No. 89 - Get A Good Set Of Knives

After much careful thought and consideration I decided to buy a set of Wusthof knives. Love them to bits.



Everything is now cubed in high definition. Just makes cooking a whole new experience.

Argh!! Argh argh argh!!

Don't ask.

Been watching MTV Cribs on Youtube. I've decided my taste in home design is very similar to Akon's. Weird, huh?

Skin Deep

So I have a confession to make - I'm very very very lax when it comes to my beauty regime.

It's just so much work. All I want to do is just quickly brush my teeth, wash my face and go to bed.

However, I decided tonight that I should at least do the full regime and my skin immediately felt so much better!

Should really put in more effort.

No. 46 - Get LV Luggage

I've always had a very extensive wish list. When I graduated I wrote down all the things I wanted to get and promptly started ticking them off one by one.

This item was ticked off quite early in the year - sometime in April if I recall correctly. A friend of mine was coming back from France and as a huge favour to me he brought this back for me.



I love it. It's just the right size for weekend trips - which as many of you know is as much as I can stand before getting antsy about wanting to go home and 'rest'. As most of you know I don't really love traveling - so much hassle and waiting and driving and sitting and inconvenience and stress etc. This however makes the packing part of it a little bit more enjoyable.

And at the end of the day that's why I love buying nice things. A good quality well crafted and designed item doesn't get old. Every time I use something nice it gives me pleasure. Like breathing in the smell of a leather bag, the soft feel of cashmere, the beauty of nice photographs, the experience of a huge screen, the sharpness of a good knife. Totally worth every cent.

Decided to mix it up a little and gave Milton some dog food called Meaty Snacks. I usually only give him a little because he likes it a bit too much but I decided, what the hey - I'll give him a little bit more this time.

Well.

I now have a hyperactive dog who's going crazy around the house.

I never thought that it could affect him so much! Back to Science Diet for the rest of his life, I say.

Rattan Sticks

When I was first introduced to the concept of rattan diffusers, I was less than impressed.

"They look like well... sticks. Sticking out of a bottle. What's so great about that?"

However, I have since left that realm of thought and into the joys of fragrance without having to light anything. Because honestly - lighting a candle is hard work when one has to do it every day. Much easier to just open a bottle of essential oil, stick a few sticks of rattan into it and forget about it for the next 6 months - whilst having fragrance 24 hours a day.



Here's a picture of my side table in my room now. White lilies from the garden of my practice. Aren't they lovely?

My Baby's All Grown Up

Milton just turned 1 this week, and I have taken some time to think about how he has impacted my life.

For the first 6 months there were times when I thought I couldn't do it. He chewed his way through so many things, refused to be housebroken, he kept waking me up at night because he had to go... I have no idea how I did it.

But I made it. And now he's the sweetest, cutest little thing and much more well behaved. Love him to bits. At least once a day I pick him up, squeeze him and say 'Milton, why are you so cute?!'

To mark his birthday, I baked him a cake. Well, baked myself a cake. It was a blueberry lemon cake.



Milton never gets human food but since it was his birthday, concessions were made. He got one tenth of a slice.



Mommy, why can't I have cake every day?

Hmm...

Attended a surgical extraction course and the first thing I noticed on our tables was this:



What are they up to?

My Day At Cacao

I love anything to do with baking that involves sugar. So much so my friend who is a pastry chef at Cacao in St Kilda invited me to spend half a day in the kitchen with him to have a look and see how a commercial kitchen runs and help make some things while I'm at it.

Unfortunately I didn't take many photos because I spent most of the time actually doing things as well as uh...sampling food. However, here are some of the things that I helped out with. Also did a little bit of danishes as well as quiches. Highly enjoyable.



My thoughts?

Well, I guess I have toyed with the idea of taking pastry a little more seriously than just baking 12 cupcakes in my little oven at home. But after this experience I have to say commercial pastry probably isn't really my cup of tea. It's all very well to have fun baking 12 cupcakes at home but when it comes to churning out huge numbers it gets a tad repetitive. Plus it's always a set menu - I can't wake up and decide no, I don't want to make danishes today.

Another thing that I really liked was the thought that I was making things that people would appreciate - the way every time I get my plate of food at restaurants I pause and look and exclaim how pretty it looks. Dentistry isn't as universally appreciated.

