100 cups of tea

We've now lived in our house for 100 cups of tea. 

We bought a tiny 2 bedroom unit in a group of 3. It failed on a few of our must haves,  but it had emotional value as we lived here as renters in 2008. It has felt like home since we unpacked the sofa. 

The tiny house seemed to grow to fit all most of our stuff. Our giant bookcase bed takes up the whole bedroom making it truly a room of bed. 

The second bedroom is basically a library with plans for a desk and sofa bed once we unpack the last boxes lurking in there. 

So changes and plans...

The Aussie Parentals installed an aircon in the room of bed, which has been amazing,  with the last 5 days above 40ºC and I've slept for >9 hours a night:)

We've put up a washing line, painted the gates, mowed the lawn, and planted the long suffering rosemary in the ground (this is house number 5 for the rosemary). 

What's next?

Shade cloth over the car? 

Mossie screens? 

Solar panels?

Fake grass out back? 

Dealing with the cockroaches that live in the cooker clock display? 

Or pulling off the random oil tank we've discovered stuck on the side of the house? 

Nah, time to buy a BBQ so we can have a house warming party. 

Crack a beer with friends, 

And enjoy having a place of our own... cockroaches and all. 

Chocolate cake with molten middle

My friend T is on a search for the ultimate chocolate cake with molten middle, This was my attempt at success...

I used a Chocolate Lava Cake recipe from Taste.com, by googling "lava cake recipe frozen mixture". My sister told me the recipe wasn't so important so long as you freeze the puddings before you cook them the centre will come out liquidy and gooey.

The other tip is not to cook them too long, I checked them after 8 minutes but after 12 they had actually risen above the  rim of the ramekin and had gone a little crispy on top which I think helped it to stay upright rather than to be a total squash when serving! If you overcook them they are still tasty you just loose the lava centre.

Whilst I enjoyed this recipe it turned out more like a souffle rather than a cake, It was delicious served with vanilla ice cream and that's really all I was going for. But the search is still on for the perfect gooey individual cake recipe.... if you have any suggestions be sure to let me know!

Birthday Afternoon Tea

I've sampled Afternoon tea in a fair few places but Buxton in the peak district is aparently famous for it so since it was my friend Dr G's birthday and my birthday hadn't long since past it was time to check it out.

Although it was late in the day they had no problems fixing up an Afternoon tea for us, They offered to split one between two if we wanted but we were there to spoil ourselves (and were planning to head out for birthday cocktails without any dinner) so we went for the one each option!

The pot of tea arrived before the food which is just the way it should be - The tea has time to brew so it can be enjoyed at the same time! The tea was in a nice large pot and Dr G managed to convince me to wait until it was properly brewed and the correct colour. whenever I make pots of tea the first cup is always too week as I'm too impatient to have tea NOW!

Wow! It makes me happy just looking at it! A Three Tier cake stand of Goodness! So, we have....

Tiny Sandwiches! and I mean tiny, I felt like a giant! We had the clasic cucumber sandwich, smoked salmon and a honey roast ham. Surprisingly the ham was the winner, the smokey flavour with the soft white bread was perfect!

We went for the Sultana Scone over Cherry (who has cherry scones? really?) The scones were big and fluffy, we could have used a little more clotted cream but probably because we are a bit gluttenous and like to pile it high on two sides of the scone.

We had a selection of four cakes: Victoria sponge, Bakewell tart, Gingerbread and some sort of Tiffin? (is that what it's called?) We really wern't hungry by this point but felt we must at least taste them, The Gingerbread was the stand out with cristallised ginger on top, mmmmm.

Turns out neither of us like almonds so the bakwell tart was abandoned on the plate. How lucky we hadn't gone to Bakewell which is just a short drive away! Ah well G we always knew we had similar tasts except for pineapples which I love and you hate!

Number 6 was a lovely Birthday treat and a great place for two old friends to gather for a LONG catch up, we didn't feel rushed and the service was attentive without hasseling us at all. We felt very welcome. The room is filled with teapots of all shapes and sizes and was warm and cosy on a cold-ish October day.

Number 6,
The Square,
Buxton
UK
Tel: 01298 213541
Website: http://www.no6tearooms.co.uk
Opening Hours: Monday to Firday 10am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am - 5pm

Poutine

This is the national dish of Canada.

This is Poutine

Poutine is chips topped with cheese curds (which are kinda squeeky)coated in a meaty gravy.

We had this poutine in Qubec City. The original home of poutine. In Canada you now get many different variaties, so far my favorite was Chicken with 2 types of cheese and gravy. the boy liked butter chicken poutine.

I could get to like this...

Aero

We stopped at Aero café on George St, Sydney, for Breakfast as we couldn't resist the $3.99 opening breakfast opening special

Two thick slices of buttered toast with smoky bacon and two poached eggs $3.99 opening special

Fantastic runny eggs (although they had been cooked with vinegar) exactly what we needed on a rainy morning in Sydney!

We are on our way out of the country for a little while so I'm not sure what the next post will be.

