July 18-19, 2007: Nanaimo Bars

Moroccan Soup Bar together with nearly 20 well-wishers. Michael together with I thoroughly enjoyed a nighttime spent catching upward amongst a few friends together with coming together lots of novel people along the way. Amongst the conversation was a verbal recipe from a Turkish beau for the legendary yoghurt chickpea dish that's e'er finished commencement at the Moroccan Soup Bar. I madly scribbled downward notes together with volition start out experimenting at abode shortly!

New Index

Bulging amongst over 130 recipes together with 120 eating seat reviews, an overhaul of our indexing organization was really much inwards order. We've shifted from del.icio.us to a few tediously-created pages of our own, directly linked inwards the side-bar. Scroll downward a lilliputian farther together with you'll come across a rather slap-up label cloud! (That's Michael's fine work, of course.)

Apologies if we've been sending long together with tiresome updates to your RSS reader throughout this process. Also, delight drib us a comment if yous discovery whatever broken links or convey or together with then unproblematic ideas nearly how to brand our novel index easier to navigate.

July 20, 2007: The Light-Green Grocer Ii

Update 27/2/2014: Walking past times the other day, I noticed that The Green Grocer has unopen downwardly too been replaced past times Sixteen 83 Epicerie.

I am even too hence struggling to arrange to a Melbourne wintertime too inside hours of darkness setting inwards I tend to larn lodged semi-permanently on the couch, ensconced inwards a blanket. Michael, meanwhile, suffers bouts of cabin fever every bit I bat away his invitations to company out too about. So it was his prodding that got us to a novel eating seat for dinner on Fri night. Thankfully the conditions was relatively mild on this nighttime too the Green Grocer had a fireplace to greet us at the other goal - if anything the atmosphere was a niggling besides warm too drowsifying for me.

The unmarried page carte du jour is almost meat-free from the appetisers through to the low-cal mains (ranging from $8.50-$18.50), but organic meat dominates the heavier end. This suited me fine - my appetite was low-cal too I figured that i of the larger starters should larn out me room for dessert. Despite my vague protestations, the waitress was concerned that nosotros mightiness non convey plenty to swallow too recommended a plate of staff of life too dukkah ( $5). This was an irresistible suggestion for Michael too he speedily did away alongside almost one-half the plate. Meanwhile I was battling the most strong ginger beer I'd always tasted, too was smothering the flames inwards my pharynx alongside my minute staff of life piece when our mains arrived.

Here's Michael's wild mushroom ragu alongside soft polenta, truffle crude oil too shaved parmesan ($16). He says he liked it, but it got a combat monotonous past times the end. He was to a greater extent than excited almost his drinking glass of carmine (which incidentally tasted terrible when combined alongside the residual of ginger beer inwards my mouth).

I had artichokes alongside a parmesan, parsley breadcrumb stuffing stewed inwards lemon too white vino ($12.50). The showtime few mouthfuls were the best - I could actually gustation the subtle interplay of artichoke alongside lemon. The cheese, breadcrumbs too dressing were used sparingly, allowing the artichoke a top dog exercise throughout. In these proportions it was a low-cal but comforting meal.

Unusually nosotros both constitute room for dessert, too our waitress rattled off the dozen items available - it actually was a long listing to non larn printed on the menu. I eschewed my best friend chocolate inwards favour of the viscid appointment pudding alongside butterscotch sauce ( $12.50). The butterscotch sauce too H2O ice cream (flecked alongside vanilla seeds) were top-notch, but the pudding itself didn't bowl me over. It was pleasant, a combat on the dry out side, too zilch dissimilar from whatever other appointment pudding I've tried. Would you lot believe I didn't fifty-fifty complete it? (The sauce too ice-cream were cleaned up, of course.)

Michael did improve alongside the choc-orange souffle. It was fairly theatre too cakey every bit souffles go, alongside a not-too-intense chocolate flavor that sat side past times side to the orange, rather than dominating it.

All upward it was a pleasant wintertime dinner for two, polished off alongside a walk habitation inwards the cool air. I was glad to hold upward endeavour the Green Grocer's dinner carte du jour but alongside the mouth clocking inwards at $83, the nutrient wasn't quite every bit memorable every bit I felt it should convey been.

(Read almost our previous breakfast at the Green Grocer here.)

July 21, 2007: An Edible Epilogue

three Brisbane-based friends, a surprise thank-you gift arrived at our local postal service office! Inside was a parcel of knäckebröd in addition to an avalanche of Daim bites. These became my favourite snacks on a two-month remain inwards Sweden terminal year. Knäckebröd are crisp-breads, somewhat similar Ryvita, which I enjoyed eating amongst butter in addition to vegemite. Daim bars are something else again: crisp toffee amongst a existent burnt caramel taste, coated inwards chocolate. Sticks inwards your teeth for hours, of course, but what a blissful flavour!

July 21, 2007: Walnuts

Daim bars! For the remaining handful, I volition convey to resist the toffee in addition to attempt toasting them to encounter how that affects their flavour.

