I’m pretty sure garlicky and tomatoey aren’t real words. But hey, this is my corner of the web and I’ll make up adjectives if I want to!

Besides, once you taste this dish, your tastebuds will immediately detect the delicious garlicky-ness and tomatoey-ness and dance happily. Guaranteed. Then you’ll forget all about my terrible vocabulary.

I served this with pearl couscous (also called Israeli couscous) but it would go just as well with rice, pasta or scooped up hastily with flatbread, so the fresh tomato juices can dribble down your chin.

I’m quite conservative when cooking with prawns and often find myself combining them with ‘safe’ flavours as seen here or simply buying cooked prawns and dipping them in homemade rose marie sauce (mayo, ketchup, lime juice).

However, I would like to branch out and get creative, and would love your help!

Tell me, what’s your favourite recipe using prawns? Leave a comment below with your suggestion, or even better, a link to a recipe online.

Thanks in advance, I’m looking forward to checking them out!

Christie x

Garlicky tomatoey prawns with basil recipe

serves 2 (easily doubled or trebled as needed)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped/minced
• 20 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 60ml (1/4 cup / 2 oz) chicken stock (broth) or water
• 400g (13 oz) raw green prawns, peeled
• 5-6 large fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
• sea salt and white pepper

1. Heat the oil in a wok or heavy-based frying pan until smoking. Throw in the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute until just starting to turn golden and smells really fragrant.

2. Add the cherry tomatoes and carefully pour in the stock or water (it may spit). Cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes soften and break down and the stock reduces a little.

3. Add the prawns and stir constantly for a further 2 minutes until they change colour to a vibrant pink. Season with salt and white pepper and stir in the basil. Serve immediately. Pictured above with pearl couscous.

We are currently house hunting for a new place so, of course, I’m scouring Pinterest everyday for styling ideas (isn’t re-decorating the best part of moving into a new house?).

That’s why when I saw this motorised kitchen island I had to share it with you. Having a kitchen big enough to have an island feature is one of my dreams – extra bench space, storage, eat-in breakfast – the possibilities are endless.

Plus, this one is super cool because it is activated via a mobile phone. What on earth will they think of next? (Hopefully it’s making hover boards a reality. Coolness!).

{story and images/video via the awesome blog: Dornob}

Christie x

If you’ve come looking for lovey-dovey Valentine’s stuff, I’m afraid you won’t find it.

I show my loved ones my appreciation everyday with good food, smiles and hugs. They don’t need heart-shaped chocolate/candy/cake, bunches of flowers or a garish red balloon to feel the love. OK, end rant!

Instead, I present you with this spicy, sweet and sour Thai red curry from a new cookbook I recently received: Wok, by Rachel Lane, which will warm you up from the inside out. Just like those fuzzy feelings on a first date (that’s going well).

See, I told you food is love!

Wok features 200 recipes and includes all the usual Chinese, Thai, Japanese and Korean favourites of fried rice, noodles, curries and soups.

However, there are also some fantastic unexpected gems from all corners of the globe such as Morocco (spiced rice vermicelli with chicken and fried almonds), the US (Cajun fried squid with aioli) and India (spiced cauliflower).

I found myself flicking through and bookmarking far too many recipes with the list topped by braised tofu stuffed with prawns and Chinese-style ‘bolognese’ with spiced pork. Swoon. Such drool-worthy titles, let alone meals!

In the end I gave the book to hubby and made him choose. We both can’t go past a good curry, or a good duck dish, so this recipe seemed our perfect match.

I always like to order duck curries when we go out to Thai restaurants, so I knew what a good one should taste like before I began. This made me both nervous and excited. I just love making homemade versions of takeaways! (Healthier!).

I needn’t have worried though because this recipe was dead easy (after I went out and bought a ready-cooked roast duck from the local chinese BBQ shop) and tasted, as my Dad would say, ‘just like a bought one’. (Inside joke, he usually says that when I cook him something and he thinks it’s really good. Meaning, you can cook like a pro.)

One last thought. None of the recipes are longer than a page so it is perfect for beginner cooks, or more aptly, bachelors. I think once I’m done with it, I’ll be passing it onto my 25 year old brother in law, so that he can get stuck in practising for his next dinner date.

