#102 - the death of feminism, a bitchfest and puppies!

Warning:  some slightly inappropriate photos (you've been warned, don't be offended - and if you are, get your mind out of the gutter!)

(aka Are you f@#$#$% kidding me???)
I'm really hoping that the Australian version of "60 minutes" is not a serious show because they just had an interview with some woman who has offended feminist sensibilities I didn't know I had.  She said on the program that women don't like her because she's beautiful.  For the record - she is as long as you consider minimal dental work and too much makeup "beautiful".  I'm just wondering if she's looked in the mirror lately.

Apparently she has to maintain a certain weight or else she doesn't get her "clothing allowance" and she "cooks" a 5-course meal for her husband every day.  Leaving the clothing allowance aside (really?  Feminism?) I'm not sure laying out a charcuterie plate counts as "cooking".  Most of the stuff is already sliced and laying out 3 cheeses on a plate doesn't really count as cooking either - but I'd better check the dictionary.  Hmmm...an online search has a lot of definitions, many of them involving the application of heat, so that actually takes out preparing a salad as well.  So no, apparently she doesn't cook a 5-course meal.  So much for her portrayal as a domestic goddess.  Thank heavens, I hate eating my words.

What the world needs now...is love, sweet love...
Today was GY's last day in Sydney and a cute end it was.  Lots of last minute frantic packing, but the morning was an adorable and happy time at the dog park in Centennial Park.  Apparently it's Daschund Sunday the last Sunday of each month.  The man surrounded by the dogs turned out to have a treat for his dog (far left) rather than being the dog whisperer.  Then a love train...and socializing afterwards.  

Until next time - may your life be full of love and free from chauvinism of all descriptions.

#101 - Cooking for more than 1...

The day after the Fish Markets - you have to use all the fresh seafood as soon as you can.  There was a request for garlic butter with the fresh crab but I was craving it with chili, garlic and spaghetti - luckily it was well received.  The good thing about making it at home is that you can have seconds if you want and even better, there's more of the good stuff.  Needless to say there were a couple of trips back for a bit more, although it could have used a bit more salt and chili.  Much better once we added a bit more sea salt but I was afraid to overdo the chili.

Dinner was scallops - we had a lot to use and unfortunately I was lazy so didn't cook them in batches as I probably should have.  Not overcooked and they were warm in the middle, but didn't have the really yummy crust you get when you put them in a screeching hot pan.

Some fancy eating

A quick walk along Bondi to Tamarama beaches, then lunch at a French cafe whose name I can't remember.

French cafe food

First time for coconut juice - it tasted coconutty and woody - kind of weird.  Dim sum at one of my favorite places in Sydney - service is always good and I tried tripe - can't handle the texture, yech.  At least I can say I tried it and now never have to eat it again.

Then a few other adventures in Sydney - dinner at Guillaume at Bennelong:  started really strong (the basil infused tuna is amazing) but ended a little less impressively (massively overcooked Wagyu beef when I asked for medium well, knowing the French penchant for giving you bloody meat when it's "medium") and rubbery duck (skin was not crispy, fat not rendered - might have benefited from the waiter telling us the skin had not been prepared with a view to eating - I didn't eat it, being picky but GY was not so lucky and had to avail himself of a tissue to spit out the offending piece of skin).  Souffle was rather impressive if you like souffles.

The other end of the spectrum:

Chinatown and Pho Pasteur - yummy pho for me.  GY didn't like his - the "Special" pho had a few pieces which had a lot of fat on it and it was too hard to eat around the fat.  Spelling mistakes amusing.  Had a Korean hot pot for an early lunch one day - it was unexpectedly cold and I was felled either by allergies or a cold - hard to tell which.  Spicy soup was enough to chase away the stuffy nose, but luckily we were headed home where I homed in on the toothpaste and toothbrush the moment I got inside.

Home cooked dinners were a big hit.  Made sukiyaki with home made dashi, courtesy of an Asian grocery store under Town Hall train station.  Then Ma Po tofu with the spicy Chinese bean paste - the package directions leave the mixture needing something, but luckily I learned the recipe from a girlfriend ages ago so the missing ingredients went in.  Eaten with great gusto and until we couldn't eat anymore.  There were some leftovers, as usual - which ended up being breakfast (not mine) one morning.  I find that with a boy in the house, nothing goes to waste.

As GY's trip ends...

Biennale is on.  Lots of art in various places, one of whom was Giuseppe who seems to be going for a world record.  We checked - it's canvas.  It's outside the Museum of Contemporary Art - and has little things like finding Waldo and a few other items to look for on a little sheet for those who care to look.

Then...a tour of Sydney by food...The Rocks Market had wagyu burgers which I saw a while ago.  I guess they're not there on Sundays because they weren't there when I went last week, but perfect for an early lunch.  Didn't even need ketchup or mustard and did not taste like a Big Mac.  Would have been even more delicious if the bread had been a nice hamburger bun instead of a pretty hard ciabatta roll.

