Recipes & More
Zucchisagne
Serves 6 Ingredients for the bolognese; 500g Lean mince beef 2 onions diced 3 stalks of celery 250g mushrooms sliced 1/2 red capsicum diced Can of crushed tomatoes 400g Sachet of salt reduced tomato paste Empty can of boiling water 1tsp of powdered beef stock 1tbl of worchestershire sauce 1tbk of dark soy Teaspoon 1 tsp mixed herbs 1/2 tsp Rosemary 1 tsp oregano 1/2 cup of red wine Rest of ingredients; 8 small zucchini 400g low fat ricotta 1/2 cup of skim milk 250gs…
Slow Cooked Minty Lamb Stew
Slow Cooked Minty Lamb Stew Serves 2 Ingredients; 2 lamb shanks Bunch of fresh mint Tsp of dried rosemary I can of chopped tomatoes Tablespoon on chicken stock powder Sliced mushrooms Two onions quartered Water – fill up empty tomatoes can 1 1/2 Salt and pepper Method; Place everything in the slow cooker and cook according to your cookers settings, mine took a good 4 hours on high. Once the meat is falling off the bone take out the meat and bones and a cup…
Beef Bulgogi
Beef Bulgogi Serves 4 Ingredients; 500 grams beef – either a nice piece of steak that you can slice finely (if you put your steak in the freezer until it starts to nearly freeze you can slice it really easily) or beef strips are fine. 1 pear ½ tsp minced garlic 1 tsp ginger 1 tbsp Soy sauce ½ tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar 4 x Spring onions finely sliced 1 pinch of chilli flakes Salt and pepper Method; Peel and grate pear into glass bowl…
Recent Blogs
Arbory
Go to the Arbory and not eat a burger…… why would you be so cruel!?! Healthy eating and making the right choices… not as much fun but hey I can still have a glass or two of Pinot so balancing it all up! The Arbory continues to resonate with a wide group of Melbournians and we went early on a Sunday to make sure we got a table for a special birthday lunch, within 30 minutes of us arriving there was barely a free seat…
Polepole
I love the quote on their site to give Polepole some context….. If you are ever lucky enough to trek up the Majestic Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, you’ll no doubt here the guides repeatedly say ‘polepole’ which means literally slow, both metaphorically and physically. It’s about slowing down and enjoying the moment. Not that the service is anything near slow!! But the mood is and it feels like the kind of place you want to sit back and relax and try some beers and food…
Sydney Safari
Foodie About Town escaped for a weekend to Sydney and with a couple of recommendations and a couple of apps we went on a fabulous safari some of the greatness Sydney has to offer. Just a short walk from our hotel was Spice Alley, a collection of pop up foodie stops that you can try a little bit of everything from and sit amongst the lanterns and have a great time. With noodles, dumplings, spring rolls and so much more. Kensington Street is a little…
Coda
How have I never been to Coda? It’s definitely now up there with my favorites. So confession time, I’m not 21 anymore but I’m sure it’s still to early for dimensia to be setting in and yet I managed to book my special Coda birthday treat lunch for the wrong day! So they were fully booked but really lovely and sympathetic to my fragile mental state and got us a spot at the bar. A big menu full of grazing options and a fabulous wine…
Punchbowl Canteen
Punchbowl Canteen is the epitome of cool, a bright airy space amongst the industrial chic of the backend of Port Melbourne there is a calmness with the bright white furniture and cute pastel branding. Everything is there for a reason and has been thought through ith great purpose, you can tell just from the juice menu! Just Navels – the best oranges, straight up Cliché – kale, cucumber, apple, celery, mint, lemon LadyBoy – beetroot, carrot, celery, lemon, ginger Dad’s Secretary – pear, mint, apple…
The Railway Hotel
You have to love a good local pub steak night, The Railway Hotel has been a bit quiet sometimes but not anymore, word is out and their $17.50 350 gram porterhouse is drawing in quite a crowd. We were lucky to get one of the last tables and settle in for a night of eating great food near an open fire and with great service….. happy sigh!! So it’s a good all rounder, good outside area when weather permits, nice bar area and then more…
Ada Grace
