j u s t . l i k e . a . c h e e s e c a k e . o n l y . c r u n c h y

Long absence...oops *sheepish face*

I've been getting back into baking lately and I recently came across this recipe. I've got to admit that any recipe that combines cheesecake and Coco Pops gets a big thumbs up from me! I have the fondest memories of eating chocolate crackles as a child and I figure that this recipe is really just the grown up version. However I definitely wouldn't say no to a chocolate crackle even now.

What was your favourite treat as a child?

xx

Coco Pops Cheesecake

SERVES 6-8

200g Coco Pops
150g butter, melted
395g condensed milk
3 x 250g packets cream cheese, softened
1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped to remove the seeds
25g dark chocolate, finely grated

METHOD

Oil a 22cm springform pan and line the base with baking paper.
Place Coco Pops, butter and 2 tbs of the condensed milk in a food processor and process until combined.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press it firmly over the base. Place in the refrigerator for 30 min.
Using an electric beater, whisk the remaining condensed milk with the cream cheese and vanilla seeds in a large mixing bowl until light and creamy.
Pour over the chocolate base and place in the refrigerate overnight.
Serve topped with grated chocolate.

m a m a s i t a ' s . i n . m e l b o u r n e

In my previous blog post I mentioned that I was off to Melbourne. After 5 whirlwind days, 4 (very) late nights, 3 fabulous dinners, 2 op shop expeditions and 1 reunion with my beautiful friend Karen later, I am back in Byron...with the post Melbourne blues. Unfortunately, I had misplaced my camera charger which meant that I had very little battery for photos. Such a bummer. Luckily Karen brought her Diana mini so hopefully she will develop them and post up the photos on her blog soon...*hint hint*

Highlights include:

1. Finding the department store equivalent of op shops in Brunswick and buying a typewriter
2. MoVida Aqui's Spanish tapas and sangria...YUM!
3. Drinking Larmandier Champagne and listening to The Smiths on vinyl with a friend who was house-sitting a mansion that overlooked the city
4. $4 gourmet pizzas at Lucky Coq on Chapel Street
5. Admiring all the Victorian townhouses' that someday I will hopefully call my own! And most importantly...
6. Mamasita: I had heard a lot of good reports about this quirky tequila bar. We braved the wind and the cold and lined up for half an hour to get the best seat in the place...the bar of course! The food is spectacular and the margarita's are well worth the trip to Melbourne alone. The staff are a little odd but friendly enough. I ate an oxtail taco which nearly killed me. The chilli was so intense that my eyesight and hearing temporarily failed me. Definitely a must see when you're visiting Melbourne next. Get in early though as you may have to wait up to an hour for a table.

Apologies for the quality of the photographs. The lighting wasn't great and I was too busy stuffing my face to be concerned with camera settings.

xxx

Yes please!

 

 

The extremely decadant dessert we fell in love with. Unfortunately not sugar-free!

My 1950's typewriter!

e y e . c a n d y

So today is the second day of my quest to limit my sugar intake. Or is is the third? I can't even remember. Despite my poor memory and having a terrible case of the shakes both yesterday and today I feel good. Ok that's a complete lie.  Truth be told, I feel awful. I've been feeling terribly exhausted and as I type this I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. Last night I attended a rooftop cinema movie premiere and I actually fell asleep 45 minutes into the film. That is the first time I have ever fallen asleep watching a movie at a cinema. Movies at home don't count. I'm sure the fact that I was lying in the world's comfiest beanbag and was halfway through a bottle of red wine had nothing to do with it.

The point is that I'm not coping as well as I thought I would. Hopefully this is just a phase and my body will eventually adjust. I often crave dessert or something sweet after dinner and its been incredibly difficult having to go from eating something like this

to this

Don;t get me wrong I love berries but there's only so much you can do with them when you take sugar out of the equation. I'm not giving up though. Not yet anyway...

xx

f a t . d o e s n ' t . m a k e . y o u . f a t . . .

Sugar does.

