Taking a Break

Thanks to all who popped into see what Treechangecallignee was up to. However, I am taking a break for a while but will be back with a new and exciting blog telling all about our new place down by the sea and the adventures we have had moving into the community and renovating our home.

Bye for a while

Maree

Just one last tantallising dessert that made it's way into our home recently.

Chocolate and raspberry mousse.

Spring is Just Around the Corner

I thought the fish bone ferns pushed into these vases were an effective way of using these sometimes ill thought of fronds.

What's for Dessert

Pear in Puff Pastry with ice cream

Shopping at old Haunts

A few years ago my office was just around the corner from High Street Malvern and I loved it being my local shopping haunt. I visited there the other day and found "some things change some stay the same"....



Below: The Antique Market still the same with great old things to buy.

Below: This old book shop used to be a favourite of mine.

Below: New Wheel & Barrow. Somehow I thought this was a store in London so I was pleasantly surprised when it turned up on High Street.

Below: Interior Wheel & Barrow

Below: Interior Wheel & Barrow

I bought some baskets, some coffee mugs, a new bowl ( I know I know) and a gadget that shreds unripe mango...whose been watching Luke Nguyens' Vietnam....his Asian cooking show on SBS then????

What's for Dessert

Go Australia
We had friends over to watch the Soccer Aust V. Ghana on the Saturday evening and to pass the time until 11.30pm kick off, they...they... made chocolate muffins. Thanks guys very cute.

What's Been on the Menu No 33

It's not easy being green...but we don't mind about that.

The food we've been having shows that the vegetable garden is producing lots of greens for us to eat.
Below: Chicken & cashews with home grown broccoli and coriander.

Below: Green Salad with homegrown lettuce and rocket ( the pear of course is not home grown)
Below: Tuna and salad with Yes you guessed homegrown coriander and rocket.

Below: Cutlets with peas and fetta none of which is home grown.

Sunday Lunch Again Except it was Monday

Queens Birthday Monday, a lovely holiday for all in Australia.

We went to Koonwarra. A very cute little town 2 hours east of Melbourne.

Below: This is a tad confusing as we had previously been to the Organic Cafe where this picture is taken. However that was in summer and yesterday saw us at the cafe over the road where you can see roses on the verandah posts. That one over the road is called the Gourmet Cafe.
Below: The interior of the Gourmet Cafe

Below: Tasting Platter. Includes Venison sausages, goats milk cheese, venison pate,

Below: Bread for the Tasting platter

Below: Showing the variety of chutneys, jams, wines, vinegars, sauces etc available at The Gourmt Cafe.

Further Post to Sunday Lunch Again

Below: Through the cafe and to outside where you are directed to the Koonwarra Store. This store sells clothes, bags and home decor articles.

Below: Showing the outdoor area for the restaurant. Delightful setting and we can't wait to go there on a nice sunny day.

Below: Showing the gardens. There are many roses, which incidently had been pruned, but which must make a delightful setting when all is in bloom.

Wonderful Paintings

When we visited the Gallery of NSW it was a pleasure to stand back and look at the great works doing their best to fill us with a sense of what is it ?..wonder at their creation perhaps.

Below: Tom Roberts Bailed Up

Below: Modern Blue

Sunday Yum Cha

Sunday brunch at a Traditional Chinese Restaurant saw us at The Teapot in Springvale.
Yum Cha littorally means tea drinking and so we did drink Chinese tea.
But for those of you who haven't partaken, Yum Cha has also come to mean the eating of a variety of small dishes, steamed or fried in bamboo baskets and these are presented on wheeled trolleys from which you can choose what you want. Its sort of a 'ceremony' if you like.

Below: The Teapot


Below: Interior. You can see the girls with one of the steam trolleys.
Below: Eel wrapped in puff pastry and tied with a spinach ribbon...Yuk and I could still taste the oily fishy flavour hours later

Below: Prawn dumplings

Below: Stuffed Sticky rice wrapped in leaves (not sure what sort of leaf)

We did have other dishes such as the char su (pork) buns which were very nice but on the whole it wasn't one of my favourite dining experiences. Hardly anything green or vegetable like to eat, And I missed out on trying the lotus root.

What's for Dessert at Yum Cha

Follow on from above posting "Sunday Yum Cha"

Chinese desserts tend to be quite bland. There were jellies with little paper umbrellas, which looked colourful and these tended to be taken by the children

Below: A mango creme served with carnation milk
Below: Cremed coconut

No 9 Ward Ave Darlinghurst

When we were in Sydney an ideal breakfast spot was just nearby. No 9 Ward Ave. Open for coffees, breakfast and lunch. It is tiny inside but makes use of the space with a mezzanine level and tables outside on the footpath.

It is like a little English drawing room with framed portrait and landscape artworks.

I had Eggs Florentine, delicious Hollandaise sauce.

Ian had deconstructed poached eggs, beans and bacon with toast (below)

What's for Dessert

Pear poached in a syrup made with Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry (the Best) with pistachios and cream. The rose Elina is still flowering although we are almost in winter.

Plant Natives in your Garden

.....and the birds will come.

Eastern Spinebill giving me a look.

Whats been on the Menu No 32

I have had a few meals out in Restaurants nothing special though.

Met No 1 son at a restaurant in Hampton for Lunch.

He was in Melbourne mainly for a friends birthday which was held at the Otway Lighthouse. He had to drive down there at night and as he lives interstate, he wasn't aware that they were building and had completed the Geelong By- Pass. He mentioned to me that "Geelong's missing....not there anymore" LOL

Below: Ian and I had a quick bite to eat at the local Thai Restaurant

Green Thai chicken Curry Good Value at $10.00 Plus $2.00 for rice

What's Been on the Menu No 31

It's been a month, very sorry about that. When you see my food photo offerings, I'm sure you will be forgiving NOT.

Miserable Sardines on Toast with mind you fresh radishes and coriander from the garden

Boring Fresh Flathead fillets on Eggplant (from the garden)

I guess these garden hints give you an idea of what I've been up to. But that's no excuse, full on blogging here we come.

What's Been on the Menu No30

Below : Delicious little cupcakes. The red one is called red velvet and is made by adding a huge amount of red food colouring. Talk about hyper after eating.

A red velvet wedding cake is popular in USA completely covered with white icing so upon the cutting of the cake a deep red interior is exposed. Whew!! ... too much symbolism for me.

Below: Steak at a restaurant for Ian

Below: Scallop pie for me at the same restaurant

Below: Easter brunch

Below: Pork chop with gnocchi (again) Guess who cooked.