Thai salads with Martin Boetz

Hello :) On Wednesday evening I had the pleasure of learning how to make Thai salads with Martin Boetz, executive chef at Longrain in Surry Hills (there's another in Melbourne too). It was an event held by the Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine at the Harvey Norman store in Mascot and was a belated birthday gift from my Uncle John & Karen!

...Now I'm just going to mention that I decided because it was a special event I wanted to be adventurous and try everything! This includes meat & seafood! I think I've mentioned this before, but I'm not strictly vegetarian although I'll choose that option 95% of the time as it's what I'm most comfortable eating and cooking...

We were there eagerly at 6pm, for a 7pm start and were given a glass of champagne & a goodie bag on arrival. We were actually the first to arrive so naturally sat in the front row. I didn't really know what to expect and I thought the chef would be a on a mini stage or something, but there was only room for about 50-60 people, with Martin only a metre or so away!

So many fresh ingredients! You could really tell lots of preparation went into the event.

After about 15 minutes, when others started to arrive canapes were served which were sooo delicious! My favourites were the balsamic glazed fig tart with prosciutto and dolce latte gorgonzola and the blini with ocean trout and smoked herring caviar. I'd never tried beef carpaccio before and was a little hesitant knowing it was raw meat (well I haven't actually eaten any beef for a few years!) but I really enjoyed it ;) 

Martin in action preparing our first salad which was... 

Poached ocean trout with fresh coconut, mint, chilli and peanuts. This was probably my favourite! He made an amazing broth with coconut cream, chicken stock and fish sauce which he poached the ocean trout in. The salad was really fresh and full of flavour and I loved the green mango!

And onto our second salad! The lady on the left of Martin he explained was an apprentice chef as part of a Tafe initiative encouraging young female chefs, by letting them work with a top chef for a one week. 

This salad was vegan and so fresh! Chinese broccoli, baby corn and snow pea salad with yam pak dressing. The dressing really made this salad, and he explained how he made tamarind water which gave it a sour/aniseed taste. 

Our final salad was beef carpaccio with sticky rice. We were told to eat this one with our hands, as that's how it's supposed to be eaten. This salad was very hot! He put heaps of chilli powder and sweet chilli sauce in, almost overwhelming! It was quite funny looking around, everyone was fanning themselves and getting a little sweaty! 

Luckily were were given little tubs of icecream straight afterwards which was greatly appreciated. I opted for classic vanilla, yum! 

Obligatory photo with John, Martin & myself :) 

I had such a wonderful evening! Martin was very entertaining and often very funny too. He really knew what he was talking about and took the time to answer any questions. I felt like we were very spoilt, having our wine/champagne filled throughout the evening and given canapes and generous portions of the 3 salads. There were leftovers at the end where people could help themselves to more if they wanted, although I think I had, had enough chilli after the final salad! 

And as I mentioned we were given goodie bags :) Here's what they had inside...

The current issue of the Australia Gourmet Traveller, a list of the canapes served, chocolate, cards with the recipes, hair products and chocolate truffles. 

Now if you'll excuse me I've got chocolate truffles to eat... 

Thanks John & Karen for an awesome, informative and very delicious evening :) 

I'm now eager to recreate these yummy salads and learn more about Thai cooking!

Hannah x

Sculptures by the Sea...

Hello :) Yesterday was my first day of freeeeeedom! Why yes I am on a 3-4 month holiday :) It's quite a spectacular feeling! So on my first day of freedom I decided to see Sculptures by the Sea although I can't say we chose the best day to go as it was really windy and half the time we were trying to get sand out of our eyes!

I woke up bright and early (well 8:30...) and made some yummy mini cupcakes for Adrian and I to munch on. They're the perfect little treat, although we had about 5 each!

Hello there funky Zebras!

We didn't have a program so we didn't really know what the sculptures were about, but a friend told me this was called the heavenly kiss. How sweeeeet ;) 

I liked this house, although a tad unfinished!

This was a pretty cool elephant! And Tara if you're reading this, I thought of you when we took this photo because I know you like elephants!! 

We didn't stay too long as it was very windy and raining a little so we tried to find somewhere to have lunch. I stumbled across Miss Chu in Bondi, which I'd heard has delicious fresh spring rolls etc so that's where we ate! It was a very cool eatery, and we both had steamed dumplings and fresh spring rolls. I also had coconut water which I thought was delicious & refreshing. Fun fact: the waiters were very good looking in case you're interested (Adrian however did not notice this). 