That's a pretty big claim but according to Sarah Wilson it's true. I've followed Sarah Wilson's blog for quite some time now. If she sounds familiar, perhaps you've read her column in the Sunday Life magazine of the Sunday Telegraph. Or maybe you know her from her stint as host of MasterChef. Or as the editor of Cosmo magazine back in the day. The point is, Sarah knows quite a thing or two about a thing or two and she's not afraid to road test a thing or two. Of all the things Sarah has trialled, I would say that quitting sugar has to be THE biggest challenge.

Here's the thing. Sugar (which is half fructose and half glucose) is in practically everything. The problem is that unlike other substances, fructose doesn't contain a corresponding appetite hormone which tells the body 'Hold up I'm full! So when you eat that row of chocolate you just want to eat more and more and more. And more.  

We crave sugar right from the first meal of the day. For all you smug I-order-fruit-and-yogurt-when-I-eat-out-for-breakfast types, the jokes on you. Just to prove how much sugar you're ingesting, please observe:

Horrible isn't it?

I wont even bother enlightening you with how much more sugar is in your rich & creamy yogurt and your bircher muesli. Actually I will... A 200g mini tub of low fat yogurt = 7 teaspoons of sugar = 2 large scoops of icecream! You're much better off ordering the eggs florentine.

If you're wondering which fruits are the biggest sugar culprits you can find a table here. And if you're proud of your daily "healthy" juice and blueberry muffin for morning tea, then think again. Carrots, apples, grapes, mango and especially bananas are some of the worst offenders. Avoiding coffee? Well even some chai teas contain sugar in the mix. So what's the breakfast alternative? Well coconut water is a good start. Sarah has posted a few sugar free breakfast ideas on her blog and you can find one here. 

With all this hidden sugar in our foods and the very misleading food pyramid, i'ts no wonder there is a growing obesity and diabetes epidemic. These days I'll walk down the breakfast aisle and struggle to find a suitable breakfast option...apart from Uncle Toby's VitaBrits. It's by no means free from sugar, it's just that it's the best of the worst so to speak; it even trumps Sanitarium's Weetbix!

I'm going to give it a shot. Before taking this on though, I'm definitely going to do my research and have alternatives for when those pesky sugar cravings taunt me. Like tonight when I ate three four rows of dark chocolate...before dinner. Sigh.

Join me. I double dare you.

xx

m y . c u p . o f . t e a

After nearly a week of non-stop rain, I am officially over it. Everyone in my household is going stir crazy having been indoors for too long. We'll be climbing the walls by the end of the week.

I got an amazing retro Malvern Star bike for Christmas! It's such a gem and I'm so happy that I finally have a set of wheels, and a pretty set at that. I will definitely have to invest in a good bike lock. It's called 'La Belle' and I haven't been able to take it out for a proper spin due to the rain.

To top off my rain-induced melancholic/unbalanced state, I burnt the only remaining food left in my cupboard after work this evening. They were leftover dinner rolls from Christmas Eve that I found in the freezer . After scouring the cupboards for around 10 mins they were the only skerrick of sustenance I could find. So when I eventually found them I almost wanted to air high-five myself. Needless to say that when I pulled them out of the oven and they were highly carcinogenic, I was less than impressed.
I was sidetracked by Ali Mitton's site and the beautiful photographs she takes. I know I've harped on about photographers way too much so I'm not going to ramble on about how wonderful her pictures are. You can just see for yourself.

xx

w h a t . s a r a h . f o u n d

  

Those who know me well can testify that I have a (mostly) healthy obsession with food and wine. And op-shopping...but that's another post. I am THE worst magazine reader. I flick from one page to the next, scanning over and absorbing all the beautiful photographs, while generally disregarding any text. As far as I'm concerned, the text takes up room that could have otherwise been devoted to more photographs*. So when I found magazines such as Donna Hay and Gourmet a few years back, I was so overwhelmed with joy that I just had to subscribe.

Cut to present day and imagine my surprise when I stumbled across What Katie Ate. I think I squealed when I realised what it was. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, Katie Quinn Davies is a professional food stylist and photographer for food publications around the world. It is safe to say, that this self confessed foodie has one of the best jobs in the world and I'm sure that she gets to sample all of the delicious treats she photographs. As if the photographs weren't enough, Katie has kindly provided recipes so we can all try our hand at food photography.

I mean, how hard can it be right?!

*Australian Frankie magazine is the only exception to this rule