All posts by Christina Soong

Hello, dear readers! Apologies for my lengthy absence but I’ve been working on a few writing projects lately.

I’ve been trying my hand at writing different types of fiction and I’m loving the new challenge and the creative freedom this has given me. However, working on longer writing projects requires a different kind of focus and I haven’t wanted to risk losing my momentum. But I’m back now and I’ll be popping up more regularly in the future.

This easy pavlova recipe was inspired by a conversation I enjoyed last week at a popup dinner in Sydney to celebrate 20 years of Foxtel’s Lifestyle Channel.

At the dinner, which coincided with World Gratitude Day, I was seated at a table hosted by Paul West, the affable host of the excellent series, River Cottage Australia. Inspired by the dishes we enjoyed by Paul, Nigella Lawson, Maggie Beer, Donna Hay, Jamie Oliver and Matt Moran, the conversation naturally turned to food: our table discussed everything from food trends, rural life vs city living, shopping for food, healthy and unhealthy approaches to food, home baking, baby food and growing your own food.

Everyone has a different approach to food so it was an interesting and stimulating conversation. It got me thinking about why food is so important to me and why I’m such a passionate advocate of home cooking.

Home cooking is important because it’s an opportunity to bond with those you care about and to create treasured memories.

The food my parents dished up night after night when I was growing up wasn’t fancy. Sure, sometimes they’d push the boat out but most of the time they cooked simply and efficiently. What made their cooking special, however, was their appreciation of flavour, their knowledge of ingredients and their willingness to experiment and try new things.

A simple roast chicken. Braised pork and green beans. Spaghetti with local prawns and Goolwa cockles.  Dumplings. My beloved tuna mornay.  Prawn and pork noodle soup (Har Mee). Rosemary lamb roast with potato bake. A fuss-free beef stir fry. A pavlova topped with berries.

I adore pavlova so I’ve made lots of different kinds of kinds over the years. I’ve made a triple layered pavlova with raspberries, pomegranate and rose petals for Christmas Day lunch and a deconstructed pavlova when my daughter accidentally destroyed a pavlova I’d just taken out of the oven. I’ve even made a Messy Pavlova, or, as I called it, Eton Mess Down Under style, where I replaced the usual meringues with pavlova pieces.

But this pavlova is your simple, everyday kind of pavlova. This is the pav you can enjoy after a weekend BBQ with the family. Or the pav you can take to a friend’s house when asked to ‘bring a plate.’ It’s the pav you can make when you have too many eggs in the house and the pav you can make to surprise someone on their birthday.

I hope you like it. Enjoy!

This post has been sponsored by Foxtel’s Lifestyle.

Everyday Pavlova

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  18 mins

Cook time:  75 mins

Total time:  1 hour 33 mins

Print

An easy, everyday pavlova

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites at room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• ¾ cup caster sugar (or 1 for 1 sugar substitute such as stevia)
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (you can substitute white vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean essence
• 300 mls thickened cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean essence
• ½ punnet strawberries
• ½ punnet blueberries
• ½ punnet raspberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Check that all your mixing equipment is clean to ensure that the meringue rises properly. Use a paper towel dipped in white vinegar to wipe out your mixing bowl.
3. Line one baking trays with baking paper and draw a 20cm circle on it (you can trace around a plate).
4. Beat egg whites and salt on high with a stand or hand mixer for a few minutes until peaks begin to form.
5. Add sugar in four batches, beating well after each addition, until the meringue is thick and shiny.
6. Sprinkle over the corn flour, red wine vinegar and vanilla essence and fold in gently with a spatula. Try to keep as much volume in the meringue as possible.
7. Using a spatula, dollop spoonfuls of meringue onto your circle, smoothing the top out with the back of the spoon or an offset spatula. Indent slightly in the centre if you wish.
8. Put baking trays into the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 150 degrees Celsius. Bake for 30 minutes and then reduce heat to 120 degrees Celsius and bake for another 45 minutes. Turn oven off and leave pavlova to cool completely before taking out of the oven.
9. Whip cream with one teaspoon of vanilla essence for a few minutes until firm.
10. Carefully peel the baking paper off the base of the pavlova and place the pavlova on a serving plate. You may invert the pavlova if you wish but I like it either way. Spread the whipped cream on top and decorate your pavlova with mixed berries.

Substitutions

1. Dairy free - you can replace the cream with coconut yoghurt for a fresher, tangier taste.
2. Mascarpone - you can replace half the cream with mascarpone cheese for a velvety rich topping
3. Berry free – you can replace the berries with sliced mango, kiwifruit, passionfruit, nectarines, plums, peaches or apricots.
4. Chocolate – you can add chocolate shavings
5. Coconut - you can add dried coconut shavings

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The other day, my boyfriend and I went to see British comic Chris Turner in his show, Observational Tragedy. Alternately witty, moving, and thought provoking, it prompted both spontaneous laughter and tears from the audience.

One of the things Turner revealed during the show was that he has an auditory memory and can access a memory if he listens to music associated with that particular memory. So when he listens to Cliff Richard albums he recalls playing with his grandparents’ dog by their living room fire as a child.

As I listened to Turner detail his efforts to actively retain new memories using music, it occurred to me that my self-diagnosed ‘food memory’ might actually be a legitimate condition. That is, I don’t remember faces, conversations or activities from my distant past very well but I do remember the food I ate. Not just the food, but how it tasted, how it smelt, its texture and its appearance.

I remember sitting down to family dinners every night when I was growing up. I remember fried rice, lamb roast, mushroom chicken, pork and bean stir fry and my favourite tuna mornay. I remember birthday parties with elaborately decorated cakes from the Australian Women’s Weekly Kids’ Party Cakes. I remember gorging myself on steaming hot cockles (pippies) cooked in my dad’s wok that we’d caught earlier that day at Goolwa Beach.

I remember the fragrant Thai green chicken curry and rice that was my first meal I ate in London. Having left home by myself for the first time, I arrived at Heathrow airport feeling tired and a little teary. My friend Anita picked me up from the airport, took me back to her place and fed me that delicious curry in her kitchen.

I remember the first time I ate confit de canard (duck confit) and île flottante (floating islands) while visiting Paris with my dad.  I remember the aroma, tenderness and richness of the duck and my delight at the quenelles of gently poached meringue sitting atop a vanilla bean custard.

I remember visiting Germany for the first time with my ex husband and sighing over his mother’s fresh creamy pfifferlinge mushroom cream sauce and pancakes.

I remember being heavily pregnant with my first child while working in Shanghai and satisfying my cravings for drunken chicken (cold, gently poached chicken with Chinese wine) and xiao long bao (steamed pork dumplings with a ‘soup’ centre) with my visiting mum.

I eat and I remember.

If having a food memory is actually a thing, this means that every time I eat a food or dish that I associate with happy memories, I am being soothed and comforted by the past. This makes perfect sense to me as I’ve aways believed that food is far more than fuel for our bodies.

Having a food memory also goes some way to explaining the craving for food from childhood that one experiences when one is homesick. Anyone who’s lived abroad and suffered through the bittersweet pang of homesickness can no doubt relate to this.

I thought of this recently when my ex husband took our children away with him on holiday for five days. When the children returned home, tired and happy, I felt strangely compelled to feed them some of their favourite foods. This meant fruit and yoghurt in bowls for afternoon tea, and honey and soy chicken skewers with roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccolini and sweet corn for dinner.

Later that night, I realised something: I like cooking for my kids because it’s a demonstration of my love for them but I also have an ulterior motive.

If my kids are anything like me, they’ll leave Australia at some point to explore the world.  They might live abroad for years and years, like I did, too. I won’t like it, naturally, but I’ll understand and support their need to stretch their wings.

So when I feed my kids I’m implanting positive food memories into their brain. These memories will help anchor them to me like an invisible umbilical cord when they are grown up and living far away from me.  As they go about their daily business they will occasionally stop and they will remember. They will crave the food of their childhood and they will want to come home.

Special Fried Rice

Amongst our friends and family, my mother’s fried rice is legendary. This is my spin on her fried rice. I cooked it for the kids the other night and they scraped their bowls clean.

Special Fried Rice

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Main Course

Cuisine: Australian / Chinese

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  25 mins

Print

An excellent fried rice recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus another tablespoon.
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 6 cups cooked and cooled rice, broken up into loose grains
• 4 Chinese sausages, sliced thinly
• 3 cups frozen diced vegetables (corn, peas, carrots)
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxiang wine
• White pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3-4 spring onions, sliced thinly, white parts only
• Small bunch coriander to garnish
• 2-4 tablespoons fried shallots to garnish
• 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges to garnish, optional
• Sriracha chilli sauce, optional)
• Indian brinjal (eggplant relish), optional

Instructions

1. Heat up a large fry pan or wok over a medium heat until smoking and then add 1 tablespoon oil.
2. Beat eggs with water and then slide mixture into pan to form a large omelette.
3. Cook for a minute or two over a high heat until browning nicely and then flip over and cook for a another minute or two until cooking through.
4. Remove omelette from pan and leave to cool.
5. Add 1 tablespoon oil and then add onion.
6. Cook, over a medium heat, stirring regularly, for 4-5 minutes until softened and then add Chinese sausage.
7. Stir regularly for 2-3 minutes until Chinese sausage is crisp on both sides and heated through.
8. Add frozen vegetable mixture and stir to combine.
9. Increase heat to high and then stir fry for 2-3 minutes until vegetables are cooked through.
10. Add rice and stir to combine.
11. Add soy sauce and Shaoxiang wine and then stir fry, stirring regularly until rice is heated up and cooked through.
12. Turn off heat and then add sesame oil and spring onions and stir through.
13. Garnish with coriander and lime and serve with Sriracha or brinjal.

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A little secret about dinner parties: while the food and wine you offer your guests is important, they’re not nearly as important as the mood you set.

As a dinner party veteran I’ve hosted plenty of dinner parties where I placed far too much emphasis on making everything look and taste perfect, and far too little emphasis on making sure I was relaxed and calm when my guests arrived.

Even if you’ve never hosted a dinner yourself, I’m sure you can relate to a time when you went to someone’s house for dinner, and found yourself confronted by a visibly stressed or anxious host. I’ve been that host and I can tell you that it’s no fun at all for either you or your guests.

So when Jacob’s Creek approached me about having MasterChef Australia’s 2012 winner Andy Allen over for an #OurTable dinner with Jacob Creek’s wines I decided the relaxed approach was the only way to go. So I roped in my boyfriend to help with the preparation and asked my BFF and her hubby and my sister in law to join us. My brother was away on business at the last minute, unfortunately.

The day of the dinner party dawned hot and humid – it was 39 degrees Celsius in the shade. So we kicked off the night with Jacob’s Creek Reserve Chardonnay Pinot Noir, natural oysters with lime wedges, olives from Coriole, my mother’s pâté with brandy and crunchy cornichons.

The obligatory photo with Andy before we start eating.

Note to self: when being photographed next to an ex basketball player always remember to stand on a box…

Oysters are one of my ultimate foods.

I like oysters prepared all kinds of ways — see my Oysters 4 Ways for some recipe ideas — but eating them naturally with a simple squeeze of fresh lime juice is sublimely good.

As we enjoy the appetisers we admire my BFF’s 4-week old baby. Isn’t he adorable? What a gorgeous smile!

After a short intermission it’s time to prep the main course. Tonight we’re eating BBQ steak, grain salad and roasted sweet potatoes.

I always like to involve guests in the dinner prep so I put the guys in charge of cooking the steaks.  I expect Andy to take the lead but he humbly demurs, which is how my boyfriend ended up cooking steaks for a MasterChef!

Back in the kitchen, I put the final touches on my favourite grain salad and plate up the beautifully caramelised sweet potatoes.

By now it’s dark outside so we take our seats in the dining room.

Tonight we’re drinking Jacob’s Creek Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, Jacob’s Creek Reserve Barossa Signature Shiraz, Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Shiraz and Jacob’s Creek Reserve Coonawara Cabernet Sauvignon.

