A slice of cake for Thursday- Apple Crumble Cheesecake

I encountered a few disasters with cheesecakes before. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have mastered all the mistakes that one can make during the process.

1) Cracks on top- checked

2) Cheesecake not fully cooked in the middle- checked

I have more luck making mini ones than one large cake too.

Yup. Not so good at making cheesecakes. =(

Anyhow, I decided to bite the bullet and attempt a large cheesecake again. Apple crumble cheesecake with delicious ingredients like macadamia nuts and apple just seems too enticing.

And look what happened:




It was perfect except that tiny little section that was caught onto the tin just as I was lifting the it out. Oh well, I ate that part away. :x

Our friends enjoyed it-which mattered more.

I, on the other hand, felt satisfied that I have finally baked a cheesecake the way I envisioned it to be. =)




Apple Crumbled Cheesecake

Base
150 grams plain flour
50 grams castor sugar
100 grams butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp lemon rind
25 grams desiccated coconut
2-3 tbsps of iced water ( i think I added around 5 tbsps though)

Crumbled topping
120 grams plain flour,
35 grams castor sugar
80 grams butter
100 grams walnuts (can use pecans)

Filling
a. 3 apples cored, peeled and chopped
50 grams castor sugar
1 tsp lemon rind
2 tbsps of lemon juice
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp plain flour
2 tbsp raisins
100 grams macademia nuts chopped and toasted

b. 500 grams of cream cheese (I used 80% fat free cream cheese)
80 grams castor sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
30 grams corn flour
250 grams of whipping cream
3 eggs (beaten)

1) Pre heat Oven to 180C. Line 9" loose base cake tin.

2) Base- Place flour and sugar in mixing bowl. Add butter. Use the rubbing in method till mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk, rind n coconut. Add water, a little at a time till mixture binds. Press mixture onto baking tin. Prick holes and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and cool slightly.

3) Place filling A in a sauce plan. Cook till the mixture thickens. Set aside.

4) Reduce oven temperature to 140C.

5) Beat cream cheese till smooth. Add sugar, lemon juice and cornflour. Beat till creamy. Add cream. Add eggs till combined.

4) Topping- place flour and sugar in mixing bowl. Rub in butter till mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add in walnuts and mixed well.

5) Pour half the cheese mixture into base. Spread apple filling and sprinkle macademia nuts over it. Top with remaining cheese mixture.

6) Sprinkle topping over surface of the cheese filling. Bake in water bath for 1 hr. Turn off oven and leave cake in oven for another 1 hr. Remove cake from oven and leave to cool. Refrigerate till set before serving.

Pasta Lamb Bake

Prior to having an oven, I have no idea how precious this little invention can be. From sweets to savories, this piece of kitchen equipment is under appreciated (in my little humble opinion).

During my uni years (7.5 years to be exact), an oven has rescued me from frustration and heart ache. Papers to do? I run to the kitchen for some baking therapy. Papers to mark? Baileys on the rocks please and ingredients for chocolate brownies.

darn. It's a miracle how I got my work done.

Not forgetting my lazy days. A pipping hot casserole requires little effort but oh so tasty. Oh, and pasta and cheese in an oven dish just can't go wrong.

This recipe was adapted from Woolworths Good Taste Magazine July 08. It takes some time to make but worth the extra bit of effort. Oh, it is also budget AND freezer friendly. One batch of this yield around 7-8 servings! I love meals like this. It means that I can have a night off the following week!



Pasta Lamb Bake
250 grams of pasta
1 egg

olive oil
1 chopped brown onion
garlic chopped
2-3 tsp of fresh mint and pasley.
1/2 tsp of mixed spice
500 grams of lamb mince
3 to 4 chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/4 cup of stock
150 grams of spinach leaves
1 cup of chopped button mushrooms

1/3 cup of grated chedder

Cheese Sauce
70grams of butter
2 tbs plain flour
2cups of skim milk
1/2 cup of grated chedder
1/4 cup of shreded parmesan
pepper
2 egg yolks lightly whisked

1) Boil salted water. Cook pasta. Cool and stir in egg. Set aside.

