S S M T And Wednesday.

Slack much? In all fairness though I have been wildly productive. I've eaten real food, baked lots, travelled many a kilometer, packed multiple bags, wrapped birthday presents, made a birthday card and still managed to make sure I had all of my knickers washed.

Last weekend I flew to chch (surprise surprise), made some delicious curry, ate some terrible Chinese food (so so so bad), had beyond delicious brunch, visited memory lane with a Sally Lunn and went for a micro tramp and made some tea in the great outdoors.

Potato hash and pulled corn beef at Supreme Supreme ❤️ 

I threw a roast joint in a slow cooker with all the ingredients required for a massaman curry. Served with delicious flaky paratha it was a dream. Oh and the samosas we got from the Indian store... Sweet baby Jesus they were good. 

After stealing Mum's excellent butter chicken on Monday I set out to make myself a big steaming pot of laksa for the next few days. Boy was it delicious. Although briskly walking to the supermarket this evening when I burped and some spicy laksa and mushy brocolli came back up and I had no choice but to swallow it again because I was in public. Bleughh. I pretty much made up the recipe as I went (not wanting to brag or anything). I added brocolli and frozen spinach in at the end for some green in my diet. Also I was cutting up my wedge of pumpkin when I realized I had too much so I continued to cube it all up then put half in a freezer bag and froze it. I can use it for the next time I need a few cubes of pumpkin but can't be arsed negotiating one and risking appendages in the name of laksa.

The brown bits on top are fried delicious.. Not very attractive but so so delicious. 

And well tonight consisted of me making a caramel slice, coconut shortbread and two layers of a ginger and date cake. All to take with me this weekend :/ flip. Because guess who I am going to go visit.. Haha. Much excite.

Thursday. I was in a food coma that I didn't wake up from until Friday.

The food highlight of Thursday was definitely a food coma date with my brother. Even though it wasn't hard to out rank the porridge or the defrosted, soggy Japanese curry, Malaysian with Jack was excellent. We used to always go out for food together then I guess we got out of the swing of things when he went on an exchange and we just never got back into the habit of it. Until now. 

We went to Selera in Newmarket and gorged ourselves in chicken curry, noodles and roti. Sah good.  

Anyway I guess the moral of this story is to hang out with your siblings more because they are secretly great. Although share plates get wolfed down rather quickly if you're in the least bit competitive.. 

Thats really all I have to say about Thursday. Oh I made some coconut shortbread so if the reviews come back good (aka if Dad, the shortbread connoisseur, gives it the thumbs up) I'll give it a blog. 

Sah much food

Thursday. I was in a food coma that I didn't wake up from until Friday.

The food highlight of Thursday was definitely a food coma date with my brother. Even though it wasn't hard to out rank the porridge or the defrosted, soggy Japanese curry, Malaysian with Jack was excellent. We used to always go out for food together then I guess we got out of the swing of things when he went on an exchange and we just never got back into the habit of it. Until now. 

We went to Selera in Newmarket and gorged ourselves in chicken curry, noodles and roti. Sah good.  

Anyway I guess the moral of this story is to hang out with your siblings more because they are secretly great. Although share plates get wolfed down rather quickly if you're in the least bit competitive.. 

Thats really all I have to say about Thursday. Oh I made some coconut shortbread so if the reviews come back good (aka if Dad, the shortbread connoisseur, gives it the thumbs up) I'll give it a blog. 

Sah much food

Wednesday. Mum made my lunch.

Mum made me salad for lunch when I went round for dinner last night. First greens I've eaten all week. The only reason I haven't developed scurvy is because of the free mandarins I've been munching on at my flat. She was also mega cute and packed me some fruit and a wee paper parcel of dates and two pieces of chocolate. Thanks Mum x

Eggs on toast was still the dish of choice this evening. I'm away in chch this weekend and dinner with my brother on Thursday so I was like meh can't be bothered buying produce only to have most of it go off while I'm gone. Next week is a new week. I hate food waste more than not eating Eees on tees.

I did attempt to try and trick myself into thinking I was eating something flasher than eggs on toast. Cherry tomatoes, spring onion, fried shallots and Malden sea salt flakes sure tasted delicious but did little to cover up the two fat spreads of fried egg.  Baby steps though, baby steps.

Man I could eat those shallots all day. Sah good. 

The Queen should have more birthdays

Recipe for the best ever weekend: one reasonably attractive young man, the cooking of laborious soul food with multiple bottles of wine, all mixed together in one of the most beautiful locations this country has to offer. Ok make that one very attractive young man. 

Dylan had the excellent idea to rent a 'rumpty' (his words) wee place on Air BnB in Hamner Springs for Queens Birthday Weekend. Three days holed up with no screens, no work, zero life admin, a roaring fireplace and only a single pot stove element and endless pretty scenery to keep us entertained. Oh and each other. For the first time ever I found myself attempting to do the Sunday Star Times Crossword albeit with limited success. 

