The first time around, we happened to be having a family weekend away in Healesville. I had made an early dinner booking at the local Toolanghi Pub when I realised that Innocent Bystander (IB) had a kids menu. Taking that to mean children were welcome, I swapped our booking over to an early dinner at IB instead. We poured over the menu at our lodging that Saturday afternoon and the consensus was that we had to try the Tomahawk Steak. There was only one problem: there was a one hour cooking time and we had two toddlers coming to dinner with us.

Not. A. Good. Mix.

We tried to resolve the problem by pre-ordering and were given three reasons that it could not be done:
1. There’s a limited number of steaks so diners can’t pre-book them (We were coming at 6pm, the earliest time the steaks were being served. We would not have missed out)
2. Diners may turn up late and we can’t serve the steak cold (we are staying 5 minutes away and have 2 toddlers to feed. We will even turn up early for it)
3. We have not done it before and so cannot do it now (can’t argue with that).

We accepted that for all three reasons, we could not pre-order the steaks so plan B came into effect. Four of our party would be seated at 6pm to order the steak and the other two adults would bring the two toddlers an hour later. It worked a treat!

It’s a large open space where noise bounces off everything. Great if you have children and need that to hide their loudness and great for groups or a casual dinner date. The waitstaff are mostly of the friendly variety and you can watch the chefs “doin’ their thang”.

The Tomahawk Steak arrives, shaped appropriately like its namesake, accompanied by shallots, pumpkin, broccolini, mustard and lemon wedges.

It is only served medium rare but ours was probably closer to a medium. At the end of our meal, my 2 yo was happy to gnaw on the handle of the Tomahawk – mmmm. The broccolini was a hit with my 2 year old, but neither boys were not enamoured of the kids menu Wagyu Burger.

Our prosciutto and rocket pizza crust is thin and puffy perfection and half its deliciousness derives from watching the pizza chef tossing the dough into the air. The sashimi is good (a little cold maybe?) and mum loved the dressing on it, but above all that, it’s the parmesan and truffle frites which are not to be missed.

We returned the next morning for a 3/4 cappuccino but left with something that resembled a macchiato, as it was more like a 1/3 coffee with a dash of milk. Nevertheless, the in-house baked goods were impressive enough to overcome my coffee disappointment. The caneles were some of the best that I’ve had in Melbourne and they serve an excellent baguette.

We then mosied up Lygon Street to La Latteria, known for their fresh Italian-style cheeses. I wish I had a cheese stomach (and a larger enough wallet) to try one of everything in the shop, but I guess this leaves something new to try for next time. More Scarmorza for our homemade pizzas and this time some cream-filled burrata too.

From there, we dropped off our ice-packed goods in the car boot and went for our first coffee of the day at Seven Seeds. Another one of those warehousey cafes, the wait for a table near lunchtime was around 15 minutes. The takeaway line was only about 5 minutes shorter and the plates that were going pass looked pretty tempting but we wanted to continue with our jaunt, so takeaway coffee it was. A. ordered, so instead of my usual three-quarter cappuccino, I had a three-quarter latter – a little on a milky side for me but good otherwise.

Realising that we were a stone’s throw from Victoria Market at that point, we dropped by to pick up Thai basil, Vietnamese mint, coriander and some soft, thin slices of bresaola and Serrano ham. Vic Market is an old favourite for watching locals shopping and visitors doing the touristy thing. It seems to that that ability to cater for everyone and everything.

Ready now for our second coffee, we trekked south to Thousand £ Bend, a large space that is part cafe, part gallery and part events space. They are also starting to host live gigs as more bands are requesting use of their venue. Entry to these events is round the back through Heape Ct. I got to have my cappuccino – I love spooning the chocolate froth off the top, my main reason for ordering- and enjoyed just chilling out in a space that made me feel like I was at someone’s grandma’s place. In a good way.

3pm and we were finally ready for some lunch after nibbling and sampling our way through the morning and early afternoon hours. North-east back up Lt Lonsdale St took us to the Laksa Bar, a little shopfront that we had passed many times, each time vowing to head back so that we could try it. After seeing the size of the servings at adjoining tables and determining that dinner would only be a few hours away, we decided to make do with one bowl And what a bowl it was. You know how you get those oversized parmas at pubs? Well, this was possibly the largest bowl of laksa I’d ever seen and definitely not the kind of serving you’d get in Malaysia. The regular house laksa came with generous pieces of roast chicken, fried tofu, bean shoots and a slice of lemon.

