Spire..

Melbourne Randomness

Just 

Just because

Just Melbourne...

It may not have a harbour, or a tower, or be steeped in ancient history, but my home town of Melbourne has a wonderful diversity that never fails to surprise me.  Whether its the walk home, the view of a storm, the art in the laneways the evening light reflecting & highlighting structures, or even the area where I live, its all Melbourne.

A reason...

There is a saying "everything happens for a reason".

Today's tram trip into work proved this saying.

I missed my first tram because it was early, for some reason the next one ignored the 4 people waiting at the stop & sped by, the next one was late & crowded, and then had the nerve to terminate early so that they could maintain their schedule. By this time i was really annoyed & frustrated with the start to my morning.

Then got off the tram & looked up and saw this.

If I wasn't delayed by the trams I never would have seen it, everything does happen for a reason.

Street Art

Its always amazing what you can find down the alleyways of Melbourne....

In this case I had to squeeze past some parked cars & rubbish bins to find these:

Weekend Wanderings

No motivation = no recipes or food pics :(

So you have to make do with some of my weekend ramblings in Melbourne.

Australian Natives

Australian native plants are always unusual & full of surprises...

Like this one:

The flower pod

Flowering

The seed pod...

Or this one that looks like an exploding firework

Spaces

Reading today's The Age website they had these amazingly beautiful photo's by Alex Cherney:

Full article is here: The Age

random thoughts

Sometimes

Just because...

I can!

Looking up

Looking down...

The green path

The shining

Is it greener on the other side?

Comfort Food

Every now & then you just want a quick easy snack just to comfort yourself, or indulge. This is one of those recipes - & I use the term recipe loosely, as there is nothing precise or structured about it. It just sort of came together in the most unexpected way. I was thinking as to what to create for this months Paper Chef entry. The ingredients were Bread, Chocolate, Berries, & Lime. Simple, compatible. But leading to too many choices! With time running short I went with instinct & this was the result: Chocolate French Toast with Berry syrup & Lime Cream.

the combination of the slightly bitter chocolate (70%), sweet berry syrup & tangy Lime cream worked a treat, leaving me wanting more.

Ingredients:

white bread, slices about 1cm thick

dark chocolate (70%)

cinnamon

egg

cream

lime

frozen mixed berries

sugar

Strawberry liqueur (optional) or water

icing sugar

oil

butter

Method:

Beat the egg with some cream or milk & cinnamon.

Place a block or 2 (depending on size) between two slices of bread & soak in the egg mixture.

place about a tablespoon of sugar & a tablespoon of liqueur in a small saucepan & heat until the sugar is dissolved & starting to bubble, then add the frozen berries & turn the heat to low, & allow to warm through.

Gently heat the oil in a fry pan

Zest the lime into the cream, add a little sugar & whip.

turn up the heat & add some butter to the oil & allow to melt.
Fry the egg soaked chocolate bread sandwich until golden brown then carefully flip to fry the other side. The chocolate would have started to melt so be careful flipping it so that you don't dislodge the bread.

Place onto paper towel to absorb excess oil then onto a serving plate, dust with icing sugar, & serve with the berry syrup & lime cream.

Very comforting & moreish.

Pumpkin & Ginger soup.

So my mum had this big pumpkin sitting on her kitchen table. She wasn't sure what the best way to cut it up.

"Throw it on the concrete & shatter it" she said.

"Messy" I thought.

"Use the log splitter" she said.

"Not very hygienic" I thought. "I'll just cut it" I said.

"You'll loose a finger if it slips" she said.

"Typical mother" I thought....

A bit of rummaging in her kitchen drawers produced a Chinese cleaver, heavy, strong, & sharp.

Setting the big Queensland Blue pumpkin (about 20kg) on the concrete outside, for stability, I then pushed the cleaver through the pumpkin, required a bit of effort & weight on the cleaver to force it through, but eventually I ended up with 4 pieces, & no lost fingers. Now what to do with this hunk of pumpkin that I've acquired (thanks mum).

Well it was the first cold spell of the season therefore a nice soup was in order, in this case pumpkin & ginger. I'm not going to give exact quantities for all the ingredients & the quantities listed here a a guide only, as its too variable & taste dependant.

Pumpkin & Ginger soup.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin (roughly diced)

Ginger (a decent large thumb sized knob, sliced or diced)

1 onion (diced)

1 tbls butter

2 small or 1 medium floury potato (roughly diced)

1 tbls ground cumin

1 tbls dried oregano

Stock

Salt

Pepper

Fresh coriander to finish

Method:
Gently fry the onions & half the ginger over a low heat until golden & soft.

Add the cumin & oregano & cook until fragrant

Add the pumpkin & potato & toss to coat in the onion/spice mix

Add enough stock to cover & add the remaining ginger

Bring to the boil & then reduce to a simmer.  Cook until the pumpkin & potatoes are soft & tender.

Use a blender or stick mixer to blend all the ingredients to a smooth consistency

If the soup seems a bit watery, let it simmer a bit longer till it has reached the consistency that appeals.
Season to taste & serve with a sprinkling of roughly chopped coriander.
Serves as many or as few as you wish...

Just because...

 Up

 Insignificant

Dreams....

Autumn Mushrooms

My favourite dish at this time of year is a nice simple Wild Mushroom Risotto.
I normally use Slippery Jacks, Shiitake, & Pine mushrooms. Its a bit tedious cleaning & peeling the Slippery Jacks, but worth the effort!

Autumn Randomness

Drangon Fruit at Queen Vic markets

View from the office window


Plants...