If this book has got you in the mood to browse more stir fry dishes right now then why not check out my chilli beef and broccoli stir fry, Thai mushroom stir fry or spicy pork and noodle salad.

I’m curious. Do you like quick recipes or long labours of love?

Christie x

Fig & Cherry received the cookbook with compliments of the Penguin Publishing Group Australia. Thanks Heidi!

Roast duck and pineapple red curry recipe

serves 4

• 1/2 cup (125ml/4 oz) coconut cream
• 4 tablespoons red curry paste (I used the Ayam brand)
• 1 x 400ml (13 1/2 oz) can coconut milk
• 1/2 cup (125ml/4 oz) chicken stock
• 6 kaffir lime leaves
• 1/2 chinese roast duck, deboned and cut into bite sized chunks
• 200g (7 oz) fresh pineapple, cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) chunks
• 125g (4 1/2 oz) cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons (40ml/1 1/2 oz) fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon (20ml/3/4 oz) freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon (10g/3/8 oz) coarsely grated palm sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
• steamed rice, to serve

Pour the coconut cream in the wok and simmer for 5 minutes, to until the cream splits and a layer of oil floats to the surface. Add the curry paste and fry for 3 minutes, or until fragrant. Stir in the coconut milk and stock, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, add the lime leaves and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Add the duck, pineapple and tomatoes to the wok and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the duck is warmed through and the sauce has thickened. Add the fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar and simmer for a further 2 minutes. Stir through the basil leaves.

Serve with the steamed rice.

Earlier this year I made it one of my goals to make sure I cook the gorgeous recipes I bookmark on Pinterest. Today I’m pleased to say I’m keeping that goal, and it feels really good. Turns out it tastes good too.

I’m currently holidaying at my in-laws, and with all the extra pairs of hands to watch Poppy, I’ve got mine free for a spot of baking.

I specifically bookmarked this slice on Pinterest because it’s gluten free and caters to my MILs dietary needs. Now that I’m staying at her place, I can use her as my GF taste tester as well as bake it as a thank you gift for her hospitality. Win, win.

The original recipe used apricots but I’ve switched it to pears and made a few other small adjustments – like glazing with a locally made fig, ginger and walnut jam. I just can’t help myself with tweaking recipes, it’s some sort of addiction, I’m telling you.

The end result is a super moist cake with a slight tang from the yoghurt and my official GF taste tester, Angela, was pleased with the fact that it wasn’t dry and crumbly like other GF cakes. It was moist, easy to slice and held together beautifully. I think I’ll give myself a pat on the back for this one.

Do you prefer moist or light and fluffy cakes?

Christie x

Gluten free pear and almond slice recipe

based on a recipe by the gluten free scallywag.

• 130g unsalted butter, softened
• 125g brown sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 2 large eggs
• 40g moist coconut flakes
• 85g plain gluten free flour
• 160g almond meal (ground almonds)
• 220g gluten free natural yoghurt
• 6 pear quarters, tinned or ripe fresh ones, peeled and cored
• 2 tablespoons fig and ginger jam (or apricot jam)

1.  Preheat the oven to 170C/340F and line a 30cm x 15cm rectangular slice tray with baking paper.

2. Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each one.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut, gluten free flour and almond meal. Add the dry mixture to the wet batter in batches alternating with the yoghurt, folding the mixture using a large metal spoon until just combined. Try not to over mix.

4. Pour the batter into the slice tray and smooth out. Press the pears, core side up, gently into the batter. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean, but a little moist.

5. Warm the jam in a small saucepan until runny and then brush over the cake. Allow to cool completely before serving with fresh cream, gluten free vanilla yoghurt or ice cream. Cake is pictured above with natural yoghurt.

Hi there from the NSW North Coast!

The Fig & Cherry family are taking a well-deserved break, so posts will be sporadic over the next week as we swim, nap, relax and eat our way around the Northern Rivers area.

As you can see, Poppy likes to chill out on the lounge and watch music videos via the ABC for Kids app (it’s a lifesaver!).

I’ll also be enjoying some leisurely gluten-free baking with my MIL and reviewing a few new restaurants too, so stay tuned for those stories coming up.

Have a great week and see you back here shortly.

