Christmas 2012

This Christmas was spent in London without Grant as he's in NZ. I'll be flying to Sydney via Singapore this Saturday. I can't wait to get out of this weather and arrive new years eve. My sister will have her baby very soon and I'll be an aunt!

I finished a half day at work on Christmas Eve. My colleague and I hit up OXO Tower for a celebratory drink. The view is not bad, shame about the muddy Thames and grey sky. 

The next morning Christmas Day, my girlfriend (who I've known since primary school!) had a special lunch at The Flask in Hampstead. 

In the evening I made vegetarian moussaka for a party. We were all "orphans" so it was sweet that my girlfriends opened up their home to so many guests. We had lots of delicious food and a DJ friend played a wicked dance set.

I'm missing a nose but I still like this photo. As with all Aussie Londoners, this may be the last time we share moments like this together so I'll cherish the memories. 

Let's party, people!

On Boxing Day, I chilled out at home, It was wonderfully relaxing as I listened to arias, made Japanese Okonomiyaki and baked cookies. 

Happy Birthday Grant!

It was a special day and I took Grant out to dinner at his favourite restaurant. Here is a man happy with his food. And seemingly a squirrel on his head.

BBQ duck from Four Seasons in Chinatown. The most succulent and tastiest duck in London. Grant's favourite and I admit, I could never give it up completely (like KFC and seafood). The sauce is pure crack. When served with steamed rice, the taste alone will make your eyeballs instantly roll to the back of your head.

 BBQ pork. It was good but no way as good as the duck. We'll use the leftovers for homemade cheung fun.

 Afterwards we went to Candy Cafe, a cute and cosy oriental cafe. I had the coconut sago dessert with popping passionfruit. The soft orange balls explode releasing yummy passionfruit flavour. 

A birthday pressie from me. Remote controlled helicopter with flashing lights. And it launches missiles. He loves it. Awesome supreme!!!

And my Christmas gift from him. The Nexus 7 tablet, my new toy for being on the go. I like it so far but I'm still a sucker for the Apple interface.

Baking Swedish Polar Bread

I got up this sunny Sunday and made my first batch of Polarbread. As mentioned in a previous post, I love this sweet soft rye bread. I found a recipe from the internet and altered the portions of ingredients to make eight flatbreads. (I did'nt really measure as I went along as otherwise I'd post the recipe.)

The dough was wetter than normal bread dough. To prevent sticking I kneaded with a silicone spatula on a clean glass surface (ie my cooktop). It worked a treat and made dividing easier. I gave the dough an hour for the first rise and shaped into flatbreads.  I made holes with a chopstick and sprinkled on fennel seeds. Gave it 45 mins for the second rise and baked in a very hot oven for 4-5 mins.

They were cooled on a rack and enjoyed with soft cheese and fresh ground pepper. My personal fave is also add a smidgen of marmite, thick slices of really good tomatoes and a sprinkling of sea salt. 

  

The Polar Bread smelt wonderful and although it's not as airy as the commercial kind, they were just as delicious! 

It's A Roaring 20s Christmas

Three Christmas parties in a week. No more. I'm feeling bah-humbug now!

My Prescatarian Journey So Far

I had my work Christmas party last night and as part of tradition, had a sausage sandwich for breakfast. That was until I took a bite and realised the sausage was cold. Gross!

I was then actually thankful to back out of eating meat. So I opted for eggs instead.

So it's been six months since I decided to abstain from eating land animals. I still eat it but very sparingly or when I'm on holidays. It's still not easy as I crave it from time to time and my partner is a believer of eating meat.

But on the plus side, I'm spending less on groceries and eating healthier. I feel great when I've had a vegetarian meal. My meat cravings are satiated by smaller and smaller portions of meat so hopefully one day, I will be a full time prescatarian!

Let me just say there are two meat replacement foods I love.

1) Natto. I can eat it happily everyday, much to the distaste of my partner. It's the only veggie food that replaces the unami I crave from meat.

2) Soya mince. Soak with boiling water, a bit of marmite or bisto and you have instant cooked "mince meat". Perfect for pasta sauces. I served it to my partner and he was none the wiser!

Winter Is Here

As the sun rose, frost on the windows starts to melt. When the trees are bare and your cheeks feel numb outdoors, winter is here.