Earl grey tea cookies and truffle fries with parmesan

Earl greys cookies are lined up to report for duty

Today was a baking day. My first exam is 15 days from now and so far I have been procrastinating 2 days straight. Not good. Although... today has BEEN quite productive if at all in different ways. These days I really like baking cookies, they're so cute and simple, the process destresses me, and it makes me happy to see people happy when I give them and eat my cookies. Oh, and I don't pile on the calories. 'Happy days' as Jamie Oliver would say.

To explain the truffle fries, it started because a week or so ago ieatsweet and I were at Westfield on Pitt St. Mall where we ended up having Charlie & Co.'s truffle fries and parmesan. It costed us almost $20 and it dawned on us that we could make this our own! Sometime at the end of last week I got this message from ieatsweet that she already gotten the truffle oil and sent an invite for me to come bearing parmesan cheese and fries. Well, it didn't happen last week, but it did today. So to make your own truffle fries and parmesan? Simple, get these ingredients, oven bake the fries or fry depending your preference, drizzle the truffle oil, grate the cheese - and enjoy =D

Here's the recipe for the earl grey tea cookies:

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tablespoons finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves, (from about 8 bags)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 (8 ounce) sticks unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest

Instruction:

1. Whisk together flour, tea, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Put butter, sugar, and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low; slowly mix in flour mixture until just combined.

3. Divide dough in half. Transfer each half to a piece of parchment paper; shape into logs. Roll in parchment to 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log and force out air. Transfer in parchment to paper-towel tubes; freeze 1 hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut logs into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Space 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.

5. Bake until edges turn golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

This recipe is taken from Martha Stewart's book but is also available here. So far, I really like the earl grey cookies because it's so simple, yet so fragrant both from the tea and the orange zest. It also has a lightness to it that makes me less guilty than eating other cookies such as the dark choc sour cherry biscuits I made previously.

Awww... broken hearted cookie (for the record: I thought this was cute, despite ieatsweet's initial [or maybe still] disagreement)

For some lucky people, these little sweet hearts are yours to devour

Shenkin, Erskineville

Shakshuka by Cafe Shenkin

This past Sunday, I was completely wiped out. Saturday was exhausting: woke up at 5:45am to send my dad to the airport, got back at 7am ish, went to pilates at 8, groceries at 9, then got picked up to go to the Easter Show at 10:20am ish. If you remember, it rained the whole day. Yet, we ended up staying till 6:30pm. So when I woke up on Sunday at 8:30am despite sleeping at 10pm the night before - a total of 10.5 hours. I was still exhausted and hungry.

Mocha and Soy cap

A quick message to a friend scored me a breakfast buddy and a ride to Shenkin cafe in Erskineville - her idea, as I didn't even know where Erskineville was.

I liked the way the cafe was very open, it gave a very welcoming sense. I was also promised great poached eggs - so that held its appeal too. We ended up getting a table at the front. Towards the end, I realized that my chair was actually a pew. That was real cool.

Hot pot of goodness

Though at first I was tempted to order egg Benedict with smoked salmon, I ended up ordering shakshuka with eggplant and haloumi. Apparently shakshuka is a traditional Israeli breakfast dish where egg is poached in rich tomato, paprika and onion sauce base. It came with a couple of warm pita bread too. It was so good, perfect for such a lethargic cloudy morning that screamed for comfort food. It reminded me of my mom's goulash, but different. The eggplant was soft and melted in my mouth. The portion was so big, I ended up taking it home and having the leftover for dinner. And I have been thinking about it since....

Eggs Benedict

My ride who already decided what she wanted the moment she texted me, had the egg Benedicts with bacon. I tried it, it was really good. I love hollandaise sauce' texture and consistency. Next time, I will be having a hard time what to get for sure: shakshuka or egg Benedicts.

Cafe Shenkin

53 Erskineville Rd

Erskinville, NSW 2043

+61 2 9550 5511

Cooking lesson with i eat sweet

Sour Cherries Dark Chocolate Cookies Bourke St Bakery Style

One morning at the beginning of the semester, I managed to talk Cleony from i eat sweet to have a morning sugar rush at Zumbo. The story of my first ever Zumbo experience after a year living in Sydney would have to wait for another post. Then on the way home, somehow, I got talked into spending the day with her baking.... because I really suck at baking and she wanted to transform me one recipe at a time into a domestic goddess? Whatever the reason, I ended up making 2 recipes that day. Under close supervision of course.

