Get the ice and shaker out, because it's Friday cocktail hour again.

This week we're in for a treat with this Twisted French Martini.

What can I say, let's just celebrate all things French and twist the French Martini with the addition of a bunch of elderflowers – namely through St Germain elderflower liqueur.

The recipe and full details about the cocktail are on my website right now, with some more information and background of how the drink came to be.

Head to the link in my bio for all the details, or just scroll down for the recipe and instructions.

Let's make the Twisted French Martini

45ml vodka (I used Belvedere in this)
25ml Chambord liqueur
15ml St Germain elderflower liqueur
70ml fresh pressed pineapple juice
Ice
pineapple wedge, to serve

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker and give it a good shake. The pineapple juice will become nice and fluffy and it’ll be icy cold.

Pour into a cocktail glass and garnish with a pineapple wedge or skewered raspberries.

Serve to adults of legal drinking age only, then drink and enjoy.

And remember, always drink in moderation, it's better that way.

Chambord Belvedere Vodka St-Germain

@chambord_au @chambordliqueur @belvederevodka stgermaindrinks

#cocktailhour #cocktailhourideas #cocktails #cocktailtime #cocktailrecipe #cocktailrecipes #cocktailoftheday #cocktailsofinstagram #cocktailoftheweek #stgermaindrinks #twistedmartini #frenchmartini #frenchmartinirecipe #belvederevodka #chambord #chambordliqueur #theinfatuatedfoodie #deliciousness

UPDATE – the recipe with some extra ideas to make it your own is now on my website and you can find it directly from the link in my bio. Let me know if you make it! It was a perfect, sunny and warm day here in Hobart. Barbecue weather if ever I saw it. But I didn’t feel like cooking on the bbq. Instead, I craved spicy soup with Asian flavours. And so this became dinner: fresh greens, chillis, silken tofu and my home made chicken broth, warmed on the stovetop with star anise and cinnamon stick. It was absolutely delicious and just what I needed. #asiansoup #asiansoulfood #soulfood #soulfoodcooking #soup #silkentofu #tofusoup #eatyourgreens #greenvegetables #freshveggies #freshchillies #freshfoodmatters #chickenbroth #homemadecooking #deliciousnutritious #healthyeating #theinfatuatedfoodie

It's been a BIG 24 hours for this Infatuated Foodie, as after months of coding, formatting, taking three steps backwards for every step forward … my website is finally now >>>

L I V E ! ! ! 🥳 🍾

And I'd love you to go and take a look.

This is just the start of some exciting things to come, including a newsletter that's in planning stage, free stuff on signup and even more for 2022, including premium content and there's even a podcast in development.

Of course I'll keep sharing recipes and images and stories from my life as a foodie on Insta, but the ability to really game up with the site has me pumped.

So my friends, please go and have a peek. And if you find something not working or broken, please let me know! I'd rather hear about it so it can be fixed.

#theinfatuatedfoodie #bignews #newwebsite #newwebsitelaunch #newwebsitealert #newwebsitedesign #websitelaunch #websitelaunched #excitingnews

Today is my friend, @susan.cooke.16 's birthday. She's working today, we celebrated her day early with a gathering of good people at Sue's beautiful country house about 30 minutes from Hobart.

My gift to Sue was to make her birthday cake, so I chose my carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting and toasted walnuts. The cake was a three layered cake (forgot to photograph slices!), sandwiched together with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting as well.

It was a lovely day and good to see friends, meet some new people and I was also very happy to meet Sue's very handsome cat, Bernard (photo of Bernard goes to Sue). And isn't that plant at Sue's front door just gorgeous!?

#birthdaycake #birthdaycakes #birthdaycakeideas #birthdaycakedesign #carrotcake #carrotcakewithcreamcheesefrosting #carrotcakebirthdaycake #dayoutwithfriends #friendsbirthday #friendsbirthdays #friendsbirthdaycake #friendsbirthdayparty #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsrule #blackcatsofinstagram #GoodTimes #goodtimes #goodtimesgoodfriends #goodtimeswithgoodpeople #goodtimeswithgoodfriends #theinfatuatedfoodie #birthdayparty #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsrule #blackcatsofinstagram #GoodTimes #goodtimes #goodtimesgoodfriends #goodtimeswithgoodpeople #goodtimeswithgoodfriends #theinfatuatedfoodie #toastedwalnuts #walnuts

It's Friday cocktail hour! Woot woot, happy weekend!

