I Bought A Sewing Machine!

I think the title says everything but I've been perusing a lot of DIY blogs lately due to a certain looming "project" and suddenly had a huge urge to learn how to sew!

Let me first say that I have absolutely NO IDEA how to use sewing machines. The only sewing I did was when I was 12 and back in primary school. And that was basically just sewing little x's on to this checked cloth to make patterns. Mine was a bright sunflower yellow and cream cloth and I was terrible at it! I believe I got a "C" for it!

But I figured half of China was sewing just fine so honestly, how hard could it be right? I've got the fabulous Internet as my teacher and my love for Spotlight rekindled...Sewing 101 here I come!

NB: Spotlight is currently having a fabulous sale on the sewing machine I got. It's the Brother XL 2220 which retailed at $299. You get $100 off plus you get another $40 off with the VIP voucher (you just have to sign up as a VIP Spotlight member which costs nothing) so all up it will cost you a whopping $160 which I thought was a pretty good deal for a beginner sewing machine.

My dear Grand Aunty was a seamstress and to this day, her vintage Singer sewing machine is still at my parent's house. I remember her doing things like having to oil it, moving the lever of the presser foot up and down, and of course that fabulous movement of her feet on the vintage pedals below. I wonder if her heavy, black sewing scissors are still at my parent's house (I remember her telling me it could only be used to cut cloth and nothing else) as I would love to have them with me, to serve as a fond memory of her whilst I attempt to sew...

These pictures were taken at 11pm at night. We got home and I unboxed my new toy immediately! The instructions in the accompanying manual is actually pretty clear although, you missed the bit where Leng threaded and filled my bobbin for me! I threw a little fit because I wanted to do it myself (his mother was a seamstress and apparently he picked a few tips when he was a little boy!).

Monday Night DinDin

Well, whaddaya know...the Weber has done it again.

A simple dinner of fresh garden salad with grilled corn on the cob and asparagus and sticky chicken wings.

Cat's Sticky Chicken Wings

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Ingredients:

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Marinade chicken wings overnight in:

- minced garlic

- Kikkoman soya sauce

- tomato sauce

- HP sauce/Worcestershire sauce

- white wine

- sugar

(I don't measure anything here. There is something about just strewing everything together till it looks good!)

Method:

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1) Grill for 15- 20 minutes in the Weber or roast in oven.

The chicken wings were so moist and juicy! I really think it is due to the Weber's ability to BBQ and roast at the same time (remember, it cooks with it's lid down) that makes it such a keeper.

Simon Hopkinson's Out-Of-This-World's Capsicum Stuffed With Tomatoes

There is a new British cook lurking on ABC 1 this month. He may not be as debonair as Jamie Oliver but his TV series The Good Cook is straightforward, good home cooking.

Most of his recipes are good ol' favourites which I've already picked up (and perfected) from Mr Oliver and Ms Lawson but here is one that Leng said we absolutely MUST try and OMG...it's as the Brits would say, gobsmackingly delicious!!

VERDICT: 11/10 You know Summer is here when the sweet roma tomatoes are in abundance and capsicums are on special at the markets. When paired together in this dish and enhanced further by the garlic and basil, their flavours literally blow your palate away! I beg of you to try this at home. This certainly has to be our favourite dish this year!

Simon Hopkinson's Roasted Red Capsicum

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Ingredients:

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Red capsicum (1/2 per person)

Tomatoes (any sort)

Garlic - sliced

Anchovies - out of a jar. I use amazing Aranoa Spanish anchovies from Essential Ingredient. They are on the pricey side but so worth it!

Fresh basil leaves, torn

Method:

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1) Half and deseed the capsicum and lay it in a roasting tray

2) Put sliced garlic ( as much as you like) in each capsicum cup and sprinkle a little salt and ground black pepper in each capsicum cup.

3) Using the tip of the knife, prick the tomatoes randomly (this will aid peeling their skins off later) and put them in a pot. Pour boiling water over them and cover. Leave for a few minutes.

4) Peel tomato skins off and stuff into capsicum cups.

5) Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over stuffed capsicum and roast in oven/Weber BBQ for 15-20 minutes

6) Before serving, criss cross anchovy fillets over the capsicum and torn basil leaves on top.

We had an impromptu dinner for 4 guests last night and whipped this up for them for which they all loved! So easy to make yet such amazing flavours.

Review: Weber Q 200 (gas)

You know when you have become truly Aussie-fied when you go out and purchase a BBQ!

Oddly, despite the all-year-round warm weather back in Malaysia, the locals there don't view toiling over heated coals outdoors as anything particularly pleasant. Leave it to the hawkers and to my local satay man they will say.

Perhaps it is the cooler weather in Australia or just mere fact that in true Caucasian style, they prefer the outdoors but owning a BBQ in the backyard is a very Aussie thing indeed. Throw in a man complete with tongs in one hand and stubby in another and you've got yourself the typical Aussie weekend.

