A Different Sort of Chocolate Cake

So recently we had our first family holiday. A coupon deal came up and we grabbed a one night stay at a 4.5 star hotel at The Sebel in Mandurah, Perth. To many West Australians, Mandurah is a sleepy little place just on border of metro Western Australia. To us though, it was where we sneaked out for dates when we were in University and when hubby popped the question at the jetty 4.5 years ago. It seems fitting that we bring Asher there for his first night out of home.

Truth be told, it's because we are "testing out" the waters of bringing Asher out overnight. We thought an hour away means we are far enough to do the testing, but close enough to return home if we get desperate. Thankfully, Asher adapted pretty well. I learned a few things in this short trip.

- It's ok to bring more diapers. In this case, less is not more!
- I would choose to have Asher's things in a separate bag next time if we are going for longer trips.
- Collect samples. I brought the samples on the trip for nappy cream, body wash, moisturiser and it worked a treat!
- Bring my baby carrier. I'm beginning to value my baby carrier more and more....
- Hubby and I had dinner at 6pm which is usually the start of Asher's sleep routine, to counter a very cranky baby in a fancy restaurant, I feed him and managed to put him down for a nap.
- If we really want to have dinner out, make it 6pm and not later! Poor Ash was clearly tired at 7:30 even though he had a nap.

No doubt there will be more thoughts as we begin planning our travel back to SG/KL end of January. Any tips from experienced travellers?

I'm a big fan of Teresa Cutter. It's my go-to place for treats and other healthy meal ideas. She made healthy food looks AMAZING and so delicious. In fact, I don't think I have ever had a bad batch of baking from her recipes before. This different sort of chocolate cake is not something I have not made before. Her one- bowl cake is delicious and really, I adapted her recipe to suit us but it's basically the same.

What I think it's different in this cake, is the Coconut Chocolate Ganache. Yup. It's ganache made of coconut cream instead of normal cream. It makes so much sense actually to replace normal cream with coconut.  So handy as I almost always forget to buy cream but I usually have coconut milk or cream in my pantry. First it adds flavour, and 2nd it doesn't leave me with the "I ate too much ganache" feeling. The 2nd point is dangerous though because it is tempting to polish off a bowl of the ganache. It's still a treat and it still has chocolate in it. Best of all, my parents in law who does not like dairy loved it!

If you are looking for a christmas treat, this could be an idea!

A Different Sort of Cake with Coconut Chocolate Ganache. (serves 25)
3 cups almond meal
1/2 cup of cacao powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
125ml olive oil or coconut oil
125 ml of almond milk
1 tablespoon of raw honey

Preheat fan forced oven to 150C. Whisk eggs, oil, milk,vanilla and honey together. Pour wet over dry ingredients and fold. Pour into prepared lined baking tin and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Coconut Chocolate Ganache
250ml Coconut Cream
200grams dark chocolate

Heat cream gently. Break chocolate into cream and gently fold till it melts and turn glossy. Cool before placing on cake.

LA and NYC 2012

It took us some time, but when we finally did hit the "confirm" button to book our trip to LA and NYC, we were stoked. Traveling is a big burn of ours but between work, building of our home and other commitments, it took us some time before we were able to bite the bullet and splurge on a holiday. It was also my birthday trip, which made it extra special.

In total we travelled for 14 days. The first three was at Melbourne, followed by LA then NYC. Our plans were initially NYC then LA but due to Hurricane Sandy, plans have to change. We spent 6 8 glorious days in NYC, the additional 2 days courtesy of the secondary storm that hit NYC while we were there.

Highlights of LA?
- The Redbury Hotel. Truly a beautiful Art Decor accommodation.

- Walking along Hollywood Blvd on my birthday only to be told that there were road closures because there was a gun man on the loose!

- Food at Cleo and Katsuya! Seems that Katsuya is a celebrity watch restaurants. No luck for us.
- History of Hollywood.

- Universal Studios- behind the scenes tour.

What I really love, is our trip to NYC. The food, the lights, the people. Everything. Hurricane Sandy certainly brought out the tenacity of New Yorkers. By day 4, subway stations were partially open, and business were slowly chugging back into gear.

I love
- Walking into Bed, Bath and Beyond and wanting to buy the whole shop back.
- Smelling the aroma of William Sonoma
- Checking out the views of Empire State and Rockerfellar

 - Snow Storm!

- Behind the scenes tour of NBC studios
- Shopping at GAP, Victoria Secret, Century 21, Forever 21....
- Eating at Nanoosh, Dean and Deluca, Ma Peche., Balthazar..
- Desserts at Momofufu Milk Bar and Bakery, Spot Dessert and Kytofu.

