The negligent blogger

No excuses.... well a few... another unit completed in my post grad studies in Nutrition (my first exam since 1979)... an engagement and associated celebrations... and .... that's enough... time to get back to it.

 I think a few random pics are in order to kick it off again.

Ode to my sister's jelly slice

Mmmmmmmmmmm

Its afternoon tea on the farm - my sister's dairy farm that is. And in true CWA (Country Women's Association) style the glistening jelly slice has just be removed from its tin and awaits slicing into delicious morsels to accompany our tea - with fresh un-pasteurised milk provided by the girls! I'm sure this one would win a blue sash first price at any rural show but it's just for us and the farmer (my brother in law).

Now I have to say that unlike my mother, and her mother before her (that would be my grandmother and kitchen mentor), my sister has a much more diverse culinary heritage. With a apprenticeship at a city boutique hotel, a stint working from the reknown Walter Bourke, cooking for a major catering outfit, producing gourmet take home diners and hand making chocolates for one of the first Chocolatiers in Melbourne, this is no average farmers wife.

And there in lies one of the fabulous capacities of a cooks life, it takes one on so many journeys and yet sometimes seems to take us right back to where it all started. As my sister and I discuss the tricks of jams, relishes, scones and sponges it is a reminder of a rural childhood cooking with Grandma on the wood burning Aga stove. Not so dissimilar to talking to fellow cooks Greg Malouf about his Middle Eastern heritage or George Calombaris about growing up in a Greek Cypriot household. 

Cheers, Salute, Kanbei, Prost, Campai, Bottoms up or Chin Chin

In whichever language you choose I'll drink to a table or barstool at Chin Chin. Fresh and vibrant dishes with staff to match!!! (More about the cheeky 'as long as you're happy' barman later). Nestled against the wall at the back of the bar watching the world go by, tonight was when dining solo had an advantage. The snaking queue heading down Flinders Lane was being informed that it was a 1 to 2 hour wait for a table, depending on how many friends you were dining with, but for me on my own it was straight in. Occasionally I rather enjoy 'a table for one' and with the trend towards bar dining it seldom ends up a lonely experience.

The major disadvantage kicks in when having to choose just a dish or two with a menu focused on sharing. However not only did I thoroughly enjoy my silken tofu and banana blossom salad and pork "roll ups" I visually devoured the Massaman curry, salt and pepper squid, crispy chicken wings and pat Thai of my bar dining 'neighbours'. Luckily they were sociable so my culinary surveillance didn't get creepy - and a happy 9th anniversary to the 'floral bouquet' couple. 

Now dessert is not normally a big priority but sometimes I can be tempted and my lone dining status was receiving ample enticement. Plenty of banter with the barman/waiter about our respective travels in India combined with a little up-selling. So Layered jellies of coconut milk and passion fruit with slow poached pineapple it was and a good excuse to have a sticky, a rather delightful Frogmore Creek Iced Riesling (and an interesting lesson on the origins of Iced Riesling from my friendly compatriot). Definitely worth it the wine, the chitchat and the oh so creamy and refreshing coconut jelly. Yum

There seems to be a few complaints about the queuing. Well really....... the restaurant game is a tough gig and if it takes a no booking policy and table turn over to make it viable then so be it. The reliance on degustation/set menus or minimum spend or booking months in advance to allow the dining public the quality we seek seems fair. We are so lucky in Melbourne to have so many dining experiences to choose from - so if queuing isn't to your liking dine elsewhere I reckon.

There's cake and then there's.....

Macarons! The affair with cupcakes has waned and one can feel the love  - of macarons - in the streets of Melbourne. In amongst busy Hardware Lane, overflowing with eateries, is a whole shop dedicated to just this one French pastry. There is a chic austerity upon entering the pastel palace that is home to arguably some of the city's best - La Belle Miette. The uninitiated peer through the pristine shop window and the first time visitor battles to decide between the Salty Caramel, vibrant Raspberry and the decadent ‘Bastille’ (Moet et Chandon and Blackcurrant) or other 10 or so flavours. Patiently waiting in the queue is the addicted anticipating their next fix. 

Customers are rewarded with beautifully boxed crunchy intense sweet chewiness no matter what their flavour preference and in just the right portion to avoid feelings of guilt. Unless of course one attempts to try too many flavours or the entire selection! I'm glad my addiction to food is broad so I can enjoy just one -  the 'Bastille’ –  and I don't feel compelled to travel around Melbourne tasting each and every flavours on offer. Although LuxBite is on my list next time I'm on that side of town and the Kaffir Lime is inviting - uh oh.....

