The Return

Wow.

It has been such a long time since I last posted a recipe up or even blogged in general. In fact it has been so long since I've even come to this blog that I forgot my password and had to rest it.

I'm not saying that I'm coming back returning to my past schedule with posting. In fact I can't promise I'll post anything at all. All I can say is that I remember you guys still exist, and that I might come back and visit every now and again. And when I return I'll bring some food with me in the form of recipes.

In fact today I was going to post a recipe but instead I've decided that I want to film a video instead. I know I said I was going to start a cooking channel - well I think I've got a name and all that ready but I've just not filmed anything. Same as how I've just not posted anything here.

Things just got so hectic - in fact I'm probably writing this blog up at a pretty bad time. I've got finals coming up in a week and I've got 2 reports that I need to finish. Why do I always pick the most stressful times to pick things up again? ..... Probably because these are the things that keep me grounded and happy.

I'll be sure to link you guys the video when I've finished editing it and what not - hopefully I'll be able to keep posting videos and recipes after I finish exams. I really do miss sharing with you guys food ideas and recipes.

I'm going to try and keep this things going this time.

I'm gonna end it here and who knows maybe there will be a turn of events in the near future.

Stay sharp guys

x

Christmas Gingerbread Frappe | Starbucks Style

Christmas is almost upon us and it means that it is about time that we start getting excited for the holiday season. This means nice spicy smelling foods. But the problem is that Australia is starting to warm up for the summer so it's hard for us to have the traditional warm spicy food smells. Instead I've come up with a cold option and hopefully you will like it.

Gingerbread is something that we associate with Christmas, we make ginger bread cookies as a family and the smell of the cookies baking in the oven is enough to tell you that Christmas is around the corner.

So today we are going to mix the flavours of gingerbread and summer together to bring you the taste of a gingerbread frappe. You've probably tried this drink before at Starbucks if you are lucky enough to have one near you. I recently tried this drink, about a month ago to be exact and it is DELISH. It tasted like gingerbread a lot, and I'm happy to be able to present to you a pretty similar drink for the summer.

There isn't much to tell you about this drink other than that it is amazing everyone should try it and there is no reason why it should be restricted for drinking in the summer. And I'll also provide an easy way for you to make this drink, without all the hassle that goes on behind the Starbucks counter.

And with that, let's get started.

Ingredients
2 cups coffee flavoured milk frozen
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp mixed spice
whipped cream, to garnish
extra cinnamon, to garnish

Method
1. Put everything into a blender apart from garnish. Blend till smooth.
2. Pour into a serving glass, top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

And there you have it, Starbuck's seasonal drink at the comfort of your own home for next to nothing. This is the perfect summer drink for those of us with summery Christmas's but there is no reason for you to only drink this at Christmas, feel free to whip it out all year long.

I hope that you'll enjoy the gingerbread goodness, and I'll try and post more recipes soon seeing as I'm now on holidays for 3 months. Woooooooh. Remember to stay healthy, happy and safe over the holiday season!

Korea Chocolate Bread 초코 버터 브레드 |Tom n Toms Style|

It's FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY. It is also the last day of this blogging week :(

I'm surprised that I've been able to keep blogging for a week because so much has been happening, and I've just been so swamped and busy as well. But it's here. day 5 of recipes, and I'm really happy to share this one with you guys. Especially after  the response I got for a similar recipe I shared earlier.

I shared the Tom n Toms Honey Butter Bread a while back, so today I've come back to cap this week off with the Tom n Toms Choco Butter Bread. This one is just as indulgent, if not more because of the chocolate. And the version I share with you may be best left to group gatherings because you will drown in the richness of the dessert.

You know the drill, it's time to get started

Ingredients
5cm thick piece of white bread (white tastes best)
4 tbs butter
4 tbs nutella ot any chocolate spread
2 tbs chocolate sauce
2 tbs strawberry
1 scoop vanilla (or chocolate) ice cream or whipped cream (from a can is fine)

Method 
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Spread butter on one side of the bread.
3. Cut the bread into 9 cubes and keep the shape of the bread.
4. Put the bread into the oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Spread nutella on the buttered bread.
6. Place scoop of ice cream on the centre, or a generous amount of whipped cream. Top with lashings of chocolate and strawberry sauce. Serve immediately.

And there you have it, another delectable Tom n Toms creation to enjoy at home.

THAT is it. I hope that you have enjoyed my week's worth of blogs because it certainly has been fun to be sharing some of my favourite little snacks and tid-bits with you guys this week. This week I've been sharing things that I would usually deem to small or easy to make for a normal recipe, but with the nature of this weeks posts I think it has been OK.

Please do continue to scroll through all the recipes on the blog if you would like more, especially because I don't really know when I'll be back with another post :/ But please do remember to stay safe, healthy and happy. 

Chai Tea Frappe

Hey everyone, I can't believe that tomorrow will be the last day of this blogging week. I can't believe that a week has gone by so quickly. WOW, I was planning to get so much done in this week but most of it just hasn't happened.

Anyways I've been getting this blogging week done which has been good :)

I hope that you like me putting more substantial food on the blog yesterday, although today I've converted back to posting about a drink. I only tried this drink out about 6 months ago, but I have been hooked and I will order it whenever I see it on the menu at a cafe. So I thought that it would only be right for me to share it with you guys as well, especially since it is snack week.

It's the chai tea frappe, or smoothie as it is also known. It's the refreshing hot drink that we all know and love transformed into a cool refreshing version for the summer months. It's got tea goodness, along with the hint of spices and the nice refreshing hit of ice to keep you cool, calm and collected through the heat.