Finally time to head home, so back up Lygon Street. But wait, what’s this here? Helados Jauja!!! We bought a takeaway tub of 3 flavours for $15 – Argentinian Yerba, 80% chocolate and salted caramel. This was my first experience with Argentinian ice cream and I really don’t know how I could go back to anything else. I loved that every flavour shone through authentically without an overpowering sweetness. This comes high on my list of recommendations for anyone travelling through. And if you’re not travelling through, make a special trip!

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1000 £ BEND

361 Lt LONSDALE STREET
MELBOURNE VIC 3000
CAFE
Monday – Friday 8am – 11pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am – 11pm
GALLERY
Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm
Saturday and Sunday 11am – 5pm

La Latteria Store

104 Elgin Street, Carlton 3053
(03) 9347 9009
Monday – Friday 9am -7pm
Saturday 9am-2pm

La Parisienne Pate

290 Lygon St, Carlton, VIC 3053
(03) 9349 1852
Mon 9am-6pm
Tue-Fri 9am-7pm
Sat 8.30am-6pm
Sun 10am-6pm

Seven Seeds

03 9347 8664
114 Berkeley St
Carlton, VIC 3053
Open Breakfast & Lunch, 7 days a week

Queen Victoria Market

513 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: (03) 9320 5822
Tue: 6am – 2pm
Thu: 6am – 2pm
Fri: 6am – 5pm
Sat: 6am – 3pm
Sun: 9am – 4pm

Helados Jauja

254 Lygon Street, Carlton VIC 3053
(03) 9041 2927
Daily 1:45 p.m. – 10:30 pm

(Please note that I haven’t poured the tamarind sauce on yet in this photo)

Pandanus Chicken

(makes 5 pieces)
70 grams chicken thighs, cut into 5 bite-sized pieces
5 scented Pandanus leaves
1 clove garlic
1 coriander root, roughyl chopped
10 black pepper seeds
1 lemon grass stalk, cut into pieces
1 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp white sesame seeds
2 cups vegetable oil for deep frying

1. Pound garlic, coriander root, black pepper seeds and lemon grass together well
2. Mix the wet ingredients and sugar and sesame seeds with the chicken pieces and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour
3. Wrap each piece of chicken with a pandanus leaf
4. Deep fry the chicken on medium heat, turning regularly until cooked. Remove and rain well. (NB. I shallow fried them for a minute on each side then drained and put them in the oven to bake until cooked)
5. Serve with a dipping sauce of 1 tbs ketchup manis and 1/4 tsp roasted sesame seeds if you wish.

Prawns in Tamarind Sauce

3-4 medium prawns, shelled and deveined
1 tbs wheat flour
1 cup vegetable oil for deep frying
1 tbs shallots, finely sliced
2 tbs tamarind paste/sauce
1 tbs palm sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tbs water

1. Coat prawns with flour and deep fry until just cooked. Set aside.
2. Stirfry shallots until crisped
3. Add tamarind paste, palm sugar, fish sauce, water and stir well until sauce is thickened
4. Arrange prawns on a plate and top with tamarind sauce. Serve with coriander leaves and chilli

Melbourne has been surprising us with some amazing weather of late – a sunshiny, blue-skied 21C in winter – and pulling me out of the winter food rut. I’ve been trying to increase my protein intake so today, I marinated a 500g rump steak in 1 tbs palm sugar (finely grated), 1/4 cup fish sauce, 1/4 cup lime juice, 2 tbs soy sauce, 2 cloves of garlic (crushed) for the afternoon while my 3yo and I had fun at the playground.

Upon our return, I sizzled the steak on high heat for a few minutes on each side, as I like it quite pink/red, then left it to rest while I collected the washing from the line (yay, a day when I can hang the washing outside!). The extra marinade was used as a dressing for the salad of mixed leaves, thai basil and mint on top of which thinly sliced beef strips were laid. It was cool enough to light a fire by that time so we sat down in front of its warmth for our dinner. We also baked a couple of small, cored apples filled with sultanas in the coals for dessert. A diverse menu for diverse weather conditions.