Mr Dylan loves cooking as much as I do. I actually think he is better than me. What we love more than cooking for each other is cooking with each other. We made a fragrant yellow fish curry, had bratwurst with red sauerkraut in butter toasted sour dough, whipped up a delicious chicken laksa, but what really stole the show was the slow braised beef shin and mushroom tortellini made with handmade fresh pasta then tossed in browned butter then finished with Parmesan and pecorino. Holy mother of all things great. It took roughly eight hours from start to finish and it was demolished in mere minutes.

What I love most about this dish is that there was no recipe. We didn't measure anything except maybe flour for the pasta. We bought our beef shins from a proper old butchery back in Christchurch (think meat bundled up for you in newsprint). Dylan cranked up the barbecue outside and braved the cold to sear the shins. The flavour released from the surface of the meat was unbelievable. We found a slow cooker hidden in one of the cupboards and braised the meat with shallots, a carrot, thyme, red wine and stock for a few hours until it melted in the mouth. We finely chopped a big bag of mushrooms and sautéed them slowly with plenty of butter and a sprinkling of more thyme. The meat was drained and combined with the mushrooms and left in the laundry to chill - it was colder than inside the fridge out there. Dylan started mixing up the dough for the pasta and we drank wine in the lounge in front of the fire while it rested. Butter was cautiously browned and many fingers were dipped into it. Together we rolled out the pasta dough using the hand-cranked machine we packed with us and large circles were cut our using the lid of a large jar we found. We sat there at the kitchen table assembling our tortellini, Dylan making two perfect morsels for every runt one I produced. The tortellini were tossed into a pot of boiling water where they stayed until they floated to the surface. Drained and tossed in the browned butter, they were then dished out onto our two plates with shavings of parmesan and pecorino dusting the tops. 

We have made many a dinner together but I think this by far has been my favourite. Not only for it's taste and texture but for the long and relaxing process we went through to get there. The wonderful thing about Italian food is that contrary to popular belief, there are no rules. Soul food has no rules or guidelines. If you take the time and the care it will always be wonderful. 

Friday. No more pumpkin soup.

I looked in the mirror and around my mouth was a ring of yellow. Dark orangey yellow. The beta carotene from my daily dose of pumpkin soup and carrots had stained the edges of my mouth with awful tinge. I look like a kid who decided to make out with a yellow felt. No more pumpkin soup. Our relationship is no more. 

I'm currently sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to chch. I was craving a dunkin donut as I was walking through the terminal and right there at the entrance was a guy I went on two tinder dates with once, covering himself with the icing sugar from his Bavarian cream.  But yeah that slightly awkward moment when he asked what brought me to chch... Umm the boyfriend. Yup that's right. Someone eventually decided they liked me enough to actually date me. Unbelievable I know...😑 The awkward chat enabled the time to pass quickly. Then we parted ways and sat in different departure lounges. I seem to bump into him a lot. Mainly at places providing mass transport aka airports and trains. Ok not a lot. It's happened twice. Twice more than all the 27 other tinder dates I've been on.

I've got to pee but I can't be bothered taking all my stuff to the loo.

Psyching myself up for the  meager snack on this flight. After my weird AF brocolli and egg stir fry I am so keen for sometime that didn't taste so peculiar. Although you can ever guarantee that with airplane food can you?

No. Just no. 

I am very excited for our long weekend in Hamner springs. I've got my beanie all ready to go.. 

Have an excellent weekend friends. Sah much eating will be happening. Much wine. Such scenes. Many wows. 

Thursday. You just can't beat a sausage roll.

I'm currently trying to finish drying my fitted sheet on the oil heater. I don't want to take it back outside to the garage to put it back in drier. The ground outside is literally freezing. Our flat is freezing. Zero insulation in any direction. I wonder if Mum has a spare woolen underlay because my room gets so cold I can see my breathe in the morning (hint hint). My flat in Dunedin was so much warmer. 

I'm running around trying to wash, dry, bake, pack and prep for tomorrow. I'm flying down for the long weekend to see Dylan which I am very excited about. There is lost so much life admin involved. Guys don't understand how much coordination there is in even just packing underwear. Do these knickers go well under these trousers? Will the matching bra go underneath the tops you plan to wear with said pants? Are any of the above items even clean to pack?! I also get to see my best friend and my charming wee god daughter. In the process of getting my life sorted my room has been in various states of disarray. 

The "my room is the only place in the house I can't see my beath in so I'm going to find somewhere to sit and eat my dinner" phase  

The "pull everything out of the cupboards to try and find my missing wheat bags to give to Dylan"  phase.

The "fuck! My sheets are still wet!" Panic phase

Amongst all this I am trying to bake spice crisps for D to take away with us to Hamner Springs. They are gingery and delicious and I think will go nicely with a cup of tea, a cosy fire and a good book. Every fifth biscuit though is coming out such a runt. There is only so much evidence of poor performance you can hide before you start to feel sick.. 

