Domestic Goddess Trainee Tries Her Hand At Baking Cupcakes!

Baking cupcakes

After my 'chicken triumph' I thought that it would be a good idea to give baking a try. After all, I can't become a fully qualified 'Domestic Goddess' until I've begun to master all of the domestic arts!

There is a fab little shop over the road from our appartment, that sells all kinds of kitchen and dining equipment. I decided that this was the place I needed to visit to get all the necessary equipment. I felt very pleased when I was able to purchase all the equipment I wanted;

• An electric hand held mixer/whisk (I can do gadgets as well as Adam)
• A bun tray
• Paper cake cases
• Piping bag and nossles
• A flour sifter

I was very tempted to buy a pretty tiered cupcake stand, but held back. Maybe next time, if the cakes taste good!

I then headed over to the supermarket to buy all the ingredients I would need to bake chocolate cupcakes (I found a yummy looking recipe on line)

http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2006/06/rich-chocolate-cupcake-recipe.html

I followed the recipe almost exactly, but decided against the coffee granules and the almond meal. I just left them out. My mixer worked a treat. It was almost too powerful at times, especially when dealing with icing sugar for the topping! I had to be very careful that I didn't disappear in a cloud of Icing sugar! The mixture seemed quite runny once I had finished the cake mix, but I decided to press on... After 25 mins they came out looking just like little cakes, hooray. I made a bit of a mess with the icing bag, but I think they turned out ok for a first attempt. Must practice my icing piping!

The all important taste test ... Adam and myself had one each.

"They were very tasty" (Me)

"Delicious" (Adam)

Well done me.

On The Way To Becoming A Domestic Goddess?!

Being A Lady Of Leisure

I'm now officially a lady of leisure, a homemaker, a housewife, whatever you want to call it! Since arriving in Sydney I feel that I have started on the road to becoming a 'Domestic Goddess'. This happened quite by accident, I'm afraid to say.

On Monday I decided that it would be really nice to cook Adam a traditional home cooked meal ready for when he arrived home from work, Something I feel a 'Domestic Goddess' would do. I decided that a chicken stew was the perfect meal and something that I know Adam enjoys.

Of course I needed to head to the supermarket. Well, technically we don't have a supermarket it's more a case of Butcher, Baker (no Candlestick Maker), farmer's market and a store reminiscent of Kwick Save that's good for tins and packets etc. Sadly in the UK I'm a Tesco girl through and through and so have never gone to separate shops when buying ingredients for a meal, particularly a Butcher's shop!

Now what is a girl to do when faced with having to ask for a particular weight of meat?! Try and think of Tesco. How much did the meat weigh there in the packets I used to buy? Can't remember! Ok so how much did I pay? About £3/4 for some diced chicken, I think! Ok, so I look at the prices and see that 1kg of diced chicken is about $14 which is about £7. Perfect, I'll order 1kg as I want enough chicken for my stew and for a chicken curry that I want to cook tomorrow.

Oh dear, the bag of chicken looks rather large... never mind, I'm sure it will be fine!

(I've since discovered that the pack I used to buy from Tesco was only 400g, Oooops!)

Once I'd visited all the other necessary shops for my ingredients I returned home and started preparing. Oh no! It really is rather a lot of chicken. After preparing my stew and looking at the remaining chicken, I decide it's far too much for my chicken curry tomorrow. Can't waste it... I know, I'll whip up a chicken soup and freeze it for another day, perfect.

Adam returned home to find me cooking up a storm! I had two portions of soup in Tupperware containers ready for the freezer, the stew was ready to serve and I had chicken ready for the curry tomorrow. Urrmmmm, there seems to be a lot of stew, no matter, I'll put the remaining stew into Tupperware containers and freeze that too! (There was also some chicken curry left the next night, that also went into the freezer) I now have a well stocked freezer with yummy chicken meals in it ready for me to take out, heat up and serve, I'm very pleased with myself. I managed to turn a chicken disaster into a triumph. I just need to remember when to take the meals out so that they can defrost in time.

Next I feel that I should tackle home baking, that really will turn me into a 'Domestic Goddess' I'll keep you posted on my progress. Maybe I'll even manage to make cupcakes!!

Watsons Bay

Watsons Bay

We went to visit Watsons Bay with Philip (one of Adam's work colleagues) Philip had lived in Sydney whilst he was a student and said that Watsons Bay was one of his favourite places. He asked us if we would like to go and visit Watsons bay with him, whilst he is over here on business. Obviously we took him up on his offer.

We had to catch a ferry from Circular Quay. It was about a 30 min trip over to Watsons Bay. The bay has an interesting history, which you can read about on the Wiki pages http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watsons_Bay,_New_South_Wales

Once we were off the ferry we walked along the beach and then around the coastal walk. It's all very beautiful scenery, apart from the secluded beach that allows you to be naked! Yep as we walked around the corner, there in full view on the beach was a naked man! None of us were particularly impressed and carried along the pathway fairly quickly. At the end of the walk is a pretty light house and light house keeper's cottage.

After our walk we were all pretty hungry, so we headed back to the main beach (not the naked one!) and to the beach front restaurant 'Doyles' This is a famous fish restaurant that has been family run since 1885! We all ordered the fish and chips. It wasn't just any old fish and chips though! As you can see you could choose what fish you wanted from the catch of the day.

DOYLES OWN FISH & CHIPS

Your choice of Today’s Catch, golden fried in our light & tasty beer batter made with

Hahn Premium Lager and served with old fashioned chips.

Today’s Catch

TWEED HEAD SAND WHITING FILLETS $39.80

N.T SALTWATER BARRAMUNDI FILLETS $40.30

NORTH COAST SNAPPER FILLETS $39.70

ULLADULLA FLATHEAD FILLETS $36.40

SOUTH COAST JOHN DORY FILLETS $42.30

http://www.doyles.com.au/12199+0+doyles-on-the-beach.htm

We all went for the snapper. It was delicious, and rather large! This is definitely a place to go and visit if you want a coastal walk, great views and great food.

Sydney 2000 Olympic Stadium

Tour Of The Olympic Stadium
We went to the 2000 Olympic stadium with Chris, John and Andy. John and Andy were particularly excited as it was also the scene of the 2003 Rugby world cup, when Jonny Wilkinson kicked that last minute drop goal to beat Australia and win the world cup! John and Andy had come prepared. Not only were they wearing their rugby shirts, they also had a huge St George's flag with them!

To get to the stadium we had to catch a train from the central station in Sydney. The trains are all double deckers. We had to change once before we could get to the stadium.

Once at the stadium we booked ourselves on the 3:00 tour, which gave us just enough time to grab something to eat. We were all starving. The only choices seemed to be fast food, but none of us were complaining. We all opted for a Macdonalds.

The tour was to last for about 70mins. It started with a ride through the background area of the stadium, where the athletes enter and where all the opening and closing ceremony participants waited.

We were then able to go into the stadium and look at the stadium from the different seating levels as well as have a look in the corporate areas, the dressing rooms and the TV and radio commentary areas. Whilst looking around the stadium we were also shown lots of photographs, signed shirts and autographs from stars that had competed at the stadium, these included Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson, David Beckham and Kathy Freeman

Whilst walking around the stadium to the exit, I felt something on my arm... it was my worst nightmare, a spider! And to make matters worse, it bit me. I quickly brushed it off and managed to remain calm. I made sure that I told Adam and then we quickly began looking up deadly spiders on his blackberry. "You've got 2hrs to get to hospital if it's a deadly one" Adam said. "Oh, great!" Luckily we managed to discount all the deadly ones fairly quickly and, of course, I'm still here to tell the tale.

The one thing that disappointed me about the stadium was that the athletics track is no longer there and so it looks very different to how I would imagine an Olympic stadium to be. It's now used for cricket, Football (sorry, soccer), rugby and Aussie rules football. A new athletics track has been built near by. The stadium also seemed quite small. Apparently after the games they removed the open air slanted seating and continued the roof all the way round. You can see the difference in the pictures below.

Where For Art Thou KFC?!

Where for art thou KFC?!
Since we arrived in Sydney we have been seeking out a KFC. The numerous adverts on the telly really gave me a craving for KFC, particularly the boneless crispy strips with a side order of gravy. Sadly we seem to be without a KFC here in Mosman. Searches on the internet have revealed that there are indeed KFC restaurants in Sydney, sadly just not a close distance from our appartment.

Having spoken of my quest for KFC to some of Adam's work colleagues I was sad to hear from Lawrence, that the first thing he did when he arrived back in the UK recently was to go for a KFC. Why on earth would he do that, you may ask, when we know that there are KFC's in Sydney! Well, I did indeed ask him that question... Apparently the batter is just not the same. Adam and myself decided to make it our mission to find out if we agreed.

