This is an old questionnaire I discovered circulating between Finnish food blogs. I was interested in reading other peoples answers so thought I would answer it myself (...and I don't want to continue with the study I'm doing).
How do you enjoy your coffee/tea?
Black. No sugar.
I want to taste the tea or coffee that I am drinking, not milky sweet stuff.
What's your favourite breakfast?
Fresh, homemade Flax and Sunflower Seed bread with a smothering of peanut butter, then mashed banana, then a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon, then a top slice of bread with a layer of honey. Placed under the grill. Oh my.
Peanut butter?
Give it to me, baby. On fresh white bread. With celery. With a spoon...
What kind of a dressing do you want with your salad?
None, please :)
Coke or Pepsi?
Coke zero. I can feel it eating away at my stomach lining.. why doesn't that stop me?
You're feeling lazy, what will you make?
Toast and peanut butter! For someone else? Proper macaroni and cheese.
You feel like cooking, what will you make?
I'll spend an hour searching through the millions of saved recipes I have.. Then produce something with lots of vegetables, cooked in my beautiful red casserole dish.
Does some dish give you bad memories?
Hmm, nope. Although mushy peas and spam give me a laugh.
Does some dish remind you of someone?
Mushy peas and spam? My grandparents. Pulla? My mummi. Thai green curry? My mum.
Is there a dish you would refuse to eat?
Lanttukukko (Swede rooster).
What was your childhood favourite food?
Pizza! I now work in a pizza store.. hmm.
And mummi's Zucchini box :)
Is there a food you hated as a child but now love?
Olives and liquorice. And nuts.
Your favourite fruit and vegetable?
Mangoes and pumpkin.
Your favourite junk food?
Is chocolate in that category? I don't think it's junk! If not, liquorice allsorts.
Your favourite snack?
A muffin or piece of fruit.
Do you have any weird food habits?
I don't think so..
You're on a diet. What shall you eat?
Lots of salad.
You finished your diet. What would you like to have?
A massive bowl of rich chocolate mousse with rich chocolate cake with chocolate shavings. And some raspberries and tea so I'm not sick as well.
How hot do you order your Indian/Thai food?
Medium - hot.
Something to drink?
Water, please.
Red or white?
Red.
Your favourite dessert?
Is this really necessary? Chocolate.
The perfect nightcap?
A cup of tea, or three.
What's your first baking or cooking memory?
Making pulla in mummi's kitchen.
Actually, making birthday cakes for my dolls - a jam sandwiches with the crusts cut off, cut into a circle.
Who has most affected your cooking?
Mummi.
Do you have a photograph as an evidence from your early cooking?
No :(
Do you suffer from any sort of a cooking fear, does even a thought of cooking a certain dish make your hands sweat?
No! Usually I don't know it's supposed to be hard until I've done it.
What's your most used or valued kitchen utensil and/or your biggest disappointment when it comes to your kitchen utensils?
My bar-mix. And my rubber spatula always provides a high level of satisfaction. Thinking about my oven gives me a migraine.
Name a funny or weird food combination that you really like.
I cannot for the life of me thinking of anything. Though someone did tell me my love of peanut butter and banana was bizzare.
Coconut and jelly??
Name three eatables or dishes you just can't live without.
Chocolate. Coriander. Mushrooms.
What's missing from your cooking?
A new oven, damnit.
Saturday, 16 March 2013
Finnish pleasures: Pulla
Every member of my family has grown up with the wonders of warm pulla. Fresh out of the oven or microwaved out of her freezer stores, Mummi's pulla will always warm you from the inside out. We have all visited Mummi and asked her to make pulla for multicultural days at school. Our Aussie friends may not understand the obsession we have with this divine bread, perhaps because they don't have a Mummi who pours her heart into each bun of scrumpciousness.
I do not know if this recipe is identical to the imprint inside my grandmothers head, but my six year old cousin consumed almost an entire batch of my pulla while he was visiting from Finland - language barriers aside, I'm pretty sure that's a stamp of approval!
