The Sugar Bar

It’s funny how sometimes you’ll find my friends and I standing about in a straight line, frozen stiff when there appears a swarm of squealing toddlers running zig zag about you or between your legs. It’s terrifying, absolute pandemonium unfolding before your eyes. A dear friend of mine even confessed this most ridiculous line: ‘I am allergic to two things; one of which is children.’ I don’t think I’m particularly allergic and I don’t really believe he meant what he said. Call it the heat of the moment. It’s perfectly logical in my opinion, however, that some people find children annoying, judging that the we’ve witnessed some which are just nightmares. But I have to admit that majority of the little buddies that I’ve met or spotted at work around the baby section are just truly adorable. And don’t get me wrong, I am in no way anti-children and I do want children in the future. Just a warning to my future kids though: discipline discipline discipline and then sweet treats on Sunday if you’re good otherwise you’re getting shoved under the stairs with no tea (your Mama Diva here’s giving you this headstart years in advance).

Nevertheless, when my soft spot for children goes away, I’ve been known to be a real mean dick – I’ve stolen candy from a kid before. So sue me. Who was that poor sucker? My sister. I stole her candy. I stole her whatever that thing is that babies suck on when they’re teething. I stole it right and good and it even waved it in her face, laughing.

I am mean and I ain’t gonna deny that. And oh yea, I’m greedy like that.

Maybe it’s because I’m still a child at heart. But humanity has got the better of me, civilization has socialized me and so I’ve stopped doing dumb things like that. If you can’t have what they have, make it for yourself. And so I did. My little sis C texted me to say Mum was making a lovely spread for breakfast Saturday morning. I wasn’t gonna lose at breakfast half a world away and if my mama can’t make it for me, suppose I’ve two hands, a pathetic kitchen but a brain nevertheless. The plan? To self-indulge in the kiddiest, cutest breakfast ever. And if mini-anything is not simply the cutest, I don’t know what is.

Catty has been tweeting about this – Matcha Madness. Matcha – one of the four foods I love most in the world (mushrooms, berries, matcha and black sesame seeds – they drive me wild). What is it about? You like matcha? You eat matcha? You want MORE matcha (from Teapigs)? Then head on over via the link and take part. Stop procrastinating. Go paint the town green.

So. I basically agreed to get involved, partly because I love to win things. Who doesn’t, right?? My post for it, however, is definitely not the most creative. And compared to the other things I’ve made before using matcha, this certainly pales in comparison so bad I probably shouldn’t have even bothered. And here comes the BUT. I gotta say the simple combination of flavours in this reminds me of Japanese Christmas Cake – strawberries, fluffy light sponge and whipped cream. This is quite perfect for the summer heat especially when British strawberries are at their best now, all red ripe and fat. Simply use your favourite pancake recipe (I’ve used one meant for dorayaki actually, recipe over here), whip up some double cream with matcha and a touch of icing sugar if needed. Put everything together including the ripest sweetest fat strawberries you can find and drizzle golden syrup over.

When I was a kid, I used to make up combinations of fruit and biscuit as dessert for my parents. After a meal, my mama would clear away the dishes and I’d be busy in the kitchen hacking away (alright, actually nimbly slicing away) at whatever fruit was available, banging together some biscuits, chocolate squares that sorta thing together and putting it all nicely on a plate a la smiley faces, concentric circles, towers, etc.

Some kids had Lego. I had fruit and biscuits.

This childish pancake stack is really a tribute to that little kid me. The cherry on top? Those broken bits of matcha biscuits I stabbed into the matcha whipped cream. I have so much class, now don’t I?

I wonder if it’s the advent of the Spring/Summer 09 Collection, MAC’s release of its Creme Team collection, Valentine’s Day or just a general sense of girlishness overcoming me that’s starting to get me to fancy the colour pink. I’m talking about the pink of pinks – the sweetest, sugariest pink you’ve ever come across. I’ve always been pretty adamant about pink being an empty colour, simply a non-colour – a mere shade. Talk about the hierarchy of colouration and pigments! Frankly speaking though, it’s somehow been drilled into my head from young that pink is a shade lacking in sophistication, associated with whimsical froufrou-ness, found wanting in the depth and strength of hues like fuschia, violet and turqoise. Hence, when it comes to lipstick shades I find myself steering towards (if I have to) going for pink shades with either tints of blue/orange in it or going for a pink shade that’s rather dark and not at all baby-ish.

Somehow, my head’s gone a little weird and I find that baby-ish pinks are so it for Spring/Summer. I’ve gone and bought myself a Vivienne Westwood brooch in shades of light pink and purple. I leave a Firefox tab on for Deeba’s  Strawberry Refrigerator Cheesecake and gush at the gorgeousness of that pink cheesecake for hours on end. I’m making a date with my ex-Beauty/Fashion editor on Monday to go makeup shopping, and the end result of that is definitely a couple of lipsticks and glosses in that kitsch shade of pink. I have a feeling I’m to become completely maniacal and funkedelic in my choice of colours. Somehow, that’s going to affect my cooking and I’m gradually getting fearful of the bottle of red food dye in the right corner of my kitchen cupboard.

YIKES!

