An Aussie Breakfast

Once upon a time we had the time to cook ourselves a scrumptious breakfast on a lazy weekend morning. These days are we are super busy and prefer to get eat brunch out at one of the many foodie spots in this city before we leave for good - this way we can avoid washing dishes, get out of the house, save some time, and enjoy the increasingly pleasant/warm weather. 

Blood oranges have been in season lately and they are my favorite, Juiced by hand. One day we'll get a proper juicing contraption.

I found this recipe through another Melbourne foodie blog Wotsfortea for homemade Crumpets online and wanted to try them. The crumpets you can buy in the shops are cheapo and this recipe seemed really easy only requiring flour, yeast and milk. Here in Australia you can buy both English Muffins and Crumpets, but the English Muffins are nothing like in the states, they don't have very many nooks and crannies, while the Crumpets are light and full of holes - they kind of look like American style English muffins, but more spongy if bought in the store. This was my first attempt at making Crumpets and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. They are like really holey pancakes. You have to have a bit of time and patience in the morning hours to be able to let the yeast work its magic for an hour. (Which doesn't usually work for me because I sleep in so late, that by the time I am up I am starving and can't wait for the cooking process.) They cook up fast once the batter has bubbled up. You are instructed to use egg rings to make the round shape, which are kind of tricky so I might look for other, more manageable alternatives. Serve hot with butter and jam.

More pics from the weekend

And I had to share these additional images that didn't fit in the other posts.

Chili soup at Hutong, Oh so spicy!

Look at this cute little guy in suspenders mixing up those cocktails

Taste of Melbourne

Whew! What a weekend. We were unusually busy and cultured this weekend taking in a few different events in the City while enjoying the first hints of Spring. Friday night a delightful late night dinner at Hutong Dumpling Bar with our Melbourne friends, fellow expats, Lisa and hubby. I will emphasize how you have to grab a booking quick at this place, which remains one of the top rated restaurants in the city on Urbanspoon, and weekend dinner spots go fast. I was lucky to get a table at 930pm, a bit late for me so we first stopped at Riverland, a picturesque spot for a pint by the Yarra River. And then gobbled down our favorite dumplings - Xao Long Bao - and ate the most amazingly spicy Szechuan Beef, basically a bowl of beef, drowning in chili. I hear Dainty Sechuan in South Yarra is must try for spicy chinese. I'm game!

HuTong Dumpling Bar on Urbanspoon

Saturday we had a strict schedule: First Collingwood vs. Hawthorne at the MCG arena. Only my second time to witness true Australian sporting culture. It was an exciting game, but I just couldn't watch as Hawthorne only just beat Collingwood by three points in the last 10 minutes of the game. You can see by Richard's colors below, that we were rooting for the other guys. Boo.

Then we raced to the Exhibition Centre over in Carlton to catch the Taste of Melbourne event featuring Melbourne Restaurants, foodies, wine tasting, food & alcohol sellers. We opted to attend the Beer and Cheese Matching event, which was worth the $12. My favorite was the King Island Dairy Ash Brie and James Squire Porter Beer, though they are not meant to go together. I think we saw everything there was to see at the event and tried our best to sample every taste available. Though I will comment that the tasting plates at the restaurant stalls were way overpriced and not worth the money, the event is meant to promote those restaurants and not provide an opportunity for them to profit after we already pay a hefty entry fee. We stayed til the very end having sampled the following:

Stokehouse Restaurant, Wagyu Cigars with Artichoke tapenade and horseradish, Yum! (Thanks for the free ones at the end of the night)

Esposito, Oyster tempura - a paltry single oyster, pretty boring. 

I loved the Vanilla Pannacotta with Blood Orange Jelly from Melbourne Wine Room & Mr. Wolf, just the right balance of creaminess, mixture of textures, and tangy orange jelly and raspberries.

Wallaby tataki from Charcoal Lane was nothing to write home about. 

And I don't know why everyone was lining up to try the Palance Wagyu Burger. It was just a $12 mini-burger. Lame. 

