Holidays with friends, family and food

I had an absolutely sensational week in Sydney and Canberra last month, filled with beautiful friends, family and of course, food. Oh, ok, there was a bit of drink too.

I went down because late last year one of mum's friends, Diane, who I am fortunate to also call my friend [after all, she has known me since I was 5!], was in town from Canada for her nephew's wedding. I booked flights immediately! It was a fabulous few days.

The first day was catching up with a few other friends in Sydney, including fellow food blogger JJ from 84th and 3rd who I talk to often on twitter, and who I met in Adelaide in November at Eat.Drink.Blog3.

One of my cousins, and fellow foodie, had suggested I eat at Kitchen by Mike and the Grounds of Alexandria if I made it to Sydney. As I was staying with a girlfriend who conveniently lives in Alexandria, we had a couple of breakfasts there. YUMMO!

I'm not a butter on toast girl [unless there is vegemite involved, then you can bring it on!], but when I read on the menu at Kitchen by Mike that the butter was Pepe Saya I couldn't resist. I didn't actually have quite enough!

The breakfast board at The Grounds of Alexandria. Poached egg, avocado, leg ham, tomato basil salsa, pesto, persian fetta, sourdough. Doesn't look like a lot but it was an effort to eat it all.

Breakfast at Kitchen by Mike. Two huge field mushrooms, the most flavoursome tomatoes almost ever, bacon, egg, sourdough from Iggy's and Pepe Saya butter. No effort to eat all this! 

It wasn't just the food I loved at these two cafes, it was the whole package. Both had kitchen gardens with chickens! I assume that at least a few of the eggs on the menu came from their girls, as well as some of the food. Both were also built in converted warehouses and had shops attached. Next door to the Grounds is a fabulous providore, Salt Meats Cheese [where I could have gone berserk. I restrained myself admirably]. 

Some of the salts at Salt, Meats Cheese. Varieties included espresso, merlot, garlic, smoked, taragon, tomato, truffle, and about another 10-12 varieties

I cannot believe this was the first time I had done the stunning Bondi to Bronte walk. 

Actually, the three cafes I ate at in Sydney all had chickens - the third being Three Blue Ducks at Bronte. Diane and I did the Bondi to Bronte walk and near the end I asked twitter where we should have lunch. Within seconds three people told us we HAD to go to Three Blue Ducks. There are no food pics because we were too hungry to wait [and yes, I just forgot...]. 

These all made me feel at home :) 

After Sydney was a couple of days in Canberra. Visiting relatives and catching up with friends, old and new. And a visit to the sensational Capital Region Farmer's Markets. Such gorgeous produce. I will be back!

Haloumi and pomegranate salad - recipe from blogger and friend Shirley of Rhubarb Whine

Part of dinner with goodies from a few local delis and the Capital Region Farmers Markets

A highlight was spending a few hours with blogger and twitter friend Liz, from Bizzy Lizzy's Good Things. She had made a stunning blueberry and banana cake for morning tea - normally I baulk at anything banana but I didn't want to be rude, so I ate a piece, and nearly went back for seconds. SO GOOD!  However the highlight of this visit [apart from spending time with Lizzy and meeting her hubby of course...] was the freakin' awesome watermelon and vodka crush with pomegranate. I just helped myself to seconds of this. And maybe thirds. It's on the menu for the next dinner party.

Watermelon and vodka crush with pomegranate

The other Canberra highlight was a visit to the National Portrait Gallery. I have visited every gallery and museum in Canberra on many occasions [and was even a tour guide at Old Parliament House many years ago...], and my absolute favourite is the National Portrait Gallery. It's only been open a short time [prior to having its own building it was temporarily housed at Old Parliament House - yes, when I worked there]. Its permanent collection is stunning, and its current exhibition Glorious: A Diamond Jubilee portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is well worth a visit. The centrepiece, a jaw-droppingly beautiful portrait of the Queen is worth the visit alone, and painted by Australian artist Ralph Heimans. As Molly would say, do yourself a favour! 

Have you had any great food experiences when travelling? And when you didn't really expect it? 

Marinated mushrooms with lemon and thyme

I think I've said before that I was a latecomer to the wonders of mushrooms. Now I just can't get enough of them, and eat them at least once every day. Usually for breakfast, sliced or chopped into chunks, sautéed with a bit of butter, sometimes with rosemary or thyme, and served with an egg, or some haloumi, or bacon, or a combo of.

They are insanely healthy for you [maybe a bit less so with the addition of butter - never margarine] which as far as I'm concerned is just a huge bonus!

