cookbook

O Lord thems good fries!

2010-06-05T12:31:00.003+10:00

Boyfriend and I had a date with Bell Shakespeare on Wednesday, we even bumped into Claire from
Melbourne Gastronome.

We were in such a rush, me coming from work and boyfriend - well actually he was just waiting around. But, he did pick us up one of Lord of the Fries special 'Big Marc' (sic) according to Boyfriend. With less than ten minutes till curtain, we had to rush through them. Don't know how the boy did it in less than half the time it took me! But, yeah awesome.

Mamasita

2010-06-05T11:35:00.003+10:00

I have been wanting to get to Mamasita for a while now. Finally, after a good pay cheque I was able to have a girls date with Bestie May. As they have a no bookings policy we organised to meet at 7.30pm, anticipating a 40 minute wait.

Oh how wrong we were. How very very wrong.

I had known that Mamasita was situated on the first floor, and immediately joined the long line for a table at the bottom of the stairs. What a tight squeeze, people going up, people going down; us with no idea if there was a door list, how long the wait was or anything. Pretty quickly though I mazed my way trough the line to enquire at the desk. There was no desk. Took me a little while to figure out who to talk to and after 10 minutes of trying to catch the man, we were on the list, expecting a wait of 1.5-2 hours. Onto Madame Brussels we went for yummy cocktails and just a few cashews to line our stomachs.

Yes, we didn't sit down to eat until 10, but it was worth it. Once seated things are pretty organised and service is quick. It is a shame though, to have waited for that long and get a bench not an actual table. But we were happy with our many dishes and tall margs!

Although I am not in a huge hurry to go back, I can certainly see myself popping in for a yummy lunch or early dinner, it's just the right price to not worry about future bill payments!

What we stuffed our faces with:

Tortilla with salsa and guac ($8)

Elotes callejeros - "Street Style" chargrilled corn with queso chipotle mayo and lime ($3.8each)

Tacos de Camarones - marinated prawn with serano chiles and chipotle almond salsa ($7each)

Quesadillas de Huitelacoche - mexican truffle, mushrooms, roasted corn, epazote and queso fresco ($14)

Ceviche de Yucatan - market fish with green tomatoes, mint, lime and coconut milk ($12)

I. Loved. Everything. Certainly a healthier option than Taco Bell. Everything was fresh and tangy. Being the salt and spice queen that I am I wouldn't have minded a bit more zing on both accounts - but for the health factor and price factor of Mamasita - well I might just head over for dinner tonight. Oh and the margs - so so freaking good.

I definitely think they need to organise themselves a lot more though, to have that many people lining up without any indication of the process for getting a table in absurd - a simple sign downstairs would suffice. And that poor maitre d', dealing with that many people, bar and wait staff standing between tasks was a little frustrating, i was like "why can't they tell me what I'm supposed to do?"

Try the chargrilled corn and... well... you know what? Try everything! I particularly loved the armond salsa with the prawns - amazing milky texture as well as the mushrooms in the quesadilla - warm with just the right amount of cheese.

Mamasita
Mexican Restaurant and Bar
Level 1, 11 Collins St Melbourne
Phone. 61 3 9650 3821

Chat for tea

2010-06-05T10:39:00.003+10:00

Paige lives in Ballarat. Two cars full of people madly rushing to Ballarat to surprise her with a birthday dinner! Two vegans, two vegos and a few fussies - Chat for tea, vegetarian restaurant extraordinaire was perfect for all of us. I'm not the biggest fan of fake meat, I mean there was a reason I stopped eating it in the first place. Apart from the odd soy sausage, facon or burger I'm pretty happy with what I eat. But it was fun to try some nibblies, done very well with plenty of flavour. Chat for tea is a lovely and welcoming place and were great with the spectacle we made of ourselves - Paige bursting into tears when she spotted us all, trampoline cake and lots of noise! Oh and the owner's daughter is adorable - I wanted to eat her up, but settled into the dishes actually on the menu.

Gyoza - big yummy dumplings, great value too.

"Chicken" nuggets - soy protein coated with wasabe flavoured crumbs - so so good!

Tempura vegetables - wasabi seasoning
I loved the mouth watering seasoning in the tempura batter, but as it is the standard seasoning used for all the fake meat, it got a bit repetitive.

Tofu stir-fry with rice- good if you're after a fresh and simple dish.

Green curry vermicelli noodle soup with sliced 'fish' - Wasn't really a fan of this, a few people ordered it and I was tempted but it was a little one dimensional and I just don't think the green curry went well with the 'fish' slices.

My teriyaki noodle sizzling hotplate- I was so excited about this cause I love a good sizzle, hard to find though without beef.... was really good. yum yum!

Isn't this happy snap adorable - sums up the beautiful and memorable night perfectly.

Will definitely head back to Chat for tea, the next time I am in need of a fresh meal in Ballarat, I have to say though - I am usually more than happy with chips, cheese and gravy from Checkers!

Chat for Tea
25 Armstrong Street Ballarat, VIC
Phone (03) 5331 3898

Dainty Sichuan

2010-06-05T09:03:00.004+10:00

I have a confession to make. I have been keeping a few restaurants to myself, in the unrealistic hope that it won't become over-crowded so I can always get a table, instead of waiting for 30 minutes for a mid-week treat! But my selfish attempt is, for lack of a better word - silly.

So first on my list in Dainty Sichuan. With a long history (in restaurant terms atleast), starting with 8 tables in Collingwood in 2003 and moving into Corrs lane three years later. The 120 seats still had people (myself included) queuing around the restaurant and down the block! Last year, Dainty made the move to a 2 story establishment in South Yarra (just a little down from the station) with it's regular menu as well as a traditional hotpot menu.

Oi, our first visit this year did not disapoint, it was just as spicy and delicious as I remembered.
Boyfriend and I can't go past the spicy fish hotpot and select a couple of vege dishes and the spicy cold noodles (mandatory).

It's alot of food but we can handle it. Boyfriend, although orders enough for 3/4 just for us two, would freak out if a third person came on board and probably order a coupla extra dishes!

Also can't go past the garlic cucumber, it's so refreshing after the spicy noodles, if a little slippery to pick up with the chop sticks.

Yes, I know it looks scary but it is the best frickin thing in the world, awesome on a 40 degree day, amazing on a 10 degree days or when you've got a cold, a hangover, your depressed or happy. It just rocks okay. OMG I want it right now!

The dried tofu and spring onion, although not overly spicy is chewy and smoky and just delicious! As the tofu is quite pungent, getting another vegetables dish is a good idea.

I just love Dainty, I would venture over more if time allowed, was so much easier when still in the CBD. I was a virgin to sichuan before Dainty, so as much as I cheat at different sichuan restaurants, Dainty will always be special to me.

Dainty Sichuan
176 Toorak Road, South Yarra
ph: 90781686

The Abyssinian

2010-06-05T08:36:00.002+10:00

In April. Yep, that's how behind I am. For my mum's birthday, the fam trusted me to find a suitable restaurant to celebrate. I've been wanting to try to Abyssinian since we moved to Flemo in September last year! Because the focus is really on share-food I have been saving it for a special occasion.

I love a restaurant with a menu on the website, it makes finding a suitable restaurant so much easier, and means I can choose what I'm going to have in advance - saves on ordering times and means I can spend more time talking with the company - lol. You can find the website here.

I loved the warm service here, the wait staff and the owner took alot of pride in the establishment and made the meal experience lots of fun, they also had no qualm with us taking our time on ordering despite the constant threat of a queue outside. We ended up deciding on a meat banquet for 4 and a vegetarian banquet for 3, which was just enough for all.

I would say, if you're not a fan of lemon you might want to order a side of rice, as the traditional flat bread which mains are served on and eaten with is quite lemon-y. The curries, were light and delicious but still with a well rounded flavour, only achieved through careful cooking. I very much enjoyed the vegetarian platter, as well as the little bit of fish I stole from the meat platter. Although it's not a cuisine which I would crave every week, I shall be returning with friends who haven't tried Ethiopian fare and trying more of the seafood options.

The Abyssinian
277 Racecourse Road Kensington,
Victoria 3031

Bookings call: (03) 9376 8754
(bookings are recommended for large tables or for friday-sunday dining)

Cultured az bro.

2010-04-29T17:50:00.002+10:00

Gingerboy.

Yep that's right. Gingerboy.

Date with Other Jess. March 16. Dinner with the San Franciscans. Awesome day.

So Other Jess and I are pretty glad that we didn't cancel our plans to see The Australian Ballet's matinee performance of 'The Silver Rose'. We got tickets through a SwinBin friend and were lucky enough to be sitting second row center. Can you believe it? Us two four eyed girlz didn't even NEED to wear our specs.

Anyway that's how the day began. With a very unexpected beautiful performance that neither one of us are likely to forget.

Next step. Tessuti Fabrics for a cheeky peak at some magnificent Missoni fabrics.

And then... by this time it was time for our early dinner at Gingerboy. Despite our late booking, we were lucky enough to get a table for four right in the front one-way mirrored window. It was pretty cute, The Twin got confused and turned up at 7pm. I didn't mind though - more time with the San Franciscans. So as the amazingness of this wonderful day was so unexpected - I didn't even bring a camera and my iphone was dead :(

But here is what we ordered.

To start -

Spring bay scallops, smoked chilli and black bean dressing (3 pieces) $15.00
- Oh yeah. Black beans and scallops rock.

Steamed prawn and ginger dumpling with peanut chilli soy (3 pieces) $15.00
- So much prawn. Juicy, potent goodness.

Pork and shitake dumplings with chinese black vinegar (3 pieces) $15.00
- Umm I think it woulda been good.

Chargrilled eggplant rice noodle roll with chinese vinegar and chilli $31.00
- This was amazing. Everything about it was so good. Of course you'd need to love rice noodles and eggplant in order to fully appreciate this dish. But this made me totally get why Gingerboy is so good. Simple hawker food philosophy with careful preparations and quality ingredients make for a beautiful marriage. Romantic enough for you?

Roasted kingfish in banana leaf with lemongrass and ginger curry $34.00
How good is lemongrass?

Fried baby snapper, lime and red chilli bean sauce with lychee salad $34.00
- So lychees rock. They really go with everything. Omogod have you had shitake mushroom and lychee salad? You should. Ohhhh that was so good.

I think that's what food is supposed to do you know? Help you to appreciate flavors that sometimes go unappreciated. I need to go back to gingerboy - perhaps the posse will try again soon?

Gingerboy
27-29 Crossley St
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9662 4200

The biggest disappointment of them all sigh

2010-04-29T16:57:00.005+10:00

Alas, it has been three weeks since that fateful night at Mo Via Aqui. I've been putting off writing this post cos the night was kinda a bust.

I've been contemplating how much of a cheap-as food snob I am, and have proudly decided I'm just enough of one to write this post in thought out honesty.

Boy, was I excited. After my booking at Gingerboy for a Chinese New Years banquet dinner, fell through I was pissed. I was so angry, nothing was going to make me feel better - except for booking a dinner at Vue de monde (for our cocktail night) and the first Saturday night booking available for Mo Vida Aqui; which turned out to be April 12th. It was February. So we saved, we waited, we researched and we got excited.

I don't think I am going to bag out Mo Vida Aqui as much as I want too (I think I was a bit PMSy that night- so i take responsibility too) for a crappy night, but apart from a few great choices I was underwhelmed with both the food and the service.

I like my table service to be seamless. One waiter for the evening (or one for drinks and one for food - i dont care) and a friendly and understanding manner. We had about three or four waiters asking us the same questions over again - I don't like that. Almost as bad as when Bestie May and I went to Nobu in Hollywood and they kept taking each of our plates away before we'd finished!

Anyway back to the night. This little rant will be titled - "The Paella Saga".
I have a odd sense of humour, or so my friends and dinner companions tell me - I tend to be sarcastic in a very serious manner (isn't that what you're supposed to do). Some waiters/bar staff/retail peops find it charming and it breaks the initial awkwardness. But ours did not think I was charming, funny or being sarcastic at all.

We wanted to get a paella to share as a base dish amongst the five of us - a complicated task considering (as I explained to the waitress) "she's Jewish, she's Muslim, he doesn't eat fish and I don't eat red meat or poultry..." - we understood the dilemma this caused, but i found it really weird that in a multicultural city like ours a vegetarian paella (at $50 a pop) was too much to ask for.

Other Jess explained that it's not authentic to have it without either seafood or meat - but I wonder how authentic is it to be eating Spanish street food at a overpriced restaurant in Melbourne with a 12 week waiting period? Okay so I'm a bitch sue me.

Anyway, after much discussion we got the seafood paella, which turned out to be over seasoned, bland and with poor quality chalky seafood. Bummer.

So that's the paella saga - onto the rest!

And the eating begins... as well as the salivating...

Buey - Roast beef wagyu with tocino de cielo, potato crisps, pickled garlic and black garlic ($17.50) - the non-fish eaters pink-tastic suppliment shared with Bestie May, who's only eating request is 'sans raw tomatoes'.

Paella del Marisco - Bomba rice cooked with seafood and saffron (Grande $48: 2-4 people)

Bomba - Catalan potato bomb filled with chorizo ($4 each) I didn't have one but the two pig eaters and one naughty Jew thought they were delicious. The good Muslim and I had the calamari sandwiches.

Pincho de tortilla - organic egg potato and onion tortilla ($4.50) - Yummy moist goodness - if a little stocky and cold. Is it supposed to be served cold?

Brocodillo de Calamares - Calamari sandwich with basque guindilla and mayonaise ($6.50)
Wowsa - this was amazing ... I knew it would be as Jess Ho told me so many a month ago.

We also got a couple of the specials including stuffed deepfried zucchini flowers - which were pretty yummy - however they were stuffed with the same sauce that they were served with and I think the meat eaters got another dish - but I'm not too sure?

So if you attended this dinner please let me know if I missed anything out.

If you have been to Mo Vida Aqui, I'd love to know what you thought. Was this just a bad night or is the hype too much? Which MoVida do you prefer?

MoVida Aqui
Level 1, 500 Bourke St, Melbourne. (Access via Lt Bourke St)
Lunch & Dinner. Mon-Fri: 12 noon until late. Saturday: 5pm until late

Vue De Monde Cocktail Night

2010-04-29T15:43:00.009+10:00

Oy. I just realised that the validity/ relevance of this post has kinda decreased since March - when the posse went to Cafe Vue's 'Friday night at the movies' themed cocktail night.

So if you haven't been, it's an awesome way to experience the Vue legacy without the scary bill at the end. For $75 a head you get matched food and cocktails! Each month caters a different theme so you're always guarenteed a different experience.

Warning though - the emphasis is very much placed on the alcohol, with the food being matched to the alcohol so it's important to be a borderline alcoholic if you're really going to take advantage of the creative genius of the head chef and his lovely waiters.

I was promised, at the end of the night, when I was fairly sloshed that they would send me the waiter notes for each of the special cocktails - well that never happened but that's okay I have to get the courage to take outta notebook and pen and be all 'food blogger' on there ass.

Anyway, the fuzziness of my memory and of my photos kinda increased as the night procressed (obvious joke - but wonder why?) which has lead me not to post anything, until now. I mean the care and detail which must go into these friday nights for the staff certainly warrents better photo taking skills and better descriptions. But I have neither of those so I'll just post these photos and urge you to book yourself in for a night out... just make sure you're not working the following day.

The vegetarian starter - zucchini flower stuffed with pureed eggplant and other pureed stuff.

Carpaccio of 'Bambi' with pink peppercorns and apples

The 'Roundhay Garden' thick... berry... yummy...

The 'Charlie Chaplin' cocktail - with sloe gin, apricot, lime and lime peel

Hot dog & Chips - Look how cute they are! The ones on the left are fresh baby corn with pickled red onion and gerkins and the ones on the right have a chicken mousse instead of the corn, all served in a brioche bun.

I don't have a photo of the 'Confit flathead with ratatouille' - the ratatouille was amazing, we all agreed that it was a highlight. Above, 'The Jazz Singer' a oldfashioned take on a bloody mary. Interesting, I mean I love bloody mary's but this was really really really interesting, not in the best way!

Caprifeuille goat's cheese with lychees poached in rose water served with the 'Rosebud' cocktail (below). OMG - the goat's cheese was amazing. It seemed so obvious that lychees would compliment the delicious french cheese so well, yet it is seldom done! I'm pretty sure the cheese dish was garnished with actual and eatable rose petals. The Rosebud cocktail - champagne served over Persian rose flavored fairy floss - peerrrrrty.

Gaaaaahhhh and finally- 'Popcorn' Madeleine with salt and butter' with a 'Buttered Popcorn' cocktail. Woooo this madeleine was amazing and the delicious salted candy popcorn was so delicious. A perfect dish and definitely my favorite of the six dishes. I would eat this everyday if I could. Strangely though at this stage the impression (as well as a photo) of the popcorn cocktail has long since left me - i seem to remember it was good though!

Me after many a drink! So happy. So 'sober'.

Photo evidence of the decline of my photo skillz.

Vue de monde

- Normanby Chambers
430 Little Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Telephone: +61 3 9691 3888
Facsimile: +61 3 9600 4600

Boyfriend's dads' amazing seaweed wrapped salmon with MY soba noodle salad

2010-04-29T00:38:00.004+10:00

OMG so this seaweed salmon is amazaballs. Initially, we'd hangout till 'the master' would make it but eventually we had to start making it ourselves. Boyfriend loves salmon, I find it a little heavy but this recipe really lightens it up - its irresistable.

Shopping trolley.

Salmon.
1 large salmon steak (halved length ways)
Seaweed sheets (ones used for sushi rolls)
Pickled ginger
Wasabi
Light soy sauce

Salad.
2 bunches dried soba noodles
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/2 cup cherry or mini roma tomatoes halved
3 spring onions sliced
1 tablespoon diced minced ginger
1 cup edamame beans

Salad Dressing.
3 tablespoons light soy
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1.5 tablespoons wasabi
1.5 tablespoon light mayonaise
1 teaspoon miran seasoning
1 teaspoon pickle ginger juice

Preparation.

Marinade the salmon steaks in soy sauce and wasabi (mix to taste) for min. 1 hour. Set aside until ready to cook.

Salad -

Combine all dressing ingredients until well blended. Set aside.

Combine cabbage, spring onion, sesame seeds, tomato and ginger into salad bowl and mix well.

Boil soba noodles and edamame according to noodle packet directions. Rinse well in cold water and drain well.

Combine noodles, beans, salad mix with dressing.

Serve and set aside.

Place seaweed sheet on flat, dry surface, place salmon steak on one end. Coat salmon with wasabi and ginger (according to taste) and roll up (tip - brush some of marinade onto edge of seaweed sheet to seal. Repeat for second.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in fry pan. Sear each side of prepared salmon for 1 minute per side. Longer if you like it cooked longer than pink.

Serve salmon on top of salad.

Enjoy!

Potato Gnocchi with fresh tomato and spinach sauce

2010-04-28T11:49:00.004+10:00

So Labor Day weekend right. Boyfriend's mum gave us some kickass home grown potatoes - we roasted some of them but I still had a fair few left and decided to make some gnocci for tea.

I am a gnocci snob. I either fry up baby gnocci with some sliced shallots, garlic, fresh tomato, basil and parmesan or I make my own. If I really can't be bothered making my own I opt for premade with higher potato ratio over cheese ratio. otherwise I think it's a bit clammy.

That's enough of an explanation I think onward to the recipe!

Shopping trolley.

Gnocchi.
I kilo good potatoes, boiled with skin on
3 cups plain flour
1 egg
Salt and pepper
1 cup finely chopped basil leaves

Sauce.
1 cup baby spinach leaves
Handful basil leaves
Cup cherry tomatoes
4 tomatoes - peeled and deseeded. Mashed up heaps!
drizzle olive oil

Parmesan cheese for serving.

Okay so I use this recipe from Best Recipes for the gnocchi, with the basil added at Step 2.

For the sauce.
Add all ingredients in a small saucepan, over a medium heat. Add some water to thicken, if need be.

Add the cooked gnocchi to the simmering tomato sauce. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Roasted vegetables with tahini dressing

2010-04-28T10:44:00.007+10:00

So a few months ago I posted a recipe from Nadine Abensur's beautiful vegetarian cookbook 'Enjoy'.

The night after I still had a fair bit of tahini sauce and eggplant filling left - so I decided so stuff some tomatoes and use the sauce as a dressing for some roasted vegies.

Shopping trolley:

For the yogurt tahini sauce:
180g Greek yogurt
4 tablespoons pale tahini paste
6 tablespoons cold water
a small handful of parsley, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
4 roasted cherry tomatoes, squeezed out of their skins

For the filling:
340g very fresh ricotta cheese, drained of any excess liquid and patted dry on kitchen paper
1/4 small red onion, very finely chopped
a good handful of parsley (about 40g), finely chopped
a small handful of basil leaves, rolled up and sliced into fine ribbons
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
100g green olives (rinsed under cold water uf very salty), finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
30g pistacchio nuts, roasted in a warm oven for 8 minutes, then skins rubbed off in a tea towel
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

For the roasted vegetables:
Grey pumpkin - sliced length ways
4 Mushrooms - with the stalks removed
Tin of chickpeas
Fresh beetroot - halved and halved again
Sweet potato - sliced
1 large carrot - sliced lengthways
Garlic bunches
2 tomatoes - slice the tomato 3/4 toward the top to create a lid. Hollow out the base.
Cup of spinach
Fresh herbs - sage, parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, chives, thyme
Red wine vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar

Okay so it's a bit complicated because I didn't want all the vegetables to taste the same. This recipe requires a few different sized baking trays. One tray for the beetroot, one for the mushrooms and one for the sweet potato, pumpkin, garlic, chickpeas and carrot.

Preparation.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Fill the de-seeded halved tomatoes with the ricotta mix and set aside.

Coat the beetroot with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Roast in a small baking tray secured with alfoil on the highest shelf. Beetroot takes about 20 minutes more than other vegies (depending on size) so make sure you put them in advance of the other vegies.

Coat the remaining vegetables (sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot) with olive oil and sprinkle with sage, rosemary, parsley and chives. Place garlic bulbs in corners of tray. Roast on the middle shelf.

Coat the mushrooms in red wine vinegar, minced garlic and olive oil. Sprinkle oregano over the mushrooms. Roast in a small baking tray on the lowest shelf.

Roast until all are tender - around 1 and a 1/2 hours in total. At about 1 hour add the chickpeas and stuffed tomatoes with the pumpkin tray and roast for the remaining 1/2 hour.

Remove the chickpea pumpkin mix and stir in basil and spinach.

Layer all vegies on serving plates with garlic on top. Spoon tahini mix on the side.

Enjoy.

Yummy. I really love the roasted garlic and chickpeas and the way the fresh basil and spinach leaves break up the starch vegetables.

God does the tahini dressing rock.

Mussels in white wine & tomato zesty broth

2010-04-09T18:17:00.003+10:00

This is the perfect winter staple, served with crusty bread, as a tapas or on their own. You really can't stop at one, this recipe with convert anyone to mussels!

Shopping trolley.
1Kg fresh mussels
4 cloves garlic sliced thin
Handful fresh parsley, chopped roughly
2 tins diced tomato
2 cups white wine
1 birds eye chilli diced
2 cups vege or fish stock
Zest of one lemon (optional)
1 onion thinly diced

Preparation.
Debeard and clean mussels, discarding any open ones.
Saute onion, garlic and chilli. Add white wine, stock and tomatoes. Simmer for fifteen minutes. Add lemon zest and season to taste. When broth is ready (according to taste - EVERYTHING is according to taste!!!!) add mussels and steam with lid on for 5 minutes, making sure all mussels are covered.

Remove open mussels to serving bowl and continue steaming the rest. Continue checking for open mussels and returning lid for another ten minutes. Discard any unopen and coat mussels with remaining broth and parsley.

So decedent but so cheap! I want to eat. NOW.

Quan 88

2010-04-09T17:53:00.003+10:00

From work to pub... hungry tummy not such a good idea with $2 pots in mind. Decided on quick viet dinner on Victoria St before heading to The Vic (281 Victoria St) for happy hour.

After hours and hours of trolling through blogs, reviews etc etc. I decided on a list of top Viet restaurants on Victoria that would be acceptable, but decided on Quan 88 due to it's proximity to The Vic. So glad that we did cos it was really good!

We ordered the Chilli Lemongrass squid, a tofu and vegetable stir fry flat rice noodle, rice noodle and braised beef, prawn springrolls and prawn stuffed eggplant.

All up our meal for four came to $60, came out fast, hot and cooked to perfection. Of all the dishes I absolutely loved the prawn stuffed eggplant and thoroughly enjoyed the stir fried flat noodles - although a vietnamese staple in Melbourne, the flavours were so much more vibrant and fresh than what you'd get at other cheap restaurants - such a yummy smoky flavour.

I could take or leave the prawn spring rolls, no one does them as well as Vy Vy on Racecourse Rd, Flemington but will go back for seconds soon!

Oh and my other Viet picks on Victoria Street - Thanh Nga Nine (160 Victoria Street) and Minh MInh (94 Victoria Street).

Quan 88
88 Victoria St Richmond VIC 3121 - (03) 9428 6850
Open Mon-Wed,Sun 11am-10pm; Thu-Sat 11am-11pm

Vy Vy
318 Racecourse Rd Flemington VIC 3031 - (03) 9372 1426

Easter Sunday Dinner for 17...

2010-04-09T16:40:00.003+10:00

Mum offered to help in the kitchen, but being the control freak that I am I opted to do it alone. Thankfully though, V realised before I what a massive undertaking this was and nominated herself for dishes duty - and whatta task!

Each of these pastas are pretty easy but are so distinct from one another that they complement the others quite well. Just tackling this post is making me feel all anxious and tired though.... it was pretty funny - I felt like a professional chef, thank god there was enough for seconds and everyone seemed really happy with the meal. It was so funny everyone rushing into the dining room to line up with bowl and fork in hand, someone calling out "we need more parmesan" and "who made this?". V and I standing back in awe!

Zucchini and Parmesan chilli linguine

2 large zucchini - sliced into 4mm slices length ways.
1 birds eye chilli
2 cloves garlic
handful chopped parsley
Grated parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste.

Saute zucchini over medium heat with garlic and chilli. Add parmesan and parsley and stir through pasta.

Meat lovers Linguini

This is great for holidays because you always have left over BBQ meat in the fridge, it's such an easy way to get rid of it. The trick is to let it simmer for a while so the meat gets all tender, the tomato sauce takes on the smoky flavour of the meat while still retaining the fresh sweet tang that only comes with good quality or fresh napoli sauce.

Tip: For this sort of napoli, I either deseed and blend fresh tomatoes, garlic and onion with a little veg stock to thin it out a bit, or blend garlic and onion with pureed tomatoes and a teaspoon of sugar)

Left over bbq'd sausages, cooked diced bacon and steak - roughly chopped into bite size pieces.
fresh/home made napoli pasta sauce

Saute garlic slightly before adding napoli sauce. Simmer meat in napoli sauce for 1/2 hour before stirring in linguine.

Prawn Linguini in a white wine reduction

750g green prawns, deshelled (with or without tails)
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tomatoes - deseeded and chopped finely
2 big handfuls chopped parsley
2 cups reasonable quality white wine (sav blanc is good)
6 shallots - sliced
basil leaves

This is the more time consuming pasta but it's totally worth it.

Saute garlic, chilli and shallots for five minutes before adding enough white wine to cover onion mix. Turn heat down and simmer until white wine thickens slightly. Add a little wine at a time, adding seasoning to flavour. The sauce is intended to coat and flavour prawns and should be sweet rather than salty or sour (takes about 25 minutes to add white wine and cook out all the alcohol). When your happy with how the sauce tastes, raise heat and add prawns. Stir constantly making sure all prawns are cooked through - about three minutes, add parsley before stirring through linguini. Sprinkle with parmesan and basil.

Eggscellent Easter

2010-04-09T15:56:00.006+10:00

Easter overload! See the finished eggs on the left - I filled them with mini m&m's!

I know. I know... but bestie came out with it over the weekend away and I just couldn't help myself!

So OK. I had to take a week off work and had no idea how I would entertain myself on Thursday and Good Friday. How would I fill my time productively? With Easter approaching I realised I had to get two family Easter egg bundles together. Well Easter eggs get a bit expensive and can end up being a bit generic, so with all this time on my hands, what else would I do but endeavor to make Easter eggs for everyone?

Getting the moulds proved a challenge, as no one was selling them! One cooking supplies shop had stocked a handful but had sold out Melbourne-wide! Next step - internets! I stumbled across Roberts Confectionery website and put an order in for some moulds to pick up the following day.

Deciding on these: (images courtesy of Roberts Confectionery)

Making easter eggs was a little bit harder (okay alot) than I initially thought, I mean I basically stood in the kitchen for two days and went through a bucket load of chocolate. I mean it's my own fault I thought the filled eggs were so cute and just had to get them - requiring chocolate colouring (oil based powder), I also decided to fill some medium eggs (came in the bunny mould case) with caramel).

But you know what? In the end it was cheaper than buying that many eggs and totally worth it - everyone felt really special and thought they were gorgeous- and you know what else? - I didn't eat one single easter egg!

I used a smaller paint brush to fill the decorative designs and a medium brush to layer the chocolate in the eggs.

I made far too much caramel,but it was exciting to see it turn from clear to caramel!

Home made caramel

So yes - I'm waiting on more photos of the little bundles I handed out to friends and family and I'll post them when I get them.

In addition to the egg bundles I made some yummy chocolate cupcakes with green icing and chocolate bunnies on top! They were so gorgeous and really easy to make - I'll definately do them next year.

Icing tip: Along with the green colouring, I added peppermint oil and fresh lemon juice (boyfriend's mum gave me the suggestion!) to the butter icing. Absolutely delicious, the lemon juice added layers to the butter icing mixture and softened the peppermint very nicely. We ended up with the juice of 1 whole lemon into the mixture for 48 cupcakes. So good.

P.S If you've got photos of my eggs please email them to me so I can post them up! This post feels a little incomplete :S

I heart Julie and Julia

2010-04-09T15:17:00.005+10:00

Not just because it's a true story about how a women gets her life together through the aid of a cooking master and a blog, but because the food looks beautiful. I especially like the Bruschetta that Julia makes while she and her husband decide she should start a blog. It's so vibrant and looks so yummy I had a craving to make it while watching the film just before the easter weekend.

Mummy and I met up for an afternoon of shopping at the Queen Vic market; in preparation for the long weekend festivities in the country, so I decided to get supplies for bruschetta!

Shopping bag:

2 fresh firm tomatoes - diced (yellow or black tomatoes as well if you want!)
4 cherry or baby roma tomatoes - halved
1/2 small yellow capsicum (for color)
1/2 small red onion - thinly diced
bunch basil leaves
lake salt flakes and pepper to taste
good olive oil
crusty white loaf sliced into 4 thick pieces
sprinkling parmesan.
(serves 2)

Preparation.

Combine all ingredients (sans bread and butter). I like to use a good sprinkling of salt and olive oil, but it's really up to you how much you want to use - the salt and oil mixture combined with onion juice soaked into the bread and tomatoes is so yummy and absolutely addictive!

In a heavy pan, melt plenty of butter (I never said this was healthy). Once melted and bubbling nicely coat one side of the bread with the melted butter and then turn over to coat the remaining butter onto the other side of the bread. Over a low-medium heat toast each side of the bread until golden-brown and crunchy. Continue until all servings are done, making sure to wipe excess butter out of pan each time so that the butter doesn't burn - it looks yucky on the bread!

Scoop a nice helping of tomato mixture on top each slice of bread.

Dinner is served and amazing!

Just do it.

2010-04-09T13:52:00.003+10:00

I'm hopeless. I am a bad blogger. I put it down to my lack of artistic photography skills - my mother is a photographer, my sister an interior designer and my father an artist - I lucked out on that gene and instead rebelled into conservatism and obsessive compulsive tendencies. That's okay I'm learning to appreciate these qualities in myself.

Boyfriend's camera sucks, but I find it difficult to replace something that still works. I have never bought a camera - I guess I've never seen the necessity. I am not particularly photogenic (instead tend to adopt an extra chin) and never feel the urge to pick up a camera and start snapping.

On a recent trip to my parent's arty-farty house in Central Victoria, I learnt exactly how bad I am at taking photos - sitting on the sun deck watching my parent's friends play fiddle and sing blue grass I became inspired to capture the moment- which I didn't do at all. It's really hard to take a good photo when you don't have the patience to learn.

Anyway the point of these ramblings is that I've eaten out alot and been in the kitchen almost constantly (i havent sewn anything though) and have quite a few posts that I need to write - gingerboy, Cafe Vue Cocktail Night, Madame Brussels, Campari House.... Easter weekend feasting.... I just need some good photos to accompany my posts - apart from taking scrutiny away from my rusty writing skills, it's pretty rare to see a food post without photos of the reviewed meals so it'd look odd.

I think my biggest problem is that I have no patience - I get so excited by food that I've already half finished by the time I've remembered to take a shitty iphone shot. And really does anyone actually wanna see my half-enjoyed food?

Probably another reason I haven't been posting is that I've become a little embarrassed by my little lonesome food/craft blog - so impressed by others that I've felt a bit disheartened. Then I remembered that I am actually doing this blog for myself and for my friends and family - so they can find all my recipes really easily. So suck it self I love cooking and I won't let your paranoia and uncertainty get in the way!
Making dinner for 17 people at mum and dad's house over Easter weekend - post to come

confessions of an amatuer food blogger...

2010-03-17T20:50:00.002+11:00

I've had trouble sleeping lately and find literary genius popping into my head at random hours of the night, unfortunately I am too lazy and without adequate commitment to 'cookbook' to get outta bed and fumble around looking for my macbook (yeah thats right people).

Of course, there is also the possibility that in my dream haze I think I'm better than I actually am.

So last night I decided on honesty - honesty in cooking, honesty in writing and honesty in what I feel are my inadequacies...

1. I have trouble telling the difference between their and there, yet have no problem with wear, were, where and we're - !?

2. I have a blog crush on two fine Melbourne food blogger ladies .... Jess Ho from 'that jess ho' and tammi jonas from 'tammi tasting terroir' - here are my reasons: Jess is frickin' hilarious and seems to have the confidence and honesty to do all the things I wish I could do and Tammi for continually striving for better postgraduate rights, for struggling through her PhD and still finding the time to post. Juggling all these is something I struggle to do - having recently taken a leave of absence.

3. I went to Cafe Vue last friday night for the cocktail night - got so trashed my hangover comes back to me just thinking about it... good sign right!?

4. I'm not very good at keeping up with world news, not counting hollywood - I read Perez Hilton more often than I watch the news.

5. As women of the house, or 'housewife' I made devilled sausages for din din tonight with mash and peas. Twas awesome. Good honest food.

6. I have no problem eating an entire box of cheezels in one sitting simply because I tell myself they're gluten free.

7. I just finished Lauren Conrad's second book and can't wait for the third.

So there/their you go... just a few honestys and meanderings that I thought I would share.

CRAFT ROCKS

2010-03-10T16:57:00.003+11:00

Twin has been collecting fabric samples for me for months, I have so many beautiful fabrics - Manuel Canova... Colefax... Jane Churchill ... I have been using them, saving them, smooning over them for quilting and hoarding for future projects, they're so lovely I feel very spoilt - so a big THANKYOU to twin for all my crafting pressies!

Lucky Twin has just inherited a gorgeous vintage Janome, so I have to get a pack together from all the samples she's given me as well as a few bits and bobs I find in my stash- I might package it up really cute and send it off to her...
I mean it's only fair - must support the crafting world!

Here are a coupla other projects I've used the sample squares for...

Henry with my collecting board

Boyfriends' reading pillow

Winter Weather Scones

2010-03-10T16:26:00.006+11:00

- Boyfriend sent me a text today saying he was eating a cheese and chive scone - which started the scone making morning, which turned into a scone eating afternoon.

It's not yet cold enough to really call it winter weather but these scones will be amazing in the middle of winter, snuggled at home with a cuppa tea and a pumpkin scone.

I've made double batches so Boyfriend can take some to work and we have enough to freeze.

I've made these pumpkin scones before and have to say that it really is better to hand stir rather than use an electric mixer, as it smooths the mashed pumpkin out too much.

Lady Florence Bjelke-Petersen's Famous Pumpkin Scones

This recipe is courtesy of the website www.southburnett.net

You need:
1 Tblsp butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup mashed pumpkin (cold)
2 cups Self raising flour

Method:
Beat together butter, sugar and salt with electric mixer.
Add egg, then pumpkin and stir in the flour.
Turn on to floured board and cut.
Place in tray on top shelf of very hot oven 225-250c for 15-20 minutes.

Krumm this morning lol

Cheese and Chive Scones

Stephanie Alexander's Cheese Scones from Cuisine

500g self-raising flour*
2 tsp baking powder
speck of cayenne pepper
pinch salt
100g butter
100g grated matured cheddar cheese
1 tbsp chopped chives (optional)
300ml water
milk to glaze or flour

* If using wholemeal flour expect a more solid scone. My preference would be for half wholemeal and half white self-raising flour.

I very quickly revert to the influence of my British forebears when I think about afternoon tea. There should be freshly baked scones and something with cream, and definitely cake and possibly a pie.

Method

Heat oven to 220C. Grease and flour a baking tray.

Put flour, baking powder, cayenne and salt in bowl of a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds. Drop in the butter and pulse for about 30 seconds until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Tip into a bowl, stir in cheese, chives and water. Mix quickly and pat into a round or rectangle three centimetres thick.

Cut into rounds or squares and put close together on prepared tray. Brush tops with a little milk or dust with flour. Bake 12-15 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

Split and butter with plain butter or herb butter.

Labor of Love

2010-03-10T15:34:00.005+11:00

Labor Day 2010. I worked. It sucked. Boyfriend spent the day at school. I was planning an afternoon of complete self-pity but instead opted to spring clean.

It's hard. How does one approach tidying up a house full of weeks and weeks of neglected items? I decided to tackle it room by room starting with the bedroom and finishing up in the bathroom. Wowsa if I didn't meet my daily exercise requirement... well I don't know what cos I'm pretty sure I did.

I spent like five hours pragmatically attacking the mess and strategically rearranging the place. Was very cleansing. Was glad I opted for cleaning over moping.

Anyway, you'd think after that hella clean I woulda sat down. I did sit down, but only for 5 minutes before deciding to top my personal labor day off with a lovingly prepared dinner for the boyfriend (i am taking my housewife responsibilities VERY seriously).

In the clean up I found one of Boyfriend's vegetarian cookbooks and decided on the "Ricotta and Olive-filled Aubergine Rolls With Roasted Bunched Cherry Tomatoes and Yogurt Tahini Sauce" from Nadine Abensur's beautiful book 'Enjoy: New Veg'.

The recipe, under the date-night section, was a lot more fiddly than I thought, lots of fine chopping and stuff, but it was worth it and very delicious!

Here is the recipe reproduced from the cookbook, which can be purchased here.

Serves 6.
at least 450ml light olive oil
2 aubergines (eggplants), each cut into 12 slices about 1cm thick
juice of 1 lemon
a dash of Tabasco sauce
5 tablespoons olive oil
6 bunches of small, vine-ripened tomatoes or cherry tomates (about 9 per bunch)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
chopped parsley or coriander, to garnish

For the yogurt tahini sauce:
180g Greek yogurt
4 tablespoons pale tahini paste
6 tablespoons cold water
a small handful of parsley, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
4 roasted cherry tomatoes, squeezed out of their skins

For the filling:
340g very fresh ricotta cheese, drained of any excess liquid and patted dry on kitchen paper
1/4 small red onion, very finely chopped
a good handful of parsley (about 40g), finely chopped
a small handful of basil leaves, rolled up and sliced into fine ribbons
1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
100g green olives (rinsed under cold water uf very salty), finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
30g pistacchio nuts, roasted in a warm oven for 8 minutes, then skins rubbed off in a tea towel
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

Heat the light olive oil in a large frying pan and, when it is very hot, drop in as many aubergine (eggplant) slices as will fit. Fry both sides until very well browned - atleast 1 minute per side. There is nothing worse than insufficiently fried aubergine (eggplant), and no genuine Middle Easterner or Mediterranean will stand for it. Remove and drain on kitchen paper, immediately dousing with the lemon juice and seasoning with sea salt and the Tabasco.

For the yogurt tahini sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well until smooth. You may need to add a little water to obtain a pouring consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180C. You can place all the ingredients for the filling in a food processor and pulse a few times until combined or, if that seems like too much of a bother, place them in a bowl and mash with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Take a small amount of the filling in the palm of your hand and roll it tightly to make a chipolata-sized roll that holds its shape. I always make one perfectly sized and place it in front of me to act a guide - I do this for everything that entails this sort of mini-production-line effort, as I've seen what happens when you don't. You start off with a sweet-looking little thing and before you know it...

Place the filling in each slice of aubergine (eggplant) and roll up. If you are preparing these in advance, put them in the oven with the roasting tomatoes for atleast 15 minutes, just to warm through.

Slice the top off each head of garlic tp expose the cloves. Place a piece of aluminium foil and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil over. Wrap tightly and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until very soft. Place the bunched cherry tomatoes on a baking tray, douse with the rest of the olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper and roast for 20-25 minutes, until they sre softened and the skins have split and gently charred,

Seperate the garlic gloves. To sere, place 3-4 aubergine (eggplant) rolls on each plate (on top of the cous cous, if you are serving this with it), then add a bunch of roasted tomatoes and a few cloves of roasted garlic You don't have to peel the garlic before serving but you can if you prefer. Then drizzle the yogurt tahini sauce over and serve, with a little chopped parsley or coriander.

page 146-147
Published 2005, Penguin.

Ah Melbourne...part 2

2010-03-10T14:30:00.003+11:00

So I got myself all dolled up Saturday afternoon to take photos of my new dress. I planned to head into the CBD earlier than my dinner companions - meet the little one's boyfriend night with my sisters and the boys - for drinkies with a friend.

Two seconds after arranging to meet in the city at 5, the heavens opened and the motherUcking hail began. Thus began the next two hours of boyfriend, Krumm and me running from window to door to bed to bathroom to inspect the gobstopper sized hail stones... I've read reports of tennis ball size hail stones - but I remain scepticle. Well to jump to the end of the story I never made it into the city. I wore my pretty dress down to the train station, I left for home after twenty minutes of pondering my options after the tenth delay update.

Little One spent four hours in the CBD trying to get back to Twin's house, finally arriving back soaking wet and excausted! We decided not to put ourselves through CBD flooding and transport woes for our planned din din at Izakaya Chuji and ended up driving the back streets to Smith Street for Japanese at the new Wood Spoon Kitchen.

I was initially drawn to the menu after seeing they had Onigiri, which I haven't had since we were in Japan.

It's a really cute place, smelling freshly painted and with an impressive interior I felt like we had hit jackpot as soon as we sat at the big front table waiting for our dinner party to arrive. I'm not too sure how long it has been open for, but situated opposite Coccoro and pretty much next to Wabi Sabi Salon, it can't have been their too long right!?

After a long while catching up, hugging and contemplating the menu I think we were all pretty impressed with our ordering and with the various dishes which came out.

I opted to start with the Onigiri Set with Ebi-Salad (prawn), Tuna-Salad and the Cheese Curry, which came with edamame and pickled vege. Boyfriend and I shared the onigiri for our entree while twin + 1 got the okonomaki as did little one + 1, which were also really good.

For our mains boyfriend and I decided to share our dishes - the Japanese Style Curry with tofu croutons and the vegetarian japanese miso broth with udon.

We both absolutely loved the curry but the miso broth was very disapointing - without much flavour apart from roasted garlic we pretty much pushed it aside and munched on little one's left over okonimaki.

The clear winner of the night though, had to be Little One's salmon Soba Salad. It was a delicious salad perfectly balancing the wasabi sesame dressing with the salad and noodles. The smoked salmon was fresh and delicous, but I couldn't help but wonder why it wasn't raw!?

Anyway the point of the whole day was that without the change of plans brought on by the disastrous weather, we never would have stumbled across Wood Spoon Kitchen. I hope to stumble across it again soon.

Wood Spoon Kitchen

PH: (03) 9416 0588
88 SMITH ST, COLLINGWOOD 3066

Fully Licensed - NO BYO
Closed Mondays.
Open Tuesday - Sunday, 5pm - late.

Ah Melbourne...part 1

2010-03-10T13:59:00.004+11:00

So it's been an 'interesting' coupla weeks... lots of working :( which has left little time for me to do the things I really really really NEED to do - like cuddling Krumm, making dresses, cooking, eating and playing housewife. I keep asking boyfriend if he will allow me to be a stay at home but he thinks I'm joking - I'm not.

A few posts ago I smooned over my bargain spotlight find and found the perfect pattern at Clegs!

The pattern was really easy to understand, and although the dress is by no means perfect (one of the front darts confused the heck out of me and I overlocked a whole in the back section of the dress!), but with some calm mending I am very happy with the final result. The pattern is also very versatile and I know I will be able to adapt it to make many other dresses and tops...

I wanted to wear it out to dinner in the city on Saturday - three guesses how that turned out..

Crab Ravioli with Safron & Dijon Sauce

2010-02-19T15:06:00.004+11:00

So when Bestie K and I were in Boston we decided to go out for a romantic Italian dinner in Little Italy. I am so glad that we took the recommendation from a local free press, as the restaurant we ended up going to was amazing - such delicious food, cheap with warm and inviting service.

I had the lobster ravioli served in a mustard cream sauce - it was so freaking amazing I've been dreaming of it every since, so I decided to recreate it using crab. Couldn't find any recipes with a mustard sauce so I'm pretty glad that it all worked out for dinner last night. I made it for Boyfriend because he has been working so hard lately while I had the afternoon off.

Serves 2-3 people.

Ravioli -
8 Fresh pasta sheets (I use lasagne sheets from the market)
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Dill, finely chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sweet paprika
250g ricotta
200g fresh crab meat, roughly chopped
good shake of salt and pepper
1/5 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
2 tablespoons chopped basil
2 garlic cloves minced
juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
egg and flour

Sauce-
White part only of I leek, quartered and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tomatoes, de-seeded and roughly chopped
1 cup light cream
4 saffron threads
dijon mustard
Butter

Salad -
Fresh spinach leaves
red onion thinly sliced.

Preparation.
Mix all ravioli fillings together, except egg and flour. Set aside.
Sprinkle flour of a clean dry surface and place 1 lasagna sheet.

Depending on the size of your pasta sheet as well as how big you want the ravioli to be, spoon filling onto 1 half of sheet. Brush second half of sheet with egg mix. Fold sheet over the mix and press firmly to remove any air. Cut into squares cutting off excess pasta. Brush pressed sides with egg mix making sure the ravioli wont separate. Repeat with remaining lasagna sheets.
Sprinkle with flour so that pasta wont stick together.
Set aside until sauce is simmering.

Cook ravioli (putting in one at a time, so as not to stick) in salted and oiled boiling water, until they float. Drain well and serve with a nice spoonful of sauce and a little sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Sauce.

Carefully saute leek in olive oil and butter mix. Add 1/2 of wine and simmer till alcohol is cooked out. Add cream and bring to a slow simmer. Add saffron threads and mustard to taste (about three tsp is good). Stirring occasionally, let simmer for about 10 minutes or until thickened slightly and saffron has colored sauce well. Add tomato and set aside.

Tip. A sprinkling of white pepper really helps to bring out the mustard while the tomato cuts through the sauce nicely. Serving with basic salad and lemon soaked red onion slices refreshes the palate nicely between bites. If you dont want crab, I think smoked trout would be a nice alternative.

So it's really hard to explain how to make little ravioli pockets- if anyone has any suggestions on how to better explain myself feel free to comment or email me!

Anthropologie eat my shorts...

2010-02-17T21:20:00.004+11:00

Well not literally. I happen to like the store Anthropologie quite a bit. Pity we don't have one in Oz. It does mean that I don't feel nearly as bad for ripping off this t-shirt from a tutorial I found.

Loves it. So here is the tutorial pic again followed by my impersonation of somebody who should be modeling a t-shirt on a blog.

I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. From crappy 'cotton on' t-shirt, which strangely kept growing and growing to the point of un-wearability. So thanks lex for helping me recycle this tee into a wearable fatty shirt.

The neckline was massive and due to the extra bit of cotton I sewed around, it was so heavy if I bent over you could see my belly button, so I made a few pleats along the bust section to bring it in without ruining the flowing effect - which was really affective and flattering too!

What do you think? Do you have anything you could DIY like this or any tutorial tips for me for the stacks of newly bought bargain finds hiding away at the back of my closet!?

Till next fashion makeover...

In Bloom...

2010-02-17T14:00:00.004+11:00

The second sewing project for the week is a cute lil' pair of bloomers, courtesy of Colete Patterns. I thought they'd be a really great way to practice cutting and piecing patterns together. Okay, so they're a little snug but I think they're pretty cute...

The sizing for the pattern is on the smaller side, but with a bit more on the waistband they would fit great! I'll definitely keep the pattern and make a few more pairs of bloomers and adjust them till they look a bit more like this...

Heeeeeehehehehe so cute.

Mod rocking....

2010-02-15T10:58:00.005+11:00

So another project I will soon be commencing begins with this fabric....

Which I also got from spotlight- for $2 a metre! So I got three metres and will hopefully come up with some pretty cool designs with it. Oooo I should make a throw pillow!
Okay off track, do it's lovely and simple, but could also be a pretty slutty dress... so I thought a mod dress would work well with a cute pair of flats... what do you think? Can I turn this raunchy fabric into a tasteful winter dress?

... this will hopefully turn into a cute little mod dress with 4/5 sleeves (?) and a round neck. What do you think?

Okay so not exactly the picture I was looking for - a mod dress worn by Kourtney Kardashian in KUWTK Season 1 but you get the drift.

Craft conundrum!

2010-02-15T10:19:00.008+11:00

I'm at a loss for what to do with this material that I picked up from Spotlight before christmas. It was a super cheap remnant and I just love the fabric- but what should I do with it? I thought I could make a skirt like this 3.1 philip lim (don't you just love him?)

Photo source: 3.1 Philip Lim

or even a t-shirt like this one...

Photo credit: lina rennell

but I think the fabric will sit too stiffly to really work as a t-shirt. I'm not sure about a skirt, as I've been really wanting to make some new tops, but I've already got a cotton on t-shirt and some old tops to in mind to recreate this look from lex.

Photo credit: made by lex

Any suggestions?

Takumi Japanese Restaurant

2010-02-15T10:05:00.003+11:00

Takumi has been on my list of places to go for a few months now - yes I have a list, it's in a pink smiggle notebook. The dinner menu is pretty pricey and as their speciality is Wagu beef, it's not that great for a pesceterian like me, but I had heard through the blog-vine that the lunch special bento boxes are awesome. So finally, I joined boyfriend in the city for his lunch break on a recent day off.

If modern and original Japanese is your style then Takumi is for you. Lunch, from 12pm-2pm monday through to friday has a special menu available - include a Wagu beef burger!?
On got an Ebi fry bento box with deep fried prawns, fish, salmon and scallop sashimi and rice and salad. It was really good. The sashimi was deliciously fresh. Although a simple bento it's the little things like flavoured seaweed shake over the rice and dipping sauce that made this such a special box.

When I'm in the mood for fresh and healthy Japanese I'll come back, when I'm in the mood for cheap and sticky Japanese I'll go the j caf!

Takumi Japanese Restaurant

32 Bourke Street Melbourne CBD, 3000
TEL: 03 9650 7020 FAX: 03 9650 7817

Teppansan Japanese Cafe

179 Russell Street Melbourne CBD 3000

NT eateries

2010-02-15T09:39:00.005+11:00

View of the esplanade from our apartment balcony. Such a beautiful view that kept changing throughout the day.

Lisa at Monsoons - so strange to randomly run into one of the very dear friends from high school in country victoria!

Okay so although not all of the food I consumed whilst in the NT was as amazing and craving-worth as Hanuman but I was pleasantly (and perhaps somewhat naively) surprised at the quality of the food in Darwin and Katherine.

Here are some of the places we went to as well as a lowdown of what I ate!

Cafe Uno On Mitchell
800/69 Mitchell St, Darwin NT 0800(08) 8942 2500‎
- Quick and friendly service. Yummy prawn and mango salad - was perfect and exactly what I wanted! I've read a few really bad reviews of Uno. Although when I looked around I wasn't expecting anything fancy but the food was fresh, made to order and yummy.

Wisdom Bar and Cafe
48 Mitchell St, Darwin NT 0800(08) 8941 4866‎
- Barramundi fillet, chips and salad - great chips and awesome fish. Nice outdoor bar, friendly atmosphere.

Monsoons
46 Mitchell Street Darwin, 8941 7171
- Okay so I didn't actually eat here, but Lisa and I caught up over a couple of drinks here.

The Katherine Club

Corner Second Street & O'Shea Terrace

Katherine

Northern Territory

Australia

0851
08 8972 1250

- I had the Barra burger with chips - omfg I fricken' love barramundi - it's awesome. Burger was awesome complete with beetroot and pineapple and the chips were delicious.

Hanuman Restaurant, Darwin

2010-02-15T08:58:00.004+11:00

On a recent business trip (yes I can say that) to the Northern Territory I had the pleasure of dining at Hanuman, a delicious and well known Thai/Indian concept restaurant in the CBD.

Okay, so I say business trip but what I really mean is 'kinda like work experience' trip - it was one of the most emotional and satisfying trips of my young life, completely amazing.

So anyway, that's why I was in Darwin.

Hanuman is a beautiful restaurant, with multiple dining spaces, high ceilings and even an outside dining room overlooking Mitchell Street.

We started off with the hanuman oysters and the bombay pakoras.

Okay, so I didn't actually try an oyster - as much as I try (three times in total) I can never get it down. But Ian said they were amazing! The pakoras were yummy, if a little dry.

I had the kapitan prawns with coconut rice and roti for my main and I'm pretty sure that Ian had the beef jungle curry.

Ian was good, and didn't stuff himself silly, I on the other hand wanted to lick my plate clean with fear of food regret - its an epademic amongst my friend network.

So my curry was amazing. The prawns were juicy and fresh. I love a good lemongrass curry - it's probably my favourite. But this one was exception - the fresh flavours of the turmeric, lemongrass, lime and coconut enveloped the prawns and sticky coconut rice so well. Not at all one of those curries that you pick the best bits out of - this whole thing was freakin' amazing!

I would wager that any of the main dishes here would be worth trying for the refreshing and clean take on thai and indian cuisine.

Also my friend Lisa (it turns out) works at Hanuman in Darwin, so we were able to set up a lovely lunch date the following day!

hanuman darwin

(other locations in cairns and alice springs)

holiday inn esplanade
93 mitchell street
darwin
northern territory

telephone: (08) 8941 3500

Inspired to drink....

2010-01-30T11:09:00.003+11:00

So I've been finding beer a little too heavy lately, inspired by a night out at Madame Brussel's I've been making this cheeky summer punch and sitting outside with the dog and the bf. Oh Madame Brussel's how I love thee- best spent with bestie sipping delicious cocktails and fruit punch!

Cheeky summer punch:

Pink grapefruit
Lemon or Lime
Apple juice
Cranberry juice
Lots o' ice
Gin

Fill a tall tumbler with ice, squeezing grapefruit juice and lemon to coat the ice. Add shot o' gin. Drop in a quarters each of grapefruit and lemon and pour over 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 cranberry juice to fill.

Might even want to top off with a bit of champagne if you're feeling super cheeky!

How would we feel about a couple of mint leaves?

Madame Brussels Level 3
59-63 Bourke Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9662 2775

Crafting with Jess...

2010-01-30T10:30:00.008+11:00

So aside from cooking, gardening and working I have been crafting a fair bit since christmas. I find it really relaxing and rewarding. It's so exciting when you learn a new technique or find a bargain material. It's also great for my obsessive-compulsive side!

I thought I'd post up some of the crafty projects I've been working on lately...

Also if you're interested this DK sewing book is amazing and really helpful.

My very first quilt! Isn't it gorgeous!? It was made for my cousin in England. Shipped off with my sister and given to her just after the beautiful baby girl was born this month!

I used Curly Pop's chef's hat tutorial to make a hat (picture shown is not my own)

One of the gorgeous pillows of make for each of my cousin's babies - I think it is so super cute, I almost kept them for myself.

My patchwork apron

Gorgeous scarecrow for another avid gardener

Hmmm I've made a couple of other things and have plenty of other projects I am busting to start... so I'll post them up if and when I make them!

Chocolate overdose...

2010-01-30T10:06:00.003+11:00

A friend of mine/ regular reader and I are constantly trading recipes and trying to show each other up in the kitchen. But we hadn't actually sat down for a cooked meal until recently. So, along with the gf and bf we sat down for a yummy dinner at their house. Oh and what a dinner- home made miso, agedashi, gyoza, asian green salad....

So I decided I couldn't just make any dessert, and as the monthly drew closer my craving for chocolate grew, hence the chocolate mousse companion for the chocolate tart. It took me ages to find a recipe I was happy with but when I stumbled across the Lindt website I knew no other recipe would suffice!

So seriously check these recipes out - Amazaballs!

The mousse, using alot less chocolate than the tart was gorgeous and set really well in the couple of hours before dinner time. I used 71% cocoa instead of the 85% and I am glad I did as it was pretty rich. I also added a bit more sugar to the mousse which balanced out the dense chocolate bite.

I kept the tart recipe pretty much the same, but attempted to have it ready the same day - it really does need 8 hours to set. Also trust me - this is not a dessert for four this is a dessert for twelve! So rich, a slither is just perfect.

Tip: I used this recipe for the pastry, but might have tried the lemon tart pine nut crust recipe found here from a few months back.

P.S Said friend's Japanese feast was impressive - hope I can show them up next time with our Mexicana spread!

Last night's dinner...

2010-01-30T09:13:00.002+11:00

So things have been pretty hectic lately. The BF and I haven't had much time together - get up early, get home late and go to bed. But we've been able to fit a few healthy and delicious meals in!

Baked Whiting with barley, asparagus and Broccolini Salad:

(Serves Two for dinner with left over salad!)

Shopping Bag:

3 fillets King George Whiting
3 lemons
Fresh herbs eg. basil, mint, sage, parsley, chives
Barley
Bunch Asparagus
Bunch Broccolini
Punnet Cherry tomatoes
1/2 a block feta (your favorite kind)
Flour
1 Egg
Olive Oil
S&P
70g pine nuts toasted
2 shallots minced and sauteed.
1 Roma tomato roughly chopped

Salad.

Prepare I and a 1/2 cups barley in 4 cups of water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 1/2 an hour. Stirring occasionally. The barley should be slightly chewy and still firm when done. Strain and spread over a large plate to cool.

Combine the lemon zest and juice with 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tsp sugar and s&p. Stir- Add sugar if too sour or more salt and pepper if too sweet. Pour 1/2 of mixture over barley as well as 1/2 toasted pine nuts. Mix well.

Steam broccolini and asparagus for 5 minutes - or until just cooked through. Freshen in cold water.

To plate up, spoon 3/4 cup barley mixture onto each plate, top with asparagus, broccolini, halved cherry tomatoes, crumbled feta, pine nuts and a little more dressing.

Fish:

In a large bowl combine minced herbs with egg. Using your hands, coat fish in egg mixture thoroughly.

Coat each fillet of fish with flour.
Place in baking tray (layering is fine) and top with tomato and shallots and a little olive oil.

Bake at 210 for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve up alongside salad and enjoy!

Yummy! Seriously yummy... the tartness of the salad compliments the fresh herb crust of the fish perfectly.

Too many vegies!

2010-01-14T17:22:00.003+11:00

Due to my holiday hiatus, I will be O/D-ing on food posts.

Boyfriend and I went to the Vic market on Sunday and loaded up on fresh vegies and seafood (tonight I'm making prawn fettuccine) , but due to the power outage on monday - our salmon has been rejected to the garbage can. We went out with the in-laws for dinner at Wabi Sabi Salon, which I have previously posted about. So Wednesdays' dinner (dry night so didn't venture the nite market) was fashioned around the red capsicum, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms grey pumpkin, zucchini and eggplant in the fridge. After pondering our options we decided on a shallot and cherry tomato risotto with roasted vegies.

Boyfriend roasted the vegies up nicely... using salt to dry out the eggplant. We've been enjoying a yummy trick for the mushrooms lately, which is perfect for salads and sides etc, remove stalks and coat mushrooms in olive oil, salt an pepper. Pop in a heavy baking tray and coat with red wine vinegar, once the tops are nice and brown turn over and cook until the vinegar is completely absorbed - delish!

Tomato and shallot risotto:

Shopping trolley:
4 garlic cloves minced
6 shallots sliced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
fresh herbs: basil, chives, parsley etc.
chilli flakes to taste
risotto rice
parmesan for garnish
chicken/ vege stock - 3 cups

1. Sautee shallots and garlic until nice and soft. Raise heat and add desired quantity of rice (about 2 cups will serve four-six people), stir continuesly for a few minutes taking care not to burn shallots.

2. Lower heat right down and add a ladle of stock, stirring. Add whole cherry tomatoes Once absorbed add enough stock to just cover rice. Bring to a steady simmer, stirring every few minutes.

3. On a steady heat (not boiling) add a cup of stock at a time until risotto is just cooked through (i hate crunchy rice). Stand for a few minutes. Stir through herbs just before serving.

Charcoal Lane

2010-01-14T16:36:00.003+11:00

A friend recently went to Charcoal Lane, which reminded me that I never actually posted about my lunch experience from December.

Alas, I have no photos, as it was a work lunch - so i felt a bit too self-conscious to whip out my camera/iphone.
Anyway I'd been busting to try Charcoal Lane since I very first heard of it when it opened. But that menu seemed a bit pricey, which got me saving for a special occasion. I'd spoken to a few colleagues about Charcoal Lane and we all agreed it would be a very fitting place forour Christmas party!
Wel, finally the day arrived and it certainly was a day of firsts, as I got to try the new Oyster Bay Sparkling Cuvee (at 11am!???) and it was yum.

If you haven't heard about Charcoal Lane here is a paste from the website:

As a high quality restaurant, Charcoal Lane provides the best work experience, hospitality training and supportive environment to enable Aboriginal and disadvantaged young people to transition to mainstream employment.

Charcoal Lane’s apprentices and trainees will be able to move into career in hospitality and other industries as a result of their invaluable experience at Charcoal Lane and their work with our valued corporate partners.

Through contemporary Aboriginal art, Aboriginal stories entwined within the restaurant and aboriginal flavours fused into modern cuisine, customers are invited to experience and engage with contemporary Aboriginal cultures. Charcoal Lane apprentices and trainees interact with customers and add to this engaging dining experience.

We see this as “reconciliation through dining”.

I don't often comment on the interior design of a restaurant, but i think it is particularly important with Charcoal Lane. There is little, if any 'traditional' Aboriginal Art, the walls a crisp white offset with black trimmings and soft wood furniture. I could imagine that some might be surprised expecting to be eating surrouded by dot paintings! I thought it was really thoughful- my interpretation; cleverly and silently banishing pre and misconceptions of what 'Aboriginal Culture' is or isn't represented.

Anyway back to the food...As a really interesting and unique dining experience new to Melbourne (apart from Fifteen) I was really interested to see hoe good the food was. I ordered the grilled Salmon with artichoke chips and tomato relish - which was delicious! I did find the menu a little inconsistent however, as ordering from the same menu some dishes were so tiny it would hardly satisfy a lunch time belly, while others were quite big. This seemed to be the general trend with the vegetarian/seafood options - quite small in comparision to the red meat or poultry. I think it's sorta interesting - when you order a gnocci and you end up with five pieces- quite comic really sitting nibbling, pondering how you're going to pace yourself while your table neighbour devours the massive kangaroo fillet! I mean I know it's sustainable but come on!

So thankfully for us, lunch was all paid for so we ordered heaps of sides - wild mushrooms, salads, french fries (omg amazing!) as well as a couple of dessert trays. The dessert had to be the highpoint - delicate rich samples from the dessert menu including rasberry cannelloni, compressed melon balls, blood orange pudding.... was awesome and completely absorbing.

At the time we went, back in December, Charcoal Lane was a dry restaurant, honouring Indigenous Australia's history of alcoholism, interestingly though, this policy has since changed, if the website's wine munu is anthing to go by.

SO yes. I recommend it, especially if you're a big fan of kangaroo!

Charcoal Lane

136 Gertrude Street,
Fitzroy
3065
Tel: 03 9418 3400
Fax: 03 9418 3411
Email: eat@charcoallane.com.au

Opening hours:
Breakfast: Saturday – Sunday 9am to 11.30am
Lunch: Tuesday – Sunday 12noon to 3pm
Dinner: Tuesday – Saturday 6pm to 10.30pm

OMFG Coda

2010-01-12T17:16:00.004+11:00

I don't have the self-control to write a full post up on Coda. All I will say is that it is effing amazing. Not cheap. Great drinks. Amazing food. Can someone take me back please!?

Just go.. go now....

Open Tuesday-Sunday Dinner, Wednesday-Sunday Lunch.
Basement 141 Flinders Lane (Cnr Oliver Lane) Melbourne 3003
Telephone +613 9650 3155 Facsimile +613 9650 5127

Ahem, Proud Mary, thankyou very much.

2010-01-12T16:48:00.004+11:00

I've been meaning to get down to Proud Mary since it opened a few months ago, but moving further west has made it more than just a quick bike ride away....

After a besties spa date in Glen Waverley over the most recent weeken, V and I decided to go to Proud Mary for breakfast. Dropped May off at work by 9.30, bleary eyed I conquered the eastern freeway and rewarded myself with a a Proud Mary coffee.

V ordered the Ricotta hot cakes with a roasted apricot, maple syrup and vanilla bean icecream while I ordered the crispy hash - smoked salmon and dill creme freiche served over a hashbrown topped with sauteed spinach and a poached egg.

My analysis:

The coffee was certainly delicious and very strong, but perhaps a little burnt. Service was great, ambiance wasn't nearly as 'so so' as I'd imagined (due to all the hype!)... I really enjoyed the atmosphere actually, everyone seemed friendly and relaxed (maybe because it was 10am on a sunday morning!?)

Anyway, both the meals were great and huge!

Poor V couldn't even get through the second of her three hotcakes! I was able to make myself finish my whole plate - for the sake of food guilt... and was happy with my breakfast but thought the hash could have been cooked longer, or made thinner. The massive wad of potato, wasn't as flavoured as I would have liked and seemed to drown out the fresh flavors of the accompaniedments. Again, with V's hotcakes - coulda been cooked a bit longer, they were quite doughy as they were, making it understandable as to why she couldn't finish them. That combined with the rich sweet gooeyness is a task I was glad not to attempt.

Overall it was great food made from quality ingredients, I would venture back but suggest they downsize their breakkie servings, otherwise with my food guilt I'll become obese!

Proud Mary @
Stanley Street & Oxford Street
Collingwood

The year that started it all...

2010-01-12T15:25:00.004+11:00

2009. Oh what a year. I had so much invested in 2009 and honestly believed that everything would turn around. What exactly I was hoping for I don't know... but Jess Ho has inspired me.
So I am writing.

I've been so insanely busy not doing any study. I've been particularly crafty of late and enjoying it immensely. It has, however, gotten a bit too hot in our little study/craft room to be sowing so lazing in front of the tv has been the procrastination method of choice.

I did make some lovely home made vegetarian 'sausage' rolls for tea on sunday night. We're trying to do this new thing where we eat all the vegies in the fridge, instead of letting our cravings dictate our recipes.

Shopping trolley.
1 Big onion grated
4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp tomato sauce (more for pastry too)
Puff pastry sheets
3 cups TVP mixed with the same of boiling water, set aside 5 minutes
1 tbsp tomato paste
4 mushrooms roughly chopped
3/4 cup raw peanuts (roughly blended, pummeled etc)
1 cup breadcrumbs
mixed fresh herbs roughly chopped (i used chives, basil, sage, mint)

1. In a large saucepan softly saute onion and garlic. Once cooked through add the mushrooms, chilli flakes and peaunut mix. Saute until mushrooms are cooked through. Let rest on low heat.

2. Mix the prepared TVP with tomato paste, tomato sauce and season to taste. Add breadcrumbs to create a nice mushy texture.

3. Combine the two mixtures with the herbs and season to taste.

4. Cut thawed pastry into four squares. Spread a small line of tomato sauce 1 inch from edge closest to you and spread a cylinder type shape of sausage mix on top, making sure to spread to the edge, if overflowing, you can squash it back in later. Using your thumb and fingers, pick up pastry edges and roll away from you. Set aside until all are finished. Mix should make about 12 rolls.

5. Brush each roll with milk and coat with sesame seeds, using fingers to flatten the roll a bit. Cook in hot oven (200D) until nice and golden brown.

Serve with lots of sauce!

Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder

2009-11-12T12:48:00.006+11:00

This morning, I got the opportunity to test out my camera etiquette blogging skills for breakfast at The Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder.

I've had the luxury of going to The Larder a few times before, once for breakfast and twice for lunch. The restaurant is well set up, the Larder well stocked and the little shop a treat. But it is the food and the 'atmosphere' which draws so many to The Larder, and which, certainly keeps a few other cafes/restaurants from setting up shop.

I used to work at a shitty (and I mean shitty) cafe a few doors down from The Larder. I would often look up at the always packed front tables and the waitstaff with their elaborate aprons and always straight chairs, wishing that I worked somewhere like that where I could stretch my waitressing skills. Well - I'm a pretty dense waiter so it's a good thing I didn't.

For those not in the know (I am such an arse), The Larder is Stephanie Alexander's restaurant (I think her daughter runs it now?), open for breakfast and lunch and special occasion pre-booked dinners and private functions. Fancy Shmancy.

The first time I came to The Larder, I saw that guy from Recovery who now works for Nova radio - first 'celeb siting'- guy wearing glasses inside: oh so Hollywood. I think that sums the shmoosy people quite well.

Anyway back to the food. It really is that good. The breakfast, apart from a few dishes I could take or leave, is tough because it all looks so good.

My table of four, on this particular breakfast occasion, ordered three special breakfasts and something quite typical, all dishes include something special from the Larder or Cheese room, so it's a nice way of trying something that you can take home and use yourself.

The corn fritters - Breakfast lady, after much scrutiny decided on the Fritters with smoked salmon and RHCL chutney. I've had this dish before (without the egg). A good relish, really does make any corn dish. Breakfast lady seemed to enjoy it, but miffed (as was I) that the poached egg on top is $3 extra! Miffed, because it really needs the extra protein and smooth finish to complement the relish, and soften the richness of the corn fritters.

The Baghdad eggs - Breakfast Boyfriend A ordered the impressive looking and deliciously fragrant Baghhad eggs. With middle eastern flavors and flat bread, you gotta admit it's pretty freakin impressive (if not a bit expensive). I mean is this not amazing?! This is the sort of dish for which you come to an always packed restaurant like RHCL, something special that you will never get anywhere else- except maybe in Baghdad?

The blueberry pancakes, much raved about by Breakfast buddy Man, look and smell amazing, claimed by Lady and Buddy Man as the best pancakes in...the world!
Breakfast buddy Man without any hesitation, ordered the pancakes as he always does at The Larder. Served with real maple syrup and blood red orange curd, this is an impressive take on an American favorite. But, we must warn you VERY filling. Breakfast buddy Man could only finish one pancake while Breakfast Lady polished off the rest. After one bite I was through- no more avocado toastie for me...

I struggled over what to have for breakfast. Muesli? No too milky for one with a cold. Eggs? No, I'll have them for lunch? The Bruschetta? No I don't like the thought of trout for breakfast. I thought, for the sake of this entry, that I shouldn't order the same dish as anyone else, so opted for the avocado on toast with goats feta, chilli and basil - something fresh (always tasted better with good produce). Yummy - bit serving and yummy, but a little more feta would have gone down well.

All gone!

Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder

48-50 Bridge Road, Richmond, Victoria

Phone: 03 9421 2808

Check out the website for upcoming special events at the Larder - must go one of these days.

Question ... Has anyone been to one of Stephanie Alexander's other restaurants - Florentine or Sapore?

Friday night is laksa night

2009-11-12T12:25:00.003+11:00

I've been thinking a lot about Laksa King lately. We usually have Laksa King on friday nights - it's pretty good laksa.

I've been thinking about it though, in terms of its so called authenticity. LK has long been heralded as offering the best laksa in town, with ques out the door. Fair enough, I thought and have agreed: it is really yummy.

Jeroxie (aka Penny) from Addictive and Consuming recently posted a review of the great Laksa King and I think it perfectly sums up the King of Laksa. Here is a little excerpt summing up her thoughts:

With the change in dynamics of the punters, the taste of the food has changed to adapt or accommodate. The broth has less heat and become sweeter and more coconut taste in recent years. Hence the change in colour from a orange red to a yellow orange broth. It still tastes good but it isn’t as authetic as I like it to be.

I think she is totally spot on, and the comments posted on her blog seem to agree that's it's not exactly what you'd get in Malaysia or Singapore but for Hawker food in Melbourne, it's one of the best laksa's you'll find. The only other place I'd consider going in Old Raffles Place in Collingwood, if I was in the area. There's is good but without the yummy eggplant and huge ques.

In my household, we've come to the conclusion that the only things we'll order are the Curry Laksa's either with seafood or vegetarian. We've tried a few of the other non-laksa dishes, which at best seem a little bland and same sameish. Last night, we tried the Fishhead laksa (with fillets), I thought the fish, though poor quality was pretty good, but without any vegies to sustain the dish it does become a little repetative. For me I'll keep going back for the vegie laksa - yummy!

Laksa King
Shop 3, 320 Racecourse Rd
Flemington 3031
(03) 9372 6383

cash only.

FIY, if your interested, Laksa King will soon be moving to a bigger location of Pin Oak Crescent, where the old video easy used to be. They've started renovations and it really is a massive space. Still in the shell/demolotion stage, it'll be a while till they move. It will be interesting to see what the new location/kitchen facilities does to the Hawker style quality of the food. Hmmmmm... what do you think?

I was sick - that's my excuse

2009-11-12T12:14:00.004+11:00

So being the naughty sick person that I am - I sorta made the same lunch that I had a Peppers the other day. It was that good. I was down on Racecourse Rd, running some errands with Krumm and felt like smoked salmon and poached eggs.... well you know the rest.

Here is a picture of my yummy lunch, which I will also be repeating today. I feel quite naughty but it is a credit to Peppers for making such yummy food. I don't exactly think mine was better (my pepper wasn't as good and I had no hollondaise and my poached eggs were overcooked and cloudy) but it looks very pretty and hit the spot nicely.

Plain salad of rocket and cherry tomato dressed with a squirt of lemon. Steamed asparagus on top (microwave in a bag for 1 min 30.), a big slice of smoked salmon and some poached eggs.

Pepper

2009-11-12T11:53:00.003+11:00

So as you've gathered, or already knew, Boyfriend and I recently moved to Flemington, or as I like to call it - Flemo! This is my first entry of a cafe in this area - it is our local of sorts.

Monday saw Paige and man friend, Twin A and bf, Krumm and myself at Pepper for lunch. A and I went to Peppers for our first Flemo breakfast, and have since become quite familiar with the place.

On this occasion, we all opted for the breakfast menu. I went for Peppers Special breakfast salad consisting of smoked salmon and poached eggs (thats right two eggs - none of this one egg business) on a bed of asparagus and rocket salad with hollondaise sauce.

I very much enjoyed my lunch - I'm not sure how well it would have gone as a 9am breakfast, but for a light protein rich lunch on a hot hot day it went down a treat. I was a little disappointed with the smear of hollondaise, but as it was lunch time it was understandable that they may have been running low. The eggs were poached perfectly and the serve of salmon was both fresh and generous.

There is nothing overly fancy or protentious about Pepper - good produce, fresh and largely organic/sourced locally. They serve all the usual breakfast and lunch meals with some creative non-complex treats in the mix as well. For a good meal Pepper is it.

Reasonable pricing, good service, and a nice atmosphere. With a bit of hip-hop or fine jazz pumping just to mix it up a little.

Open early till 9pm most nights, it's a great place for a glass of wine after work - just opposite Newmarket station.

44 Pin Oak Crescent, Flemington 9372 2726

Horoki Casual Dining Bar

2009-11-10T09:11:00.006+11:00

I never actually posted a follow up to my post- fifteen girls night with K.
I find myself unwilling to post if I don't any any decent photos - but as I don't own a camera, this makes life (errrr the blog) a bit tricky.

So here are my follow up thoughts of Horoki.
photo credit: http://yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/horoki_casual_dining_bar/

I got the impression that the layout of the restuarant was modern aussie bar style - you know leather stools, bottles of wine displaced non nonchalantly and deep sedar mellowing the atmosphere, well the bar at Horoki fits well within this description, except with one difference - Horoki, sits in one of those buildings with ginormous front glass windows/walls - very asian-esque. This fusion, in terms of the interior design and the food is what makes Horoki a fun dining experience, where east meets west.

After reading a number of reviews for Horoki, I was curious enough to give it a go.
Said reviews, claimed it to be a fusion of Australian, Asian and Mediterranean cuisine - I wanted to see how this would turn out.... as it turned out - very well.

We started with a couple of sapporo beers while we set about deciding on what to eat.

We decided on tuna carpaccio with parmesan and dressing, the octopus pancake, and the diakon salad with sashimi.

I didn't find the pancake especially amazing, nor was the sashimi plate fusion-amazing... but the tuna caraccio was enough to beg me to come back again.

The flavours of the raw tuna with the tart dressing ans rich parmesan was a triumph - why have i not thought of this, i thought to myself.

That's how Horoki does it - simple creations which beg you to consider how well the fresh ingredients go together and how come no one has done this before!?

There are many adventurous dishes that I want to try, many though have red meat or chicken in them, especially the tapas menu. So I'll just have to come back time and time again to sample Chef Kenji Higuchi's many interesting main dishes for myself. Perhaps this is how he wanted it? To get you to come back over and over again - sounds good to me.

Horoki Casual Dining
19 Liverpool St Melbourne 3000 VIC
Phone: (03) 9663 2227

Loser photos of my garden

2009-11-09T22:42:00.004+11:00

Semi before and afters!

First photo of the garden 6 weeks ago....

After a new addition...

After a month...

Most recently...

The low-carb triumph of '09...

2009-11-09T22:27:00.004+11:00

Although the ingredients are a bit of a gamble, this recipe was absolutely delicious, very adaptable and an easy impress-er for the in-laws...

Please excuse my shaky photos with poorly presented whiting... partially due to the iphone and partially because I hurriedly took the photo as A was pouring as glass of wine!

This recipe is reproduced from Neil Perry ‘good food’ page 136 (2007)

Whiting, Sicilian-style. The sweet-sour nature of this beautiful dish comes from the two-century Moorish occupation of Sicily. Lots of Sicilian cooking invlovs fruit, and cous cous is used often. Serve any of the delicous leftover sauce with pan-fried chicken, duck, or lamb. It is not always necessary to pin-bone fish before cooking, but it dos make for easier eating. Simply take a pair of fish tweezers, feel for bones with your fingers, gently press down on the flesh either side of the bone and pluck the bone out – it is that easy. This meal looks great as a banquet-style dish – serve it on a large platter with the cous cous on the side.

8 large whiting fillets, pn-boned

extra virgin olive oil

1 red onion, diced

1/3 cup pine nuts, roasted

1/3 cup raisins/currents

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 handful dill, roughly chopped

1/2 bunch chives, roughly chopped

freshly ground pepper

Serves 4.

Heat a little oil in a large pan. Place the fish in the pan, skin side down. Cook for about 1 minute, then gently turn over and cook the fish for about 30 minutes on the other side. You will need to cook the fish in two or three batches. Remove the fillets and place on a baking tray, keeping them warm in the oven while you cook the others. Be careful not to overcook the fish as it has a very delicate flesh.

Heat a little more oil in a separate pan and add the onion and some seas salt. Cook until softened. Add the celery, a dash more oil, the pinenuts and the currances, then the honey, red wine vinegar, dill and chives. Grind on some fresh pepper. You should have a sweet- sour tasting vinaigrette. Place two fish fillets on each plate and spoon a generous amount of the sauce pver the top. Alternatively, serve the dish banquet style, on a large platter with couscous on the side.

I served them with a cold mushroom and avocado rocket salad and grilled asparagus with a generous squeeze of lemon and zest.

Why I'm such a failure...

2009-11-09T21:35:00.006+11:00

Well that's a dramatic way to start an entry - now that I've got you intrigued I'll waffle on for a bit explain WHY I haven't posted any new recipes.

I've been gardening...

Alot...

...Pretty much all I've been thinking about (in my spare time - I do actually work and study) is how to make my garden(s) nicer...

And realising it...

A and I went away to the country for a few days over the Melbourne Cup weekend - good time to get outta flemo. I spent that time, drinking alot, sleeping alot, adventuring the new Bunnings in town and cooking with A's Dad (my obsessive nature did get the best of me at one point when I cleaned out the fridge...).

We had my oldest friend Paige and her man-friend for dinner and cooked up a MASSIVE greek feast. We've been snacking on left overs ever since! It was deliceous and quite the effort to put together, even with A's Dad and I both in the kitchen... hence, the mad rush to serve the food - I forgot to take any photos :(

A's mum isn't eating any carbs at the moment so a monday night dinner was the perfect occasion for a cooking challenge! Due to storms, internet was out so I had to settle for A's dad's AMAZING recipe book collection.
.. More on this great recipe in the next post...

Once home again I set myself the goal of creating a workable spare room/den for study/craft/ gym...
- going with an industrial/schoolhouse theme on a budget, not as amazing as the inspiration but we're gettin it.

A is very happy with the new $40 desk/krumm's fortress, not so happy with the futon couch and old desks sitting on front porch.

We've recently aquired two new/old bikes - no room inside, oh dear we're going to need to keep them outside... A's response, "After exams I'm going to have to build a shelter for them...", Me in response - "Or we could get a couple of tarps and I can make covers for them..."

Genius! Cost effective and easy.

Did I mention this is the last week?

In the last few days I've been running from the laundry to the gardens trying to use as much of the water from the washing machine as possible (tonight I broke my record- not one bucket wasted), pottering the house and attempting to be better at french... with the help of Renaissance Luke I'm a good 6 years from being any use... C'est la vie... I think?

Salut!

This is my owl

2009-10-08T12:59:00.004+11:00

I've been following Claire from craft shmaft for the last couple of months. I love her blog and love her creative little sock creatures.

She's been working REALLY hard to get her etsy store up and running and once she did I couldn't wait to put my order in...

Here is my Toot Oliver....

Now he isn't as fancy as the one's I've seen other people, like Gina making and by no means is he perfect but I love him and am very much looking forward to giving him a brother or sister owl soon.

fifteen melbourne

2009-10-08T11:59:00.004+11:00

In anticipation of tonight's trip to Horoki with bestie K, I realised that I hadn't posted anything about our little trip to fifteen a few rainy saturdays ago!

K and I are pop culture queens - well trashbags really. In honor of our wonderful US trip, we've been thinking of iconic (of sorts) things to do in Melbourne, one of them was visiting Jamie Oliver's fifteen restaurant!

After looking up the prices of the website, I realised it would be quite do-able - so off we went for a girls day out in rainy Melbourne town.

It's a nicely set out place with a big bar area and two seperate dining rooms, but it is the sort of entrance which requires you to be seated straight away; otherwise (as we were) you're just standing their awkwardly! The strangest thing though whilst standing in the doorway was the the confusion between the maitre d and a waiter. Neither seemed quite sure who would escort us to our table. We ended up with the less certain waiter, who took us into the dark room and showed us to a seat near the doorway - I feel that if you've reserved a table you should be given a good table - preferably in the light room away from walking traffic; but maybe that's just me!

Anyway after sitting at a table further from the door, we set out to peruse the menu, which was very exciting!
We decided to go for the express lunch which includes two courses and a glass of house wine.

K decided to start with the Ribollita cannellini bean soup, while I opted for the Fantastic panzanella salad of olives, baby tomatoes, capers, celery, herbs, Mt. Zero red wine vinegar and toasted ciabatta.

I, with my lovely glass of margaret river sav blanc and Kate with her red, were quite hungry. It took a while for the bread to come around, which we thought was odd because there really weren't that many people around. Our starters came, both were well presented and of good size. K, however was quite put off by the 1/2 cup 'drizzle' of olive oil sitting on top the soup. I did really enjoy my salad - a creative interpretation of everyday ingredients, certainly the high quality helped, but everything about the salad was delicate and intentional - i especially loved the balsamic ciabatta croutons.

Next for our mains! We'd both decided on the Rotolo of baby spinach, baked ricotta, sliced mushrooms, marjoram and lemon with nutty brown butter, crispy sage and Parmigiano Reggiano. Not exactly sure what a rotolo was but attracted by the ingredients - we both loved it!

One of the things I get really excited about when eating out is trying to figure out how to recreate a dish at home - this main, I would have no idea where to start!
I simply loved the crispy sage and soft parmesan butter sauce with the little pasta parcels of mushrooms, spinach and baked ricotta - it was all so yummy and delicate. I've actually been craving it since then!

fifteen melbourne

115 - 117 Collins Street, Melbourne
1300 799 415‎

After a little window shopping at DJs and Design A Space we headed for dessert at Lindt - not a big que, which moved quickly we were seated after a few minutes - but as a twosome we were seated at the dud, behind the counter bit nowhere near the apparently stunning ceiling - so make sure you get yourself in the main dining room.

We got the Volcanno mudcake, which was freaking amazing and a chocolate and custard eclair to share. Quite expensive considering the sizes but for the quality of the cake its worth it. I would have enjoyed it more though had we been in the main room! Picky picky jess...

Lindt Chocolate Cafe
271 Collins St, Melbourne

(03)9667 0900

Overall, a wonderful girls day out! Looking forward to tonight!

Zio's Italian East Melbourne

2009-10-07T14:29:00.010+11:00

ZIO'S Italian Restaurat, East Melbourne

Cousin's gf seafood linguine

THE degustation plate!!!
With morton bay bug, smoked salmon, crab salad, an oyster, seered scallop, crumbed king prawn and lobster ravioli

My risotto - not as photogenic as I would have thought it would be with the saffron! I think I might have lucked out, in comparison to my fellow diners! I should learn never to order a risotto out... no matter how perfect the seafood is!

The cousin's lamb - he got in a bite before i had a chance to photograph!

My souffle - a bit of a wait but a light and fluffy dream pudding!

Zio's doesn't look like anything special from the front, but inside its' townhouse walls, a softly-lit white-table clothed dining room awaits.

14 Lansdowne St East Melbourne VIC 3002
(03) 9415 1224

Last night we went to Zio's in East Melbourne. A's parents have been going to Zio's quite a bit as it's a short walk from the flat.

The guy waiter is very funny and always recognises A and his mum when we walk in, which is always nice. We are also always seated at the same table - now that is old fashioned 'sopranos' style dining!

The first time A and I joined his parents for dinner at Zio's all four of us had the seafood degustation platter, it was wonderful, its always a treat to have well prepared and imaginative seafood. But after a couple of nasty experiences with seafood baskets elsewhere I decided to opt out of the degustation vote last night!

We started with bruschetta and marinated olives - both were delicate and fresh - I tried not to nibble too much though as I'd ordered the soup special, seafood chowder to start. The chowder was nice and creamy with lovely fresh mussels, prawns and scallops. There is nothing as disappointing as over cooked seafood (or undercooked) but the chowder was cooked wonderfully - i wasn't really a big fan of the red capsicum though, and might have fitted better as a main.

I ordered the saffron seafood risotto for my main, curious to see what it would be like - I think it's a good test of a kitchen if they cook seafood well in pastas and risottos.
The sister and I ordered a chocolate souffle each for dessert! Not quite sure how was I was going to fit everything in my tummy I was glad (at first) for the unexpected wait between courses. None of us were too fussed though and when our mains came everyone was happy!

In total we had three seafood degustation platters, two trios of duck, one 250g beef, one lamb, one seafood linguine and my saffron seafood risotto.

The duck eaters were both very happy, the uncle claiming it was the best duck he'd had in a long time. The cousin with the lamb said it was amazing, the three degustations were gobbled up with satisfaction and the cousin's gf adored her seafood linguine, very impressed was she with the morton bay bug on top! The linguine certainly looked yummy and photographed very well! The sister was starving so thankfully her steak satisfied!

The chocolate souffle was wonderful - what can be said about souffle really? Just look at the photo - well presented, deliciously fluffy and rich. My trick - I make a well and put the ice cream inside!

All in all, a very well enjoyed dinner - we were a little concerned with the wait between courses, but as we'd been to Zio's before and had no issue with the service, we weren't overly bothered. Because it is such a nice place to have a meal with family, eating isn't the sole reason for getting together. It's a nice and quiet place and the tables are a good size for conversation, it has a really comfortable atmosphere. I keep thinking though, they should move to a better location - somewhere in the city would be good, but I don't think the parentals would like that too much!

Have you been to Zio's - what did you think?

thankyou for the cupcake recipe!

2009-10-05T11:27:00.002+11:00

So, I had a little dinner party last thursday night to celebrate TwinA's return to Australia (belated as with the move and all I've been slack and busy) so, taking advantage of my last week of non-teaching and non-frenching I made a tuna and corn lasagna and some dessert cupcakes.
I have to thank Agnes from off your spork for posting this recipe for vanilla cupcakes and for the pictures which 'inspired' my decoration.

Here is my recipe for tuna and corn lasagna as well:

Shopping trolley:

2 cobs corn
1 big tin of tuna
1 large jar tomoto cooking sauce (puree)
2 small onions, thinly diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable stock
sugar
assortment of fresh herbs (from cottage garden)
4 dried bay leaves
Fresh lasagne sheets
cheese
flour
butter
4 mushrooms sliced
celery
1 tomato sliced
parmesan cheese

Preparation.
In a large saucepan slowly fry half garlic and onion until soft and clear, being careful not to burn.
Add the corn off the cobs, mushrooms and sliced celery. Stir until the mushrooms and celery and cooked. Add tomato puree and vegie stock to even the consistency of the sauce. Add the bay leaves and simmer for 30 minutes, stiring occassionally.

Add the fresh chopped herbs and lots of pepper. Add the drained tuna and stir through de-clumping any big bits. Add 2 tsp of sugar and let sit for a further five minutes.

In a casserole dish layer lasagne sheets with the tuna sauce, starting with the sauce on the bottom. Make sure all of the lasagne is covered.

Finish off with a thick layer of bechamel sauce (with cheese) and sprinkle over parmesan cheese. Finish with slices of fresh tomato. Bake for 40 minutes or until goldenbrown on top and serve with salad!

It really was so yummy - the sugar helped to bring out the flavours in the tuna and corn and give the dish and warmer taste.

sorta food related

2009-10-05T11:15:00.005+11:00

I just had to upload some pictures of my garden - those who've seen me lately have witnessed my gardening fanaticism with updated facebook photos and all!

I say sorta food related because we've planted some herbs as a border to the cottage garden. Although I don't have a photo of the garden before I started, it was initially completely bare. The whole process of planting has taken about a week of research and execution.

Notes:
I've tried to complimentary plant - herbs help keep away pests in general, as do the maragolds. The chives have been planted around the miniature rose bushes to keep aphids away. Ah clever... I've also been making concentrated black coffee to stray on and around the plants as apparently slugs hate it - not really sure how this is working. I've used two types of fertiliser - the little balls for long-term effectiveness and a seaweed fertiliser for immediate penetration. Eggshells are scattered to release nutrients into the garden, over the mulch - not sure but it looks effective!

Resources:

Burke's Backyard website link

Gardening Australia website link

mexican toastie

2009-10-05T10:53:00.005+11:00

K and I have gotten into the habit of enjoying g&ts in the city during the week, usually at Hells Kitchen. On one of these particular evenings in early september, I came up with this dinner, disappointed that K couldn't join me for dindins. I like to call it the Toastie because of the use of a focaccia grill, but a regular saucepan will suffice!

Shopping trolley:

2 avocados, mashed
Pickled jalapeno peppers
sour cream
1 can of kidney beans
2 tomatoes, diced
4 button mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 small red capsicum, roughly chopped
cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
plain cornchips
lime
small can on corn
8 small flour tortillas
pre-made chunky salsa

...Best prepared over a cheeky gin and tonic (with lime of course!) and a big bowl of guacamole and chips!

Preparation.

Guacamole:
Clumsily mash the two avocados in a serving bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, chopped jalapenos, 1/2 a diced tomato and a little lime juice (from the g&t lime), mix up and dunk - half of this guac will be used in the toastie.

1. Kidney bean mix
- Fry diced onion, garlic, capsicum and mushrooms in a little oil until onion is clear and the capsicum is cooked through. Add drained kidney beans, stir to heat through and set aside in a bowl.

2. Salsa
In the same frypan fry corn on a hot temperature till the corn is sizzling and browning well, add chopped tomato and jalapeno peppers (to taste).

3. Spread half of the tortilla with guacamole, kidney bean mix, home-made salsa and cheese. Close the toastie so that you've got a half circle parcel. Cook in toastie machine or on stove until each side is golden brown and crunchy.

To serve, add a dollop of sour cream and salsa.

This is so yummy and pretty healthy really. Very little oil is used in the cooking process. Its nice and spicy and soft inside, while the crunchy tortilla adds a yummy texture.

So damn good and easy comfort food.

let us recap

2009-10-04T16:58:00.007+11:00

(photos: beers and delicious fries, aoli and olives at Little Creatures)

Sorry readers - I have not posted in over a month, all I can do is try to explain, recap and hope to update more often.

It is not as if I haven't eaten well, because I have. In fact, I've been eating and drinking so well over the last month and a half that A and I have decided to join forces and compact the fat together!

In August, you could say I was 'between houses', a couple I know, recently relocated to Melbourne so I offered them my house for a few weeks promising I'd be fine staying at A's house. I was fine (mostly) and it was fine really, especially once A and I realised we were pretty damn good at living together. Thank god we came to this conclusion because we are now living together in Flemington! That's right people we had to move to an entirely new suburb to find some new food. (Side note: well actually, it's weird as I've discovered since leaving North Fitz, a few places I didn't know about - thanks jessho for trippy tacos - will be adventuring into the area again soon!)

So apart from the birthday in August, enjoyed at Dexters for breakfast, Little Creatures for lunch and Moroccan Soup Bar for dinner, August was the 'I'm between places right now' month. Followed immediately by September, the month of ' holly crap that was quick we've got a house and now have to move into said house!', which we did over the first and second weekend. My god moving house is exhausting isn't it?

First night in the new digs: beer and laksa king on the couch with prawn springrolls from Vy Vy... me thinks (I said to myself) I'm going to like flemington! Omg I mean I knew Laksa King was supposed to be amazing (lines onto Racecourse rd to get a table, other restaurants looking on in wonderment) but it really was. I had the seafood laksa on my first night in Flem' and it was amazing! They sure know how to do the laksa takeaway! The soup serves seperate from the vegies, noodles and seafood so nothing gets over cooked! The seafood was cooked to perfection as well, the prawns were yummy and juicy - not dry like in many laksas. A suggested we get the prawn spring rolls from Vy Vy, just a few doors away (apparently they're the best). They really were yummy and complimented my laksa perfectly. Oh what a night...

Hmm so apart from a lot of laksa (three of four friday night meals) I've ventured out for yummy Japanese in the city at Izakaya Chuji, a massive tapas style bar/restaurant with friendly service and delicious fresh food. The fried squid with mayo is to die for and the agadashi tofu is the best I've tried in Melbourne.

I've also been to Tiamo2 a couple of times, without a long wait outside, we sat down to a fastapasta - rather than indulging in my usual Don Giovanni I have been opting lately for the eggplant pasta without the meatballs - its so good, i want it right now!

So apart from some cooking adventures at home - I think that pretty much covers the last couple of months...

Moroccan Soup Bar
83 St Georges Rd Fitzroy North VIC 3068 - (03) 9482 4240
Open Tue-Sat 6pm-10pm

Dexters
123 Queens Parade Clifton Hill - (03) 9486 5192
Open all week till late (except mondays)

Little Creatures Dining Hall
222 Brunswick St
Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9417 5500

Laksa King
320 Racecourse Rd Flemington - 9372 6383
Open from 11.30am-10pm all week.

Vy Vy
318 Racecourse Rd Flemington - 9372 1426
Open all week 11.30am-10.30 most nights.

Chuji Izakaya
165 Lonsdale Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Open Mon-Sat till late
(03) 9663 8118

Tiamo
303 Lygon St, Carlton - (03) 9347 5759
Open early-late all week.

Seven Seeds and other weekend adventures...

2009-08-31T12:45:00.003+10:00

The weekend: I was supposed to lock myself inside; away from the food temptations I oh-so-very-muchly wanted to try out - but alas my appetite had other ideas...

SATURDAY - the day of semi-productivity.

A asked me to give him a lift to uni, as reluctant as I was, I agreed under the previso that I'd get atleast two hours study in before meeting my grandma for brunch. Alas, A's tummy had other thoughts on how to spend the morning. A detour to Seven Seeds was in order. Seven Seeds is the new buzz coffee place in the city - this was reinforced to us on Saturday morning when we couldn't get a table! We've been going there because the coffee is good and because its just a hop, skip and a jump away from the law building at uni. But apparently that guy from Top Chef (is that what it's called?) mentioned it in The Age over the weekend, so they were packed! The lovely Irish waitress explained how hectic it had been, I get the impression they're not exactly thrilled about all the mainstream press they've been getting.

We waited ten minutes for a seat, squeezed between an obnoxious law student impressing his date and a nice middle aged couple. A and I each ordered a coffee (they do lovely little teapots of special black coffee-yummy!) and the avocado and seeds on toast.

I have been going through a mad avocado stage lately, so I was more than happy to order the avocado on toast. I was a little disappointed however, as I’m not the biggest lemon fan and believe that salt and pepper are the best at bringing out the flavor in avocado. That, is secondary though because the yummy seeds on top were delicious and imaginative.

Despite how busy they were, the food and coffees came out quickly and everyone waiting managed to get a table. I can see why its so popular - the interior design is bright and industrial looking, perfect for the little laneway its built into. The food, yes I can also see why its becoming popular- and the coffee... well its like a wine bar - a place where coffee enthusiasts can go and comment on the underlying notes present in the beans!

'cc' sunday ...

2009-08-16T21:01:00.007+10:00

Menu.

Afternoon tea - banana bread (recipe in last post - didnt gave enough sour cream so substituted normal cream - worked just fine! Also didnt have cinamon so used ground anise)

Dinner - 'alio olio-esqe' leftovers pasta (recipe follows)

Dessert - Apple and pear crumble - (based on Jamie Oliver's recipe from last post,but with orange juice, orange peels and anise for the syrup)

Almost made entirely from things around the house and leftovers from other meals! All were yummy and went down a treat!

alio olio-esque pasta

Shopping trolley.
1.5 cups chopped parsley
6-8 cloves garlic minced
500g pasta
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
shaved parmesan
3 pieces stale bread
2 hot chillies
olive oil
s & p to taste

Prepare.
- Decrust sliced bread and quarter. Blend until fine in food processor. Set aside
- Mince garlic and add sliced chilli. Set aside.
- Set aside chopped parsely in one bowl and halved cherry tomatoes in another.

Cook pasta according to packet directions.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan or wok - toss bread crumbs until golden brown. Transfer to bowl and set aside.

Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in same pan and sautee' garlic mixture.
Add cooked pasta and toss to combine. Add tomatoes and parsley. Combine. Add breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese until combined. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and lots of s & p.

Not the healthiest dinner but it is bloody good!

'cc' sunday

2009-08-16T12:48:00.003+10:00

Today is sunday. It is also raining today. Also, I have a cold today. My throat and head feel terrible. Early start to the day at work, got out early which was nice! So many options for how I spend my day. Pottering about at home seems like the perfect way to wind down and relax.

I'm calling this particular sunday 'cc' because of the cooking and cleaning I intend to do today. I've already bleached the bins, soaked the woolens, done the dishes (many many dishes after A's saturday night Indian feast - compliments to food safari). Washing is on the racks, vacuuming has been done and bedroom is clean.

I'm staying at A's house for another week or so, depending on when my friends V and I have found a place to rent - homeless Brits lol. So housework and homemaking has been done ... now for the cooking! C brings home a box of fruit each week from his grandparents, sometimes we get through it all and other times, like this week, none of us have felt like eating fruit. So I thought I might use it to make poached fruit.

I've found this nice Jamie Oliver recipe for poached fruit crumble, which I think I can adapt to incorporate my fruits and lack of spices (all mine are at home!) to make a yummy dessert tonight!

We have quite a few bananas as well so I thought I'd try a banana bread - found this Bill Granger recipe on the smh website, which I think I'll use - got some sour cream left over from friday night's bisque which needs to be used up!

What else? Oh yes, C's girlfriend brought over a massive bag of shaved parmesan, we've got quite alot of parsley left from various meals this week as well as some ciabatta rolls that we picked up real cheap from the Preston Markets yesterday ($5 for a massive loaf of italian bread and the rolls!), so it occurred to me - why not make breadcrumb pasta for our lunches this week!? Popped into the grocers for cherry tomatoes and pasta - we'll see what I come up with.

I'll post photos of my sunday cc creations later today!

... wish me luck.

p.s the preston market rocks. cheap, multicultural, rushed and crowded atmosphere - sorta think it kicks Queen Vic's ass.

spicy sunday simmer...

2009-08-09T22:34:00.004+10:00

Very impressive dinner tonight - slowly getting better at perfecting a home-made chinese feast. Still having trouble finding ingredients and sauces that aren't too salty. But assured that all ingredients did not contain MSG was overall pretty happy with the results!

We made salt and pepper tofu, spicy cold noodles and stirfried chinese green veg and shitake and chilli sauce.

The spicy cold noodles were a hit all round the table - spicy noodle sauce from big asian supermarket on victoria street richmond. Just added bean shoots, roasted peanuts and chopped spring onion - so yummy!

When is a bar a Bar and a dumpling a Dumpling?

2009-08-09T19:14:00.006+10:00

HuTong Dumpling Bar
14-16 Market Lane, Melbourne 3000
ph: (03) 9650 8128

A discovered that HuTong Dumpling Bar did a spicy fish so we knew that for our next date night, we would be heading to HuTong (last week was Tiamo2).

After a sneaky drink at SistaBella we expectantly and nervously headed for HuTong. The major issue when entering Market Lane is battling through the temptation to give in and go into Flowerdrum. A suggested we attempt to get a table, but as I have no dosh we continued across the road to HuTong for date night.
Glad that we did, I can tell you! As a fan of dumplings but not a fan of Dumpling House dumplings its hard to find good dumplings for a reasonable price in Melbourne - suggestions welcome!

Although the place was busy we still managed to get a table by the big front windows and immediately started exploring the menu. When ever A and I head to a restaurant that has a sezchuan spicy fish on the menu we order our 'compare banquet' - the spicy fish, spicy eggplant hotpot and a house special. This time, we of course went for the dumplings, ordering both the shrimp dumplings and the spinach dumplings.

The spinach dumplings came out first and boy were they yummy; filled with noodles, tofu, mushrooms engolfed in a spinach wonton skin- they were so yummy and not at all soggy or starchy (like at some places) - i could have gone on eating them all night! Unfortunately after just one bite of the shrimp dumplings we knew we'd ordered a dish with pork in it so couldn't eat them - looked good though!

Next we started on the spicy eggplant hotpot- so sweet and juicy, perhaps a little oily but a flavour that complimented the spicy fish pot well. Although we thoroughly enjoy the eggplant hotpot wherever we go, it doesn't always compliment the spicy fish, A was thoroughly impressed that this wasn't the case at HuTong.

Somewhat desensitised to the overpowering thrill of sezchuan peppers, I am always a little concerned when first sampling a new hotpot - will this be the one that has me throwing back glasses of water and blowing my nose in my napkin? Unfortunately, I don't think that I have that in me anymore, but none the less (probably to many customers relief) my satisfaction with HuTongs spicy fish was not dependent on these hopes. The quality of the dish was suprising considering the reasonable pricetag. I was thoroughly impressed with the fish, the fresh peppers and thick delicous broth.

I highly recommend HuTong for its traditional Chinese cuisine, large selection of dishes, modern decor and yummy dumpling bar (the glass wall peering into the dumpling kitchen is surprisingly inviting)! I will be returning soon and will be ordering 2 servings of the spinach dumplings all to my self.

P.S I did sneak a quick noseblow in after the meal after all.

Ol' Friday take-away

2009-08-05T15:06:00.007+10:00

Photo credit: SBS food

Old Raffles Place

68-70 Johnston St
Collingwood VIC 3066

(03) 9417 4450‎

After an insanely long and tiring week, I wanted nothing more than to curl up on my couch, watch crappy tv while stuffing my face with takeaway asian.

I bailed on my friday night plans (sorry js) to indulge myself. Perplexed though I was, contemplating where I should order this takeaway. Local noodles? Thai? Or somewhere new?

T from work had told me about Raffles a few weeks earlier so after much deliberation I decided to make the trek from work to 'Old Raffles Place' on Johnston Street, Collingwood. Without a menu I had to do the sit of shame while I ordered.... but let me tell you it was worth it!

Why you should go to 'Old Raffles Place'
1. Although I haven't been to Singapore (yet), in accordance with Food Safari, the food is pretty authentic to the Singaporean dining experience - a fusion of Indian, Chinese, Thai and other cuisines inspired by Singapores colonial heritage.

2. Big dining room, small kitchen - always a winner with a well oiled asian restaurant. Its authentic street fare hawker style!

3. Big servings and low prices.

It was pretty tricky working my way through the t/a menu with so many things- I want to try I felt quite alone trying to pick my top two choices. I'd definately recommend a big group dinner here so that you can try as many things on the menu as you can fit in!

I ended up going for a traditional flat noodle and seafood stirfry with chilli and lime and the sechuan chilli tofu and vegetables. I had to do the springroll test (although I really wanted to try the calamari) and some prawn crackers.

After being disapointed by the level of spice in my sechuan dining experiences lately, this was freakin' awesome! I actually had to drink water to get through it and had to break it up with the noodles. It was very impressive. Although next time I'd get it just with rice to soak up all the yummy sauces. The springrolls were pretty average but, well whats wrong with that? The noodles were yummy but I think they would have been better without the overpowering sechuan sauce. Oh and the prawn crackers- proper massive fresh prawn crackers - no wonder they go for $5.

Yes - I will go there again, next time I'm getting the laksa and the calamari! Oh and probably the sechuan tofu and veg again and probably something else as well... oh and the fish curry...

sunday morn' baked eggs

2009-08-05T14:44:00.003+10:00

A made me baked eggs a coupla months ago during our last visit to Mt Helen. Because of this, it seemed only fair that me keep with tradition and have them again! But this time I wanted to go a little healthier ...

(makes two decent serves)

Shopping trolley.
6 free range eggs
4 button mushrooms
1/4 cup reduced fat feta
1/2 avocado
1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes
basil leaves
crusty bread to serve

Preparation.
Preheat oven to 220

1. Quarter mushrooms, dice avocado, halve tomatoes and tear basil leaves.

2. In a small baking dish (for one serve), lightly spray olive oil to prevent egg mix from sticking.

3. Arrange half of tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms and basil leaves evenly in dish.

4. Break eggs in a bowl, holding back yolks evenly pour the whites around the vegetables, making sure all are covered. Evenly drop yolks.

5. Season with salt, pepper, dried chilli flakes (or anything else you like) and crumble feta over the eggs.

6. Repeat with second dish.

7. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until whites are cooked. Serve with toasted crusty bread and coffee!

It was so yummy and kept me going until well after lunch time!

Next time we're gonna try it with a good tomato and chilli salsa. You can do anything with baked eggs, but its important to remember to use ingredients that wont soak up the moisture. You want to use good moist ingredients that will complement the texture of the eggs. The mushroom and tomato work well because they're nice and juicy, while the avo adds a healthy creaminess to the dish!

My first lemon tart!

2009-07-25T19:05:00.008+10:00

Yep thats right, after craving lemon tart for the past week, i decided to take matters into my own hands and make myself one! I found this recipe on epicurious and was really happy with how it worked out. The viewer ratings were pretty good and the directions were easy to follow.

Shopping trolley.
10 ounces (2 cups) pine nuts
1/3 cup sugar
1 pound (3 cups) all-purpose flour
8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation.

Place the pine nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the sugar and flour and continue to pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. (I popped the eggs, extract and butter straight into the food processor and added a third of the flour mixture in at a time - this seemed to work fine!)

Add the butter, egg, and vanilla extract and mix to incorporate all the ingredients (the dough can be mixed by hand or in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Divide the dough into three equal parts. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes before using. The extra dough can be frozen, wrapped well, for up to 1 month.

link to original recipe.

Shopping trolley.
1/3 pinenut dough recipe
2 large eggs, cold
2 large egg yolks, cold
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces

Preparation.

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and refrigerate it while the oven preheats.

Remove the tart pan from the refrigerator. Use your fingertips to press the chilled pine nut dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Trim off any excess dough.

Bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes, then rotate it and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Remove the crust from the oven and let it cool while you make the filling. (There may be some cracks in the crust; they will not affect the finished tart.)

For the sabayon:
Bring about 1 1/2 inches of water to a boil in a pot that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bowl you will be using for the sabayon. Meanwhile, in a large metal bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 1 minute, or until the mixture is smooth (Electric worked fine).

Set the bowl over the pot and, using a large whisk (tried electric - not such a good idea - mixture ended up all over my laptop!), whip the mixture while you turn the bowl (for even heating). After about 2 minutes, when the eggs are foamy and have thickened, add one-third of the lemon juice. Continue to whisk vigorously and, when the mixture thickens again, add another one-third of the lemon juice. Whisk until the mixture thickens again, then add the remaining lemon juice. Continue whisking vigorously, still turning the bowl, until the mixture is thickened and light in color and the whisk leaves a trail in the bottom of the bowl. The total cooking time should be 8 to 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave the bowl over the water. Whisk in the butter a piece at a time. The sabayon may loosen slightly, but it will thicken and set as it cools. Pour the warm sabayon into the tart crust and place the pan on a baking sheet.

Preheat the broiler. While the sabayon is still warm, place the tart under the broiler. Leaving the door open, brown the top of the sabayon, rotating the tart if necessary for even color; this will take only a few seconds, so do not leave the oven. Remove the tart from the broiler and let it sit for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve at room temperature or cold (I didn't know what a broiler was, but i popped the finished tart into my grill to see if it would have the same affect - after a few minutes with no change i gave up and instead sprinkled some icing sugar on top).

Link to original recipe.

variation on vegies, tofu and rice dish

2009-07-25T18:43:00.006+10:00

A few months ago I posted one of my favourite healthy asian inspired dinners. A came back from o/s and went to do some shopping at the MASSIVE asian supermarket on victoria st. I asked him to pick me up some tofu, basic vege, garlic, soy sauce and ginger. Grateful he was happy to pick my dinner supplies up for me, i was a little hesitant to the kind of tofu i would get as well as to the vegies i would have.

What I came up with using the veg he picked up is a bit different from my easy din din bit its still yummy, healthy and easy to prepare. I wouldnt have bothered popping it up but the picture makes the dish look pretty authentic and pretty! I mean I wouldn't make it for a banquet with guests or anything but for an easy nutritious dinner at home its pretty damn tasty!

Shopping trolley.
Light soy sauce
smoked tofu
bok choy
chinese brocolli
soy bean shoots
sesame seeds
shitake mushrooms
garlic
ginger
sweet chilli sauce
sesame oil
Medium grain rice

Prepare.
So as with the other tofu preparation, Rather than slicing the tofu to grill it, A thinly sliced it into 1 inch strips. The tofu was marinated in soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds and sweet chilli. Because the tofu is dense the flavor soaks right in and makes the already flavoursome tofu quite salty.

Chop bok choy and chinese brocolli into bite size pieces (not asking for a vegie death wish here). Slice mushrooms thinly.

Cook the rice in a rice cooker and steam the thick steams of the brocolli to reduce waste and to add to the stir fry later....

In a wok heat sesame oil till very hot. Toss tofu mixture through, until colouring slightly. Add mushrooms, bok choy stems and broccoli stems. Heat through until reduced and add remaining vegetables. Stir throughly so to prevent burning.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

vegan chocolate mousse

2009-07-18T14:47:00.003+10:00

Last night A and I went over to J & L's house for a post-holiday catch up. J & L are vegan, so dessert had to be something pretty well thought-out. It turned out really well! You must try it before knocking it!

I set myself up at work, searching various vegan dessert recipes before settling on a choc mousse recipe. It had to be quick to prepare because i knew I wouldnt get out of work quickly. So recipe decided, next sourcing vegan chocolate. It was alot harder than I'd thought, considering that dark chocolate is SUPPOSED to be vegan anyway. I searched forums and blogs (very tight nit and supportive community) trying to find brands that would be okay. One forum said old gold dark chocolate was vegan (it wasn't) while another said green and blacks (which is organic but not vegan) so i settled on a no brand dark chocolate cooking choc. So anyway here is the surprisingly good and very easy recipe I used for my mousse.

recipe reproduced from suit101.com

Shopping trolley.
350g silken tofu
300g chocolate chips, about one small package. Many dark chocolate chips are vegan; check the ingredients though if this is a concern
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract; optional.

Directions.

Blend tofu (preferably at room temperature) in food processor, blender, or with hand mixer until just smooth.
In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips with a tablespoon or two of water over low heat. Stir constantly.
Add maple syrup to melted chocolate and combine.
Put chocolate & syrup blend into processor and mix with tofu until creamy.
Pour into very small serving dishes - this stuff is rich. Serve warm or chill until set.

As I was doing my research I found a tip suggesting that the fresher the tofu is the better for desserts. The closer to the use-by-date the more tofuy it tastes. The tofu I used was about three weeks off its useby and it just tasted a bit nutty.

I served mine with fresh strawberries and grated chocolate on top. I think mixing some nuts into the mixture would be really nice - walnuts would be great!

roasted capsicum and ricotta fettucine

2009-07-16T22:28:00.002+10:00

Totally bummed that I didn't take a pic of this dinner but alas my description will have to suffice.

Okay so I am not completely alone in preparing this dish. My little sister came to stay, were were considering what to make for dinner that night for us as well as a couple of friends (who made dessert). Thinking rice, we flicked the channel to Oprah and decided to change to fettucine. Our concluding recipe is as follows.

Shopping trolley.

200g ricotta
50g parmesan cheese (for garnish)
fresh garlic
2 (approx 500g) red capsicum
1/4 cup pinenuts
fresh fettucine
1 cup basil

Prepare.

Roast red capsicum (quarted and de-seeded) in hot oven (200celcius) until skin lifts off easily. This takes about 45 minutes. Once cooled, or if your fingers can take it, peel the skin off and slice. Set aside.

Cook pasta (enough for four) according to packet directions.

In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp and lightly roast pinenuts and minced garlic. Add capsicum.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add the capsicum and warm through. Toss basil leaves and pasta through until nicely distributed.

Serve and top with big sprinkles of ricotta cheese and a light shaving of parmesan cheese.

Seriously - this is freakin' awesome, i am so obsessed with ricotta right now. Do you know any good ricotta recipes?

dinner tonight

2009-07-16T22:18:00.002+10:00

Just made ant my tommie, chickpea and crab bisque. He loved it - forgot basil this time, so substituted flat leaf parsley, which worked really well. I also tried a fish stock rather than the vegie stock - wasn't as flavorsome as i'd hoped so i added some vegie-friendly chicken stock and it lifted the flavour alot. Also used fresh crab - SO MUCH YUMMIER!

Ant couldn't believe how filling it was. I think this would be a real party pleaser because its so easy to make but has quite complex flavours. What do you think?

Wabi Sabi Salon

2009-07-15T21:08:00.008+10:00

Wabi Sabi Salon
94 Smith Street Collingwood VIC 3066 ph: 9417 6119

Oh my god!

My housemate Dan raved about Wabi Sabi and I'd walked past, slowing curiously as I walked by, a million times, but until last night - I had never actually been there! I am so glad I did though because it really was delicious.

I've gotten into the habit lately of checking reviews prior to going to a restaurant. This is what I did before going to Wabi Sabi. I was suprised, however, to find that the three or four reviews that I skimmed through centred on the 'ambience' and aesthetic quality of the restaurant rather than focusing on the food.

But Wabi Sabi's website has a menu so i knew before walking in that I'd be in for a modern interpretation of traditional japanese cuisine. The first thing I noticed when we walked in was how packed it was for such a small space. You can understand immediately why so many have remarked on the ambience - it certainly is quirky chic, but without the intended pretention so many restaurants pay a bundle to achieve.

You MUST make a reservation before rocking up. For a tuesday - this place was booked out.

The food.

Everything looks good! We settled on the following not really sure what to expect with such non-traditional cuisine.

Edamame
Spicy Squid
Sweet potato and chickpea croquettes
Grilled prawns with zucchini and shitake mushrooms
Tuna Steak in miso broth
Sashimi
Duck

For four people I think we ordered expertly. We started with miso soup (great home-made taste), edamame (fresh and salty) and bottles of kiran, before digging into some tapas.

We ordered a serve of the spicy squid and the duck dish (i think it was good?). The spicy squid was amazing (first photo)! The mayo that accompanied it was superb and it had just the right amount of tang. I love it when you eat out and find a dish which you know you could never recreate at home. Try as we might we couldn't pick the seasoning and spices used! Would go back for a second serve right now.

The croquettes were lovely and crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, the dipping relish was delicious and sweet. Even the little salad was yummy and well dressed.

Again, we were suprised when the tuna came out - a big hotpot dish with about four steaks of tuna with some vegies and a sweet syrup broth. The tuna steak was fantastic, the broth being very thick and sweet made the steaks look like red meat - excellent value for sure.

The prawns were juicy and marinated to perfection (second photo), again I don't think I could pick all the ingredients.

Really, I don't think you could find a better modern japanese restaurant on Smith street, or even in tne city for better value. I like Coccoro Pottery and Cafe (also on Smith) for something very traditional but for a contemporary feast you can't deny Wabi Sabi is in the running.

To finish, the sashimi was delicious and presented so well (third photo) - I'd never seen sashimi served so creatively, although it certainly fresh I must say I didn't enjoy it as much as the other dishes. The second sashimi we had, was a pan seared white fish with a soy ginger dipping sauce.

Oh --- I almost forgot we ordered a dessert platter with a creme brulet, black sesame icecream and ... GREEN TEA BAKED CHEESE CAKE!!!

Tapas: Between $7-15
Mains $15-3o
Dessert $5-16

em's amazing pizza recipe

2009-07-05T21:25:00.005+10:00

I'm so slack I only just remembered that my oldest friend Emily e-mailed me her very own pizza recipe ages ago to post to cookbook. It sure looks like a winner! I might have to try it out next time I'm in the mood (or allow myself to indulge) for pizza.

(Photo: Em's delicious birthday cake made by the beautiful berni)

My Pizza

This is such a great base for a Pizza, I change the topping all the time depending on how much money I have or what I feel like. The great thing about home-made Pizza’s like this, is that they’re so much more filling that bought Pizzas. I always have so much left over for Days to come.
This Recipe makes approximately two Large Pizzas. I often however choose to make mini Pizzas, about 8 centimetre in diameter. That way every Pizza can be slightly different if you want. The best thing is that you can make them any size, from 50 cent mini Pizzas to Huge big Monster Pizzas. So I suppose the point I’m making is DO WHAT EVER YOU WANT!!!!

The Base
2 cups Flour
salt
Splash Olive oil
7g yeast (that’s one of those pre-portioned packets)
1 Cup luke warm water
A bit of sugar

(This will make two large Pizza’s, so cut in these proportions half or Double etc to suit or needs)
Obvious but Important: Choose a really Large bowl, as your dough will need to double in size.

In your Large bowl mix Flour, salt and sugar, then without mixing add Oil, yeast, water. Then Blend.
Some yeast packets suggest that you mix the yeast and water separately. You can if you want, but I never do and it works fine. Once it is all blended STOP Stirring! You don’t want to overwork it.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel or loose cling-wrap. Sit it somewhere warm but NOT HOT. You don’t want it to be in direct heat, or it’ll start cooking and will go hard. I suggest on the front porch in the sun-shine, next to the fire, in or on your car if it’s a sunny day, or a couple-few metres away from the heater.
Let it double in size- NO MORE. It will take about an hour... Don’t get excited by the magic, or it becomes too difficult to manage.

On a floured bench top, dump out the dough and get kneading! (If you’re feeling really adventurous, add chilli flakes or dried herbs into the dough when you first start kneading to make a flavoured base.) When you’re happy with it- it won’t take long, press it into shape, or use a Rolling pin! The dough should be rolled out to about 0.5-1 centimetre, but it’s really up to you.
When I make Large Pizzas sometimes I make the middle of the pizza base a bit thin, just to help it cook through at the same pace as the outside. There’s nothing worse than burnt crusts and doughy centres!!!

Any left over dough? Twist or roll it into dinner rolls and cook along side the pizza!
Grease or flour your trays! I find it’s best to put the topping on when it’s on the tray.
ChOoSe YouR tOpPInG

I use tomato paste, or sometimes actual pasta sauce as a base, because it has extra flavour in built! Great when you’re poor!
I also often mix tapenade, garlic and/or basil paste into the sauce.

The rest is up to you, I suggest less-is-more, otherwise the topping slides off. Some of my favourite toppings are: Smoked Chicken breast (from the Deli at most Supermarkets), Salami, Canned flavoured tuna, last nights bolognaise sauce, mushrooms, fresh vegies (often it’s best to cut them thinly and blanch or lightly boil them first), canned vegies, spinach, home marinated chicken, olives, semi-sundried tomatoes, red onion, fresh Basil oregano, Thyme, chilli flakes and Lamb.

Cheese: There are some pre-grated Pizza cheeses out there. But I’m often a little cautious as whenever I buy a packet I seem to get it home and find it’s mouldy!!! A blend of Tasty and Mozzarella is best, but the cheapest Tasty will do just fine. Also try fetta, bococinni or if it’s your fancy, a vegan based cheese.

I almost always sprinkle on dried, mixed herbs to finish.

When I feel bold, sometimes I fold them over and make Calzone! Use a fork to press the edges together and use an egg (half egg, half milk) wash to make it golden. (Make sure there is lots of filling as it settles in cooking).

Cook at about 200 degrees Centigrade, for about 15 minutes, but really, keep your eye out. Smaller, thinner Pizza’s with very little topping will take less; Big, Thick Pizzas with heaps of yummy stuff will take longer.
You can use this same Pizza base to make awesome Pasties. Dice and boil your favourite Vegies. Add salt and Pepper to taste and generously heap it into your pre-rolled out bases. Finish them like the suggestion for Calzone.

I hope you enjoy xoxo

spinach, garlic and ricotta pizza

2009-07-05T21:03:00.005+10:00

Sunday night dinner... always a bit of a drag for me, sometimes its left overs but most often its something pretty easy.

Photo: High- Class Pizzeria and Restaurant

But as I was on smith street with James, we were both brain storming what we'd have for dinner and what we needed from woolworths.

I've been trying to be good with using perishables that I have at home (see tommie chickpea and crab bisque) and I knew I had tomato puree, garlic, spinach and cheese at home so decided on a yummt pita bread pizza inspired by this awesome pizza I had in Williamsburg last month - it was so good I had it twice!

Shopping trolley:
4 cups baby spinach
garlic
tomato puree
mozzerella (or tasty cheese if you've already got it at home ;p)
80g ricotta
your favorite pita bread (or if your feeling snazzy make a pizza base)
small scoop marinated halved green olives

Preparation.

1. Blanch 4-5 whole, peeled garlic cloves in hot water for 5 minutes.

2 While the garlic is doing its magic, saute spinach in 1 tbs butter until almost reduced. Add halved garlic cloves and stir thorugh till combined and fragrant.

3. Use 2tbs tomato puree to coat pizza base.

4. Cover pizza with spinach mixture. Even garlic cloves out over pizza.

5. Lightly shave mozzerella over pizza (just a quarter cup is fine - and healthier!).

6. In clumps drop ricotta cheese over pizza and finish with olive halves.

7. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes, occassionally turning pizza so it doesnt burn.

Eat! - quarter and finish with salt and pepper.

You could even add some basil or some kind of sausage but I really don't think it needs it - it is so yummy!

Rice Queen

2009-07-03T13:51:00.006+10:00

Not Me - the new restaurant on Smith Street silly!

Where Level 2, 231Smith Street, Fitzroy. 94196624.
Prices entrees $3.80-$7.80; mains $10-$15.
Cash only
Fully licensed
Open Thu-Sun 5.30pm-10pm. Bar licensed until later.
Photo: The Age Epicure online
You know I'd been looking forward to trying Rice Queen out for quite a while, it opened up on the first floor under Panama Lounge. The guys who set up Rice Queen also set up Panama Lounge and St Jude's cellar on Brunswick Street. Panama is a bit pricey for me and apparently St. Jude's isn't really vegie friendly. But I was desperate (especially after reading reviews) to try RQ out for myself. My sisters Peta and Ellen joined me along with Peta's boyfriend Paul.

Ell and I started with the mushroom spring rolls and decided on the vegie, tofu and kafka lime rice noodle stir fry.
Peta ordered a chicken and potato curry and Paul (thankfully) wanted to try the asian spag bol! I was super excited about that one!

Peta and Paul (especially Paul) enjoyed their dishes a whole bunch, but as for Ellen and I - I have to admit we were pretty disappointed. It wasn't that the vegies were fresh and cooked well because they were, but the rice noodles were dried and the whole dish was a little oily and didn't have much flavour.

I'm sure it was just this particular dish and hope to go back to try a seafood dish, but as for being vegie friendly - they are friendly just not over the moon with us!

Has anyone else been? What did you think?

Yummy mustard waffles

2009-07-03T13:45:00.005+10:00

Use this recipe to make yummy mustard waffles with sliced tomato, cheese and baby spinach! Just add 1 tablespoon seeded mustard into mixture right before adding to waffle iron. So yummy! You could also add cheese, sour cream, chocolate.... not in the same mix though!

Photo Credit. From bottom Wright Eats - Food at home, top: my waffle iron!

Preparation Time: 15 min

Cooking Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

1 cup self raising flour, sifted
1 egg, separated
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup water
45g butter, melted
1 tablespoon caster sugar

Method:

1.Pre heat waffle maker.
2.Place flour, egg yolk, milk, water and butter in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix until smooth.
3.Using clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and beat until it has dissolved.
4.Gently fold egg white into batter until well combined.
5.Spoon a little mixture into each waffle mould (this will vary depending on size of waffle iron), ensuring mixture fills all grooves; close lid.
6.Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until golden. Use a plastic spatula to transfer waffles to serving plates. Serve warm.

tommie, chickpea and crab bisque

2009-07-03T13:11:00.005+10:00

I must admit I'm pretty chuffed about how this recipe turned out.

As my work buddies know, as 4pm clicks over I start to ponder the options for that nights dinner. I knew I didn't want anything too heavy and that I had a can of chickpeas on my pantry shelf.

After a little deliberation and LOTS of actual work I googled tomato, chickpea and crab bisque - I wouldn't thought of doing that 'cept for the fact that I'd enjoyed a number of tomato bisques in The States and thought they were yummy!

The recipes I found all looked pretty complicated. Creamy at best or ingredients I had no chance of finding with such short notice! - Clam juice anyone?

So I decided to make it up with a few tips from the recipes I had found.

Shopping trolley:
1 small onion
5 garlic cloves
1 can diced tomato
1 jar tomato puree
1/2 litre liquid vegetable stock
bunch fresh basil
light sour cream
1 cup fresh crab meat (canned crab meat will be fine)
1 can chickpeas

Prepare.

Finely dice the onion and mince garlic.
Roughly chop basil

Cook! (Total time including preparation 40 min)
1. Saute' diced onion and garlic over a low heat with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook, stirring until clear and cooked through (5-10 minutes).
2. Add 1/4 cup vege stock and stir through.
3. Add chopped tomato and 1 cup tomato puree.
4. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, making sure that the soup doesn't burn, clear the sides of the saucepan.
5. Add vege stock and tomato puree until desired consistency occurs (around 1/2 cup of stock and 1/2 cup puree). Simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Add basil, chickpeas and drained crab meat. Stir through. Add a little more stock/puree if needed for taste or consistency. Bring to high simmer.
7. Off the heat, add 2-3 tablespoons sour cream (depending on how creamy you want it).

Serve and enjoy!
I had it without bread but a nice turkish bread or salad would be yummy!

food update

2009-06-29T14:21:00.002+10:00

It has been a good 6 weeks since I have last had the time to update!

As I mentioned, I have just wrapped up a month long trip around The States testing all sorts of yummy things!

From American-style sushi in LA to Deep-dish pizza in Chicago, we've done it all! Well as much as we could manage with just three meals a day!

I would have to say that we toured the states eating pizza, mexican, sushi and sandwiches - lots of tuna sandwiches for me!

So I'll try to post some photos and a new post each day with a different cuisine - photos, addresses and the like. Oh and I'm sure I'll find the time to add some restaurant reviews and new recipes- although i haven't been particularly experimental in the cooking department aside from a waffle enriched final breakfast for Ant!

xo xo

My budget friendly dinner tonight

2009-05-12T21:43:00.004+10:00

Atleast once a fortnight I feel a bit sickly so opt for an easy cheap rice and vegie dish! It doesn't sound as appetising as it is - you just gotta try it when you're feeling lazy.

Shopping trolley.

Sweet chilly sauce
light soy sauce
broccolli floret
mushrooms
zucchini
gluten-free short grain rice
organic hard tofu
ginger
garlic
sesame oil
sesame seeds

Preparation.

Slice tofu into 1cm thick slices. Roughly mince the ginger and garlic. In a plastic container, mix the diced ginger and garlic with 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, 1/2 a tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon sweet chilly sauce and 1 of soy sauce. Mix well and add tofu slices. Pop on lid and shake to marinate tofu. Refrigerate for 1 hour (or prepare up to 12 hours prior to cooking.

Process.

Quarter mushrooms lengthways, cut off broccoli florets and slice zucchini into 2cm thick pieces.
Add desired amount of rice into rice cooker, and add water so that when your finger touches the rice it comes to upto the end of your fingernail (about a cm and a half). Steam rice and steam vegies (our cooker has a vegie pot that sits above the rice which is handy).

About five minutes into cooking rice and vegies, heat a non-stick pan to a very hot temperature, lightly oil. Add tofu mixture with marinate and cook each side until well browned. Pour mixture over cooked rice and vegies.

Eat!

I like this basic meal because it is filling, healthy and yummy. The marinade helps to add flavour to the vegies and rice, and there is usually left overs for lunch or dinner the next day.

The tofu is optional, I'm sure the sauce would work well with fish, chicken or beef. Tonight, I didn't even use tofu and just added some soy sauce and sweet chilly before serving. Yum!

The Jess Sammidge(s)

2009-05-12T17:10:00.008+10:00

Although its probably not the weather for this sandwich now that winter is upon us - the jess sammidge is perfect for public holiday lunches and warmer weather. I made these sandwiches for Ant and I for Good Friday, as the ingredients are easy to find but together make an extra special (slightly naughty) lunch for two.

Shopping trolley.
Fresh basil
2 big fresh tomatoes
tub cottage cheese
'bergen flackseed etc. bread (or similar fresh very grainy bread)
nice soft avocado
salt and pepper
ginger beer
plain smiths crinkle chips to serve.

Preparation.
Slice the tomatoes and avocado in thick slices. Layer incredients (avocado, tomatoes, salt and pepper followed by basil) on each piece of bread. On second piece of bread spread a thick layer of cottage cheese. Push cottage cheese bread onto the bottom part and slice in half. Serve with a good helping of chips and a nice glass of ginger beer.

Yummy.

My second choice, the tooooowna sammidge is pretty good also. Served with chips and cranberry juice (don't ask me why) its pretty yummy.

Shopping trolley.
Tuna
Dijonaisse mustard
tomato
baby cos lettuce leaves
tasty cheese
Multigrain rolls

Mix the tuna with the mustard till well covered. Spread on one half of each roll. Top with lettuce, tomato and cheese. Serve with chips and cranberry juice.

My Third yummy sammidge is good for winter, as it is a bit more filling but takes time to prepare in advance. It's an excellent lunch to take to uni because it doesn't go soggy.

Shopping trolley.
Turkish bread rolls
Greek feta
butternut pumpkin
zucchini
capsicum
olive tapenade

Preparation.
Roast sliced pumpkin and capsicum in the oven with a little oil, salt and pepper until cooked through. The pumpkin should be soft, while the capsicum skins should lift off easily once cooled. This process takes about thirty minutes.

Cut the zucchini thickly so it doesn't fall apart when cooking. Stray or brush a small amount of oil on pan and grill each side till well cooked.

Use paper towel to pat oil off roasted vegetables and store.

To make sandwiches.
Cut turkish roll in half and toast. Spread olive tapenade on one piece of bread, followed by the roasted vegies. Sprinkle over feta and chopped parsley. Top with second half of bread, slice and wrap tightly until lunch time!

The roasted vegies can be made in bulk and stored in the fridge until all gone. I've often used the vegies and feta for a antipasto pasta when I'm sick of bringing lunch to uni! So versatile, yummy and healthy.

Dexter Bar and Cafe

2009-05-11T14:28:00.008+10:00

123 Queens Parade Clifton Hill

9486 5192

Dexter on Queens Parade in Clifton Hill is my favourite place to visit on a nice weekend or holiday when I'm relaxing at home. Just a short walk from my front step I like friends (Ailliche, Peta, Kate, V-Ho, Jess...) to meet me at my house so we can all walk up together.

Photo: Me @ Dexters Cup Day 2008

There are a number of reasons why it is my fav bar, they are as follows (in no particular order - as all are equally good reasons!):

Luke, the publican/owner is always welcoming with a big smile and a new tattoo to show off.
The food, oh the food! Out of a tiny self-constructed kitchen consisting of a mixture of industrial and home appliances, Luke and his team of equally friendly staff make meals that large 'fancier' kitchens would fight to beat. I am sure that this is why Dexter had found itself in The Age's Cheap eats guide as well as in many other Melbourne restaurant books. Good prices mixed with logical dishes, generous portions and quality ingredients come to play here. My pick: the field mushrooms on sourdough with persian feta and balsamic reduction. I would never attempt to make it at home, it would be too big a sin!
The Dexter community - I have met many lovely people and dogs (Bonnie the staffy is usually sun baking) sitting in the sun out front at Dexter. Friends, locals and regulars come together pretty much every weekend. I have had some of my best drunken intellectual rants with the regulars at Dex; and I look forward to many more!
The drinks - In addition to Luke's fine selection of ingredients - the man knows his alcohol, it's name, origin and serving suggestion. Oh and the bloody marys are the best E.V.E.R!

Okay so as you've probably already realised I could write a sonnet about all the reasons why I love dexter but I wont - i'll just let you try it out and write one for me.

Dashi Disaster

2009-05-11T10:18:00.006+10:00

Dashi is a staple in the Japanese diet, and a delicious flavor i have yet to recreate successfully. I promised I would post my cooking failures (though there are not many of them lol).

Photo: The Japanese Kitchen

After a long day sitting at my desk at work, I usually make a basic clear broth with some buckwheat or udon noodles, tofu, mushrooms and cabbage for dinner. But rather than using my packeted soup stock I wanted to make something with less preservatives, so decided to make this stock.

Dashi stock consists of dried bonito flakes, seaweed and sometimes some dried shitake mushrooms. But I was trying to make the basic stock containing just the bonito flakes.

First, where to buy the bonito flakes? I made a trip from Uni especially to pick up a bag of these flakes, not sure exactly what I was looking for or the cost of such an odd incredient (dried fish) it took me a while to find it at my favourite asian s/m, found in a big bag filled with air. The bag was about $6 - the next step: find an appropriate evening to make this stock.

Finally a thursday night came when I could make my stock when it was only me who had to eat it. I followed internet-searched recipes and procedures to no avail. The stock smelt amazing, yummy and fishy but upon taste testing, it tasted like diluted fish sauce water; not very appetizing at all.

Not wanting to waste my precious stock, I decided to add another cup of dried bonito flakes and let soak for another 20 minutes. This did not improve the taste one bit. Wondering what to do, I decided to experiment with some sesame seeds, sesame oil and soy sauce. It did nothing. Still too diluted. Next, I tried some fish sauce before remembering that I actually hate fish sauce.

But again, I did not want to just throw away the stock nor did I want to waste the 45 minutes spent trying to make the friggin stock! Reluctantly I added a packet of my store bought soup mix and settled in front of the couch to watch the remainder of Bondi Vet.

Disaster. Any suggestions? Tips? I am determined to master this.

Here is a good recipe for making dashi - give it a go and tell me what I'm doing wrong!?

Top 5 Lygon Street Carlton Italian Restaurants

2009-05-11T08:34:00.008+10:00

Photo: The Age Epicure

Lygon Street in Carlton central is notorious for its robust and inviting italian restaurants - almost to a fault!

With so many italianna restaurants on the same strip, it is often impossible to decide where to go - and where the good vs the bad smells are coming from. I have a top-five list of italian restaurants which i recommend you try atleast once. Then you know what sort of italian-food mood your in next time you've planned a dinner on lygon street!

1. Tiamo
303 Lygon Street, Carlton, Carlton 9347 5759

Tiamos will always be my first pick on lygon street, and last nights birthday dinner for Lindsey confirmed why.

The service is a bit up and down but the food and atmosphere makes up for it.

Lygon street eateries can often be more expensive than you'd think. Which is why I like Tiamo. There are many things that seperate it from the others, most notebly because rather than being sprooked to dine, a wait for a table can be up to 30 minutes! But let me tell you - it is worth it. I recommend to head up before 7.30 on a saturday or sunday night and before 7pm on a thursday or friday night. It's a great place to meet for a coffee on a nice day, as the big wooden tables out front offer a comfy place to people-watch. Now that Tiamo 2 is renovated (completed May 2008) you can get food from both restaurants where ever you sit. I recommend the Don Giovanni or the Tartuffo if you're after something particularly different, but really you can't go wrong with the menu at Tiamo, everything tastes fresh and of good quality. The small garnishes on particular dishes add style, while the complimentary bread with the saucier dishes is budget friendly. Despite it's long history and high standing among locals, there is no pretentious or snobby vibe - which is perhaps why I like it so much. Its just a great place to enjoy authentic italian with a twist.

The food is outstanding for what you pay, which is really no more than you'd pay at any of the nearby restaurants. Oh and the tiramisu... don't get me started!

2. Papa Gino
221 Lygon Street Carlton 9347 5758

If your after good old fashioned corner store style food see Papa Gino. Big servings, gigantic pizza, good prices (though you can pay up to $20 for a large pizza - but boy are they big!). As with Tiamo, a wait for a table can be up to half an hour, if you want to sit inside. An outside table is usually available though. They don't take bookings though (wierd - as the website says they do) and aren't very good at keeping track if you're outside having a drink waiting to sit inside, but the food is yummy. Good hearty (not exactly healthy) feel good food.

The garden salad (for the table) is great value, the chips and garlic bread are hot and salty but the creme de la creme of fatty goodness- the garlic focaccia with cheese.

Delizioso!

3. Cafe Coretto
225-227 Lygon Street Carlton 9347 2300

So if you're after something casual but can't stand the wait for a table with the Papa, head up to Cafe Coretto. Once you're through the doors seated at one of the red and white laminated tablecloths you'll see why. In contrast to Papa's, the staff seem to be made up of more women than men, which is nice and welcoming. Which is not to say that Papa's is not welcoming; its just more of the pizza makers peering out the window at big-breasted women variety. Food isn't as good as Papa's but it's pretty quick! Which is why it takes third place.

4. Cafe Italia
56-66 University street Carlton 9347 0638

If you're really struggling (say you're in a big group and can't find a table for more than five) head down the laneway to Cafe Italia. The prices are a bit higher for smaller servings, but there is a bit more variety. It is a good place for more of a formal dinner (p.s tiamos has an upstairs quieter area too) with big tables and well dressed waiters. But to be honest it isn't my first pick - it's more of a backup plan.

5. Now I know I said I had a fifth recommendation, but honestly I don't - so tell me what your favourite Italian restaurant in the Carlton area is and I might post it (and if it is the only one i definately WILL)!

baked fish with salsa

2009-05-08T21:46:00.004+10:00

Okay, now I know I've posted ALOT today, but this recipe is definately one of my most well received. Last time I had it, it was Christian and Cass who made it for ME*.

Serves four hungry berry streeters.

Shopping trolley:
for salsa:
2 punnets cherry tomatoes - halved
1 medium fennel bulb - sliced thinly and thickly (adds good texture)
5 cloves garlic (roughly chopped - they go all soft and yummy)
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/3 cup capers (not baby)
1/2 cup white wine
olive oil
for mash:
frozen peas
pumpkin
broccolli
carrot
potato
milk
butter
cheese

Fish (whiting, blue grenadier, snapper etc.)
Note: Because your marinating the fish, a ultra good quality fish isn't necessary- a standard whiting will do, but blue grenadier would have to be my pick.

Preparation:
Cut 8 pieces of alfoil, four with a 2-inch parameter around fish, 4 slightly smaller, brush larger four with oil, salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 180 dc

1. Cook the fennel over a medium temperature with the oil. Sautee until nicely coloured but not burnt. Lower temperature if burning. Cook until fennel is nice and soft and clear.

2. Add cherry tomatoes and garlic. Let simmer to create a nice juicy sauce. Add 1/2 of the white wine and drink the rest. Use a wooden spoon to crush some of the tomatoes.

3. Once the mixture has become nice and juicy add the capers and olives.

4. Place each piece of fish on each of the four pieces of alfoil. Spoon mixture evenly on each piece of fish until well coated.

5. Use the second piece of alfoil to wrap the packages up. Place the alfoil over the fish, using both pieces of alfoil fold until just meeting the fish. Do this on all four sides. Spike each package onto to allow steam to come out. Cook in oven for twenty minutes or until fish is white.

6. Steam vegies together till soft. Mash and add salt, pepper, butter, cheese and milk to taste.

Serving. Pile the mash vegie into the centre of a plate and place fish with mixture ontop. Pour excess juice around the mash.

Enjoy.

* I have no idea where this recipe came from, i suspect it is an adaptation of a sundried tomato and fennel baked snapper i made years ago, but this one is more recession friendly!

hookas' risoni

2009-05-08T16:47:00.004+10:00

Another thing my dad is good at making (exceptional even) is puttanesca pasta. We've always called it hookers pasta in our household because it is cheap. But I don't think it is all that cheap really - olives, basil, anchovies & parmesan cheese are all pretty pricey!

I tried risoni a few years ago but never really got into it, but after adding it to my minestrone a few weeks ago I got into it again. Mum made risoni over the easter holiday, and after following her process I decided to give it a go (or rather risoni was all i had at home) and my hookas' risoni* came out really well - i even made it two nights in a row!

*I'm calling it hookas' risoni b/c I used stuff I had in my pantry and fridge - which means that pretty much any vegie would be good in it!

Pantry.

Risoni (small graines of pasta which look like rice, similar to risotto)
2 tins chopped tomato
powdered vegetable stock
dried chilli flakes

Fridge.
Parsley chopped
Zucchini sliced and quartered
Mushroom thinly sliced
Broccolli in small florets
Parmesan cheese grated thickly
red onion (sliced thinly in strands)

Confession - I only had one mushroom, half a zucchini and 3 florets of broc. I also nipped half an onion from lisa and a bunch of parsley from dan's vegie patch.

I'd say you want 50/50 risoni and vegies if you're using a good amount of vegies and making it for more than four people. This recipe makes for 3 (or one hungry jess and a bite for ant)
1. Heat oil and simmer onion and garlic. Add tinned tomato and stir together.

2. Add risoni. The amount of risoni used depends on volume of leftovers you have. At this stage I'd put in one and a half cups (it does expand) to go with my miniscule vegie stash. Stir through and simmer for one minute.

3. Add all vegies and desired amount of chilli flakes. I like mine hot.

4. Once all is stirred through add more risoni if needed.

5. Pour over warm water till mixture is just covered. Add powdered vege stock (or 1 stock cube) and stir.

6. Let simmer and absorb liquid, stirring every couple of minutes. The risoni will talke 12-15 minutes to cook. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Just before serving add chopped parsley and grated parmesan cheese.

Note. The second night I made this i used chopped spinach instead of broccolli- i don't think it worked as well. The mushiness of the broccolli was really yummy.

yum- i wish i was having this tonight :(

Dads' pumpkin soup

2009-05-08T16:01:00.005+10:00

I don't think my dad is ever going to get a Nobel prize for cookery but I do think he makes the best pumpkin soup in the entire world!

Yesterday at work, I decided to look up some pumpkin soup recipes to see if I was missing anything in the modern world of pumpkin soup making - you know to see if anything had changed since last winter.

Photo: Don't play with your food

I did discover that most recipes over flavor the soup. I remembered that when ever I use my dads' recipe I am always surprised at how full of flavor and how many levels it has considering how basic the recipe is. I would have to say that it is definitely the best pumpkin soup bar a few of the (yet to be made) Asian pumpkin soup recipes with curry sauce.

Shopping cart:

1kg grey pumpkin
1 medium sweetpotato
1 large leek
garlic
1 large carrot
Sourcream
2-3 vegetable stock cubes
chives (garnish)
milk
1 medium sized orange
Plain flour
Salt and pepper

Slice the leek thinly, mince 5 garlic cloves, roughly chop the vegetables in small cubes* (the smaller the cube the quicker they'll cook), prepare the stock in a jub with 1.5L hot water.

* I usually cup my pumpkin pretty big cos it cooks quicker and then the sweet pot' a bit smaller.

1. Heat a pan with a stick of butter on a medium temp, once melted add the leek and stir. After a minute or so, once the leeks have become transparent add the garlic. Stir and let rest for 1 minute.

2. Add vegetables and stir till the leek mixture is covering vegetables. Sweat the vegetables for 5 minutes (lid on pot - stir every few minutes.

3. Once the vegies have gathered moisture add 1-2 tablespoons plain flour and stir to cover. Add pepper

4. Add vegetable stock. Bring to boil.

5. Simmer until vegies are cooked through.

6. In 3-4 batches process the soup in a blender (or use a handheld) and return to stove. Bring to good simmer and add milk till desired consistency. Add a good squeeze of orange to taste.

7. Serve in big bowls with chives and sour cream with lots of crunchy buttery bread.

It is so yummy - freezes well and is great for lunch the following day.

Note: Ant doesn't really like soup but he likes this one!

magnolia cupcakes

2009-05-08T15:41:00.004+10:00

I volunteered to make cupcakes for Ant's sister Emily's 21st. It was quite an undertaking but at the same time really fun and rewarding. Lots of people from work (Berni, Corrina, Carol etc.) have asked me how I made them.

I found the recipe for the cupcakes through the vogue forums, it was voted one of the best cupcake recipes and seemed to fit my purposes pretty well. I wanted something pretty rich and dense, i wasn't concerned about how healthy they'd be because we wouldn't be eating the entire batch between 3 people or anything. I also wanted a recipe with a good icing recipe and Magnolia's recipe was perfect.

I decided to use a piping bag to ice the cupcakes, to give it ago and in the hopes that they would look really professional - they looked great!

Cupcake recipe link

Notes: Confectioners sugar is a fancy word for soft icing sugar

I used strawberry oil in place of the vanilla essence for the icing because I thought it would be a nice different surprise and go well with the pink icing. You can use flavouring oil for icings made from an oil base - butter etc. 3 drops or half a teaspoon was plenty.

Tips:
I used three different pattypan colours - metallic silver, metallic brown and metallic pink i thought that these colours would be funky and a modern touch.

Using the piping bag for this particular icing recipe was fantastic and really easy. I filled the bag up and followed the pattypans from the outer edge of the cupcake to the centre. Easy and suprisingly quick!

premise

2009-05-08T15:13:00.003+10:00

I've been pondering over whether or not to start a foodies blog. But now seems like the perfect time to start one. I seem to boast quite often about various recipes that I've tried out or have been working on but seem to lose track of many of them. So not only is this a good way of sharing recipes but its also a good way to file away all those recipes i can't be bothered putting into my scrapbook cookbook!

I've decided to start this now because I am going to the States in a few weeks (hoping to record some yummy food adventures along the way) and because food = escapism. It is my way of relaxing and enjoying myself outside work and uni.

I'm a dork I know - but this blog sorta excites me! Friends, relatives and co-workers will probably be mentioned from time to time including: Ant, Kate, Jess and Mum. So if you've been exploring the food world with me look out!

I think I'll be blogging recipes, restaurant reviews and other food-related stuffs. But don't worry I won't take credit for recipes that I haven't come up with! Well maybe not anyway.

Cheers

photo: my lindt chocolate mocha with extra chocolate shavings, sydney 2009.

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The Abyssinian

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The biggest disappointment of them all *sigh*

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179 Russell Street Melbourne CBD 3000

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Hanuman Restaurant, Darwin

telephone: (08) 8941 3500

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The year that started it all...

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thankyou for the cupcake recipe!

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let us recap

Seven Seeds and other weekend adventures...

'cc' sunday ...

'cc' sunday

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When is a bar a Bar and a dumpling a Dumpling?

Ol' Friday take-away

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My first lemon tart!

variation on vegies, tofu and rice dish

vegan chocolate mousse

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dinner tonight

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em's amazing pizza recipe

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food update

The biggest disappointment of them all sigh