My friend Treasure took me to the best Thai restaurant I have ever been to. I don’t even mean that as an exaggeration or hyperbole. I can’t remember what it was called by I am pretty sure it was on Lygon Street, Melbourne. We shared two dishes, one was an amazing citrusey herby tofu salad with roasted ground rice, and the other was deep fried tofu with vegetables and delicious sauce.
I don’t know how delicious it looks from these photos but damn it was so good. So fresh, tasty and healthy!
ruby x
Thirst quencher.
There’s this amazing place in Melbourne called Lentil As Anything. From what I can gather it’s like a soup kitchen/cafe/restaurant intended for musicians, artists and homeless/foodless individuals. It’s sort of unique in that you pay what you think the food is worth, or you pay when you are able to, and the payments are anonymous. I like it a lot. Last time I visited Melbourne we went to one in St Kilda and it was such a let down because it had been so hyped to me. The one I went to this time was at an old convent in Abbotsford and it was amazing! Also, we went to a farm out the back soooo cute.
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My dad and I used to make dumplings all the time and they were delicious, and cheap! My friend Treasure took me to this place in China Town that had amazing dumplings like I’d never experienced at a restaurant before. Delicious!!
Pumpkin dumplings
Mushroom and spinach.
Vegetarian steamed buns.
I’m droooling.
ruby x
Last weekend Jake and I went to my favourite pub, Mac’s Brewery in Wellington. I don’t know why I like it so much, maybe it’s the upside-down retro lampshades they have hanging from the ceiling, the waterfront, the lighting, and the intimate booths. I’m not a fan of beer (although I’ve heard it’s good), I go for the cider. They make the best apple cider I have ever had. We got 2 free cider vouchers each from here: http://refreshingchange.co.nz. Yum!
Mac’s ‘Isaac’s’ Apple Cider. Isaacs as in Isaac Newton who figured out gravity when an apple fell on his head. Ha!
Yum!
Berry Cider, Pear Cider.
Cute Jake!
Retro lampshades.
ruby x
The margherita we had for dinner. Yum!
I’m not the sort of person who usually says things like ‘yum!’ about my own food, but tonight it just sort of slipped out. This was seriously delicious. Jake and I are poor again this week because we spent all our money on going to Wellington this weekend to see Real Estate, my family, and having some fun. So I made this because there was a bag of lentils in our cupboard staring at me. This was inspired by a recipe in my vege cookbook. It will definitely be a regular in our house from now on!
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My little baby bunny, rupert.
Jake and I were super hungry tonight and we didn’t know what to make so we made this and it was pretty yum. I didn’t make it as well as I would have liked but I think it’s worthy of a retry. I think I’m having a lot of failures when blending of an ingredient is necessary. See, we don’t have a food processor or a blender. Just one of those whizz sticks. So bear with me and just pretend this turned out just like the picture, okay?
This recipe is actually ingenious. It gives the creamy-ness that comes with macaroni cheese without having cheese, and being super unhealthy. Because of all the peas it’s so filling that you actually can’t eat too much of it as well so there’s lots for lunches!
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Yesterday I was given a lovely book! It’s called ‘Afternoon Tea Parties’ by Susannah Blake. Tea parties are totally my thing. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because they’re pretty, girly and fancy. And all the food is in miniature. There’s something exciting about that. Last year I started collecting English china because my friend Leonie took me to a vintage church sale and I bought a Colclough china cup for $6 and I’ve been hooked ever since. Mostly I’ve collected Royal Albert Teacup Trios. Am I complete loser or just prematurely a nanna?
Anyway, this book is great. It has different themed tea parties (e.g. for a baby shower, bridal shower, or children’s parties), food choices, and recipes. It’s so pretty!
Cute, huh? I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes this sort of thing. It has some great ideas!
ruby x
I never really had risotto like this before I came to New Zealand. Jake’s mum made it once when I went over for dinner and I have been cooking it ever since. She got the recipe originally from one of Nigella’s cookbooks. It’s delicious, fairly cheap, and easily made vegan.
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Hi there! I’m in a good mood!
Since I started uni so late today I even had time to make muffins! I’m not a huge fan of cake or muffins (though, I’ll eat them if they are there), but I love baking. Whenever we have old bananas I like to make these muffins because I don’t want them to go to waste. I don’t know about you, but old bananas are way too sweet and mushy for my tastes, but they are perfect for baking. This is an easy and delicious vegan recipe for banana muffins that I got from Jake’s mum, Penny.
The first step is to get 3 manky old bananas and mash them up! Preheat the oven to 180C.
Add the oil and mix. Add the sugar.
Add the flour, baking soda and whatever else you want (I put dates in these ones)! Mix! If it’s too dry, as it often is, add a little more oil and mix!
Line a muffin tray with some paddy cases, fill them with the mixture and put in the oven for ~25 minutes (depending what your oven is like). Voila!
Vegan Banana Muffin recipe
3 (preferably old and manky) bananas, mashed.
1/4 cup of oil (Canola or whatever)
1 cup of brown sugar
2 cups of flour (I like to use wholemeal, but plain white is also good)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
+/- dark chocolate, nuts, coconut, dates, icing, whatever else!
Enjoy!
ruby x
I don’t trust people who don’t like mushrooms. For a vegetarian, they are like steak. I can see why they are not appealing when they are cold, but when they are hot what is there not to love?
One of the most delicious breakfasts I’ve had in my whole life. Poached eggs, avocado, tomato and goats cheese.
Herby scrambled eggs on bruschetta.
What is your favourite hot breakfast?
ruby x
Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. University started again on Monday and I have been pretty busy and tired. I haven’t had much time to cook anything particularly new or exciting so I thought I might take the chance to put up some very old pictures. If you know me at all, you’ll know that my dad is a chef. He is probably my favourite person in the whole world, and I miss him all the time. He is the person who made me passionate about cooking and prepared me enough to feed myself when I left home. These are some photos (good and bad) that I collected when I was younger, maybe 15 - 18 years old when I intended to document the time I spent cooking together with my dad. Also, some photos of places that I hold dear. This is where this blog began.
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I love pita pockets. My mum used to make them for us all the time when my brother and I were kids. She used to fill them with rice, salad, cheese, yogurt and other delicious things. Maybe that sounds weird, but it was yum. Tonight Jake and I made falafel pita pockets with grated cucumber, spring onion, cheese and plain yogurt.
Sooo yum.
ruby x