I cannot remember how or why Leng and I decided to go looking for a BBQ but search we did. We searched all the internet BBQ forums and found that there was an Aussie fan base of the very American brand of barbecues (or as the Yankees call it "grills") i.e. Weber, in particular their very portable Q range.

If you are a BBQ novice like me, you will probably not know that the Webers cook with their LID DOWN. That's right. Dismiss all the pictures of yourself marsh mellowing away because one has to close the lid and simply walk away and allow the food to cook itself.

You may think this as odd and not for you (which Leng and I initially thought too) but we took the plunge and really, this entire cooking with the lid down is really rather liberating!

Firstly, there is much less smoke. Perfect for smoke-less hairs and clothes and small balconies.

Secondly, the BBQ is somewhat like a semi-grill, semi-oven so your food comes out cooked at a fraction of time.

Thirdly, our Weber uses a gas tank (you can easily get little 9kg gas tanks from your local petrol station) or you can purchase ones that use natural gas. If you have an electric oven like myself, you may just save that little bit by roasting chickens in the Weber as gas is much cheaper than electricity here in Oz. And yes, you can do an actual roast in it!

Finally, the Weber Q range is highly portable and smallish in size unlike those monstrous machines you see out in the suburbs. Handy for those of you that camp or have a holiday/beach house and perfect for balconies.

We are still getting to know our Weber but Leng who has owned a Weber BBQ that used coals previously, simply loves his new boy toy.

VERDICT: 10/10 Some people may not be able to comprehend barbecuing with the lid down on a gas BBQ but honestly, if you are after taste, efficiency and most importantly, something easy to clean up afters, this is what you are looking for.

Will I get the yummy, charcoal taste? Well, it is a gas BBQ with no coals in sight but you still get the smokey, BBQ flavour.

Will it be a hassle to clean up? Not at all. Be sure to purchase the Weber steel cleaning brush and all you have to do is use some elbow grease whilst the grill is hot and that's it. No water/soap needed!

Will the Weber get dirty out in the open/on my balcony? Not if you purchase the cover that comes with it. We also got the accompanying stand for it which has wheels attached to it so you could easily wheel the entire contraption in and out of say, your garage/storage area.

I am sold! Where do I get one? Leng and I highly suggest you wait till DJs has their 15% off BBQs and accessories because the savings you will get are pretty good and beat all other competitors (yes, we did our research!). Apparently Weber control their RRP so most retailers don't generally lessen their prices.

So what are you BBQing this weekend? :)

One just has to get used to cooking with lid down which really, isn't a hard thing to do. You just plonk all your food in, close the lid and literally walk away!

We baptised our new Weber with an impromptu dinner party for 4. Entrees consisted of a Rossini (Italian drink made up of champagne and pureed strawberries) and honeydew and prosciutto.

We had gorgeous grilled vegetables and sirloin steak from Prahran Market. I opted for the porterhouse cut just for comparison and the verdict is that the sirloin cut tastes much better.

The next night, we had grilled spatchcocked chicken and it only took about 20 minutes to cook. It got flipped once and that was it!

Sides (which we also cooked in the Weber) were roasted mushrooms, asparagus and this fabulous stuffed capsicum recipe which we saw Simon Hopkinson on ABC1 whip up and OMG! It was FABULOUS!!!! I will have to post a separate blog post just for that recipe because it was soooooo delish!

Finally, a picture of the boy with his new toy. He loves it, needless to say! I just don't get the entire Aussie boys and their BBQs but hey...at least I'm not doing the cooking this time!!! :):):)

Review: Sonic Wave's Ultrasonic Cleaner

So now I know why the boy was so eager in wanting to see if the post office was opened on Melbourne Cup Day (a public holiday here in the state of Victoria).

After my insistence that it wasn't, he STILL wanted to pull a drive past and well, whaddaya know - I was right. It was closed and we left clutching the little card notifying us to collect our parcel.

I meandered to the PO the next day and came home with this - an ultrasonic cleaner that the boy had purchased for me to clean my jewellery with (in particular, a certain shiny rock!) and boy, does this thing work!

VERDICT: 10/10 I was AMAZED that this product worked!!! I also loved the fact that it was compact and doesn't take up much room plus it looked like a cute little space shuttle. Bonus points also given for it's 3 minute timer.

For those of you without any bling to clean, let me just say that this little space shuttle also cleans eye glasses, dentures (???!!), electric shaver heads (and ladies, let's not forget our little shaver heads too!), ancient coins, badges, pen heads...the list goes on!

For those interested, I am guessing the boy purchased this little gem from the Internet. He did do a little research in it prior and the brand Sonic Wave got pretty good reviews plus it comes with a 1 year warranty.