We finally found the KFC in Manly Vale, having had to get a taxi to take us there! It certainly looked very impressive from the outside. A good size, even a drive through, by far better looking than the one we're used to back home in the 'Croydon Hood'.

Once inside Adam and myself ordered our usual.

• Me - 3 Crispy strips, chips and a side of gravy
  
• Adam - Fully Loaded

Straight away something was different. When ordering our sides of gravy we were asked a question "Do you want gravy and potato?" I replied "no" and Adam replied "yes" thinking he would get extra potato with his meal.

We sat in the restaurant to eat our long awaited for KFC. The chips were good and came salted, Adam's fillet burger tasted just the same as the UK and when I opened up my side of gravy and dipped a chip in, it tasted just fine. What was all the fuss about? We were just about to find out...

I opened up my box of crispy strips with great anticipation. Immediately I knew something wasn't quite right. The batter looked different to what I was used to. It wasn't horrible to eat, but it certainly wasn't up to UK standards. Next came Adam and his chicken piece, same problem. Finally Adam tried to dip a chip in his side of gravy. Oh no, something was very wrong!! The chip stuck in some white goop. What on earth could it be? It was mashed potato and not real mashed potato! It was the type you used to get at school that they served up with an ice cream scoop only slushier.

Lessons learnt;

• Don't say yes to gravy with potato!


• Stick to the Fillet burger if you want the taste of the proper KFC batter.


• Chips are absolutely fine.


• Gravy (without potato) is absolutely fine.


• Wait until back in the UK for the authentic colonel's recipe.

This is probably a good thing as eating KFC on a regular basis will do nothing for mine and Adam's waistlines!

Cupcakes & Laptops

Cupcakes & Laptops!

I'm happily writing my blog today in the knowledge that the broadband has been upgraded :0) No more 30mins+ waiting for photos to upload - Hooray!

Cupcakes - They seem to be mad about cupcakes over here (not that I'm complaining). On my first trip out into the city, I noticed a cupcake shop on George street (the main shopping street). The window immediately caught my attention... so many pretty cakes.

The website is - http://www.thecupcakebakery.com.au/ it's a pretty cool website actually and you can order on line:0) I've also spotted a cupcake shop in the huge shopping mall at Bondi junction and at every market we've been to, to have a look around. There are always at least two cupcake stalls! I will make it my mission to try out the many different varieties on offer.

Adam bought me my first cupcake from 'the cupcake bakery' the other day. It was really tasty and I can highly recommend this particular style and flavour!

Now onto the subject of laptops... Those of you who know my husband will know that Adam just can't resist buying laptops! He owns a few, in different sizes, models and colours. The urge seems to have caught him again, only this time he wasn't able to justify buying himself another laptop, so he bought me one :0) A laptop all of my own that I don't have to share and can blog away on to my heart's content. The best thing about this laptop is that it is undeniably mine and I don't think Adam would want to be seen to be using it because ... it's pink! Thank you hubby it's great.

Taronga Zoo - Sydney

Taronga Zoo - Sydney

"Taronga Zoo is a leading zoological garden, featuring Australia's finest collection of native animals and a diverse collection of exotic species. Taronga Zoo is in a fantastic location. It is situated on elevated land along the waterfront, in one of the most beautiful vantage points on Sydney Harbour overlooking Sydney Cove, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House."

We visited the Zoo with Chris, John, Andy and Jen. To get to the Zoo we had to head to Circular Quay to catch the ferry. Once at the Zoo we were all happy for John to take charge! He had a map and straight away began to plot a route for us to follow.

The boys all seemed to like the fact that there were huge spiders up above our heads in the trees. I however was not very keen and made sure that I did not linger underneath any of them. Andy seemed to pick up on the fact that I did not like spiders and thought that it would be really funny to grab my leg as I was checking for spiders overhead!! You can imagine what happened next... Yep, I let out an almighty scream and jumped right out of my skin! Probably not my coolest moment.

The Zoo houses many different animals from all around the world as well as animals native to Australia. The elephants, giraffes, lions, gorillas etc all looked very impressive. I particulary liked the red panda and the Koalas. The lads really liked the lizards, snakes and reptiles. The meer kats were very amusing and we really liked the one that was furiously digging and another one that seemed to be tanning itself underneath a heat lamp!