Exciting news!

Back to the food scene
Back to exploring new restuarants
Back to pollution, traffic jams, cityfailrail, trains without air conditioning in summer, rude people
Back to where I came from
Back to where I wanted to be for the past 17 months.

Now that it is really sinking in, I think I should get a move on and explore Coffs!!!

I am awesome...!!!

....as evidenced by these pictures!!!

Perfect macaroon with its 'foot'!!

4" sponge cake - for one!

ANZAC biscuits - gifts (excuse the macbook as the background!)

More awesomeness on its way!

In possession!

I am going to be a proud owner of my own baby that will be delivered on the 5th Jan 2011!  My baby will have bright eyes, nice shades, a bigger behind than normal but I love it never-the-less. Most importantly - other than being the biggest possession up till now - Freedom!

Can not wait!

Oh and obviously, premium plates!!!

Planning my first dinner menu

Haven't blogged in zonks, been busy just with work, boring domestic house keeping and the odd social life. Now the weather is finally warming up - still with odd showers - outdoor sport is becoming a good option when I am trying to find stuff to do on my days off and so far I went swimming in the newly refurbished pool, played golf (range + course) and tennis!! Ahhh those childhood memories!! 

But back to the topic - planning my first dinner menu. I have toyed with the idea of cooking for our tiny social group before and last time I 'nearly' went for an Italian themed menu with:-

1. Greek salad with fetta cheese, olives, cucumber, tomato and lettuce

2. Garlic prawn linguine with a tomato based sauce

3. creamy bacon, onion mushroom spirals 

4. chorizo with cheese stuffed bell peppers pizza

5. Tiramisu

But then again I chickened out like I always do (lack of confidence + afraid of what others will think of my food....) I did however make the tiramisu.

Now 2nd chance in overcoming my fear, I am planning something more closer to my traditional cuisine ie Taiwanese/chinese home cooking.

1. 3 cup chicken with carrots and shallots

2. taiwanese style pork chops

3. cabbage with shitake mushroom

4. pickled cucumber with chili flakes

5. mango pudding

and of course rice!

Fingers cross it goes well!

!!! Exclaimation mark !!!

The past 4 months have flown by without any major drama - except for the time when my washing machine flooded my laundry at 1am in the morning. I am back in Sydney for the 3rd time since moving north - with an inverse relationship with the amount of frequent flyer/velocity points accumulated in the process and $$ in the account. No I am not saving much, but it is so good to be back home - for 2.5 days.

Back to the busy streets with shops that open past 2pm on weekends, Asians, lots of cars, traffic jams, city(fail)rail and of course my friends and family!

Food wise I have been extremely diligent and proud of myself having cooked every night for dinner - apart from dinner out with friends - I have always packed my lunch for the next day for the past 4 months at Coffs. Whether it be a boring sandwich with various fillings or a hot meal like a pasta or rice dish with plenty of vegies. Of course not to mention my staple snacks at the office - a serving of plain low-fat yoghurt with muesli or frozen berries and a piece of fruit.

I admit I still don't get enough exercise, not with work being only 10 minutes away from door to office chair and shops being 5 minutes away.

Finger's crossed for tomorrow, for something might go majorly right/wrong which might change my situation now!

3rd week

In the process of settling in at Coffs and this is the first week I have spent the weekend alone. Suddenly, the reality of living at Coffs alone REALLY dawned on me!

Coffs is quite a small place, and without a car, my living circle is even smaller. Being restricted to about 1 km radius to where I live and only venturing away from home - 3.2 km to be exact (love google maps) - everyday to the hospital for work via the extremely expensive bus!

Coffs is a great place to live, I am 1.2km (again google) away from the beach (if only I had a car, I would've travel there often with my laptop/book and a pot of tea and spend a whole afternoon there)

The place reminds me of New Zealand, or what memories I have of kiwi-land. Kids running around the street bare-footed, people saying Good morning to you on the street, and lastly no asians in sight.

Quite a confronting experience really, I have always had a tiny little - ok probably isn't tiny - problem relating to non-asians. Even if I have spent nearly all my life in either kiwi or kangaroo land! It has always been something I wanted to get rid of/overcome, and I guess this environment is really giving me the chance/forcing me to improve that about myself.

Moving out also means paying the bills, cleaning the house, laundry and of course COOKING - which I have really never done when I still lived with my parents! I have always loved making desserts/baking etc, but not cooking.

It is weird eh!? a Dietitian/Nutritionist who doesn't cook! I sometimes am embarrassed about this, when people respond to my chosen profession:-

"Ah! So you MUST be a GREAT COOK!"
 Me ashamed/defensive/mixed emotion response:- "Er... I like baking!"

Our 4 year course did incorporate a commercial cookery component - 6 lessons x 6 hours, but who doesn't know how to dice up onions and shred cabbages - the right way, make short crust pastry - from scratch and pip little towers of mashed potatoes?! Ok heavy sarcasm there.

In my defence, I just never had the opportunity/never needed to cook. Full stop.

Now that I need to/have the opportunity, I guess I will be more qualified - in my opinion - to tell people how to eat?

Enough rambling, back to the food! Since I need to find something to do in my days off instead of sitting flat on my bum youtubing, I will be resuming food posts (woot?!) Probably less of the eating out (Have no one to eat with unless I pluck up the courage to ask for a table for 1) and more of the home made mess goodness.

Lets see what is on the menu for tomorrow?

1. Chinese dish called "lion's head" - meat balls with chinese vermicelli and tofu (if i can find it) slow cooked with chinese cabbage
2. Pumpkin soup
3. thinking of making a sour cream carrot cake - if i have time

One thing bad about living alone, cooking for 1 otherwise I'll end up eating the same stuff for aaages!

Toodles for now and hopefully I'll be able to take pictures without getting my camera dirty in the kitchen!