2) Heat oil in pan. Cook onion and garlic till soft. Increase heat to high and add herbs + mixed spice till it become aromatic. Add mince, break any lumps. Cook till it changes colour. Don't forget your veges! Add tomatoes and paste. Add stock and simmer till sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper.

3) To make the cheese sauce- Melt butter. Stir in flour and cook till mixture bubbles. Remoe from heat. Gradually add milk and whisk it till smooth and combined. Bring it back to boil till sauce thickens and coat the back of a spoon. Remove and add both cheeses. Season. Set aside to cool. Whisk in 2 egg yolks.

4) Pre heat oven to 200C. You can choose to mix the mince and pasta mixture togeter but I layered mine. (My version-I placed mince mixture at the bottom of a baking dish and then top it with pasta. Pour the cheese sauce over it and top it with chedder). Bake for 30 minutes till golden.



5) There u go! A budget and freezer friendly meal. Dig in!


Dishing this up at Pasta Presto Nights! This week, Ruth from Once Upon a Feast is hosting.

Thai Red Beef Curry

I find curries fascinating. From the creamy Malaysian style curries to the sweet and thick Japanese curry, each culture seem to have a version of this thick spicy stew. The aroma of the blend of spices will work its way through the air and you can smell it even if you are a few blocks away.

Each week, I look for ideas for a one pot dish. Curry is a definite favorite. The possibilities are endless. Any left over vegetables? Well, it will taste fantastic in a curry.

This is my first attempt in making Thai red curry though. Certainly the lemon grass and ginger flavor came through in this.

While cooking this dish, I added 5 tablespoon full of paste into the work. WOAH. Big mistake. The paste is pungent stuff and the curry ended up too salty! It went alright with rice but Iwill lessen the amount next time.

I bought a tub of thai red curry paste instead of pounding the mix myself. So much easier and convenient. Compared to 8 years ago, the oriental stores in Perth are carrying alot of variety of curry mixes. Since it is difficult to get hold of fresh spices (i.e. fresh curry leaves, lime leaves) tubs of curries are God-send!! Woohoo!



Thai Red Beef Curry (serves 4)
300 grams of lean beef (yikes! cant remember which cut I used)
3 tablespoons of Thai red curry paste.
200 grams of sweet potato diced in cubes
2 peeled and sliced carrots
1 can of 500ML lite coconut cream

Rice to serve

1) Using the back of your chopper or a tenderizer, pound beef. Slice into cubes.

2) Heat curry paste in a pot. Stir gently till paste bubbles a little. Add beef and fry for around 3-4 minutes. Add vegetables and coconut cream. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

3) Taste. Add water if necessary.

4) Serve with rice.

Ps- I'm searching for more one pot dish ideas. What other types of curries do you enjoy?

Cream of Mushroom Soup

The sniffles can be miserable. And nothing is more comforting than a bowl of soup. You have probably heard about how chicken soup is good for a cold? Well, I found something better-Cream of mushroom soup!

AR always request this when he is ill. Perhaps it is the loads of mushrooms that increases his immunity but he claims that it makes him feel better. For me, I just enjoy the chunkyness of the soup. I have refined this recipe over the years but it remained simple.

Cream of Mushroom soup
500 grams of field mushrooms
1/2 cup to 1 cup of light cream
2-3 tsp of chopped pasley
1-2 tsp of chopped thyme
about 3 cups of vegetable stock
a knob of butter
1 tablespoon of garlic

1) Melt a knob of butter in a saucepan. Saute garlic till slightly brown and add mushrooms. Cook till slightly soft and add herbs.

2) Add stock and simmer. That will take around 10-15 minutes. Lower the heat and add cream. Note-add 1/2 a cup first and taste to see if it is the consistency you desire.

3) Simmer till the soup slightly thickens. Add seasoning.

4) Serve with garlic bread.

