Spatula, Spoon and Saturday

There is so much failure going on this week. Least of all that I haven’t managed to eat a Paleo meal (to be perfectly honest with myself, I’m never going to be able to stick to a fad diet of any form.) but also a blogging failure.

Of course, when I started the weekly round-up, the idea, to me, is so that I update the blog more than once a week so I don’t have one weekly round-up after another. That didn’t happen. I was did fully intend to write up about Demitri’s Feast on Swan St. but I didn’t get to it. Sorry.

(Toast with jam and brown cheese)

Let’s start with a breakfast that was a totally paleo fail: toasted corn sourdough (from Purebread Bakery, see below), Norwegian brown cheese (also known as brunost or gjetost) and strawberry jam. I love it. It’s so wrong but I love it.

(Piccolo at Purebread Bakery in Surrey Hills – $2.5)

What else? Last week, (see yet another failure, I’m doing last week’s round-up this week. So much fail) went by in a blur. On Monday, I went to the library and borrowed a tonne of books. Mostly board books for Mini Me. They are very nutritious. She eats them constantly. On Tuesday, I met up with Raymond, who used to supervise my thesis back in my postgrad uni days, at Purebread Bakery in Surrey Hills. Do you know how much of a score it is to find that your local bakery actually knows what a piccolo is and makes it nicely? Yeah. It’s a good feeling. Read the rest of this entry »

Picking which pho restaurant to go to on Victoria Street in Richmond might be a daunting task for those who don’t frequent the street, but I am here to recommend to you Pho Dzung as a great starting point Victoria St. has to offer.

Pho Dzung, like any good pho joint, concentrates on their two dishes of beef pho and chicken pho. Unlike its CBD sister, it only offers very few rice dishes and no vermicelli salads. The simple, rich goodness of the pho makes up for the lack of choices.

The decor is rather like any other pho restaurants on the strips, rows of minimal laminex tables with just the bare essentials. But let’s face it, you don’t hit a pho joint for a date or a hip-and-happening ambience, you’re there for the soup.

That particular afternoon, Josh and I took our friends from London, Doug and Diane, to experience the Victoria St. Vietnamese eating culture.

(Vietnamese spring rolls – $9)

We started off with prawn spring rolls. The crunchy rolls were well balanced between the skin and filling. The sides of various mints and lettuce were fresh and generous. Not all pho joints do this and it is very disappointing when the quality, and quantity of side vegetables are left to be desired. Read the rest of this entry »

People have been asking me since I received my brand new mixer, have I done any baking (and am I inviting them over for baked goods?) The answer is yes and yes! I have been baking like crazy. And it is a funny thing but if you have been looking at my blog for a while, you’ll probably realise that I am definitely not the baking type for two reasons: 1) I don’t have a sweet tooth and 2) I don’t have a lot of patience to measure things!

Well I am happy to announce that this has turned around and I have been embracing baking. I think it appeals to the scientist in me because baking, after all, seems to me a bit of an alchemy rather than an art. The boys at the office have been rather happy because they get to eat these baked things (I still don’t much care to eat them, to be perfectly honest and Josh is going to get really fat at this rate so I have to take them away from him).

So after having been given a quick lesson in cupcakes by April of My Food Trail, I have been experimenting with a few cupcake recipes and different type of frosting and I am happy to announce my own combination of these little beauties.

I baked these for my mother-in-law’s birthday dinner and I shall name them after her. With out further ado, I would like to present Lynnette: rich chocolate cupcake with lemon butter cream frosting.

Rich Chocolate Cupcake

(Makes 12-14 standard sized cupcakes – note I use standard Australian cooking measurements)

Preheat your oven to 180′c (no fan).

Creaming butter base:

1. 100 g. butter (salted, unsalted, whatever. I prefer cultured butter but it doesn’t make that much difference)
2. 1 1/4 cup (280 g.) caster sugar
3. 2 eggs
4. 1 tsp vanilla concentrate (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

Cream butter in the mixer on low at first and then shift to high for about 2 minutes. Add half of the caster sugar, beat for further 2 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the sugar. Cream until the butter mixture is light and fluffy. Add an egg, beat for further minute. Repeat the same with the other egg and vanilla.

Good ol’ chocolatey goodness:

1. 1/2 cup baking cocoa powder
2. 1 heap tbsp instant coffee powder
3. 1/2 hot water
4. 1/2 cup water

Whisk together the cocoa powder, coffee powder and hot water to make a thick, lump-free paste. Add water and mix thoroughly.

