In an effort to cut down red meat we have been experimenting with tofu and the like … I was rather happy with this tonight.
Kale with satay tofu and Slim Pasta noodles … Huge bowl = under 350 calories and minimal carbs.
Tofu is edible
Cooking under pressure
Oh yes … The pressure cooker is back!
We have had one for a while, sitting in it’s box waiting for the love it deserves.
And today was finally the day.
At the local Farmers Market there was a stall selling goat meat, including $5 packs of belly. A light went off in my head and we bought some to try in the pressure cooker.
And OMG… Very awesome results.
The only challenge I had was not being too nervous of the pot blowing up! Oh, and adapting the recipe to suit my other halls allergies … No deadly. Night shades, chilli, dairy or any food fun it sometimes feels like!
Anyway, I found a recipe that seemed easy enough to alter here;
http://indianfood.about.com/od/meatdishes/r/Goat-Curry-Mutton-Curry.htm
The only changes I made was … Reduced the oil, no tomato or chilli and adding sweet potato and chick peas.
I put the lid on with some small prayer and waited. Well, the result was amazing. The meat was fall off the bone and the taste full and rich, all in about 30 minutes!
I will now take to this new gadget with zeal and a variety of recipes!
Oh and it turned out too be about 270 calories a serve …nice one.
Jackson Dodds…..there is hope at our end of town!
Having moved to the north of Coburg not long ago, I have been missing the ability to walk to a nice cafe that we had in Kew.
We have been travelling as far as we need to to find decent coffee and food for brekky on the weekends and were very excited to hear of Jackson Dodds….just across the creek!
We finally found the place, if you are driving by it can be hard to spot with the end of the tram line just in front….but happily found a park and headed in to sample.
Ordering coffee we settled in to read the menu, there are the usual eggs etc but with some nice alternatives including Pea and Haloumi fritters….which I ordered.
The coffee took a while to arrive, although I think that had more to do with staff not being on deck at the time.
The food was faster and mine was lovely and exactly as I thought…I had ordered a side of scrambled egg and this was cooked perfectly.
My brekky partner had eggs and sausage, with the sausage looking a little sorry for itself on the plate, not the usual fat ones you see at most places. They tasted good on all accounts though and there was silence as we worked our way through our meals.
The people sharing the space were a mix of locals there for take away coffee and bacon + egg rolls and families enjoying some time out…..the number of prams at that time of morning was a good sign we were right to go early, it could get hectic at full capacity + children.
With the weather warming up the outside tables will be a nice place to read the paper.
A great addition to the area and I look forward to making it more of a habit in the future.
Here is the review in The Age.
Scopri
Having enjoyed many a lovely meal at Svago in Kew it was with great interest that I read in The Age of a recently opened Italian in Fitzroy that was compared favourably to above mentioned Svago.
As my diet is now limited due to being pregnant I am keen to try as many new places as I can and to work through any item I can consume, without be-moaning the loss of my favourites such as gooey cheese and Sashimi ( just have to hang on for 6 months).
We were lucky to get a table at short notice, the occassion to celebrate my birthday but due to dire morning sickness plans were left to the last minute…no point going somewhere lovely if you cannot enjoy the evening without dashing off to the amenities….and could leave the poor staff wondering what is going on!
So….firstly, the ambience is good, not too bright but you can still see the cutlery in front of you….and the noise was ok, even with tables filling up quickly around us.
I really enjoyed the fresh bread served with the usual salt and olive oil ( nothing wrong with what works!)…..the Olive oil was really high quality and it was hard not to fill up on that alone.
We shared some entree’s including an amazing SEPPIOLINE GRATINATE ( Baby cuttlefish gratinated with breadcrumbs,
anchovies, capers & extra virgin olive oil) Ok, I am not convinced that Gratinated is actually an official word…but I get the meaning. The Verdure pastellate con fonduta di taleggio (Seasonal vegetables in crispy batter with a Taleggio cheese fondue) was light and crunchy.
For mains, I ordered the rabbit (CONIGLIO STEMPERATO ALLA SICILIANA), my mother the Pork Belly and Husband the Ragu (SPAGHETTI ALLA CHITARRA CON RAGu ABRUZZESE) pasta….all dishes were served with a generous hand and without too much fuss….no huge plates and tiny hand placed sprigs for these dishes.
The Pork was a little bland and my rabbit was not as tender as it could have been…but overall the dishes were lovely.
I prefered the Tapas to the mains and would probably order a number of those rather than a main for my next visit.
Unfortunately there were no desserts that I could eat and that appealed…but I plan to go back once current condition has changed to try more of the menu.
I would recommed this as a nice place to visit, mostly for the Tapas….
One comment from my mum…the wine served was probably the smallest offering she had seen in a while.
Go, try, graze….
Bar Idda
My mother is a bit of a foodie and keeps a keen eye out for new places to try.
h2b and I are about to move out North, new for both of us……so we are keen to try new places that way, will make the transition easier for me….as I will miss my usual haunts around Abbotsford, Hawthorn and Kew.
Bar Idda was high on her list ( 132 Lygon St Brunswick East VIC 3057 – (03) 9380 5339
Open Tue-Fri 5pm-10pm; Sat 9am-2pm, 5pm-10pm)
