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Sunday, 30 November 2014
Thursday, 27 November 2014
Home-made Worcestershire Sauce - add the fish!
I have recently (only yesterday!) mentioned my predilection for the writings of Terry Pratchett and his fantasy world of dwarves, trolls, witches, golems, etc but I forgot to mention wizards. The amazingly greedy Wizards who inhabit Unseen University can be found munching away on endless meals and snacks all day and well into the night. I think I can identify with this! Why does she mention this, you say? I was thinking of the famous Wow-Wow sauce beloved of many a Wizard, which has as one of its ingredients anchovy essence; naturally I was reminded of it when making this Worcestershire sauce with its fishy additions. Wow-Wow sauce is not only a condiment, but also a well-known aid to blowing up rocks and tree-roots if you are thinking of doing a bit of landscaping. Never fear, this sauce (I am mostly certain) will not blow anyone or anything up!
I found this recipe in the fabulous book by Karen Solomon - can it, bottle it, smoke it. I have pretty much stuck to her recipe, with only slight changes. And there are so many more recipes in this book that I am dying to try out. Ah well, maybe after Christmas when I have a bit more time.
ingredients:
1/2 cup tamarind puree
3 French shallots, thinly sliced
1 x 8cm piece of fresh ginger root, cut into several chunks (no need to peel)
2-3 whole fresh jalapeno chillies, thinly sliced
I found this recipe in the fabulous book by Karen Solomon - can it, bottle it, smoke it. I have pretty much stuck to her recipe, with only slight changes. And there are so many more recipes in this book that I am dying to try out. Ah well, maybe after Christmas when I have a bit more time.
ingredients:
1/2 cup tamarind puree
3 French shallots, thinly sliced
1 x 8cm piece of fresh ginger root, cut into several chunks (no need to peel)
2-3 whole fresh jalapeno chillies, thinly sliced
3 small plums, chopped (optional) - use red or black, tho red-fleshed gives a great colour
1 clove garlic, smashed
3 cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbs fish sauce (i.e. 40mls)
1 tbs molasses
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbs light syrup of your choice - I used 1 tbs maple syrup and 1 tbs rice bran syrup
1 tbs dark brown sugar
1-2 anchovies
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup water
method:
Grab yourself a large, clean jar
Place all the above ingredients into it
Stir and/or shake it till well combined
Wrap the jar in brown paper
Store it in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks
Give it a shake every few days
After 2 weeks, you will need to strain and bottle it. So I will get back to you folks in a couple of weeks. Here's hoping it turns out well!
1 clove garlic, smashed
3 cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbs fish sauce (i.e. 40mls)
1 tbs molasses
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbs light syrup of your choice - I used 1 tbs maple syrup and 1 tbs rice bran syrup
1 tbs dark brown sugar
1-2 anchovies
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup water
method:
Grab yourself a large, clean jar
Place all the above ingredients into it
Stir and/or shake it till well combined
Wrap the jar in brown paper
Store it in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks
Give it a shake every few days
After 2 weeks, you will need to strain and bottle it. So I will get back to you folks in a couple of weeks. Here's hoping it turns out well!
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| about to start the chopping |
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| yep that's a lot of chillies! |
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| all ready for the jar |
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| looking good |
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| ready to put away for 2 weeks' steeping |
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| in the brown paper bag and in our dark wardrobe for the next 2 weeks |
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| anchovies galore! (stock image) |
Wednesday, 26 November 2014
Nanny Ogg and the fruity apple fool
I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett who writes the Discworld series; at least before Dementia hit him at an early age. Who can resist vampires, dwarves, golems, witches, trolls and a talking dog? Not me that's for sure. Mr Pickings and I often quote bits of Discworld to each other as we go about our business, including my personal fave "rat on a stick"!. This can be used as an expletive or just general all-round useful phrase to express whatever you want. One of the wonderful witches in the Discworld is Nanny Ogg, she of the many husbands and many children; a woman after my own heart who loves a good drink or 3.
