Raw Orange and Blueberry Cheesecake

Who sais you can't have a healthy cheesecake? Well to be honest, it's not really cheese but instead what the raw foodies call, 'cheeze' - cashews blended up. It may sound strange but believe me, it tastes damn good!

I found an interesting recipe online for an orange and blueberry cheesecake which I had most of the ingredients for, or at least I knew I could get relatively easily and at a reasonable price. So a few weeks ago I made this delicious cake and ate most of it (over a couple of weeks), bar about 3 slices which I gave to Ms Tjak and Rave to try. With glowing reviews on the taste I decided to make it again for Gaffa to try the next time he is home (which is this weekend yay yay yay!).
The recipe is quite simple and quick to make. The patience comes when you put it in the freezer and have to wait for it to harden up before eating it. Or waiting for it to defrost because your freezer has frozen it too much (which is what I had to do!)

Some points I noticed while making this:

- The recipe asks for 2 cups of nuts to 1 cup of dates. I found that the base didn't stick together enough so I added another half cup of dates. I've worked out that 1 cup is approx 10 dates (this is of course depending on the size of your Medjool dates). So I added 15 dates in total and it came to a nice sticky base but still crunchy from the nuts.

- The recipe calls for 3/4 cups of orange juice and the zest of all the oranges you used. The first time round I didn't know how many oranges would give me 3/4 cup of juice. So I juiced first and found it so hard to zest afterwards. So make sure you grate the orange zest before you juice the oranges. I found 2 oranges is enough but I guess it depends on how juicy your oranges are. I used naval oranges.

- I used frozen blueberries for the top layer. I found it easier to spread ontop of the cheese layer after putting the cake tin in the fridge for a bit to harden up. I also took out the blueberries to defrost first so when you mix it with the 1/4 cup cheese it won't be too thick and will be easier to spread.

The cake is very refreshing with the zest and the orange flavour goes well with the blueberries. Enjoy, try not to eat it all at once!

28th Birthday in Melbourne, Part 2

After a very yummy dinner we went downstairs the next morning to have buffet breakfast in the hotel. Bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms, hashbrowns, fruit, yoghurt, gluten free toast, fresh honey straight from the honeycomb, pancakes... filled us up for a full day of shopping ahead.

First stop was DFO at Docklands. We walked from our hotel all the way to Docklands. I was wearing my boots and a jumper and in true Melbourne fashion, weather was hot then cold at times - so annoying.

We finally arrived and headed for the athletic shops first. In Nike I bought a pair of running crops and a thin run jumper. Next stop was the Asics store for some new running shoes. Since my Nike Free Runs were giving me blisters Gaffa suggested Asics for more support on the longer runs. The sales consultant was very helpful and I also got a couple of pair of running socks too. We then headed into Lorna Jane. Since the Nike run crops were a dark pink colour I just had to find a black top to match! :) my current gym/run gear was black crops and coloured tops so I had nothing to match (thats what all girls say!). I found a cute black singlet and had to stop myself from buying other things, especially a purple crop top (and yes because it was purple I immediately loved it).

Afterwards we browsed through some other stores and Gaffa was getting a bit tired. He went for a toilet break and a drink while I had a look in some other stores. We both went into Jay Jays and I noticed a Minion tshirt in the window. Those that know me, know I love minions! This one had "one in a minion" on it, gotta love puns!! We also spotted some Batman tshirts and we both bought one, since our last name is very close to the superhero name hehe.

It was finally lunch time and we decided to catch a train to try out Three Bags Full Cafe. We ordered a couple of gf dishes and milkshakes, and a coffee for Gaffa in this busy suburban hang out. I should've tried the coffee because apparently it's quite good there. They also have funky stools made from street signs. Food was nice and well priced.

We then walked to the Lululemon factory outlet in Collingwood. I was super excited because I love all things Lululemon. The stuff at the outlet was mainly the random outrageous coloured items, with a few good finds. The store is arranged by size, so it was easy to find a bargin. I picked up a free to be bra for yoga and a funky backless top for the gym. Gaffa picked up some shorts. I was tempted to get another scuba hoodie but decided against it since I already have two of them. (They're so comfy and warm though).

