IN BETWEEN

For those in need of soulfood, inspiration, a good giggle

The mighty annual bakeoff…

Or…how a MixMaster may have saved my life…

The mighty annual office bakeoff. Competition fierce…always has been, always will be and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Hashtag game on!

Oh yes! While I’m busy Googling ‘re-purpose’ options for my batch of timer traumatized chocolate brownies, they in their frilly aprons with matching china bowls and candy stripe cupcake papers will be comparing the fruits of their labours to their Donna Hays with smug smiles of satisfaction.

Uh huh! The fabulous five (my gorgeous colleagues), between moving house, dance, gym, soccer runs and end of year school mayhem, still somehow find the time to knock up exquisitely presented, scrumptious fare that would make Adriano Zumbo blanche. Oh the pressure!

Time to put ’em in their place I mutter while wiping the sticky (but glossy) meringue massacre splatter of my new attempt off the kitchen walls. With what’s left in the bowl I will impress. Oh yes I will. After I dissolve this glob attached to my brow. And pour a large wine. And Google a substitute for white vinegar. I want my Mom.

Here’s the result. And the recipe. And you will need a BIG bowl. For the mix not your wine. And probably one of those MixMasters my colleagues are so fond of rather than hand held beaters.

Caramel Filled Pistachio Meringues

Need:
• 4 free range egg whites
• 220g caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons corn flour
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 40g pistachios, roughly chopped

• For filling – caramel in a can

Do:
• Preheat fan forced oven to 140 degrees centigrade (160c conventional/gas2-3)
• Line 3 baking sheets with baking paper
• Put egg whites in clean, grease free bowl and using stand electric mixer or electric hand held mixer, beat them until soft peaks form
• Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking well after each edition. Whisk until mixture is smooth and glossy
• Fold in the cornflour, vinegar and 3/4 of the pistachios
• Put mixture in piping bag with no tube (or glad bag with corner snipped off)
• Pipe small rounds onto the prepared trays, allowing a little room for expansion, and sprinkle the remaining pistachio
• Reduce oven temperature to 130c (150c conventional/gas 2) and bake for 40 minutes
• Turn off oven and leave meringues inside to cool completely
• Scoop caramel out of tin whisking briefly to soften it then use it to sandwich meringues together

Serve: 

Pile on a platter and present.



PS: After the collective outcomes were presented, Instagrammed and consumed amidst deep sighs of sugar high, the vote was in. Hard to top a magnificent raspberry stuffed brownie topped with shards of white chocolate and dried raspberries thought I, as I graciously smiled at the winner punching the air with glee. A worthy adversary that Maree. But you just wait sweet pea! I’ve 11 months to perfect a perfect comeback…now somebody buy me a goddamned MixMaster?

Who’s worth the best dinnerware?

A question for you…which dinner guest(s) would you get your best silver out for?

‘JFK jnr and Carolyn Bessette’ says Belinda McPherson (of Banjo and Matilda fame, designer of gorgeous Cashmere)
‘Johnny Depp’ according to Terry Kaljo (Hotelier)
‘Freddie Mercury’ says Connie Mitchell (Sneaky Sound System)
‘Oscar Wilde or Edie Sedgwick’ according to Paula Joye (TV personality, former Magazine editor)

An intriguing question and guaranteed to ignite stimulating conversation. Throw in ‘dead or alive’ and you’ve got yourself a dinner party conversation warranting more than a bottle or two of your best vintage…

My choice adapts according to mood…right now my list includes:

  • Grace Kelly (Style Icon – to absorb her sense of innate style and grace)
  • Will Anderson (Comedienne – for his acerbic wit, and he’s sexy, and he likes cats),
  • Serge Gainsbourg (Iconic Individualist – just to stir the melting pot),
  • David Suzuki (Environmental Activist – for his realistic take on receding Glaciers)
  • Sheldon Cooper (the character – purely for a smacking dose of ‘Sheldonisms’).

That’s six including me, I can’t fit more around my table.

But what about you?

Yeah sure you’d pull the best silverware out for your lover, partner, best friend, mother…but I’m talking ‘the’ guest or guests you’d probably feel the need to brag about afterward.

Name YOUR top five now…
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(more…)

About that solo holiday…

Attempting to quell the restlessness that quietly agitates my existence – equivalent, one suspects, to the grain of sand that subtly invades an oyster’s cosy abode – took myself off to the quiet end of the Coast to reflect, restore and revitalise. And for those curious to know what a ‘lonely petal sans box full of cats’ holiday might entail, here are my astute observations…laugh, commiserate or set up the charity …

IMG_2009.JPG• Most of the population turns out to walk, amble, pram jog, dog drag, cycle, skateboard and conduct group raa-raa sessions on the ocean front pathway at 6am on Saturdays

• The rest of us dawdle barefoot on the surf’s edge dodging greedy seagulls, gawking at bronzed six pack clad lifesavers and, on occasion, falling face first into mystifyingly deep beach potholes

• It takes a certain degree of panache and dexterity to discreetly remove a pair of knickers discovered half way down the inside leg of one’s Lycra gym shorts in front of said audience

• Magnifying mirrors in brightly lit bathrooms reveal an extraordinary array of facial hair that friends have no doubt been yearning to discreetly pluck for eons

• Dogs look insanely cute trying to bite the surf; their botoxed, gravity defying boobed, spray tanned, bleached blond aging Mommas don’t

• Amex attracts 5% surcharge and ‘it’s all their fault’ ‘cos a mere 800% mark-up can’t possibly absorb such fees

• iTunes free U2 album, on constant rotation, wins over the arduous process of choosing from 17 continuous days worth of iPod music library

• A 2k beach walk totally justifies out loud orgasmic sighs at first sip of a store bought skinny flat white, one Natvia please, hold the lid

IMG_2010.JPG• Hard copy Weekend Australian is actually kinda cool to read in lieu of dodgy wifi, albeit only cos I’m looking for my soon to be published article on Digital Branding (stay tuned)

• Solo Yoga…no…best not go there.

• Foxtel, good for cooking, bios, reno’s…and observing women kicking, biting, scratching, women called to task for poor wardrobe choices, women squealing at infant pageant women, women indulging in drunken bitch-fest vomiting in random British gutters. And what is that about the Honey-boo boo? I mean seriously?

• You can create an extraordinary amount of exotic cocktails with base ingredients of Gin, watermelon and imagination

• Being happy in one’s own company doesn’t actually assuage feeling ‘alone’, utterly alone, possibly for ever and ever…and EVA!

• The lady next door has an entire football team in residence given the volume of washing that flushes onto her balcony daily

• A 180 degree view of the ocean from 14th floor provides a spectacular view of nature at her most fearsome, rainbows that end right at the doorstep and ‘front row’ migrating whale viewing awesomeness

The biggest takeaway? My life isn’t necessarily as complicated and messy as it feels. Sometimes, life is simply about happiness and the small ways we choose to engage in the absolute beauty of being alive. You could say the ‘pearl’ that, on occasion, results from the oyster’s persistence in accommodating that goddamned irritating grain of sand.

 

 

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