Christie x

January has been a big month for mushrooms in the blogosphere. Have you noticed?

You might remember I recruited some fantastic bloggers who made equally fantastic mushroom recipes in December. Well, in January we kept going with mouthwatering BBQ dishes. Let’s take a look…

Miso mushrooms with polenta by One Bite More.

BBQ mushrooms on toast with haloumi by A Cook’s Notebook.

Barbecued mushroom burgers with haloumi by The Food Mentalist.

Brown mushroom tortano by Cook Republic.

Which one is your favourite? I can’t choose!

Christie x

You know those all-edge brownie pans? Well, forget brownies.

Use the pan for pizza instead.

I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but just want to mention that this is especially genius for Sicilian-style pizza which is normally baked in a rectangle shape. Hence, when it is cut there are centre slices with no crust, but this brownie pan solves that problem!

I just like the idea of miniature pizza slices.

{story via Laughing Squid and Serious Eats, photo credit: Adam Kuban}

Are you a fan of pizza crusts?

Christie x

I had a few pesky overripe bananas in my fruit bowl last weekend, and when that happens there is only one thing to do.

Make banana bread.

I’d also just received a jar of Beerenberg Blood Orange Marmalade. I’m not a marmalade fan at all, but this one is much sweeter than other ones I’ve tasted, so I decided to tweak my usual dense and moist banana bread recipe and top it with a sweet glaze.

I simply warmed three tablespoons of the marmalade in a saucepan and then poured it over the cooked cake and brushed it in with a silicone brush.

The marmalade added a lovely tang and a welcome sweet/sticky element when served in thin slices with a dollop of whipped cream. Just heavenly.

Grab the banana bread recipe here.

Do you like tweaking your own favourite recipes for a change?

Christie x

Is one of your goals for 2012 to lose weight? Maintain weight? Eat healthier? Me too.

About a month ago I came across this article that lists 88 snacks with less than 100 calories, but I bookmarked it and put it aside so that I could share it with you around about now – when, perhaps, your will power is starting to fade.

The list is separated into two sections: sweet and savoury, and has some pretty interesting ideas. My favourites are sweet potato fries, pretzels with cream cheese and dried figs stuffed with ricotta.

There are also plenty of wacky suggestions such as marshmallow pear. I’m sorry, but there is no way sliced pear topped with marshmallows will taste good. I’d rather not have a snack at all! View the full list here.

What’s your favourite snack when watching your weight? Mine is a handful of olives eaten straight from the fridge.

Christie x

Happy Australia Day!

The weather is uncharacteristically rainy and cold in Sydney this year, so our plans for a picnic in the park drinking winetails has been foiled.

Never fear, I still prepared the breakfast of champions for little Poppy; Vegemite toast and Weetbix with blueberries.

Us adults feasted on cripsy bacon and scrambled eggs, although Poppy gobbled down some eggs too – she was hungry!

What are you eating for breakfast today?

Christie x

Update 3/2/2012: this competition is now closed. Congrats to the winners: David, Vici and Nicole.

Forget cocktails guys, winetails are the new black.

Not that I’m an expert or anything, but I did have a fiddle around making my own cocktails using Yellow Tail sparkling wine, and had some great results.

Win 6 bottles of Yellow Tail Wine!

Those recipes coming up in a minute, but first, make sure you are signed up to my email newsletter as I’ll be sending out competition details on Friday for how three lucky readers can win 6 bottles of Yellow Tail wine. Giveaway is exclusively for subscribers! Sign up right there in the sidebar -> -> ->

Right. Now that the admin is out of the way, let’s take a look at these winetails…

Once I got down to business, I was actually quite amazed at how versatile sparkling wine is when used in cocktails, ahem, winetails. The gentle fizz really adds a bit of fun and lightness, even for the ones that have strong alcohol in them (I’m looking at you bourbon whisky).

The best thing, though, was a new bottle feature – a resealable cap. How handy! Not only is this super convenient for regular folks who don’t want to drink a whole bottle in one sitting, but it was really great for me while I was experimenting and photographing over a whole day. The wine stayed fresh and chilled and ready for its close up.

Enough procrastinating though, let’s talk about these winetails.

