Sam’s View

Both Michael and I adore Risotto. This dish is an absolute winner and, as a result, I have made it twice in the past month. This recipe serves 4, but I usually double-up for lunches for most of the following week! Whilst I feel that the bacon adds some real flavour to this dish, I have previously made a vegetarian version by leaving out the bacon, using vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and replacing the butter with margarine. It was still very tasty! The recipe follows Read more »

Last week the Melbourne weatherman told me that we were in for a cold and wet weekend. I thought that nothing would be nicer than some home-made soup (recipe to follow soon-ish) and bread on Sunday evening. Let me say that yeast scares me. I see the whole waiting-until-the-dough-expands thing as an additional step in the baking process that could end in disaster. My mum seldom bakes bread for the same reason (it must be a genetic fear). So maybe when I become a better cook, I will venture into the unpredictable lands of yeast and fluffy light bread, but for now booze will have to do! Read more »

“A 200-foot-long knitted and stuffed toy rabbit presently lies on the side of the 5,000 foot high Colletto Fava mountain in northern Italy’s Piedmont region”. This definitely caught my attention! Read more »

To follow is a recipe for a rather well-known South African dessert. It is so easy to make and a perfect way to end a nice braai! Most people look at me strangely when I say that the main ingredient of this little gem is coffee creamer/whitener…then they taste it and apologise for being rude about my South African pudding! Read more »

I am sure this will be great news to many, and a little less so to some, but Michael and I will be getting married in South Africa. Read more »

How does “Sam Battle” sound? Whilst on a Mornington Peninsula trip yesterday, Michael popped the BIG question and I said YES! It all took place at the end of a long jetty at Portsea on an absolutely beautiful day that I will always remember.

As some of you may know, my folks are currently out from South Africa, so it was wonderful to have them share in the experience – well not the actual proposal! – but they were close enough to the event to have taken the above photograph of it! Read more »

I have been known to perform brain-dead acts – on several occasions in fact. My father and boyfriend insist that I somehow cheated my way through university and am just really good at acting like I am “edumacated and all”. Obviously my periodic brain-explosions are frequent enough in nature that I refrain from advertising them. Michael, however, often comes to my assistance by telling stories of my dumb actions to all and sundry!

The latest in my string of decisions taken while my brain was on a smoke-break, took place just hours before we left on holiday to Queensland. I turned the power off – you know? – to save money. How ironic. Read more »

As promised, to follow is an account of life in North Korea. Unfortunately I have not been one of the 1500 Western tourists (according to BBC News Online) to make it through the country’s borders each year, so I have relied on the information and photography posted by those that have made the very expensive and difficult-to-organise trip. Read more »

Just for the record, I started part 2 over the weekend and have been trying to finish it ever since. Michael had the audacity to post this comment this morning: Read more »

Having read and heard a fair bit about it, my curiosity got the better of me. I decided that last Sunday would be the day where Michael and I would drive for 45 minutes (each way) to buy some doughnuts. Yes, it was time for me to try my first ever Krispy Kreme. Read more »