Six Months in Melbourne

Sukiyaki

2012-01-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

We started the year with a few nights in Glasgow saying hello to all the friends and family, and finally made it to the big asian supermarket in north glasgow. We have come back and filled the kitchen with all sorts of tasty things - dumplings (prawn and pork, spicy kimchi, some random looking mini stuffed crabs in shells - i'll not be trying them), more gyoza, malaysian assam fish paste, japanese noodles, chilli sesame oil, various spices and broths to name a few. There will be many a happy night of cooking and eating - and the kitchen door currently sports a list of all the options - just to keep us interested.

Last night we tried out the sukiyaki sauce. It is a sweet japanese sauce (like a thin sweet soy) used to make japanese beef hot pot. Traditionally thin strips of beef are cooked in a hot pot, then sukiyaki sauce is added, then a variety of vegetables and finally some noodles. The cooking happens at the table and you eat the beef and begetables while they cook and at the end you have a rich saucy dish for sharing. We don't have such a thing as a hot pot so we improvised a bit with a wok - which meant missing out a bit on the process, but needs must!

The ingredients for our very make do and mend version of sukiyaki were:
Sirloin steak, sliced thin and seasoned
Sukiyaki sauce
1 small leek, sliced
1/2 chinese cabbage, sliced thin
1 pack shitake mushrooms
250g tofu cubed
1 pack straight to wok udon
1 pack spinach
Spring onion chopped for garnish

So I quickly pan fried the beef in the hot wok and when browned added a good splash of the sukiyaki sauce and then took the beef from the pan and set aside. Then the leek went in to soften in the pan followed by the chinese cabbage, the shitake and about another 100mls of sauce. They simmered for a few minutes to lightly cook the vegetables before adding the udon, tofu and spinach for a minute or so and finally the beef went back in to the pan. Everything heated through and was served with a sprinkling of chopped spring onion. I was surprised how tasty the dish was and how different a flavour it had to a regular stir fry. I think the shitake mushrooms and the tofu both work to give a more authentic flavour.

The original calls for angel hair pasta or equivalent and not all the recipes included udon. I think the dish would often be served with rice - but to keep things simple I added only udon and missed out the rice. The original dish would also come with a dish of raw egg for dipping - but I decided that wasn't worth the risk in my condition!

Dunsyre Blue Cheese Biscuits

2011-12-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

There is a really great dairy in the village that has a really great cheese shop. Surprisingly so for our village. We only 'discovered' it a couple of weeks ago, even though it has been there all this time, and we have been back two more times since. I can't tell you all the cheeses we tried yesterday - but I can say they were really good. There was dunsyre blue, criffel, their own cheddar and something called something like, oh, i can't remember.

As blue cheese is currently off the menu for me and since I'm missing it - i decided to make some blue cheese biscuits.

They went like this:
Crumble 175gm of a crumbly blue cheese and mix with 150g softened butter and 1 egg yolk. Stir in 125 g plain flour and either 50g blue cornmeal (that's what Nigella said) or (if you've not such a thing to hand or to buy anywhere nearby) 50g semolina. I did all of that in the food processor. Then knead the mix lightly to a soft dough and rest in the fridge for half an hour. Roll out to 5mm thickness (i think it could have been more) and bake on a lined baking tray at 200 degrees for 10 or so minutes.

They looked like this:

And they tasted like a really fancy cheddar biscuit with a slightly doughy centre and a flaky, biscuity shell. Really good.

(Connage Cheese Dairy http://www.connage.co.uk/ )

Winter Minestrone

2011-11-18T09:10:00.001-08:00

A friday off and lots of time outside at the beach with visiting little people put me in mind of a tasty wintry soup with some of our veggie box veggies.

So i heated a good glug of olive oil (Australian no less) and added 4 small leeks, 4 biggish carrots and one third of a decent sized suede, all chopped small. The recipe called for celery but i decided to miss it out and put the suede in in place for a bit of sweetness. After they had softened (about 15 minutes) I turned up the heat and added 200g of bacon lardons. Not just any old bacon - Oak Smoked Bacon Lardons! With them went 3 cloves of garlic and some chopped mixed herbs from the garden - a little bit of sage, a few sprigs of marjoram and a clump of curly parsley. They cooked for another 10 minutes or so before I added 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, a litre of hot chicken stock, most of a carton of borlotti beans and the left over rind from a chunky piece of parmesan. The remainder of the beans were whizzed up with some of the soup liquid and then added back to the soup. Last in to the soup went one chopped spring cabbage and after that was tender the soup was ready to serve with a sprinkling of grated parmesan and some buttered brown bread. The sweetness of the slowly softened veggies, the salty smoky flavour of the bacon and the creaminess from the parmesan rind and the whizzed up beans all worked a treat.

Some people expressed doubts as to my ability to carry off today's winter minestrone. Needless to say they were soon eating seconds!

Malaysian Style Nasi Biryani or Spiced Rice with Chicken

2011-10-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

If you are ever in Amsterdam, or rather near Amsterdam/ Schipol and in need of some tasty food then Restaurant Anak Blitar BV in Hoofddorp is your place. On a recent trip to visit my brother in Amsterdam we went looking for a supermarket/ a cafe/ anything open for Sunday lunch before we flew home and we weren't getting on to well till we came to this place. It really doesn't look like much from the outside, but when you go in there is a counter the length of the restaurant with gorgeous looking dishes of every possible rice, noodle, vegetable and meat. You can pick combinations of anything and they are heated and brought to you on a woven wicker plate. A dozen different rice or noodle dishes; all sorts of veggies; little corn fritters and spring rolls; and meat and fish dishes from crispy little fried whitebait and salted duck to sweet and sour chicken and lamb. I had stir fried noodles with veggies; some sort of kale with tofu and chilli; an amazing aubergine dish with melt in your mouth aubergine chunks in a tomato spicey sauce and a portion of Indonesian coconut chicken. And I've been hankering after spicey food ever since.

So last night we cracked open the Cook Malaysian recipe book I've had for ages and we gave the spiced rice with chicken a shot. Compared with the traditional Indian Biryani I've blogged before which took several happy days of cooking, this dish took only about an hour from start to finish (with two pairs of hands sharing the work).

Ingredients:

(with some adaptations for what we didn't have to hand!)

Chicken portions (about 900g)(we used boneless, skinless thighs)
1 clove garlic
5 cm piece ginger
2 chillies (we used 4 or 5)
1 tbsp poppy seeds
10 cashew nuts
10 almonds
2 tbsp ghee (we used butter and olive oil)
5 cloves
5cm piece cinnamon stick
1 cup shallots, sliced (we used onion)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 - 2 cups coconut milk (we made our own up with 1 pack creamed coconut and 400mls hot water)
400g washed rice

(should serve 4)

Method:
1. Grind garlic, ginger, chillies, poppy seeds, cashew nuts and almonds.

2. Heat ghee and fry cloves, cinnamon and shallots till shallots golden.
Add chicken pieces, 1 tsp salt, ground ingredients and curry powder, stir to mix and cook covered for ten minutes.
Then add the yoghurt and simmer until chicken is tender and mixture is thick.

3. Add coconut milk and the other 1 tsp salt to the rice and cook (stirring so it doesn't stick to the pan)
until the milk is mostly absorbed.

4. Make a well in the centre of the rice and pour in the chicken mix. Cover and cook over a very low heat until
the rice is finished cooking.

Serve!

My top tip would be to cook the rice in an oven proof dish with a good lid (we used a le creuset) and then
for the last bit put the dish covered in the oven on a low heat, rather than finishing on the stove top.
It might not seem like there is enough liquid to cook the rice, but the steam in the pan seems to be enough.

We didn't serve with anything on the side and there wasn't really a need. The combination of sweet coconut-ty rice,
dry, salty spice; crunchy nuts and tender chicken was perfect. That being said there might not be quite enough for a
full second dinner to share so next time we might try young Vandi's Indian Spinach on the side. Will report back.

Indian Summer

2011-10-01T04:48:00.000-07:00

The oddity of warm weather at the end of September - warmer days than we have had for most of summer - had us hoping of painting the back gate, trimming the lavender plants for winter and washing the car. A nice day pottering in the garden, but it wasn't to be! The view across the water to the Black Isle has disappeared and the white sky meets the sea as the drizzle comes down. The outdoor plans have turned indoors and whilst I await the delivery of some chicken stock for a pot of Ishbel's chicken and rice soup (complete with organic carrots and leeks from this weeks veggies) I have put on a banana loaf to bake for afternoon tea. Carb loading for tomorrow's gentle 5K turn around Inverness, which is looking more gentle walk and picnic than competitive run.

View from the garden gate across to Chanonry Point Lighthouse:

Don't they say that baking is a science? The quantities, the mixture, the temperatures not to be played with or else the experiment fails? Well after a spell in South Africa last year where the recipes were often adapted to what was fresh from the garden or available to hand (the nearest decent shop being 40 minutes away) I am of the opinion that there is also a large element of art or magic to baking. Yoghurt for cream, brown flour for white, cape gooseberries a last minute addition to a batch of muffins all worked out a treat and well worth repeating.

It remains to be seen then how the banana loaf will turn out given just how many changes I made to the recipe! In an effort to make a healthier, homelier version I substituted soaking the raisins in hot rum for soaking them in hot tea; I replaced the white flour with a golden wholemeal; brown sugar for white; whilst mashing the bananas I softened them with a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt; the walnuts I omitted and instead of vanilla essence I added a couple of pinches of ground cinnamon. Mayhem!

It may not be for me to say whether or not the cake is a success, but it certainly smells a treat right now.

When is a turnip not a turnip?

2011-09-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

Why, when it is a scottish swede. A bigger, milder, sweeter purple and orange root vegetable popular in scotland and often served on the side of some haggis. They may call it neeps (tur-neeps) but it is in fact a swede. Apart from a side to haggis, it is kind of hard to know what to do with a regular delivery of swede. There is some cooking in a pot right now with chopped carrots, leek, green pepper and red lentils - to make a simple pot of scottish soup. The turnipy flavour can be a bit much for a soup - but nice from time to time. There is also an interesting recipe for a slow cooked swede and beef stew - which looks very wholesome and wintry - i'm sure it'll be made in due course.

For dinner yesterday in the absence of beef and using mostly the ingredients that were already in the cupboard, the man made a Swede, Bacon and Rosemary Risotto. The recipe was adapted from a vegetarian recipe website with the addition of the organic bacon that comes with the veggie box and some rosemary. The latter with half a mind on the Jamie Oliver tagliatelle with parsnip and bacon. The flavours were great together and even better for leftover lunch at work today - that little bit stickier from a night in the fridge and 5 minutes in the evil microwave.

More vegetable box cooking tales to follow...

How to ruin some perfectly lovely beetroot...

2011-09-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

...by turning it in to the home made version of your most basic supermarket vinegary pickled beetroot (and way to get yourself in to big trouble with your better half at the same time). Simply take the lovely fresh organic sweet lovely beetroot that arrives in your weekly veggie box, roast them whole in tin foil for two to three hours in the oven, peel, slice and bottle with a red wine vinegar, shallot, peppercorn reduction and serve anytime after 24 hours. Expect extreme disappointment when the only thing you can taste is vinegar. It reminds me of a character in a long forgotten book who spent hours slaving over the stove to turn out something you could't tell apart from Heinz tomato soup or Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pie (from a tin). I have learnt my lesson and next time we will stop at the peel stage and simply eat.

Autumn 2011.

2011-09-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

After a cold summer I am perversely hanging out for winter. The wood is piled by the house, the kindling is loaded in the shed, the stove is clean and we have an organic veggie box delivery coming every other week. I am looking forward to thick jumpers, woolly scarves and winter boots; cooking in our kitchen with views of cold, stormy seas and being cosy by a hot fire with my crochet. So that it was a balmy twenty degrees yesterday - and something like 17 degrees today - is not part of the plan! The arrival of a hurricane tomorrow - heralded by fast falling pressure on the barometer (not a great photo - but you get the drift) - should help. We can baton down the hatches and get out the soup pot.

This morning I made Delia's Cream of Celery Soup with some necessary changes, given what was in the larder. A head of celery, a medium potato, a leek and an onion all chopped and fried for fifteen minutes in a pot with the lid on. Then two teaspoonfuls of cumin seeds (it should have been celery seeds, or maybe even fennel - but we had neither) and a pint of chicken stock and it simmers for 20 minutes. Blizz then stir in 150mls milk and 150mls cream. Bring back to a simmer and serve with the reserved celery leaves - or in our case some parsley from the garden. Likely the first of many winter soups, although it's such a subtle creamy soup it might have been just as good chilled.