 

Hopetoun Tea Rooms

And just in case your sugary fetish is not appeased by the simplicity of La Belle Miette then perhaps you'd better head off to another of Melbourne's emporiums of sweetness, The Hopetoun Tea Rooms, where the variety on display looks more like the Myer Christmas windows.

a glimpse of Loam

Well the first trimester of my Grad Cert in Human Nutrition is complete and the final essay is in the process of being graded. That leaves me with some extra time to indulge in blogging and there are plenty of photo's attesting to my non academic pursuits stored on the camera just waiting to have their stories told. The first a 'field trip' for the culinary obsessed to the Bellarine Peninsula. The day included:

A visit to Sea Bounty Mussels - a family owned business where Lance shared his wealth of knowledge about a life time of commercial fishing in Victoria. Scallops being his first mollusc followed now by the local blue Mussels of Port Phillip Bay. Now that I know spawning around this time of the year decreases the size of the meat I'll wait to Novemberish for my next mussel cook-up. Even the child one is looking forward to a bowl of plump mussels in a garlic infused broth.
 
Next was feeding and nattering with Corrine and the goats at Drysdale Goats Cheese; the fresh curd cheeses a revelation- but then fresh is .... And there were plenty of nettles in the paddocks for an eager goat or chef.

By then it was time for a spot of
lunch; which was a sneak peak at Loam. The Loam philosophy to forage, fish and hunt, especially locally, was truly reflected in the mini menu we experienced; savoury morsels thoughtfully structured into refined dishes. I look forward to a future degustation dinner.




Beautiful food was the order of the day although there were rumblings of 'lots of protein' (meaning of the animal kind). Perhaps a fruit producer needed to be included to round out the trip although it was bit early in the year for the blueberry farm we drove past. Nonetheless I feel spending time at the source is valuable for young and 'old' cooks alike.

Lets eat cake

Strolling along Ackland Street St Kilda, post jazz concert at the nearby Palais, on a chilly Melbourne evening warrants a coffee/hot chocolate and cake. And the institution for cake in this neck of the woods is Monarch Cakes. There are plenty of choices but three stand-out must haves if one is aiming for the items of folklore, they are:

• Chocolate Kooglhoupf
• Polish cheesecake
• Plum cake

Despite the fabulous descriptor provided by the staff for the cheesecake I like a bit of fruit in my cake and for my partner chocolate beats cheese. 'We bake the same way our grandmothers did, using the ingredients in their most natural form. Our cakes are made with the highest grade butter and sugar and we never use substitutes or premixes' reads the speal on the website. As long as the grandmothers used canned plums! That would be one of the major differences between the baking of my grandmother and my mother - grandma never used canned foods. Although on the whole both choices were rich, moist and dense as one would expect of a European cake. So with chills warmed and emotions feed it was time to head back east to the burbs. http://www.monarchcakes.com.au/

 

What's in season....

Having just driven through the asparagus growing heart of Victoria, on the way to visit family, I've been looking forward to dishes featuring the first of the fresh Koo-wee-rup spears. And recently I heard Matt Wilkinson (co owner of Pope Joan) talking about the virtues of offering seasonal produce so it was wonderful to see his menu reflecting Spring and of course asparagus when I dined there this week. Eggs and asparagus are such a great combination, so an asparagus omelette was tempting (and I did prong a little of my partners). But another dish took my fancy - smoked tongue with celeriac (also in season) remoulade and crispy toasts and I was not disappointed.                                                 

The tongue was lightly smoked but oh so tender and juicy and the remoulade just as I like -  julienne of celeriac fine but not grated and enough but not too much creamy mayonnaise, finished with picked chervil and very crisp toasts, excellent. I probably should mention the sauce gribiche on the side as it was tasty but I've been trying to ignore it simply because I don't think the dish needed it (a little more salad if anything but no more 'creamy' needed).

And there is more on offer than beautiful seasonl food - affable efficient service staff, interesting decor, clean toilets etc etc. I look forward to my next visit.

And as I like to get 'up close and personal' with my food I stopped for a few little happy snaps for the 'family album' of that luscious asparagus popping up through the rich dark soil. I must try pickling some this year!