food addicts anonymous

Arepas!

2009-04-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

No photos this time (to be honest, after making them i gorged on the and my flatmates helped out, so no time to take pics...).

ingredients:
300 ml warm water
1/4 teaspoon salt (i added more, but i love salt. my doctors don't like this fact).
225g masa harina flour
100g manchego (can use generic cheese if you prefer).
oil for frying.

these are incredibly simple to make, even for a slacker like me.

mix salt and flour together. slowly add water, kneading with hands until you get a thick dough. you have to get a bit dirty. then add the cheese. heat the oil, and pan fry for a few (3 or so) minutes each side. (and don't set off fire alarm like i did)

and that's it!

i served mine with some fresh cherry tomatoes from my mother's garden that were a great addition. another alternative is to make a hole in the middle and crack an egg into it. if you choose to do this, cook them for 2 minutes each side to have a crust form, and then make the hole before putting in the egg, and then put them back in the pan for 2 minutes each side.

if anybody has any other suggestions i'd love to hear them. turns out i've rekindled my love affair with masa harina all over again!

exercise of the week

2009-04-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

ok, this is something nice to try. it's fun, and feels good. it's the zottman curl.

1. Standing up, grab some dumbbells with a palms-up grip.

2. Keeping your elbows pinned to your sides, simultaneously curl both dumbbells.

3. Once you reach the top, pause and squeeze your biceps hard, then rotate the weights until your palms are facing down.

4. Slowly lower the dumbbells toward your thighs, stopping short of lockout.

5. Pause, then turn your palms back to the starting position. repeat.

The Zottman curl was devised by strongman George Zottman in the 1880s but has yet to receive its due acclaim for its ability to build bigger biceps and forearms. By calling into play the brachioradialis--the prominent muscle on the thumb side of your forearm--the Zottman curl helps to add balance between upper and lower arm mass and should be part of any complete arm program. If this move is new to you, you'll find it a welcome change of pace for your biceps that could kick-start new growth.

And no, the pictures are NOT of me in case you hadn't figured it out.

Next week i'll post my workout for discussions.

i'm baaa-aaack

2009-04-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

ok, i'm back. finally.

let's just say that i have had a lot on my plate, but i'm now single.

so now i'll be back to blogging and posting information. this won't just be about eating out all the time anymore. i'm saving for a house and a car and lots of other things, as (sadly), i've taken the plunge and decided to grow up. no more hoodies, singlets in public, excessive drinking.

ok, maybe not the excessive drinking.

but i will be focusing on life, and enjoying it. i'm still staying true to my roots, but i stopped blogging because it had become a chore, and that's no fun. i'd had my fair share of run ins with over-zealous restaurant owners that took offence to me taking photos.

in the next couple of days there will be a brief synopsis of restaurants and bars i've been to and recommend, and those i would never go to again.

but for now, let's focus on the here, the now.

either way, i'm back now, for better or worse.

ribs!

2008-10-09T14:51:00.001-07:00

I've had a hankering for ribs (i'm not sure if hankering is actually a word, but i like it), but haven't found any in melbourne.
does anyone know of a good restaurant for ribs? it seems that they are everywhere in sydney (last time i was in sydney i saw them available at each mealtime, each time in different restaurants).

in the end, i gave up and started thinking of making some for myself. the significant other is holed up with her CPA exam, so i figured i'd make some ribs for her.

this is a mash-up of two recipes, because i loved the marinade from one recipe, but i liked the idea of braising the ribs first.

update: these ended up great! i'd add a little bit more chilli, but watch out for the slices of bird's eye - they still have a bit of kick to them.

james' ribs

serves 2 very hungry people (more if you want to include salad, but these are ribs, damnit!)

1 ½ kg American-style pork spare ribs

Marinade
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
½ cup honey
½ teaspoon five spice powder
1 tablespoon brown vinegar
1 small fresh red chilli, chopped
¼ cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon sweet sherry
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed

24 hours before cooking: Place the ribs in a large pot of cold water and bring to the boil, once boiling skim the water and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook for 45mins. Mix the all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Remove the ribs and rinse under cold water, pat dry and add them to the marinade making sure they’re well coated. Refrigerate at least overnight/24hrs.

Remove the ribs from the fridge and cook them on a hot BBQ or grill turning frequently until the outside is caramelized, (approx 15-20mins). Otherwise, can roast in oven to cook. Bring remaining marinade to boil; pour over ribs.

waiters - the good, the bad, and the outright psychotic

2008-09-30T17:50:00.001-07:00

I have been feeling a certain level of paranoia lately. I think that waiters are out to get me. Or at least, treat me badly. There were the few occasional experiences that left me annoyed, but for the most part oblivious. nobu, for example, where i had to ask 3 waiters (and wait 15 minutes) for a glass of water. but for the most part, i was oblivious.

Until this month, that is. It just seems like the world is against me. I have had some shining lights, but overall service has been dismal. Is it just me? i tip, i am friendly, i don't think i ask too much as a customer, and yet, i get shafted. and shafted. and shafted yet again.

i've had english backpackers serving me, taking my order, and then not passing the order on to anyone else. when i ask what is happening with the meal, they deny talking to me, or taking my order, telling me i was mistaken. then for the rest of the meal, it is an uphill battle. i have to ask them to clear my empty coffee cup. i have to get my own cutlery. napkins? forget it! i can look at the person and ask for something and they would walk past, as if somehow, i had wronged them. i would have gotten up and left, except that the owner is a very nice guy, and i felt sorry for him. he gave me a free coffee for the confusion, but then when i went to pay the bill, there was no free coffee (it was the english girl taking the money). even after he told her it was free, she asked him why it should be free.

that is just one incident. i'm going to intersperse bad with good, because although there are a LOT of bad experiences lately, i'll stick to a couple, as although venting is good, there is only a certain limit anyone can endure.

At movida, i had a very good waitress called natasha. to start with, there was a line of people in front of us blocking the door, that claimed that they had reservations. i waited for a few minutes, then decided to check, to find out that no, they did NOT have reservations and that our table was waiting for us. she was very nice. always filling our water, making good recommendations, warning us not to order too much, being helpful about the meals and which ones worked with others. she had good feel. and that's what is important in my mind. overall, it was a very pleasant experience, which is good. it was for my girlfriend's birthday.

we went to gills diner after hearing so many good things about it. it was not particularly busy (a good thing, as we had a fashion show to attend to). we ordered wine, looked at a menu, and after deciding what we wanted, we waited to be served. and waited. and waited. 20 minutes of us sitting there, having long ago finished our wine. i tried to get eye contact, but it seemed no one wanted to look. finally, i raised my hand. a waiter came over, and asked me why i was in such a hurry? i explained that no, i was not in a hurry, but i didn't want to wait any longer. my tone was apologetic, feeling bad for the dirty gesture of raising my hand (i never know the correct etiquette). his not so apologetic, as he apologised, saying "well, i am sorry that we are not fast enough for you and don't meet your lofty expectations" dd i do something to wrong him? probably, by the way he acted. i asked him to explain the terrine to us (my girlfriend did not know what it was, i only knew enough to understand it, but not explain it). first time, he tells us that it's got pork and chicken in it. that's it. i ask again, this time to explain what a terrine IS. "OH, he says, i didn't know you had no idea" was the terse reply. finally he explains it, but no better than i could have, which disappoints me. we order the meals, and from then on try to find a different waiter. we find a very nice, laidback woman who is immensely helpful. at the end, the girl had left, and i again raised my hand after giving up trying to get people's attention. same guy. "why are you raising your hand at me? are you in a hurry?". 'nough said.

last experience: red spice road. my girlfriend's birthday party. we had an amazing waiter, possible the best i have ever had serve us. the service is amazing, flawless. never saw him unless you wanted to speak to him, and he was extremely polite. my wine glass was always full; the only indication was movement out of the corner of my eye that someone was there. i complimented him, as i was extremely impressed, and he was grateful someone noticed. i will be back there again.

so overall what is it? do i expect too much, or am i too rude? i go for eye contact, and if that does not work after 3 tries, i WILL raise my hand. i know that this is oafish, but if i have to wait 15 minutes to get the attention of a waiter i feel disappointed, and worse still, feel that i am being ignored. maybe i am rude, ignorant, and not deserving of their attention. but i just don't get it. what are everyone else's experiences of this? please, admonish me for doing things wrong, i really want to know how to act correctly when it comes to getting waiters attention. because it just doesn't seem right anymore.

Aix Creperie

2008-09-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Aix Creperie

24 Centre Place
(03) 9662 2667.

This is one one my secret finds. It's on centre place, which in my mind is a continuation of degreaves street, but i personally think this part is better. so if i ever say degreaves street, i actually mean this little part. there is a soup nazi, bars upstairs, and crepes. life is good.

The Significant other ordered this - a soy mocha latte. it looked quite nice, but i can't get used to the taste of soy, so i guess her drink is safe for now. just the same way that friends order gin and tonics when they know i am drunk enough to be a drinksthief, as i don't like the taste. i lovingly call this my "drunkasaurus" stage, which, like the dinosaurs is gradually becoming extinct. However, soy milk is amazing. it's one of those things that transports me back to a different place and time. whenever i have warm soy milk, i always think of the little hole in the wall in shanghai where i would get my daily fix of fresh soy milk and onion pancake. australian soy milk tastes nothing like it though.

peking duck crepe. yes, this is not traditional. and not normally my sort of crepe, but it was very good. the duck meat was tender, juicy, and not too fatty. the skin was not crispy though, which is a shame, but otherwise very good.

YUM! now THIS is my sort of thing. banana, ricotta, and honey. the honey is orange blossum, so is sweet and fragrant and not too heavy.

both of these crepes are $7 (ish) and are quite nice. however, there was a bad side to it, but i'll discuss it in my next post. it just seems that i am having terrible luck with my waiters/waitresses/waitpeoples.

oh, and the owner is a really cool, laidback guy. overall, i like this cafe, and will continue to come here for as long as they have good crepes. oh, and my personal favorite: white chocolate, coconuat and fresh raspberries. (drool).

my life as such

2008-09-18T15:41:00.001-07:00

currently, i haven't been eating out as much - i'm currently focusing on being good and trying to put on a couple kilo's of muscle, and as such extravagant food is replaced by bland, boring food and shakes.

i've been taking a whey protein matrix which is comprised of WPI and WPC, and also has BCAA's , and mixing it with cellmass for some creatine as well. it's a lean mix with not a lot of carbs, but it's helping me for now and is kinda tasty too. i finally worked out why i never get a hankering for chocolate - it's because my powders are always chocolate flavour (with the exception of choc mint, which was possibly the best flavour i have had, but not the best protein). overall i am slowly rebuilding muscle as i take the gym a bit more seriously, however i am at the point where i need to consider a personal trainer to push me a bit more. if you don't understand the acronyms, don't worry - they are not that important and only reference points. i'm trying a few other things as well, but generally they sound scary, and so i won't be discussing them in this forum!

i'm trying to juggle this new-found enthusiasm for the gym with squash as well, which is ok, but taking up a heap of my energy during the week. i had to get my racket restrung due to too many bad plays, and got another grip put onto it as well.

i'm still frequenting "the rasoi", the indian restaurant i reviewed a couple of weeks ago, if only because it is so cheap. i've avoided indian for for 95% of my life; i am simply making up for the deficiency!

i've updated my blog roll as well, so have a look - this will be updated with a few more that i frequent as time goes on, simply because i have a lot of blogs i look at, and i don't have the time to add them all at the same time.

i guess that's it. i'll be at the melbourne show on sunday, so if anybody has suggestions for show bags, let me know. likewise if you are too lazy to go/pay the $27, i can grab them for you if it's convenient for everyone involved.

and yes, i know it's boring to read this sort of post, but i figured i'd give you all a bit more info about myself.

Dumplings Plus, Melbourne

2008-09-08T16:41:00.002-07:00

Dumplings Plus, 269 Swanston Street Melbourne
9663 8181

*formerly Ye Shanghai Restaurant.

Last sunday my girlfriend had a hankering (i love this word, so please bear with me) for noodles for breakfast, so we went to this restaurant. it's next to the macdonalds on swanston street, and we're picking through the menu slowly. it's gone through a heap of name changes, but really, all you need to know is that they make the dumplings and the noodles on site, and you even get to watch them making them all!

it worked out really well, because i had been trying to find good dan dan mian for a long time now, and it turns out that this restaurant has great dan dan mian. spicy, garlicky, porky, with a generous amount of coriander, i was in heaven. confession time: i am white (and i mean as white as white can be), so spicy food is not my specialty. this dish had me sweating, and making my lips burn, but it was so worth it, i couldn't stop until it was all gone. my girlfriend is malaysian, so she mostly made fun of me!

i'll let the pictures tell the story and then i'll go further on.

xiao long bao, $7.50 for 6.

People making dumplings

fried hand made noodles with pork $9.50.

Szechuan Style Noodles with Minced Pork & Peanut $8.80
(dan dan mian)

another pic of dan dan mian

the girlfriend on drinks duty

the noodles here are very nice, with a great texture and feel to them, no doubt due to being so fresh on site. the xiao long bao are ok, but nothing special. i think that the spicy fish version are better, but that is just me.

just look at the chilli soup of the dan dan mian though! mmm, i love it, just thinking about it now.

the only gripe i have is that they spell sichuan as szechuan. overall, it's cheap and cheerful, and very filling. just right for those lazy days when you don't know what you want!

The Rasoi, richmond

2008-09-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

The Rasoi
281 Bridge Road Richmond (corner bridge road and church street)
94280008.

Ok, i have to admit, indian is one of my falling graces. up until 3 months ago, i refused to eat it. the flavours, the spices, the chilli, the smells, none of it appealed to me. to me, it was an aberration on an otherwise perfect plane of asian food.

then my eyes were opened.

it was malaysia that did it, that drew me in. those damned roti chanai for breakfast, at 30 cents a hit. it was like food crack. i was addicted. for two weeks straight, rain, hail, shine, hungover like a dog (and yes, there were many of those days), i still had to get my fix. it took a train ride, a 15 minute walk, and some careful walking (avoiding trucks, bikes, and wild dogs) just to get to my favorite crack den, but oh man, was it worth it! the mango lassi (still a little bit tart), the dahl, the roti. oh my god - the roti. i was in heaven.

so when i came back, i started to look around, to get my fix. i was like a man possessed. and now i've found it.

garlic naan ($2). notice the chunks of garlic liberally all over the bread. ultimate turn off, yes. ultimate flavour, definitely.

palak paneer ($8). cottage cheese simmered in spinach puree. my food testing friend loves this dish, but i have to admit, it was pretty damn good.

lamb bhuna (8) my favorite of the night. lamb cooked with onion, chopped mint and coriander. this was amazing. i love mint and coriander, so this did everything i wanted. there were a few small bone bits, but otherwise great.

Goat karahi ($9). goat cooked with tomato, onion and capsicum. so gamey.

saffron rice ($3). saffron rice. go figure.

this food was perfect, and so cheap - for two people, it was under $20 (with corkage). we ate more too, but by then my hands were shaking with delight, and i didn't want to dirty the new toy (camera).

all the meats were tender, and the service was good - the waiter is the owner, and even brought us water without us having to ask for it (although to his credit, we'd already opened the screwtop wine and started drinking before he came to serve us. no, he wasn't slow - we'd only sat down for 10 seconds before reaching for the bottle).

the tables are all designed for 4 people, and are just big enough (actually maybe a little bit small, but manageable). dark wooden tables, dark wooden seats, oh, and of course, the big widescreen tv playing indian music and bollywood films.

not much else i can say. i'll be back.

and once more:

Tobie Puttock's Osso Buco

2008-09-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I've been slack. Unfortunately when my life gets hectic, certain things tend to suffer. this is also why i am incapable of keeping pets, or growing plants. my cactus is even spiting me. After going all wrinkly due to a lack of water, i put it out one day when it rained. obviously, it started to flower!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand: osso buco (osso bucco? it's spelt "bucco" in the book, but i am unsure of the spelling myself, and since i have no idea, i won't even bother commenting).

I went away to the dandenongs on the weekend, to a nice little cottage in kallista. i thought it might be nice to bring some food, something simple for one night, to share over a bottle of red.

as my girlfriend isn't a fan of cooking and leaves me to it, i thought that i would take advantage of that and make something simple. After trawling around, i came onto this post: sarah cooks: osso bucco

I had already bought the tobie puttock book (myer had a 40% off sale) so i thought that i'd give it a go. i'd add the recipe here, but i am not sure if i am able to? i don't understand copyright laws, and i can't be stuffed working it out. after all, it's osso buco - there are 20 million recipes available. basically, you brown the meat (your choice of veal or beef shins, and probably shanks too), and after removing the meat (in the same pot) add some diced vegies, wine, stock, and throw some carbs onto the plate.

i won't bore you with all the steps, but here's some things i found:

i like garlic. lots of garlic. so mine ended up loaded with herbs and garlic (initially, the recipe didn't have enough garlic in it. i added a few whole cloves too, as i like the flavour and the sweetness of them.
same with wine - i added a bit more to it because i liked it (and i felt guilty drinking a whole bottle on my own. ok, no i didn't, but i wanted to act like i did).
there was a bit of a debate about the stock not reducing on sarah's blog, and so i left it cooking for a while longer (i think 5 hours as compared to 3.5 hours). as a result, after chilling it in the fridge, all the juices turned to a jelly! it wasn't a problem as after reheating it was fine, but kinda funny, and a little bit gross.
For the carbs, i made a polenta mash. i love polenta, but it's so heavy. i ended up making mashed potato with heaps of garlic butter, and then folding it into the polenta, then adding some milk. also, i added chilli powder and a little chicken stock to add to the flavour. it turned out very nice, either reheated, or pan fried, it was like a croquette, and best of all, it soaked up all the yummy juices!

That's all there is to it. if anybody wants to know more, either email me or add a comment and i'll be glad to get back to you!

Bistro Vue

2008-08-12T01:39:00.000-07:00

Bistro Vue, 430 little collins street, melbourne.

I went to bistro vue as part of the restaurant express week. last time i went to matteo's, and i thoroughly recommend doing this - for $35 you get two courses and a glass of wine. Bistro vue was no exception and it was a lot of fun for the day.

The entree was a prawn cocktail, which we skipped (i had eyed the cheese off on the way to our table, and had a hankering for some dairy goodness, whereas my girlfriend wanted to brulee, a pistachio version).

braised veal shin 'a la chinoise'

This was basically osso bucco, but oh so good. tender veal, amazingly intense bone marrow, and some ice bismati rice to soak up the juices. I could eat these all day long. The only thing was that we had no choice for the main course (even for restaurant express, you get options people!).

goat's cheese with a rosemary crust, cheddar, and assorted biscuits to carry said cheese to mouth.

The goats cheese was very, very nice, however the cheddar was not so good - it had a yellow crust like it had been left out for too long... i didn't even finish the cheddar :(

pistachio creme brulee

the sorbet was grapefruit flavoured and i loved it - too bad i was warned off it by my girlfriend :(
the brulee was ok, but i felt that it tasted too much of marzipan, and didn't discern any pistachio in it!

Canale

These were nice, but for some reason we felt that there was a bitter flavour to them. However when talking to the waitress, they said that these were only made with rum, sugar, vanilla and something else (flour?). however they were crispy, and nice and soft in the middle, and very good. these were right behind the veal i thought.

