April 2009

Monthly Archive

April 30, 2009

quintuple chocolate brownies

Posted by enchantress16 under dessert, recipe
1 Comment 

 

I have had these brownies starred on my google reader for MONTHS. Along with about 3 other types too! They had been a Tuesdays with Dorie recipe and just looked SO Good!

I saw them on A Whisk and A Spoon and thought YUM!!! Of course, hers look 10 times better than mine do!

They were seriously good (although I had a bit of trouble cooking them through – and as a result the edges were a bit burnt) but there were no complaints from my new work people, and from the people whose bbq I attended as they all chowed down on these rich-bite sized super chocolatey brownies! They are very much a must for chocolate lovers!

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Sorry for the crap photo! I was in a rush!

 

For the Brownies

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

3 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons strong coffee

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 ounces premium-quality milk chocolate, chopped into chips, or 1 cup store-bought milk chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

For the Glaze

6 ounces premium-quality white chocolate, finely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought white chocolate chips

1/3 cup heavy cream

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, butter the foil and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt.

TO MAKE THE BROWNIES: Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add, in the following order, the butter, the two chocolates and the coffee. Keeping the pan over low heat, warm just until the butter and chocolates are melted — you don’t want the ingredients to get so hot they separate, so keep an eye on the bowl. Stir gently, and when the mixture is smooth, set it aside for 5 minutes.

Using a whisk or a rubber spatula, beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture. Don’t beat too vigorously — you don’t want to add air to the batter — and don’t be concerned about any graininess. Next, stir in the eggs one at time, followed by the vanilla. You should have a smooth, glossy batter. If you’re not already using a rubber spatula, switch to one now and gently stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. Finally, stir in the milk chocolate chips and the nuts. Scrape the batter into the pan.

Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out streaked but not thickly coated. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the brownies rest undisturbed for at least 30 minutes. (You can wait longer, if you’d like.)

Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the foil and place it under another rack — it will be the drip catcher for the glaze. Invert the brownies onto the rack and let cool completely.

TO MAKE THE GLAZE: Put the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the heavy cream to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Wait 30 seconds, then, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth.

Hold a long metal icing spatula in one hand and the bowl of glaze in the other. Pour the glaze onto the center of the brownies and use the spatula to nudge it evenly over the surface. Don’t worry if it dribbles over the edges, you can trim the sides later (or not). Refrigerate the brownies for about 20 minutes to dry the glaze.

Cut into 16 squares, each roughly 2 1/4 inches on a side.

SERVING: Serve straight up — whipped cream or ice cream is unnecessary with these. Well, a little ice cream is nice — why not?

STORING: The brownies can be put back in their baking pan, wrapped (without touching the glaze) and kept at room temperature for about 3 days or frozen — glaze and all — for up to 2 months.

The original recipe is from  Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan.

 

April 29, 2009

Real estate woes

Posted by enchantress16 under Uncategorized
[2] Comments 
Warning: massive amounts of whining and stream of consciousness writing ahead!
 
Saturday night on my way past the letterbox, a little bit tipsy, I decided to check the mail. And there it was: a letter from our agent. I ripped it open, screamed bullshit and got very mad.
 
Why? Because our landlord is giving us notice that they want to increase the rent. Now, I expected this and assumed it was coming, but I didnt expect them to be so greedy and raise the rent by over $30 a week. So it works out that Ben and I will have to pay an extra $67 each a month if we want to stay there once our lease ends.
 
 Now, $10, no worries. Even $20 I would have grumbled, but accepted. But over $30 is greedy and unnecessary. Why?
 
  • Our “secure” entrance works intermittently, and they rarely fix it. Doesnt worry us, oh no. Particularly not when someone randomly walked into our apartment one day!
  •  There are no fire extinguishers ANYWHERE on the property that I can see. Something I believe is against the law.
  • Interest rates are at their lowest in years… so they cant claim a raise in line with interest rate rises
  • For the amount we pay, they have noone servicing the building. Some old guy comes past every few months and tidies the garden up, but everywhere else I have lived has had someone that puts the whole buildings bins out. Nobody does that here and as a result we are one of two apartments that actually put their bins out. It is gross.
  • We have not claimed or asked them for a single repair to the apartment in the entire time we have been here. Even though the towel rack wont stay on the wall and the silicone from the shower is falling off.
  • The rise brings our rent to $350 per week. For that money, in the same suburb, we could be living in a house OR a nice, new apartment building.
 
