A Few of My Favourite Things !

Ever since I saw these Horlicks cookies here, I’ve been dying to make them. With Chinese New Year coming up and it being the Year of the Rat, I decided to go with a modified look to suit the theme.

Using Umbrella Cookies (also known as Pigs Ears cookies I am told) for the ears was a good idea in theory but much harder to put into practice as they didn’t want to stay on. I also tried using pink chocolate chips for the nose but they turned brown in the oven but the gel icing worked out well instead. I made a half batch of rat cookies then decided to be lazy and make normal ones with the rest of the batter!

Wishing you you very happy and prosperous year.

We don’t have a tradition of celebrating Shrove Tuesday or have an actual need to use up ingredients before Lent but as A. is an ardent lover of pancakes, I made some in honour of this day.

The pancake (yes, just a single one as he was rushing to a meeting) was served with some strawberries that we had picked up from a farmer was filling up at a Seymour service station at the same time and honey from the Milawa Mustard store.

PS- try not to acciddentally shake in too much bicarb soda or the batter will be bitter!

Something that Neil wrote reminded me of a story from my quick visit to the local supermarket a few weeks back. Occasionally the checkout staff wil not know what a certain fruit or vegetable item is, especially if they are of the more exotic variety for a supermarket item - pomegranate, persimmon, starfruit - and that’s okay with me. This evening, the girl reached the last item in my basket, a bulb of baby fennel. She waved it at me and stated “This is garlic, right?”

That makes me sad.

On a different topic, we visited the Good Food Show last Friday and can I just say what a disappointment that was? $25 per person for entry but there was nothing new to discover. Like others, we tried to purchase individual Boscastle pies but they were only selling them in variety packs, we were rushed out of the Nestle Noir tent after sampling one piece although there was no line, there just seemed to be a general lack of enthusiasm from those manning the stands.

One funny thing though was the Asian stand selling Jasmine rice. They were giving out samples of rice served with a red curry and one woman came up and said “Can we have some curry without the rice? My husband doesn’t eat rice”. You can imagine the look on the server’s face!

There are so many events on this weekend that one hardly knows how to spend one’s time - the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, the Antipodes Festival, the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, the 12th FINA World Championships. As much as I love the latter two, I couldn’t go past the International Flour Festival that took place this weekend as part of the food festival.

The YUZU catering company does some really inventive and tasty food. We had the seafood okonomiyaki to kick off our afternoon and a side dish of sun balls (behind the prawns), which are like arancini with an asian kick - rice, shitakes, sesame seeds.

Next up, a ‘Paesan’ pizza from Pizza Farro who specialise in spelt pizza bases which are lighter in texture and great for wheat-intolerant pizza lovers.

I have never been a big fan of Mexican food but assumed that I hadn’t tried any authentic yet. Los Amates claims to be ‘the place where Mexicans come to eat’ however their Sopes didn’t do much to win me over. The handmade case is slightly sour in flavour and the refried bean, salsa and cheese topping tasteless. Is it just that my tastebuds are not tuned into Mexican food or is there a place someone can recommend me that would awaken them?

Alaysa Turkish Restaurant had a yummy looking stand filled with boreks and thick fluffy-based pizzas.

I had been craving naan and curry for some weeks now so it was fortuitous that Tandoori Den Camberwell was there. We shared a combination platter which had a scoop of each curry (butter chicken, dhall, vegetable, beef vindaloo), 2 samosas, rice and a piece of naan. Butter chicken is still my favourite but their beef vindaloo was up there too.

AMES had a stand that was selling curries and stews the like of which I had never come across. Unfortunately, we had had our fill and couldn’t try all these out

It was a great day overall but I can’t understand why there was pretty much only one stall representing each cuisine when Melbourne has some of the most amazing restaurants around. If it’s okay to have several bread stalls, then why not two or three Japanese food stands or more than one stall making roti. Surely there would not be too much overlap? Maybe that’s something to consider for next year…

I love this tradition of tossing the prosperity salad! I love watching everyone getting their chopsticks in and the vegetables getting progressively jumbled. It tastes great too, of course.

