Sep 8, 2010

Happy River = Happy Mums

The sun was out yesterday so K & I decided lunch out was a good idea.  Of course we needed a kid friendly venue with M coming along.  Happy River Cafe in Footscray is by far the best kid friendly cafe we've come across, they have a massive front lawn, mats, and tubs of toys ... the kids have a ball!!  The coffee and food aren't too bad either which is fabulous for us parents.  My only gripe would be the service  ... it's efficient but could be a little friendlier. 

A word of warning ...getting an outside table on a gorgeous weekend day is nearly impossible unless you get in early.

A thoroughly enjoyable lunch! 


Happy River Cafe

 Also spotted a 'milk crate man' just up the road. 


Milk Crate Man

When we got home after lunch I took a few pics the flowering tree in  the backyard ... if anyone can shed light on the type of tree I would be very grateful.



Hope to do some baking tomorrow so keep and eye on the blog for some tasty treats.

Mama T. xx

Sep 6, 2010

My new bible!

Last post I mentioned I had left my old workplace recently.  I forgot to mention the wonderful going away pressies I received from my fabulous (ex) workmates.  A fantastic bottle of wine AND Stephanie Alexander's  "the cook's companion".  I LOVE it ...and on Saturday night I made the self saucing choc pudding recipe for my madre and sister.  It was delicious and I plan on cooking it again this Friday when we have some good freinds coming over for dinner. 


My lovely pressies!

Thanks again Swets peeps ... miss you all!! 

Mama T  xoxo

Sep 5, 2010

Yummy Curry!

Good news - I am a lady of leisure!  Swets come to an end on the 27th August, and boy am I happy about that. :-)

On Friday I had the house to myself and decided a curry was in order.  One with lamb.  Now I have never made a curry from scratch so I was looking forward to the challenge, but didn't want to undertake anything too complicated first time round.  I found a recipe on the Foodie Fight Back blog that sounded perfect so off to the shops I went.   I love to go ingredient shopping when I have a recipe I can't wait to cook. A visit to the local indian shop, butcher and supermarket were needed this time. 


Fresh Ingredients

The curry turned out better than expected and was perfect for a cold, wet Friday night ...a great meal for K to fill up on before heading to the "G" for the footy.

Ingredients
  • 500g diced lamb
  • 2 large onions
  • Fennel seeds (1/2 tsp)
  • Cummin seeds (1 tsp)
  • Coriander seeds (1 tsp)
  • Dried red chilli's ( I used 3 and heat was a "low" medium ... use as many or little as you like)
  • Paprika (1 heaped tsp)
  • Fresh green chilli's to taste ( I used 4)
  • Plenty of chopped garlic (I used 4 cloves)
  • Fresh ginger to taste
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2x tins chopped tomatoes
  • Butter (see instructions)
  • Cream or yoghurt ( I used yoghurt)
  • Oil for frying
Method:

Start by heating some oil in a heavy based pan. Add the seeds and fry gently until they begin to colour. Slice the onions fairly thickly and add to the pan, together with the garlic, ginger (which can be grated or chopped) and the chopped dried chillies.

Fry until the onions are translucent, making sure to keep turning so that the spices don’t burn. Clear the space in the middle of the pan and tip in the lamb to brown. Once the lamb has browned off a little, add in the paprika, salt and pepper.

Tip in the tins of tomatoes, add the whole green chillies, turn down the heat and kick back. Let the whole lot simmer for a couple of hours, or until the meat is really (really) tender. Check occasionally to make sure it’s not boiling dry and add a little extra water if necessary.


On the simmer...

Once the meat is tender stir in a knob of butter and a little (honestly, you won’t need much) cream or yoghurt. If you have ghee you can use that instead of oil early in the process and you probably won't need to add much (if any) butter now if you find your curry is the consistency you like it.  Naturally, the butter is optional so use as desired.

All in all it was a great, hearty meal and one we'll cook again soon!  Thanks once more to Foodie Fight Back for the great recipe.


Yum!
 
Cheers and promise to post again soon.

Mama T.