All posts tagged: coffee

Monday Bunday: Foodie Bunnies

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  Hope you are having a great Easter! Today’s Monday Bunday is a real treat found via Pinterest. But try as I may, I cannot find any information on the original artist. How sweet are these foodie bunnies? The artist has expertly captured a specific type of bunny. I love the downturned mouths, short ears and compact shape and I can tell that the artist loves bunnies and food very much. I don’t know if these were posed and drawn from life or fictional scenes but I wouldn’t let Tofu the bunny within a metre of a whole croissant. He loves baked goods and would gobble it up without batting a third eyelid. I still remember one Easter when he stole a hot cross bun from my handbag. If you thought that rabbits couldn’t commit a crime, I can assure you, if there are baked goods involved, they are ruthless. If you recognise the these illustrations or better still, if you are the artist please comment below. Back to work tomorrow. Le sigh.

Officially ruined

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Let me get something straight. I’ve always been an instant coffee girl. Quite happily. Yes, espresso is lovely, but without an espresso maker, who can afford to buy a daily espresso? Not I. Espresso was a once a fortnight treat. Until now. The Koala and I were very spoilt and received a ROK manual espresso maker from my parents for Christmas. I’ve been enjoying a lot of espresso lately. The ROK is a breeze to use and best of all, it’s FUN. Make something fun to use and it will practically run itself. Why we love the ROK: Great tasting espresso Easy to use Easy to clean Fun 10 year warranty Does not require electricity (just add boiling water) Beautifully designed Comes with spoon/tamper (spamper) Makes a double shot espresso by default I’ve been avoiding coffee at work because I fear instant coffee wont live up to espresso, but after a couple of weeks of espresso, I had my first instant coffee and I found it tasted like ass. What have you ruined for yourself …

Transferable skills

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I was at work and in my fist was a small piece of paper that said “Italy”. During the world cup season, we each had to bring in a morning tea based on our drawn countries. What to bring? There are many yummy Italian foods. Pizza, pasta, antipasto, breads…. Being a terrible baker, I challenged myself to bake for everyone at work. Chinese fighting muffins Light, fluffy bread and moist cakes? Never! It’s not my style. My baking is generally hard and dry. So I figured, why not harness my natural talent for making Chinese fighting muffins? Look upon it as a transferable skill. Maybe you have a negative cooking skill that could be turned right given the perfect recipe? Biscotti is hard and never moist. Biscotti is classy. Biscotti would be perfect. I found this online chocolate biscotti recipe by Susan from Farmgirl Fare. If I’m afraid of making something, the words easy and beginners in the heading makes a big difference. I worried about burning these since it’s hard to tell if dark brown biscotti …

Eating a snake and drinking cat poo coffee

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Friends of snakes, look away now. Killing and eating a snake was always going to be an interesting experience. I’d read about it online and I had a fair idea of what to expect. We talked to our hotel owner and receptionist about it and they called a taxi for us. Unfortunately the taxi driver hadn’t been briefed and “Le Mat” which was the snake village didn’t seem to ring any bells. It was only after I drew and showed him a picture of snake while we gestured eating motions that he got it. “Ahhhh La Maaaat!”. All good. He drove us to a restaurant and he communicated to us that he would wait outside while we ate. It’s quite normal in SE Asia countries for taxi drivers to wait outside for you. Something that is unheard of in New Zealand unless you’re using an ATM or something super quick. Taxis are very cheap in Vietnam and our return trip including the hour wait while we ate,  cost only 94,000VND / $6NZ / $4.50US. I’d read about …

Delicious Vietnam: Eating In The Old Quarter, Hanoi

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Before our epic SE Asia holiday, I had read a few  blogs to inspire my appetite. One of the best was A Food Lover’s Journey by Ahn in Melbourne. Mouthwatering and easily relatable, Ahn is a Vietnamese expat and reading her blog is enough to make anyone crave Vietnamese food. The monthly Delicious Vietnam blogging event conspired by A Food Lover’s Journey and Ravenous Couple was never something I thought I would participate in. When I saw their reminder this month, I realised that it was just about time I wrote about Vietnamese food and our time in Hanoi. Vietnamese food in Auckland There is a lack of Vietnamese restaurants in Auckland, but one of my favourites is Hansan Vietnamese Restaurant. One of those places with cheap, fresh and delicious food, but severely no frills service, my review can be found here. The other Vietnamese place worth mentioning in Auckland is Banh Mi. Who do great filled rolls and all the classic Vietnamese dishes as well. Anticipation “”Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best — ” …

Foodie Treasures from the South East

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Some of the foodie treasures I picked up from south east asia. I’ve always wanted a mortar and pestle and making my own green curry from scratch in a cooking school in Chiang Mai made the want a need. Weasel coffee from Vietnam, table cloth, coconut wood salad servers and serving spoon from Thailand I also gifted a package to my work because they were fantastic about letting me holiday for 10 weeks. In their package there was the same chili sauce, weasel coffee, Sabah Tea (from Borneo) and coconut salad servers. I coveted this Thai/Laos style BBQ cooker, a chopping board and a cleaver, but alas, these were not to be found in the usual tourist markets. If anyone knows of a Thai BBQ restaurant in Auckland or where to buy a cooker from, let me know.