The death of Cup Cakes

I’ve just recently added my best friend’s sister’s blog as an RSS feed and it makes me feel bad that I am not blogging as often as someareset.com. So I am taking this opportunity to be inspired to blog about more than just my meals, but of course keep my blogs relevant to food…

Her recent blog on fashion got me thinking about ‘trends’ – and I feel that this is a theme that carries through into cooking. Think about it…the 70s had the fondue faze, the 80s make me think of all the birthday parties I attended with fairy bread, the 90s had nuvo cuisine, and the 00s had some series Asian influence (with a definite lean away from the traditional Saturday Chinese and a move towards Thai’s fresher flavours). Just to name a few…

And now…well I am feeling that we are being hit with the cup cake trend or maybe what could be seen as the dying end of it!

Why do people think that it’s ok to replace a tradition cake with cup cakes in all circumstances? Ok…granted I was impressed when I attended 18^th’s and 21st’s in which these bite-size cakes were appropriate. But now I am attending Weddings and I see these stands adored with frosted cup cakes, I cringe.

WHY? What was wrong with the 3-5 tired cake? Am I being too traditional? Have people forgotten that you’re meant to keep a slice of your cake in the freezer until your first-born’s christening? Well…I may be getting a little carried away there, BUT since the late 19th century couples have been saving the top tier of their wedding cake to enjoy on their first wedding anniversary. The idea behind this tradition is for the couple to remember the happy memories from their wedding day and first year of marriage.

I’m not saying your wedding cake can’t reflect your personality – heck, I am always super impressed when I walk passed Sweet Art in Paddington (http://www.sweetart.com.au/index.php) – but please don’t say ‘We are in love’ in cup cakes!

The Middle Eastern dish on everyone's lips - 'Shakshuka'

When I was living in Potts Point, there was nothing better on a wintery Sunday morning than to go and grab the paper and head down to one of the trendy little cafes – to have the trendy little dish called ‘Shakshuka’.

This Middle Eastern fare seems to be on the lips of every up-n-coming café in the Eastern Suburbs. ‘Shakshuka’ is a North African dish with many variations. Some add preserved lemon, others feta and different herbs and spices. It’s my ideal brunch fare when it’s cold outside…to be cooked and served in its individual heavy, cast iron frying pan – with chucky sour dough bread!

Now that I’m not living a hop, skip and a jump next to a trendy little café, I thought that I would like ‘Shakshuka’ a go. I’ll make breakfast, but I’ll still be sending my boyfriend out into the cold to pick up a take away Café Latte, because I just can’t make coffee as well as I can cook!

* 2 free range eggs

* 6, ½ cm thick slices of chorizo sausage

* ½ red capsicum cut into strips

* ½ brown onion diced

* 1 can of peeled tomatoes

* 2 tbsp chopped coriander root

* 1 clove of minced garlic

* ½ tsp cumin seeds

* ½ tsp turmeric

* ½ tsp dried chili flakes

* Olive oil

* Salt and Pepper

* Up to 250ml of water

1. Heat the pan and roast the cumin seeds on high for 2 minutes. Add oil, onions and garlic and sauté until translucent.

2. Add chorizo, capsicum, turmeric and chili and fry off for 5 minutes.

3. Add canned tomatoes and some salt and pepper to taste – reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. During the cooking, keep adding water so that the mix retains some ‘sauce’ (Very important for dipping your bread into! – oh and also helping to keep your eggs nice and runny).

4. Bring the mixture back up to medium heat, make 2 gaps in the mix and carefully break an egg into each gap. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a very gentle heat for 10 minutes or until the eggs are set.

5. Sprinkle with salt and coriander root and serve with crusty bread

Busy Women

Okay...I'll put my hand up and be the first to admit that some days I'm not in the mood to cook - I've had a hellish day at work meeting the magazine deadline, or I've spent a good 5 hours umpiring netball and my legs no longer function or I just want to curl up on the couch and not do anything (you know what I mean).

So, 'Women's Health' put together a great article on the 101 best packaged foods for women - Check out our their buys