tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36603582752677450492024-02-07T19:58:58.919-08:00Multicultural Melbournerecipes and reviews from a cultural melting pot :)jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-65740420531842076642011-08-25T03:42:00.000-07:002011-08-25T03:42:29.561-07:00Multicultural Melbourne is moving!!!!<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hello wonderful, lovely readers!!!</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just a quick message to say that Multicultural Melbourne has moved to WordPress! I've decided to do this in order to give myself some more options in terms of my blog and it's layout, making it easier to use, and also so that I can have my own domain. I'm still learning the ropes, but I think I'm pretty much set up and ready to go! </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, please follow me over to</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">multiculturalmelbourne.com</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">See you there :)</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Jess xo</span></span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-66986506483392445792011-08-23T02:50:00.000-07:002011-08-23T02:50:49.583-07:00Apologies for the hiatus!<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hey there all, </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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This (unfortunately) is neither a review nor a recipe. Just an apology for not having put anything new up for the last week - I'm in the middle of training for my new job and also fixing up my blog and preparing to move it to WordPress! So, bear with me, and I'll have some new stuff up and running on the weekend!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And to keep you interested until then, here's what's coming... :)</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><br />
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jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-32686613137824517482011-08-15T00:05:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:18:58.961-07:00Scarf Community Dinner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Scarf Community</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://scarfcommunity.org/"><i>Visit Website</i></a> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A few months ago, I heard about a fabulous little Melbourne organisation called "Scarf Community." For those of who you don't know about this brilliant organisation, let me tell you a little bit about it... Scarf provides hands on hospitality training to marginalised youth who might not otherwise be able to afford or get access to training or employment. They "borrow" restaurants around Melbourne from some very kind, generous owners who are willing to lend their venues to the Scarf crew on Monday nights (the traditional hospitality night off) for a 10 week period, over which the students are able to hone their skills in providing a real dinner service to real, paying customers, while being helped along by their mentors.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The mentors involved in Scarf are all people who currently work in the hospitality industry, and volunteer their time to guide their charges along their way, providing them with both industry knowledge and connections. Upon finding out about this amazing organisation, I knew I had to get involved, and immediately emailed to arrange a dinner booking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We arrived at Mixed Business (486 Queen's Parade, Clifton Hill) at 8:30pm on a cold, Melbourne night for our dinner booking, and wondered on in just as a large group was leaving, so we stood around for a minute or two before someone realised we weren't with the departing bunch. We were quickly shown to our seats, just by the bar/counter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Our table was set with an eclectic mix of plates and knitted napkin holders, which I loved - it had a very homely, welcoming feel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After a few minutes, our wonderful waiter took our drink order, and then presented us with our menus. A two-course set menu for $35, we had the choice between three entrees and three mains.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With our orders placed, we waited another five minutes or so before our waiter came back with some bread and olive oil for us... great way to get our hunger happening!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVytWF_27vTxd4xsDIgU4r_voEelHmyJ7rF70n5Ag753FwTQKfR5acOuPsxLy9E4T4ojYfRsb-4gGz2Hpkzw35XytmprSvUVhSwirZf6pM5dsAHlAapoK5fgz9RvP4NvgbeXETMJudT0o/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVytWF_27vTxd4xsDIgU4r_voEelHmyJ7rF70n5Ag753FwTQKfR5acOuPsxLy9E4T4ojYfRsb-4gGz2Hpkzw35XytmprSvUVhSwirZf6pM5dsAHlAapoK5fgz9RvP4NvgbeXETMJudT0o/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We waited only another five or ten minutes before our entrees came out. Sous-Jeff ordered the potato, leek and bacon soup with crispy parmesan, and I ordered the risotto with roasted salmon, basil, fetta, lime and spinach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sous-Jeff enjoyed his soup, especially the crispy parmesan. It tasted like a beautiful, comforting, home cooked meal, which was perfect for the freezing cold night.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1FnmnifDQ4-4NPyQ6qps3eJBBn6wxkgUbWxC9_-wJ-yc-nfzYxqPWn7zFZ8owR5dxOhWVoix-7sx_PXckPGMHos1wYoJSeddoulQDMsQy9nF6yELTB2iJaNEcYxYf5gBerldyX4KdxY/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1FnmnifDQ4-4NPyQ6qps3eJBBn6wxkgUbWxC9_-wJ-yc-nfzYxqPWn7zFZ8owR5dxOhWVoix-7sx_PXckPGMHos1wYoJSeddoulQDMsQy9nF6yELTB2iJaNEcYxYf5gBerldyX4KdxY/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Potato, leek and bacon soup with crispy parmesan.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm actually not at all a salmon eater, but the combination of lime, fetta and spinach made me decide to give the risotto a try. I am soooo glad I did! Although there wasn't a strong fetta or lime flavour, it was creamy and the salmon was perfectly cooked. I really enjoyed this dish, even more so because I was so apprehensive about it!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZKT10OAz9QpI-1mNUu80GuI0E3mSFpBWoPgDA7K9YPZw6zaXbLXJJAmVXGyhQedLDYaPF7Ttl_-CaKquKoQFCDNVgzGsdHrgwRg9faMAVxi8Rr_H2Th5s6Z6mcYFqNj6q_H1bBqH6mU/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZKT10OAz9QpI-1mNUu80GuI0E3mSFpBWoPgDA7K9YPZw6zaXbLXJJAmVXGyhQedLDYaPF7Ttl_-CaKquKoQFCDNVgzGsdHrgwRg9faMAVxi8Rr_H2Th5s6Z6mcYFqNj6q_H1bBqH6mU/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Risotto with roasted salmon, basil, fetta, lime and spinach.</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next out were our mains. Sous-Jeff went with the braised chicken with fig and pomegranate molasses and cous cous, and I went with the Osso Bucco Milanese.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The chicken wasn't at all what we'd expected - we thought it might come out as a chicken breast or thigh covered in sticky, fruity sauce, on a bed of cous cous. What Sous-Jeff had placed in front of him instead was a stew-type bowl of chicken with a bowl of cous cous on the side. The chicken had a strong cinnamon flavour and was well cooked, and again Sous-Jeff felt like he was eating a beautifully home cooked meal. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheu8gEh6JDeSMquh1XD8JZlBmI1bCJtThxJWOVkLDBHhHNsCYpHEOf1p3vFjUBQSIETR5yN-3l8EwdTesyapZMOx9-e7C9PWnScPoCKR_MOSNdKRt27T3wR60Ym4R8q9NmHSI5OU2BGQY/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheu8gEh6JDeSMquh1XD8JZlBmI1bCJtThxJWOVkLDBHhHNsCYpHEOf1p3vFjUBQSIETR5yN-3l8EwdTesyapZMOx9-e7C9PWnScPoCKR_MOSNdKRt27T3wR60Ym4R8q9NmHSI5OU2BGQY/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Braised chicken with fig and pomegranate molasses and cous cous</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My Osso Bucco had high standards to live up to, and it didn't disappoint. The veal was so tender and soft, it just fell off the bone. The sauce was delicious too, but lacked a flavour punch - it was just a bit under seasoned.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMveAA6W-ssRmvWgRDKgzRllhwBNr4HGa3XPpHjB141NxNleTpCgyvpsDOZdEwTSHxlXhHMwO90mT7bnfGV1O7CBQAW4BuP_7hYhISGT8nuZiYwVMscdiX0wewmby6XhmM7y_uEn1kboI/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMveAA6W-ssRmvWgRDKgzRllhwBNr4HGa3XPpHjB141NxNleTpCgyvpsDOZdEwTSHxlXhHMwO90mT7bnfGV1O7CBQAW4BuP_7hYhISGT8nuZiYwVMscdiX0wewmby6XhmM7y_uEn1kboI/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Osso Bucco Milanese</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With dinner done and dishes cleared, we were handed a dessert menu. Well, I just can't say no to dessert, so we decided upon a piece of cake and a shared plate of home made sweets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The raspberry cake was beautifully presented, but unfortunately for me, had quite a bit of cinnamon in it. Sous-Jeff was happy to capitalise on my misfortune and gladly polished it off! Thankfully, he left the berry compote for me, which went down very, very nicely with the small bowl of vanilla ice cream that was served with it. At an additional $12.00 for the cake, we did however feel like it really wasn't very good value for money. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFr_W1_pygu-62Mfapuqd77WsDf7zyM-t7mqPgBdetOkmIPi7tqbvCgz1997nCGSIwMRrJZ8A4sS6wE29JW6wS0s2jbABpGeMllmpPzviezfL3ra8JNwA_hcM3tj3KwUeMxhBeGMRx_Rc/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFr_W1_pygu-62Mfapuqd77WsDf7zyM-t7mqPgBdetOkmIPi7tqbvCgz1997nCGSIwMRrJZ8A4sS6wE29JW6wS0s2jbABpGeMllmpPzviezfL3ra8JNwA_hcM3tj3KwUeMxhBeGMRx_Rc/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Raspberry cake, $12.00</i></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTecmc3JG9UDzkDAZp1MXXtQXjkGRQxssbL6Onr28c2mXwMlEgexphkQgV4PlRh530_qLsF8lDHhC4iFb2xhpmzSgsmXo6bmKGOP1M5MNBu0-4BukTRIBYZk1NHGyK4wqgiTYwLAySO4/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTecmc3JG9UDzkDAZp1MXXtQXjkGRQxssbL6Onr28c2mXwMlEgexphkQgV4PlRh530_qLsF8lDHhC4iFb2xhpmzSgsmXo6bmKGOP1M5MNBu0-4BukTRIBYZk1NHGyK4wqgiTYwLAySO4/s640/13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The plate of homemade sweets was gorgeous! A pink little meringue (which tasted a little like rosewater...), a yo-yo with a creamy, sugary filling, and a delicious little chocolate chip cookie all disappeared in the blink of an eye, and they were all beautiful! Perfect way to finish a meal, and at only $2.00 for the plate, it was a winner for us!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVES06VkC4SJ2vbivP8P2pYA7JjO7rR3dec2oFJmztSyk4QIVXbmBgK4sc0A1keCBSGyNk7JlvlXAeuOkbAnF2MWWT5L1bGH4hgg5yK1JLyMkDR9yBS7DAmdAxU1ZGpnm3tgynr4W4G2o/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVES06VkC4SJ2vbivP8P2pYA7JjO7rR3dec2oFJmztSyk4QIVXbmBgK4sc0A1keCBSGyNk7JlvlXAeuOkbAnF2MWWT5L1bGH4hgg5yK1JLyMkDR9yBS7DAmdAxU1ZGpnm3tgynr4W4G2o/s640/14.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Plate of homemade sweets, $2.00</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After dinner, I met up with the lovely Jess, who is one of the mentors and leaders at Scarf. She showed me into the kitchen, where our wonderful waiter was preparing to take out his next round of dishes. We also said hello to some of the other happy faces around the Scarf kitchen, the wonderful people who brought us our fantastic meal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Our receipt for dinner, along with some Scarf info and business cards came out to our table in this gorgeous little, homemade pocket, which pretty much summed up our evening; warm, comfortable, homely. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was a fantastic evening, and I really was impressed by the level of quality food and service provided by the Scarf team, remembering that they're not yet professionals. It truly is a credit to the hard work put in by the wonderful volunteers and students, and I was so happy to have the opportunity to support such a fantastic cause. If you haven't yet had the pleasure, I can't recommend attending highly enough. A lot of hard work, care and love went into our meal, and it was evident on everyone's faces that both the diners and the "staff" were truly appreciative of the opportunity. Our waiter, in particular, was a perfect gentleman; we were greeted upon arriving, farewelled upon leaving, and approached with a smile throughout the entire evening. A huuuuge thanks must go to him for making our night so lovely :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you'd like to support this wonderful organisation, a 2 course set menu dinner will only cost you $35.00 per person, with a range of beer, wine and soft drinks, as well as desserts available to you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Email Jess at </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="mailto:jess@scarfcommunity.org" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">jess@scarfcommunity.org</a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> or call on 0488 777 527 to make a booking!</span></span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>Would rate it 7 out of 10.</b></i></span></div>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-71240204714742841652011-08-11T21:30:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:19:19.000-07:00Nonna Gemma's Veal Scallopine<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Inspiration from... Italy</span></i></b></span></div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWkkmkbbVvhDPcFDbLHASPYUEMDNvO9-yCfk-ioq49sdyX6UulM5djc_o7BObCQeuczx5CG-AYsFpVzA8dkaczarQzagXbRqxBEt46VEIePX9u_qQAqul5RrplDDlfrvtq9aovRBBI94/s1600/11.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWkkmkbbVvhDPcFDbLHASPYUEMDNvO9-yCfk-ioq49sdyX6UulM5djc_o7BObCQeuczx5CG-AYsFpVzA8dkaczarQzagXbRqxBEt46VEIePX9u_qQAqul5RrplDDlfrvtq9aovRBBI94/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's common knowledge in my family that mum's mum, Nonna Gemma (<i>Nonna</i> is Italian for grandmother) is bloody fantastic in the kitchen. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve following Nonna around the Preston Market to gather all of our ingredients, then going back to her house, putting on an over-sized apron, and helping her make a big fat pot of risotto, or crostoli (traditional Northern Italian biscuits), with Nonno (grandfather) watching on and telling us we weren't doing it properly. Unfortunately for me though, Nonna rarely records any of her culinary genius on paper - she just knows what to do. So, you can imagine my excitement when one of Nonna's recipes was bestowed upon me at my Kitchen Tea party a month before our wedding last year! And not just any recipe - one of my favourites; Nonna's veal scalopine! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Luckily for me, I'm getting much better at cooking by instinct, because Nonna's recipes have absolutely no quantities or measurements. They're also written completely in Italian. Poor Sous-Jeff hasn't the foggiest idea what he was looking at when I got ready to cook this up. Thankfully, I understood every word!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My very treasured recipe is for veal scalopine - veal pieces coated in flour, and grilled in a fry pan with garlic, olive oil, mushrooms and white wine. I also like to serve it with polenta, because polenta brings back some of my most comforting and loving childhood memories :) And I threw some roast veggies in for the healthiness factor! Given that this recipe isn't technically a recipe, I haven't listen everything I did and used... but here's how it turned out...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkVrE-m1L2KMsVwqUmz749NuTYTjcyS8B5fXZ_RJCsKVm-5Qt67NCpI3G9IaBnzHSZ7JeU0wjfwHjR_2EqD6caBsA5_8PWMDDdAXajycdb9haxCYLvi8mpphgJ6lNnmYPK4Meq4jQ6Tw/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXkVrE-m1L2KMsVwqUmz749NuTYTjcyS8B5fXZ_RJCsKVm-5Qt67NCpI3G9IaBnzHSZ7JeU0wjfwHjR_2EqD6caBsA5_8PWMDDdAXajycdb9haxCYLvi8mpphgJ6lNnmYPK4Meq4jQ6Tw/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XfCiWjIXmBnJLDY0u7WO_8zHKqFFl3i-kaDcwFuP8F90-VJTsiA3yB0gvdwQ7feiL1Np6xjcFprta6o5lefwn8Wh_JBtaQavriZbHkmrwvabr_i5ARNT_4xhEFh-1p-7VbDaWaENSHw/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XfCiWjIXmBnJLDY0u7WO_8zHKqFFl3i-kaDcwFuP8F90-VJTsiA3yB0gvdwQ7feiL1Np6xjcFprta6o5lefwn8Wh_JBtaQavriZbHkmrwvabr_i5ARNT_4xhEFh-1p-7VbDaWaENSHw/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And to my utter and complete joy, it tasted <i>just</i> like Nonna's!! I guess I must have been paying more attention than I thought when I used to watch her make it! If only I'd recorded how much of everything I'd used... must make it again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And while I took a break in typing this up to grab some lunch, Kitchen Bug decided he'd keep my seat warm and try to contribute a bit too...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you guys... do you have a famous family recipe that you've been able to successfully recreate? Or a pet who likes to help you blog?!</span><br />
</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-43228387462284800802011-08-11T01:04:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:19:42.619-07:00Melbourne Foodie Day Part 3: HuTong Dumpling Bar, Bar Americano & Mitre Tavern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... China... & pub life</span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Content after our tapas at Movida, but certainly not yet full, we continued on down to our next stop. Neither Sous-Jeff or I are big Chinese food eaters, but I've heard only good things about HuTong, and I developed a bit of a crush on dumplings since trying the <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.blogspot.com/2011/05/wabi-sabi-salon.html">pork gyoza at Wabi Sabi</a> a while ago. So, we decide it's probably time for us to give it a try!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>HuTong Dumpling Bar</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>14 - 16 Market Lane,</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Melbourne</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>(03) 9650 8128 </i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="http://hutong.com.au/"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Visit Website</span></a> </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We knew Market Lane sounded familiar for a reason, but until we arrived, we couldn't work out why - because it's the home of <a href="http://www.hofbrauhaus.com.au/">Hofbrauhaus</a>, the German restaurant that was gutted by a fire a little while ago. It's a family favourite, and I can't wait to get back in and review their magnificent Schweizer Schnitzel for you guys when they get back up and running! Anyhow, we're now in recognisable territory, and upon seeing the large amount of people inside, are put a little more at ease going into this very unfamiliar culinary territory.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The first thing we notice as we come in from the bitter Melbourne cold is how warm and cosy it is inside! Lovely! We were immediately asked if we had booked, and we had not. We were told it might be quite a wait, but as luck had it, a table cleared out within a minute of arriving, and it went straight to us! The Universe wanted us to have dumplings, and so we would. It's also very busy, with an excited, content atmosphere. You can tell by the looks on the faces of HuTong's customers that they were happy with what was in front of them. I also immediately fell in love with the big window that allowed me to see into the kitchen; it was absolutely mesmerising to see just how quickly the chefs worked, folding each dumpling in a perfectly uniformed manner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Finally taking my eyes off the fancy finger work in the kitchen, it was time to check out the menu. We'd intended to just grab the one lot of dumplings to share, but upon checking out the menu, we decide to grab two - the boiled spinach dumplings, and the pan fried dumplings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While waiting for our dumplings to grace our table, we started checking out our condiments...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and to Sous-Jeff's delight, uncovered a pot of chilli! Fantastic!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And for me, the slightly plainer and simpler soy sauce. Thank goodness!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Just as I was starting to panic about the fact that I'd never eaten traditional Chinese dumplings before and had absolutely <i>NO</i> idea how to eat them in an appropriate and non-offensive manner, Sous-Jeff passed this to me across the table - a step-by-step guide! Ahhh, relief!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAYNkt61DIdC3iVBT2vhre22AQ3PSxCZ_m5QEvC-Pba38PWKs8t77RrsS7B7HPWWpR_-q5r5OC7N3lTkGYM9rlO4_lkXaHiRrae5OSs26sY9sFuoNjKHYhpfmKhLO7q7Axi2WzgvfVww/s1600/56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAYNkt61DIdC3iVBT2vhre22AQ3PSxCZ_m5QEvC-Pba38PWKs8t77RrsS7B7HPWWpR_-q5r5OC7N3lTkGYM9rlO4_lkXaHiRrae5OSs26sY9sFuoNjKHYhpfmKhLO7q7Axi2WzgvfVww/s640/56.jpg" t$="true" width="480" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With instructions studied and a vague understanding on what to do, our first lot of dumplings arrive - the boiled spinach dumplings.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU175WUhHRXYh3pAxwSO7Z_zYd8G6Ay7N523ebAW8mxUCgXnBph5cxFAXisbIIQVXXu5l0YDK-JnWB050v258ivIapeVwyCIlWcxUJ2xm37nP_RpgxQ_TAFNrkQryBWL0frDRN1wnL70s/s640/57.jpg" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" t$="true" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Spinach dumplings, $6.80 (6 pieces)</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU175WUhHRXYh3pAxwSO7Z_zYd8G6Ay7N523ebAW8mxUCgXnBph5cxFAXisbIIQVXXu5l0YDK-JnWB050v258ivIapeVwyCIlWcxUJ2xm37nP_RpgxQ_TAFNrkQryBWL0frDRN1wnL70s/s1600/57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i></i></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Following my instructions to the letter, I carefully managed to pick up my first dumpling with my chopsticks and dunked it into my little bowl of soy sauce.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2FI4_L-QOk-nPuyL2vCw9w8GJyhCD1gYH0Htvx-ZjUhk2bSPP3WfBvX49y92jeqC9jEyONk6eWe6fRsFTnQPy1XFwEqGUkC0TieTVjealQvAaPIIs1bok4bCsuyTZx1O6lMxvs-QLek/s1600/58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2FI4_L-QOk-nPuyL2vCw9w8GJyhCD1gYH0Htvx-ZjUhk2bSPP3WfBvX49y92jeqC9jEyONk6eWe6fRsFTnQPy1XFwEqGUkC0TieTVjealQvAaPIIs1bok4bCsuyTZx1O6lMxvs-QLek/s640/58.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then, onto my little ceramic spoon it went, and down the hatch!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzWUGHmUmaTrASeJAyNPXzixUM_awisx94evD7gNu0oph8jl8JQsfI5xvXFuARgocVrkJbSeLpiG1AfnbWNysED2Yx-5OUnzhOWfPc41RpO8XKo5PfsevRF01Q0SMp4jLbZFGkGol1tU/s1600/59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzWUGHmUmaTrASeJAyNPXzixUM_awisx94evD7gNu0oph8jl8JQsfI5xvXFuARgocVrkJbSeLpiG1AfnbWNysED2Yx-5OUnzhOWfPc41RpO8XKo5PfsevRF01Q0SMp4jLbZFGkGol1tU/s640/59.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I really loved these dumplings - they were fairly plain and simple, which was probably good for me being a relative dumpling novice. They were certainly packed full of spinach, as promised, and were encased in a nice soft shell.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next out were the pan fried dumplings, beautifully shaped and presented on... actually, I have no idea what so ever what it was, but it was fried and edible and delicious!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnvw78Ukt8KwI1ivBOo4zz_184-TlEtdsvWslWgImOyhyCWMPw31DN5MNImVeoRlBt9MTMRFeJVYCVVeNtI2wAewOJATBweOPr2tvSRf8OCKjotAB-BSaxy04cwOxB_d5qQ2Oafng-qWc/s1600/60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnvw78Ukt8KwI1ivBOo4zz_184-TlEtdsvWslWgImOyhyCWMPw31DN5MNImVeoRlBt9MTMRFeJVYCVVeNtI2wAewOJATBweOPr2tvSRf8OCKjotAB-BSaxy04cwOxB_d5qQ2Oafng-qWc/s640/60.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pan fried dumplings, $12.80 (8 pieces)</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Apart from burning off the top layer of my tongue upon biting into a wayyyyy too hot dumpling first up, these were <i>amazing.</i> Absolutely loved them, and want more now that I'm just looking at them. Beautifully balanced mix of pork and ginger, and they had a just crispy bottom from being pan fried. LOVED!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After hearing so much about HuTong and going in as a Chinese food/dumpling virgin, I was not let down. They were delicious and well priced, and I will definitely be returning for more.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>Would rate it 8 out of 10.</b></i></span></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1435735/restaurant/Victoria/CBD/HuTong-Dumpling-Bar-Melbourne"><img alt="HuTong Dumpling Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1435735/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We left HuTong very content and full and in need of a beverage. So, we decided to check out the relatively new kid on the block, Bar Americano. A little bar occupying the site of the former Pushka bar and the brain child of the gents behind Der Raum, it's been promised to be the next big thing.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Bar Americano</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>20 Presgrace Place,</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Melbourne</i></span></div><a href="http://www.baramericano.com/"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Visit Website</span></i></span></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_6MxoYDgKcRaSL1DYcNwCjmfxmwEra2ZJVxRe8GmVHQj8CLgJSMHEtmWz0O8BKt79ecT7n_iesXesJFow-DBYUG3Zoil7Gph5JqitUEgn1ebtwlPjejlJP1wmvfFcYNADqXn6OM4kNk/s1600/65.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_6MxoYDgKcRaSL1DYcNwCjmfxmwEra2ZJVxRe8GmVHQj8CLgJSMHEtmWz0O8BKt79ecT7n_iesXesJFow-DBYUG3Zoil7Gph5JqitUEgn1ebtwlPjejlJP1wmvfFcYNADqXn6OM4kNk/s640/65.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Out around the back of Bar Americano</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Frankly, I was very underwhelmed. It wasn't because of the small, dark space. It was the service and the general atmosphere. I don't like to generalise, but the crowd really did come across as an uppity bunch. I certainly wasn't dressed in designer garb, but it seemed to offend the patrons who looked me up and down with upturned noses. The bartender walked over to us, as if not taking us seriously in the slightest (you know that look that teenagers who walk into a pub get? That, "I know you can't actually afford or legally buy anything in here so I won't waste my time helping you"? Yeah, that was the look we got), leant a menu up on the bar against the wall and gave us a "these are the cocktails," before walking back to the bar. We left immediately. The next big thing it may be, but that's not how we roll. </span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>Would rate it 2 out of 10.</b></i></span></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1600951/restaurant/Victoria/CBD/Bar-Americano-Melbourne"><img alt="Bar Americano on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1600951/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Frustrated and in even more need of a drink, we decided to start walking to our final destination of La Belle Miette, and we decided to just walk into the first bar we stumbled across. After a bit of a walk, we stumbled upon another lane way, which seemed to lead to yet another lane way! Not sure why, but I had a feeling we might have a decent find, so off I went, with Sous-Jeff on my tail saying "but do you know what's down here? Is there anything?" "Dunno, let's find out!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And we stumbled upon what Sous-Jeff has dubbed the greatest pub in the Melbourne CBD: The Mitre Tavern.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Mitre Tavern</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>5 Bank Place,</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Melbourne</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>(03) 9670 5644 </i></span></div><a href="http://www.mitretavern.com.au/"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Visit Website</span></i></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A very traditionally English style pub, it popped up at just the right time. It didn't look like it'd belong - an old pub in the middle of the city, on a Saturday afternoon, and it was dead quiet. There were dozens of tables outside under cover, with those awesome outdoor heaters which was keeping it all toasty warm, even outside as the rain started to fall. Sous-Jeff looked like he'd found the holy grail, after being dragged around all day in search of food. We grabbed some beer and vodka, and sat down to relax and digest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Looking back up the street, we could see the bright red doors of Cafe Vue on Little Collins St, but we couldn't believe how well hidden it was! The food menu looked great, and they had a steakhouse attached as well, with some amazing smells wafting out through the windows.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While we didn't actually eat anything there, it was a fantastic pub, and we can't wait to get back in for a dinner and a big night with our friends! Based on our beverage experience (without food) alone...</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>Would rate it 8 out of 10.</b></i></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Anyway, it was getting dark, the rain heavier, and our legs tired, so we decided to wrap it up and get those macarons. Unfortunately when we arrived at La Belle Miette, they were sold out. Heartbroken. Luckily for me, I have a wonderful husband who took me back to the train station via Little Cupcakes - yes, I got another two, don't judge me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">One of my favourite things to do on a day off is to explore the little hidden gems of Melbourne, and today was certainly another win!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you guys - where are your favourite hole-in-the-wall places?! </span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-81060272788245202262011-08-09T18:39:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:19:57.934-07:00Melbourne Foodie Day Part 2: Movida Next Door & Hosiers Lane art work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... Spain</span></i></b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We arrive at Hosiers Lane with around 12 minutes to wait until opening time of Movida Next Door. Perfect for me; I absolutely <i>LOVE</i> the amazing art work adorning the lane. Instead of telling you about it, let me show you some of it...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The following pieces surround Movida and Movida Next Door - they're very vibrant, very fun, and very Melbourne.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6N22JKYUlDpuahm-0CbZMCU29MwmO3-RItNHZV4NDpFv6s1usJZAz1CvI94qvESMijI6oQvN7ERn0SBF6Zylrxqdpli-R5y1AAu4mUIJ6EfCwmIumof-NizsaAR0UN-jNQUUzA8Ibb0k/s1600/27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6N22JKYUlDpuahm-0CbZMCU29MwmO3-RItNHZV4NDpFv6s1usJZAz1CvI94qvESMijI6oQvN7ERn0SBF6Zylrxqdpli-R5y1AAu4mUIJ6EfCwmIumof-NizsaAR0UN-jNQUUzA8Ibb0k/s640/27.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At this point, we see a bit more movement in the kitchen... it's almost tapas time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Movida Next Door</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Cnr Flinders St and Hosiers Lane</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Melbourne</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(03) 9663 3038</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.movida.com.au/next_door.html">Visit Website</a> </span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At 12:05pm, the doors finally open, and the line of people who have been gathering since 11:50am pour in through the doors. We're promptly seated by the front windows, and handed our menus. Our lovely waitress ran through each and every item on the specials menu (somewhere around 10 different items), and did a magnificent job of reciting each one by heart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With our decisions made and orders placed, we sat at our little bench, taking in the beautiful, random few minutes of Melbourne winter sunlight, and were brought some lovely, soft, fresh bread and olive oil, which we nibbled on while we waited for our tapas (we were starving by this point!). We were also very glad that we were there as early as we were, because the stream of people coming in (and being turned away) did not stop for the entire hour we were in there!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sous-Jeff, the beer connoisseur, also ordered himself a Moritz beer; I won't pretend to know a thing about beer, and declined when offered a sip, but by all accounts it was great!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSA8bgdmTPztXjtNMj65zC045DhEpZEEl9Tu7CzNIQb4ja1PEctfy7nohAENaAVwk19jSP_QbX3sckNfuATlrkFnRaGW_mH2Q56fDOzLlBu6jU2mPjwWtj4vrQnapCtndYy480RuOhtg/s1600/36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSA8bgdmTPztXjtNMj65zC045DhEpZEEl9Tu7CzNIQb4ja1PEctfy7nohAENaAVwk19jSP_QbX3sckNfuATlrkFnRaGW_mH2Q56fDOzLlBu6jU2mPjwWtj4vrQnapCtndYy480RuOhtg/s640/36.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now, for the food.... First out was my choice, the cheese! Smoked sheep's milk cheese, with a few little figs on the side. Sous-Jeff hated it (not really a big cheese fan unless its Cracker Barrel...), but I really enjoyed it - had a great bite, and was complimented perfectly by the figs.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Queso Idiazabal, $6.50</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next out were the croquettes, crumbed, deep fried, and filled with wild mushrooms. They were creamy inside, crispy inside, and the mushrooms had an amazing flavour. This would have to be my favourite little nibble that we tried. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrQvGAlP3O2fqal-sLVMPOs0OUUs1MZyZYgLiVACV9zr2NZ3iY_92jiUAWIRVXcDMv28rNsD-hbJB0JcjZWGkGhfWhBGLhyphenhyphenpw8vd2Twwr1WpVudQuD2_2NHHFKUdJFvbAHG7qFrFZMo8/s1600/38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtrQvGAlP3O2fqal-sLVMPOs0OUUs1MZyZYgLiVACV9zr2NZ3iY_92jiUAWIRVXcDMv28rNsD-hbJB0JcjZWGkGhfWhBGLhyphenhyphenpw8vd2Twwr1WpVudQuD2_2NHHFKUdJFvbAHG7qFrFZMo8/s640/38.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Croqueta, $3.50 each</i></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2g9CpdvaXuPB_4S1CutSwZUw-me9PS9xewcTv4l_cg1eQ8d9_Cba-KUw3JGpIEj9Buhx-ONjV5NMNPQsV7NWHMApN_1MeTNFamCIVL1MxfY5YGKe_86QDTntKFyLQKjwXxG43dQQ43DQ/s1600/39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2g9CpdvaXuPB_4S1CutSwZUw-me9PS9xewcTv4l_cg1eQ8d9_Cba-KUw3JGpIEj9Buhx-ONjV5NMNPQsV7NWHMApN_1MeTNFamCIVL1MxfY5YGKe_86QDTntKFyLQKjwXxG43dQQ43DQ/s640/39.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Coming out with the croquettes were the "bombas." These little balls of deliciousness came very highly recommended, and did not disappoint. Now, being the spice fearer that I am, I asked if we might be able to get the sauce on the side, as I'd heard that it did have quite a kick. The bombas themselves were little potato balls, filled with chorizo. The sauce was a little spicy, so Sous-Jeff was glad to have it all to himself. My bomba was beautiful, soft and delicious, and came runner up to the croquette as my next favourite.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KhKZmZGNubV_sdbCz0MO4AWbKbQ3JZasjxtlcYRkTwAJMDTFsMGQCJJYmc1HfDdkolcazH_2X6mWQnHhYIMiNdc3w5KvuI4VdQ4kqxhb_WpCqKpjDStsJBq3xXV9NkRCMyl_ZryfFG4/s1600/40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KhKZmZGNubV_sdbCz0MO4AWbKbQ3JZasjxtlcYRkTwAJMDTFsMGQCJJYmc1HfDdkolcazH_2X6mWQnHhYIMiNdc3w5KvuI4VdQ4kqxhb_WpCqKpjDStsJBq3xXV9NkRCMyl_ZryfFG4/s640/40.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bomba, $4.50 each</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sous-Jeff's choice was next - the chicken skewer. Marinated in lemon and parsley, and grilled on charcoal, seasoned with sea salt, it was amazing. The chicken was so soft and just fell off the skewer, and the simple flavours complimented the fresh chicken perfectly. </span><br />
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<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pollo, $7.00 each</i></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9w_Py6IQLN_msAyCbYqo2XTBzx-4zA69tAbKezBjnP5l4iV7msaqzEc2dnHcOFe12JN8RoY17wxd5KiWSRQXMbL22uc8FkGXfrU_H4a8n0oKGhdBOhSrf5o9TioB3iKhSd-9ClqVrM0U/s1600/44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9w_Py6IQLN_msAyCbYqo2XTBzx-4zA69tAbKezBjnP5l4iV7msaqzEc2dnHcOFe12JN8RoY17wxd5KiWSRQXMbL22uc8FkGXfrU_H4a8n0oKGhdBOhSrf5o9TioB3iKhSd-9ClqVrM0U/s640/44.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last out was my pick from the specials menu, the tortilla. A traditional Spanish omlette, it's filled with potato and onion. I'm a big fan of the tortilla, and this one was amazing - warm and soft, and fell apart under my fork. Even Sous-Jeff (who isn't usually a fan) loved this!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Tortilla (can't remember how much this one cost... $3 or $4 I think!)</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's been a long time since I've been trying to get to Movida - since last October when Sous-Jeff and I had some of our wedding photos taken out the front! But it was worth the wait, the food was amazing and certainly didn't disappoint. Can't wait to tick off Movida, Movida Aqui and Movida Terraza off the list next!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <i><b>Would rate it 9 out of 10.</b></i></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Part 3 on it's way :) </span> jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-77265040994399743082011-08-07T21:58:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:15.431-07:00Melbourne Foodie Day Part 1: Pie Face, Little Cupcakes & pre-loved books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... Melbourne!</span></i></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was another relaxing, but uneventful Thursday night in our household, Sous-Jeff, Kitchen Bug and I curled up on the couch watching Master Chef, and drooling over the guest chef's creation on our TV screen. "Maybe we should have a foodie weekend, just around Melbourne..." I say out loud, more to myself than the other two. But Sous-Jeff nods at this suggestion, and that's all the encouragement I need. Within 5 minutes, I have a path to follow on Saturday morning, that will lead us from Flinder St station to Movida Next Door, HuTong Dumpling Bar, and finally, La Belle Miette. I show Sous-Jeff and explain what each place is all about, he nods along patiently and waits for me to finish. He has only two questions: "Can we go to a pub somewhere in between?" Sure thing. "Can we please try Pie Face?" Yeahh, sure, why not?! Around rolls Saturday morning, and after a biiiig workout and a tiny breakfast, onto the train we go!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We hop off at Flinders St station, and come almost immediately face to face with <a href="http://www.pieface.com.au/">Pie Face</a>, a franchise pie bakery that seems to be sprouting new stores all over the Melbourne CBD. The Pie Face bakeries and cafes were founded by the founders of fashion label Paablo Nevada, who fell into the pie business after serving little pies at a fashion show of theirs. We've been noticing stores popping up all over the place, resulting in Sous-Jeff calling me "pie face." I must resemble one of the pie faces or something... I dunno. Anyway, he felt it was high time we finally tried out one of these pies, and I agreed. "But only a small one, we're going to Movida first and I want to be hungry and ready to eat!"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Pie Face</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">See <a href="http://www.pieface.com.au/">website</a> for locations </span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"24 hour pies?! Are you joking?!" Sous-Jeff is immediately impressed. In we walk to find a line of young people already desperately ordering coffees (it was only 11am...) in strengths ranging from "Tingle My Toes" (a gradual rise for morning avoiders), to "Open My Eyes" (your standard coffee), to the more extreme "Start My Heart" and "Kick My Arse" blends, to really jolt you awake. Being non-coffee drinkers, however, our eyes went straight to the pies...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There were adorable little pie faces everywhere! Luckily for us, there were only two types of mini pies left, so we didn't have to make the tough decision of which cute little face to say yes to. Sous-Jeff was famished by this point and couldn't wait much longer for Movida, so he got 2 little pies, and I got the third and last one in the window.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sous-Jeff's Special Thai Chicken Curry pies were by all accounts delicious. Boasting fresh chicken and a spicy Thai green curry flavour, Sous-Jeff was excited to jump right on in. While it wasn't all that spicy, the chicken was certainly fresh and very tasty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My pie face was of the Mince Beef and Tomato Chutney variety, filled with premium Australian lean beef, and tomato chutney. The pastry was perfect - golden and crunchy, and the filling was flawless. Starting to see why these franchises are so popular! Very yummy!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Would rate it 8 out of 10.</b></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"Hey, honey.... since we're already on Degraves St.... and Movida doesn't open for another 30 minutes.... do you think we could maybe...."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The sign of a good marriage - I don't need to finish this sentence. Sous-Jeff pulls out his wallet and says, "just grab me a carrot one." With those words, I start running down Degraves St to Little Cupcakes. I know that with tapas, dumplings and macarons to come, I really don't need cupcakes as another appetiser, but I justify the visit with the following: they are the best cupcakes in Melbourne, and I'm not in the city all that often, so when I <i>am</i> here, I owe it to myself to get a little cupcake. And besides, they're only little. </span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Little Cupcakes</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">7 Degraves St</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Melbourne</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">(03) 9077 0413</span></div><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.littlecupcakes.com.au/" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Visit Website</a></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've said it before, and I'll say it again - if you have not been here, please go. Immediately, if not sooner. The cupcakes truly are that good. And even more exciting, they have my favourite flavour this morning - Lamington! It's a vanilla cake topped with a chocolate ganache like frosting, coated in coconut. Mmmm chocolate and coconut... my favourite :) I also grab myself a Teddy Bear cake (yes, I am secretely still a 5 year old child deep inside, and I love Teddy Bear biscuits.), which is a moist chocolate cake, topped with white chocolate frosting, and a little chocolate Teddy Bear on top. Amazing. Sous-Jeff goes for his standard Carrot Cake (his favourite type of cake), which is your traditional carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Since trying a pistachio macaron a few months ago an falling in love with the flavour, he also decides to try a Pistachio Heaven cupcake, which is a pistachio cake topped with sweet pistachio frosting - unfortunately, he wasn't as impressed by this one. May be because he still had the dreamy taste of the carrot cake in his mouth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Any how, no matter how many times I eat here, I'm still impressed. Go there now. You know you want to. </span><br />
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<a class="url" href="http://www.littlecupcakes.com.au/" target="_blank"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Would (still) rate it 10 out of 10.</b></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1500262/restaurant/Victoria/CBD/Little-Cupcakes-Melbourne"><img alt="Little Cupcakes on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1500262/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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We check the time, and discover we still have 20 minutes until Movida opens, so we check out a second hand book shop on Flinders St...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiChFqJdR2lpvKE9YGTRyxR2W0CErWPrBLoUv6D2NwTrDm-CKVmTg49rWw9BTLKoVnsid24xX-s1vJ17IpriHC8C-TpA0ZsW0hBgTV1leQ5UfJNJBrsX4eLlxsrSme2Xfx3CieE7w1bs/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiChFqJdR2lpvKE9YGTRyxR2W0CErWPrBLoUv6D2NwTrDm-CKVmTg49rWw9BTLKoVnsid24xX-s1vJ17IpriHC8C-TpA0ZsW0hBgTV1leQ5UfJNJBrsX4eLlxsrSme2Xfx3CieE7w1bs/s640/9.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and pick up these little steals, for a grand total of $13.00! Win!</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With new treasures in hand and only 15 minutes left to kill, we stroll on down to Hosier's Lane.... part two to come!</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-73754831583605175392011-08-06T04:57:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:16.157-07:00Taco Truck & Beatbox Kitchen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... Street Food</span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Taco Truck </span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Taco-truck-melbourne/187938917910211"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Visit Website</span></i></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Beatbox Kitchen</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beatbox-Kitchen/108806049145877"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Visit Website </span></i> </a></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tonight marked a momentous occasion for me. Something that's been 25 years in the making. Something I got to experience with both my husband and my best friend (Ms Em). Something that I wasn't sure would ever happen. My search has finally come to an end, the quest is over. I have found the perfect hamburger (insert heavenly shining lights and angelic music). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After facebook stalking the Beatbox Kitchen and Taco Truck for a few weeks, the planets finally aligned, and we would be in the general vicinity of the vans, which were miraculously double parked for the evening (a sign that the food Gods wanted me to eat one of everything). With Sous-Jeff worded up, Ms Em informed that we'd be picking her up in an hour, and my favourite sneakers firmly on my cold, little feet, we finally set out on the road to the iconic and much spoken about trucks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, these little gems float around Melbourne and park themselves somewhere different each weekend. They produce magnificent, fresh food each time, opening at 6pm, and closing down at 9pm (or when they sell out). We arrived on Victoria St in West Brunswick at 5:58pm, and there was already a bit of a crowd gathering around the vans. It was damn cold, and began spitting a little bang on 6pm. By 6:05 when the Beatbox truck opened it's front window for business, the heavens opened up and it started to pour. The God's were telling me to stop being a fatty. I covered my ears and sang to the heavens "I can't hear you, na na na na naaaa."</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At the counter, we're offered 2 options, Raph's burger and the portobello mushroom veggie version. Our path is clear - the Raph burger it is. I had heard from many, many sources that this is Melbourne's best burger. At $11.00 a burger, we think that's pretty good value considering the size of it, and naturally, I had to have it. So did the other two. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We also decide to grab fries and relish too for another $5.00. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We wait in eager anticipation in the rain, giggling and bouncing around like it's Christmas morning.</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A few minutes later, the Taco Truck is ready for business - </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">at this point, we've been standing in the rain for almost 10 minutes, when Sous-Jeff suddenly says, "ohh, I have an umbrella in the car... should I get it?" YESSSS!!!!!!!!!</span><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Our options are chicken, fish or potato tacos - we all go for the chicken. Ms Em grabs a single chicken taco for $6.00, and Sous-Jeff and I decide to share the taco plate, which consists of 2 chicken tacos and home-made corn chips for $12.00. While we wait for that order, in the pouring rain, we decide to head over to the Beatbox van which has just opened and get that order going as well.</span></span></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After a relatively short wait (considering the mass of people converged on the trucks), we got our food! Sous-Jeff left us girls with the umbrella and went and got the car warmed up and some tunes pumping, so we could eat dinner in comfort and dryness. Ms Em held the umbrella for me while I collected the first dish - our tacos. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When I hear my name called, I bound up to the truck and excitedly collect our booty - </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">a double for Sous-Jeff and I, and a single for herself. I piled them up one on top of the other, leaving a hand free to collect the burgers. The brilliant gentlemen in the truck yell out a "thanks Jess!" and I yell back a "THANKYOU!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!" much to the amusement of the other customers. Well, it's true. Then, onto the Beatbox truck, and I collect a brown paper bag full of burgers and fries. The lady who hands it over to me giggles a little and asks if I'll be right with all that food. "Ohhh I think I'll manage!" Into the warm car we clambered, to find Sous-Jeff with his arms outstretched and ready to eat, the soundtrack to the original "Friday" movie playing over the stereo. Yes, we are all white. Yes, we all have a little "gangster" in us. And, yes, we <i>love</i> a bit of good 90s rap!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But, back to the food - we decide to go the tacos and corn chips first up. The home made corn chips were squeezed with a little lime juice, and are still perfectly crunchy. Absolutely delicious, cannot wait to get some more of these!! As for the tacos, we have chicken ones, with corn salsa, baby spinach leaves, and chipotle mayo, housed in a delicious little corn tortilla. Wow, they are just amazing, and the chipotle mayo is perfect! You could really tell how fresh everything was, and it just had a beautiful flavour. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe6s7tCBtIFNh1n_GvizuQkspsWC0lLUx-pM4sMk4UMHYT9nTw5pS2DC9qjoMVecwOcGTvfcf3zS9fRY2vmPJVPQhBl4Kbb7tyFasgvNGL1XwhBGrU6Gstk4muH9UH_0FvsAHn6PP5Pg/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqe6s7tCBtIFNh1n_GvizuQkspsWC0lLUx-pM4sMk4UMHYT9nTw5pS2DC9qjoMVecwOcGTvfcf3zS9fRY2vmPJVPQhBl4Kbb7tyFasgvNGL1XwhBGrU6Gstk4muH9UH_0FvsAHn6PP5Pg/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Taco plate, $12.00</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Out came the fries next - perfectly golden and crisp. They were perfect fries, and Annie's home made tomato relish, with a tiny bit of kick to it, was the perfect accompaniment to them. Needless to say, they didn't last long.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHNnTcgklZF9_e9eeURQROuL3cpHBqKGiJcPACxPjjk_2oFNssdZ6fqrXINPmKkgNKVf0MzuQfDJYHlpeYSyOP3SvXroM4Kf1EF-FsFVRAPt5qlmuvX1aOA5Ss6M4RyUyvtTCQ9IlpEgw/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHNnTcgklZF9_e9eeURQROuL3cpHBqKGiJcPACxPjjk_2oFNssdZ6fqrXINPmKkgNKVf0MzuQfDJYHlpeYSyOP3SvXroM4Kf1EF-FsFVRAPt5qlmuvX1aOA5Ss6M4RyUyvtTCQ9IlpEgw/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Fries and relish, $6.00</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And finally, the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">pièce de résistance, the Raph burger. Plain and simple, a picture perfect burger - a fresh bun with a big, fat, juicy beef pattie, cheese, lettuce, tomato a little bit of red onion and tangy mayo. I've been wanting to try this burger for months now, since reading about it's number 1 ranking and ever so high praise on <a href="http://theburgeradventure.com/2010/11/beatbox-kitchen/">The Burger Adventure's blog post</a>, where they rated it the number 1 hamburger in Melbourne. <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.blogspot.com/2011/06/mfa-part-2-quarter.html">My curiosity was piqued</a> even more so when we wound up at the Rooftop Bar after the 2011 Good Food and Wine Show, where the Beatbox Kitchen is permanently stationed... only to find it was shut over winter.... arghhh!!!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJuuirLKZcwIRAdZaiGAKGAgXmBYsaTwAZwbtDK-ilH1eRZAPKizC8066kCQO6HRQmPBco1Vg_ROzcflS7ThnUb7PnhKJBSVdXjrlJZzgBCu0t_-GYMaVASeNlNodpuEONY-Fdxr2_LA/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJuuirLKZcwIRAdZaiGAKGAgXmBYsaTwAZwbtDK-ilH1eRZAPKizC8066kCQO6HRQmPBco1Vg_ROzcflS7ThnUb7PnhKJBSVdXjrlJZzgBCu0t_-GYMaVASeNlNodpuEONY-Fdxr2_LA/s640/13.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Raph burger, $11.00</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm sorry, I've just been staring at my screen for the last 5 minutes, lost for words. Let me preface this next sentence by saying that my favourite food is a hamburger. It always has been. Probably always will be. And in my time, I have eaten probably five times my weight in hamburgers. From pubs, restaurants, fast food joints, fish and chip shops, carnival vendors, and everywhere in between.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>This was, by far, THE BEST HAMBURGER I HAVE EVER EATEN. <span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u>EVER.</u></b></span></i></span></span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The bun to burg ratio was perfect. The bun was perfectly soft, but also a little bit of crunch from being toasted. But not much that it detracted from the burger. There wasn't too much onion so it didn't overpower, but enough to enhance the flavour of the actual pattie. The layering was perfect - lettuce, then tomato, then cheese covered burger. This meant that the lettuce didn't go soggy, and still had a great crunch when I bit into it. You could tell the tomato had been freshly sliced, because it didn't have that soft, mushy, almost grainy texture that they get after being sliced up and left in the fridge for too long. The cheese was expertly melted onto the burger, and the burger was cooked to absolute perfection - nicely browned and slightly charred on the outside, and soft and ever so slightly pink on the inside. It was so soft, it literally fell apart as I bit it, sending beef crumbs cascading down the front of my jacket. The tangy mayo was a real surprise to me; I've always been under the assumption that it can't be a real burger without tomato sauce/ketchup. I have tomato sauce on a lot of my food, and usually put extra on my burgers. I wasn't sure how the mayo instead of the sauce would impact on my burger enjoyment, but to my surprise and delight, it actually tasted even better! It really highlighted to cheese and wasn't as strong and dominant as the ketchup usually is. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I could not fault anything about this burger. It was perfect. And I will never be able to fully enjoy another one again now that I've had this. We spent the entire car trip home dissecting, analysing, and re-living the experience that was the taco-and-burger pleasure-thon. And not to take anything away from the tacos, because they were probably the best tacos I've ever had too! Hats off to you, Taco Truck and Beatbox. My quest to find the perfect hamburger has ended. Now, where will you be next week?! I already need another fix!!!</span></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Would rate it 10 out of 10.</b></i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1526995/restaurant/Victoria/Beatbox-Kitchen-Carlton-North"><img alt="Beatbox Kitchen on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1526995/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1584171/restaurant/Victoria/Taco-Truck-Collingwood"><img alt="Taco Truck on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1584171/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a></div>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-44983571826738061882011-08-04T23:43:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:18.213-07:00Mum's Dessert Masterclass: Tiramisu & Brutti Ma Buoni<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Inspiration from... Italy</span></i></b></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It is a rare day that my mother and I share a kitchen. We are polar opposites, but both very strong, typically stubborn, Italian women. We also both love cooking, but often have very different ideas on what works well in the kitchen. I learnt almost all I know about cooking from my mum, her mum, and my dad's mum. The women of my family are all incredibly talented cooks, and I feel blessed to have been able to learn from the best! Where we differ, however, is that mum is very traditional in her approach to cooking, especially proper Italian dishes, whereas I like to experiment a little and try lots of different things in the kitchen. So, when I randomly decided it was time for me to learn to make some traditional Italian desserts, mum was the first person I called to help me out and teach me a few tricks (because she knows them all!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The first thing we made are Brutti Ma Buoni biscuits. These are favourites of mine that mum usually makes at Christmas time, and for other big family gatherings. Brutti ma buoni translates to English as "ugly but good," which they are. They're not the prettiest sweet, but they are certainly delicious! They are a crunchy, meringue type of biscuit, and mum's version is chocked full of hazelnuts and chocolate (yum yum yum!). Here's how we made them...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First up, turn the oven on to about 180</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">°C and line a cookie tray with baking paper. Next, get out the food processor and throw in 80g of toasted hazelnuts and 100g of roughly chopped dark chocolate. Process them in quick 2 second pulses until they're roughly chopped up and well combined, and set them aside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next, put 2 egg whites and half a cup of caster sugar into the bowl of your Kitchen Aid, Mix Master, or just a bowl that you can use an electric hand mixer with. Whisk the whites until they are white, stiff, thick and fluffy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Throw in the nuts and chocolate mix, and gently fold in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Using one tablespoon, take a spoon full of mixture out of the bowl. With a second tablespoon, push the mixture off, and gently onto the baking tray:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now, here's the easiest part - into the oven they go, let them bake for 5 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave them in there! If you can leave them in overnight, that's the best case way to go, otherwise leave them in for a good 5 hours or so. If you're like me, you might also enjoy them soft and gooey and fresh out of the oven after the 5 minutes and another 10 minutes rest. Damn good.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">They come out like little meringue biscuits, crunchy shelled, and with lots of chocolate and hazelnuts packed in. LOVE them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next up, mum decides it's about time I learnt to make tiramisu (meaning, "pick me up"). I have a confession to make; I'm a terrible Italian. I don't really like tiramisu. Because I hate coffee. Yup. Worst Italian ever... sorry mum and dad!!! But, just because I'm not such a fan of it doesn't mean I shouldn't know how to put this iconic Italian dessert together - and hey, I might eventually grow to love it! My favourite part of cooking with mum is going through her dozens, possibly hundreds (no joke) of cook books. A lot of which are hand written. Somehow, mum quickly locates the exact book and page where we can find her tiramisu recipe. This is a very traditional Italian dessert and makes an appearance at almost every single one of our family celebrations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We grab out the ingredients - all very Italian: mascarpone, coffee, and UNIBIC sponge finger biscuits! What you'll actually need is:</span><br />
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<ul><li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">250g mascarpone cheese</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">200ml thickened cream</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3 eggs, seperated</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3 tbsp caster sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3/4 cup Marsala</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/3 cup of strong black coffee</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 x 250g pack of sponge finger biscuits</span></li>
</ul><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First, beat the mascarpone and sugar in Kitchen Aid (or other device) (and yes, mum is very, very much in love with the Kitchen Aid!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then, add in the egg yolks, and beat them in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In another bowl, beat the cream for a few minutes, until thick...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In yet another bowl, put in the egg whites and 1 tbsp of sugar, beating until thick and fluffy. I'd just like to point out that at this point, the kitchen has turned into a screaming arena, as I need to remind mum constantly (read: every 45 seconds) to slow down, as I'm writing everything down and taking photos. Unfortunately, she works at 10000 miles an hour, and somehow keeps forgetting about me. Anyway, once the egg whites and sugar are all fluffy and thick, put them into the mascarpone mixture, and fold them in gently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now, add the cream into the mixture, and again, fold it in very gently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ok, leave that mixture for a moment, and grab out your coffee, Marsala and biscuits next. Marsala is an Italian wine, produced in Sicily.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Combine the coffee and Marsala in a bowl, and grab out a big (sorry, not sure of the exact measurements!) dish. Dip the biscuits 2 or 3 at a time in the mixture, and let them soak it all up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Very gently squeeze out the excess liquid from the biscuits...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and lay them down in the dish, side by side and tightly packed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Spread a layer of the creamy mixture over the biscuits, completely covering them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add on the next layer of biscuits...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and another creamy layer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Half way through making the tiramisu, mum decides that I'm doing such a good job in between taking photos that she's going to take it with her to the dinner party she's going to that night. She passes me a little dessert glass dish for me to make a miniature version. Thanks, mum. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Her final touch is dusting some very good quality Dutch cocoa on top... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and here you have it! A favourite in my family, and many other Italian families too, I'm sure. From all accounts, it was a hit at the dinner party, so I guess I'll count that as a win for my first attempt!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnC2je_eanTgoNgQ-jh2Q9GZ8YlaaJjbfLqJS8t2pASZDMT76VIdDcKoo5hPvVqFjr5_t0etSlDXprFX6f-TrA1CirT23KPXMK-pZdLcS7zBd57KGz5fgf5RSlHDbo9U8iFpelu0GCAEk/s1600/35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnC2je_eanTgoNgQ-jh2Q9GZ8YlaaJjbfLqJS8t2pASZDMT76VIdDcKoo5hPvVqFjr5_t0etSlDXprFX6f-TrA1CirT23KPXMK-pZdLcS7zBd57KGz5fgf5RSlHDbo9U8iFpelu0GCAEk/s640/35.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With a bit of a headache from the constant "MUM! Just slow down!!!!", a handful of brutti ma buoni, two new cook books that mum wasn't using any more (because she has a billion), and a big hug, I head back up the driveway to my car, and have a giggle. I was so determined not to be like my mum when I was younger. I was sure I'd be different. We fought a lot in my younger years, because I was a stubborn, introverted, frustrated and confused teenager, and she was a tough, strict, Italian mum trying to deal with her eldest of three daughters growing up. But, here I was, cooking alongside mum in the same kitchen, and ready to embark on a new career as a travel consultant. The same career my mum started out in. And I couldn't be prouder to be like my mum now :)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-20027361402568587872011-08-02T03:39:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:21.627-07:00Miss Marie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... breakfast time!</span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Miss Marie Cafe</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">45 Beetham Pde, </span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Rosanna</span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.missmariecafe.com.au/#">Visit Website</a></span> </span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB68CxnTVOmvzBQo1cp7PWA6qIBBQr5QtxtGgQuvFLZGU4GfkEI8A1UNolc5KR321bwvprfJqRIQGENKFcqB1UX0wLvFY4pvI8cS1-Bmiwcl0NEijUCt2aE7i7Hj4pVpWcz6hc329nseY/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Let's be honest - there's really not a lot better than a quiet work day, with time for a lunch break with a girlfriend at a cosy, beautiful little cafe. And last Friday, I got to do just that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In my last week of work, my colleagues were off to a leadership training day. I should have been going along, but my resignation from work 2 weeks earlier meant that instead, I stayed behind to hold the fort with another few staff members. That was ok with me though - it was a beautiful, sunny day, and my friend Poo (who I've known for.... almost 21 years now!) had just arrived home from a big overseas holiday! I decided to start work bright and early at 7:30am so I could make time for a quick, hour-long lunch date with Poo at local all-day breakfast eatery, Miss Marie.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkQBaP-htTcWgHz85C-qcOlEzLglaWeY_D_EM5xUdzKnaIZ8vEKVscYroHAFtRuOwJ6eWu3GSup7NKq6oRatVUwM-DpyIx8QISGleAUYnn0TRRYfJs7zzJsUCKhwlO88217Fc9g5ciR4/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkQBaP-htTcWgHz85C-qcOlEzLglaWeY_D_EM5xUdzKnaIZ8vEKVscYroHAFtRuOwJ6eWu3GSup7NKq6oRatVUwM-DpyIx8QISGleAUYnn0TRRYfJs7zzJsUCKhwlO88217Fc9g5ciR4/s640/14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Miss Marie is a little cafe run by Vanessa and Paul, a husband and wife team who decided they had what it took to run a successful cafe in the otherwise quiet suburb of Rosanna. I thought I'd be good and organised, and emailed the cafe a few days before to see if they could cater for my gluten free-ness - to my enormous surprise, the email I received back from Vanessa the owner, turned out to be an old high school-mate of mine! Wow! Small world! After 10 or so back and forth emails, I discovered that Vanessa and her husband Paul, both big coffee lovers, were looking for a new venture after selling a previous restaurant business. They scoured Melbourne, hunting down the best coffee, before a little shop came up for lease in Vanessa's home town of Rosanna. They jumped at the opportunity and here we are, Miss Marie!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But, back to lunch. At 12:35pm, I left the beautiful sunlight and walked on into the cafe, finding Poo at a little table with some gorgeous retro fittings and flowers.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHToebq0-dzectige7nxCoGMZDUMVqqcqefZBO_Mkd2JuTFG8zevwLi7phs2J7XOS8GUzqmPHSyCePIN09DmcB419S4B7yT2SlfpUEXH9ccFOy47_gRnWgm2Yn_kZoqfo_conpHWqG5JU/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHToebq0-dzectige7nxCoGMZDUMVqqcqefZBO_Mkd2JuTFG8zevwLi7phs2J7XOS8GUzqmPHSyCePIN09DmcB419S4B7yT2SlfpUEXH9ccFOy47_gRnWgm2Yn_kZoqfo_conpHWqG5JU/s640/4.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The tables are old school, school classroom type tables, with wooden school chairs. There's lots of random little knick knacks, collected by Vanessa and Paul over the last two years.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjqmZd-dNuaCSMLznyS5zC-SZnQQmxI9zmbSuYzU2ZTUWDQGBv1l30F9bOgiLrjQidgHpOO0YuxS46UgR7RIwC_sRcH956bnhj8RVcczGXb9Mp8tcJMxmEJ8Zu0lWbFQoI8LeyG5UE6A/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjqmZd-dNuaCSMLznyS5zC-SZnQQmxI9zmbSuYzU2ZTUWDQGBv1l30F9bOgiLrjQidgHpOO0YuxS46UgR7RIwC_sRcH956bnhj8RVcczGXb9Mp8tcJMxmEJ8Zu0lWbFQoI8LeyG5UE6A/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I think my absolute favourite part of the decor was the wooden-door-turned-chalk-board (home to the specials menu) on the wall... <i>loved </i>it!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif55AELUZ_CJzv1e4aqUdUDSb08-nX4s3M2H_74afHMT2wuzpWI9oO52BdjieVN2VbXAmPTmcq8rFapG5ct7RFBP9h1u2gVQEw2uxSJZ0rIL_g-UnVA4BAWcFa0r1_dz7Ktf-KbI6DaOI/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif55AELUZ_CJzv1e4aqUdUDSb08-nX4s3M2H_74afHMT2wuzpWI9oO52BdjieVN2VbXAmPTmcq8rFapG5ct7RFBP9h1u2gVQEw2uxSJZ0rIL_g-UnVA4BAWcFa0r1_dz7Ktf-KbI6DaOI/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After about 15 minutes, it starts to get quite busy, and we realise we were smart getting in when we did!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyp9Edr6b7D2wrpJRM74gyqGDd6sVeePxe0N2VTWMCUt3nKGosPWIM_Aur181mo0eCgpV0dPYzow13WMSaytP-ipniDHqXHZ8PrDDObc1OOosvZPO351ZUm0nrIA-OB4w7khKznYbbLsQ/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyp9Edr6b7D2wrpJRM74gyqGDd6sVeePxe0N2VTWMCUt3nKGosPWIM_Aur181mo0eCgpV0dPYzow13WMSaytP-ipniDHqXHZ8PrDDObc1OOosvZPO351ZUm0nrIA-OB4w7khKznYbbLsQ/s640/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Poo orders a cafe latte (it looked much prettier, but her spoon beat my camera!), and regales me with tales of her time in New York, Greece, Russia, and everywhere in between.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgm1A1axc4n_kdTgRM0NGZ3nOBTzh9_XypcLBXHyPbdTzxa2xjnPcG8nDQ7x24RT7ad74IMa8_UVwGQKkL8G5wWHh3AIXOqEDjmbf5pWXV6vsx8FObgCZlmaNyr0J_LlnZRGUtggf1db8/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgm1A1axc4n_kdTgRM0NGZ3nOBTzh9_XypcLBXHyPbdTzxa2xjnPcG8nDQ7x24RT7ad74IMa8_UVwGQKkL8G5wWHh3AIXOqEDjmbf5pWXV6vsx8FObgCZlmaNyr0J_LlnZRGUtggf1db8/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am paying attention to her for the most part, but unfortunately I'm also facing the kitchen, watching the most magnificent plates of breakfast coming out...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMSyOyiaJ6O4QQ3tepcXN_IC3pGj9fGo_KPa8Hd8juezc3PQykCjgdEJxYQUufPtlKIyimrr40K98nCYPEBOs-g3Bz78PiMA4Dw_yEoz5SGFFLfilO-590z4F58qHpnSa_QxhRnEUPwQ/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMSyOyiaJ6O4QQ3tepcXN_IC3pGj9fGo_KPa8Hd8juezc3PQykCjgdEJxYQUufPtlKIyimrr40K98nCYPEBOs-g3Bz78PiMA4Dw_yEoz5SGFFLfilO-590z4F58qHpnSa_QxhRnEUPwQ/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Finally, I can wait no more. I have to interrupt so we can order, and I wait slightly impatiently for my all day breakfast/lunch to arrive. Considering how busy they were, kudos to the chef's, because our lunch came out quite quickly!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First up was Poo's lunch - she decides to go with the sweet option in ricotta hotcakes with poached pears.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMs0rGTUid6qiWw03hMEBuqGV1HY6AvXphv4WIfi-rxvZnH4gaSx_7kbYxErT4g6NnSAx85x7ztoPCrbKxeQrVZ6TcVAGRNgugpUW11P8XJ6yu_cFqpYMrtouPJCkgx01oGAWBZQyk-eQ/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMs0rGTUid6qiWw03hMEBuqGV1HY6AvXphv4WIfi-rxvZnH4gaSx_7kbYxErT4g6NnSAx85x7ztoPCrbKxeQrVZ6TcVAGRNgugpUW11P8XJ6yu_cFqpYMrtouPJCkgx01oGAWBZQyk-eQ/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ricotta Hotcakes, $15.00</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">They are thick, fluffy, soft, and swimming in a sweet, syrupy lake. I can't help myself (naturally), and grab a forkful. It tastes every bit as amazing it it looks! The hotcakes are perfectly cooked and melt in my mouth, and are perfectly complimented by the ricotta and maple syrup.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigV5YA2AUTJmcFlGC0UV-TZyGfpwhbNrr_5bWEy0VLq_FlawoP9I1NluT9kNGS7ZW-G6pA8FcHz4MymeOxsZ40W7EVpcuV5mPko2cvSvSB8hC6HFUxgTnS2ft0TYauOThcs8ppPRuwQDA/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigV5YA2AUTJmcFlGC0UV-TZyGfpwhbNrr_5bWEy0VLq_FlawoP9I1NluT9kNGS7ZW-G6pA8FcHz4MymeOxsZ40W7EVpcuV5mPko2cvSvSB8hC6HFUxgTnS2ft0TYauOThcs8ppPRuwQDA/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iOfBrEFVZBLNlBEDi-vuw0OzCtAoRTFdSLb7RUzXBoq_XJecBNb4UT1A9j-HfIvbBFskzDqZqEoAMgJMi2OPU2yGWW5iCpLLz5gR4lCl5OuhHPejmCkW4XxNNViVBTQxFbWWyUkNb20/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iOfBrEFVZBLNlBEDi-vuw0OzCtAoRTFdSLb7RUzXBoq_XJecBNb4UT1A9j-HfIvbBFskzDqZqEoAMgJMi2OPU2yGWW5iCpLLz5gR4lCl5OuhHPejmCkW4XxNNViVBTQxFbWWyUkNb20/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As for me, I decide that I too want breakfast as lunch. There is also a wide range of sandwiches, salads and pides, but I just want eggs! The friendly waitress is more than happy to replace the standard toast with the gluten free version, and with that, I'm ready for my veg brekkie! For lunch!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexQB7MtuuI_UkKvbeQvo7B6WvG0kurZtnlxBzvwWI9Mni5CSohqG3bY7X1S-gpZ5rE8vRFnbgffgoezQD-_irthoh1ZzgNiVD06aHSKpyuqZW0Q9YOh8AQfPVLs1-ob14BY-TiUqrjqs/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexQB7MtuuI_UkKvbeQvo7B6WvG0kurZtnlxBzvwWI9Mni5CSohqG3bY7X1S-gpZ5rE8vRFnbgffgoezQD-_irthoh1ZzgNiVD06aHSKpyuqZW0Q9YOh8AQfPVLs1-ob14BY-TiUqrjqs/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Veg Brekkie, $16.00</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My goodness, it is certainly value for money! My poached eggs arrive on my gluten free toast, along with spinach, miniature mushrooms, oven roasted tomatoes, avocado, and chef Luke's homemade relish.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7ePjT7YxxBO66Xc-stu9RJXa7O96HU2uyOSHT0v0BGootIZj1PHzBsVlXvZmcEK-4cwH2m7xOBCIcAj-AmWjNruce0PyAFZe-JThFRKjLvcz5iv0fSUVDfcUMcZgk0mecnC6X_WrELI/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7ePjT7YxxBO66Xc-stu9RJXa7O96HU2uyOSHT0v0BGootIZj1PHzBsVlXvZmcEK-4cwH2m7xOBCIcAj-AmWjNruce0PyAFZe-JThFRKjLvcz5iv0fSUVDfcUMcZgk0mecnC6X_WrELI/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I can't tell you what the mushrooms were sauteed in (butter, would be my guess...), but they were hands down <i>THE BEST</i> mushrooms I have <i>EVER</i> had. No joke. The relish was the next most amazing thing on the plate - it was perfect and sweet and tomato-ey, but not overpowering. A mouthful of egg + avocado + mushroom + relish = absolute heaven. I was also veryyyy impressed with the generous serving of avocado - in my cafe breakfast experience, I find they're usually a little stingy with the avocado. Not so here. And my eggs were cooked perfectly!