After a long day of shopping we'd finally had enough and took a tram back to the city to our hotel.

Gym time! We headed to the same Fitness First we went to the previous night but it was just about to close. So we decided to trek to the newly opened Flinders St Fitness First gym. This was the first FF gym in Victoria with the new branding. Spread out over 2 levels with all the gym equipment and space you could want. It was quite impressive. We lost track of time again with an intense arm and abs workout and ended up back at the hotel getting ready for a late dinner.

Cookie was another place that my SIL and another friend recommended. Both for the Thai food and the cocktails. When we arrived they were really busy and didn't have any seats in their restaurant area but we could sit in the bar area on a large communal high table. As I minded the seats Gaffa went to order the food and cocktails. Food prices were a bit expensive and food was good but not as impressive as The European the night before. We ordered a couple of entrees and a couple of mains. It was quite noisy as well (since it was a Saturday night) so we left after dinner in search for some dessert.

We walked past the Nitro Lab, which is the ice cream store that sprung from a contestant on Master Chef. On the show she was running out of time while making ice cream and decided to use liquid nitrogen to freeze it instantly. There was a line but it went quickly. They change their flavours every now and then so it's definitely a place to visit more than once. I opted for Gaytime and Gaffa had the watermelon mojito. I watched eagerly as they made the ice cream in their Kitchen Aid mixers and added in the secret ingredient... then hey presto,  ice cream was created! The Gaytime ice cream was so delicious as was the mojito.

On Sunday after our buffet breakfast we packed our bags and checked out, leaving our luggage at the hotel while we went for a movie. The Lego Movie was very entertaining, brought me back to my childhood memories of playing with Lego. I had the girly lego while my brother had the boys lego. Kids nowadays probably wouldn't appreciate Lego as much, with all the new high tech toys out there.

After browsing around some shops we headed for lunch at a small Taiwanese place and then dessert at the Nitro Lab again. This time we tried and TimTam and Mango Boba. Gaytime was my fav, followed by mojito, TimTam then Mango boba. Nom nom! Can't beat a yummy gelato or ice cream.

Sadly the awesome birthday weekend had to come to an end.... I said goodbye to the hubby and he took the train back to Crib Point, while I headed to the airport. I was quite early for my flight so had loads of time to kill. Finally after a delayed flight I arrived home. What an awesome 28th Birthday, one I'll remember for a long long time. Thanks for making it a special one, Gaffa! :) xxx

28th Birthday in Melbourne, Part 1

Every year regardless of what day of the week my birthday falls on, I ensure that I don't have to work. This year, 11 April was on a Friday so I decided to celebrate my birthday in Melbourne with my hubby and enjoy an extended weekend full of shopping and eating!!

I took an early flight from Sydney to Melbourne with carry on luggage only. Then hopped on the Skybus from the airport to Southern Cross station and headed for my first stop: breakfast!! My SIL: Ms Tjak, recommended the Hardware Society amd raved about their baked eggs. Since the cafe was not gluten free friendly I decided to eat there myself. In usual Melbourne fashion, it was raining and I ended up taking the free city tram to the cafe.

Using my awesome navigation skills (Gaffa would laugh, but Melbourne is one of the easiest places to get around since it's a grid like network) I found the Hardware Society tucked away in a small lane and waited for a table for 1. I ordered the baked eggs with chorizo and a hot chocolate. 

The baked eggs were pretty popular as every table had at least one person order the dish. The hot chocolate came out first and was just divine. Full of chocolatey goodness and ended up being about 3 cups worth. The eggs: so yummy! Definitely worth it.

