Time flies! I recently had a week off work for Manifest, and realised that my vanilla extracts had actually reached the magical 4 week mark where I should be removing the beans from the alcohol.
The Vanilla Experiment – Next Phase
Posted September 3rd, 2010 by Sefie | 4 CommentsCooking, Special Noms | experiment, vanilla
Apple Muffins – Two Ways
Posted August 4th, 2010 by Sefie | 6 CommentsBaking, Cooking | apple, baking, experiment, muffin
There are times that I think this blog should be called “Sefie Bakes”, as opposed to Sefie Eats. I did actually intend this blog to mostly be about bento and general cookery, but somehow, I just seem to find it easier to take photos of baked goods. It’s not that I’m complaining, but… It kind of makes me feel a little… hmm. Thoughtful.
So, I had one of those nagging ideas that pull you out of bed at 3am because – hey, I have all the ingredients on hand, and wouldn’t it be just so cool to try it out? Yes, I am that dorky that I could not get back to sleep because I was thinking of variations on apple muffins. Pity that I don’t have enough apples to try it again this morning.
Kulinarya Extra – Pandesal
Posted July 26th, 2010 by Sefie | 5 CommentsBaking, Cooking | bread, kulinarya, recipe
Okay, so, to be completely honest, I’ve missed the deadline for this month’s Kulinarya challenge. I do have ideas about what I want to do for it, and technically, it’s not August yet, so I still have time to at least cook something, even if I don’t blog about it. So instead, I’m reaching into the photo archives to talk about pandesal, or Filipino bread rolls.
Faux Opera Gateau – A MasterChef Tribute
Posted July 25th, 2010 by Sefie | 2 CommentsCooking, Special Noms | challenge, dessert, masterchef
In tribute of the Masterchef Australia finale tonight, and our monthly cookoffs organised by PetiteValse of Berry Travels, and not to mention my insatiable sweet tooth, I threw together a dessert from the leftovers I had in the fridge and freezer. It was quick and cheap (relatively), and just enough to tide me over from last night’s banquet. So, allez cuisine!
Long Time No Blog :(
Posted July 12th, 2010 by Sefie | 1 CommentBaking, Blog News, Redfort Menu | blog, food porn, update
Firstly, have a nice picture as an apology for not posting very much recently. That was dinner last night.
I've been plagued with a lot of technology woes recently, first my main computer got a nasty virus (Bankerfox .A) twice, then my power cord stopped working (so I've had to source a new one), and then I spent most of tonight trying to fix a problem with iTunes not detecting my network connection. All in all, though, it could be worse - the Doctor's work computer died, and he had to replace it entirely with a new desktop! Technology age, we live in it.
I've also been working on a heap of new posts and recipes, so I'll just give you a bit of a hint of what's coming up:
- Peter Reinhart's basic sourdough recipe and variations (see above picture)
- Apple muffins, two ways
- Filipino pandesal (sweet bread roll)
- Kulinarya July challenge - ginaatan (coconut milk dessert)
Plus, checkups on Steeeeve and my vanilla experiments, and any requests that people feel like making!
So, do you have any requests for me to post about? Ice cream, perhaps? Hehehehe. Let me know!
Bento Bag
Posted June 27th, 2010 by Sefie | 2 CommentsKitchen Gear, Not Noms | Bento, crafts
And I'm back on the air! But not yet cooking - that's for tomorrow. Today I bring you the first bit of sewing I've done in a while, with one of the most adorable fabrics I could not pass up.
Eating Through Asia – Part One
Posted June 22nd, 2010 by Sefie | 1 CommentEating, Overseas | food porn, japan, philippines, singapore
This week is going to be quite busy for me at work, which doesn't mean I won't be cooking - it just means I probably won't be taking the time to set up the camera to take photos while I'm doing it. So I've decided to do a few food porn posts from our recent trip around Asia (Singapore, Philippines and Japan). This was the Doctor's first trip to Asia and my first trip back home in over 20 years, and for both of us, the first time we'd both been on a plane together!
I had a bit of a technical hiccup with the photos I took, so I'm just going to be posting a few at at time. Anyway, no one could possibly stand it if I posted every single delicious thing we had, right?
The first dish was practically the only restaurant dish we had in the Philippines. Mostly we were eating home-cooked meals (which I felt super-awkward about taking photos of), and we hadn't had any kare-kare yet. This is the Philippines' answer to satay, but is totally non-spicy. Kare-kare is slow-cooked meat (usually oxtail), with eggplant, tripe and snake beans, in a creamy peanut sauce. The small dish in the top right is bagoong, a pungent and very salty dried shrimp paste - the traditional accompaniment to kare-kare. Buko is simply Filipino for coconut juice, freshly made, served with the coconut flesh. It's not as sweet as the Malaysian or Thai types you can get in shops here, since there is no added sugar.
More dishes from Singapore, Philippines and Japan after the cut!
(Warning: the next picture includes a decapitated animal)
Kulinarya Cooking Challenge – Barbikyu
Posted June 20th, 2010 by Sefie | 5 CommentsCook Offs, Cooking | barbikyu, challenge, kulinarya, recipe
The Kulinarya Cooking Club was started by a group of Filipino foodies living in Sydney, who are passionate about the Filipino culture and its colourful cuisine. This month's theme was barbikyu, a transliteration of "barbecue". I always knew that my "mostly-pescetarian" diet would be thrown out the window by joining challenge, but that's more out of coincidence rather than a conscious choice to limit my diet. Because goodness knows, I have enough trouble limiting my diet as it is.
The Vanilla Experiment – Checkup
Posted June 18th, 2010 by Sefie | 2 CommentsCooking, Reviews, Special Noms | experiment, review, vanilla
We are now a couple of weeks into the Vanilla Bean Experiment! I am officially... an eighth of the way through before I can actually start using the extract.
The lovely Sirene and her partner came over to Redfort for dinner, and we sniff-tested the four different extracts I have. This was the first time I cracked open the experimental bottles, so we had no idea what to expect. This is what we had:
- Queen's Vanilla Extract
- Equagold Bourbon Vanilla Extract
- Redfort Vanilla Extract (as shown in the pictures)
- Redfort Vanilla Brandy
Sniffing notes, more pictures and Vanilla Cam after the cut!
Birthday Presents!
Posted June 17th, 2010 by Sefie | 2 CommentsBlog News, Kitchen Gear, Not Noms | blog, haul, review, shoutout
Hot on the heels of my post about having too much stuff in the kitchen, I'm giving a big shoutout to my homie in Ohio, Khedron, for shipping me some awesome gear I've been drooling over for ages! Official Alton Brown NaCL Containment Units, and a T-Rex spray bottle! The glittery penguin birthday card was a very lovely touch.
