Saturday, January 31, 2015

Thanh Vinh - Footscray, Victoria

Soda Chanh Duong - Fresh soda lemonade 3.5

Bun Rieu - Vermicelli in crab soup 11.8

Bun Chao Tom - Rice vermicelli with sugar cane prawn 11.8, with a side of fried egg



Time and date of visit: 11:45 am Sunday 28 December 2014


152 Hopkins St, Footscray, Victoria, Australia (03) 9077 9098
Open daily 10 am - 9.30 pm


Thursday, January 29, 2015

Crumpets

I started making bread a while ago, after attending a free bread making workshop where we were given some sourdough starter.  Then überjoi gave me the Bread and Butter Project cookbook, which provides a really excellent starting point, giving some solid recipes and instruction.  The actual idea behind the book is pretty awesome as well.

Another fun aspect of bread making was growing and maintaining my own sourdough starter.  I’ve now gone through most of the sourdough recipes in the Bread and Butter book and have also made a few custom variations using different flours I’ve found in shops around the place.  Using a starter (over instant yeast) adds so much more flavour to the bread.  It’s also pretty cost effective as well.

The problem is that making really good bread is a time consuming business.  You need to be around to knead, knock back and proof things for the correct amount of time at the right time.  I really enjoy making sourdough bread but finding the time to make it properly is a little difficult sometimes.  It’s frustrating to spend a day preparing your starter and dough only to get distracted, overproof your bread and have it collapse in the oven.

Still, even if I’m not making bread very often I want to keep my starters alive. I’ve ended up maintaining both a white flour starter as well as a rye flour starter and have now been using the excess  to make sourdough crumpets.

Sourdough and rye crumpets with blood plum jam

These crumpets are a great way to use up excess starter.  Even though they’re 99% starter, they don’t have a sour taste (thanks to some sugar and baking soda).  They’re really easy to make and are also pretty tasty.

Creating a sourdough starter from scratch will take a couple of hours of your time (spread out over a week).  There are lots of sites detailing how to make a starter from scratch – such as this one.

I got my rye flour starter going by taking a bit of my white flour starter and just feeding it with rye flour for a few days.  


Recipe


Makes 10 decent sized crumpets

NoteThis recipe is originally from here with my addition of using the rye starter. When I make crumpets for myself I just make little free-form crumpets in the pan.  When I make them for überjoi I use a mould so they look “nice”.  It’s up to you. Make sure you grease the moulds if you choose to use them. 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white flour starter
  • ½ cup rye flour starter
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • Canola oil what for cooking with

Method

  1. Set a frying pan on medium-low heat and add some oil.  Oil your moulds and add them if you’re going to use them.
  2.  Mix the starters, sugar and salt in a bowl.  Once the ingredients are combined and the pan hot, add your baking soda to the bowl and mix again.  Add the mixture to your pan a spoonful at a time.  The mixture will rise so don’t overfill your moulds if you’re using them.  The crumpets should now take 5-6 minutes to slowly firm up.  Make sure the heat isn’t up too high or they will start to burn on the bottom.
  3.  I tend to put a lid onto the pan to speed up the cooking a little, but this will reduce the number of holes on the top of your crumpets.  It’s really up to you if you do this or not.
  4.  When the crumpets are set on top, flip them over for 30 seconds or so to brown the top.  That’s it.  Crumpets done.

They’re ready to eat from the pan but if you’re making them to eat later I would suggest toasting them then adding your butter or jam or honey or Nutella or whatever you want to eat them with. The end.

words by pisso | photo by überjoi

Monday, January 26, 2015

Holiday Eats - Christmas Day 2014

Christmas morning coffee from Batch Espresso, St Kilda






Breakfast 'everything bagel' from Glicks, Balaclava

Christmas Lunch 


Smoked salmon and avocado entrée

Turkey, stuffing and vegetables

Traditional trifle

Summer trifle with coconut cream and berry jelly (recipe)

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Weekly Menu, 24 January - 30 January 2015

Saturday 24 January: Hong Kong BBQ #takeaway
Sunday 25 January: Lamb curry
Monday 26 January: Dumplings and greens
Tuesday 27 JanuarySweet potato gnocchi
Wednesday 28 January: Mapo tofu
Thursday 29 January: Fried rice
Friday 30 January: Leftovers

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Taxi Kitchen - Melbourne, Victoria


Espresso Martini - Espresso, Kettle One, Kahlua, Crème de Cacao $20.00

Wombok coleslaw & nashi pear $9.50

Tempura Bug tails with yuzu & nori salt - 2 piece $12.50

Steamed buns with spicy lamb & Szechuan cucumber - 2 piece $13.50

Crispy soy quail with apple & lime dipping sauce $24.00

Candied pork with coconut, red chilli dressing - 4 piece $17.00

Would we go back? Yes - the cocktails were delicious, and the food was tasty. Staff were friendly and accommodating of our party, while the casual environment was absolutely perfect for our fun girls night. 
Time and date of visit: 6:30 pm Friday 19 December 2014


Level 1, Transport Hotel, Federation Square, Corner Swanston and Flinders Streets, Melbourne (03) 9654 8808
Open Monday to Saturday 12 pm until late, and Sunday 11 am until late

Taxi Kitchen on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Home made with blood plums

Thanks to our lovely new neighbours for being super generous with sharing their delicious blood plums with us! xx


Beginnings of blood plum jam

Blood plum and hazelnut upside down cake

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Weekly Menu, 17 January - 23 January 2015

Saturday 17 January: Bala Da Dhaba
Sunday 18 January: Maryland style fried chicken
Monday 19 January: Vegetarian shepherds pie
Tuesday 20 JanuaryMacanese fried rice gratin
Wednesday 21 January: Sous vide pork cheeks
Thursday 22 January: Cumin lamb kebabs with yoghurt and rice salad
Friday 23 January: Sweet potato gnocchi 8Bit

Friday, January 16, 2015

Sunday 14 December 2014 - Flemington Farmers Market

Every Sunday, 9 am - 1 pm
Mount Alexander College - 169-175 Mount Alexander Road, Flemington, Victoria, Australia


Fresh orange juice from The Orange Lady

Eggplant gozleme from Major Bakehouse Gozlemi




Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Weekend Eats - Pho Tam and Hong Kong BBQ

Saturday 13 December 2014

Pho Tam






See our previous visits


7/9 Leeds Street, Footscray, Victoria, Australia (03) 9687 2680 
Open 7 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Pho Tam on Urbanspoon


Hong Kong BBQ






See our previous visits


118 Hopkins St,  Footscray, Victoria, Australia (03) 9687 8488
Open 7 days, 10 am - 10 pm (11 pm Friday and Saturday) 

Hong Kong BBQ Restaurant on Urbanspoon