Rhubarb Blanket Pie

Rhubarb - a hardy perenial plant resembling a bright pink celery, very sour in taste and usually does not come cheap in the vegetable aisle. It originally came from northern asia, but is not a common ingredient in the south east asian household.

Intrigued by its traits (and chancing upon a market sale of $2 for a good sized bunch), the hardy rhubarb found its way into this 'blanket pie', named such because the shortcrust pastry is draped over the sweetened stalks like a blanket.

To make a basic shortcrust pastry, rub 175 grams of chilled butter into 2 cups of plain flour, until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of chilled water or until the dough comes together, roll into a ball and chill from 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the stringy parts then chop rhubarb (around 800 grams) into equal sizes (around 1.5 inches) and sweeten with 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, as this spice goes really well with rhubarb.

Roll pastry crust in a slightly bigger size than the pie dish, and roll it over the dish, letting the excess sides hang off for a while. Scatter rhubarb pieces evenly across the dish, then drape the edges over to the stalks, exposing the middle part. Brush with milk, and sprinkle a teaspoon of brown sugar over the pastry. Bake in 180C oven for around 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and crisp, and rhubarb bubbling away in the middle. Best served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

Growing Sage

sage (middle pot) - taken in Sept, and on the right, transplanted, one month after

Sage is one of the perennial herbs that is easy to maintain, yet produces leaves with intense flavor.

Scientific name : Salvia officinalis

It has average water needs, grows best under the full sun, can survive most soil types if soil is allowed to drain before watering again, and can also be easily propagated through stem cuttings. One can try germinating seeds (might take 3 weeks, as they germinate poorly), but if you're starting out in this hobby (or lifestyle) of gardening, it would be easier to visit your local nursery to pick up some seedlings. There are even slightly bigger plants in Bunnings, if you prefer to harvest sooner!

Sage is actually a member of the mint family, and goes well with pork and poultry. It can also be placed among the coals of the grill to leave a hint of flavor in your barbequed meat. The velvety leaves can be dried or frozen for use later. To harvest, just cut off the leaves or pinch them off with your fingers.

Old Fashioned Gingerbread

Ingredients

220 grams softened butter
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 cup treacle
1 cup milk
3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Preheat oven to 160C and grease a 23cm cake tin. Cream first two ingredients together until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one by one until well combined. Heat milk and treacle, cool slightly before adding to the butter mix. Sift dry ingredients together then fold into the wet mixture. Spoon the batter to the cake tin and bake for around 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin before truning the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from the Baking Bible - if you're into ovens and flour, this cookbook is a must-have.

Growing Thyme

Thyme is a fragrant herb with small green oval leaves and lavender colored blossoms, typically used for cooking. It grows well indoors or outdoors, requires minimal maintenance, and all parts - leaves, stems, flowers - are edible.

Scientific name : Thymus vulgaris

As a neophyte in growing herbs, the following is a compilation of tips gathered from research on how to grow this aromatic herb :

• Full sun, well-drained soil, allow to dry in between watering as too much moisture may make plant susceptible to rotting.
• Leave on bright sunny window indoors, with at least 4 hours of bright light. Turn occasionally for all sides to receive the light.
• Check for insects and spray with a soap and water spray if required
• Thyme can be preserved by freezing or drying. To dry, lay the stems of thyme flat or hang them in bunches in a shady, dry location
• Thyme is very hardy, and can even survive temperatures below zero.

SpiceStop : Five Spice

Five spice powder is a Chinese seasoning which is based on the balance of the major tastes - sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory. There are different variations on the five spices used for this, but the typical components are star anise, cinnamon and cloves, with either fennel seeds, Sichuan peppers or ginger powder. It is typically used to marinade duck or pork, before the meat is roasted or grilled or smoked, sometimes basted with honey for a sweeter version.

can you guess which one is which?
cloves, star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds, sichuan peppers

This homemade five spice was made of equal proportions of the spices pictured above, which are dry roasted (i.e. 'fried without oil') in a pan for around 1 minute, tossing frequently, just to release its flavors. The spices are then ground finely and placed in an airtight container.

For a very simple five-spiced pork, you will need :
1 kilo pork belly, skin scored
around 2 teaspoons of five spice
sea salt, brown sugar and cracked black pepper, to taste

before and after

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Get pork belly and season the meat (belly side) generously with the five spice powder. Salt, pepper and brown sugar goes all over the pork, including the skin, and leave to roast in the oven from 1.5 to 2 hours.