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWksXJGM8Z_mX2kXC4cqcLq7tsbxNo8RcCkBRAvapTkTth14HVwmYwvlurQP3Y8q0pyCnWE_hUP8BxMX1bx2v8MsJZK028DNPLayrFIi1nKq5pttbtoks3yLVXbkgSbj_tw0NYV0Mo62U/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWksXJGM8Z_mX2kXC4cqcLq7tsbxNo8RcCkBRAvapTkTth14HVwmYwvlurQP3Y8q0pyCnWE_hUP8BxMX1bx2v8MsJZK028DNPLayrFIi1nKq5pttbtoks3yLVXbkgSbj_tw0NYV0Mo62U/s640/13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Absolutely could not have been any happier with my brekkie-lunch. The service was friendly and prompt, the food beautiful and fresh, and the atmosphere kind, friendly and welcoming. Back off to work I went an hour later, tummy full, smile on my face, and already planning a return trip with Sous-Jeff. Upon seeing these photos later on that night, it was pretty easy to convince him that he needed to be taking me out for breakfast, and soon.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Full disclosure, and not because it's a friend's cafe, it was a truly amazing food experience, and I genuinely cannot remember the last time I had that good a cafe breakfast. For lunch. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Would rate it 9 out of 10.</b></i></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1568352/restaurant/Victoria/Miss-Marie-Rosanna"><img alt="Miss Marie on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1568352/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-23260512170262795802011-07-30T23:38:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:32.358-07:00Cornbread<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Inspiration from... the world of baking!</span></i></b></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTZW5VourEhLf5mwr6AgHTRG-EuGjVSXxG_hNqCFB_Rm4dh_MROqQUAvT6z2HqX6yqIQdk3bGCliCcRVrWTZwvWG5oLfUa5wwpaUYEqexd-KVqzasFFGcFLO1QeSfpbBzykLFb6wNEgY/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTZW5VourEhLf5mwr6AgHTRG-EuGjVSXxG_hNqCFB_Rm4dh_MROqQUAvT6z2HqX6yqIQdk3bGCliCcRVrWTZwvWG5oLfUa5wwpaUYEqexd-KVqzasFFGcFLO1QeSfpbBzykLFb6wNEgY/s640/15.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ever since starting out on this gluten free thing a few weeks ago, I've been constantly looking for ways to keep getting variety into my diet. I haven't been much of a bread eater for a while now, but every now and then, I just want nothing more than a nice, warm slice of bread with a bit of butter... mmm....</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgtKUig24VHT1vDPQDkn_CEdDxU2vuPMYLBa_9ROOnTvdoSEE1Bx79noBKzsyXFRHm_hicKCysGqYfmNNmm0nFJMI3EY6_jQB2JQmdwspyIO0ORCMDre4YssIPKrDkVE8aak-K6FI8fg/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgtKUig24VHT1vDPQDkn_CEdDxU2vuPMYLBa_9ROOnTvdoSEE1Bx79noBKzsyXFRHm_hicKCysGqYfmNNmm0nFJMI3EY6_jQB2JQmdwspyIO0ORCMDre4YssIPKrDkVE8aak-K6FI8fg/s640/13.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I discovered corn bread not long ago in a local health store. It was just a packet bread mix type thing, and it was simple enough to put together, and it was absolutely delicious. It was quite sweet - Sous-Jeff likened it more to cake than to bread, and he was right (I guess that's why I liked it so much!). So I decided to try my hand at my own version of corn bread!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja97y1XWtvT2UkhIYl0mhtq4S9ak_6gvxwn6Mjtqn6Qg7HhAxFH8UpTYavlNrdGCfux-Ej57qtWrkpxye88QGi2trlu2090znsMe7QcYRx_EFE07yCoyvsG2wPm-U6v3xMFRY04U9-x4M/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja97y1XWtvT2UkhIYl0mhtq4S9ak_6gvxwn6Mjtqn6Qg7HhAxFH8UpTYavlNrdGCfux-Ej57qtWrkpxye88QGi2trlu2090znsMe7QcYRx_EFE07yCoyvsG2wPm-U6v3xMFRY04U9-x4M/s640/11.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I took my inspiration from the ever reliable Australian Good Taste magazine's June <i>Cook The Issue</i> Issue, with my own changes (of course!). Instead of following the recipe's cheese and chive method, I decided to make my own gluten free, sweeter version of the bread. Here's what I used to make this delicious loaf:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">400g tin of corn kernels</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">400g polenta</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">115g gluten free self-raising flour</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3 tbsp caster sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 tsp salt</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">600ml buttermilk</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">150g butter, melted</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3 eggs, lightly whisked</span></li>
</ul><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First up, preheat the oven to 180</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">°C, and line a 18 x 18cm square cake tin (or similar sized loaf tin) with baking paper. Then, put a bit of paper towel on a plate, drain the corn kernels and pour them onto the paper towel to drain further.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Instead of using the corn kernels whole as per the recipe, I decided to throw mine into my food processor and mush them up a little first!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Into a bowl with the flour...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and the polenta, sugar and salt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next in goes the processed corn kernels, buttermilk, butter and eggs, stirring until well combined.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then, just pour the mixture into the tin and spread it evenly, smoothing it over the top.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Into the oven for around 40 -45 minutes, until it looks like this..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I let my big, square, bread loaf sit in it's tin to cool for a while before taking it out, and I know I should have let it cool a little more before slicing it open and trying a piece, but I couldn't help myself!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The result? Soft, crumbly, delicate, delicious cornbread.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It wasn't quite as sweet as the packet mix I'd made, and it had a far stronger corn flavour (given that I'd used a whole tin of corn kernels!), but it was really, really yummy! It had a very different flavour to any other bread I'd ever tasted - a bit sweet, but definitely savoury with the corn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It literally fell apart in my fingers as I picked up a pieced to try, and crumbled away under my knife as I spread some butter onto it. Delicious, and completely gluten free! Sous-Jeff took one look at the bread, and dashed to the fridge to fetch a spoon full of his chilli jam. Apparently it was incredible; I value my taste buds, and therefore did not try any.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It actually kept surprisingly well for 4 days or so as well - surprising that it actually lasted that long! I would like to try the cheese and chives version next time now that I've mastered a basic, neutral version of the bread!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you - what's your favourite bread?!</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-43615303382651541072011-07-28T18:52:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:42.559-07:00IronChef Butternut: Soup, Pasta & Pie!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">"And now, for the theme ingredient on which our chefs will offer their succulent variations... BUTTERNUT!!!!!!!!!!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">And thus began my very own "battle" in "kitchen stadium," AKA, cooking dinner on an otherwise uneventful Friday night.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Allow me to backtrack a little... 20 months ago, I had surgery to repair and remove some torn cartilage from my hip, which I damaged while training for taekwondo. I was stuck on the couch for the first week post-surgery, having been told to just sit still and heal. Easier said than done for a girl with the attention span of a gold fish. So, I began my couch-bound first week of recovery, and started channel surfing my way through Foxtel, to land upon a show entitled "Iron Chef." I like cooking, this sounds ok. I watched battle... actually, I can't for the life of me remember, it was some type of fish... anyway, I watched it, I loved it, and from then on, no one was allowed to speak to me from 12 - 1pm while it was on for the rest of the week. Fast forward 20 months, and not only am I still hooked, I also have Sous-Jeff sucked into the show's theatrics and deliciousness too! <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.blogspot.com/2011/05/yeyo-bar.html">That's also where his nickname, Sous-Jeff, originated from</a>. He loves nothing more than the watch the orange Croc-clad Mario Batali battle it out beneath the chairman's watchful eyes and amusing comments. And so, after a trip to the Queen Vic market, it was decided that our humble little kitchen would transform into Kitchen Stadium for a night, and I would be given as much time as I wanted to create three dishes (luckily Chairman Sous-Jeff decided that without an actual sous chef, five dishes and a time limit may be a little extreme), and butternut pumpkin would be my secret ingredient. Fortunately, this was revealed while we were still at the market, enabling me to pick up some more special ingredients as we went. And with that, my three dishes were produced, as follows...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>ENTREE: Butternut Pumpkin Soup</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">For the soup, I quickly read a recipe that I had in a Donna Hay cookbook, then mostly made it up as I went...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I cut the butternut in half and scooped out the seeds, put the halves cut side up with a few small onions on an oven tray and drizzled with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled a bit of sea salt. Into the oven until they were soft - this was around an hour on about 180°C.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Out of the oven they came, and I scooped most of the flesh out of the pumpkin, leaving enough in there to create a "bowl" - I needed a bit of "wow" factor to score points for plating and creativity, after all!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Into the blender went the roasted butternut and the onions (I just squeezed the flesh out of the skins)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and I just blended them until they were well combined and thick and smooth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Here's where the <a href="http://donnahay.com.au/shop-online/books/fast-fresh-simple">Donna Hay "Fast, Fresh and Simple"</a> inspiration came in... I added about a cup of pouring cream and about a quarter cup of honey to the mixture, and put it all in a pot over medium/low heat, stirring it continuously as it all combined and warmed up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And here was the result of my first Iron Chef course!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Aaaaand here's what was left of Sous-Jeff's "bowl" after he decided to start eating it, too! I certainly achieved the shock factor I was after, with my adoring husband hailing me as his favourite chef ever! I was chuffed, and steamed back into the kitchen, head held high, ready to plate up the entree!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Taste: 9 /10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Plating: 4/5</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Originality: 4/5</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>MAIN: Butternut Pumpkin Stuffed Pasta</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For my main, I couldn't go past a pasta, stuffed with pumpkin, sage, ricotta and some sort of meat. It's not tooooo heavy, but just filling enough to be an actual main dish. And although I'd never made proper, filled pasta from scratch on my own, I was ready and willing to give it a try!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">First up, I diced the butternut into tiny, little, 1cm cubes, and roasted them in the oven drizzled with olive oil, salt and sage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next, I heated some oil in a fry pan, added some garlic and some sausage mince. I thought sausage mince would be a good option as it's not too chunky, so it wouldn't take away from the butternut, which was meant to be the star of the dish.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then, in with the pumpkin...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... out of the pan, and in with the ricotta, mixing it all together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Pasta dough next - just a super basic (but effective) flour-and-egg dough, made and left to sit in plastic wrap for an hour or so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I rolled it out in my little pasta machine, into long strips (with a bit of help from Sous-Jeff!)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And made tablespoon sized balls of mixture to place in intervals along the pasta strip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I "painted" around the edges with some egg wash, and placed the other strip on top, pressing down firmly. Unfortunately, there was still a bit of air bubble action going on, but hey, live and learn!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">They went into a pot of boiling water for around 3 minutes...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... then went onto a hot pan with some butter and sage leaves, to crisp up a little around the edges.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And here's what ended up on the plate!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The pumpking and sage really stood out and complemented each other perfectly, with the ricotta and sausage working in beautifully. The pasta, while it didn't look amazing or was put together perfectly, did taste great and soft. The recipe itself is (for me,) perfect as is, I just need to work on stuffing the pasta a bit better!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Sous-Jeff's absolutely favourite meal that I make is pan fried butter and sage gnocchi, so I thought I'd be on a winner here, and I was. He really loved the extra little bit of crispness that was added, and the soft pasta dough beneath that crisp shell. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Taste: 7/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Plating: 3.5/5</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Originality: 3.5/5</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>DESSERT: Butternut Pumpkin Pie</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">You just can't go wrong with pie, really. I've never made it before, never had any inclination to either, to be honest. But as soon as Sous-Jeff revealed my secret ingredient, I straight away thought of pumpkin pie as my dessert. I couldn't really find a recipe I liked, so as usual, I kind of just made it up as I went along. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">First, my easy pie pastry - around about a cup and a half of plain flour, plus around 80g of butter (rub together to make little crumbs), then 2 tablespoons of ice cold water. Mix it together, wrap it up in plastic wrap, and let it sit in the fridge for at least half an hour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For the filling, I roasted some more pumpkin (no oil or salt, just plain), and scooped out the flesh and put it in the blender, with about half a cup of cream, a quarter cup of brown sugar, an egg, and I blended it till it looked like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I also decided caramelised pecans were in order to really make this desserty, so I put about 50g of pecans and 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar in a pot, with a splash of water, and cooked them (stirring continuously) on medium heat for 5 minutes or so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The pie shells were blind baked for about 10 minutes, then the filling went in...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and they were baked for another 30 minutes or so, until the top of the pie was firm to touch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We were getting pretty full by this point, so we decided to share one little pie for dessert instead of eating one each, as we a) wouldn't be sick, and b) we'd have another one for the next night.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was creamy and smooth, with perfectly buttery, browned pastry, and the fantastic sweetness and crunch of the caramelised pecans. I was pretty impressed with myself actually, can't believe I actually made a pie from a vegetable with success! As for Sous-Jeff's verdict? You remember that other pie we were saving for tomorrow? Yeah, that got eaten less than 30 minutes later...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Taste: 7/10</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Plating: 3/5</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Originality: 3/5</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With a total score of 44 of a possible 60, I was pretty happy with my efforts, especially considering they were all dishes I'd never attempted before! Can't wait for my next Iron Chef challenge :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Over to you lovely people: ever tried your own version of something you've seen on TV?! How'd it go?!</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-64453483119339259652011-07-25T20:20:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:45.869-07:00Strawberry and Vanilla Jam<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Inspiration from... family :)</span></i></b></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As promised, here's some follow up action from my <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.blogspot.com/2011/07/lime-and-coconut-curd.html">Lime and Coconut Curd post</a> - my "anything-you-can-do" strawberry jam! Fortunately for Sous-Jeff, unlike the red hot <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.blogspot.com/2011/07/sous-jeffs-chilli-jam.html">chilli jam</a> that he produced (which I can't touch for fear of death by spice), my jam is deliciously sweet and shareable! </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS19YbWtCV-mp9EfwffI06yy6teQfmXi6aljYbf4XpePZRXJiv1OeyPpJGmYqmb8VMF9ZHrMyGypnVc6doJnWR7KDybJ6LnvOF86bJgKva3VtZZqbIwwzNRNr2A8ULdqmd84QLoWcYeyo/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS19YbWtCV-mp9EfwffI06yy6teQfmXi6aljYbf4XpePZRXJiv1OeyPpJGmYqmb8VMF9ZHrMyGypnVc6doJnWR7KDybJ6LnvOF86bJgKva3VtZZqbIwwzNRNr2A8ULdqmd84QLoWcYeyo/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It is sugary sweet, syrupy, with a little taste of vanilla. Really, really yummy. And it was surprisingly easy to make too! Here's how it was done, with the inspiration of <a href="http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/23979/strawberry+vanilla+conserve">this recipe from taste.com.au</a></span> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(though I must confess, I did change a fair bit...)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">You'll need:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4 x 250g punnets of strawberries, washed and hulled</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">600g white sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">100g vanilla sugar</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">80ml freshly squeezed lemon juice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 vanilla bean</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First up, I put all the strawberries and sugar in a large bowl, added about 75ml of water, and mixed it all up. I covered the bowl and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Yes, the recipe says overnight, but my patience doesn't extend quite that far.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This is what they looked like after 30 minutes - I then decided that instead of a conserve, with full berries, I wanted smaller chunks, more jam like. So I took a knife to the bowl and just chopped through the berries until they were in smaller chunks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next up, I squeezed me some lemon juice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then, I put the strawberries in all of their sugary goodness, and the lemon juice, and the vanilla bean seeds into a giant pot, and I cooked it on a medium heat for about 10 minutes - until the sugar dissolved, stirring it often, till it looked like...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... this! Then, I upped the heat and brought the mixture to the boil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The mixture bubbled and boiled away, forming a pink froth on top...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... which I scooped off the top with a metal spoon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I ended up cooking it for around 50 minutes, until the mixture started to really gel. Then, into the jar it went - against the recipe I went again, leaving it to sit in the jar for about 30 minutes before sealing it up and putting it in the fridge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I absolutely LOVED the vanilla taste in the jam, and, if anything, I'd perhaps use a little more vanilla sugar next time instead of regular sugar. The jam itself is super sweet, with the most gorgeous strawberry flavour, and I'm really glad I chopped the strawberries up a little. It tastes like summer, in the middle of this bitterly cold Melbourne winter!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And, it goes <i>great</i> on my gluten free buckwheat pancakes! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Really, really delicious! I got the tick of approval from Sous-Jeff too, and with all of our efforts so far successful, we're ready to try some more! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you guys and girls - what jams have you tried, what's on your to-try list, and what should I try next?!</span> </span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-90137480427683763852011-07-23T23:16:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:52.124-07:00Hooked Fish & Chips<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... Seafood</span></i></b></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Hooked Fish & Chips</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">384 Brunswick St, </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Fitzroy</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(03) 9417 7740</span></i></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="http://www.hooked.net.au/main.html">Visit Website</a></i></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Wow, a <i>LOT</i> has been happening in the life of this little food blogger lately...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I'm doing with my life, and whether it's making me happy or not; after many turbulent years dealing with my own inner demons and unhappiness, a few years ago I made a decision that I deserve to <i>just be happy</i>, and to really, truly <i>enjoy</i> my life. It sounds basic enough, doesn't it? But as anyone else who has suffered from depression will attest, it's just not as simple as "being happy."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I spent plenty of years being quite miserable and just dealing with life and getting through the day. I wanted to be happy, I really did! I just didn't know how to! Making some beautiful friends along the way, meeting and marrying my best friend, Sous-Jeff, mending some strained family relationships, and playing "mum" to my beautiful dog, the KitchenBug, have all made an immeasurable difference. Another thing that has reaaaalllly helped me get through has been food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I'm not talking about comfort eating, or binge eating, or anything like that. I'm talking about cooking and baking. I'm sure it sounds insane to a lot of people, but cooking relaxes me. It's how I enjoy spending my down time, and I certainly don't see it as a chore. I love reading cook books and watching cooking/travel shows on TV. That's one of my other passions - travel. I want to see the world and explore every culture I can (hence, "Multicultural Melbourne!"), learning about their food traditions, something that's been spawned on by being brought up with a strong Italian heritage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">SO, with all of that said, this week I decided to resign from my health and wellness based job after six years in the industry, and am super excited to be starting a new career adventure in a few weeks, as a travel consultant! I'm really excited to be following another one of my passions, alongside my cooking classes with <a href="http://www.amorecucina.com/">Amore Cucina</a>, and my food blogging! Wow, all my Christmases at once :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Which takes me to this blog post... after officially resigning and officially accepting my new job offer (which came about awfully randomly - will tell you more about it later!), Sous-Jeff took me to my favourite fooding-and-drinking hole to celebrate - Naked for Satan (You can read all about one of my many <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.blogspot.com/2011/05/naked-for-satan.html">adventures to Naked for Satan here</a>)! After a few celebratory cocktails and pintxos, we decide to meander on down Brunswick St for something a little more substantial for dinner, maybe a shared pizza or something. I also decide we'll be heading to Shocolate for dessert (macarons... YUM!), so we won't need to eat a heap. And then, we stumble upon this A-frame... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Melbourne's best chips? Well, our hands are tied. We are somewhat connoisseurs of the deep fried, crispy delights that are hot chips, and are quite well-versed on what constitutes a good chip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In we walk, to find an absolutely adorable little set up, of wooden picnic tables and benches, and old, weather-boarded walls with framed fishy pictures. Cute! We looked to the counter to see a giant blackboard with the "catches" of the day. And we notice some more information on the board to the right of the counter... Why healthy seafood, you ask? Well, let me tell you...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The delicious food here are low in fat, low in cholesterol, high in protein, vitamins and minerals, rich in Omega-3, and no frozen chips! You can read more about their fabulousness <a href="http://www.hooked.net.au/hooked_healthy_seafood.html">here</a>. The tables were set with Sicilian rock salt and wooden boxes containing cutlery and serviettes. We were ready. Give us the chips.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After a wait of a mere 10 minutes, our chips arrived. Oh my. They look verrryyyyy impressive, hand cut, golden, crisp potato chips, topped with even crispier, deep fried sweet potato chips on top. Wow. And for our extra 90c each, our sauces look very generously portioned.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PbJ49jHRtshFym2cnqdouetEetPmw3ajlFLvoeMP1TourUoR-nl8xo2nOD2zN9lKuIHelTPTNgxLW-cDQx9aSKHgvQ2bresWZ6fIulK2L8PN1vbi1L3f6VjZvByXoTUWwG6I8EcySeo/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3PbJ49jHRtshFym2cnqdouetEetPmw3ajlFLvoeMP1TourUoR-nl8xo2nOD2zN9lKuIHelTPTNgxLW-cDQx9aSKHgvQ2bresWZ6fIulK2L8PN1vbi1L3f6VjZvByXoTUWwG6I8EcySeo/s640/7.jpg" t$="true" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Regular Chips, $5.90 with Basil Salsa Verde ($0.90) and Sweet Chilli Sauce ($0.90).</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now, having eaten more hot chips than we'd like to admit, we have extremely high standards of anywhere claiming to have the best chips. We were bitterly disappointed by Lord of the Fries after their claim to being the best, so we are a little more cautious now. Upon tearing into these chips, we decided that they were delicious, they were better than your average chip, but they still weren't the best chips we've ever had. That honour goes to Eltham's Burger Lounge, to be reviewed very soon. </span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There was certainly nothing wrong with these chips - they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, well seasoned, and we looooved the addition of the crispy bits of sweet potato on top. But there just wasn't anything EXTRA special that grabbed us... They were yummy, but fairly standard. Upon walking out and seeing another customer's piece of fish, we are however quite keen to get back and try the seafood out!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you guys now - where can we find <i>your</i> favourite hot chips? And, what passions are you currently following?!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Would rate it 6 out of 10.</b></i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1543925/restaurant/Victoria/Hooked-Fitzroy"><img alt="Hooked on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1543925/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-7550826365786314362011-07-22T21:19:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:21:57.726-07:00Lemon, Spinach and Ricotta Risotto<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Influence of...Italy</span></i></b></span></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqf4JodXsJyJnErPJAczwIFikHQ1ZCrluv04OfrLQRfptxdkTr6fuZNp4aGRsnINRtHybbDsMM7Mx0a3iuEaducpLYNPZsyGCHPKZHmqdQpKakVQfw1FL3o6v4J5qZhFruCsccpK31Gk/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqf4JodXsJyJnErPJAczwIFikHQ1ZCrluv04OfrLQRfptxdkTr6fuZNp4aGRsnINRtHybbDsMM7Mx0a3iuEaducpLYNPZsyGCHPKZHmqdQpKakVQfw1FL3o6v4J5qZhFruCsccpK31Gk/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, this gluten free thing actually really isn't as hard as I thought it'd be. I must admit, after watching my sister stick to a gluten free diet for the past few years and listening to her complain about how crap the bread and pasta and other gluten free food is, I was more than a little concerned. But once I realised I could still eat rice, I was a lot more relieved. Take proper, good old fashioned pasta away from an Italian girl, and you have a problem. Take risotto too, and it's just a disaster. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've been eating a bit of rice pasta, which is actually no where near as horrible as I was led to believe - as long as you don't over cook it, it's actually quite nice! As for the risotto, I'm glad to report nothing's changed there, I can still cook that as normal! But I felt like being a bit adventurous after stumbling upon a post from Honest Cooking - a <a href="http://honestcooking.com/2011/07/04/lemon-risotto-with-mint-and-ricotta/">lemon risotto with mint and ricotta.</a> I decided to try it without the mint, and with a bit of spinach, and a side of roast veggies. Here's how we went...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Some diced mushrooms, eggplants and zucchinis on an oven tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkled with some basil and salt, into a moderate oven until they start to brown (about 20 minutes).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-R4oU8rH_E8VPX-99-UN2QF5OpZZciXhQe1qQe3RnXG3hE5UHGU5FVvI94VcIVOrbHyvOY6D-gwRBzSyO-dTmi3ZitqZGInpASbWpy1EQ8hJURU9aQAIjDnnM-KuX-0SfcoSJNtHN_Q/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-R4oU8rH_E8VPX-99-UN2QF5OpZZciXhQe1qQe3RnXG3hE5UHGU5FVvI94VcIVOrbHyvOY6D-gwRBzSyO-dTmi3ZitqZGInpASbWpy1EQ8hJURU9aQAIjDnnM-KuX-0SfcoSJNtHN_Q/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For the risotto itself, I used:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 cup of arborio rice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">50g butter</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">half a diced onion</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/2 cup white wine</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 1/2 cups chicken stock</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 cup ricotta cheese</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">juice from 1 large lemon</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3 handfuls of baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First, melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZigDXGauXY-QfLSuV_UzVisT21r0FOBzlZdCzWZ5seefXYteS3W7vrzZNiFIbGBMFJrYDGcX161jB6NFJYm_AlyDFLqMREH_N0tQkjDVzkUGJyOfFCa7ldLLzVEhGqb75Cl9N3DHmXs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZigDXGauXY-QfLSuV_UzVisT21r0FOBzlZdCzWZ5seefXYteS3W7vrzZNiFIbGBMFJrYDGcX161jB6NFJYm_AlyDFLqMREH_N0tQkjDVzkUGJyOfFCa7ldLLzVEhGqb75Cl9N3DHmXs/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add in the onions and cook until they begin to become see through.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add the rice in and stir to coat with the butter and onion mixture.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrRVaw1RfxTH3FbQ4Ixa8B_FJ8gLyFlXKl0zYQ4uqb_rKtx2zqLkpsvoPJfbeYYnruuSwjyM2TJpE0vcboZXVfg3dKKclsG6pXrPSziF-3TYcFcmgtL95uZVYfigoi2Dy1HF9bjNAOjE/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrRVaw1RfxTH3FbQ4Ixa8B_FJ8gLyFlXKl0zYQ4uqb_rKtx2zqLkpsvoPJfbeYYnruuSwjyM2TJpE0vcboZXVfg3dKKclsG6pXrPSziF-3TYcFcmgtL95uZVYfigoi2Dy1HF9bjNAOjE/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add the wine to the pan, stirring for a few minutes until the liquid begins to become absorbed, then add in a cup of the chicken stock. Add more stock as needed, stirring gently and occasionally until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7j2HxmaP6WcKxpB47sZ_GfK7NayBAsedD6O-HG21gCBfp94Yfoyrmbz6U9QibTwBII556-g16xIXBUZtqraSJfG-R7xpfWGsPI7dxIC5Jf6d3KhxvzHWBCuUge4xgSj7DjGZ6oofWlQ/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-7j2HxmaP6WcKxpB47sZ_GfK7NayBAsedD6O-HG21gCBfp94Yfoyrmbz6U9QibTwBII556-g16xIXBUZtqraSJfG-R7xpfWGsPI7dxIC5Jf6d3KhxvzHWBCuUge4xgSj7DjGZ6oofWlQ/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Once the rice is cooked through, add in the spinach and stir until wilted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Take the pot off the heat and stir in the cheeses, stirring to combine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next, add in the lemon juice and stir to combine, and season with some salt and pepper.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd4CVOqlXpLyMenY8Noh6lgCFEPHGaWkghIDhQKpCfK8d41Qe-13t7Q3Fcz6OvW515BJRUKPKEBcjO9H-RuL7rfJ4oQ196BbwLqZrWx9mCKwaDYbu5Lf3_qquhZ-x9_a1WDUgWjRVfZw/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJd4CVOqlXpLyMenY8Noh6lgCFEPHGaWkghIDhQKpCfK8d41Qe-13t7Q3Fcz6OvW515BJRUKPKEBcjO9H-RuL7rfJ4oQ196BbwLqZrWx9mCKwaDYbu5Lf3_qquhZ-x9_a1WDUgWjRVfZw/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Out of the oven with the veggies, and onto the plate with it all!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Perfectly creamy, thanks to the ricotta, with a little bit, thanks to the lemon. I really loved the texture the spinach provided, and think next time for yet another texture I'll add in some toasted pine nuts.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcplq3LYr7gGDzbIOkyL8vHkAD3uVED6wQ7aQPs4UHDUmB7P6vBaCuJ9Q6S8bx9hvuVwVNtw_bp72NiT4C2HShTSupa9AKoHSXLbuYnQpWxVa-Cyq12ofcnn8hxh7AygVoY_Oga0afKE/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcplq3LYr7gGDzbIOkyL8vHkAD3uVED6wQ7aQPs4UHDUmB7P6vBaCuJ9Q6S8bx9hvuVwVNtw_bp72NiT4C2HShTSupa9AKoHSXLbuYnQpWxVa-Cyq12ofcnn8hxh7AygVoY_Oga0afKE/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was a perfectly warm and comforting winter meal - and best of all, gluten free, so I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything! Delicious :)</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4Dq1aNxeAVtc8nToYtnQqwX5Jchlk7KSvS8jiOa87credaDW1givKgYegcaL3SPK7RiwW15GKx-oLfbIela31-kaDW1GrxGidhOCZoWS1krJQhpSTi3IRRNY-R5ynOY0DMjcdDs1QyE/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4Dq1aNxeAVtc8nToYtnQqwX5Jchlk7KSvS8jiOa87credaDW1givKgYegcaL3SPK7RiwW15GKx-oLfbIela31-kaDW1GrxGidhOCZoWS1krJQhpSTi3IRRNY-R5ynOY0DMjcdDs1QyE/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-76536096071294540222011-07-22T01:26:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:22:04.131-07:00Quick & Healthy: Moroccan Style Stuffed Capsicums<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Influence of... Morocco</span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Another trip to the Queen Vic Market, another few hours of inspiration to cook. There is nothing better than being surrounded by beautiful, fresh, vibrant produce, and I honestly believe there's no where better than the market for that. While walking through the sheds of fresh fruit, veggies, meats, breads, herbs, and everything in between, an idea springs to my mind. A big, fat, roasted red capsicum... Filled with.... stuff. Not sure what yet, I'm assuming it'll come to me as I continue my market walk. And sure enough, it does. A Moroccan inspired stuffing. Hmmm... With all of my ingredients fresh from the market, let's see what I can concoct...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First things first, oven on 18</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">0</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">°C, and</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> slice the tops off the capsicums.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Into the oven they go, on a baking paper lined tray, until they start to blister, turning them every 10 minutes of so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Meanwhile, heat a bit of olive oil in a large saucepan, and throw in some diced onion (about half a large onion) and two cloves of minced garlic, until the onion starts to soften and brown slightly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next, in goes around 500g of gluten free sausage mince. Looooove it!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwYMSdEMxNnh_sDt4cyZEK2og2xXI30qiOIHZOCLKeAVj5DAAEGfzVX8jVFl1h2Gb_-qaZFruNC4-w2R0O8u77P_CpuNLBGLlXr-6cy-KQ_WHkGbpkCVAx8g3WwTdLz6ocpyIYUfnQY4/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKwYMSdEMxNnh_sDt4cyZEK2og2xXI30qiOIHZOCLKeAVj5DAAEGfzVX8jVFl1h2Gb_-qaZFruNC4-w2R0O8u77P_CpuNLBGLlXr-6cy-KQ_WHkGbpkCVAx8g3WwTdLz6ocpyIYUfnQY4/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On top of the mince, a bit of Moroccan spice mix and sweet paprika, and cook it up until it's brown and cooked through...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-d_oLW66vVn8oVtEh13YU78eCw49dIpiNlHurXkKe_5gYgC3Z4UyxXEqDYCTCd5AkYSMq2eEimVjQO70tPQqWMzdV-ePeCCpwYSnmVo-DShZ1pj3FvoG6oJISHqJw6tM2CgeJdygpyI/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-d_oLW66vVn8oVtEh13YU78eCw49dIpiNlHurXkKe_5gYgC3Z4UyxXEqDYCTCd5AkYSMq2eEimVjQO70tPQqWMzdV-ePeCCpwYSnmVo-DShZ1pj3FvoG6oJISHqJw6tM2CgeJdygpyI/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... like this!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next in goes half a grated zucchini...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSC8Xtozu4Xi7OGCeRQTFnXvmXOemXQAyGWUQnLfxs-7IknSRBoq5dUiSL-_IKLTSDKSMMwA5IKuyOPmyCLKq1oDrdhOy2axm2SoLmUvmkx8rANXkJvY38E-jnHu5NT95VL1XEGyo8Y0/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSC8Xtozu4Xi7OGCeRQTFnXvmXOemXQAyGWUQnLfxs-7IknSRBoq5dUiSL-_IKLTSDKSMMwA5IKuyOPmyCLKq1oDrdhOy2axm2SoLmUvmkx8rANXkJvY38E-jnHu5NT95VL1XEGyo8Y0/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
... and about half a cup of saffron rice (I like to put a bit of water, a bit of white wine and a pinch of saffron threads in a saucepan, and throw in some paella rice, bringing it to a boil and then simmering until it's cooked through).</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAvaWVWH6xgPZUZ3epS2VX3A0E5pJKwTOP1DBvc9DtBpKsixMsPSRV7gkSLEA1oXHUG16HakkppBZMNgYS8tAH5qkC-jFVzIthyphenhyphenbjLqRPs9jDLgWHkJ4tYcmxeFALLL1n2yn6lwczk4k/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTAvaWVWH6xgPZUZ3epS2VX3A0E5pJKwTOP1DBvc9DtBpKsixMsPSRV7gkSLEA1oXHUG16HakkppBZMNgYS8tAH5qkC-jFVzIthyphenhyphenbjLqRPs9jDLgWHkJ4tYcmxeFALLL1n2yn6lwczk4k/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After combining that, I throw in a handful of toasted slivered almonds and pine nuts, to add a nice crunchy texture and a delicious flavour.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIByLcFsJFLgR-GAAGLdQqjbgQbuwJv4Gw2peOn1GMFPb-fHzxxvpPJqtI8Bg0FzkD7AMvAMoKcJ39HM1kMYX-Epn654A7qjCBXVnb48XOF9BAv9QMV-gB8GWZvbWI5wYmxzwyMUrmtqo/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIByLcFsJFLgR-GAAGLdQqjbgQbuwJv4Gw2peOn1GMFPb-fHzxxvpPJqtI8Bg0FzkD7AMvAMoKcJ39HM1kMYX-Epn654A7qjCBXVnb48XOF9BAv9QMV-gB8GWZvbWI5wYmxzwyMUrmtqo/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And here's the finished product, ready to go inside the roasted capsicums! Easy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Out of the oven with the capsicums - they're not over roasted, as I need them to still stand up in the bowl; if they're too soft, they'll just collapse.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbt1t61eBB89AfVmWwBoWSD8pHbuVZLULz5vUn5jbS_159M1Ri0ug5PTCKSA1XGzpoNvMdSMwLotlj9jFHtuT-WPPiB5JDnUwbW_kBZOaIVxb7dOydRKXssuQqoiLvApjkzRRTMQFEx8/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikbt1t61eBB89AfVmWwBoWSD8pHbuVZLULz5vUn5jbS_159M1Ri0ug5PTCKSA1XGzpoNvMdSMwLotlj9jFHtuT-WPPiB5JDnUwbW_kBZOaIVxb7dOydRKXssuQqoiLvApjkzRRTMQFEx8/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Spoon in the stuffing and top with a bit of crumbled feta cheese!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And that's it! Quick, simple, yummy, and looks awfully pretty! And the bonus is, you can eat the bowl as you work your way through the stuffing! I think this would also work great with eggplant, or even a large tomato to hold it all in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It may look like a bit of work and not so "quick," but it actually is - you just throw everything into the fry pan while the capsicums roast, and you can cook up a whole lot of rice and leave it in the fridge for a few days, taking out what you need as you need it! And as long as you don't use a heap of oil and very lean mince, it actually isn't terribly unhealthy, particularly because you don't need a heap of stuffing in the capsicum.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you guys; where do you find inspiration to create something a little different in the kitchen? </span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-91145762204049697302011-07-19T16:00:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:22:16.093-07:00Kagu Ra Zaka<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've recently taken quite a liking to Japanese food. I'm not talking about the commercial, stock-standard, mass-produced shopping centre sushi. I mean <i>real</i> Japanese food. Sous-Jeff had a not-so-great Japanese experience at a Teppanyaki restaurant with a group of his work colleagues - being the big, manly man that he is, he was bitterly disappointed to get tiny portions through out the night, leaving him still hungry and arriving home with a McChicken burger. So, naturally he was a little hesitant when I suggested going out for a Japanese lunch. I reminded him that he actually really enjoyed our lunch at Wabi Sabi (<a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.blogspot.com/2011/05/wabi-sabi-salon.html">which I've also taken my mum and sisters to</a>), and that if he ordered the right things he would get a substantial feed. "OK then," he replies, "but I'm trusting you to order for me!" No pressure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To my great delight, we arrive on a blisteringly cold Melbourne winter's day, to find an authentic, little, <i>warm</i>, Japanese sanctuary. With proper, authentic Japanese "booths" to eat in! Win! Nothing better than getting to kick of your shoes and relax over lunch! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Being the little nerd I am, I've already sussed out the website before our lunch date, and find out that the restaurant's head chef, Mr Jack Itou, has shown off his culinary skills on the Japanese TV network, with IronChef Ken Kenichi! Very cool! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We take off our shoes and crawl up into our seats. Our table is set with beautiful blue and white patterned plates and our chopsticks (which I'm still slowly learning to operate in a more graceful manner than simply stabbing my food).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sous-Jeff takes a look at the menu, written partly in Japanese, flicks through a few pages (not entirely sure what he's looking at), and asks, "so, what are we having?!" Another win for me - I get to choose our lunch menu! "Let's get some edamame beans to start," I say, having fallen in love with them a few years ago at another Teppanyaki restaurant. He nods along... "what???" That was my question too, when I first ate them - they're green soy beans, salt boiled in their pods and squeezed out to eat. </span><br />
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<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Edamame, $6.00</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To me, they have a sweetish flavour, and taste absolutely amazing when combined with the vinegar-spiked soy sauce.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After a bit of practice, I even got the hang of using my chopsticks to eat them! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next on my list were the gyoza (pork mince and vegetable dumplings), and they were spectacular!</span><br />
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<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gyoza (5 pieces), $7.00</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Soft shelled, without being mushy, and a beautiful flavour - strong, but not overpowering. Absolutely loved them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And my final appetiser choice were the spring rolls. Being the personal trainer/sport teacher, healthy duo that we are, Sous-Jeff and I cannot go past anything deep fried.</span><br />
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<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>HaruMaki (2 pieces), $4.50</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Not much to say about these - they lasted all of 4 seconds and were perfect. They made the most incredible sound when we bit into them, and tasted great with the left over vinegar and soy sauce mix we got with the edamame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Time for a main - we decide to share, as we have a dinner that night as well, so we don't want to go in pre-filled! We decide on something we'll both love - the chicken teriyaki, served with veggies and a homemade teriyaki sauce.</span><br />
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<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Teriyaki (chicken), $17.00</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well, I'll be the first to admit, the veggies weren't amazing... they were just a standard salad/cabbage/cucumber/tomato mix. But the chicken...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Dotted with sesame seeds and drenched in the sticky, sweet teriyaki sauce, the chicken was tender and soft and cooked to perfection. We were suddenly regretting our agreement to share. Luckily we had some steamed white rice to soak up all the sauce - there was a fight for that too.</span><br />
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<tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Steamed rice, $2.00 per serve</i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Bellies full and tummies content, we prepare to tackle our next challenge - getting out of our little both with our dignity intact. 5 minutes and a few giggles from our lovely waitress later, we were out, shoes on, and ready to leave. Overall, it was a fantastic experience, the food was really great (I'd rate it on a par with Wabi Sabi, which I continue going back to!), and I can't wait to go again!</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you - any favourite restaurants that have encouraged you to go and try that same cuisine elsewhere?! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Would rate it 8 out of 10.</b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/760969/restaurant/Melbourne/South-Yarra-Toorak/Kagu-Ra-Zaka-South-Yarra"><img alt="Kagu Ra Zaka on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/760969/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">P.S. It's just occurred to me that I really haven't given any bad restaurant reviews since starting my blog... how is this possible that I haven't stumbled onto anything terrible yet?! It isn't intentional, I swear I'll tell you when I hate something! And I didn't think I was that easily pleased.... might have to be more critical from now on!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-48028804825609444082011-07-17T21:04:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:22:21.074-07:00Lime and Coconut Curd<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"> <b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Inspiration from... Fiji</span></i></b></span> </div><br />
