Easter Boating

We were lucky enough to spend the Easter long weekend on a boat moored off beautiful Stradbroke Island. The weather was glorious and we had a very festive and over-indulgent time. My ANZAC biscuits proved a hit and were devoured within a couple of hours by some hungry sailors, emphatically disproving my theory that the double batch would last most of the weekend!

Buttery Kedgeree

My meal highlight on the boat was a buttery kedgeree (“ked-jer-ee”) cooked by my mother-in-law. The idea of smoked haddock may not appeal to everyone from the outset, but the combination of rice, boiled eggs & haddock with lashings of butter, parsley, lemon and curry powder made for the perfect Good Friday evening meal. Hats off to Jan Porter, who transported it all the way from Toowoomba, re-heated it in the boat’s galley and fed a tribe of 15 people! It was delicious and even the haddock skeptics went back for seconds! Jan tells me she used a Delia Smith recipe.

It turns out the Easter bunny found its way across Raby Bay and delivered a vast chocolate loot. My favourite chocolate mouthfuls from the weekend were the two types of truffles Robbie gave me: dark chocolate chilli & salted caramel. While the name of the chocolatier at South Bank from which they came escapes Robbie, they were utterly delicious. Robbie informs me that his winner was the M&M adorned chocolate lollypop from the Nut Market on James St which I gave him. Although he could have just been returning my compliment!

Sourced Grocer (Teneriffe)

After a slightly glutinous few days on the boat, I was looking for some clean eating. Easter Monday found us at one of our favourite locals, Sourced Grocer. For me, Bircher muesli with grated apple, strawberries and blueberries with a coconut water, hit the mark. Slightly less virtuous but equally tasty, Robbie enjoyed a Bangalow ham and Gruyere toastie complete with mustard and sliced gherkins plus a strong cappuccino.

Thai Beef Salad

Our only efforts in the kitchen over the weekend came in the form of a Thai beef salad. Thrown together with the addition of vermicelli noodles (to appease the carbohydrate loving Robbie), the salad was flavoursome and moreish.

Ingredients: 1 ½ tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 2 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 garlic clove, 500g rump steak, 2 Roma tomatoes, 1 continental cucumber, ½ red onion, 1 long red chilli, 1 bunch coriander, 1 bunch Thai basil, 2 kaffir lime leaves, salad leaves, vermicelli noodles & crushed peanuts.

Method:

1. To make the dressing – whisk together lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger and garlic in a jug.
2. Place steak in a ceramic dish and drizzle with ½ the dressing and marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
3. Cook steak to medium or until cooked to your liking and rest covered with foil for 5 mins.
4. Cook vermicelli in boiling water. Drain and rinse with cold water.
5. Place tomato, cucumber, onion, vermicelli, salad leaves, chilli, coriander, thai basil & shredded kaffir lime in a bowl. Mix with remaining dressing.
6. Divide salad among plates, top with sliced steak and crushed peanuts.
7. Serve immediately.

Robbie and I are off on a little getaway to Japan and I can’t wait to sample the local delights. My next instalment will most likely contain an abundance of sushi, sashimi & ramen so get those chopsticks ready!

Wishing you all a lovely ANZAC Day long weekend. There’s still time to make a batch of ANZAC biscuits; you can’t quite beat their crunchy outer and chewy centre!

Bri xx

 

 

 

 

Out & About

Paw Paw (Woolloongabba)

We made a repeat visit to this very busy breakfast joint. Again, the wait time for meals was on the slow side but we were more prepared this time and ordered an extra coffee! My corn fritters with chipotle sour cream, avocado and tomato relish were light and flavoursome, but the winning dish of the day was my Dad’s choice of the Israeli breakfast: a delightful combination of falafels, hummus, dukkah, a boiled egg and flat bread.

La Rotisserie (Gasworks, Newstead)

There is little in life that is more comforting than a freshly cooked, rotisserie chicken. They remind me of the sidewalks of Paris, where one can find the plumpest poulets cooking to perfection on every corner. So when La Rotisserie opened down the road, I was keen to sample its goods. Their menu is simple, with a choice of rotisserie chicken or rolls with various meats, including slow cooked lamb and BBQ pork. The front counter has a large selection of salads including our final choices of zucchini, mint and pea; and roasted cauliflower with dates. With the option of dining in or taking away, we opted for the latter on this occasion for a couch-bound meal. The rotisserie chicken was well seasoned, moist and with the added freshness of the salad made for a lovely, no-fuss dinner.