All in all it was a good lunch, but not as good as expected for bistro vue.

yes, i understand that it is a cheap meal with the purpose of trying restaurants, however i would assume that the meals would be indicative of what they have and make me want to go back. this did not, as all of it reminded me of foods that i can cook. Matteo's last time was amazingly good, and had some very special meals that i would see on their menus normally - they clearly see things differently to bistro vue.

i guess i would go back again, as the service was amazing and i liked the layout - it wasn't cramped, was easy to hold a conversation, and overall a lot of fun ;)

charles dickens tavern - the best bangers & mash ever?

2008-08-07T14:59:00.001-07:00

Charles Dickens Tavern
290 Collins Street, Melbourne Tel. 9654 1821

I've got a confession to make: I have a dark, secret, guilty pleasure.

I love bangers and mash.

There, I've said it. So what do we do about it, now that it's out in the open? Well, I'll let you in on the secret of where to get some of the best ones in Melbourne.

And the best ones I have ever eaten are at the Charles Dickens Tavern. I really don't want to make such a spurious claim for something so simple, but I want to throw down the gauntlet, challenging anyone for what they believe to be their favorites.

How much for this, you might ask? Why, only $10.50. Good to see that some things never change.

The Charles Dickens Tavern is an old-fashioned pub, English themed, with plasma screens for sports. Regardless, it's cosy and quiet. It's the sort of place you can get away to for conversations when you just want to be left alone. They have a restaurant as well (which is also quite cheap), but I've never strayed from the bar area, where they have seating for 30 people with a lot of space between tables. The barman alone gives it a warm, familiar feel - delivering the meals, asking how they were, with a very happy "yum-yum" when he brings the meals over. Yum yum, indeed.

As you can see from the prices, they haven't changed in years. But that's OK, that's just how i like it. This is a nostalgic trip ladies and gentleman, and for a country boy, this makes me feel right at home. It's not going to win any awards, and there certainly isn't any foam or Escoffier meals on the menu, but on a cold winters day, when all you want is a quiet meal somewhere warm with friends and good company, this is it.

Lulo restaurant, glenferrie road, hawthorn.

2008-08-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine has just bought a house in Hawthorn, so I'm busily reacquainting myself with the wonders of glenferrie road. i used to live just off glenferrie some 2 years ago, and it seems everything has changed. in a good way.

so far we've been to samurai a few times (i love this restaurant), and a new sichuan restaurant that can actually spell sichuan (instead of szechewan or whatever).

so last night we thought that wed give lulo's a go (it's next to samurai, and looks good).

the decor is nice, with a map of spain drawn onto a mirror, and nice red feature walls. the fact is, that we were there for comfort food, because the weather was typical melbourne drivel (we wouldn't have it any other way, now would we?).

this is what we got to eat:

Banderillas - skewers of olives, guindillas (mild chilli )& white anchovies- $8.00

the first tapas was very large for it's price, however the olives did not have the firm texture i was expecting. i'm not sure why, but i thought that caperberries would have fitted the bill perfectly instead of the olives, as they would have supplied a different texture, and no pit in them either!

Chorizo con Sidra - chorizo sausage sauteed with onions & apple cider -$8.50

the chorizo's in cider were good, and were tightly packed bundles of meat and spices. i liked the balance of them. i feel uncomfortable ordering chorizo, becuase, although i order them every time, i have no benchmark to judge them against. movida? barcelona? i really need to understand what good chorizo is supposed to taste like. regardless, these were nice. the cider was great, having been reduced, and was good on the chorizo and the bread we had.

roasted potatoes with peppers and olives - $12ish.

the roast potatoes were really good, and i liked the balances between the potato, pepper, and olives. the peppers worked well with the potatoes for sure.

Calamari a-la-plancha con dos aioli - grilled calamari with squid ink & garlic aioli- $20.00

the squid was tender, very tasty and fresh. i liked the main pieces a lot, however, i'm not a fan of the tentacles, so i'll leave them alone. i felt that the aioli (i think that spanish aioli is actually spelt "alioli") needed a bit more of a kick, as i love my garlic and didn't get to taste it.

Garbanzos salteados - braised chickpeas with eggplant, tomatoes & spinach - $12.00

and now, onto the dish of the night - chickpeas! these were really good and i loved the texture of the eggplant and the chickpeas, and it all worked well. i would have loved some bread to mop up the juices.

we washed it all down with some wines - an '06 auroch tempranillo that i liked the sound of, and an '06 Bodegas Crianza de Castilla Verdejo at the owner's suggestion. both of these were very good - next time i think we'll just go a bottle of the red! i loved it, yum.

a very curious thing happened however: while taking the photos the owner/manager came and asked me what the pics were for. i'm not sure if this has happened with other people and i'm not sure if there is a time or place to raise this, but the manger raised the issue of bloggers being qualified to review a restaurant while we were trying to eat. i mean really, this is my opinion, and who is better qualified to give my opinion than ME... I raised the issue that blogging is good for restaurants (in my mind) because it gives people an alternative view of the restaurant and pics. it did get me thinking though, what is the impact of blogs on restaurants? i mean, maybe ed's would have an impact, but for the average smalltime blogger i don't see what harm it could do. by the end of the night it was ok, as we chatted about other restaurants with the owner, and the truffles in tasmania, but i think that this is something that all food bloggers will come across at some time or another.

the layout of the restaurant was good. it had some hard surfaces, but was not loud and we easily sat there chatting, sucking down wines. this may change later on in the week - the owner said that mondays and tuesday are quiet, wednesday and thursdays busier, and fridays/saturdays very busy.

i liked the map drawn onto the mirrored surface, that showed the major cities. the only thing i might have done with it was perhaps add where the wines regions are to show people where each different wine comes from. that might have been a nice touch i guess in my mind.

the food was pretty good, and just what we needed on a crappy day. overall i liked this place, and will be going back to try a bit more food there. i'll even bring my camera :P

this week

2008-08-03T23:13:00.001-07:00

i had a pretty big weekend so i didn't get to go to any restaurants - friday i had a friend's birthday party at the deck (the pics aren't very special, and are mostly incriminating, so they're not going up on here. if you are on my facebook, then you'll have seen them/ be in them anyway).

drinks consumed:
3 scotch and dry
4 glenmorangie and soda
2 tequila
1 tequila and tabasco (i highly recommend this).
1 quick-something
1 chartreuse

drinks sequestered from others:
white wine (wooded chardonnay)
gin and tonic which i mistook for water
sctoches and bourbons

3 berocca. oh, and eggs benedict, which are my new best friend ;)

as you can see, my detox went very well, thank you very much!

in other news, i'm going to a pub this thursday for the best bangers and mash i have ever eaten (i'll review them either here or somewhere else perhaps, but they really are amazing), cooking eye fillet with baby potatoes friday for my girlfriend, bistro vue on saturday, and then not sure what else.

i have to fit all of that in with gym (3 nights), squash (2 nights), a pushup challenge with a friend, and work, of course. fun all round!

otherwise, i have been having a read of other blogs. i'm only going to post one as it made me a bit curious about freedom of speech and all that jazz, in particular regarding a restaurant review:

http://ieatthereforeiam.blogspot.com/2008/07/anonymous-commenter.html#links

i recommend having a read, as i don't know a lot of the legal ramifications, but i think it's rather interesting and comes at a time when bloggers are getting mainstream attention.

til next time, james

malaysian food - it's no wonder i came back 5kgs heavier!

2008-07-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

these are in no particular order, mainly street foods and other goodness. i'll walk you through them ;)

hooters chicken wings, singapore. yes the place is commercial, but i love the wings. too bad these ones weren't so great - i've made these at home from ingredients from the usa food store, and i think mine were better ;)

next couple of pics: no signboard seafood

white pepper crab. this was soooo good, with heaps of pepper, garlic, and other bits.

chilli crab. not as spicy as i thought, but enough to give my lips a tingle. i preferred the white pepper though.

leftover bits and pieces. we greeded too much food and couldn't finish it all!

white turnip cake (carrot cake), i forget the correct name for this...

grilled stingray, at wong a wah, on jalan alor street in malaysia. this is a dedicated food street and has lots of eateries.

grilled chicken wings, also at wong a wah. these were amazing - marinated in soy and other bits, and then roasted over charcoal.

muai ge - a jelly like snack covered with crushed peanuts.

CKT, of course! this was in penang. no blood cockles though. lucky for me - the texture was not so great for me.

of course, no trip to malaysia is complete without satay skewers

chicken drumstick in herbal broth. this was my traditional hangover food in penang. not too bad overall.

penang food court...

assam laksa. think of normal laksa, but no coconut milk. it was a bit bitter, and the stock (prawn) was a bit funky.

jamon serrano with cantaloupe at el cerdo, in malaysia.

half a suckling pig. mmm, piggie!

oyster omelette. the omelette was great, but i didn't like the oysters. it looked so tempting i chose to ignor ethe fact that i dislike oysters. d'oh!

roti chanai - this was our morning ritual while we were in KL - for 1 ringgit (30 cents aussie), you get a nice breakfast.

parathi? i'm not sure - we pointed at something someone else was having, and then they brought one for us. no idea what it was.

durian pancakes. very nice, but a little bitter at the end. needed more durian.

below: yong tau foo.

siew yew - i can never spell this correctly,

tutto bene goodness

2008-07-28T03:25:00.000-07:00

last saturday, i went to check out tutto bene. i'd read some good reviews, and since i haven't had risotto for a long time (ever), i figured it was worth a try.

to be honest, i don't normally eat italian. i have problems with eating a lot of carbs (i guess that explains my problems gaining weight in the gym), and so, i rarely make it at home.

so really, my recent foray into italian food can be attributed to toto's on lygon, where i had a very nice gnocchi, that changed my entire outlook on italian foods. now, it's gone from a misunderstood cousin, to a loved brother in law.

i'll stop rambling now, shall i?

we ended up making this starter ourselves for two reasons. firstly, we didn't want a heavy meal that was too full on, and secondly, we weren't sure how big the risottos were. we had been told that the servings were tiny and not very filling. we even had the backup plan of rockpool for burgers afterwards if we were still hungry.

from left to right:

Salsicce rosso - Spicy roasted capsicum infused
pork sausage, Baccala fritto - Crispy fried salted cod with fresh
vegetable giardiniera, Olive Ascolane - Traditional Marche region meat filled,
crumbed and fried green olives. the significant other doesn't like olives, so i only got one. i think the olives were a bit of a miss, but the sausage was worth getting. i would order it again in a heartbeat, as it was tender and juicy, and full of flavour.

on to the risottos:
Granchio con pomodoro e peperoncino - Blue swimmer crab with tomato and chilli

Al Presidente - A unique combination of 3 year old parmigiano and balsamic vinegar, produced from a 1912 mother must, created by our chef for the Italian President visiting Australia

Ruchetta selvatica con scaglie di parmigiano, olio e limone - Wild rocket with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, lemon and parmigiano

Coppa di gelati misti- a selection from our artisan produced authentic Italian gelato (in this case mandarin, rum & raisin, and blackcurrant).

so i took these descriptions off the menu.

let's break it down:

the starters were ok, sausage was really good and highly recommended.

the salad (only i ate it), was quite good, the rocket giving a good hit. i've never really had rocket as i think it's a bit wanky, but this was nice and i would think about making this at home. this is what food should be about - good ingredients, served simply. having said that, there was a couple of brown leaves in the salad that should not have been there. also, at times there was just too much lemon juice on the leaves even after tossing them, and it made me grimace (which got a few laughs).

the swimmer crab risotto that my girlfriend had was very rich. it was very good, but oh so filling. she didn't finish it, it was so much.

the al presidente was great, which i expected. it was a little bit too rich, even though i finished it all. i'm a country boy at heart, and have to eat everything on my plate. i had a crack at the swimmer crab risotto afterwards, but it bested even me.

so i guess the rockpool burgers will have to wait until newt time!

honeycomb cheesecake pics

2008-07-28T02:38:00.000-07:00

these are all the pics from the honeycomb cheesecake...

i ended up making it for a work party. unfortunately for me, i was kinda hungover, and being destroyed from squash to even make it worse! what can i say, i'm a sucker - we haven't played squash for 2 months, so what do we do? go in for 2 hours for a bash!

luckily for me, it's dead easy, looks ok, and tastes great!

honeycomb cheesecake

2008-07-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

This is my sister's tried and true honeycomb cheesecake recipe.

Pics to come this saturday/sunday (i want to make a good one first). anyway, i think my point is that if a total food klutz like i ca make this, then anyone can. and it really does taste great!

Honeycomb cheesecake.

Base:
2/3 pack chocolate ripple biscuits (double pack size)
80 grams butter (melted)

crush biscuits
melt butter, and stir in with biscuits.
press into 20 cm spring form round tin (greased).
put in fridge to harden.

Filling:

500 g cream cheese (needs to be warmed to room temp)
¾ cup castor sugar
3 teaspoons gelatine (or sachet)
1/3 cup boiling water
Juice of ½ a lemon
300 mls cream (beaten to soft peaks)
3 violet crumble bars/family pack, crushed.

beat cream cheese and castor sugar.
melt gelatine in boiling water until dissolved. Stir constantly. Cool in fridge or freezer to room temp.
stir the following into cream cheese mix: whipped cream, lemon juice, gelatine.
mix in violet crumble.
remove base from fridge (check to ensure set).
pour filling into tin.
refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight).