Today I bring you the Declaration of Sentiments.

I've named this in honour of the pre-suffragette declaration drawn up at the 1848 women's convention in Seneca Falls, NY. Put simply, it called for women's equal rights to things we take for granted today – voting for one. Education. The right to own property. It also preceded what's known today as the Suffragette movement.

And so it is that I celebrate these strong and wonderful women with this powerful, yet gentle and dry-sweet tipple and pay respects to the Declaration of Sentiments.

Here's why I've named this cocktail so: apart from its heady flavour mix and the effects of such sublime ingredients, I was actually a bit misled when I was researching this week's cocktail.

Referring to @diffordsguide with ingredients I had to hand, I encountered the Suffragette. "Sounds good to me," I thought. But when I researched the Suffragette in more detail, I discovered this is NOT the cocktail invented in 1909 that has sloe gin and other completely different things.

Hence, I've renamed it appropriately, as it's the precursor to the movement that changed something in the world. The recipe and notes are on my website – head to the link in my bio to click through.

To make the Declaration of Sentiments, you will need:

50ml Tanqueray London Dry Gin
30ml Noilly Prat dry vermouth
15ml St Germain elderflower liqueur

Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Then raise your glass to the women who changed the world.

Remember: always drink in moderation. It's better that way.

@tanquerayginau @maisonnoillyprat @stgermaindrinks

#cocktailhour #cocktailhourideas #cocktails #cocktailtime #cocktailhour #cocktailsofinstagram #cocktailrecipes #cocktailoftheday #suffragette #drinks #theinfatuatedfoodie #recipeshare #tanqueray #stgermain #stgermaindrinks #noillyprat

With yet another day of rain and cold, I started dreaming of sunshine and fresh summer fruit smoothies.

We're so blessed in Tasmania, our blueberries, strawberries, cherries, raspberries and stone fruits take fruit into another league in the summer months.

I could live on fruit and am often known to have just a smoothie for lunch. So I searched through my photo archives and found this photograph of the perfect summer smoothie.

Although I can't recall exactly what was in this particular glass, its beautiful berriness is more than likely created from a combination of fresh Tasmanian cherries, strawberries and blueberries, mixed with delicious Greek yoghurt, some orange chunks and coconut or plain filtered water.

Nothing more is needed in a smoothie. No honey or syrup. Its perfection comes from the beautiful fresh sweet fruit.

I have one thing to add to this photo: hurry up and roll on, summer!

#smoothies #smoothiesofig #healthysmoothies #berries #strawberries #berrysmoothies #freshberries #summerberries #summerfood #summerfoods #healthyfood #healthyfoodlover #healthyfoodideas #healthyfoodchoices #freshandhealthy #freshandhealthyfood #freshandhealthydrink #fruitsmoothy #fruitsmoothie #fruitsmoothies #theinfatuatedfoodie #smoothieporn #delicious #deliciousfood #deliciousness #deliciousdrinks #buzzfeedfood

Curries are fabulous at any time of year, especially cooler months. So warming and filling.

Here in the southern state of Tasmania it's spring, but we're experiencing a very cold spring – more like a long winter – with just the tiniest hints of warmth, teasing us about the summer to come. Aaah, summer, how I yearn for you.

The extended winter has brought back the need for warming comfort food, so what could be better than a hotter than hot curry made with chicken and spices and home-made stock.

This is a Sri Lankan style curry with a few swap outs because I didn't have everything I needed in my pantry. For starters, I used bay leaves instead of curry leaves and lemon instead of lemongrass. Oh, and half a can of coconut milk I'd frozen in place of creamed coconut from a block.

It really didn't matter because it was damn delicious anyway.

I used chicken thighs and cooked it in my Instant Pot on the pressure cook setting and at the end was deliciously tender, falling apart in just the right ways.

The flavour was full, the chilli heat was dry and intense and this was perfectly balanced by some cucumber and mango I chopped up on the side, topped with a dollop of plain yoghurt (not pictured).

Served with basmati rice and crunchy pappadams on the side, it was the perfect spring warmer.

The recipe, including details of all the delicious spices in the second photo, will be available on my website … so watch out for updates on that later this week! It's nearly there!

#srilankanfood #srilankancurry #curry #curryrice #currynight #currylover #currychicken #spicyfood #spicyfoods #spicyfoodlover #spicyfoodlovers #chilli #chillifood #buzzfeedfood #deliciousfood #theinfatuatedfoodie #recipeidea #recipeideas

In 2005 I visited Rome, meeting friends for a week of fun, food and taking in the amazing sights and art of that incredible city.

I caught the train from Florence in the morning and had a crazy conversation with the taxi driver on the way to the hotel. He insisted Roma was la capitale del mondo – the capital of the world!

In some ways he's probably right. Its history is ancient, its cobbled streets and architecture and families go back centuries. And a turn at every corner opens a new picture book.

We were staying at the Hotel Parlamento, a wonderful family-owned pensione in the heart of Rome and they were only too happy to recommend the less touristy spots for us to eat and visit.

And so it was we were booked into a local restaurant: Da Gino al Parlamento – about five minutes' walk from the hotel. We dined the first time on my birthday, and it was so good, went back a second night for more. Which brings me to this risotto.

Being a Friday, there was seafood on the menu. I chose the prawn risotto and oh my word, it's probably the most memorable dish I've ever eaten. It was simple fare and so full of flavour, with the rice cooked just so. Heavenly food if ever there was.

I've tried to make that risotto time and again, but try as I might I'll never come close to the most perfect risotto I've eaten in my life.

And so, my friends, here is another attempt and while it'll never stack up against the Nonnas' cooking of that laneway locals' gem, it was pretty damn good.

But for the real deal, I guess I'll just have to go back to Rome.

#risotto #risottolover #seafoodrisotto #prawnrisotto #prawns #shrimprisotto #italianfood #italianfoods #italianfoodlover #homemadefood #delicious #deliciousfood #deliciousdinner #theinfatuatedfoodie #romanfood #romanrestaurant

After sharing yesterday's magical salad with chick peas that I'd soaked and cooked myself, I started thinking – wondering actually – about how long it's been since I opened a tin of beans or chick peas or anything of that sort.

The answer? Ages. And I've NEVER bought tinned lentils.

There are many reasons for this, including:

– they're super easy to prepare at home in bulk and freeze to use as you like (yes, they freeze well)
– they taste better when cooked from dried
– you know what you're getting
– they're cost effective (read: cheaper) when cooked from dried
– they're more friendly for the environment, with no tins to dispose of.

Take the bowl of chick peas in this image. I used 375 grams of dried chick peas bought from my local wholefoods store in a jar I took myself. I soaked them overnight, drained them, then simmered them in fresh water for half an hour or so until they were soft.

Once cooled, I transferred them to a reusable zip lock bag and they're now in the freezer. What could be easier?

The added bonus with chick peas, is you can make a marvellous stock by adding a few aromats to the cooking liquid. Great for vegan soups and braises.

Oh, and the yield is 920 grams of cooked chick peas at a cost of about $1.50.

I've also cooked the borlotti beans also soaking in this picture. Same principles apply, except I've never kept the stock.

Beans and legumes are so quick, fresh and delicious. Without the waste, without additives, you know exactly what you're getting, so why not give them a go at home and stop buying (and throwing away) tins! You'll thank youself.

#chickpeas #chickpeasrecipe #legumes #homecooking #homecookingisbest #homecookingfood #homecookingrocks #homecookingmadeeasy #freshisbest #makeitfresh #veganfriendly #veganfriendlyfoods #theinfatuatedfoodie #reducewaste