So… I am going to say a BIG F U to the real estate agency and will be battling the rate rise.  Should I be unsucessful:
  • I will call them to repair every little thing I can think of.
  • I will report the lack of fire fighting equipment around (actually, Ill do that anyway)
 
And should this result in us having to move, then I will not allow the house to be open for inspection until we move, thereby costing them at LEAST one months rent. I think they forget that the identical apartment downstairs took 3 months to rent out, despite us being in a “rental crisis”.
 
Heres the problem though… theres a 50% chance that this argument will go NOWHERE with the agents, so we then face some crap options:

1. Paying the extra rent. Goodbye my pay rise. With the extra petrol money I now pay and additional expenses that come with travelling further (car repairing mor regularly!) and extra rent, well there goes the extra pay I got. NOT COOL. I was thinking for once I can be like other people and buy new clothes. oh well.

2. Move. This sucks, for many many reasons. The main one being moving itself! It is a hassle doing all the rental inspections, signing forms and then ultimately moving. Also, if we leave, its going to be on bad terms with the agent so getting our bond back is going to suck.
The other thing is, if we move, it is going to be out to the suburbs – where we intend to buy in the future. Am I ready yet to be living in the suburbs? I thought so… I really did. But I realised I was ready, only if it was my own place! There is a big difference between moving out there and not being able to settle properly and buying our own place. I would know we werent going anywhere, I could paint the walls, and decorate how I like. You cant do that with a rental, and while it would be much more convenient for work now, it would mean anytime we went out in the city one of us would have to drive or if we took the train we would have to leave early, or pay $80 to get home.
On the plus side, the rent out there is $100 cheaper than what we pay now, and bigger space. Maybe we could get a dog?
3. Live with parents. This isnt really an option because Ben wont even consider it, and I totally understand his reasons. However, I would totally lean towards this for the next 6 months as we could save all our money and get a sizeable house deposit down. It would speed up buying our own home and make living in the suburbs an OK possibility.
Ben isnt considering this because he has lived at home for so long. Before we were together he lived at home to save up for his own house one day. He has only been out of home for a year now (he lived out of home when he was younger also) and he quite likes it and isnt willing to go back there. I get that, I really do.
 
Its funny seeing how differently we are in the decision making process… he is very much a “wait and see” kind of guy. He wants to wait, write a letter, see what they say. I investigate all our options, weigh them up, and know every answer before I act. I will write my letter and try to negotiate with the agent, but I certainly dont hold my breath. And I dont want to be put in a corner where the agent says “too bad” and we have to move but havent investigated our options.
 
UPDATE:
Because im slack and have had this as a draft sitting on my emails since Monday, I have some news to report. I wrote that nice email to the agent, leaving a lot of my “big guns” for later arguments, and asked her to get back to me regarding the owners decision. She told me just now that the owner accepted our reasoning and will be accepting a rent raise of $10 a week, not $30.
 
For those who may be having real estate issues, here is my letter. It may come in handy!
 

Dear Rental Agent,

 RE: Rental Increase dated 23/4/09

While we recognise the rights of the landlord to increase the rent, we believe that raising the rent to $__ per calendar month is excessive. It is a 9% raise in the rent we are paying and we believe is not comparable to other rentals in the area. Through a quick search we have found similar apartments that are paying the same amount of rent as us currently, if not less.

However, we are keen to continue on in the property and would like to offer an increase from $___ per calendar month to $___ per calendar month, which at 3% is more in line with inflation rates.

Unfortunately, the rate you have proposed is out of our budgets, as our salaries have not increased since we signed the lease with you, and will not be increasing this year due to the world economic crisis that is affecting everyone.

 

We believe that we have been good tenants, who have kept the property in good condition and also who have not required any maintenance or repairs. We have never had a problem with late rent or made complaints about the building itself.

 

However, in saying that, we recognise that the final decision rests with the landlord. We are keen to continue on in the property as it suits our needs, but we would need to consider our options should the landlord increase the rent by the amount proposed.

 

If you could discuss our proposal with the landlord and let us know their decision at your earliest convenience, it would be greatly appreciated, as it will give us more time to consider the options available to us.

Signed,

ME!

Im now waiting to hear from Ben to give him the good news!

 

April 25, 2009

The lack of posting…

Posted by enchantress16 under Uncategorized
1 Comment 
Im having a hard time updating… Im not comfortable blogging at work, but at home the boy monopolises the computer. If I do take the laptop when he isnt using it, he is sitting next to me and asking what Im writing about. Or reading it. Or sitting there quietly, pretending not to read it but you totally know he is.
 
