Dans la Cuisine 2 : Naughty But Nice

Je te présente... a 'naughty' thing or two I have cooked up in the kitchen over the past few days!

Inspired by the somewhat confusing American concept of 'chicken fried steak' and 'chicken fried chicken'...that is, steak cooked weiner schnitzel style but coated in Southern fried chicken crumb (like KFC), and chicken also fried in this style, but called chicken fried chicken to distinguish the fact it is cooked in the style but without the bones! ... I decided to make...



...Onion rings!

Basically, peel, slice the onions* and sit them to blot on a piece of kitchen paper** while you put some olive oil to heat in a frying pan (less than a centimetre deep, as I like to shallow fry such things). To make the crumb to coat them, mix some flour on a plate with whichever herbs & spices you like to flavour and season it***. In a small bowl or tea cup, beat two eggs gently, and add some milk#.

Then the messy fun begins! I suggest you use one hand to crumb the onion rings, as it makes less clean up (two messy hands = no clean hand to turn the tap on or use utensils)! Simply dip an onion ring in the egg/milk mixture, then coat it in the flour/seasoning mix. Then again in the egg/milk mix, again in the flour/seasoning. Depending on how thick you want the crumb to be, you can do this a few times. Then...repeat with the rest of your onion rings!

When your oil is hot enough (keeping it on medium heat), carefully test it with a crumbed onion ring. Cook them in small batches, turning them over as one side is done. They take a minute or two each side. When cooked, blot them on a piece or two of kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.

I enjoy eating them with a little chutney or spicy tomato sauce and a leafy salad!



This one was actually my dinner tonight! Shallow fried chips of kumara## cooked with a pinch of paprika and dried herbs, raw mushroom, tomato slices and our homegrown cherry tomatoes, with green oakleaf lettuce, a little peri peri sauce (Nandos, extra hot!) and mayonaise. Definitely naughty but nice, with it's mix of fresh and fried!





* A little under half a centimetre thick, so the sweet onion flavour doesn't get fried out... of course, a thicker crumbing can prevent this if you like thinner slices. Also, I don't separate the concentric rings of each slice as I was using them as the main part of a salad...for a side dish, I would make them as individual rings.
** This is to blot the excess water from the rings from peeling them in water. If you too peel onions in this manner, it helps to blot them, as water in the pan makes the oil 'spit' - which can be quite dangerous, to say the least!
*** The amount of flour I would suggest a cup and a half per onion used, a little more if you are making individual rings or like a thick crumb. As for the seasoning, I used a lot of paprika, some black pepper, and a pinch of salt. The possibilities are endless!
# As with the flour, this is dependent on how many onions you are using and how much crumb coating you like. Two eggs and 3/4 cup of milk made well for two onions, two or three coats per slice.

## This is what our New Zealander cousins (and subsequently we Aussies) call orange 'sweet potato'. Try baking them in a campfire or oven, whole, wrapped in aluminium foil, and served hot with butter and cinnamon - it's a real treat, you'll think it's dessert!

Mademoiselle Baudelaire In De Badkamers Met Een Tophat!

No, it's not the solution to a Dutch game of Cluedo, it's me finally showing off the mini tophat I made on a whim to amuse myself a few weeks ago!




Can you tell I like black velvet and tartan/plaid?!

I also began a Fascinator or two, which I hope to finish putting together soon enough! I think in order to make one with a bit of that lovely violet/mauve plaid material I showed you a couple of entries back, I might get some buckram, as I worry a cardboard base would be such a waste if the gorgeous material ever got wet!

"For The Blood is The Life..."

Much information on the natural disasters currently wreaking havoc here in Australia over the past few weeks or so has been covered in both local and international news programs. I strongly believe that charity begins at home, and in order to help other nations help themselves, we must first look after our own in order that we can afford to. I am also of the persuasion that it is not only money that can help others, but also one's time and/or skills, objects of everyday convenience that we are not in need of ourselves (hairbrushes, clothes, fresh produce), and other such.

The blood banks here in Australia are so often in dire need of blood supply, particularly in Winter months, when many donors cannot give for they are sick with the common cold or flu.

Me and mine are thankfully not in immediate danger from the fires here in Victoria, and I was glad to learn that my brother and his were safe from the floods in Queensland, but I wanted to help. I do not have personal transport in order to give of my time, nor have much in the way of money or goods to give, and am not close enough to their homes to share our living space. So I thought I could help the injured, by giving of myself. My blood.

