Hi! I’m Laureen- most commonly misspelled as Lorraine, Lauren or in one instance written in a story book given to me on my 8th birthday, Doreen. I started baking and cooking in late 2005 when my brother started staying with me in Melbourne where I studied for five wonderful years that went by all too quickly.
I started this site in early 2007 as a way of combining my love for writing with a spot of food photography- plus there were only so many emails raving about a particular dish or baked good with photos attached i could send to my friends- as well as to share recipes and my culinary experiences with the rest of the world. Simply put, this site mainly holds a collection of the better recipes i’ve tried, my thoughts on them as well as the occasional culinary misses.
My most humbling experience in the kitchen has got to be the time i cooked Lemon Chicken. I was incredibly excited about the prospects of creating that delish plate of deep fried chicken coated in thick, sweet lemon sauce i’ve always enjoyed in eateries. Alarm bells probably should have started going off in my head when the recipe called for a generous amount of lemon juice and barely anything else. Long story short, the result was a very unpalatable chicken dish so sour it would make even the most hardcore Warhead fans pucker. Then of course there was the time i used white vinegar in place of (a rather large quantity of) apple cider vinegar..
Pizza, ice cream, peanut butter, chocolate and alfalfa are my top five favourite food in that order. Conversely, you can’t pay me enough to eat raw, whole tomatoes, ginseng and anything herbal. I will however, at a very modest fee, polish your plate of vegetables (sans said tomatoes) off for you.
Bread is by far my absolute favourite thing to make. I love how unhurried the whole bread making process is and the magic that happens in turning some yeast, flour, water and sugar into a much loved food staple around the world. Having recently read the Bread Bible, a bit of that magic has dissipated but all the scientific stuff that occurs with the formation of each loaf is simply fascinating. Simply nothing beats the aroma of a freshly baked, toasty warm loaf of bread wafting through the house.
~May 2008
Questions or just wanna say hi? Email me at thecoffeesnob-at-gmail.com or add me on Twitter (@laurdoubleen)!
chilajem
/ August 28, 2011Hi Laureen, I came across your blog because I saw your panna cotta post on Freshly Pressed. When I read it, I knew I had to check out the rest of your blog. I will definitely include you in my blogroll. By the way, do you have a recipe of your lemon chicken? I tried scanning your recipe index but had no luck. Can’t wait to read more of your posts and try some of your recipes!
http://jillriter.com
/ August 28, 2011I happen to adore panna cotta. at a local bakery they serve it with a blood orange sauce.
–a fellow coffee snob
thecoffeesnob
/ August 28, 2011Hi chilajem! Thanks! Oh, I actually don’t have the recipe for the lemon chicken up on my site because believe me, the one and only lemon chicken I’ve ever made was completely inedible
Oh that panna cotta does sound amazing, Jill! I definitely have to try making it when I get my hands on the ever elusive blood oranges!
kalamckala
/ January 22, 2012Umm…you sound a lot like me: creating a blog for the love of writing and cooking, sharing and talking of recipes with others, baking bread, eating peanut butter, and having everyone under the sun either misspell your name or butcher the pronunciation (my name is spelled “Kala” yet pronounced “Kayla”). I’m really diggin the way you introduce yourself. It’s what I wanted to do but couldn’t quite figure out how to say. I may steal a few things. (=
thecoffeesnob
/ January 22, 2012Hi Kala! I’m so glad to finally meet (well, sort of) someone who understands what it’s like to have an uncommon-ish name. I might be a little biased but I’ve got to admit that just based on that alone, I kinda like you already!