Meal to Share: Outdoors

I think it’s safe to say that I’m not an outdoorsy person. Hiking (or tramping, as NZers call it) and camping passed me by entirely in my childhood and adulthood. The only time I’ve ever properly camped somewhere in a tent without toilets and running water, was during our trip to Africa, and that was only two nights – the rest of the time we were at camping grounds with hot showers (thank goodness). Even with that, I was SO HAPPY at the end when we stayed in a swanky hotel with a bed! And privacy! And air conditioning! The truth is: I’m a bit of a princess. I like dresses and heels and makeup and regular hot showers. Okay, so maybe I’m quite the princess. 😀


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Station Hotel

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I must be getting old(er) because I’ve become a big fan of going out for lunch in the weekend, rather than dinner.

Why? Well, some positives: Lunch is more relaxed. Plus there’s more light in restaurants, which means it’s easier to take photos – always important to a food blogger. It’s nice being home in the evenings, particularly when the weather is shit, as it has been this year. And in addition, lunch tends to be a bit cheaper and some restaurants do lunch specials (oh joy!).

But there are negatives: I can’t eat as much at lunch time. And having a big lunch means I skip dinner. (Although maybe I should put this in the positives column?)

Speaking of big lunches, we recently caught up with Maria and Daz for lunch at the Station Hotel. The Station Hotel in Footscray is in a building that was built in 1864, and was reinvented a few years ago as a gastro pub. Food wise, there’s an emphasis on steak, pub food, and food with French influences.
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The Premises

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I love a leisurely weekend cafe brunch, but I have quite specific brunch desires when it comes to eating out – the café must have interesting sounding savoury options. I don’t want to eat somewhere that just does eggs and toast and muesli. I can eat that at home!

Alastair and I were down in Kensington Village the other weekend, and there appears to be a couple of new cafes that have opened up. We had breakfast at The Premises, located on the corner of Bellair Street and Macaulay Road. If you’re familiar with the Village, it’s the funny L shaped shop that has an entrance on both streets.
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International Incident Salt Party

Let’s talk about salt. Too much of it, and food is inedible. Too little of it, and food tastes so bland it may as well be inedible! Too much salt in our diets leads to health problems, and yet we require a small amount of salt to live. Not only do we use salt in seasoning food, but it’s also one of the oldest ways of preserving food, and a lot of salt is used in industrial uses, such as manufacturing soap and detergents, and in the production of paper.

International Incident Salt Party

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Pocky/Pejoy series: Mango Mousse Pocky

It’s time for another flavour in the Pocky/Pejoy series!

This time we have Mango Mousse Pocky. Whats the difference between mousse Pocky and normal Pocky? I’m not 100% sure, but it seems that the mousse sticks have a thicker cream coating around the biscuit stick.

Like other Pocky flavours, inside the packet were two 24g foil packages. When I opened one, there was a very strong mango candy fragrance.
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Asparagus and gruyere tart

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Cookbook Challenge: Week 52
Theme: Outdoors
Recipe: Asparagus and gruyere tart
From: AWW Kitchen

Recipe 2: Onion Foccacia
From: AWW Bake

It’s the last week of the Cookbook Challenge! I can’t believe that April, Kat, Shellie and I started it a year ago. 52 themes later, one post and at least one recipe each week, this is the LAST ONE. Amazing! It was a big effort, and I’m quite pleased that I made it right through to the end. 🙂 There will be another one next year, but it’ll be fortnightly, which should be easier to keep up with. More details to come, if anyone is interested in joining!
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Pocky/Pejoy series: Strawberry and Vanilla Pejoy

Regular readers might remember a post earlier this year about Pocky/Pejoy. Well… after that one post, I haven’t posted any more on the different flavours that Bro brought back from China/HK for me! I’ve been eating them (and purchasing more flavours) – it just hasn’t translated into blog posts. Tsk tsk.

I’m determined to get through them. Take this as my November resolution!
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Cookbook Challenge: Week 51, Creamy

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Recipe: Green tea ice cream
Adapted from: Darina Allen’s Ballymaloe Cookery Course

Wow, it’s the second to last week of the Cookbook Challenge! The theme for this week is “creamy” and guess what? I made something this week!

Long time readers might remember my takoyaki post from last year. I never mentioned it on the blog, but Bro bought me a takoyaki pan for my birthday! Aww!

I invited Kat and April over as an excuse to use my takoyaki pan again and I thought I would tie my Cookbook Challenge theme in and make green tea ice cream. I don’t have an ice cream maker (I don’t have the freezer space for one, otherwise I would BE SO THERE) so when I saw that the recipe in the Ballymaloe Cookery Course doesn’t need further whisking during the freezing period, I figured it was worth a shot. Instead of making a custard like other ice creams, this ice cream is made with an Italian egg mousse base that’s folded into whipped cream. Then it goes into the freezer – and that’s it!
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