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| After all the inspiration of cooking Vietnamese last night I've come home with lots of fun ingredients to try out |
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| Young Ginger and Galangal, Lemongrass, Garlic Chives, Bitter Gourd. |
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| Coriander, Zucchini Flowers and Heirloom Tomatoes. |
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| Shallots and Figs. |
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| Baby Calamari. |
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| Pork Spare Ribs and a Black Bream. |
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| 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. |
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| Cut them into 2inch lengths and set aside. |
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| Cut up a block of Tofu into slices and then again into squares. |
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| 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. |
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| Add the Garlic Chives and let them wilt down a bit... toss over a little Fish Sauce and it's done. |
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| Take the cleaned Mackerel and marinate in Fish Sauce for 10 minutes... then pat dry . |
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| Deep Fry a couple of the fish at a time until crunchy, then drain on kitchen paper |
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| They'll look something like this. |
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| 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. |
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| The Autumn colour was just stunning... |
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| The restaurant is part of an old flour mill. |
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| The view from the dining room. |
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| We sat at the little round table...and had the place to ourselves. |
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| Looking out the window. |
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| We started with antipasto. |
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| And had Lamb Kebabs with salad and Yogurt dressing |
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| A Lovely lunch. |
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| I've been looking at cooking shows this afternoon...and It's inspired this dish.. simple, economical and delicious. |
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| Crushed Garlic, Capers, Anchovy, Parsley and dried Thai Chilly... which has been soaked in warm water. And some Lemon Juice. |
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| Simply slice the Squid into rings, and cut the tentacles up as well. |
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| 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. |
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| And enjoy all that delicious flavour! I grated some Parmigano on mine. |
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| On the weekend Dad took me to his favourite coffee roasterie/cafe... |
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| Everyone was lovely....and the coffee was good too. |
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| They had lots of bits and pieces for sale...that would suit any coffee lover. |
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| And a great sandwich board out the front. |
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This was taken in the 60's and how lovely did this lady look? (no make up....wow) My mum's going into high care tomorrow, and that's a lovely thing... but I'm thinking about what's gone before and who she was on the way to being who she is today. It's a big jumble of then and now... and really that's ok... you have to accept now and remember then... as usual it's "tension in the negative spaces"... Love You Mum. |
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On Saturday Marj and I visited the "butterfly lady" and I came away with an early birthday gift. A Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis... Such an exciting journey... the first flutter...this is when she was freshly hatched... you can see the remains of the chrysalis on the right. |
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| This is what the caterpillars look like.. .just beginning to attach, before becoming a chrysalis. |
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| The type of flowers favoured by the Monarch. |
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| The plant that hosts the caterpillars and chrysalis. |
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| More butterfly friendly plants... |
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| This is Amelie (as she has come to be known).. just before she hatched, you can see the markings of her wings so clearly through the wall of the chrysalis. |
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| Just freshly hatched... |
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| Drying her wings on some favoured flowers... |
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| Having a stretch. |
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| She gave me such a fright when having her first flutters she landed on my hand...bit of a shaky photo, me trying to concentrate and capture the moment. |