Sing’s Asian Kitchen (Rosalie)

We popped in to Sing’s for a casual mid-week meal. Luckily I thought to book ahead, as by 7pm the place was overflowing and the kitchen was pumping out a steady stream of meals from its extensive menu. My choice of a Vietnamese noodle salad with calamari was simple, fresh and yummy. My two sisters ordered the Vietnamese beef noodle soup and whilst happy with the overall flavour of the broth, they were left somewhat disappointed with the beef component. Unlike the usual wafer thin slices you’d expect, it was cut quite thickly and became tough as it sat in the warm soup. On a positive note, the beef in the massaman curry was lovely and tender.  Next time you can’t decide whether you’re in the mood for Thai, Chinese or Vietnamese food, Sing’s can meet your indecisive needs with great examples of each!

Buzz (Gasworks, Newstead)

This latest branch of Buzz has a nice and relaxed vibe. With tables outside and an order at the counter policy, it makes for a great weekend breakfast spot to sit back, have a good coffee and read the papers. The food is consistently good, with this week’s standout being the chilli con carne served with refried beans, sour cream, shavings of parmesan and toast. The menu includes all of the other breakfast staples and has a build your own option, which always takes my fancy. I haven’t been in to try their lunch or dinner menus yet, but no doubt both of those involve the impressive pizza oven sitting behind the counter, so I must put that on my list.

Gerard’s Bistro (James St, Fortitude Valley)

Gerard’s Bistro specialises in Middle Eastern and northern African food. The menu reads well with loads of interesting flavour combinations. We ventured there on a Friday night as a group of 4 girls and we shared an array of dishes. My standouts were the smoked eggplant with yoghurt, onions and mint; the Iranian style wild rice with chickpeas and pomegranate; and the slow-braised lamb with radish. In fact, I intend to try and re-create the eggplant dish as it’s lovely smokiness would be a beautiful accompaniment to any red meat! We kept the wine simple with a Te Whare Re Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough (NZ). We saw fit to finish off the meal with an amaretto sour (my first ever) and an espresso martini, both of which hit the mark. While the meals were packed full of flavour, it should be said that the portion sizes for the meat dishes were quite petite, but due to the richness of the food we still left satisfied.  I apologise for my photos; the restaurant is quite dimly lit and I didn’t want to bother the other diners by trying to get the perfect snap!

Golden ANZACs

ANZAC biscuits were created during World War I and it is thought they were sent to soldiers because they could endure long naval voyages and did not spoil easily. We have many things to thank the ANZACs for and this delicious, golden and chewy morsel that we make in their honour is a great tea-time treat.  I recommend you throw a batch together to share this coming ANZAC day (I got in early and made them for Easter but the sentiment is still there!).

Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup plain flour, 1 cup rolled oats, ½ cup caster sugar, ¾ cup desiccated coconut, 2 tablespoons golden syrup, 150g unsalted butter & ½ tspn bicarb soda

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.  Place flour, oats, sugar and coconut in a large bowl and stir to combine.
2. In a small saucepan place the golden syrup and butter – stir over low heat until butter has fully melted.
3. Mix the bicarb soda with 1 ½ tablespoons of water and add to the golden syrup mixture. Once it bubbles, continue to stir and remove from the heat.
4. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix together. The mixture will be quite wet. Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, press down slightly with the back of a spoon.
5. Bake for 12 minutes until lovely and golden.
6. Cool on a wire rack.
7. Make a pot of tea and enjoy!

 

Dining and Brunching

#1 Asian inspired pork, prawn and mushroom omelette

Omelettes are one of my favourite, simplest meals, and are a fairly staple Sunday night option for us. My usual combination is ham, mushroom and spinach but I thought I’d spice it up a little on this occasion.

Ingredients: 2 eggs per person, shallots, chilli flakes, pork mince, prawns, mixed mushrooms, bean sprouts, oyster sauce, coriander.

Method:

1. Prepare your eggs. 2 eggs whisked with chopped shallots and chilli flakes.
2. Stir-fry pork mince with some oyster sauce. Remove from pan.
3. Stir-fry mushrooms, return pork to pan, add prawns, coriander and bean sprouts.
4. Into a separate pan, pour your egg mix and cook over medium heat until set.
5. Once crisping at the edges, turn out onto a plate, fill with pork and prawn mix.
6. Top with an extra serve of bean sprouts and coriander.

   

Simple and yum-o, I served with lettuce cups and stir-fried bok choy in hoisin sauce with sesame seeds.