Options:

Get 600ml cream, and use remaining 300 to whip and cover cheesecake. Can sprinkle left over violet crumble.

If not using non-stick, put a hot wet tea towel around outside for a few minutes.

nobu, nobme

2008-07-17T03:58:00.000-07:00

I've been taking a bit of time to write this, so that i don't come across as hard, disappointed, even disillusioned. You see, i don't think i had the best of times there, and unfortunately, a lot of disgruntled food bloggers had the same experience as i did.

let it be said, the food is amazing. it was the sort of food you dream about for weeks to come. we're talking transcendence, people. the highlights were definitely the first two dishes. but the ambiance, well, what ambiance? if i am going to a restaurant to the caliber of nobu, i expect the experience to not just be about the food, but the place itself.

having said that, i was seated on the lower level of the restaurant. to be honest, i still can't believe how loud it was. we were sitting opposite each other, merely 1 metre away, and still couldn't hear each other talk. we had to basically enjoy the food, and ignore the atmosphere.

first cold dish: yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno and coriander. this dish was amazing, with perfect flavours, and incredibly sweet, firm flesh. yum!
beef tataki – chargrilled fillet dressed with ponzu, minced onion and fried garlic flakes. i think that this was the highlight of the night, the beef melting in your mouth (it sounds so cliched, but you have it, and you'll agree).
new style sashimi - scallops. these were nice, but the ginger was too strong for the delicateness of the scallops.

obligatory black cod with miso. very nice, and it lived up to the expectations.
whole roasted poussin. so much meat, with a lovely smoky flavour. personally, this was too much meat and ended up feeling a little dry. i think with more people this would be recommended; for two, it was a large serving.

this was the waitresses recommendation: tempura baby tiger prawns in tempura. i didn't really rate this dish, as it was "just ok". i think, as a country, we have a relatively high standard for japanese restaurants to live up to.
so overall, the food was great, the atmosphere was blah, the service not so good. i know that there has been a lot of talk lately about waitstaff doing there jobs properly. but when you have to ask 3 separate people if you can get some water, then you have to wonder.

would i go back? the answer, sadly is yes. but next time i would try the sushi bar, as it was secluded enough from the main dining area to allow you to talk!

unfortunately, nobu is a restaurant that we all have to try at least once. trust me, the food is worth it alone, but don't expect much else.

pita bread snacky things

2008-07-17T03:45:00.000-07:00

I whipped these up as a snack, and they took maybe 1 minute to prepare (seriously) and then 10 minutes to cook in the oven. These are so simple i'm sure everyone has had a go at them, but for the time and effort they are well worth it (and, if you're like me and have a "crab gut" from traveling in malaysia and singapore, these are superior to potato chips). i always keep a pack of pita in the freezer, specifically for this purpose.

pita chip things
pita bread, lemon juice, some good olive oil, salt, pepper, and whatever herbs you like.

preheat oven (i crank mine to 200, but i like browned, crispy ones).

tear the pita apart on a nonstick tray, ideally rubbed with olive oil to stop them sticking, but this is optional - i'm generally too lazy.

sprinkle over some good olive oil, lemon juice (i use 1/2 a lemon per pita, can use more or less if you want), salt, pepper and whatever you like. i love garlic, coriander, and maybe some chilli or tabasco. i've been known to make 2 batches at once, and have one bunch with a savage whack of tabasco, so it ends up being a surprise, that's for sure!

the thing is that this is always evolving - you can chuck whatever you want or have handy on them. shaved parmesan is good. basically, just play around with it and do what feels right.

this week

2008-07-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

ok, so i still have nobu to post about (i was there saturday, thanks to a very special girl), but i might wait for a bit before doing that - i still have to unpack my suitcase!

so here's my list of upcoming events:

finally getting back to the gym this week - i'm aiming for 3 nights, but might stretch it out to 4. this includes all the extras: protein, creatine, etc etc. i have a "crab gut" from malaysia and need to ge trid of it...

movida dos hopefully this week. i haven't seen any reviews of it yet, but i'm still excited to go there!

that's really it for now - work is starting this week in earnest (which is good).

pea and ham soup

2008-07-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is based on an old recipe that my mother has - she makes it several times a year and each time keeps making small changes to it. as you can see, most of it is fluid; you decide how the adventure ends.

Recipe:

1 Pork hock (add another if want more meat. Cut off skin before cooking; this can be added as well for more flavour, and then removed from pot prior to serving).
1 Cheese kransky.
200g speck (not needed if using 2 pork hocks). Also optional: Smoked spare ribs.
2 ½ cups as a mixture of pearl barley and split peas (green and/or yellow).
1 brown onion, diced.
1 leek, diced, white part only
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 turnip, peeled and chopped.
2 – 3 Potatoes
Several sticks Celery
Chicken stock.
Curry powder.
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Rinse split peas and barley under cold water.
2. Cook onion and leek in butter, until translucent. Can use garlic butter, or add garlic at this stage.
3. Add 1 teaspoon curry powder.
4. Add stock, split peas, barley, and pork hocks (removing the skin off the hocks first). Bring to the boil. Add whatever veggies you like. Place kransky whole on top.
5. Simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally so the split peas and barley don't stick. If soup is too thick, add a little more water (although, it's not a proper pea and ham soup if the spoon doesn't stand up in it).
6. Remove kransky from pot. Take meat from hock, chop up and put back into soup. Cut kransky into large chunks and chuck back in. Remove the skin from the pot at this point – this is just used for flavour.

and the outcome of an afternoon spent in the kitchen?

replete providore

2008-07-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

We found ourselves freezing our tits off on a ridiculous saturday morning. Having just purchased a few goodies from the collingwood farmer's market, we found ourselves starving, freezing and needing some good coffee. Luckily i had the answer: replete. I'm sure that almost all of you have heard of it and most have eaten there. it's something special in hawthorn. 'nuff said.

We ordered some coffees and then decided what to have for the main event. there was a nice omelette with chorizo, sundried tomatoes and other goodies that caught our eye. after looking through the lunch menu, we also got the pizzetta with artichoke, sopressa and other assorted bits and pieces.

The omelette was very good, but the pizzetta was not as good as expected. Next time, i think i'll just give up and get the hotcakes!