Am Faochagach

2011-04-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

I should have mentioned that Munros are mountains in Scotland that are over 3000 feet. There are 283 Munros in Scotland and some folk 'Munro Baggers' set themself the challenge of climbing them all. Here's one last pic of Am Faochagach - taken from the bouldery summit with hazy views to distant mountain tops above a high mountain loch.

Am Faochagach

2011-04-23T08:35:00.001-07:00

I think the name means The Whelk - and refers to the whelk like shape summit of the mountain - which is rather besides the point here given I don't seem to have taken a good picture of this feature. I did take many pictures though - on our nine hour return climb of this Munro in the northwest of Scotland.

About two hours in from the start we came to an old stone dwelling, presumably made from all the boulders that tumble down the mountain side. Likely abandoned as the only way there appears to involve a number of hours hopping between seemingly dry tufts of grass in a very wet peat bog, having forded a number of small rivers. I took shoes especially for the crossings - to keep my walking shoes dry - but that was also marvellously beside the point as from within minutes of setting off across the bog I stuck my foot in a not dry tuft of grass up to my ankle. The tried and tested method of black bin bags over the shoes looked just as good - with the added bonus of a home made sledge for the little runs of snow on the way down from the summit - but I get ahead of myself.

Once we climbed out of the bogs and started up the mountain things got a little drier. It was a slightly hazy warm summers day in spring, but there were plenty of pools of water with amorous frogs (amorous with each other) and brilliant green frogspawn. We even saw a large brown adder curled up on a rock warming in the sun. And plenty of deer heading up the hill above us.

After 4 hours we stopped near this waterfall to consider our way to the summit and eat our sandwiches. We opted for curving up the left side and over the back of the whelk, rather than the sheer drop to the right and the cornices of snow. This shallow picture doesn't do justice to our fearfulness, nor to the hour of scrambling up over steep boulders to meet the top.

Once we got there we met a fellow sitting in the sun, around the other side of the cairn. He said we had climbed the wild side and kindly took a number of out of focus photos of us three mountaineers. It seemed like we had climbed too soon and should have followed the river down at the base for longer, and we tried to put this right on the way back down; what we gained in a quicker descent (scarily quick when speeding on a black bin bag towards some very jaggy looking rocks - at which point I was very happy to have asked the salient question earlier - how do you stop?) we lost in a longer walk back across the bog and lots more hopping across twisting turning streams and water channels.

The sky was moody on the last gasp and we seemed to be getting no nearer to the car for hours. When we came back to the first river we were straight across in our walking boots. I say straight across - I looked more like a scuttling hermit crab as bent double and holding on to rocks for balance I gingerly felt my way across the slippy river bed.

And then it was a ravenous race back to the hotel before the kitchen closed and a very fine dinner of steak and chips was washed down with pints of beer, guilt free.

I don't believe there is a better way to spend a day in the Scottish Highlands. And I'm filled with a longing to go and do it all again.

South Along Loch Ness from Inverness

2011-03-31T16:04:00.001-07:00

View from Dorres...

At the top of the road (didn't quite get the angle back to Loch Ness in the distance)...

FREEZING...

Only in the Highands...

2011-03-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

Sheena's What's Top in Inverness / The Highlands

2011-03-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

Since we have moved to Inverness we have been eating out just as regularly as ever we did in Melbourne. All sorts of meals at just about any time of day. Admittedly the range of cuisines is a rather different compared with what is available in Australia - there is no Japanese restaurant in Inverness at all - but that isn't to say that we haven't had some good food here. Indeed, after some deliberation and plenty research there are even a few places that are becoming our favourites in amongst all the various choices. So I am going to unashamedly steal the idea from the likes of Mr Preston and that man who writes reviews in the Glasgow Herald and have a hit list for what's worth eating - and doing - nearby.

The categories thus far are:

#1 Cafe In Inverness
Best Harbour Cafe in Nairn
Most charming Italian Restaurant (and also most romantic setting)
The most rated 'I've never had a bad meal there" restaurant in Inverness
Best Health Food Store that I can think of in Scotland
Best (?only) Asian Foodstore in Inverness
Best Bookstore Cafe in Inverness

I'm sure there was more on the list when I thought about this before - but now that we are permanent fixtures here in the Highland Capital, there will be plenty more time for further research and deliberation. And if we get bored we can always work our way through the what's not hot lot.

Christmas Cookbooks

2011-01-24T13:10:00.001-08:00

Another lovely one got us another lovely cookbook for Christmas. The Hungry Girls Cookbook arrived in the post from Australia last week. Thank you Miss Heart. And before you know it we had rustled up the Chilli, Tomato, Herb Fish. In our case Chilli, Vine Tomato and Coriander Halibut. You fry garlic (i used cheating garlic in a tube) and chilli (we only had dried chilli) in a bit of oil and butter, throw in the tomatoes when they are golden and sizzling (they get that little bit caramelised) for a couple of minutes then your chopped herbs. The patted dry and seasoned fish gets laid on top and cooked three or four minutes on the first side and two or three on the flip.

Halibut is a really nice, fresh, tasty, soft white fish with nice long flakes of meat. It was lovely with the sweetness of the tomatoes. I probably underdid the chilli, but otherwise this was a big easy dinner hit and we'll make it again. Hungry Girl suggested good bread on the side and that would be just the thing to soak up all the tasty juices. Which will lead me on to cookbook number three: Bourke Street Bakery's ultimate bakery companion. We gained five kilos just looking at the recipes! Thanks for that Queen Bee :)

Will report back soon.

Gourmet Traveller Annual Cookbook

2011-01-02T12:39:00.000-08:00

It really is time to eat clean, exercise and drink water, but I'm not quite done with banging on about what we ate over christmas. Craig brought me the GTAC 2010, courtesy of the lovely Johanna. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It has been our christmas time go to recipe book and we have been working our way fairly quickly through it. So far we've done a gin cured trout (served with a scattering of herbs and a pile of biscuits), home made gnocci with brussel sprouts and pancetta (how festive)(and such creamy gnocci! not my work at all) and the baked mascarpone marsala cheesecakes with an espresso syrup. I've my eye on a pancetta, kale and clam soup next, although we might substitute mussels for local availability. That'd be the second of two mussels dishes after we made the pugliese version of paella for our boxing day meal.

That all sounds very fancy, but really it is simply layers of sliced potato, halved cherry tomatoes, grated parmesan, fresh cooked and shelled mussels and risotto rice. Once you've reached the top of the dish you add some of the mussel cooking liquor and hot chicken stock till the dish cant take any more, scatter a handful of reserved shell on mussels and whack it in the oven to bake till it is piping. We improvised and sprinkled it with a healthy amount of smoked paprika too, and when it was done finished it off with some chopped flat leaf parsley.

101 things to do with Smoked Haddock. #2: Kedgeree

2011-01-02T11:33:00.001-08:00

The Scottish cooking continues and this time it was a very tasty new year bowl of kedgeree.

For two, here's what you do...

Put two smoked haddock fillets in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil, turn down the heat, cover and simmer gently for 6 minutes. Put fish in a covered dish in a medium oven to keep warm and set the cooking liquid aside for later use. Melt a good dollop of butter in the same pan and fry a chopped onion till soft and golden. Add 1/2 teaspoon of hot curry powder and stir through. Add 150 grams long grain rice and 250mls of the reserved liquid. Stir, bring to boil, cover with a well fitting lid and cook on low heat for 12 minutes (or until rice tender). When it's done stir through the flaked fish, 2 chopped boiled eggs, flat leaf parsley, juice of half lemon and two tablespoons of butter. Cover and return to low heat for a couple of minutes. Serve with a sprinkling of garam masala, tomato salad and some lime pickle.

It's light, lively, smokey and scored a well deserved 8.5 out of 10 on the Ising scale.

Scottish Dinner Number 1

2010-12-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

I've come over all Scottish when it comes to cooking dinners. Some fine hearty tasty dinners are required to heat us from the inside when it is minus twelve out. I cheated the first night and we had M&S pre-made cauliflower cheese to go with the aged rib eye steaks. Very very tasty indeed. We more than compensated for being lazy on the cauli by setting out to make home made hollandaise one evening at 8:30pm after a day of unpacking boxes.

I think this was originally a Douglas creation - made for me many years ago just outside of Inverness - so very appropriate to have it again. Oven baked smoked haddock (in tin foil with a bit of butter and lemon) over spinach with olive oil roasted potatoes and hollandaise sauce. Fine fixings for a winters evening.

The Road To Inverness

2010-12-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

We hired a van on the weekend and in a break in the weather drove to Glasgow and back to retrieve a bunch of my possessions from my parents house, my sister's loft, my friend's basement, another's shed. I'd only left things for 12 months and four years later I was struggling to remember just exactly what I had left where.

Anyhoo. We left Glasgow mid snow storm and had an uneventful drive back to Inverness. And here are a few photies He took with my phone.

Fouzia's Indian Chilli Omelette

2010-12-12T05:16:00.000-08:00

I have a kitchen again! Hurrah! And I'm calling this my first bit of cooking in it. Pizza on the day you move in doesn't count! I've been wanting to make Fouzia's Chilli Omelette since she talked me through the recipe a few months ago. The recipe wasn't exactly precise, nor was my following it, but here is how I went about it for breakfast this morning (and I would recommend having more than just a single wooden spoon as kitchen utensil!):

Chop a couple of spring onions, setting the green bits aside. Fry the white bits in oil with about a pat of butter. Stir in spices, amounts to your preference - I went for half a teaspoon each of garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, red chilli powder and turmeric - and stir for a couple of minutes. Add a chopped tomato and let that cook for a minute or two. Beat two eggs with a splash of water and a pinch of salt. Pour egg mix in to frying pan, giving it a bit of a shoogle to mix the spices in to the eggs. Cook as you do an omelette. When ready, fold in half and serve with sliced tomato, chopped fresh coriander, the green spring onion chopped and a squeeze of our favourite (not sweet) chilli sauce.

Enjoy with a cup of chai tea and if you have them, a couple of chapatis.

Make another.

Snow Light.

2010-12-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

The weird light around midnight just as the snow stopped falling.
View from the hospital staff accommodation.

Pitlochry to Killiekrankie and back

2010-11-29T13:08:00.000-08:00

Just pretty autumn pictures people...

I am about to do Scottish food no favours.

2010-11-29T12:24:00.001-08:00

And I doubt I am going to do my reputation any favours either. I was going to take the high ground and explain that the following dinner was emergency rations after a days serious walking in approximately zero conditions with rain varying from a light drizzle to a heavy downpour, and without which a serious case of terminal trembling would have set in. That was until i remembered that this was the dinner we had the night before our long walk to Killiekrankie and back. However! It did follow an afternoon of noseying around Pitlochry and was necessary to warm us from the inside before our night time walk around The Enchanted Forest (see below).

So, as I said, all I really wanted was the gammon steak with chips (there, the truth's out and I'm ruined), but it seemed rude not to have a starter. We were on our holidays after all. One of the specials sounded particularly inviting; Scottish Scallops with Pork Belly and Asparagus over a pumpkin puree. And it looked fabulous on its plate of slate too. Sadly although the scallops were perfectly cooked the pork belly was nothing more than a greasy piece of crackling and fat with only the barest quiver of meat underneath. Very disappointing indeed.

But as I said it was all about the gammon steak with chips. Actually that isn't quite true. It was all about the gammon steak with pineapple and chips.

I remember the very first time I had gammon steak with pineapple, although on that occasion it may have come with mash. It was the summer of Charles and Diana's wedding and we were staying at a bed and breakfast in St Andrews, that was also a working manse. Mrs Minister did all of our cooking for us, except on Sundays when we ate at the Pancake Place, not as a special treat you understand as as far as I recall none of us liked it but because nothing else was open on sundays. The gammon steak was probably a think slice of ham warmed in the oven and the pineapple was a ring fresh from the can that was cooked with the ham until the juice went a little thick. Not a perfect gammon steak and pineapple, but a welcome addition to our limited Scottish repertoire.

I really like gammon steak and pineapple. Just like I really like ham and pineapple pizza. It's not cool. It's not clever. I'm not even sure what it is or where it came from in terms of epicurious traditions. It's even verging on retro and kitsch. But I like it nonetheless. And this was a particularly fine Gammon Steak with Pineapple. The salty smokey meat which looked like meat, rather than processed other and the sweet juicy fruit of fresh pineapple. No tin opener here. The only minor disappointment was that the chips were just a little average and would have been all the better of being cooked hotter, crunchier and crispier. Us Scots and our deep fat fryers, I know. I told you I would do scottish cooking no favours.

Crabshakk, Argyll Street, Glasgow

2010-11-29T11:43:00.001-08:00

Weeks and weeks and weeks ago Dr M and I went to crabshakk for tea. Which is almost as hard to get in to as Jamie Oliver's, by all accounts. We had a birdseye view from the mezzanine of the diners below (humungous mixed seafood plate with a big orange crab resplendent atop) and the serving area of the kitchen.