Sparkling Leela. Named after the lovely girl who was taste-testing this for me. It’s a beautiful combination of peach nectar, fresh passionfruit and sparkling rose. A fun, girly, Aussie-Summer twist on a bellini.

Dark Golden Sunset. This is a masculine drink designed for the men at our taste-testing gathering. Bourbon whisky, cointreau, sparkling wine and dry ginger ale. Surprisingly, it remains quite a macho drink, even with the inclusion of supposedly ‘girly’ sparkling wine.

Minty Party Starter.  My taste-testers declared this was the best of the lot. Fresh, light and fruity with the mint being the stand-out ingredient. Definitely a winetail to kick your event off with a bang: lime, mint, vanilla sugar, moscato and tonic water. Yum!

Good luck in the competition guys, and do let me know if you try any of my winetail recipes tomorrow on Australia Day!

Christie x

This feature story and giveaway is proudly sponsored by Yellow Tail Wines.

Sparkling Leela

serves 1

• 30ml peach nectar
• 1 tablespoon passionfruit pulp (roughly half a passionfruit)
• 30ml vodka
• Yellow Tail Sparkling Rose

1. Pour the peach nectar into a champagne flute. Add the passionfruit pulp and vodka and stir.

2. Top with sparkling rose to fill the glass. Enjoy immediately.

Dark Golden Sunset

serves 1

• 30ml Bourbon Whisky
• 5ml Cointreau
• Yellow Tail Sparkling White Wine
• Dry Ginger Ale
• 2 ice cubes

1. Place the ice cubes into a short wide glass. Add the whisky and cointreau and stir.

2. Top with equal amounts of sparkling wine and dry ginger ale. Enjoy immediately.

Minty Party Starter

serves 1

• 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 3-4 mint sprigs
• 30ml vodka
• 60ml moscato
• Tonic water

1. Slice the lime into six wedges and place into a tall, slender hi-ball glass.

2. Add the sugar, mint and vodka. Smash, muddle and stir until the sugar dissolves.

3. Pour in the moscato and top with tonic water to fill the glass. Enjoy immediately.

I just love Miss Piggy! Her performance in the movie: The Muppets Take Manhattan was awesome and is etched in my childhood memory as one of the best films I’ve ever watched (like, 500 times).

I also love bento boxes. So, combine the two and I am in heaven. I really hope I can create something this fantastic for Poppy when she goes to school.

Would you ever bother with such a decorative lunch box for your child (or yourself)?

{story and image via LunchboxAwesome}

Christie x

Some nights you just want to get dinner on the table quickly. I mean, really quickly. On night’s like those I always turn to stir fries. Especially vegetarian ones.

Stir fries, for me, are never boring. There are just so many combinations of vegetables, spices and herbs that can come together quickly to create dinner in minutes. A dinner that tastes great and is good for you too.

I’m always trying to reduce the amount of meat our family eats and love the challenge of going vegetarian for one whole day every week. It’s easier than you might think, but if a whole day is a bit daunting, then maybe try dinner or lunch to get you started.

This mushroom stir fry actually has quite a “meaty” texture, well, they obviously don’t call mushrooms meat for vegetarians for nothing! It helped me use up a few ingredients I had in my fridge (thai green curry paste, ginger) and was beautiful served over basmati rice, which I prefer because it has a lower GI than jasmine or short grain varieties. It also works well mixed with egg noodles or served in crisp lettuce cups, san choy bau-style.

When I’ve made it on other occasions I’ve also thrown in some marinated tofu chunks, broccoli, spinach or bean sprouts. Feel free to add your favourite vegetables too, it’s a very versatile recipe.

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

How about you? Do you actively try to eat more vegetarian meals?

Christie x

Quick Thai-inspired mushroom stir fry

serves 2 (can be doubled or trebled)

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used sunflower)
• 1/2 red capsicum (red bell pepper), sliced into strips
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, thick centre stem removed, leaves finely sliced
• 250g mixed mushrooms (I used shiitake, enoki, oyster and king brown), cleaned and sliced
• 1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari to make this gluten free)
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• steamed rice, to serve

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan (skillet) over medium heat. Add the capsicum and cook for 5 minutes until softened.

2. Add the garlic, ginger and kaffir lime leaves and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the green curry paste and stir to coat all the ingredients in the paste.

