093.

Three years ago, my dad bought a pizza oven. 

That pizza oven was only the beginning,

You see, my dad has a bit of a pizza obsession.

Three years later, we have two pizza ovens

and my Dad considers himself somewhat of an expert

(Hi Dad - I mean you are an expert, of course) 

 When he was younger, my Dad fancied himself quite the pizza master.

He managed a little pizza shop, so he takes every opportunity to show off his skills. 

According to him, a good pizza has toppings you can count on one hand

and you always but cheese on the bottom and toppings around the edge. 

When I was sent some products from iDELI

we knew exactly what they were going to make. 

In that package, I received.......

drum roll please

Two cans of San Marzano Tomatoes

San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of plum tomatoes that are considered by many chefs to be the best sauce tomatoes in the world. 

I used them to make a basic pizza sauce, adding only a few herbs. 

I definitely agree with those chefs. 

These tomatoes were full of flavour and delicious!
Nothing like your average supermarket canned tomatoes.

These could possibly become a pantry staple for me.

I also was sent some paper thin slices of Prosciutto di San Daniele

according to the iDELI website, King's Prosciutto di San Daniele is widely regarded as the finest producer of Prosciutto di San Daniele.

I can honestly say I've never actually had prosciutto before receiving these products. 

I used to be an extremely fussy eater, so things like prosciutto weren't touched by me :P

But according to my prosciutto expert parents, it was fantastic. 

I was also sent some Mozzarella di Bufala Pomella

which is Buffalo Mozzarella. 

Another ingredient I'd never had at home, only eaten in restaurants.

You see, I'm a little bit clueless. 

I seemed to have this idea in my head that buffalo mozzarella was like buffalo wings.

Meaning it had nothing to do with buffalo. 

Don't ask me why - I don't know! I was born blonde

But anyway, 

I made up some pizza dough from my never fail recipe.

Basic Pizza Dough 

(from Pizza Modo Mio - John Lanzafame) 

Makes enough dough for one 30 cm/12 inch pizza

Ingredients: 

1 tsp dried yeast

1 tsp salt

100 ml warm water

2 tsp olive oil

160g plain flour

Put the yeast, salt and warm water in a small bowl and whisk until just combined. 

Gradually whisk in the olive oil, then leave in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until the mixture starts to bubble.

Add the flour and knead for 15 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Rub the inside of a large bowl with olive oil. Roll the dough around in the bowl to coat it with oil, then place in the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave in a draught-free spot for 1–1.5 hours, or until doubled in size.

Punch down the dough to expel trapped air. (At this stage, the dough can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight or frozen. Bring back to room temperature before continuing.)

Place the dough on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover and leave in a draught-free spot for 15 minutes, or until risen by half again.

Then all you have left to do is put on your choice of pizza sauce and your toppings.
I decided to keep it simple with just the buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto. 

The prosciutto crisped up really well in the pizza oven

and the buffalo mozzarella melted perfectly.

My verdict? 

iDELI's products were fantastic for making pizza.

It added a gourmet element to the pizzas which made it perfect for having people around. 

We often have "pizza parties" so I'd definitely consider buying these products again for one of those nights.

Plus, buying their products is so simple! Just head to their website! 

I have my eye on their confectionery and cheese sections :P 

Fairy floss and vintage cheddar... mmmmmmmmmmm

But now I want to know, 

how do you like your pizza? 

Kristy received iDELI products courtesy of iDELI, 

if you'd like a review of your product, send an email to 

ksayerphotography@gmail.com 

092.

I love Autumn colours,

it's the only thing I look forward to in the cooler months. 

I even have two gorgeous Japanese Maple trees in my backyard

that only change colour for one day 

and then drop all of their leaves. 

I'd been waiting for the maple tree to change.

....and waiting

and waiting... 

and then we left for Forster.

I told my mum the maple tree would change while we were gone

and what'd we come home to find? 

A naked maple tree. 

drats

 

Luckily there's still plenty of trees with gorgeous autumn leaves in my neighbourhood

But I guess I'll be waiting till next year for that maple tree.

091.

I

 I love herbal teas.

I can't stand coffee or regular tea,

but give me a herbal tea any day!

My current tea of choice is green tea,

I probably drink at least 3 cups a day. 

Before that it was peppermint tea 

(which by the way, makes Dello Mano brownies even better!)

A while ago I was sent some tea from neo australia,

specifically their Gorgeous Green Invigorating Tea Blend

A special blend of Japanese green tea with strawberries, mango, cornflower and sunflower which helps invigorate your system. With double strength antioxidant as compared to black tea, high in vitamin C and has been known as natural source of fluoride. 

Before I even opened the jar I could smell it

and it smelled delicious!

You can definitely pick up the sweetness from the mango and strawberries

So I brewed up the tea

and poured myself a cup :) 

And it was really nice, 

a good change from my plain old green tea. 

The sweetness of the fruit really came through in both the taste and the aroma. 

neo australia tea is available from their website 

and a 120g jar of their Gorgeous Green Invigorating Tea Blend will set you back $25.00 

and they don't just do teas. 

They also have hair care, body butters, deodorants etcetc. 

So check it out! 

But before you go,

do tell me. 

What's your winter beverage of choice?

Kristy was sent neo australia tea courtesy of neo australia

if you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

090.

i

I'm still here!

and I'm alive!

yes, I may be coughing and spluttering, but I'm alive! 

I feel like my poor little blog has been super neglected,

so I've come to explain! 

First the issue was computer troubles

and then once that was fixed I thought it was back to blogging.

But then, a death in the family meant I had to spend a week away from technology

therefore, no blogging 

But I came home and thought "yes! back to blogging!"

only to be overcome by the worst flu i've had in a long time. 

So i've spent the past week in bed. 

But don't worry! 

I'm back! 

And not giving up.

I have lots I need to share with you all!

and I'll find my way around the computer troubles. 

Is anyone else finding this Sydney weather horrible? 

Cold, wet, miserable... ewwwwwwwwww

Let's just say I've become extremely well acquainted with my fireplace :) 

But now that, hopefully, fingers crossed, i'm back to blogging, 

I want to know what you want to see

Because, afterall, you're the ones who read my posts 

:D 

So tell me!

089.

 

“Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.”

Forrest Gump

 

 That quote is not only fitting for this post, but for what's been going on too.

I promise I haven't forgotten about you! 

I just haven't been home or around internet to blog.

 

However, I thought I'd jump right back into it with a super sweet post! 

 

 

A little while ago, I received this perfectly wrapped box of chocolates from Belgian Delights.

I carefully unwrapped the box to what I thought was twelve gorgeous chocolates.

I soon found two that were hidden :P

So, I took out my knife,

Gathered my taste testers

and began to dissect the chocolates. 

It's an extremely technical activity. 

The first of the chocolates I tried was the Heart Caramel.

A super rich dark chocolate shell with a gooey caramel centre.. 

I'm a biggggg caramel/chocolate fan and this caramel was almost butterscotch like.

Next up was the Heart Croquant

which was a smooth white chocolate 

with a nutty hazelnut praline and croquant inside.

Definitely a favourite!

I then chopped up the Horse Marble Praline

which became an instant favourite with its smooth marbled praline.

Hazelnut + Chocolate = Heaven.

The next chocolate in line was the Mylene,

a dark chocolate that held a creamy praline filling topped with a hazelnut. 

The Mocha was next,

a rich coffee buttercream enrobed in super smooth milk chocolate, topped with a coffee bean.

I'm no coffee fan, but my caffeine junkie taste testers loved this.

This is the Mannon,

a white chocolate with coffee flavoured marzipan and walnut pieces. 

We found this had an almost fruity, coconutty taste. 

But that may have been the chocolate overload on our taste buds.

 

These milk and dark chocolate squares made up the fourteen chocolates, hidden under another square.

I loved the simplicity of these chocolates, it was a nice break from the intense flavours.

I would've loved a white chocolate square though!

 

The Perfecta was a rich chocolate rum ganache

coated with dark chocolate 

The Coffee Diamond was a milk chocolate that held 

a brandy and coffee flavoured ganache.

The Sasha Mango was a dark chocolate 

with a light and fruity mango ganache filling. 

Verrryyy tropical

The Macadamia Praline was a milk chocolate with a smooth,

nutty praline filling topped with a crunchy hazelnut.

Not photographed was the Ginger Marzipan that was marzipan

with rum soaked ginger pieces, coated with dark chocolate

My taste testers and I collectively agreed that our TOP TWO 

were the Horse Marble Praline and the Heart Croquant.

The white chocolate was super smooth and not overly sweet. 

But all of the chocolates had great flavours!

Good enough to score an 8/10!

 So tell me, 

What's your dream chocolate combination?!

Kristy received Belgian Delights chocolates courtesy of Belgian Delights.

If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to: ksayerphotography@gmail.com