I’ve been AWOL from my blog for six full weeks. Why the hiatus? Well, on 27 December, Panu and I got married. On 2 February, we celebrated with friends. About three days after that, we made a baby.

Ok, so we didn’t make a baby yet per se, it’s still gestating (urgh, I hate [...]]]>

I’ve been AWOL from my blog for six full weeks. Why the hiatus? Well, on 27 December, Panu and I got married. On 2 February, we celebrated with friends. About three days after that, we made a baby.

Ok, so we didn’t make a baby yet per se, it’s still gestating (urgh, I hate that word) but that was pretty much the beginning of the undoing of Catty the Food Blogger, and the introduction of Catty who basically doesn’t want to eat food, cannot stand smelling food and oh, even photos of food? Yes, even they make her want to throw up.

Pregnancy. I bow to thee, I never thought there’d be a force strong enough to make me dislike food.

So, 16 weeks in and how am I doing? Better, I think. On a scale between people biatches who have ‘easy pregnancies’ and those who end up in hospital (like poor Kate Middleton), I land somewhere in the middle. I always expected pregnancy to be fantastic, I expected to be glowing and ecstatic. But what am I instead?

• Nauseous 24 hours a day
• Averse to ALL kinds of food, especially my favourite foods like matcha and quinoa (!!)
• A vomit machine, any time of day, anywhere – without warning
• Repulsed by the smell of cooking meat and fish, especially bacon 
• Even repulsed by photos of food (oh Instagram, you kill me)
• Disgusted by the constant horrible, bitter taste in my mouth
• Pimply like a prepubescent teen
• Rashy like… I don’t even know what
• Bloated, as though I attacked a Vegas buffet
• Fanatical about my thyroid which has yoyo’d since I fell pregnant
• Tired, cranky, anxious, nervous
• I would also say I pee a lot, but that’s not a biggie because I peed a lot anyway (TMI, sorry)

Pregnancy is hands down the most fucking unglamorous thing I’ve ever had to endure.

But. We’re making a baby, and the sheer concept of that blows my mind to smithereens. I knew nothing about the development of life before I fell pregnant and now it’s all I read about… and I really can’t put into words how amazed I am at the marvel of life. Scientific little me has even started to believe that there’s gotta be something more to it than science. I could go on about this forever, but if there’s one thing I’d share… it’s this amazing TED Talks video.

And… I wouldn’t swap all my pregnancy misery for anything else in the world.

Anyway, I haven’t cooked in 10 weeks. Even the idea of cooking makes me sick to my stomach, and poor Panu, when he cooks for himself, he gets banished to the balcony. But somewhere along the way, I have baked twice.

Once, I made my quinoa chocolate cake (the smell from cooking quinoa made me puke – I mean, who knew it even smelled like anything?) and a couple of weeks ago, I made these amazing chewy chocolate chip cookies, which I must say, smelled – and tasted – damn fine.

Original recipe can be found here.

Wow, how hard is it to go back to work after a four day weekend, guys? I’m struggling today. It’s 3pm and I’ve just checked my frequent flyer points balance because what better way to get over the holiday blues (even a small one) than to book another holiday? Despite it only being [...]]]>

Wow, how hard is it to go back to work after a four day weekend, guys? I’m struggling today. It’s 3pm and I’ve just checked my frequent flyer points balance because what better way to get over the holiday blues (even a small one) than to book another holiday? Despite it only being a three day trip, our little rendezvous to Melbourne over Easter was fantastic – lots of rest, some touristing and most importantly, no shortage of deliciousness.

We arrived lunch time Friday and headed straight for Huxtaburger. Ever since doing the burger run here in Sydney, every man and his dog has insisted that I go to Melbourne and try Huxtaburger. Supposedly, they create the exact burger that I like – soft bun, good meat, melty cheese, traditional ketchup and mustard goodness. Well, they weren’t wrong.