My mussels, traditional style, were lovely. Robin's squid light and crisp and tasty. And the crab cakes little, many and very very good. We wondered what was in them and got as far as there was definitely alot of crab. On the side some skinny chips. And to wash the lot down an elegant bottle of french white wine.

Delicious.

The Enchanted Forest

2010-11-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

And why were we in Pitlochry in the first place? Well, for the perfectly delightful Enchanted Forest. And what is the Enchanted Forest you ask? Well, I'm not sure quite how to describe it. Something like a night time walk around a lit up loch, with tunes. Or a sound and light show. Or an art installation. Or good old fashioned outdoor amusement for children and adults alike. Once before Dr M and I drove up to the Isle of Skye for a night, had our dinner, donned head torches and climbed up the side of the Old Man of Storr to a corrie where a woman danced in the distance, music played and Gaelic poetry was read. It was marvellous! Since then the same production people have been running the Enchanted Forest every year so we decided to go and on a mild to cool november night round Loch Faskally we trotted.

The path was lit with a lighting chain to guide you. Here and there the trees were lit up too, and the boat house on stilts. At one end there were trancey tunes and a strobe light reminiscent of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Somewhere in the middle were spotlights swinging back and forward in clear plastic punchbags. The back and forward kick of the lights reminded me of bell ringers, and was punctuated by bursts of flames. My favourite was a set of illuminated water fountains that changed colour and were choreographed to hitchcock esque music - sometimes dramatic, sometimes tense. It had me in mind of those moments of passion in old films where the 'physical act' is replaced with erupting volcanos and waves crashing on to rocks. And had me grinning like an idiot.

We meant, Dr M and I, to go round twice but we took so long on first view that we ran out of time and were herded back to the last coach. Which was a shame. It had seemed like a good idea to go at the last time slot (915pm) so it was plenty dark (and we'd had our tea and a bottle of wine)( that's a different story). If I'd had the chance again I'd have gone earlier to linger longer. Word on the street is that the show changes from year to year (last year small children were traumatised by sudden, shocking apparitions) and so next year we must go again.

Above Pitlochry Power Station, Perthshire

2010-11-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Last week Dr M and myself had a day or two walking in giddy minus one temperatures and rain in the middle of Scotland. Sounds terrible, I know, but we were well wrapped up, slept like logs, got to eat some fine winter fare, drink wine and even a wee whisky and the scenery was truly and utterly incredible.

See...

Artisan Roast II

2010-10-26T01:19:00.001-07:00

Now doesn't that just look like a perfect cappuccino? I'm loving the speckled chocolate effect.

The mushrooms on corn bread were a major disappointment - a second coffee reminded me that all was well with the world and that one buys coffee from a specialist coffee shop, or the muesli with fruit at a push. But really in artisan roast it is all about the coffee.

The Inaugural Jones-Elliot Islands Tournament. Island of Gigha. Scotland. September 2010.

2010-10-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

On a lovely, sunny day Wayno and I drove from Glasgow along Loch Lomond side and over the Rest and Be Thankful to the west coast of Scotland. And on a perfect sunny evening we took the twenty minute ferry from Tayinloan on the Kintyre Peninsula (here's the view back)...

... to the Isle of Gigha, one of the southernmost of the Inner Hebrides. Silver water, barely there waves from our wake and the Paps of Jura shadows on the horizon (here's the view forward).

From the jetty it is a minute or two drive up to the hotel, the island itself is only 6 miles long. We took the car just in case.

The island is community owned and run and we stayed at the hotel, checking in just as the sun was setting and the midges were making themselves known.

So we made a hasty retreat to the bar for smoked mackerel pate with oatcakes and halibut in a lemon butter with vegetables washed down by a nice bottle of red wine. Before moving on to 10 year old Springbank, Crabbie's Ginger Ale and Guiness (Wayne) and 10 year old Springbank (me).

And in the morning in the sunshine we played the nicest nine holes of golf I have had the pleasure of playing. Which is meant as no reflection on my actual play.

I am still waiting for the official match report (Elliot!) but the short version is that we started out with fifteen balls and returned with approximately six. I take most of the credit for that. The rough was rather rough, as evidenced by my getting a nettle sting on the nose whilst walking upright through it to find my ball. One of them.

The club house was a shed (see above), you left your ten pounds in an honesty box and signed yourself in, there were only nine holes and the match cards were finished, but the nice farmer man (who drove over to our hotel to lend us his clubs and for whom we left a fiver to replace the missing balls at the end of the round) did throw in a souvenir members tag, which Elliot now holds as the winner of the coveted Lost the Least Balls trophy.

It was my first game of golf for over a year and at the end I was pleased enough to want to play again soon. There was even a memorable hole where the ball soared over the bank of shrubs below to land near the edge of the green; such I could only dream of. The sun was shining, we had splendid views over the Kintyre Peninsula, Jura and the other small islands and wildflowers and sunflowers were growing in the field, sorry, at the edge of the course.

We had the whole place to ourselves and could hit as many balls as we wanted and take all the time in the world, which was handy when lost spectacles interrupted play.

And when we were done we had coffee at the beach in the sunshine (views above and below)...

... took the top down while we waited at the jetty, ...

... and caught the ferry back to the main land, ...

... before heading north to Oban, west to Crianlarich and south to home.

Left Bank, Glasgow

2010-10-04T05:12:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks I have been doing alot of eating at home with Mum and Dad and have been to surprisingly few Glasgow restaurants. After weeks, months, of gadding about all over the place it is nice to do not so much. There will be plenty of opportunity for revisiting the old places and trying out the new ones when I'm in gainful employment, have a home to go out from and my usual dining companion in the same country. Meantime a steak pie from the farmers market (the pastry was flaky, the meat was endless and tender and the gravy was rich and tasty), a pot of smoked mackerel pate (ingredients were mostly smoked mackerel and cream cheese - it was a little too fishy for my liking and would have done well to being lightened with some yoghurt stirred through) and the regular coffee trials are more than sufficient to keeping me amused.

All that being said I did get to try out a new (to me) restaurant on friday night; Left Bank on Gibson Street in Glasgow. It wasn't around before I left town but appears to be fairly established on the local eating scene now. My dear friend Kaizer Suzy took me along and we had a jolly nice Kashmiri Chicken dish each, specifically the "corn fed kashmiri chicken with roasted almonds, honeyed yoghurt, garlic and ginger chutney and caramelised lime". The chicken was cooked to perfection, the spices were delicate and there was a lovely honey end note. The chutney had sweet potato with enough savoury bite to it to meet the other flavours. I only can't remember the caramelised lime and it didn't jump out at the time, which was a shame as I was curious. On the side we had a good salad that was filled with strings of carrot, beetroot, pea shoots and all sorts and a bowl of tasty twice cooked ayrshire potato chips. There was a lovely bottle of french shiraz rose and in place of desert I had a glass of a torrontes tardio (you are!) dessert wine which was dry, floral and sweet all in one go and the nice waiter brought, on request, a dish of almonds to round us off.

I really enjoyed my evening catching up with my friend drinking nice wine and eating a good, fresh and tasty dinner. It would be easy to get side tracked by alot of things about the restaurant and have that detract from an easy evening: the decor is sleek glass and dark wood, almost glitzy; the bar is a big open space which isn't filled in the way that the tables on the mezzanine levels that climb the back wall are; and the menu includes every meal of the day as well as the wine list and desserts and there is simply too much on it. That being said we managed to have the sort of evening you would expect to enjoy in a favourite haunt and I would certainly be happy to drop back in there for a friday night dinner anytime. So either they are simply getting it right, or you must also take the Kaizer along with you when you go.

Farmers Market, Loch Lomond Shores, Balloch

2010-09-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Why is the first sentence always the hardest part? It seems to take ages and many deletions until I find my way and get going.
Maybe I shall have to write more first sentences and it will come easier?
Or maybe I'll distract myself with irrelevancies and the rest can sneak in behind. Worth a try.

It was a grey day at Loch Lomond today. My niece Olivia was Scottish country dancing in her little red kilt, white blouse and black lace up dancing shoes. Five years old and she's already dancing quite the thing over crossed swords. The Japanese tourists were suitably impressed. She was less impressed with the smoke from the smokehouse stand at the food market that was on. Stalls of square sausage, scotch pies, steak pies, venison burgers, blue cheese (Scottish!), pate and baking. Above you can see the mackerel smoking in a half barrel, then drying on a rack with the Maid of the Loch, Britain's last built paddle steamer, in the background.

Presumably the fish are then used in the smoked mackerel pate that they were also selling. We came away with one pot of said pate and one family sized steak pie which came with a bonus pot of gravy. Just in case it is not quite juicy enough. The pate will be fine on the oatcakes I got yesterday and the steak pie is in the freezer for eating next week. I shall report back - and maybe there will need to be a Scottish recipe bog or two to go with - all these rich, smokey foods are fine with the clouds reaching to ground level and the nights drawing rapidly in.

I wish I was Andrew Greig

2010-09-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

First off he sent his poems to Norman MacCaig (wonderful Scottish poet) in his teens and was then invited to tea to discuss and thereafter he kind of had Norman MaCaig (Norman MacCaig!) for something of a mentor. And then he wrote about it all in a book Kaizer Suzy gave to me as a welcome home present. Perfect welcome home present. And now after a few day road trip with Wayno (I shall refer here to friends henceforth only by their nicknames) which included a round of golf on the nine hole course on the island of Gigha I find that the man has also written a book about playing some regular and some obscure (in terms of geography) rounds of golf. Just as I had decided that my settling back in to the UK adventures might be to take all of the scottish ferries, visit all of the islands and where possible play all of the remote golf courses along the way.

I was toying with changing the name of my blog to capture my new adventures on new - old soil, but instead I shall set off on my adventures with the inauguration of three new labels. Specifically Scottish islands, Cal Mac (Caledonian MacBrayne ferries and Golf. Consider them inaugurated.

I'll be back soon with more about the island of Gigha.

The exception that proves the rule.

2010-09-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

I take it all back.
On Saturday I had the perfect coffee in Artisan Roast in Glasgow.
SO perfect I even broke my one coffee rule and had two!
AND it didn't even count as breaking the rule as it was small enough that two really counted as one.
Which surely means that next time I can have three?

Flat White No. 1

Wayno's latte looked just as lovely, Erica was positively zingy after her hard as nails double espresso and the muesli with cinnamon apples, berries and yoghurt transported me to Batch on Carlisle Street.

Perhaps I shall have to move back to Glasgow permanently after all?

Hanging out for a Carlisle Street latte.

2010-07-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

It isn't possible to live in two places at once and more's the pity. I'd like to have the best of two worlds, because sometimes the grass is greener, the toilet paper softer and Heinz CREAM OF tomato soup the only thing to make you feel better when you are poorly. Glasgow is miles better and Scotland pure dead brilliant and for making comparisons, highlighting differences and specifying a preference I have, in the past and on more than one occasion been called whatever the Scottish version of a whinging pom is. Oh yes, a whinging pom.

The shoe is now on the other foot and I run the risk of being a cut above the rest, too big for my boots and fancying for not being happy with a cup of nescafe, indeed a cup of tea.

But I am hanging hanging hanging out for a carlisle street latte and there's precious little round these parts that comes close.

For starters a latte here simply isn't a latte. It is a long hot milk in a tall hot chocolate glass with what seems like a hot milky coffee pored in. And when I say hot I mean far too hot. There's no enjoying your coffee any time soon because it is scalding. In fact all the coffee here is too hot and I can't work out if that is because the milk is heated to a much higher temperature, or the coffee itself and to be fair it isn't that the coffee is burnt or scalded, but your mouth most certainly will be if you aren't patient. As for the cappuccinos, they aren't so unfamiliar, but on return i find what was once my favourite coffee is too strong and too short and there's simply not enough drinking to pleasure in it. At the other extreme I could have a coffee from Starbucks, but they only seem to come in pint, litre and gallon sized.

The only option now, when I can find it, is to order a flat white. Now I have to confess that I never had a Melbourne flat white - one regular latte and I had found my drink of choice. Medium strength, rich roast, at perfect drinking temperature and with a rich creamy foam that goes from top to bottom. On working days I would often postpone the pleasure of my single morning coffee till almost lunchtime and the coffee was no less enjoyed for being in a take away cup. I'd drink it half down and then remove the lid and give it a swirl to make sure I caught all the foam. On the weekends the pleasure would be all the more for sitting at a cafe table with the coffee glass resting on a pretty vintage saucer. I'd idly stir the teaspoon once around the top of the coffee before I drank it in sips and once or twice after to make sure I caught all the foam around the edges. The odd day when I was tired or feeling extravagant I would order a second, but I never enjoyed it as much as the first and often as not It would leave me with a bit too much caffeine buzzing about.

