Sunday 19th September 2010

Spring is in the air. I love the cherry blossoms that are in bloom all over Perth. Especially the pink ones. I think I would like to have one in the front yard of my house. I'll have to remember that for when I'm doing the landscaping.

What better way to start a Sunday than dim sum!?

We were rather ravenous this morning.

We ordered multiples of some dishes.

And this morning I had help to polish off the chicken feet.

After dim sum and our ritual bubble tea, we walked to the Perth Art Gallery to see the current exhibit.

ART IN BLOOM - 2010
In keeping with the spring season, this exhibit was inspired by flowers and blooms and all things floral and pretty. After about an hour, we figured out what the exhibit was about. It wasn't an exhibit of just flowers as we had thought. It was the usual artworks in the gallery, but artists, teachers and various contributors had created 'floral art' displays, incorporating flowers in some form or another, that were inspired by the actual artwork. Some I quite enjoyed, some I appreciated for the beauty or message, while others I thought missed the mark completely. I guess that's art. It's so subjective. But it's thought inspiring and it's interesting to see other people's take on things.



After the exhibit, we went for a coffee.


MILK AND HONEY
82 James Street, Northbridge
After walking around for hours in the gallery, I was so buggered. I needed a recharge. Alas, I did not get it here. Not completely, anyways.

The cafe has great decor. It looks modern and cosy and in keeping with the 'milk and honey' theme. It was strange to see the plastic chairs that reminded me of the retro style glass cookware that Mum used to have.

What was disappointing was the coffee.

This is my macchiato.
Half of my coffee was froth. I had to spoon it out onto the saucer to get at the coffee! My friends' coffees were no better. Too much head.

But overall, a fantastic lazy day out and about.

Dinner
Bee Hoon soup with Prawns

I had one of the remaining Pandan Creme Brulees. After having time to set in the fridge overnight, it was absolutely divine!

Saturday 18th September 2010

EUROPEAN FOODS WHOLESALERS
93 - 101 Aberdeen Street, Northbridge
Today I went to European Foods Wholesalers for the very first time with Marissa and Teresa. As the name suggests, it's like a warehouse with all kinds of European imported goods that you can buy. The downside is that you have to buy it in wholesale quantities, which usually means at least two or three of each item if they're under 500g each. That's one of the reasons I haven't been sooner. I was planning a day when I could go with Marissa and Teresa so we could help each other out with purchasing multiple items.

Coffee beans being roasted on site.

This aisle was packed full of pasta!

This is a five kilo bag of pasta!!

Cold meats in the cold room.

I braved the cold to check out all the cheeses.

A trolley full of dried fish.
I left with organic butter, cling wrap, crushed tomatoes, canned baby clams, dried forest mushrooms, pearl cous cous and coffee liqueurs. That should last me a while!


Back at Marissa's, we grabbed a quick lunch of leftover gnocci, fresh Turkish bread and Mr Pelle's homemade chorizo. Yum, yum, yum.



Vernon and Victoria came over for dinner tonight. I had every intention on cooking dinner but was easily persuaded to opt for KFC instead. We got the Family Feast with hot'n'spicy chicken. I love the drumsticks!


After dinner, Victoria helped me with an experiment. I've made creme brulee several times (each of them a delightful success) but tonight I wanted to make pandan flavoured ones.

I used a basic recipe for the creme brulee and added in some pandan flavour paste.


Look how green the mixture was!


Adding the warmed up double cream.

Ready to go into the oven.

Just out of the oven - nicely set!

You're supposed to allow the creme brulee to spend at least a few hours in the fridge or over night to set. We didn't have time so we let them cool down until the ramekins were cool enough to handle without oven mitts.


Using my blow torch, we flamed some sugar over the tops.

Served with fresh strawberries.


Because they didn't spend any time in the fridge, the creme brulees were rather runny but they tasted fantastic! I love the shell of melted, caramelised sugar.

Friday 17th September 2010

I drove to work today and was able to grab breakfast on the way from McDonalds.

Aah, how I have missed you, Hashbrown.

And you, Bacon & Egg McMuffin.

Dinner
Seafood Laksa

Prawns, sliced fish cake, tofu, bean sprouts and coriander.

Thursday 16th September 2010

At the supermarket today, I was looking for a piece of scotch fillet for dinner. I finally settled on a piece of porterhouse as it was cheaper than the scotch fillet.

Then...I came across this pack of six pieces of scotch fillet that had been marked down from $28.85 to only $13.13. Too good to be true.

And it was.

I had a piece for dinner and it was quite tough despite having it medium rare. It leads me to believe that perhaps this 'Market Value' is an inferior budget range. I don't buy the 'Budget' range of meat because I know it's inferior in quality, so I think I maybe have to be weary of this 'Market Value' range from now on.

Seasoned with olive oil, sea salt, cracked black pepper and fresh rosemary.

A glass of shiraz from Margaret River to accompany dinner.

Scotch Fillet with Creamy Green Peppercorn Sauce
served with steamed Broccoli and roasted Carrots & Potatoes

Wednesday 15th September 2010

Dinner tonight was a collaboration between Mum and I. Using the rich tomato sauce I made the other night, I added lamb mince, chopped onion and garlic to create a rich sauce. Mum used this sauce to make a lasagne, with her own home made bechemal sauce.

The end result...One hell of a good lasagne.

I had some of the lasagne and salad for dinner.

Noel bought this apple cider when we were in Nannup. Yum.

What's for dessert? Some Starburst Jelly Babies.

[Whisper]: It's a Sony

Tuesday 14th September 2010

I felt like crap today so I called in sick. I stayed in bed until about 2pm, hoping Mum would get home from work so she could pop out and buy me some pandeine. No such luck. I drove to the shops and when I got to the checkout, I searched my bag and realised...I left my wallet at home.

I had to drive home and go back to the shops. Aargh.

I needed some therapy so I pottered around in the kitchen to make some comfort food.


Creamy Fennel Soup
garnished with Deep Fried Shallots & Fennel sprigs

Chicken with Vegetables
slowcooked with Seeded Mustard, White Wine & Green Peppercorns
The great thing about slow cooked food is that you can pop everything into the pot, turn it on low and leave it for an hour or so. I went back to bed.

Served on a bed of cous cous.

Monday 13th September 2010

During lunch today, Vince and I went to Boucla for a coffee before heading back to work.

I really don't know what was wrong with me today. I woke up with a sore neck and shoulders. My glands felt sore. I didn't have a migraine but my head felt heavy. By about 4pm, my vision in the right eye started to go blurry. Yes - I was losing my eyesight! It was as if I had been staring at a light bulb for a while and looked away - you get that spot in your line of vision where the bulb used to be. I couldn't see what I was typing in the computer. I couldn't read the report I was trying to proof read. I had to read the words around the part that I actually wanted to read. Not good!

I slept on the train on the way home and was very willing to let Mum cook dinner for me tonight.

Squid, Tofu & Beans with Chilli