It hasn’t not happened before. Half a year ago, I went insane over green and still am – just check out my window sill and overall bedroom decor (some examples below). You can imagine how my love for matcha and the colour green came together in some sort of passionate explosion of green gooey edible whatsits everywhere, every day… Still is today actually. It hits me in waves.

After visiting the lovely Milk and Honey Cafe, I fell in love with Sarah’s Strawberry Cupcakes (click the link for the recipe) and absolutely knew I had to have some as well. These were simply the perfect St. Valentine’s treats. The drool was literally rolling off my tongue and spilling onto the laptop. In my cupcake-stunned state, I made a very grumpy and embittered Goodchild drive me to Sainsbury’s for ingredients. Talk about the bitter singles on Valentine’s Day, geeez!

My cupcakes aren’t half as beautiful as Sarah’s. I really should have made an effort but at 4 in the afternoon, it was getting dark. I was getting a little sleepy. I kinda slowed down a little. Nonetheless, I love Sarah’s recipe. I followed the cupcake bit exactly and my oh my did they taste fantast-alicious! Frosting wise I messed up a little as it just got a bit too wet and drippy. Ended up making a buttercream of sorts, adding a couple of tablespoons of the strawberry sauce and adding some red food dye (I can’t resist this stuff). One thing about being away from my home kitchen is that we don’t have a sieve, an electric mixer or proper mixing bowls. Hence, I’m always hesitant when it comes to the icing and never confident that I can make good, stiff enough frosting without my proper equipment. It’s a gamble each and every time. Today, I might’ve messed up a little but thankfully it still sorta worked out and the end result is fairly pretty.Most of my housemates have gone home for the weekend. This year is a little depressing for all of us as we’re all – except one – single! Left alone in the house, Anna and I were definitely not going to let ourselves get moo-moo ish about it at all. Kitchen’s cleaned, music’s pumping, cupcakes-a-cooking. Blimey, we were in a well good mood. Not a sight of a grey cloud hanging over our heads. Nothing wrong with being single. In fact, there is nothing wrong at all with being single or attached. So come on, let’s really enjoy Valentine’s for what it really is. Let’s go non-commercial and have just good ol’ fun with friends, families, loved ones.

Happy St. Valentine’s everyone! Have a joyful, laughter-filled and wicked time.

If you’re looking for the recipe, check back up this post for the recipe link to Sarah’s blog Milk and Honey Cafe. Now I shall change out of my floury scruffies, sit back relax, and wait for Anna to whip up some posh dinner for 2 tonight. Fantastic!

Have no doubt about it, I’m not jesting.

Initially, I was quite fearful of posting this up in case I was fired back with ‘what were you thinking!’s but I’ve gone ahead because I think this dish has been quite an interesting one with such a new, amazing flavour I cannot but let this slip by and not remember it. Anna was very impressed with this dish too and wiped her plate clean after seconds so this is of course, going down in diva’s history.

The original recipe called for fresh chopped red chilli but I’d accidentally left it out and substituted it with chilli powder. Although both give a very very different flavour, the powder worked out pretty well. Less crisp & sharp than a fresh chilli, missing out on all that zang. But this wasn’t too bad and I would like to replicate this, this time with chilli to see what it’s like. What makes this dish is the basil and parmesan so please, they must not be cut out at any cost! The strawberries are lovely after being added to the risotto as they have so much flavour with the balsamic vinegar and go soft, but not too soft, with the risotto and gives it another dimension completely.

I made this after spending 6 hours in the library with Hans ploughing through Paradise Lost. A well deserved meal and yet it didn’t take too much effort to prepare. I always have a slight aversion to making risottos as I don’t like standing in front of the hob all the time stirring and watching it like a hawk. But this wasn’t too bad. I’m knackered now and will be skipping on the mash-up deal tonight at Bar Q. A good film, cup of tea and I’m gonna hit the sack like timber. So there.

This recipe has been taken from delicious magazine and serves 4.

Strawberry Risotto with Rosé
Ingredients

400g strawberries, hulled and sliced down the middle into 4
300g arborio risotto rice
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sliced white and red onions
200ml rosé wine
sea salt for seasoning
1 small bunch of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tbs salted butter
50g good parmesan, finely grated
olive oil for frying

Prepare the strawberries and drizzle balsamic vinegar over. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 30min.

Chop the onions. Heat some olive oil in a large pan and add the onions, chilli powder and salt. Give it a good stir to coat the onions in oil and chilli, then cover and let simmer for 10min. You want the onions to sweat and go translucent.
Prepare some boiling water that’s cooled a little.
Add the rice into the pan and coat with the onions and hot oil. Raise the heat. Add the wine and let it bubble and evaporate a little to remove the alcohol. Add some boiling water just to cover the rice and let cook. Stirring a little.
Let cook for a while until all the water has been absorbed into the rice.
Then add a little more water to cover the rice. Let cook, not forgetting to stir this.
When all the water’s been absorbed into the rice, it should be al dente by now.

Lower the heat. Add the butter, cheese, basil and strawberries with all the excess juice. Give it a good stir. The smell will be amazing now and the balsamic vinegar will give the risotto a great taste. Season if needed.
Now, plate up and serve with grated parmesan. Don’t forget that extra glass of rosé on the side.