There was lots more to try, but we moved onto booze. Australian Wine, Australian/Fiji Rum, Absinthe finally caught a taste of the very fancy Patron Tequila (extremely smooth, I want my own bottle - but maybe from the states where it will definitely be much cheaper), Sagatiba's rum in a tasty Caiparinha. Mix all that together and you end up with a hangover like the one I enjoyed the next day.

Sagatiba Capairinha

Vanilla Pannacotta  and blood orange jelly

Stokehouse bar's Espresso Martini

Mm, Melbourne Wine Room & Mr. Wolf stall

Beer and cheese matching

At the Taste of Melboure

King Island Dairy Cheese and James Squire Beer.

Not a fan of the moldy blue cheese

Wanted to take home the brie but sadly they were out

Who's that handsome man?

My new favorite beer, surprisingly its a dark, sweet, chocalatey one

Quest for cupcakes

While home for a 2 week stint, The sis also came over for a visit.

What to do when your pastry chef sister is in town?

Seek out the much lauded cupcake shops in the area.

First stop- Cakelove in Silver Spring. A shop I have visited before, and I was craving their strawberry cupcakes - the buttercream made with fresh strawberries. We took half a dozen home to share and were sadly disappointed that they were pretty poor quality fare. The cake part was all the same, boring yellow or chocolate cake - a bit dry and mealy - topped with a different flavor of buttercream icing. German chocolate, red velvet, coconut lime, salty caramel. Nothing really struck us as outstanding and knew that any of us could make better quality cakes any time.

Next day Amy wanted to check out Georgetown Cupcake in Bethesda after seeing their TV show. We get to Bethesda, have to battle through traffic and wander through Bethesda Avenue, Lane, Row in the new shopping centre downtown. Things have changed in just a few years. And we find that that whole side of the street has lost power. But only for the past hour, so they are still doing business with a line going out the door. But apparently the line can run out along the sidewalk, so we lucked out. I loved the preppy, chic atmosphere. Simple and elegant. the display case is classy, they do a good job making the cakes look yummy. We take home another half dozen box of cupcakes. These are pictured below. We just had to snap a few photos because they looked so nice. And the flavors were amazing, leving Cakelove in the dust. The cakes were moist and fresh, each flavor was unique and interesting (not something I would think to make at home). Chocolate ganache, cherry cheesecake (actual graham cracker crust, cheesecake, cherries, and a light cheesy buttercream icing - very decadent), berry lemon, carrot, coconut chocolate, and one more that I forget. They were all good. Each only $2.75 instead of $3.50 over at Cakelove. 

I know cupcakes are a simple concept, and I am sure I would be able to put these together, but the convenience and fancy trend are attractive. Its definitely an idea for a future money making scheme at almost $3 bucks a pop. Amy - you know you want to.

Fab roast

This is the organic chicken gotten from the Abbottsford Convent Slow Food Market held every 4th Saturday. It was purchased to satisfy a craving for a good ole roast. I stuffed it with bread stuffing made with rye bread, fennel pork sausage (free range pork, also from the market) and sage (dried and fresh from my window sill). I rubbed the bird down with butter as much as possible, sprinkled it with pink Murray River Salt and voila... a roast chicken. Though it looks good, it didn't come out as perfectly as I had hoped, probably cause I tried to whip it up too quickly and got the timing all wrong. I roasted with organic whole carrots (which got a little too mushy, shoulda thrown them in at the last 30 minutes), and brussel sprouts (which I did quickly saute for the last 5 minutes). I am really loving brussel sprouts these days, especially in butter (just little is all thats needed). And I am into organic root vegetables ever since my mother told me how root vegetables are more susceptible to retaining the chemicals used in pesticides and fertilizers - possibly leading to cancers. (is it just me or does everything seem to cause cancer?) I have yet to research this further, but for now I'm going for the organic root veggies as much as possible. 

The best part of this organic chicken is now I have a big pot of Chicken soup. I make it with potatoes, carrots, this time with cauliflower, and I thrown in a big bunch of chopped fresh spinach at the last minute for extra iron. Serve with white rice, Not noodles, because thats how I grew up and because I remember a children's book that drilled the phrase "Chicken soup with Rice" into my head. 

