Just have to say ...

... that Tila Tequila is a WHOLE punnet of strawberries short of a fruit salad.

Could that girl get any more whacked out? I'd like to say she's harmless, but at the same time, I don't think I can. She seems to like animals though, which is a good thing, but again, I kinda want to save her dog from her. I love dogs. And hers is such a cute dog. I just hope that amidst her crazy life and fame-whoring she actually gives that dog all the love and affection he needs.

This post from The Superficial just about made me wet my pants. "Just let me mourn in peace. In this tree. With my tits out". Hilarious ... and Tila, seriously!

Anyhow, she's definitely something short of something, and I think now is my cue to go to sleep, or perhaps go watch one episode of Gossip Girl ...

Canned chicken ... spew-tastic or yum?

Ok, so there's this new "phenomenon" in Australia and it's known as Heinz Canned Chicken.

Alright, it's hardly a phenomenon - I'd actually go as far to say it's more of an eek-omenon. A lot of people I have chatted to about canned chicken have all been quite revolted by the idea.

While I too was initially revolted by the idea of chicken in a can, the other day I found myself pondering about what it actually tasted like and whether or not it's actually any good. Apparently it's been a part of everyday USA life for some time now, and I am a fan of canned salmon and tuna and eat these regularly. I also really like canned sardines and I also have a thing for canned smoked oysters. I thought to myself, if I could love canned seafood so much (and when you think about the concept of canned seafood, it sounds far worse than the concept of canned chicken!), then surely I can bring myself to try the canned chicken.

So a couple of nights ago I found myself standing in Coles (I would have preferred to be in Woolworths, but you know, it meant more driving - Coles was closer), staring at a wall of Heinz Canned Chicken.

It comes in heaps of flavours; smoked chicken, mayo, tomato & onion, red curry, mustard mayo ... and more I can't remember, but like the tuna before it, it's there waiting, ready for you to eat it.

And so I bought a can. I ended up with tomato & onion - I did actually mean to buy just the plain smoked chicken, however I picked the tomato & onion up by mistake. Anyhow, I still opened it up and I tasted it. And I have to admit, it tasted good. I couldn't fault it. It was pretty much the same as canned tuna, except of course the texture was different (the chicken comes shredded by the way), and it didn't have the much hated fishy smell. The side of the can makes for some amusing reading (apparently there may be traces of fish in the product - mmm, maybe that's why it reminded me of tuna so much?); but once you get past that the actual taste is decent and it makes for a good snack.


Will I buy it again? Most likely - just like tuna it is a good pantry filler. However I have to try the plain "flavour" before I go out and buy too much ... it could be possible that the tomato & onion masked the real taste, so I must get myself the "original" chicken. When I try that I will post and update you all.

Until then, happy chickening!

Macarons ... how I love thee.

As I have mentioned, I love to cook ... and by that I mean I love to bake.


For some reason I have this uncanny ability to cook with egg white. My mother and her sister are naturally fantastic cooks (and two people that keep me forever wanting to improve - hopefully my cooking skills will get to their level one day), however for some reason neither of them can work with egg white.

Both try and fail working with egg white, most notably pavlova. Yes, they can make them, but I have this bizarre ability to turn a pavlova into the most marshmallowey thing you have ever tasted. I don't know how I do it, but I do. Egg whites and me are like this: X.

And for some reason my bizarre ability to work with egg white crosses over to the world of macarons. I have only made them 3 times in my life from Nigella Lawson's Domestic Goddess recipes and they always work and always taste spot on and have the right texture. Ok, I admit, I have only had frilly feet two out of the three times, but the time I didn't get frilly feet was when I made the chocolate macarons photographed, just after New Year's day and the weather was unbearably humid and hot (it was also my first time working with chocolate macarons). Frilly feet aside, I find it odd that I can make macarons without much hassle when chefs and cooks all over the world preach that they're the hardest biscuit to make.

To be honest, I think they're all just making a sponge cake out of a little egg white ... I think failures with egg white come from being afraid of failure. I also think lots of cooks and chefs treat egg white with too much care. I just stick my egg white in my Sunbeam Mix Master and beat it. Yes, I do that to my macarons. And while there are probably cooks and chefs out there would probably faint and die upon hearing this, to them I say "meh".

They taste good and that's all that matters! However, my piping abilities leave much to be desired and I am hoping that the below contraption from Chalet (oh, how I love Chalet) will help rectify my poor piping skills (it definitely saves on batter wastage ... I make the biggest mess with piping bags!). I am dying to make perfectly round macarons!

Behold, at the wonder that is my Chalet "I Did it Myself" Decoration Set: