I have been tagged by Laura from Laura’s Paris Cooking Network, who is a loyal reader of Morsels & Musings and always brings me cheer with her encouraging comments on almost every recipe.
You wouldn’t think it, but comments are so important because they let me know you’re reading and what you think about my recipes. Without them I’d be really lonely!
Laura tagged me in a little meme and even though I rarely do memes, since Laura is so lovely, I’ve decided to take part.
So here are the six random facts about me:
1. My wines of choice at moment are albariño and grüner veltliner.
2. My first word was “cat”.
3. At the age of 15, I was convinced I had magical powers to control the wind.
4. Yesterday Jonas bought me an ice cream machine for Christmas!
5. Despite good grades, my report cards commonly contained the word “belligerent”.
6. My ancestry is mixed: first free settlers in Australia, American Civil War veterans and Carpathian nobility.
These are the meme rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write six random things about yourself
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up
Generally I don’t like to pass these memes on but in this case I’ll take the opportunity to highlight some blogs which have recently (or not so recently) captured my attention. The authors need not take part in the meme if they don’t want, but I want to point out their blogs at least.
Jules from stonesoup (Australia)
Creative food, stylish photography and a long index of recipes to choose from.
Peter from Kalofagas (Canada)
This blogger prolifically produces hearty, delicious Greek fare. The portions are generous and the recipes are mouth-watering. And best of all there is no fuss which makes Peter’s recipes so approachable.
Mercedes from Desert Candy (USA)
This blog is full of beautiful Middle Eastern inspired recipes, and not your run-of-the-mill stuff either. Mercedes spent time in many Levantine countries and has a deep understanding of the food and an eye for recalling the most interesting experiences.
Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella (Australia)
Festive recipes are dominating this blog at the moment, but you’ll soon discover they aren’t the usual Christmas fare. Lorraine captures the variety of Sydney restaurants as well as offering up exquisite recipes with beautiful photos.
Martin from blog.khymos.org (Norway)
Here you will learn all about molecular gastronomy. Martin puts so much science into his food and the results are often quite amazing. I’,m sure some people will be challenged by the textures and flavours he creates, but I think his work is so interesting.
Nicole from Pinch My Salt (USA)
Lately Nicole has been on a cookie baking frenzy, but at this blog you’ll find a range of delicious recipes focusing predominantly on American and Italian cuisine.
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Monday, 22 December 2008
Thursday, 13 March 2008
food porn meme
I’ve been tagged by Kazari with a cute meme combining romance and food.
Don’t they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?
Food Porn Meme
1. What food do you consider the best “date” food? In other words, what meal or food item do you think is sexiest to eat in the company of someone you would like to look sexy around?
Mangoes. All those sweet juices! And there's a lot of sucking and licking involved in eating a mango. It's very messy.
Besides, you’d be surprised how cute your loved one can be with mango dripping from their chin.
2. What well-known person would you like to share a meal with—with or without clothing. (saying whether or not clothes are involved is optional).
I have been thinking this over for about an hour now and no one comes to mind. I can think of lots of people, but no one famous.
Maybe Henry VIII. He liked a good feast and it would be interesting to hear how he juggled all those wives. If it's the young Henry VIII, without clothes could be considered. But based on those portraits from later in his life I'd say clothes would be a MUST.
3. What does your perfect breakfast-in-bed look like? (Food AND the details, please. Candles? Music? Flowers? Hot tub? Dancing girls?
Yeah. I’m just not sold on breakfast in bed.
I mean it all sounds great in theory but once it arrives and I’m sitting there it just feels uncomfortable and I’m paranoid about crumbs going under the blankets and . . . . eeewww! Just thinking about it gives me the heebie jeebies.
Best breakfast in bed? No such thing.
4. What do you consider the best application of whipped cream to be?
Dairy and body parts do not mix people!
Do not abuse your cream. Cows work hard to make it!
Cream is best on trifles and strawberry shortcake.
Wow, I’m sounding like a real prude here but all these questions seem to land squarely in my gross-out areas.
5. Oh-God-No, Biff, the yacht is sinking! You are sent to the galley to retrieve the food. What luxury food items do you snatch first? The champagne? The caviar? Smoked Salmon? Truffles? Chocolate? Or something else?