Feeling very domestic

Moms potato roll recipe

Cinnamon rolls

Monkey Bread

Potato rolls

Recipe:

7 tsp yeast dissolved in 3 cups of warm water for 15 minutes

Add:
1 3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup veg oil
1 cup of potato flakes (or I used 1 cup of freshly mashed potatoes which makes for a slightly lumpy mixture)

Slowly incorporate 6-8 cups flour
Knead and let rise twice
Bake at 350 degrees F until brown

Moms potato roll recipe makes a ton of dough. What to do with it all when all I wanted was some gooey, cinnamony buns?. I ended up with all of this... And am now feeling quite the baker.

Amy help! How do I make milk pie

Oh I wish you were awake right now cause I can't for the life of me remember how to make milk pie like when we were little. It's a rainy, dreary day - my favorite- and I had a hankering for something crunchy and caramely. But settled on trying to recreate this. It's still a bit soupy though after one hour of baking. Are you supposed to add an egg? I rembered the can of evaporated milk (always a staple in house when we were growing up) and sugar inside my rapid pie crust. Was gonna call you or mom but it's 2 am your time so I hope this will suffice.

Blessed are the cheesemakers

This is what Richard got up to one Saturday a few weeks ago as part of the Melbourne Sustainability Fest, sponsored by the Port Philip Council. Cheeselinks He is very proud of himself, making two types of Feta and some homemade yoghurt - All organic. And he is keen to do it again at home, aren't I the lucky wife. Very yummy stuff, fresh and light and you can mix it up depending on the type of milk that you use. Next up - a sourdough bread making class in May and soon our Kitchen will be so gourmet. Move over domestic goddess - I have a Domestic King.

Happy Chinese New Year - Bringing in the year of the Tiger

It was also Chinese new year over the weekend. We needed to get out of the house on Saturday so we decided to spend our going-out fund the night before Valentines on something I've been craving for a long time. I've actually been dying to try Hu Tong Dumpling bar that everyone has been raving about, but they were only offering a $100 pp special New Years Banquet which was a little too much for us. So we settled on a more budget option just for an experience, at a recommended place on Urbanspoon. Shanghai Village Dumpling in the middle of Chinatown.

The place is nothing special, a quick chinese food causal hangout offering gobs of the same ole dumplings any way you like - steamed, fried, soupy - at cheap prices. We were definitely not complaining, I was commenting on how the simple concept is not common in the States, and it should be. Its would be so easy and so cheap. (I'm sure there are places like this in the States and I have just been too sheltered until now. Tell me where they are.) Lots of people seem to frequent the place before a night out, which is a great idea. They also have main courses of popular chinese food, but I have never had success deciphering the menu - being accustomed to American version of Chinese. Never heard of a General Tsao here. I was hoping for Spicy chicken in a brown sauce and instead got fried, crunchy dry chicken and rice - (no sauce). Still good though. And we ended up with way too much dumpling in our faces so we took the rest home. Photos are post dive-in with a fucked camera phone (I couldn't figure out how to un-zoom the touch screen til later on in the night - Its a 3 finger tap guys).

Caught the dragon blessing all the restaurants along the street and got some video that I can upload later. Firecrackers, and parade. Far from a New Orleans Mardi Gras (Which I am sorely missing by the way), but we were entertained for the night.  

More Carrot Cupcakes (w/ the Recipe this time)

Best way to get rid of the extra carrots going bad in the fridge. I am liking the idea of sneaking vegetables in desserts, probably get more vitamins in my diet this way. Can't possibly be losing any nutrients in the baking process either, since its a closed system.

Carrot Cupcakes, with Cream-cheese frosting:

Oven at 160 degrees C (about 375 F)

Mix: 1 1/2 cups plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cups raisins

1 carrot, peeled and grated

3 eggs

3/4 cups milk

100g butter, melted

Bake in muffin tin for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through (test with a skewer).

