Bites & Pieces

I celebrated the Winter Solstice weekend by launching my first travelogue cookbook!

It’s called Bites and Pieces of America: Exploring food and friendship in Whidbey Island, Salem, Boothbay Harbour and Boston. It’s filled with pieces from my trip last year from Australia to the USA where I got to visit a dear friend on Whidbey Island, celebrate July the 4th in Salem the Witch City, visit puffins in Maine and meet a baby sloth in Boston. There are also many bites of recipes from the foods that inspired me along the way.

While I’m hoping you’ll rush out and buy the book 🙂 I will share parts of the journey here. I’ll also include recipes that nearly made it into the book but just missed out like my Stout Pancakes (below). These are perfect for Winter in Australia. If you’d like pancake recipes that are more in tune with Summer – like Blueberry Pancakes or Carrot Cake Pancakes – you can find them in my book!

 

Bites and Pieces is currently available from Lulu. An ebook is on the way and it will be in other online stores soon 🙂

Stout Pancakes

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (bicarbonate)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons maple sugar*
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup stout**
butter for frying

Instructions
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and stout.
Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Heat a small amount of butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
Pour some batter into the pan. Remember that the bigger the pancakes, the harder they are to flip, so don’t make them too big.
Cook until bubbles start to form.
Flip and cook for a further 1 – 3 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Repeat with remaining batter.
Serve with your choice of toppings.
I like them with a good drizzle of pure maple syrup, golden syrup or honey.

*You can substitute brown sugar for the maple sugar.
**Try different flavoured stouts like chocolate or coffee ones. I used a maple flavoured stout.

Neat Neat Neat

When I saw that Bob T. Panda from The Panda Chronicles had nominated me for the Real Neat Blog award (thanks Bob T!) the first thing I thought was “Yay!” The second thing I thought was “that reminds me of the Damned song – Neat Neat Neat”. So, in the spirit of my favourite punk band, I’m going to claim this award in a punk way – by messing up the rules!

Some of the rules:
Thank the person who nominated you – done.
Answer their questions – okay.

If you could be an animal, which one would you be?
A Giant Panda like Clint Recession.

What kind of cuppycake are you, and why?
A Black Forest Cuppycake because I like black and I like The Cure song A Forest.

If you could change any event in the history on people on earth, what would you chose?
The saying “orange is the new black” became popular thanks to a certain show. But as far as I’m concerned, black is the old, new and future black. So I would try and stop anything orange from becoming popular or powerful – except at Halloween, because – you know – pumpkins.

What is your favorite city (other than the one you live in) that you have visited?
Brasov in Romania. They have vampires and really nice cakes.

What children’s book did you read as a child that you still love?
Dracula. That’s a children’s book isn’t it?

If you knew you only had one year to live, what would you do?
Try and find a vampire to convert me. Otherwise eat and drink as much as I want and then tell people what I really think of them just before I die.

What do you wish you had done in your life that you have not?
Become a vampire.

More rules:
Make up your own questions to ask your nominees – done – sort of. I’m not going to make up my own questions, I’m going to “borrow” Bob T’s instead.

Nominate other blogs for the award – here I go! There are so many that I want to nominate so I am going to nominate all the blogs that follow me and all the blogs I follow. So jump in, grab an award and answer “my” questions above. Or feel free to participate in any way you like.

But I am going to break my own rule by nominating one blog. This person hates getting awards and responds in a way that most punks would envy. So hit me with your best shot NCM!

Drawing culinary inspiration from one of my favourite Damned songs, Smash It Up, I’d like to share a recipe for Smashed Avocado. I mean, what could be more punk than healthy, green avocado balanced on a wholegrain slice of bread and maybe served with a side of quinoa? Hell no! If I’m smashing any food up it’s going to be potatoes. And then I’m going to splash them with oil and throw grated cheese on them – now that’s punk! And don’t expect precise measurements for this recipe. You’ll get ingredients, basic instructions and a photo, but that’s it 🙂

Smashed Potatoes

Potatoes
Oil
Salt
Grated Cheese

Peel, cut up and boil some potatoes. (You can leave the skin on if you want but I like them peeled).
Drain and cool.
Preheat oven to 220C / 430F.
Lightly oil a baking tray.
Add the potatoes then smash them with a fork until they just start to break. I smash some more than others for variety.
Splash extra oil over them.
Sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and flip them over.
Throw on some grated cheese.
Return to the oven and bake for another 15 – 20 minutes or until they are golden.

A Birthday Surprise For Bram

Tuesday November 8 is Bram Stoker’s birthday. To celebrate, I have done a guest post over at Cordelia’s Mom Still. Cordelia’s blog is an eclectic mix of personal anecdotes, photos and other interesting things! Feel free to pop by and have a read 🙂 You can also pop round to Not Cordelia’s Mom if you want to see the world from a very different perspective!!

If you’re looking for a recipe, here’s last year’s birthday one for Bram – Irish Coffee Dessert.

