Julesgourmond

I have been using my favourite kitchen gadget, my hand mixer a lot recently, and have found some excellent soup recipes. I made potato and leek soup on the weekend; it is a delicious simple soup that anyone can make. The recipe comes from a new cookbook (thanks Susan!) called Everyday in the Kitchen, by Michelle Curtis and Allan Campion.

POTATO AND LEEK SOUP
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 leeks, sliced
- 4 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 celery sticks, sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock
- Olive oil for cooking
- salt and pepper to taste
- Cream and fresh herbs to garnish, as desired.

METHOD
- In a large heavy-based pot, cook the onion, celery and leek in olive oil for 5-6 minutes.
- Add the potato and garlic, then cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring occassionally.
- Add stock until the vegetables are just covered, add some salt and pepper. Boil and then simmer (my pot was covered for most of it) for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Transfer the soup to another bowl, allow to cool slightly, then puree (I used a hand mixer, the recipe says a food processor). pass through a strainer if necessary.
- When ready to serve, transfer to a clean pot and bring to the boil, add further salt and pepper if desired. Serve in bowls with a dollop of cream and some fresh herbs.

No, Not Milo and Otis, the great cat and dog adventure film from the 90s, but Otis, a lovely cafe on Bridport St, Albert Park, that we went to visit on the weekend for brunch. This is a friendly cafe set in the busy cafe strip of Bridport St/Victoria Ave, which we have just recently discovered, thanks to our friends Steven and Renee. Last week, we went to Pagoda, on Victoria Ave, which was also very good - I recommend their hash stack with homemade tomato relish a side of smoked salmon. But Otis is even more special, and a place that we will go back to. I think that was most obvious because I kept on talking about it all day to my friends!

It seems to be the place to take young kids and prams, as it was packed with them, and yet the staff seemed very accommodating. Coffees arrived quickly, with my mochalatte an excellent brew (last week's coffee at Pagoda tasted slightly burnt :(  ) The menu is definitely above average and out-of-the-ordinary, and a quick squizz at the lunch and dessert menus made us want to stay longer... Eton mess, yum!

I decided that I had to have the apple crumble pancakes. The name was a bit of misnomer, I would have called them toffee apple pancakes, as inside the pancakes where real bits of apple and crunchy toffee like bits. They were served with maple syrup and some delicious macadamia nut butter. Heaven on a plate. Hubby chose the sweet potato, feta and pea fritters, served with smoked salmon and some rocket. His dish was equally as good and it made me want both!

The food did take a little longer than we are used to, about 20 minutes (ha!), but it wasn't too long and it was definitely worth the wait.

After our brunch, we went for a walk down the street and found some other places to try, such as the Albert Park Deli, which seemed to be the most popular, Dundas and Faussett and The Avenue.

I made these yesterday, in combination with a batch of traditional Anzac cookies. I think they were really yummy and super easy. I only made them with milk and dark choc chips, as I had run out of milk choc chips. I also didn't flatten them, so ended up with medium-sized thick cookies. The recipe is courtesy of the Taste website.

GIANT TRIPLE-CHOC CRUNCHY COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

125g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups self-raising flour
1 cup cornflakes
1 cup choc bits (use a combo of milk, white and dark)

I really don't have any food-related news or reviews as it is Passover at the moment and I am restricted in what I can eat! My favourite dish during passover is matzah with Hashahar H'aole chocolate spread, which you can buy from kosher stores. I only get to eat it once a year so I make sure to have it every morning for breakfast. Indulgent, I know!

I also love the Leiber's hot chocolate mix, but I couldn't find that this year, boo hoo...

I am missing rice and pasta the most. I forget how it forms such a significant part of my cooking. Tonight I made meatballs in a tomato and basil sauce with roasted vegies on the side. It would have been so yum with some wholemeal spaghetti as well... I guess i will just have to wait until after Thursday night., when passover is over. My in-laws are great and have had us over many times. We even got to have delicious kosher duck on Friday night, a once-a-year treat. I even enjoy my mother-in-law's gefilte fish, which go down very well with some chrain or horseradish. Yum.

How is everyone else coping?