Cool on a wire rack

For a Dessert, if you so choose, top with cream cheese icing: 250g cream cheese + 50g softened butter + 1/2 cup icing sugar

But I'm not a fan of cream cheese.

For breakfast, Richard will probably just smear plain cream cheese directly.

Peanut butter blossoms

To get rid of the excesses of peanut butter on this rainy Thursday I
opened my cookbook to the peanut butter blossoms page. Recipe says it
originates from aunta Nini's kitchen. And I've been saving these
Hershey kisses just for this recipe since November. Ran out before the
end and had to use some cadbury old gold dark chocolate squares. The
effect is just not the same. Let me also just say that the non-stick
jelly roll pans Amy gave me for Christmas are awesome. Thanks Amy!

Channeling Nigella

We got the Nigella Bites DVD from our webflicks subscriptions. Watched the whole series one rainy afternoon and was inspired to create some tasty treats. So I proceeded to create a square version of her Flourless Chocolate Cloud Cake. Ingredients include dark dark chocolate and eggs (the whites and yolks used separately) as the rising agent. I included touches of orange rind and triple sec to lighten up the dark chocolate richness. The cake is finished with a heaping dollop of freshly whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. Yum, though a lot of work to end up with something very similar to a brownie. I might just stick with my Mom's fabulous and classic Katherine Hepburn's homemade brownie recipe cause then I can get fudgey, gooey, goodness.

Mahjong for Dim Sum

Inspired by Urbanspoon reviews of Tasty Dim Sum joints in the City, I was craving little steaming dumplings of goodness. However, I wasn't prepared to travel all the way into the CBD from St. Kilda during rush hour to wait in line at the apparently popular HuTong Dumpling place that everyone is raving about. So that place remains on my wishlist. But to satisfy my craving in the short term we attempted the well-reviewed Mahjong Dim Sum Restaurant close by on Fitzroy Street. Only since coming to Australia did I come to understand the Dim Sum concept, though I am sure this simple idea of serving steamed/fried dumplings and wanton pockets filled with delightfully light Asian flavors is popular in the States as well and am surprised I haven't found good places there yet. Its on my To-Do List. I was pleased to find the Dim Sum subcategory in the Urbanspoon search options to easily filter through the masses of eateries in this city.

Once there, we dived into one of the preselected banquets which include steamed dumplings, peking duck, fillet steak, etc (The menu appears below) along with a few extra tastes. Let me just say that I love dumplings!, the way the secret steaming contents explode in your mouth with their subtle brothy flavors, though at this restaurant I found that I could not differentiate the fillings from one kind of dumpling to another and they soon became monotonous. I have a feeling that the dumplings and wantons are all filled with the same unexciting pork mixture. The fillet steak that followed was awesome and I am a big fan of the peking duck, lots of flavor and I wanted more. My biggest complaint however for Mahjong, was the slow service which, by the end of the meal, slowed down to non-existent. I think they forgot about us and we had to fetch our own bill to get the hell out of there. Rated fairly high, I was anticipating yummy goodness at this Dim Sum Restaurant, unfortunately I think my expectations were a little too high. Though I definitely won't give up on Dim Sum and look forward to my HuTong experience which I predict will come very soon.

Stoned

What to do with excessive amounts of plums, apricots and peaches rapidly ripening in the fridge given to us by Richard's Gran? And how can you say no to food, especially when you can bake and freeze everything? So this is what resulted:

Apricot Anarchy Cake, off the Epicurious Website, made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar! - turned out kind of like a tart. Richard devoured, but I was a bit weirded out (and Apricots are not my favorite) and opted for the...

... Plum Streusel coffeecake instead. Also off the Epicurious website. Similar to my Mom's Plum Streusel Kuchen, but with more crumb. We eat this stuff for dessert with Vanilla Frozen Yogurt. 

And we got apricot sauce for ice cream, peach bellinis, peach pie with apples and raspberries, lady finger trifle, and more out of all the stone fruits we had in the fridge. The remainder are now stored in the freezer ready for smoothies.