We eat and we drink and we talk and we laugh. We catch up on each other’s news and Andy entertains us with anecdotes from his time on MasterChef Australia. Winning the 2012 MasterChef  competition was a truly life-changing experience for the former electrician’s apprentice and he has nothing but positive things to say about the show.

Another short break to clear the table and then it’s time for the Strawberry and Basil Granita and the cheese board.

I serve up the refreshing Strawberry & Basil Granita into indiviudal bowls. But by the time I grab my camera there’s nothing left to photograph as all the bowls have been scraped clean! So go look at the photos I took last week of an earlier batch.

I’ve chosen cheeses from Say Cheese & The Smelly Cheese Shop to go with the wines we’re drinking tonight. So sitting perfectly at room temperature on the cheese board are a buttery brie — Cremeux D’Argental —  Delice de Poitou, a young Goat’s cheese with a slightly tangy, salted ash coating, a strong Tasmanian Cheddar — Ashgrove Farm Cheese — and a sneaky English blue – Colston Bassett Stilton. Admittedly, the blue doesn’t go that well with the wines but I couldn’t resist its pungent allure.

Good food, good wine and good company are a potent mix so we continue talking, laughing, eating and drinking until late.  Although I’ve eaten far too much cheese I feel great – tonight has been so much fun!

Thank you all for coming. Whose turn is it to host next?

Jacob’s Creek Our Table Dinner with Andy Allen

The Menu

• Natural Pacific oysters with lime wedges, Coriole olives, my mother’s Chicken Liver Pâté and cornichons.
• Grilled rump steak from Feast Fine Foods on a bed of greens, my Irresistible Grain Salad and roasted sweet potatoes.
• My Strawberry and Basil Granita and Cremeux D’Argental, Delice de Poitou, Ashgrove Farm Cheese and Colston Bassett Stilton served with lavosh, assorted crackers and  fresh figs and strawberries.

The Wines

• Jacob’s Creek Reserve Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir
• Jacob’s Creek Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay
• Jacob’s Creek Reserve Barossa Signature Shiraz
• Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Shiraz
• Jacob’s Creek Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

Disclosure: this post was sponsored by Jacob’s Creek. 

When I was younger I thought of life mostly in terms of goals. Everything was about achievements and new experiences.

“Live overseas.” Tick.

“Get a great job.” Tick.

“Be a published writer.” Tick.

Life was all about ticking goals off a list as quickly as I could. I wasn’t going to wait until I was old and then start working my way through a hastily compiled bucket list – I wanted to start each year with a new list and methodically work my way through it. Life was about reaching the end of one’s life with a completed list of goals. Only then would I relax.

Then I fell in love, got married, and had kids.

Kids don’t care about goal setting and achievement. Kids don’t care that you have won awards or that you have had all these amazing experiences. Kids don’t care that you’re planning 5, 10 and 15 years ahead.

Kids just want to you be there, in the moment, with them.

They want you to read with them. They want you to kick a ball with them. They want you to look at their drawings, their craft and their paintings. They want to show you things they are proud of. They want to share their innermost hopes and dreams with you.

Kids want to sneakily climb into bed with you in the middle of the night and sleep right next to you. They don’t care if you have a busy day tomorrow and need your sleep – they just want to snuggle with you because they’re scared of the dark.

Becoming a parent has been the greatest and hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s the thing I’ve most proud of and the thing I’m most humbled by.

So I continue making up my new list of goals each year but I work my way through them much slower than I’d like.  It’s frustrating and demoralising at times, especially for a Type A personality like myself. But I know that all the accolades in the world won’t matter a damn if I get this wrong.

That’s not to say that family life is always idyllic: on the contrary, family life will always have its challenges. We’re imperfect creatures and we teach our children imperfectly, too. At times, we are tired, we are stressed, we are impatient, we are tactless, we are selfish, we are thoughtless, we are arrogant and we are misguided.

We get it wrong. Every day, sometimes.

We will never be able to fully relax either. Parenting never ends, nor would we want it to. It’s a bittersweet reality that we must face, even as we joke about not being able to wait until the kids are out of the house.

So we do the best we can with the knowledge and resources that we have at our disposal at the time. Accordingly, I take comfort in those brief moments when there is a momentarily lull in the conversation and life is as it should be. When briefly, even if just for a moment, all is right in the world.

Strawberry and Basil Granita

Inspired by a gorgeous watermelon and lime granita I made recently from Stephanie Alexander’s The Cooks’ Companion, I decided to make a strawberry granita with fresh basil leaves and balsamic vinegar.

It was fantastic. You have to try this.

Strawberry and Basil Granita

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  20 mins

Total time:  20 mins

Print

Gorgeous strawberry and basil granita

Ingredients

• 60 mls (4 tablespoons) honey
• ⅓ cup water
• 3 punnets strawberries, washed and hulled
• 8-12 fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon best quality balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Make the sugar syrup by combining honey and water in a small saucepan and heating until the honey is dissolved.
2. Blend strawberries in a food processor or blender until liquified.
3. Add basil leaves, balsamic vinegar and honey syrup and blend again to combine.
4. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions (I let mine run for approximately 15 minutes).
5. Scrape mixture into a freezer proof container and put in the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight.
6. If you don't have an ice cream maker skip step 4 and do step 5. After 20 minutes, scrape the edges into the centre to break it up. Repeat this twice more, after 20-minute intervals and then freeze for another 5-6 hours or overnight.
7. To serve, use a fork to scrape the granita. Scoop it up with a chilled spoon and serve in glasses or cups. You can chill the glasses and utensils in the fridge to keep everything as cold as possible if you like.

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As the Australian Summer continues so does our love affair with fruit: we’re spoilt for choice at this time of the year so my fruit bowls are overflowing.

The other day I had a glut of peaches in the house. So I decided to make these easy-peasy  ice blocks to use up some of the excess.

These Peach Yoghurt Ice Blocks require only four ingredients and couldn’t be easier to make – you simply blend peach flesh with honey syrup and then fill the ice block moulds with the peach mixture and yoghurt.

If you don’t have peaches, you could substitute another stone fruit: apricots or peacherines (a cross between a peach and a nectarine) would be wonderful, too.

I love how beautiful these ice blocks are – they remind me of tie-dyed fabric. You could keep alternating the peach and yoghurt mixtures for a more intense tie-dyed effect if you like.

My two harshest critics — my kids — love these ice blocks so you know they have to be good. Enjoy! x

Peach Yoghurt Ice Blocks

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Snack, Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  3 mins

Total time:  18 mins

Print

An easy peach and yoghurt ice block

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup water
• 4 tablespoons (60 mls) honey
• 6 large peaches, a little over 600 grams
• 200 grams sweetened Greek style yoghurt, vanilla yoghurt or coconut yoghurt.

Instructions

1. Heat up water in a small saucepan until hot but not simmering and add honey. Stir to dissolve honey and then remove from heat and set aside.
2. Peel peaches and then halve and stone them.
3. Process peaches in a blender or food processor until liquid and then add cooled honey syrup.
4. Mix Greek yoghurt with honey.
5. Pour peach mixture into ice block moulds until they are two thirds of the way full.
6. Spoon a couple of teaspoons of yoghurt into each mould and then top with remaining peach mixture.
7. Add paddle pop sticks and then freeze for at least five hours or overnight.

Notes

You can substitute the sweetened Greek style yoghurt or vanilla yoghurt with unsweetened Greek yoghurt or goats yoghurt mixed with 1-2 tablespoons honey if you prefer.

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Malaysian nights are often surprisingly hot.

My kids’ cheeks are bright red and their hair is sticking to the backs of their necks in damp curls. We down our hastily ordered drinks (star fruit juice, fresh coconut juice and iced milo) at our newly acquired table while we gain our bearings.

I’m at the Batu Ferringhi Night Market in Penang, Malaysia, with my kids, my parents, my brother and my brother’s family.

All around us people are chatting loudly while the sound of metal spatulas hitting aged metal woks clangs musically throughout the night. The air is rich with a hundred different cooking smells and the ripe smell of the notoriously fragrant durian fruit, pictured below.

Tonight we want to try as many different dishes as we can manage.  My dad was born in Penang so we’ve visited the island numerous times before and are very familiar with the types of hawker dishes available tonight.

First up, char-grilled chicken satays with spicy peanut sauce, raw onion wedges, cucumber slices and ketupat (cooled, compressed rice).

Then fried chicken skin served with a sweet chilli sauce.

FRIED CHICKEN SKIN!!! It’s insane — it’s like eating a cup of frosting — and yet it makes perfect sense, too. Why eat the whole chicken when it’s the fatty skin that has the most flavour?

The fried chicken skin is crunchy, salty and tasty – I want to eat the whole plate.

My Auntie orders some Chee Cheong Fun (steamed, rice noodle rolls served with hoisin sauce and sesame seeds),  Sotong (dried cuttlefish) and a sugar cane juice.

Night begins to fall.

The line of people standing patiently at this stall catches my eye. Here, two cooks are churning out plate after plate of Char Kway Teow (fried rice noodles cooked with garlic, prawns, egg and bean sprouts). It’s one of our favourite dishes so I order four plates: two with chilli for the adults and two without chilli for the kids.

I wander around in search of more dishes to order for the table.

My dad loves sotong (dried cuttlefish) so I order another plate for him.

Dried cuttlefish may not look or sound that appetising but I love this stuff – the dried cuttlefish has a chewy, fibrous texture, a flavour similar to a dried scallop, and can be eaten as is or accompanied by chilli sauce or hoisin sauce.

I continue looking around.

A lot of the dishes I want to order aren’t suitable for the kids as they have too much chilli so when I stumble across this excellent, dry Won Ton Mein (prawn and pork dumplings, sliced roast pork and wilted greens on a bed of egg noodles dressed with soy sauce and sesame oil) I order four of them. Won Ton noodles originated from Hong Kong, where the dumplings and noodles are served in clear chicken broth. But the dry version is equally good.

No meal in Penang would be complete without a bowl of my beloved Assam Laksa. Unlike the more common curry laksa found in Australia, the Penang version is fish-based and strongly flavoured with tamarind, lemongrass, turmeric, Vietnamese mint leaves and ginger flower. This version also has fish balls in it — see below –which I’ve not seen before.

It’s good but I like my adaption of my grandmother’s Penang Assam Laksa recipe, better. I’m biased, of course!

Malaysian food relies a lot on ingredients like lemongrass, tamarind galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic, chilli and sugar. It’s not the prettiest of cuisines — especially at a market like this where service is all about speed and efficiency — but the lack of presentation doesn’t bother me.

Eating at the open-air night market isn’t exactly comfortable: it’s hot and crowded and the hard plastic stools don’t encourage lingering. But I love the accessibility and unpretentiousness of hawker food, the tantalising smells in the air, the sounds of people talking and food being prepared all around us and the joy of discovering yet another favourite dish.

More information

• Getting there: Malaysia Airlines flies direct from Australia to Kuala Lumpur.
• Address: Batu Ferringhi Night Market, Jalan Batu Ferringhi, Penang.
• Opening hours: daily from 7pm.

Regular readers may remember my grouchy Valentine’s Day post from a few years ago, when I was newly separated from my ex husband and in no mood for romance. Back then, the very thought of being with someone new was inconceivable, as Vissini might say.

How times have changed.

18 months ago I went on a date with J.  We’d been set up by a mutual friend who described him as “the kindest man I know.”

We went out for dinner — Thai food — and he made me laugh for three hours straight. This was unprecedented: my dates were usually punctuated with nervous chuckles, awkward pauses and my fervent prayers for deliverance, not laughter.

Although I found J hilarious I wasn’t really ready to date back then so half way through our second date — Vietnamese pho — I cut the evening short and we went our separate ways.

About seven months ago, J resurfaced via text message on my phone, ostensibly to ask my advice about recipe development and cocktail making.

Yeah. That’s what I thought, too. There was no other way to access this information? O-kay…

Weeks went by with friendly text banter between us every few days and then he suggested dinner with mutual friends. A few days after that dinner I had to write a piece about Adelaide bars for a client so I invited him to help me research the bars one night. Because of his interest in cocktails, of course.