Food? This is an emergency! Biff can go down and get it himself if he’s so bloody hungry. I’m getting that life jacket on and doggy-paddling to safety. Out of my way!
Now I’m supposed to tag five other bloggers but I know a lot of people don’t like to do memes, and given this one could be a little raunchy, I’ve decided to open it up to anyone who feels game. If you do the meme, leave a comment with the link to your own response.
Now I leave you with some fantastic pictures I was emailed today at work.
I have no idea where these came from so please forgive me if there’s some copyright infringement but I just thought they were worth spreading around.
Click on each one to enlarge because you'll see they are all made entirely from food items. Can you believe it!
Don’t they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?
Food Porn Meme
1. What food do you consider the best “date” food? In other words, what meal or food item do you think is sexiest to eat in the company of someone you would like to look sexy around?
Mangoes. All those sweet juices! And there's a lot of sucking and licking involved in eating a mango. It's very messy.
Besides, you’d be surprised how cute your loved one can be with mango dripping from their chin.
2. What well-known person would you like to share a meal with—with or without clothing. (saying whether or not clothes are involved is optional).
I have been thinking this over for about an hour now and no one comes to mind. I can think of lots of people, but no one famous.
Maybe Henry VIII. He liked a good feast and it would be interesting to hear how he juggled all those wives. If it's the young Henry VIII, without clothes could be considered. But based on those portraits from later in his life I'd say clothes would be a MUST.
3. What does your perfect breakfast-in-bed look like? (Food AND the details, please. Candles? Music? Flowers? Hot tub? Dancing girls?
Yeah. I’m just not sold on breakfast in bed.
I mean it all sounds great in theory but once it arrives and I’m sitting there it just feels uncomfortable and I’m paranoid about crumbs going under the blankets and . . . . eeewww! Just thinking about it gives me the heebie jeebies.
Best breakfast in bed? No such thing.
4. What do you consider the best application of whipped cream to be?
Dairy and body parts do not mix people!
Do not abuse your cream. Cows work hard to make it!
Cream is best on trifles and strawberry shortcake.
Wow, I’m sounding like a real prude here but all these questions seem to land squarely in my gross-out areas.
5. Oh-God-No, Biff, the yacht is sinking! You are sent to the galley to retrieve the food. What luxury food items do you snatch first? The champagne? The caviar? Smoked Salmon? Truffles? Chocolate? Or something else?
Food? This is an emergency! Biff can go down and get it himself if he’s so bloody hungry. I’m getting that life jacket on and doggy-paddling to safety. Out of my way!
Now I’m supposed to tag five other bloggers but I know a lot of people don’t like to do memes, and given this one could be a little raunchy, I’ve decided to open it up to anyone who feels game. If you do the meme, leave a comment with the link to your own response.
Now I leave you with some fantastic pictures I was emailed today at work.
I have no idea where these came from so please forgive me if there’s some copyright infringement but I just thought they were worth spreading around.
Click on each one to enlarge because you'll see they are all made entirely from food items. Can you believe it!
Thursday, 16 November 2006
spice rack
For a long time I’ve been meaning to go through my spice rack and list all the items there.
I did it for my fridge and freezer back in May and I did my liquor cabinet in June. Now I have an open invitation to do my spice rack from Rowena at Rubber Slippers in Italy.
After cleaning through her spice rack, Rowena wondered how other people use their spices and developed a series of questions. Although not a meme, if anyone is interested in taking part just blog about your own spicy experiences and shoot Rowena an email.
1. Which is the most indispensable spice on your spice rack?
Black pepper. Ever since I was a wee one these two have been so important to me. My parents didn’t use much salt in their cooking (Australia went through a salt scare in the 80s) so food was flavoured with pepper rather than salt. I simply adore freshly milled black pepper. Dreamy. As I got older I started with chilli too, but pepper always remained in my heart.
2. Which is the most used? This being determined by a near empty bottle compared to the others.
I use cassia a lot. It’s also known as “baker’s cinnamon” because it has a much stronger flavour than cinnamon and packs a real punch. I only use it in sweet food though because for some strange reason I hate cassia/cinnamon in savoury food (there’s goes all North African cuisine!).