Flour and magic:

1. 1 1/2 cups (225 g.) plain flour
2. 1 tsp bi-carb soda
3. 1/2 tsp baking powder
4. a big pinch of salt (cut the salt if you’re using salted butter

Soft together plain flour, bi-carb, baking powder and salt.

Putting it all together:

Add half of the flour and half of the cocoa mixture to the creamed butter mixture. Mix on low speed until combined. Repeat the process. Mix just until everything is combined.

Bake in a 12-hole muffin tin for about 20-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a cake rack for at least half an hour before icing.

Lemon Butter Cream Frosting

1. zest 1 lemon
2. 1/4 cup sweet lemon juice (I used home grown sweet variety which is subtler, you can try commercial lemons)
3. 100g. butter (salted, unsalted, whatever but cultured butter is nice)
4. 4 cups (600g.) icing mixture (you can use icing sugar but I find it too much of a pain to sift personally)

Cream butter in a mixer on low at first then high. Add half the lemon juice, lemon zest and icing mixture. Mix for another minute. Repeat the same process with the rest of the lemon juice. Beat on high until light and fluffy.

Ice with a piping bag and large star tip.

How’s that for my first ‘proper’ baking post?

This time last year I made: Char-grilled Steak, Asparagus and Burnt Sage Butter Mashed Potatoes

I am not a big coffee drinker. Don’t get me wrong, I love coffee but I try not to indulge my coffee habit because I just know that it will get out of hand. The problem is also that I am absolutely dead against disposable coffee cups. There’s one thing I really hate about Melbourne is that their coffee habit is killing the environment. Sure, everyone thinks they look cool with their little disposal coffee cups on the way to work and it’s oh-so-cosmopolitan. No. I am sorry.

No.

Because I rather like coffee a lot, I save it for special occasion. If you have it everyday, it loses its meaning right?

Anyway, one Saturday morning I woke up and thought I really could do with a nice cup of coffee. So I stole Josh’s phone and had a dig around the Urbanspoon app and it recommended Santucci’s. It’s not very far from home and it had a few nice reviews from the coffee drinking crowd so we upped and went.

The dining room was handsomely decorated. Nice wooden and with retro Italian paraphernalia and it was a rather nice space for a cafe. However, for someone who rarely eats breakfast out and spend Saturdays sleeping in, I find it strange to be surrounded by so many people so early on a Saturday. It was full of family brunching out, groups of girlfriends catching up over breakkie, parents, kids, babies. They were all there. Just weird for me. I am a breakfast-out noob.

(Pancake with berry compote and vanilla ice cream – $12)

Josh rarely ever eats fry-up for breakfast. The only time I have ever seen him eating poached eggs were when I made them for dinner despite him making me poached eggs for breakfast quite often. So pancakes are his usual choice. I had a bite and well, they were kinda terrible. The pancakes weren’t cooked through in the middle and there wasn’t enough syrup. Josh didn’t complain though so I guess they weren’t that bad. Read the rest of this entry »

Jacqui had been raving about Dweezil for the past few weeks now. She worked in the area and reckoned the food there was the bee’s knees. She also mentioned nonna-made pasta which sold me. Who am I to argue against a Nonna-made pasta? Plus I ran out of peanut butter and the Carlisle Health shop nearby sold the most yummy fresh 100%-peanut peanut butter.

We arrived at Dweezil in the afternoon, starving. But that didn’t stop me from admiring its warm wooden interior. I loved the way the place was decked out. They had the usual cafe fare like breakfast dishes, toasted foccacia, pastry, sandwiches and various cakes. And of course the daily pasta specials.

After pondering whether I should go for a breakfast dish (as usual) and decided against it (as usual), I settled on the day’s special: Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni. Josh, being a predictable soul, went for the Chicken Puff Pastry Calzone.

(Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni – $10.00)

This. Was. The. Yummiest. Thing. Ever. Served by Nonna herself, I don’t know how else to describe it but it was one of the best pasta dishes I ever had. It’s as good as Pelligrini’s lasagne (which I think is the bee’s knees) except it had ricotta and spinach in it – two of my favourite things in the world.

(Dweezil’s cannelloni – it ain’t pretty close up but it’s beautiful!)

The sauce was yummy. The pasta was yummy. The filling was yummy. Everything was yummy. Jacqui was right.

(Chicken Calzone – $7.50)

(the chicken calzone filling)

Josh’s calzone came with tomato relish. It was lovely. Of course I had a bite. Josh reckons it was ‘better than that chicken pie at that place with the cute waiter.’

