The Oven Is On Fire

And it was, but it all turned out OK (Mum hadn't used her grill in a very long time). Big flames. The fritatta had bits of ash in it. Smoke billowed. Tom ran around yelling 'the oven's on fire, the oven's on fire', much to the alarm of the blokes at the BBQ. In all that, I don't believe the smoke detector actually went off. I think they might need to check their batteries?

All part of the fun & games at Theo & Neville's birthday brunch. It was a brunch because it was Grand Final Day (AFL) and people were off to parties (not me).

Here we have two Collingwood supporter sisters:

Much food included pancakes (with lemon, sugar, cheese, maple syrup, warm berries in syrup, cream, strawberries and there would have been melted chocolate but someone forgot to get it out of the microwave), bacon, toast, crumpets (nobody got around to eating them), hash browns, little Italian spicy sausages, fritatta (with ash), and probably more things but I forgot already. Oh, cake, of course.

The cake was a 'Torta di Ciocolatta Angela' from my 'The Commonsense Italian Cookery Book', which didn't turn out quite how I thought it would, but still very rich & chocolatey & everyone loved. There was only one cake so the gentlemen involved thought they'd pose as a married couple and cut the cake. Quite ridiculous.

And here's Bobby. Just because.

Christmas Food & Festivities

This Christmas we have a tale of one gingerbread house, shortbreads starring bunnies with bling, a journey starring santa in an upside down dunny, two and a half christmas trees, much cooking and even more food, and two birthday cakes.

I have to add the cheesecake, fruit cake and mini mudcake christmas puddings to the cake tally, because we are still eating those. Can I count rumballs as cake too? Pudding? Pavlova? Trifle? Three fruit pies made with fruit stewed up from the christmas fruit and vegie market?

my baking frenzy

I don't know quite what to make of this but I have been in a baking frenzy lately, but happy....

My cake for father's day : 

 someone's birthday five layer choc torte...

 

two christmas puddings,

 and all the mess..

This doesn't include yesterday's two rhubarb & banana pies, and today's banana bread and gluten-free apricot loaf. I think that's everything.....  (for the past week, anyway). Oh no, oops, didn't count the vegie muffins and the two carrot cakes. And how long ago was the banana cake and the banana buns?

a night to remember indeed

As soon as my internet started working again, my computer packed it in, so I have been computer and blog-less until my nice neighbour lended a hand and rescued me from my unblogliness.

Here follows a post i have been dying to blog and have had specially requested even. I went to my work's major event of the year, travelled down to Melbourne with a lovely couple and so here is..... 

The Dinner                                                                           Doing as we're told (not)

        

First were reserved seats, next to stage

Then the corporate superbox, with cake to demolish

And just who is that skinny fella on stage anyhow

And when all is said and done, there's smiles all round... 

wombat in a parallel dimension ...

and when you're a v.i.p.even the toilet has a view... 

mobile phone world

back to the future groupie

So it all boils down to this: night of adventures began with a dinner decision and feeling freakish walking down brunswick st, which i haven't done since i was in uni...

Followed by special escort to our reserved seats, right next to the stage, enjoying myself immensely and so excited to see what we essentially work all year for! (me not so much work as others lol). and my work friend so happy to see there, we both yelling and hugging each other she is probably high on adrenaline lol :)

Then as if that wasn't good enough, we get asked if we want to go up to the corporate superbox instead. ummm, yes, i say, making the decision (was it a rhetorical question?) for my two companions whether they liked it or not!

Where we act like little kids and eat cake and goodies and i snap happy everything and love the mobile phone light demonstration and even the toilet has a view.

Night ends, the vip elevator guy asks if we want anything else, such as a photo with the band ummm, yes, i go again, so off we go with our elevator escort. i giggle hysterically almost, meet a long lost friend in the corridor, she asks "how's the hubby going", my reply "he's not" then she introduces me to her husband who i say i've talked to on phone she goes oh really i say "for work" and she goes "oh yeah" and then "what's that you're carrying?", me: "my kid's jumper, oops not my kid's oh no i don't have a kid it's not my kid's i mean it's someone else's kid, their jumper, i mean". Now does that make sense to you? It is a good indication of my state of mind at the time.

Then we find a bewildered band member (drummer), who i accost and then make wait there while i try to find my camera, and then with all my giggling and hysterical carrying on make him blush. i included the 'back to the future' photo, looks like my future existence is in doubt...

I cuddle frankie the wombat (obviously in a parallel dimension, judging by the photo there) and we refuse an escort to our car (which took us literally an hour to find a park for). Cake and coffee is to be found next, but first I must leap in my seat and shriek the name of a bakery we pass, because it is none other than my mum's cousins' bakery, whose business card she lost but name she remembered and location was vague about. I scramble from car, bang on locked door to attract baker's attention, who gets me the bakery's stationery and a business card from his own car parked outside and is remarkably calm for all my attempts to explain my tenuous links to his employer, at midnight on a busy street in fitzroy.

We then find Lygon st, and Brunetti's, and so much cake i could cry.

I fall asleep in car, murmur various strange things in my sleep to my driving companions, wake up in my own driveway, glad to be home, but oh what a lovely night.

Crocheted Cupcakes

My mum was very pleased with her latest birthday present. (Thank goodness for that). It's actually a pincushion, but the bigger white and pink things are just beads, sewn on. The rest are lovely pearly pins.

And the real cake wasn't too bad either. (Chocolate and Clinkers, you can't go wrong there.)