Maybe I should bugger off back to Melbourne if I like the coffee there so much. I can read it on people's faces. See it in their eyes. I am a coffee snob. An elitist. A bore. Actually I feel like an addict cut off from a dependable source. Forget five months of no nicotine, it's the coffee I miss. I'm preoccupied. I can't get that first sip out of my mind. It's beginning to interfere with my life, my daily routine, my friendships. It would interfere with my job, if I had one. I can't stop talking about it. I've been looking up photos of old coffees on my computer. I'm even driving the long way round in the hope I'll come across a new coffee outlet I didn't know about.

Until I find a dependable source a Costa flat white it will have to be. It's bigger than it should be, but not so much. Hotter than is drinkable but if you wait five minutes it is alright. And it is a little too strong, but that helps see me through until the next Costa which could be days, weeks, away.

Like so many good things, I didn't know how much I would miss it till I was gone.
Good times, good times.

Clouds SA

2010-06-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

I've been taking pictures of clouds all week. It is only now that I have posted them that I realise that I haven't seen clouds for a while. Not big fat rain filled ones anyway. Here are a few.

Feel it. It is here.

2010-06-14T04:04:00.000-07:00

For two days we are staying on the Weltewrede Fig Farm near Prince Albert. A rambling old farmhouse with a piping hot iron stove in the kitchen, paraffin lamps, no electricity, no television and only radio for the world cup action. Last night's Australia Germany game was certainly all the better of listening in in Afrikaans with a gentle translation of the events by my friend Josh.

We've popped in to town for chores and sight seeing and coffee and I am happily left to myself in a lovely cafe with strong coffee, a warm fire and wireless internet. The Denmark Netherlands game is on in the background with the vuveselas buzzing constantly behind the action.

This is the start of Week 2 of our road trip. If you are familiar with the geography we have been from Baardskeerdersbos to Barrydale, Kruiserivier, Joubertina in the Llangkloof, Jeffreys Bay on the coast by Port Elizabeth (top surf beach), Bathurst, Graafe Reinett, Nieu Bethesda, Willowmore and now Prince Albert.

We have kept mostly away from people and have been driving in search of mountain views and quiet cottages with big fireplaces to cosy up in. Angela and Josh like to keep off the beaten track and away from the towns often. Visually there is so much to look at, even in the places where there are few people. And when we hit the towns it is curious to see the range of places. I am still struggling at times with the contrasting poverty and wealth of the population. The extremes of wealth and poverty was less apparent in the Eastern Cape though, a poorer province with patched roads and plenty of potholes. In Graafe Reinet, a bustling busy town where we stopped for shopping, there was lots of industry and hardly any white people. Braziers were burning on the street to keep folk warm, there were people selling everything from oranges (naartjies) and shoes and nail polish on the streets and the supermarkets were full of people and very few of them were white. Very different to Hermanus and the other towns near Cape Town. I liked the place I think because it felt African, rather than Afrikaans or European, even though there were galleries and cafes and chocolate shops which wouldn't be out of place in Melbourne, in amongst all the bustle. Although I doubt it would be easy to live there.

In Bathurst, east of Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown, we stopped for a take away breakfast from a kiosk at the back of an Afrikaans family's home. It was about the only place in town we could find some food before midday and so we had russian sausages and chips from the fryer for breakfast. We stood there half an hour with the mother, son (who is a fisherman - fish and chips being the other option on the menu) and a couple of girls kicking about badly underdressed for the weather, while the fryer heated up and the sausages microwaved. It was a truly random moment in time. The family had the look of eastern europe in their features and their take away was obviously an important part of their income. So far east it was evident that anyone could be poor and have to strive to make a living.

And everywhere we go there are vuveselas blowing at all times of day and night, and people asking if we are following the soccer and shouts of Bafana Bafana. There is a party atmosphere everywhere we go, before the matches even started. Yesterday we had a SA flag clipped on the bakkie and we got waves and smiles and shouts all of the day. It is surprising how everyone's emotions are stirred by the World Cup being here and the recognition that this couldn't have occurred here even a few years ago.

I am unprepared for blogging and am pulling random thoughts together as i type. I won't apologise as I doubt I'm going to get any more prepared or succinct in the coming weeks.

Net we head to forlorn Sutherland in the Great Karoo Wilderness. Then right over to the west coast of the Cape before turning for home at the end of next week.

More some other time.

South Africa

2010-05-26T00:29:00.001-07:00

For the last couple of weeks I have been in this here house staying with my friends Angela and Josh in South Africa - in Baardskeersderbos which is near Gansbaai which is near nowhere exactly. Somewhere east of Cape Town and then east of Hermanus. I have been reading (Paul Theroux’s Dark Star Safari – Cairo to Cape Town over land), cooking, pottering in the garden, learning to crochet, playing with lego and living the life that Angela and Josh normally lead. A lovely life with a wonderful home at its centre.

For the last couple of days we have been in Stellenbosch for the opening of Josh’s art exhibition at an old winery there, Delheim. For the price of one of Josh’s woodcuts we are staying in a nearby lodge and so I have the luxury of wireless internet when the cafe is open.

So for a few minutes I have the chance of a quick blog. I've been thinking about what to say as my initial impression and I am sorry that it is negative rather than positive, when my friends have made me so welcome and I am so enjoying spending time with them

South Africa feels foreign, unfamiliar and uncomfortable when we are out and about in it. I can think of lots of things that are unfamiliar and unsettling but mostly I am uncomfortable being white in a place where that puts me in the small minority of people who have, rather than the majority of people who have next to nothing. I feel responsible here, simply for being white.

It's taken me half an hour to get that far with how I feel and here is my breakfast. A glass layered with yoghurt and muesli and fruit and honey with a frothy coffee on the side.

Next time I'll be better organised and have more to say about the beautiful places we've seen and the animals and the rest.

On Saturday we head off on a road trip to the Eastern Cape and the Great Karoo. More from there.

The Road Trip II: Karijini National Park to Port Hedland.

2010-05-07T21:13:00.001-07:00

Tom Price is a mining town and most of the folk there are there for that reason, hence the lack of accommodation for the spontaneous traveller. It is also one of the closest places to the Karijini National Park, which is famous there and thereabouts for snaking gorges cut in to the red ground with waterfalls and waterholes at their bases. I hadn't heard of the park until I got to Exmouth, but having heard about it I wanted to go and it was the main destination on the road trip.

Once I got there I realised that alot of the roads into and around the park were unsealed so I decided, for the sake of Hertz and my hire car, to stick mostly to the sealed roads even though it would limit how much of the national park I could see. Given the short time that I had and the distances I was going to cover I had already realised that I was only going to have scattered glimpses of the Pilbara rather than seeing anything in great detail.

Karijini is red and dusty as far as the eye can see, with more of the rocky outcrops and ridges but no sign of all the action that happens down at the bottom of the gorges. It is only once you have followed the signs to the landmarks, gotten out of the car in the middle of dust and dirt and heat and followed the path to the lookouts that you are surprised by the deep red gorges running through the park. Not until you are standing at the top of a gorge looking down would you know that it was there.

I went to Dales Gorge first, it runs from circular pool to Fortescue Falls, a distance of over a kilometre and a depth of nearly 600metres. From a vertiginous lookout at the top of the gorge you can hold on to the metal barriers and look down in to the dark circular pool surrounded by greenery below. I walked along the top of the gorge to where you had to take a deep breath and clamber down an even dizzier making path.

Before I took the plunge I walked on a bit to gather my courage whilst pretending to myself I wasn't going to bother to go down. I did though, keeping my centre of gravity very close to the ground as I went (upside down crab) whilst giving myself a stern talking to for attempting it at all in thongs (flip flops!).

After the steep descent the path at the bottom of the gorge was easy and led past a shallow stream, tall grasses, layers and layers of red flat rock and over a stream to the circular pool where unexpectedly there were a bunch of other sight see-ers already having a dip. The water was cool silky smooth. And oddly not salty after days at the beach.

The climb out was much easier than the climb down since I had my back to the drop. Back on the top of the world I jumped in the car and drove a few kilometres to the other end of the gorge and in appropriate footwear this time I climbed down to the Fortescue Falls for a second swim in the pool there.

I got some good advice from one of the locals at the pool - check yourself for leeches after a swim (I was happily leech free) - and some useful advice too - the unsealed roads are perfectly passable at any sensible speed in a car and I should give it a go (he was driving quite successfully at un-sensible speeds in a 4 by 4). Emboldened by this advice I decided to cut back across the bottom of the park and drive to the Hammersley Gorge along the unsealed roads and then take a short cut round the west and north of the park to the Millstream Chichester National Park before finishing up in Karratha.

So off I headed on the unsealed roads for Hammersley Gorge and climbed back down in to the ground for the third time. Once at the bottom you have to scramble up the side of the waterfall picking out a path as best you can and occasionally having to take a leap to the other side to find your way. I didn't know what I was heading to, only that it was where I was supposed to be going by the whoops and laughter coming from that direction.

At the top there was a flat pool surrounded by slippy algae covered rocks, which made getting in to the pool clumsy. At the other end of the pool I had to climb out backwards, so I could get some purchase on the steep slippy rocks and then it was only a couple of metres to a deep, dark and perfectly round pool that was colder than any of the others being shaded by a rocky overhang. I have no idea how deep it was (it probably came out in Scotland on the old drovers path where the lochan is claimed to be bottomless) and I had no desire to find out . I did manage a quick dip in the shadows to the crystal clear waterfall that fell a metre or two from the sunshine above the rocks bringing all of the heat of the sun with it. As hot as any shower.

And then I was back on to the red dusty unsealed road and heading north. It was later in the day than I thought after my three swims and I still had a ways to go. The unsealed roads didn't make for easy driving with the constant rattling of the car and the need to beware the occasional roller coaster dip in to the floodways. I rather missed the ease, the pace and the peace of the highways. When I realised I'd be lucky to get to Karratha in daylight and with a whim to pass through the deserted town of Wittenoom I turned east across the top of the national park to sealed roads, highways and Port Hedland.

There used to be a blue asbestos mine in Wittenoom - before the blue asbestos fibres worked their way in to lining of the lungs of the residents and miners causing cancer it was the biggest town in the Pilbara. After a thousand deaths the government cleared the town of all except the most stubborn residents, declared it unsafe and removed its status as a township. Wittenoom appears deserted. There are buildings gathered at the base of a hill, houses in pale pink and yellow and directions to the visitors centre, but there are no people and they have even taken down the signs bearing the name of the town. Therefore, it no longer exists. An ABC article from 2006 says that in fact eight people still live in the town including one man who shoots kangaroos for a living and the love of his life; they met on the empty main street but I didn't see anyone as I drove by.

After Wittenoom it was 45 kilometres and I was back on to sealed roads, hurrah, and after Auski Roadhouse back on to the familiar highway heading for Port Hedland, another industrial town. Somewhere east of Marble Bar (Australia's hottest place) I passed miles and miles of red dirt and gravel, as if the earth was freshly tilled and turned. No trees, no scrub, no spinnifex clumps, nothing green - only red dirt dust and rocks as far as I could see. I would have taken a picture but i had just overtaken a road train and I wasn't going to let him catch me.

I got in to Port Hedland at dark and had another search for somewhere to stay on my hands. This time it was more than I spent in Tom Price, but the woman in charge was lovely, the room didn't smell of gravy and I had had a good day.

The Road Trip. Exmouth to Tom Price.

2010-05-03T23:45:00.000-07:00

I am a week or two behind with my travels now with everything from the whalesharks to Perth to fill in and much of the detail already disappearing behind me. After the whalesharks I had a week ahead of me in Exmouth and there simply isn't enough to do there if you are a girl alone with no wheels. I did know I was too full of emotion to sit still for a week, so with the memory of the last great WA Road Trip in mind I trotted off down to the car hire place before my worries could catch me up and in my best can do frame of mind hired myself something big enough and clever enough to take on the big distances, the road trains and the heat.

After stocking up with more water than I could drink in a week, food enough for a couple of days, a 3 CD compilation of power ballads and having put out the word of where I would be and when and at what time to get worried if there had been no call I took to the road.

The distances to be covered between anywhere in the Pilbara are considerable. On the first day I planned to drive from Exmouth south and then east to meet the northwest coastal highway, then north on the highway to the Nanutarra Roadhouse, and then east across nothing to reach Paraburdoo and then Tom Price, where I'd stay for the night. ABout 650 kilometres in all.
I thought the driving might be dull or difficult but I was looking forward to Tom Price and checking in to the motel before heading on to the national park the next day.

I thought the Pilbara was a desert and I liked the sound of me 'crossing the Pilbara'. I've realised since that the Pilbara is a bigger area than one desert and includes the coastal regions, the sand plains, the industrial towns and the deep river gorges. What it seems to have in common is the rich iron deposits in the earth which account for the rich red soil and the rich rich mining.

