East Brunswick Club

Rudest service I have ever experienced in Melbourne. We arrived at 6.15pm, there was ONE table that had four people sitting at it and four people waiting at the bar to be served. We waited TEN MINUTES to have our order taken, then, no Bulmers ontap today, oh can I have a ginger beer, after faffing around, running out the back, no ginger beer today, oh well I guess we'll have soda water. I was seething by then but thought bugger it I'll just have my meal and go. We ate the cheese and bacon burger first which was really quite nice (too much mustard) but the sloppy joe type patty they make is REALLY GOOD, we were still hungry after sharing the burger so we got the parma. The parma was good but they use Toffutti (god knows why, I mean cheezly cmon!) and I was really sick the next day after eating it (the squirts people, bad) too much processed food for this buttercup. We had finished the burger and was waiting for the parma, the same rude guy from the counter delivered the burger but just left the empty plate there and walked away. I wanted to throw it at his head. The EBC is up there with that shit hole The Retreat in my mind, but uniquely to the EBC they have the rudest service and most expensive alcohol Northside. Never going back to either of them.

Monday Melbourne Roundup

It was a busy week, which was probably for the best because I had a big ole case of the blues, that started last weekend and stretched to Saturday. There was no reason, just felt lethargic, unmotivated, apathetic which is really strange for me because usually I'm so up beat. Anyway I went with it (even though I realllly didn’t want to go to Camera Obscura) and ended up getting that monkey off my back eventually.

Out

David Sedaris - The Arts Centre

Ive been a fan of David Sedaris for a few years (I seem to have discovered him late!) through listening to his stories on This American Life (wonderful WONDERFUL radio show if you don’t listen to it). I went and saw a performance of The Santaland Diaries a few Christmases ago and I was hooked. I only recently read one of his books 'Holidays on Ice' a collection of his holiday stories but have read quite a few short stories he has written for the New Yorker. I was happy to hear stories I'd heard before, as the telling of something, especially things that actually happened to the person is way funnier, but Id only heard one of his stories before which was a great surprise. A wonderful, affable man with a demented sense of humour, he is really wonderful. If you are not familiar with his work listen to some of his stories here.

Bright Star


Jane Campion is other worldly, really. Her new film about the poet John Keats quite tragic life and his love affair with Miss Fanny Braun is heartbreakingly beautiful. Jane Campion is a master film maker, everything in this film was superb (and mainly made by women too!) the costumes, the lighting, the performances, the sets, the script, was breathtaking. She really captures the minutia of daily life and humans which lends such wonderful dimensions to her characters. I had a little tear, totally. Where does she find these child actors? They are all ethereal. Really really wonderful and I would highly recommend going and seeing it. Bring a tissue. Thanks to Jetsetting Joyce for my two-for-one pass.

Chapel St Bazaar

I freaking love this place!! The only time I go to Mexico is to get tattooed so I have a lot of favourites I squeeze into my visits when I'm over there. Like Borsch, Vodka and Tears, the coffee place I cant remember whos name, and Chapel St bazaar!! So reasonably priced as well, if you're into treasure hunting and vintage things and haven't been there you are crazy. As Joyce (click on the link) can attest, hot.


Camera Obscura - The Corner

The crowd was sooo twee I had a tooth ache. Can I just say the Corner is such a crap venue! So many columns, you can barely see the stage anywhere you stand! Unpleasantries out of the way, this gig was wonderful. I love love LOVE Camera Obscura and missed them the first time they came out here in 2007, they are so tight and their sound is so crystal clear really impressive. Le swoon, le sigh.

