Today was a good day for me…the sun was out, I was at the beach but most of all my favorite Coffee Shop was open! These guys make the best coffee in the Shire but I guess as they have 2 stores sometimes you won’t find one open…disappointment!!
But today was my lucky day!
Take a squiz at the gorgeous pics!
What a really great selection of Cheesecakes that were entered in this month’s HHDD!
Thanks to all who have ventured to my blog and I’m sure I have peeked at yours as well! I can’t wait to see who the winner will be!!
WOOHHOOOO!!
When you’ve had a pretty busy day and don’t have the time to whip up a fancy lunch, you can go for the sandwich…or you can check out wants in your freezer!
These days there are so many good Frozen Food choices you can make. You can even make your favorite dishes, divide them in containers and freeze so when you’re in the mood for a yummy meal but have no time to cook, blitz it in the microwave and enjoy. The best meals you can freeze include such delights as lasagna, curries, stews, casseroles; the list is pretty much endless.
Did you also know that you can freeze un-baked bread? Yep freeze the dough once it’s baked it’s like as if you made it that day! You can also freeze un-iced cakes and muffins again blitz in the microwave and enjoy!
Then there are some of us who wish they were that organized so we buy our frozen meals from time to time. One of my favorite frozen treats is Pastitzi. They are not pre baked they are frozen in raw pastry so when you put them in the oven they cook beautifully!
The reason I love these pastries is that they’re filled with great ingredients. I love the Spinach and Ricotta filling with a little Greek Yoghurt on the side makes a great snack!
Cupcakes are the cutest little cakes ever! You can pretty much make any flavour, be adventurous try something new! Once you’ve got that set, next comes the icing! MMMmmm yuummmo! There are so many cute ways to decorate your little cakes! But for my cupcake adventure, I kept it pretty conservative…mostly because I didn’t have that much time!!
So I hope you enjoy my
Orange and Poppy Seed Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting J
Orange & Poppy Seed Perfection 
When I first saw these little pillows of sweet goodness I HAD to try them! There are a lot of recipes for the perfect Madeline so it was a little hard to decide which one I’d try first.The one’s
I tried had a hint of orange from the orange zest and juice I added, I will post the recipe soon!
Till then, enjoy the magic of La Madeline…
How Exciting!!
I have just entered in my first every Hey Hey Its Donna Day and the topic couldn’t have come at a better time! This is the 10th HHDD held.
Its…Cheesecakes!! Im totally in love with Cheesecakes and seeing as i just made one from Mr Jamie Oliver i figured that would be my first entry!
This time the host is Peabody from Culinary Conconctions by Peabody who won HHDD #9, check out the link!
Wish me luck!! 
http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/2007/03/02/hay-hayits-cheesecake-all-the-way/
If you’ve read my previous post, you will know that I am really really happy to have 3 Brand New Cookbooks in my greasy mitts!
So when the weekend came along I was eager to try a new recipe and who else to choose from but Jamie’s Cookbook. His writings are interesting and very easy to follow instructions made my job as his apprentice a whole lot easier J I chose a recipe I’ve never attempted before, Cheesecake…It looks like a lot of technical ability is needed to get the texture and the flavors right. But with the help of Jamie I aced it! Well, the only thing I would do next time is not over cook the crust!!
Jamie’s Easy Vanilla Cheesecake
This Cheesecake turned out delicious! The texture is rich and creamy, sticking to the roof of our mouth so the flavor lingers on your taste buds as it melts! MMMmmmmmm
Jamie made it with a Cherry Compote, but as I didn’t have any cherries on hand I just lathered lemon curd over the top!
This Cheesecake was not only easy, but very inexpensive to make. If you have some plain coffee biscuits hanging around use them for the crust, you only need 2 eggs and less than ½ Cup of cream. The cream cheese I used wasn’t expensive at all. I used the Home brand cream cheese and for the same 250g size as the Philly I paid only $1.50 and I bought 3 packets. That’s it, the cake only cost me around $6 to make. It’s pretty good considering one slice of cake at a café will lost u $6 and up! Enjoy Guys!