Let rest on paper towels (let extra fat drip away!), cut up and serve with some veggies, and rice, if so desired!

finished product!

Serves two really hungry adults.

Swan Bay Pinot Noir

A very pleasant discovery from an area apparently not known for Pinot Noir. The Swan Bay '07 from the Scotchman Hill group is a well balanced drinking experience. Gentle fruit characteristics are followed by a slight spicy oak finish. Best left breathe for a while before drinking the wine goes well with most foods...on this occasion a more than decent barbeque accompaniment.

Smoothie

To make a healthy homemade smoothie that's packed with vitamins and minerals, you'll need :

1 1/2 cups low fat yogurt
1 cup apple juice (with no added sugar)
1 cup orange juice (with no added sugar)
1 cup fresh blueberries
a drizzle of honey (add if you prefer slightly sweeter)
12 ice cubes

Blitz all ingredients together in a blender until smooth, and share!

Nutritional information :
Blueberries - very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, and a very good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese.

Yogurt : This food is a good source of Protein, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and Potassium, and a very good source of Calcium and Phosphorus.

Apple juice : very low in cholesterol and sodium. It is also a good source of Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin C.

To know the nutrient content of your food, check out this site - http://www.nutritiondata.com/ and know what's into your body!

2 Brothers Brewery

A recent discovery on the draft beverage front is the produce of the 2 Brothers Brewery from Moorabin, Victoria. The first sampling, the boldly named Growler Ale, is available on tap at The Albion (of recent pub quiz fame) and is an American style brown ale. Not as dark as some of its European rivals it has a rich brown colour, good hint of hops and a reasonable smooth finish. As with most American style brown ales there’s a slightly sweeter malt flavour but not overpowering enough to put an ale fan off this rather tasty brew.

The second sampling and younger brother of the Growler is Rusty (tap pictured here), a very easy drinking pale ale offering. Based on Belgian style equivalents Rusty is not as sweet as the Growler, has a nice finish and is well worth a try.

Up Close and Personal

b-u-t-t-e-r-f-l-y, butterfly!

Cherry Blossoms

seen one sunny day at Canberra

Growing Dill

Dill is one of the easiest herbs to grow in your garden - be it a kitchen pot, or a random spot in a spare space in your home. They are best sown as seeds, just plant near the soil's surface. Best in well drained soil.

Fresh dill is wonderful with fish (try baking fish stuffed with dill and some sliced lemons, this is certified yum), or for an extra kick in salads or dips. It can freezes well so it can be easily stored.

Some sites say that dill may be ready for harvest eight weeks after sowing. The photo shows a 4-week old (almost) dill - stay tuned for growth progress after another month to test the theory!

Ingredient : Tapioca Pearls

the pearls, before and after boiling

Tapioca pearls are composed of starch, and are typically used for desserts, or beverages like the bubble tea. Sometimes confused with sago, which physically looks the same but is composed of a different type of starch, these pearls provide a delightfully contrasting texture to the recipe with its slightly gummy and chewy soft characteristics. The black pearls can be simply added to a drink made of water and a simple sugar syrup, just add some diced gelatin and its a Filipino meryenda accompaniment, much yearned for on a hot summer day.

Anyway, regardless of it being a tapioca or sago pearl, as long as it is prepared properly then all will be well! (try this link for a sample recipe)

Smoked Trout

"We're having fish tonight!" - Bruce, Finding Nemo

Chicken Curry

This recipe was based on the Basic Chicken Curry recipe from Neeram Batra's 1000 Indian Recipes. The author noted : "Perfect when served with rice or bread and easy enough to cook every day, this traditional chicken curry is usually the first one taught to all novice Indian cooks. Once you understand the basic procedure, you can vary it as you like".

The following is hence a variation, with the addition of potatoes as an extender (meaning doubling the size of the meal!), an extra kick from the tamarind and kaffir lime leaves, and the cilantros have been omitted - only because it was not available in the fridge at the time the dish was cooked!