Those injured and those in hospital fighting for their survival from the fires often require blood transfusions, and on going treatment also. There is an event on Facebook in order to encourage others in my region and beyond, to give of their own blood if they can, or to pass the invitation on to those they know who may be able to. It's a modest gift, but it can go a long way.

Donating Blood For Fire Victims

Donate Blood
For those of you without Facebook

Red Cross Bush Fire Appeal and Flood Relief

BushFire Benefit Concert
To be held at Bendigo on the 22nd of this month.

I hope everyone is taking care, and keeping safe. Hats off to the many volunteers and the Fire Fighters doing their part to save our countrymen's lives, properties, and our native wildlife.

R.I.P those who fought for their lives and homes but sadly lost both.

As Sigur Ros sing in their song 'Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása': "en það besta sem guð hefur skapað er nýr dagur"...
..."THE BEST THING [GOD] CREATED WAS A NEW DAY".

The Adventures of Mademoiselle Baudelaire and Monsieur Duval: Joyeuse St. Valentin!

Polkadots today!












A simple and enjoyabe day for myself and Monsieur Duval, I put together a modest lunch for the two of us, and we went off to the bush for a picnic down by the river!



Pouched eggs with a little salad, noodles with vegetables (red + green capsicum, mushroom, pumpkin, corn, peas + snowpeas, and our homegrown little tomatoes from the garden) seasoned with a little soy + chilli, rice crackers with a lovely French garlic cheese, and self-saucing lemon pudding. The orange-coloured beverage is cordial: banana, mango and orange! (It's delicious, I don't really like modern cordials in general, but this one my palate has taken a liking to.)


While Monsieur Duval cast a line in, I saw an interesting plant, quite like the cherry tomate plant we have at home, but not really something I should touch - Monsieur assures me the plant in the bush was quite poisonous! I took a picture, though it is a little hard to make out:













Monsieur's lovely dog decided to drag a dessicated dead carp fish out of the scrub, to say the least, it smelt more than a bit ripe! We decided it was time to go home, but we had a great time!

I hope everyone else had a lovely day, whether celebrating the anniversary of a Christian ( who loved his wife very much)'s death at the jaws of a lion (well, via the hands of the Romans)...or just having a Saturday!

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Who is the mysterious lady constantly by my side?



Well Miss Katie, the inked light and shadow on my right arm is actually Erato, Sacred Muse of Erotic Poetry:

[Quote="Theoi.com"]"ERATO was one of the nine Mousai (Muses), the goddesses of music, song and dance. Her name means "the lovely" or "beloved" from the Greek word eratos. In Classical times--when the Muses were assigned specific artistic spheres--she was named Muse of erotic poetry and mimic imitation and represented holding a lyre."[/Quote]

My drawing (and consequent inking) was inspired by ancient Greek mythology, the Art Nouveau movement and it's designs, and... the band Muse's cover art (the covers of Supermassive Black Hole and Knights of Cydonia, specifically)! Can you spot the elements from the design?



Oh, and the seven stars are inspired by one of my favourite constellations, the Pleiades, which funnily enough I just found out (whilst looking on Wikipedia for the Pleiades to show you all!) are called Subaru in Japanese! Well, there you go! ;)

She's (well, my half sleeve in particular...) not quite finished yet, but you'll be sure to see when it is! It will still be in greyscale/black/white. I originally intended on having the Oracle Of Delphi/the Pythia on my other arm, but we will see how we go - for now I am smitten with just the one (though I have roughly sketched the other).

Dans la Cuisine

I love making little cakes! I decided not to ice these ones, because who needs icing when you have banana, almonds, dark chocolate and a little spice?!



Of course, they were not to be touched until after dinner!



A nice light but filling meal, of fresh carrot, celery, mushroom, homegrown cherry tomatoes, a boiled egg and some firm tofu which I quickly cooked in a pan (no oil, but marinated with a little char siu sauce, soy, a dash of fish sauce and the tiniest bit of mee goreng flavouring... hard to explain, it sounds like overkill of flavouring but it's all about the ratio of one to another in the recipe)!



And then of course on to the dishes, before one of those yummy little cakes for dessert!