The battle of the Double Choc Chip Cookies

I love my cookies. Dark choc cookies dunk in a hot cup of milo is a real treat. A big comfort treat. The story goes that I found two double choc chip cookies recipe in my file and I have forgotten which is the one I like best, so I thought "Why not, just make both and compare!"


Candidate 1


This candidate claims that it is the "Best double choc chip cookie" featured at All recipes website. Interestingly, the recipe is no longer on the website. It has a cakey texture and is a quite dense. The chocolate flavor is intense though. Certainly a contender if you like your chocolate chip cookies a little soft. I did however over baked a batched by 5-10 minutes and they turned out crisp and nice!

I did halve the sugar content though as I think that 2 cups of sugar is wayyy too much!


The best double choc chip cookies by All recipes
225 grams of butter
1/2 cup of sugar (was 1 cup)
1/2 cup of brown sugar (was 1 cup)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup of cocoa powder
3 cups of dark choc chips

1) Preheat oven to 180C. Line trays with baking paper.

2) Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat eggs and vanilla in. Sift flour, baking soda, salt and cocao powder. Mix well. Fold in choc chip.

3) Put spoonsfulls on baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes to get a soft texture and 15-20 minutes for crisper texture.

Candidate 2



Double Chocolate Cookies taken from Milk and Cookies. It has the crisp that all cookies should have and tasted great with milk (a real test!). Deep intense chocolate flavor. The cookies spread more than Candidate 1, which probably contributed to the crisp sides and chewy with a bite interior.



Dark chocolate cookies
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
200grams of choc chip (seperate them into 2, 100 grams)
110gram of butter
1 cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 180C. Line baking trays with baking paper.

2) Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking sodar and salt. Set aside.

3) Melt 100 grams of dark choc with butter in a small heat proof bowl set on top of a pan of simmering water. Cool slightly.

4) Gradually fold in flour mixture in 2 batches.

5) Fold in chocolate bits. (I added some crushed walnuts as well)

6) Spoon tsp of cookie dough on to trays abt 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes. Cookies will be slightly soft.

My favourite???

Candidate 2 for sure. The rich intense flavour won me over. By not beating the butter, the cookies turned out crispier. I'm keeping that recipe!!!!

What is your favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe?

Lean Mean Bean Fettucine

Woah! I wonder what was I thinking when I came out with that name for this dish. Certainly, it's lean but mean.. hmm..well, I dont think beans make us mean, aren't they suppose to be good for our digestive system?

I have started to experiment with butter beans a little. I love them in soups but thought I could experiment and pop them in a pasta dish. The result was gorgeous, as the texture of the butter beans went well with fettucine, lean bacon and mushrooms.



Lean Mean Bean Fettucine (serves 4)
250 grams of fettucine or half a packet
1 can of butter beans, well drained
150 grams of lean bacon diced
2 cups of chopped buttom mushrooms
1 tablespoon of garlic
1/4 cup of olive oil

1) Cook pasta till al dente.

2) Fry bacon till slightly crisp. Drain on paper towels. Heat olive oil up. Fry garlic till fragrant. Add butter beans and cook till they turn slightly brown. Include in the mushrooms. Cook for around 5 minutes till soft.

3) Add bacon in and toss it well. Taste the mixture. If it appears too dry, add a little more olive oil and season as required. Add pasta and toss well.

4) Serve with some cracked pepper.

I'm serving this up for Pasta Presto Nights. This week's host is Katie from Thyme For Cooking.


On another note.. look what I recieved from Foodbuzz! (I recieved that over a month ago...)


A summer tote bag with badges on and packet of Moo cards! What a treat. =)

Adventures of the Thosai and Chicken Curry

(the 8th attempt)

"flip"

and

"flip"

and

aRghhhh.....

I tested out my flipping skills recently by indulging in the art of thosai making. Rather than grinding the thosai mixture myself, I decided to take a stepwise approach and use a packet of thosai mix.