3. Which is the least used?
Szechwan pepper. It seemed like a good idea at the time but whenever I mill it the texture becomes gritty in the food. I also don’t like sea salt over my food as a seasoning for the same reason – it feels like there’s sand and shells in the food. Wow, I never realised how fussy I am about textures! Lemon myrtle is another unused spice. It’s an Australian native and extremely pungent (almost eucalyptus) so has to be used sparingly.
4. Is there a spice or seasoning that you know of or just learned about and would like to add to your collection?
I’ve been trying to get my hands on wattle seeds for a while now. They’re native to Australia and add a coffee-chocolate flavour to desserts. Another Australian native I’d like to cook with is the akudjura or bush tomato. They are supposed to be very strong and taste sweet on entry with a lasting acidic end. The other spice I’m after are nigella seeds. No, these are not named after the Domestic Goddess but are pungent members of the buttercup family. The seeds are also known as kalonji and have a peppery onion flavour. Nigella seed is used a lot in Indian cooking, for instance in the five spice mix panch phora.
5. Are there any health remedies that you practice with the use of spices?
Peppermint water is great for indigestion. I had a lot of tummy problems as a kid (maybe it was all that pepper and chilli) and I found peppermint water to be wonderfully soothing. Jonas' flu remedy is arguably the world’s most disgusting drink: honey, crushed garlic, grated ginger, lemon juice and a bit of chilli with hot water. It’s foul but he swears by it. I’m still skeptical.
And here is my spice rack in full:
all spice (pimento) – whole
aniseed – seeds
asafoetida powder – yellow (hing powder)
bay leaves
caraway – seeds
cardamom – green pods
cassia – ground
cayenne pepper – ground
chilli – dry, flakes
chilli – dry, whole
cinnamon – ground
cloves – ground + whole
coriander – ground + seeds
cumin – ground + seeds
curry leaves
curry powder
fenugreek seeds
ginger – ground
juniper berries – dried
lemon myrtle – ground
marjoram
mustard – powder + seeds
nutmeg – ground
orange blossom water
oregano
paprika – smoky + sweet
pepper – black (whole) + white (ground) + cayenne (ground) + Szechwan (whole)
peppermint water
poppy seeds – black
rosewater
salt – coarse sea salt
salt – fine table salt
sesame – white
spice mixes – “Season All” + "Cajun" + "Mexican" + "tagine"
star anise
sumac – ground
Szechwan pepper – whole
Tajin – Mexican chilli & lime seasoning
turmeric
vanilla – bean + essence
So what's your favourite and least favourite spice? Let Rowena know!
Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia spices spice+rack
I did it for my fridge and freezer back in May and I did my liquor cabinet in June. Now I have an open invitation to do my spice rack from Rowena at Rubber Slippers in Italy.
After cleaning through her spice rack, Rowena wondered how other people use their spices and developed a series of questions. Although not a meme, if anyone is interested in taking part just blog about your own spicy experiences and shoot Rowena an email.
1. Which is the most indispensable spice on your spice rack?
Black pepper. Ever since I was a wee one these two have been so important to me. My parents didn’t use much salt in their cooking (Australia went through a salt scare in the 80s) so food was flavoured with pepper rather than salt. I simply adore freshly milled black pepper. Dreamy. As I got older I started with chilli too, but pepper always remained in my heart.
2. Which is the most used? This being determined by a near empty bottle compared to the others.
I use cassia a lot. It’s also known as “baker’s cinnamon” because it has a much stronger flavour than cinnamon and packs a real punch. I only use it in sweet food though because for some strange reason I hate cassia/cinnamon in savoury food (there’s goes all North African cuisine!).
3. Which is the least used?
Szechwan pepper. It seemed like a good idea at the time but whenever I mill it the texture becomes gritty in the food. I also don’t like sea salt over my food as a seasoning for the same reason – it feels like there’s sand and shells in the food. Wow, I never realised how fussy I am about textures! Lemon myrtle is another unused spice. It’s an Australian native and extremely pungent (almost eucalyptus) so has to be used sparingly.