Yeah, that’s what he thought, too.

We kissed for the first time that night and then I panicked and went home. He remembers wondering if I was a bit crazy at that point. But in his calm and thoughtful way he persevered and gradually I got used to feeling the fear and having him in my life anyway.

Dating is scary. Dating after divorce is scarier. But dating after divorce with kids is terrifying.

However, J has made being with him relatively easy somehow.

It helps that he’s kind and and generous and that he’s respectful of my existing relationships and commitments.

It helps that he doesn’t expect me to live in his pocket or to turn my life upside down to accommodate his.

It helps that he doesn’t sweat the small stuff and that nothing seems to faze him. I’ve never once heard him raise his voice whereas I get loud whenever I am excited or stirred up.

It helps that he’s cute and sexy.

It helps that he’s extremely patient while my impatience is legendary and that he’s highly considered while I can be dangerously impulsive.

It helps that he’s not scared to acknowledge his imperfections or the fact that we are all works in progress.

It helps that he makes me laugh so hard I have to crouch down on the ground to catch my breath.

It helps that he’s smart because I adore intelligent conversation.

It helps that he fixes things around the house and washes the dishes. This is a shrewd move, by the way.

It helps that he’s confident and secure and that he doesn’t hesitate to (gently) call me out when it’s warranted.

It helps that he’s an awesome photographer in his own right.

It helps that he understands and loves kids and is amazing with my two. It helps a lot, actually.

I’m a 40 year old, divorced, single parent so I’m under no illusions that things don’t always work out the way we hope. But I’m done letting my fear control me and cripple me.

To love all is to risk all, isn’t it? But I’ll take that risk.

Chocolate and Banana Pancakes with Fruit (gluten, dairy and sugar-free)

J is very health-conscous, which has meant a re-think of how I cook and eat when we hang out together. The other day he made banana and egg pancakes for breakfast, using only bananas, eggs and protein powder. They were a smash hit so I’ve fiddled with the recipe a bit and come up with this seductive stack.

Enjoy! x

PS thanks to Kate for the gorgeous, home-grown figs.

Chocolate and Banana Pancakes

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  4 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  34 mins

Print

4 ingredient chocolate and banana pancakes

Ingredients

• 3 large bananas (or 4 medium ones)
• 2 eggs + 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean essence
• 2 scoops chocolate protein powder
• 1 tablespoon neutral tasting oil (e.g. vegetable or coconut)
• Honey
• Seasonal fruit - I've gone with figs, raspberries and blueberries
• Thick yoghurt, marscapone or cream (optional)

Instructions

1. Blend bananas, eggs, vanilla and protein powder together using a stand or hand blender until well combined.
2. Heat up a large fry pan until hot and then add a tablespoon of a neutral oil (vegetable oil, coconut oil).
3. Use a ladle, turkey baster or jug to pour 1/10th of the mixture into the frying pan to form a pancake.
4. Cook, over low-medium heat for 3.5 -4.5 minutes.
5. Gently flip the pancake using the thinnest flip you have. Cook for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining batter until you have 10 pancakes. Add more oil if necessary. You can cook multiple pancakes in one large fry pan to save time
7. Stack pancakes and serve with honey and seasonal fruit if desired.

Notes

Gluten free
Dairy free
Refined sugar free

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I recently met up with friends for our regular Cookbook Club lunch where we share dishes we’ve cooked from a selected cookbook.  If you’re anything like most people, you’ll have a number of cookbooks on your shelves that you’ve never cooked from. So Cookbook Club is both a great excuse to get together with food-loving friends and a lovely way to explore a cookbook.

Our first Cookbook Club lunch was hosted by Erin and focused on Yottam Ottolenghi’s best-selling Plenty. It’s a gorgeous runaway success of a book filled with beautiful, Middle Eastern inspired vegetarian dishes so choosing what to cook was difficult.

Everyone ending up cooking two dishes from the book each so we ended up with a table that was overflowing with delicious choices. Nearly every dish I tried that day was excellent, with bold, punchy and fresh flavours.

Celeste hosted our second lunch and she chose Thomas Keller’s epic The French Laundry cookbook. Interestingly, we had mixed reactions to the dishes we cooked from Keller’s book. We loved the gazpacho, the deconstructed banana split and the peanut butter truffles but some of the other dishes left us feeling a little unsatisfied.

It wasn’t that the food wasn’t interesting and good and clever. It was all those things but it was also, generally, noticeably restrained in terms of flavour, and complicated and time consuming to make: most dishes had multiple components that had to be individually prepared. Basically, it’s the type of food I like eating in restaurants but don’t want to cook at home. So I’d read this cookbook in bed but I can’t see myself using it regularly in the kitchen.

The recipes I share here on The Hungry Australian are all recipes I cook at home for family and friends. So I was thrilled to learn that a group calling themselves The Darwin Cookbook Club cooked and shared dishes from The Hungry Australian for their inaugural dinner the other night. Check out some of the Instagram pics here.

To say I feel honoured by their choice is an understatement: I feel incredibly blessed and grateful. Thank you!

The Hungry Australian dishes served at The Darwin Cookbook Club dinner were: Silky Chinese Chicken, Raspberry Pomegranate Layered Pavlova, Beetroot, Ruby Grapefruit, Avocado and Hazelnut Spring Salad, Mini Chilli and Caramelised Onion Jam Tarts, Chilled Cucumber Soup, Prawn Lettuce Cups with Thai Dressing, Braised Pork and Beans, Jiaozi (Dumplings), Vegan Chocolate Mousse, Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad and Watermelon and Blueberry Mojito.

Some of these recipes were blogged years ago so don’t look too closely at the photos, OK? ;)

This month my Cookbook Club is cooking from Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion, which is a brilliant resource every clever home cook should own. I can’t wait.

Would you consider joining or starting a cookbook club? If so, what cookbook or blog would you like to cook from?

Cacao and Peanut Butter Balls

While I enjoyed Thomas Keller’s decadent Peanut Butter Truffles they were extremely sweet and rich, being composed mostly of butter, peanut butter and chocolate.

I’m a sucker for the combination of chocolate and peanut butter so I came up with this easy energy ball recipe as a healthier option.  These are a cinch to make and store in the fridge to snack on. You can also individually wrap and freeze them until required.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Snack

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  10 mins

Total time:  10 mins

Print

An easy and delicious chocolate and peanut butter energy ball

Ingredients

• 1 cup dates
• 1 cup natural cashews
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean essence
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter (100% peanuts, ideally, but regular peanut butter is OK, too)
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder
• ¼ teaspoon (pinch) salt flakes

Instructions

1. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until the mixture resembles rough sand.
2. Use a dessert spoon to scoop out spoonfuls of the mixture straight into the palm of one hand.
3. Shape the mixture firmly into walnut sized balls with your hands and then store them in an airtight container lined with baking paper in the fridge.
4. Balls can be wrapped individually and stored in the fridge or freezer until required.

Notes

Vegan
Gluten, dairy and refined sugar free
You can add a scoop of protein powder to these balls if desired but I make them without so my kids can enjoy them, too. If you're adding protein powder you may want to add ½ teaspoon or so of water to the mixture.

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I’ve always wanted to visit South Africa so I was thrilled when South African Tourism approached me to be part of their #MeetSouthAfrica campaign last year.

Over 10 days my group of bloggers (Dawn, Gaia, Aurelie and Adeline,) travelled by plane and bus around SA on an itinerary especially designed for newcomers: we ate traditional and not so traditional African cuisine, sampled locally made wines, visited stunning natural landmarks like Table Top Mountain, Boulders Beach, Cape Point, and Noordhoek, went on a sunset cruise, joined an Instawalk, stayed at a game reserve and got up close and personal with the local flora and fauna. 

Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing my South African experiences in Johannesburg, Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope and Durban here on The Hungry Australian. But to kick off this series, let me tell you about the time I visited a free roaming game reserve. It’s a long, photo-heavy post so settle in and get comfortable…

Gondwana Game Reserve

Situated in the heart of what is known as the Garden Route near Cape Town, the free roaming Gondwana Game Reserve covers a sprawling 27,000 acres of land in the Southern Cape.

Visitors come to Gondwana from all over the world for the Game Drives,  hiking and bird watching.  During our three day visit we go out on game drives twice a day – once before sunrise, which is magical, and again mid afternoon. Each time we take a different route through the reserve so no drive is ever the same. Moreover, the game reserve is so spread out that we rarely see other cars but occasionally we run across another group – see above.

Amongst its wildlife, Gondwana boasts the ‘The Big 5’ – that is, buffalo, leopard, lions, rhinos and elephants. While the ‘The Big 5′ originally referred to the big game hunters’ list of targets, nowadays ‘The Big 5’ is thankfully more commonly used in reference to the non-intrusive observation of the game.

Because the huge game reserve is free roaming, with minimal internal fences, guests won’t necessarily be able to see all the animals it contains. But this is part of the charm of this type of game reserve – you never what quite what to expect.

Being from Australia, I’m no stranger to the beauty of nature and wide open spaces but this land is quite extraordinary, with countless mountains, hills, ravines, gullies and valleys to explore.

Interspersed here and there by pockets of grass plain the plants and shrubs that cover much of the ground here are known as fynbos – “fine bush” in Afrikaans. Seen from a distance the fynbos resembles a lush, green carpet of wildflowers. Up close, some of the fynbos looks very familiar – these proteas are native to Australia, too.

Each time we go out on safari we have the same guide, Melanie. As a young girl living in France, she dreamed about working with animals in South Africa so she is well and truly living her dream. Here she is telling us about the fascinating Acacia tree, which has developed extraordinary, 2-3 inch long spikes to protect itself against predators.

As we explored the enormous reserve, animals and birds regularly wandered in and out of our sight lines. As she drove, Melanie was constantly scanning the surrounds for wildlife and we stopped whenever and wherever she found something interesting.

From my seated position in the car, I took hundreds of photos over our three day visit. Here are some of my favourites:

Gondwana is home to 10 species of antelope including the Eland, Gemsbok, Bontebok, and Grey Reebok.

Antelope are such elegant creatures – watching them pick their way daintily across the plains reminded me of girls tip toeing their way across wet grass to avoid soiling their shoes.

One afternoon Melanie drove us down to a waterhole to see if we could spot any hippopotamuses.

We were in luck!

Aren’t they sweet?

Despite their cute and cuddly appearance, these hippos weigh around 1,500 kgs each and are highly aggressive.  So we were careful to keep a safe distance away from them – these photos were taken from quite a distance with a 70-200mm Nikon lens.

Zebras are plentiful in the reserve and we come across herds of them regularly.

Zebras are such beautiful creatures – their stripes look like they have been painted by a meticulous artist.

No matter what animal we were observing, Melanie was always careful to keep the car at an appropriate distance so that the animals didn’t get stressed by our presence.

Watching these lovely creatures feed, cavort and kick was such a treat.

One gloomy morning, we went in search of the giraffes. Melanie had heard reports that they’d been spotted in one part of the reserve so we heaedd deep into the reserve, driving up and down lush green valleys and along ravines until we came to a steep hill.

Here, Melanie shifted the car down a gear or two and we powered up the scrub covered hill. As the sun peeked through the clouds we reached the top of the hill and in the distance we finally spotted the giraffes. Seeing these incredible creatures in this stunning setting is a magical moment I’ll never forget.

On the last day of our visit we headed out in the morning as usual for our dawn game drive. It was dark and cold so I wrapped the blankets around me more securely and thought fondly of the hot breakfast I’d enjoy after our drive.

We’d driven for only 10 minutes or so when Melanie suddenly stopped the car.

“Can you see that?” she asked, shining the portable spotlight onto the long grass on our right.

I could see nothing except blackness. Until… there. I saw it.