Oh, and if you're wondering, at the market i got some wild olives, and also some buffalo mozzarella for a salad with basil and tomatoes. end of story.

quan jude restaurant

2008-07-12T21:15:00.001-07:00

To be honest, I didn't even know that there was a Quan Jude in Melbourne. I had heard the rumours, but it wasn't until a friend went that I knew of it's existence. Last time I was in Beijing I hit up the Wangfujing Quan Jude a couple of times and I was very impressed with it; it was the first time that I had had Peking Duck, and I instantly fell in love, not dissimilar to a high school crush. Would it meet the quality that old kingdom has given us (minus the insane head chef)?
So it was on a freezing friday night that we found ourselves there. I had just returned from Malaysia, so I was certainly not prepared for the weather that Melbourne was enduring. We sat down, and ordered the duck, and braced ourselves for what we hoped was going to be an inspiration.

When our duck came, the chef cut it next to our table, his blade a blur as he cut off the prized skin from the stomach area and then presented it to us. It was glorious; with just a small dip into the plum sauce, the fatty, crispy skin came alive in our mouths.
Next up, the meat. Now, this is nothing like Old Kingdom. There, we are used to massive chunks of flesh, with fat and a little bit of skin. It's said that a good chef can cut up to 200 pieces of a duck. The skill is in making sure that there is enough fat, skin and meat in each piece. As you can see, the meat is very nice, tender and flavourful, the skin is amazing, but the fat, where is the fat? I remembered reading in the menu that the Quan Jude duck has only 7.5% fat. No fun :(
All in all, the duck was very nice, and the presentation amazing. The decor kinda reminds me of an 80's b grade chinatown movie. regardless, i will be going back, but this time getting more people to come, or ordering half a duck. it was just too much meat, without the glorious, glistening fat that i have come to know and love.

My plans (from now on)

2008-07-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

Now that I am back from Malaysia (pics to come), it seems that some much-needed rest is out of the question.

Coming up: me finally blogging on a semi-constant basis. i'm aiming for 1 blog a week, but in reality, if i can be arsed, it will be much, much more than that.

This weekend is going to be good for the soul, cleansing, and enjoyable. restful? well, maybe if i can sneak in a couple hours here and there.

Tonight I'll be going to Quan Jude for peking duck. I've been to one of their restaurants in Beijing (the wangfujing branch) and it lived up to the expectation. Can this give old kingdom a run for it's money? I guess i'll find out tonight.
Afterwards, i'm heading to a house-cooling party of a friend's in brunswick. He's finally taken the plunge and bought a house. coming soon: suburbia, and no late-night souvlaki places... (him, not me).

Saturday I'll return to the collingwood farmer's market like a moth to a flame. instead of scorching heat and searing pain, i'm attracted to buffalo mozzarella and wild olives in the biggest jar i can mitts on; it seems i have a craving, an addiction if you will. hey, at least it's not the allure of an aged single malt here folks.

Afterwards, I'm tossing up the idea of a late breakfast at replete - yes, yes i know i have to try the ricotta hotcakes, however, this time they no longer have the siren's call. the bagna cauda i had there last time was something special, but i'm tossing up between the satisfying bircher muesli with it's pure clean tastes, and the replete breakfast with their special baked beans. yum!

To top it all off, I'm being taken to "a" restaurant for my birthday by my girlfriend. I'm still getting used to the upgrade from "someone i'm seeing" to "something more serious", but it feels right. Not sure where or what the restuarant is - all i know is that it's japanese, and that it's a surprise. sounds ok to me!

so that's all from me for now, but since i have come back from my holiday, i'll have more time to blog, and let you all see the world through my eyes.

hotpot time!

2008-04-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

Due to something beyond my control, i love hotpot. i figure it's somewhere between the truly social nature of the meal, and that you can pick and eat your way through a night. add in the make-your-own-dipping sauce, and it can be fun. to be honest, i think we drank a lot more than we ate.

This is most of the food that i prepped for the meal. included (clockwise from the bottom) is: noodles, winter melon (dong gua), mushrooms (enoki, shiitake, oyster), potatoes, fried tofu, a menagerie of balls (fish balls, beef balls, cuttlefish, and a lot of other crazy things - i just grabbed things that looked good), sliced beef, silken tofu, pakchoy (i think).

I ended up cheating, and making the soup from a tom yum base, and then adding lemon juice and fish sauce to get the flavours balanced. it had the chilli at the right level, but really needed the zing of the lemon to make it nice. everyone loved it (thank god - i always have a nightmare about cooking for people and they hate it. i think it's almost as scary as the dream where you walk around naked)

the sauces i had for everyone to play with were a ground chilli sauce, bull's head barbecue sauce (i cannot begin to describe how "barbecue sauce" is false advertising, but it was nice), sesame paste (tasted like peanut butter), sesame oil, and garlic. and so it began!

Sixin and Ying enjoying the hotpot.

I think that between the 4 of us, we only ate half the ingredients, so i'll throw it together for a stir fry later today, with garlic, chilli, and some good oyster sauce.

Victims of the subsequent drinking were:

Korean raspberry wine
Limoncello
Japanese plum wine
Bress winery apple cider http://www.bress.com.au
Glenlivet 15 year old single malt
frozen margarita bucket
chang beers, and i think some other things (can't find the bodies)

Of course, most of this was consumed playing dice games...

Over all, a good time i think ;)

dainty sichuan restaurant, chinatown.

2008-04-22T02:26:00.000-07:00

OK, OK, so i know that this is a bit late - one whole week to be precise.

to be honest, my lips have been recovering this whole time. and to those girls that thought i had "very sexy lips", please don't feel deceived, regardless of the fact that they only looked like that because i was in agony...

what hasn't already been said about dainty sichuan that i can say? it's probably the spiciest restaurant in melbourne (don't correct me if i am wrong; my friends would think it fate, and then suggest a date to try the proclaimed hottest), but beneath that, it's great value for money (notice i didn't say "cheap"), the flavors are amazing, and balanced perfectly, and the atmosphere it hard to describe. think of a restaurant that is fully packed. the smell hits you the moment you get in - it's part tear gas, part desire. the scent is intoxicating - chillies, sichuan peppers, and garlic. it's enough to make you cry, and it instantly brings a rose color to your cheeks, and you begin to feel sweat. then you look around. and you look at everyone - red faces, red eyes, sweat pouring down their faces. they know. you are one of them. you've come for your fix. and it's something you can't avoid. you just have to accept it. "be one of us" you hear them say. but their lips are not moving. instead they are chewing contentedly on chongqing chicken (see above). think of popcorn chicken, but done RIGHT. maybe they're gnawing on crab legs, careful not to get too many chili seeds. but by the time you walk in, the damage has been done.

I admit it, i'm a wimp. give me a nice mild, chili free dish any day. but sometimes, nothing can top that zing you get from a good chili hit, balanced perfectly with garlic and other spices. it's enough to make me want to go back right now (except for the pain, of course).