After refueling, I headed to the city for some shopping. Gaffa told me to go to H&M because he didn't want to go with me (he hates the store). When I got to the H&M building I noticed the extremely long line just to get in. I decided to wait, since I had time to kill. About 20 minutes later I was in! Woohoo. Pulling my little suitcase around I browsed the 2 main levels. Didn't find much except for a pair of blue denim jeans for $27. I spent over half an hour waiting in the fitting room line to try them on. I think when it gets less busy it'll be better, it was just way too crowded!

After browsing some other stores I headed to our hotel, the Rydges, as it was almost check in time. When I checked in Gaffa was already in the city on his way to the hotel so I waiting for him to eat lunch.

Beforehand I had picked out a few lunch spots. One was across from our hotel but was closed by the time we went for lunch (sushi sandwiches). Next stop was Ms Chu, a Viet tuck shop that sold rice paper rolls, salads and other small dishes. Because it was after the normal lunch time rush we were able to get a table easily and sat down to order some rice paper rolls, beef vermicelli salad and some refreshing iced coconut juices. Gaffa also ordered some char-sui baos, his favourite! The final stop was Ferdydurk, a pub that sold $3 hotdogs. We ordered 2 but they weren't very nice.

Afterwards we headed back to the hotel for a quick rest and then into our gym gear for a pre dinner workout at Fitness First. Our hotel allowed guests to use the Fitness First gym for free since their gym was erm well, crap to say the least. We headed to FF for an intense back, shoulders and ab workout.

We rushed back to the hotel room to get ready for my surprise birthday dinner. Gaffa had booked a restaurant a few weeks back and I didn't have any clues as to what or where it was. I wore my Popcherry dress and my hight heels and we walked from our hotel to the European. It was a quaint little restaurant with dark mood lighting, that had an extensive wine list and amazing food to match. Or should I say they had a great wine to match the food?!?!

Upon looking at the menu, there was a lot of dishes that sounded very apetising... and being the indecisive person I am, had a very hard time deciding. For starters Gaffa chose, and we each ordered an entree, a main and dessert. For the wines, Gaffa always asks the waiter to recommendations. We started with some sparkling while waiting for our starter of peppers and chorizo - reminded me of Spain. Next came our entrees. I just had to try the bone marrow dish. The first time I tried bone marrow was in the Napa Valley at Morimotos restaurant and it was amazing. This dish did not disappoint. It was probably my favourite dish of the night. I could've eaten it again for my main. Gaffa had a soup that was on the specials board. The waiter recommended some wines to match our dishes. Since the bone marrow was quite heavy I was given a light wine. I opted for half glasses while Gaffa had whole ones.

The restaurant was pretty packed but food came out pretty quickly. With enough time in between each course to let the food settle and to enjoy the rest of our glass of wine. For mains I ordered the pig. Anything pig related (mainly pork belly) I tend to order it. Gaffa went for the cassoulet which reminded him of our time in France. Again we were recommended matching wines which complemented our dishes nicely.

Then came dessert! The special was a twix recreation with salted caramel, which of course I jumped on since twix bars are one of the few chocolate bars I enjoy; Gaffa wanted to try the soufflé. My dessert was my second favorite dish of the night, with its rich salted caramel and crispy biscuit layer, just so moreish! We then finished off with a kir royal for me (which reminded me of our time in France again) and some after dinner aperitif for Gaffa recommended by our awesome waiter.

This birthday dinner was an amazing night of culinary delights and one I will definitely remember and talk about for a long time. Gaffa will have to work hard next year to top it! I would certainly go back to the European for dinner again when I'm next in Melbourne. Service was great, and prices were not mega expensive. I think our bill was under $260. For 3.5 courses with matching wines, that's pretty good!

To finish off the night Gaffa took me to the Whiskey Bar. The bar is hidden behind a blank store front with only a small sign above the door to identify it. Inside it is small and dark to match, only the most dedicated whiskey lovers would know about the hidden gem. Gaffa was recommended this place by the bartender at the Gin Palace.  I had a Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or while Gaffa again askes for a recommendation. The whiskey list is huge!

Stay tuned for part 2, for more food delights and some shopping adventures!

