My love of soup has been well documented on this site, so it will come as no surprise that I couldn’t decided on just one variety to try this week. In the end two soups won my attention: Sopa De Lima (Lime Soup), and Creamy Chayote Soup.

Sopa De Lima

Lime in soup, sounds great to me! This soup is said to be a traditional dish of the Yuctan Peninsula, and a lot of ingredients go into the preparation, but it wasn’t as much work as it looks like. I used the ingredients of this recipe, however I didn’t put in as much effort as it suggests, being a weeknight.

I simply got the ingredients for the stock together (subbing stock powder for the chicken or turkey carcass in the recipe, and leaving out the lime by accident) and simmered them for 20 minutes. The cut in cooking time was due to not needing to cook any meat (hooray!).

I then strained it, and began to follow the recipe from that point. Unfortunately, that’s when our not-so-reliable internet connection cut out. Having turned of my computer (sometimes my computer is the problem, not the net), I had lost the site, and couldn’t retrieve it. Damn. So, looking at the ingredients on my chopping board, I guessed my way through.

The soup smelled, looked and tasted promising, all the way through. Until, that is, I made the tragic mistake of adding some lime slice (skin still on) while still simmering. Suddenly, the whole pot of soup took on the bitter flavour of failure (and lime rind). The soup looked brillian, smelled fantastic, but tasted so bad it was practically inedible. Even Mr could only manage a spoonful or two (and he can eat just about any vegan thing).

Luckily, I made both soups at once, in a frenzy of soup fanaticism, so we didn’t go hungry.

Looks great... will have to try again

Chayote Soup

As mentioned above, I only decided to make chayote soup because I didn’t know what a chayote was, and after a google image search realised I recognised it as one of the many fruits and vegetables I can’t identify at the Preston Market.

I didn’t know anything about chayote, but creamy soup always sounds good to me. The more I read, however, the more I became concerned. SusanV at FatFreeVeganKitchen said her child thought it was “yucky” and she herself said the flavour was “hard to describe” and “not for everyone”. Hannah commented on my menu post, wondering how choko could be made tasty. I was really starting to wonder now.

I searched for recipes, and finally settled on this one, although I adapted it somewhat, and I’ll share the changes below.

Given the way the Lime Soup turned out, I’m very glad to say that the Chayote soup was delicious. It was creamy and just  little spicy with a delicate flavour that, as SusanV said, is hard to describe. It saved the day though, and I’m so glad we tried it.

Creamy Chayote Soup, vegan style

Vegan Creamy Chayote Soup, serves 2

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups vegetable stock or equivalent stock powder and water

• 1 large chayote, peeled and diced (keep the seed in)
• 2 poblano peppers (I used canned, but you could sub cooked green peppers, capsicum, or chillies, depending on your spice tolerance) chopped finely.
• 1 large chayote, peeled and diced (keep the seed in)
• 2 poblano peppers (I used canned, but you could sub cooked green peppers, capsicum, or chillies, depending on your spice tolerance) chopped finely.
• 3 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
• salt, to taste
• pinch cayenne pepper

1. in a little oil, cook the onion until soft, then add the garlic and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
2. Add the chopped chayote and the stock. Bring to the boil. reduce heat to a simmer and cook for at least 20 minutes, until the chayote is tender.
3. Remove from heat. Add poblano peppers, cream cheese and blend until smooth.
4. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

¡Hola¡

¡Acabo de descubrir cómo hacer la “¡”!

And now, moving on from my grammatical excitement (¡!), lets talk mole. (just a note, I’m talking about the edible, chocolate-chilli sauce, not this furry little guy).

Mole, in Mexico, refers to a number of different sauces. However, we usually understand it to refer to the particular sauce, made of several varieties of chilli and chocolate. This, I am told by the internets, is more accurately called, Mole Poblano.

After reading a number of Mole recipes online, several questions emerged. Where would I find the ingredients? What would I replace the chicken with? And, most importantly, who would eat the vast amount of sauce the recipe resulted in?

The questions proved easier to answer than I first anticipated. I decided to use tempeh  (which is far too often overlooked in our house) instead of a chicken, and some more research led me to a Mexican grocer in Tullamarine. Last, I remembered a campaign review meeting I was supposed to bring food to, and decided these would be preciesly the large group of people to feed the huge batch of sauce to.

