Whats On My Kitchen Bench....

Asian style Brocolli...

Cut Brocolli into small segments, cut up an onion, crush a clove of Garlic
soak and chop up some dried mild Chilli, and thinly slice some Ginger.

Stir fry the onion, add the Garlic and Chilli...
add the Brocolli and some soaked dried Shitaki Mushrooms and Black Fungus.
Add a dash of Chinese Rice Wine, some Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce and Sesame seed oil...
The juice of half a Lime and just a little honey for balance.

Soak some Bean noodles and bring to the boil...drain and serve with the veggies

Pizza...From Scratch

Last night I made some Pizza dough....
simple enough recipe...
(the secret ingredient is a mashed potato)

for lunch I made a Pizza with thin slices of Tomato, Salami, Black Olives,
Cheese and Pesto dotted around a bit.
I prefer Pizza that has just a scattering of topping.

Cooked for about 20 min in a hot oven...
crunchy and delicious.

Brunch...

Eggs and Bacon with Rosemary, and Toast with Hommos

With Coffee...I'm in heaven.

Chicken Penang Curry...

Or what I had for dinner...

Grind Star Anise, Coriander and Cumin seeds in a mortar and pestle.

Add Ginger, Galangal, Shallot, Garlic, Lemongrass and Lime peel...
and continue to grind to a paste

Add dried  Red Chillies which have been soaked in warm water.

And continue to pound it to a paste.

Add Shrimp Paste and Coriander Root...
and keep on pounding until you have a paste consistency.

Bring some Coconut Cream to the boil and cook the paste of in that.
Add some Lime juice and a bit of water if it's too thick...
also add a teaspoon of sugar to balance the flavour.

Add Chicken Breast cubes and simmer until cooked...
serve with Basil , Coriander and Rice.
Delicious.

What's On My Kitchen Bench...

After all the inspiration of cooking Vietnamese last night
I've come home with lots of fun ingredients to try out

Young Ginger and Galangal, Lemongrass, Garlic Chives, Bitter Gourd.

Coriander, Zucchini Flowers and Heirloom Tomatoes.

Shallots and Figs.

Baby Calamari.

Pork Spare Ribs and a Black Bream.

Cooking Vietnamese Style....

Last night I went to dinner with friends and
watched as Tree made Crunchy Mackerel and Tofu with Garlic Chives

Soaking a bunch of Garlic Chives in the sink...when they're clean,
pick over and remove the ends and any leaves that are a bit dry or withered.

Cut them into 2inch lengths and set aside.

Cut up a block of Tofu into slices and then again into squares.

Heat up oil in a pan and gently fry the Tofu
shaking the pan to stop them sticking...being careful not to break them up.

Add the Garlic Chives and let them wilt down a bit...
toss over a little Fish Sauce and it's done.

Take the cleaned Mackerel and marinate in Fish Sauce for 10 minutes...
then pat dry .

Deep Fry a couple of the fish at a time until crunchy,
then drain on kitchen paper

They'll look something like this.

Serve with rice...delicious.
We also had caramelised Pork Spare Ribs and Bitter Mellon and Egg.

I didn't take photos ...so perhaps I'll have a go at making some myself
and posting about that.

Autumn Lunch At Malmsbury Mill....

The Autumn colour was just stunning...

The restaurant is part of an old flour mill.

The view from the dining room.

We sat at the little round table...and had the place to ourselves.

Looking out the window.

We started with antipasto.

And had Lamb Kebabs with salad and Yogurt dressing

A Lovely lunch.

Zucchero - Guantanamera ...Just For Fun...

Get Your Dance Groove On!!!

What's On My Coffee Table....

Dried Leucadendron...just lovely.

Squid... With Squid Ink Pasta...

I've been looking at cooking shows this afternoon...and It's inspired this dish..
simple, economical and delicious.

Crushed Garlic, Capers, Anchovy, Parsley and dried Thai  Chilly...
which has been soaked in warm water.
And some Lemon Juice.

Simply slice the Squid into rings, and cut the tentacles up as well.

Heat some oil in a fry pan...quickly fry the Squid, add the chopped Garlic etc.
Cook the pasta at the same time, and toss through some black olives too.
Season to taste.

And enjoy all that delicious flavour!
I grated some Parmigano on mine.

Neli Coffee...

On the weekend Dad took me to his favourite coffee roasterie/cafe...

Everyone was lovely....and the coffee was good too.

They had lots of bits and pieces for sale...that would suit any coffee lover.

And a great sandwich board out the front.