Altitude Degustation

So much has been happening in the last couple of months, so sorry about the lack of posts.  But hopefully you've been enjoying Gaffa's blog posts about his Fat to Fit Journey.

I have to back track to February, but to a very special dinner Gaffa and I had at the Shangri-La Hotel in the Rocks. They have a bar and restaurant on level 36 with amazing cocktails and views to match in the fine dining restaurant Altitude.

I booked a table for 9.30pm on 15th February, yes the day after Valentine's Day because it was the day Gaffa received his de-facto visa many years ago and because Valentine's Day is always so busy! We opted for the Epicurious degustation which is an 8 course degustation menu for $150 ($215 with matching wines). AND it's gluten free!

We arrived early all dressed up and decided to have a cocktail at the bar. Sadly all the seats with harbour views were taken. Finally 9.30pm arrived and we were seated at a rather wide table (so far across from each other!) with views of the harbour night sky.

We decided to order a bottle of wine to celebrate and were recommended a lovely red wine that we thoroughly enjoyed. It ended up being the same price as having the matching wines. But at least with 1 full bottle we knew we liked it and could enjoy and savour its taste.

The night started off with an array of breads. We were also given a couple of complimentary fresh oysters to begin. They were nice but has the 'sea' taste that I don't particularly enjoy.

I'll keep this post short and let the photos do the talking. The food was delicious. My favourite dish was the swordfish. We also received complimentary glasses of bubbly as a sorry from the restaurant for taking so long to bring out the dishes. But we didn't even notice they were busy... the cheese plate incurs an extra $15 ontop of the $150. The dishes look small but by the end of the degustation you'll be pretty satisfied!

Before the main courses came out there was an unexpected fireworks show. It was a nice touch to our special night. We ended up being one of the last tables to leave at around midnight.

Our waiter was very nice and even went out of his way to find out some info for us. During our previous visit to the bar we noticed there was a cocktail on the list for $10k which included a diamond. We assumed this was for all those men who wanted to propose. But what was really included in this $10k package? Well the $10k diamond cocktail means that you can use $10k to cover the ring, dinner, drinks and room stay. And we were told that they get at least 1 proposal every week at Altitude! So any guys reading this who are stuck on a proposal location, check out Altitude...

I highly recommend the degustation menu. Food is prepared well, service is top notch, and the price is fairly competitive compared to other degustations at other fine dining restaurants around Sydney. Plus the views are amazing! Gaffa and I had a great night :)

Malabar Short Course Triathlon

So you may have seen some of Gaffa's blog post on his own personal blog: The Fat to Fit Journal. The reason behind this is that Gaffa and I decided about a month and a half ago together that we want to get fit. We've wanted this for a while as you've probably seen from our healthy cooking, our love for yoga and my raw/healthy baking, but now we've stepped it up a notch and are getting serious about it and making ourselves accountable. We've booked out belated Honeymoon for July so we're using that as our first milestone and focusing on the next 2 months.

Gaffa has started his own blog to keep track on what he's doing each day and also hoping to motivate his readers and to document all the ups and downs that someone might encounter when trying to get fit.

Last month I had my routine of the early shift at work and then going to the 5.30pm bikram yoga class. One week I made it through 5 straight days of yoga, (a first for me in a long long time) which I was hoping to get to 7 - but then on Thursday night at dinner at my folk's place, a spanner was thrown into the works. My brother, Rave asked me if I wanted to do a triathlon on the Saturday morning. He was training for the Port Macquarie Iron Man on 4th May and his triathlon group were running a short course and long course triathlon race, which they were doing as part of their training.

I asked what the distances were for each leg and these were the thoughts that went through my head.
>1km ocean swim - doable since I hadn't done much swimming in a while but managed to swim 1.2km the week before at Narrabeen ocean pool and felt pretty good afterwards.
>21km bike ride: I started riding my bike to work and the ride was about 11km each way. So 21km was like riding to work and back, in one go... doable since I was fairly comfortable with the distance now that I'd riden to work a few times already.
> 6km run: again, doable since I'd been doing 5km runs every now and then. And my Nike Free Runs were good for my feet up until about 7-8km when they start giving me blisters.