So off I trooped first thing in the morning (well, after clients at 6am, so almost first thing), to Aztec Mexican, where I was met with very friendly and helpful service and a range of chillies, spices, tortillas, corn flours and other Mexican ingredients. For anyone considering heading there, I definitely recommend, though, as per usual, vegans should be aware of labels as some products that you wouldn’t normally check contain lard. Also, it should be noted that it doesn’t look like much from the outside. It looks like a warehouse. Just head to the office, and they’ll let you in to the shop behind.

I got a little over excited, and bought the chillies I needed, as well as some corn tortillas, a tin of poblano chillies, and some mexican chocolate. Yum!

I then spent more time poring over recipes. In the end, I condensed two recipes into one. I will not post a recipe as such, but direct you to the two I followed, here, and here. I am adding the ingredients list I used at the bottom of this post though, as a guide.

So I soaked, and blended and ground and simmered, and then blended everything again with my trusty stick blender. The result was a spicy, deep-flavoured sauce, which was, to be honest, a little odd to our tastes. It was very strong and very hot, though the heat wasn’t unpleasant. The sesame and almonds really came through, as did the smoke flavour from the chipotles.  It was much less smooth than those pictured elsewhere on the net, but I put that down to the fact that i don’t have a real blender.

Mr ate it, but wasn’t a big fan. It seemed to go down well at the meeting-cum-potluck, but I think a fair bit of that may have been hype about the idea of chocolate for dinner.

Don’t let it put you off – it was an interesting dinner, and I think it worked well in the context of a potluck. It wasn’t bad, I’m just not in a rush to make it again.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good photo, having rushed it to the meeting in a large plastic container. Rest assured it looked somewhat better than this:

Sea of Mole

Ingredients List for Vegan Mole Poblano

• 2 dried pasilla chilies (called Chillis Negros at AztecMexican)
• 3 dried mulato chilies
• 3 dried ancho chilies
• 2 dried chipotle chillies
• 1/2 cup lightly packed sultanas
• Water to cover
• 3/4 cup almonds
• Cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• I tortilla, broken in small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 diced onions
• 3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• some pretend beef stock in water (I can’t remember how much)
• 1 disk Mexican chocolate
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (my addition)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste (my addition)
• 2 packets of tempeh, fried in olive oil

Penne pasta with sauteed shredded brussel sprouts, minced garlic, red chilli, grated zucchini, zest of one lemon, juice of half, assorted toasted seeds, salt, pepper and plenty of olive oil. So good after an epic birthday celebration.

Tasty, easy Quesadillas with guacamole and salsa fresca made up our first meal from Mexico.

Quesadillas are popular in Mexico and in the United States, but there are some differences. Mexican Quesadillas use corn tortillas, not flour, tend to have only one or two fillings, and are made by folding one tortilla in half, not putting one on top of the other.

The word Quesadilla just means “cheese in a tortilla”, and that’s what I went with in ours. I used Cheezly vegan cheese, which tasted great, but didn’t stick the tortilla halves together like dairy cheese does. We don’t possess a press of any sort either (tortilla, sandwich, other), which may have contributed to this problem, as I just slid them under the grill attached to my oven.

Despite the lack of sticking, the meal was delicious. I am a bit of a fake-cheese fanatic, and will eat any variety in any way, so I was bound to be impressed.

Quesdailla, a difficult photo for my little camera to get.

The tortilla and cheeze went well with the salsa fresca and guacamole, mixing spicy, creamy and tangy. Recipes, if you can call them that, for such easy fare, are below.

Salsa Fresca

• 3 tomatoes, diced (use ripe red ones)
• 2 spring onions, chopped finely
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 a Jalepeño chilli (the short, fat, green ones)
• a small bunch (technical, I know) of corriander, chopped
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 2 tsp oil (I used flax to up our Omega 3, but you could use any oil)
• pinch salt

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl immediately before serving.

Spicy salsa fresca

Guacamole

• 2 Avocados
• 2 spring onions, chopped finely
• 1 small tomato, diced finely
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• small dash of Tabasco Sauce (yeah, i cheated)
• pinch of sea salt

Mash all ingredients together in a small bowl immediately before serving.

Creamy Guacamole

Brown rice congee with carrots
//Simmer brown rice, water and carrots until softened.

