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Otto’lego’hi Raspberry & Hazelnut Friands
One of my goals is to cook my way through the cookbooks of my food idol – Yotam Ottolenghi. George has begrudgingly obliged to be my own personal Masterchef judge as I start with ‘Plenty More‘. Friand is French for ‘dainty’ or ‘gourmet’ – both words that were obviously not considered when I incorporated Lego moulds into the baking. Mass-marketing and capitalism for the win! (NB: Mr Ottolenghi’s original recipe called for Blackcurrants & Pistachios instead of Raspberries & Hazelnuts, but I forgot while being distracted by 25kg bags of Halloween candy at the supermarket so I improvised…)
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Our Pumpkin Patch has a Turkey Farm
Hypothesis: Facebook/Uber/Google-wunderkinds are benefiting most from the tech-boom. Empirical Evidence: Organic dog treats in cafés, vegan dog food at the local restaurant, canine day-care & professional dog walkers while owners are at work funding the inflated rent for apartments overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, that the dog lazes around in all day. Conclusion: In my next life, I’m coming back as a golden retriever in San Francisco.
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Too Many Backpacks, Not Enough Brunch
Having completed my wardrobe transformation from A-line dresses and patterned stockings to jeans and flats (I have yet to succumb to Seinfeld attire of accessorising with sneakers), the North Californian transformation is coming along nicely. Currently sipping my surprisingly decent macchiato in a shared-workspace/coffeeshop in the CBD, while the megaphonic voices of activists protesting climate change outside are making me feel right at home.
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Jaffa-Berry Pancakes
Ingredients (Makes 6 – 8 pancakes) 1 cup buckwheat flour (*Buckwheat is the original flour used to make pancakes. Guaranteed to be delicious, chewy and bonus: Gluten-free!) 1 tsp baking soda Pinch of salt ½ cup ricotta ½ cup milk (cow’s, soy, almond, from the sap of a eucalyptus tree. Whatever floats your boat)
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‘Green-T loves Coco’ Cacao Bliss Balls
Having finally filled my new walk-in pantry (So fancy.) with many delicious ingredients, let the baking escapades begin.
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A Blank Canvas
A mere 885 days after ‘We should live here!’ was uttered while honeymooning in California, George & I put our extensive Lego and designer shoe collections into storage and purchased one-way tickets to San Francisco. It is not often that we are able or inclined to displace ourselves from a life that is established and familiar, to start life anew – a blank canvas comprising of nothing but an E3 visa, an overpriced 1-bedroom apartment and whatever you can squeeze into 130kg of luggage (22 pairs of shoes, 8 dresses, 5 skirts, 2 recipe books and a kaleidoscope of peplum tops & cardigans, for those wondering).