As with the train trip across the Nullabor (which on checking is also not a desert but a plain composed of the world's largest single piece of limestone!) the scenery was always changing even though it was always the same - red dirt, greenery and blue sky. The red dirt changed from pink to orange to deep sienna; rocks from orange to pink to purple slate. The greenery changed from straw to pale green, from tall grasses to clumps of spinifex.

Even some of the trees were red.

There wasn't a great deal else to see on the road. The occasional other vehicle, the odd bit of roadkill, huge rocky outcrops that came and went. The radio kept me company and I listened to the last day of western australia's last urban stock yards in action (it took me a good half an hour to realise that country hour was not country and western hour). I was hardly a pioneer woman crossing the great outback, with my organic cafe made sundried tomato and ricotta penne and a bottle of red wine in my cool bag and yet there was a real sense of satisfaction at covering the distances easily and in watching the world go by.

I was quite content with my lot then when I drove in to Tom Price mid afternoon and for a mining town in the middle of nowhere it has plenty going for it with 2 ovals, an outdoor cinema and a very new bright blue swimming pool. My anticipation of liking the place lasted only until I found myself sleeping in an A frame hut in the tourist park at the cost of 185 dollars for the privilege of a place that smelt strongly of old gravy. I'd thought that the woman at the Motel didn't like the look of me when she told me that they were full and to try calling the tourist park. I drove myself out there to find that the tourist park was also full and I was still trying to work out where that left me (in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to sleep with dusk coming on and the kangaroos lining up at the roadside to play chicken with the traffic in the dark) when the man heard from a regular that he wasn't coming in till the next day and I could have his room at that bargain price. You can't haggle over the last room in town, can you?

So I ate my fancy pasta and drank my red wine and watched the hundreds of cockatoos that were gathered in the trees outside and I took myself off to bed early wondering what exactly I was doing there in the middle of nowhere and planning to be up and out in the fresh air and off to Karijini bright and early.

And that is a tale for another day.

Snorkelling with Whalesharks, Ningaloo Reef, WA

2010-04-28T05:13:00.000-07:00

On Monday I went out with Exmouth Diving Centre for a day of snorkeling with whalesharks. It was one of the main reasons for coming back to Western Australia (the other being the great road trip I had with CK from Perth to Monkey Mia in 2006), and I was simply lucky to be here at the right time of year.

I haven't quite gotten my head around the day yet because there was alot to take in. Much as I like being in the water I am not the most confident of swimmers. On Monday the day started windy and the water was a bit dark and choppy. We had a practise snorkel, while some of the others got a quick dive in, mostly to make sure we were happy enough in the water. And for me it was a bit bouncy on the water, and as snorkels go, the visibility wasn't great (although I did see a Manta Ray :)) but I was happy enough.

At 10 o clock spotter planes go up to find the whalesharks for the boats, and once they have found one the boats race over there and you have to be snorkel ready and in the water and swimming hard the moment you get there (they go surprisingly fast for what seems the minimum movement of their admittedly massive tail). Ten people are allowed in the water at any one time (plus the person in charge who is always keeping an eye on where the shark is) so there is also the business of negotiating other people and their fins. You must also stay behind their heads, 3 metres from their sides and at least 4 metres from their tails. Sounds easy enough until the whaleshark decides to change direction and is heading straight for you and you don't know how to snorkel backwards! (play dead and hope it changes direction seemed to work).

I could say an awful lot about the day, its excitement and adrenaline and frantic-ness never mind what I could say about the whalesharks (ocean's biggest fish, spots as individual as fingerprints, endangered, spend a couple of months at Ningaloo every year after the coral spawning, could be anywhere up to 20 metres long...) but there was a moment that stood out that I am sure I won't forget. On maybe the second dive the whaleshark was diving down below us. The ocean floor was only about 14 metres or so, so the whaleshark couldn't dive and disappear as some of the others did. Instead it began to rise and as it came closer to us and the surface the sunlight shining down lit up it's spots. And it's massive tail was slowly waving from side to side. And for just one moment everything in the world was this one massive creature from the deep.

I'm not going to be able to do it justice, but fortunately one of my fellow snorkellers, Cyril, had a sooper dooper Lumic High Definition camera and got some video footage. And this film is all that I am talking about. You can't tell from the video how big a fish it really is - so there is a photo at the top with a snorkeler or two for scale.

Thanks Cyril, for all of the videos and photos, and to Cyril and AJ for your company over beer and chinese food.

Broome, WA

2010-04-22T03:47:00.000-07:00

I am at Broome airport on my way out. The Gallipoli Dawn Service for Anzac Day is playing on the telly, I have a latte to hand and about 45 minutes before I board my short flight to Learmouth/ Exmouth. It's been a funny few days in Broome. Funny to have all this time on my hands after weeks and months of being so busy. Funny to not to have to do anything much. I have to keep reminding myself I am on holiday and that I needn't do anything!

It's a good place to be, Broome, if you want to watch the world go by and catch up with yourself. It may be the start of autumn, but the days are hot. Nothing happens very quickly here and even though it is the start of the dry season - high season - there aren't many folk about.

It takes a bit to get your head around Broome which is odd when it is only small - small enough that I could walk from the 'international' airport to my motel when I arrived in no time at all. It is also an odd town, for a whole bunch of reasons, all of which add up to make it a fine place to be.

Broome is on the coast but you are hard pressed to get a glimpse of water as there are banks of mangroves which hide the ocean away. When you do get to the beach the sand is red (the pindan) and because the beach is shallow for a long way the water is somewhere between cobalt blue and pale aqua green. No one was in the water at the town beach, which is bayside. After hearing about the jellyfish I was a) not surprised and b) glad I noticed no one was in, wondered why and didn't go in myself.

I hired a bike to get around the town and widen my reach. A scooter might have been better given the temperatures, but at least I got my exercise. Cable Beach, a long white sand beach on the Indian Ocean is only about 5 kms away (I had a good coffee and a massive kiwi fruit muffin at the Old Zoo Cafe there, thanks for the rec. Colin!). There is much much less chance of a jellyfish sting at Cable Beach and lifegaurds to hand which makes a swim a bit less daunting. The life guard sign did note that the last sting was four days before - not unreasonable odds and the crashing surf was too good to miss. I also cycled to Point Gantheaume to see the lighthouse and the red rock formations. It was a long, hot dusty road to get there and I was beginning to despair I would ever get there. The lighthouse was really a beacon on scaffolding, but the beach was incredible. It was shallow as far as the eye could see, the water was clear as could be, the sunlight reflected silver and little fish were darting around my feet.

Broome's an old pearling town and because of that there has always been money for spending. Before the pearls were farmed the best divers came from China and Japan so the town has long had a multi cultural mix. This and it's popularity as a holiday spot mean that I had coffee any Melbourne barista would have been proud to serve, great fresh produce and some amazing food. I meant to go easy after recent weeks of fine dining, but the different places were too temtping. In Azuki I had the best ramen I've had since Japan made with a sweet soy stock, wheat noodles, thick slices of pork loin, pickled vegetables and bean sprouts topped with a dollop of spicy chilli kimchi - SO GOOD!! (see below). And at Noodlefish I had stir fried pork belly with chilli paste, green beans, green pepper corns and basil. I didn't make it to the great sounding italian restaurant and I only tried one beer (the Pindan Ale) at Matso's microbrewery. It was sharp and a bit too bitter for my taste. If I had been so inclined there were plenty more to choose from, including a chilli beer, the famour ginger beer and a chango beer made from chilli and mango. Next time.

About the only thing I knew about Broome in advance was that there was an open air cinema, or rather more quaintly, a picture gardens. I was very excited that it is still there and functioning, the oldest in the world. Really it is a shed with deck chairs and across the lawn a big screen. The outdoor experience is brought to life by frogs croaking in the hedges, small lizards wandering small across the cinema screen and a couple of aeroplanes flying straight over our heads to land behind the screen. Brilliant.

I'm in Exmouth as I finish writing this, I ran out of time at the airport as I am running out of time now. Word to the wise (not me!) - don't travel on Anzac Day - nothing is open! _the lodge staff left a note on the white board with my room number and advice that the keys were in the door).

Broome - good. Exmouth - let's see shall we.

Indian Pacific

2010-04-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I took the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Perth. Over four thousand kilometres in one train journey lasting three days and three nights. Some might say that only a fool would submit themself to such a trip, and only an old fool at that. The Chinese taxi driver who took me to Sydney Central Station literally cackled when i told him it cost nine hundred bucks and i still had to pay for food and agreed that he thought I was mad. I was hoping for an old fashioned charming and perhaps even rather romantic experience (hence the schmaltzy photo above) and I was really glad that that is what I had. It may have been somewhat different a tale if I had had to share the 'cosy' cabin with anyone else, but luckily the stewardess took pity on me and wangled things so I didn't have to share with any pensioners.

A three day journey is a long time, especially for the girl who gets restless and agitated on a plane after about 5 hours, but in some ways it wasn't quite long enough. Firstly there was the fun of settling myself in my cabin, ever so nonchalantly not caring whether or not I'd have a room mate, and then when it was clear I had the place to myself there was the fun of checking out how everything worked. The old fashioned radio buttons, the venetian blinds tucked between glass and the beds that appear from nowhere (one is behind one armchair and the other lowers from the ceiling).

Just plain looking out the window took up an awful lot of time. I was mesmerized by the largely empty but constantly changing landscape rolling by.

Here is the outback red landscape...

Here are the wheat fields of south Australia...

And here some grain stores...

And when I was in need of a change of scenery there was the chance to venture out and explore the narrow snaking corridors, the toilets with their 70s yellow formica, the menu for the next three days and the lounge dining car. After baked potato with chilli and sour cream and a single serve bottle of red wine it was back to my cabin and more window gazing- this time at the night sky. The Milky Way was a vivid swirl above and there were millions of bright stars. We seemed to keep pace with it, or rather to be motionless with the sky as the land rolled by. Beautiful.

After a creaking, rocking, shuttling night's sleep in a surprisingly comfy and cosy berth it was up early for a tour of Broken Hill. The humour was decidedly elderly, as was the content but the view of the train (all 21 carriages, car transporter and engine)
from up on top of the line of lode was cool.

There were four stops in all, which is perhaps why I felt the journey wasn't quite long enough - we seemed to be always on our way to the next place. On the second afternoon we had a few hours in Adelaide where I had coffee and a piadina in a cafe overlooking there arts market. The next morning we got out to wander Cook, a now largely deserted town whose only purpose is a rest and changeover stop for the drivers. Here is the Cook Country Club, established 2006 complete with badminton court, basketball courts and nine hole golf course - the last particularly impressive in a place where water is imported at a cost akin to fuel.

On the last evening we rolled in to Kalgoorlie amidst a spectacular lightning storm (which made the tour of the open mine impossible more is the pity) and I wandered leisurely out for a look at the historic town and after a quick trip to the supermarket scuttled nervously back to the train after considering all those pubs, men and utes. Here is the cloud thunderhead that flashed and forked as darkness fell...

A last night's sleep in a bed that seemed the safest in the world and we arrived in east perth on tuesday morning. The whole experience was reminiscent of sailing off the west coast of scotland in terms of the gentle pace, the long periods of inactivity and the opportunity to ponder as the world drifts by. It was a great way to leave, especially when the preceding weeks were filled with au revoirs et adieus. A good way to catch up with myself and all of the last four years. And it may be the beginning of something else - next time the tran siberian railway or one of india's great train journeys or the train through the Rockies. Who can say.

Itinerary

2010-04-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

My six months are up. And this is about to become about all sorts of places, and none of them Melbourne. I have no idea how much I'll get to post in the next three months as I travel back to the UK. I hope I'll be able to get a few photos and stories up, but just in case I don't here is where I'll be..

Friday 16th April - Fly to Sydney
Sat 17th April - Take train to Perth
Tues 20th April - Arrive Perth and Fly to Broome
Stay in Broome for 6 days and then travel back down to Perth via Ningaloo Reef
May 10th - Fly to Jo'burg and straight on to Cape Town
May 11th Arrive Cape Town and get picked up by Angela and Josh
I'm staying with them near Elim, near Hermanus, east of Cape Town for 7 weeks

here it is on google map...

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?utm_campaign=en_AU&utm_medium=ha&utm_source=en_AU-ha-apac-au-bk-gm&utm_term=google%20maps

July 3rd Fly from Cape Town to Heathrow
July 4th Arrive Heathrow and head to Susan's near Haywards Heath for a week
then buy a car and drive up to Scotland.