Mum cooked some fantastic food and we were able to invite the guys from work to join us. Apart from the salad, there was loh bak, fish balls, roast pork ribs, duck stuffed with glutinous rice, noodles, fried rice, steamed chicken.

Enjoy the photos and best wishes for a prosperous new year!

In the name of research, I have also sampled cocktail buns from the Box Hill bakeries. The round one on the left is from Cakeworld and the skinny one on the right from the Carrington Cake shop.

As you can see, the Cakeworld one resembles the Montague Bleue in shape and size but with a little more glaze and sesame seeds. The taste however is almost exactly like the Maxim offering - not too rich but lots of dessicated coconut. I felt that the Maxim version was probably a little softer and fluffier though.

The Carrington cocktail bun is preferred by Thanh however they must have been having an off day. The bread is quite dark and the taste leans towards being slightly burnt. The bun itself is quite dry and almost stale tasting however the filling itself is pretty decent. It reminds me of the Montague Bleue filling as it was quite buttery, however it did not taste salty at all.

What’s the verdict?

Personally, I would still go with Maxims in Melbourne or Montague Bleue in Sydney. Of course, someone else may like to weigh in on this as well…

That’s the question I am going to ask if I am ever refused entry into a food institution from now on…

Actually, this had me in stitches wondering how many people flicking through the magazine would have been scratching their heads saying “Who?” - referring, of course, only to my own name (cheeky grin).

Well, from scientific journals to the AGT - where to next?

I love food. I enjoy reading recipes, visiting restaurants, checking out gourmet food products, cooking for my friends and I’m not the only one. That’s why you are here, right? I do feel very fortunate and blessed to be able to do all of those things above but it’s time now to have a care for those who are not in as privileged a position as we are. Those around the world who are unable to afford food on a daily basis, let alone three meals a day.

Is this a problem that is too large to solve? Absolutely not! A couple of weeks ago in Melbourne, a group of top Australian performers and international acts including Bono, helped raise awareness about reducing world poverty through the Make Poverty History concert . This time, the food blogging world is out to do our bit to help those less fortunate. Initiated 3 years ago, this annual event known as Menu of Hope aims to raise funds for different charities each year. This year, the funds that we raise are going towards the United Nations World Food Program.

The good news is that YOU and I can do something to help. Food bloggers the world over have been busy sourcing prizes for you and there are some incredibly delicious-looking ones indeed! You can bid for prizes in the Asia Pacific region by visiting Grab Your Fork for the round-up of great donations.

Thanks to some generous donations, I’m putting up three prizes that you can bid for:

Two $50 vouchers for Chilli Padi (prize code AP23 and AP24):
Drop by the restaurant in Melbourne Central for some lovely mod asian cuisine before or after the movies. Even better, visit their Chilli Malam hawker stall the next time you are looking for a post-midnight snack after partying with friends. You can order roti, nasi lemak and other yummy hawker-style dishes. They even sell their own Chilli Padi stocks for making laksa and mee siam - perfect for a quick dinner after work

A $100 voucher to spend at Koko Black (prize code AP43):
Chocolate salons have been popping up all around Melbourne but Koko Black is a stand-out amongst these. The chocolate is made in-house and their hot chocolate is rated as one of the best in Melbourne. I think their house truffles are absolutely divine and the mint chocolate is another favourite of mine. I’ve also recently used the 74% Koko Black dark chocolate for some Alice Medrich desserts and will post about them this week. Try out their chocolates for yourself by purchasing a raffle ticket for this voucher. Can you IMAGINE how much chocolate you could get for $100?! (PS- if you’re interstate and are not able to visit Melbourne for any reason, I could possibly be talked buying a selection and posting it to you).