Nanny Ogg has written a marvellous cookbook full of delightful recipes such as Dwarf Bread, and the afore-mentioned Sticky Toffee Rat Onna Stick. And who could go past the wonderfully evocative Quattro Rodenti, a tasty pizza with- you guessed it- 4 rats! Replace with tomatoes and cheese as you see fit. I didn't want to chance such exotic fare so I just made Nanny's fruit fool. Admittedly it is meant to be made with gooseberries but as they are not readily found in Brisbane, I figured tart apples would do the job instead. I grabbed some Granny Smith apples, green and tart and great in cooking, and off I went to make apple fool - almost like Nanny Ogg's.
Ingredients:
3 medium apples (this will give you around 500g once peeled and cored)
90g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cloves
40ml apple liqueur mead (brandy, rum, or Calvados would do)
80g white chocolate
200mls whipping cream
Method:
Peel and core the apples, then dice them
Place in a medium saucepan with the sugar, vanilla, cloves and liqueur
Stir it and bring the mixture to a low boil
Simmer on a low heat for about 15-20 minutes till the apples are soft and squishy
Take out the cloves and let it cool right down
Puree with a stick blender
Melt the white chocolate in a microwave for 60-70 seconds
Let it cool for 5 minutes while you whip the cream till you have soft peaks
Gently fold in the apple puree and white chocolate into the whipped cream till all combined
Place into the fridge for at least a couple of hours so the flavours can mingle
Serve with extra grated chocolate if desired
So you get the picture- this is basically nothing like Nanny's gooseberry fool but it is delicious! And you can probably see my brand-spanking new stick blender in these photos. Yes I rushed out today to buy a new one (my old one died some weeks ago), and I love it to pieces. It has all these attachments, and the whisk did its thing with the cream in about 20 seconds flat. I just love it!
Nanny Ogg has written a marvellous cookbook full of delightful recipes such as Dwarf Bread, and the afore-mentioned Sticky Toffee Rat Onna Stick. And who could go past the wonderfully evocative Quattro Rodenti, a tasty pizza with- you guessed it- 4 rats! Replace with tomatoes and cheese as you see fit. I didn't want to chance such exotic fare so I just made Nanny's fruit fool. Admittedly it is meant to be made with gooseberries but as they are not readily found in Brisbane, I figured tart apples would do the job instead. I grabbed some Granny Smith apples, green and tart and great in cooking, and off I went to make apple fool - almost like Nanny Ogg's.
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| is clairvoyant gumbo in my future? Only Mrs Gogol knows! |
Ingredients:
3 medium apples (this will give you around 500g once peeled and cored)
90g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cloves
40ml apple liqueur mead (brandy, rum, or Calvados would do)
80g white chocolate
200mls whipping cream
Method:
Peel and core the apples, then dice them
Place in a medium saucepan with the sugar, vanilla, cloves and liqueur
Stir it and bring the mixture to a low boil
Simmer on a low heat for about 15-20 minutes till the apples are soft and squishy
Take out the cloves and let it cool right down
Puree with a stick blender
Melt the white chocolate in a microwave for 60-70 seconds
Let it cool for 5 minutes while you whip the cream till you have soft peaks
Gently fold in the apple puree and white chocolate into the whipped cream till all combined
Place into the fridge for at least a couple of hours so the flavours can mingle
Serve with extra grated chocolate if desired
So you get the picture- this is basically nothing like Nanny's gooseberry fool but it is delicious! And you can probably see my brand-spanking new stick blender in these photos. Yes I rushed out today to buy a new one (my old one died some weeks ago), and I love it to pieces. It has all these attachments, and the whisk did its thing with the cream in about 20 seconds flat. I just love it!
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| (stock image of the Prague Golem) |
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Friday, 21 November 2014
Summer citrus cordial - and what a summer we are going to have!
Wow! We have just had the weekend from hell with 40+C weather and hot northerlies blowing at us. I can imagine what all the G20 leaders said when they got home about stinking hot Brisbane. Never mind that this is really really odd for Spring. Gawd knows what is ahead in the coming Summer months.
We had a friend coming over for dinner on the Saturday night, so I made citrus cordial. We sat in the air-con and drank cordial, and then Champagne 'cos that's what you need to do when the weather is unbearable. Oh, and just to keep us on our toes, we had a huge storm yesterday and flash flooding. Eek!
This is a really easy recipe, and only takes a short time to make. And it's so handy to have a jugfull (is that a real word?) in the fridge ready to go. You will get 2 jugs' worth out of this recipe.
ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
zest of a lime or a lemon
2 cups of fresh citrus juice- this can be a mixture of oranges, lemons and limes
1 bottle of soda or mineral water
extra citrus zest for serving
Method:
Place the water and sugar into a medium saucepan
Stir and keep stirring till the sugar has dissolved over a medium heat
Add the cinnamon stick and zest now to the pan
Stop stirring! and let it simmer away gently on a low heat for 6 minutes
Take it off the heat
Leave to cool down
Take out the cinnamon stick when ready to mix the syrup with the juice
Juice your fruit - I used 2 big oranges, a lime and several lemons to get 2 cups
Add the juice and sugar syrup together and stir
Pour half the mixture into a nice jug
Add the bottle of sparkling water
Throw on the extra zest and ice cubes - and drink!
We had a friend coming over for dinner on the Saturday night, so I made citrus cordial. We sat in the air-con and drank cordial, and then Champagne 'cos that's what you need to do when the weather is unbearable. Oh, and just to keep us on our toes, we had a huge storm yesterday and flash flooding. Eek!
This is a really easy recipe, and only takes a short time to make. And it's so handy to have a jugfull (is that a real word?) in the fridge ready to go. You will get 2 jugs' worth out of this recipe.
ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cinnamon stick
zest of a lime or a lemon
2 cups of fresh citrus juice- this can be a mixture of oranges, lemons and limes
1 bottle of soda or mineral water
extra citrus zest for serving
Method:
Place the water and sugar into a medium saucepan
Stir and keep stirring till the sugar has dissolved over a medium heat
Add the cinnamon stick and zest now to the pan
Stop stirring! and let it simmer away gently on a low heat for 6 minutes
Take it off the heat
Leave to cool down
Take out the cinnamon stick when ready to mix the syrup with the juice
Juice your fruit - I used 2 big oranges, a lime and several lemons to get 2 cups
Add the juice and sugar syrup together and stir
Pour half the mixture into a nice jug
Add the bottle of sparkling water
Throw on the extra zest and ice cubes - and drink!
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| making sugar syrup |
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| gnarly organic lemons from a friend's tree |
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| zesting and juicing |
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| combining cordial and mineral water |
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| sparkling and so refreshing! |
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Feral chooks and a coconut chilli chicken dish
Did I ever tell you about the feral chooks that lived next door to us when we were children? We lived in a poor, rural area with lots of "interesting" residents. Some were escaping the city, some were escaping the War in Europe (long before my time of course) and some were just escaping. Our neighbourhood included many Dutch refugees who had come to Australia during and after the War. There were also a lot of hippies, a lot of druggies, a witch's coven or 2 and apparently a fair bit of wife-swapping! Oh, and our immediate neighbour was a convicted felon, in and out of gaol, who kept chooks in his yard. I am not sure what he did to them to make them so savage, but when we were ensconced on the outdoor loo, we would suddenly have mad chooks crashing through the door with huge claws at the ready. It was a terrifying experience and didn't do much for your internal system. We usually had to go down in pairs so one sibling could fend off the mad chooks with a broom. Not sure why mum or dad didn't think this was unusual. Happily this experience did not leave me with mixed emotions about chooks, only with recalcitrant, recidivist neighbours! I do love a good chicken dish, and here is one that I have adapted from the winning recipe in the Sample Food Fair macadamia competition. (sadly I didn't win, but this savoury one deserved to!) There are 3 parts to this dish - the chicken, the rice and the sauce. I suggest making the rice before the chicken goes into the oven to bake, as it can sit and rest awhile before the chicken comes out.