I had lovely brunch again at Inkr7 last week - I chose one of the specials: Raisin toast with spiced ricotta, homemade  peach jam and pistachios. Yum!!!

Firstly, Happy Birthday Mortonhall :)

Secondly, apologies for the lack of blogging. i will let you know about my Sunday brunch last week, which was had at Each Peach, Lygon St, Brunswick St. Ian and I met up with two of my uni girlfriends and one of their boyfriends for a catch-up session. Each Peach is a tiny two-tabled cafe down from the more hip and happening strip of Lygon, which has Poached, Gingerlee and Small Block. It is definitely cute, with a teatowel collage display and odds and ends antiquey cutlery and crockery used. There is even a selection of homemade jams and preserves available for sale.

Table service is not available however, you pay for your food as you go, using the blackboard of specials as your guide. I chose the taleggio and mushroom piadina, as it was already 12.30 and I felt more like lunch food. Everyone else chose eggs and omelettes, which arrived in about 15 minutes. I waited and waited for mine, as they ate. Eventually it was revealed that they had forgotten my order! When it come (after half an hour), it was tasty, but the piadina was overly toasted almost to a point of being burnt. Ian found his scrambled eggs with chilli were a bit watery and lacking real flavour.

The coffee was the saving grace, it was well made.

So, we won't be back I don't think. Service was a bit slap-dash, and in a cafe with only two large tables, that isn't good enough.

Here is the article on brunch that I read whilst waiting for my food at Mitte (see previous post).

I have been to Small Block, Porgie and Mr Jones and Las Chicas, which were all excellent, but I have to agree that the longest wait was at Las Chicas. It is a great place to take out-of-towners, and their carrot and date loaf with pistachio ricotta is AMAZING.

After purchasing the 2009 Cheap Eats Guide, I was desperate to try out their breakfast pick of the year, Mitte,   on Michael St, North Fitzroy. Luckily my husband was happy to oblige, so off we trotted down St Georges Road. Mitte is a little off the beaten track, but definitely worth a look, once you can find it. It is tiny, so expect a wait for a table (we got lucky). The staff are run off their feet, and one was slightly absent-minded - our requested water never arrived. Ordering took longer than usual, but the food wait was quite quick - about 15 minutes. I read The Age's Sunday Brunch article whilst waiting!

I decided to get the chickpea bake, served with feta, two poached eggs,avocado and 2 slices of wholegrain toast.  For $17, it was great value. I was so full afterwards! Everything was well done. The chickpea bake was similar to one I make at home, mixed with tomatoes and red onions for extra flavour. The poachies were also perfect.

Ian had the smoked salmon with poached eggs, toast and apple and fennel salad. The thick slices of plentiful salmon sat next to the tart, refreshing salad; an unusual and intriguing combination. He did complain that he found the toast too hard to cut, but mine was fine... His serve was also huge, but don't worry, he finished it!

Our coffees were also excellent.

Here is Breakfast Out's review of Mitte for a comparison.

I made this for dinner tonight, it was great to have some extra time to make dinner due to the public holiday. I served this with some brown rice. The recipe is from last month's BBC Good Food Magazine.

STICKY SALMON WITH GREENS

INGREDIENTS
4 x 150g skinless salmon fillets
1/4 cup oyster sauce (I used vegetarian oyster sauce)
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp honey
3 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 garlic clove, finely sliced
1 red chilli, seeded, finely sliced
500g mixed green veg, e.g. bok choy, broccolini, sugar snap peas.

METHOD
- Preheat fan-forced oven to 180C
- Place salmon on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Combine sauces and honey, the drizzle half the sauce over the fish. Roast for 8-10 minutes or until glazed and just cooked.
- Heat oils in a wok. Add garlic, chilli and ginger for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add vegies and cook until tender (I had pre-blanched the broccolini).
- Serve salmon on some rice with the veggies. Drizzle with the remaining sauce.

Yay! Another fish recipe that works and tastes yum :)

I have been wanting to go to The Green Grocer (St Georges Rd, North Fitzroy) for years, after hearing really good reviews. I don't know what took me so long, probably the distance factor mostly. Finally, on Sunday, Ian and I had brunch at The Green Grocer and it was fantastic. Part organic foodstore, part cafe and part cooking class location, it really has something for everyone. You can find more information from their website.

