Groupie

FOr the month of May, the folks at the gym launched a 'groupies' gig where if you attended 20 group sessions you will get a genesis gym singlet. I thought since we were regulars I could give this a go, and it also puts a quantifiable fitness goal at the end of it all.

They had a little puncher which punched a Teddy bear shaped hole on a business card sized groupie card at the end of every session. Session 12, 13 and 14 where initialed by the instructors because someone nicked the puncher! They eventually bought a new puncher which was crescent-moon shaped... I preferred that over the teddy bear...

Anyway, job done :) I clocked in my 20 sessions - 2 sessions on Monday nights (les milles body pump and pilates), wednesday morning Body balance, thursday morning body pump and Friday morning boxing circuit.






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ColorSplash test

I made this image using ColorSplash on my iPad and the uploaded to blogger via email.
I have a feeling me and my new toy are going to have quite a few adventures of our own :)

Hot Toddy

I had a bit of a cold last Wednesday, following an evening spent at Jam Factory for the premier night of The Hangover 2. I blame it on the rain (that was falling, falling...)

Anyway, to avoid further damage, I amped up the vitamin C, fluid intake, and hot milk before going to bed. One night I had a hot toddy to wash down the hot milk :) scotch whiskey, hot water, honey and lemon studded with cloves - it's almost a treat, and I swaer, it works all the time!!!

Big Breakfast

Today's big breakfast was composed of porterhouse steak, cooked rare and topped with creme fraiche with grated horseradish, and a poached egg, mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and garlic, and grilled tomatoes. A plain baguette and long black coffee on the side completed the picture.

No need for protein shakes with this kind of diet!



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Dalmatian Fish Stew

Tonight's dinner was made by him, and blogged through a new toy from him too. :)

Mussels, monk fish fillet and prawns in a spicy tomato based soup served on a bed of polenta... Perfect with red wine on a cold Melbourne night!





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Today's Cake

... is for my brother, cousin, and colleague,who just celebrated their birthdays!

It was a chocolate cake base, topped with homemade plum jam and candied grapefruit peel. And some other stuff within reach like the star snide and cinnamon quill, just to make it prettier and smell nicer...

Unfortunately my bro and cousin won't be able to have a slice, as they are far away.... This cake was devoured in the office!

Mirin Marinated Salmon with Red Onion and Parsley Vermicelli Salad

This one was a salmon cutlet, sliced into two. I marinated it in a mixture of soy sauce, black sesame oil, mirin, cracked black pepper and apple cider vinegar for around 30 minutes. I saved some of the marinade, and placed the cutlets in foil and baked in the oven for 10 minutes. The marinade was reduced until sticky and set aside.

While the salmon was marinating,  2 handfuls of brown rice vermicelli noodles were soaking in tepid water in a pot. I placed the pot with the noodles on high heat and after a quick boil, the noodles were drained and placed in a bowl.

Half a red onion was sliced thinly, and a couple of fresh parsley from the garden was roughly chopped.  Half a lemon was juiced over it and set aside.

The noodles were tossed into the parsley and red onion salad. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and the sticky marinade plus a gentle toss around made it ready.

The salmon was placed on top of the noodles.

And enjoyed as a lazy Sunday brunch.

:)

   

Freshly Baked Bread

I think one of the best natural air fresheners around the house is the smell of bread baking in the oven. Something about that scent makes your tummy feel hungry all of a sudden, and at the same time it makes the house feel warm (probably because of the heat from the oven!) and comforting (because there will be food soon!). 

I had some friends over last weekend for afternoon tea and I made a fresh loaf of rosemary bread. Very simple and no frills, and turned out to be nice, soft and chewy, with that hint of earthy rosemary flavor. Dipped in extra virgin olive oild and balsamic vinegar, you really won't need any other filling.

For the dough I use around 3 cups of plain white flour, a couple of sprigs of rosemary (minced), mixed with a very good glug of extra virgin olive oil (around 1/2 cup maybe!) and about a teaspoon of salt. In about 1.5 cups of warm water I dissolve 2 tsps of dried active yeast and about a teaspoon of white sugar. When that develops a foamy head I pour it onto the flour and knead (well I use the dough hook of my Kitchenaide, set to speed 1 for the first 2 minutes then to speed 2 when the ingredients are incorporated). When the dough is smooth and elastic, I just turn it onto an oiled bowl and leave it to rise in a warm spot, covered with a tea towel.