Picking its way carefully through the grass was a Serval Cat. It was slightly larger than a domestic cat with delicate features, long ears and a spotted pelt. Melanie was careful to shine the light at the grass near the cat’s feet – shining it directly into the cat’s eyes would momentarily blind it and leave it vulnerable. It looked at us without fear for a few seconds before disappearing back into the grass.

It was a lovely — if fleeting — moment.

While the animals and birds in the reserve were used to cars, we were careful never to leave the vehicle unless it was a scheduled stop as the animals in the reserve move freely around and feed as they would in the wild.

One morning we came across the sobering sight of a freshly killed antelope, proof that lions had recently passed this way.

This is life — and death — in a game reserve. Incidentally, we never did find the lions, or the elephants for that matter, but I didn’t mind. It’s a great excuse for a return trip.

The Lodge and Bar

While we weren’t on safari, we were usually hanging out at Gondwana’s Lodge and Bar. It was raining and misty on the first morning when we drove to the Lodge and it materialised out of the mist like something enchanted.

Inside, rustic luxury awaited.

The Lodge was our central hang out zone: it was where we ate our meals, relaxed by the fire and worked on our laptops. Incidentally, the Lodge is the only place in Gondwana with wifi. For heavy internet users the absence of wifi in our lodgings was shocking at first but we quickly adjusted and many of us actually enjoyed the limited screen time.

In terms of food, Gondwana offers what it calls Pan-African cuisine, mixing elements from African and European styles of cooking.

One of my favourite lunches was the beef babotie, curried cauliflower and green bean salad, yellow rice, corn, grapefruit and apple salad and chickpea, cucumber and mint salad seen above on the left.

On our last morning, the sun came out and we were served breakfast outside on the deck. This is how I want to eat breakfast every day.

Hut Life

There were a series of adorable huts right next to The Lodge where some of our larger party stayed – see above — but the hut where Gaia, Jason and I stayed was about 20 minutes drive away.

To get there we had to drive across country and pass through two secure gates. However, there were no fences around the hut itself – can you spot the animals hanging around?

Here’s a closer look.

Each day we’d wake up to find antelope and wildebeest grazing around our hut. I felt like one of my childhood storybooks had come to life.

Inside, out hut was fitted out simply but luxuriously with an open fire, huge leather couches, plenty of books and magazines, a kitchen and three gorgeous double bedrooms with ensuites.

Before and after dinner, we’d sit around the fire and read magazines, drink Rooiboos tea, and eat rusk biscuits

All in all, it was a memorable visit. So would I visit a game reserve in South Africa again? Yes, in a heartbeat, and I’d take my family with me next time, too.

Tips for doing a safari

1. Dress appropriately for the weather and wear comfortable walking shoes. For the pre-dawn safaris I wore multiple layers under a light but extremely warm, full-length, waterproof down parka, gloves, a scarf, thick socks and walking boots.
2. Wear 50+ SPF sunscreen, a suitable hat and sunglasses.
3. If you’re a keen photographer, you’ll want to carry two camera bodies with two different lens: a wide angle lens to capture as much of the landscape as possible and a telephoto zoom lens to capture close ups of the animals and interesting flora. If you only have one camera body you can change lenses as I did but you risk getting grit in your camera body and you’ll definitely miss some shots, too. I used my Nikon d600 with the Nikon 70-200 and the Nikon 16-35mm lenses but I’d definitely bring a second DSLR body next time.

More information

• Learn more about Gondwana Game Reserve.
• Accommodation: learn about accommodation options including full board and half board packages.
• Families: children are welcome at Gondwana with children under six staying free when accompanied by two paying adults.
• Getting there: I flew from Adelaide-Perth-Johannesburg with South African Airlines as our trip began in Johannesburg.  We were transferred from Cape Town to Gondwana by private car (a 4-hour drive).

Disclosure: I travelled to and around South Africa as a guest of South African Tourism. As always, all opinions are my own.

A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend and I attended a special Jacob’s Creek dinner in Melbourne with Novak Djokovic, the world’s number one tennis player.

While I played tennis all through high school I’ve rarely picked up a racquet since. So it’d be fair to say that I don’t have a lot in common with an elite sportsperson. But one thing that’s always intrigued me is what it takes to make it to the very top.

Raw talent is one thing, but surely it’s the countless hours spent training — physically and mentally — the ability to manage the intense pressure at that level, and one’s personal choices that make all the difference. With so much at stake, one could be forgiven for being a little single-minded

 
At the dinner at Melbourne’s 45 Downstairs, Djokovic was friendly and relaxed as he bantered with host Andy Allen (2012 winner of MasterChef Australia) about sharing some significant moments of his life in the new Jacob’s Creek Made by Moments series of short films.

While a film about unwittingly ordering raw steak on the first awkward date with his now wife was sweet and funny, my favourite film was about an old family tradition involving pie.

After watching the film, I felt an unexpected connection with Djokovic, such is the power of food and its ability to stir nostalgia. Suddenly, Djokovic was no longer a tennis god but a fellow cake lover who had not forgotten where he came from. It was a peek at the boy behind the man and a surprisingly intimate moment.

At the end of the dinner, we were gifted a selection of Jacob’s Creek wine, including the Reserve Barossa Signature Shiraz 2014, the Double Barrel Shiraz 2013, the Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2015, the Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and the Chardonnay Pinot Noir. 

I’ve visited the Jacob’s Creek winery in South Australia’s Barossa Valley a few times before. So back home in Adelaide again, I decided to make a party platter using only South Australian food and produce to accompany an impromptu tasting of these wines.

 

 

We are blessed with some outstanding food producers in South Australia. It’s not something I recognised as a greedy kid growing up here, but since my return to Adelaide a few years ago I’ve been thrilled by the dynamic and exciting food and wine scene here.

For example, when I shot the Flavours of South Australia coffee table book for Smudge Publishing last year, I was amazed by how many great restaurants, wineries and food producers we had here that I had never come across before.

I’ve included suggestions of South Australian food producers to check out below. If you know of any others I should try, please do let me know in the comments below.

Depending on where you live, products by these South Australian producers might not be available to you. If that’s the case, feel free to substitute suitable products by your own local producers to create your own unique platter.

Either way, this is the no-fuss kind of party food that makes entertaining at home a breeze. Don’t you just want to pull up chair, pour out a glass of wine and help yourself? Enjoy!

 

South Australian Party Platter with Jacob’s Creek Wines

INGREDIENTS

• Pates and fruit pastes – try a variety of pates and fruit pastes from Maggie Beer Fine Foods.
• Charcuterie – try salamis, pastramis, smoked meats and ham from Barossa Fine Foods and Skara Artisan Smallgoods.
• Cheese – try cheeses from the Barossa Valley Cheese Company, Woodside Cheese Wrights, Udder Delights, La Vera, La Casa Del Formaggio and Food Nation.
• Crackers – try crackers, lavosh or grissini from the Barossa Valley Cheese Company, Baylies, Tuckers Natural and Continental Taralli Biscuits.
• Locally grown figs.
• Currants from the Adelaide Hills.
• Locally grown plums.
• Baby cucumbers from my local greengrocer.
• Wines by Jacob’s Creek.

 
Disclosure: we attended the Novak Djokovic | Made by Moments dinner as guests of Jacob’s Creek. As always, opinions are my own.

#jacobscreektable

 

My baby recently turned six so to celebrate we had some family and friends over for a relaxed lunch.

Deciding what kind of birthday cake to make J was easy as he is mad about chocolate. So I came up with a chocolate fantasy comprising chocolate and raspberry cake, chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream, Tim Tams, Maltesers, Toblerone and salted popcorn.

Yes, it was completely indulgent but I figure that it’s OK to ignore our usual healthy diet and let him have the chocolate cake of his dreams once a year.

Now while I love the tall and proud look of multi-layered cakes, they’re often challenging to cut and you end up with very thin, tall pieces of cake if you’re trying to serve a lot of people from one cake. So rather than do a four layer cake, I decided to bake one two-layered, 20cm cake and 12 cupcakes using a muffin tin. This gave me 24 portions of cake that were simple to serve.

The look on my son’s face when he saw the cakes was priceless. Momentarily, my chatty 6YO was speechless.

“Oh, wow. That’s amazing. I love it!” he finally exclaimed.

What’s your fantasy birthday cake?

Chocolate Fantasy Cake and Cupcakes

This cake is an adaption of my Chocolate and Raspberry Cupcakes combined with an adaption of Sweetopolita’s Swiss meringue buttercream and my own decoration.

If you’ve never made Swiss meringue buttercream before do check out Sweetapolita’s helpful Swiss meringue buttercream post for tips and suggestions. Yes, it’s a little more time consuming than regular icing but it’s totally worth because Swiss meringue buttercream tastes so much better. Seriously. I would never suggest you make something that took this long unless it was insanely good.

In terms of equipment you do need a meat thermometer or similar and ideally, a stand mixer with both whisk and paddle attachments. You can use a hand mixer with a regular whisk attachment but I’ve found best results using both attachments and a stand mixer.

Chocolate Fantasy Cake and Cupcakes

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  60 mins

Cook time:  60 mins

Total time:  2 hours

Print

A chocolate lover's fantasy cake + 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cake

• 250 grams unsalted butter
• 200 grams dark chocolate (70% cocoa minimum), broken into pieces
• 600 grams raspberry conserve or jam (I go for the brand with the most fruit and least amount of sugar)
• 4 large eggs at room temperature, beaten
• 40 grams sugar
• Pinch salt
• 300 grams self-raising flour

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• Vinegar or lemon juice
• Water
• 5 large egg whites
• 250 grams caster sugar
• 340 grams unsalted butter, cut into cubes and at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla bean extract
• Pinch of salt
• 100 grams dark chocolate, melted

Decorations

• ½ packet of Tim Tams, cut into triangles
• 1 small bag Maltesers, some whole and some cut into half
• 1-2 small bars Toblerone
• 1 small bag salted popcorn
• 4 tablespoons chocolate flakes

Instructions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Line a 12-serve muffin tray with muffin wrappers and a 20cm round cake tin with baking spray and baking paper
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan and then add chocolate. Take off the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until chocolate has completely melted.
4. Add jam, sugar, salt and eggs and mix until combined.
5. Add flour and then mix until fully combined.
6. Divide mixture into two. Spoon half of the mixture evenly into 12 muffin containers and the remaining half into the cake tin.
7. Bake muffins for 22-25 minutes until cooked (insert a skewer to check - it should come out dry) and then remove muffin tray and continue cooking cake for another 20-25 minutes until cooked (use skewer again to check).
8. Leave in tin for ten minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. Use vinegar or lemon juice on kitchen paper to clean your mixing bowl to ensure that it is completely grease-free.
2. Put a few cups of water into a small saucepan and heat up to a gentle simmer on the stove.
3. Add egg whites and sugar to mixing bowl, and then place bowl over the saucepan so the bowl is sitting in the water.
4. Insert meat thermometer into mixture and hold it with one hand. With the other, whisk the meringue mixture gently until the temperature reaches 60 degrees Celsius. If you don't have a candy thermometer, whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.
5. Remove mixing bowl from pot and, with the whisk attachment of mixer, whip the mixture until the meringue is thick and glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels at room temperature to the touch (this will take around 10 minutes).
6. Once the bottom of the bowl feels neutral and not warm, switch the mixer attachment from the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment, turn onto the lowest setting and begin adding butter butter cubes, one at a time, until fully combine.
7. Continue to mix on the lowest setting until it has reached a silky smooth texture.
8. Add vanilla, salt and melted chocolate, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.
9. Divide the buttercream into two unequal portions -- one third for the cupcakes and two thirds for the cake -- in preparation for icing.

Decorating cake

1. Once cake is cold, cut it into half so you have two even cakes.
2. Put one cake on a plate or revolving cake stand and ice the middle using an offset spatula, or, if you prefer, an icing bag.
3. Sandwich the remaining cake on top and ice the top and sides. Use a scraper and the offset spatula to get the top and sides as even as possible.
4. Decorate with Tim Tams, Toblerone, Maltesers, popcorn and chocolate flakes as desired.