Stir-fried gai choy, black fungus and mushrooms in a mixture of fermented beancurd and oyster sauce.
//Fry some minced garlic, black fungus and mushrooms for 3 minutes. // Toss in vegetables, fry and another minute. // Mix 1 cube of fermented beancurd, 3 tbs oyster sauce and a bowl of water, add into wok, put on lid, and simmer until liquid has reduced (uncover lid if there’s still too much liquid). // Season with rice wine and white pepper.

It’s September! Just 2.5 months to summer vacation!

• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup massel beef stock
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 cup tvp
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp flour 

Mmmmm, just looking at all the sites with Mexican recipes makes me salivate with anticipation of the food to come this week.

I was surprised to learn earlier this year, that almost all my favourite “Mexican” dishes weren’t Mexican at all, but Tex-Mex. Nachos? Out. Cheese Sauce? Out. That said, the dishes that are Mexican still look fabulous, and exactly what the doctor ordered for the end of winter: colourful, spicy, limey and filling, with lots of corn and beans.

Unfortunately the Moreland Libraries couldn’t pull through for me with an available book about Mexican Cuisine, so I resorted to the internets once more. After perusing a number of sites, listed below, I put together the following menu:

• Mole Poblano
• Hot Chocolate
• Champurrado (thick hot chocolate with aniseed)
• Chayote Soup
• Quesadillias
• Tacos
• Picadillo ( a mince-based dish)
• Refried Beans
• Rice
• Lime soup (sopa de lima)
• salads, salsas and stuff

Can’t wait to start the nomming.

Separating the Mexican from the Tex Mex on the net was more difficult and time consuming than you’d think. Below are a few links I liked the look of, including a few for veg recipes.

• This site is about Mexican Culture, written by a group of students. I always fall for the id stuff.
• VMexx, a vegan Mexican Food blog
• Vegan Mexican Food dot Com (self explanatory)
• Earth Vegan has a nice assembly of posts about Mexican food
• Authentic Mexican Recipes, Mexican Foodie, and MexGrocer – not vegan
• and do check out K’s post on her new Tortilla press, over at In The Mood For  Noddles.

I’ve been looking forward to taking this blog to Mexico since I began it. Now that our corriander is preparing to bolt (and needs using before it starts to taste like grass) its time to take a trip south of the border and soak up the spices.

Geography

Mexico is in North and Central America, between the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean to the east. It shares a northern border with the United States of America, and southern borders with Belize and Guatemala.

Mexico is almost 2million Square Kilometers in size, and is the 15th largest country in the world, in terms of physical size. Its a little bigger than Indonesia, and about a quarter the size of Australia.

Economy, People and politics

• Population: 111,211,789, 11th largest population in the world.
• Median Age: 26.7 years old
• Ubanisation: 77% of the population live in urban areas
• Life expectancy at birth is 76 years.
• Ethnicity groupings: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%
• Religions: Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6.3% (Pentecostal 1.4%, Jehovah’s Witnesses 1.1%, other 3.8%), other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1% (2000 census)
• GDP per capita: $13 200 (it was $14 300, however Mexico has been heavily impacted by the GFC).
• Unemployments: 5.5% (has risen from 4% in 2008). However there is a note on the CIA age, stating that underemployment may be as high as 25%.
• 18% of people are below the poverty line, using a food-based scale. Using an assets-based scale, 47% of people are below the poverty line.
• The Government consists of a popularly elected President, appointed Ministers, and an elected Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
• The main language is Spanish, though indigenous languages are also spoken.

Trivia

• Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world.
• There are 62 Government-recognized indigenous languages.
• Presidents are elected for only one single 6 year term.
• Exports to the US generate more than a quarter of Mexico’s GDP
• There is a special coming of age ceremony for girls in Mexico when they turn 15, called quincera.
• The Mexican flag has an image of bird holding a snake and sitting on a cactus, because it is said that the people were told to settle in the place they saw this. The place they settled became Mexico City.

Onwards and upwards now… looking forward to sharing the food we’ve been eating over the last few days…

Beautiful Roma tomatoes

I made these delicious tartlets to take to a friend’s house for afternoon tea. The creamy goat’s cheese juxtaposed with the acidity of the balsamic vinegar and fragrant thyme is a delightful combination.  They are really easy to make but always a winner.

You could just as easily make a single large tart as individual tartlets, but I rather like the self contained nature of the separate tartlets and of course the extra buttery pastry that encases each one is a flaky treat. The individual tartlets would also make an excellent entrée or light lunch served with a couple of different salads.

What you’ll need (makes 8 tartlets):

2 sheets vegetarian puff pastry
300g organic vegetarian goat’s cheese
6-8 tomatoes
4 tsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Method:

Place the frozen pastry sheets on baking paper to defrost, than cut each one into four squares. Gently score each pastry square about 1cm from the edge all the way round. This will encourage the pastry to puff up and give you a guide for placing the filling.

Mix the goat’s cheese with about 3 tsp of thyme in a bowl. The easiest way to prepare the thyme is to hold the top of the stalk and pull gently downwards to strip the leaves away. Spread the cheese mixture on to the pastry squares being careful not to go over the score lines.

Thinly slice the tomatoes and dip in a little balsamic vinegar before placing on to the goat’s cheese mixture. I love to use Roma tomatoes because they have an intense tomato flavor and tend not to be too watery inside, but any in-season variety will do as long as the tomatoes are nicely ripe.  Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle the remaining thyme leaves over the top.

Bake at about 190 degrees for 30 minutes or until the edges have puffed and turned golden brown. Serve warm or cold.

Rustic tomato and goat's cheese tartlets

Lentil shepherd's pie

I’m a big fan of cooking up large dishes that last for two or three days. It’s worth the extra effort to make a dish that has a few stages involved in the cooking process if it means you can come home from work the following night and it just needs heating up and a quick salad thrown together to go with it.

Lentil shepherd’s pie is an old favourite that I have been making for many years. It was originally a recipe by the wonderful vegetarian cook Rose Elliot, but I have adapted it over time to suit my own taste.

In fact each time I make this pie it turns out a little different. I tend to not follow recipes to the tee but rather adapt and make up new bits up as I go along. When I stumble on a great combination I write it down with the hope that I’ll dig out the instructions next time and repeat the formula. Of course it doesn’t always happen that way and the next incarnation is different again.

Anyway, I think this version of my favourite lentil shepherd’s pie is pretty good and worth blogging.

What you’ll need:

400g brown lentils
2 large onions, quartered and thinly sliced
750g mashed potatoes
420g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp reduced salt soya sauce
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Ground black pepper
Olive oil

Method:

Rinse the lentils thoroughly and simmer in a large pan for about 25 minutes until softened, then drain. Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, soya sauce and parsley and simmer for a more few minutes. Stir through the lentils and heat through. Season with black pepper and transfer the mixture to a large baking dish.

You can prepare the mashed potatoes from scratch or buy frozen pre-prepared ones. When I make them from scratch I always leave the skins on, however I now often buy frozen mash as it tastes fantastic, is really creamy and it’s so easy to use. I’m a big fan of wholesome home cooked food but I’m also very happy to accept a food prep short cut such as this one when it’s just as good as the homemade variety. It all depends on the quality available at your local supermarket.

Spread the mashed potatoes in an even layer over the lentil mixture. I use a spatula and knife to help with this process. When you’ve got a nice thick even layer of potatoes drag the back of a fork across it in lines to create a ridge pattern. You can dot the top with butter or margarine if you like but I usually don’t bother.

Bake the pie for about 40 minutes in a medium to high oven until the top is nicely browned. Serve with salad or steamed vegetables, and perhaps some tomato sauce for on the top of the pie (a must for my boys).

Lentil shepherd's pie with salad

Lentil shepherd's pie with salad - kids' style

What do you do when it’s so damn cold out here?

Eat curry.

It’s the one thing that I’ve been wanting and wanting and wanting… and finally got down to making it. I stumbled upon the above can of vegan green curry paste at Minh Phat, which was the cure for my lazy bones. No pounding and additional washing up.

Thai Green Curry
serves 4

1/2 medium eggplant, cut into small chunks
1 large carrot, 1cm slices
1 potato, small chunks
1 large handful of green beans, halved
200g firm tofu, small chunks
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tin of green curry paste
1 can (400ml) of coconut milk
bunch of fresh Thai basil, shredded
Raw sugar, salt and pepper to taste

1. Spend a bit of time chopping up all the ingredients. If you’ve got other veggies lying around that you need to get rid off, then use them too. (I added bean sprouts)

2. Heat 1 tbs of oil in wok, fry onions until translucent. Add the garlic and green curry paste. Fry for another 2 minutes or so.