3. Turn up the heat to high and add the mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes until browned and wilted. Splash in the sesame oil and soy sauce and stir well. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve with steamed rice.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my life now, but I just wish I appreciated more at the time how fancy free and awesome it was not to carry around a nappy bag, toys, baby food and a pram everywhere you go. Oh, and get a full nights sleep every night.

It got me thinking about all the great stories and recipes I have published on Fig & Cherry over the years and that new readers may not have seen them. Not to mention wonderful loyal readers who may have forgotten them, myself included.

Each month I’d like to take a step back in time to what I was doing here on my little corner of the web in years gone by. Jump on your hover boards and away we go!

January 2011

Australia Day was celebrated with a sweet treat of mini jelly pavlovas. Just the thing to satisfy when the weather is scorching!

I discovered the company, Mix My Muesli, and made a Fig & Cherry mix. Delicious! These days I have all the ingredients and make it up myself, but this website is a great option for those who are a little more time poor or less creative in the kitchen.

January 2010

January 2010 had me back-pedalling a bit by posting recipes I’d made on xmas day. There was a gorgeous coconut panna cotta with mango salad.

As well as some awesome polenta and proscuitto muffins which were excellent dipped into gravy! I’d forgotten about these, will have to make them again.

Australia Day was celebrated with some delicious kangaroo skewers. We don’t eat kangaroo that much any more – that must be rectified! And before you recoil in horror overseas readers, kangaroos are a pest here and their meat is yummy and virtually fat free!

January 2009

It seems January is a good time for granita in the hot Aussie Summer as I made one this year for New Year’s Eve and in 2009 there was a gorgeous pomegranate and lychee one.

There was the infamous incident at Cafe Ish.

I reviewed Opes in Lennox Head and asked my lovely readers What do you eat when you’re stressed? and admitted to ‘food profiling‘ in the supermarket (I must say, I have less time for that these days, with a toddler in tow).

January 2008

One of my first ever posts was about my fabulous wedding cake which had dozens of handmade sugar flowers and fairy lights powered by a battery pack cleverly disguised with fondant. Plus, I claimed to know where to get the best falafels in Sydney (and I still think they are pretty great!)

Well that was really fun so I think I will continue with these posts monthly.

Hope you enjoyed it too, I welcome your feedback!

Christie x

The minute I set eyes on this recipe I pinned it to my Things To Cook board and vowed to make it that weekend. No excuses.

I could barely believe my eyes: egg boats. Genius!

Why on earth haven’t I thought of this before?

The original recipe uses pancetta and gruyere cheese, both of which are great ingredients, however I had just roasted some fantastic local Australian garlic so decided to use that instead.

Baguettes always remind me of my dear friend Céline who is of Chinese/Vietnamese heritage. She grew up in France and now lives in the UK (oh, and speaks 6 languages!). Phew. Yes, she’s a very talented lady, but back to the story…

Every time I look at a baguette I am reminded of a trip she took me on to her home town of Toulouse in the south of France. Céline bought a gorgeously fresh baguette and loads of her favourite local goats cheese but then realised she couldn’t fit it all into her luggage to take back home to the UK with her.

So what did she do? Waste the food? No! She proceeded to load up the huge baguette with multiple logs of goats cheese and eat the whole lot. Right in front of us. In about 10 minutes.

Now, that’s a dedicated foodie (or a crazy woman), you decide!

So of course I had to top this awesome egg boat with goats cheese in a homage to Céline. Love you, girl! :)

My only tip? Make sure you don’t go too hard when removing the inner bread layer because even if there is the tiniest hole in the bottom, the pesky runny egg will find it’s way through and you’ll face a sticky, baked-on mess.

I’m speaking from experience. See picture below.

And the best bit? You can eat breakfast with one hand – very useful if you have a little one climbing all over you for a cuddle! Plus, it tastes great at room temperature so would be perfect as part of a buffet brunch.

Thanks to the guys at Spoon Fork Bacon for the inspiration for this! I seriously wish I’d thought of it first.

Have you ever done something crazy involving food?

Christie x

Egg boats with roasted garlic and goats cheese recipe

serves 2

1 half-size baguette
1 tablespoon butter
10 button mushrooms, quartered
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons double cream (heavy cream)
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
100g goats cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Prepare the baguette by cutting a deep ‘V’ into it, without cutting all the way through. Use your fingers to pull out the fluffy bread and make a cavity. Place onto a baking tray lined with non-stick paper.

2. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the mushrooms for 5 minutes until browned and tender. Set aside.

3. Whisk the eggs and cream together. Add the mushrooms, parsley and roasted garlic. Season with salt and pepper and whisk until well combined.

4. Pour into the baguette and crumble the goats cheese over the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until puffed and golden.

5. Allow to cool for 5 minutes to let it set and then slice and serve.

I absolutely despise seeing bleached bulbs of garlic at the green grocer labelled ‘China’ or ‘Mexico’ when we can grow beautiful fresh garlic here in Australia (not me, mind you. But wonderful green-thumbed people can).

That’s why when I saw a story about Anarel Farm Garlic on Celia’s blog, I got very excited.

Diana and Ian Ditchfield are small scale farmers who grow their garlic in the NSW Central Tablelands using no chemicals. They sell direct to the public and send the garlic to customers via Australia Post, however, after chatting with Diana on the phone I realised it was only a short drive to her Sydney home, so I collected the garlic myself.

I just love meeting the people behind the product and Diana is so obviously passionate about growing great tasting and sustainable produce. It was lovely to meet her and be inspired to take better care of my sad plants.

I asked her to give me a selection and she packaged up five different varieties. See picture above. This is how they tasted raw:

• Australian White: pungent and slightly hot.
• Australian Red: richer flavour than the white.
• Australian Purple Stripe: rich flavour and slightly hot.
• Xian: rich flavour but not too hot.
• Shantung: hot with a strong flavour and notable aftertaste.

The garlic also freezes really well, so you can stock up in bulk. Celia has some good tips on how to do this here.

After tasting them raw, I was very curious to see how the flavour changed when they were roasted. I wrapped a head each of the white, red and purple stripe and baked them in the oven for about 40 minutes on 180C. The house smelled amazing.

I excitedly opened up the little shiny packages of foil and was pleased to find the cloves had gone all soft and jammy. Interestingly, the flavours of all three taste very similar when roasted, even though they taste slightly different when raw, with the Australian red winning for overall sweetness and a beautiful mellow, smooth flavour when roasted.

Some of the gorgeous roasted garlic went into a yummy egg recipe. Come back tomorrow to check it out! (Update – recipe was Egg boats with roasted garlic and goats cheese).

Are you a fan of garlic? Do you like it raw or roasted/cooked?

Christie x

From the minute we exited the lifts and saw the white picket fence, I was smitten.

The Victoria Room Tea Salon is a haven of girlishness, class and fun – all enclosed within a white picket fence and carefully decorated with splashes of my favourite colour pink (chair covers, menus, crockery).

Poppy and I met our dear friend Lorraine at midday for an indulgent high tea and a bit of obligatory girl talk! We ordered the Couture High Tea ($56), which comes with a flute of Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial (more details on the food in a minute) and the Cheddar and Thyme scone filled with smoked Atlantic salmon, crème fraiche & dill ($14).

It all arrived quite quickly and got beautifully arranged on the table. Lorraine and I started snapping away with our cameras as poor little Poppy sat staring at the spread longingly from her high chair. See picture above.

They don’t actually have high chairs available at the restaurant but the lovely waitstaff kindly went and found one from another shop just for us.

Once we were done photographing we got stuck into the high tea which included sandwiches, a selection of sweets, a choice of scone with cream and conserve and a pot of tea.

We started with the sandwich selection first; chicken, smoked salmon, beef and cucumber. The chicken was very nice; creamy with a hint of dill – Poppy gobbled some down in a flash. The smoked salmon was lemony with just the right amount of peppery rocket and the beef had a great kick due to the horseradish. I always get a little excited when eating sandwiches without crusts, it just feels so posh. How about you?

The cheddar and thyme scone with smoked salmon, however, was the star of the show for me. All the flavours just worked so well together – cheesy, herby, crunchy rocket, smooth rich salmon and a dollop of cooling creme fraiche. What a winning combination.