It's exciting to be going travelling, but there is alot I am going to miss - all the friends and party people, the coffee, the sushi, boost juices, my local street, the cute cafes, the trams and the easy public transport, going to the beach with the girls, the markets and the fine restaurants to name but a few. Oh, and the graffiti (the good stuff), the weatherboard houses, the birds which make funny noises, the hot air balloons at dawn over the station, possums from the balcony and the wierd and wonderful folk who wander about.

I am going to cram as much as I can in this week to keep me going.

St Kilda Library

2010-04-06T00:06:00.001-07:00

We've been camping on a river bank upstate over Easter weekend, but then you already know that. You probably also know that mostly i took photos on film so it'll be a wee while till i get those back and can post them. So instead, and as it has been a while, I'll post a picture of the St Kilda library, just next door. I love this building, especially from the back.

It would fit in so many places - a tea plantation, on the set of out of Africa or deep in the outback. The garden is grey blue with local plants - gums and scrubs and a towering tree with combat striped bark. The wooden edged roof overhangs to keep the building cool and folk are often sitting in the shade with a computer (jumping on the free internet out front) or with a beer and there mates (out the back). In fact the concrete ledge often gives a passer through a place to sleep on, or under. A truly multi purpose community building (although I doubt that it was intended or is encouraged to be a sleeping place). And through the window you can get a view of the multi coloured glass lights which float inside like little space ships. Gorgeous. I'll get a photo of them next time.

Mobiloil

2010-03-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

So okay, the naked giant man is freaking me out too, or at least seeing his picture front page is. Instead here is the very cool oil advertising sign that is painted on the brick outside our front door. This one's for you Flower!

Two weeks in Australia – Week 2

2010-03-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

Now then, where were we….

Day 8. We went back to DOV on Victoria Street for breakfast and then it was time for our flight to Melbourne. After tea the boys headed off to St Kilda Bowls Club to watch the Melbourne Victory Game and drink beer (Tony never looked happier) while Ish and I pottered around and had some much needed downtime.

Day 9. A late start and then off to see the Ron Mueck exhibit with it’s incredibly lifelike people in all sorts of crazy shapes and sizes. Ish refused to have her picture taken next to the giant naked man (here with me and tony - all the giants)

so here she is with the little people...

After the exhibit we headed to Melbourne’s funky bar scene – old favourite Madame Brussels – a very sweet rooftop bar, all fine white metal garden furniture and fake grass. We drank some bubbles and beer in honour of Johanna’s birthday and then headed to Red Pepper Indian restaurant at the top of Bourke Street for a ten dollar curry. I accidentally ate Ish’s butter chicken, but she magnanimously said that my Chicken Tikka hit her spot. Nan breads awesome, spinach curry awesome, tasty curries all in very different sauces awesome.

Day 10. We headed off to Healesville Sanctuary to see some local wildlife, picking up takeaway coffee (scalding, burnt and bad) and sandwiches (cheese and egg frittata with salad and relish; spicy prosciutto and rocket and Meredith goats cheese all on homemade bread – all fab) at Fatto et Mano Italian bakery on Gertrude Street en route. We arrived at the Sanctuary in time for the platypus show (1pm), parrot show (130pm), birds of prey show (230 pm) and koala show (330pm). Non stop fun and in between times we checked out the Tasmanian devil trotting round and round and round in his pen (not sure if was busy or stressed), a huge wombat fast asleep on his back in the shade with legs outstretched, some nocturnal jumping mice, other big eyed night time creatures, a handful of kangaroos, emus, dingoes and an echidna. I think we got the complete set!

On the way back to the city we stopped off at the Healesville Hotel for a glass of local red, as we were too late for any of the wineries. Tea at home was followed by Craig and Tony heading off to the delights of the Balaclava Hotel, complete with it’s outdoor smoking area (cage) and local wildlife (punch up) and me introducing Ish to Sex and the City, Series 1, Episodes 1 – 4. She’d never seen it!

Day 11. A really nice brunch at MART, the old station house at Middle Park on the 96 route, with some very fine coffee and then we headed to South Melbourne Market (down the grand prix track for the missing jones sibling, ken)(here it is...)

for groceries, tat and a look around. Here's some fish at the mongers.

We popped in to Prahran Market on the way home for Japanese groceries at Fujimart too. It would have been wrong not to have a fritz gelato while we were there, you must agree. Then we lazed around awhile, Ish and I having a quick pedicure next door on Carlisle Street, then headed down to St Kilda Bowls Club for some beers in the sunshine. Some of us finished the night at Coneheads for some fries with salsa. I think that about captures our evening.

Day 12. The boys had a long lie and Ish and I wandered over to one of the parks on Inkerman to meet a friend and his wee one. ‘Discovered’ Little Captain café, which everyone else seems to know about already. Delightful café backing on to the park. All slimline old wood frame, glass front cabinets, beach umbrellas and tasty home made produce. Definitely have to go back there. On Saturday afternoon we had a good old Aussie barbeque and invited folk round for beer. I say good old Aussie barbeque – there was certainly a BBQ there – the food was distinctly more Japanese with sushi, teriyaki lamb and a plum wine cocktail. Ish had her second bit of sushi and it was EEL! Not sure I saw Tony touch it mind you. Here's the sushi we made on sunday, as it was so pretty...

Day 13. We took Ish and Tony along to Craig’s niece’s first birthday party – out on the lawns at Ripponlea Estate. Craig and I had a quick trip around the gardens while we were there and they are beautiful – swimming pool with changing rooms could have been straight off the set of High Society, charming rose and dahlia gardens and a huge rust red curved metal fernery. After the party we took it easy and recharged our batteries for karaoke at KBox in the city, where you have your own private room, mirror ball, huge telly and 2 microphones. Ish was a natural and sang with great gusto, Mark’s Sweet Caroline was perfect karaoke, Craig made our ears bleed and despite his earlier denials, even Tony joined in. Might have been the sake. Ish got shirty when the folk didn’t let on we could have stayed on till 1am having paid for 3 hours, so we got her a mcdonalds to calm her down and then home. Thanks for organising Shalini, and when are we going back?

Day 14. Ish and Tony’s last day and it was a lovely sunny one. We popped in to town for the last presents and had brunch at Desgraves Espresso. As good a coffee at the finish as at the start. Then we headed down to Black Rock and lazed in the sun (and Tony below a beach umbrella) for a couple of hours. What looked like a bit of wake on the water turned out to be dolphins – and plenty of them – rolling past on the calmest, glassiest water. The jelly fish didn’t put Ish off going in but a huge one had me turning quickly to shore. After heading home for a beer on the balcony we finished the week with pizza outside at the Stokehouse on St Kilda Beach as the sun went down.

Jolly tasty pizza it was and jolly tasty too my pork schnitzel with a fresh cabbage and apple coleslaw and a lemon aioli. Then showers, bags packed and off to the airport.

Highlights of the week were the absolute fun of everyone singing at karaoke, the dolphins at Black Rock and the fact that I got to do it all with Ish and Tony.
Good effort for coming all this way and for being up for everything I planned and suggested.

Two weeks in Australia - Week 1

2010-03-17T03:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't been home for any length of time in the last couple of weeks, with finishing work, my brother and sister visiting, gadding about the country and a few parties. I thought unemployment would bring plenty of free time for blogging, but there is just too much fun to be had.

To make up for two lost weeks i though I'd give you our itinerary for the last two weeks - what you could do with two weeks in Australia. Here is Part 1. We did alright!

Day 1. Tuesday. First Melbourne coffee at Los Chicas on Carlisle Street (it was delightful to go when it was quiet - I'm never going on a weekend again). And a pretty fine pretty coffee it was too.

Checked out Federation Square. Visited tourist info and admired tat. Had lunch with passing friends at EQ Bar, Southbank. Ish had her first ever calamari and the waitress give us money off the bill for a couple of Richmond smokes (she was Welsh). Riverboat cruise on little riverboat Grower round to the Etihad Stadium and back. Walk along Southbank past the casino and 112 tram to St Kilda for a very blowy walk along the beach, before retiring home for a beer on the balcony. Train in to city (the day just kept on giving) to Hotel Carlton on Bourke Street for a cocktail before heading up to Chinatown for Pork Dumplings, Pork Bun Chilli Mud Crab and a mountain of food besides. Home.

Day 2. Flight to Hamilton Island - worth it just to land at the one runway airport jutting out in to the paradise blue water. 100 metre walk to the ferry to Airlie Beach.

Checked in and had lunch in the town and a wander followed by a bit of salad shopping and a dip in the hotel pool (it was a 1 in2 gradient climb to the hotel in 30 odd degrees) and a quiet night in with a DVD.

Day 3. Kicked back at the Lagoon, had a smoothie and a panini for lunch in a local cafe, booked our reef trip and had an afternoon nap. Headed down to the Airlie Beach Sailing Club for tea (their version of the RSL I'd guess) (it was poker night) and had the best chicken parma (perfect combination of light crisp batter, tomatoey sauce and cheesey goodness) with a glass of wine and a beer looking over the ocean. It looks like it was too big, but it wasn't.

Day 4. Fast boat out to the the Whitsunday Islands for a snorkel over reef fringes (Ish's first snorkel and my first jump off the side of a boat - accompanied by a completely unexpected and unstoppable scream). The water was a little cloudy from recent rain, but there was coral and there were colourful fishes.

Then on to Whitehaven Beach past the famous sandy inlet (which wasn't sandy swirly as usual because of the rain) (one of the five most photographed sights in Australia along with the Opera House, Uluru, the Blue Mountains and the Twelve Apostles - which means Tony is only missing the last off his list - next trip) for lunch at the beach, with a few friendly goannas dropping by for tit bits. Fast trip home with doughnuts served on route and then down the the local seafood and rum bar (could be messy, but we weren't) for fresh barbequed calamari and snapper.

Day 5. Cleared out of our hotel and took the ferry back to Hamilton Island (Ish the only person lying out on the sun deck) for our flight to Sydney. Checked in to serviced apartments in Potts Point - ninth floor room with wide panormaic view of the city, harbour bridge, opera house and harbour. Had a wee wine chez Jacqui, then old school italian food at Chez Roma and then a couple of bevvies. And a couple more. And some of us a couple more...

Day 6. Breakfast at DOV on Victoria Street, Potts Point then walk down to Woollomoroo, through the Botanics, to the Opera House, Circular Quay (with a bit of souvenir shopping en route) and the Rocks where we ate our chips whilst watching the man on a bike on a pole juggling with a lit flame and a knife whilst eating an apple.

Then on to the Harbour Bridge via the Rocks Market and back round to the Heroes of Wellington pub - a really old pub where an old lady in a pink jumper played trumpet in a jazz band. Not the oldest pub in Australia as we were otherwise informed. Just a famous old pub. Back through the market with our corn on the cob and all the way back to the killer steps back to Jacqui's apartment. The wee one was asleep on the sofa by then but she dragged her ass off of it and took us to the Tropicana cafe (home of Tropfest film festival) for some tea. God Bless Her.

Day 7. The Queen Mary had docked at midnight so we headed back down to the wharf for a quick look at her massive bulk before cabbing it to Bondi Beach for our morning coffee. Then we walked around the cliff walk to Bronte (lunch consisted of sushi - me; salad sandwich - tony; massive burger - Ish) and on to Clovelly (past a very fine cliff top bowls club) (photos for you bowling boys)

(and an even finer swimming inlet) and Coogee, where we put our feet up and let Tony read the paper a while. Then it was off for Japanese food (Ish's first ever sushi -and yes it was the raw fish version) and a night cap of some frozen yoghurt at Woo Moo or Moo Coo or whatever the place with the cow on the ceiling is called.

So that was the week that was week 1. The highlight of week 1 (for me) was definitely jumping off a boat with Ish and going snorkelling together. She's a game girl! Plenty more highlights to follow in Week 2...

Victoria Bitter

2010-02-28T15:05:00.000-08:00

I could do a whole series of photos on the iconic advertising signs of Melbourne. It would be need a day driving around the city to tick off all the lovely old signs. And more like a week if the old industrial buildings and some of the graffiti was included too.
In the meantime, here's the Victoria Bitter sign taken from a moving car as we drove along Punt Road.

Fouzia's Lamb Biryani

2010-02-27T17:24:00.000-08:00

I am very slowly working my way through a long to do list. Posting the recipe for my friend Fouzia's Lamb Biryani has been high on the list and at last here it is.

Fouzia talked down her cooking skills in advance of cooking this, there was no talking them down after. She also said that the more you make the spicey indian dishes the better you get at judging your spice mix and quantities. Apparently she was rusty, however the dish was very tasty and put many of those that are served in indian restaurants to shame. The rice was fluffy, not oily, there was plenty of meat and generous amounts of the sauce.

FOUZIA'S LAMB BIRYANI

1 kilogram of rice makes 10 portions. Expect to make the dish over at couple of days, as staged below, for maximum fluffiness of rice and tastiness of meat.