Decorating cupcakes

1. Use a spoon and offset spatula or icing bag to ice the cupcakes.
2. Decorate with Tim Tams, Toblerone, Maltesers, popcorn and chocolate flakes as desired.

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I’m a Summer gal so I love this time of year – the baking heat, the endless blue skies and the regular swims automatically put me in a good mood. But even I can get testy after a run of 40+ Celsius days with no relief.

Enter these Elderflower Ice Blocks with fresh fruit to save the day. Pretty, healthy and refreshing, they’re the ultimate antidote to feeling hot and bothered.

Made with three main ingredients — coconut water, elderflower cordial and fruit — these are ridiculously simple to make.

You simply semi-fill ice block moulds with whatever fruit you like — I love using grapes, berries and pomegranate seeds — and then top them up with coconut water and a dash of elderflower cordial. Freeze for a few hours or overnight and you have a lovely refreshing snack.

Enjoy!

Elderflower Ice Blocks

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Snack, Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  8 mins

Total time:  8 mins

Print

An easy and healthy ice block

Ingredients

• 2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
• 1 large bunch grapes, washed (black seedless, ideally)
• ⅔ punnet strawberries, hulled and halved
• ⅔ punnet blueberries, washed
• Seeds from ½ pomegranate
• Approximately 600 mls coconut water (may vary slightly depending on volume of fruit used)
• 1 tablespoon elderflower cordial

Instructions

1. Distribute fruit evenly amongst ice block moulds, pushing them down to the bottom with your fingers.
2. Mix coconut water and cordial together in a jug and then pour into moulds until filled.
3. Place wooden sticks into moulds and cover.
4. Freeze for a few hours or overnight until set.

Notes

Vegan.
Gluten, nut and dairy free.
If you can't get your hands on elderflower cordial you could substitute pure apple or pomegranate juice instead.

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I’m a little obsessed with Summer fruit at the moment but can you blame me? This time of year is when my kitchen is overflowing with beautiful berries, stone fruit, cherries, grapes, mangos, kiwi fruit, passionfruit and watermelon.

The other day we drove down the Fleurieu Coast to do some strawberry picking. It’s the perfect weekend activity for the family – we all enjoy the scenic drive, walking slowly up and down the lengthy strawberry fields and stuffing our faces with sun-warmed strawberries while we pick.

Back in Adelaide, we took some strawberries around to my parents’ house for the visiting grandkids to enjoy. Then I came home and experimented with this vegan strawberry mousse.

Why a vegan version? Well, while I enjoy traditional mousses made with cream, dairy doesn’t really agree with me. Plus, I’ve been making a conscious effort to cook and eat more healthily this year.

While strawberries and vanilla always go well together, I love the addition of rosewater in this recipe – berries and rosewater go wonderfully well together.

Enjoy!

Strawberry & Rosewater Mousse

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Dessert, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  10 mins

Total time:  10 mins

Print

A vegan Strawberry and Rosewater Mousse for easy Summer snacking

Ingredients

• 450 grams strawberries, plus a few extra to garnish
• 600 grams medium firm tofu, drained
• 1 tablespoon vanilla essence
• 12 gram stevia (the Stevia I used for this recipe is equal to 6 teaspoons sugar - you can substitute sugar, honey or other sweetener)
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla bean essence
• ½ - ¾ teaspoon rosewater
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil

Instructions

1. Wash and hull strawberries.
2. Use a food processor to blend tofu, vanilla, strawberries, rosewater, stevia (or equivalent) and coconut oil until fully combined.
3. Taste and adjust rosewater and sweetener if necessary.
4. Spoon into serving bowls. If you want a firmer texture, refrigerate for at least two hours at this point.
5. Serve with sliced strawberries.

Notes

Vegan.
Dairy, gluten, nut and refined sugar free.
Will keep covered in the fridge for up to three days.

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We’re a mere seven days into 2016 and I’m wondering how many of us are actually sticking to our New Year’s Resolutions? And how many of us are already mentally consigning them to the trash?

Well, either way, it’s not too late. It’s never too late.

There’s something irresistible about the hopeful shininess of a new year. It’s a do-over, a chance to make good on all those goals that died a quiet and ignominious death the previous year.

I’ve always been one to have a list of goals – immediate, short-term and long-term — so the beginning of a new year is an ideal time to revisit them.

In my twenties I used to write a one-page list of goals and stick it on my bedroom wall. In recent years I’ve used a combination of goal setting and mood boards to help me stay on track.

Are you familiar with mood boards? I don’t know what other people do but I cut out pictures from magazines of things I want in my life and pin them to a physical pinup board in my study. I’m a sucker for a virtual pinup board aka Pinterest but when it comes to mood boards I want a physical, daily reminder that I can see from my desk no matter what’s happening on my computer monitor.

I pin all sorts of inspiring pictures to my mood board – famous and not so famous women and men I admire, things I want to do, places I want to visit, settings I want to recreate, food I want to eat, books I love, interiors I lust after and groups of people that represent family and friends.

Each picture on my mood board symbolises something that I want in my life. It’s like the ultimate shopping list except these are things that have to be earned, rather than bought. Nothing on my mood board can happen without some effort on my part, which is why I then spend some time considering and setting my goals.

This year my list of goals spans a record six A4 pages and is divided into four tables covering career, health, family, finance and includes KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), expected timings and colour coding.

I’ve printed my goals out and stuck them with my mood board on the wall next to desk, as a constant reminder that I need to do the work if I want the rewards.

This might seem somewhat excessive (and yes, a trifle anal) but the mood board and list of goals help keep me focused and accountable. They work because if one works consistently towards one’s goals then they start to become one’s reality rather than a mere dream.

That’s not to say that the journey is swift and trouble-free.  I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way and plenty of detours, too – some detours I made deliberately and some were thrust upon me as circumstances changed. I’ve also adjusted my goals numerous times as new information came to light. And yes, there were plenty of nights I chose ‘Netflix and chill’ instead of working or writing, too. Weirdly, my boyfriend does not feel guilty about this at all.

All of this is merely part of the journey. What’s ultimately important is your long-term resolve, determination and actions. Good things don’t happen by accident: you get out of life what you put into it.

A case in point: one of my goals this year was to start creating my own recipe videos. That is, I wanted to try to conceptualise, style, cook, light, shoot, and edit my own recipe videos without any outside help. So I’ve spent the last two days working in my studio and I’m now thrilled to share my very first recipe video – Raspberry Smoothie Bowl. I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.

So what are your plans for 2016?

PS The song in the video – ‘Pins and Needles’ – is by my brother’s sadly now defunct band, Alpha Beta Fox.

Raspberry Smoothie Bowls

During Summer the kids and I don’t always feel like eating that much in the morning. And yet a healthy breakfast is always important so I came up with these Raspberry Smoothie Bowls. For extra ‘cool mum’ points, I make the smoothie base and then let the kids decorate their bowls themselves. Enjoy! x

Raspberry Smoothie Bowls (VIDEO!)

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Prep time:  7 mins

Total time:  7 mins

Print

Ingredients

Smoothie

• 1-2 frozen bananas, cut into chunks
• ¼ avocado, peeled and stone removed
• 3-4 dates, chopped roughly
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean extract
• ½ punnet fresh raspberries or ½ cup frozen raspberries

Toppings

• Desiccated or shredded coconut
• Banana slices
• Berries - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
• Fruit - kiwi fruit, grapes, pomegranate,
• Melon - balls or chunks of watermelon, rockmelon or honey dew melon
• Dried Fruit - sultanas, raisins, figs, cranberries, goji berries, apple, apricot,
• Seeds - toasted pumpkin seeds, pepitas,
• Nuts - roasted almonds, cashews, hazlenuts, peanuts
• Muesli - toasted muesli or granola
• Chia seeds

Instructions

Smoothie

1. Blend all of ingredients until smooth and then spoon into a bowl.

Topping

1. Top with any combination of the suggested ingredients.

Notes

Vegan
Gluten free
Dairy free
Refined sugar free
Can be made nut free

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KitchenAid Hand Blender gifted by KitchenAid. 

Christmas day lunch in my family is not a small affair: each year around 24 people sit down at one long table at my parents’ house to celebrate Christmas together.

The Christmas day table is made up of three separate tables pushed together and covered with festive linen, fresh flowers, seasonal decorations and my parent’s best silverware and dinner ware. My dad and I set the table at least two days before Christmas — my mum likes being super organised — and it runs down almost the full length of their living room.

At least half the guests at Christmas lunch are family friends — we don’t have that many relatives in Adelaide — and each year there are always a couple of extras, too.  Quite a number of the guests are children and babies and their unbridled excitement is always infectious.

Everyone brings a dish to share so lunch is always a beloved mish-mash of cultures – last year my mum’s soya sauce duck with Chinese mushrooms fought for space on the overloaded table with my Auntie R’s traditional roast turkey, my sister in law’s clove-studded ham, our friend’s Malaysian lamb curry, king prawns, oysters, my ex’s German coleslaw and potato salad, noodles, smoked fish and quinoa salad brought by friends and my dad’s famous lobster noodles.

After such a sumptuous feast fitting in dessert seems impossible and yet we always seem to manage trying “just a bite” of the six different desserts we typically enjoy. Because if there is one day you can indulge yourself, surely that’s Christmas, right?

This year, I’ve been toying with the idea of making a trifle. I’ve blogged previously about my love for mini trifles and their superior aesthetic appeal as opposed to spoonfuls of large trifles that ooze unappetisingly on the plate.

So when Baileys asked me to create a recipe using their new, limited edition Baileys flavoured custard and cream products*, I decided it was time to give a festive version of mini trifles a go.

This was the result.

What I really like about this recipe is that there’s barely any cooking or preparation. To make this dessert I simple stew the berries in advance and let them cool. Then I either make the pots up in advance and refrigerate them until needed or I prepare them on the spot just before serving.

Either way, you simply add a few spoonfuls of the cooked berry mixture into a suitable glass, followed by layers of the Baileys custard and shortbread crumbs. Add a generous dollop of Baileys cream on top and then decorate with fresh berries.

Too easy, right? You can totally make this. Have fun!

* Baileys Original Custard (500mls) and Bailey’s Original Cream (200mls) is available exclusively only until 25th December from national supermarkets. 

Disclosure: this post was sponsored by #Baileys. 

Mini Festive Trifles (Baileys remix)

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  6 mins

Total time:  16 mins

Print

Gorgeous Baileys mini trifles

Ingredients

• 3 punnets strawberries
• 2 punnets blueberries, washed
• 1 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 x 175 gram packet real butter shortbread (regular or gluten free)
• 1 x 500ml tub Baileys Original Custard
• 1 x 200ml tub Baileys Original Cream
• ⅓ punnet raspberries, washed
• ⅓ punnet red currants, washed

Instructions

1. Wash and hull strawberries and then quarter.
2. Place strawberries and 1 of the punnets of blueberries in a small saucepan along with the vanilla, honey and water.
3. Bring to the boil and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Stir once gently to combine but do not over-stir as fruit will collapse. Leave to cool.
4. Crumble shortbread between your fingers into a small bowl.
5. To assemble, add a few spoonfuls of fruit into a glass and then top with custard, shortbread crumbs and cream.
6. Decorate with reserved blueberries, raspberries and red currants.

Notes

For best results prepare just before serving however these can be prepared a few hours in advance, covered with cling wrap and stored in the fridge until required.

Best eaten on the day they are assembled but they will last up to 3 days, covered, in the fridge.

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Sometimes jobs come along that are simply dream commissions.

Late last year I was approached by the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) to be part of their Through Local Eye’s project.

The previous Through Local Eyes projects had seen local filmmakers document some of their favourite experiences in South Australia – see Kids, Crabs and the Best Day Ever by Randy Larcombe and You Gotta Try… Barossa by Urtext Films, which I appear in.

Now SATC wanted to commission photo journalism (words and photos) pieces for the new SouthAustralia.com.

