Unblogged

The Unblogged Files: January 2015

2/01/2015 05:41:00 PM

Hey hey! Unblogged Files time! January didn't feel like a super busy month, but looking back, there was a lot of food. Yay!

Let's start by looking at some breakfasts! I put a lot of effort into my breakfasts this month, it seems. We are right in the middle of the Reed avocado season...

Avocados!

Eggs are awesome.

Left: Scrambled eggs, sautéed mushrooms, buttered toast, bacon and chive garnish
Top right: Scrambled eggs, bacon, roast cherry tomatoes, corn tortilla
Bottom right: Masala-spiced omelette, avocado, buttered rye toast, espresso

And here are some yogurty oatmeal type creations.

Top left: Raspberry oatmeal swirl
Top right: Peaches and cream oatmeal
Bottom left: Mango, yogurt, crushed digestive biscuit
Bottom right: Yogurt, raspberries, grated chocolate

I was perhaps most proud of this French toast I made early in the month while we were still on holidays. Thick slices of stale brioche, dipped in a mixture of beaten eggs, milk and vanilla extract, fried in butter and then coated in caster sugar and cinnamon. I served them with fresh raspberries, fior di latte gelato and raspberry sauce. Yum!

Donut French Toast, Raspberries, Fior Di Latte Gelato, Raspberry Sauce

So this summer has been a bit crap so far, hasn't it? We did have a couple of days of really hot weather though, where some cold relief was required! Here's a green tea and mint drink, a raspberry smoothie, and some peanut butter banana gelato. (Whizz together a frozen banana and a tablespoon of peanut butter in a blender for a sweet, creamy, icy treat).

Left: banana and peanut butter gelato
Top right: Jasmine Green tea, mint and soda water
Bottom right: Raspberry smoothie

Throughout January, we were trying to make an effort to eat out less and cook more. Here are some homecooked meals!

Top left: Steak, rocket pine nut and parmesan salad
Top right: Beef kway teow
Bottom left: Grilled salmon and soba salad
Bottom right: Beef bulgogi and black rice

Top left: Spaghettini with chilli pesto and pork meatballs
Top right: Herbed mustard chicken w roast cherry tomatoes & mash
Bottom left: Feuertopf (spicy minced beef & veggies)
Bottom right: Spaghetti with roast chicken pan juices

Top left: Mushroom, chorizo and haloumi tacos
Top right: Bacon, chicken and avocado salad
Bottom left: Chicken with mushrooms and bacon, mashed potato, brocollini
Bottom right: Mashed potato waffles

I did treat myself to a couple of cafe visits though. I'm currently loving Little Rogue, and was really impressed by the asparagus and cocotte eggs at Krimper Cafe.

Top left: Magics at Little Rogue (12 Drewery Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000)
Bottom left: Pain au Raisin and Magic at Plantation (Level 2, Melbourne Central 300 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000)
Top and Bottom Right: Breakfast at Krimper (20 Guilford Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000)
Asparagus and Cocotte Eggs Boiled eggs, asparagus cream, green bruschetta with asparagus, broad bean, broccolini and pecorino
Duck in Pan House made sliced duck prosciutto, duck egg, spinach, mushroom ragout, potato espuma

I'm currently limiting myself to buying lunch just once a week at work, so have been trying to eat different things when I do buy lunch. I can't stay away from Nando's for too long though, haha!

Top left: Nando's!
Top right: Mixed grain salad, roasted pumpkin, broad beans, spinach, harissa whipped feta at Captain Melville (34 Franklin Street Melbourne VIC 3000)
Bottom left: Pork belly on rice, Pho Nom (Emporium, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000)
Bottom left: Curries and Roti at Zam Zam (364 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000)

A couple of sweet treats I enjoyed in January...

A pretzel croissant from Zumbo Patisserie (Emporium, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000) - i.e. a regular croissant, dipped in lye solution before being baked, to give it that savoury pretzel flavour. Deelicious. Totally want to make one at home now!

Zumbo Pretzel Croissant

And Nat's amaaaaaazing ricotta cake in polenta pastry from Beatrix (688 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne VIC 3051). I thought it might be heavy, but it was super light and moist, with a pleasant graininess from the polenta in the pastry. Lovely! I'd seen pictures of it on the Beatrix Instagram account, and definitely wanted to go try it, but my dad actually bought it for me! One Saturday, he posted a photo of the tart on Facebook and I saw it and was all like: "Whuuuut, Mum and Dad are at Beatrix and they're eating that ricotta pie I've been dreaming about!" I called him to see if he was still there and could pick me up a slice, but he'd already left. Boo! But then he drove back and bought me a slice because he is awesome and I am spoiled. Thanks Dad, you're the best!!!

Ricotta pie in polenta pastry

We had a little party to watch the Miranda finale! Such a fantastic show, I totally bawled my eyes out! We had pizza, guacamole and Veuve Cliquot (thanks to my friend Kim for bringing the champagne!)...

Pizza, Guac, Veuve Cliquot

...and I made a pavlova!

Pavlova!

We reorganised our pantry. Boom.

Pantry!

We also finally checked out 8-Bit (8 Droop Street, Footscray Melbourne 3011). The burgers were decent, but we certainly weren't blown away. I enjoyed my After Burner burger, but the onion rings were a little bland, and Sandra's Altered Beast burger had heaps of unpleasant jiggly undercooked bacon fat. On the plus side, the buns were great (not messy at all), packaging is fantastic, the service was friendly and the food came out really quickly.

Eat-8-Bit

Most importantly, the peanut butter milkshake was incredible. Seriously. Just hook it up to my vein!

#shakeselfie #nosharing

My friend Kim got her PR - hooray! - so I baked her a chocolate raspberry pavlova. It's a Nigella recipe, from Forever Summer, which I baked for the last time nine years ago (!). It's seriously amazing - I won't leave it that long before I bake it again!

Chocolate raspberry pavlova

And speaking of Nigella recipes, I also whipped up a batch of her chocolate chocolate chip muffins (from the Children's chapter in Feast) for a treat of a breakfast throughout the work week.

Nigella's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Finally, yesterday we went on a little hike through Sherbrooke Forest with some friends, which started with a decadent picnic at Grant's picnic ground! We had washed rind brie, double cream brie, salty prosciutto, saucisson sec, peaches, pickles and epi bread.

Picnic at Grant's Picnic Ground

After our hike, we took a little drive to Burnham Beeches for afternoon tea. It was a cold day and we'd been walking for hours - their Valrhona hot chocolate totally hit the spot! I loved the chocolate tart too, with its super rich cocoa-y filling and crisp pastry. Yum.

Piggery Cafe Afternoon Tea

Plans for February: more of the same, catch-ups with friends, one blog event I'm really looking forward to (Hint: vodka will be involved), and a weekend trip to Jervis Bay! Yay!

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3 comments

  1. Wow you've definitely been busy! :D I must look out for the Miranda show, I don't know much about it but a pizza viewing party is such a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Avo on grainy toast is my go to breakfast at the moment. Cracked black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, yum.

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  3. I am so so so impressed by your pantry. It's so organised! I feel like I should invest in a label maker now...

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