Saturday morning treats

After being woken up at 6:30am by my next-door neighbour's atrocious singing, I eventually fell back asleep and woke up at 10:30am - a more reasonable hour for a Saturday. I rushed to the post office to picked up a parcel (my new Comme des Garçons wallet) and cooked myself a very yummy brunch.  

It's fun being a domestic goddess

My work colleagues and those of my friends who have moved out of home mistakenly believe that if you live at home, you must have a fully stocked fridge.  I can assure you, that's not the case at my house and there are only the bare essentials in our silver cooling box - margarine, milk, wine, potatoes, maybe some fruit if you're lucky. 

I made it my mission to buy groceries and cook up a nomtastic lunch.  After a couple packs of ravioli, three varieties of cheeses, a loaf of sourdough, eggs and a few other bits and pieces, my shopping basket was overflowing and my bill amounted to a good $64 odd dollars. Geez, the cost of living in Sydney is ridiculously expensive these days.

Here's what I cooked for lunch:

Egg omelette with prosciutto, cherry tomatoes, rocket
and haloumi served with toasted sourdough

And dinner:

Gnocchi with sauteed prawns in sage butter sauce

And after two nomtastic cooking adventures, could it be that I was on a roll?  I tried my luck again tonight and cooked up this dish.

Salmon ravioli with sundried tomatoes,
mushrooms, rocket and fetta

And now you can see why I'd make a terrible food photographer.  Attempting to take photos when you have a growling stomach and are armed with a fork is not a good idea. Terrible lighting and measly photographed portions aside, all three meals tasted incredible and impressed my big foodie brother. Move over, Nigella, there's a new dark-haired cook in town.

A nommy weekend

This weekend has been rather marvelous.  Marvelously nommy. Here's a brief rundown of what made it so yum:

The Dip: My friend Ross has been raving on and on about his mate's newly opened diner, The Dip at Goodgod Small Club.  Since he couldn't and wouldn't shut up about the deliciousness of the deep Southern and Mexican noms, I dragged my friend Liz there to see if Ross was just being biased as he sometimes helps out in the kitchen.  Turns out, he wasn't.  The food is actually AMAZING.  Liz and I couldn't stop raving about the Pulled Pork Nachos and Lev's Dawg. We'll be back and definitely be bringing more friends so we can try the whole menu.

Sushi Train:  It's an oldie but a goodie. It's the best place to go when you want quality sushi for a reasonable price.  The variety is so great, I somehow have a three sushi plate line up on my table within five minutes of my arrival.  Fresh ingredients, no measly portions either.

Karla Špetić blouse: While I've been yearning for one of this fab young designer's skirts, it's been quite difficult actually finding one to try on. Like with all amazing clothing, the size 6's have sold out quick fast and I can't seem to find one anywhere to try on.  While they're online, yes I know, I'd much rather be able to choose which section of the digital print skirt I purchase rather than it be a lucky dip.  

Dinner dreams

Mini Wagyu & Co. Burger

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but dinner is my is by far my favourite meal of the day.  I don't think I'm all that picky about my food (my family would probably disagree), but there's just some things I don't enjoy eating - vegies.  I don't eat carrots, celery, eggplant (although I love baba ganoush) and the list goes on.

What do I like?  Meat. And lots of it. A fact which is very well-known by most friends, especially the ones I made at uni. My "Where's the fucking meat?" rage episode of '09 is a classic representation of my love of meat (and my hate of onions). But seriously, who likes to fish for meat on a plate of onions? The story has become a dinner time favourite, retold by those who weren't even present at the event, so much so that I now frequently find myself tagged in Facebook photos as large amounts of meat, just in case I am unable to find it.

Turning Japanese

There are many reasons why I wish I were Japanese.  I could dress as a Harajuku girl and play dress ups everyday.  I could still love Hello Kitty despite being 21 years of age without feeling shameful. I could also eat and perhaps even cook Japanese food each and every day. 

In an average week, I probably eat Japanese three to four times a week.  Sushi, Udon noodles and Sashimi are all my diet staples.  Dinner is my favourite meal of the day and last night, I was in the mood for what I called "fancy Japanese."

I wish I had thought of that

Have you ever read, seen or heard about a concept so absolutely amazing you wish you had thought of it yourself?

Here are three inventions which I had come across recently. I, myself, had long ago thought of these concepts but unfortunately didn't have the finances or means to action them *cough*.  Alas, if only I had the creative capacity to actually come up with these super cool concepts.

1. Cake Pops: Cake/ lollipop hybrid. Heaven on a stick. Not just sugar, but substance to fill the stomach. Even if it's only for 15 minutes.

Russian dolly pops by Pop Bakery.

2. "Build/ design your own ______": Build your own bear, design your own bag  and construct your own burger.  I wish I had thought of them all.  Today, I discovered The Counter, which allows you to do the latter.  The concept?  Upon entering you are given a clipboard as if you are a new patient to a medical centre.   Instead of writing down what allergies you have, you tick off your burger ingredients options. If variety is what you're looking for, this is where you'll find it.  The Counter boasts of over 312,120 burger combinations and the same two burgers are rarely made twice in one day!

The Counter market selection

3. OPI "Black Shatter" top coat: Pretty self-explanatory.  It's a top coat for your nails which shatters so specks of your coloured nail polish beneath peeps through. Probably not everyone's cup of tea but isn't the technology amazing? You can even hear it crackle as the polish shatters. 

OPI Black Shatter