I managed to redeem myself with episode II of the average beef stir fry. It really wasn't too bad second time around. The real test will be with the frozen breast of chicken I have waiting to be used tomorrow.

Why the sausage rolls in the title? For the first time since I've been working at my current job our department splashed out and got super great catering. Included in this was some excellent handmade sausage rolls. It was as if the stars had aligned because I had some made sausage roll cravings earlier today. You just can't beat a cheeky sausage roll with a good dunking of T sauce. 

 Oh and also. I bought some cheap pb for my snickers brownie the other day  but I didn't use it all. I took it into work to put in my porridge in the morning and can I just say it is still legit. 97% peanuts. The remaining 3% peanut oil and salt. So it's 99.99% peanuts really. Just like Pics. This jar also set me back only $2.50 in New World vs the $7 they wanted to charge me for the Pics equivalent. Sure it's not as tasty to eat off the spoon but it does the trick sure enough. Get back amongst I say.

Wednesday. Mum fed me and I got a fan email :D

Somehow I wangled only having to cook three nights this week. Score. I went home and Mum had made Jess Daniell's lamb meatball salad. Ok so salad probably wasn't the best choice for the first day of winter but it was still delicious regardless. 

I am stoked winter decided to show itself finally. It took until June to start getting properly chilly! I can finally crank out all the coats I over eagerly bought in February.. I also bought woolen pants which caused me to suffer heat stroke in the office so woo!! Finally get to wear those in comfort now!

I was going to skip today's post because nothing really that exciting happened. That was until I got an email from a girl called Siobhan saying thank you for posting recipes. The fuzzies are warmer than my oil heater. In all honesty I thought the only people who read Sophie Likes Cake were my parents and Dylan, so this was an excellent surprise. So thank you Siobhan for being the highlight of my day. You way surpassed my epic victory of finally finding gym leggings that make my bum look great and don't make my legs look like strangled hams! Many baking well wishes to you.

Socks would have been a good idea for the single digit temps... 

Saturday. Champagne and cake for lunch.

The day started off well; a 7.30am spin class to get things moving followed by a few hours of flat cleaning. So much adult productivity!! I even washed my sheets and this time didn't burn them in my drier! Whoop!! Never have I felt so in control and on top of my life.

Unfortunately you could say things went a little downhill as soon as I started icing my  little ginger loaves with cream cheese icing and candied walnuts. While I hate to boast I have to say these were delicious. So moist and rich. I shall blog about them in the morning. My flatmates were very excited as can be seen by Andy's face below..

I delivered a few to my good friend Victoria for her birthday. After only two minutes after walking in the door at 1pm did she ask if I wanted a glass of bubbles. She then proceeded to put a full cheese platter and a gazzillion cupcakes in front of me. Apparently this had been her since 10am so I thought I better play catch up. So double parked with cake and champagne whilst watching Pretty Woman was a pretty excellent way to spend a Saturday arvo if you ask me. Wine = fruit, cake contains eggs = solid source of protein. A balanced diet I do believe.  

Breakfast: oats

Lunch: champagne and cake and cheese. Aka fruit, protein and calcium.

Dinner: all the dumplings! My parents took my cousins to my favourite dumpling house and I may or may not have joined in for the ride..  

This is Andy. Andy is my flatmate. Andy was excited about date loaves. 

Auckland Eats: Onehunga Night Markets

"Its like Disney Land . . but for your stomach!"

I have been venturing off on weeknight food excursions quite a bit recently. 

Not having to study or do assignments in the evenings now that I am no longer a student has left me free to explore on school nights. 

No matter the culture, humans have a tendency to base social interactions around food and eating patterns. In the last week I have caught up with a couple of friends and at each time food was involved whether it be dessert, going to the markets or having them round for dinner. 

Alix, who I flatted with in third year is living up in Auckland as well (!!!) and who is also the best person in the world was keen to come and hit up the Onehunga night markets this Thursday for dinner with me. Having both not eaten on purpose since lunch time and with purses full of cash we threw ourselves into the market. 

I love the bustle, the smoke and the smell of hot sizzling meat wafting through the air. I am writing this with my eyes still bloodshot from the glaring lights and my face greasy from all the oil and heat. Not to mention sitting in super baggy clothing as I have a food baby like no other. 

Going with a friend is the best. I love trying new things and quite often you get too full after just a few things by yourself to do the rounds properly. But when with a friend (who can also eat you under the table - I take my hat off to you Alix) you can try everything the stalls have to offer. 

I have to say the fried pork buns at Onehunga were some of the best I have ever had. I managed to get as many vermicelli noodles on my front and the ground as I did my mouth. We said YOLO to the extra spicy beef bulgogi and an honourable mention of course goes to the chocolate dipped churros which is where we finished up.

For details about all the Auckland night markets click here and get amongst!