Also, his Internet Explorer does this weird thing, where when you type into a line and get to the end of the field, it doesnt move down to the next line, it keeps going so you can’t see what you are writing.
 
My solution is generally to write on my email at work, save it as a draft and copy and paste it in. But that doesnt always work, given that I have a bunch of recipes waiting to go up.
 
Also… not to be totally full of excuses, but I have been sick. Just a cold as we change between hot and cold weather, practically everyone has one. But since last Sunday I have felt blah… which culminated in me being extremely sick for a wedding we had to go to. No worries I thought, down some medication, have a few drinks, you will get through the night and sleep well. No. Medication worked for a max of 3 hours, so by 9 I was exhausted, couldnt dance, and then got served Lemon Tart instead of chocolate pudding for dessert! But a nice wedding, despite my feeling sick!
It has made me a little wedding obsessed again. I know its a stupid thing to be that way, because really, getting married now wouldn’t be wise. We can’t afford a house yet, can’t afford to get married, and we aren’t sorted with our careers. But no matter, the romantic in me wants the boy to propose in a sweet way, get a nice ring and then find a venue that seats 150 people and costs less than $5k. Is it bad that I practically have the wedding planned in my head? And not in a “this is my dream wedding” way, but in a practical, this would be so us way. Like, making origami decorations similar to whats on the snow patrol album cover. I need to stop. Stop wondering that if we hired a big hall that seated everyone, where would we actually get married seeing as the weather here is unpredictable and we arent religious. It doesnt matter!

I need to remind myself that a proposal is likely years away, like we discussed, because we WANT our house first. So as soon as I can save 10k (uhh yeah thatll happen soon) we can perhaps think about buying a house and go from there.

 
On the plus side, I’m feeling more comfortable with work and have a better understanding of what I need to do. I have plentiful work to keep me busy, which is a big thing to keep me sane, and while I don’t have any friends, most people are chatty and willing to talk with me whenever they walk past my office (Im next to the lunch room) So… some day I might be very happy here.
 
 

April 24, 2009

One month in

Posted by enchantress16 under Uncategorized
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It has been one month since I started my new job. It hasn’t been smooth sailing, and I predict it will take months before I am comfortable here. But, I remind myself how much I was uncomfortable at my last job when I first started… how I used to eat lunch in my car because there was no lunch room, and how I just didnt “get” it – because nobody had explained to me what they wanted. But one day, it clicked, I started working effectively and while there were stuff ups along the way, I left that place as one of their most valued employees.
 
I am confident the same thing can happen here.
 
I began contemplating this post a while ago and it was originally going to be a very different story… but then I went and made a tea (and I dont even drink tea!) and was accosted by one of the Principals PA’s. She told me I was doing a wonderful job and it feel as if I have been here forever, which was just great.
 
So I felt very happy. Because Im kind of paranoid that people might be having meetings about me not working out, or doing what Im meant to. Because I know Im doing what I can do…
 
But prior to that, I was feeling kind of guilty. You see, part of the reason I felt like leaving my last job was that I was bored. In fact, I was SO bored that I spent my days reading blogs, blogging, deciding what I wanted to cook for dinner, then talking about said dinner and other random thoughts with my partner in crime.
 
I have 313 blog subscriptions and I read a LOT of blogs…
 
So I put it down to boredom… I mean, I was still doing my job and someone elses, writing a 90 page magazine each month, including ads, marketing materials, websites… it wasnt like I wasnt working… I just wasnt engaged enough in the work I was doing to concentrate on it wholly.
 
Starting this new job I was actually kind of excited… to actually do work! While mucking around on the internet is fun, it isnt always so – particularly when you run out of things to read and its only 11am!
 
But see… I still read my blogs. My reader never really gets full because I keep reading. This started because I was bored. I know… I left a job, to be bored at a new one? But seriously, they started me off slow so I had to fill my days and before i knew it, I was back here, blogging.
 
And I feel soo bad because I know I cant stop. Its one of those weird things about how I work, how I have always worked (even back at school). I work full tilt for a few minutes or however long until I get distracted, then I muck around for a few minutes, then go back to what I am doing. It allows me to work in bursts and quickly. It ensures I get more done than I normally would, but try explaining that to people who dont work that way?
 
I wish I could stop it… because I feel I need to give this job 100% and I know I am… its not like Im slacking off completely! Today I wrote 4 articles for a newsletter, organised a bunch of quotes, used indesign for another newsletter and updated the web… so I know Im working. I just know how much I could also be doing..
 