 

 

Liebsters For V

I’d like to thank Agatha from Agatha Chocolates for nominating me for the Liebster Award. Naturally you will find many links to chocolate recipes at Agatha Chocolates – from the delicious to the bizarre! What I also love are Agatha’s quizzes, dunk it or dump it polls and her bite-sized mysteries. As a fan of cosy mysteries and dogs, I particularly loved her Who Stole The Cookies From The Cookie Jar? mystery.

So to accept the award I have to:
• Acknowledge the person that nominated you:
Done!

• Share 11 random facts about yourself:
1 – My “natural” hair colour is purple. I often mix it up with blue, pink, green, orange or red highlights. Sometimes all of them at once!
2 – I have lots of tattoos. Mainly pandas, red pandas, puffins, bats, ladybirds and halloween pumpkins. And yes – getting tattooed hurts.
3 – I’ve been romantically involved with the same person for over 28 years.
4 – I love all animals – especially my dogs.
5 – I’ve studied vampires since I was a child.
6 – I went to Romania in search of vampires – I didn’t find any.
7 – I created a Dracula tarot deck.
8 – I became a witch in my early twenties.
9 – I have a PhD in witchcraft and cinema.
10 – I love collecting cookbooks – especially the quirky ones.
11 – I’m co-writing a cupcake cookbook with fine artist and panda satirist Anne Belov.

• Answer 11 questions posted by the person that nominated you:
1 – Describe your blog in 5 words.
Recipes, Mythology, Personality and Pandas.

2 – What is the last dessert you ate?
Do cinnamon donuts count?

3 – Name any 3 people (living, dead, fictional) that you have never met, that you would like to have dinner with.
Anne Belov – because she would serve cupcakes.
Frida Kahlo- because the food would look fabulous.
Count Dracula – because I could eat all the food and drink and all the wine because he never drinks wine!

4 – What would you serve for dinner?
Cheese toasties and cupcakes for dessert.

5 – What is the best decade, and why?
The one I’m living in – because life’s always good.

6 – What kitchen gadget could you not live without?
Is a frying pan a gadget?

7 – Where’s your happy place?
On the couch with my partner and dogs.

8 – Romance, Mystery, Drama or Action?
Mystery.

9 – What’s your dream job?
Giant panda nanny. Yes, this is a real job. No, I don’t have it.

10 – What’s the best find in an assorted box of chocolates?
Turkish Delight.

11 – Give the link to the favorite thing you have posted.
Wickedly Wicked

• Post 11 new questions:
1 – What is your favourite quote?
2 – What is your favourite joke?
3 – Who is your favourite character from a book?
4 – Who is your favourite character from a movie?
5 – Who is your favourite character from a television series?
6 – What is your absolute favourite song?
7 – What is your favourite ingredient?
8 – What ingredient haven’t you tried but would like to?
9 – What is your favourite place that you have visited?
10 – What place haven’t you visited but would you like to visit?
11 – What is your favourite animal?

• Nominate 11 blogs for the award:

https://cookswithevie.com/2016/03/27/empty-tomb-buns/

https://culinarymosaic.com/2015/12/21/sweet-pilaf/

https://keralas.live/2016/07/02/ghee-rice/

https://notcordeliasmom.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/the-claws-are-out/

https://samskitchenblog.com/2016/05/07/citrus-and-apple-rose-tea-cake/

https://theveggiecooker.wordpress.com/2016/02/16/homemade-rice-noodles/

https://witchlike.wordpress.com/2016/06/05/go-ask-alice/

I would have added more nominees but you have to have less than 200 followers 🙂

• Notify your nominees of their award:
Done!

In honour of Agatha Chocolates, here are some links to my favourite chocolate recipes.

A Study In Fours

Cordelia’s Mom from Cordelia’s Mom, Still invited me to play the Four Fact Survey. Basically I give four answers to each of the questions below. So settle down with bowls of my Popcorn Four Ways and have some fun!

Popcorn Four Ways

Ingredients
8 cups freshly popped popcorn
1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions
Drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn. Toss to combine.
Place 2 cups of popped corn into each of four bowls.

for Traditional Salted Popcorn
Sprinkle in sea salt to taste. Toss to combine.

for Cumin Popcorn
Sprinkle in 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin. Toss to combine.

for Cinnamon Sugar Popcorn
Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of icing sugar. Toss to combine.

for Cocoa Popcorn
Sprinkle in 1/2 teaspoon of cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon of icing sugar. Toss to combine.

You can vary the seasonings to your own taste.

Four Fact Survey
Four names people call me other than my real name:
Panda Lady
Purple Haired Lady
Variations of my names
The usual “nicknames” 🙂

Four Jobs I’ve Had:
Bass Player in a Punk Rock Band – It was a very short career
Examinations Supervisor – I was nicknamed the Dragon Lady but that was a long time ago
Producer and Director of two Community TV Programs:
– The Pet & Wildlife Show – where I got to be in an enclosure with 8 Mississippi Alligators
– Eat – where I got to consume great food
Tutor and Lecturer in Cinema Studies – When I screened The Exorcist, half the class didn’t turn up because they were scared!