3. Toss in the carrot, eggplant and potato, and fry for a while, until slightly browned on the edges.

4. Tip in the coconut milk, and half a tin of water, and let veggies simmer for a bit until softened to your liking.

5. Add tofu and green beans, and cook this for a little while, say a minute or two. They don’t take too long to cook. If mixture gets too dry, add more water.
6. This can get pretty spicy, so taste and adjust level with sugar to suit your preference. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss in the basil just before eating, with a side of brown rice. Roti will be pretty fantastic too.

I’ve been out for a few days and I apologise. I, along with a great many others, was kinda busy electioneering, then recovering/bludging.

Al I’m gonna say on the matter is “Woohoo, a Green in the House of Reps, 9 (9!) Green Senators, and highest Green vote, well, ever! Yay!”. That’s it, I’m done now. This is a food blog, after all.

Next up, we have the verdict for France, which I forgot to post last week when I was drowning in leaflets.

I enjoyed making the food this week, even when it tanked (like the creme caramel). The Seitan Bourguinon was definitely a highlight, and as always I had fun with the soups.

I didn’t attempt a croissant this time, as the weather was too cold to get dough to rise in my kitchen. Having tried it before though, I can tell you that the recipes using coconut oil alone are a sham, and the nuttelex gets a passable but not great pastry. I was going to attemot a mixture of the two, melted together then reconstituted in the fridge. I will try it one day, in less inclement weather, and I’ll let you know how it goes.

French food, on the whole, generally scores pretty well with me, and when I can be assured no cute-furries (or even icky-slimies) were harmed in the making, well, the judge is impressed.

Next up is Mexico, due to the abundance of corriander being produced by our garden. Looking forward to it!

INGREDIENTS FOR CHILI

• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1/2 large red capsicum, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 cup tvp
• 400mls passata
• 1/2 tin kidney beans
• corn kernels from 1 cob of corn
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 clove crushed garlic

INGREDIENTS FOR TOPPING

• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon soy milk
• 1 tablespoon soymilk or 1 tablespoon almond milk
• 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 cup polenta
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Lightly oil or spray with oil 4 ramekins
2. In a large saucepan saute the onion, capsicum & garlic in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add remaining chili ingredients and simmer 5-10 minutes.
3. While chili is cooking mix soy milk and vinegar. In a separate bowl mix the flour, polenta, sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. Add the oil and the milk mixture, stirring until just mixed.
5. Transfer chili to ramekins and spoon the cornmeal batter on to the top.
6. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes.

A week after our first visit to The Hardware Societe, Phoebe phoned me up in a gleeful tizzy. “We get paid this week, we can have a real payday lunch!”

“Payday lunch!”

“Paaaaaayday lunch!”

“Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayday lunch!” (This went on for a while)

Once we’d stopped cheerfully bellowing at each other Phoebe asked me if there was anywhere I’d had in mind to visit lately. Since we also felt like we might like to do some vintagey shopping afterward, I thought somewhere on or adjacent to Smith Street would be the ticket, and suggested Birdman Eating, and I had recently read a few reviews that were either glowing or scathing, and I was keen to find out which side I would fall on.

“Good,” said Phoebe. “Let’s brunch it. And Emma’s probably going to come too!”

“Emma! Yay!”

“Yaaaaay!”

“YAAAAAYYYYY…” etc, etc.

The three of us marshaled ourselves to Birdman Eating on a slightly damp Friday at the appropriate brunching time. I was immediately quite enamoured of the interior, with the little feathered mannequin dolls and vases with flowers hanging from the ceiling. It helped as well that it was much warmer than outside!

I had the black rice with coconut yoghurt and mango, mainly as I’m always intrigued to try other kinds of rice rather than plain ol’ white. The black rice had this amazing silky texture, there was something about it that almost made it seem fruity, like berries had been threaded through it, who knows what they did to get it like that. If you like a textural start to your day, this is where to get it. The coconut yoghurt was a refreshing contrast of tartness, and the mango was nice, although it was probably from a can given it’s the dead of winter right now.

Emma had the corn and broccoli fritters with smoked salmon. I was surprised at her choice to start the day with fish; even when I ate meat I was very much NOT a fan of seafood and never saw the appeal of fish-based breakfasts like kippers or kedgeree. “Fish for breakfast really wakes you up and leaves you with a fresh taste all day,” Emma said brightly. She paused. “Of course, then you get the fishy burps.” The fritters were brimming with corn and greenery, and they were HUGE! Emma tried hard to finish, but was defeated at the final fritter. She really enjoyed them, though.