Ada Grace is a great spot in the sunshine down a little side street of busy South Melbourne there is some very nice coffee and a really good menu to satisfy all cravings. Buttermilk and White Chocolate Pancakes – Served with fresh figs, strawberries and blackberries, topped with white chocolate flakes, and a side of canadian maple – HELL YES!! Corn Fritters with Smoked bacon, fresh avocado and poached eggs. For big appetites you can go The Big Breakfast Board for $20.50 with toast, eggs,…
The Montague
The Monty or the Montague in South Melbourne has been through a few iterations over the years, a very blokey pub, a very good gastro – pub, an old mans haunt and now it looks like it is back on track with a bit of a spruce up, some nice candles, beers can collection gone and a great new menu. It’s a miserable cold night and most of the tables are near windows and doors so naturally a little chilly, I’m sure there is a…
8bit Burgers
There is some fierce competition at the moment for best burgers in Melbourne and we have some definite favourites with Arbory, Royale Brothers, Royal Stacks and 8bit providing a steady stream of fabulous, juicy, succulent, wonderful burgers. But 8Bit has more than just one of our favourite burgers – they have sausage too!! The menu is all good fun with the usual suspects delivered very well, my favourite the 8bit with cheese is a simple Beef patty with Tomato, Lettuce, Red Onion, Pickles, Mustard, Cheese,…
Juicy Bao
We love dumplings, good, cheap, piles of lovely wobbly dumplings, preferably in an easy going BYO setting – we like to call it Cheap and Dumpliful!! We had picked a different venue down the road but when we got there they appear to have gone so far up their own that they were charging $10 corkage and you were ordering your food standing in the street…. I only paid $20 for the wine so not open to paying 50% corkage and … it’s dumplings people…
Three Little Dumplings
There is a new dumpling shop on Clarendon Street and we will take any old excuse to get some dumpling time! It’s small and cheap and cheerful, as all good dumpling spots should be! None of this high end, queue for hours for this gal, I want my dumplings hot and less than a $1 each! The service is friendly and easy going, there is free chicken and sweetcorn soup and the beers we ordered on the table before we can decide. Dim Sim, Dumpling,…
Chiara
I can’t remember the last time I went to a nice Italian restaurant, not the last few were awful but we just don’t seem to have been to any! Chiara is lovely, a brilliant choice by my fabulous lunch date, a little bit fancy and a lot of nice! The service is lovely, friendly but getting the job done. It’s the kind of place you go for a lunch and end of spending alllllll day!! One more chardonnay please!! The menu is traditional Italian with…
Cookbooks
Annabel Langbein – Through the Seasons
I have been on the Langbein train for some time now and am a huge fan of Annabel’s seasonal and simple approach to fabulous flavours through simple recipes. This is a perfect book for a beginner to learn to create confidence in their dishes but also good for working week cooking where you need something healthy, fresh and simple to whip up after a hard day at work. Recipe 11 – Avocado Salsa Avocado Salsa – super simple, couple of little twists made my sad…
Gordon Ramsey – Ultimate Home Cooking
The new Gordon, no swearing and ego just a great guy with his family, cooking, laughing and helping everyone cook amazing breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some of the best recipes I have ever tried, quick and easy and packed full of flavour. This is a book you will go back to time and time again. Recipe 17 – BBQ Style Slow Roasted Beef Brisket Looking at this again, I want to go and get some brisket right now!! It was incredibly easy and incredibly tender….
Greek Cookery from the Hellenic Heart
Revisiting an old favourite, George knows good Greek and for a lazy Sunday lunch I love a big, luscious moussaka, greek salad and my own lemon roasted potatoes. Recipe 6 – Moussaka This recipe is easy and incredibly delish, our friends loved it for lunch and we enjoyed it for lunch for the week after – it is quite big!! Recipe 7 – Greek Salad Perfectly simple Greek salad – can’t beat it and can’t stop eating it! ****************************************************************************************** Last published 8th December 2012 Wk…