I have adapted this recipe to be vegan. If you would like to use butter and eggs I have written the alternatives beside the ingredients I use. My (very) Finnish father can't tell the difference between vegan pulla and the dairy-filled version so don't worry about it skimping on authenticity!
Finnish Pulla - Korvapuusti
Step 1: Adorn Mummi slippers and apron.
Ingredients
500mL warm milk (I use almond, also works well with soy),
2 egg replacers: 2 tsp psyllium husk mixed with 6 tbsp boiled water
150g raw sugar (dextrose works well here for a fructose-free alternative)
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp salt
900g + 200g plain flour
3x7g sachets yeast (equivalent to 6 tsp)
200g vegan margarine (or butter)
Cinnamon, sugar and margarine for rolling
Method:
1. Mix warm milk, eggs, sugar, cardamom and salt together in a large mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved.
Note: if your milk/egg mixture is too hot it will kill your yeast - if you have a thermometer test the mixture before proceeding to the next step - your wet mixture should ideally be 37°C.
2. Whisk 900g flour and yeast together.
3. Add flour to milk mixture a spoonful at a time. Combine using a spoon until a sticky dough consistency is reached, then ditch the spoon and knead with your hand. Continue kneading and adding flour until the dough comes off your hands - you may need to add some extra flour to achieve this, but also don't be concerned if you haven't used all the flour mix. I find it varies with each batch I make.
 |
| Ditch the spoon, get messy! |
 |
| Pre-butter |
4. Melt the margarine and let it cool slightly, then work it into your dough. It will take some work to be absorbed but it will happen. Continue kneading until you have a soft, flexible dough. If your dough is sticky add some of your extra 200g flour - the amount will vary, today I used about 150g extra.
Keep kneading.
Don't stop.
When your dough reaches the soft, flexible consistency you will know it, there will be an obvious change. When this happens knead a little longer.
 |
| The dough WILL become soft and elastic |
5. Cover the dough with a tea towel and put it deep into your bed. Mummi puts her electric blanket on its lowest setting, I just let the blankets perform their magic.
 |
| Tuck your pulla dough into bed :) |
Let your dough rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 180°C.
6. Tip your dough onto your bench and punch down once, then break into 5 pieces.
7. Work with one piece at a time, rolling/stretching it out with your hands to form a long rectangle. Smother the surface with margarine, then sugar and cinnamon. Add more cinnamon. And some more.
 |
| Be generous with the cinnamon! |
8. Roll the dough into a long sausage and cut diagonally - this is important to get the traditional pulla shape. Now press each piece down firmly with your thumb at the narrowest point in each slice.
 |
| Cut diagonally |
 |
| Find the narrowest part of the slice.. |
 |
| .. and press down |
9. Leave on a baking tray to rise for another half an hour - about the time it takes to cut the rest up.
10. Bake in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes. Keep an eye on them, they should be just brown and slightly firm to touch.
Pulla are heavenly straight out of the oven with fresh, strong, proper Finnish coffee. Don't forget the coffee, please.
I find the flavours develop when they pulla are left overnight, but maybe it just takes me that long to forget how much I enjoyed eating them straight out of the oven..
Pulla freeze great - microwave to defrost and heat up and you have an instant cake for afternoon tea!
My freezer isn't stocked until there is a good supply of pulla inside. I'm curious to know what other peoples freezer essentials are...
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
10 Tips for a Healthy Life
Ally's 10 Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle
1. Eat fresh food! Try to reduce the amount of food you eat that comes pre-packaged/cooked. Up your fruit and vegies to those recommended 2 fruit, 5 veg per day or more!
2. Perform cardiovascular exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes, 3 times a week. This doesn't mean you need to join a gym - take the dog for a walk, or get someone to play frisbee with you for half an hour!
