Kebabs from Kebabs House, Rosebud

Kebabs House

Address: Shop 1/ 913 Point Nepean Rd, Rosebud

Phone: (03) 5982 1500

Yesterday we went on a road trip and stopped for kebabs in Rosebud. On the window of the Kebabs House was a big sign saying they have 'Melbourne's Best Souvlaki as mentioned in the Herald Sun.' The date of that award was January 2010. A lot must have changed in the last 16 months. Unfortunately, to explain my lamb kebab ($7.50) as disappointing is a bit of an understatement. 

• The main disappointment and a real frustration for me was the lamb. They didn't use 'real' lamb, it was processed
• There was only a tiny sprinkling of salad
• The kebab was served in what looked a lot like a hot dog bun. I think the bread was probably made on site but isn't the type of wrap you would associate with a kebab

T enjoyed his kebab so at least one of us was satisfied.

This is about one quarter of the size of the kebab

We also ordered an egg salad ($4.50) which was very fresh. In addition to the egg, there was onion and plenty of parsley.

While you wait for your food to be prepared there are plenty of new magazines to read through which was a little treat. The shop was very clean and the staff were polite.

Gorcery Shopping Online

Yesterday morning I went grocery shopping dressed in my pajamas, without having brushed my teeth and wearing no shoes. In fact, I was even sitting down the whole time! I shopped online from the comfort of my couch.
My frustration and dislike of grocery has been developing slowly over the last 12 months and I am now at the stage where I have decided to do something significant about it. I read a news paper article a few weeks ago outlining the pros and cons of online grocery shopping and had done a little research of my own before yesterday's trial.
Farmers Direct has much cheaper (free) delivery than the major supermarkets but it didn't seem like I could pick my own combination of fruit and vegies. I would have to buy a box of what they had selected for me. This didn't really suit me, plus they only sell fresh foods and I needed to buy rice and other pantry items.
From what I could recall, Woolworths offer cheaper delivery than Coles so I thought that might be the way to go. However, when I attempted to do some shopping in the fruit and vegetables section I found that didn't suit me either. Woolworths showed the price of buying items individually, for example buying 1 capsicum. It didn't show the price per kilo or the average weight for one item. This was no good I decided, I wanted to compare the price per kilo.
Coles Online was where I ended up ordering from. They showed the price per kilo of fruit and veg, the average weight of one item and the price per individual item. Perfect.
It took me a while to do my shopping, this was my first visit to the online supermarket after all. But as with any trip to a new store, I will get used to it and find my way around much faster the more I visit. Plus, my previous shopping trip is remembered so it will save me lots of time next trip because as T said, 80% of what I buy each time is probably the same.

Of course online shopping has its disadvantages, for example:

• Not picking out your own vegies that look to be the freshest ones there
• Not being able to pick the items with the longest time before the used-by date
• Not being able to compare or even read the nutritional content on the labels
• Not being able to spot the discounted items reduced for quick sale
• Having to pay a delivery fee ($11 for me this time)
• No delivery of groceries on the weekends

But there are also plenty of advantages to shopping online:

• Not having to leave home; you don't have to find a carpark, battle any crowds or even get dressed!
• Not being tempted by things you don't really need
• Being able to check in the cupboard or a recipe book instantly to see if you do or don't need to purchase something
• It will absolutely save time when I am used to the process
• You can see how much you are spending as you go

All in all, I was pretty happy with the experience and will definitely try it again a few times before making a final judgement. Now I'm just looking forward to Monday evening when I'll get all my groceries delivered. Hopefully they are gentle with the eggs!

Lemon Chicken with Pilaf, Zucchini and Carrots

I had a few lemons I wanted to use and found an interesting recipe for Lemon Chicken in a 4 Ingredients cook book. I wasn't really sure what to serve with the chicken with but finally decided on pilaf, steamed carrots and zucchini pieces. The pilaf was average, the zucchini was yummy but the chicken was the best thing on the plate.

Once it was cooked I was very impressed with the look of the chicken. I didn't use a whole lot of oil but it was still crispy and golden on the outside.

 

Lemon Chicken

2 chicken breasts cut into strips

2 lemons, juiced and zested

~1/2 cup corn flour

oil to fry

Marinate chicken in lemon juice and zest for about 2 hours. 

Remove from fridge, add corn flour and mix to form a batter.

Heat oil in frying pan. Fry chicken in batches until golden.

Place cooked chicken pieces on absorbent paper to soak up excess oil.

Serve and enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken & Eggplant Parmigiana

Thursday night's dinner was very enjoyable. I made Balsamic Chicken (recipe from one of the 4 Ingredients cook books) and Eggplant Parmigiana (adapted from Guy Grossi's Easter Feaster recipe). I served these with steamed broccoli and green beans. The eggplant dish was fantastic. I really do love the texture of eggplant and it was wonderfully tasty in this recipe.