Eats/Drinks

Movidas Aqui

Review here.

nanna pats tomato relish

My nanna passed away two years ago and this was one of her signature goodies that she would make the family. She told me this was the first thing she learned to cook when she was just married, "I couldn’t boil water before that darl". She always closely guarded the recipe and was designated relish maker in the family. I think she loved feeling useful and loved making something that was so coveted by everyone. On my birthday I made her relish so I could feel close to her, its no where near as good as she made it but it made me happy. She used slather this on bread and toast it with cheese. I'm sure cheezly in this will be awesome. Its making me sad I gave away my jaffle iron! I'm sharing this with you so you all can have a piece of my nanna.

ingredients
16 medium tomatoes
1.5 cups of malt vinegar
1.5 cups brown sugar
1.5 tbsp of mustard
1.5 curry
1 tsp ginger, cumin, chilli powder, pepper
2 tsp salt
4 onions
2tsp cornflour

method
1. In a large bowl submerge tomatoes in just boiled water for 5 minutes. Carefully tip out the water and replace with cold water. Let sit for another 5 minutes. The skins should come off the tomatoes easily, peel all tomatoes, "top and tail" them and the roughly chop.

2. In a large stock pot, sweat onions until clear. Add all ingredients and simmer for about 40 minutes.

3. In a small bowl make a slurry with the cornflour and a few tbsp of water. Then add to the relish and cook on a high boil for a few minutes, the cornflour should thicken the relish.

4. Prepare your jars while the relish is cooling down. Clean all jars and lids really well making sure there is no leftovers from what was in the jar before. Fill to the brim with boiled water and let cool until you can handle jar easily. Tip out boiled water. For most jams and chutneys, they are already preserved and should be ok without proper sterilisation of the jars. I've been doing this for a while and have had no jams or relish spoil, its only with canning and preserving fruits in liquids that you should really worry about proper sterilisation. Fill the jars and clean off any spillage. With a clean cloth wipe the lips of the jars and inside the lids with vinegar and seal tightly. Should keep 3 months in the fridge no worries, though I did find a jar that I'd made a year ago and it was fine so use your judgement.

Why PETA is the most morally corrupt of all animal welfare organisations

This article over at Jezebel sums up perfectly what I have been saying about PETA for the longest time. Their antics disgust me, and that they are run by a woman is revolting.

Jezebel article link

Movida Aqui - Melbourne

Not normally somewhere you would think to go as a vegan, and I kind of feel guilty asking these dishes to be veganised. Every time I have been there however it has been waved away with a 'no problem' and a friendly smile. Wonderful. I think we're all aware of how much I adore Frank Camorra and his attitude toward food and dining.

Bravas - A Movida favourite, the spicy, full flavoured tomato sauce smothered on the crispy pan fried home fries. Delicious. Served with the mayo on the side for your omni friend if you want.

Enslada de Tomate - Seriously, how can tomatoes taste this good? Fresh slices of organic tomatoes, with oregano, olive oil, pepper and some pickled slivers of onion (I could be wrong with this ingredient). The sweetness of the pickled onions with the salty tomatoes and the burst of heat from the pepper is eye rollingly amazing. This is what sums up Movida to me, that I day dream about slices of tomatoes for days afterward. Simple , fresh ingredients used at their best and dressed simply. Divine. Served with the tuna on the side.

Menestra - Another flavour popping, smoky , slow cooked plate of orgasm. Fresh broad beans, brussell sprouts, potatoes, snow peas braised in a smokey tomato sauce. The jamon served on the side.

All served with fresh sour dough/rye/other assortments of bread. You will squabble over the last bits to mop up the sauces with. Thankfully they give you as much bread as you like. With oil and salt as I always request. The service is friendly, knowledgeable, magic genie and most of all every single person there seems to really believe in their product. Its an environment that cant help be contagious. Sitting at the big communal benches is best, I feel like I'm having Sunday lunch with my Maltese family. Te quero Franco, te quero.

Service: 10/10
Food: 10/10
Space: 9/10

Overall: 19/20 the best Melbourne as far as I'm concerned.

Deets: 500 Bourke St. Bookings, enquiries - phone the office: (03) 9663 3038
$$: $11 bravas, $16 ensalata de tomate, $14 menestra, $3 each espresso, glass of wine between $10 and $15

Tom Phat - Brunswick

Dinner! Tom Phat! Lisa! Finally! This dinner had been a long time in the making and I was trepidatious as to what Tom Phat could offer for din dins (especially after miss ts dispariging experience) well, it was awesome. I asked the waitress what was vegan on the menu and pointed to every item that was vegan adaptable (what ingrediants would be taken out/replaced) and the items that were stand alone vegan. Impressive.