3. Know what you're eating. Take note of appropriate portion sizes, but more importantly the ingredients in the food you eat - this is where point 1. comes back in - if you cook it fresh, you know exactly what's in your meal!
4. Beware hidden sugars. Back to point 3, beware foods like pre-marinated chicken or breakfast cereals that often contain sugar. Don't forget that all fruit products (whole, pulp, juice) are mostly sugar too.
5. Treat yourself! Your body benefits from change in the quantities you consume - it's ok to have a big breakfast on Sunday mornings, or a slice of cake for afternoon tea once a week. Not only is the change good for your body, it keeps you sane!
6. Get some sunlight! Go outside and catch some rays in your lunch break - a great way to do that 30 minutes of exercise. You'll be surprised how good it can make you feel, not to mention how much your body will benefit from that vitamin D!
7. Drink up! All that water the health experts recommend you drink is not a way to make money, you know!
8. Talk to the people who sell you your food! If you can, source your foods from farmers markets where you have the opportunity to chat with your provider and find out a little bit about what happens to their food before it hits your plate.
9. Be aware of what your body likes and dislikes. Try keeping a food journal for a month and note when you feel tired, or get a headache, or when you have lots of energy. Have a rash that comes and goes? Right down when this flares and check if it is associated with food or perhaps different washing powders. Identifying which foods your body doesn't react well to can really improve how you feel each day.
10. Have fun! Get out and enjoy your life - it's happening NOW!
Vegan Eats: London
This summer I spent 7 weeks in England, visiting family and being a tourist.
Camden Market
Vegan cakes and cupcakes.
Vegan Ethiopian Stall
One of my favourite things about London was the popularity of Vegan eats. Here are some of my favourites:
Cookies and Scream (website)
Camden Market
Vegan and gluten-free bakery.
Hosts the best brownie I have ever eaten.
Their Chewy Wookie Bars are also delicious - almost too big to take a bite out of, a great vegan version of Hedgehog Slice.
If you want to find a giant vegan cookie, this is your place, too.
Whilst I wasn't particularly impressed with their chocolate chip cookies, their ginger cookie provided a delicious sweet-spiced hit.
Next time: I'll try their vegan donuts!!
Ruby Tuesdays (website)
Greenwich Market
Vegan cakes and cupcakes.
Hosts the best double chocolate muffin I have ever eaten.
Ruby's cakes, which you can buy by the slice, are divine. I tried her Chocolate and Strawberry Gateaux and it gave me that warm-fuzzy feeling that only cake can!
My brother says her carrot cakes are spot on, and I particularly liked her chocolate, coconut and raspberry cupcake!
Next time: I'll try her Chai Spiced Choc-Chip cupcake!
45 Lexington St, Soho, London
I have blabbed and blabbed about Mildred's.
Hosts the best vegan meals I have ever eaten.
Brick Lane Market (Sundays)
Hosts the best Ethiopian food I have ever eaten.
I don't know what the stall is called. I have no pictures. All I know is: when you go to London you must find this place!!!
After my first lunch there I made a day of the markets so I could go back for dinner. I then returned to the markets just to find this food on my last day in London. Go there. Now.
Wholefoods (website)
Piccadilly Circus and Kensington High Street (and many other locations)
A supermarket designed for lovers of food.
Their Banoffee Pie (in a tub) is a fantastic vegan dessert, and while many of their products are not vegan - they have a fantastic range of cheeses, and meats, and anything else you can imagine - they have a great range.
I found vegan and soy-free iceream that was delicious.
I found vegan chocolates in their chocolate counter. I found cookbooks. I found amazing breads, and a great range of vegetables, and nuts and seeds and oh my..
My sister-in-law and I both admitted to popping in to pick up some milk and spending a whole hour in there just browsing their shelves.
If you possibly can, find the time to visit these places. They could not let you down.
Monday, 28 January 2013
I Quit Sugar
Yes way.
