Cookie comfort

For those not in Hobart, the weather today was horrendous. It was cold, it was rainy, and it was so windy that I was convinced my windows were going to blow in and spray glass all over me. So I retreated to the kitchen for safety and made cookies because they are the best fix for glum, wintery (in Spring!) moods. 

Photo from Donna Hay's website*

I opted for white choc macadamia cookies because I'm a big fan of white chocolate. Too big, some may say. Donna Hay was my expert of choice and I used the recipe from her Chocolate book in the Simple Essentials range. I love that she considers chocolate to be a simple essential, alongside chicken and fruit. Definitely my kind of woman. 

The recipe isn't on her website, but there is one for coconut and white chocolate chip cookies (pictured) which I'm now wishing I'd made today because that's pretty much all my dreams in a biscuit. 

The only changes you need to make to the recipe above for white choc macadamia cookies is to swap the cup of coconut for a cup of chopped, raw and unsalted macadamias, and increase the white chocolate chips to 250g. If I was to make them again, I'd also halve the sugar because the finished product is very sweet.

*Alas, mine did not look this good and I did not want to put you off with shoddy looking cookies. 

Happy capsicum

So this isn't my usual style post but I just had to share this with you. 

It's a ridiculously happy capsicum. 

Nothing more needs to be said.

To see it in its original home... http://plixi.com/p/44712315

Café: Next Door

This week I had the pleasure of going to the Next Door café for the first time. My friend was a little late so I did some work on my laptop to pass the time and I felt I could easily return alone and get some serious work done there.

The quirky café is next door to Sush on Collins Street, and is owned by the same people - hence the name. Keeping with the door theme, the walls are covered from floor to ceiling in them. Every one is second-hand and a different size, shape and colour and I overheard that they got them from the tip-shop. It's odd but very cool.


Table water is served in 1L old glass Coca Cola bottles, and retro patterned glasses are provided to drink it out of. Jazz fills the space, punctuated by the at times loud rumblings of the coffee machine.

I was being indecisive about what to have (nothing new there), so the waiter suggested the green tea latte. Being adventurous, I said yes. It was very strange, although not necessarily in a bad way. It had the flavour of green tea and the texture of a latte but I do have to say that I'd probably prefer to have them in their normal, separate manifestations. The taste just wasn't quite to my liking but a bit of sugar did help with that. 

They also do food but as I didn't have any I'm not going to comment other than to say I liked the atmosphere so much that I will no doubt be back there soon and then I'll try something to eat. Highly recommend if you're the kind of person who likes to while a way and hour or two over your coffee. 



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Tantalising Thai

When I lived in London I was seriously addicted to Indian curries. It makes sense I suppose, London is home to the famous Brick Lane where curry house after curry house has a spruiker* stationed outside trying to entice you in to their restaurant instead of one of the other fifty. Since being back in Australia, I haven't had Indian once but another Asian cuisine seems to have taken its place: Thai. 

One of my best friends has been raving about a restaurant in Hobart's popular Salamanca Place for the past few months and last week we finally ended up going there together. Suwan is tucked away upstairs in the arcade near the delectable Norman and Dann chocolate shop. An unassuming sandwich board sign is the only thing on the street front to draw attention to Suwan, but it is well worth a visit.

Photo from Suwan's Facebook page

The restaurant is unpretentious, reasonably priced and serves up fantastic Thai food. I've now been there twice (both visits within one week) and couldn't bring myself to try something different the second time because the green curry was just so good. You can choose your meats or have prawns for an extra $2 and I asked for mild because apparently the hot is very hot.

Despite not being adventurous with my own meal, I did try my friends' and all of theirs were also very tasty. The pad thai is good and the cashew and beef stir fry was so good it almost made me forget I don't even like beef. Apart from the cheaper pad thai, each main is about $18. Rice is separate: $3.50 for jasmine and $4 for coconut (get the jasmine if you're having anything but a curry, if you are having curry definitely get the coconut - it is sensational).

The meals come out incredibly fast for how good they taste, and the service is good. Bottles of water are replaced as soon as there's less than a glassful left and they also offer BYO. Takeaway is also an option, and judging by the number of people coming in for it last night, it's a popular one. 

Another good place for Thai is on the other side of the river. Lime and Lemongrass in Bellerive Quay has been around for longer and I've been going there for years. They also do eat-in and takeaway. The food isn't quite as good as Suwan, but it is a few dollars cheaper. My family of five had it on Sunday and a hundred bucks got us a main each, a taste plate entree for 4 and a cheap bottle of wine from the shop down the road.