There were potatoes in this dish too but I don't have that in my recipe as written down.
I think they were cooked off at the start (?with the meat ? separate) then put aside and added back in at the end of the sauce making stage. I shall check this out and correct accordingly.

1. Soak Rice
1KG rice
Soak overnight before use for maximum fluffiness

2. Marinade Lamb
Ingredients:
1 KG lamb portions with bone (adds to flavour)(best ask butcher what is best cut)
1 lemon
Spices (can use a biryani spice mix as basis)
Teaspoon turmeric
Teaspoon cumin seeds
Teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon or more chilli powder
7 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt

Give lamb portions a bit of a bash with a rolling pin to help it tender.
Mix lamb with all the ingredients, including both the juice of the lemon and the remaining lemon halves in a bowl.
Marinade for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

When ready to begin sauce, cover lamb with water, bring to boil and simmer for half an hour. Drain meat, retaining all the meat, pieces of lemon and twiggy bits.

3. Make Lamb Sauce
Ingredients:
6 onions, chopped
1 bulb garlic, chopped
1 ginger root, chopped
5 big tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 long green chilli chopped
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Spices:
2 teaspoons cloves
10 bay leaves
3 sticks cinnamon bark (not cinnamon sticks) broken up
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds

Fry onions in vegetable oil until golden over a good heat.
Add garlic and ginger, spices, mix well and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add tomatoes, salt, chillies and chilli powder and cook for 30 minutes on high heat. Stir regularly so doesn't stick to bottom of pan. If beginning to add some water.
After 30 minutes taste and add more chilli etc if required.

Add meat to sauce and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Cook rice
Boil rice in an excess of water with a bit of salt until a grain of rice squashed with a finger is soft but has a little give, approximately 10 minutes (time will reduce with longer overnight soaking).
Drain rice.

5. Layer rice and sauce
In a large saucepan put alternate layers of rice and lamb sauce until all used up.
Cover the pan with 2 tea towels to make an airtight seal, then put the pan lid on top.
Put the pan on a very low heat, allowing the dish to steam for 10 minutes.

6. Make the chutney
Ingredients:
2 long green chillies
1 onion
4 or 5 spring onions
bunch mint leaves
1 1/2 bunch coriander
6 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 teaspoon salt to taste
ground black pepper
1 tomato

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz. Keep in the fridge in an airtight jar till ready to use. The chutney can be stirred though natural yoghurt to taste and served on the side of the biryani.
Chopped cucumber and tomato can also be added.
And the chutney can be mixed with good old tomato sauce for a red chutney.

7. Serve
Making sure that you dish out portions which have both the rice layer and the sauce layer.

I hate to say it, but Autumn is making it's presence felt here. The mornings are growing dark, the minimum daily temperatures are falling and there has been a chill in the air on occasion. On the plus side the cooler temperatures call for hotter and heftier food, and this is just the thing. Just the thing to cook in a camp oven, over a wood fire, by an upstate victorian river at easter time maybe?

Rosa's Kitchen

2010-02-24T02:21:00.001-08:00

It is true. We eat out ALL THE TIME. Melbourne food is good, it needn't be expensive, there are more places than we could ever eat in (and we are trying to eat in them all), we have no mortgage, no children and only one dependent.

I shall make no more excuses. Especially when the place in question is Journal Canteen. It it my favourite place and I've only been twice.

On Tuesday we had a quick lunch perched on bar stools at the counter. He had an entree size spaghetti with pesto, tomato sauce stirred though and some breadcrumbs on top. Whatever. I had the antipasto plate. Large, of course.

It was similar to the plate we had had once before (see many blogs ago). The absolute highlight was the dressed courgette strips. The nice man in the kitchen said that you use a mandolin to slice the courgette in to thin slices and salt them overnight. Rinse and squeeze out till dry the next day and finish with garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and mint. I love pickles and these were a fine fresh sweet vinegary delight. The fried chat potato slices with tiny salty pieces of bacon were also good. Oh, and the fresh tomato, bread, caper and olive oil salad couldn't have been any better. I'll shut up now. Go!

Afternoon tea

2010-02-22T02:40:00.001-08:00

We had afternoon tea on saturday. A thankyou for all the girls who have extended their hospitality and their kitchens to me in recent years. The theme was kitsch and the dress code pretty. I am sorry there weren't many pictures of everyone in their finest, but it was all about the food.

I had just finished reading the Australian classic 'My Brother Jack'. It follows a Melbourne family, two brothers in particular, from the end of the Great War until nearing the end of World War II. The clever brother who has no gumption ends up married to a beautiful woman who is interested only in appearances. Her description of cocktail onions dyed bright jewel colours was an inspiration and we had bright yellow, green and red onions on cocktail sticks with pineapple and cheese cubes. Who knew you could buy them already dyed! My photos of that have disappeared sadly. As have the pictures of crab dip piped on to savoy biscuits topped with tiny capers.

Here's the main spread though. Herb sandwich rounds topped with caviar; cucumber salad; champagne chicken and tarragon vol au vents; prawn marie rose on baby cos lettuce; a dairy free fritatta with stripes of asparagus, red peppers and black olives; diana's mini meatballs and crumbed rice balls; jo's revolutionary mini potato and caramelised onion quiches - on bread buttered and baked till crisp and pumpernickel with smoked trout and horseradish.

After a decent interval we had Alex's stunning flourless chocolate cake with raspberries and strawberries and Franca's decadent caramel and chocolate swirl cheesecake - topped, of course, with a chocolate cream.

And as if that wasn't sufficient Shalini's perfectly perfect mini lemon meringue pies and Chrissie's mini banana and chocolate chip muffins. Sarah took a detour past Victoria's famous bakery and brought vanilla slice, raspberry and almond tarts and iced apple rounds.

It was a tea party of course so there was plenty of tea to quench our thirst. We found that 2 cups of slightly sweetened earl grey tea with 100mls each of cognac and lemon juice poured over ice and finished with a splash of lemonade did the trick. As recommended by gourmet traveller.

Thank goodness the boys came round and ate all the leftovers.

Una's, Kings Cross, Sydney

2010-02-16T00:10:00.000-08:00

Not only have there been complaints about too much talk about food, now there are whisperings (frank accusations actually) that my blog has been superficial in its commentary. Or rather that i have not put enough of myself in what i say. Well be careful what you ask for people.

Almost five years ago I first went to Sydney for a weekend with Kate while I was here on holiday. We wandered around Kings Cross and Paddington with mild hangovers one Sunday morning and ended up eating sausages, sauerkraut and rosti at a very cute Austrian restaurant.

There is a very pleasing symmetry that four and a bit years on one of my good 'new' Australia friends now lives in walking distance of the place and with much more significant hangovers (and after bailing out of going to a fancy Sydney eatery drinkery because of said hangovers) we walked up to Una's and ate massive portions of schnitzel and potato.

I love a bit of romance and being able to be nostalgic about a country in which I have lived for so little time is rather wonderful. Particularly as my time here runs out so quickly now. I also like the rather odd translation of the hanging on the wall, courtesy of a freebie internet translation tool.

It goes something like...
"a loving word at the right has been some compensation against heartache"

Iconic Coca Cola Sign Kings Cross Sydney

2010-02-08T00:53:00.000-08:00

Laziest blog to date (but the internet keeps dipping out...).

Bubble Dome

2010-01-31T22:02:00.000-08:00

Is that what we are supposed to call it, the new footie stadium in Melbourne? Well regardless of whether that is it's name or a true representation of it's purpose - here is a picture of the almost completed structure.

Chapel Street, Melbourne

2010-01-26T23:15:00.001-08:00

There have been complaints. Too much talking about food, apparently. So before I start talking about going out for 'modern Polish' food for Australia Day breakfast, here's a picture what I took yesterday walking up Chapel Street. World Famous in Australia for it's shopping. And when you can drag your eyes from the window shopping, some amazing buildings also.

Birdman Eating

2010-01-24T02:03:00.000-08:00

Along the road from my work is a very cool cafe. Birdmen hang from the ceiling alongside little test tube vases of meadow flowers and a light sculpture made from old fashioned egg beaters. For breakfast there are eggs baked in terracotta dishes and later in the day a choice of big and little dishes. On the day Jo and I went for brunch the eggs came with either pancetta and sugo, creamed zucchini, beetroot, silverbeet and dukkah or roast cauliflower. We went with very good coffee and lunch rather than breakfast.

First there was smoked cod croquettes with a lemon aoili. Smooth smoky fishy filling in a crisp and crunch coating. Perfect.

And then a calamari, potato and chorizo salad with a side of roasted cauliflower. Some might say that the calamari was a little rubbery in that almost underdone squeaky way - but it was a good combination of flavours. The cauliflower was roasted to a sweet lush softness and came with some sliced almonds which gave it a nice bite. The only thing that let it down was too much oil in the balsamic dressing - maybe we should have had some bread to soak it up.

Flinders Street Station Arcade

2010-01-19T01:32:00.000-08:00

It was my half day today and I wandered from the centre of the city through the lane ways to the station as I did my chores. There is an underground arcade leading from the lane ways to the station and I have meant to bring my camera any number of times. Today my camera was in my bag and I took a couple of quick shots, nothing fancy, and here they are...

The entrance from Desgraves Lane

Old lift and more graffiti

Hairdressers

Cafe

Izakaya

2010-01-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, and very jet lagged, in Japan we sat on the raised floor of an eating and drinking establishment (about which all i can remember is that it was dark, we were sleepy from the bath house and one of us fell asleep while we waited for our food) and ate small dishes of food with beer. Some of the food was japanese and there were some korean influenced dishes too. That is what Izakaya means to me in terms of food and that is also the name of a new place up our street which opened last year. Our local is rather brighter and fancier, the food is more specifically Japanese, but the option of choosing from a range of small dishes is the same. We've been a couple of times now and are very pleased to have another evening option on our street, which has a fabulous daytime cafe scene, but has little in the way of evening eating. Both times we've stuck quite highly to the specials menu, which last time looked like this...

We ordered a couple of glasses of prosecco, miso soup with tuna, the calamari, the crab omelette and from the regular menu sticky rice coated dumplings and the silver whiting. The miso wasn't anything special and the tuna pieces in it didn't really work as they had become dry, but everything else was gorgeous. I was so excited by the dishes that I don't think that I remembered to photo any dish before we had split them in two.

The calamari was soft and smoky, with a sweetness from it's sauce.

The omelette was filled with the soft flavour of the crab and the mushrooms and sat in a puddle of a light broth.

These sticky rice coated dumplings were filled with chicken, prawn and ginger and then steamed. They came with a hot yellow mustard (not so much hotter than a fiery wasabi) and a vinegar dipping sauce.

There is no picture of the silver whiting which was rolled with shiso and salted plum and then lightly tempura battered and fried. We've had this and the omelette both times and they are brilliant dishes. It's really nice to have a japanese restaurant that serves more than the standard sushi, rice and noodle dishes and that serves it so well. There is a precision, delicacy and balance in their cooking.

Crab omelette for breakfast anyone?

Merry Christmas Cocktail

2009-12-29T00:08:00.000-08:00

We've been camping down at the beach in true australian christmas style. Sharp contrast to the snow and minus five conditions at home. We looked after ourselves very well and this is our christmas day cocktail, which i thought i would share. I'm not claiming that our presentation is up to the mark (bear in mind we were camping sans muddler and ice crusher) and the final result was a little weedy - nothing that couldn't be avoided at home. Great festive colour.

I think the recipe was from delicious magazine, here's how i remember it...
Muddle a cup and a half or so of raspberries with a good handful of mint and about 5cm piece of ginger grated, until smooth. Crush in a bunch of ice. Pour on 8 shots of vodka and about 700mls of ginger beer. Pour over ice and garnish with mint and a raspberry or two.

Guiseppe Arnaldo and Sons

2009-12-17T01:43:00.000-08:00

We took Fouzia to GAS at the casino for a quick bowl of pasta the other week. That doesn't sound particularly extravagant until you see the place. The restaurant is part of the southbank complex in Melbourne and is an enormous space. I'm sure I saw Fouzia with her camera - so maybe there will be a photo to follow. If not, well imagine a long dark room which is painted black with a variety of spaces. Like a stage with a number of sets. There is a large glass cupboard which looks like it came from an anatomy museum, a tall scarlet meat slicing machine that also has the look of modern macabre and a ceiling high set of shelves with a cutting stand in front for the generous portions of bread. There are seats in front of the long window at the front (the windows are smokey - you can see out, but not in) which you can grab if you get there early, a long high table with bar stools for slightly more communal eating and a square eating area or two angled in between the back wall and the kitchen. There are simple Moroccan tiles cutting a swathe across the floor and up the walls to demarcate the different areas in the eatery and also in the bar. A fabulous experience in itself. And then there is the food.