I've been following Sarah Wilson and Jules Clancy's blogs SarahWilson and The Stone Soup and learnt a lot about the joys of quitting sugar.
Recently I've been doing a lot of baking for various birthdays and using a lot of sugar. This means I eat ridiculous amounts as I taste test while I'm going and I noticed how awful I felt afterwards. Headaches and mood swings and general unwellness. I identified these feelings as sugar drops, and recalled my doctor suggesting I be careful with my diet after I confided my sudden 3-o'clock drops, particularly when I'm in the kitchen.
I know sugar is bad. We all do, really. So today after a week of feeling rubbish I declared myself sugar-free.
I don't know how long it will last. I don't know if I'll decide to keep at it, or become lazy and throw it in the too-hard-basket for next week or next year etc. But for now, lets have a crack.
Day 1: horrid headache, withdrawals I think. And moody. Doesn't help that I'm babysitting a screaming 1 year old. Nor that I had too much sugar yesterday.
I've been following Sarah Wilson and Jules Clancy's blogs SarahWilson and The Stone Soup and learnt a lot about the joys of quitting sugar.
Recently I've been doing a lot of baking for various birthdays and using a lot of sugar. This means I eat ridiculous amounts as I taste test while I'm going and I noticed how awful I felt afterwards. Headaches and mood swings and general unwellness. I identified these feelings as sugar drops, and recalled my doctor suggesting I be careful with my diet after I confided my sudden 3-o'clock drops, particularly when I'm in the kitchen.
I know sugar is bad. We all do, really. So today after a week of feeling rubbish I declared myself sugar-free.
I don't know how long it will last. I don't know if I'll decide to keep at it, or become lazy and throw it in the too-hard-basket for next week or next year etc. But for now, lets have a crack.
Day 1: horrid headache, withdrawals I think. And moody. Doesn't help that I'm babysitting a screaming 1 year old. Nor that I had too much sugar yesterday.
DAY 1
Breakfast: oats cooked with water, seed mix added inc. chia, and a dollop of coconut cream. Not bad.
Lunch: lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad with a tin of lemon-pepper tuna (<1g sugar per 100g).
Afternoon: tin of 4-bean mix.
Evening: 4 sundried tomato corn thins and a handful of almonds.
Dinner: 2 celery sticks with hummus and peanut butter.
Drinks: 800mL bottle and 3-5 glasses of water + 1 black tea + 1 green tea
Breakfast: oats cooked with water, seed mix added inc. chia, and a dollop of coconut cream. Not bad.
Lunch: lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad with a tin of lemon-pepper tuna (<1g sugar per 100g).
Afternoon: tin of 4-bean mix.
Evening: 4 sundried tomato corn thins and a handful of almonds.
Dinner: 2 celery sticks with hummus and peanut butter.
Drinks: 800mL bottle and 3-5 glasses of water + 1 black tea + 1 green tea
Banoffee Pie
#15 A major regret in my life is not making Chocolate Banoffee Tart before I was told I was dairy intolerant.
About a month before I found out about my intolerances I stumbled upon this recipe for chocolate banoffee tart. I hadn't heard of Banoffee before and these photographs and recipe made me (my least favourite word) salivate.
I couldn't get this darn tart off my mind and planned it to be the next dessert I would make. This all happened around exam time, of course, and was pushed away. Before I got a moment to dwell on my entrance to the wonderful world of toffee and banana again I got my results back about my intolerances: no pie.
The world came crashing down around me. Ok, not quite that extreme, but I was disappointed.
Then I went and stayed in London with my brother and sister-in-law and on my first night they took me to their favourite vegetarian restaurant: Mildred's. (I can easily talk about Mildred's for hours, but I'll spare you - for more read my facts about England).
In short: I didn't dare believe my sister-in-law when she told me there were vegan desserts on the menu.. but when their dessert menu came out and I saw for myself that there was not only one, but about six different desserts I could choose from, I felt the heavens had opened above me.