Some afternoon jazzy stuff by a couple of people I dubbed "the Cool Cats".  And some troubling spelling, written large and proud on our way to check out the local arts and crafts.

It was such a nice day that we grabbed a seat outside at a cafe.  Chai latte (second encounter for GY - and still a happy one) then a Belgian waffle with fresh fruit, praline ice cream and dipping chocolate.  I think I would have liked it even more except that allergies have stuffed up my nose enough to interfere with smell and taste.

GY leaves Sydney tomorrow, so I decided it was a night for all Australian food.  The Wallabies were getting walloped during the Bledisloe Cup and we had to head up to the pub for dinner.  Dinner in the Garden Restaurant of the Lord Dudley - and they had bangers and mash (aka pork and fennel sausage, mash potato and onion gravy).  I had the steak, potato and rocket/arugula, onion and something salad with peppercorn sauce.  Onion chips were a bit too salty but the garlicky parmesan from the salad went really well with the steamed broccoli.  And of course to end, a sticky date pudding.  Arguable as an Aussie classic - some like meringues and Pavlovas - but this was delicious.

Lord Dudley has gone through a few tweaks and the food has also been revamped just a tad - much more like a gastropub.  I think the steak was better than what we had at Guillaume at Bennelong (whose Wagyu medium well was more like shoe leather, whereas the medium well from the Dudley was still pink and juicy but not bloody.

So until next time, happy eating!

#100 - Total indulgence

What I make for dinner when I'm alone:  leftover rice, sauteed Brussels sprouts and heated tuna/potato patty from a deli downstairs.  Haven't figured out how to keep the Brussels sprouts from going dark-ish green while they cook - bright green and they're still a bit too raw and bitter.  Wondering if that's the reason some of the slightly fancier restaurants sometimes serve their brussels sprouts as individual leaves... 

Today's experiment - how many oysters are enough?
2 dozen.

But first - a day with lots of cute and furry animals
In all fairness, the unmitigated pigginess was inspired by the fact that when we got to Taronga Zoo yesterday morning, most of the animals were having their breakfasts and when we left, they were eating lunch.

The koala is Darwin - just finished his breakfast so he was feeling happy and mellow.  The Tasmanian devil was looking for breakfast.  Mava (?) the California sea lion (complete with massive bark) was jumping for treats and the snow leopard was having lunch when we left.

Starving and tired, quick dinner near Chinatown - one of the few places open all day for food, instead of 5pm (or later) for dinner.  Dinner was rice and veggies in a hot pot, plus BS's favorite man doo.  Early dinner, then asleep in time to qualify as senior citizens.  I think our dinner was too early for an early-bird special...


Total Indulgence

Today was Darling Harbour and indulgence day - a dozen Coffin Bay oysters and a dozen Sydney rock oysters for a taste test...the Coffin Bay ones are yummier - so another 2 dozen to bring home for dinner.

GY started with a meatloaf sandwich - my first meatloaf, with onion gravy which I actually made for dinner a few nights ago.  He didn't like the amount of alcohol in the gravy, but it was much better once we put it on the meatloaf.  Then coffee in the city, before the walk around Darling Harbour and towards the Sydney Fish Markets.  We took a wrong turn, but eventually got there.

2 hours of grazing - a massive lunch rush and we got there just in time to get our starters, then he went in to get something else because the table we found were for Peter's customers only.  Deep fried snapper and fries to follow the 2 dozen oysters.  There was a discussion as to whether that would be too many oysters, except that we shared a dozen before the symphony the other night and we could have had more.  The snapper was deep fried whole, so we had to take it apart.  Luckily, one of us knew how to debone the fish.

A few laps around the Sydney Fish Market later, some mussels, then shopping for tonight.  No point in shopping when you're hungry, you end up buying lots of crap.  We bought fresh scallops, crab meat and more oysters - because a dozen each wasn't enough.  Of course that much food means that a massive nap is in order before we even attempted to do a little bit of grocery shopping.

A much better effort today - woke up some time after 5:30, but in time to make it to the shops to pick up the remaining ingredients for dinner:  a variation of oysters Kilpatrick (no Worstershire sauce, but very crunchy bacon bits) and home made California rolls.  The whole fake crab thing doesn't work for me so we got real crab for the California rolls.

GY made super crispy bacon bits and baked some of the oysters - close tie to see what we preferred.  I think we'll have to repeat the experiment, but probably not for a while.  He doesn't want to seem to see another oyster for at least a few months and I have to admit that I'm ready for a change.

So until next time...oink, oink.

#99 - More eating...

There was a really cold and wet night when I just wanted mac 'n cheese.  I didn't have any macaroni so noodles instead...this was with cauliflower and some leftover bresaola.  Great comfort food, totally not a diet food.


