Monday 25 January 2016

Pound Cake

What do we define as a day, week/weekend, year etc. well spent? I spent my weekend well, in my opinion. I cooked (pumpkin pasta with portobellos) for some friends, I did a little baking which I also shared with my friends and family, and I also celebrated a friend's birthday with him. To me, that sounds successful. Whatever a good weekend means to you, I hope yours was fabulous,

Now, back to baking. I finally got around to trying my first recipe from "Baking with Julia" by Dorie Greenspan. That name should ring a bell for a lot of us, she's one of the most famous bakers of, well, all time. This book is a collection of recipes by "America's Best Bakers". I must admit that I initially bought it without having a full grasp of the context of the book. It was recommended to me by Amazon, and I bought it in the hopes that Julia Child was a contributing author, as I really enjoyed the writing style of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child. Although the writing and recipes were quite different, this first recipe surely did not disappoint, and I am definitely looking forward to trying more recipes in the near future. I think I might tackle the cantuccini next.
It's a bit strange of me to jump in a book and not try the very first recipe written in the book as my first, but the ingredients were so simple and I really had a hankering for this cake, I just couldn't help it! I usually like to read a cookbook, then mark a few recipes, try the very first recipe, and then get into it. However, my brother really enjoys simple homemade white bread (the first recipe, with the exception of the flaky pastry dough) so I will definitely be trying that too. Enough about my strange compulsions that apparently aren't compulsions... Here's this lovely, traditional pound cake, scaled for an untraditional but lovely bundt, as is in this lovely cookbook.

Sunday 17 January 2016

Happy Birthday Daddy!


Yesterday we celebrated my father's birthday. I won't say how old he is, I don't know if he'd want me to, but what I would say is that he's looking pretty good. He is definitely someone I admire, one of the hardest-working people I know with a seriously gentle heart, sometimes to his detriment. Despite all the times he has been taken advantage of, he continues to be kind and trusting. He has made his mistakes... we all have and continue to, but I look up to him and I hope to have him around for many more years to come.
Naturally, we went to Tiki Village for dinner, his favourite restaurant. We have been going there for as long as I can remember, and he always enjoys it. (He's not too fond of change, haha.) Dinner was lovely as usual, lots of chatting and laughter.

Spicy Shrimp Wontons

Fried Calamari

Polynesian Delight

Egg Roll

Polynesian Delight

Tiki* Shrimp and our family favourite, lemon chicken.

Have an amazing, successful, joyous year, daddy!

Saturday 2 January 2016

Happy New Year 2016

So wonderful to be alive, to meet 2016. I do believe 2015 was a fantastic year, but this year seems to be the year of all thing grand! School is just around the corner; I'm nervous but very excited. Life is great, can't seem to have much to complain about. I am grateful to be blessed with a small group of wonderful people in my life, and I look forward to expanding my horizons, meeting new people and learning new things. The Christmas holidays was spent well... relaxation, reading, family and friends. What more could you ask for?
Christmas Eve dinner is a tradition for my family... Stuffed baked chicken, homemade bread and stuffing pie. This year, my sister, Ria, roasted a duck which was quite the treat for everyone.
My sister, Sandy, hosted a barbecue at her home on Boxing Day, filled with lots of laughter and junk food. Ria also became engaged on this day. It was eventful to say the least. And of course, her cute, huge dogs were there as a plus.




My friends visited me for Old Years (it's what we call New Years Eve here). My father barbecued as is tradition, and we rang in the year together with some bubbly. Another night beautifully spent.
I wish all blessings, and good fortune for everyone who crosses my path, especially you, if you are reading this. May 2016 be an amazing year for you, as I know it will be for me. See you soon!
What did you do for your holidays?