For $8.50, Huxtaburger is the closest thing I’ve had to a Shake Shack burger here in Australia. So simple, seemingly so easy, but somehow ludicrously hard to find. I loved it. Huxtaburger has literally just opened a branch in Melbourne CBD last week so here’s hoping they’ll spread their wings a little and head Sydney way some time soon!

Another camp of burger well wishers told me I had to also check out Rockwell & Sons. Located a stone’s throw up the street from Huxtaburger, Rockwell & Sons is more of a bar slash dining room, whose burger is apparently also magical. So, guess we just had to try it!

For $10, you get this soft sesame seed bun, oozy cheese and juicy meat goodness.

We had dinner at Rockwell & Sons, so there was more food to be had. Devilled eggs, pressed rib sandwich (yum!), hickory smoked onion rings and something a little different to finish, watermelon laced with chilli and lime.

So which burger is better? That’s a tough question – Panu likes Rockwell & Sons, I like Huxtaburger. But here’s kind of how we explain it: Huxtaburger is a really lunch time burger, the ketchup and mustard somehow makes it casual; Rockwell & Sons on the other hand feels a little more formal and suited to dinner. Although really, there is no “right” time to eat a good burger.

Urgh Sydney, why can’t you do this? Either of them?

Huxtaburger
106 Smith Street,
Collingwood, VIC, 3066
(03) 9417 MEAT
website

Rockwell & Sons
288 Smith Street,
Collingwood, VIC, 3066
(03) 8415 0700
website

“Cat, what’s wrong with you?” – this is the first thing my co-worker says to me on a conference call yesterday. Nice way to open a conversation right? “What are you talking about?” I retort, sort of curious but mostly panicked that he had in fact found out about all the things that [...]]]>

“Cat, what’s wrong with you?” – this is the first thing my co-worker says to me on a conference call yesterday. Nice way to open a conversation right? “What are you talking about?” I retort, sort of curious but mostly panicked that he had in fact found out about all the things that are wrong with me. “You haven’t blogged in two weeks and your instagram feed… well, it’s boring!”

Wow, way to insult someone who’s like, so proud of their instagram feed.

But alas, it’s true. I’ve been quite sick the last couple of weeks – blame it on the change in weather which has gone from hot to cold to decidedly hot again; blame it on the fact that we are officially in “autumn”; blame it on the flu shot I had weeks ago; I don’t care… I just need to blame something for feeling god awful, sniffly and – this is how I know I’m sick – not hungry at all.

The change in season always affects my mood. To know that the days will only get shorter, the temperature cooler, and lament the fact, like I do every year, that I just didn’t get to the beach enough last summer. But what can I do? Besides make this awesome rossoli, a Finnish beetroot salad which is hot pink in all its natural goodness.

Served chilled, this salad is a perfect summer salad, to serve at a BBQ, picnic or honestly? I’d probably serve it in winter too, with a nice big pork roast. Mmmmm… maybe winter ain’t so bad.

I had a free pass last night! This doesn’t happen often. The last time I was out on a weeknight doing something not associated with work was September last year, I shit you not. But if I plan far ahead enough, sure I can take a night off. Last night’s occasion was a show at [...]]]>

I had a free pass last night! This doesn’t happen often. The last time I was out on a weeknight doing something not associated with work was September last year, I shit you not. But if I plan far ahead enough, sure I can take a night off. Last night’s occasion was a show at The State Theatre, Red Bull Flying Bach, where breakdance crew Flying Steps interpret Johann Sebastian Bach’s music in dance. It was pretty awesome, but what was more awesome was the fact that I Got To Eat Out. ON A WEEKNIGHT.

Chosen based on convenience more than anything else, we check out Ippudo Sydney, which opened late last year to much fanfare. Their NYC branch still has queues in the little foyer and out the door any given night (or day) of the week. The Hong Kong branch much the same. So it’s no surprise that three months after opening, Sydney’s Ippudo has also got them queuing (although, mental note that there was a lull in the queue from about 7.15pm-8pm).