A quick trip home for a wedding - a rather large wedding.  Just before departure:  Wagyu burger (at the airport lounge - by Neil Perry?  Not sure if this is like the one they have at Rockpool but it tasted a lot like how I remember a Big Mac tasting.)

Then the wedding (I am very jetlagged).  I can't remember if I packed the dress to bring back with me.  I think I forgot it...I also forgot that since it was Hawaii, there was a chance that I would know someone at the wedding.  The Punahou connection was a live and well - somehow that seems to come out but it works pretty well as an ice breaker.


I'm not sure what other people consider large, but I think this one was 500 people (a few  no-shows, apparently).  Maybe it was that we had all spread out over the venue grounds over the course of the evening but it actually didn't feel very crowded.  Of course that could be due to the jetlag which accompanied my attendance.  Having tried it, I wouldn't recommend getting off the plane and going to a wedding just a few hours later.  Unless you don't care what you look like in photos, of course.  I'm vain enough to care.  The wedding was really nice, taking place on the lawn of the Waialae Country Club and facing the ocean.  The day had started out cloudy and wet but cleared in time for a lovely sunset and a warm afternoon.


Anyway - wedding aside, of course there was lots of food when I went home so without further ado:

Right:  Early Sunday morning - still jetlagged.  I had a coffee and read a book on the Popes while the boys went for an early morning...is it paddling if it's in a 1-man canoe?


Surf was up and there was a bit of a dunking.  Apparently the 1-man canoes are tippy.

Below:
Super early on a Monday morning (they practice at 6am).  I just took pictures and congratulated myself on being awake so early.  Left:  boys paddling back hard (either the 1/4 mile or the 1/2 mile, I can't remember).  Center:  where the coach was standing while watching the canoe go down and come back.  Right:  I don't know why I took this (attempt at being artistic or testing out the focus button).

Right:  The little red car belonged to one of the guys in the boat.  Kind of cute that his car matched the canoes and the Outrigger Club colors.


Left:  We also had afternoon tea at the Halekulani Hotel.  I hadn't done a birthday thing for one of my friends because I'd been out of town.  We watched people going to a wedding - it was quite a busy day that afternoon.  Some people watching as well as enjoying the cool breezes.  I took a photo of the chocolate mousse cake - it was pretty good although it felt a little heavy on the gelatine.  One of the guys (I've forgotten which one) didn't like the little crunchy bits in the middle but I liked them - they were kind of like cocoa pops or something - chocolate-y, crunchy round balls.


Grilling on the BBQ - it was that kind of weather and it's an easy way to do dinner.  There was a night of stuffed vegetables - another one which was great in theory but execution was a bit lacking.  The stuffed peppers turned out really well because it was closed but the meat in the stuffed zucchini dried out because it was exposed to the oven while the zucchini cooked.  Note to self:  cover the stuffing next time (Mom's suggestion).


Cheese sauce is a great way to eat the veggies.  Totally unhealthy, at least the way I do it, but if it gets people to eat veggies who cares?  I got lazy and didn't measure for the sauce so I don't know if it's been a little watery because I put in too much liquid or because the veggies released more water when I put the whole thing in the oven.

Below:  Breakfast with my sister using leftovers:  Steak, eggs and bacon bits (because bacon makes everything better).  My plate is the one with white rice (very local) and GY's plate has mixed grains (from Trader Joe's) - my niece prefers my sister's mix.  So do I.

(Another) breakfast at Koa Pancake House.
I wasn't hungry but I had to try their mixed breakfast - kalbi (BBQ Korean shortribs) and eggs with pancakes.  I didn't get a photo before the egg/s(?) disappeared of GY's plate but you can see the remnants.  We didn't get through everything but it was all delicious.  And a much better deal than a brunch that I had in Sydney last September (AUD$20 for coffee, fresh apple juice, 2 pieces of toast and a couple of pieces of smoked salmon).

We had a morning where GY's housemates had leftover lobster from Chinese food so I made lobster omelettes.  A couple of glum faces that day so when we BBQed that night, there was an injunction "don't eat all the lobster" so that my sister could have lobster omelettes the next day.  Lobster is much better with garlic butter than lemon butter.  BBQ of kaffir lime and lemongrass shrimp (requested by my sister), garlic steak and broccoli with cheese sauce.

Birthday breakfast for my sister:  lobster omelettes, garlic Hamakua and oyster mushrooms, bacon and rice -

Birthday dinner:  courtesy of CPK (my slice of cake on the left of the middle photo).

Then it was time to come back to Sydney.  The flight left a bit late - there was a slight delay initially, then another one when one of the passengers failed to board so they had to unload the luggage.  Am horribly jetlagged and sick - trying to figure out whether it was just the usual random post-travel bug or the remnants of a migraine from last week.


There were some unhappy babies on the plane - to be expected when you are travelling at a time which coincides with school holidays.  Dawn photo - a slight crescent over Double Bay - taken after waking up at some unholy hour due to jetlag.

Until next time, happy and safe travelling.