And what could make this occasion even better? The first dessert on the menu was Banoffee Pie. Yes way.
All three of us ordered the same, and my goodness that slice of pie was enough on its own to make flying for 30 hours so absolutely worth it.
I could share with you many more of the delights that Mildred's dessert menu had to offer as I returned on my last night with my brother and sister-in-law, then again by myself on my last night overseas. I could tell you of the joys of chocolate truffle cake with raspberry coulis, of chinese dumplings and roasted artichoke mezes and wellingtons and oh.. But I'm not sure I could ever do the place justice.
If you are ever in London, visit Mildred's.
Each night the wait was considerable. They don't accept bookings. But if you want to taste vegan food out of this world, you need to wait.
Once back in Australia, to the sun and summer and beaches (and fires), I wanted to get my family together to say thank you for all they had done to get me where I had been and share with them the many adventures I had had. A dinner, I thought. And what better way than attempt to share with them the pleasures of Mildred's.
My sister-in-law had discovered Mildred's blog, and on it the Chestnut and Truffle Wellington that we had declared the greatest meal of our lives. Well, for me, anyway. I spent my weekend in the kitchen creating this masterpiece with a fabulous port gravy, spiced red cabbage and mixed potato and beetroot wedges. But this will be another story.
To complement this main (oh, and zucchini flowers for entree) I prepared a Vegan Banoffee Pie.
This darned pie had to be worth it. I made it the day before our dinner whilst in a house I had been looking after for a friend and so had to move it that night to take it home. Leaving, in the dark, by myself, holding the pie, locking the door, I proceeded to fall down the flight of stairs from the front door to my car.
In a crumpled heap with bruising already starting and a twisted ankle and skinned knees, I sat with this bloody pie above my head. I hardly dared to look. I had saved the pie.
And thank goodness I did, every crumb was worth it.
It wasn't until I showed my partner my masterpiece that I realised why it's called Banoffee. Doup.
Me: "Look what I made today!"
Him: "Wow, looks good! What is it?"
Me: "Banoffee Pie!!"
Him: "Banoffee? What's that?"
Me: "Banana and toffee pie."
Him: "Haha, Banoffee, cool."
Me: .... Durhh!
About a month before I found out about my intolerances I stumbled upon this recipe for chocolate banoffee tart. I hadn't heard of Banoffee before and these photographs and recipe made me (my least favourite word) salivate.
I couldn't get this darn tart off my mind and planned it to be the next dessert I would make. This all happened around exam time, of course, and was pushed away. Before I got a moment to dwell on my entrance to the wonderful world of toffee and banana again I got my results back about my intolerances: no pie.
The world came crashing down around me. Ok, not quite that extreme, but I was disappointed.
Then I went and stayed in London with my brother and sister-in-law and on my first night they took me to their favourite vegetarian restaurant: Mildred's. (I can easily talk about Mildred's for hours, but I'll spare you - for more read my facts about England).
In short: I didn't dare believe my sister-in-law when she told me there were vegan desserts on the menu.. but when their dessert menu came out and I saw for myself that there was not only one, but about six different desserts I could choose from, I felt the heavens had opened above me.
And what could make this occasion even better? The first dessert on the menu was Banoffee Pie. Yes way.
All three of us ordered the same, and my goodness that slice of pie was enough on its own to make flying for 30 hours so absolutely worth it.
I could share with you many more of the delights that Mildred's dessert menu had to offer as I returned on my last night with my brother and sister-in-law, then again by myself on my last night overseas. I could tell you of the joys of chocolate truffle cake with raspberry coulis, of chinese dumplings and roasted artichoke mezes and wellingtons and oh.. But I'm not sure I could ever do the place justice.
If you are ever in London, visit Mildred's.
Each night the wait was considerable. They don't accept bookings. But if you want to taste vegan food out of this world, you need to wait.