Remember that you need at least 30 minutes to marinate the chicken before baking so give yourself plenty of time for this.
Ingredients:
chicken:
4 chicken breasts (about 1.2 kg)
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup coconut chilli sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
rice:
2 tbs butter
2 cups long grain rice
2 tsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp turmeric
1.5 tbs lemongrass paste (or a stalk of fresh lemongrass finely chopped)
1.75 cups water
1.5 cups coconut milk
sauce:
1/2 cup macadamia butter
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut chilli sauce
Method:
Dice the chicken into 2cm cubes (Mr Pickings suggested I had cut them too big- the cheek!)
Place them in a bowl and stir in the olive oil, lemon juice, chilli sauce and coriander
Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes; 45 would be better!
Just before you are going to put the chicken in the oven, start on the rice. It takes about 20 minutes to make, and it needs to rest for 15 minutes before eating.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan
Throw in the rice and give it a good stir
Add the stock powder, turmeric and lemongrass paste
Stir everything till the rice grains are glistening and turning opaque
Pour in the water and coconut milk - the liquid should be 2cm from the top of the rice grains - you may need to adjust the liquid quantities given above
Bring it to the boil, then turn down as low as you can
Let it simmer away, covered with a lid for 15 minutes
Turn off the heat, and leave to rest for 15 minutes, covered
Do not sneak a peek says Mr Pickings! Leave the lid alone while cooking and resting!
Now that the chicken is beautifully marinated, you can put it into the oven at 190C for about 15 minutes
So before you are going to serve, you will need to get the sauce together. It is really quick and easy. Grab a bowl, throw in the macadamia butter, coconut milk and chilli sauce and whisk! Done!
You will now have a dish of delicious, spicy chicken, along with a nutty sauce and fluffy rice. So put them together!
Add some plain yoghurt and more chopped coriander leaves; eat with gusto.
Next time I will add some roasted, chopped nuts upon serving, maybe macadamias but cashews would do nicely too. And I am thinking of adding steamed green beans to the chicken 'cos I think it needs a bit of healthy and crunchy vegetable goodness.
Remember that you need at least 30 minutes to marinate the chicken before baking so give yourself plenty of time for this.
Ingredients:
chicken:
4 chicken breasts (about 1.2 kg)
1 tbs olive oil
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup coconut chilli sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
rice:
2 tbs butter
2 cups long grain rice
2 tsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp turmeric
1.5 tbs lemongrass paste (or a stalk of fresh lemongrass finely chopped)
1.75 cups water
1.5 cups coconut milk
sauce:
1/2 cup macadamia butter
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut chilli sauce
Method:
Dice the chicken into 2cm cubes (Mr Pickings suggested I had cut them too big- the cheek!)
Place them in a bowl and stir in the olive oil, lemon juice, chilli sauce and coriander
Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes; 45 would be better!
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| yep I wear gloves to chop chicken, and I keep a separate cutting board |
Just before you are going to put the chicken in the oven, start on the rice. It takes about 20 minutes to make, and it needs to rest for 15 minutes before eating.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan
Throw in the rice and give it a good stir
Add the stock powder, turmeric and lemongrass paste
Stir everything till the rice grains are glistening and turning opaque
Pour in the water and coconut milk - the liquid should be 2cm from the top of the rice grains - you may need to adjust the liquid quantities given above
Bring it to the boil, then turn down as low as you can
Let it simmer away, covered with a lid for 15 minutes
Turn off the heat, and leave to rest for 15 minutes, covered
Do not sneak a peek says Mr Pickings! Leave the lid alone while cooking and resting!
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| Mr Pickings is the rice and pasta king in our household-I leave it all to him! |
Now that the chicken is beautifully marinated, you can put it into the oven at 190C for about 15 minutes
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| excuse the shadow of the phone folks! |
So before you are going to serve, you will need to get the sauce together. It is really quick and easy. Grab a bowl, throw in the macadamia butter, coconut milk and chilli sauce and whisk! Done!