(Spot Dessert Bar- Matcha Lava Molten Pudding)

(Spot Dessert Bar- Coconut Cheesecake)

(Kytofu- Black Sesame Tofu Pudding)

- Love the museum of Art

- Who can missed Central Park, Times Square and 5th Ave.  Times square is mesmerising.

(Times Square with Cookie Monster and Elmo)

(Central Park before the snow storm) 

(Central Park after the snow storm) 

-Broadway!!

-Brooklyn Flea Market.
- Brooklyn Bridge

(Brooklyn Bridge)

- Statue of Liberty

- Whole Food Markets
- Tasting Pumpkin Pie/tart for the first time.
- Love walking along Bleeker Street, SoHo (pity we didn't get to explore it throughly)
-Bryant Park is beautiful!


So much more.

Things I learned..
- Starbucks serve decent coffee in NYC. Dean and Deluca is much better but we actually like this little coffee place call Oren's Daily Roast.
- I do not like American Cheddar
- Service is way better in USA. Perhaps it has got to do with the tipping system.
- Unfortunately Magnolia Bakery is over-rated. I did not enjoy their desserts as much as I thought I would. Next time, more calories spent at Momofuku Milk Bar, or Spot Dessert!
- I need more luggage space. It is so worth it heading to Century 21- I'm not into brand names shopping, but managed to grab some good quality basics for good prices.

While the storm means we were not able to explore SoHo, Nolita, Chinatown areas, it also means that we have to go back! Hubby and I are both planners, so we had to learn to relax and be flexible with our itinerary. Flight cancelled 3 hours before we were supposed to be at the airport? We smiled and said obviously God want us to stay in NYC for a bit longer, and enjoyed the snow.

Certainly a trip to be remembered. We will return!

Sunshine Chorizo Lentil Soup

What I love about winter:

1) I get to wear boots
2) I love scarfs
3) Lovely warm jackets
3) Hot chocolate
4) Nice warm throw and heated wheat bags
5) Listening to the rain
6) If you have a gas fire heater or wood heater, the warmth from it!
7) Hot comforting food like stews, casseroles and soups!

Soups certainly bring abit of sunshine in rainy cold wet weather. This soup was inspired by our trip to Denmark, Western Australia. I have always found it funny that there is a "denmark" in down under Aus. It's nothing like Copenhagen Denmark of course. Denmark WA is filled with hikes and scenic views. We are so in love with the serenity of the place.

On our first night there, we went to this "funky" new restaurant and lo and behold, they have soup. All I recall was heaps of veges, lentils and shavings of parmesan on it. At home, I added generous amount of chilis and heaps of veges. It was slowed cooked for around 2 hours so the flavours really did seeped in.

The other thing we discovered was "vinofood". Jams and chutneys made with wine! My favourite is the fig, chardonnay and apply chutney. I paired it with some goats cheese. yum!

I guess this soup brought back abit of the holiday with us to home as well!

Sunshine Chorizo Lentil Soup
250 grams of soup mix lentils (Soaked for 30 minutes)
500 ml of beef stock
500 ml of chicken stock
2 carrots chopped
1 small sweet potato chopped
1 small bunch of celery chopped
1 red onion chopped
1 chorzo chopped
5 chili padis chopped
1 heaped tablespoon of garlic

Heat soup pot. Add chorizo. Fry till it is done. Remove some. Add onions and garlic. Cook till soft. Add lentils and toss for around 2-3 minutes. Add stock. Simmer for 1 hour. Stir. Add veges. Cook for another 30-40 minutes, longer if needed. Season. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Swiss Adventure- Rosti and Halomi at home

During our trip to Switzerland (Interlaken), we hurried to try the local cusine. Cheese Fondue with white wine-checked. Rosti- Checked. While I wasn't ready to try out the strong cheese fondue at home (just didn't sit too well in my tummy), I love love love the rosti.

Re-creating dishes that we try and love overseas back at our humble kitchen is one of my passions. While our little rosti cakes did not look anything like what we had in Switzerland, it brought us back memories. The human brain is so amazing, recording our memories not just by sight, but by all senses. Having this, just brought us back a little more of what we have experienced. I can't help but drool with the sight of the runny egg on a bed of potato!

At home, I grated the potato, added some melted spread, season and proceeded to shape them in little cakes. It worked really well and turned crispy despite not having much oil added to the pan. I suppose it would have to be the butter on the potato cakes.