We walked past an array of unusual veggies and got a table in the covered 'laneway' part of the cafe, as we gazed thru the window into the warm lounge-room feel of the interior. Service was quick although admittedly a bit rushed. The menu is full of interesting things, but I chose from the brunch page - the scrambled eggs  with smoked trout on a piece of brioche. The eggs were light and fluffy, the trout added some pizzazz and the brioche was charred decently. It all went very nicely with the fresh banana smoothie I ordered with it - no lumps, yay!

Ian chose the zucchini flower and corn cakes from the lunch menu. This was accompanied by some cured salmon and two different types of homemade mayonnaise. It looked like too much mayonnaise for a regular customer, but I forgot how much Ian loves his aioli! He devoured it quickly and then informed me that we would definitely be coming back. His decaf coffee was hot and strong, as desired.

I made this for dinner last night, using an amalgamation of different recipes.

Moroccan-style Barramundi
- 2 fillets of barramundi, cut in half
- lemon juice
- Chermoula spice (available from supermarkets or specialty stores)

Place pieces of fish on a baking tray. Squirt with some lemon juice and rub each piece with about 1/2 teaspoon of spice. Bake in the oven at 180C for about 15 minutes or until just cooked.

Roasted Vegetables
- Your choice of vegetables, diced and sliced. I chose a red onion, cut into wedges, zucchini, sweet potato and parsnip.
- Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of dukkah (available from speciality stores).
- Salt and pepper to taste

Arrange vegies on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with dukkah and salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 180C for 45 minutes or until well cooked and vegies are soft.

Served with cous-cous (as per packet instructions) and home-made tzatziki.

Tzatziki
- 1 tup of greek-style yoghurt.
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/2 a lebanese cucumber, cut into small dice.

Mix all together and serve next to barramundi.

I made this recipe earlier in the week, and it was really yum. I think it is a good low-GI, healthy option.  I served it with brown rice, it would also be good with a tablespoonful of greek yoghurt on the top to add some tartness and some calcium too.

The recipe comes from this month's BBC Good Food Magazine.

Chickpea, potato and Spinach Curry

Ingredients
-2 tbsp oil
- 1 large onion, halved, sliced
- 5c piece of ginger, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
- 2 x 400g chickpeas, drained, rinsed
- 400g baby potatoes, quartered (I used 2 x 'purple' sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, for a lower GI option)
- 200g baby spinach (I used thawed pack of spinach, as I had forgotten to buy fresh spinach!)
- 4 rounds naan bread to serve (I had brown rice).

Method
- Heat oil in a large saucepan. Cook onion, garlic and ginger for 5 mins until softened. Add garam masala and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add tomato, chickpeas, potato and 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until potato is tender and sauce has thickened.
- Stir in spinach and cook for another 1-2 mins until just wilted. Serve with naan bread or brown rice.

You can also make it with chicken by frying some chicken thigh fillet strips, omitting the chickpeas and add some chicken after water for last 10 mins of simmering time.

Crumbed Veal Chops and Cajun Sweet Potato Wedges

Veal Chops:
- Using a food processor, make some breadcrumbs using stale wholemeal bread.
- Mix in some seasoned salt to the breadcrumbs.
- Coat the chops in a beaten egg, then the crumbs. Roast in a 180C oven for about 25 minutes.

Sweet Potato wedges -
- Cut a sweet potato into wedges.
- Spray with olive oil and coat lightly with cajun seasoning.
- Cook in 180C oven for 30-40 minutes until cooked through and crunchy on the edges.

My low-GI take on a old favourite - chops and chips! Sweet potato wedges idea came from this month's BBC Good Food Magazine.

Here is a link for an article about Guillaume Brahimi's fundraising effort and the 'Share the Love' restaurant appeal, to raise money for the Bushfire Appeal on Valentine's Day.

See www.bushfires729.com.

A big shout out to Cobs Popcorn, my favourite snack of the moment - I love their semi-sweet, semi-salted flavour, it is so yum. Am I the only person who used to add salt and sugar to their microwave popcorn?