As you can see, the photos aren't the best. that because i was fighting to get my fair share of the food: eggplant (i didn't even get time to take a pic!), caramalised and rich, creaminess, and the sweet, sweet pain of the chilli.

pig's ears, crunchy and chewy, the flavors balanced perfectly, each crunch of cartilage brings a flavor explosion.

my favorite dish, the innocuous cucumber with garlic. how is it something so sublime can be so simple: smashed garlic, fresh cucumber, a small amount of seseme oil and soy sauce.

And finally, spicy fish. no, that's not soup. it's chilli oil. the fish is firm, tender, and fresh. just right to be taken, and caressed and nurtured. dare i say it, it's even better than the namesake dish at spicy fish restaurant.

So how much was it for these treasures? like than $20 per person, including drinks. will i be back? maybe after i get health insurance!

that's all for now. this friday i'm organising hot pot, so expect pictures from start to finish.

collingwood farmers market part 2 (i wish i knew what redux meant)

2008-04-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this took a little bit longer than expected. blame it on me spending sunday afternoon playing squash for 2 hours, and subsequently dying when i got home. blame it on me being absorbed in my flatmate cooking dinner for me. actually, just blame it on my terrible attention span. i truly forgot.

so, here is the follow up :)

The one thing that you can have trouble getting in supermarkets (and the butcher's where i am from), is good meat, and good cuts of meats. things that are lovingly produced. for carnivores like me, these markets are heaven! too bad all the fillet steak was gone, and i wasn't feeling like pork, so i ended up getting some ... mutton. my mum would be SO proud. I just finished it then, and very nice. gamier than normal lamb you get, but it had flavours you just crave sometimes, and fulfills a deep desire...

on the way out, i had to go to the convent to get some bread. i rarely eat bread, so we'll see how good this is. it has to be REALLY good for me to eat a whole loaf of it though.

luckily, this is some of the best bread i've tried, so i'm a big fan. it didn't disappoint either!

and here is my stash: limoncello at the back, honey wheat loaf, manzanilla olives (which lasted all of 20 minutes) felafels, mutton sausages, venison kabana, and pumpkin and poppyseed pappadelle (i think it's called that - is that even a word?)

so far i have eaten the olives, and half the loaf, and made a pasta with the pasta, the sausages, the kabana, some good olive oil, and some cracked pepper. it worked out well.

i just got some new protein powder today (optimum health whey protein), so we'll give it a taste test and see how it goes. tomorrow night: dainty sichuan for a test of the pleasure/pain matrix.

Collingwood farmers market, 12 april

2008-04-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

On saturday i woke up nice and early, to indulge in my secret affair - kids cartoons with an endless chain of coffees lined up for the morning. seriously. yes, i'm serious. it's the best way to start a saturday, and a ritual that i have been following since i was a kid (well, maybe except for the coffee). actually, come to think of it, except for the cartoons too - when i was younger, i used to love playing hockey. something about holding, no - wielding a hockey stick that made me love the role of aggressor. i even have the stitches to prove it. luckily, as i grew up, i ended up with more kitchen related injuries than hockey, so i guess it all evened out.

ok, i gotta be honest, there WILL be segues as i get all nostalgic, and have to wipe a tear out of my eye. kidding - it's sleep crusties...

anyway, back to the topic at hand. on saturday, i cut my ritual short (well, if you call 3 coffees and 3 cartoons "short") to head to the collingwood farmer's market http://www.mfm.com.au
i'm not sure if you know, but it is held at the collingwood children's farm, close to me in collinwood (obviously). lucky for me - i'm still a stubborn little child that has no interest in getting a licence so i still use public transport to get around. i'd like to say i am taking the green approach, and trying to reduce carbon emissions, be carbon neutral, and all that jazz, but the truth is i'm just bone lazy.

First stop: olive oil. for some reason this is the first thing that i run out of in my larder. normally i use the cobram one that you get in supermarkets, but i thought i'd try something different. note the DEEP DARK green of the oil on the far left hand - this was a first press of the season, and was very strong, too strong for me! (the one on the far right is the same first press, but aged for a bit). the third from the left was a "third press", and really, i tasted a lot of oil, but not much of the flavours i expect out of my olive oil, possibly good for cooking, but not things like guacamole, etc. the one in the middle, however, was just right. (this is very goldy locks, isn't it...) anyway, i could be a prat and say what i thought it tasted like, but let's just leave it at "olive oil" and move on, shall we?

next up are felafels. yeah, i'm a sucker for them. i have an older sister that used to be a hippie, complete with tie dye clothing, and a vegan lifestyle, before it was cool to do that. she got me hooked on them. these were quite nice (most importantly not dry and hard enough to use for squash), so i got some to eat as a snack with friends. i'm not sure what is traditionaly served with them, but i'm going for a mint yoghurt dip. we'll see how that holds up...

and now we get to the good stuff! this is where i get to mix two of my pleasures at the same time, alcohol and organic produce. i was almost going to skip this stand due my to new year's eve limoncello incident (i laced a friend's punch with limoncello and african cane spirit), but try as i might, i couldn't pass up the opportunity for a free sample.

the limoncello they served was chilled with ice, so as i poured half the cup down my throat, it had a lovely soothing effect ... right up until the alcohol kicked in and tore my throat apart. coughing, i asked the girl was the alcohol content was and was told it was 23-25 percent, but she brightly said i could freeze it. now i'm no scientist, but i thought that the alcohol content had to be higher to freeze? either way, i bought some to investigate. next time i'll be back for the blueberry licqeur though, it looked like a good idea for summer (i doubt it will last til then, but we can hope) on the safe side, i might put it in my flatmates freezer, just in case...

Of course, no trip to the farmer's market would be complete without organic vegetables. luckily for me, i can bypass these stands - i have a loving mother that has a farm in the country (bendigo), so i get an endless supply of organic vegies and huuuuge eggs. let's move right on:

ok, i'm having trouble uploading pics. i'll cap it off here for now, but will update this tomorrow (hopefully).

starting afresh is always hard to do

2008-04-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

there's something strangely foreign, and yet familiar, distant, and yet, too close for comfort, about starting something from scratch.

ok, ok, so i got suckered into started this up. i guess it had something to do with one too many jokes about substituting palm sugar for brown sugar... (i'm sure there's some lame nerd joke to be made about carbon chains, but i've got nothing).

anyway, to the crux of the issue - what am i actually going to write about.

so, yeah, i got lots of great ideas.

i got this and that.

i got ... nothing. abso-freaking nothing.

we'll see how this goes.

to be honest, i'll be discussing anything i am passionate about, which will be throwing weights around, keeping fit and being otherwise healthy, trying new recipes, and consuming copious amounts of alcohol (the upside is i can now call it "reviewing")

so if anyone wants to give me ideas, i'm all for it...