Tag: gifts

Edible Christmas Gifts: Wicked Chocolate Orange Cookies

So i’m a twit.

Yes, I hear you saying “but Katie, we already knew that”. But did you know that im also the other kind of twit?

Thats right peeps, i’ve jumped on the Twitter bandwagon and you can follow me by clicking on the little button in the sidebar to the right or by following @atrueloveofmine

Im not a big fan of social media. Never have been. I resisted facebook until it became absolutely necessary to get an account and I have always been vocal about my dislike for twitter. But, things change and after some gentle nudging from friends at work (thanks guys!) I decided to dip my toe in the twitter pool. And I was not disappointed! As well as broadening my horizons and perspective, twitter is also responsible for broadening my waistline with a plethora of delicious recipes appearing regularly in my feed. One by the lovely Jennifer at Delicieux that particularly caught my eye was that for Wicked Chocolate Orange Cookies.

I had to go to an impromptu evening meeting where I needed to bring a plate of food. And I was really hungry. A cake was out because I wouldn’t be able to sneak a piece without anybody noticing, but cookies? These ones sounded like just the ticket. A very easy, straightforward and decadently chocolaty recipe, these babies turned out so well that I knocked up another batch a few weeks later to give as christmas gifts.

And it allowed me to vent my stress and frustration accumulated during the year

Chop chop!

While the final product looked suspiciously like many other cookies i’ve made before such as Nigella Lawson’s Ultimate Chocolate Cookie, the difference was in the delicious orange that permeated.

Are there any flavours in the world that go together as well as chocolate and orange? I highly doubt it! And if there are, please send your suggestions my way!

So, while it is extremely tempting to keep all the delicious cookies for yourself, in the spirit of the season these make excellent christmas gifts. Wrap them up in some cellophane or a small box and someone will love you forever!


You can find the recipe here at Delicieux 

 So, my lovelies, can you suggest any other whiz bang flavour combos to try? I’m much more of a sweets person (clearly!) but am open to savoury suggestions as well.

And before you go, have you entered the Christmas Giveaway yet? Entries close on Monday so you really should get your skates on!

 

 

 

Home Made Christmas Gifts and a Christmas Giveaway!

So its two weeks until Christmas and i’m hoping that you’ve started thinking about your Christmas shopping. Have you made your list and checked it twice? Or do you still have names bouncing around in your brain like a gaggle of five year olds on a jumping castle? Either way, it’s time to get your skates on and fill up that space beneath the tree. In case you’re trapped inside by the unseasonable Sydney weather, or you just can’t be bothered to go to the shops, I thought I would bring you a few suggestions of home made gifts that you can whip up to give your loved ones.

All these gifts were made from recipes in the fabulous book Gifts from the Kitchen: 100 Irresistible Homemade Presents for Every Occasion by Annie Rigg.  I have made so many of these recipes for gifts throughout the year and recently gifted some of the ones below to co workers for Christmas. (There are a few more suggestions to come in the next few days so make sure that you check back!) But for now, lets recap on some of the ideas of 2010:

1. If you’re shopping for a high tea loving lady, can I suggest some sweet little novelty sugar cubes like these

2. Perhaps the more savoury, down to earth man would like some home made honey wholegrain mustard?

3. Anyone at all would LOVE some Strawberry and Vanilla Conserve (particularly with the delicious strawberries around at the moment)

4. And the sci fi fan in your life might appreciate some of the above jam with a twist. A GRAVITY DEFYING twist. Just make the recipe as above but reduce the jam a little more and allow the jam to cool completely while keeping the jar inverted. When you flip it back the right way up, the jam will remain at the top. Gravity defying I tell you!

See!

5. Finally, if you have a bit of a baker/cook/crafter in your collection of giftees, perhaps they would like a copy of Gifts from the Kitchen: 100 Irresistible Homemade Presents for Every Occasion by Annie Rigg? I have two of these fabulous books to give away just in time for Christmas! (Or you could keep it and cook yourself some lovely treats. Doesn’t everyone buy themselves a gift at Christmas?)

In order to enter the competition, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling me what home made gift you have received or would like to receive for Christmas. Entries will close at 5pm (Sydney time) Monday 19th December and the two winners will be chosen at random and contacted via email. The prizes will be mailed via express post already gift wrapped ready for giving! Please make sure that you include your email in your comment and if you are a lucky winner, please reply to my email for mailing directions asap so that these will arrive in time for Christmas. Due to time and shipping constraints, entries are limited to Australian residents.

Good luck! 

Quarter Century Celebrations and the Quarter Life Crisis

Time passes. We get older, and this year saw me approaching the grand old age of 25. However, with the impending arrival of this number I have been hearing increasingly about an interesting phenomenon. Ever since I read about the concept of the ‘Quarter Life Crisis’ I have thought about my 25th birthday with a curious combination of concern and excitement. As far as I can gauge, the Quarter Life Crisis is a result of Gen Y’s predilection for indecision and general faffing around before getting down to business. Apparently after spending years studying at university we get out into the workforce and realise that we hate our jobs and in fact want to go back and study something entirely different. We then have a bit of a melt down while realising that we have to take a significant pay cut and either have to move back home or continue living at home while we redirect our lives. This is often accompanied by a major relationship meltdown/marriage crisis/body clock crisis and a slow realisation that we will never again fit into the clothes that we fit into in our teens. Depressed yet?