Here is a link to their website, which lists their suppliers. I have previously seen them at Boost Juice, Coles Balaclava and my cafe at work, Poplars Cafe! And there is an organic range.

I had the yummiest bircher muesli at Inkr 7 two weeks back - with apple pieces and nuts, in a large wide glass, done like a parfait with natural yoghurt and berries adorning the layers. Inkr7 said this was their specialty, and it was really, really good. Moreish but still quite healthy.

Where have you had good bircher muesli?

Wow, I didn't realise it had been so long between posts! Sorry!

Last week, Ian and I decided to try St Ali in South Melbourne again. It had probably been about a year since we were last there and we wanted to see if there had been any changes. We first stopped in at Chimmy's nearby, to see what their brunch was like, but the place was almost empty and their brunch menu looked uninspired.

St Ali seems to have expanded their space into the warehouse, with more space for tables and hessian coffee bags adorning one wall. They now have two coffee machines. Business must be doing very well - there was a queue for tables when we arrived. They have also changed their menu and added in some new dishes. I liked the look of the cinnamon sugar doughnuts with marscarpone coffee cream, but decided to be healthy this time and go for the breakfast platter.

The breakfast platter consists of one piece of fruit toast (yum), a bowl of natural muesli (a bit sandpapery), some labne, a teeny bowl of honey, some cardamom oranges (blecch. not for me) a piece of poached peach (good) and a tiny bottle of milk. The milk was the low-low fat kind, almost grey in colour and not very good with the muesli.

Ian had the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, a smoky chili relish and sourdough toast. Although on the whole it was tasty, the toast was way too tough, one of his pet peeves.

The service was slow and a bit all over the place, as we have had on previous occasions. They still need to work on that area...

We enjoyed our icy drinks - I had an ice coffee and Ian had an ice chocolate, both made using Jock's icecream in Albert Park. Yum!

We'll start from Sunday and work backwards, a little 'Benjamin Button' if you will...

Sunday

Hubby and I had another delicious brunch at Inkr7, Inkerman St, St Kilda. We had counted down the days until their summer holiday break was over, and finally we could go again for their yummo brunch. They have newly renovated their courtyard, which is cute, stylish and very relaxing to sit in. I enjoyed their poached eggs special with chickpea and courgette fritters, and a sweet chilli aioli. Ian had their smoked trout eggs, which were fabulous again. My mocha was also excellent.

Thursday

Thursday was my Dad's 60th birthday (happy birthday Dad) and my Mum and Dad were in Melbourne to celebrate. My sister and I took them to Harvey's, Murphy St, South Yarra, for a special brunch. I had never been there before, but had been lusting after their food for months after discovering their website. Harvey's is in a gorgeous converted cottage, and it does really feel like you are eating in someone's home. Service was very good, with the food arriving within an acceptable time.

I had the corn fritters with smoked salmon and sour cream. I do love my corn fritters, and these were excellent.


Thanks to my dad for sending me the photos.

My sister chose the truffle scrambled eggs with mushroom and spinach. I tasted it, it was yum. She said the mushrooms on the plate were her favourite part of the dish.



My mum had the ricotta hotcakes with caramellised banana and vanilla yoghurt - the yoghurt was freshly made with real vanilla beans. I know she enjoyed it, because she couldn't stop talking about it for the next day and wanted to back for more!


They were as good as they look in the photo.

My dad had the eggs florentine with a side serve of smoked salmon. For some reason, he forgot to take a photo of his own food!

Harvey's is very, very good, but a bit expensive for every day (or every weekend). It is a great place for a special occasion brunch.

Thursday dinner

For my Dad's birthday dinner, we went to Sails on the Bay, Elwood. Yes, I have been there many times before, and you can scroll back via my special occasion link to see my previous reviews. My sister and I decided on the steamed blue eye which was done asian-style with a mirin, sake and soy broth, shiitake mushrooms and and bokchoy. It was yum, although the greyish appearance of the fish made it not look very pretty. The pickled ginger on top was a great addition.

My Mum and my brother-in-law Joe had the porterhouse steak with a mustard glaze and kipfler potatoes, and Ian and my Dad had the ocean trout with creme fraiche and lemon zest on a bed of peas, artichokes and broad beans. We all shared chips and various salads with our mains, which were also great.

For dessert, each couple got the assiette for two people. This consisted of a long plate adorned with lemon & almond cake, coconut & lime sorbet, minted strawberry jelly, passionfruit & pineapple parfait, strawberry sorbet, lemon posset and white chocolate & cherry delice. For my Dad's plate, they even added a 'white chocolate sign' which said happy birthday, and gave him a candle to blow out. The dessert was delicious and the lemon posset was probably my favourite.

Sails has the gorgeous views and cool beachy decor, but the price of the food probably doesn't match its quality. For similar pricing and atmosphere, but better quality, Half Moon in Brighton is miles ahead.

Wednesday

On Wednesday night, I tried out the new-ish Kosher restaurant in town, Kimberley Grill, Inkerman Road, Caulfield with my in-laws, parents and my husband. Located in the Quest Kimberley, the grill utilises the same chef as the old Park Grill in the same space as the Kimberley buffet. The menu mostly consists of steak, schnitzels and chicken, with some pasta and salads thrown in for good measure. Prices are expensive, but not much more than a good steak house. 

The food and service is decent and much improved from the ol' Park Grill. I had their veal schnitzel, which came with chips and salad. The schnitzel was a little bit fatty and over-battered, but overall it tasted good. Ian's T-bone was also tasty; he did enjoy being able to eat meat whilst out at a restaurant. Their onion rings are a stand-out, a nice treat if you don't mind ignoring the oil left behind. I have also heard that their spring rolls are a good choice for a starter.

Monday

Monday was a quick dinner at Gurkha's, Chapel St, Prahran. My parents had just arrived back from the their cruise around New Zealand and were hoping for some yum Asian food. Gurkha's is Nepalese, so I guess it fit the bill! Their Gurkha's special was great, as per usual, even though we still don't know what is in it. I had a grilled chicken dish, but was only able to eat half of it due to a sore tummy. My Dad had their goat curry, which is one of their signature dishes, and my hubby had a mushroom dish.

Desperate for a brunch place between our house and Richmond (we were going to buy a couch), and finding both Treat and Bistro Thierry on Malvern Road closed, we settled on Cafe Latte. Also on Malvern Road, near the intersection with Williams Road, Cafe Latte is a cute little italian-inspired cafe with a short brunch menu.

I decided to have the omelette with mushrooms and tomato on ciabatta toast, which was simple but well-executed. My hubby's eggs florentine was good, but the hollandaise was slightly too acidic for his liking. Coffees were good and the service was fine.

So yes, it was decent, but not life-changing.

Yesterday was our first brunch of the new year, and we had to find somewhere that was open and near to our place, as we had a movie to go to early in the afternoon. We walked past a new cafe that seemed to have a few things going for it - cute wallpaper, outside courtyard, interesting egg-heavy menu...

But our hopes were soon dashed after we sat down at Eden Espresso, Glenferrie Road, Malvern. Maybe the multiple spelling mistakes on the blackboard and menu should have given it away. Or the almost empty glass cabinet. Or the slightly hyper waitress, who almost ran from one table to the other, attempting to give us a second set of cutlery (thanks, I only need one knife and fork).
 
What we would have liked would have been our drinks a bit sooner than 25 minutes after we had ordered them (and yes, we did have to remind them, and no, they weren't super busy). My mocha milkshake, which is supposed to be one of the specialities, was average. Then our food was given to us in stages, over 30 minutes after we arrived, by an overworked, underwashed chef.

My order 'The Greek' - a serve of two undercooked poached eggs, on two tiny pieces of olive toast, with spinach, feta and skordalia left me underwhelmed, and slightly depressed. The skordalia/feta mix was freezing cold, tasteless and almost inedible (I did leave 90% of it). Ian's eggs benedict with old-looking smoked salmon and older-looking rocket also received a fail mark. The muffins were so tough, they were like rock cakes.

So no, we won't be back. Even if they are suffering 'teething problems' as a new establishment, I don't think there was even a glimmer of hope for a promising future.

I give it 6 months.