adrian richardson's blueberry pancakes.

A few months ago I was invited to enjoy a breakfast whipped up by Adrian Richardson, the ambassador of Magimix. I loved the blueberry pancakes that he made for us so much that I nabbed the recipe and recreated it at home. This was the second time I tried making pancakes from scratch and let's just say this recipe works so much better than my previous one!!

This recipe makes 4 large servings of 10cm pancakes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 4 whole eggs, separated
• ¼ cup castor sugar
• 2 ½ cups milk
• 1 punnet (250g) blueberries
• Optional: Vanilla Labne (yogurt) / some more blueberries / maple syrup - to serve

METHOD:

1. Whisk egg whites - if you have a Magimix, use the whisking blade
2. Mix flour, yolks, sugar and milk together in a bowl until smooth
3. Fold in egg whites
4. Add the blueberries to the batter
5. Place a little bit of butter in a warm pan on low to medium heat - if the butter immediately sizzles and begins to brown your pan is too hot
6. Ladle some mixture into the pan until desire size is reached - make sure each pancake is about 1cm thick
7. Cook until each side is golden brown
8. Serve with a generous dollop of vanilla labne, maple syrup and fresh blueberries :)

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travel: china.

Over the Christmas/New Year break, while all my friends were soaking up the sun and enjoying a traditional Christmas feast, I was in China enjoying yum cha twice a day followed by a huge banquet for dinner every night for two weeks.

I've always been a bit iffy on Chinese food as I grew up eating it everyday, only having recess and lunch at school where I was spared the pain of eating everything with a side of white rice. However, I learnt from my earlier trips to China that the Chinese food in China is nothing like it is here. The Chinese we experience, for those who live outside of China, is completely westernised, as much you may not know or like to ignore. I noticed this distinctly as I matured that dishes such as moo shu pork (I have never seen this served in China) alongside many other western favourites either don't exist or are done completely differently.

But what I enjoyed the most, other than eating so much each meal that none was digested by the next meal, was the plethora of fresh fruit I had the opportunity to try and feast on. From stumbling across my new love for dragon fruit and green guava to being reunited with my favourites of durian, star fruit and jack fruit. I'm excruciatingly picky when it comes to eating fruit but the way I inhaled the fruit in China you would never have guessed it, I suppose I just have a palate for Asian fruits that are ridiculously expensive here.

For those who get the opportunity to visit Lijiang, which is gorgeous but boring, you must try the local Nasi food. The three photos before the instagrammed mojito (which was only $6 AUD!) and dragonfruit are the local Nasi food I ate while I was Lijang. But take this as a warning, if you can't do chili then you most definitely cannot do their mild dishes! Even I had a tinge of a tear or two and I can take a decent serving of chili! And the burger - well that most definitely isn't local food, but it was the best burger I have ever had. It was a Japanese Wagyu beef burger and absolutely mouth-watering.

Ok...now I'm drooling over these pictures - kind of wish I was back in China and having my "normal" two yum chas and a banquet a day food regime!

Last two images from @lpmmags Instagram

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frangelico hazelnut espresso martini.

This cocktail was definitely a hit at the Frangelico Master Class! However, I wasn't a huge fan of it. Having weened myself off coffee, a shot of espresso was too much for me - but that's not to say I didn't finish it! (Oh Maggie, you're such an alcoholic...)

This recipe makes one serving.

INGREDIENTS:

• 45ml Frangelico
• 15ml SKYY Vodka
• 30ml espresso coffee
• 10ml Illyquore

METHOD:

1. Pour Frangelico, SKYY vodka, espresso coffee and Illyquore into glass shaker filled to top with ice (it's very important to fill the ice to the very top!)
2. Put metal bottom to glass shaker - hit the bottom of the metal shaker to tighten to glass
3. Carefully turn shaker over, holding both top and bottom and shake! (Seedy) Advice from the brand ambassador Olive Stuart, 'the harder you shake, the better the head' - so shake, shake, shake for that nice frothy coffee espresso head!
4. Strain into martini glass
5. Garnish with three coffee beans - yes, three, no more, no less :P
6. VOILA! Your hump day drink is ready to be sipped and enjoyed!

 Image courtesy of @lpmmags Instagram

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