Lime and Lemongrass is more 'cute Thai' than Suwan: the rice comes out in a star shape, the menu is filled with sentences like "spicy & our with vegies" to describe their tom yum and yellow smiley faces label the popular choices.

I had the Thai peanut satay stir fry on the weekend and it was delicious. There were heaps of brightly coloured veggies, really nice chicken breast chunks and the sauce was so good I wanted more. There was also enough left over for a small lunch the next day and all that for $15.50. 

*I just discovered that the word spruik is Australian. Who knew. For those who've never heard it, here's the definition from the wonderful Wiktionary: 

(transitive, Australian) To promote a thing or idea to another person, in order that they buy the thing, or accept the idea

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Café: Sweet Envy

Oh dear. It's been more than a month since my last post! I would say I'm a slacker but instead I'm going to blame it on having far too much paid journalism and a thesis to write. Have to pay the bills and graduate and all that. 

Anyway, to make up for my absence there will be two posts in quick succession, both about wonderful places I have had the pleasure of eating at in the past few days. 

The first of these is Sweet Envy, a beautiful little patisserie that opened yesterday on North Hobart's restaurant strip. Thanks to my big sister for the heads-up, we managed to get there on the day of their big debut.

The spread of cupcakes, brownies, macarons and other delectable delights made my mouth water as soon as I went in. After taking much longer to decide than anyone else, I opted for the Raspberry Surprise cupcake. I didn't want to ask if there actually was a 'surprise' in it for fear of looking silly, but am pleased to say a raspberry baked in the centre of the cupcake took its deliciousness to another level. 

While not personally a big coffee drinker, many people are so I'll pass on my sister's verdict: good. Her discerning palate (she used to work for Nescafé in London) didn't seem overwhelmed but neither did it seem disappointed. 

The impressive wedding cake window display 

The decor is fantastic, with pastel-coloured rustic charm. It's the small details that make it, from the latterns hanging in the window, each with a cupcake inside to the wooden clothes pegs holding the handwritten name tags. There are a couple of nice wooden tables for dining in and service is personal and warm. 

Wedding cake magazines (who knew such a thing existed!) are piled on one of the tables for excited brides to be and those who need to be reading when they eat (I fall into the latter category). The window display was drawing curious looks from passers-by and at one stage a whole crowd of women had stopped for an admiring look. 

My sister says they have a website that tells you all about the fabulous people working there, but if they do Google mustn't like it because I cant find it anywhere. Will get back to you on that one. 

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Fondant fantasies

I've always been a little bit too scared to make a fondant because if they go wrong it's a massive failure. But recently they made them in a masterclass on Masterchef (amazing show!) and went through how to make them perfectly. So it was time to conquer it and I managed to do it! I love cooking achievements! There was no written recipe on the show but I wrote it down as they said what to do, and here is what I got. 


Chocolate fondant

Makes 6


200g dark chocolate
200g butter
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
150g flour


1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Melt chocolate and butter. 
3. Beat eggs and sugar in mixer until creamy and foamy.
4. Sift flour. 
5. Pour egg mix over chocolate mix in bowl, fold through.
6. Add flour gradually and mix in. 
7. Butter the moulds, then dust with cocoa powder, putting a circle of buttered baking paper on the bottom of each mould. 
8. Cook for 8* minutes. 


*They stressed 8 minutes on the show, but mine needed a bit longer as they were barely cooked on the outside by that time. My advice is to give one of the moulds a little shake. If it wobbles like jelly put it back in, but if it just wobbles a bit then it should be about right. 

Soup to save the soul

This post begins with a short whinge. I'm sick. My boyfriend is on the other side of the world, my parents have gone away for the week and there's no one to look after me. The only thing one can do in these situations is make chicken soup. It's easy, it's warming and it makes you feel a whole lot better. This particular soup is one I've made many times and have never bothered to stray from the recipe because it's so damn easy and it tastes fantastic. I've had it saved in a document called Recipes on my computer for years and had no recollection of where it came from. But just for you I have managed to hunt it down and the link is here if you wish to see the recipe at its original source, Nestlé's recipe page. Hope you like it as much as I do!