I do love a good bargain…. so when I saw an advertisement in my monthly Good Food Magazine I took the time to investigate and boy aren’t I glad I did!
Scooped-Books
How happy am I?? I got 3 excellent Cook Books and it only cost me $28! Could you imagine buying Stephanie Alexander’s Cooks Companion Encyclopedia for only $10!?
Well I did, and so can you! I’m sure you’ve seen the ads for Double Day Book Clubs and if you haven’t check out their website! Now with better Books and Music you can start collecting your favorite books for a fraction of the price you’d pay in the Book Shops.
They do have some rules though, you are asked to buy 6 books within your 12months subscription.
I ordered Stephanie Alexander’s Cook’s Companion (This book actually counted as 2 books so if I didn’t order it I would have had 4 Cook Books!) Jamie Oliver’s Cook & The Bathers Pavilion. All of them are great Cook Books and I will enjoy cooking them and posting them here with all the info you need!
Mmmmmmm Coffee…. it’s very tempting, just saying it…coffee, is very exotic in its self. Thinking of the aroma and the creamy silky texture makes you crave it and once you’ve found your favorite place, ends up becoming and addiction that is fashionably acceptable.Just the slightest whiff of the brew draws you to it and before you know it you’re ordering your favorite cup… latte, cappuccino, flat white & the list goes on and on and on…the most important things you think about is making sure the barrister heard you say, with skim milk or decaf, what else Is there to think about?
Lately I’ve noticed serving coffee is becoming a very lucrative business, especially with the big franchises opening up to 5 stores in the same suburb! Which I guess is good for the consumer as you’ll always know you’ll get the same quality any where you go. But with big chains come greater demand for the raw product and more risk of exploitation.
Do we really know what we’ve created becoming coffee addicts?
Visiting this unique establishment dedicated to being socially responsible opened my eyes to the hardships faced by the people and countries that supply our favorite addiction…coffee.
The Fair Trade Coffee Company is that such establishment. Directly quoting their website ‘The Fair Trade Coffee Company offers coffee and tea free from exploitation. When you visit the Fair Trade Coffee Company, you can be sure that every bean of our coffee is certified fair trade, meaning among other things, that every worker involved in producing your cup is paid a fair wage for their work.’ Who ever thought that in this day and age, exploitation of this kind still existed? I’m happy to see that someone has taken the step to educate us and I for one am happy to spread the word!
Taking a seat at this place is a nice refreshing change. The genuinely friendly staff greets you with a glass of water and is ready to take your order. Today we just ordered our flat whites and checked out the cake display and found a yummo Blueberry Cheesecake beckoning us….
The coffee is divine! The Cheesecake thick and creamy, just the way I like it, as you can tell by this pic, we’ve already devoured it before I could even get a chance to take my camera out!
There are some great meals and snacks to choose from as well if you’re a little peckish. A great range of Breakky till 5pm as well as interesting Vegetarian meals, this place suits everyone!As we sat back with our paper and watching the Inner City folk pass us by, you feel grateful that a place like this exists.
Check it out!Visit them at 33 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW 2037, Ph: 02 9660 0621 or their website at: www.fairtradecoffeecompany.com.au
http://fromourkitchen.blogspot.com/
Value Ranking: $
Well, it’s March, and if you’re like me you’ll be wondering where the last 2 Months have gone….as well as your money!
Don’t fret people!! Planning a budget isn’t that hard, you just need a few hours to plan and re-organise your life and see where your hard earned cash is heading!
First things first, lets make a list…
Grab a piece of paper and start the list with your expenses you know you can’t get away from…
Now we get to the fun part…
Things that we can work on!!
These are the things I’m exceptionally good at helping you out with!!
I do love a challenge, so if you’ve got a budget set out for yourself but don’t know where to start? Let me know and i will work out the best options for you!
I really do hope you enjoy this blog!!