Flipping thosai is like flipping pancakes right? Easy peasy stuff. but nooo.. flipping thosai isn't as easy as it seems (for me anyway).

(see the broken pieces)

After the 8th attempt, my thosai finally resembles one. Almost anyway.

Now, I have a greater admiration to thosai makers and their flat, round pans!

(6th attempt, looking slightly decent)

What's that in the pink bowl? Surely I haven't gone out of my mind and serve ice-cream with thosai? Rest assured I didn't. It was easy chicken curry that I have there. Ar and I are blessed with helpful and great parents/grandma and our fridge has like a year supply of curry pastes. This one was made by AR's mum.



I would have made some dhal but I was craving for some spicy hot stuff hence the chicken curry.


Easy Chicken Curry (serves 4)
4-6 generous tablespoons of AR's mum curry paste (obviously it will be your choice of curry paste =) )
1/2 of lite coconut milk
1 cabbage sliced
500 grams of chicken cutlet/breasts diced
1 onion.

1) Saute curry paste till fragrant. Add onions.

2) Cook chicken till through. Add cabbage. Stir and cook for 5 minutes.

3) Add coconut milk. Taste. Season if required.

4) Serve with broken up thosai.

Chicken Cutlet with Egg Sauce

One of my favorite cuisine to eat out is Japanese. Amazingly, besides sushi, miso soup and dishes inspired by miso paste (since I needed to use up the tub of miso paste in the fridge!), I haven't venture into experimenting Japanese type dishes at home before this one.

So one day, while flipping new recipe books and craving Japanese......

"Dingggg" -light bulb moment occurred.

Oh ok, so I sort of tweaked the recipe a bit.. err.. make that alot since it looked nothing like a Katsu Don but certainly it is a slightly healthier/different/unique/fusion version of it.

Heehee. You get the message that even I was confused to what sort of concoction I made up in the kitchen.

I used the light pan-fried version of the breaded chicken cutlets instead of deep-frying it. It still tasted crispy but without the calories that goes with it. To make this an all-in-one dish, I sauteed some beans with sambal, which made this even less Japanese! LOL

So now you know, recipe books and restaurant dining inspire me. What about you? What inspired your home cooked dishes?



Chicken Cutlet with Egg Sauce (serves 4)
5 medium size chicken cutlets skinless
2-3 cups of packaged bread crumbs (I used hot and spicy)
1 lightly beaten egg
1.5 cups of plain flour
olive oil

Egg sauce
3 eggs
2 tsp fish sauce
1tsp sugar
cracked pepper
1 shallot chopped finely
olive oil

Rice
saute vegetables

1) Use the back of your chopper/knif to tenderize the chicken cutlets. Lightly season with a little salt.

2) Heat olive oil in a non-stick pan. Dip chicken cutlets in flour, egg then breadcrumbs. When the pan becomes hot, place cutlets in pan. Cook for 5-8 minutes on each side till it becomes golden brown. Place the cutlets on a oven proof dish. I used the oven warmer to keep the cutlets warm as I fry up the remaining chicken. Slice chicken when done.

3) Dish rice up. Place some saute vegetables on it followed by sliced chicken cutlets.

3) Egg sauce- lightly beat eggs with fish sauce, sugar and cracked pepper. Heat oil and sauteed shallots till it turns soft. Add egg mixture in. Using a wooden spoon, keep stirring the egg inwards in circular motion, just like making scramble eggs. Switch off the heat when the egg looks slightly done and continue stirring. Spoon egg sauce onto the chicken cutlets.

Tom Yam Seafood Noodle Soup

The passage to working life. The joys of attending a job interview. Yup, got through that this morning.

This wasn't my first job interview per say, but it is one that utilizes my previous skills and experiences + degree. How different it feels. A little bit of anxiety, a little bit of excitement.

Their questions answered, my questions asked. The wait begins. =)

Ok, so the above has no connection at all to the food post.