4. Is there a spice or seasoning that you know of or just learned about and would like to add to your collection?
I’ve been trying to get my hands on wattle seeds for a while now. They’re native to Australia and add a coffee-chocolate flavour to desserts. Another Australian native I’d like to cook with is the akudjura or bush tomato. They are supposed to be very strong and taste sweet on entry with a lasting acidic end. The other spice I’m after are nigella seeds. No, these are not named after the Domestic Goddess but are pungent members of the buttercup family. The seeds are also known as kalonji and have a peppery onion flavour. Nigella seed is used a lot in Indian cooking, for instance in the five spice mix panch phora.
5. Are there any health remedies that you practice with the use of spices?
Peppermint water is great for indigestion. I had a lot of tummy problems as a kid (maybe it was all that pepper and chilli) and I found peppermint water to be wonderfully soothing. Jonas' flu remedy is arguably the world’s most disgusting drink: honey, crushed garlic, grated ginger, lemon juice and a bit of chilli with hot water. It’s foul but he swears by it. I’m still skeptical.
And here is my spice rack in full:
all spice (pimento) – whole
aniseed – seeds
asafoetida powder – yellow (hing powder)
bay leaves
caraway – seeds
cardamom – green pods
cassia – ground
cayenne pepper – ground
chilli – dry, flakes
chilli – dry, whole
cinnamon – ground
cloves – ground + whole
coriander – ground + seeds
cumin – ground + seeds
curry leaves
curry powder
fenugreek seeds
ginger – ground
juniper berries – dried
lemon myrtle – ground
marjoram
mustard – powder + seeds
nutmeg – ground
orange blossom water
oregano
paprika – smoky + sweet
pepper – black (whole) + white (ground) + cayenne (ground) + Szechwan (whole)
peppermint water
poppy seeds – black
rosewater
salt – coarse sea salt
salt – fine table salt
sesame – white
spice mixes – “Season All” + "Cajun" + "Mexican" + "tagine"
star anise
sumac – ground
Szechwan pepper – whole
Tajin – Mexican chilli & lime seasoning
turmeric
vanilla – bean + essence
So what's your favourite and least favourite spice? Let Rowena know!
Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia spices spice+rack
Saturday, 26 August 2006
five things in my lunchbox
The lovely Haalo from Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once - who incidentally has wonderful recipes and brilliant photos - tagged me with a meme started by Melissa from The Traveler's Lunchbox. This meme has gotten huge and Melissa's blog has an exhaustive list of entries!Basically, you need to list five things you've eaten before and would recommend others to try at least once before they die. A long thought, but certainly an interesting one.
I found it very challenging because I took it quite seriously. This is an important recommendation. What if people spend their last days eating from your list when there could have been other, more deserving delicacies to try? A terrible responsibility to assume.
If I only have five to choose from, which five should it be?
Once I realised this was supposed to be fun and I could always add more suggestions in my comments section later (phew!), I decided to go with the following:
Brachetto d’Acqui
Regular readers may be sick to death of hearing about my love for brachetto d’acqui (May & July), but I’m determined to turn as many people as possible to this wonderful Italian dessert wine from Asti in Piemonte. It’s red, sparkling and served chilled. It tastes of strawberries and roses. What more could you want?
Alici/Boquerones (depends whether you're Italian or Spanish)Tiny white anchovy fillets that have been marinated in vinegar and served with chopped fresh parsley and slivers of garlic. These are so full of flavour.
Donna Hay’s Triple Chocolate Brownies
We’ve all got a great recipe for brownies, but this one has blown any brownie I have ever tasted completely out of the water. There’s no nuts or other distractions from the pure, delicious dark chocolate cake stuffed full of milk and white chocolate chips. Pure heaven and very easy to make.
Coriander Potatoes
This Lebanese side dish is one of the most exquisite things I have ever tasted. Cubes of potato are drenched in lemon juice, both fresh and ground coriander and chilli then are baked until they are crispy, sour and spectacular. In Sydney, Al Mustafa (Glebe) and The Prophet (Surry Hills) serve up a good attempt, although I still rate Jonas’ recipe the best after he perfected a version taught to him by Haas.
Parmigiano Reggiano
This addiction commenced in Rome and my supplier was Paola. Chipped from the wheel and popped directly into my mouth - this is the world's best cheese.
Check out Haalo's top five or add your own top five in the comments section.
