Delicious-Lee 14

 Yoghurt Cake with Rose-Scented Berries

Finally, the cake that has been staring at me from the cover of my diary all year! 

It was so worth the wait!

The cake was everything it should be, moist, a little citrusy, sweet, evenly textured and good enough to share! The berries topped it off (haha) with a little bit of fancy!

(excuse the mess in the kitchen. I don't care what the magazines are like, but when I cook, there's mess)

Delicious-Lee 13

Baja Fish Tacos

I have deviated slightly from order of recipes in my diary. Although it would have been nice to complete them in order I had to mix them around because sometimes I would want to make a meal instead of bake and vice versa. But I will still aim to complete all the recipes in all their deliciousness!

The tacos were super yum and really easy to make. When I do it again I will put more spices and less flour in the fish batter. This is a great meal for sharing with friends and family and a lot of the chopping and preparing can be done ahead of time.

Delicous-Lee 12

I took a few months off cooking diary food while I was travelling around South Asia and learning cooking from people I met there! I had an amazing time and ate some amazing food. I don't think I do justice to their cuisine when I cook, however I took note of a few of the basics like lots of chillies, rice, garlic and onions!

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart

When I first read the title of this recipe I thought it would be a chocolately tart filling. Turns out it's a sticky, delicious toffee filling with hazelnuts and melted chocolate on the top! 

It was such a mess to make, but totally worth it! 

I was the favourite sister and daughter while it lasted (not very long!)

It was hard to get the perfect drizzle of chocolate on top like they had in the diary, but I like how it turned out all chunky and splotchy.

Delicious-Lee 11

Coconut Fish Curry

This was an easy dish to make and so delicious! I made it a few times! 

It was best to have all the ingredients ready before you start cooking because you have to add things fairly quickly. I need to learn from my mistakes and read the whole recipe before I start cooking instead of just as I go. 

I will definitely be making this one again! 

Pappadams are so much fun to make! It's like food magic. I always get a bit carried away and make way too many! Not that my family seems to mind. 

Delicious-Lee 10

Chorizo Carbonara

There's something about carbonara, mine always turns out lumpy, so if anyone has any tips please let me know!

Other than that...

Chorizo meatballs = genius! The meatball mince is already made for you and you can get rid of that nasty stuff they wrap sausages in...whatever it is...and they taste great too! 

Delicious-Lee 9

Dulche De Leche Brownies

Pros:

They were delicious.

They were a hit with my friends.

They recipe was mostly easy (see Cons for more info).

Cons:

They will make me fat.

Dulche De Leche was hard to make.

Dulche De Leche made a mess of my kitchen.

Overall: Success!

Delicious-Lee 8

Sticky Date Loaf

I made this for my mum because it's one of her favourite desserts. It tasted amazing and was pretty easy to make. It did take longer to cook than they said in the recipe, but no matter, it's worth the wait! Served with butterscotch sauce and thickened cream it was a lovely winter dessert. The only problem was that it was quite heavy so you couldn't have too many pieces...although that might be a good thing!

Delicious-Lee 7

Sukiyaki Beef with Edamame and Sushi Rice

I made this for my room mate and I. I replaced the edamame with soybeans and the sushi rice with regular rice. 

There was a lot of different components to this recipe so I will break it down.

Soybeans: I've never cooked them before and they work differently to edamame so they were kinda crunchy. Maybe better next time!

Beef: A-ma-zing! It was tender and just right! So nice!

Sukiyaki sauce: Something went wrong...I think I over cooked it and it was crunchy not saucy. There was also a lot of chilli! 

Rice: very sweet and very nice.

Over all: probably more my fault than the recipes but I did enjoy the beef and rice! 

Delicious-Lee 6

Instant Fondue with Roast Vegetables

This was so easy to make...and to eat :) 

The cheese was pretty strong though. I don't think we needed two. 

Day14/31: Flowers

I did this one a while ago. I saw this on the internets somewhere and really liked the design. Unfortunately I didn't take photos until a few days later so they're a bit chipped.

Delicious-Lee 5

While I have not been posting anything for a long time I have been creating and cooking all manner of things and taking photos. I could give all manner of excuses. But in the end they will be just that, excuses. So there's going to be a lot of posts in the next few weeks while I catch up. Enjoy!

Here's Recipe 5: Autumn Rosti

You may wonder why the photos are so close...well...although my rosti tasted delicious it did not retain the structure I was hoping for...that may be the reason there are no photos of the pictures in my diary as well. :)

Delicious-Lee 4

Two of my good friends were coming over, so...perfect opportunity for recipe 4!

Peach Melba Tart

This is a definite winner and I will be making this one again for sure!

It was surprisingly easy.

Also, I am getting pro at blanching!

Don't be too jealous!

 I am house sitting at the moment and couldn't find a rectangle dish, but it still tastes delicious in a circle. Don't panic.

Day 13/31: Animal Print

I am not a huge fan of animal prints, but I saw a picture of this on the net and thought it was super cute. 

Again, sorry for the messiness, I did these a while ago.

Delicious-Lee 3

Diary recipe 3: Pork Cutlets with Peach Chutney

Another win!

I always think of my dad when I eat chutney. He has a thing for it. Whenever we go to a market or fete he always looks out for the homemade chutneys and comes home with a jar or two. I will have to share the leftovers of this with him!

 And fresh coriander from the garden!

Day 12/31: Stripes

I bought some striping tape a while ago and never had the chance to use it. Now I am in love!!!

 

Another love is my new silver, it's Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Celeb City which I got on sale at my local supermarket! So so happy! The purple is by BYS.

Delicious-Lee 2

Here is the second recipe from my diary this year:

Spicy Chicken with Spoon Salad

It turns out that the salad was spicier than the chicken, maybe because 

I added fresh chillies from the garden!

I cooked a double recipe and was able to use the chicken, salad and yoghurt on a wrap for lunch the next day with some avocado for extra yum factor.

Confession: I was skeptical of this recipe at first because of the breast chicken and couscous. I have had experiences of both these foods being too dry for my liking, but today they were a winner! 

Not dry at all!

Day 11/31: Polka Dots

I did these on my sister's nails because I don't think I could pull it off quite the same. I really like the effect though.

Day 10/31: Gradient Nails

So, this might be cheating a little because I did these nails a while back, but give me a break, I've been super busy and old nails are better than no nails, am I right? Anyway, as penance for using old nails they are not as swish as I would have liked... 

 I began trying to do all the nails gradient, but I seem to get worse at this over time so I settled for an accent nail and although they are messy, I quite like the effect.

Day 9/13: Rainbow Nails

I love rainbows! That's all. 

Well, not really, I love to talk. So anyway, the rainbow and crackle polish idea came about from 2 ideas. First, I needed to downplay the rainbow a little so it matched my work clothes and second, I couldn't decide what colour to put under the crackle, so all of them!