I have always wondered why Singaporeans/Malaysians love soupy noodles. The prawn noodles soup, Ban Mien, Wantan noodles soup, Dumpling noodles soup, beef brisket noodes...etc The list goes on. I have always thought that the hot weather will deter anyone from drinking a bowl of hot soup. Having said, I adore the soup broths. The tasty, wonderfully brewed soup (often filled with msg but that's another story).

Although I have grown to enjoy the dishes in Singapore/Malaysia, I like my soups better in the cold. Soup warms the soul up I believe. Especially a bowl of spicy soup.



Tom Yam Seafood Noodle Soup
3 tablespoons of Tom Yum soup paste
500ml of stock
1 stalk of lemongrass (using only the inner part and sliced)
200 grams of seafood (fish slices, prawns and baby squid)
1 bowl of bean sprouts
chopped chili
Rice vermicelli blanched

1) Heat a tsp of oil. Saute lemongrass. Add stock. When it boils, add tomyum paste.

2) Cook seafood in broth. Add beansprouts. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

3) Seperate noodles in bowls. Ladle soup and serve with freshly chopped chili.

Thanks to Ruth from Once Upon a feast for hosting Pasta Presto Nights this week.

Mocha Self-Saucing Pudding

There is a dish for every season.

Summer means salads

Autumn means stews and pies

Spring means roast spring lamb and risottos

Winter...

calls for warm curries, casseroles and WARM CHOCOLATE PUDDING!

I wasn't a fan of warm desserts till recently. I'm the ice-kachang, ice-cream, cold fruits kinda of girl. But then I discovered the beauty of chocolaty delights. Saucy chocolaty delights.

Think cold winter nights, nice comfy sofa, episodes of Gray's Anatomy or Private Practice (one after another of course), warm blanket and a sweet bowl of warm chocolate pudding. ahhh..bliss.




Mocha Self-Saucing Pudding (Serves 2)
1/2 cup of flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup of castor sugar
1 tbsp of dark cocoa powder
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
23 grams of melted butter
1 tbsp instant espresso
1 egg
extra cocoa powder for dusting

Topping
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
120ml of boiling water
2 tbsp of instant espresso coffee powder

1) Preheat oven to 180C. Sieve flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cocoa and cinnamon in a bowl. Add sugar and mix well.

2) Place butter, egg and coffee powder in a jug and whisk to combine. Slowly combine wet and dry mixture together. Spoon mixture into 2 ramakins.

3) Combine brown sugar and cocoa in a small bowl. Sprinkle the top of the pudding with the mixture. Then mix the coffee powder and boilng water till coffee dissolves. Carefully pour the coffee mixture around the edges of the pudding.

4) Bake pudding for 20 minutes till firm. Dust the top of the pudding with cocoa and serve hot with ice-cream or cream.

PS-I dont think there are any real rules about seasons and food and I confess to eating salads in winter and curries in summer... however, seasonal produce and the cold weather does make a girl crave for different sorts of food.

pps. This was taken from an old issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Their recipes rock!

Yam Rice

Cold winter nights and days means I'm on the lookout for heartwarming meals. One pot dishes seem to work for me recently. Perhaps the cold has made me a lazier cook!

Inspired by a recent bought cookbook in Singapore, I gathered up the ingredients and experimented with this dish. I grew up watching "Fang Tai's" cookery shows with my grandma and remembered her constant deep frying dishes! This book titled "Quick and Easy Meals" featured healthy meals that looked tasty (there, u know one of my other weakness, pretty photos!) and I thought I could give it a go!



Yam Rice
200 grams of diced yam
1 chicken breast
1 tsp of chopped ginger
2 cups of rice
1/2 cup of dehydrated chopped shitake mushrooms
1 onion chopped

Seasoning
1 tablespoon of dark soya
2 tablespoon of light soya
3 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
1/4 cup of huo tiao jiu
white pepper
1/2 cup of chicken stock

1) Chop yam into bite size pieces. Boil yam pieces till cooked. Drain. Set aside.

