A Few of My Favourite Things !

We checked out the renovated Westfield Shopping Centre in Doncaster on the weekend & purchased some fruit & veg from the new shop next to Coles. While browsing the aisles, we came across a fruit that resembled a large green mangosteen. Unable to identify the fruit from their price signs, A. asked one of the stockers what kind of fruit this was & the reply was “It’s a custard apple”.

A: “I don’t think this is a custard apple”
Reply: “Yes, it is”
A: “No, it’s not”
Reply: “Yes, it is”
A (slightly exasperated): “No mate, I know what a custard apple looks like”
Reply: “Where did you get it from? Over there? Okay, it’s not a custard apple”

An older lady then approached the same guy and pointed to another fruit asking what that was & the reply she received was that it was a custard apple. A. was still standing there so he said “That’s not a custard apple either”

Reply: “Yes it is”
A: “No it’s not”
Reply: “Yes it is”
A: “No it’s not, that’s a dragonfruit. THAT (pointing to the real thing) is a custard apple”
Reply: “Are you sure?”

Seeing as Neil has so eloquently described the bloggers dinner at Jamon Sushi, I thought that I would simply add some photos of the food we had that night. The only other thing that I will say is that A. loves the passion that Charles demonstrates and that I wish I had been able to stay for the soba course.

My time used to be my own. I could do (or not do) what I pleased, pretty much whenever I wanted. Now, my time belongs to EJ. My life is regulated by his feeding, playing and sleeping times and each long day stretches out like a road towards a horizon that I can never reach. I still find my release in baking although, for the time being, I am limited to cake mixes and quick & easy recipes. No Daring Bakers feats are possible just right now but maybe one day, one day in the near future, I will again be able to try something a little more complicated.

This easy-bake slice, modified from Best Recipes, is a cut above the rest with its chocolate-flavoured coconut topping and my substitution of raspberry with loganberry jam. It reminded me of a shortcakey lamington and everyone loves a lamington, right?

I made these after putting EJ to bed for the night, the plan being to take them with me for a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) meeting the following day. I woke up, got EJ and myself ready to head out, went into the kitchen to pick up the slice…but where had it gone? I looked everywhere around the kitchen, including the oven and fridge, thinking that my preggo brain had not fully recovered yet but could not locate it. On my way, I texted A. asking whether he had seen the slice anywhere - “oh, you didn’t put it on the kitchen bench for me to take into the office?” (sigh!) At least the office team enjoyed it…

Make these but put them in a safe spot:

Base:

125g butter
125g sugar
250g S.R. flour
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

* Cream butter & sugar, then add other ingredients and mix into stiff dough. Press into cake tin.
* Cover base with a layer of loganberry jam

Top:

1 cup shredded coconut
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbs cocoa

* Mix well & spread over jam layer
* Bake slice at 180C for 15-20 min

Wow, I was at Prahran Market on the weekend and heard some fantastic news from the owner of my favourite chocolate store - Monsieur Truffe.

Thibaullt’s stall in the centre of the fruit & veg section is oft-visited and much-lauded by bloggers. The great news for all Monsieur Truffe fans (and for those who have yet to try his truffles - what are you waiting for?) is that a Monsieur Truffe store will be opening on Smith Street in Collingwood. He has started advertising for staff on his blog and the opening is expected to take place sometime in August. The store will stock all the current favourites but will also double as a cafe that serves pastries and host chocolate & wine tasting evenings.

Another chocolate store also opened five weeks ago on Toorak Road near the corner of Chapel St - Ganache Chocolate. It’s reminiscent of Koko Black in its decor and has similar chocolate blocks studded with various fruit & nuts. We didn’t try any chocolates but did pick up a pan au chocolat to go. Their pastries are made by the chef from Le Petit Gateau on Lt Collins St and this version has a raspberry puree smear under the chocolate. Pretty good.

Update: According to Ed’s “Ed lines” in the Herald Sun (29 April 2008), Arno Backes is the man behind Ganache Chocolates - no wonder the similarity to Koko Black then given that he was the second master chocolatier there…

Disappointed to miss out on yet another blogger meet-up , I ensured that our weekend included a food-related adventure by dragging A away from a Saturday sleep-in to the Docklands Farmers Market at the Waterfront City Piazza, Docklands.