Anyway, there were 2 very interesting gadgets in the store that I really liked - really annoyed that I didn't take photos of them. One was a funnel for well...funneling. The special thing about it is that it has a stopper at the end that can be opened and closed at will - so you can just pour lots of liquid into the funnel and then funnel the contents into individual tarts or whatever you're working on without having to keep refilling it.

The second thing was an industrial pastry roller for nice even well layered puff pastry.

All in all - I'm really happy that I got this opportunity to do what I did. Got to taste lots of the product range too, which was great. Would love to do it again sometime.

No. 44 - Eat At 50 New Eateries (18/50)

Went to Oyster for dinner last week in Melbourne. It's a place that specializes in well...oysters.

I think most of you know by now that I'm not really a huge fan of seafood at all. There's something about the fishiness that I dislike. Anyway, I tried some and had to conclude I still don't like it.



What I did like was the rest of the food - mushroom risotto and crumbed veal. Yummy.

No. 19 - Stay At A 5 Star Hotel Funded By My Own Hard Earned Cash

When we were told that the surgical extraction course that I was to attend was held at the Langham Hotel, we decided that we should splurge and stay there for the night.

Since we were already there, the natural thing to do was to go all out and order room service.





Hot chocolate, a banana split as well as some chocolate mousse. Stayed up late to enjoy the novelty of living the high life.

Incidentally, the pillows at the Langham are amazing. They're actually available for purchase and I have to say I'm tempted to do so. They're 50% duck down, 50% feather.

Went back to one of my favourite haunts during my uni years - Borders on Lygon Street.

Did exactly what I used to do during the weekends when I still lived on Swanston Street, a nice gentle 5 minute walk from Lygon Street. Took a whole stack of books, ordered a toastie, sat down and enjoyed them both.




Yes, I am dedicated to cake decorating.

Milton during his afternoon snooze.

No. 86 - Get A Nice Pair of Sunglasses

In classic Dental Girl style, I've decided to buy a present. From me to me.




Been looking out for the perfect pair of sunnies for a while and this weekend I found them.

Back to work now.

Roadside Assist

I walked to my car to put some things into the boot. Next thing I know I've slammed the boot shut and in the same split second realized that I've locked my keys into the boot.

Walked up to the Langham Hotel and explained my predicament. After some googling and phone calling, I finally managed to get hold of the roadside assist service, who promptly sent someone down in about 3 minutes.

Another 3 minutes later my boot was open and my keys retrieved. Free - or rather, my insurance paid for it.

Conclusions?

1. I can be quite an idiot sometimes.
2. Roadside Assist insurance is a must must!

So here I am in Melbourne for the weekend.

I lived in Melbourne for 6 years and just 9 months after my departure I feel like I'm a foreigner. With each street that I walk all I see is changes and old memories of times I've had.

No longer is Melbourne my home, but a place I visit.

I love Macca's. And Oreos and Indomee with fish tofu.

Happiness

For the past few months I've been really depressed and stressed.

I've done the lot - whined to anyone who would listen about my problems, wallowed in self pity, whined more to anyone who would listen, binged on junk food, whined even more to anyone who would listen, cook entire contents of pantry to vent it all out and whined again.

But now I realize that the only person missing out on happiness is me.

Sure, it has been a tough couple of months for me but I still have a lot of things to be grateful for. I have friends who are there for me, an incredibly supportive family, financial security and health. And Milton.

So I guess this is just a note to myself to remember that although one small part of my life is in shambles now, everything else is as good as I could have ever hoped for.

No more whinging.

Spent the weekend in the kitchen. Again.

Fridge is bursting - would be good if we could have a second fridge. This fridge just isn't coping with the amount of food I'm churning out.

Team Aragorn

When I first watched the Lord of the Rings when I was 18 or so, I concluded that Legolas was the way to go.

Fast forward to now, I have to conclude that Aragorn is the man!

Alright, I sound like a giddy schoolgirl. Back to being a staid dentist.

Spring Has Sprung

Took a walk around the neighbourhood and these are a few things that have sprung up, welcoming the weather that's veerryyy slowly and hopefully steadily getting warmer.



Have lots of lemons at home now - all the lemon trees in Benalla are laden with them and we've been lucky enough to be the recipient of many. Which obviously means lots of lemon dishes are going to be served up in the Tooth Fairy household.

No. 43 - Try 50 New Recipes (13/50)

Decided to try to make some panna cotta.



Here they are with my new shot glasses - aren't they cute? Not sure if I like panna cotta though - just reminds me of jellified cream.