2) Marinate slices of chicken breast in sesame oil and 1 tsp light soya sauce.

3) Heat oil in a smaller pan. Saute yam pieces till brown.

4) Heat oil in a larger pan. Gently saute onion and ginger. Add chicken breast and fry quickly. Add seasoning, mushrooms and yam. Set aside.

5) Cook rice. Just as the water boils, add cooked ingredients into rice cooker.

6) Cook through. Fluff rice and serve with chili strips.

Cantonese sweet corn sauce with crumbed fish and mushroom fritters

Hmm.. I think I have a habit of setting long titles don't I? *mental note to self: write shorter titles!*

We watched Mama Mia yesterday! One word- HILARIOUS!

I'm going to try not to spoil the movie for you but....

-Meryl Streep was fabulous. So agile!

- Dramatic storyline but that is what a musical is about I suppose.

- Personal highlight, seeing Colin Frith in a tight bell bottom suit.

-Pierce Brosnan sang. In a not so good way. AND he took his top off.

I believe I did workouts on my diaphragm last night just by laughing. Real good workout. Who cares about situps, just watch Mama Mia.

I caught the musical when it ran in Perth. The singing was better there but the storyline is pretty much the same except it's alot more dramatic.

Hehe.


Back to the food though. This is a loooonngggg back dated post. Real back dated. I was inspired by Mochachocolata's post then and proceeded to make this dish that week! So it must be like 3 months ago?

My verdict The mushrooms fritters were fantastic. Healthy too I must add. Easy and healthy. Great for a Sunday lunch. I was too generous with the lemon juice on the cream corn sauce so it was a tad too sour but other than that, yummy!!!

I have also substituted crispy chicken for crumbed fish. A slight healthier version I suppose but real tasty. I'm not going to copy and paste Mocha's recipe but if you are looking for light meal ideas, that could be one!

Seafood Aglio Olio

My first recipe post since mid May. Has it been THAT long? The holiday dust has finally settled and I'm slowly getting back on routine again.

Many people asked how do I feel now that I have finally submitted. Having worked on this baby for 2.5 years and being in university for 7.5 years, the emotions are mixed. I can't say I'm happy about the mistakes I have spotted after submission but I am relieved that I have managed to stuck it through . Also, it's not quite done yet. In addition to changes (when examiners' reports come in + mistakes spotted), supervisor and I realized that we are able to write up a few papers for publication and a book chapter. That's pretty cool huh? To come out of it and realize it is NOT THAT useless after all.

In short, I'm still working on it.

Doesn't it seem endless?

I'm mean seriously. It does seem endless doesn't it? LOL

On the other side of the coin, I haven't stopped my work in the kitchen since I got back as well. Back to my beloved recipe books!! Ahh....

After a long hard pause, I have chosen this recipe to post. Why? Well, because it's one of my personal favorite. It's a one pot dish -meaning little to wash up and soooo easy.

Seafood and olive oil goes so well together. I love the way they dance together with garlic in a hot pan. Little seasoning is needed because of the subtle tastes that go together. I used prawns and baby squid here but anything goes with this I'm sure.


Seafood Aglio Olio (Serves 4)
250 grams of Fettuccine
1/4 cup of good olive oil
200 grams of squid, cleaned and sliced.
150 grams of prawns
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 small bunch of broccoli, chopped
sea salt
cracked pepper

1) Cook fettuccine in boiling salted water. Drain.

2) Sizzle garlic in olive oil. Quick toss prawns and squid in the pan till nearly cooked. Add broccoli.

3) Add fettuccine to pan. Toss together. Season with sea salt.

4) Dish up. Serve with cracked black pepper.


And I'm back on the Presto Pasta Wagon!!


Woohoo! Thank you Scientist in the Kitchen for hosting!

Waroona, Western Australia

Waroona is a little town situated 1hr 30 minutes away, south of Western Australia. AR being the sweet guy that he is, decided that we needed to get away for a few days just to recharge ourselves. While the recent trip to SG/KL was excellent, it was jam packed with activities and appointments that we barely had a rest. Thus, this trip was suppose to be a relaxing one.