So in my head, since I could do each leg of the triathlon I thought, what's stopping me from doing them one after the other?

I decided to rest on Friday and get psyched up for the big morning. I was used to the early 5am wake up call so I made it to Malabar beach before the sun rose. Apparently I looked nervous before the race... haha yeh I was feeling it a bit. I knew I hadn't done any training for it and just told myself to have fun and try my best. But I didn't want to be that person, that quits. Marrying into the Bateman family means we never give up!!

I was the only person on a mountain bike and one of the few people wearing a swimming costume only - the pros were all wearing wetsuits. We set up our gear on  the grass and I decided not to wear my knicks on the bike leg to save another wardrobe change after the bike ride.

We started the swim at about 7.20am and I decided to let the majority of the people swim ahead so I could pace myself and not get caught up in their whitewash. Out of the 3 legs I think swimming would be my strongest. But while I was swimming out and back into shore I didn't see many people (probably because I was at the back of the pack). I exited the water and looked back into the ocean to see who was left, I was nicely reassured that I wasn't the last one out :)

Feeling pretty good that I had 1 down and 2 to go, I changed out of my one piece (I was wearing a sports bra and bikini bottoms underneath) and put on my Lululemon 3/4 crops and a singlet. Stupid me didn't dry my legs properly and pulled a bit too hard on my crops and pulled some of the stitching apart, resulting in a hole on my left lower thigh. Annoyed, I got on my bike and started pedaling up the steepest hill. The cool breaze was nice and I was treating it like a pleasure ride down to La Perouse with the hubby. Riding down to Bare Island seemed a lot harder than I remember but I pedalled through and didn't get off my bike. Rave rode past me during the road down to the shipping yards which was good motivation to keep me pushing on. At the end of the ride I accidentally turned right up a hill instead of left to get back to the beach. Lucky I realised early and finally made it back.

2 down, 1 to go! After getting off my bike my backside wasn't feeling the pain yet - thankfully! My legs were a bit sore though. But I knew I was so close to the end and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Rave rode past me during my first run lap and seemed in high spirits. And finally I made it past the finish line and completed my first triathlon!!  Yaaay go me!

The guys who were runing the triathlon and helping out were great support and very motivating and positive throughout the race. One guy even yelled out "you're beating your brother", which made me laugh considering he was doing the long course triathlon. I was happy to see that he was still on his bike when I finished and just missed his transition to his run when I was putting my bike away in my car.

My final time: 2:12:56
Swim: 23:55
Bike: 1:08:59
Run: 40:03

Triathlons are fun. I'd definitely do one again, but would train for it! I spent the whole day after resting when the pain started to kick in. I don't think I'd ever get up to Ironman level, but you should never say never!! Watch this space.... hahaha.

Thanks STG for organising the event and for the photo.

Healthy Banana Bread

Yes you read it correctly: healthy! The usual banana bread is normally packed with processed sugar and gluten, not good for Mr. Gaffa! So he found this recipe on the Lululemon blog and asked me to make it for him before he left for Cerberus.

The only annoying thing about making banana bread is having to wait until you have over ripe bananas; you have to plan ahead. Or unless you buy too many bananas and at the end of the week you think, 'oops I have too many bananas,  hmm what should I do with them...?'.... anyway me being the organised freak planned ahead and bought 3 extra bananas so by Friday they were perfect for mashing.

This banana bread is not overly sweet but enough to satisfy the tastebuds. It's the first time that I've ever put cinnamon in a banana bread recipe but was a great addition to the moist banana taste. (Yes I hate the word moist but I had to use it because this banana bread is truly that!) I used rice malt syrup instead of honey or maple syrup.