You know how they say that money is hard earned through blood, sweat and tears? It is absolutely literal in the world of dentistry.

Escaping into my happy place.

I love reading motivational blogs. One of my weaknesses along with reading horoscopes and other hocus pocus mumbo jumbo.

Anyhoo, back to the point. I love reading motivational blogs so much I subscribe to some of the writers on Twitter. And every day I'm bombarded with motivational sayings and things you should to do live your life, not exist.

Frankly, if I followed every single word of advice given, I wouldn't be here.

Shame is, I know I would never have the courage to do what is supposed to be done.

Thus, should not complain about situation but accept that it's all about how stupid I am for not having the nerve to do, rather than just dream.

That's all I have to say. Good night.

Sleep Function

I've had my iBook for almost 7 years now. Yes, it's so old it's a iBook, rather than a MacBook.

One of the best things these computer people invented was the sleep mode. It has essentially meant that I only switch my computer off every... I don't know.... 2-3 months when it's running too slow. No exaggeration. What can I say - I like lift the lid and start surfing immediately - no waiting for the computer to boot business.

And no, it's not bad for the computer - if it was surely it would have conked out by now? These computers were built to last I say, and be abused.



Here's my trusty old friend, with its pulsating white light. I always like to think that it's its way of showing that it's snoring. Very very gently.

No. 43 - Try 50 New Recipes (12/50)

Decided to make a chilled cheesecake because I hadn't made one in a long time.



Decided to go for a lemon cheesecake because yellow is such a cheerful and bright color. Very pleased with the results. My only criticism is that the biscuit base was a little bit too thick. In the future I would probably half the amount.

Recipe from When Baker Barks.

No. 91 - Complete Avanti Canister Collection

I love Magda and Jeremy. Sometimes I stay at their house, admiring the crisp sheets and many storage jars full of different kinds of pasta, imagining that they were my parents. - Bridget Jones

Ever since the moment I read that in Bridget Jones' Diary I had made up my mind that one day I too, will have storage jars full of different kinds of pasta. And today that dream has come true - I have finally purchased the last 6 of Avanti canisters to complete my set of 15.



It is a happy day.

Slight disaster in the kitchen today. But never mind - I plan to artfully cover up my sad looking crumbs and make them into something spectacular.

No. 43 - Try 50 New Recipes (11/50)

Had lots of meringues in the house after my slightly crazed bake-off and decided to make Eton Mess. Recipe by Nigella Lawson, again.



First batch, I didn't flavour the cream at all. It was good, but I thought I could do better.



Second batch. Decided to add in some Baileys Irish Cream into the cream and top it off with some chocolate forms. Very pleased with results.

It was surprisingly good for something so simple! It's basically a mixture of sweetened cream, strawberries, pomegranate juice and crushed meringues. Highly recommended. Recipe can be found here.

No. 57 - Wake Up at 7am for a Week

Woke up at 7am today and managed to:

1. Do 2 loads of laundry
2. Vacuum half the house.
3. Make kaya.
4. Do grocery shopping.
5. Help friend with her 101 list (yes, that makes it 3 people that I've convinced to start their own list!)

Extremely productive day. Only problem is that it's only 9pm and I'm super tired. Might have an early night. Early morning again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after...

Thus ends another week of dentistry. Which means the start of a huge baking weekend!

Have bought new toys - 5 stainless steel mixing bowls in graduated sizes. For 10 bucks. Or rather, $9.95. I absolutely love Aldi sometimes.

Anyway, acquiring more bakeware just means that I have more ideas on things to bake which means I need more bakeware, ingredients and utensils. Currently wanting:

1. Another Le Creuset - a smaller saucepan would be an excellent addition to our humble home.

2. A baby saucepan. By baby I mean 250-500ml capacity. I have specific reasons for wanting this.

3. Various different serving platters, plates, ramekins, glasses, etc.

4. A KitchenAid. I'm in 2 minds about this. On one hand yes, I do want one. On the other hand, my handheld mixer has served me well for the past 3 years and cleans up really quickly and easily. On the other hand, maybe I don't know what I'm missing and a life changing experience is awaiting.