Once back in Australia, to the sun and summer and beaches (and fires), I wanted to get my family together to say thank you for all they had done to get me where I had been and share with them the many adventures I had had. A dinner, I thought. And what better way than attempt to share with them the pleasures of Mildred's.
My sister-in-law had discovered Mildred's blog, and on it the Chestnut and Truffle Wellington that we had declared the greatest meal of our lives. Well, for me, anyway. I spent my weekend in the kitchen creating this masterpiece with a fabulous port gravy, spiced red cabbage and mixed potato and beetroot wedges. But this will be another story.
To complement this main (oh, and zucchini flowers for entree) I prepared a Vegan Banoffee Pie.
This darned pie had to be worth it. I made it the day before our dinner whilst in a house I had been looking after for a friend and so had to move it that night to take it home. Leaving, in the dark, by myself, holding the pie, locking the door, I proceeded to fall down the flight of stairs from the front door to my car.
In a crumpled heap with bruising already starting and a twisted ankle and skinned knees, I sat with this bloody pie above my head. I hardly dared to look. I had saved the pie.
And thank goodness I did, every crumb was worth it.
Vegan Banoffee Pie
Makes 14 generous slices/fills a 24 cm flan tin.
Crust
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup pecans (next time I think I'll reduce the pecans and increase cashews, the pecans have a strong flavour)
1/3 cup cashews
1/2 cups dried dates, soaked in boiling water for a few minutes (discard water before using)
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
(add a few tbsp cocoa powder to make a chocolate-crusted variation)
Banana Layer
3 - 4 bananas, ripe but not too brown
Toffee
2/3 cup (115g) brown sugar
2/3 cup (115g) margarine
1 tbsp golden syrup
200mL non-dairy milk (I used almond)
2 dessert spoons cornflour
1 tsp vanilla
Cream
2 - 3 tins worth of coconut cream
(Place 3 tins in the coolest part of your fridge, when required scoop out the thick cream layer from the tin and put away the liquid that remains. You just want this thick cream, start with two tins and make a third if the tart tin is not filled)
3 (- 5) tbsp icing sugar
Garnish
1 tbsp cocoa powder
Mint leaves
(Add the mint leaves, they balance the flavours unbelievably - even my mint-hating father-in-law agrees!)
Method
Crust
Blitz your nuts in a food processor until crumbs, then add drained dates, then coconut oil and blitz until combined.
Press into flan tin base and sides. Refrigerate.
Bananas
Slice thinly your bananas in an even layer, completely covering the base of the crust.
Toffee
Gently heat the sugar, margarine and golden syrup in a saucepan. Stir continuously until it begins to boil and become foam-like. Simmer in this state for 5 or so minutes without letting it get hotter.
Remove from heat.
Whisk together milk and cornflower until the cornflour has dissolved. In a saucepan over medium heat whisk to form a thick white sauce. Add the vanilla.
Add the white sauce to the toffee mixture, whisking continuously until completely combined. Remove any lumps of cornflour remaining and discard.
Once cooled to room temperature, cover the banana layer with an even layer of toffee and refrigerate to set.
Cream
You need to wait until the pie has chilled before adding this layer so wait a bit before making the cream.
In a chilled mixing bowl add sifted icing sugar to the cream and whisk with an electric mixer until thickened. You will notice stiff peaks forming when the cream is whipped.
Cover the chilled tart with the cream layer.
Garnish
Before serving sift a light layer of cocoa powder over the pie and garnish with two mint leaves per slice.
Enjoy with a cup of quality black coffee, or some black tea to cut the richness.
Makes 14 generous slices/fills a 24 cm flan tin.