After lunch we ended up going to the city and having coffee & reading the paper (like any normal 19 year olds) at the Art Gallery of NSW. We didn't see the Picasso exhibition, although I would like to at some point. 

A lovely day to kickstart my holidays! 

Be sure to check back tomorrow for another post, because later that evening I went to a very fun & delicious foodie event. Did someone say Thai salads with Martin Boetz???

Hannah x

Signs of a good weekend...

1. Deli delights! Baguette, French olives, South Australian muscatels & ricotta. These divine goodies inspired a gourmet platter for lunch, I made for my mother and I. Muscatels are oh so delicious! 

2. Finding a perfect pair of black boots. It was on Friday when I saw one of these shoes but couldn't find the other (there were 3 baskets full of lots of shoes!) and many of the pairs were not in the same basket! After searching for 20 minutes I gave up, but went back on Saturday morning. And another 15 minutes later and with the help of another lady I found the other. For $4 it was certainly worth it :) 

3. Getting excited about summer while reading Yen. But why must gorgeous swimmers be so expensive! If only that Zimmermann vintage inspired floral swimsuit wasn't $375...

Enjoy the sunshine!

Hannah x

Yummy homemade face masks...

Hello :) Lately I've been all about natural skincare. And recently I've been having fun making my own  face masks! Why pay lots of dollars for products, when you can whip up something just as effective in your kitchen? So on the weekend, on each day I decided to do just that.

On Saturday the ingredients I used were oats, rosehip oil, lemon, a used rooibos tea bag & yoghurt. The oats and rooibos tea acts as an exfoliant, whilst the lemon helps to brighten and contains natural exfoliants (AHA's) and the rosehip oil and yoghurt help to soften and nourish.

I crushed the oats in a mortar & pestle, removed half the contents of the rooibos tea, added a few drops of lemon juice and rose hip oil and mixed it together with the yoghurt. 

Then applied this to my face, massaging gently too. Steaming your face prior to this is probably best, although I didn't. My sister said it looked like I had mustard on my face, which is kind of true. 

On Sunday I made another. Although I'd usually do this only once I week, it was a perfect way to relax and take a break from study. I used almond meal, honey, milk & jojoba oil. This time the almond meal  was used as a gentle exfoliant, and the honey, milk & jojoba oil helped to moisturise. 

I basically mixed all the ingredients together into a paste. I must say this smelt really good, especially with the honey!

So after I left my masks on for about 10-15 minutes, I rinsed my face with warm water and popped on some moisturiser. My skin was all soft and glowy :) At the moment I'm using the acne cleansing cream (a moisturiser) from Moogoo, which is light and wonderful. I've also started to use their deodorant too, which doesn't contain aluminium and smells really good! You can read more about it here if you like :) 

Sometimes just adding some crushed oats or almond meal to your cleanser every now and again, is a nice way to exfoliate. 

And some other ingredients to use: olive oil, rice flour, clay, berries, sweet almond oil, avocado, tahini.

 I actually got some of these ingredient ideas from a book I'm so happy I purchased a while ago called Feeding your skin (by Carla Oates). It's a fabulous book full of DIY skincare ideas. I think I might look out for some clay...perfect for facial masks & drawing out impurities. Fun! Maybe I'll post some of her actual recipes if I try them out...

Do you like creating your own skincare? Body scrubs are also fun & easy to make (olive oil and sugar, that's it!). 

I think making your own face masks are such a fun & inexpensive way to take time out & pamper yourself! 

So go on now... smoosh some berries on your face already ;) 

Hannah x

My weekend...

Hello :) Here we go! Snapshots from my weekend so far.

After my mother went to yoga on Saturday morning, she went to the deli to buy fresh bread. The lady had just baked this that morning. An olive & oregano loaf. Super fluffy deliciousness & perfect with fresh ricotta!

Painted my nails a bright coral colour, makes typing study notes that little bit more interesting...

Snack time! And reading about energy balance too...how about that! 

30 minute study breaks are always welcomed. Especially with a cup of rooibos tea & novel. I'm loving the Sunday Philosophy Club series at the moment, and I'm on book number 5! 

Fresh mango and rockmelon for afternoon tea. We shared this while out in the garden enjoying the sunshine. Lovely. 