Apparently the opening, held last week, was pretty disastrous due to the windy weather but even the pleasant morning we had on Saturday didn’t attract a larger crowd. The market was so well attended that there could have been tumbleweed rolling across the concourse!

I have not seen most of these stalls at the other markets around Melbourne before. We discovered one that sold the most delicious lamingtons - traditional and a passionfruit.

We also picked up some ingredients for dinner. A. cooked the King Island steak to perfection while I made a salad of rocket, white peaches, prosciutto and Berrys Creek Oak Blue cheese.

We also picked up bread from two different stalls - Amici and Matisse - and an amazingly moist and tasty carrot cake.

Well, this market doesn’t appear to have reached the radars of Dockland residents yet but hopefully it soon will. It’s great to have a farmers market in the city area although, in my opinion, locating it in Southbank would guarantee more success.

Thanks for all your well wishes! EJ, A & I are all doing well (despite the lack of sleep) and are settling into this new phase in our lives.

I haven’t had much of a chance to cook or bake - for obvious reasons - but my darling mother has been keeping us fed with some delicious and nutritious meals. Food that I haven’t had since getting married and moving out! I wish I had taken photos to show you but there hasn’t even been time to do that!

We moved just prior to EJ’s birth so I thought I would share a snapshot of life outside our apartment

Right on term at 38 weeks, EJ arrived on the morning of Tuesday 19 February weighing 6lb5oz. We are blissfully enjoying his presence despite the interrupted sleep - I just can’t take my eyes off him!

On our way home from Bright a couple of weekends ago, we stopped at Seymour to fill up. As we were finishing up at the service station, a ute laden with fresh farm produce pulled up next to us. How could we resist the temptation of purchasing the just-picked fruit that was on its way to the market?

We bought peaches, nectarines, plums, grapes…then A. spotted the green & black figs in a corner. The farmer told him that the figs would be a little more expensive than the stone fruit - $6.00/kg. What with places around Melbourne CBD sell figs at $20-25/kg, this is a bargain!

My search for a fresh fig recipe led me to a Brigitte Hafner recipe which I would love to submit for the The Mini Pie Revolution, however having misplaced the cable for downloading photos from my camera I am late, late, late for this event.

I’ll share the photos and recipe with you anyway. The pies, baked in mini tart pans, look and taste great especially with a dollop of King Island cream (or the vanilla bean yoghurt for those watching their waist) or good vanilla icecream.

Pastry:

100g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
70g almond meal
200g plain flour
pinch of salt

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add the egg and yolk. Mix well.
2. Incorporate almond meal, flour and salt to form a dough. Gently knead to form a smooth ball but be careful not to overwork the dough.
3. Divide into 4 portions, wrap and refrigerate for 30 min
4. Roll out each portoin of dough to 5mm thickness and line the bottom of the tart tin. Prick the base and freeze for 30 min
5. Blind bake for 12-15 min at 180C, then cool

Filling:

1.5 cups cream
zest of 1/4 orange
1 bay leaf
1 egg

1. Bring the first 3 ingredientsto a boil then simmer for 5min until reduced by 1/2
2. Remove from heat and add 2 tbs brown sugar. Allow to cool.
3. Whisk in 1 large egg.

Tart:

1. Line the pastry base with fresh figs.
2. Pour over cream mixture
3. Bake for 25 min at 175C
4. Cool and serve!

Ever since I saw these Horlicks cookies here, I’ve been dying to make them. With Chinese New Year coming up and it being the Year of the Rat, I decided to go with a modified look to suit the theme.

Using Umbrella Cookies (also known as Pigs Ears cookies I am told) for the ears was a good idea in theory but much harder to put into practice as they didn’t want to stay on. I also tried using pink chocolate chips for the nose but they turned brown in the oven but the gel icing worked out well instead. I made a half batch of rat cookies then decided to be lazy and make normal ones with the rest of the batter!

Wishing you you very happy and prosperous year.

We don’t have a tradition of celebrating Shrove Tuesday or have an actual need to use up ingredients before Lent but as A. is an ardent lover of pancakes, I made some in honour of this day.

The pancake (yes, just a single one as he was rushing to a meeting) was served with some strawberries that we had picked up from a farmer was filling up at a Seymour service station at the same time and honey from the Milawa Mustard store.

PS- try not to acciddentally shake in too much bicarb soda or the batter will be bitter!