The ingredients

So the first batch is Bourke St Bakery's sour cherries dark chocolate cookies, my favorite cookies of all time. I have been meaning to bake this well, August last year... Before you shake your heads, listen: I broke my foot last year in September, remember?

Cleony has the book with the recipe, but if you're interested you can access it from Almost Bourdain's blog. I was really proud with the results. They were really gooey on the inside. A perfect hybrid of brownies and cookies. I can't wait to bake the next batch. Must wait for the baking mistress to come back from her overseas travel though...

Piglet face muffins

Then, we tried out her new muffin pan which I brought back from Hong Kong. We decided to make blueberry muffin. Wrong decision!!! The blueberries burst during the process and deformed some of the piglets' faces.

Muffin piglets

Baking turns out to be fun, provided I have an expert beside me. At the end of it I had so many food I didn't know what to do. So some lucky people got some muffins and cookies.

Thanks Cleony for the flour, sugar, equipments, your time and patience ;)

Matee Turkish Grill, Newtown

You know how people say, don't judge a book by its cover? We totally judged Matee by the way it looked. We just loved it's Turkishness, blue tiles everywhere and cozy looking tables and sofas, just so inviting. Turkish food is one of my favorite food in the world. Not only that Turkey is also on my number one place to visit. I guess I just love the fact that this country straddles both Asia and Europe at the same time. It's like being in two places at once. Cheesy perhaps, but the traveler in me just can't help but loving the idea.

Meze dips: best on hot sunny days, but I'll take it rain, hail or shine

I haven't had much exposure of Turkish food in Sydney so when I stumbled upon this Su, I had to give it a go. We ordered way too much, I had been deprived of Turkish food for so long. We ended up ordering a platter of dips (hummus, tahini, beetroot, carrots, babaganoush, salsa and tzatziki), kofte (meatballs) and this chicken dish that I can't remember (Sorry!!!).

Izgara Kofte Meatballs

And the food? Mucuk mucuk! Kisses in Turkish. The only thing I remembered from my Turkish friends' Turkish lesson from my times in the States. It was so great. We loved the dips. Our favorite was the beetroot dip. I've been contemplating a visit back just to have this dip. Kofte? Yummmmsss.... the rice pilafs were so soft, warm and savory. The kofte itself well seasoned and well... perfect. The purple cabbage and salads were fresh and lemon-y that gave the whole dish such a sync.

Su's chicken dish

I didn't really try the chicken dish, because I was too busy with my kofte and saving some room for dessert. Su liked it though. My recommendation, however, to definitely go with the kofte.

Matee Turkish Grill

528 King St

Newtown, NSW 2042

+61 2 9565 2815

Brunch at Toast, Surry Hills

It's been a long time, I know. So let me tell you about my latest brunch discovery. I walked passed Toast a when I was having dinner around the area. Finally, I made it a couple of weeks back with my friends from high school. I love how very close by it is from where I live and technically I could have breakfast here everyday if I want to. I also love how the whole street is lined with many different cafes beckoning my name. Sorry guys, there's a list but fear not I shall make it there sometime ;)

One of the tea pots and my soy cappuccino

My friends ordered tea which came in this cute pot which came in different shapes and forms. We have another one that looked like a box, but yeah, I forgot to take a picture (and that includes their meals as well... ugh...). I also love how the tea just never ended. They really wanna make sure that their patrons are hydrated, I suppose.

Sweet corn and kaffir fritters

I ordered their specialty which is sweet corn and kaffir fritters with poached egg, grilled halloumi, salsa, avocado and chilli jam, which is glutten free. I was torn between ordering this and the risotto, but I did want some eggs so this dish won. It reminds me of Bill's sweet corn fritters, but this one is different. I love the grilled halloumi on it. The poached egg was runny and gave creaminess to the fritters. The chili jam contrasted with the buttery-ness of the avocado. I definitely made the right choice.

....bidding my time to come back to try their other stuff and just hang out....

Toast Cafe

45 Reservoir St

Surry Hills, NSW 2010

Sydney

+61 2 9280 2615

Click here for website and opening hours