Top shot: Nasi Goreng w- Tofu and Tempeh skewers. The sweet soy, tart tamarind sauce and the smoky oils made the dish drool worthy delicious. Amazing.

Buddhas Delight: Beancurd, blackbean, mushroom and bean thread noodles. I wasn’t as keen on this one, the flavours weren't that great, especially compared to the magic of the Nasi Goreng.

Mango and Banana crumble: This was amazing. The fruit was infused with cardamon, cloves and star anise which sounds WRONG but it was amazing. There was also an excellent lid to fruit ratio, just watch the spices, they are still in there and its unpleasant to chomp into a huge cardamon pod.

Tom Phat is definitely my favourite place to eat on Sydney Road. The food is outstanding and dare I say it the best in Brunswick?

Space: a warm exposed brick and wood 8/10
Service: a very sweet and concerned 10/10
Food: a lipsmacking 9/10

Overall: 18/20

Deets: 184 Sydney Rd, Brunswick T: 9381 2374 w: http://www.tomphat.com.au
$$: Our mains were $16/17 respectively and the dessert was $9, coffee was $2.50 for an espresso and we had a bottle of the house Shiraz which was $35 (I think)

For my breakfast at Tom Phat (best scramble tofu ever) clicky

Rum Balls

I got these at the sexy Safeway (Union Square) and they are the BEST vegan treat I've ever eaten.

Monday Melbourne Roundup

Gosh darn it I completely forgot! I've been in a foul mood for the past couple of days, I don’t know whats up with me. It will pass. I didn’t do much last week, I was tired and settling into my second week back in hell (I'm looking for a job so if you hear of anything let me know, I can do web analyst stuff, project coordination stuff). Blah. I have a major case of the blahs.

Out

Birthday Party - Penny Black

Birthdays hey. The Penny Black is really great, Erin Tasmania is djaying there a lot lately playing gorgeous bouncy sixties tunes. The outdoor area is massive and they have Bulmers on tap. Win. I think that’s it for birthday parties for me, I'm tired of them and would prefer to just have a nice dinner with the two loves of my life, Clare and Daniel.

Eats/Drinks

Tom Phat

Dinner! Tom Phat! Lisa! Finally! This dinner had been a long time in the making and I was trepidatious as to what Tom Phat could offer for din dins (especially after miss ts disparaging experience) well, it was awesome. I asked the waitress what was vegan on the menu and pointed to every item that was vegan adaptable (what ingredients would be taken out/replaced) and the items that were stand alone vegan. Impressive. Lisa and I shared the Buddhas delight and the tofu/tempeh skewers. A full report with pictures .

Raspberry Jelly

I was so excited to see this in the supermarket the other day. I've had a jelly mould for 8 years that I've never been able to use!! I put blackberries in it, the jelly was to die for. Something I definitely missed from my childhood. Super delicious.

Caramalised Spanish Onion Quiche

Another winner from Vegan Brunch. This quiche was bursting with deliciousness, I couldn't stop eating it or fantasising about eating it. I used the Pampas 25% less fat short crust pastry sheets (ninja vegan) though you can of course make your own. I find the sheets don’t exactly line a 9" pan but a little bit of creative trimming and pasting gets it filled. I added a few splashes of liquid smoke (hickory flavour) and a tsp of chipotle which gave this quiche a tongue tingling flavour burst. Le swoon le sigh. I really really want to get Veganomicon now.

Ingredients

2 tbsp of olive oil
4 large spanish onions, medium dice
3/4 cup of raw cashews
1 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
1 pound extra firm tofu (I just used one of the water packed packets from the supermarket, I think it falls short of a pound but there was enough filling so it didn’t matter)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Prepare the pie crust into your pie dish and poke the bottom with a fork about five times to prevent from puffing up, then once the oven is heated bake crust for 10 minutes and remove from oven. In the meantime, start preparing your filling.

Preaheat a heavy bottom skillet, preferably cast iron, over low heat. Add the oil and the onions and toss the onions to coat. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, leaving a little gap for steam to escape. Stir occasionally, every 5 minutes or so. Onions should turn a nice, mellow amber colour but not burn (for spanish onions mine turned pink). Remove the lid and turn up the heat just a bit, to a medium setting. Stir often for 10 minutes. Onions should be darker in colour, and some of the moisture should evaporate.