When doubled in size I just punch the air out and shape it into the desired loaf. Sometimes I make them into little rolls.I drizzle extra olive oil on top and maybe another sprinkling of the herbs used. You can easily alter the flavor by changing the herb, and anything pretty much works - thyme, parsley, oregano, black olives - anything you have at hand.

this one turned out to be a rosemary loaf, like a focaccia

sprinkled with sea salt

and it bakes quite easily too

around 25min in a 200C oven

these rolls were from the same dough but shaped differently

and i sprinkled some chili flakes on top

rolls in a bread basket - yum.

or maybe with a filling of your choice

or served with steamed mussels!

Nanay's Cake

It's Mother's Day! And while I have baked a lot of cakes for pretty much everyone celebrating something, I thought I'd make an extra special cake for my Nanay ('mother' in Tagalog)...

I had some pears in the fridge and remembered that I once made a poached pear cake. I thought it would be a really special cake, with my nanay in my mind the whole time I was cooking. She loves flowers, so the roses were meant to bundle in cake and flowers in one package!

I only used 4 pears and a small baking tin.

  

peel and core the  pears (william pears in this instance) but keep the stems intact

I used 4 small pears (one is missing in this photo!)

bring the following to a boil : 750ml of water, 1/2 cup of sugar, 

1 cinnamon stick, 6 cloves, 2 star anise and peel & juice of half a lemon.

poach pears in the liquid until the pears have softened. 

drain and discard liquid. let the pears cool.

meanwhile, make the cake batter

this one was made with 2 eggs whisked with 1/2 cup of caster sugar

when thick and foamy, trickle in around 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 

about 3 tablespoons of honey while still whisking the mixture.

when everything is incorporated, use a spatula to fold 1 cup of self raising flour.

pour onto greased and lined baking tin, and push the pears into the cake batter.
(this recipe is something that i just made up on the fly!)

bake in a preheated 180C oven for around 30minutes.

decorate however which way you would like

but it is best served warm!

Previous poached pear cake here.

My mom is back home in the Philippines but I do know one day I should be able to make something for her here in my very own kitchen, while she waits in the dining table, just like how I used to wait for her hot freshly cooked yummies!

Pho!

Pho face off!

One of our favorite things in the world is the Vietnamese noodle soup, pho. The one on the left is from Huong Viet, the one on the right from Kha Tran. Both restaurants are in Bayswater, near the train station. At $8 for a medium sized bowl, any noodle cravings will surely be satisfied!

I am particularly fond of the beef and chicken special - a combination of chicken liver, gizzard, heart, egg yolk, beef tripe, beef slices, chicken meat pieces, and my favorite, chicken blood. Probably quite 'a bit of mouthful' (ahem!) for some, but definitely a yummy treat for me :)

Sweet Chilli

Meet Pa Lo - tender pork belly cooked in a sweet dark soya sauce with herbs, served with onions, bean curd and boiled egg. Eaten with a bowl of hot steaming rice - perfect. 

Rice is the main Filipino stable and (most!) Filipinos love pork, needless to say after the first mouthful of this dish it transported me back home... My heart beated faster... although it was just perhaps my arteries trying to process the extra cholesterol, but anyway...The sauce reminded me a lot of pata tim - which is braised pork knuckles in a similar sweet dark soy based sauce.  

We had the Pa Lo  at Sweet Chilli, a Thai restaurant, on a Friday night, when the stars were out and we felt like walking towards dinner armed with a bottle of Shiraz.  The restaurant was very busy, and the food is good, perhaps giving justice to their $15-$22 price range for mains. 

Not bad for a local  spot indeed... now if only they also had a pub... :)

A1 Lebanese Bakery

One Saturday we were around Brunswick and found the A1 Lebanese Bakery. The place is not just a bakery, but had a coffee shop and grocery as well. We found a seat at the corner, and after browsing through the menu posted on the upper part of the wall above the counter, debating on what sounds yummier over the other, and realizing that we cannot order everything, we settled for a wrap with fresh veggies and zaatar (a spice mix usually made of sesame seeds, oregano, thyme, salt and sumac) and a spinach triangle - and they were worth every bite!

And, the coffee was strong. Very strong. Which is a good thing, personally.

The bakery also had a section with condiments, Mediterranean spices and tins of things that all look yummy, and shisha contraptions for what I think is a reasonable price (compared to the other ones I've seen in Melbourne so far!) I did manage to restrain myself from an impulsive purchase and left it at the shelf  - gives me an excuse to come back and get one (if I don't manage to actually buy one from somewhere in the Mediterranean sometime in this lifetime!) :)