Ingredients
2 cups of chai tea, brewed and cooled
1 cup of almond milk or full cream milk
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
4 cups of ice cubes
1 tbsp of honey or sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract
whipped cream
cinnamon to garnish

Method 
1. Pour the milk, tea, ice, honey, ice cream and vanilla into a blender.
2. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
3. Pour the drink into serving glasses and top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon to garnish.

And you are DONE. A simple chai tea frappe at home.

I hope that you enjoyed today's recipe. It was more simple than all the others so far, but it is still as good and delicious because it is so simple. Stay tuned for the last installment of snack week tomorrow. 

Japanese Potato Salad

I hope that everyone has been having a pleasant day so far, because it is certainly going to get bettor once I tell you about today's recipe. Unlike the other days today is going to be a bit more effort and work...only a bit more but I assure you the end product is worth it.

You may never convert back to the usual potato salad after you try this. Today I'm going to be posting about the Japanese potato salad. For those of you who may have tried this before you may know that it is a lighter and creamier version of the usual Western potato salad. It's just as delicious though and it perfect to eat as a snack in the spring or as a side dish all year round.

Unlike the usual Western potato salad being really rich and acidic the use of Japanese mayonnaise Kewpie means that the dish is kept light and more mild in terms of taste.

I really just want to share with recipe with you so let's go!

Ingredients
3 medium potatoes (any will do)
1 small carrot
1 small cucumber
1/2 brown onion
1 egg
1/2 cup Kewpie mayonnaise
salt and pepper to season

Method
1. Place washed potatoes and carrots along with the egg in a pot of salted water to boil for 10 minutes. Remove the egg after 10 minutes and continue to cook the potatoes and carrot until cooked through
2. Peel the egg and dice it up.
3. Thinly slice the cucumber, and sprinkle salt on the cucumber to dehydrate it a bit.
4. Dice the onion, not too fine though.
5. Remove carrots and potatoes when cooked through.
6. Dice the carrot and the potato with the skin on (gives it salad a wonderful flavour). Sprinkle some salt on both these and place into a bowl.
7. Squeeze the water out of the cucumber and onion and add to the bowl.
8. Add the egg and 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and mix everything together.
9. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.

And there you have it, A simple and delightful Japanese potato salad in the comfort of your own home to enjoy all year around. It may even substitute as a lonely dinner for one on a lonely evening (we've all been there T_T)

I hope that you enjoyed that recipe today because I'm pretty sure that once you have tried this you won't want to go back to the usual potato salad. This is less dense but still so enjoyable. I hope that you've been enjoying all the posts so far because there's only 2 days left after this :(

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Hey there, I think we've had quite a few nice drinks so far so today I've decided to come up with some food food. Something that is a starter, but actual food that you can chew on. It is one of my favourite things ever, cheese sticks.

I know that not everyone is a fan of cheese, and I don't understand at all - how can you not like cheese? But anyways, these are really nice and you can always trick your non-cheese eating friends that it is fish fingers and wait for the reaction because it is HILARIOUS.

There isn't much to say about this dish other than that it is delectable, crispy on the outside and molten cheese on the inside. Feel free to choose whatever cheese you want inside, but it does work best with a soft cheese that oozes as you bite into it. I like to use mozzarella because it is my favourite, but you can use Brie or Camembert or even cheddar if you would like to.

I have nothing else to say so let's get this recipe started!

Ingredients
200g mozzarella cheese
100g flour
50g corn flour
1 large egg beaten
100g bread crumbs
oil to fry in
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup finely chopped herbs (parsley, tarragon or chives)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Method
1. Preheat oil to 180C
2. Combine the flour and corn flour. Season flour with salt and pepper.
3. Cut mozzarella into 16 sticks, making sure cheese is cold
4. Dip cheese into flour, then egg, into flour again, egg again and finally breadcrumbs (this will seal everything in)
5. Lower cheese sticks into flour and fry for a few minutes until the outside is golden. Drain on paper towels a bit.
6. While cheese sticks are cooking combine mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, garlic powder and herbs in a bowl and mix.

And there you have it. The perfect finger food for a party, or even a snack for yourself on a lonely movie night in. 

I hope that you guys like today's post. I can't believe I'm already on day 4 eeeeek. Anyways stay tuned for more tomorrow :D

Thai Iced Tea

Hey peoples. 

It is ridiculously hot today. Probably because it is currently 1pm, and I woke up about 11am.... It's still hot. I hope that yesterdays recipe was good. Because today I'm coming back with something that will be perfect to sip on today and it is just a skip over from the pond. 

Today I'm going to post up a recipe for Thai iced tea. This stuff is amazing, just as sweet and refreshing but no where near as huge of a caffeine hit. Which could be a good thing if you are worried about lying wide awake at 3am in the morning. 

The drink is similar to the Vietnamese coffee from yesterday because it is also chilled with lots of ice and sweetened with condensed milk, milk and coconut milk for extra flavour and depth. There isn't much to the recipe once again, but let's get started. 

Ingredients

100g thai tea mix (OR 4 black tea bags)

60g sugar

1 L boiling water

A LOT of ice cubes 

100ml condensed milk

100ml coconut milk

100ml evaporated milk

Method

1. Boil water in a saucepan and place in the tea and sugar. 

2. Boil for 3 minutes before letting the tea steep for 40 minutes off the heat. 

3. Strain tea into a bowl and dispose of tea leaves. 

4. Fill your serving glasses with ice

5. Mix various milks together

6. Fill glasses 3/4 up with tea

7. Fill up the rest of the glasses with the milk mixture

Serve ice cold

And there you have it, another ice cold drink to sip on in this 30 degree weather. It is supposed to only be spring, what is this? 

This drink is delectable throughout the year but hits all the right spots in summer, so go for it and make a huge batch at home and leave it chilling in the fridge to enjoy at your own discretion.

I hope that you have liked the recipe because I'll be back with more tomorrow. I can't believe it's already been 3 days :/