Taking A French Macarons Course

Oh gosh it's been so long that I haven't blogged anything. A lot has happened and I am now back ready to revive my blog. I still love and have a passion for food, cooking and eating them. I guess I will start of by posting a class I have taken a few months ago. I was fortunate enough to get an open seat the morning of day course that had been booked for 6 months! A French Macarons Class! I've only eaten them and how I've only dreamed of making them. My dream came true! I do have cookery books and have only read them and drooled over photos. It looked and sounded very difficult to make. I'm glad that I got to learn hands on. This lovely gems are so tedious to make. Loads of steps but the finished product is well worth the time. The recipe we used came from Chef Pierre Hermes book and ooohh was it ever so delicious. We made purple lavender, orange, green mint, and white coconut with chocolate ganache.

 

Hello, I'm Back!

Hello to all my lovely blogger friends. I've been out of the loop and was on an extended hiatus with my 2 children and our little dog. My children and I are on a path of healing and mending our hearts. Unforeseen circumstances had shaken our entire household a few months ago. I am a mother and father to my babies at this present time. For awhile a couldn't bring myself to cook in our kitchen. We have also moved out of our house to a flat/apartment which is a place we now call HOME and LOVE. Most of the meals I have cooked were semi homemade and nothing from scratch and couldn't bring myself to blog about them. The reason why I started this blog 2 years ago was to help with my healing process with the loss of someone very important in my life. I've met some wonderful supportive people who enjoy, love food and cooking as much as I do. Now I'm back ready to carry on with this new life and continue with this new healing process for my children and I. I hope you are all still here to follow our adventures and journey in cooking. : )

I have a blogger question. A few months ago I wanted to change the name of my blog so I created another one and didn't get around to importing my post to the new name on blogger. I don't remember what email address and password so its been dormant for awhile now. Does anyone know how I can access it? I tried to create a new one but blogger wouldn't allow me since the name already existed. Please help... If there is no way of recovering it I will have to move to wordpress.

Thank you..

At Postino Wine Cafe With The Ladies

So I was able to go out to dinner with my sissy and girlfriends last Friday. This dinner was long overdue. We've all been so busy with our children and family and a nice relaxing dinner such as this was well needed. We went downtown to a place called Postino Wine Cafe. We sat outside the patio which was perfect. The weather was perfect and the evening was beautiful. The atmosphere was great and the tunes they were playing was perfect as well. My sissy have been wanting to take me to this place since my birthday last year because of their bruschetta but we didn't really get a chance.

We had such a good time and just laughed and laughed for hours. The ladies also laughed at the word tunes because I told one of the server that I loved the tunes that they were playing instead of in their minds I should have used the word music.. Ha ha ha! : )

I love bruschetta and this is my bruschetta board..

You can choose four different one's and each bruschetta was cut into four little slices..

I ordered the Fresh Tomatoes with Mozzarella & Basil..

Prosciutto with Figs & Mascarpone..

Ricotta with Dates & Pistachios (I had it without the pistachios)..

Burrata, Bacon, Arugula & Tomatoes..

Oh my gosh! Yummmm, they were soooooo good! I ate the entire board! Well, not the board just the bruschettas on it.

The ladies had this on their board...

Warm Artichoke Spread, Brie & Apples with Fig Spread, Salami with Pesto, Fresh Mozzarella with Tomatoes and Basil, and Smoked Salmon with Pesto & Capers..

They are all soooooo good!!! We had another board and I didn't get to take a photo of it. My girlfriend had the cheese board as well..

Three Artisan Cheeses served with nuts, fruits and toasted MJ breads..

I love this place and their Bruschetta. I will definitely be coming back here again with the Hubs, family and friends. I highly recommend that you visit Postino Wine and Cafe if you've got one near you. Everything about the atmosphere, the staff, decor, ambiance, and music it's just the perfect place to hang out, relax and unwind. : )

*This is of my own opinion and experience at the establishment and not a paid advertisement.

Bulgogi (Korean Barbecued Beef)

This spring season has just been kicking my bum and not only mines but my children as well. My children both have asthma and when allergy season strikes it strikes the entire household. My little one's had fallen ill due to allergies and breathing problems. I have been nursing them lying awake day and night making sure they are breathing and not out of their sight. They are both feeling much better now

Now its my turn. That's how it usually goes kids are healthy, send them to school, they catch something from other children, bring it home, mummy takes care of them and when all is well, I then start to feel unwell and I've caught the bug. It's a long journey for me back to my normal self since I am also dealing with my own lung issues. When you can't breath nothing else matters and it's the worst and most helpless feeling in the world. I nurse myself back to health. It's been a struggle to get anything cooking in the kitchen so we've relied on some ready made meals. Everyone in the house has been doing the best they can.

Anyway, I tried to recreate a recipe that we tried a while ago from a Korean restaurant called Bulgogi (Barbecued Beef). When my son first tried this dish he loved it and he's our picky one. My darling daughter's more adventurous with food so she's much easier to feed. Here's how our Bulgogi turned out.

Thank you for continuing to support my culinary adventure, visiting my blog and for leaving lovely comments... Puts a smile on my face : )

Ingredients

2 sirloin steak
2 cloves garlic minced
half an onion diced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
some coriander (cilantro)  leaves
2 tablespoon olive oil


Method

Slice the steak into small strips I just chopped mine up. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and let the steak marinate for an hour cover it in cling film and leave in the fridge. I couldn't be bothered to wait for an hour so I didn't marinade. After I've created the marinade I mixed it into the steak and placed it on a frying pan with the olive oil over medium heat. I fried the steak until the meat has cooked and sauce have reduced. Ready to serve over rice.. : )

Sticky Lime Chicken

This is another recipe that my chic-a-dis and I made during spring break. I love being in the kitchen with them cooking and experimenting (playing) with recipes. We were working with ingredients that we've already got in our pantry and fridge so there was no need for a trip to the grocery store. My babies love dishes that are savoury and citrusy. Oh, and did I say sweet? Well not too sweet just a hint of it if it's not dessert. The honey in this recipe gave it just that. So what I'm getting at is that my little one's love savoury, citrusy, salty, sweet combination.

Ingredients

4 skinless and boned chicken breasts
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 375F.

Place the chicken breasts in a roasting pan. Mix together the lime zest, juice, honey, oil and garlic in a small bowl. Pour the mixture on the chicken and season with pepper. Place in the oven and baste every 10 minutes. Cook for 35-40 minutes until the chicken is tender and there are no pink inside. As the chicken cooks the liquid in the pan will thickens, it will give it that sticky coating. Once the chicken is cooked rub the chicken on the pan to get the rest of the tasty sticky juice on both sides.

Serve it with veg or rice. Better yet serve it with both.

Enjoy! : )