its been a while...

Ok, Ok, I know its been a while since I last posted, but I have been a tad preoccupied. You see, I went to Sydney last week....for this not-so-well-known-in-Australia group called Celtic Thunder...so please forgive me (I'm also going to be posting my review here soon, but first things first...).
While is Sydney, I made sure to go and visit somewhere well known...I went and visited Zumbo! Twice to be exact...I went and visited The Lab in Rozelle and then his long skinny Pattiserie in Balmain.

The mural made famous by Adriano's DVD

The whole building this time

Menu inside The Lab

Shop in Darling Street, Balmain

Signage in Balmain

Of course, i bought some Zumbaron's to bring home to Perth! I got: 2x Milo, 2x Musk Stick, 2x Salted Caramel, 2x Raspberry Caramel, 2x 70% Chocolate, 1 Lychee and 1 Plum Pudding. They were yummy!

Merry Christmas and Happy Macaron!

Howdy All! 

Well, Christmas is pretty much over for another year (although I do have 1 more christmas lunch this Sunday...) Got some good gifts, including my favourites - Adriano Zumbo's cookbook, a $100 gift voucher for Matchbox, and a boxful of Twilight goodies (ok, so I may have bought that last one myself...but I didn't open it till christmas!).

Zumbo and the other 3 cookbooks I got for christmas!

I can't wait to get in this weekend at make some of the Zumbarons! Although probably not some of the wilder flavours in the book like Kalamata Olive, Salt & Vinegar or Raspberry Beetroot...

Zumbarons are Macarons, just with some more bizarre flavours. Now, don't get Macarons confused with Macaroons, there's a whole 'O' of difference! Macaroons have coconut, Macarons do not, they are based on meringue.  But if you want a more technical definition, check it out below.

"A macaron is a sweet confectionery made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring. The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. Its name is derived from an Italian word "maccarone" or "maccherone". The cookies is meringue-based: made from a mixture of egg whites, almond flour."

- Wikipedia

 In case you haven't seen the book, the flavours in there are:

Sticky Date

Licorice

Salted Butter Popcorn

Strawberry Bubblegum

Blackened Vanilla Bean

Chocolate Mayo

Chocolate Marshmallow

Chocolate Orange

Chocolate H20

Cherry Coconut

Vegemite

Pandan Coconut

Raspberry Beetroot

Kalamata Olive

Mandarin & Tonka Bean

Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Jelly

Chocozumbo (chocolate & corn)

Salt & Vinegar

Chocolate Salt & Vinegar

Rice Pudding

Caramel au Beurre Salė (salted butter caramel)

Salted Milk Chocolate Caramel

Chocolate Banana

And don't worry, i will be taking lots of photos and let you know how they turn out. I cant wait!!!!!!

OMG, No way! Isn't That.......

I have been lucky enough over the past couple of years to see and also meet some famous celebrity chefs. One of my favourite events each year is the Perth leg of the Good Food & Wine show, held at the Perth Convention Centre. I go with my mum each year, sometimes other join us, sometimes its just her and I. Its a great day out - if you have never been before, they are held in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane every year.

In 2010, I met Tobie Puttock and got him to sign his latest book, 'Italian Local'. I am a big fan of Tobie, after first seeing our Aussie lad on my all-time favourite chef Jamie Oliver's TV show many years ago (2002 to be specific!). I have hated myself ever since that day in 2010 as it was the one time I didn't take a camera with me!!! :( :( :(

 

 

In 2011, at the Next Food & Wine Festival, I got to meet Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, of MasterChef fame. I also got them to signed their collaborative book 'Your Place or Mine?'

 

 

At the 2011 show,  I also saw Marion Grasby, from MasterChef series 2, and she was nice enough to take a photo with us.

We also watched Matt Moran who made a surprise appearance at Gary and George's Celebrity Theatre show, and Alistair Mcleod who played host.

I cant wait for 2012! It will be a while yet till the Celebrity Guests are announced, but its worth the wait.

I do believe introductions are necessary...

Hi Everyone!

My name is Louise, I am twenty-four years old and live about an hours drive south of the city of Perth, Western Australia. Blah Blah Blah...

Okay... now that the boring part is out of the way, on to the reason why we are all here. I love baking. It's something I had done for many years, starting way back when, helping mum make cakes in the kitchen.

These days, I love to cook, but in particular, baking. Cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, muffins... the list goes on. I adore relaxing on the couch on a Saturday afternoon watching various cooking shows - they have so many ideas, tips and tricks!

I decided to start this blog as way to share the things I've made (helped along by the photos I take of my scrumptious creations) and also to spread around the tips I know. So please, stay tuned!