Meanwhile, process the cashews in a food processor into fine crumbs. Add the salt and nutmeg. Give the tofu a squeeze to get rid of some of the moisture, then crumble into the food processor. Process until relatively smooth. If it seems to be too thick and not pureeing, add a tablespoon of water or two. When the caramelized onions are done cooking, add 1/2 a cup of them to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine. At this point I also added liquid smoke and chipotle.

Transfer cashew mixture to a mixing bowl and mix in the rest of the onions. Taste for salt and other seasonings. Use a rubber spatula to get everything into the pie crust and smooth out the top. Bake for 40 minutes, until the edges of the pie are lightly browned.

This pie is great cold, room temperature, warm or hot. Seriously, and the flavours change at each temperature. Addictive. You could also sprinkle a heaping of Cheezly on the top if you're feeling extra decadent.

My birthday

The view from Movidas Aqui terrace
Christmas lights still in the city
Espresso martini at Gingerboy
Banana fritters rolled in sherbet with coconut cream sorbet

Head to the last Monday Melbourne Roundup for the written reviews

Enlightened Cuisine

I used to work in South Melbourne and would have their satay "chicken" for lunch quite a bit. Enlightened Cuisines in an awkward part of town so you really have to make the effort to go, which is why I haven't been up until this point. It really makes me excited to know I can order EVERYTHING on a menu, let alone I can get back to my 80's childhood and order some deep fried slathered in sweetness Chinese food. (Steph has just alerted me that there is egg in some things despite the website saying that all their items are vegan - so please check!)

We ordered the banquet which is as follows:

Sesame prawn toast
Hot and sour soup
Honey BBQ pork (I eat honey)
Roasted duck
Stir fried mixed vegetables
Fried rice

For dessert, banana fritter with soy icecream and chocolate topping.

I loved EVERYTHING minus the hot and sour soup. I don’t think I've inhaled a meal faster, I was really going for gold. Certainly not something I would do often (I regard this as 'junk food') but such an awesome thing to have available to us. The duck was perfection, so so SO tasty, duck being the thing I miss most out of eating meat. With Enlightened Cuisine on the circuit of amazing places for vegans to go to, I feel like I don’t miss out on ANYTHING from my omni past. Its so great. Highly recommended, especially if you're having a bad transition day or a sad vegan day.

Space: a little too formal for me 8/10
Service: magic genie wonderful 9/10
Food: full point just for the amazing peking 'duck' but in reality it was probably a bit too full on for me 8/10

Overall: 16/5

Deets: 113 Queensbridge Street, Southbank, T:03 9686 9188
web: www.ecuisine.com.au
Lunch: Mon - Sat 11.30am - 2.30pm
Dinner: Mon - Thu & Sun 5.30pm - 10pm,
Fri & Sat 5.30pm - 11pm
Fully licensed. BYO (wine only)

$$: The banquet was $28 a head, the dessert was $8.50 I think? And we had a couple of Tsing Tao $7 each.

shakahari - carlton

Best. Seriously. Go There. The End.











Papaya salad (I wasn’t that keen on it - too sour/sweet for me)
Lentil Tofu Parcels with ponzu reduction? (delicious)
Quinoa Croquettes (just just delicious)
Morroccan Sunset stew (again so so SO tasty)

They were sadly out of tofu crème caramel which I was devastated over (I had only 2 entrees so I could cram in dessert) but after scarfing some of Glen and Daniels meals also I was full as a goog by the time dessert came around. Their coffee is surprisingly good as well. They really excel with their entrees however and next time I will stick to doing a tapas style meal. I'm also keen to do vegan gluten free whenever I can which means I've not tried a lot of things on the menu, however for you dear readers I'm willing to take that bullet next time.

Deets: best to book to avoid disappointment 201-203 Faraday St, Carlton ph: 9347 3848
$$: the entrees were around $13.50 each the mains were around $18-20 each

Shakahari the first

Monday Melbourne Roundup

My birthday week, so lots of eating!