We order the standard pork bun and ramen combination – I mean, wait, does anyone order anything but ramen? Because they have a whole a la carte section in their menu which doesn’t even warrant a glance. The pork buns were good, they tasted fantastic but. BUT. Maybe I’m greedy, maybe I’m spoilt by Momofuku, but really, the pieces of braised pork were pretty tiny.

Although, at least they serve you a whole bun as one, unlike Ippudo Hong Kong, which cuts one in half and call it two. That’s ridiculous, right?

But when I look at the scrawny piece of braised pork. All I can think of this is baby, which we had at Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC:

Want some bun with that pork, honey?

In any case, the ramen was bloody good. This is the Akamaru Shinaji ramen with miso paste, fragrant garlic oil, black mushroom, pork belly and shallots. I ordered extra pork belly, which resulted in me getting thicker portions of pork belly, rather than more slices. I’m down with that.

I don’t have any other ramens to parade for you because we all ordered the Akamaru. It’s the magic garlic oil, I tells ya.

We also shared a dessert, the Kurogoma panna cotta, or black sesame custard with creamy sauce for those playing at home. This was also immensely satisfying, a strong sesame flavour – not too sweet – and denser than it looks.

Dinner done, we headed to the show, which was fantastic. Them B-Boys are something else all together and throw in one female with her graceful contemporary style to mix it up and you’ve got a real show. Not to mention the pianists who played Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier live. Definitely one of a kind.

Ippudo Sydney
Level 5, Westfield Sydney
188 Pitt Street
Sydney, NSW, 2000
(02) 8078 7020
website

Last weekend came and went in the blink of an eye. Don’t they always? On Saturday morning, we brunched at BangBang Espresso Bar & Cafe, a cute little place perched high atop the Reservoir Street hill in Surry Hills, a hill I’m all too familiar with trudging. But yet, I’d never actually been in BangBang [...]]]>

Last weekend came and went in the blink of an eye. Don’t they always? On Saturday morning, we brunched at BangBang Espresso Bar & Cafe, a cute little place perched high atop the Reservoir Street hill in Surry Hills, a hill I’m all too familiar with trudging. But yet, I’d never actually been in BangBang and wow, my life is that much better now that I have.

The bacon and egg sandwich, served with relish and on the most delicious squidgy-soft sourdough, completely brightened my wet morning, which made all the difference as we sat outside during the downpour and managed to get drenched with the splatter of raindrops from basically, every angle possible.

Panu’s green eggs & ham, while less green than the usual dose of green in this dish was also fantabulous. More omelette than scramble but really, if it tastes good, what’s the difference?

Saturday weather needs a little disciplining, I think. The past couple have been torrential and yet, oh hi Monday, it’s all blue skies and birds chirping again. What’s up with that?

BangBang Espresso Bar & Cafe
113 Reservoir Street
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
(02) 9281 0018

I don’t pass judgement on the things I eat based on whether they’re healthy or not. I simply eat things that I like, be it quinoa or burgers or um, an ice cream filled Krispy Kreme donut. If something’s healthy, I suppose in the deep recesses of my mind, it gets an extra [...]]]>

I don’t pass judgement on the things I eat based on whether they’re healthy or not. I simply eat things that I like, be it quinoa or burgers or um, an ice cream filled Krispy Kreme donut. If something’s healthy, I suppose in the deep recesses of my mind, it gets an extra brownie point, but in all honesty, I don’t ever eat something “just because it’s healthy”.

Life is too short, people.

So when what you want is also healthy, well hotdamn, two magical worlds collide, resulting in an explosion of confetti and Care Bear love.

I eat these chocolate protein powerballs like they are dessert. Seriously. They kind of taste like rum balls without the rum, which if you’re like me and you never liked the rum anyway, is basically just fricking delicious chocolate balls. They’re also super easy to make (five minutes, honest). I made a batch Sunday morning. They were gone Sunday night.

And so I made a new batch Monday. It’s that good. And oh yeah, they’re healthy too.

Recipe adapted from The Healthy Chef.