According to Elaine Young, head chocolatier at Cacao Fine Chocolate Melbourne, the perfect Tart Au Chocolat is a combination of a silky smooth ganache, a golden crisp short crust and a simple garnish of cocoa powder for aesthetic pleasure. Last week I took Elaine’s class in a quest to learn how to make the perfect Tart Au…
A Hens Weekend Soiree and Trashy Wedding Extravaganza!
And so begins the official wedding season in Melbourne…This post is dedicated to my gorgeous friend and bride to be Lynzi – and her man of the hour, Tamen. My first wedding of the year kicked off with my cousins Greek wedding in September and I have at few more over the coming months. Luckily,…
Halloween Monster Slime Cakes
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of a visit and some Aunty sitting duties with my niece and nephew aged 6 and 3. When I suggested we make monster cakes with green slime and exploding eyeballs in honour of Halloween, the excitement of my favourite little monsters was palpable. RRRAOOOOOOORRRR!! my nephew replied in…
Mick Jagger, A Camp Stove and Finding the Long Way Home to Hoi An
Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you what you are…… In April this year, I travelled to Vietnam aiming to lose myself in amongst its history, culture and culinary landscapes while completing a food writing course with the Australian Writers Centre. Towards the end of our nine day food odyssey around Vietnam, we…
Freelance Writing with a side of Pineapple, Sage and Prawn Salad with Crispy Prosciutto
When I started blogging just over 12 months ago, it was mostly a hobby. My passion for food was ignited a few years earlier in listening to the stories of my then partners parents escape from apartheid for a new life, learning to ‘smoke the masala’ – an essential step in making fragrant curries and…
Problogger Event 2013 : A Food Odyssey
This past week, I flew to the Gold Coast to attend the annual Problogger Training Event. Emerging off the plane from a bleak Melbourne morning to the above turquoise surf, soft sand between my toes and my face being kissed with warm sunshine, the excitement was palpable. This was my 3rd Problogger event and I…
NYC Summer – Williamsburg
This time last year, I was at the airport hardly able to contain my excitement as I waited for a flight to NYC, fulfilling a long time wish to feel Central Park’s green grass between my toes, traverse new neighbourhoods, eat my way through hidden basement restaurants, experience the uplifting joy of gospel in Harlem,…
Middle Eastern Green Beans with Persian Feta & Roasted Nuts
I love middle eastern food. The balance of spices – cinnamon, cumin, cardamon and fresh ginger, the sweet stickiness of apricots, currants and soft buttered onion, the crunch of pine nuts, roasted almonds, pistachios and coriander, the tang of tangine and the smooth tahini yoghurt and persian goats feta. Many years ago I visited Turkey…
A Blog Birthday & A Sydney Weekender
What a difference a year makes! Ive been so busy lately that I almost let a whole year of My Square Frying Pan sneak by me without noticing. I started blogging just over a year ago as a hobby, somewhere to cultivate my love of cooking and to channel my incessant talk about eating. Over…
Phở (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)
This lovely bowl of pho above and below stands as my all time favourite from my entire recent trip around Vietnam. This Pho Bo (Beef Noodle Soup) came from a little kerbside eatery recommended to me as a personal favourite of the receptionist at the hotel I was staying at in Hanoi. She told me…
Follow me to Mexico, join in for a hot bowl of homemade pho and time travel back to the 1950’s
Hi there! Im back from an amazing 3 week in Vietnam and Cambodia in which I cooked and ate like there was no tomorrow, trekked over mountains, swam in Halong Bay, rode through rice paddies, navigated a motorbike through Ho Chi Minh, climbed over the Angkor Wat temples during the Khmer new year and finished…
With Love From Vietnam
Chao! Who’s up for a little adventure? You? Yes? Well then… Join me as I eat my way through the street food of Vietnam over the next 3 weeks, navigate the stunning Sa Pa mountains and rice paddies with the Hmong people, cruise the islands of Halong Bay, take cooking and food writing classes and…