Crust
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup pecans (next time I think I'll reduce the pecans and increase cashews, the pecans have a strong flavour)
1/3 cup cashews
1/2 cups dried dates, soaked in boiling water for a few minutes (discard water before using)
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
(add a few tbsp cocoa powder to make a chocolate-crusted variation)
Banana Layer
3 - 4 bananas, ripe but not too brown
Toffee
2/3 cup (115g) brown sugar
2/3 cup (115g) margarine
1 tbsp golden syrup
200mL non-dairy milk (I used almond)
2 dessert spoons cornflour
1 tsp vanilla
Cream
2 - 3 tins worth of coconut cream
(Place 3 tins in the coolest part of your fridge, when required scoop out the thick cream layer from the tin and put away the liquid that remains. You just want this thick cream, start with two tins and make a third if the tart tin is not filled)
3 (- 5) tbsp icing sugar
Garnish
1 tbsp cocoa powder
Mint leaves
(Add the mint leaves, they balance the flavours unbelievably - even my mint-hating father-in-law agrees!)
Method
Crust
Blitz your nuts in a food processor until crumbs, then add drained dates, then coconut oil and blitz until combined.
Press into flan tin base and sides. Refrigerate.
Bananas
Slice thinly your bananas in an even layer, completely covering the base of the crust.
Toffee
Gently heat the sugar, margarine and golden syrup in a saucepan. Stir continuously until it begins to boil and become foam-like. Simmer in this state for 5 or so minutes without letting it get hotter.
Remove from heat.
Whisk together milk and cornflower until the cornflour has dissolved. In a saucepan over medium heat whisk to form a thick white sauce. Add the vanilla.
Add the white sauce to the toffee mixture, whisking continuously until completely combined. Remove any lumps of cornflour remaining and discard.
Once cooled to room temperature, cover the banana layer with an even layer of toffee and refrigerate to set.
Cream
You need to wait until the pie has chilled before adding this layer so wait a bit before making the cream.
In a chilled mixing bowl add sifted icing sugar to the cream and whisk with an electric mixer until thickened. You will notice stiff peaks forming when the cream is whipped.
Cover the chilled tart with the cream layer.
Before serving sift a light layer of cocoa powder over the pie and garnish with two mint leaves per slice.
It wasn't until I showed my partner my masterpiece that I realised why it's called Banoffee. Doup.
Me: "Look what I made today!"
Him: "Wow, looks good! What is it?"
Me: "Banoffee Pie!!"
Him: "Banoffee? What's that?"
Me: "Banana and toffee pie."
Him: "Haha, Banoffee, cool."
Me: .... Durhh!
Sunday, 25 November 2012
Ten Facts when Travelling to England
I arrived in England two days ago and have been absolutely thrilled with every second. I'd love to post for hours about it, but I'll keep it short:
I don't think I'll move here, but my goodness it's a beautiful place to visit! More to come!
1. Emirates provides VEGAN DESSERTS!! I had a great raspberry muffin AND a chocolate mousse cake on my flights, both of which were really good.
Actually, all of my vegan meals were really good on the flight. I was expecting rubbish alternatives, but my food often looked better than everyone else's. Emirates is great.
2. The moon is upside down.
3. Visit Mildred's.
In Soho, my brother and sister-in-law took me here on my first night out. Most of the menu is vegan, and there are gluten-free and wheat-free options as well. Everything on their menu is labelled, with many meals offering a vegan option, providing omnivores with something they will be happy with. And its super cheap too - I think this is the case for most food in England, but the mains were around 10 pounds each, and desserts around 6 pounds!
They offer fresh juice (I enjoyed a beetroot, orange and ginger juice) as well as smoothies, beer, wine, etc. The three of us all ordered the same main: Mixed mushroom, porcini and ale pie served with fries and mushy peas.
This was fantastic and if you're taking an omnivore who insists they only love meat, this vegan dish will more than satisfy. My grandfather would have loved it (and he is definitely an omnivore..)
My sister-in-law mentioned saving room for dessert and my mouth dropped. There was a full dessert menu, with 5 of the 8 dishes vegan. N-o w-a-y. I had spent 3 days in Melbourne before travelling to England and spent an entire night searching for a vegan dessert to no avail. This was heaven in a handbag! ;)
Aside:
A major regret in my life is not making Chocolate Banoffee Tart before I was told I was dairy intolerant.