Next up was the sweet scone. We chose the rose flavoured one which had a tasty bit of turkish delight on top (I would have liked a bit more actually!). It was served with proper cream (of which Lorraine and I are both fans) and was really quite good – warm, soft and crumbly without being dry. I let Poppy have a taste and she kept pointing at it to signal she wanted more.

Unfortunately I only got to briefly taste the sweet pastry selection as Poppy was getting tired and needed a bit of a cuddle. Check out Lorraine’s post for full details on those (and lots of cute pics of Poppy too!). I did, however, manage to scoff down a bit of lukewarm tea (as is the case of a Mum!), but the Darjeeling tea I ordered was really full flavoured and served in the most beautiful tea pot.

Yes, we’re greedy. As you can imagine we were pretty full by then but we just couldn’t leave without tasting one of their delicious sounding sundaes. The gorgeous beast above is the Knickerbocker Glory (awesome name! $12.95). It had layers of strawberries, hand-made ice cream, meringue pieces, almond praline and warm chocolate sauce. Oh my! So good!

Of course Poppy wanted a taste of this too, so I did give her a few teaspoons as a treat.

If you’re looking for a peaceful oasis to rest your shopping-weary legs that is away from noisy street noise and busy food courts, then I suggest you take the lift up to level 5 and sit down to a nice cup of tea and some carefully made sweets at the Tea Salon. If you’re feeling flush, then maybe a look around in the designer shops afterwards could be in order too.

Do you like seeking out good places to have high tea?

Christie x

Not only is this the easiest salad in the world, but it can also be the tastiest if made with home grown vegetables.

I was lucky enough to score a beautifully crisp and slightly bitter home grown cucumber and knew this was the only way it could be served.

The fresh little cucumber was sliced and mingled with vine ripened tomato, splashed with a little olive oil and white balsamic vinegar, then finished with a luxurious sprinkling of truffle salt. Perfection.

Let the salad sit while you make the rest of your dinner (whatever that may be) and basque in the glory of freshly picked goodness.

Do you have a quick go-to salad?

Christie x

Tomato and cucumber salad

serves 2 as a side dish (easily doubled, trebled or more)

1 medium cucumber
1 large vine ripened tomato
1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
pinch truffle salt (or regular salt)

1. Slice the cucumber and tomato and place into a shallow bowl.

2. Splash over the vinegar and oil and sprinkle with truffle salt. Mix gently and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

The guys on Ramsey Street were right. It is so lovely to have nice neighbours. Especially when they give you cake.

I am usually the one sharing my cooking experiments on the neighbourhood so it is a very nice feeling to have the favour returned.

Last night I got a text message “pumpkin roll at your door”. Now that’s the kind of text I like to get!

I opened the door to find the gorgeous package pictured above.

The lovely Viola had dropped off a wedge of her Aunty’s famous pumpkin pie roll based on this recipe.

After many Christmas’s and Thanksgiving’s in the US eating this delicious cake, Viola decided to give it a go. She said the freshly ground spices (cloves, cinnamon) and proper American canned pumpkin puree are what make it so good.

She even imported cans of the pumpkin puree to make this and credits the lovely burnt orange colour to this special ingredient.

And the taste? Luscious! Heavy with spice, dense and moist. The cream cheese provides a lovely cooling creamy contrast to the other strong flavours. But you’ll just have to take my word for it :)

Do you have friendly neighbours?

Christie x

Since so many of you got into a hissy fit about my pizza in a cone story, I thought I would just go ahead and throw some more fuel on the fire with this.

A new book called Gay Men Don’t Get Fat by Simon Doonan has intrigued me. The title is a homage to the hugely popular book French Women Don’t Get Fat and, according to UK newspaper The Guardian, it is an “arch and witty discourse on aspects of gay and straight life, written in a gossipy, frivolous and ultimately rather lovable style”.

Doonan skirts the line of stereotypes by labelling foods as ‘Straight’ (burritos!) and ‘Gay’ (sushi!). A little bit crass, but actually sounds like something I’d like to read for a giggle. And yes, just like the pizza, I’m also labelling this book “fun” (apologies in advance for offending sensitive readers! I’m sure I’ll feel your wrath again in the comments).

Publishers, send a copy my way, I’d love to check it out!

How about you, would you read this?

{image and story via The Guardian}

Christie x