Phoebe had the cheese kransky with poached eggs, grilled polenta triangles, and I think some bacon. This was a mountain of heavy-duty foods, with not even the relative lightness of the poached eggs providing much relief, particularly when Phoebe’s contentious relationship with eggs came to light. She was eying her egg suspiciously. “The poached egg looks a little funny.” “Do you have egg issues?” I asked. “I do! They’re… they’re just weird! But I’m trying to be better with them by ordering them as a component in dishes.” Phoebe also made a valiant effort to finish, but was eventually defeated by meats. Yet she enjoyed her meal well enough, though gave me a saucy grin afterward and whispered “Not as good as Hardware Societe.” Well, what is? Unfair comparison! (Can you tell we’re obsessed?)

As pretty much all of the scathing reviews I’d read were particularly focused on service and waitstaff who were apparently brimming in attitude, I was full of trepidations as to what kind of service we could expect to receive at Birdman Eating. We were lucky though, as we mainly dealt with a lovely girl in a floral headscarf who was all sunshine, told us the specials and was enormously cheery, dutiful and friendly throughout. I think luck might have something to do with the service at Birdman though, as we did come in contact with another waitstaff member who was a bit ‘tudey and didn’t crack a smile the entire time. It might have something to do with it being a weekday versus a weekend – I can imagine a place as popular as this getting quite overrun on a Saturday or Sunday morning and causing staff to develop acute tetchy-itis.

As to where I sit on the glowing/scathing review scale, I’m definitely ambling towards the glowing end, though would probably have to visit a few more times to be absolutely certain. It’s a very nice space, the food I sampled was good, and if you’re lucky enough to have a cheery serviceperson it’s a very pleasing way to while away a morning. It’s not the best of the best, but it’ll do very nicely.

Birdman Eating

238 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

Ph: 9416 4747

http://www.birdmaneating.com.au/

See this charming little logo? Looks pretty harmless huh, obviously it has something to do with plants, the earth maybe, stuff that’s good for you?

It’s actually the Radura symbol, letting you know the food you are consuming has been exposed to ionising radiation. The aim of this is to destroy any microorganisms, mould or insects that may cause food to spoil, and also to inhibit sprouting, and delay ripening (you know, those NATURAL processes that food goes through).

What happens is the irreversible damage to the DNA of said pest/microorganism/food you are about to put into your mouth. It doesn’t mean your food is radioactive, but it does mean it has undergone a process that forever alters cell strucure. Insects are killed or become sterile, food can no longer ripen.

A few issues with food irradiation include the risk of comsuming spoiled food without realising it, due to the ‘masking’ qualities of the practice; the destruction of ‘good’ bacteria along with the ‘bad’; and the risk of consuming chemically altered food.

Just thought you should be aware because I had no idea…

This past weekend had been very exciting, doing loads and getting in the much needed fresh air and sunshine. I love myself a good citrusy and balanced salad. By balanced, I mean grain, green, savoury, sweet, tangy and nutty. I like that combination.
Let me just tell you, make this. Make this make this make this. The avocado provided that lovely creaminess unlike any other creamy (often bad fat-laden mayo) dressing, and the balance of sultanas and almonds was delightful. The lemon-cumin dressing was also light and will definitely be one that I will be using often.

Quinoa Avocado Salad (adapted from here
serves 4
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
2 large lemons
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
2 medium firm-ripe avocados (6 to 7 oz. each), pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
5 sprigs coriander, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup almonds
4 tbs white sesame seeds (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, soak the raisins in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside (I didn’t do this, but if yours are rock hard, then you should)

Heat saucepan and toast almonds until brown. Turn off heat and crush almonds with a mortar and pestle. Toss in sesame seeds in pan while pan is still hot, and toss it around till brown. Remove from heat.

In same saucepan, bring water, quinoa, and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff with fork and leave to cool.

In a small bowl, zest and juice lemons. Whisk in olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/4 tsp. salt.

In a large bowl, toss vinaigrette with the quinoa, raisins, avocado, coriander, and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Gluten free lemon Bundt cake. A little dry, but it’s relative success means I have mastered my extremely temperamental oven. So yay me.

OH SO GOOD! Rice noodles, with crinkly cale, tofu, dumpstered green beans and zucchini in a thick mushroom “oyster” sauce. MMMMM

Chinese 5-spice stewed eggplant served over quinoa