So I pitched them an idea: I would research, write about and photograph some of my favourite foodie experiences in four SA regions: Adelaide, the Adelaide Hills, the Barossa and McLaren Vale. My stories would cover the places that I would take a very sophisticated and well-travelled food-loving friend visiting Adelaide.

SATC liked my pitch and I spent a few wonderful weeks earlier this year travelling around South Australia. I visited old favourites as well as new places I’d been meaning to check out. Some experiences made the final cut, while some didn’t: I only included ones that I thought were truly special.

The first two of my pieces are now up on the SouthAustralia.com website: so head over to SouthAustralia.com and discover my favourite foodie experiences in Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills.

My foodie’s guide to the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale are coming soon – stay tuned.

Earlier this year I was one of two photographers commissioned to work on a new book for Smudge Publishing covering 120+ South Australian restaurants, wineries, bars and cafes.

Smudge Publishing has published a number of award-winning food and travel books, including Flavours of Melbourne, Flavours of Sydney, Flavours of Queensland, Produce to Platter: Daylesford and Produce to Platter: Yarra Valley.

To shoot Flavours of South Australia, Smudge’s first book on South Australia, the lovely Amanda Davenport (one of Smudge’s resident photographers) and I visited venues in South Australia’s key food and wine regions like Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and the Fleurieu Peninsula. In the process I discovered some unknown gems, met some passionate foodies and wine makers, sampled some delicious food and wine and fell in love with my state all over again.

I’m thrilled to let you know that the book is now available for pre-order from Smudge. The book will be available from 20th November – just in time for Christmas!

Inside you’ll find spreads on 120+ South Australian restaurants and wineries that capture the spirit and style of my beloved state. The restaurant features also include a recipe for one of the restaurant’s signature dishes so you can try cooking your favourite dishes at home, too.

Here are a few of the restaurants and wineries I photographed.

 Bread and Bone

Thorn-Clarke Wines

Gondola, Gondola

Lake Breeze Wines

Zucca’s Greek Meze

Samuel’s Gorge

Martini Ristorante

You can pre-order your copy of Flavours of South Australia now. Alternatively, the book will be available from any of the 120+ venues in the book or from most bookstores around Australia from November 20.

It was a privilege to shoot this book. I hope you like it! xx

Sex and the City was addictive, must-watch TV back in the late 90s and early 2000s: millions tuned in every week to find out what Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda were wearing and who they were sleeping with.

Single, city-dwelling women were fascinated with every glossy aspect of the quartet’s lives and strove to emulate them: after Carrie and Miranda were filmed catching up over cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery the company’s fortunes rose exponentially. As did the worldwide trend for cupcakes.

As synonymous with the series as cupcakes, $500 pairs of Manolo Blahnik heels and Fendi baguettes was the Cosmopolitan, a crimson hued cocktail comprising vodka, lemon vodka, triple sec and cranberry juice. Women saw Carrie drinking it on the show time and time again so they drank it, too: suddenly, Cosmos were the drink du jour.

Nowadays, the Cosmopolitan has been usurped by crowd-pleasers like the admittedly delicious mint, rum and lime based Mojito. But this shouldn’t stop you from enjoying them so here’s a recipe for Cosmopolitan ices by Josh McGee that you can make at home next time you have some friends over.

The mixture won’t freeze completely solid — the alcohol content is too high — so it’s ideal for serving straight from the container: simply use a fork to scrape the ice into pieces and then spoon it into a tumbler.

That’s Friday night drinks and nostalgic TV viewing sorted. Face masks and nail painting optional.

Cosmopolitan ices

 

Author: Josh McGee

Recipe type: Cocktail

Prep time:  2 mins

Total time:  2 mins

Print

Frozen deliciousness in a glass

Ingredients

• 1 shot vodka
• 1 shot triple sec
• ½ shot lemon vodka
• ½ shot cane or sugar syrup
• 6 shots of cranberry juice
• 2 shots water
• Juice from ½ lime (optional)

Instructions

1. Measure out all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker and give it a good shake.
2. Pour mixture into a freezer proof container and freeze for at least 5 hours or overnight before serving.

Notes

Quantities can easily be multiple according to the number of guests.

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This recipe came about when I offered to make a dish for a weekend brunch at my BFF’s a couple of months ago. With four kids in the house that morning — my young niece and nephew had slept over the night before — the last thing I felt like doing was cooking something complicated.

So as soon as I got up that morning I mixed a cup of white chia seeds with some milk, vanilla bean extract, vino cotto and honey. I then simmered berries with spiced mead and orange juice for a few minutes before leaving the mixture to cool.

Next, I ran around the house getting four kids fed, dressed, packed and into the car. After the usual arguments about what everyone was wearing — my 5YO is as maddeningly stubborn as his sister — we left the house and were on our way.

Once we arrived at my friend’s home I borrowed plastic bowls and spooned the chia mixture and stewed fruit into them. As we caught up on each other’s news and the kids rampaged around the place I chopped up some fresh fruit and added it to the chia bowls.

And that was it. Too easy, right? You can totally do this. With or without rampaging kids in the background.

Chia Bowls with Spiced Mead Berries

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Breakfast or Dessert

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  2 mins

Cook time:  10 mins

Total time:  12 mins

Print

A super easy dish suitable for breakfast or dessert

Ingredients

• INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup white chia seeds
• 1.5 cup milk (I used a mixture of cow's milk and soy milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract
• 1 tablespoon vino cotto
• 2 tablespoons honey (or to taste)
• 1 packet mixed frozen berries
• 3 tablespoon spiced mead
• 1.5 tablespoons orange juice
• Fresh fruit - a few figs or a punnet of strawberries, raspberries or blueberries
• A few roasted and salted pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix chia seeds with milk, vanilla, vino cotto and honey until thoroughly combined.
2. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
3. In a small saucepan mix berries with mead and orange juice. Cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes and then leave to cool.
4. To assemble, wash, hull and dice the strawberries and wash the blueberries.
5. Spoon a few tablespoons of chia into a bowl and then top with a few tablespoons of stewed fruit and fresh fruit.
6. Garnish with pistachios if desired.

Notes

If you leave the chia mixture for a while (or overnight) and the mixture becomes too thick simply whisk in some extra milk before adding the fruit.

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I’m dating a man who is racist against salad and most fruit. His deep and abiding hatred is incomprehensible to me because I happily eat both every day.

“It’s the texture and feel of them,” he says when I press him for reasons.

He likes cooked vegetables, especially sautéed spinach accompanied by a huge steak, but he sees salad as little more than an instrument of torture.

As a committed salad lover, his salad bigotry makes me sad. Plus, it means meals we eat together can get a little boring so I was determined to change his mind.

Ladies: when you start dating a man you should always try to change his long-term habits to suit your lifestyle. He’ll thank you later.

I made four salads for my recent birthday party and a version of this grain salad was by far and away the most popular. People kept asking me for the recipe, which was loosely based on this Almond, Quinoa and Pomegranate salad. This was in turn inspired by a salad made by a friend who’d eaten something similar at Melbourne restaurant, The Hellenic Republic. So I decided to try a version of this to seduce him to the fresh side.

Like the original, this Irresistible Grain Salad is based on quinoa, which I find almost universally popular and allergy-friendly, and also uses a mixture of dried fruit, fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, fresh herbs and citrus.

The great thing about grain salads is that you can play with the flavours to suit your taste and to use up whatever you have lurking in your pantry, fridge or garden.

So in terms of possible substitutions, you could try:

• Dried fruit: sultanas, raisins, currants, cranberries, apricots (diced) or apple (diced)
• Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, macadamias or pinenuts. I prefer roasted or lightly toasted nuts for this salad.
• Fresh herbs: flat or curly parsley, coriander or sweet basil.
• Seeds: pepitas (sunflower), flaxseed, chia, or pomegranate. I love using roasted sunflower seeds for this salad.
• Fresh fruit: pomegranate seeds, currants, cranberries, small grapes or blueberries
• Fresh citrus: lemon or lime
• Pulses: lentils, chickpeas or red kidney beans.

Just keep to the approximate quantities in terms of wet, dry and fresh ingredients and everything should work out fine.

Now once you’ve mixed your salad together, don’t forget to taste it. This will make all the difference.

Like a little more acidity? Add some more lemon juice. Want a touch more sourness? Add a few more capers. Maybe it could be a little sweeter? Try adding a tad more dried fruit or a dribble of honey.

So what did he think?

“It’s not bad,” he admitted. “I don’t mind it.”

He ate the salad on his dinner plate and then reached for the serving bowl.

“I’m going to have seconds,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye.

Win!

Irresistible grain salad for salad haters

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Main Meal, Side Dish

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  25 mins

Print

A highly versatile and universally pleasing salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 small red onion, or two salad onions, finely chopped
• 1 can of lentils, drained
• ⅓ cup currants
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries
• ¾ cup mixed sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and pine nuts
• ¾ cup roughly chopped roasted macadamia nuts
• 3 tablespoons baby capers
• Seeds from 1 pomegranate
• ½ cup roughly chopped coriander leaves
• ½ cup parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons best quality extra virgin olive oil
• Juice from 1 lemon (2-3 tablespoon juice)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse quinoa using a sieve under the tap.
2. Bring 2 cups water and quinoa to the boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes until water is fully absorbed. Turn off heat and leave to cool.
3. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl and then add salt and pepper to taste.
4. You can serve this with some Greek yoghurt mixed with a little cumin and honey if you wish but it's great by itself, too.

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While I love catching up with chums at restaurants, markets and bars, it’s always nice having people over to my home.

Having people over doesn’t mean a lot of faffing around on my part though. Sure, if I’m celebrating a significant occasion like my recent birthday, I’ll make a special effort. But most of the time I like keeping things simple and relaxed: there’s no point preparing the most incredibly styled gathering and killer menu if you’re too exhausted or stressed to actually enjoy it.

This recipe is a case in point. While I enjoy having cocktails made for me, I’m pretty lazy when it comes to actually making individual cocktails for people. So this Spiked Blood Orange Tea (Dilmah Evening Tea remix) recipe is a great way to make your guests feel special without having to create individual cocktails for each of them. It tastes divine, too – I love how the deliciousness tartness of the blood oranges is warmed up by the spices in the rum and the delicate flavours of the tea.

This recipe couldn’t be simpler and can easily be made ahead and chilled in the refrigerator. Then when your guests arrive, it’s simply a matter of pouring the spiked tea out into individual glasses and garnishing them with blood orange slices and a sprig of thyme.

Simple. Delicious. Stunning. Just the way I like it. Why not give it a go today?

Spiked Blood Orange Tea (Dilmah Luxury Leaf Evening Tea remix)

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Cocktail

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  10 mins

Total time:  15 mins

Print

A gorgeous, summery tea cocktail

Ingredients

• 5 Dilmah Luxury Leaf Evening Tea Sachets (loose leaf)
• 1100 mls just boiled water
• 5 blood oranges
• ⅓-1/2 cup sugar, depending on taste
• 7 shots good quality spiced rum (210 mls)
• 1 whole blood orange, washed well (peel still on)
• Few sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

Instructions

1. Steep Dilmah Luxury Leaf Evening Tea in just boiled water for four minutes and then strain and cool.
2. Juice four of the blood oranges to give around 330mls liquid and then heat up orange juice with sugar and bring to the boil. Simmer for 4-5 minutes over a low heat and then leave to cool for 10 minutes.
3. In a jug or bowl, mix tea, orange juice and spiced rum together.
4. Slice remaining orange into medium-thick slices.
5. To serve, add two orange slices and a sprig of thyme.

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I have such happy memories of boisterous house parties when I was a child. There was always plenty of food and drink and laughter, everyone pitched in to help and we kids had the run of the house and backyard. My parents love entertaining so they regularly had friends over when I was growing up – sometimes it was a simple dinner of spag bol (spaghetti Bolognese) or stir-fry with rice, often an easy outdoor BBQ and, on special occasions, a suckling pig roasted on the spit over an open fire.

I want my children to have those same happy memories so I decided to throw a party at home to celebrate my recent birthday. For the menu, I decided on cocktails, dips and crudités, chicken satays with peanut sauce, mini banh mi (Vietnamese pork rolls), four different salads and a special dessert table.

