My recipe for mixed carrot salad.

We have done a lot of home cooking.  My other half made me  some lovely pancakes for breakfast.  I love them with maple syrup and lemon:

I cooked chicken and wild mushroom stew with brown rice and beans:

Italian sausages, kale and tomatoes and potatoes:

mackerel and rice and stir-fried vegetables

 

roast pork hock, sauerkraut and baked potatoes:

 

 

forest mushroom risotto:

 

 and one of my "bits of this and bits of that meals", with an Asian theme this time:

 

(barbequed pork)

 

(Japanese pickle)

(Mieng Kham, Chinese pickles, Japanese fish roe, steamed Chinese broccoli,  and Edamame).

One of the " highlights" of the week was a trip to Ikea for some verandah cushions.  Hunger struck so we tried the food there.  Bob had the meatballs " tastes like soggy cat biscuits dog and preservative" and my friend and I had the seafood salad ( okay, a bit tasteless).  However, we also bought a variety of their bottled foods to take home .  One night we had another bits and pieces meal.  We had their dill herrings, onion and herrings, their orange herring roe and their pickled cucumbers,

with some smoked pepper trout,

a home-made potato, dill and caper salad,

a garden salad,

 and a dip.  The meal was judged a success.

The home made recipe this blog is for a  mixed carrot salad.

Warm Mixed Carrot Salad

Recipe

2 purple carrots
2 orange carrots
Large handful snow peas
Large handful pine nuts
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
2 dessert spoons sugar
Salt
Pepper

Method

Brown pine nuts in a heavy pan, put aside.
Heat balsamic vinegar and sugar till boiling.  Simmer until sugar is dissolved and liquid is reduced by half.  Put aside.
Peel carrots then slice into strips.
Slice snow peas into strips.
Place a steamer on top of a pan of boiling water and steam carrots for a few minutes.  Add snow peas and steam until just heated through.

Remove and place vegetables in bowl.  Sprinkle over the pine nuts and the glaze.  Stir through.

As we had guests staying with us, we had a lot of meals out.

Cakes at the Queensland Art Gallery Café were very nice, in lovely surroundings, with friendly, efficient staff.

My chocolate mousse cake was wonderful.

At Café Alto in The Powerhouse, we feasted on sardines:

olives and grissini

mussels in a spicy tomato sauce

gnocchi with a creamy seafood sauce.

We didn't have a seat outside, but still had a good meal and enjoyed ourselves.

In Southbank, we visited Ole.  The ladies shared a jug of sangria

and we feasted on spiced almonds

croquetas of bacalao ( the best croquetas I have had in a long time)

patatas bravas

scallops with chorizo, octopus with chorizo, and prawns with chorizo.  great food.  Great service.  And, you can people watch the passers by.

 

 But wait, there was more!  Chicken curry at Dello Mano, in Newstead was very tasty and the service and ambiance very pleasant:

Lastly, we had delicious macaroons at Le Bon Choix in Paddington.  Pity the service isn't a little more interested and affable.  It is like communicating with automatons. ( the service in the Hamilton store is a bit better).

 

Lastly, but not least, we had a duck confit, orange and kipfler potato salad with a mustard sauce at the GOMA River Café.  Vey nice and a pleasant location.