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Fresh off the success of Sous-Jeff's Chilli Jam (which I can't try because it's too spicy!), I decide that it's time for me to try a condiment of my own. Not to be outdone, I decide to try not one, but two preserves - a lime and coconut curd (again, coming from the love of lime and coconut I developed over my many visits to Fiji), and strawberry jam. First up is my curd.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJoNCQE86LPPfW0JFbko50kPmByRzDM_X_OW28-qndOgysmuh2GWm29pKSR9Nv8XGa146O3iPkBdEH8CF1rAXvzbyQ7RqQhPeGja8R65UqGHRLKNqtfPvmdyX1ht7O_1vwJiKl8CUttQ/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJoNCQE86LPPfW0JFbko50kPmByRzDM_X_OW28-qndOgysmuh2GWm29pKSR9Nv8XGa146O3iPkBdEH8CF1rAXvzbyQ7RqQhPeGja8R65UqGHRLKNqtfPvmdyX1ht7O_1vwJiKl8CUttQ/s640/14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I have very fond childhood memories of lemon curd used as butter, coated on my toast, cake, biscuits, and whatever else I could get my little hands on. I absolutely loooooved the citrusy punch of the lemon combined with the secondary, super sweet sugar hit.</div><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After a bit of googling and a bit of imagination, I've looked at around 5 or 6 different recipes, and decide to take elements of all of them, and a lot of my own imagination. And I'm glad I did, because it came out absolutely AMAZING!!!!</div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Here's what I did to get it right...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First, I passed 3 lightly whisked eggs through a strainer, to make sure the curd is super smooth.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjo_cSCRcxynDa_i9N_YH08wrr2RXYjCxPR4Ea42RT5ZlIewIbdonJnPuEpleby-kiNIBM2PUcRKj2QE5ZM6kQDQCWhPuKnqabbHyyL_yROoQquMRP6mGt_YoiSV_HJAorryVNqPRHpMw/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjo_cSCRcxynDa_i9N_YH08wrr2RXYjCxPR4Ea42RT5ZlIewIbdonJnPuEpleby-kiNIBM2PUcRKj2QE5ZM6kQDQCWhPuKnqabbHyyL_yROoQquMRP6mGt_YoiSV_HJAorryVNqPRHpMw/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then, I grated the zest of one lime, and squeezed the juice of 2 limes.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcs8WT5FTWXcmjynW6BSIg1EdtR5QhTOOwba-7JSD0t8aV8nrp-ffUPOviHMlq0kCn3F8TkufjrA-gG7EgGQ23jT-z5SdFtJUtB1nH23CdYCB4AZ5qH18Em5NOQinHV90yMXQnFLvFqT0/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcs8WT5FTWXcmjynW6BSIg1EdtR5QhTOOwba-7JSD0t8aV8nrp-ffUPOviHMlq0kCn3F8TkufjrA-gG7EgGQ23jT-z5SdFtJUtB1nH23CdYCB4AZ5qH18Em5NOQinHV90yMXQnFLvFqT0/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I added the lime juice and zest, along with 100g of butter and 200g of sugar to a pot...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdiyuwInsJwE6G2mlXexZZYtGCzCqJ-1uShRlu80QJiu-yP11Z3ifgQu0Bk8a_rDnOEYOusfRHub38ZV3cmKvCcSfspOGd1aHcBiTLWPPURDzz0nKNshNVk1Xgl2lwuSd_gKiUXo3o_28/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdiyuwInsJwE6G2mlXexZZYtGCzCqJ-1uShRlu80QJiu-yP11Z3ifgQu0Bk8a_rDnOEYOusfRHub38ZV3cmKvCcSfspOGd1aHcBiTLWPPURDzz0nKNshNVk1Xgl2lwuSd_gKiUXo3o_28/s640/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and stirred and melted it all together, until the sugar had dissolved and the butter had melted, and it looked...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlN1kUPhD7SP8ipMV7KG2d4oyq7vNvWqnEh_6bB8McPzgA8mC6ODohClUPeAYMzx0Fd0oB4p0ni9atAYL5HwCWcC1NzOlmfR3UpBn-GJ7P9k3an8P2aY4dS4lDuEP9OK8nOr3ykI4_0o/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlN1kUPhD7SP8ipMV7KG2d4oyq7vNvWqnEh_6bB8McPzgA8mC6ODohClUPeAYMzx0Fd0oB4p0ni9atAYL5HwCWcC1NzOlmfR3UpBn-GJ7P9k3an8P2aY4dS4lDuEP9OK8nOr3ykI4_0o/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... like this!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Mgog2mmwPy9wE308TwhD7-gMrS4VTXOUmOE5eKxid_pVX_-ske2wo1nHKYKRdI0Z2iOsuEBuVJd9wx7Zk54-ztd3jSwk7g8ZVzFJaAq8yHZdY15SO5ClXv37RMzljkwW-fkU8ud24U4/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Mgog2mmwPy9wE308TwhD7-gMrS4VTXOUmOE5eKxid_pVX_-ske2wo1nHKYKRdI0Z2iOsuEBuVJd9wx7Zk54-ztd3jSwk7g8ZVzFJaAq8yHZdY15SO5ClXv37RMzljkwW-fkU8ud24U4/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I removed it from the heat and added to the melted mixture the strained eggs, and stirred with a wooden spoon to combine it.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaggtub9m_tp0QBy76_NwHmz8tGFel9o0bLooH9SUrVYBBYcK5iyFMlwgPbIorevCqxR-IRs3XF3A2aKJ5GsOcTInUDtSlv6m6D1HFXuSGJXhCPyRLwsE2aZLP7TpGxBJGVDPdfk3Zdk/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivaggtub9m_tp0QBy76_NwHmz8tGFel9o0bLooH9SUrVYBBYcK5iyFMlwgPbIorevCqxR-IRs3XF3A2aKJ5GsOcTInUDtSlv6m6D1HFXuSGJXhCPyRLwsE2aZLP7TpGxBJGVDPdfk3Zdk/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then, I put it back onto a low heat for about 10 minutes, constantly stirring, until it was thick and coated the wooden spoon...</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2nmipD4LLCSivLFhh0LHFkgSBUoczfsBhqnGB3dvqIbvcmqlSpOGA5bDEdBx62xOoBYwOrVDtfmchldskJvEoHLGJvrYLcel8ficmVx-tOvQNLUqoebT67QKewUSf-JjMhF_27T8w-g/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_2nmipD4LLCSivLFhh0LHFkgSBUoczfsBhqnGB3dvqIbvcmqlSpOGA5bDEdBx62xOoBYwOrVDtfmchldskJvEoHLGJvrYLcel8ficmVx-tOvQNLUqoebT67QKewUSf-JjMhF_27T8w-g/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9Tsao-vnr3zSFD3nUDVJM3fbF5r8FKdu_ynbJHncl3Pi8SkgEi3U0voETKtyqivFehs7iRmnzGpktuhw0Zdnykc4xnNxwXnkH3ZXrWfp4FlwFVzUHeMIPt8WWSjL1dhl78NXyHxzI1A/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">...like this!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5cPT_AHIFmpsaA9I0iT-SDHFDZMg9Afn2AhfCWcEVdA-SS52lGjn73WS31vp74duwBb3i2jkcRUyk8xC68t6-FJt_W4WMKyUD6khInXol4lPZIQU20ZRpru6o2IF7_umlx2rMO5IOQo/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5cPT_AHIFmpsaA9I0iT-SDHFDZMg9Afn2AhfCWcEVdA-SS52lGjn73WS31vp74duwBb3i2jkcRUyk8xC68t6-FJt_W4WMKyUD6khInXol4lPZIQU20ZRpru6o2IF7_umlx2rMO5IOQo/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I added in 50g of dessicated coconut next...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaElCvwwsJjL32y26gSr_mZBX2nJ5bplJHsuCAvXmC33qBd9kkNavhgSals2TYX_9oYEwd6GJGZnhfG6wBcamtMNbTwnlh3hdOpy6jrxCD0oNVNMHZdwPZrFhlXO7TUsgwTsiCkEQzDnA/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaElCvwwsJjL32y26gSr_mZBX2nJ5bplJHsuCAvXmC33qBd9kkNavhgSals2TYX_9oYEwd6GJGZnhfG6wBcamtMNbTwnlh3hdOpy6jrxCD0oNVNMHZdwPZrFhlXO7TUsgwTsiCkEQzDnA/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... gently stirring it to combine.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lgKPsSaneiaFZIZGbNlSskGvJQJp9_RFaWfrDEsl1OXYiwZ3aUQVitprkw6Rvr_eTjbZ0ekM7xJIuViZ-avTi0ein6RIlGtpnIH9byFwBV6NdXZhPmP0jFExTpA8rPYXf5SiFaq7cHw/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lgKPsSaneiaFZIZGbNlSskGvJQJp9_RFaWfrDEsl1OXYiwZ3aUQVitprkw6Rvr_eTjbZ0ekM7xJIuViZ-avTi0ein6RIlGtpnIH9byFwBV6NdXZhPmP0jFExTpA8rPYXf5SiFaq7cHw/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And that's it! Finished! That simple! Into the jar it went, and I left it to cool slightly for about 15 minutes before putting the lid on.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOWQD3redcmYAf7km7iMwM0cuFUa6VrtGJ_gEOtGtSLDFQcs9y8OSOsVD0BPbsd4LVxaF8zdiobIO8I6ctsN_r7AalNQhvrySxAwBGXf1mR0JBhHnuQqUWIp1GMpV_YSjbry_tbk2HZs/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOWQD3redcmYAf7km7iMwM0cuFUa6VrtGJ_gEOtGtSLDFQcs9y8OSOsVD0BPbsd4LVxaF8zdiobIO8I6ctsN_r7AalNQhvrySxAwBGXf1mR0JBhHnuQqUWIp1GMpV_YSjbry_tbk2HZs/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It is absolutely delicious, and I can't tell you how in love with this curd I am!! I loooove tropical flavours, none more so than coconut and lime; I just find the flavours so refreshing, yet it really packs a punch.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtag6n0EMfEuO7CwKG0kjkqE9wQmSBGI2L7wcSng4p6gBRh8immG4oKAIGBI1A3Aldr4NeSwxP27AWnYir_9ZtLYr5ABj9g8OyayczDnN6V98rNBZ32BAJnvQl8NKRG40-QF-iwinIEw/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtag6n0EMfEuO7CwKG0kjkqE9wQmSBGI2L7wcSng4p6gBRh8immG4oKAIGBI1A3Aldr4NeSwxP27AWnYir_9ZtLYr5ABj9g8OyayczDnN6V98rNBZ32BAJnvQl8NKRG40-QF-iwinIEw/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's just the right balance of sweet and tangy, and goes absolutely perfectly with buckwheat pancakes :)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxGaOQz_AIVMIx24Wm-j_DP_IKQSyxRIXq8oNNs77IMvzB8kNBhBNraXzX-4-CvUtIoFZ9td-F0E7Hi50X3Rj1wnwGiv6KlXuC7TY9V4adZRVeEqeVVWLlSNLNIIIEHaG78Z5H-VQP8c/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxGaOQz_AIVMIx24Wm-j_DP_IKQSyxRIXq8oNNs77IMvzB8kNBhBNraXzX-4-CvUtIoFZ9td-F0E7Hi50X3Rj1wnwGiv6KlXuC7TY9V4adZRVeEqeVVWLlSNLNIIIEHaG78Z5H-VQP8c/s640/17.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I was surprised at how easy it was to make, and Would like to try a passion fruit and coconut combination too.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you, lovely readers - what combinations have you, or would you like to try?! </span></div>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-55700953793391050012011-07-17T20:01:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:22:27.079-07:00Sous-Jeff's Chilli Jam<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... Italy</span></i></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Since starting my food blog, I've also re-developed an affinity for the plethora of cooking shows on Foxtel. And, luckily for me, my wonderful husband is slowly starting to come to terms with this, and is actually watching bits and pieces of these shows with me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> With Sous-Jeff as a school teacher, he's been on holidays for the past 2 weeks, which means that he's been around for more than a few cooking shows, and getting quite bored with nothing to do but relax for 2 weeks. He's not much of a relaxer - like me, he likes to be on the go and have something to do all the time. </span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So, as fate would have it, a few days into his holidays, he plonked himself on the couch next to me over lunch one day, while I was watching an episode of David Rocco's Dolce Vita, featuring some homemade chilli jam. For those of you who don't know, Sous-Jeff is a complete chilli fiend. His eyes light up like a little kid on Christmas morning when ever he sees anything with the words "chilli," "hot," "spicy," or "warning" on it. Why you'd want to burn off all your tastebuds before eating is beyond me, but for some reason completely unbeknownst to me, he insists on making almost all of his food spicy. So, naturally, his ears pricked up when he saw this chilli jam segment. As I picked up the remote control to fast forward past this (I guess opposites do attract because I cannot handle anything spicier than pepper!), he grabbed the remote out of my hand, turned the volume up, and reached for a pen and some paper.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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What ensued was a lot of pausing, rewinding, and "Why is he going so fast?! Add vinegar... well, how much? Jess, why won't he say how much? Is he going to give me the recipe?? How am I supposed to know how much vinegar to add?! And how long am I supposed to be cooking it for? This guy sucks! He only has a TV show because he's young and Italian and probably good looking... I could cook this!" And with that, he resolves to make his own chilli jam this school holidays!</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With the ingredients purchased and the day off, I take up my post as jam supervisor and let Sous-Jeff do his thing. He retrieves his instructions, scrawled on a few post it notes, puts on his game face, and gets ready to cook. He's adapted the recipe to suit himself, and starts off by chopping up roughly 600g of red and yellow capsicums, and chopping and de-seeding around 40g of super hot red chillies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After re-watching the segment of the show where the vinegar is added, it's decided that he adds approximately 5 large shot glasses of apple cider vinegar. There may in fact be more required, but Sous-Jeff saw him pour 5 shot glasses on the show, so that's what went in!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It all went into a big pot, and in the end, cooked for about half an hour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then, it all went into the blender...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">...and blended into a frothy, orange goo!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Back into the pot, and in with around about 750g of sugar. The recipe called for a kilo, but Sous-Jeff decided that was wayyyy too much. It cooked on a low heat for around an hour all up, until it started to caramelise a little and turn a much richer red.</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After the 40 minutes of prescribed cooking time, we decided it hadn't thickened up anywhere near enough, so we added 400g of diced tomatoes to help it along. </span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> After almost 2 hours in the kitchen, slaving over a hot stove, Sous-Jeff was a little upset that it hadn't turned out like he'd planned it to. He put it in a jar and left it for a few hours.</span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Upon returning, it had finally thickened up and was a really jammy consistency, glossy and shiny, and looking awfully red and dangerous. With a spoonful aimed as his mouth, I ask if he's sure he should try that much - "it's not THAT hot, look how much sugar I put in there!" With the spoonful down the hatch, a wide grin begins to form... followed by his eyes opening wide and his face turning bright pink. Ok, so it was a little spicier than he though it'd be, but he couldn't have been any happier with himself! By all accounts, when applied not so liberally, it was absolutely delicious, with a perfect balance between the sweetness of the sugar and tomato, and the spice of the chilli. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I couldn't have been any prouder of him; my husband, the big, tough, footy playing, VB drinking man that he is, in the kitchen, giving it a crack, and it worked out for him! With that, he may have found a new hobby, and I expect to have him shadowing me in the kitchen a lot more now :)</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-25241700523149785592011-07-14T04:25:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:22:34.232-07:00Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... Desserts</span></i></b></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i> </i></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio<br />
647 Chapel St, <br />
South Yarra<br />
(03) 9827 7060<br />
<a href="http://www.burchandpurchese.com/">Visit Website</a></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"OH MY GOD! We're on Chapel Street!"<br />
"Umm... yeah....??!"<br />
"Chapel Street!!! Do you know what's here?!"<br />
"Umm... the Jam Factory? Where we're going to the movies? That's why we're here, yeah??"<br />
"Yeah, but now that we're here, I can finally go to Burch and Purchese!!!! I totally forgot it was so close to the Jam Factory! Oh my God!! Please can we go and get some cake?! It'll be amazing! Seriously! I won't even get popcorn at the movies, I just want cake! Yes? Yeah?! Let's go, come on!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This was the conversation that occurred between Sous-Jeff and I, two grown adults, not a child and a parent as it may suggest. I had a rare Sunday off work, and we had absolutely not a thing planned, other than a sleep in and some gluten free, buckwheat pancakes covered in fresh strawberries and a little vanilla sugar for breakfast (delicious, by the way!). We loooove a trip to the movies, and realised that not only had we still not seen the new X-Men, but we also actually had 2 free movie tickets sitting on the fridge! Time to get out and use them! The only Sunday day time session of X-Men was at the Jam Factory, so off we went. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A few months ago, I'd heard for the first time all about Ian Burch and Darren Purchese on another blog (I can't remember which one unfortunately...), which led me to the <a href="http://burchandpurchese.blogspot.com/">Burch and Purchese blog</a>, and their magnificent dessert abilities. Not long later, I saw Darren's appearance on MasterChef, with one of the most magnificent cakes I've ever seen. I knew I had to get to their studio, but hadn't had the chance, until this fateful day, when, standing out the front of the Como centre crossing the road, I realised my close proximity to sugar land!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Bless him, Sous-Jeff knows he can't win an argument with me when there's cake involved, and on my side was the fact that he too had seen the cake appearance on MasterChef, and wanted to get involved in this delicious phenomenon. So, with an hour to kill before the movie, off we went!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It didn't look like much from the outside, but I had a feeling that we wouldn't be disappointed. "Aren't you meant to be gluten free at the moment? Pretty sure that means no cake..." I shrugged my shoulders and decided that a quick break in the diet wouldn't kill me, already resigned to the cakey fate awaiting me through the door..</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVyqurVNuaq2nZYSq03I0XxH_cqK3RoaK-PPpFQF6TkCaprXcsUi9wH85JEN9o95rz4E5_w-gowhRX8wTDS8T3QvN-yqrtmAwwS8pSAtPRP78gzrDrsZnLNg2oaGQKibrMyVWEfzQ7Lk/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVyqurVNuaq2nZYSq03I0XxH_cqK3RoaK-PPpFQF6TkCaprXcsUi9wH85JEN9o95rz4E5_w-gowhRX8wTDS8T3QvN-yqrtmAwwS8pSAtPRP78gzrDrsZnLNg2oaGQKibrMyVWEfzQ7Lk/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and I walked into my dream. Wow. It was all soooo pretty... and look, home made jams and chocolates for sale!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And, ... WOW!!!! An entire wall lined with little glass jars, containing ingredients such as coconut ash, sugared rose petals, and 24 carat gold leaf... ohhh imagine the cakes I could create with this as my pantry!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4jTFB0a1T83eSwcQnAD6eAXtxtq9bU-d67xMlKk9TlvZDAGvnr74dOE-JIKOFll9rsigRXTKjAz6eTw94dyaBZ-oGtQLZn7BeRrJz950ysjTJQI0YutG7hpUJ0xjtvwVnCuQ6YMLn14/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip4jTFB0a1T83eSwcQnAD6eAXtxtq9bU-d67xMlKk9TlvZDAGvnr74dOE-JIKOFll9rsigRXTKjAz6eTw94dyaBZ-oGtQLZn7BeRrJz950ysjTJQI0YutG7hpUJ0xjtvwVnCuQ6YMLn14/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9gCu3gUHn0ED044CespRS49wqltGBahQAKdNqodVyJP3BUmudBZJ84pRQX3ptoUxuN-_yhZl-jeSGdRta0gQRgnPFLBisjKfgRLqLGcLcwR6rYXJOhJ4X4pN6fBg_9OCgXIRWydEwek/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9gCu3gUHn0ED044CespRS49wqltGBahQAKdNqodVyJP3BUmudBZJ84pRQX3ptoUxuN-_yhZl-jeSGdRta0gQRgnPFLBisjKfgRLqLGcLcwR6rYXJOhJ4X4pN6fBg_9OCgXIRWydEwek/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The kitchen was even open, with two young ladies cooking their way around. What I wouldn't have given to get in there are have a turn...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I hear a laugh, and turn around to see one of the lovely shop assistants giggling at me, standing in front of the glass jars, mouth wide open and eyes darting about in wonder. Sous-Jeff is laughing along with her, shaking his head and probably wondering why he agreed to this outing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Back to the glass display cases at the front of the store, Sous-Jeff tried to hurry me on to choosing a cake for myself. He already know what he wants, but I'm torn between basically everything there. With a little more begging and pleading, and the promise that I'll let him taste mine, I talk my way up from one cake, to two, plus whichever Sous-Jeff wants. The art of compromise is essential in marriage.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI56IPRfV-tL1M5SFBnRfQ1AHHNkU5gFntyDNRA6zi8fxgFV8Zm2YmJfWS4U_1WV-P50ir5AtredDZuu189aOu3_Ckx5IdYiUrBhC_PKW7ymqVo8gfYuSzAbx4HhfjlsaZXjoCj3_2wKk/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI56IPRfV-tL1M5SFBnRfQ1AHHNkU5gFntyDNRA6zi8fxgFV8Zm2YmJfWS4U_1WV-P50ir5AtredDZuu189aOu3_Ckx5IdYiUrBhC_PKW7ymqVo8gfYuSzAbx4HhfjlsaZXjoCj3_2wKk/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With our three pieces of heaven chosen and delicately placed into a box, with their descriptions sticky taped inside, I carefully clutch my delicious package in my cold hands, and make my way to the door. "Would you like a few spoons in case they don't make it home?" the shop assistant asks with a giggle as we make our way out? "Yes, definitely," is Sous-Jeff's reply, and with cake and spoons in hand, we head back to the Jam Factory for our movie.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfg0T4WLC42_F3vHA-aESha65Grwwqoq2eun7TGuj2btRY7IBWV0inpgMtE3fgkP9jMaXZLVyYxRXI0fKnaoVvpeJNRhj8cKU7-PBWpW6uKeCHi7Ir3npmYGjcx3pANHREo8s50nZtmA/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfg0T4WLC42_F3vHA-aESha65Grwwqoq2eun7TGuj2btRY7IBWV0inpgMtE3fgkP9jMaXZLVyYxRXI0fKnaoVvpeJNRhj8cKU7-PBWpW6uKeCHi7Ir3npmYGjcx3pANHREo8s50nZtmA/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"Ok, open the box up, let's go."<br />
"Excuse me?!"<br />
"Yeah, we'll just eat them while we walk back so we're not late for the movie."<br />
"EXCUSE ME?!?!"<br />
"Just give me the cake!"<br />
"I'm sorry, I don't think you understand. You do not just eat cakes like this on the run. No. Just no. Honestly."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>(At this point, the lady walking along behind us starts to laugh, and backs me up that they are indeed beyond amazing and should be enjoyed properly. She's carrying two B&P boxes... lucky duck.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We continue to argue like this for the remainder of the walk back, and settle on yet another compromise - we can't take them home as the chocolate on top is starting to melt, and we will not be eating on the run, so we settle down in the food court in the Jam Factory, and eat them there, where I can still eat with my eyes (and take some photo evidence for you before they're destroyed!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The first piece of heaven to be taken from the box is the Vanilla|Pistachio|Lemon|Green Tea cake, comprising of:<br />
White chocolate and vanilla mousse, pistachio cream, crunchy green tea meringue, lemon cream, pistachio cake, green tea macaroon and a brilliant white chocolate spray.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVEFW0jkpIYrAwQDKhaI5emOo7-mbemafcDfjKgycgtvIIAArJnHvzw-GWVpVBodotWs80Ix_KrH7xuINgBSmReF4P2YAr5kO7GWzcARVgNEw55K0mYfPMw6XB7nc07qToVsRCruxIio/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVEFW0jkpIYrAwQDKhaI5emOo7-mbemafcDfjKgycgtvIIAArJnHvzw-GWVpVBodotWs80Ix_KrH7xuINgBSmReF4P2YAr5kO7GWzcARVgNEw55K0mYfPMw6XB7nc07qToVsRCruxIio/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKgAoLrWx9VgkD5ZkceHmA11NPnvsDQVVEQz5PzAaXU0qq037viuVeiDm1y7f8bRiAgVkmD_4WQuIKL1OvMnZoYce2CBVJg7yLRgap9ZkDMUBpJBRmTDL6l22T-zPrD6DJohqsMnwPNk/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTKgAoLrWx9VgkD5ZkceHmA11NPnvsDQVVEQz5PzAaXU0qq037viuVeiDm1y7f8bRiAgVkmD_4WQuIKL1OvMnZoYce2CBVJg7yLRgap9ZkDMUBpJBRmTDL6l22T-zPrD6DJohqsMnwPNk/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The macaroon is the first victim, and is absolutely gorgeous. The little bits of crunchy merigue follow... just as good! Next comes a spoonful..</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXY3B_v-8Nh3uc5Eb_XOofAv3rW4SVWRkmZQw2qwklaWqB-8k4AxF7pDOwnYI3hhW-HYoDpvVkRC_2VQtO5l8Vlw87t7MMr7POh1KZnLDzvYiaC_JKQx27XjxbtJDsqi6Q3Oi1GHIM50/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXY3B_v-8Nh3uc5Eb_XOofAv3rW4SVWRkmZQw2qwklaWqB-8k4AxF7pDOwnYI3hhW-HYoDpvVkRC_2VQtO5l8Vlw87t7MMr7POh1KZnLDzvYiaC_JKQx27XjxbtJDsqi6Q3Oi1GHIM50/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GyQUBeaCDmFpMhub6fMc7WbDZJCamjExOSTBPYcgN_Dltl4DWOQj9GVFoNuE5CgWvX1_rOSKTwDjH2Iqi1g-5qjg9jveI1d_YwtR7NdT4F-M9BmmZY8has5caLvCSrKsSycUqtfNR4o/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GyQUBeaCDmFpMhub6fMc7WbDZJCamjExOSTBPYcgN_Dltl4DWOQj9GVFoNuE5CgWvX1_rOSKTwDjH2Iqi1g-5qjg9jveI1d_YwtR7NdT4F-M9BmmZY8has5caLvCSrKsSycUqtfNR4o/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... Oh wow... words cannot describe this... the most incredible, silky, smooth flavour of the white chocolate and vanilla mousse, just melting away in your mouth, hits you first. Then, a bit of punch from the lemon cream, perfectly citrusy and tangy, but also super sweet and almost creamy. Last to hit me was the pistachio cake, soft and crumbly, with a perfect pistachio flavour. Perfection in a cake!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next cab off the rank was the Chocolate|Mandarin|Salted Caramel cake, which was made up of Kendari 60% chocolate mousse, Murray River salted caramel, burnt mandarin cream, St Clements marmalade, aerated chocolate shortbread and chocolate mirror glaze.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZBrcPEUPA9r_ixxhGueQHhIkSBzsMX6jcV2L6hKYLhc-L4N9Cke0pV0IlPboehsOqTw-b2gdOQ3TdEOqtcaalPGP9MADXAhjIeoUsEPkfFyrFqZsWYhb29-TmfDQFc3jLAv-5s13F6U/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivZBrcPEUPA9r_ixxhGueQHhIkSBzsMX6jcV2L6hKYLhc-L4N9Cke0pV0IlPboehsOqTw-b2gdOQ3TdEOqtcaalPGP9MADXAhjIeoUsEPkfFyrFqZsWYhb29-TmfDQFc3jLAv-5s13F6U/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The gorgeous little painted chocolate square and mandarin candy on top looked too cute to eat... Sous-Jeff however didn't really care too much and swiftly plucked them both off and took a bite, before handing what was left to me.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqdMv1Hiw3ydsfVSqgGMSw1zvyfFESJwcxfN76J8rXq68bZ36nRqsD2hB6eQSaeGh9RFIS3p-ElT1wREbVIqNaVAbDEozymifvugKwpDs2Q5GlU2GX6UjOn0K0Jyiyl03BbfSh1YOgQs/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqdMv1Hiw3ydsfVSqgGMSw1zvyfFESJwcxfN76J8rXq68bZ36nRqsD2hB6eQSaeGh9RFIS3p-ElT1wREbVIqNaVAbDEozymifvugKwpDs2Q5GlU2GX6UjOn0K0Jyiyl03BbfSh1YOgQs/s640/13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In fairness, I did get the first bite - I dug my spoon into the centre of the little cake, and was met with this:</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPf0IY2XFWXxfVTX1F1czqjmNeq69ysUuLdG2eFk-672XVl7mJ2Aql9C9NfbVaehIVi8fDD3M9ovIKA8ej3v9UuoY9ZxCCCE9FZY8JvECQVa5wuhoonqjr-zttQVosAzmJaO3SfwMCdE/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPf0IY2XFWXxfVTX1F1czqjmNeq69ysUuLdG2eFk-672XVl7mJ2Aql9C9NfbVaehIVi8fDD3M9ovIKA8ej3v9UuoY9ZxCCCE9FZY8JvECQVa5wuhoonqjr-zttQVosAzmJaO3SfwMCdE/s640/14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Layers of silky smooth chocolate mousse and mandarin cream, with an absolutely perfect chocolate shortbread base. The saltiness was very subtle and perfectly balanced out the incredibly rich chocolate mousse. Really, really yummy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last out was the Dark Chocolate|Pear|Hazelnut cake, made up of Tarakan 75% chocolate and vanilla mousse, caramelised pear, hazelnut cream, B&P "Nutella," chocolate hazelnut brownie, pear jelly, dark chocolate velvet spray and a chocolate twig on top with a little nut crumble. Unfortunately, by the time my camera got to this cake, the twig had kinda melted...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoV3nn3R3m21p-hHkekjrmWLYWIMf5PXe_OC620zJ0eDxFdOXuuokAKQk7a-Oy0C0ro99HTEu2cRvEKUx4Wc7nWBlJXAtzBrCl9acfpNc6qQnrQ7GjBEGHrrLIcW_E7QvOexDV2JvM-E/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAoV3nn3R3m21p-hHkekjrmWLYWIMf5PXe_OC620zJ0eDxFdOXuuokAKQk7a-Oy0C0ro99HTEu2cRvEKUx4Wc7nWBlJXAtzBrCl9acfpNc6qQnrQ7GjBEGHrrLIcW_E7QvOexDV2JvM-E/s640/15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The little ball of pear jelly was first down the hatch, and it had a really interesting, almost grainy texture - very pear-y and sweet, but not too much so. Further we dug, to reveal...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKEWT49H8pIodpsSd_Jy9VmAJ_b8a__0ZEKgyzrwuOynR1zfJk4sMM_a09TVE-hKXMJSy39UpXK4DQpW3xKelF3LT0j-GKnBvmMc7C-peuaf5dvGsEthjASSXWCNa0HZgMTCJoSTRBfg/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipKEWT49H8pIodpsSd_Jy9VmAJ_b8a__0ZEKgyzrwuOynR1zfJk4sMM_a09TVE-hKXMJSy39UpXK4DQpW3xKelF3LT0j-GKnBvmMc7C-peuaf5dvGsEthjASSXWCNa0HZgMTCJoSTRBfg/s640/17.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The chocolate vanilla mousse, "Nutella," and hazelnut cream were perfect together, very rich and sweet, and that brownie was just amazing! To my great delight, I discovered you could actually buy the little brownie bases from the store - yay! Upon further digging into this lovely little cake, I also discovered...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uFokyT3Qaj2V-dRaU5yWZu3AqCFK7uaOrTVbPJfZOO_6IQlcvS0yJyqybqDAmuAl1XaW3LrdOM2f8EYFy66E3T3RncjCQjEqXels9ac7YAnuFQ9iFOuZFzH-fFgqYWQfny9utR54zSg/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uFokyT3Qaj2V-dRaU5yWZu3AqCFK7uaOrTVbPJfZOO_6IQlcvS0yJyqybqDAmuAl1XaW3LrdOM2f8EYFy66E3T3RncjCQjEqXels9ac7YAnuFQ9iFOuZFzH-fFgqYWQfny9utR54zSg/s640/18.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... little bits of caramelised pear!!! Yum!! </span><br />