Four Movies I’ve Watched More Than Once:
Interview With The Vampire
Kung Fu Panda
Nosferatu/Dracula
The Wicker Man

Four Books Or Authors I’d Recommend:
Anything by Anne Belov
Anything by Terry Pratchett
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice

Four Places I’ve Lived:
I’ve only lived in Melbourne but I have moved around a bit. The most interesting place I have lived has been on campus at La Trobe University in Bundoora.

Four Places I’ve Visited:
China – to cuddle a baby giant panda
Iceland – for the puffins and the scenery
New Zealand – because it’s totally awesome
Romania – for all things Dracula

Four Things I’d Rather Be Doing Right Now:
Cuddling baby pandas with Justin Trudeau
Dancing with Channing Tatum
Patting my dogs
Spending more time with my partner whilst cuddling baby pandas with Justin Trudeau, dancing with Channing Tatum and patting my dogs 🙂

Four foods I don’t like:
There aren’t many foods I don’t like but I am allergic to the capsicum/bell pepper family which limits my choice. I’m also sensitive to tomatoes and eggplants which also limits my choice.

Four of my favorite foods: 
Alcohol
Cookies
Cupcakes
Toasted Cheese Sandwiches

Four Shows I Watch: 
Bewitched
Buffy/Angel
Hamish Macbeth
Seinfeld

Four Things I’m Looking Forward To This Year: 
Eating and drinking at interesting places
Finishing writing one of my cookbooks
Going to Adelaide (South Australia) to see the giant pandas Fu Ni and Wang Wang again and maybe meeting a coati
Spending more time with my partner and dogs

Four Things I’m Always Saying:
It’s too early to get up
This is doing my head in!
Time for a drink
What’s to eat?

If you enjoyed reading this Q&A and want to join in please do.

I am tagging the witty and acerbic Not Cordelia’s Mom to join the fun. I know how much she will love it!

 

Creativity for V

Thank you Leyla for nominating me for the Creative Blogger Award!

Leyla’s wonderful Culinary Mosaic blog is filled with fabulous recipes and great foodie travel stories. Make sure you visit – you won’t be disappointed 🙂

This is another award that if you are nominated you are awarded!
Here are my nominations for the Creative Blogger Award:

https://cordeliasmomstill.com/about/
https://culinarymosaic.com/about/
https://newcitywitchescocktailcoven.com/2016/02/26/shoot-a-flaming-dragon-bomb/
https://notcordeliasmom.wordpress.com/about/
https://peasromainecalm.com/me-myself-pie/
https://samskitchenblog.com/about/
https://sassandsauce.wordpress.com/about/

Five new things about me:
I have cuddled a giant panda cub in China.
I have snuggled with red pandas in Canberra and Brisbane.
I have visited puffins in Iceland.
I have petted binturongs in Brisbane.
I have ridden on camels in Perth and Melbourne.
Bonus facts:
I had a bubble bath while a European brown bear slept outside my window in Canberra.
I found it hard to stop at five 🙂

The rules of the Creative Blogger Award seem to vary.
This is the way I’ve interpreted them:
Thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog.
Share 5 facts about yourself.
Nominate at least 5 bloggers and let them know they have been nominated.
Keep the rules as you see them in your post.

Versatility for V

I would like to thank the lovey Leyla from Culinary Mosaic for nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award.

I recently discovered Leyla when she visited my blog and liked a post. I visited her blog and fell in love with her recipes – especially the pastries. 🙂 That is one of the things I love about blogging – visiting other blogs and meeting new people.

One of the great things about the award is that if you are nominated you are awarded!
So here, in alphabetical order, are my 15 nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award.

http://bunnyeatsdesign.com

http://cafebookbean.com

http://chezmoiblog.com

http://cookingwithawallflower.com

https://cookingwithoutlimits.wordpress.com

http://cordeliasmomstill.com

http://culinarymosaic.com

https://edmooneyphoto.wordpress.com

http://frugalfeeding.com

https://hocuspocus13.wordpress.com

http://newcitywitchescocktailcoven.com

https://notcordeliasmom.wordpress.com

http://passioncook.net

http://samskitchenblog.com

https://sheilarparker.wordpress.com

As part of the award I am to list 7 things about myself – so here they are:

1) I am Australian of Macedonian ethnicity.
2) I have a PhD in Jungian psychology, film theory and witchcraft.
3) I am the creator of the Dracula Tarot, beautifully illustrated by Anna Gerraty.
4) I am writing a cupcake cookbook with my friend, artist and satirist Anne Belov.
5) I love writing, reading, photography, tarot, walking and cooking.
6) I have a fantastic long-term partner and two fabulous dogs.
7) I have been gifted with extraordinary friends.