But why stop there? Why not put some bids in for prizes from other regions as well? Who knows, you may win a gastronomic tour of London or Tuscany that will make your next overseas trip more exciting!

After visiting the round-ups for the Asia Pacific region, you should then…

1. Go to the donation page at (http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhopeIII)

2. Make a donation, each US$10 will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize or prizes you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. Do tell us how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code -for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for AP01 and 3 for AP02.

3. For US donors, if your company has agreed to match your charity donation, please remember to check the box and fill in the information so we may claim the corporate match.

4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

5. Raffle tickets are available until 22 December 2006. Check back on Chez Pim on January 15 when we announce the results of the raffle. (The drawing will be done electronically. Our friend the code wizard Derrick at Obsession with Food is responsible for the wicked application that will do the job.)

If you would like to bid on prizes from other regions, please visit the following for the round up of prizes:
US West Coast: Becks and Posh
US East Coast: Amateur Gourmet
US (the rest): Kalyn’s Kitchen
Canada: Cardamom Addict
Europe and UK: Davidlebovitz.com
Latin America: Cooking Diva

DONATE NOW and HELP US FEED THE WORLD’S HUNGRY!

This morning saw us down at the Abbotsford Convent as part of the first national Slow Food, A Taste of Slow - Australia 2006, festival. First off, our usual stop at the Collingwood Children’s Market on what was forecasted to be an overcast day with showers. As you can see however, the sunny blue sky held sway. Get ready now for loads of photos!

The animals at the Collingwood Children’s Farm always has lots of young visitors:

You wouldn’t think by looking around that we were just 5 minutes drive from the city centre:

Brightly coloured pasta:

Green eggs with ham anyone? (or is that duck egg blue?):

Golden and dark sultanas, currants, almonds, pepitas:

The BEST butter made fresh at The Dairy Shop. They cut it like cheese for tastings!:

Try the ‘Dark Nut Cove’ with roasted hazelnuts, pistachio, caramelised sugar & fine dark couveture chocolate from Cocoa Rhapsody:

Get yourself a coffee here but don’t be fooled into joining the queue for the pancakes next door. The high demand often has them churning out golden brown pancakes that are uncooked in the middle:

At the Abbotsford Convent, we started with freshly shucked oysters. Mmmm:

The Convent Bakery with delicious artisanal breads baked in the woodfired masonry ovens built in 1901:

Egg and bacon roll with relish!

Cheeses & honey from Tasmania:

We picked up a jar of tangy, piquant Desert Lime Jam which we are hoping to put to good use in a jam drop cookie soon:

Stephanie Alexander signing copies of her new children’s cookbook:

The spring market garden planted by children from Stephanie’s Kitchen Garden. The produce was harvested and turned into salads for this weekend’s activities:

A gentle giant - bull mastiff:

If you were not able to make it today, come down for the final day of the Abbotsford Convent Weekend tomorrow from 10am - 5pm to enjoy some great food.

Abbotsford Convent, St Heliers Street, Abbotsford. $12 entry fee.

Melbourne has certainly been churning out the festivals & events while the Commonwealth Games are on. On the weekend, mum & I strolled up to Carlton Gardens where the Victorian Producers Market had been set up, next to the heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building.

There were lots of local produce on show and on sale but we didn’t pick up much as most of these stalls are the same ones that participate at the farmers markets around town but it was a beautiful day for wandering through, sampling and smelling and chatting.

There were even some prehistoric creatures keeping us company as we checked out what they were cooking on stage:

Obviously, I was not the only one who thought that it was a good idea to check out this event.

On Monday, I also popped down to the Culinary Pro Am competition they are holding. Kind of like Iron Chef without the quirky host and the terribly bad but hlarious voiceovers. I watched one of my hero-chefs, George Calombaris, who is about to open his new restaurant The Press Club in a few months, take on and defeat Teage Ezard with his Cypriot-inspired dishes. Check it out if you are in the city area - the finals are coming up on Saturday.