Out

Godzone

Is this what passes as contemporary Australian content for the middle aged these days? It was so appalling we left within ten minutes. Think of the worst 'Comedy Company' Mark Mitchell-esque Kevin Rudd/politician parody and then make it so appalling you are embarrassed to call yourself Australian, and there you have the first ten minutes of Godzone. -5/10

On a side note: My MTC subscription 2009 was a complete dud (minus 3 plays we absolutely adored and one play we were luke warm on), the states of the arts in Australia is traumatising if this is the kind of content that gets 'bums on seats' so they can have funding to do worthwhile plays. We have bought a mini subscription for this year, there was five plays we were interested in but a mini is seven so lets see what happens. What I learned about the MTC, see NOTHING in the new Sumner Theatre, see NO comedies and only go to plays that have Noni Hazlehurst or Robin Nevin in them (and no BIG name stars - that Guy Pearce play beyond shit and the Hugo Weaving one was incredibly offensive). Very sad/angry. I think I will get a subby to Red Stitch again this year, we stopped going because although the plays were amazing, we were suicidal after going each time. Now we're suicidal from mediocrity, a Red Stitch subby along with a mini to the Opera and MTC should be a good balance!

Eats/Drinks

Movidas Aqui

Le swoon le sigh. Frank Camorra, I want your babies. Movidas, as I'm sure you've all heard me waffle on about, is my favourite restaurant in Melbourne. The new site, Aqui is just another extension of an extremely strong brand bringing you mouth watering fresh food at decent prices by wonderful staff. It was my birthday and I didn’t feel like whipping out the camera, I can say they were very polite and accommodating about my veganism. I ordered three of the salads, one with the grilled tuna on the side and the patatas braves with the mayo on the side. Delectable. Amazing. It nails all three things for me. Service that is magic genie style but they still have personality, mouth watering food and a communal eating space that is warm and lively without being too busy. Frank really is a genius.

Space: not as great as Next Door, but we were sitting outside, next time we'll sit closer to the bar 9/10
Food: patatas bravas always amazing, the tomato salad was to die for, the roasted capsicum salad not so great but then again I don’t really like capsicum 9/10
Service: a magic genie, super polite not too stuffy 10/10

Overall 19/20

Gingerboy

We headed to Gingerboy for dessert. Gingerboy has given me the most delicious vegan meal I've ever eaten and I've been fantasising about going back. They gave me a couple of options after speaking to the kitchen but I chose to have the same thing I had the first time as it was so delicious. Banana fritters rolled in sherbet with homemade coconut sorbet. The crunch of the batter, the tingle zing of the sherbet and the sorbet is the creamiest it should be a crime sorbet I've ever had. The staff are wonderful, the space, although tight, is lively on a Saturday full of 30 somethings on dates (great people watching). We had espresso martinis. Tres fantastique. I am a lucky lucky girl. (full review and photos coming soon).

I'm not even going to disseminate: 20/20 for dessert.

Enlightened Cuisine

Fake meat coma. We had one of the banquets and it was awesome. Not something I will indulge in very often (I also had tramautising dreams afterward haha) but it was such a treat to go somewhere and know I can order everything off the menu. Full post with pictures to come.

Space: a little too formal for me 8/10
Service: magic genie wonderful 9/10
Food: full point just for the amazing peking 'duck' but in reality it was probably a bit too full on for me 8/10

Overall: 16/5

chiara's roasted garlic and carrot dip

This is my friend Chiaras favourite dip recipe. I love seeing what other people do with food it's always so interesting to me, especially when it turns out delicious like this.

ingredients
3/4 kg bag of carrots, peeled and quartered
1 knob of garlic
1tsp cumin seeds
1 can of butter beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup of tahini
1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp of dukkah
1 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of chipotle (optional)

method
1. Roast the garlic and carrots in oven with the cumin seeds and a drizzle of olive oil. Then blend with the rest of the ingrediants. Really play around with the flavours. Sprinkle with dukkah and drizzle with olive oil and serve.

and for dessert - gingerbread!

Recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen

Ingredients
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup plain soymilk

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour (or a mix of both)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

spice blend:
1/2 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

Directions
In a large bowl beat together oil and sugar for about 3 minutes. Add molasses and soymilk. The molasses and soy milk won't really blend with the oil but that's ok.

In a separate bowl, sift together all the other ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches. Mix together with a firm spoon or spatula until well combined. You should have a pretty stiff dough. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for an hour or up to 3 days in advance. (If you chill longer than an hour you may want to let it sit for 10 minutes to loosen up a bit before proceeding).

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease your cookie sheets.

On a floured surface roll you dough out to a little less than 1/4 inch thick. You can do this in 2 batches if you don't have the space. Cut out your shapes with your cookie cutters and gently place on cookie sheets (if you are using them to decorate with remember to cut a hole with a straw or something before baking). Bake for 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet then move to a cooling rack. Wait until they are completely cool before icing.

These were seriously amazing. The most delicious gingerbread I've ever had.

cabbage salad with peanut sesame dressing

recipe from the Real Food Daily Cookbook

sesame peanut dressing
2/3 cup of creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup of brown rice vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp of tamari
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp of toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup of lightly packed corriander leaves

Whizz!

yin yang salad
4 cups of shredded cabbage
3 cups of shredded red cabbage
2 carrots, shredded
4 shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup of peanut dressing
4 cups of cubed tofu (shallow fried or steamed however you like)
2 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds

Toss. Easy Peasy!

notes: I make this salad tonnes in summer, add cashews or walnuts instead of peanuts really experiment with the ingredients for the satay sauce. I also add the kernels of a fresh cob of corn to the salad too, gives it a fresh sweet burst. Here is a photo of the whole feast together. It was amazing.

stuffed butternut pumpkin

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

ingredients
1 pumpkin (about 1 kg)
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
1 dried chilli
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
50g basmati rice, washed and drained
75g dried cranberries
50g walnuts
zest of 1 lemon
200ml vegetable stock, preferably organic

method
1. Preheat the oven to 230ºC.

2. Cut the lid off the pumpkin and reserve it. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and keep them to one side. Make the hollow where the seeds were a little bigger by scooping out some more pumpkin flesh. Finely chop this pumpkin flesh and one of the garlic cloves.

3. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Pour in a splash of olive oil, then add the chopped pumpkin, chopped garlic, onion, and half the rosemary. Cook gently for 10 minutes or so until the pumpkin has softened.

4. Meanwhile, place the whole garlic clove and the remaining rosemary in a pestle and mortar. Crumble in the dried chilli, add a good pinch of salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon and bash until you have a paste. Add a little olive oil to loosen up the mixture and then rub the inside of the pumpkin with it.

5. Season the cooked pumpkin mixture and stir in the rice, cranberries, walnuts and lemon zest with a pinch each of nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly then add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes (no longer or the rice will end up overcooked later).

6. Tear off a sheet of tin foil that’s large enough to wrap the pumpkin in a double layer and lay on top of a baking tray. Place the pumpkin on top and spoon the rice mixture into it, then place its lid back on. Rub the skin with a little olive oil, wrap it up in the foil and bake in the oven for about an hour. The pumpkin is ready when you can easily push a knife into it. Bring it to the table and open it up in front of everyone. Cut it into thick wedges and tuck in, leaving the skin.

note: This was seriously amazing, there is an awesome 'oooooooo' moment with you cut it down the middle and it splits open. Well worth the effort.

roasted sweet potato with pecan & maple

From Yotam Ottolenghi (again)

ingredients
2 sweet potatoes (about 850g in total)
3 tbsp olive oil
35g pecans
4 spring onions, roughly chopped
4 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
¼ tsp flaked chilli
35g sultanas
Salt and pepper

dressing
60ml olive oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon

method
1. Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Start with the sweet potatoes. Don’t peel them! Cut into 2cm cubes, spread out on a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper, mix well with your hands and roast in the oven until the potatoes are just tender, about 30 minutes. Turn them over gently half way through the cooking.

2. In a separate tray, toast the pecans in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and chop roughly.

3. While the potatoes are roasting make the dressing. Whisk together all the ingredients in small bowl. Taste and add salt and pepper in needed.