The shredded delights hit a big spot in us. We paired it with a light salad with grilled halomi cheese.  While I tried this cheese briefly in cafes, I have not thought of using it in salads before. Grilling it made it slightly crispy and I was greeted with the crispy outer and creamy cheesey insides. Superb!

 

Rosti with Halomi Salad (Serves 3-4) 

50 grams of Halomi cheese sliced to 2 pieces

Rosti 

2 potato grated

2 tablespoon of spread melted 

lots of freshly cracked pepper

1 tsp of chilli flakes 

1 tsp of minced garlic 

1 tsp of mixed herbs 

sea salt  

Mixed all ingredients together. Shape into patties. Preheat pan with a little oil. Fry rosti up.

ps- I like my potato with a little bite so I didn't pre boil it.  

Grilled Halomi- Preheat another pan with oil. Grill it till it turns crispy on the outside. Serve on bed of salad. 

Greetings from Germany!

Hallo! Greetings from snowy and cold Germany. Hubby and I are finally on our long awaited honeymoon. We travelled to Demark, Copenhagan last Tuesday and have been around Germany since last Friday. It started snowing on the first day we arrived- which we were told that it is quite uncommon in Europe to snow that much in December. Oh well, we totally enjoyed every minute of the snow. Too bad it was too soft to make a snowman.

In Europe, we had a great time tasting and trying out different kinds of food.

First stop- Illum ( a big shopping centre) on Stöget, Copehengan. We are not sure what it is called but it has mazapan at the bottom, soft meringue on the top and then covered with dark chocolate. Our friend told us that is a popular chocolate snack during Christmas time.

The magic occurred when we walked along the streets of Danmark. SNOW! Lots of snow. So much that we had to take refuge in a quint little cafe which we enjoyed a huge hot mocha while watching the snow falls.

We went to the Tivoli markets. A huge Christmas surprise with lots of fun rides. Not that we went on any rides but just took in all the wonderful sights and lights! It was soooo sooo beautiful and magical. The top photo shows a hot wine drine glögg which is spiced red wine with silvered almonds and sultanas. It was a very drink in cold snowy weather. The little snacks tasted like cinnamon spiced mini donuts. Again, Lone told us that it is a traditional Christmas snack eaten with cranberry sauce.

A visit to Danmark will not be complete without our experience at a hotdog stand.

 

This hotdog has chopped onions, mustard, gerkins and crispy shallots on it. Very warming to the tummy.

                                         

            

                                         

Can't leave Denmark without DANISHES and pastries!! The bottom one is really special. It is sort of like a puff pastry but has sugar sprinkled on it with some forms of seeds. Very delish.

Next stop

BERLIN!

Breakfast to fill our tummy up.

 

                                          

Honestly, I have no idea what I was eating because it says special musli! No harm trying right? It was very oaty with lots of cinnamon.

Hubby had a toasted sandwich with lots of mozerella cheese, pear and some cranberry sauce.

More Christmas markets- we were on the hunt for some WURST.

This was the basic one with nothing on it. We added mustard and some tomato sauce on the side stand.

Oh, we can't forget the sauerkaut and wurst with a bowl of champinons and bread.

The hubby is happy.

The next day, we explored the Berlin City. Took the S and U bahns (Trains) and ended up in a huge shopping centre. We spent 2 hrs wondering around the food area! Finally we settled in the food court and I had fish soup.

Salads with lots of dressings and a hot main meal with pork steak. One thing for sure, the Germans were generous with their dressings. The pork steak was really tender.

                                  

Back to the food area, we zoned in quickly at the dessert section filled with rows and rows of sweets! This one has lots of pumkin seeds and tasted like bikenstich.

We headed to a small village to be with our friends Haz and Hanno. Then we went to Köln and visited a big catheral. Happens to have another Christmas Market just right outside the Dom. It seems that is the biggest one in Germany too.

                                      

We were told that we had to try curry wurst-which turns out....

to be cut up wurst topped with curry sauce! Not very impressive but interesting!

Next to the wurst stall is a stall that sells Solvanish food. It's toasted bread with different toppings include goats cheese, tomato puree and olive tapanade.

We proceeded our long walk by the Rhine river and ended up in a Chocolate museum. Really facinating stuff.

Also proof that chocolate is good for us!

Lots of chocolate treats!

This was dark chocolate mousse.

My personal favourite: Hot chocolate with baileys!

                                                       

What is more special is authentic Black Forest Cake that Haz made for us!

                                       

                                        

And one of our main reasons to be in Germany: Welcome little Hanna! The new addition to our friend's family!