Now I get to tag five other bloggers for this same meme:
Field to Feast - Carolyn in Zimbabwe
La Otra Dimensión - Susanna in Argentina
Saffron Trail - Nandita in India
The Passionate Cook - Johanna in the UK
Kalyn's Kitchen - Kalyn in the USA
I hope they want to take part!
Thursday, 6 July 2006
meme - confessions in groups of five
Oh, oh, oh! Last week I was tagged for the meme "Confessions in Groups of Five" by JenJen of Milk & Cookies.
JenJen and I have a bit in common: we both live in Sydney, we started our blogs around the same time and we have a strange ability to blog about the same things at the same time (eg my cupcake story and JenJen's cupcake story).
Thanks for tagging me, JenJen!
So, here I go:
Five items in the freezer
1) edamame - fry them up with chilli and garlic and you've got a brilliant, healthy snack
2) passionfruit ice cubes - I had way too many passionfruits and so I pulped them and froze them into star and heart shapes
3) chipotle chillies - individually wrapped and ready to make tlalpeño soup
4) svenska nubbar - tiny bottles of swedish aquavit
5) too much ice build up - my freezer is too cold
Five items in my closet
1) a suitcase that a small car could fit into
2) new pair of brown boots that I bought today
3) the dorkiest sun hat you ever did see
4) way too many clothes - I have the whole double wardrobe to myself and have turfed Jonas clothes into the cupboard in the spare room
5) an electric massager that works quite well and gets Jonas out of massaging me
Five items in my car
Since I don't have a car, I'll give you five reasons why.
1) I live close to the city (although Fabio would debate this because he's a snob)
2) There is regular public transport outside my front door
3) Cars are bad for the environment
4) Sydney's roads are very congested with vehicles and I wouldn't want to add to the problem
5) I never got my drivers license
Five items in my purse
1) Biotherm lip balm
2) Mentos Sours
3) my camera!
4) notebook for food related scribbles
5) antibiotics - yes, I'm sick AGAIN
Tag five people
I hope these people haven't been tagged yet. This meme has certainly done the rounds!
1) Suzy from Floating World Views (Japan)
2) Priya from Sugar and Spice (India)
3) Orchidea from Viaggi & Sapori (Sweden)
4) Emma from The Laughing Gastronome (New Zealand)
5) Josh from Chaxiubao (Hong Kong)
Does anyone know where this meme started???
JenJen and I have a bit in common: we both live in Sydney, we started our blogs around the same time and we have a strange ability to blog about the same things at the same time (eg my cupcake story and JenJen's cupcake story).
Thanks for tagging me, JenJen!
So, here I go:
Five items in the freezer
1) edamame - fry them up with chilli and garlic and you've got a brilliant, healthy snack
2) passionfruit ice cubes - I had way too many passionfruits and so I pulped them and froze them into star and heart shapes
3) chipotle chillies - individually wrapped and ready to make tlalpeño soup
4) svenska nubbar - tiny bottles of swedish aquavit
5) too much ice build up - my freezer is too cold
Five items in my closet
1) a suitcase that a small car could fit into
2) new pair of brown boots that I bought today
3) the dorkiest sun hat you ever did see
4) way too many clothes - I have the whole double wardrobe to myself and have turfed Jonas clothes into the cupboard in the spare room
5) an electric massager that works quite well and gets Jonas out of massaging me
Five items in my car
Since I don't have a car, I'll give you five reasons why.
1) I live close to the city (although Fabio would debate this because he's a snob)
2) There is regular public transport outside my front door
3) Cars are bad for the environment
4) Sydney's roads are very congested with vehicles and I wouldn't want to add to the problem
5) I never got my drivers license
Five items in my purse
1) Biotherm lip balm
2) Mentos Sours
3) my camera!
4) notebook for food related scribbles
5) antibiotics - yes, I'm sick AGAIN
Tag five people
I hope these people haven't been tagged yet. This meme has certainly done the rounds!
1) Suzy from Floating World Views (Japan)
2) Priya from Sugar and Spice (India)
3) Orchidea from Viaggi & Sapori (Sweden)
4) Emma from The Laughing Gastronome (New Zealand)
5) Josh from Chaxiubao (Hong Kong)
Does anyone know where this meme started???
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