though at a more leisurely pace. A must visit if you've got $1800 (including airfare) to spare for a week away :)

Daughter, Wife, Friend, Housemate

Sharon Yu Shang Boesch-Chua
24th September 1977 to 19th January 2007

Dear Sharon,

I'm so sorry that I was never the friend you were to me, that I sometimes let you down, that I failed to keep in constant touch, that I forgot to record that one episode of Charmed for you which resulted in our first and only fight, that I made you worry a little too much, that I made a constant mess in the kitchen, that the rabbit chewed through our TV cables.

I want to tell you that I could have never survived 1st and 2nd year if it was not for your constant support, your pep talks, your love, your patience, your generosity. You always had me in mind, got me my first part-time job in Sydney, came to meet me for supper after work when I was down. I will miss the times we spent grocery shopping, playing with our neighbourhood cat, watching trashy TV, going to the olympics together, to Canberra. You were always so kind and thoughtful towards my friends, your friends, of which some took you for granted, of which I am guilty of too.

I am happy that you found happiness with Garrett, that you got to travel the US for a whole year and lived in the land you so longed to escape to. Sharon you were too young to go, and you caught us all off guard, but I know you bravely fought with all your might. I can never tell you how much you actually mean to me, but I hope you know, I hope you hear me, can you? I will miss you very very much and look back on days spent with you fondly. Be at peace now, there is no more pain.

I Love You Girl,
Jo
xxx

Treats from Sideshow Jo

It was a matter of time before I eventually shut down the old blog, old memories printed and bound, a (mostly politically correct) chronical of life beginning as a postgrad, 2003. Yet the joy of typing away with reckless abandon to an audience of none, most days, is inexplicable.

2007, and embarking on the next phase of my life, with interests that have been cultivated post formative years. I have decided that not everyone needs to know about the journey to medical school, about my struggles as a flawed individual, my insecurities, fears and relationship ups and downs. I realised that the old blog was getting very diluted and, dare I say, preachy and boring. So with that in mind, I have decided, life as an open book is reserved for loved ones and close friends, and life in the virtual realm will be about interests, you know, things that make you go... "Oh Yeaaaah!"

What am I passionate about? Well, food and hosting good parties, anatomy and the macabre, anything handcrafted and whimsical AND garden gnomes. Well off the top of my head, those are the things that would really make my day. So seeing as how I have been gifted a Pistachio Kitchenaid mixer and an Andy Warhol apron for Christmas, join me on my journey as I attempt to adapt the Domestic Goddess's recipes into healthier offerings, because, bless her, her recipes help craft the most divine offerings, but the fat content is enough to send Sideshow Jo into cardiac code blue.

This is the quest for the perfect breakfast muffin, high potassium, low glycemic index buns as pre-gym food for Dezzo and every conceivable sweet treat my hips will allow for. Quoting the Domestic Goddess herself:

"We are well on the way to Gorgeousness"