Creamy Chicken Sweet Corn Soup 

1 tbsp oil

1 onion, chopped
1 chicken fillet, diced
4 button mushrooms, sliced
310g can creamed corn
130g can corn kernals
2 cups water
1 tbsp chicken stock powder, or 1 cube
2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp soy sauce
3/4 evaporated milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 spring onions, sliced

1. Heat oil in pan, add onion, cook 2 minutes. Add chicken, cook 2 minutes. 
2. Add mushroom, corn and combined water and stock powder, cornflour and soy sauce. Stir until soup comes to boil, stir in evaporated milk and return to boil. 
3. Remove from heat, stir in beaten egg, and garnish with spring onion.

I also add black pepper and a sprinkle of parmesan on top, but that's because I'm a cheese whore - it's not necessary!

Afternoon tea at Nicole's

You may have noticed that my location has changed from London to Hobart, marking the end of my six month adventure. Having a proper afternoon tea was something I had to do before leaving London and while high tea at the Ritz would have been nice, the budget was getting a little tight.

While scouring the internet for somewhere good, my sister and I came across a feature article on Time Out recommending more than 20 of London's best afternoon teas for a range of budgets. After dismissing ones with descriptions including 'piles of toys are a nod to the younger clientèle' and ones that sounded more like a place for old men and cigarettes, we settled on Nicole's. Time Out nicely described it as 'every size-zero fashionista's dirty little secret'. 

Nicole's is a modern European restaurant located beneath the Nicole Farhi flagship store on New Bond Street. The menu offers four different afternoon teas, including a healthy option (pfft!), but we opted for the Miniature Afternoon Tea for £16.50. This gave us a delightful array of bite sized delicacies and a range of beautiful teas. The teas came first, and the blackberry and vanilla and the fresh mint were both refreshing and delicious (on a side note, once the tea was gone we put the mint leaves into our glasses of water - perfect way to finish the meal).

A short time after, six dishes arrived on the table bearing a range of savoury and sweet treats. The savouries were a selection of open sandwiches with tempting toppings of smoked salmon, crab with lemon preserve, prosciutto with grape and apple chutney, cucumber and creme fraiche, and egg mayonnaise with micro cress. 

All the toppings were tasty but my sister and I were both surprised that we enjoyed the cucumber and the egg the best. The sandwiches came on both white and wholemeal bread, which unfortunately served to highlight one of the negatives about our experience. When following a white sandwich with a wholemeal one, there was a stark difference between the freshness, with the brown tasting a day or two past its prime.

The sweet dishes looked delightful and tasted accordingly. On the menu were a cherry muffin, chocolate tart, summer fruit tart and orange madeleine, plus six macaroons in chocolate and vanilla. We were starting to struggle halfway through the desserts and ended up taking the macaroons with us.

The décor was nice but oddly overcrowded. The beautiful wooden floorboards held just one or two too many tables for the room and it spoiled the feel of it. But nice touches, including a wall of mirrors near the bar and beautiful handwash and moisturiser in the bathroom helped to compensate. We finished our visit with a trip upstairs to the beautiful but out-of-our-price-range store.


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Restaurant: The Refinery, London

The boyfriend and I went to The Refinery on the weekend for an impromptu dinner out after going to the Tate (I'm being very cultural in my last few London weeks!). The two things that struck me about this place were the décor and the menu - both very important as far as I'm concerned. The décor was stylishly rustic with a touch of quirky thrown in, such as the old claw-foot bath filled with fresh vegetables and tucked into a corner. There were nice touches everywhere, with deckchairs and funky orange stools outside, and candlesticks and flowers decorating the tables inside. The menu was one of those rare beauties whose offerings were almost all meals that made my mouth water just reading it. 

I had a bit of struggle deciding what to have, tossing up between the crispy duck and marinated noodle salad, chicken breast stuffed with mascarpone and wild mushrooms and wrapped in crispy pancetta, and the pea and goat's cheese risotto (my mouth is watering again just writing that...), but settled for the fish pie for something different. I was also very tempted to try one of the flatbread boards but neither of us had the appetite to warrant a starter. The pie was very cheesy - but that's never something I see as a problem - and the fish was flavoursome. The pie came on its own and I think it really needed a green salad with it just to balance out the heaviness a bit. Boyfriend had the beefburger which came with beer battered onion rings that looked good but tasted bad. Luckily he also had chips on the side and those tasted as good as they looked, although they were an extra £2.95 which seems a bit steep.
 

Service started off really well but wasn't so good at the end. It took about 15 minutes for the waiter to collect our plates, and that only happened after I'd asked for the bill and - after another wait - he'd returned to swipe my card. Prices were reasonable, the 12.5 per cent service charge was not so reasonable, especially after the wait we'd just had. Despite a not so good end to the meal, the food was good and the experience enjoyable overall.