Here's the recipe

The banana bread is gluten free and processed sugar free! Sorry nut and egg allergy peeps. Delicious and healthy,  yum yum. Perfect for mid morning/afternoon snack. Enjoy!

The Grounds of Alexandria

You may have heard of Kevin Bacon. I'm not talking about the actor, but instead the imfamous pig that went missing a few years ago from a Sydney cafe and was found in Melbourne. Well, The Grounds is the cafe where Kevin Bacon resides amongst other farm animals, an array of beautiful outdoor undercover seating areas, a bustling cafe and bakery, markets, a coffee research facility and it's own valet parking service.

The Banker, Coco and I first visited on a sunny Friday a couple of weeks ago. We were initially wanting to take their cousin there who was visiting from HK, but she had other plans so we went ourselves instead.

We got there at 'brunch' time and it was already quite busy. Parking was hard to find; we had to park up the road and around the corner, but we only waited about 10 minutes for a table.

Coco had been there before and recommended the breakfast board. I also liked the sound of the croquettes. So we ordered a breakfast board each and a plate of croquettes each. Cold drinks came in mason jars with a handle, and the food was pretty quick to arrive too.

The breakfast board comprised of smoked ham, poached eggs, avocado, pesto, fetta cheese,  tomatoes and sourdough bread. Very filling.  But the banker and I managed to finish off our croquettes too,  but Coco... tsk tsk... didn't :p

We wanted to grab some pastries to take home but our bellies couldn't handle it. We opted for a take away coffee and sat outside and enjoyed the garden space and the afternoon sun.

The second time I visited The Grounds was last weekend with the hubby, Gaffa. I noticed there were bike racks there the first time I went so I suggested to Gaffa that we ride there, have lunch and ride home. Great way to exercise and we don't have to look for parking.

On our way to The Grounds we rode to HMAS Kuttabul in Potts Point as Gaffa was working there for the week and he wanted to ride into work. So off we went. I recently started riding into work in the city so I wad used to the 10km journey. We got to the base and checked out the showers and locker facilities and the location of the wardroom. The wardroom was down the hill and because I don't like hills we pushed our bikes back up the hill and then continued onto Alexandria.

We finally got to The Grounds at about 11.30am. After locking up our bikes and putting our name down on the waiting list we wandered around the outdoor area. They advised us of a 1.5hr wait for a table as it was a weekend and prime brunch time. But after we bought some fresh lemonade and sat down for a rest, our buzzer beeped about 15-20mins later, so the wait wasn't long at all.

Breakfast stops at 11.30am and lunch starts at 12pm. (I've always wondered what happens between 11.30 and 12.00, because you can't order either... I noticed this at another cafe I recently went to as well). Anyway since it was after 12 when we sat down we could order lunch. Gaffa and I always share so he let me pick 2 meals. I chose the lamb dish and the duck salad, and a side of chips. For drinks I had a mocha and Gaffa was recommended a piccolo. He's not a big milk in coffee drinker so he wasn't too fussed about the piccolo.

The food was delicious, both very different.  The lamb was full of flavour whereas the salad was quite light, which was great for us as we wanted to fit in dessert; and the chips were very morish with the aioli.

There were a range of desserts, with a wide selection of them being gluten free. We went for the passionfruit cheesecake and chocolate mousse cake. Very, very yummy! Cute presentation too, as it comes out on a chopping/cheese board - easy for sharing!

While we were eating lunch the weather turned 180 and went from blistering sunshine to heavy down pour. I was crapping myself as our helmets were outside and we were not equipped for riding in the rain. Lucky the rain eased as we finished dessert and I had a plastic bag to store all our valuables from getting wet. Surprisingly it wasn't too cold riding home in the rain, but I was peddling that little bit quicker just to get home to a hot shower!!

The food at The Grounds is reasonably priced and serving sizes are decent. I would definitely go back to try some of the other breakfast and lunch dishes. The outdoor areas are so pretty and would be a great place for a party or function. They've got areas for children to play in and I think they're building another area for adults only. So it'll be great to see what they come up with.