I took this picture for size comparison purposes. And also to show off my latest purchase: a Samurai Wedgewood Sugarbox to your left which had a RRP A$69 which I got for A$14 at Harbourtown's Royal Doulton shop!!!

The cleaner emits this cute blue light whilst on standby and cleaning.

In goes my 12 year old watch...

and out comes all this dirt after 3 minutes!!!

I was so amazed that I left the watch in for another 2 cycles and just look at the amount of gunk that came out! Eeeew!

Fish Goujons with Dill Mayonnaise

goujon [ˈguːʒɒn]

n

(Cookery) a small strip of fish or chicken, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried

[French, literally: gudgeon]

If you are anything like me, the kitchen activity you detest most is frying. Of any kind.

But like all boys of the XY sort, they all love fried food. Why? I have absolutely no idea because I don't. I think I was born lacking the "fried food gene". I even dislike tempura and everyone knows how much I adore Japanese food.

Leng and I are attempting to stick to Fish Fridays. The only problem is that the boy doesn't like seafood. Say what? Yes, you read right, he actually dislikes seafood - I can't believe it either!

Until he met Nigella and her fish goujons!

This simple recipe from her Nigella Express is pure genius. I can whip this is up in under 20 minutes and a Fish Friday supper is served.

I beg you to try this because Leng and I were simply bowled over by it. The only pointer I will say is to use the freshest fish as possible. I only purchase my fish from my favourite fishmonger from Prahran Market and I would never attempt this dish with Woolies bought fish.

Also, Japanese panko is muct finer and somewhat tastier than the Korean brands so go for those instead too. And finally, don't overfry your fish. Despite the goujon being crumbed and crunchy on the outside, the inside is moist, juicy and very sweet! You will get a hang of it after a few strips and know when to take them out of the oil.

Fish Goujons with Dill Mayonnnaise

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Ingredients:

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Nigella states 2 lemon sole fillets but I've never seen them in Melbourne so I used flathead instead which worked a treat

70g cornflour

100g panko

2 eggs

canola oil for shallow frying

salt & pepper, to taste

200g mayonanaise/salad cream

small bunch of dill

1 lemon

optional side: cornichons

Method:

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1) Cut your fresh fish of choice into small fillets

2) Put cornflour into a shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Put the panko into another shallow bowl and beat eggs in additional bowl

3) Dip each goujon into the seasoned cornflour, coating it well and then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs

4) Fry goujons for about 2 minutes in the hot oil/until crisp and golden.

5) To make the dill dressing, you can use mayo but I prefer Krafts Lite Salad Cream

6) Put mayo/salad cream into a bowl with finely chopped dill and lemon and seasoning to taste

7) Serve dressing cold

Cornichons are just baby cucumbers, pickled and you can get them from Woolies in jars. They give an element of sweet and sour crunch and really tie the entire dish together. Do try it!


The dill dressing is simply out of this world! Dill is a herb I don't normally use in my kitchen but Leng and I really love it's aniseedy flavours. It's a very Swedish herb and I suggest making gravlax using the leftover dill.

What To Do With Leftover Roasted Chicken

So I promised a small recipe on what to do with your leftover roasted chicken.

The little picnic cum day trip to regional Victoria to eat your leftover chicken is of course, optional :)

Leftover Roasted Chicken Filling

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Ingredients:

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salad cream/mayo - japanese or otherwise, to taste

ABC sambal, to taste

juice from a lemon, to taste

freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

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1) Mix everything together till consistency and taste to your liking. Just remember that this will be your sandwich filling so you might want to make it a tad saltier than normal.

2) Sandwich this delicious filling between 2 pieces of bread or do what we did, go on a lovely mini road trip on a gorgeous, sunny, spring day and buy freshly baked baguettes and have a picnic outside!

After each roasted chicken meal, I get as much chicken off the bone as possible, including all the leftover watercress/salad that went with it. You can even take things a step further by freezing your leftover roasted chicken bones to use to make stock in the future!

Here, I used the Japanese Kewpie mayo but Kraft's Lite Salad Cream works a treat too.

Mix everything till is looks something like this. I know, not really appetising right not but just wait...

I basically just clingwrapped the bowl I made the filling in, wrapped that in aluminium foil and then wrapped the entire thing in a tea towel to keep it nice and cool.

We drove north to Gisbourne and found this lovely spot under a tree.

Hungarian and white loaf baguettes from Bakers Delight and takeaway coffee - yummo!

We also managed to check out some local sights. This is the Memorial Cross at Mount Macedon.

We even managed to get ourselves to Daylesford and Hepburn Springs in the evening (isn't daylight savings phenomenal??)

So I was wondering why Leng took the water bottle out of the car and realised so that it was for us to try the spring water. Urm, it was really carbonated and tasted like unrefined fizzy mineral water - I didn't like it!