smoked salmon pasta

now that we live in the salmon capital of Australia, we've been eating a bit of salmon. Tasmanian salmon is sold under the brand name "Tassal" and we got a kilo of smoked salmon for $25! which is cheaper than if you bought it at a supermarket in small portions [they're ussualy between $40-$60 a kilo]

This simple smoked salmon pasta was made just by mixing cooked pasta with sliced smoked salmon, a few spoonfuls of cream, a dash of salt and pepper, a squeeze of lime juice, a few rinsed capers and some dried italian herbs. Finished off with some shredded parmesan. Yum!

dinner

Grilled fish with turmeric and salt, stir fried choy sum with garlic and oyster sauce, sambal belacan [chillis blended with shrimp paste, lime juice and salt] herbal chicken soup made with chicken carcass, goji berries, red dates and dried chinese herbs, and rice.

random food adventures

I love trying new foods, it's my way of discovering the world.

Melbourne's a great place for cheap Indian food - this onion uttapam, above, with its 3 sauces to go with it, was only $7.50 with free cold water. It's a savoury fermented rice pancake with bits of onion, chilli and coriander, plus some other spices cooked into it, served with a mild lentil curry, a tangy raita and a creamy coconut chutney. Really yummy! at Jaipur Curry Club in Clayton. [right next to the train station]
Above, some Indian "fudge". I don't know their names, but most are made from crushed nuts or semolina, sweetened and flavoured with spices and or rosewater. The green one was made from milk curds I think. This whole boxful was $6.80 from Sarawan indian grocer.
These are chinese sweets, above, called "mooncakes" but they're not a cake at all, but rather a rich paste of pulverised lotus seeds or red beans, sweetened and shaped into pretty shapes. These ones have a thin, baked crust but some other types have a pastel coloured doughy "skin". Some have a salted egg yolk in the centre. [how did salted egg yolks ever pair up with sweets? I don't know] I don't quite care for them, as they're too sweet for my liking but they're only eaten once a year anyway, for the autumn festival so I suppose a little indulgence isn't too bad.
And these were from a Chinese autumn festival party I went to. The yellow noodles are ramen noodles fried with spicy laksa paste [very very yummy] with scrambled egg, shredded carrot, cucumber and shrimp, and below, stir fried rice noodles [bought at Springvale] with XO sauce [a hong kong style savoury sauce bought in jars], garlic chives, bean sprouts and dried shrimp. The rice noodles were really silky and had the right texture, smooth but not falling apart, and the delicate flavours of the shrimp, chives and sauce made it just right.
below, are photos from a western style party i went to. honey joys [I just love these, sweet and crispy are a good combination] and what looks like slices of bread with hundreds and thousands sprinkled on top. and gummy sweets.

and below, sausage rolls and iced biscuits.

and healthy veggie sandwiches!

springtime pottering about

the view from out window - that's a really huge tree! wonder what tree it is.
my tiny tomato seedling. i hope it'll survive the cold.
the moussaka in the oven. I bought an eggplant at salamanca market last Saturday for $3.50! that's a really expensive eggplant. so I decided to make this Greek dish with it. I used a recipe from taste.com.au, so I don't know how authentic it is. Basically, it's a lasagne made with eggplant instead of pasta sheets. Everything else is the same - the tomato sauce, white sauce, cheese topping and mince.
I did a search for "authentic" greek moussaka and found that there were several important things I missed out - cinnamon, allspice, feta cheese and egg yolks, instead of a whole egg. And it should've been lamb mince, not beef mince. oh well :)

It tasted pretty good. If I made it again, I wouldn't fry the eggplant slices, but I'd simmer them in a bit of water till they cooked. I don't like how they absorb all the oil like sponges. I don't think it would affect the taste too much if the eggplant were simmered in water rather than fried in oil because the whole lot gets drenched in sauce before going into the oven anyway.

flowers....

This was meant to be a food blog before, but I'm allowed to change my mind aren't I? These flowers were from around the gardens at Graham Court Apartments, where we're staying at the moment. Gorgeous place! Above, some daffodil like tiny ones just outside our window. If anyone knows the names of these, please comment below!
This one above is probably some sort of daisy.
These were really tiny ones that grew in clusters.
These look like hibiscuses but I think they're not. These ones below are like stars!

Chez Maria's in Oakleigh

This cozy little cafe in Oakleigh has a great selection of yummy but fattening things to go with fresh salads. Great service as well. Above, the stuffed eggplant was yummy, as anything with cheese on top always is. Next to it is a flaky pie with cheese and spinach filling.

I wasn't familiar enough with how these meals work so I didn't think to get any salads, I just pointed at whatever I wanted through the glass case.
The roasted potatoes, above had a tangy, tomato-ey flavour. The stuffed tomato had meat and cheese inside. I think everything must've been drizzled with olive oil because I felt so full after just eating a few mouthfuls.
I don't know what this was, but it was supposed to be a dessert. Something like a deep fried piece of pastry. I didn't like it that much but perhaps i just wasn't used to it.

All this with 2 coffees came up to $30.