A Few of My Favourite Things

Happy Monday!

I have been very busy these past weeks, setting cogs in motion towards a few of my aspirations for the year, decluttering and organising our home, attending to my somewhat neglected schoolwork, improving our diet, tending to the garden and other everyday chores, and having alot of fun along the way!

To start off the week, I thought I would list a few of my favourite things - needless to say, I do enjoy lists and collections!

* Cherries! So lovely to look at, and the darkest ones are so delicious to eat!



* Black knee high boots, and cute black high heels


* Perfume - Chevrefeuille by Yve Rocher
Toujours L'Aimant by Coty
Midnight Poison by Dior
(Monsieur was so very sweet...a large bottle of Midnight Poison brightened my holidays for Christmas and my birthday...my
darling had to travel quite far to buy it *fans self* )


* Plaid/tartan fabrics - I have a small collection of blue tartan punky skirts, a vintage pink skirt from the 60's/70's (merci,
Muma!), and a lovely piece of this violet/purple/black/silver with which I hope to make a rectangle skirt and bow



Other than just being plain fun and a visual treat, I find it helpful to treat ourselves to our favourite things, as it reminds us of who we are, lifts our spirits when we are down, encourages us ever closer to our goals... and we should all remember that sometimes it's all the little things in life that make up the big picture!

Mon Petit Chapeau de Loli

My little work in progress. I started it last year, but I have allowed myself to be a bit lazy with it. I got the idea when I was stitching myself a couple of pincushions for my sewing. I am also working on a couple of little straw hats, but this here is a little headpiece for myself!


Black top: Jay Jays
Pinstripe skirt: Target
Ivory-coloured lace bow:
a gift I've had since I was
a child from my Tante Kareltje
Cameo: a gift from my sister
Josephine
(not pictured: Bracelet: self-made
Black maryjanes: Payless shoes?)



As you can see, I love cameos! I actually made some cameo and lace-themed stationary today, which I might post another time.

Have a fun-filled Friday night!

Mademoiselle Baudelaire
xo

Rockin' the Retro in Red...a la Young Modern

Red top - Jay Jays
Grey shorts - Valleygirl
Mary janes - Payless Shoes?
Capricorn necklace - Ginion S.A (de Belgique), a gift from my late Grand-Oncle
Hair tie w/ribbon - ? gift from my Godmother.
(Ring not shown - Michael Hill)

Jy weet, I suprise myself with the fact my clothes in this picture today were from such mainstream, mass-production type stores. Well, Ginion (a jewellery shop in Charleroi) excluded! Over-the-top 1960's-inspired makeup topped of my look for today. My hair a little messy, I tidied it up and changed shorts for black pants folded neatly to 3/4 length for the outing to Papa Duval's house for dinner.
I think for a slightly different look, I might wear a big bow in my hair/on my head (loli-style), and slightly more porcelain doll-like makeup (i.e: not so heavy handed on the liquid eyeliner!).
In winter I wear this outfit with black laceup boots, black velvet tie around the top of my shorts, and a black (or black + white striped) v-neck sweater for a Brigitte Bardot inspired look.



A close-up of my heavy-handed eyeliner and so on! Sort of a cross between Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot and the earlier 50's housewife look! Perhaps a modern toned-down goth!

Ah well, I am quite tired now (I can tell this mostly by the non-English terms and such creeping up on my sentences in a way that could be most perplexing to anyone else), and so to bed I must!

Mlle. Baudelaire.
xo

Heureux Anniversaire a Moi

Thankyou for the kind words, Katie. I'm glad you enjoyed.

I'd really like to get it out there that being a housewife doesn't limit me to four walls and no life or identity of my own. Monsieur Duval and I find that our ideas very much suit us, and work well for us and our productivity both as individuals and as a couple. I suppose it all depends on the individual and the couple's personalities and their communication, and then there's their ideologies and such. We are not perfect, we still have so far to go, but this is the story so far!