Well, I hate to be the optimist but my 25th birthday earlier this week was accompanied by none of the above. Instead, I feel quietly content in my career, my relationships and, well, I am a little flabby but only because i’ve been eating so much amazing food over the past few weeks. So on that note, let me share with you some of the lovely happy things that happened on my birthday.

First, the cake.

Amazing creation bought from a bakery in Five Dock by my co workers.

Not only does it look amazing and say my name, but inside it is cake and icecream! Hooray!

Second, the cake.

Hang on, rewind, ANOTHER cake? You bet!

This one purchased by my mum from the Pure Gelato shop in Croydon Park. Another ice cream cake, this one was chocolate and hazelnut and absolutely delicious! Well worth the flab.

Then there were some chocolate cupcakes. As in, chocolates in the shape of cupcakes! Also delicious. I was also given a box of the most delicious chocolates in the world, Haighs’ Violet Creams which silly me didn’t take a photo of. Oops.

I received many beautiful gifts, although I only took photos of the food related ones to post here. The boyfriend gave me a beautiful set of mis-matched tea cups and saucers and hostess apron which should all get their own post soon(ish). His family gave me some lovely serving dishes and the Country Show Cookbook pictured above. Lucky we recently bought a new bookshelf to house the ever growing collection of cook books! My mum also gave me (among other things) the two other cook books above, The Birthday Cake Book and Zumbo by Adriano Zumbo. The former has given me many ideas for future cakes while the latter have given me much food for thought but has left me in abject terror at the prospect of actually attempting to make one of these magnificent creations. Watch this space!

Which leads me to my last picture which is pretty cool…

Mr Adriano Zumbo himself! Who I met at The Lakes while watching the Australian Open Golf Tournament. One of my idols and all time favourite chefs Who would have thought it? I almost fell off my chair in surprise! Just as charming as he is on tv, he was very gracious and lovely to talk to. Although I didn’t really do much talking.

I was a little bit star struck.

So, all in all, it was a pretty damn good birthday but i’m still stuck on what I should be doing for my quarter life crisis? I feel like I shouldn’t let this opportunity for legitimate drama pass me by. Do you have any suggestions my lovelies?

We interrupt this transmission to bring you some beautiful and wonderful things

I don’t like change. I think I may have said that before on this blog but i’ll certainly say it again. Perhaps I should qualify that statement, I don’t like change that I can’t control. But this life is a funny old thing and I have come to realise that some change can be good. So changing seasons, while I can’t control them, is something I can at least anticipate and therefore does not fall into the category of change that I don’t like. Now that it is really feeling like Spring (with a little bit of Autumn and Summer thrown in to boot) I can enjoy the changes that are going on around me.

Exhibit A: Beautiful flowers

Aren’t they beautiful? Dodgy shots aside, they were given to me by some departing students and they bloomed in my kitchen for weeks and weeks. Vibrant and pink and fragrant and generally representative of everything that is good in the world. Good choice!

Exhibit B: Beautiful flowers growing in the garden

Planted of course by the mothership who likes to get up at incredible hours in the morning to potter around and make the place beautiful. I, however, cannot be trusted to keep things like these growing. In fact, the only reason Exhibit A lasted so long is because the mothership watered them. I didn’t realise that you had to continually refill the vase… oops…

Exhibit C: Gorgeous artwork

After attending Alan Somerville’s new exhibition Sagacity held at the wonderful Glebe gallery Salerno Gallery I was mesmerised by the sketches of ballet dancers and flamenco dancers. These sketches were done by Alan in preparation for his more time consuming sculptures (which are equally amazing) and I could not leave without making sure that this baby was coming home with me. Please forgive my terrible terrible iphone shot, I will make sure to do this art work justice when I get it home. Just take my word for it, it is absolutely stunning.

 Exhibit D: Packages of books in the mail

I went crazy on Book Depository a few weeks ago and bought an enormous stack of books to wade through over the Summer break. A mix of classics, favourites and books that came highly recommended I have already finished my first book and am devouring my second. Hooray for literature!

 

Exhibit E: The purchase of a vintage tea cup, saucer, entree plate and sugar bowl

I did quite a bit of road tripping in the last holidays and ended up in the Souther Highlands town of Robertson. Here my friend and I visited the many antique stores and I came back with this beautiful set. The pattern is Wedgewood ‘Runnymede’ and I am very much in love. I defy you not to be.

Exhibit F: Passionfruit Souffle with Banana and Mango Sorbet and creme chantilly

AND

Exhibit G: Valrhona Chocolate Mousse with Mandarin and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

What would this post be without a homage to at least one thing sweet and delicious?

My boyfriend and I recently dined at Guillaume at Bennelong to celebrate our anniversary. The entire experience was magnificent and it was a wonderful evening. I am not a fan of taking photos of the food i’m eating at a restaurant but when these desserts came out, we couldn’t help ourselves! Delicious, fruity and rich, they were both impeccable and were a perfect way to round off the evening. I was particularly impressed by the helpfulness and professionalism of all the staff from the lady who took our reservation to the continuously beaming waiter who made us feel like we were the only two diners in the restaurant who were important. What an evening!

 So, my lovelies, although this post was meandering and not really to the point, I promise I will resume normal transmission soon. What are some of the things that you have been enjoying lately?