(Side salad – $6.50)

We both wanted side salad but Josh’s calzone had an option to include salad and mine didn’t, we ended up with a serve of side salad on its own to share. It was very good. Very well-dressed and the lettuce were beautifully crunchy. I didn’t realise normal iceberg lettuce could be so yummy. I think side salad should be something that makes or breaks the dish and often it’s what I use to determine how good a cafe or a restaurant is. If they do side salad properly, everything is bound to be good.

(Lemon tart – $4.00)

Being greedy guts that we were, we opted for dessert. I went for the lemon tart (How could I not? I was told,  ‘I have the best lemon tart in town’) and a coffee while Josh opted for a hedgehog slice.

(Hedgehog slice – $4.00)

The lemon tart was good though I’m not too sure about best in town but it was yummy nonetheless. Josh liked his hedgehog slice. I’m not a fan and never really found one to be any good anyway. We were served our dessert and I pulled out my camera to take pictures, the waiter/cafe manager saw and said ‘Do you want me to pretty them up for the pictures?’ so I said yes. She came back with coffee beans on the hedgehog slice and lemon slices on the tart with a bit of icing sugar dusted on them. Very creative!

(coffee – $3.20)

It was lovely. The coffee was also very good. I love it when I get a bit of latte art on my coffee. We would be sure to go back when we’re on that side of town again!

Dweezil, 172 Carlisle St., St Kilda

I would like to be known one of those ladies who lunch – I really do. It’s one of my greatest fantasies. Replete Providore, it seems, is totally the place for the ladies from leafy Eastern suburbs who lunch. And I discovered that by accident.

(inside Replete after the late lunch crowd left)

Josh and I rocked up there due to the Age Cheap Eats recommendation. Cheap Eats. Ladies who lunch? Who would have thought? But that’s where we were there one Thursday around 1.30pm.

The place was absolutely packed! We were very surprised because it wasn’t anywhere near a popular strip. It literally stood on its own near mostly residential areas and schools. But we did score the last little table. An oh-so-cute waiter (‘he-was-oh-so-cute-I-stayed-for-dessert’ cute) gave us menu to ponder (for quite a while). They served breakfast dishes well into the afternoon (this is what I love about Melbourne café) but I decided I wanted a lunch dish.

(Genovese Chickpea Faritana – $15.00)

I ordered (and I wrote this down because the name totally didn’t make sense to me) Genovese Chickpea Faritana ($15.00). It was basically savoury pancake made with chickpea flour (and other things) topped with sautéed zucchini (with rosemary and garlic, I liked it so much I came home and tried to replicate it), prociutto, parmasan and rocket leaves.

(a bite of my lovely pancake)

It was very yummy. I was very hungry! Our food did take a while, but then again, the place was packed.

(Deep Dish Pie – Chicken, Spinach and Pesto – $15.00)

Josh decided on the Deep Dish Pie – Chicken, Spinach and Pesto ($15.00) which came with side salad (which was a bit overdressed and oily) and some sort of tomato chutney (‘yeah it’s nice’).

(inside the pie)

Because my lunch wasn’t so big and I hadn’t had breakfast, I decided that I could do with a bit of cake and coffee (that, and the waiter was oh-so-cute. I really should stop talking about the cute waiter. Josh did spend two hours listening to me gushing over the cute waiter. I think that may be the end of his tolerance). The dessert choices were mostly slices and only two types cakes – orange flourless and chocolate and coffee torte. Josh detests anything coffee so we went for flourless orange.

(caffè latte and orange flourless cake – $8.00)

I have to admit I was quite confused about the pricing. The menu said the cake was $4.00 and 50 cents for cream or yoghurt. We weren’t asked if we wanted any cream or yoghurt on the side but it was served with cream anyway. I didn’t know how much the coffee was. But it was either $4.00 for the coffee (steep by Melbourne standard? or maybe I have been away too long and things have gone up since) or we were charged 50 cents for the cream we didn’t ask for.

(flourless orange cake with cream)

Either way, the cake was delicious and the coffee was fantastic! It was my first cup of coffee since I came back to Melbourne and boy do I miss good Melbourne coffee! Most of all, have I missed the whole relaxing Melbourne cafe vibe.

I did feel like a lady who lunches, even though I went with my husband. Close enough. Mission accomplished.

Replete Providore, 302 Barkers Rd., Hawthorn