This funky invitation arrived in my inbox and it sounded like a fantastic event!
There were so many things that made me squeal with excitement:

- St Ali; I've never been but heard amazing things. I had experienced Outpost (St.Ali's sister cafe) as it was near my old work

- Cocktails by Der Raum; I have been there once with Katie and it was such a fantastic venue for cocktails. Bottles hanging from ropes from the ceiling, cocktails served in paper bags, syringes, and other funky ways.

- Desserts by Philipa Sibley; seeing her make that caramel parfait glace with salted peanut caramel and milk chocolate mousse on Masterchef make me drooooool. *sigh* if only I had an ice cream maker, I would attempt i.

- Circus acts also had me thinking of how amazing this night would be. And being able to take home part of a graffiti soy milk wall had me intrigued.

Lighting inside was very dark, with DJs pumping out tunes whilst the crowd mingled. The other bloggers got some pretty amazing shots of the food and cocktails, their links are listed below for you to check out AFTER you have finished reading my post!


All fingerfood and cocktails served included the Organic Vitasoy, from the chicken wings, to the amazing desserts.


At the end of the night, the grafitti wall was dismantled and we could all take home a slab. It was a bit of a challenge to get the first slab out, but once they managed, we wondered on home with 2 slabs of Organic Vitasoy!

Check out what the other bloggers thought of the night, with more pictures of what we ate and drank!

Thanh from I Eat Therefore I Am
Sarah from Sarah Cooks
Penny from Jeroxie
Agnes from Off the Spork
Maria from Gourmet Challenge

Iron Chef Shellie attended Vitasoy vs St Ali as a guest of Fiona Brook from Harvey Publicity. 

Read More......

Valentine's Day... a load of rubbish if you ask me! I spent the evening with my man and some of my closest friends at a free Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

We had an excellent time, hogged a bit too much of the grass, and ate way too much.
We all brought along something to share. Iron Chef David with the help of Iron Chef Jason brought along an amazing dips and cheese spread. That's my man, Iron Chef Rob wearing a toe guard napkin so he didn't dip his feet in the food!


I made a ricotta, tomato and basil torte found on the Taste website. Iron Chef Jason has gone on record for saying "best tart ever". Not only does it look impressive, it tastes delicious too! Recipe is posted below for you all.
Perfect for picnics or lazy lunches in summer. Pre-cut made it easy and mess free.

Then during the interval we enjoyed some dessert.
Heart shaped cookies from Aldi, famously seen on Not Quite Nigella's blog last year. I wanted to do the cupcakes but I just didn't have time between work and going out.
And a little something special, heart shaped fruit on the fruit kebabs.


Ricotta, Tomato & Basil Torte
Taste Website

Prep Time: 25-85 mins
Cooking Time: 60 mins

Olive oil, to grease
500g fresh low-fat ricotta
100g creamy feta, crumbled
3 eggs
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked, finely shredded
375g grape tomatoes, halved
Fresh basil leaves, extra, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly brush a 22cm (base measurement) springform pan with oil to grease. Release the base from the pan. Place a sheet of non-stick baking paper over the base allowing the sides to overhang. (This makes the tart easier to remove once cooked). Secure the base back into the pan.

2. Use an electric beater to beat the ricotta, feta, eggs and garlic in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the basil. Transfer the ricotta mixture to the prepared pan and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface.

3. Arrange the tomato, cut-side up, on top of the ricotta mixture. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until set and golden. Set aside to cool completely. Place in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm.

4. Release the base from the pan. Use the paper to slide the torte onto a serving plate. Top with extra basil leaves to serve.

Serves 8.

Read More......

It's mid-week cooking time again!
I figured I better start using some of the meat mum left me in the freezer whilst they are off seeing the world. My latest time wasting exercise at work has been trawling through the taste website and finding inspiration.
After sampling my friend's mum sausage rolls that were truly the best I've ever had..ever; I thought it was time I had a go myself!

This was such a simple recipe to prepare. I defrosted double the quantity of meat so I decided to make two batches and freeze the batch we didn't eat for a night when I can't be bothered cooking.... oh I'm looking forward to that night!!

You can add anything else to the filling you want (eg: celery, zucchini, spring onions). For me I just added sesame seeds to the top to give it that "home made" look. Very tasty and would excellent as finger food at a self catering party.

Probably not the most convential dinner but we enjoyed our stack of sausage rolls!

Read More......