Here's the menu (which comes as your paper place mat)...

http://www.idrb.com/giuseppe_main_flash.html

This was maybe our fourth or fifth trip to GAS. Our eating experiences there have ranged from the sophisticated to the brave. The raw scallops with olive oil, cress, capers and a touch of truffle. Oregano and lemon dusted prawns with aioli. Some extremely classy salami. A very very tender steak. The old school tripe in a tomatoey sauce - it beat us both with it's richness. A sausage stuffed pigs trotter - it looked very much like a pigs trotter and it beat me too. We kept things simple this time though, no offal, no feet.

You can see my calamari fritti with courgette and mint - lightly crumbed and quickly fried. Perhaps we didn't need the rosemary potatoes on the side, but they were also good. Craig had a risotto with marrow (that's bone marrow) with saffron and pork sausage - which he said was a little full on which is quite something from a trotter eating toughie. And this is Fouzia's flathead with tomato, basil and olive oil. Simply lovely.

The highlight of course was Craig tucking in to a chilli from the olive bowl, chewing momentarily, spitting the whole thing out and then the succession of pained expressions until the burning heat lessened. Not so tough now, eh?

Elwood Market

2009-12-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't simply post a photo and caption per day - as time gets away from me, the post ideas come and go and the photos accumulate. Not to mention the culture, art shows and odd things that we've been to in recent weeks - there is just too much explaining to go with the photos. Such as the obsessively knitting, frantically weaving american whose show was part historic building tour, part history of hair craft and knitting and part personal experience. See here...

Maybe there'll be time to come back to her and various others, but meantime here are a few market shots from recent weeks...

A month ago i had a wander around Elwood market with Queen Bee. Egg and bacon roll four dollars fifty, home made lemon cordial 1 dollar per glass, french bakery croissants, a commemorative Alice Springs tea spoon (sold to me for 2 dollars by a wee wifey from Paisley - she moved here over 40 years ago and still had the look and sound of the west of the scotland), some old french pharmacy card boxes for a dollar each amongst craft, art, tat, food and plants. Lovely market. Here is some of the local produce....

And her is some more again...

We were back there yesterday and scored egg and bacon rolls as before, coffees, portuguese custard tarts, chocolate cup cakes and some sunburn as we wandered. Maybe Fouzia got a photo of the bearded man with a cockatoo on his shoulder (they shared their bacon roll). I was too busy chomping on my roll at the time.

Aka Tombo

2009-11-28T00:26:00.001-08:00

Tuesday half days are here again and with them even more opportunities for food. This week we went for japanese food at Aka Tombo on Greville Street. It's little, extremely friendly, nicely done out and the sets are good. The pictures are doing most of the talking today.

We had unidentified stalks/ greens/ beans in a clear stock to begin with. Then miso soup.

Followed by the sashimi set for me with the usual mix of salmon, tuna and a couple of white fishes (all meltingly fresh), an oyster with a tabasco vinegar sauce and some delicately cut radish. There was a little side dish of wee squares of dark seaweed that tasted like it had been sweetened in a treacle sauce. Plus a bowl of sticky rice and an endless supply of green tea.

And for him the Teriyaki Chicken set complete with sushi, sashimi and tempura.

And I almost forgot - to finish we had a red bean, tofu and fruit salad in syrup. All in all a winner!

Mary Barbour's Lemon Curd

2009-11-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

Lemon trees in the garden are pretty common in Melbourne, and everyone is a winner when there is a glut of lemons and they are shared around. We've had some from friends, some from friend's work colleagues and some from the market so far this year. We even had a giant fresh lemon with a platter of sushi at Osaka in St Kilda - the top was cut off and inside was a tuna mayonnaise with some delicately cut cucumber slices.

With all these lemons I have been making lemon curd and preserved lemons. By popular request, here is the recipe I have for lemon curd. It was my mother in law's recipe - all the way from Campbeltown on the west coast of Scotland and is good enough to eat straight fro the jar.

Mary Barbour's Lemon Curd
Ingredients:
4 oz butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
2 lemons, rind finely grated and juice squeezed

Method:
Melt the butter in a thick based saucepan over a low heat.
Add the sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice and stir till well mixed.
Whisk in eggs and stir slowly over a low heat until the mixture takes on the thickness of custard.
Don't boil (or it will split and have a grainy texture).
Pour in to sterilised preserving jars and put in to the fridge while still warm.

This makes a really fresh and lemony zingy curd that is great on toast. Mary also used to make these tartlets to fill with the curd. The rice flour gives the pastry a nice crunchy texture.

Tartlets
Ingredients:
4 oz margarine (you can use butter)
2 oz caster sugar
5 oz plain flour
1oz rice flour
1 egg yolk

Method:
Sift flours and sugar in to a bowl. Add margarine and egg yolk and combine using a knife or your fingers.
The pastry should come together with some light kneading, then roll out and line your pastry tins.
Bake in a moderate oven until pale gold.

When I was up in Brisbane recently I had an amazing lemon curd and goats cheese tart for pudding at Custom House Restaurant. It was served with a blueberry and truffled honey ice cream. The blueberries were lost in amongst the strong earthy flavour of the truffle, which was pretty rich and saved only by the sweet kick of the honey coming in behind.

I've heard it said that goats cheese tastes like the smelly barn in which the goats live - this isn't for you if you aren't a fan of goats cheese - if you are this combination of barnyard and citrus works! Here's my cheat version with shop bought pastry cases. I know the filling works now - so next time I'll make my own pastry from the recipe above. I used two dessertspoons of lemon curd to about 1 dessertspoon of a creamy light goats cheese. Just mixed them together and spooned it in. The lemon stood out with that ratio of ingredients - next time i might be inclined to have the same amount of goats cheese as curd. Question now is - do i need my own ice cream maker...?

Dinner and a play.

2009-11-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to see When The Rain Stops Falling - Melbourne Theatre Company. It was raining on the stage and a huge fish fell from the sky. It landed with a thud and splashed all of us down near the front. There were alot of people called Gabriel and alot of things happened over and over again in different places and generations. There were alot of people who were unhappy and alone. And I thought that the loss, unhappiness and grief that we saw represented only a fraction of the possible repetitions. At the end we see a father and son, the grandson and great grandson of the story, meet and repeat the conversations of their predecessors. They eat said fish. They swap presents. They talk. They get on. Things go right. The dead look on with interest and approval. And the rain stops falling.
This was our last show of the season and it was nice that it ended on a hopeful, redemptive note.

Enough about culture though - there is food to feast upon.

Here is the restaurant, Journal Canteen, in the city...

It is open weekdays for lunch and friday nights for dinner. That's all. Rosa the chef is Sicilian and her place serves the simple home cooked food that she would serve at home.

Here is the antipasto plate we shared to begin with, with a glass of prosecco and a basket of italian white and sourdough...

We had 1 slice of salami, 2 black salty olives, 2 green, crunchy asparagus stems, a little pile of juicy aubergine, slices of courgette with a tomato sauce, puy lentils with tiny pieces of chopped red onion and others, a piece of what was somewhere between an omelette and a curd cheese, a potato cake with spring onions and a courgette and new potato stack.

Here is my main course - slow cooked veal chops with tomatos, capers and potatoes...

The meat fell from the bones and I had to ask for more bread to soak up the juices.

And here are Craig's marinaded sardines...

which were fresh, raw and a little vinegary scattered with a fresh green herb salsa.

There was a dressed iceberg lettuce and radish salad, a glass of red wine each and in place of dessert a couple of slice of a ewes milk pecorino cheese served with some thinly sliced olive oil dressed bread and some slices of ripe green pear.

I loved it for the friendly folk, the old school school decor, the green paint and the counter stools. Mostly I loved the fresh, summery produce. Gorgeous.

Before sunset.

2009-11-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

Maybe all i'll have time for is quick posts if things stay so busy. I'm going to try to put out a couple back to back this morning.

It has been the hottest week on record for this time of year with temperatures forecast for the week as 31 32 32 34 34 30 36.
It has fortunately not been quite so hot and there have been some salty cool breezes coming up from the ocean on at least a couple of evenings - time to open some windows and let the hot air out.

We had a bayside picnic on tuesday night. Flat bread, green olive dip, roast chicken and beer. The sea was silvery and sparkly as we had our tea, and the sky bright red and deep blue as we headed home.

St Kilda Possum

2009-11-07T16:26:00.001-08:00

A quickie.
Walking home last night we came across an old boy with a shopping trolley whistling too- too-too at this possum perched up on a fence chewing on his supper. He stayed nicely still for the photo and then trotted off, leaving the old boy too-too-too-ing to the fence.

Nuts

2009-11-05T02:38:00.000-08:00

I had all things lemons in mind on the way home, but then I was distracted by dinner - a summery coleslaw salad - that was too good not to share. This is a Neil Perry recipe - Vietnamese Coleslaw with Prawns - although just a little simplified. He suggests to use it as a side dish to some fried fish and some boiled rice - but I threw in plenty of small prawns and served the dish on its own.

Neil called for home roasting of raw peanuts - I missed that bit out and bought some decent dry roasted peanuts from the healthy food section (as opposed to the beer nuts section). He also suggested a mandolin to julienne the carrot. The coarse end of a grater worked just fine for me. You can make the dressing vinegary, sweet or hot to taste - I've reduced the liquid in this recipe - there was too much.

Vietnamese Coleslaw with Prawns

1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
300g chinese leaves, rolled tightly and thinly sliced
I carrot peeled and grated
1/2 spanish onion thinly sliced
8 large cherry tomatoes sliced
Couple of handfuls of prawns of your preference
1 cup mixed fresh herbs e.g. coriander, thai basil, basil mint, vietnamese mint

Dressing:
100ml rice wine vinegar
1 - 2 tablespoons caster sugar, to taste
1 tablespoon dried chilli flakes

What to do:
Put dressing ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and return to room temp.
Mix everything together, dress to taste and serve.

November 1st 2009

2009-10-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

It's drizzling this morning, with the threat of sunshine. Last night we had another long electrical storm, mostly lightning and only some rolling thunder as the rain came on. And yesterday we had a hot hot day and me my first swim in the bay. Sparkling sunlight on the water and light, cool water. Gorgeous.

Since I ordered my new computer last month and it's arrival i've been keeping track of things to talk about and i am already weeks behind. Here's a snapshot...

Dinner at Arabesques in Elsternwick.

We had halloumi filo cigars and spicy lamb sausages with harissa potato salad to start. The filo was crinkly and crisp, the halloumi light and soft and the dish was sweet enough for pudding. It was an elegant looking starter too, where most of the other dishes had a more rustic charm. For mains we had a whole grilled barramundi with roast potatoes, chicken skewers with rice and the lamb koftas, which were full of juicy cinammon flavours.

Next stop mama ganoush, there more modern chapel street restaurant.

http://www.mamaganoush.com/menu.html

Korean set meal in Brisbane.

In Glasgow there is a korean restaurant and they do alot with kimchi and claypots, but I don't think I ever had Bibimbap before i came to Melbourne. There's a great korean restaurant near work and they make it really well in a sizzling claypot dish. I had something similar in Brisbane. The claypot comes straight from the oven and is filled with a layer of cooked white rice then a layer of neatly ordered vegetables (shitake mushrooms and thinly sliced carrots, courgettes & red cabbage). In the middle is a mound of beef and on top a raw (or sometimes, fried) egg. On the side you get a dish of chilli sauce that sometimes is close to a chilli and satay sauce and you tip this in stir the whole lot up and it carries on cooking in its very hot dish. By the time you get near to finishing the vegetables are soft, the rice is crunchy and there is a tasty caramelised egg/ chilli/ satay coating to be scraped off the bottom of the pot.

The rest of my set was made up of a dish of kimchi, cold roast potatoes with a syrup dressing and a tuna pasta salad that took me straight back to student days.

I ate the lot. And washed it down with a couple of korean beers.

At the state library in Queensland the next day I wolfed down a chorizo filo roll between lectures. It's a lovely part open air cafe with a great bookshop next door.

And the day after that I had a zucchini cous cous slice with a tamarind chutney at the main art gallery. My attention was more taken by the ibis wandering around (ignore them and they will walk right up to you, look them in the eye and they turn quickly away) and the lovely water sculpture.

Walking back to my hotel after class I came back to the weekly food market that had been setting up in the main square that morning. The stalls that caught my eye in the morning were the french baker's, a man selling homemade sand crab quiche and a range of gourmet cheeses. I thought that these were the foods of winter and the smells were rich in the hot and humid morning. When I had time to wander later there were kilos and kilos of strawberries, baskets of heritage tomatoes, fresh local seafood and huge bunches of bananas. My food photo skills are not up to scratch, but the tomatoes turned out nice.