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.

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