A few months ago, my friends asked me to do the dessert table for their wedding next year so I figured that my party was a great opportunity to trial an idea I’d had. While heavily styled and immaculate dessert tables always look impressive there’s often a sense that they’re so perfect that people don’t want to mess them up by actually eating any of the components. Inspired by a dessert table I’d seen at a Perth restaurant I wanted to make a fun and interactive dessert table that people felt completely comfortable diving face first into.

So I enlisted the help of my local foodie/blogger friend, Natasha, and we came up with a dessert table concept using chocolate cake soil, mixed meringues, two types of sweet and salty popcorn, two types of salted caramel sauce, fresh strawberries and whipped mascarpone cream placed directly onto a brand new tablecloth. This would be built in front of guests in real time during the evening.

On the night of the party, we realised that it would be fun creating the dessert table to music so I asked Maja from Hey Hooray DJs to find some appropriately fun tunes. Thus, Natasha and I built the dessert table to the accompaniment of Eye of the Tiger from Rocky III and Starships’ We Built This City. It was totally cheesy and I loved every second of it!

Here’s how it all went down. First, we built up a wide ribbon of chocolate cake soil baked by Tash.

Next, we added plain and striped meringues baked by Tash.

Then it was time to add the two different types of popcorn.

Next, we added fresh strawberries.

Then Tash drizzled her salted caramel sauce over the table as I arranged the bought salted caramel pots.

More salted caramel drizzling by Tash.

Out comes my cleaver to chop up the peanut brittle!

Note to self: remember to pin one’s hair up next time one does this…

Almost ready… just one last thing to put into place…

Ta da!!!!!

As we dramatically placed the whipped mascarpone cream into the centre of the table the garden erupted with cheers. The cream was made by my beautiful sister in law who added her own surprising twist to it – my face! Isn’t she a darling?

A quick snap with Tash to celebrate our successful trial.

My daughter and brother then halted proceedings for their speeches.

I love how everyone is listening to my brother but can’t take their eyes off the dessert table.

After the speeches, we invited everyone to help themselves to dessert. The kids had been vibrating with excitement and impatience the whole time we were working on the table so naturally they were the first to dive in.

The adults helped themselves at a more sedate pace and the table was quickly decimated. Later on, I loved watching both adults and children passing the table and grabbing random spoonfuls of the dessert.

As a completely unrehearsed trial the dessert table went off extremely well. Sure, there were a few things I’d do differently next time but we had so much fun doing it and everybody enjoyed watching it all come together.

It was a wonderful night. Thank you to everyone who helped make it a special evening. In particular, huge thanks to the following:

• J for his help with the bar, the incredible cocktail menu, these lovely photographs and the enormous set up and clean up. He had never tended bar before, but he did it so well he was asked to do two other parties on the night! You are #allthethings.
• Maja and Tanya from Hey Hooray DJs. These girls play the best tunes for weddings and events.
• Tim for his mini Banh Mi (Vietnamese pork rolls) made to order on the spot. They were so popular he ‘sold out’ within a couple of hours. Here’s the recipe.
• Claire and Nick at Bulb Lighting for the loan of the beautiful festoon and bud lighting that decorated the gardens. They have a fantastic range of lights available for hire and they’re amazing to work with. Check out some of the jobs they’ve done on Instagram at @bulblighting.
• Natasha for your help with the dessert table and salad prep. Mwah!
• Tanya, MJ, Matt, my mum and Dayle for their huge help with the salad prep. I couldn’t have done it without you!
• Megan for the loan of the bowls, platters and glasses.
• My brother for his help serving the satays and for his sweet and funny impromptu speech.
• Anita and Dayle for their help washing glasses on the night.
• My mum and dad for their enormous help setting up and cleaning up the event.
• My children for the lovely poem and their help drying the glasses the next day.

Have you ever made a dessert table? What would be in your fantasy dessert table?

All photographs by J.

After a particularly long, cold and tedious Winter, Spring has finally arrived in Australia. Hurrah!

For me, Springtime is about enjoying the sunshine, catching up with the friends I’ve neglected while hibernating, and making renewed efforts to eat well and exercise regularly.

You see, during Winter I can become a carb monster, eagerly devouring all the starchy stuff I can get my hands on. Come Springtime, however,  and my body craves fresh ingredients and lighter meals.

Now I find that if I eat a healthy breakfast it’s relatively easy to find the motivation to continue eating well during the day. But if I eat, say, leftover cold pizza for breakfast — *cough, cough* — I’m going to struggle.

Enter this super easy Chia Smoothie Bowl (Dilmah Green Tea Remix) to start the day off well.

The great things about smoothie bowls is that they are infinitely customisable according to your tastes and dietary requirements. So you can use any combination of fruit, milk and tea you like as long as you keep to the rough quantities in terms of solids and liquids.

For this rather pretty pink smoothie I’ve opted for a mixture of berries, pomegranate, soy milk and Dilmah Fragrant Jasmine Green Tea. 

I love antioxidant-rich green tea and drink a large pot of it every day when I’m working at my desk – I find it helps me to focus, as well as helping with digestion.

If you’ve never made anything with chia seeds before don’t be scared – all you do is mix them into some liquid, in this case, the smoothie mixture, and let them sit and swell for 10 or so minutes.

I like using chia seeds to thicken this smoothie bowl because they are rich in fibre, protein, antioxidants, and essential omega 3s. Plus, they allow me to feel less guilty about the leftover pizza eaten the day before so I’m basically winning whichever way you look at it.

Now I’m off to enjoy the sunshine. Spring picnic, anyone?

This post was sponsored by Dilmah Tea. Check out their latest tea flavours, health benefits of tea, FAQs about tea and tea events.

Chia Smoothie Bowl (Dilmah Green Tea remix)

Smoothie Bowl (Dilmah Green Tea remix)

 

Author: Christina Soong | The Hungry Australian

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: Australian

Prep time:  5 mins

Total time:  5 mins

Print

An easy and healthy breakfast smoothie bowl

Ingredients

• 3 bananas
• ½ cup (125 mls) Dilmah Fragrant Jasmine Green Tea, brewed according to packet instructions and then cooled.
• ½ cup (125 mls) milk. You can use soy, cow's, oats, almond or rice milk.
• 250 grams mixed fruit (I used washed and hulled strawberries and blueberries).
• 3 Medjool dates to sweeten (you can substitue 1-2 teaspoons of honey, stevia, agave syrup, maple syrup or rice malt syrup).
• 2.5 tablespoons chia seeds.
• Fresh fruit to garnish.

Instructions

1. Use a bench blender or stick blender to blend bananas, tea, milk, fruit and dates.
2. Pour into a bowl and then stir in chia seeds.
3. Leave smoothie bowl to sit for 10-15 minutes until chia seeds have swollen and smoothie mixture has thickened.
4. Decorate with fresh fruit - I used raspberries, blueberries and pomegranate seeds You can do stripes of fruit if you feel so inclined for everyday eats I simply sprinkle some fruit on top.

Notes

Makes one large serving for an adult or 2 small servings for young children

3.3.3077

I’m dating someone at the moment and it’s both sweet — he’s #kindaamazing — and mildly terrifying.

In my working life I can tolerate a high degree of risk. I’ve moved countries and cities lots of times and have always managed to find interesting jobs. Part of this is due no doubt to the can-do, try-anything-once attitude you develop as a traveller: you stop thinking in boxes and start thinking in possibilities. And our thoughts create our world, don’t they?

However, in my personal life, I have little room for risk, not with two kids in tow.

Unfortunately, with or without kids dating is inherently risky. You can experience nearly every single human emotion on a first date, including anticipation, shyness, pleasure, joy, disgust, horror, pain, embarrassment, and, of course, humiliation.

Wow. I’m really selling dating, aren’t I?

But regular readers will know that I’ve blogged before about dating — see lessons learned from dating plus 10 ways to tell if someone likes you and Red Berry Soup — and haven’t held back. So when leading dating site, e-Harmony, recently approached me to write a piece about 5 awesome and creative dates ideas in Adelaide for their dating guide, I wasn’t sure what to think. Would I be able to write about dating for them with my usual (possibly, brutal) honesty?

Luckily, the folks at e-Harmony understood exactly where I was coming from. So, if you’re interested, check out more of my thoughts on dating plus my picks for 5 creative and awesome dates in Adelaide on the e-Harmony blog.

And for those of you who are single and dating, I applaud your courage. Good luck out there!

PS If you’re interested in giving e-Harmony a go, they’re currently offering a special deal for The Hungry Australian readers (73% discount off usual prices).

Photo credit: doughnuts and coffee at Devour Cafe & Patisserie (shot by moi).

Just over four years ago I published my first post on The Hungry Australian – a recipe for my dad’s Chinese Sausage Omelette.

At the time, I had no inkling that this blog would end up changing my life so dramatically. It all happened quite organically – after six months I was offered my first long-term client contract and my accidental freelance career grew from there.

Last year, something unexpected happened: this blog was judged Best Australian Blog 2014 by the Australian Writer’s Centre, over 1,100+ other blogs.

Winning the top gong was a tremendous surprise and while the recognition was lovely, the subsequent attention and unexpected self-consciousness that followed led to a case of Writer’s Block. Yes, it was extremely ironic.

Happily, a chance conversation on an overseas trip helped put things in perspective and got me back on track: I realised I had to stop worrying about everyone else’s expectations and just focus on creating the best work I was capable of.

Currently, I’m shooting a food and travel book — Flavours of South Australia for Smudge Publishing — working with a few select clients and focusing on my own writing projects. I also have a new agent — Kathryn Fleming at The Fleming Agency — and I couldn’t be happier as she’s extremely good at what she does and her representation allows me to focus on what I enjoy most: creating stories.

Between work, writing and family commitments, I’ve had much less time to blog this year than ever before. But I have a stack of blog posts that I’m doing final edits on and will publish shortly so thank you for your patience.

Most importantly, thank you for being part of The Hungry Australian. As a blogger, I hope to create stories that connect and resonate with people: the fact that so many of you have let me into your lives either via this blog or one of my social media accounts is something I find both astonishing and humbling.

Christina xx

About these photos

I shot these photos on the fly a couple of weeks ago at Nasi Padang Minang, a humble coffee shop at 92 Jalan Transfer in the historical Georgetown area of Penang, Malaysia. At the Nasi Padang Minang the 50 Indonesian and Malaysian dishes on the menu are cooked early in the morning and then left out, uncovered, for diners to help themselves. Australian health and safety inspectors would be having a fit but I knew that eating here would be fine because I was being hosted by Mark from Simply Enak Tours, which specialises in small-group tours of interesting places not usually visited by tourists.

Mark has been coming to this coffee shop for years so he knew exactly what to order. So we ate the delicious house speciality — whole fried fish with fried shallots (ikan bakar) — along with our individual choices of curries, vegetables, rice and salad (ulam) dipped into sambal (chilli paste). I’d never eaten the crunchy, deep-fried flat fish seen on the right side of the main plate before – they tasted like anchovies and were mind-blowingly good. As we ate and drank our iced coffees we chatted about Georgetown’s cultural and food history and I marvelled again at the power of food as both a form of legacy and a way to build new bridges.

One of my mentors once said to me, “you can Have It All. Just not all at once.”

I was running a successful NGO in Shanghai and pregnant with my first child when we had this conversation. I knew my world was about to change but I had no idea how much it would. However, I trusted her then and I know her advice to be true now.

It’s such a big thing to live up to, this notion of Having it All. Basically, it boils down to having a great relationship, a great career, a great family life, a great social life and a great lifestyle. All while being impeccably buffed, toned, coiffed, pert and polished at all times, naturally.

Having it All is designed to turn smart people into gibbering wrecks, full of self-loathing and insecurity. Where is this fabulous, Pinterest-pinnable life I’m supposed to be having? Why isn’t my whole weekend Facebook worthy? Why has my latest Instagram photo only attracted a ho-hum response?