 #2 European style brunch

Creating Sunday brunch for a group, I took the relatively simple option of freshly baked pastries and bread. From Chouqette, my favourite French boulangerie patisserie (New Farm), I loaded up on croissants, pains au raisin, a sourdough baguette and a walnut and raisin loaf.  Served with leg ham, a sharp cheddar, jarlsberg and a variety of condiments – orange marmalade, kaya butter (Singaporean specialty coconut spread picked up on our honeymoon), strawberry jam and almond butter – along with a fruit salad, Greek yoghurt, nespresso coffee and fresh juice, we had a delicious feast.

#3 Asparagus and pea risotto with hot smoked salmon

With Mum and Dad in town, I was tasked with catering for a small crowd mid-week. I chose a simple pea and asparagus risotto topped with hot smoked salmon. With the help of my trusty walnut, pear and parmesan side salad and a crisp, dry white wine, we were in business for a lovely hump day meal.

The risotto was a Martha Stewart recipe that I followed for quantities, but to be honest it could easily be done without reference to a recipe. The following is said to serve 4, but I doubled it to serve 6 without many leftovers!

Ingredients: 6 cups vegetable stock, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 small onion, 1 cup arborio rice, ½ cup white wine, 1 bunch asparagus, 1 cup frozen peas, 1 lemon for zest and juice, flat-leaf parsley, parmesan cheese and 4 portions of hot smoked salmon.

Method:

1. Bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan.
2. Cook onion in small amount of olive oil until soft (around 6-7mins). Add rice, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add wine and stir until just evaporated.
3. Add ½ cup of stock and stir until almost absorbed. Repeat!! Continue until the rice is al dente, which should take around 20 minutes.
4. Add asparagus and any final stock. Once you’re happy with it, stir through peas.
5. Remove pan from the heat, stir in lemon zest, half of its juice, chopped parsley and ½ cup parmesan cheese. Season well with salt and pepper.
6. Place the lid on and allow to sit for a couple of minutes until it becomes lovely and creamy.
7. Top with flaked, hot smoked salmon and an extra grating of parmesan.
8. Enjoy!

 

The flavour combinations were simple and worked well. The risotto was creamy yet fresh on the palate. Give it a go!

Tasty Bites Around Town

#1 My Thai Kitchen (Milton)

This is our go-to Thai takeaway when we’re at my sister’s house in Paddington. Always tasty, the menu offers some deviation from the traditional favourites. Menu highlights include tempting morsels such as the “Delicious Man Salad” (Yum Guy): wok smoked chicken, lemongrass, papaya, tomato, cucumber and fresh herbs; and the deliciously fragrant “Siamese Fighting Fish”: steamed barramundi topped with tamarind, lemongrass and coriander sauce. We had a crowd and so were able to order a combinations of salads, stir-fries and curries.

If it’s a Thai takeaway kind of night you can’t really go wrong.

#2 Gramercy Espresso & Eats (Brisbane City, Wintergarden)

Fuelling for a day of shopping with my Mum and sister, we kicked off the expedition with a quick bite. Coffees all round, a fresh from the oven mixed berry muffin and some smashed avocado with labne on sourdough. This will become my new city breakfast/lunch staple, and comes highly recommended for the CBD workers among you.

Great for those times when you can’t face another food court!

#3 Locanda Osteria & Bar (M&A Lane, Fortitude Valley)

With the male contingent at the Red’s rugby game, I had the pleasure of spending the evening with my new mother-in-law and my own mother. In the mood for pasta, we headed to the relatively new Locanda Osteria & Bar.  The highlight was the perfect calamari fritti we shared to start. My trenette con pesto was simple and flavoursome, and although I didn’t sample, the gnocci with cured pork cheek, ordered by Jan, it looked hearty and delicious. My Mum’s choice of barramundi with radicchio and cavolo nero was cooked well but wasn’t groundbreaking. We opted for a simple panzanella salad on the side and a nice glass of sauvignon blanc.

My only bugbear was that the bread in the salad (resembling croutons) was slightly too crisp and perhaps hadn’t been given enough time soak up the olive oil and vinegar.

On the whole, however, the food and wine was pleasant and when combined with the vibrant atmosphere of this new precinct, I can only say that it was a Saturday evening well spent.

 #4 Mints (Rosalie Village)

When thinking of somewhere easy to pop out for dinner mid-week, Mints is always near the top of the list. The food is tasty, fresh and consistent. Adding its very reasonable prices into the equation, it’s always a winner.

We started with steaming, plump dim sim & salt and spice calamari.

The standout mains were the BBQ pork with noodle and wonton soup and the rice vermicelli salad bowl.

I hope you’ve had a delicious couple of weeks!

Bri xx