4. When the potatoes are ready, transfer them to a large bowl while still hot. Add the spring onion, parsley, coriander, chilli, pecans and sultanas. Pour the dressing over and toss gently to blend, then season to taste. Serve at once or at room temperature.

This was mouthwateringly delicious. Srsly.

Radical Grocery

Hey guys! I went into Radical not so long ago and saw that Anikee is selling ALL the good vegan cookbooks, so I've taken down my amazon store, because I would prefer that you bought them off her. Its easy to forget that she doesnt only sell food.

Radical Grocery

saffron couscous, chickpea and lentil salad

Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi

ingredients
225g couscous
1/2 tsp saffron strands
salt and black pepper
260ml boiling water
150g cooked chickpeas (tinned are OK)
150g cooked Puy lentils (I used tinned)
80g dried cranberries
1 red endive, cut into 1cm-thick slices (I used spanish onion)
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
4 tbsp chopped mint
3 tbsp chopped coriander
3 tbsp chopped parsley
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp nigella seeds (I didnt use these, didnt have time to source them)
4 tbsp olive oil

I also toasted a handful of almonds and roughly chopped them

method
1. Put the couscous in a shallow bowl. Add the saffron and a pinch of salt to the boiling water, and pour this over the couscous to cover. Wrap the bowl in clingfilm and set aside for 15 minutes, so the couscous soaks up the liquid. Remove the clingfilm, fluff up the couscous with a fork, then set aside to cool down.

2. Transfer the cold couscous to a mixing bowl, add the chickpeas, lentils and cranberries, and toss. Add the endive, spring onion, herbs, lemon zest, garlic and nigella seeds, stir gently to combine, then stir in olive oil and season to taste.

3. Serve this salad straight away, or chill it for up to 24 hours; the flavours actually improve over time. Before serving, bring back to room temperature and add more olive oil or seasoning as necessary.

Monday Melbourne Roundup

Monday Melbourne Roundup - Christmas addition…

I took a well needed break from everything, including the interwebs for the past ten days. I did all wonderful things like write, sleep (a lot) read books, watch a TONNE of tv/movies, spent quality time with people who had come back from interstate/overseas for Christmas. Relaxed! I cant remember everything I did over the break but I will try my darnedest, I can say I rarely left Brunswick.

out

9

The best action film I saw this year (only? Oh no right I saw District 9 which SUCKED BALLS). Tim Burton produced, the look and feel is very much a Burton film. The action is non stop, the little critters totally adorable, the pace - breath taking. Highly recommended! 4/5

Trailer here

Broken Embraces

Slow, long, boring, stunning. Every frame is like a photograph, Penelope Cruz is becoming one of the most memorable actresses of our generation, the boys are gorgeous it was just BORING. 3/5



ACDC Exhibition - The Arts Centre

Boring! Very little pieces of interesting ephemera. The Bon Scott exhibition I went to in Perth last year was much more interesting. It was great to walk around and get out of the heat, and I never knew they were all so tiny! Angus Young must be 5ft4!







Williamstown Beach

Best! Favourite beach in Melbourne. So lovely and European, the water is divine (unlike the stinking toe jam of St Kilda). LOVE IT.



eats.drinks

Penny Black

Beaver and I spent New Years days afternoon there and it was AWESOME. 60s girl group blaring, hot kids coming down playing croquet, $14 jugs of Pims, a thunder storm rolling in. Sweet. Penny Black - favourite bar on Sydney Road.

Greens

I've hated on Greens in the past, their service has gotten a lot better, however their food has taken a bit of a downhill dive. They make a decent coffee and the people who work there are actually really nice and helpful unlike the wasteoid stoners they had working there last summer. Its not my first choice but it’s reliably open and not painful.

Small Block

Very little was open in Brunswick on the break. We finally went to Small Block, I had the guacamole on toast, I didn’t have my camera with me so no photos I'm afraid. The toast came out with what seemed a pitiful amount of guaca but it was actually ample and the bread was uh-mazing. I mean, most likely from Dench amazing. Will deffo go back but it is slightly wanky, would prefer to go to Gingerlee first but it is a good back up.

Shakaharis un deux

Amazingness. Review with photos to come.