Today’s Mantra: Eat for pleasure
I love food.
I think about it a lot. I often wish that a fairy would magic me up some beautiful, healthy, tasty meals so I didn’t have to cook or clean up.
But the reality is I have children and a husband who want three meals a day! Plus snacks. As our self-appointed food captain this means that I have essentially made myself their food fairy.
You know….I don’t think they appreciate it as much as I would.
After some amazing meals in Melbourne and a crash course in pasta making I am on one of my inspiration rolls (these often lead to heartache as my replications fall short).
So to help inspire you guys (or maybe get some tips on how to cook them better) the top foods of my trip to Melbourne….
From the wonderful Cumulus Inc:
Saffron spiced cauliflower, raisins, pinenuts and curd
Green and Yellow bean salad with parmesan, basil and buttermilk
Whole baby snapper, grilled leeks, capers and burnt butter
Circa (my favourite)
Korean inspired taco, LA style short ribs + Napa cabbage slaw (I actually don’t think this is the one but can’t find the one i had on their menu) It was amazing, a piece of fillet beef in an awesome soft taco with the cabbage slaw and three amazing sauces to try with it.
I had something else but the taco has blown it away so completely I can’t even think what it was.
Hellenic Republic
Taromosalata with warm pita bread (amazing!)
Sparangia me Avgo – grilled asparagus, broken egg, anchovy mayo, tsoureki crumbs
Tyri saganaki – Kefalograviera with peppered figs
Kotopoulo psistaria – Hazeldene’s free range chicken from the spit
Mamasitas
Tostaditas (like little round nachos with toppings)
de Pecho – Braised beef brisket, salsa roja,white onion & coriander
Kind of made it hard for myself didn’t I? You know I was even inspired by airport food! I actually grabbed a salad and was surprised at it’s deliciousness – roast pumpkin, beetroot, haloumi, and sweet potato on a bed of spinach, with a honey mustard dressing.
Happily I have had success so far with the pasta…meet my new pasta maker.
And my tagliatelle….
What foods have inspired you lately?
All my favourite restaurants too – though i have only had breakfast at Cumulus Inc. I love to make my own pasta but I haven’t done it since Leo was born – YOU have inspired me to make a spelt based pasta…will let you know how it goes x
Looking forward to hearing about it…my husband is just dying for me to change the original pasta recipe (not!)…I said “but we already eat wholemeal pasta so there is no difference!”
Jamie has a crispy skin Salmon in his 30 minute meals collection…. divine! I have tried it, really as easy as he says. Unfortunately, it is not on his website, I think……
yum!
Melbourne is so wonderful for foodies; I’m having flashbacks to my last visit right now and it is making me pine for a long, belly-filling Aussie holiday!
Your homemade pasta looks great 🙂
We kept thinking we just had good food “karma” in Melbourne last time but it was the same again this time. Melbournites care about good food!
The cauliflower sounds wonderful…there’s something similar in Ottolenghi’s ‘Plenty’ I’ve been meaning to try, and recently a pumpkin curry with saffron rice from Sophie Dahl’s ‘From Season to Season’
Yum!