Mantra on King William

We have been aiming to head to Mantra on King William for years literally since it opened in 2007.

Tonight we are celebrating,

You enter mantra through an over-sized front door, it adds to the grandiose oldie world atmosphere created inside.

The dark wood antique tables are set with beautifully shining glassware calling out for wine.

The menu is a hand written backboard, beautiful handwriting. Unfortunately the Sous Vide Lamb Backstrap was unavailable.

We chose Patrocinio Zinio Tempranillo Graciano Doca Rioja from Spain ($44)

Herb bread with Oil - the oil contained seaweed, salty, moreish, perfectly matched with the rosemary flavored bread.

A wonderful Cauliflower velouté with green pea and chive garnishing, It was very creamy and had a nice Parmesan taste unfortunately the chive garnish was a little overpowering and detracted from the overall flavor

Red Braised Pork Hock with Roasted Green Lobster and crisp Hen's Egg ($36)
The boy had been considering the Sous Vide Lamb however that was unavailable he went the pork hock instead. The egg was poached then coated in polenta and fried. whilst the inside of the egg was still runny the polenta on the outside was very rough, not a favorite. The cucumber was a refreshing break to the fatty pork hock although with only 4 slices it hardly counted as a main ingredient. This dish is served with a stock poured over at the table, this was a nice touch and a very nice stock.

Grass Fed Fillet of Beef with Chevre filled Zucchini Flower and truffled potato puree ($35)
I ordered medium rare, perhaps I should have ordered rare as the beef was very tough. I loved the chevre filed zucchini flower I didn't realise the flower continued to be attached to the zucchini as it grew, the zucchini was really crunchy and the flavors contrasted well with the beef. The Truffled mash came across as quite nutty and was very creamy. The surprise delight was the little roasted potatoes at first I thought they were scallops (perhaps I had had too much wine) and was delighted how they added texture to the whole dish.

Steamed Broccoli with anchovy Cream ($9) and Roasted New Potatoes with Dijon Cream ($9)
The sides were a big disappointment.
The broccoli itself was delicious served in a little butter perfect the anchovy cream not so much.
The potatoes would have been much better on their own, the Dijon Cream coated the skin and didn't really add anything to the flavor, something was need to cut through the grease a light roast potato with herbs and sea salt would have been a much better match. Not even the tiny tongs could make these sides work.


The overall ambiance of Mantra has been well designed, The waitress was lovely and took time to discuss the menu with us. We went on a Wednesday night and there were 3 other tables booked. I believe there are some changes going on in the kitchen at the moment and hopefully things will pick up. We had a nice evening but ultimately the food did not live up to expectations and with so much tasty competition just down the road it's not worth the price


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Mantra on King William
36 King William Rd
GOODWOOD SA
Tel. 08 8377 7201
e-mail: ben.warren@mantraonkingwilliam.com

Opening Hours: Tue-Fri: Lunch & Dinner
Sat: Dinner
Sun: Breakfast

Piper Heidsieck

The boy brought home a bottle of Piper.

I LOVE Piper.

When I finished my University exams me and a great bunch of friends hung out on the Meadows and drank champagne. Piper Heidsieck works best with a Scottish accent!

Tonight we are celebrating,

The Boy is back in Town

Tapas Off

The most recent in a line-up of offs, (See Pie off, and Curry off) The Tapas Off was a roaring success, I think we have mastered the little bites of food and often for offs rather than large meals.

With 7 of us taking part there were many tasty morsels to be had, Starting with a Mezze plate (or is that more Turkish?) Slivers of melt in your mouth prosciutto, a crumbly mature Cheddar, olives, crusty bread, and Andrew had pickled Sardines which came out fantastic and octopus with not so much success!


L&T made stuffed mushrooms, My mum says "Life is too short to stuff mushrooms" Even if it takes a while theses were delish!


Andrew deep fried white bait, white bait are tasty but the tiny bones were a bit disconcerting, best when straight out of the hot oil.

The Boy made Empanadas, he even made the dough (pastry?) they actually turned out a little like Cornish pasties. very tasty.

Oh dear these were Bad. Andrew bought a Tapas book and this looked so strange we said he had to make them, Not sure what they were called but I believe the combination of dates, brandy, chili, and blue cheese wrapped in prosciutto, should never be touched again. disgusting.

Prawns wrapped in prosciutto a much better plan!

The Boy made Spicy meatballs cooked in a sofrito sauce. The meatballs had a hidden cheesy gooey centre. The boy did a practice run with these and did half with cheese and half without. once cooked you couldn't tell which were which and after my 4 for tea I had all non-cheese filled. For lunch and other 4 non-cheese filled. finally for lunch on day 2 I found a cheese filled one! delish. on the night they were all stuffed with cheese to avoid disappointment.

L&T cooked spicy chicken wings with a yogurt and turmeric oil dip (please correct me if I got that wrong) we all made a mess as we ate them. Really good.

L&T had slow roasted the Pork Belly on a bed of fennel at home and just warmed it up on the night, this was melt in the mouth succulent and juicy. I'm not usually a fan of pork belly because of how fatty it is, but the slow roasting had broken down the fat and just left beautiful meat.