Today I turned twenty-three, and marks the start of a new era. Just becaue I thought it would be a nice day to start on: after all, two weeks after the New Year...surely our minds have settled down from the celebrations and lunatic behaviour/eating and intoxication from the holidays. Not to mention the often ludicrous and more often than not unachievable resolutions. So, a while back and offline I wrote myself a list of 23 things of all sorts. Various goals of varying achievability and desire. I'm seeing it as a guide to work from, and hope to add more as I revise and achieve and refine a few of them.
I read a book called '101 Things NOT to do before you die' and one of those was not to make a list of things. WHy? Because people make these lists, quite often unsuited to them, or somehow seemingly unachievable..and this leads to depression and all sorts. Quite a valid point, and the book was very entertaining, but the way I'm working it is that I figure if I be very specific with those I really want to achieve and have a few obvious ones in there for fun, it will keep me going.

I think that for me this year is going to be the year of self-love, self-worth, and partnership.

The other day I woke up when Monsieur Duval was heading off to work (5.30-ish in the AM), and could not get back to sleep. So I decided I would get up, and if need be, I would take a kitty nap later. Well, 'opstaan en aantrek' later, and breakfast done and dusted, I got so much done before it was even eight thirty I could not believe it - up and dressed, as I said, breakfast; two loads of washing sorted, washed, and hung out to dry; walked to the local shop in hope of purchasing the paper (alas said shop was not even open yet!); another cup of tea; gardens, pots and lawns watered; tomatoes picked and eggs collected; the dishes washed, dried, and put away; kitchen cleaned and bathroom tidie; two mini straw hats sewn with lace... and the odd thing here and there sorted for charity, or put in it's right place! Mind you, I nearly put the dishes aside for later - the sun is blaring hot at this time of year through our kitchen window...I put on the aviators! haha The call from my darling Monsieur did encourage my little achievements. *

So, in light of this, and knowing Monsieur has an early start again tomorrow, I will try this again. With the added goal of drinking more water than usual, and making sure I also get adequate exercise and appropriate nourishment. :)

Oh, and did I mention Mama and Memere are posting me cameos for my gift?! I believe they will be of the resin kind, but imagine the clothing/accessory possibilities! i can't wait. I was thinking I could even put them on some of the things I sell, but oh how I love cameos!

Now, to my beauty sleep - bonne nuit!

Mademoiselle Baudelaire
xo


* Wearing trackpants and a flattering top with joggers for the outside chores and public errands, and daisy dukes and top with maryjanes at home! (Lipstick all the while! Don't underestimate the power of self-encouragement through a great shade of red or burgundy!) Much to Monsieur's and my own amusement, I have found it useful to wear my thigh guards (ma'mselle enjoys the football!) when moving furniture if a dress or daisy's are being worn! Simply remove the guards before encountering good company! ;)

Bonne Annee

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." *

Enchantee, je m'appelle Mademoiselle Baudelaire. And here I find myself, on the eve of the 23rd anniversary of my birth, beginning a blog. But really I don't know where to begin but for to say that I adore many of the smaller things in life, the little things that most people don't take the time to consider but that come together to form the beautiful, whole picture. I like how things connect. I enjoy sharing these moments most particularly with my darling partner, whom we shall call Monsieur Duval.

I am a housewife (in the defacto sense), and take pride in keeping house just as anyone takes pride in their occupation. I am quite old fashioned in that I find it quite an honorable position, to be at home, and creating and looking after a comfortable home for Monsieur Duval and I, that he may come home after a hard day at work and have a delicious meal, and relax without the added stress of finding what to eat, and needing to tidy and clean the layers of dust from having worked the whole week. And it gives us better quality time together, that is not booked out by chores! Of course, there is more than one way for a relationship/partnership to be, this is just ours.

Now, please, do not assume that being quite the domestic goddess in her maryjanes and apron is the be all end all of my existence - I love to sew, and to create (I make and sell accessories and so on, mostly on request), love to dress up (mostly vintage and classical styled modelling), play secretary to Monsieur's broking, and am currently studying financial services and journalism. My interests include but are by no means limited to languages, writing, music (including playing - violoncello and bass guitar), anti-fashion (think gosurorita, pin-up/rockabilly, goth and steampunk and so on), bowhunting, and generally anything to do with self-sufficiency (be that finance, sewing, gardening, cooking, homemaking, et cetera) and culture.

This blog is a part of my plans for this new year, but please forgive this rushed and somewhat disorganised introduction, I am off to continue organising and sorting our home (also a part of my plans for this new year) which we are hoping to be done renovating soon!

A pleasure I'm sure,
Mademoiselle Baudelaire. xo


* - Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities