(Almost Spring) Lamb

This weekend was all about succulent market fresh lamb, and for that I'm eternally grateful! After being introduced to a surprising array of Weight Watchers recipes last week, I found the perfect recipe to satisfy myself and my carbivore boyfriend. Lamb shanks with mushroom ragout (http://www.weightwatchers.com.au/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=46811) was very easy to cook and the rich, sweet flavours were absolutely amazing. I only cooked one lamb shank between the two of us (but it weighed in at about 400 grams!), and pulled the meat off the bone before adding it to the pasta and mushroom ragout. 

As a special treat, my boyfriend (ex-lamb hater) cooked an absolutely delicious feast for the two of us. After getting our hands on a deliciously juicy rack of lamb from the markets, the boyfriend busied himself in the kitchen for about an hour before producing a lovely meal - rack of lamb with warm salad of mixed beans & slow-roast tomatoes (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/711659/rack-of-lamb-with-warm-salad-of-mixed-beans-and-sl). The lamb was cooked beautifully, and the beans and almond salad added a really lovely texture. I'm a lucky lady - he can cook for me anytime! 

Freestyle Espresso

I think I may have just found my local brunch spot. Freestyle Espresso is tucked away in a side street about a block away from the South Melbourne Markets (perfect for some pre-market gnosh). The somewhat secluded location meant we were easily able to grab a table at 10.30am on a Sunday. The service was relaxed and friendly, the coffee was lovely and creamy, and the menu was mouthwatering! My boyfriend had the thyme mushrooms with lemon zest fetta on sourdough (and a couple of big juicy sausages on the side) and I had the free range poached eggs with bacon, basil and vine tomatoes. The servings were generous (took us through till dinner!) and very satisfying. We'll definitely be back. 

Thyme mushrooms with lemon zest fetta on sour dough and a side of 'chipolatas' 

Free range poached eggs with bacon, basil and vine tomatoes

Cafe 58

Whilst googling cheap Vietnamese restaurants near Melbourne Uni, I found Cafe 58. It definitely ticked the cheap box, with all mains being about $9 (this was at lunch though), but whether it was an authentic Vietnamese restaurant, I'm not so sure. Their shrimp rice paper rolls with satay dipping sauce were wonderful - the fresh coriander and delicate texture could've convinced me I was in Hanoi. The beef spring rolls were nice, but after the rice paper rolls I was all about freshness! But once the mains came out I was no longer in Hanoi, but back on Johnston Street eating an asian meal. Not for one minute am I saying I didn't enjoy the meal - it was great - i ate the lot! But it wasn't real Vietnamese - I had rice vermicelli with vegetables and Mongolian sauce and my sister had Pad Thai... Need I say more? Nevertheless the food was great, the owner was friendly and attentive, and the value for money was excellent (especially when your Mum's paying!).

Shrimp Rice Paper Rolls with Satay Dipping Sauce

Beef Spring Rolls with Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

Rice Vermicelli with Vegetables and Mongolian Sauce

Chicken Pad Thai

Pass The Salt

Never one to say no to a curry (or any food for that matter), I cooked an Indian-inspired mushroom and potato curry with chicken (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2027/onepot-mushroom-and-potato-curry). As it was a mid-week meal I cheated and used tikka massala curry paste instead of making my own. The recipe was straight forward but the timing was off - it took at least 30 minutes to cook the potato (if I was to make it again, I'd parboil the spuds). I added some chicken make the dish more appetising to the other half, but all in all it lacked real flavour (even though I added 6 teaspoons of curry paste). The eggplant was lovely and a few good shakes of salt sorted it out, but compared to a Thai curry, the flavour complexity just wasn't there. 

Sicilian-Style Fish Stew

I keeping with the 'quick and healthy' theme of late, I cooked Sicilian-style fish stew (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13193/sicilianstyle-fish-stew) last night. The recipe was incredibly easy to follow but I made a couple of adjustments. I used up the rest of the celery I had in my fridge (about 6 sticks), and put them in the food processor with the onion and garlic cloves. Then the celery mixture went into the pot and I added an extra anchovy (because I absolutely love them!), a few good shakes of chilli flakes and a sprinkle of paprika. I used boneless hake fillets as they were on special this week. The fish only took 5 minutes to cook until it started to fall apart - the texture was lovely. I topped with basil as I didn't have any parsley, but it complimented the dish nicely. The flavours were really strong and delicious. Try it if you don't mind a bit of spice in your life!

Skinny Cow

I've always thought that Weight Watchers meals would be awfully bland and require a microscope to eat, but while at home on the weekend my Mum cooked a fabulous Weight Watchers lamb shank and lentil stew. Encouraged by the satisfying meal, I flipped through the cookbook and found a Thai Lamb and Noodle Salad recipe (http://www.weightwatchers.com.au/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=152901) that looked delicious. I couldn't source any lamb steaks at the supermarket so I used beef sirloin steaks instead (which probably isn't allowed on Weight Watchers, but I'm not counting points!). I left out the peanuts and used lemon instead of lime, which didn't detract from the dish at all. The recipe was incredibly quick and easy, and the flavours were amazing! It tasted really fresh and healthy (in a good way!). I'll definitely be making this again. 

Galleon Cafe

You might recall me trying to get into Galleon Cafe (http://galleoncafe.com.au/) a few weeks ago but I wasn't keen on waiting around for a table. So we decided to get up a little earlier the next week to beat the Sunday diners. The cafe is really quirky - the walls are lined with posters and community ads, and the tables and booths are an eclectic mix of old and new. The menus are worn, but still manage to entice my taste buds. One of the first things I notice is the price - most of the items on the breakfast menu are around $10-12. This is a far cry from other local cafes were their prices can spiral upwards of $20. There is a great variety, including some interesting vegetarian options. I went for the sweet potato, basil and feta hash, served with wilted spinach, one poached egg and tomato and chilli chutney. My boyfriend went for the BLAT (a BLT with avocado) and an extra sausage. Unfortunately the kitchen didn't synchronise our order, so by the time my breakfast came out, my boyfriend had almost finished his. The hash was quite tasty, but the meal came with two and one was enough! It also could've done with more chutney as I found it rather dry, but the flavours all together were really nice. I'd definitely go back again, because there's plenty more I'd like to try on the menu and it is excellent value for money. 

Deal Is On

Every time I go to check my inbox, it's been inundated with emails from deal websites trying to get me to 'jump on' cheap car washing, massages and holidays. But every couple of days a restaurant advertises a deal that actually seems worth 'jumping on'. You've got to be careful though. The other day I saw a local Thai restaurant that was advertising a cheap deal, however when I went to their website and added up all the prices of what they were offering it was more of a rip off than a deal! 

A couple of weeks ago I jumped on a deal for 2 flatbread pizzas and a bottle of wine at Cabinet Bar (http://www.cabinetbar.com.au/default.htm) in the city for $29. The bar turned out to be really cool - it has a balcony overlooking Swanston St but because of it's entrance in Rainbow Lane, it was less crowded than other bars on a Friday night. We chose a roast duck, mushroom, blue cheese and plum sauce flatbread,  and one with spicy chorizo and mushroom. The flatbreads were tasty but I wouldn't necessarily return for them (they are usually $17.95 each). But the location and cocktail list is worth returning for!

The Healthy Fry Up

When I'm looking for meals to cook I'm aways looking to try dishes I've never cooked before. But sometimes it's good to go back to basics and cook a classic. A stir fry is a meal I used to put on the weekly menu as a space-filler, but once eating it would remember how fantastically flavoursome and satisfying they are. In keeping with my fast-food style of cooking this week, I cooked a chilli prawn stir fry with hokkien noodles. I used loads of veg (green beans, snow peas, red capsicum, broccoli, green chilli and baby corn), a couple of hundred grams of peeled green prawns (which I cooked for a couple of minutes first, then added them back into the stir fry at the end), ready to use hokkien noodles, and added a combination of soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce. Simple, easy and super quick. 

Fast Food

My crazy busy week at uni is finally over, and I made it out alive (it was touch and go there for a while...) Luckily I'd preplanned all the meals for the week with one thought in mind... Fast food! I'm talking 20 minutes from chopping board to mouth. 

Soup featured pretty heavily this week as I realized I hadn’t made any this winter and spring is fast approaching. The first soup I actually made on the weekend. Mum gave me an intimidating pumpkin from her veggie patch that has been begging me to make soup out of him for the past few weeks, so I made a few batches of Thai pumpkin soup. It’s a delicious take on pumpkin soup – the addition of coconut milk, red or green curry paste, ginger, kaffir lime leaves and lime juice, gives the traditional soup a real kick. Half a pumpkin made about 6 serves of soup, so now I’ve got the remainder of the roasted pumpkin in the freezer, which can be easily added to pastas, or more soup!

The second soup I cooked was what I’d like to call a Spanish minestrone.

1 chorizo

1 can chickpeas

1 can diced tomatoes

4 celery sticks, chopped

1 red capsicum, chopped

¾ bunch silverbeet (or spinach), half roughly chopped and the other half processed

½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried vegetable stock (or 1 cube)

Fry the chorizo for a few minutes then add the tomatoes and a can of water. Bring to the boil then add the remainder of the ingredients. Cover and bubble on high for about 10 minutes. Eat and enjoy!

It was even tastier when I had it for lunch the next day.

The Best Pasta Sauce Of All Time

I know it's a big call, but I may have discovered THE best pasta sauce recipe of all time... You may have had spaghetti alla matriciana before (at La Porchetta perhaps), but never this good. It may not be authentic but it tastes damn good! Give it a try!

100 grams pancetta

50 grams diced bacon

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 red chilli

1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1 tablespoon kalamata olives, quartered

1 tablespoon capers

1 tin crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

handful of cherry tomatoes, halved

Process garlic cloves, chilli, chilli flakes and onion, then fry in saucepan with some olive oil for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile process pancetta and diced bacon. Once the onion has softened, add the pancetta and diced bacon mixture and fry for another 5 minutes. Add tinned tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, capers and olives, cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes (while you're waiting for pasta to cook).

A trick my mum taught me is to stir a bit of the sauce through the pasta so all the pasta is covered with sauce, then put a spoonful of the sauce mixture on top of the pasta to serve. Looks good and tastes great!

Omega 3 And Couscous

What better way to start a week of uni than with a serving of brain food? I'm talking fish! One of my sisters gave me Jamie Oliver's book "Jamie's Dinners" for my birthday, and it's a beauty! Omega 3 and Couscous - yes it's really called that - is a great recipe with punches of flavour (http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/omega-3-couscous) . 

I couldn't get my hands on red mullet, but used a salmon fillet instead. The recipe was really easy to follow, but I went a bit hard on the gas thinking the fish wouldn't cook and burnt the pan a little when the fish, vegetable mix and couscous were simmering. Next time I'll keep it low because the fish cooks in the steam that's produced. The natural yoghurt, fennel leaves and lemon mixture really lifted the dish. It was super easy to cook and the flavours were sensational. I ate the leftover couscous for lunch and it tasted amazing even without the salmon. Go on, give it a try!

Homestyle Pizzeria

After a few heavy nights at the snow everyone was after a little more than a vegemite sandwich for lunch when we returned home. So we made comfort food for the masses - pizzas. We used souvlaki wraps for bases which worked really well for a thin and crispy finish. The bases were covered with a mixture of puttanesca sauce and tomato paste, and mozzarella. We made four styles of pizzas. They were all really tasty and there were no leftovers :) My personal favourite was the one with Wagyu salami...

Wagyu salami, shredded ham off the bone, mushroom, capsicum, olives and anchovies

Spanish chorizo (cooked before added to pizza), mushroom, capsicum
Spanish onion and paprika

Fresh tomato, roasted pumpkin, spinach, fetta and olives

Mushroom, Italian sausage and onion (the sausage and onion
was cooked before added to pizza)

(Not So) Merrijig Ski Lodge, Mt Buller

Last weekend was spent with the family at Mt Buller. The conditions weren't perfect - poor visibility, howling winds and lack of snow in places, but we all had a great time - in the pub mostly! The place we stayed was in a great location, but the service part of the facility needs a real shake up. It wasn't exactly service with a smile. A pound of butter would possess more social skills than the managers combined. They appeared burdened with the task of running a ski lodge. 

 Fortunately a bit more passion was put into the meals. The smoked salmon and avocado terrine was really tasty and nicely presented. The thai chicken curry rather confused me as it was served with a poppadom! It wasn't an authentic thai curry and it didn't taste as good as the one I cooked (see post from 30th July 2011). The dessert was the saving grace - dark chocolate pudding with fudge sauce. The meal on the second night consisted of crab cakes, rack of lamb (which was cooked to perfection) and sticky toffee pudding. Unfortunately the sweet taste the food left in my mouth wasn't enough to counterbalance the sour taste left by the management team. 

Smoked Salmon and Avocado Terrine

Thai Chicken Curry

Dark Chocolate Pudding With Fudge Sauce

Home-Made Gnocchi With A Touch Of Jamie

A few weeks ago I tried my hand at making gnocchi. It was a pretty straight forward process and the results were really good for a first time effort, although I think the consistency was a bit too thick.

Next time I won't add as much flour as I've read that adding too much flour can make the dough heavy. There are plenty of recipes, and they're basically all the same. http://www.taste.com.au/how+to/articles/2245/make+gnocchi

The great thing about making gnocchi is that you can freeze what you're not using (once you've cut the dough into balls) and cook it from frozen the next time you fancy gnocchi. Which for me happened to be last night!

I decided to use Jamie Oliver's sauce from his recipe Trapani style rigatoni (but without the rigatoni, of course!). It's a bit like a pesto - I added blanched almonds, 40g parmesan and a red chilli to the food processor. Once the mixture was smooth I added a bunch of basil, 4 anchovy fillets, a big clove of garlic and 150g mini roma tomatoes to the mixture and whizzed it till it was a smooth paste (you can add olive oil to help smooth the mixture). Then all I had to do was cook the gnocchi until the pieces rose to the top of the boiling water, drain the gnocchi and then mix the sauce through. To serve I cut up a couple of the leftover tomatoes and added some basil leaves. Simply delicious!

Birthday Indulgence

I love to eat good food on the best of days, so when my birthday comes along I take it up a notch and it becomes a nonstop eatfest - no fingertip is left unstuffed! A few years ago I went to my favourite restaurant for lunch and then went back for dinner! My sister and I decided to go to the Lindt Chocolate Cafe on Collins St (www.lindt.com/au/chocolat-cafe/) to start the indulgence wheel rolling. I tried the hazelnut hot chocolate. OMG best hot chocolate I've ever had!  The waitress brought out a milk jug of frothed milk and a smaller jug with thick, glorious, melted Lindt chocolate. I would've quite happily eaten the chocolate by itself!

After our sweet tooths were more than satisfied, we decided it was only fair to balance out sweet and savoury by going for brunch. We wandered down through the lanes and went to Issus cafe (8/10 Centre Place, Melbourne 3000) because they were serving all day breakfast. I've been here before - they have a good solid menu and reasonable prices. I went for the Eggs Issues, but later found out it was a typo - it's meant to be Eggs Issus (I wondered why the eggs would have issues...). Two poached eggs on a muffin with bacon, avocado and hollandaise sauce. A great breaky, however we made the mistake of ordering a side of mushrooms, which was a complete ripoff - $3 for a tablespoon's worth! But apart from that, it was a good breakfast.

No birthday is complete without a cocktail, so we sipped pre-dinner cocktails at Double Happiness (double-happiness.org/) which is an Asian inspired cocktail bar in China Town. My cocktail contained chilli vodka - a sure fire way to slow your drinking speed!

For dinner we went to one of my favourite restaurants, HuTong Dumpling Bar (hutong.com.au). We shared scallop dumplings, garlic, chive and prawn dumplings, pork shao long bao, scallops with ginger and oyster sauce, prawn and eggplant claypot, and barbecue pork ribs (in running with the indulgence theme!). The portions were very generous, the staff were attentive and corkage wasn't extortionate - all factors which made our night just wonderful. It's a keeper!

(l-r) garlic, chive and prawn dumping, scallop dumpling, shao long bao

Barbecue pork rips

Scallops with ginger, shallots and oyster sauce

Prawn and eggplant claypot

Myrtleford Butter Factory

Myrtleford's a cutesy town on the Great Alpine Road en route to Mt Hotham and Falls Creek, and only about an hour from my parent's place. Because of its location there are a number of great ski shops there (which was the reason for our visit), but there's also some lovely wineries and cafes. I decided to check out the Myrtleford Butter Factory (www.thebutterfactory.com.au/), and thank goodness, there was more than just butter on the menu!

After a somewhat rowdy night the night before I was craving something a bit more substantial than the caramelised onion, blue cheese and pear tart on the menu(which sounded lovely, but just would not do!). So I went for the baked buttermilk ricotta, herb and spinach gnocchi with a creamy garlic, parsley and white wine sauce with a Parmesan crust. It was presented in the cast-iron pot it was baked in, and tasted delicious. A good choice for those days you're not feeling 100%...

A Fabulous Weekend Of Family, Frivolity, Festivity, And Food, Food, Food!

There are a few things that you can expect when you stay at my parents house – a comfortable bed, a fridge full of beer, and a barrage of delicious mouth-watering delights. My mum, aka super chef, was put to the test this weekend with a full house to cater for, including my grandparents and aunty and uncle (hi Deb!).  It was a really wonderful weekend full of laughter, wine and anecdotes.

Mum and Dad recently returned from Italy where they took part in a cooking class, and we were treated to an Italian feast of pasta amatriciana, made with pork cheek, and authentic tiramisu for dessert.

There was a slight incident involving mutton the next night, but Mum wasn’t cooking! I still enjoyed it, but the meal has gone down in family history as ‘The Double Mutton Disaster of 2011” – word of advice – doubling the recipe doesn’t always work. I’ll leave it at that…

Mum made a delicious rustic pork belly and liver terrine – one of Rick Stein’s recipes. The flavours were sensational!

One of my favourite entrees is prawn wrapped in prosciutto, and as we were celebrating my birthday on Saturday night, the dish was added to the menu! They were served with a salad and balsamic dressing – delish! We followed with rabbit ragu. I’d never eaten rabbit before so I was excited to try it. The rabbit looked like chicken but had a much stronger, meatier flavour – I really enjoyed it.

Being a sucker for anything chocolate I decided to bake a cake I’d made before (which had been a huge hit) for my birthday cake. The recipe’s aptly called Ultimate Chocolate Cake (http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3092/ultimate-chocolate-cake). The recipe is very easy to follow, and it doesn’t matter if the top of the cake splits or isn’t even because it all gets hidden with the chocolate curls. I made my chocolate curls by melting down a block of chocolate, pouring it into a log cake tray and putting it in the fridge to set. Once  the mixture has hardened I removed it from the tray and scraped a cheese grater along the edge until I got the shape I wanted. Not only is it an ultimate chocolate cake, but it's an ultimate crowd pleaser. My uncle's not much of a sweet tooth, and he went back for seconds!

 "There is no love more sincere than the love of food." - George Bernard Shaw.