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Super sandwiches

This week I ate the best sandwich of my life. Big statement and not one I'm making lightly. Like a lot things, I tend to be a bit phasey* about sandwiches; for weeks I'll love them and then for the next few months I have no urge to eat one. Before this particular sandwich I was in a definite 'I don't feel like eating sandwiches' phase and when my friend said that she wanted one for lunch I have to admit I groaned inwardly. But, keeping my mouth shut, I followed her to Birley Sandwiches, where even seeing the array of tempting focaccias and fillings couldn't change my mind. 

Thankfully, the salami and brie pita that I ordered soon did. It was amazing. As well as the meat and cheese, it had rocket, tomato and - the ingredient that took it from 4 stars to 5 - fresh home-made green pesto. Now I have no way of knowing that the pesto didn't come out of a jar, but it certainly didn't look or taste like it did. If I have any complaints it would be that there wasn't enough brie, but there was loads of salami to compensate. My two friends gave equally glowing reviews of their sandwiches and an accompanying yoghurt (which looked very tasty). Birley's can be found in 8 locations around London, but I ate at the Paternoster Square store which had a lovely view of the square and St Paul's Cathedral.   

*I have a tendency to make up words and while I cant use them in my paid journalism, I'm going to let them flow freely in my blog. 

Polenta adventure

Despite having eaten it on the odd occasion, I've never cooked with polenta. Tonight I was making chicken satay skewers and while perusing a cookbook for something to accompany them I found a recipe for soft polenta with mushrooms and rocket. Unfortunately Sainsburys didn't have the instant polenta that the recipe called for so I had to go with their only option, a ready-made block. While I don't usually like straying from a recipe the first time I'm making it, the block seemed like an easier choice than the mash-like polenta in the recipe. Instead of having the polenta soft, it was simple to slice the block into fingers and fry them. Then once they were on the plate, I topped them with cooked mushrooms and garlic, parmesan and rocket. Very tasty. 


Polenta with mushrooms and rocket
500g ready-made polenta
6 mushrooms, thinly sliced (a variety tastes best)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
olive oil
big handful of rocket
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
black pepper 


1. Cut polenta into finger width strips.
2. Heat oil in a large pan on medium heat, add polenta on one side and the mushrooms and garlic on the other.
3. Cook polenta for about 3 minutes each side or until crispy on the outside, and mushrooms and garlic until soft.
4. Arrange polenta on plate, top with grated parmesan, mushrooms, rocket and pepper.

(Sorry about the lack of photo... I was so hungry that I forgot to take one before I ate it!)

Restaurant reminiscing

I've lived in London since the start of the year, but in a few weeks I'll be returning to my hometown of Hobart, Tasmania. While there are more than a few things that I will miss once I've left the big smoke, there are a handful of places back home that are making me feel like an excited child in the lead up to Christmas. Naturally, they're all to do with food.

Here's my list of Hobart's best places for food:

Vanidol's

Vanidol's does Asian and it does it very, very well. It specialises in Thai, Indonesian and Indian food and is very reasonably priced for the quality of the food. My favourite dish is Gai Pad King (chicken stir-fry with fresh ginger and vegetables), but surpassing the individual dishes are the banquets. They're amazing. There's two options, priced at $38 and $45 per person with a minimum of four diners. I've had the more expensive one thanks to an uncle's birthday dinner and I can definitely say it was well worth the cost. It included four courses with multiple dishes with each course, from soup to spring rolls to a startling array of main dishes. I had to leave before dessert (at that point I don't think I could have fit it in anyway) but my mother being the woman she is doggy bagged it and I had it the next day. Dessert was a Snowball - coconut and ice creamy goodness - covered in chocolate sauce and even the next day it tasted incredible. I recommend booking, it's always really busy, or they also do takeaways if you prefer to enjoy the deliciousness in the comfort of your own home. 

Mezethes

Mezethes was somewhere that I had been intending to try for ages and took forever to get around to it. I finally went in my last few weeks at home and instantly fell in love and have since spent five months wishing I wasn't on the other side of the world from it. Mezethes is a Greek taverna in Hobart's famous Salamanca market area, with nice atmosphere and fantastic food. I had lamb cutlets and, coming from someone who isn't a big meat eater, it was one of the best meals I've had. The meat was so tasty and practically melted in my mouth. I can't wait to go back and try something else...although knowing me I'll probably end up having the lamb again. You can also get takeaways for lunch and apparently they do good breakfasts. 