5. All kinds of Asian ingredients not available in Benalla e.g. bean sprouts, lap cheong, beancurd puffs etc.

6. A marble board. For chocolate work. Saw one at Aldi a few months ago for a ridiculously low price and said ,' Whatever would i want it for? It's not like I'm interested in chocolate work." and left it. And now they're not there anymore. Silly me! Please show some sympathy - my housemates have ceased to display any because apparently variations of this story crop up in our conversation weekly. Apparently if I'm stupid enough not to act on the spot, I deserve to be punished in this manner.

7. Various baking dishes - I'd like a pie dish, mini bundt pans, a tube pan, etc.

9. Spatulas of all shapes and sizes.

So many things, so little time. And money. And space. And people to feed.

I apologize for all the posts that I have about food, food and more food. The fact is that food is a huge part of my life besides dentistry and sleeping. In fact, during my daily grind that's all I really think about.

Maybe I should pick up something new...

No. 44 - Eat At 50 New Eateries (18/50)

Went to the Lindt cafe in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago.



Koko Black or Cacao are definitely superior.

Red Rooster and Dominos

In the town of Benalla, there is no Red Rooster. Or Dominos. We had to travel all the way to Shepparton to fulfill our desire for some. After months of sitting in front of the tv at night, getting bombarded by their advertisements of their pasta in a puff pastry bowl (you can actually eat the bowl), we decided to see what the big fuss is about.



Have eaten Dominos in the past, but never Red Rooster. Verdict?

KFC is still my official favourite.

Every morning on the way to work, I see this tree.



It's completely covered with pink blossoms now. Makes me smile every time.

The Playground

The playground has always fascinated me. Love swings in particular. While waiting for our pizza we decided to relive our youth.

Had a horrible, horrible dream last night.

Dreamt I was trying to do root canal treatment on a upper premolar and for some reason, decided it would be much easier if I extracted it and did it on the benchtop. Except when I did that half the maxilla decided to come along with it.

Ran to my boss in panic, clutching the maxilla in my hand. Boss told me to calm down and he'll fix it while looking at some x-rays... and realized that he had made a major misdiagnosis for another patient that I had referred to him.

Both of us told ourselves to calm down - but it was horrible. Absolutely horrible.

Dream interpretations, anyone?

Addicted to these songs now:

1. Already Gone - Kelly Clarkson
2. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
3. Good Girls Go Bad - Cobra Starship

Strawberry Craze

Strawberries were as low as 35 cents for 250g. How could I resist buying 6 punnets in a week? That was the only thing to do.

That meant that they actually had to be used. Here are a few things that came out of my strawberry craze. Some were pretty much the same thing but just plated differently with different decorations. I had a lot of time on my hands during the weekend, okay? Benalla isn't very exciting.



Pancakes with Strawberries - They were delicious. Woke up at the crack of dawn (that's 7.30 a.m. for me) and made them for my housemates while Milton chewed happily on his chicken wing outside. Pancake recipe was fairly simple - I've always followed the 1:1:1 recipe - 1 cup milk, 1 cup self raising flour and 1 egg. Then just add in whatever additional flavourings you want e.g. lemon zest, vanilla essence, cinnamon etc. These were made with a dash of vanilla and cinnamon. Yummy - and the house smelt great after.








Vanilla Sheet Cake - I baked a sheet of vanilla cake (recipe from here). It's originally a cupcake recipe but I decided to bake a sheet out of it and break in my round cutter. Did all three of them differently - the first one with chocolate curls, the second with blueberries and piped cream and the final one just as a stack sandwiched together with cream.


Chocolate Dipped Strawberries - Self explanatory.



Stuffed strawberries - Very simple. Chop off the tip of the strawberry so that it stands on its own. Then remove the inside of the strawberry with a sharp paring knife. Drizzle in a couple of drops of triple sec and fill with cream cheese sweetened with sugar and pop the top back on. Voila, stuffed strawberries. Had lots of fun making them.



Strawberry Tart - A tart filled with Baileys-flavoured cream covered with strawberries, topped with spun caramel. Really enjoyed spinning the caramel. Will dedicate a full post to it soon.



Strawberry Cocktail - 4 parts gin, 1 part lemon juice, 1 part triple sec, 1 tablespoon sugar, several strawberries and a liberal amount of ice. Yummy, although slightly too gin-y. Might choose to cut down on that a bit next time. If there ever is a next time...

No. 44 - Eat At 50 New Eateries (17/50)

Went for breakfast in Balzari with a friend on Lygon St when I was down in Melbourne.



Their baked eggs were delicious. Coffee, not so delicious.