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| throw in the ingredients and whisk |
You will now have a dish of delicious, spicy chicken, along with a nutty sauce and fluffy rice. So put them together!
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| all ready to eat; bowl being held by the lovely Princess Pia neighbour extraordinaire |
Add some plain yoghurt and more chopped coriander leaves; eat with gusto.
Next time I will add some roasted, chopped nuts upon serving, maybe macadamias but cashews would do nicely too. And I am thinking of adding steamed green beans to the chicken 'cos I think it needs a bit of healthy and crunchy vegetable goodness.
Monday, 17 November 2014
Breakfast smoothie Belle General style
Like most people we had 2 grandmothers. To differentiate between them, we called our mum's mum Nanny car 'cos - you guessed it- she had a car! This Nanny as I may have mentioned before, used to buy strange things for us like musk sticks and whole coconuts and tinned quinces - can you even buy those anymore?- when a sensible gift would have been a pound of steak (no metrics in those days) or potatoes. Another thing she used to give our poor tired-out mother was packets of dates. And these were not the gourmet dates you can buy these days. Oh no - they were small and hard and chewy with nasty bits that stuck in your throat. So why am I telling you all this you may well be asking? Because I had a bit of a date breakthrough this weekend. I had not knowingly eaten dates since I was a child but this weekend I ate- well, drank- some dates! I had sucked up a delicious banana and date smoothie in a cafe recently, so thought I would give it a go at home. Bravely I went out into the world and purchased some "gourmet dates" (clearly, calling them "gourmet" means you can triple the asking price) and a few other items for my attempt at this smoothie. It was not as delicious as theirs, but a pretty damn good try I thought. I still have some dates, and a banana in the freezer so I guess I will have to make another one. I actually sliced up and froze my banana first, but I see now that you can just chuck your banana pieces in the blender and forget the freezing bit unless you have a ripe little beastie that won't last until you can drink it.
I put the slices in the freezer for an hour or so, then placed them into a freezer bag so I could use them another day. No need of course to freeze if you are making the drink straightaway.
Here is my version of The Belle General super smoothie:
ingredients:
1 ripe banana sliced
5 or 6 "gourmet" dates
1/3 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup almond milk (or soy or rice or whatever takes your fancy)
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs oats
ice cubes
extra ground cinnamon
method:
well, you know the drill. Blitz it all up in the blender, peoples! And throw on some extra cinnamon if you fancy. Add more milk if it is too thick for you.
Obviously I will have to go back to Ballina to try this drink again at the cafe, as they have it just right. And I will keep trying to get my own perfect version till I get it right.
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| slicing |
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| laying on tray ready for the freezer (that's the banana not me) |
I put the slices in the freezer for an hour or so, then placed them into a freezer bag so I could use them another day. No need of course to freeze if you are making the drink straightaway.
Here is my version of The Belle General super smoothie:
ingredients:
1 ripe banana sliced
5 or 6 "gourmet" dates
1/3 cup coconut cream
1/2 cup almond milk (or soy or rice or whatever takes your fancy)
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs oats
ice cubes
extra ground cinnamon
method:
well, you know the drill. Blitz it all up in the blender, peoples! And throw on some extra cinnamon if you fancy. Add more milk if it is too thick for you.
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| dates and banana- my nemeses! |
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| all ready for blitzing |
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| blitzed! and now for the drinking |
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| here we go! mmm not too bad |
Obviously I will have to go back to Ballina to try this drink again at the cafe, as they have it just right. And I will keep trying to get my own perfect version till I get it right.
Sunday, 16 November 2014
Thursday, 13 November 2014
Road Trip to Sydney- the extended version
Just for the hell of it I thought I would throw in a few more photos of our recent road trip to Sydney. I love to snap away with my phone camera. Mr Pickings always asks if it is ok to eat his meal 'cos he knows I have to snap it first! And as we drive along, he will often ask if I want to take a photo of something we have just passed. Sweet man that he is, he will happily reverse or turn around so I can take another photo.