I have to stop beating myself up!
 

April 18, 2009

Banana split cupcake

Posted by enchantress16 under cupcakes, dessert, recipe
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Instead of the usual Easter cupcakes I would make this time of year, I decided to make banana split cupcakes for a family dinner at my parents.

 

Whenever I used to visit after I first moved out we would always get Dairybell sundaes after dinner, and while Id get mine sans banana and heavy on the hot fudge, Dad would always get banana split sundaes.

 

These are simply a vanilla cupcake with 2 bananas mashed into the mixture and the topping is dark chocolate ganache, that is not only on the top, but throughout the cupcake too.

 

You just chop the cupcake in half, serve with ice cream, cream, chocolate topping and nuts, yum!

 

April 15, 2009

Gnocchi with tomato, salami & green olives

Posted by enchantress16 under dinner, recipe
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Gnocchi with tomato, salami & green olives 

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 3 vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 12 slices (about 80g) Hungarian salami, coarsely chopped
  • 50g pitted green olives, coarsely chopped (I skipped these, olives and me dont get along!)
  • 1 x 500g pkt fresh gnocchi
  • 70g (1 cup) shredded parmesan
  • 1 tbs chopped fresh oregano

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomato and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the onion softens.
  2. Add the salami and olives and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until heated through. Taste and season with pepper.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi in a large saucepan of salted boiling water following packet directions or until tender. Drain. Return to the pan.
  4. Add the salami mixture to the gnocchi and stir until well combined. Divide the gnocchi mixture among serving bowls. Sprinkle with the parmesan and oregano to serve.

Good Taste – March 2007, Page 34

Recipe by Heidi Flett
 

April 9, 2009

Wedding blues

Posted by enchantress16 under Uncategorized
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The weight loss just isnt happening for me. Which means that for this wedding I am going to next Friday (and assumed I’d fit into my old dress for) I have very few dress options.

This is what I call my big girl dress. My mum bought it for me for Christmas and I don’t really like it. I feel fat in it. The shiny material just doesnt work for me.

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On the plus side it fits…

Here is another option that FITS, but is black, and I dont feel right wearing black to a wedding.

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Plus it has been seen by those attending at an engagement party.

This one fits, but it is a little booby. Not always a bad thing, but the boys parents will be attending. its a no bra dress and a lot on show. I cant even find a proper pic with it all on show, but this gives an idea:

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And now this is the dress I was hoping to wear:

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Bad sideways shot:

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When I say it doesnt fit… it only JUST doesnt. I can possibly go bra-less or I can wear the bra and have double boob.

So…. what to do? Feel fat in my same coloured dress, wear black, put the girls on show, squeeze into a slightly too small dress, or buy a new dress that will hopefully be on sale and not put me further into debt.

What would you do?

 

April 9, 2009

Some good news

Posted by enchantress16 under Uncategorized
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For the first time in as long as I can remember, my credit card debt is under $6k. While the circumstances that forced me to pay that money back were fucked up, it is still good to see $5700 owing vs $8500. 
 
Bring on the $900 K.Rudd bonus. Screw spending it, you can bet that will go on my credit card.
 

April 8, 2009

really good chicken salad

Posted by enchantress16 under dinner, lunch, recipe
1 Comment 

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Another recipe I cant find! Which is such a shame because this was an AWESOME salad. It had chicken, lettuce, spinach, capsicum, cucumber, peanuts and the sauce was lime mixed with ceasar dressing.

 

April 8, 2009

Vanilla Pod Cafe

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One good thing of the new job… one of the local cafes sells cupcakes. Of course, I had to investigate.

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The Vanilla Pod Cafes plain cupcakes werent that pretty (yes, I judge a book by its cover!) so I went for the pecan brownie cupcake.
 
Its nicely decorated, not that I could get you a good photo. The rediculously expensive work camera wouldnt focus!
 
Texture wise, at first I thought it was a little too crumbly, but it must have just been the bit I tasted. But, the cake itself is really gooey, a little undercooked. But thats OK, its what I do to my brownies to keep them moist tasting. The pecans were a little scarce in the batter, and somehow mine had an air pocket through it. They were also messily filled, so the edges had little thin bits of brownie.
 
But still, it was quite good. Very much a quintessential brownie covered in some very rich chocolate frosting. Nowhere near the quality of some of the bigger cupcake places, but for a mid-week cupcake fix it will do nicely.
It does not bode well for my diet to have cupcakes within such easy reach.
 

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