Cargo 
Cargo Bar and Pizza Lounge is relatively new on the scene, arriving on the Salamanca stretch a couple of years ago. As the name suggests, it specialises in tasty pizzas and comfy couches and is the place to go for after work dinner and drinks with friends. The décor is stylish without being pretentious and the pizzas use simple and fresh ingredients to good effect. I'm yet to have a bad pizza there and I can assure you I've tried a few, including the amazing dessert pizzas. There's a long cocktail list and other mains available if pizza doesn't take your fancy. They also have pizza and a nice array of ice cream flavours to take away.  

Sush

Sush is the chosen destination of many hungry city workers at lunchtime. They do big handrolls of sushi, perfect for grabbing quickly and eating in or taking back to the desk. London doesn't do sushi the way Australia does and I've seriously missed being able to get my fix. Sush's handrolls are hearty - they're packed to the brim with rice and fillings. My favourites are sundried tomato and cashew nut, prawn, and smoked salmon and cream cheese. You can eat in or takeaway from the shop, or you can order it by the box online.

Breadd

You haven't had a real salad roll until you've had one from Breadd. When you walk into the tiny city centre shop you're hit with the amazing aroma of baking bread - and the taste of it is even better than the smell. The Turkish pides come in a range of flavours, such as chilli, wholemeal and (my favourite) herb and garlic. They're usually still warm when you get them and the spread of homemade dips and fresh salads to fill them with provides something for everyone. You can also buy a bag of rolls to take home and they make any old sandwich taste like something special. As well as the rolls, Breadd does great soups, hot drinks and various muffins, pastries and cookies. The city shop has no seating so if you want to eat Breadd instore you have to head out to their Kingston shop, which is a lovely place to eat and read the paper with the delicious aroma in the air.

 

Salad Bowl

Salad Bowl in South Hobart is my favourite place for food shopping. They have beautiful in-season fruits and veggies, freshly baked bread in a variety of shapes and sizes, a great range of meats and deli products (including amazing homemade dips) and heaps of Tasmanian specialties, like Valhalla ice cream. They also have ready made meals, including salads and curries, a divine bakery section and plenty of good wine. Shopping there is so calm compared to the supermarkets, and in Australia's supermarket duopoly it's nice to support a small store. If there's more than one person lined up, an assistant seems to appear from nowhere to serve you and they're always friendly. As someone who spent five years working casually at one of the big supermarkets, I can safely say that it would have much more pleasant in this place. Ah well, at least I get to shop there now!

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Good news!

So apart from the fact that I now have a food blog, the other good news is that I have succeeded in making my boyfriend like risotto. He's on what you might call a food discovery. Being brave one night he'd tried a risotto at a restaurant, and after finding it terrible formed the opinion that he didn't like them. But after the first bite of last night's chorizo and mushroom risotto he was a convert. This is very good news as I have become somewhat in love with risottos and find them the perfect comfort food, especially in winter, and I enjoy the therapeutic process of cooking them. I was a little bit worried, partly because I made the recipe up (using the now memorised Jamie Oliver basic risotto) and partly because I'm slightly poor and bought cheap ingredients. But I'm pleased to report that you can make a delicious risotto for £6.38, including the wine. I was rather impressed with my budgeting prowess. 

Here's the recipe if you feel like a cheap and tasty risotto. I made it for two people.


Chorizo and Mushroom Risotto

1 Spanish (red) onion, diced

4 mushrooms, sliced

100g chorizo, cut into strips

1 cup arborio rice

1/2 cup of dry white wine

500ml chicken stock

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

olive oil

knob of butter

1. Heat oil in saucepan on low to medium heat. Add onion, cook until soft but not brown. 

2. In a separate saucepan, bring stock to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. 

3. Add rice to onion, cook for a few minutes until translucent. Pour in wine, stir until it's soaked into the rice. Then add a ladle of stock and keep stirring.

4. Once each ladle of stock is soaked in, add another and continue process until all stock is gone. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked make more stock or just boil a kettle of water and pour a little in a time.  

5. Meanwhile, cook mushrooms and chorizo in a pan over medium heat. The fat from the sausage will provide enough oil to cook the mushrooms in. 

6. Once the risotto, mushrooms and chorizo are all cooked, add the sausage and veg to the rice and stir through with the parmesan and butter. Let the risotto rest for a minute, if it's too stodgy add a little water and stir. 

Eat!