So here are a few more shots of our trip:
So here are a few more shots of our trip:
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| Irish Town/Thunderbolt's Way and Roadies Cafe-Gloucester |
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| wonderful sculptures at Sculpture by the Sea in Bondi |
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| wooden whale/big baby's bottom and sunset over Sydney |
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| East Coast Lounge and delicious platters |
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| a Zumbo cake/Art Gallery NSW/Tacking Point Lighthouse/kitchen window of our hotel |
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| trawler heading out to sea from Ballina/house-smoked ocean trout at Northern Rivers Community Gallery gorgeous ceiling at the Gallery |
Can't wait for our next trip! Melbourne here we come!
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Two cafes and a road trip - Bill's in Bondi and The Belle General in Ballina
This past week Mr Pickings and I took off on a road trip to Sydney. I have often said to him - "let's just keep driving" whenever we cross over to the southside of town and see the big highway sign which tells us the big smoke is only 900+ klicks away. So this time we did it! We drove to Armidale the first night and spent a lovely evening in the very cool air at a wonderful place called Moore Park Inn. Even though it was Sunday night, the chef was on and made us a delicious meal. I thought it was somewhat amusing that room delivery cost $7 when the owner only had to walk about 10 metres to our room with the plates!
Next day we drove down Thunderbolt's Way to Sydney. What a fantastic road this is! So peaceful and beautiful, and we were lucky enough to see a koala and baby very close to the side of the road. (our niece who works for the RSPCA said this was a bad sign though, as they should be much higher in the trees).
We stayed the night with friends at Gosford, then headed down to Sydney. There is such a lot to see and do here, so with only 2 days it was all a bit of a lightning foray. The afternoon we arrived we went to Bondi to see Sculpture by the Sea- such a wonderful festival. It was a beautiful day and it was a joy to walk along the cliffs taking in the marvellous artworks. We met up that night with an old friend who now lives in Sydney. Nothing more delightful than spending time with someone who knows you so well, and takes no nonsense.
On our last morning we went to Bill's in Bondi for breakfast with all the beautiful people. For a Thursday morning it was pretty darn busy, full of tourists like us. Service was quick and efficient, and the food was fantastic!
We really enjoyed a delicious breakfast and it was a lovely end to our Sydney sojourn. We just had the long drive back home. Oh well, what's a thousand kilometres between friends?!
On the way home we stopped in Ballina for a couple of nights to recoup. We love it there and go down several times a year. I have been dying to try out a new(ish) place called The Belle General in East Ballina. We managed to haul ourselves out of bed and get along there for breakfast the next day. We hadn't booked but luckily for us someone hadn't turned up so we grabbed their table. The restaurant was comfortably full, but it didn't feel crowded or overwhelming and service was very efficient.
The Belle General proudly uses local produce, and organic and free-range whenever possible. Clearly, locals and tourists alike are keen on this approach. I loved my soft breakfast taco with beans, (added) bacon, avocado and scrambled eggs. And even though I am not a fan of banana or dates, the Super smoothie was soooo delicious I wolfed it down. (Yes you may well ask - why did she pick that one then? To which I have no answer except senility). Mr Pickings hoed into his brekkie of pancakes and fruit which was a special that day. (sorry- can't remember the price).
Mine was a substantial dish and I had to force most of my taco on Mr Pickings who willingly sacrificed himself for the cause. I think I have a bacon fetish and always order it as an extra where appropriate (obviously not with sweets or a fish dish!) And I loved the hot and sweet chilli relish- yum! No whimping out here with the heat.
As we left, 2 (other) lovely local ladies also having breakfast stopped to have a chat with us. They had seen me taking photos of the food, and wanted to know what we were up to. They talked about how the Northern Rivers area is picking up economically, and starting to zing. I do think it is a bit of a shame that development is starting to take over this area. I want it all to myself! No but really, the very thing we love about it is the peace and beauty, and sadly we are starting to see housing estates take over. I guess I am selfish, but I would like to see the serenity remain. But it is still a wonderful place to visit with lots of great eating places and beautiful scenery, and of course really nice people to talk to!
