August Nibbles

• Favourite August meal - Could it be anything else but chocolate? I think I put on at least 5kg and I blame my Chocolate Camembert Truffles and Mumbai Hot Chocolate for that. Yeah you try and practise restraint around those two.

• And if my spicy hot chocolate is not quite your style, how about some Cold Hot Chocolate. With added caramel flavour. 

• Talking about chocolate, my tumblr log seems to have morphed into a chocolate log. Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.

• And if you can stomach even more (moar?) chocolate, check out these (homemade) S'Mores Candy Bars. Sheer brilliance.

• Stepping away from chocolate (for the briefest of moments), I bring you Chicken Tikka Disaster (via Eat Out)

• And the FFF* for July? Scandi Foodie, written by Maria, a Finnish girl living in Sydney. I am blown away by her nifty combos, like this gently spiced Pumpkin Chai Bread and the refreshing Halloumi, Pumpkin & Rocket Salad - perfect for the in-between-seasons transition weather we're experiencing at the moment.

• Aaaaand we're back in the room! With delicious Madecasse chocolate, grown & produced in the nearby Madagascar. Not only does the chocolate taste AWESOME (the 75% one and the seasalt & nibs are particularly good), but the company has that feel good factor too. So you don't have to feel quite as guilty when you manage to devour an entire slab in one go.** 

* Favourite Foodblog Find

** This may or may not be based on a true story

Full disclaimer: I received some Madecasse chocolate free of charge, however I was neither asked nor paid to endorse the product on my blog. 

Coquito

One day, when I have unlimited funds (and unlimited holiday time), I'll hop on a plane to Brrrraaaaaaazil. I'll spend the first few days in Sao Paulo, exploring Liberdade (or "Japantown", their version of Chinatown), digging into the popular mortadela sandwiches in the Mercado Municipal and catching one of the free Sunday concerts at Ibirapuera. I might also be tempted to shrink myself down to kid proportions so I can join in the fun at Parque da Monica.

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Balsamic Potato & Zucchini Tian

As I'm writing this I'm teetering somewhere between hungry and tired. Which is never a good place to be. Especially, if, like me, you get kinda grumpy when you hit that stage. Leading you to want to punch the nearest person in the face/gobble up everything in sight/plot elaborate revenge plans against your sworn enemies.

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Slow Roasted Lamb Ragu on Potato Noodles

Do I have Hungarian roots? I must do, buried somewhere deep down, because what I thought was my own clever creation (potato noodles), is in fact an established part of Hungarian cuisine. Who knew?

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Bokkom & Chilli Tagliatelle

Fish breath. Not exactly a pleasant thought, is it? And I'm not gonna lie to you, after eating this, most likely only your mother will want to kiss you. On second thoughts, maybe not even your mother. Unless you employ some serious bribe action. Note how I've even excluded TheHusband in this category. Fish breath is serious business people.

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Mumbai Hot Chocolate

We used to think our cat was a male. We were told by the people we got her from that she was a boy and naively didn't think to check. Needless to say we felt like prize idiots when the vet informed us that she was a girl as only females are born with her specific colouring. Right then.

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Pork with Spiced Berry Pinotage Sauce

I have some decidedly anti-berry views. But that should not stop you from heading on over to Polkadot Cupcake Cooks to read my post about Pork with Spiced Berry Pinotage Sauce. And I have to admit, it's got me thinking that it might be time to review my berry prejudice...

What are you waiting for? See you there!

Uszka (Polish Dumplings)

I remember my first encounter with these mushroom filled dumplings vividly. The year was 2006 and I had innocently borrowed a book on Eastern European food from the library. I had no idea what to expect from the book, a fact which contributed greatly to my curiosity of course. The more I turned the pages, the more pleasantly I was surprised by the variety of dishes and I admit, I fell a little bit in love.

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Aloo Phujia

Wow. Where has the week gone? Seems like it just disappeared in a whirlwind of monthly reports, mountains of invoices and precarious piles of to-file's. Oh how I long for the simpler days of long weekends... Erm.. wait, didn't we just have one?

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Buttermilk Corn Soup

What do you get if you mix winter comfort with Southwestern charm? A creamy, spicy corn soup. Perfect for the split personality weather we are experiencing in the Southern Hemisphere at the moment. Mild one day, freezing the next! But you'll have to hop on over to Polkadot Cupcake Cooks (where I'm guest posting today) for the full post and recipe.

Come on people, let's show Sigrid lots of comment love!

PS: Remember to cast your votes for me in the SA Blog Awards and the Fairview Camembert Promo (saving the best for last with #12). Your country uh... desperate favourite blogger needs you!

Nasi Kandar (Black Beef)

Upon learning that I author a food blog, people have some interesting reactions. Some (*waves at mom*) are technophobes and haven't the foggiest regarding blogs in general so the concept of a specific type of blog is quite simply beyond their reach. Others find it mildly interesting, followed by the inevitable, "Soooo, what do you blog about?" Um.. well... food. Which is usually followed by a slightly awkward silence. Clearly food is not as compelling a subject to everyone.

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Dark Chocolate Camembert Truffles

Challenge extended? Challenge accepted!

As my favourite HIMYM character would say. I've mentioned my (cheese) slutty ways before haven't I? So when Fairview announced a competition for food bloggers' to create an original recipe using their Camembert cheese I was there like a bear.*

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Grilled Miso Chicken Salad

Ke nako! Can you feel it? Spring is (almost) here! Okay, it's quite a stretch, I mean we've barely started August, but the worst of winter is definitely over. The sun rises earlier (honestly whoever decided that waking up while it is still dark is an acceptable practice?), the days stretch longer and the ambient temperature is much milder. Here and there eager spring blossoms are bursting forth and the air seems heavy with promise.

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Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

You know it's going to be an interesting week when a Monday catches you with your hair still wrapped up in a towel, legs unshaven and clothes still in dire need of ironing. None of these happened to me (*this* time at least), but it seems analogous to how I feel about this week.

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