Chris cooked up whole spicy paprika prawns, I believe there was a lot of butter involved in the cooking, really tasty prawn meat just waiting to pop out of their shells, I'm sure when I was up in Darwin someone showed me a trick to getting prawns out of the shell it was so easy and fast and simple and then i had a few more beers and now I can't remember it at all. Another messy dish!

Ah! my dish was a combination of 2 recipes. I was aiming for a frozen vodka gazpacho! I combined a frozen vodka tomato soup recipe and a gazpacho recipe and ended up with a savoury slushy that was really weird. A complete flop and not the palate cleanser I was aiming for!

Finally Karen russeled up a HUGE Paella, the special paella pan creates a crunch crust on the bottom as it cooks, I'd never seen paella made before, the main ingredients are sauted off in the pan and then the rice and stock are simmered together in the pan until the rice has absorbed all the stock. There are many rules about stiring to create the perfect cruncy bottom. Karens version was great but it was small portions all round as we had eaten quite a lot already!

Thanks guys for a fantastic evening, what shall the next off be?

The Stag, Rundle Street

Friday Late night shopping can really wear you out. We went looking for food on Rundle Street and decided to try The Stag I've had the cone of chips here before and loved the cone holder they bring to the table, It advertises itself as Adelaide's worst vegetarian restaurant, due to the quantity of meat on it's menu.

The boy went the Jucy Lucy ($20) at the recommendation of the girl behind the bar. The Jucy Lucy is a cheeseburger with the cheese inside the beef pattie.

I went the Chili Lime Chicken($26), Half a chicken marinated in Chili and Lime served with chips.

Unfortunately neither of us thought our food was great. The Jucy Lucy was really greasy, which I guess it to be expected but there was no salad or anything to cut the grease just bun-burger-bun. I was a little worried when I ordered the Chicken that it would be too big or too spicy, I asked the girl behind the bar if it was very spicy, her response of "I dunno" showed she couldn't care less. It arrived and was quite small and not spicy at all, it was a really sweet coating, and the flavour was only on the skin it hadn't made it into the meat at all, more like a glaze than a marinade.

I have to admit that the chicken was cooked well, nice, juicy and tender with a crispy skin. But very disappointing meal, afraid we won't be heading back.


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Kedgeree

When I first came to Adelaide I lived with the Boy and his parents., To say thank you for putting me up I decided to cook a Traditional Scottish tea, Kedgeree.

I love the Flavours, Colours and textures of Kedgeree, It’s a dish that when set on the table back home, you could promise we were wiping out the bowl at the end of the meal!

I headed up to the Fishmonger up in Blackwood and asked for Smoked Haddock, The Fishmonger looked at me as if I was insane and said “Ha-D-ock?” yes “Haddock!” “Ha-D-ock? No, Not heard of that one” I was flummoxed, I hadn’t been long in Australia and I hadn’t figured out, different hemisphere, different Fish! I bought some smoked cod that day and made not too bad a Kedgeree (nowhere near as good as Mum’s obviously) The boys Parents were delighted.


Could hardly believe my eyes when earlier last week I was passing Fish out of Water on King William Rd and saw Smoked Haddock, from the Harris Smokehouse, How could I resist?

The best Recipe I have seen for Kedgeree is in a Jamie Oliver book, but I don’t have that book and can’t remember the name. This time I used a Recipe from “The Breakfast Book” by Dianna Troy as a guideline.

240g cooked flaked smoked Haddock
240g cooked Rice
2 small onion (I used half an onion)
2tsp Turmeric (I used a small shake)
1 tsp Curry Powder
Juice of one Lemon (Skipped it, had none)
120g butter, (used a little bit to fry onion, not much and probably should have used less)
2 hard boiled Eggs (I used 3)


First I cooked my Fish, The only way I know how, Simmer it gently in milk.


Put the Eggs on to boil, and cook the rice.
Fry of the onion, gently over a low heat until translucent stir through the curry powder and Turmeric


Flake fish and stir through onion, stir through the same amount of Rice, Peal Egg Roughly chop and Add,


I add a good handful of Parsley and Coriander, The Coriander goes very well.


Finally serve with Lashings of Tomato Sauce on the side! The ultimate accompaniment.
This tastes of home and childhood, happy memories and family, what could be better.

Lamb Leftover

I needed a little pick me up happiness after a bad day at work.

I called the boy at his office and said we should go out for tea, he reminded me that our fridge is full of leftovers.

It’s amazing what you can do with leftovers when you actually try.


Leftover boiled potatoes roasted in hot olive oil seasoned with rosemary, thyme, dried basil and salt


Individual Cauliflower cheese – Cauliflower steamed in Microwave while I whisked up a cheese sauce with a big tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and a little parmesan.


Peas Steamed in Microwave


Leftover Lamb re-heated in Bisto and redwine sauce

This is one of the nicest meals we have had in ages (and we don’t eat bad)
It always helps when it’s joined with a nice bottle of bubbles.