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| chicken and mushroom tart |
Next day we drove down Thunderbolt's Way to Sydney. What a fantastic road this is! So peaceful and beautiful, and we were lucky enough to see a koala and baby very close to the side of the road. (our niece who works for the RSPCA said this was a bad sign though, as they should be much higher in the trees).
We stayed the night with friends at Gosford, then headed down to Sydney. There is such a lot to see and do here, so with only 2 days it was all a bit of a lightning foray. The afternoon we arrived we went to Bondi to see Sculpture by the Sea- such a wonderful festival. It was a beautiful day and it was a joy to walk along the cliffs taking in the marvellous artworks. We met up that night with an old friend who now lives in Sydney. Nothing more delightful than spending time with someone who knows you so well, and takes no nonsense.
On our last morning we went to Bill's in Bondi for breakfast with all the beautiful people. For a Thursday morning it was pretty darn busy, full of tourists like us. Service was quick and efficient, and the food was fantastic!
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| the ceiling wasn't really falling on our heads! |
We really enjoyed a delicious breakfast and it was a lovely end to our Sydney sojourn. We just had the long drive back home. Oh well, what's a thousand kilometres between friends?!
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| Bill's blend of single origin coffee $3.90 beetroot carrot apple and fennel juice just made your blood sing! $8.50 |
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| scrambled organic eggs and sourdough toast $14.50 side of haloumi $4.50 and housemade gravlax $6.00 |
On the way home we stopped in Ballina for a couple of nights to recoup. We love it there and go down several times a year. I have been dying to try out a new(ish) place called The Belle General in East Ballina. We managed to haul ourselves out of bed and get along there for breakfast the next day. We hadn't booked but luckily for us someone hadn't turned up so we grabbed their table. The restaurant was comfortably full, but it didn't feel crowded or overwhelming and service was very efficient.
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| Mr Pickings perusing the menu |
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| the menu (check it out online) |
The Belle General proudly uses local produce, and organic and free-range whenever possible. Clearly, locals and tourists alike are keen on this approach. I loved my soft breakfast taco with beans, (added) bacon, avocado and scrambled eggs. And even though I am not a fan of banana or dates, the Super smoothie was soooo delicious I wolfed it down. (Yes you may well ask - why did she pick that one then? To which I have no answer except senility). Mr Pickings hoed into his brekkie of pancakes and fruit which was a special that day. (sorry- can't remember the price).
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| Mr Pickings had the Summer smoothie with mango, raspberries etc (oh and banana which he also doesn't like! but loved in this). $10.50 |
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| my taco was delish! $19.00 + $4.50 for the bacon |
Mine was a substantial dish and I had to force most of my taco on Mr Pickings who willingly sacrificed himself for the cause. I think I have a bacon fetish and always order it as an extra where appropriate (obviously not with sweets or a fish dish!) And I loved the hot and sweet chilli relish- yum! No whimping out here with the heat.
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| my artistic shot of their pendant lights |
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| the great outdoors |
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| the lovely ladies of The Belle General doing their thing |
As we left, 2 (other) lovely local ladies also having breakfast stopped to have a chat with us. They had seen me taking photos of the food, and wanted to know what we were up to. They talked about how the Northern Rivers area is picking up economically, and starting to zing. I do think it is a bit of a shame that development is starting to take over this area. I want it all to myself! No but really, the very thing we love about it is the peace and beauty, and sadly we are starting to see housing estates take over. I guess I am selfish, but I would like to see the serenity remain. But it is still a wonderful place to visit with lots of great eating places and beautiful scenery, and of course really nice people to talk to!
The Belle General
Address: The Belle General Cafe Takeaway Store
12 Shelly Beach Rd East Ballina NSW
Phone: 02 6681 3263
Address: The Belle General Cafe Takeaway Store
12 Shelly Beach Rd East Ballina NSW
Phone: 02 6681 3263
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