Psycho Flight Attendant---NicoDerm Commercial

The Julie and Julia inspiration

If any of you have not seen the movie Julie and Julia, see it. 365, 263 recipies a frustrated secritary cooks her way through Julia childs french cookbook and blogs about it. Simple and hilarious. Anyway, after watching this film all tucked up in bed I was inspired myself to try a choclate tart which features in the first part of the movie. But I didn't stop there, I also made hershey chocolate chip and walnut cookies,classic oat cookies and some winter vege soup which I pureed and froze in a snaplock bag. Funny , on the days i feel most under the weather are the days i want to cook a snowstorm.Anywho I spose I just love the idea that each time I bake the same thing I get better and better till you don't need the book. That's the thing about cooking, you can be ADD and still appreciate it because it doesnt take much time and you have constructed something beautiful from scratch. As Julia would say "you can have the worst day at work and everything falls down but you can come home and male cocolate pie and know it will turn out thick!"

Now to the recipe..if you care like me and do not have all the fancy kitchen equipment converting using online metric converters can be quite a task especially when measuring 175 grams of butter ( like 19T) however it only takes a wee while to do and its totally worth the calories

Here is the recipe for the chocolate tart

Prep time 30 +mins +1 hours chilling cooking time 15 min

1. 175g plain four
2. 6tsp butter
3. 1tsp caster suger
4. 1 tsp water
5. filling 100g full fat cream chees
6. 2 T caster suger
7. 1 small egg,lightly beater
8. 50grams dark choc

To decorate:

1. piped cream
2. dark choc spinkles or curls(whatever amount of patience you have left
3. coaco powder to dust

1.sieve the flour into a mixing bowl.cut butter into small pieces and run in with your finger tips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.Stir in the suger.Add enough water to mix into a soft dough and cover and chill for 15 min

2.Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use the 18 mini tartlet tines or mini muffin tins. prick base with fork

3.Beat together the full fat soft cheeese and the suger. BEat in the efgg and melt the chocolate and beat it into the mixture. Spoon into the pastry cases and bake in the preheated oven 190 degrees for 5-15 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and the filling is set. cool completely

4 chill tarts. pipe cream on topand decorate!

Bueno petito!

Vanilla Manilla

Trying local food in Manilla markets is similar to graciously eating a sandwich offered from a smiling janitor. However I 'maned up' and did try a lot... and got sick, but that was from gorging out on crew chocolates before landing lol. This trip was probably my most active trip infact, i was so full of energy on this trip it was incredible (and yes Dad the shopping had a LOT to do with that). The smells, are overwhelmingly delicious and the food so cheap i had to contain myself. Krispy cream doghnuts, deep friend seafood,crab and lobster,adobo, and fresh fresh fruit and following that for 25 dirhum each ( 270 pasos) i can enjoy a full body exfolients,facial, pedicure and eyelash perm to assist digestion.

However the best thing about manilla is the Greenfields mall, where the phillipinos customer centered nature makes barganing a breeze... just ask what they are offereing and work convert that to Dirhum, then half it and somewhere inbetween you'll have a bargan. I really loved the phillipeans and here's a brief list why (i love lists)

1.The friendliness- this race are naturally anticipative of needs and given the chance will rush to help.
2.The temperature 36 degrees-tropical weather means tropical fruit and the best dried mangos
3. The exchange rate.. one dirhum is equivilant to 12 pasos and it cost 10 dirhum for a facial...ahhhh
4. That anyone over 6 foot has instant celebrity status
5. The safety in the city, you feel very at ease however always check with the concierge how much it cost usually to catch a taxi (they may help you with your bags,smile,offer you mangos and at the same time rip you off on the taxi fare big time)
6.The amazing leadership we had on this flight. Although the flight was 8hours it didn't really feel like we were working.

"So your Nan lives in Oamaru too?!"

Here we are two girls who met in Dubai only to discover our grandmas sing in the same church choir in small town Oamaru; New Zealand. Not only that, our parents got married in the same church in Oamaru...
Bex is a really cool chilled chick who is soon to move to Beijing China, but we have arranged that when I have an Emirates flight to Beijing, i'll be there.

That's the crazy thing about Dubai, it seems all these connections are made dispite temperal nature of everything.

Capetown seafoods

BUnny Chow in Durban

Here we are on the periphery of Durban town center at 'Casa de sol' local restaurant 5 minutes walk from Durbans south beach.

Home

When construction began in September 2004, they didn't know that The Burg Kaliffa (standing at 828 meters) would be completed just in time for the biggest financial slump in decades. 5 years and 20 billion US dollars later the Burg didn't officially open until 4 Jan this year, and when it did, they did not skimp on the trumpets. Personally, I think it's awesome, now when i say I live in Dubai, people go "WOW thats where the tallest building is.." that and standing at 6.1 myself gives me the nickname Kaliffa! Another reason why it's so cleaver is the engineering behind it especially in Dubai where sandstorms are a major threat to structures over 300 feet.

Boeings&Baking