With the cooler weather, we have been eating fewer salads and using the oven more. I have been particularly been missing roasts, so one night, I seasoned and roasted a chicken, and had it with baked potato, and sweet potato with peas.
The next night, I used the rest of the chicken to make a Jamaican-style soup like mum used to make, with Jamaican dumplings, noodles and chocho to remind me of her.
Another night, I made a curried fish dish using smoked salmon and smoked cod with brown rice and stir-fried green vegetables. This was voted a great success, but I am not sure I could ever make it again! I have no idea what I put in it as I was cooking by taste.
And we had okonomiyake again. This time I used thin slices of pork which turned out to be very good indeed. I like the versatility of this recipe. So far, we have used ham, dried shrimp, prawns, pork and chinese sausage, and they all have been very tasty.
Bob has also been doing his bit. He bought some red emperor and seasoned it and fried it one night.
We made a bolognese type spaghetti sauce another night using pork with a bit of salami to give a smoky flavour and a lot of vegetables. Very warming!
And last night we cooked beef and vegeable stir fry with rice.
As usual, we have eaten out. We revisited Morgan's at Scarborough to have fish and chips by the harbour with the dogs the other day.
Bob had mackerel and was very disappointed with the flavour.
The dogs had his in the end, it tasted so odd. They didn't mind, but he was very unhappy.
I had whiting and prawns, which turned out to be a bit tasteless. But, the chips were good, so the waiting gulls and dogs got nothing.
We have eaten at Morgan's before - both at the restaurant and the takeaway and the meals have been good, if not as spectacular as its reputation, so we weren't terribly impressed. However, we all enjoyed the walk along the foreshore, checking out the boats and pelicans, and wishing we had a boat too so we could catch our own fish.
I went to the Providore store in Albion with friends twice this week. It is very handy because it is the nearest cafe to the BIA where I have art classes, but though the food and atmosphere is quite nice, I found the service a bit slow and forgetful when the cafe was full and we had a big group - even though we had booked. I think it is still finding its feet a bit. Nevertheless, the frittata and salad I had there was very enjoyable.
I also visited one of my favourite coffee shops in my area with some friends. Idea Caffe is owned by a very nice Italian couple. We have a lot of cafes in our area, and they all offer something slightly different as well as the coffee. The Coffee Guy in Junction rd, Wooloowin, is very urban chic, with antiques and is very couture coffee in style. They roast their own coffee, sell coffee making accessories and a nice range of biscuits. People who go here tend to be well dressed and professionals, though they do get students popping in for a take-away before school, or labourers popping in for a take-away. The magazines are design oriented. I tend not to go there after a walk with the dogs, when I am hot, grubby and sweaty, feeling far too gauche. I rarely take friends there since they don't provide meals, but my husband often has business meet-ups there, especially with those who are good coffee fans. Idea Caffe in Shaw rd, Wooloowin is quite different in style as it is vey open and casual, frequented by cyclists, families, dog walkers, locals and passers-by. I don't have to get dressed up or down there. It offers simple Italian style meals, some cakes and biscuits and breakfasts, so I take friends there. It stocks a few home magazines but mostly newspapers. I ordered a set salad there and even though it turned out that they had run out of bocconcini, they worked with me to create an individual salad that would please me:
It was as good as it looks.
My friends also ordered something that they had run out of and again they went to a lot of trouble to make something special for them. When we came to pay, my friends were given a large discount to make up for the trouble with ordering. This friendly, helpful attitude and the warm rugs to wrap ourselves in against the cool breeze are a big positive for this place.
This week's recipe is
Pecan Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
150 g pecan pieces
180g butter
250g dark chocoate
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vaanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
Method
Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Spray square tin and line with greaseproof paper.
Chop butter and chocolate and melt over low heat, stirring, until smooth.
Cool.
Place eggs, sugar and vanilla in mixing bowl and beat unil thick and pale.
Stir in cocoa and flour.
dd nuts. Stir in chocolate mixture.
Pour into baking tin and bake 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and leave to cool.
Remove from pan and cut into squares
It is lovely and sticky when cut, and always disappears fast.