Marinated mushies, with lemon and thyme

This very simple marinated mushroom dish is always a winner. Great to serve with anti-pasto platters, or just with a couple of cheeses. Mum introduced me to these many years ago, but for reasons I can't work out, I don't make them all that often. Silly me.

What you need:
400g teeny tiny baby button mushrooms [the smaller the better]
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice [or white wine vinegar - I love LiraH vinegars, but had run out]
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and chopped finely
1/2 tsp salt [I like the Maldon seasalt or the pink Murray salt flakes for this]
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
4-5 stalks of Italian parsley, leaves only
zest of 1 lemon
whole chilli [cut into big chunks, seeded if you don't like it too hot, optional]

All squashed into one of mum's beautiful old preserving jars. 

What you do:

• Give the mushrooms a good wipe or a quick wash to get rid of any dirt and grit. 
• Pop the mushrooms into a glass jar with a lid - squash them all in if you need to!
• In a measuring cup [or a small bowl with a lip], mix together all the other ingredients. Taste and add extra lemon, salt, pepper if needed. 
• Pour over the mushrooms in the jar. Pop the lid on and swirl the jar around until the mushrooms are all coated in the mix. 

Tipping these upside down wasn't my smartest move as the lid wasn't sealed!

• Leave on the bench to marinate for at least 24 hours. Give the jar a good swirl every few hours or when you walk past. 
• After 24 hours the liquid will start to come out of the mushrooms, adding to the marinade. After about 36 hours your mushrooms will have shrunk. Pop it all in the fridge and eat as desired! 

This is after about 36 hours - see how much the liquid has increased?

The mushrooms are best if brought to room temperature before serving.

Have you made marinated mushrooms? What flavours do you add?

Chocolate decadence - Valentine's Day

I’ve never really been the hearts and flowers type, and I'm not all that into Valentine's Day [due mainly to that ghastly boyfriend who dumped me on 13 February many years ago, but then expected to get back together on the 15th! Um, NO!] 

However, I do love the occasional excuse to have a decadent dessert - and what better excuse than Valentine’s Day. 

This is really easy to make and the cake part of the recipe can be made a few days - or even weeks - earlier and kept in the fridge or freezer. I actually think it tastes even better 2-3 days after it’s been made. The best bit about the cake is it’s versatility - it’s perfect for morning tea, a quick after-school treat, or as a dessert for a dinner party. Oh, and it’s also gluten free.

And if it looks familiar, it's virtually the same recipe as the one for my gluten free chocolate cherry cake [nothing like recycling!], but tarted up for Valentines Day. If you're into that sort of thing.

What you need:
250g dark chocolate,broken into pieces (I prefer dark chocolate that has 70% cocoa solids)
250g almond meal
200g caster sugar
150g butter, softened
6 eggs (ideally 59g - if they are smaller use 7 eggs)
1 tbsp cocoa
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp boiling water
Cream to serve
Raspberries (fresh or frozen) to serve
Icing sugar* (to serve)

What you do:

1. Turn the oven on to 180c.
2. Line the baking tray with baking paper
3. Place the chocolate pieces in the food processor and whizz until they resemble big crumbs of chocolate (if you don’t have a food processor, place the chocolate in a freezer or zip lock bag and seal, place the bag between 2 tea-towels and bash with a rolling pin or a meat mallet until its crushed). Set aside.
4. Place the sugar, butter, eggs, cocoa and baking powder into the mixing bowl and mix with the electric beaters or a wooden spoon until smooth. Mix in the coffee mixture.
5. Add the chocolate and almond meal and mix well - it might be easier to mix this with the wooden spoon.
6. Pour the cake mix into the baking tray, smooth it over with a knife.
7. Bake on the middle tray of the oven for 30-45 minutes (check it at 30 minutes - you want the centre to be soft to touch but not too gooey).

Leave to cool in the baking tray for 15 minutes then move it to cook on the wire rack.

To assemble dessert
Once the cake is cool, remove it from the wire rack and place it on a flat surface. Cut out heart shaped pieces with the cookie cutter and carefully transfer 1 heart to each plate. You should get 6 hearts out of a cake this size. 

This cake is best served at room temperature or slightly warmed. Serve with raspberries and cream. Dust with icing sugar.

WARNING! This cake is very rich and is easily enough to share. It IS Valentine’s Day after all!
* if you are serving this to someone who requires gluten free, make sure you get pure icing sugar, NOT icing mixture

What to do with leftover cake
All those leftover bits of cake (around the heart cut-outs) are great for dessert or snacks. Serve warmed with ice-cream or cream or thick yogurt. Or just eat them on their own! The cake should keep for 3 months in an airtight container in the freezer or a week in the fridge.