I grew up in a family that never put brussels sprouts on the table. In fact, I don’t recall ever eating brussels sprouts ever, except maybe once on a plane when I was doing air time with British Air. So it came as a surprise to me, after hearing all the horror stories of how awful this vegie tasted, that I LOVE brussels sprouts! I stir fry it with garlic, salt and pepper until it’s charry and crispy on the cut side. Mmmmm, still with the slightly bitter tang that makes it more appealing to adult taste buds, but my 1 year old had a good go of it anyway.

Knowing that I would home close to dinner time, I decided to put the bread machine to work today making some pizza dough. Actually, it was the presence of La Latteria’s Scamorza Bianca that inspired me to make pizza tonight, truth be told. Good thing I was organised as I arrived home to a text message that my boys had decided to walk down to the local supermarket and needed a lift back.

My 3 year old helped me shape out the dough and to dollop on some tomato paste (he quickly started licking the spoon after that). Then he helped me to layer on the red pepper marmalade, anchovies and cheese on one pizza, while tasting everything multiple times, and olives and cheese on the other. I’m not sure whether more cheese went onto the pizza or into his mouth. While the pizzas were baking, I washed the rocket and sliced the tomatoes and these went on top of the second pizza when it came out.

Dinner was a blast. I think my 3 year old had about five slices and my 1 year old was also trying to get in on the act, having some of the cheesy crusty bits. In fact, he was still trying to put food into his mouth when hubby was trying desperately to get him cleaned up as it was about 20 minutes past his usual bedtime!

Pizza Dough (takes 50 minutes in bread machine):
200ml water
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
2.5 cups flour (I used 1.5 cups plain flour and 1 cup wholemeal)
1.5 tsp yeast

Shape dough out, layer on pizza topping, bake at highest temperature for about 8-10 minutes.

My 3.5 year old, EJ, is fairly happy to eat most foods but like most children, he seems to have an innate dislike for any *green* foods. Fortunately for me, he does like broccoli and cauliflower so I try to capitalise on this. I’ve bee cooking a lot of soups this season but had not really thought about serving him soup until he started at kindergarten two weeks ago and they served chicken and corn soup as part of lunch. So, why not make him a cauliflower soup and we can all enjoy it together?

I don’t always buy organic fruits and vegetables but I just feel that it’s more important to do so with broccoli and cauliflower, knowing through a friend who used to grow vegetables commercially that a lot of pesticide is used on these crops. It seems to be trickier to wash away any chemicals from the tight florets so I try to ensure these are organically grown.

I always cut the head of cauliflower into florets before cleaning. Then I simmer it in a pot of water until soft, season it with salt & pepper (I like using white for a bit more of a bite), then add a spoonful of bechamel (white sauce). Yesterday, instead of the bechamel, I added a cup full of sago which had been soaked in water for about 20 minutes and cooked until they became clear. EJ loves sago pudding and he was equally delighted when I told him this was a cauliflower and sago soup. It serves to thicken the soup slightly and also adds a lovely textural surprise to each mouthful. Last night, it was served with some cheesy cauliflower and leftover risotto.

I first came across quinoa in 2006 through Heidi Swanson’s blog and the first recipe that I tried was her lemon-scented quinoa salad. 5 years on, I’m still a fan of this thing that I keep calling a grain, but it’s actually the seed of the plant that we eat.

While many of my friends may have heard of it or tried it at a restaurant, I don’t think many would have it as a pantry staple. However, I love its nutty-crunch so much that there’s usually a pack lying around somewhere in mine. It’s just as easy to cook as rice or pasta – two cups of water to one cup of quinoa and simmer until the curlique pops out as the germ separates from the seed. Then it’s a matter of dressing it like a salad.

For first timers, here’s my amazing red quinoa salad recipe:

1. Cook 1 cup of organic red quinoa in 2 cups water until tender
2. Thinly slice a green zucchini and grill until soft with edges are crispy
3. Steam a bowl of cubed pumpkin until tender
4. Simmer a clove of garlic in milk for 15 min then mash
5. Cut up some small cubes of chèvre and pit a few olives and halve some black russian tomatoes
6. Toss all ingredients together and season to taste with salt & pepper and a dash of olive oil

I made this with my 3 year old for dinner last night and I thought it was fantastic. He took one look and told me “I don’t like the brown things” before pushing the bowl right off the table! He had two serves after that so either he agreed with me or decided that it wasn’t worth going hungry for the night. Anyway, try it and tell me what YOU think.