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With our cakes devoured and my photos taken, we realise we're now running late for the movie! We silently shuffle into our seats just as the lights are dimmed and the previews begin and settle in to our movie as the sugar coma beings to kick in. Although the flavour combinations weren't overly experimental or spectacularly different, the actual taste was beautiful, they were presented flawlessly, and I can't recommend highly enough that you get in there are give them a try!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Would rate it 9 out of 10.</b></i></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1589023/restaurant/Victoria/South-Yarra-Toorak/Burch-Purchese-Sweet-Studio-South-Yarra"><img alt="Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1589023/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-46782759315248137642011-07-10T22:28:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:24:44.122-07:00White Chocolate & Coconut Ice Cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Inspiration from... family :)</span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHNdo61ffcRWSK68lkFhTgbk8ZuajHFVOcVxOULcZp0FPQhCkj-gVUrCj5zNBbOKmynaWaNnkTNiOnsR5VDNwTryF0nNFgArk04XritvJDOLCKPaQlWfJJpsHWsh4Lp-ltQy6B5BB-lA/s640/14.jpg" width="640" /></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"I feel like ice cream."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"We don't have any."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"I know... I could make some..?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"It wouldn't freeze in time to eat it tonight."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"I know... I could make some for tomorrow night...?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"Do you even know how to make ice cream?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"I could Google it..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This was the conversation that went on between Sous-Jeff and I on Friday night. Ice cream cravings are a killer. And they must be dealt with swiftly. On goes the computer and I click onto Google.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp76uUzjnemmPibPIv6rSocLkaxM3mRYswlovijcWfStuMZFCNcik_44-EBmTpHtkz0ozLoJ5WiP6E9YaZMRIDSh7gEVwLzuD_efcR-CwQ1AihVDMCNoGKjQoebyTyn_B3GvLAEkgTqyc/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp76uUzjnemmPibPIv6rSocLkaxM3mRYswlovijcWfStuMZFCNcik_44-EBmTpHtkz0ozLoJ5WiP6E9YaZMRIDSh7gEVwLzuD_efcR-CwQ1AihVDMCNoGKjQoebyTyn_B3GvLAEkgTqyc/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Dad discovered the ice cream attachment to mum's Kitchen Aid last summer, and has been making the most amazing ice cream ever since. Unfortunately, I didn't have the ice cream attachment, or the patience to make dad's super chocolate. I do, however, have some standard Kitchen Aid attachments, a spare $10, and just enough energy to get down to the super market and back. I also had possession of a recipe that would produce a batch of ice cream quite quickly and with minimal effort and ingredients. This, I had to try.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I adapted my ice cream recipe from <a href="http://www.recipes.com.au/Recipe/White-Chocolate-and-Coconut-Ice-Cream.aspx">this one</a> found on the recipes.com.au website. I looooove the combination of any chocolate with coconut, and have really been enjoying the white chocolate lately, so I decide to stick with that combo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">All I needed to make it was:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">a 395g tin of sweetened condensed milk</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">600ml cream (I used 300ml light cream and 300ml standard cream)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/4 cup coconut rum</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/4 cup dessicated coconut (I used 1/2 cup dessicated, 1/2 cup shredded - I told you I like coconut!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/2 packet Nestle white chocolate melts, melted (I may have used 3/4 of a packet... and broke the rest of the packet up into smaller pieces to add in later...)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">All you need to do is melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeu_ovsag_d3Hapm-fBNKwgcguny5QCDrdPBRHB6LUiZR2Tn_w7pAPUJBXsrOkrYICVglbRjPL8jTuQZRvs_SpileA4x-fxWk1yspLUg8LoM8Csvbi70Z70ewQ3YcbFXW-SQ03evV_d5M/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeu_ovsag_d3Hapm-fBNKwgcguny5QCDrdPBRHB6LUiZR2Tn_w7pAPUJBXsrOkrYICVglbRjPL8jTuQZRvs_SpileA4x-fxWk1yspLUg8LoM8Csvbi70Z70ewQ3YcbFXW-SQ03evV_d5M/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... combine the creams, condensed milk and rum in a bowl...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZz6R_uHhhXieC_3BnmF9tLGQE6QD_oGhhDgQPA527ZdB-mffnJv1MBfFACrJZqwrz4LFhQop6_lwahZ3wpFwjFD9IyjaK2RonjSGV_yr6P4HwdcLrFnIV_1_lWW7PX-8dZLTElJrMNI/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZz6R_uHhhXieC_3BnmF9tLGQE6QD_oGhhDgQPA527ZdB-mffnJv1MBfFACrJZqwrz4LFhQop6_lwahZ3wpFwjFD9IyjaK2RonjSGV_yr6P4HwdcLrFnIV_1_lWW7PX-8dZLTElJrMNI/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and then I put the flat beater attachment onto my Kitchen Aid, but I'm guessing you could just do this part with electric hand beaters (it'd just take a bit longer).</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAca3jVvvPXlLybNp-Kgfrf5qScyff6qorSWh0_af29UOsOxm6eEd2OYZ1oH4spPc_ef0FsgYvqRPdZKXWmlld9nrdNu5hvXL_JAJtD4fSMIYHv8ZrsSrCfRh_I-OJ50hLi8C9rUkYfw8/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAca3jVvvPXlLybNp-Kgfrf5qScyff6qorSWh0_af29UOsOxm6eEd2OYZ1oH4spPc_ef0FsgYvqRPdZKXWmlld9nrdNu5hvXL_JAJtD4fSMIYHv8ZrsSrCfRh_I-OJ50hLi8C9rUkYfw8/s640/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I also decided that putting the guard on would be a good idea, having an inkling that this process could get messy (and it did)...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizo7MnGxzoLbGlvZjPCrnJyLswFnJztZP39pRr-kgr1rdMyxB9zW_7SCW8Qg01uHV9AwkiBh0XTN0QOcl8G7CkOBipnkuOebtihdZmS8dEQgSrkUndH6YvxQAoXc36j5ClHeQId27uxQ/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizo7MnGxzoLbGlvZjPCrnJyLswFnJztZP39pRr-kgr1rdMyxB9zW_7SCW8Qg01uHV9AwkiBh0XTN0QOcl8G7CkOBipnkuOebtihdZmS8dEQgSrkUndH6YvxQAoXc36j5ClHeQId27uxQ/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and I just left the Kitchen Aid to do it's thing for 15 minutes or so, until it was nice and thick like this!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaTskdFBci2atcZ49oI44OHamNOiH9NIGjoLVKrn58Xb-w9TsqJksSpnuN2tNSPdlfh857BzgjEGeaAw9K6SrBzz-FsxWOeHVGdsAaSJq9WN5opxk3Id2cQ6MYdTdNws1iZ3-hyS78Rc/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRaTskdFBci2atcZ49oI44OHamNOiH9NIGjoLVKrn58Xb-w9TsqJksSpnuN2tNSPdlfh857BzgjEGeaAw9K6SrBzz-FsxWOeHVGdsAaSJq9WN5opxk3Id2cQ6MYdTdNws1iZ3-hyS78Rc/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Add in the melted white chocolate, white choc chips and coconut, and gently fold in...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BpI3_VAYXPzJ4ImeO7Z79xQZR6xoIdJyuAgP8-hqUJs0qo1ZWH2zbZbAJq2iixbPn8MvgfL8PkaGnEQTuBVaoHPqMdgdGX0IDv1ufoIsjv3fzevnEprRH_2KppqRmABRRlQca7J4dZw/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BpI3_VAYXPzJ4ImeO7Z79xQZR6xoIdJyuAgP8-hqUJs0qo1ZWH2zbZbAJq2iixbPn8MvgfL8PkaGnEQTuBVaoHPqMdgdGX0IDv1ufoIsjv3fzevnEprRH_2KppqRmABRRlQca7J4dZw/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... until it looks something like this...</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNe_RirXbkA0QA5iiZjDJHKHZZzSYrRfcygHcfKt8Jo-d40e66u5LCmsbcWtv1U65kAFnNKPrTXOizmEN0R1MPhuuuuC7aDsqkZi5CFuo9vHpJJevywvJYjHmhUUu3fJiTeHDGUayQ79g/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNe_RirXbkA0QA5iiZjDJHKHZZzSYrRfcygHcfKt8Jo-d40e66u5LCmsbcWtv1U65kAFnNKPrTXOizmEN0R1MPhuuuuC7aDsqkZi5CFuo9vHpJJevywvJYjHmhUUu3fJiTeHDGUayQ79g/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and pop it into a plastic tub and into the freezer over night!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_W2-B_ISawEvkCrukkmbi2bHWrsJyr9E6fCDb3RgWF6BbJOEjbaWBC9NmNNKGvk3FxDDihVvGH5XGmT8z1W3OQat-kqUL4dObvVzKl0QYRsRX6s6xpalVES5jEiUsFIGYQTjpxZnCt14/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_W2-B_ISawEvkCrukkmbi2bHWrsJyr9E6fCDb3RgWF6BbJOEjbaWBC9NmNNKGvk3FxDDihVvGH5XGmT8z1W3OQat-kqUL4dObvVzKl0QYRsRX6s6xpalVES5jEiUsFIGYQTjpxZnCt14/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With the ice cream freezing away, Sous-Jeff and I put on a dvd and fall asleep, almost forgetting about our little creation... Until about 10am the next morning when I simply cannot wait any longer and absolutely MUST try some!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dIKbb9u5qpbCdi_uLfje7GTFXTjwaen4zlaN12ftQ-KHT5LK1B78zDzAKMS23ShV2sR8aJbcgbyjvGSgTOGfx2H7cPlheeiBYQrpLiikjTLT97o84w2Ji1-StbIbq-T2-ooW859Rw44/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dIKbb9u5qpbCdi_uLfje7GTFXTjwaen4zlaN12ftQ-KHT5LK1B78zDzAKMS23ShV2sR8aJbcgbyjvGSgTOGfx2H7cPlheeiBYQrpLiikjTLT97o84w2Ji1-StbIbq-T2-ooW859Rw44/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I had my concerns, with this not being a "real" ice cream, made in a "traditional," proper fashion, but upon tasting a scoop of this creamy, sweet goodness, all of my concerns vanished. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCj16A717rRwPLHsyrlyTcvA8Kq6XgMpGkyox9Evb0PcrVnET-DF7DCvhJ3apU6dIG0kjPVjpzltPtiIwdWaLFD5KurWRfNlbLlCB4UodFBsy2z200AOvZvQJR1BL8hP-e7DK5vfNuSzI/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCj16A717rRwPLHsyrlyTcvA8Kq6XgMpGkyox9Evb0PcrVnET-DF7DCvhJ3apU6dIG0kjPVjpzltPtiIwdWaLFD5KurWRfNlbLlCB4UodFBsy2z200AOvZvQJR1BL8hP-e7DK5vfNuSzI/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijV5lGRyevRQtJ7-EP5awqBSthYIGOR27msAQEU7F1CKTq8enmbumAEr5VKS5deA_oq13IzKmgdTO1DNddv_ryW5C-n6Q34LqWHDy9wvTASMTN-GYhKJ-l7xGS07vmQ2NgmI9DOB6r4nM/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijV5lGRyevRQtJ7-EP5awqBSthYIGOR27msAQEU7F1CKTq8enmbumAEr5VKS5deA_oq13IzKmgdTO1DNddv_ryW5C-n6Q34LqWHDy9wvTASMTN-GYhKJ-l7xGS07vmQ2NgmI9DOB6r4nM/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It scoops out relatively easily, and has the beautiful silky, creamy taste of the condensed milk (which I love), complementing the coconut and chocolate perfectly. I may have put a little too much chocolate in there, but that didn't bother me too much! Sous-Jeff on the other hand thought that it detracted from the ice cream a little.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcepwBGfL5WK5tuWPFu4s_0HwIkMj0c4UHlXHv-dw1NSIpoEoqSdTlPgt8Hj7JzU3ARE0anvrAmj_I6jIm-QmPn8JQDXrV_h7-vN_aUh4sqBYrE4IcaBAdqxQzInNr_XfaQJ2_4xIRfPg/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcepwBGfL5WK5tuWPFu4s_0HwIkMj0c4UHlXHv-dw1NSIpoEoqSdTlPgt8Hj7JzU3ARE0anvrAmj_I6jIm-QmPn8JQDXrV_h7-vN_aUh4sqBYrE4IcaBAdqxQzInNr_XfaQJ2_4xIRfPg/s640/13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I also discovered another fabulous add in to my ice cream - I had some left over egg whites from something else I'd made the afternoon before, and whisked them up with some sugar and some more coconut, baked them in the oven for 20 minutes or so, crumbled them up and added my newly made coconut macaroons to my ice cream - YUM!!!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6Tx0qsSkbvuVNrd6jrHw6JgfmIQsG0OBhxibZOkUu76GFGUS2mkqhi9_A7ozO4E8TrIXnTsV_GHjG79ou3DjFNCM_SpiW1bj_VhCWEWa1vCU1o69UoPlV0-Z-5NUu-RMKpGHZ_Rffzo/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf6Tx0qsSkbvuVNrd6jrHw6JgfmIQsG0OBhxibZOkUu76GFGUS2mkqhi9_A7ozO4E8TrIXnTsV_GHjG79ou3DjFNCM_SpiW1bj_VhCWEWa1vCU1o69UoPlV0-Z-5NUu-RMKpGHZ_Rffzo/s640/15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_PVXUY7oPpLKikQNQ1QW26gWf782FUFqbYeIKy4VRcFHNzWNFECYFKiTkEXgu6bDHImZEmW6dOebZ2kr_vgX-y1P-03ZOvmfVMNDv9Z_VQOBxzK1uxgyoP80LKjbEH_krkwxNKv4AVc/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_PVXUY7oPpLKikQNQ1QW26gWf782FUFqbYeIKy4VRcFHNzWNFECYFKiTkEXgu6bDHImZEmW6dOebZ2kr_vgX-y1P-03ZOvmfVMNDv9Z_VQOBxzK1uxgyoP80LKjbEH_krkwxNKv4AVc/s640/16.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Over to you lovely readers - if you could make any flavour ice cream, what would it be? And what would you top it with?</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-34559750405768767252011-07-09T01:03:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:24:49.991-07:00Amore Cucina's Home-Made Italian Salami Workshop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Inspiration from... Italy</span></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotr0_3JNMNB30AqjHm41zCSjy8moGTOrQRMue7MHTqcK9wRN1AeVzjLr6wmlZH5l0y9HUreIwrpILPWYaS0hOfvNPwykMO9ZlmiHIARYCN6b7Vpng25nU97FwnP3UgF5JQxq_XqA3bTg/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've been very lucky to have grow up with such strong cultural influences and heritage. My mother's side of the family are Italian, as are my father's side. And I've been fortunate enough to have been raised on traditional Italian food and cooking. One of the big things we grew up learning to do was making the <i>passata,</i> or, tomato pasta sauce. My grandparents have done this every year for as long as I've been around, and much longer back that that. One of the other things they've always done has been to make their own salamis and sausages. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, when Agata asked me to come along to help out at one of her home-made Italian salami workshops, I jumped at the chance to get involved! Agata prepared a few bowls for the class participants, with a big of pork sausage mince.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIcSlEclZAoHBhzaTp1bQSHENTfb4MOBUPl81sSq90417AyaO8xYECFWCENwiHRRvsWpKkKOHBzJtso_5q5TkVkb2xDZB393Q2Os1qyRVzESX47OpfgbxlkwI5xPebbMisRShEHU0I-Y/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIcSlEclZAoHBhzaTp1bQSHENTfb4MOBUPl81sSq90417AyaO8xYECFWCENwiHRRvsWpKkKOHBzJtso_5q5TkVkb2xDZB393Q2Os1qyRVzESX47OpfgbxlkwI5xPebbMisRShEHU0I-Y/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To the mince, we added pepper...</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSH0UoOfcQEAut_BkbJ88cAv4VDoDTd2OfAPAfMghdICb5KEVjFt8N6MChmx6ES1tbjrIQh4mQpY6U2rE5QDDAd4xk7uUiCFUhjEDFKyu8ePTYlO_z6I1CNB_W2d8gR74A9SPTrbRCdqw/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSH0UoOfcQEAut_BkbJ88cAv4VDoDTd2OfAPAfMghdICb5KEVjFt8N6MChmx6ES1tbjrIQh4mQpY6U2rE5QDDAd4xk7uUiCFUhjEDFKyu8ePTYlO_z6I1CNB_W2d8gR74A9SPTrbRCdqw/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">... fennel seeds...</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGo8EGcijGxetXT12f2Xha11k2PAozb9l_zWNfswNwSw7ioIIDmx0toch95J0ctZmfZo0vzxG35VIVkL4ZAk5DyTDDr6uNw_TOjNUHiX4wZShGnJBM7JyEmCa1BnCZ9SzAWVq0qjj1bo/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSGo8EGcijGxetXT12f2Xha11k2PAozb9l_zWNfswNwSw7ioIIDmx0toch95J0ctZmfZo0vzxG35VIVkL4ZAk5DyTDDr6uNw_TOjNUHiX4wZShGnJBM7JyEmCa1BnCZ9SzAWVq0qjj1bo/s640/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">... and some salt.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvYl_QJtfBL4tNeMHNMqt-P80tM5Fut6rAEzuSnFk26ZXD4yRP2nHtaJs4p0gNYIthsDI_mX0vnOaZOsFGDYn2gFUjdkl9ASb7E1NPaggEEkuur6Y2r8_ZfZyKg-_bwQ62k4ZYWl_JjQ/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvYl_QJtfBL4tNeMHNMqt-P80tM5Fut6rAEzuSnFk26ZXD4yRP2nHtaJs4p0gNYIthsDI_mX0vnOaZOsFGDYn2gFUjdkl9ASb7E1NPaggEEkuur6Y2r8_ZfZyKg-_bwQ62k4ZYWl_JjQ/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next to be added in were some chilli flakes and paprika of varying degrees of spice, depending on what each individual wanted their salami to taste like.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih47FJOYy_YVQ-MTuWlWOwZDuGFOi2bm77exG8fSYKe_pKBl2dFZ70kl9kRZPO5QoFwSNZytCYbmmLgMOfXwHwLIoVZF6OafPQbH-K-GJF6RVNxP_Fojrss6AWDkmQyFUOxNgS2DfpixM/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih47FJOYy_YVQ-MTuWlWOwZDuGFOi2bm77exG8fSYKe_pKBl2dFZ70kl9kRZPO5QoFwSNZytCYbmmLgMOfXwHwLIoVZF6OafPQbH-K-GJF6RVNxP_Fojrss6AWDkmQyFUOxNgS2DfpixM/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2NoHIOc0M4eNa7os2DTUwu2rkajC9-FdA7jhOkqJJU3z_Y1uPbHiAnFBSkzgY8vJGTF8AEs1tSbQyYR3Uw7fzpbQUMf6xUkKBnoFtCqWfvZHwKbHusUGwfURIGVomFCV6sjdd_ylTQc/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz2NoHIOc0M4eNa7os2DTUwu2rkajC9-FdA7jhOkqJJU3z_Y1uPbHiAnFBSkzgY8vJGTF8AEs1tSbQyYR3Uw7fzpbQUMf6xUkKBnoFtCqWfvZHwKbHusUGwfURIGVomFCV6sjdd_ylTQc/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NopjJMjVLieY_Mh8fT-zlauibPtdTMcNNMlODw7OwSk3JL_sTvBtYRTyvNqrCR6avm_XlqWew8zSXvRRHbNYIUk5Z6dD0ObREX1M_MtwJhPDOf-zOmtgdEPl-56AZYDsRmjyZH64Yok/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NopjJMjVLieY_Mh8fT-zlauibPtdTMcNNMlODw7OwSk3JL_sTvBtYRTyvNqrCR6avm_XlqWew8zSXvRRHbNYIUk5Z6dD0ObREX1M_MtwJhPDOf-zOmtgdEPl-56AZYDsRmjyZH64Yok/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SuM98cPKScP0RFVRONIkbNk-J9TblauSpkeeKvPaQHBAXvJse1ds1llAX8PH5YN9HgcMp77PWlvPjGlQY2gr6kWtThdXMKL2bN6wM4Si1N4x89TVrIgELB8BXqlJ-oQWVXLHgc86gUo/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8SuM98cPKScP0RFVRONIkbNk-J9TblauSpkeeKvPaQHBAXvJse1ds1llAX8PH5YN9HgcMp77PWlvPjGlQY2gr6kWtThdXMKL2bN6wM4Si1N4x89TVrIgELB8BXqlJ-oQWVXLHgc86gUo/s640/10.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mix it all up...</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_W_eS1w3KjDwHHx-Aw5WThTi0Rw9raWEMZP9j98cC24LxUwAAAHRNn69sAuLwWmPokYL0NEmgm7-25ax7snRy1qTY5u89mYSjin1g8Bu7eFnkgoXM_9AiI3gmGRgIFzZVLR3V70kErcY/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_W_eS1w3KjDwHHx-Aw5WThTi0Rw9raWEMZP9j98cC24LxUwAAAHRNn69sAuLwWmPokYL0NEmgm7-25ax7snRy1qTY5u89mYSjin1g8Bu7eFnkgoXM_9AiI3gmGRgIFzZVLR3V70kErcY/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0XnSRmElr_GRJGuthI6AZo-5rtaYTT7vjStY2RcJIBrBoHg6FsDHW7dj5t-D_3G2OOPhKgluqiKozY7hNner1HXq5P996QwLc_QK7FLTpQou5Wr-PLdf07QWGvPohbSwbqK75-9GvWc/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0XnSRmElr_GRJGuthI6AZo-5rtaYTT7vjStY2RcJIBrBoHg6FsDHW7dj5t-D_3G2OOPhKgluqiKozY7hNner1HXq5P996QwLc_QK7FLTpQou5Wr-PLdf07QWGvPohbSwbqK75-9GvWc/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">... and leave it to rest for a little while. In the mean time, the lovely Agata explains to the class a little history behind the whole process, and shares what the finished product will look (and taste!) like.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPuf3CKp29T0eJXvrG_yqhtvNf3h-kepqjlom0gkRNyH3YXSHJoTbOn_z9whRXVAAtcJC7GBW-p9CLt92u_PzRmZCNiK3rqYgll5gOdW8lil6ys0lj4AlA0NB-3rstINRr1CYNrShG9E/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPuf3CKp29T0eJXvrG_yqhtvNf3h-kepqjlom0gkRNyH3YXSHJoTbOn_z9whRXVAAtcJC7GBW-p9CLt92u_PzRmZCNiK3rqYgll5gOdW8lil6ys0lj4AlA0NB-3rstINRr1CYNrShG9E/s640/16.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IRWYOeb_UzR8qwFLfR2iZVBpvJOvOiG0Vj-PU4qeFisnliMYNEfRSATtcKWGxfkuy4hj7UONmpBfZbHXEF4jaVRM7GvWY2w7VO7Eu7hZ9obZ9DgK2wDoMVJ-qb9QDwmk12kZtENXRCM/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IRWYOeb_UzR8qwFLfR2iZVBpvJOvOiG0Vj-PU4qeFisnliMYNEfRSATtcKWGxfkuy4hj7UONmpBfZbHXEF4jaVRM7GvWY2w7VO7Eu7hZ9obZ9DgK2wDoMVJ-qb9QDwmk12kZtENXRCM/s640/15.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After a relax, a taste and some fresh mandarins from the garden, it's time to get back to work. Agata takes out the sausage skins and explains how they work and where to get them from (the deli, when you buy the mince)...</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sMX2WJvl_b5rv28Jw_3oa6T-b3_kgtQv07_nhCkbWJkp5nfxVTI0mPXLEiTzYL2RAtAS-vVryVrIPT6YRKIjYrrMWplCDAE8yJRLhyphenhyphenON9uEphydj1ZER5ogLKATod9tRPiaCXgW2dbk/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4sMX2WJvl_b5rv28Jw_3oa6T-b3_kgtQv07_nhCkbWJkp5nfxVTI0mPXLEiTzYL2RAtAS-vVryVrIPT6YRKIjYrrMWplCDAE8yJRLhyphenhyphenON9uEphydj1ZER5ogLKATod9tRPiaCXgW2dbk/s640/19.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchUpJeOH7JMAXI1QYI4ITalGbQPo6AtLEjgdR9fEob8Uns5UhqUHZHyFwiHw3q2YxKggowjbAZd_U2t8shOg9Ss6AMMIeXG2vJwiEW0LoiX0ADn-BHlokFgefXf15DltJCYfdE6juW6k/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchUpJeOH7JMAXI1QYI4ITalGbQPo6AtLEjgdR9fEob8Uns5UhqUHZHyFwiHw3q2YxKggowjbAZd_U2t8shOg9Ss6AMMIeXG2vJwiEW0LoiX0ADn-BHlokFgefXf15DltJCYfdE6juW6k/s640/18.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLF9lJ8CAWy5UKwC1Hgqmr-tEntQIUsrMRoFnWh09s2vN6dJKbfqJBZI5oxkSWAAJKsdWT3xl7lMX2r7f1D2rYzhMgMA08UfjUCSXoQpPz9Scl5AW-KgOd-SgNP4nEQ6K0tY_ptCzW2w/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLF9lJ8CAWy5UKwC1Hgqmr-tEntQIUsrMRoFnWh09s2vN6dJKbfqJBZI5oxkSWAAJKsdWT3xl7lMX2r7f1D2rYzhMgMA08UfjUCSXoQpPz9Scl5AW-KgOd-SgNP4nEQ6K0tY_ptCzW2w/s640/14.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The sausage machine is plugged in and ready to go, and Agata explains how to stuff the mince into the casing. Once the cases have been rinsed of the salt, pour a little wine through it to lubricate it.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kYIWykMytho1ya5tFG9XOOy-hBfSkL909Xt0ZUPCXmerrY1YKyxvr4VTsr6hPynvz5RJTNJ4k1zKFlSo7ADSfpx54nsVsG_et2DhfPF1PezB0_XXE-CVzR6NElrUoclW5gepJkHaJ4k/s1600/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kYIWykMytho1ya5tFG9XOOy-hBfSkL909Xt0ZUPCXmerrY1YKyxvr4VTsr6hPynvz5RJTNJ4k1zKFlSo7ADSfpx54nsVsG_et2DhfPF1PezB0_XXE-CVzR6NElrUoclW5gepJkHaJ4k/s640/20.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOUjLC34bJd9tsbCGHkY3Euc2JMQfn3vf5XLyeyTwrBu1DPxTyscr49nk6WBsANjbszgCsgNGk-jKjSQii3nNGwntgP84VKSysn8VoTfEzcA4yuJITLVoOVHviehZtAD3uz5PK0gU0Cw/s1600/21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOUjLC34bJd9tsbCGHkY3Euc2JMQfn3vf5XLyeyTwrBu1DPxTyscr49nk6WBsANjbszgCsgNGk-jKjSQii3nNGwntgP84VKSysn8VoTfEzcA4yuJITLVoOVHviehZtAD3uz5PK0gU0Cw/s640/21.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And into the machine with the mince mix, stuffing it gently, but firmly into the casing.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8-Hm-9701VHZD-RVRpvYAnKC-fb4jIOi2IoUOHk4UH4005lfxK6gLvqwvyPRl5comHEvyC60DfmgGkCU5iNRGQgKcqnPkY_bsRLDGxG01ffWsxvKK-8Rky2HaYJkhqc-ljMMl97wfy4/s1600/22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8-Hm-9701VHZD-RVRpvYAnKC-fb4jIOi2IoUOHk4UH4005lfxK6gLvqwvyPRl5comHEvyC60DfmgGkCU5iNRGQgKcqnPkY_bsRLDGxG01ffWsxvKK-8Rky2HaYJkhqc-ljMMl97wfy4/s640/22.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKS7B8Xj1FLBUy5zfipQr8QD0Xibe6e0IzVLneI8TlYZkRLyWHpDG1-yAw6S2sosZbL7bFJIIR6gSQOfnVQBrjWIzLRmcwk-kB_AMAs_ivcLMp5PdKlb_kBXYbJM10wXWjsM34G1xxTg/s1600/23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKS7B8Xj1FLBUy5zfipQr8QD0Xibe6e0IzVLneI8TlYZkRLyWHpDG1-yAw6S2sosZbL7bFJIIR6gSQOfnVQBrjWIzLRmcwk-kB_AMAs_ivcLMp5PdKlb_kBXYbJM10wXWjsM34G1xxTg/s640/23.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYj45ngoRFPzkCLGCpzeQ1NU74UIQttYm4xocmZOtZUNt_xgIxULNgI7j7kMo9x56iEqr5l-Up4NP_fODiuIU5IAJq2Wuogtgv8bV1e4Jj15xtA95IHiQBKz63-z5dlox5Ia6IOF1uzd8/s1600/24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYj45ngoRFPzkCLGCpzeQ1NU74UIQttYm4xocmZOtZUNt_xgIxULNgI7j7kMo9x56iEqr5l-Up4NP_fODiuIU5IAJq2Wuogtgv8bV1e4Jj15xtA95IHiQBKz63-z5dlox5Ia6IOF1uzd8/s640/24.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The dirty dishes and empty jars start to pile up...</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_i2hfefS7HFuby8M4A4G0HVdKtsJk94YRQ7DsbXePdSGAsyYbI7Gsf34NjCO3jXGCCmF-9bjWJ9Bs4gyMC-XMCfKdu5i2_lBldbucL8PsmWPKHmNlZpaAf-FsatspvzElEvTjMBf1jI/s1600/25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_i2hfefS7HFuby8M4A4G0HVdKtsJk94YRQ7DsbXePdSGAsyYbI7Gsf34NjCO3jXGCCmF-9bjWJ9Bs4gyMC-XMCfKdu5i2_lBldbucL8PsmWPKHmNlZpaAf-FsatspvzElEvTjMBf1jI/s640/25.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fcHZgxE3rQasOm3BV5oIOadw4reZq1wiSJLdIjxnmp6GlkZtFxgnuVbvNcbTV20AH7iu4zBiocHdUB3PCZMaZzlHqYA_uWWIVfb5iGV6MlD5lvkh3AlUF1M05zd4KIhhUEsaQdfWoUE/s1600/26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9fcHZgxE3rQasOm3BV5oIOadw4reZq1wiSJLdIjxnmp6GlkZtFxgnuVbvNcbTV20AH7iu4zBiocHdUB3PCZMaZzlHqYA_uWWIVfb5iGV6MlD5lvkh3AlUF1M05zd4KIhhUEsaQdfWoUE/s640/26.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">... and we all gather round to learn to tie them up.