1) Blue Wren Park



AR found this quint little Bed and Breakfast place. Our hosts, Geoff and Carol welcomed us with a delicious Devonshire tea. I have a soft spot for English tea like that. It's so heart warming! The scones were delicious and the tea warmed us up immediately. Everything was homemade and fresh in this place.


2) Lake Clifton Tavern



After a short rest, we headed to Lake Clifton Tavern for dinner. Thursdays are $10 steak nights so no prices for guessing what AR had. This place is owned by Geoff's son and served fairly decent price meals. I had the corn beef + baked potato. Now, the corn beef was abit too salty for my liking (but corn beef is suppose to be salty...) but I love love love the gigantic potato with cheese sauce! The steak was reasonable, nothing special but it was a good meal .

3) Preston Tea



We headed to town the next day. Well, the town consists of one street but it was fairly busy. We stopped by this tea place and had lots of fun smelling the different sorts of tea available. Too bad they didn't offer a tea service. I bought the French Earl Grey and AR wanted the Rosie Wong-which is a blend of flowers and herbs.

4) Hundt's Gallery



I can't stop raving about this place. It is a show room for small art pieces with a cafe attached to it. We had lunch there and almost didn't want to leave. AR had the vegetable lasgna-simply divine. It was chocked full of sweet potato, eggplant, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese! I had the sweet potato and pumpkin soup which was just lovely for a cold wintery day (idea for lunch one day!). My only complain was that the mocha had more chocolate than coffee in it.

5) Thrombolites

We drove to Lake Clifton and admired the view of Thrombolites.



"Thrombolites are a particular form of microbialite (rock-like structure built by micro-organisms) that have a clotted internal structure. The word thrombolite is derived from the same root as thrombosis which means clot."

Amazing stuff huh?

The only thing was that the tide was high so we could barely spot any thrombolites! LOL



A HUGE HUGE bonus though, we saw kangaroos hopping around!

6) The Cream Shed



Our highlight! We watched cows being milked and cream being made! Look at the tiny calf! Even more amazing was Frank-the farmer. He was wearing bright RED shorts on a cold winter day!!!



The calfs were so adorable! We were given a chance to help out in the farm which was really nice of Frank. He has owned the property for 35 years! Look at the view he wakes up to every day.

7) Dinner at The Mediterranean Restaurant



Fine Dining at the Mediterranean was a lovely treat at the end of the day. Lovely warm ambiance greeted us as we entered th restaurant. We were guided to our seats which was near the "fire place".

We started off with their bread + pesto butter. I do wish they could cut the bread in smaller pieces. As the bread was on the tough side, it was difficult to tear/use butter knife to cut it. The pesto taste was subtle.

Main courses of AR's lamb shanks and my duck. We agreed that our meals were tasty but it did not blow us away. One thing I was impressed was their presentation. They served AR's sweet potato mashed in a sesame coated puff pastry casing. Something that I will definately try in my little kitchen soon.

The dessert was chocolate pudding with pistachio center. The molten chocolate pudding was a delightful way to end the meal. Again, it was good but not amazing.

Something did irk me at the restaurant. They kept placing cold jugs of water on their grand piano! Why would did do that to such a beautiful piece of instrument?

8) Breakfast at the Blue Wren Park



Ah. I enjoyed waking up to a full set of breakfast and not having to do any washing up. We ate our breakie with a lovely view of the park. Fresh fruits, yogurt, 4 different sorts of cereal/muesli, toasts... seriously pampered.

9) Good hosts


Geoff and Carol are such lovely people. We wanted to purchase a small wedding certificate holder but they refused our money and offered that as a gift instead! They were really attentative throughout our stay and we had great conversation with them. From sparkling juice to chocolates in our room and even a mini tea service there...seriously... we felt pampered. Will definately be back when we need a short break.

Thank you Geoff and Carol!