Ingredients :
2 teaspoons olive oil (or ordinary cooking oil)
2 bay leaves
2 dried kaffir lime leaves
6 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break skin
1 2-inch long cinnamon quill
(these three are usually blended together in a food processor, or just minced finely if you prefer:)
3 large cloves garlic, peeled
1 fresh ginger (about the size of your thumb)
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 large tomatoes, minced (in the original recipe, the tomatoes are blitzed with 1/2 cup of cilantro)
1-3 fresh green chili peppers (add or decrease according to taste), minced
1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 cup non fat yoghurt, whisked until smooth
1 cup water
1/2 cup water to soak dried tamarind
500 grams chicken thighs, diced
3 potatoes, diced

Heat the oil in the pan over medium-high heat and cook the bay leaves, kaffir lime leaves, cinnamon quill and cardamom pods, for around 30 seconds. Add the onions, garlic and ginger and cook until browned. Add the tomatoes and cook until wilted.

Add the spices - coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, salt, pepper, chili powder, then mix in the yoghurt. Stir constantly to prevent from curdling, and incorporate well into the mixture.

Add the chicken pieces, simmer until slightly browned, add the water, tamarind water and cook on high heat for around 6 minutes or until bubbling. Add potatoes, reduce heat, and cook for about 30 minutes. Garnish with a sprinkling of garam masala.

Spice Stop : Green Cardamom

Fragrant, almost floral-smelling pods with an outer covering protecting black seeds inside. It is picked while immature, then sun-dried to preserve its nice, bright green color. Used widely in Indian cooking, even for desserts.

Station Hotel

A quick turn from Chapel St is Station Hotel, a pub described in its website as a 'long standing Prahran icon'. The venue boasts of a courtyard, private rooms, a pool bar, and an al fresco area overlooking the busy Greville St. where it is situated. Never mind the noise from the periodic trains that pass by from the station right across the street (perhaps, why it is named such) - besides, the music is loud enough to drown the whistles and train road warning signals away (clang clang clang clang clang......) The menu is basic pub grub, a wine selection, beer and cocktails are available, and specific nights cater to a theme, as most places do, such as Trivia Tuesdays (something like this previous post), which could be worth a shot some time soon. The charm of the place perhaps comes from the perception of space, that can be easily flooded with a group of friends out to have drinks and a dance or two, or keen to watch the game on the wide projector screens.

Good to check out and see if you like the crowd, if you find it too noisy, either you're too old or.... it's just not for you.

Blok M Restaurant

For some who have been tourists in Jakarta, Blok M would be associated with vivid memories - some of shopping sprees...some of excellent food... and some of (very wild) nightlife. In Melbourne, Blok M is one of the Indonesian restaurants that one must go to for a good dose of their cuisine.

The menu written on the gigantic blackboard is mostly in their language (Bahasa Indonesia), but in case you need translation, just get one of the laminated menus by the counter, where you get to order and pay for your food (either before or after eating, your choice). There is a good variety of fried rice (nasi - rice and goreng - fried), the usual Indonesian fare of sop buntot (oxtail soup), soto ayam (soto - soup, ayam-chicken), among others. It was unfortunate that tonight's serving of soto ayam (photo) was a bit salty that slightly overpowered the distinct taste of lemon grass and flavorful chicken, but the nasi goreng petai was spicy-hot and excellent.
(Petai is sometimes called 'stinky beans' because of its strong smell, they look like green broad beans but are a bit bitter)

There are no alcoholic drinks but you can wash it all down with hot or cold tea, softdrinks, es kelapa muda (young coconut) or the famous beverage Teh Botol ('teh' for tea and 'botol' for bottle - hence bottled tea), which is a sweet bottled jasmine tea, which, when served cold, can be really refreshing.

Blok M is at 176 Commercial Road, Prahran, and there is a Blok M Express at 380 Lt Bourke St.

Gekkeikan

Having enjoyed sake in a number of Japanese restaurants and sushi bars it was decided that a purchase for the home was long overdue. Where better to try then the largest selling sake in the world - Gekkeikan. While not for the aficionados this is certainly a good introduction.

Whether served warmed or chilled, although don't serve too hot to avoid impacting the flavour, Gekkeikan provides a clear, light, gentle fruity experience with a slight (as you'd expect) rice undertone. Goes really well with seared tuna steak, yum! :)

AdoboSiLog

One of the all time favorites in the Filipino household would be the "silog" combinations : 'Si' - from "sinangag", meaning fried rice, and 'log' (pronounced 'lohg'), from itlog, or egg. So, -silog is suffixed to a name for a meal with fried rice and fried egg served usually with a cooked meat. The simplicity of this dish comes from the idea that everything is just fried and plated together.