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpiaX82_SbsXFkurEvQQgO9SVHpD4vkOmuKFVrNGRebKigv-Cv1_dzivxVDe5JGkfjN4HICpOqWhrc1sRyWSdMVDQxp7zkfLeUYtwOLOW-2hh7vC_dj6KG4gh-AP40sGwQP-Cvn-z644/s1600/27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVpiaX82_SbsXFkurEvQQgO9SVHpD4vkOmuKFVrNGRebKigv-Cv1_dzivxVDe5JGkfjN4HICpOqWhrc1sRyWSdMVDQxp7zkfLeUYtwOLOW-2hh7vC_dj6KG4gh-AP40sGwQP-Cvn-z644/s640/27.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeji0ok2Yueula6YkgOMtf7KCbjVrfkzdwwgpGLmQyqwVhLAuOYabRG3QUBR_BYw-huMmXuCWpwts9X3m_DaMOBNGMxHVTs2CyqAsFawJ2Yi0vBtODnwqadrDPwRvlie5bCTYfF03lOmE/s1600/27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And there you have it! Home-made Italian salami! Ready to go in 6 - 8 weeks!</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkEqlyE9I23y-uIw_O_xH0M_Wa5mqVd11PkU6NOo83xpiq-97QGLXqhrcYj-GLXCo893xdQ4Km6GuT7oSYNawJ9GDwsQWDwPEhnJroBiKo8X5NxO2sp-Zw3BNBhrWKKsrnbtbS1gSkhQ/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkEqlyE9I23y-uIw_O_xH0M_Wa5mqVd11PkU6NOo83xpiq-97QGLXqhrcYj-GLXCo893xdQ4Km6GuT7oSYNawJ9GDwsQWDwPEhnJroBiKo8X5NxO2sp-Zw3BNBhrWKKsrnbtbS1gSkhQ/s640/13.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Have a look at the Amore Cucina website for more classes (including the ones I'll be teaching!) if you're interested :) Buon appetito!</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNT3AVx8FVSBmw0tneXASJ7spCtv_pmxdlBuKcaQVut5Q7noJWVuAUN9rFboeyhPgpIhXGJRFajk3vJlWs4HByScnDsBzmFpwLoH21UNAhG1ax8xSVa7HcRQPzpaYjom1RLbeH2FKe0ek/s1600/28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNT3AVx8FVSBmw0tneXASJ7spCtv_pmxdlBuKcaQVut5Q7noJWVuAUN9rFboeyhPgpIhXGJRFajk3vJlWs4HByScnDsBzmFpwLoH21UNAhG1ax8xSVa7HcRQPzpaYjom1RLbeH2FKe0ek/s640/28.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4m7F2aneQDCeYyioycf4v_J6lMeq7sjtcrXAroeh17UE6we9SgPW9XmmFnnUfS-36CJdk9EMGCbjO4wVT4pOqLm8hwSozHeQP6WxFRIh89-3jEXz58LPhdxDRrXLEBCgH4G8tDvatXk/s1600/29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4m7F2aneQDCeYyioycf4v_J6lMeq7sjtcrXAroeh17UE6we9SgPW9XmmFnnUfS-36CJdk9EMGCbjO4wVT4pOqLm8hwSozHeQP6WxFRIh89-3jEXz58LPhdxDRrXLEBCgH4G8tDvatXk/s640/29.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcb7dKLcbZEpnG19owHqID7P0iduOo_oju_P_ZqCUO4F36IRLa6v4gmbvSxaD9EBevpIOAkAZri7DGD_n8dVtE8SyEZBLWcPcQrpwm-90O7bn2T04xKnAGLMLu97upshrSc1e_oM4hSN8/s1600/30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcb7dKLcbZEpnG19owHqID7P0iduOo_oju_P_ZqCUO4F36IRLa6v4gmbvSxaD9EBevpIOAkAZri7DGD_n8dVtE8SyEZBLWcPcQrpwm-90O7bn2T04xKnAGLMLu97upshrSc1e_oM4hSN8/s640/30.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-23869052906218864302011-07-09T00:11:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:25:01.288-07:00Babka Bakery Cafe & Casa Iberica<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Multicultural Cuisine of... Russia and Spain</span></i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"You ever been to that Spanish supermarket place on Johnson St?" Sous-Jeff asks me randomly one day. Huh? Sous-Jeff had been out having a drink with a friend of ours, a vegetarian and big Mexican food lover, who told him about it. When Sous-Jeff arrived at his house for a quiet beer or 7, Mr. Vego was cooking up a chickpea and lentil curry, which captured Sous-Jeff's attention and senses. </span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDG15j67ERfQi_YkZ0FbG3I1FVHSK2A9NfnfJM1XiHh_jMs0bc_eadHV5Arnt0SnLaZtxq_m956JQaXUpwBrErYfis5TaFOW1HlYIiq3badqPNN_uAUTyMiQ1LDjtwmPOx1u69qFsfso/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCDG15j67ERfQi_YkZ0FbG3I1FVHSK2A9NfnfJM1XiHh_jMs0bc_eadHV5Arnt0SnLaZtxq_m956JQaXUpwBrErYfis5TaFOW1HlYIiq3badqPNN_uAUTyMiQ1LDjtwmPOx1u69qFsfso/s640/10.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">From what Sous-Jeff can tell me, there's some sort of supermarket on Johnson St that sells Mexican and Spanish groceries and food - things like black beans, chorizo and the like. With no other information to go from, I investigate further and discover the boys are talking about Casa Iberica. In that case, yes, I have heard of it, but no, I've never actually been before. With Sous-Jeff having a day off work on the same day as my day off, the planets aligned, and off we go to do some shopping! </span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With plenty of time to kill and tummies already grumbling, we decide it's lunch time, and to just wonder into the next place we walk past. That place is Cafe Umago, at 171 Brunswick St. In we walk, and none of the wait staff seem to have noticed us. So we sit down and help ourselves to a few menus. 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) minutes later, we haven't received so much as a side glance from either of the two waiters roaming the bar area of the cafe. One of them has walked past us twice while clearing another table, but still hasn't bothered to so much as make eye contact with us. 20 minutes after walking in to Cafe Umago, we walk out, <i>very</i></span></span><i> </i><span style="font-size: small;">disappointed, and absolutely starving.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not wanting to be disappointed any further, we stroll on into Naked for Satan, where we know we can't be let down. It was around about 1:45pm on a Friday afternoon, and it was still fairly busy. Drinks in hand, we grab a plate each, fill up, and crash on a couch, devouring our food as if we hadn't been fed in a week. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's a beautiful day, so we decide to leave the car and just wonder around on foot, which as a great option, as we came across this:</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCosdV1TIhR8BRjDECigA_HxGjqo2zoEpvgdr0giyVS3TOQPmjduPqh8fGzWRoOlhHw5_sGV20H26N-M52rT9ONakHv2pcHx7tLECpZfDG8aGLtdwZ1-4RRGJBMdf9ZROLCT5fMaiRz4w/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCosdV1TIhR8BRjDECigA_HxGjqo2zoEpvgdr0giyVS3TOQPmjduPqh8fGzWRoOlhHw5_sGV20H26N-M52rT9ONakHv2pcHx7tLECpZfDG8aGLtdwZ1-4RRGJBMdf9ZROLCT5fMaiRz4w/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Awesome! But anyway, we were still a little peckish, so I suggest a stop into Babka Bakery for a little dessert action...</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Babka Bakery Cafe</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>358 Brunswick St,</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Fitzroy</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>(03) 9416 0091 </i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="http://www.melbarestaurant.com.au/index.php/aria/"><br />
</a></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YEfCNSIBQBWgoRO1Q3_asdQ3kITkp3mcLB9LN4dxZS-Md0WladlM1wDc2BhShmkCH8638zIDEmD0Wvzg7svsoZnx4SGOjY4JpX8Yb_5Zgg2d2chVDHmoaVhNG59NOAjGSZG37lL3v44/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YEfCNSIBQBWgoRO1Q3_asdQ3kITkp3mcLB9LN4dxZS-Md0WladlM1wDc2BhShmkCH8638zIDEmD0Wvzg7svsoZnx4SGOjY4JpX8Yb_5Zgg2d2chVDHmoaVhNG59NOAjGSZG37lL3v44/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">A cosy little cafe, it is absolutely packed with people. Some are eating eggs on toast, some are eating lunch, and others, like us, are enjoying something sweet with a tea or coffee. From the moment we walked in until the moment we left, there was a line from the counter to the front door, people wandering in and out to either have a sit down feed, or to grab some bread to take with them on their way. I wanted to try everything, but Sous-Jeff and I decide to be good and share, so I'm sent to the cou<span style="font-size: small;">nter with his wallet to order. Mistake. We decided on a small piece of Chocolate Mudcake. I may have gotten a slightly bigger piece. And a cookie. Oops.</span></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvxM6w32mHJcPWilfSKcShUQfytVXOotqGRcVLg6dfV7E2_bdp552qvMnAG-RRa2c4P0Un3jBvhGs9hQtn__pvlgFJOrxwVvNJyp_XBql3D4qQ1dL2ryuGZbPfUij0kQ0gMrQbYERA_k/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvxM6w32mHJcPWilfSKcShUQfytVXOotqGRcVLg6dfV7E2_bdp552qvMnAG-RRa2c4P0Un3jBvhGs9hQtn__pvlgFJOrxwVvNJyp_XBql3D4qQ1dL2ryuGZbPfUij0kQ0gMrQbYERA_k/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thick, moist, chocolatey and delicious. It was a darn good chocolate cake, although I think it would have been even better warmed up.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MY7RcO5cdwDh_Q4VwoRmTgawWNP9fVorXmZ9jhnnBsDuSjosRTSD1XG7n1DHCVnGyrEVqSyFdNXW6XpJ_Tk1yDBBvBsudihiKBLc34ZEfaDRUkYDcLBxB5VapJQdof0FZxU8vmfNfxc/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_MY7RcO5cdwDh_Q4VwoRmTgawWNP9fVorXmZ9jhnnBsDuSjosRTSD1XG7n1DHCVnGyrEVqSyFdNXW6XpJ_Tk1yDBBvBsudihiKBLc34ZEfaDRUkYDcLBxB5VapJQdof0FZxU8vmfNfxc/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I also grabbed a lemon coconut and poppy seed biscuit. I'm stared down by Sous-Jeff who's trying to make me feel guilty. "I couldn't just leave it there, it was looking at me, look how nice it looks!" I protest, weakly.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsCZ9FD60Llq3Y2KHnexnH_5PkVbFjHXFWduTE6y-lobE6bQ4vLcfnchj2d-ntDgv3-M3-YRqMpOlaZhgRoy5NHPTRAXQT5ZHBn3KHWMUxw727hA13rJP8x7mbhZopRKyaa7xJspPYPo/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsCZ9FD60Llq3Y2KHnexnH_5PkVbFjHXFWduTE6y-lobE6bQ4vLcfnchj2d-ntDgv3-M3-YRqMpOlaZhgRoy5NHPTRAXQT5ZHBn3KHWMUxw727hA13rJP8x7mbhZopRKyaa7xJspPYPo/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was expecting a nice, soft, chewy biscuit. I got a very hard one. I was very surprised, but pleasantly so. It was absolutely delicious, and I think I may have even enjoyed it more than the chocolate (which is very unusual for me!) - the combination of the citrus and coconut was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the crunch of the cookie. Luckily for me, Sous-Jeff wasn't a fan, so I didn't have to share!</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTk38Ia-AK-8DMZ16lwEmMTpqjaBaMORpElyS3spuDjIDGFEifxQrS9O0GFMTxj3Ar7BiIH9AFYEz7LsBBs7oVd0-xhWk3Mjr0E45DQfloqAHDlw73vsPv0rkolumVCAxDFGM2zuM-mq8/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTk38Ia-AK-8DMZ16lwEmMTpqjaBaMORpElyS3spuDjIDGFEifxQrS9O0GFMTxj3Ar7BiIH9AFYEz7LsBBs7oVd0-xhWk3Mjr0E45DQfloqAHDlw73vsPv0rkolumVCAxDFGM2zuM-mq8/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">All of that said though, I wasn't as impressed as I should have been after having visited this Fitzroy institution. My reasoning behind this is that they are known more for their bread and pastry than their cakes and cookies. But I wasn't really feeling like a loaf of bread to nibble on for dessert! Therefore, my rating is based solely on THIS visit.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Would rate it 6 out of 10.</b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/760123/restaurant/Victoria/Babka-Bakery-Cafe-Fitzroy"><img alt="Babka Bakery Café on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/760123/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tummies fed, it's time to get to our final stop - Casa Iberica. Footing it again, we see some more awesome street art, which we love even more because we're both huuuuge basketball fans:</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_of6559m1peOAabaFB_4ALDEyx9maw6HXCm00X6TewxSN2OCbxx8SyVKrdjKyzfiht6ThUdP8qIOkXh-KiYYFKhUDPYXSgHgT0X9m1wV05933kcwcp_F-VNZqGRVOOwizagYJ7_txi0/s1600/22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_of6559m1peOAabaFB_4ALDEyx9maw6HXCm00X6TewxSN2OCbxx8SyVKrdjKyzfiht6ThUdP8qIOkXh-KiYYFKhUDPYXSgHgT0X9m1wV05933kcwcp_F-VNZqGRVOOwizagYJ7_txi0/s640/22.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEoknBNJN63xKukRwe-D6cDEYuMmqp3hkI6sfWQRB49PcFWemvo063Agl4j9tbxZ94kw78TNjw0valyfTgFgBuDcNtRl8CYlgkBRshjRiqQ-mSVg1zxx1S3kjz7qa_P42bxt4erEMxLgo/s1600/23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEoknBNJN63xKukRwe-D6cDEYuMmqp3hkI6sfWQRB49PcFWemvo063Agl4j9tbxZ94kw78TNjw0valyfTgFgBuDcNtRl8CYlgkBRshjRiqQ-mSVg1zxx1S3kjz7qa_P42bxt4erEMxLgo/s640/23.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Casa Iberica<br />
</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>25 Johnson St,</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Fitzroy</i><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>(03) 9419 4430</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="http://casaibericadeli.com.au/">Visit Website</a> </i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ahhh here we are! Finally! We walk into a treasure trove of imported goodies. Here's some of the amazing products we found...</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Everything from paella rice (above) to chilli sauces (about 300 different types - Sous-Jeff bought about 4 of them), and everything in between. We came home with the above mentioned chilli sauces, quite a few bags of dried herbs, paella rice, black beans and refried beans, chickpea flour, and a nice, fresh, chorizo empanada. Unfortunately, it didn't quite make it to get photographed - it was sooooo tasty, and I'd highly recommend picking one up if you make a trip to Casa Iberica!</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Needless to say, I made an absolutely killer paella for dinner after this trip, and I plan on heading back next week to pick up some more supplies, including some good, thick choriza, jamon ham and some of those little clay dishes that you see huervos rancheros baked in. I feel like getting my Spanish cooking on now - I'm inspired!</span></span></div></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/71/1484855/restaurant/Victoria/Casa-Iberica-Fitzroy"><img alt="Casa Iberica on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/logo/1484855/biglogo.gif" style="border: none; height: 34px; width: 104px;" /></a>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-33532758371585353262011-07-06T03:32:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:25:05.201-07:00Quick & Healthy: Stuffed Mushrooms and Polenta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Multicultural Inspiration from... Italy</span> </span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Another long day at work, not much left in the fridge the day before grocery day, and another quick and healthy dinner required. And to make it even harder, I'm attempting to go gluten free at the moment. So no quick bowl of pasta or cous cous for me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Why gluten free? For reasons that are my own, I haven't been entirely kind to my body lately. And it is suffering for it. I've been feeling quick lethargic, sluggish, bloated, have put on a few kilos (which bless them, my lovely friends have been kind enough to ignore and not draw to my attention - don't worry guys, I plan on having the weight I put on off within the next 8 weeks!) and I actually have a pimple (I never ever <i>ever</i> get pimples - in fact, I got teased at high school for <i>not</i> having any!). After some of my own research, a chat to a nutritionist, and a good hard look at <a href="http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/">Leanne Vogel's blog "A Healthful Pursuit,"</a> I decided to try out a month of no alcohol and no gluten. The reported benefits of a non-gluten diet include easier digestion, less bloating, improved concentration and a decrease in sugar and fat intake. I may go into my reasons behind trying this out and why I've been so horrible to my poor body in another post, but for now, let me know you one of my first gluten free Quick & Healthy meals...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">First, turn on the oven to around </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">22</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">0°C, and </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">grab 5 medium sized mushrooms, take out the stalks and cut a little more flesh out of the middle, to make little holes like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Next, dice up some veggies - my favourites are butternut pumpkin, zucchini and eggplant, with a few cherry tomatoes thrown in too. Put them on a lined baking dish or tray, spray a little oil and sprinkle with sea salt and herbs - I like thyme for this dish. Then, into the oven while you get everything else going.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyAgWe5SU0lAxj6Yuoxwm1qojTGrSns0E7t5pKzF-BUSWY3bDpTCVmICRd_J0D-IssUDE_ophAq1rg5h9zpwEkYqbMzwpECK-CZUpDcxRV_vipWxOZhOLr1qSQWz6DXiwUSoVfqf3d2o/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoyAgWe5SU0lAxj6Yuoxwm1qojTGrSns0E7t5pKzF-BUSWY3bDpTCVmICRd_J0D-IssUDE_ophAq1rg5h9zpwEkYqbMzwpECK-CZUpDcxRV_vipWxOZhOLr1qSQWz6DXiwUSoVfqf3d2o/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While the veggies are going, grab 2 handfuls of baby spinach and roughly chop. Put a tiny bit of spray oil in a small saucepan and add in a tablespoon of pine nuts and toast them until golden brown. Add the spinach in and cook until wilted, then throw in a little bit of lemon zest and salt and set aside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Heat another spray of oil in a fry pan and heat the mushrooms a little on each side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Once slightly browned, take them off the fry pan, and put a small spoon of ricotta in the holes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Spoon a bit of the spinach mix on top of that...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top (if you want)...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and quickly pull the oven tray out with the veggies, pop the mushrooms onto the end, turn the heat down a little, and put it back into the oven!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_3bkxngfShFcY5JTXe_1R5LMpzA-k12Tb5_NizURP01yPo2uNfmZZ4hMWpYGxUV5sSPqdhOlNbuCw3WPcBUex8xp2GEX1mc6ciGJQPyCL-3NI_PfNnip4tDT0KnSkjjfAyXOVPq80tQ/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_3bkxngfShFcY5JTXe_1R5LMpzA-k12Tb5_NizURP01yPo2uNfmZZ4hMWpYGxUV5sSPqdhOlNbuCw3WPcBUex8xp2GEX1mc6ciGJQPyCL-3NI_PfNnip4tDT0KnSkjjfAyXOVPq80tQ/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While I was waiting for that, I decided to quickly whip up some soft polenta, because I absolutely LOVE it! Half a cup of milk and half a cup of water into a small saucepan and bring to the boil, slowly adding the cornmeal bit by bit, whisking as you go, until it's nice and thick and yellow, trailing a little as you whisk, and coming away from the edges of the pot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At this point, I like to throw in a small handful of grated parmesan and a pinch of salt, stir it up and spoon it onto my plate!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Out with the veggies and mushrooms, and onto the plate...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">... and dig in!</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The roasted veggies on the soft, creamy polenta takes me back to my childhood at my Nonna's house, and the combination of the lemon, ricotta, spinach and pine nuts are one of my favourite -the zesty, citrusy punch with the crunchy nuts and creamy ricotta is just amazing! I know it might seem a bit time consuming, contrary to my "quick" label, but if you wash as you go, it actually is quite time efficient - by the time you're ready to eat, all your dishes are done and you can just kick back and relax!</div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And over to you lovely readers - what are your current quick and healthy meals?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(*** NOTE: Not all of my next few posts will be gluten free, as I still have a few posts on the wait list to be blogged when I have time to write them up! But I swear, I'm not eating gluten in July!***)</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3660358275267745049.post-10397119521518766252011-07-06T02:14:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:25:12.565-07:00My First Cooking Class!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">This blog has moved to <a href="http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/">http://multiculturalmelbourne.com/</a></span></b></i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Today I taught my very first cooking class! Wow! What an experience!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I was invited to teach six 10 year olds to bake brownies and cookies at Catherine's birthday party. My initial reaction was panic. Then fear. Then "oh-dear-God-what-have-I-gotten-myself-in-for?!?!" You see, for those of you who don't know me, children kinda freak me out. I'm not really a "child" person and do not have a single maternal bone in my body. I feel like I'm really no good at interacting with children (although my dear teacher husband Sous-Jeff disagrees) and they just scare me. There you go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But, I'm on a new path of following my passion, and that path just happened to intersect with a pack of 10 year olds. So in the spirit of trying anything once, off I went to teach not only my first cooking class, but to teach children!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Thankfully, Agata came along with me, to act as my kitchen hand while I ran the class. We arrived to meet six shy girls, a little unsure of what was going to happen. Two and a half hours later, we left six girls on a total sugar high, with cocoa powder and melted chocolate up to their elbows and all over their faces, grins from ear to ear as they compared their cookies.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICMolULmGPOOtWHdN14MEKtfLif84GbWAImBohc9zuxoG7v-l0sSvVC1XUD6Awn2NMPxu4zbEwg1Kj2C8s67buGc370ZeulCEai5uUsIHgGzyqsYr6xidPoYMMOhIf9nZerhjZZmW3Zw/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiICMolULmGPOOtWHdN14MEKtfLif84GbWAImBohc9zuxoG7v-l0sSvVC1XUD6Awn2NMPxu4zbEwg1Kj2C8s67buGc370ZeulCEai5uUsIHgGzyqsYr6xidPoYMMOhIf9nZerhjZZmW3Zw/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The girls paired up and we made a batch of brownies each. They were a very well behaved group of ladies, paying extra special attention and being very careful with potentially dangerous kitchen tasks such as chopping butter with their little butter knives and melting the butter and chocolate over simmering water on the stove. Team work was fantastic here!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> So that the girls could give their own flair to their brownies, we had a big range of goodies for the girls to decorate theirs with - marshmallows, white chocolate chips, jelly beans, Smarties, mint filled chocolate squares, Maltesers and sprinkles! Yum!</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvU1Hb3G_e0BEDRUOIHC70jbJ7ojrut4EVmeDIZ3ebMQxX8kYPQXnGof28Oy6rSRkUcuZ-koy0jco_B_6CJMIp8PDiCBiihi7V0ng24HP7AIMZ1EVW3hxoS7WUVU5-S-EYeC3YlRRhP8/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvU1Hb3G_e0BEDRUOIHC70jbJ7ojrut4EVmeDIZ3ebMQxX8kYPQXnGof28Oy6rSRkUcuZ-koy0jco_B_6CJMIp8PDiCBiihi7V0ng24HP7AIMZ1EVW3hxoS7WUVU5-S-EYeC3YlRRhP8/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7emkZcDzXvdtsjdCwKH3FERf7boLqUfovcu6_yg_C73fQyG9TiaJiryJID3mAa0qvJ3W3BFXTjTdb3VbkyI2F97ZX9RD3TizWN-hQyW6gtT2zBoF_qvkbqUG8fEQ8i256k56sYRzeIE/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">10 minutes into the brownie making, the girls were already pleading with me to let them lick the spoons - they hadn't actually even added all the ingredients to the mixture at this point, so the second the mixture was into the baking trays, spoons were licked and faces and hands were coated with chocolate. I may have gotten involved too. Don't judge me. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBOFTahy49i4HBxcrTQa98NgnGfbXxvOnTgdWMEx_BAacIzr9O0OQOymqb79V4rSYR9PDLFj_4zgOQQ15rG2nEcJD_NumKtzCm0D-qn7J3uEULAJor6fxLNTkRX41y7h2VKzVEvhMPGo/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBOFTahy49i4HBxcrTQa98NgnGfbXxvOnTgdWMEx_BAacIzr9O0OQOymqb79V4rSYR9PDLFj_4zgOQQ15rG2nEcJD_NumKtzCm0D-qn7J3uEULAJor6fxLNTkRX41y7h2VKzVEvhMPGo/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With the brownies in the oven and Agata the kitchen angel having done the dishes, we got to work on the cookies. One of the young ladies in the group had an egg white and nut allergy, so we decided to make egg-and-nut-product free cookies! We put the mixture together in two groups of three girls, then split the mixtures into small bowls so the girls could each add whatever they wanted. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The cookies ranged in variety from sprinkles-and-Maltesers, to marshmallows-and-jelly beans. Some of the poor cookies (like the marshmallow ones) got a little gooey and flat in the oven, but regardless of how they looked, they tasted delicious, and they were completely the girls' creations, so they were winners too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ag and I left the party before the brownies were cut up and devoured, but they smelt incredible, and looked very pretty :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was so fantastic to see young kids getting involved in the kitchen - not because they were being forced to, but because they wanted to. They were even paying enough attention to what they were doing that they were able to tell me if their mixtures were smooth or grainy, too gooey or too dry. I had such a great time; it was indescribably fun sharing my passion for cooking. Really, really <i>fun</i>. And I can't wait to do it all over again!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">You can check out more of the classes I'm teaching at <a href="http://www.amorecucina.com/">Amore Cucina's website</a> - including High Tea, Chocolate Decadence, Cooking for Blokes, Gnocchi Workshop, Italian Christmas and more!</span>jess☆http://www.blogger.com/profile/12395130601259252791noreply@blogger.com0