July 21, 2007: La Panella

Cindy has been agitating for a trip to Preston for a few weeks straightaway on the dorsum of this review of La Panella vegan bakery over at this is vegan melbourne. We decided to brand the trip worthwhile alongside a trip to the Preston Markets - a grungier, smaller version of QVM - it's got meat too deli sections, a petty organic stall too a make of wearable too other solid bits too pieces to larn along alongside the regular fruit too vegie stalls. We loaded upwards alongside vegies for a Dominicus black soup (watch this infinite for the recipe/review) and, alongside the scent of doughnuts driving Cindy crazy alongside hunger, headed off to respect La Panella.

It's a petty walk away along High Street and, unfortunately, doesn't convey seats or tables. It truly merely seems similar the form of suburban bakery that I yell back from my childhood - although inwards this instance you lot tin travel reasonably confident that there's no anus inwards your pie. The crowd to a greater extent than or less the counter was quite pushy too it took some observant travel from the lady behind the counter to relieve us from existence left hungry spell to a greater extent than forthcoming customers made their agency forward. We blurted our gild out too scurried across the street alongside our haul: a mushroom pie, a 'sausage' roll, a dyad of packets of love apple tree sauce too 4 doughnuts.

The pie was for me too it disappeared inwards no fourth dimension - it was the perfect bakery snack, slightly soggy pastry filled alongside gravy too unidentifiable chocolate-brown things (which I'm pretty certain truly were mushrooms) slathered inwards love apple tree sauce. In damage of sheer pie-quality, it roughshod curt of Cindy's homemade efforts, but for speed too toll (something similar $2) it was a winning effort.

Cindy opted for the sausage roll, which seemed to convey slightly crunchier pastry than the pie. The filling remains unidentified, but it fulfilled the guilty weekend tiffin business office equally good equally to a greater extent than sausage-y rolls used to dorsum inwards Cindy's meat-eating days. Again, it in all probability roughshod a fleck below the home-made version, but at $1.50, who's going to complain?

The doughnuts (so daintily held inwards the photograph below) were our dessert too were a petty disappointing afterward the aromas at the markets, if solely because they were served upwards at room temperature. I mean value at that topographic point should travel a dominion that doughnuts are solely to travel eaten fresh from the doughnut making machine. But that's merely me, Cindy seemed to convey no such qualms.

So, alongside our mouths lined alongside love apple tree sauce too bits of cinnamony saccharide too our arms laden alongside groceries, nosotros made our agency to the tram too dorsum home, alongside the weekend off to a real satisfying beginning.

Address: 465 High Street, Preston
Ph: 9478 4443
Price: Pies $2, Sausage rolls $1.50, Doughnuts 4 for $1

July 21, 2007: Fennel Leek Soup

We needed a ameliorate excuse for our trip to Preston Markets than merely the nearby bakery, hence earlier nosotros ready off nosotros dug upwards this fennel leek soup recipe from our Moosewood cookbook for Lord's Day night's dinner. It was loaded upwards heavily alongside vegetables as well as seemed similar it would move a decent winter's dinner. The recipe took a fleck longer than I anticipated - yous basically destination upwards making your ain stock for the base of operations of the soup - as well as the in conclusion production was a niggling brusk on flavor (at to the lowest degree partly due to my forgetting to lay pepper in), but yet heavy, warming as well as satisfying. The thin-sliced radishes were a fine accompaniment, equally were the croutons that Cindy made upwards from the fresh staff of life we'd picked upwards at the markets, but the whole bundle was merely slightly brusk of flavour. It's something to plow over - perchance upwards the leek content for side past times side time.

Fennel leek soup (courtesy Moosewood Restaurant's New Classics)
ane fennel bulb, trimmed
3 leeks
ii carrots, peeled as well as chopped
four large potatoes, peeled as well as chopped
ane teaspoon dried thyme
ane teaspoon fennel seeds
ii teaspoons salt
ii tablespoons olive oil
ii cups spinach, rinsed as well as stemmed
ii tablespoons chopped dill
Juice of ane lemon
10 cups of water
Thinly sliced radishes
Croutons

Trim off the odds as well as ends from the leeks as well as fennel bulb as well as rinse them (the odds as well as ends I mean) thoroughly. Keep the expert bits aside for later. Place the odds as well as ends inwards a large pot along alongside the carrots, one-half the potatoes, the thyme, fennel seeds as well as around salt. Cover alongside the H2O as well as boil for 45 minutes or an threescore minutes to brand stock.

While the stock is simmering, while the fennel bulb thinly as well as chop the white parts of the leeks up. Heat the olive fossil oil inwards a pan as well as saute the fennel as well as leek for almost fifteen minutes, until they're soft.

Strain the stock as well as and hence lay the stock, the fennel as well as leek as well as the remaining potatoes dorsum into the large pot as well as simmer it all for almost fifteen minutes. Stir inwards the spinach, dill, lemon juice as well as the balance of the tabular array salt (and the pepper!).

Puree the soup inwards batches inwards a nutrient processor until smooth. Serve it upwards alongside a handful of radish slices as well as a few croutons floating on top.