The typical version is with tapa, a version of cured beef jerky. The name for this, is hence tap-si-log. The fried rice component is usually garlic fried rice, and the egg can be scrambled, sunny side up, or overeasy. There is an endless variation considering in a Filipino household, as the -silog can practically be served with anything, even on its own! Wikipedia lists some of the usual combinations, like :

Daingsilog - Daing (dried salted fish), fried rice and fried egg
Bacsilog - bacon, fried rice and fried egg
Bangsilog - bangus (milkfish), fried rice and fried egg
Bisteksilog - beef steak, fried rice and fried egg
Dangsilog - danggit (a type of dried salted fish) , fried rice and fried egg
Chosilog - chorizo, fried rice and fried egg
Chicksilog - chicken, fried rice and fried egg
Cornsilog - corned beef, fried rice and fried egg
Hotsilog - hotdog, fried rice and fried egg
Longsilog - longganisa, fried rice and fried egg
Litsilog - lechon (Lit is from the tagalog form litson, phonetically the same), fried rice and fried egg
Masilog - Ma Ling (a brand Chinese luncheon meat), fried rice and fried egg
SPAMsilog - SPAM (a brand of luncheon meat), fried rice and fried egg
Tosilog - tocino, fried rice and fried egg

This post though, is about Adsilog, or Adobosilog, but served in a slightly different fashion.

The Filipino Adobo is a stew of either chicken or pork in a mixture of soy sauce and vinegar (usually white vinegar), spiced with garlic, onion, cracked ground pepper and bay leaf. Different households have different approaches to adobo - some brown the meat in the garlic and onions before adding the liquids and the rest of the ingredients, some just put everything in a pot and let it simmer until the meat cooks, some just sit down, and let other people do the cooking! The wonderful combination of the spices lend it a distinct delicious smell, and one taste does not overpower the other - it is a very simple yet amazing dish, even considered as the 'national food'.

The 'fried rice' component for this particular meal is made with boiled basmati, fried with a similar 'adobo' base (i.e. garlic, onions, equal proportions of soy sauce and vinegar, sauteed together initially for a couple of minutes, before tossing in the rice), but not too much of it - just enough to give the rice a bit of color and complement the pork adobo flavor. The egg was poached not fried.

tonight's adobosilog... and the creamy yolk from the poached egg tainting the fried rice
the green leaves where the meat and egg are sitting are baby cos lettuce,
just for a little bit of crunch

One of the many ways to make an adobo (call this Adobo 101 if you like) :
500g pork, cut into matchbox sized pcs (or chicken)
1/4 cup of dark soy sauce
1/4 cup of vinegar
6 cloves garlic, crushed or minced (truth is, the more, the merrier, so throw in an entire head if you want)
1 medium onion, minced (make it large if using a whole head of garlic)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon oil (cooking oil, olive oil is good)
ground pepper, crushed

Saute garlic and onions in oil until onions are translucent, add pork and fry until slightly browned, add soy sauce, vinegar and bay leaves (add more soy sauce and vinegar depending on how much 'sauce' is preferred, just ensure that equal proportions are used) and let simmer on medium fire until the wonderful smell blankets the whole house, the liquid is slightly reduced and the meat is cooked (around 30 minutes or so) . Season with ground cracked pepper, and simply serve with white rice (or with silog, if preferred!)

Redbreast 12

A recent welcome, albeit familiar, addition to the drinks cabinet is this old chum - Redbreast 12 year old Irish Whiskey. Produced by the Irish Distillers Group (perhaps more famous for also producing Jameson), Redbreast is a little different in being the only single unblended pure pot still Irish whiskey available on the market. Triple distilled Redbreast is a strong yet smooth and mellow experience. Mildly spicy, the toasted wood taste lingers long enough for the taster to begin to wonder when the expected warm glow will kick in...and then....there it is. A wonderful sipping whiskey. Served any way but neat is pure sacrilege! :)

'Great Balls of Fire'

Take a stroll along the Yarra river at night and come around The Crown Casino for a Fire Show. Also referred to Gas Brigades, there are 8 towers, 10 meters high, spewing fireballs which are electronically controlled. The start time varies depending on the season, but are usually seen every hour.

The fireballs are interestingly intense that a passerby can actually feel the warmth, which can be really nice on a cold winter night. Perhaps this 'show' is nothing too fancy for a night out, or could be a touristy thing to do - at the end of the day you can always stroll down towards the great variety of restaurants and bars along the same walkway.

This photo from an ordinary digital cam shows no justice to this event - so check this one out for a nicer shot that would probably make you want to see it.