(About a month before I found out about my intolerances I came across this recipe for chocolate banoffee tart and couldn't get it off my mind - it was going to be the next sweet thing I baked. I was too busy to get around to it. Then I found out about my allergies. This is a major regret in my life.)
The second dish on this dessert menu was vegan Banoffee Tart. I cannot express the excitement I felt when I saw this. All three of us ordered the same again and it came out and my expression was like a little girl given the keys to fairy-land. I don't like to take photographs of my food in restaurants but this pie made me itch to do so. Sorry folks, you'll have to go and see for yourself.
This pie was creamy, crunchy, sweet, rich, chocolatey, banana-ry.. everything a girl could dream of. My sister-in-law asked me what I thought and stopped herself. She said the look on my face said it all. I was in culinary heaven. The gods had answered my prayers.
Visit Mildred's. Now.
4. Coffee is cheap. A tall Starbucks black coffee is £1.50. That's $2.30 AUD!! Two days ago I was paying a minimum of $3.50!
5. The tube is easy. But it stinks. It's loud, cramped, smelly, dirty, but really fast, efficient and easy to figure out.
6. In Australia, we are so blessed to have so much space. In London, when you think you've seen a big house, you realise it's been divided probably more than once. There are very few backyards.
7. When crossing the road find a group of people and cross with them. If your crossing is empty (rare) walk to the next block to avoid death ;)
8. People will know you are a tourist if you take photos of the rubbish bags piled beside the steps of people's flats. I am a tourist.
9. Phone cameras come in handy to disguise point 8. Conveniently I have a great phone camera.
10. People will also know you are a tourist if you smile all the time. I smile at people's voices. I smile at the buildings. I smile at the Tube. I smile at the trees. I smile at the buses. I smile at... you get the picture. Londoners don't smile. This one I don't think I'll change.
11. (An extra one)
Everyone in London is tired. At home, I am the only one with dark rings around my eyes most days.. In London my eyes look good enough to model glasses! You notice this on the Tube in particular. Every single person looks exhausted at every time of the day.
The second dish on this dessert menu was vegan Banoffee Tart. I cannot express the excitement I felt when I saw this. All three of us ordered the same again and it came out and my expression was like a little girl given the keys to fairy-land. I don't like to take photographs of my food in restaurants but this pie made me itch to do so. Sorry folks, you'll have to go and see for yourself.
This pie was creamy, crunchy, sweet, rich, chocolatey, banana-ry.. everything a girl could dream of. My sister-in-law asked me what I thought and stopped herself. She said the look on my face said it all. I was in culinary heaven. The gods had answered my prayers.
Visit Mildred's. Now.
4. Coffee is cheap. A tall Starbucks black coffee is £1.50. That's $2.30 AUD!! Two days ago I was paying a minimum of $3.50!
5. The tube is easy. But it stinks. It's loud, cramped, smelly, dirty, but really fast, efficient and easy to figure out.
6. In Australia, we are so blessed to have so much space. In London, when you think you've seen a big house, you realise it's been divided probably more than once. There are very few backyards.
7. When crossing the road find a group of people and cross with them. If your crossing is empty (rare) walk to the next block to avoid death ;)
8. People will know you are a tourist if you take photos of the rubbish bags piled beside the steps of people's flats. I am a tourist.
9. Phone cameras come in handy to disguise point 8. Conveniently I have a great phone camera.
10. People will also know you are a tourist if you smile all the time. I smile at people's voices. I smile at the buildings. I smile at the Tube. I smile at the trees. I smile at the buses. I smile at... you get the picture. Londoners don't smile. This one I don't think I'll change.
11. (An extra one)
Everyone in London is tired. At home, I am the only one with dark rings around my eyes most days.. In London my eyes look good enough to model glasses! You notice this on the Tube in particular. Every single person looks exhausted at every time of the day.
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