Cole Cake

My parents flew in to Melbourne the day after my birthday and seeing as I didn't have cake on my actual birthday (too busy gorging ourselves at Gazi) I decided to make one.

I always put a lot of thought into birthday cakes. I try to come up with something different, usually a fusion of a few recipes, and unique to the birthdayee. So for myself I considered my favourite things which at the moment are peanut butter & nutella and I adore a good cream cheese icing. 

Introducing the Cole* Cake- chocolate cake with whipped peanut butter filling and Nutella cream cheese icing. 

My kind of street food {Gazi Review}

I have always felt a little bit Greek. 

I have never really looked it though, with the red hair and the blue eyes and pasty skin. Although, when I was about sixteen I went to a Greek cafe with my dad, a place where he was a regular. With his black hair, olive-ish skin and passion for Greek coffee and food I think the owner had assumed he was Greek (actually he is a crazy mix of Irish, Scottish, German and a splash of Welsh). When the cafe owner saw me he clapped his hands and said "Your daughter, she is the original Greek!" Apparently in certain parts of Greece, many many years ago, before the Romans came along with their dominant dark-haired genes, there were a number of redheads in Greece. He was rather disappointed to hear that we were both just mongrels (mixed breed:) He quickly recovered when he realised I had the same passion for his food.

I was born in a small country town in NSW. My dad had been virtually adopted by a delightful Greek family and used to spend many afternoons with them, being fed by my Nona and playing snooker with my Nono. When they heard my parents hadn't really considered godparents for me, they begged for the opportunity and my honorary Greekness began. Every Friday, until we moved away when I was twelve, I would eat spanakopita and kourambiethes (which I loved) and hide the koulourakia (which I didn't like) in my pockets until I could escape down to feed them to the chooks. Yes, they had chooks, and a huge veggie garden and their house smelt like dill and olive oil and love.

Greek food will forever be a favourite and so when selecting a birthday dinner location, George Columbaris' messy Greek street food at Gazi was a chance to revisit my childhood.

My birthday in pictures

What I woke up to

Breakfast- I call it the BEAST (Bacon Egg Aoili Spinach Tomato)

Balsamic Blueberry Grilled Cheese {Week 5 of the Grilled Cheese Transformation}

Are you shaking your head? Have you not discovered the miracle of balsamic vinegar and fruit yet? Read on my sweet, your life is about to be changed forever.

The first time I saw the list of 31 Grilled Cheeses that are better than a boyfriend I was besotted by the Balsamic blueberry Grilled Cheese. It may be the most luscious looking grilled cheese ever with the purple-red berry compote, bright green spinach and molten cheese. Amanda K. by the Bay is the creator of the masterpiece- a stunning blog with gorgeous photographs and some seriously drool-worthy recipes. Do a search on her blog for 'ice cream', go on, I dare you......

I decided to try my hand at kale chips too after my success with superfood last week

You will need:

For the sandwich
Bread of your choice
1/2 cup blueberries per sandwich (I used frozen ones)
Balsamic vinegar- about 2 tsp per 1/2 cup of blueberries
Baby spinach

Cheese- I used mozzarella but some kind of nutty flavoured white cheese would be superb

Butter or margarine for spreading on the outside of the bread

Oil for the pan

For the kale chips

1 bunch of kale washed and dried

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt

Smoked paprika

First make sure your kale is very well dried. I washed it, then patted it dry on paper towels then let it air dry for a bit as well.