birthday

September? Already??

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

Time goes so fast.  So, so fast.

I would say that I can’t believe it’s already September but in truth, I can’t believe it’s already 2025.  Granted, this is not the 2025 that I would have ordered.  It feels more like the 2025 that Marty McFly went back to in Back to the Future 2 after Biff stole the Sports Almanac than reality, but yet, here we are September 2025.   

And things are…well, to be honest the vibes are off.  I mean on a global, universal level, the vibes aren’t great but even on a micro level, things are a bit funky.  Not in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad way, but just in a meh way.

I mean, I feel like September vibes are always weird anyway- it’s one of those odd months with a lot of birthdays (not mine) but also no other holidays.  It’s too warm to be winter, but too cold for summer.  It’s getting close to holidays but too early to decorate for anything, it’s too far into the year for a new start (except for school if you’re up north), but too early in the year to switch off.   

But here we are….on Earth, Wind and Fire Day (the 21st of September).  And because there are so many birthdays this month, I made Birthday Cookies from Christina Tosi’s Kids Only Cookbook.  I want to try to make a cookie cake for Thomas’ birthday in December, but that might be another week!

So here’s to better vibes for the rest of the month and to birthdays and cookies of course!

More boozy cookies, and yes, I take requests now

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

I am not a gluten-free girlie, however I totally respect that some people are. So when a trainer at my gym asked if I could make gluten-free cookies, of course I said yes. It also gave me the opportunity to test out one of my new birthday cookbooks- Cookies & Crumbs. It did NOT disappoint!

The Runner said that these guys, the Triple Choc & Oat Gluten Free Cookies were the best he’s ever had. And The Kid ate one and didn’t complain at all, so I think they’re a hit!

I also made Spiced Rum Snickerdoodles – again Alcohol+Cookies=Vibe! Also, all the cinnamon in the snickerdoodles made the house smell amazing- 10/10

A big shout out as well to the other two cookbooks I got for my birthday- Cooking in Real Life, the Champagne Chicken was AMAZING and a great excuse to open a bottle of champagne on a Sunday! And Jamie Oliver’s Easy Airfryer Cookbook– the brussel sprouts AND roast potatoes were next level! LOVED!

Whiskey and Cookies…

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

Is the exact energy I’m bringing into my 45th trip around the sun. It’s my birthday this week.

I do love my birthday- and the best thing about it being on a Wednesday, is I get to celebrate for two weekends- not just one. It’s been a good week of celebrations so far- a family trip to the footy, family dinner, and a mother-son date night to go see Annie The Musical.

Who knows what fun this week will hold– but I’m sticking with the Boozy cookie theme (again)! This week, it’s Chocolate Chip Cookies with Tennesee Whiskey (Jack Daniel’s). They’re pretty good! It just gives subtle flavours- nothing too crazy but they’re good!

And in other news, I’m planning to do another dance competition…. my theme: Cookie Monster!

Happy Birthday To Me!

~ stephzuniga ~ 1 Comment

I was super lucky last week and got to have two of the best meals ever.  Well, it was my birthday which is always my favorite time of year, mainly because it’s great to get close friends in the same room at the same time.  This year’s birthday lunch was at ACME.  It was wonderful, 15 of my closest girlfriends and I enjoying a delicious meal together.  As I’ve mentioned before ACME is a fantastic Sydney restaurant and I highly recommend it if you’re in town.

However, as wonderful as my birthday lunch was, the highlight was my birthday dinner.  It wasn’t just a highlight of my birthday, it was probably the highlight of my year (or even decade of food).  It crossed off a major tick on my Foodie Bucket List and was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.   As it should be—we went to Sepia- and had all 12 courses- with matching wines.

Continue reading →

Ten Things In The Last 2 Weeks…

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

Do you ever get the feeling that time has somehow slipped into overdrive and that each week is actually going even faster than the one before?   I do.  That’s the feeling I have right now.

I can’t believe how quickly time has passing and that it’s already April!

My plan to blog weekly with updates on what we’ve been cooking and eating, well frankly, it’s fallen a bit behind.   2 weeks behind to be exact.   We’ve had a lot of cooking adventures since then- but the time has passed in the blink of an eye!

I’ll try to summarise but so much tasty stuff has happened and I feel like I’ve conquered a few culinary mountains.

Continue reading →

What We Ate- Feb 5th-12th- Happy Birthday Runner!

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

 

So, this week was a big week of birthday celebrations.

We kicked off the party on Friday night at a new restaurant in Surry Hills called Master.  It was tasty, trendy, and very unconventional.   As with most fancy restaurants these days, it was all share plates- which is nice for dinner for two, but can be a downer in a group.  Luckily, it was just The Runner and I.  We had quite a few different dishes- most were delicious and totally off the wall. Continue reading →

Happy birthday Mom!

~ stephzuniga ~ Leave a comment

Happy birthday to my amazing mother! I know it’s quite cliche to think your mother is amazing and I know I’m super biased but my mother actually is amazing.

She’s an inspiration to me and has been to others as well. She taught me so much about cooking, entertaining and life in general and made me the person I am today. She is the only other person I know who would plan a dinner party for their own birthday where they do most of the cooking.

When I was 8 and made her a macaroni necklace for Mother’s Day she pretended she loved it as much as anything I could have bought from the store- I was housebound with chicken pox and couldn’t get her a real present. I don’t think she actually wore it but hopefully she didn’t cook it either!

She knows what knife to use with what cheese and can still do a debutante bow. She and her classmates went on a hunger strike in college as a protest and always made sure I wrote thank you notes. She cancelled a meeting at the White House to give birth to me. She knows exactly what to say when I call her crying even today and can comfort me even 10,000 miles away. She’s been a huge help wedding planning even though we don’t always agree- she’s almost always right but there’s no way I’ll admit that to her face. In short, she’s the perfect mom and every year I appreciate her more and more.

Happy birthday mom! I hope your day is as special as you are, I love you!

20131220-081432.jpg

20131220-081440.jpg