And mandatory Sunday crepes :) This is one of the best combinations I've had...ricotta, raspberries, peach and maple syrup!! The ricotta makes them more substantial too. Just terrific! 

Anyway. I should get back to studying & drinking tea!

Have a great Sunday!!! Has anyone been to Sculpture by the Sea yet? I think I'll be looking forward to going after exams, woo! 

Hannah x

6 protein-rich snacks

Hello :) Let's talk healthy snacking. But not only about snacks that are healthy, but snacks that are also filling. I do love eating snacks such as apples, mandarins etc however sometimes it just isn't substantial enough and you need something with protein too. So here's a few things I've been eating lately, which have been keeping me full (well for a little while anyway!).

1. Vitaweats with almond butter. So good! Need I say more? Well I will actually, because tahini and honey is also an awesome combination.

2. 1/2 avocado with lemon juice & pepper. Ah, the humble avocado, full of protein and lots of good fats. This is so delicious, and if you want to could even mash it up and make guacamole, adding some garlic, red onion, greek yoghurt, sumac or whatever you fancy!

3. Carrot and cucumber sticks with sweet potato hummus. I've been getting back into sweet potato hummus of late, you simply make hummus as per usual and they add in mashed sweet potato you've either boiled or roasted. Stir in some cumin and cayenne pepper and that's one delicious snack!

4. Mini can of chickpeas or four beans. I'll admit these aren't the most exciting snacks, eating chickpeas or a four bean mix on it's own, but they're very handy to grab and take with you, incase you need that extra oomph to get you through the day :)

5. Roasted nuts with chilli flakes & sea salt. Just a fun way to spruce up some nuts. Grab a handful of nuts, whack (well not quite literally) them under the griller or in an oven, sprinkle with some chilli flakes & sea salt and toast until they're a little crisp and crunchy (about 5-10 minutes). Mmmmm.

6. A boiled egg. Perhaps not something you'd think of as a 'snack', but I quite like eating soft boiled eggs every now and again. They're quite filling too- an excellent source of vegetarian protein.

But if you're after something a little more indulgent to snack on, I'd highly recommend these apple & cinnamon muffins. I made them yesterday and my goodness, they make the kitchen smell so wonderful!  I'm happy that everyone in my family took one either to school or work today :)

Oh and by the way...I've just realised that this blog is now more than ONE year old! I wrote my first post on the 27th of October! I distinctly remember rebelling from my HSC studies to start this blog, and here we are, a year later and I'm procrastinating from uni studies. Ha! 

What do you love snacking on at the moment? 

Hannah x

Prune choc balls with chia & flaxseeds

Hello :) A lot of the time instead of studying, I tend to read blogs. True story. Although I don't want to promote procrastination, it's fun to stumble upon awesome recipes & get inspiration. And when I was perusing the internet a little while ago I came across Lola Berry's recipe for Prune Choc Balls. So basically, it's the same recipe as those raw fudge balls I always seem to mention, but you swap the dates for prunes. Clever, huh?

So what are the health benefits of prunes? Well lucky for you and I, Heidi recently wrote about this recently you can see here :)

So what did they taste like? Well obviously similar to the raw fudge balls, but the prunes in fact make them softer to chew and sweeter I find. And as you can see, instead of rolling them in coconut, I sprinkled them with chia & flaxseeds, for a nice crunch!

And don't they look yummo! Adrian- I already know what you will say "....they look like birdseed". Which is true, in some respect but the birdseed in this case is very high in Omega 3 :)

My mother actually came home with these large breakfast boosters the other week (she found them in Coles), which are so handy. One container full of chia seeds and the other with flaxseeds, which are simply great to sprinkle on your porridge etc!

So yes. Very happy with how they turned out! They made at least double as what I put in the photo, but one can only have so many prune balls on a plate at once ;) 

In other news, did anyone place a lucky bet on the Melbourne cup? My sister put $5 on the winning horse (number 3, I think) and won $45!!! So jealous...I put $5 on number 14 (my lucky number), and nothing :( Apparently it was initially winning though, then got left behind. Oh poo! 

Well speaking of poo, if you're ever after something sweet, delicious & very nutritious to make as an after dinner treat or as a yummy snack, I'd highly recommend you make these Prune Choc Balls ;) 

Hope your week has been spectacular thus far!

Hannah x