Having it All is primarily a female concept. We rarely give men backwards compliments like, “I don’t know how you do it” or “your life must be so hard,” both of which I’m told semi-regularly. We rarely wonder how a dad will manage his young children and a demanding job because we assume that someone else will take care of the kids, and for the most part, that’s true. It may not be what the feminists amongst us, myself included, want to hear, but it is the reality: women still manage the majority of the housework and the child-rearing.

In my case, I have an incredible support network, my family and ex husband are close by and happy to step in when necessary, and I happily outsource as much as possible. And there is absolutely no way I could do what I do without all of this help.

Women are told to lean in to make it up the corporate ladder. But this just isn’t feasible for most women unless you have an amazingly understanding and available spouse and the financial resources to support this. Also, those of us who climbed that ladder as responsibility-free singletons often don’t have the same goals after we become parents: once you’ve spent your days at home with small children you may not want to spend your days working with adults who behave like small children.

Present, too, after kids, may be the shifting of priorities, the putting of other’s needs before our own: I wanted to be present in my kids’ lives as they grew up, just as my parents were in mine.

Yet my ambition and my desire to do interesting work and make a difference hasn’t dimmed one iota. There are so many things I still want to do. So many places yet to visit. So many meals still to be eaten.

So how do I reconcile these competing desires?

Well, like Jack Donaghy, the fictional CEO in NBC’s 30 Rock, I like to imagine my life as a pie chart divided into a number of sections. In no particular order, my ‘Wheel of Domination‘ comprises: Work; Family; Writing; Blogging; Relationship; Friends; Exercise and Health; Sleep; Travel; and Household.

At times when I am failing spectacularly in any one section, I remind myself that I am not going to be able to do all of them perfectly at once: there just aren’t enough hours in the day. And I allow myself to be OK with this.

So I compromise. As some areas need more attention, I move some sections temporarily to the back burner, knowing that I will need to address this imbalance in due course. I prioritise where I put my energy and I avoid feeling unhelpful guilt about any of it – that’s what my mother is for!

However, two areas I cannot overlook are sleep and exercise. I’ve neglected both in recent months and have learned my lesson: if I don’t get enough the wheels come off and I can’t function properly. So they’re non-negotiable now and if it means giving up other nice but non-essential activities then so be it.

My experience is not unique – most working parents will be able to relate to the constant juggling of priorities and tasks and rarely feeling well-rested. Some days days I look at my To Do lists for the day, week and month and I feel like one of those Chinese acrobats spinning dinner plates on tall steel rods: one false move and it will all come crashing down.

Still, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure, there are times when I fantasise about having a shack by the beach in which to write, uninterrupted, for a month. But the reality is that ideal circumstances and timing rarely coincide – there’s never a good time to start a new job, get married, have kids, write a book, move house, get divorced, fall in love, go back to study or start a new business. We do these things in spite of the chaos and uncertainty around us and this is how it should be.

So to all you amazing people out there worried about not Having It All: next time you fail spectacularly, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you are Having It All. Just not all at once.

I delved into the murky world of online dating a few months ago and it was an eye-opener. For starters, I learned that I’m a judgemental bitch.

Now we all have our particular quirks, and mental and physical characteristics we find attractive or otherwise. In the real world, you might make your mind up about someone during the first few minutes of one-on-one chatting. But in the online world, sometimes all it takes is a photo or a casual comment and their fate is sealed.

For instance, if a guy’s profile pic is him posing with a chained up, drugged-to-its-eyeballs tiger I swipe left. I don’t think he is cool for posing with that poor animal; I find it weird and disturbing.

Similarly, if a guy’s profile photos are mostly half-naked boudoir poses I’m steering well clear. Fellas, I get that you’ve worked hard for your abs and that you’ve proud of them but a little mystery is attractive. Also, if you’re built like that I’m going to have suck my tummy in whenever I’m around you so that’s not going to work.

I am also wary of non-actor/presenter types who post continuous selfies to their social media accounts. I wonder what’s actually going on with them behind the carefully edited and filtered shots and whether they measure their self-worth in Likes and Follows. So if that’s you, I’m out.

Words are equally important to me. This is a good example of what not to say to someone:

Me: Thanks for your message. Unfortunately, I don’t think it would work out between us because I’m looking for a relationship and you’re clearly not.

Him: You never know – you could be the one. You look nice and you’re Asian.

Ugh. I. Just. Can’t. Even.

Similarly, if someone calls me ‘pretty girl’ or ‘beautiful’ in a private message, as in, ‘Hi, beautiful,’ or ‘Hey, pretty girl,’ I’m immediately turned off. He took his best shot and that’s what he came up with? Something completely generic? Sorry, not interested.

In a different way, if a guy’s profile and direct messages are full of spelling and grammatical errors I can’t read on. ‘Intelligent’ does not have an ‘a’ in it. ‘Restaurant’ is not spelt ‘restraint’. ‘Business’ is not spelt ‘busniess.’ Look, I understand that not everyone is a good speller and that some people are dyslexic. But you’re typing this on a phone, tablet or laptop – how hard is it to use the autocorrect? Attention to detail counts, fellas.

Now if a guy’s profile clearly states that he’s not up for anything serious or any kind of commitment, that’s a red flag for me – I don’t care how charming his subsequent message are. Ladies: don’t go into something like this thinking you can change a man’s mind because he’s being honest about the fact that he’s not ready to commit. I’ve learned to decline approaches like this immediately because I want to be with someone who actually wants to be in a relationship.

Now if I politely decline someone’s approach I feel like that should be it – no harm, no foul. Not so, according to some guys, who feel like I owe them a detailed explanation about why I won’t go out with them. Ladies: don’t even try explaining as some guys will try to convince you that you have to go out with them. Take this exchange.

Me: Thanks for your message but I don’t think it would work out between us. Good luck out there. 

Him: Oh ok. Why’s that? If it’s not too much to ask.

Me: Nothing personal – you’re just not my type.

Him: Looks, I assume?

Him: Just realised that is is so Hollywood movie. Boy meets girl. Girl rejects boy assuming they have nothing in common or he does not meet her previously used partner criteria, which led her to be single in the first place. Everyone can see that he is perfect for her and would treat her the way she deserves to be treated but will she see it before it’s too late?

WTF? Have we met? Dude, you don’t know me. And I sure as fuck don’t have to go out with you just because you ask.

Now if you actually manage to find someone who doesn’t come across as a complete psycho my advice is to meet with him or her for a drink or meal as quickly as possible. Chemistry is an elusive thing and you don’t want to waste weeks or months chatting to someone who you are not attracted to in person.

Now I’m aware that I’m sounding a little negative — dating can do that to a person — so to end this post on a positive note, I have a helpful guide which explains how to tell if someone likes you.

This actually came about because I was chatting with a new friend the other night — Hi, Erick! — and we were discussing dating and the differences between men and women. He told me he loves dating but that that he’s never really sure when a woman likes him. So as a community service to all the single men and women out there, here is our guide:

10 Ways to Know if Someone Likes You

1. They talk to you a lot and are always hanging around you;
2. They compliment/insult you a lot;
3. They have a goofy grin on their face when they look at you;
4. They do nice things for you;
5. They find excuses to stay in touch with you;
6. They touch you when they’re talking to you, ostensibly to emphasise a point;
7. They smile or frown at you a lot, meaning you have an emotional impact on them;
8. They laugh at all your jokes, even the bad ones;
9. They kiss you; and/or
10. They tell you.

Ultimately, we are all foolish, irrational creatures when we’re in love. Good luck being foolish out there!

2015 is rushing by at an alarming rate and my beloved blog has been sorely neglected. So instead of waiting for that perfect, non-existent free day to craft one of my lengthy personal story/recipe posts or put the finishing touches on one of my huge travel posts (Turkey, Abu Dhabi and Southern Ocean Lodge stories still to come, folks!) I’ve decided to mix things up with a short ‘n’ sweet update today.

I’ve recently been researching some of South Australia’s best food experiences for four photo-journalism pieces I’m working on for a client. It was pretty much my dream commission: I was given an open brief, asked to pitch some story ideas and then told I had all four assignments.

Pinch me hard, I thought.

As part of my research I’ve been travelling around the state and eating out a lot lately. When I say a lot, I mean a lot: I managed four tasting menus within 36 hours once!

But all this eating is for a good cause and I’m having a wonderful time revisiting old favourites and getting to know my new happy places. There is such incredible food talent here in South Australia – I have high expectations when it comes to, well, nearly everything, and I’ve been genuinely thrilled by some of the food I’ve eaten lately.

Do you recognise any of these places or dishes? I’m looking forward to sharing these stories with you soon. In the meantime, I have more blog posts in the works – thank you for your patience.

PS if you want to keep up with my travels in (close to) real-time, you can follow me on Instagram at @thehungryaustralian.

Last year, my lovely friend Sky asked me if I’d be interested in doing a shoot with Aspire, the excellent lifestyle magazine that she edits.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked.

“How about you shooting and styling a meal with a couple of other food blogger friends?” she suggested. “You could all cook your own recipes.”

How could I say no?

I’m lucky to have some great food blogging friends in Adelaide, many of whom I met in 2012 when I helped organise the national food blogging conference, Eat Drink Blog. A group of us get together as often as we can – it’s always fun catching up on everyone’s news over a mountain of food and wine, as we did just this week.

As time went on the project started to take shape. Sky and I agreed on an outdoor picnic setting and picnic food. Erin from She Cooks She Gardens and Natasha from Playing House came on board as the bloggers and Yin Shan from Amy Goddess Artistry was booked to do our make up.

In terms of a possible location, Erin suggested her in law’s beautifully lush garden in Kensington Gardens, which I gladly accepted.

I borrowed some white paper lanterns and Mason jars from my awesome in laws at Bulb Lighting and a whole car load of props from the delightful ladies at Vintage Carousel to supplement our own.

Then shortly before the shoot, Sky suggested that our children be included in the shoot, too. I agreed, and then I remembered the old show biz adage: never work with children or animals.

Just kidding! (My kids will definitely read this.)

In the end, it all came together fine, thanks to everyone’s combined efforts. Here’s the final spread in the magazine and a selection of photos from the day:

Want to see the complete piece and recipes from the day?  You can pick up a copy of Aspire at these outlets. Alternatively, you can read the magazine online.

Many thanks to Aspire, Sky, Erin, Tash, Emily, Julian, Jasper, Tim, Amy Goddess Artistry, Alison and Tom, Vintage Carousel and Bulb Lighting  xx

Hello! How extremely overdue my first post of 2015 is.

I had good intentions to post on January 1, truly I did. But I’ve been juggling the kids on holidays on top of my client work and writing projects, plus hosting visiting friends, regular day trips down the Coast to soak up the Aussie summer, a week in Melbourne, a birthday, and my son starting school.

I have lots of new recipes, work projects and travel experiences to share in upcoming blog posts but I wanted to kick off 2015 with some photos from a lovely outdoor wedding I recently attended.

The ceremony took place on a bright, sunny afternoon in the stunning grounds of Carclew in North Adelaide. How adorable are the flower girls and page boys in this photo? And I’m not just saying that because my niece and nephew are leading the way!

The beautiful bride. 

Following the ceremony, drinks and canapés were served on the lawns before guests were invited to take their seats.

The wedding speeches were full of loving anecdotes that provoked roars of laughter.

The groom’s hilarious speech — revealing his bride’s quirks, happy nature and non-stop energy — made me laugh and cry.

Guests were then served a plated entrée and family-style mains by seriously good-looking servers. I prefer family-style servings at weddings because I don’t want to have to choose between two options: I want to try everything!

The day was a bit of a family affair, with my brother’s family and in-laws all playing supporting roles.

As the night lengthened, desserts — assorted pastries — were served and people danced to an awesome wedding set list by local friends, Hey Hooray DJs. 

It was a wonderful day. Weddings are usually joyful occasions but Missy and Andrew’s wedding was one of the nicest I’ve ever been to. Congratulations to the happy couple! xx