Balsamic Chicken

2 Chicken breasts
4tbs balsamic vinegar
2tbs brown sugar 
1 garlic clove

Mix together vinegar, sugar and garlic. Place chicken breasts in marinade and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Pre heat oven to 180°C.  Roast (or grill) until cooked through and sauce has caramalised.

*The sauce didn't caramalise in my case because I covered it when it was in the oven. I have used a similar sauce over carrots and roasted them. The sauce did caramalise in that instance and it was DELICIOUS!

Eggplant Parmigiana

Olive oil 

1 large or 2 medium-sized eggplant 

1 Jar of pasta sauce 

Parmesan, Ricotta and/or Mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

Pre heat oven to 180°C

Cut the top of the eggplant/s. Slice eggplant ½cm thick lengthways.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.

Fry eggplant in batches with a sprinkling of salt for 2-3 minutes on both sides or until golden brown, adding more oil when required. Place on absorbent paper and leave to soak up excess oil.

In a baking dish, line the bottom of the dish with some pasta sauce, then eggplant, cheese and a sprinkling of herbs.

Repeat with 1 or 2 more layers. Top with cheese.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Toasted Chicken Rolls for Dinner, Pasta for Lunch

I roasted a chicken yesterday and had some near stale rolls that I didn't want to waste so I decided to make toasted sandwiches (rolls in this case) for dinner. There was hardly any effort involved but they tasted great. Inside the rolls was avocado, chicken, cheese, capsicum, spring onion, tomato, rocket and baby spinach leaves with a squirt of tomato sauce and a little bit of butter.

They tasted nicer than they appear in this photo.

While I was preparing dinner I put some pasta on to boil. I made pasta for T's lunch tomorrow because there was extra chicken, spring onion and spinach leaves from dinner. I threw them together with some pasta sauce to create his lunch. It was easier than making a sandwich!

I added 2 chicken wings as a bonus treat.

Return visit to Main Street, Mordialloc

We returned to Main Street today for brunch. T ordered the Vegie Patch ($16.50) again but forgot to ask for scrambled eggs in place of the poached ones.
I went for something a little more indulgent than last visit, I ordered Speared Salmon ($16.50). It consisted of two free range poached eggs on rye toast with smoked salmon, asparagus spears, rocket, hazelnut dukkah & lemon.

It was a very enjoyable brunch. Apart from T's initial disappointment in himself for not ordering scrambled eggs, we both had a great time and a tasty start to the day.

Punjab Sweets

Punjab Sweets

Address: 2b Mason St, DandenongPhone: (03) 9792 1694 
Punjab Sweets is a modestly decked out Indian sweet shop in Dandenong. While the place is named after it's sweet treats, it is the Indian curries that keeps us coming back for more. This is probably where I got my first taste of Indian food many years ago.
They offer take-away or you can eat in at the humble dining section. While the presentation of the eating area leaves a lot to be desired, one must not forget they are there to enjoy the delicious, cheaply priced food, not critique the interior.

It is always fun to stand at the counter, look up at the large yellow menu and make the decision about which mouth watering dish to try that day.

Today we ordered 2 Vegetarian Samosas. At $1.50 each they are an amazing bargain! The samosas were totally delicious, fried to perfection and full of flavour. The second picture below shows all the tasty chunks of potatoes and peas.

We ordered two dishes, one of which was Chicken Curry ($8.50). This was simple but tasty. Unlike the similar flavoured Chicken Masala, this has no chunky pieces of onion or capsicum, it is just chicken and gravy. T loved it.

Palak Paneer ($7) was the vegetarian choice. We asked for extra paneer and there was plenty added. This was tasty too, although T mentioned that the colour wasn't quite right. He said it should be a deeper green colour and have a bit more flavour but I was happy with it.

We ordered 4 Naans ($1 each) to eat with the curries. They were cooked beautifully, spread with a little butter and were served nice and warm.

We have come to Punjab Sweets many times and always leave shaking our heads (happily) at the low price we payed for such a great meal. Today was just the same as usual; we left feeling full, satisfied and with plenty of change in our pockets.

Pita Bread Pizzas

I wanted a meat-free dinner and had plenty of left overs which inspired me to make pizzas. Pita bread made the base, I used the remaining tomato puree with garlic and herbs to spread over the bases and raided the fridge for toppings.
The pizzas were topped with capsicum, spring onion, olives, sun dried tomatoes, antipasto from a jar; yellow & red capsicum, zucchini and eggplant. The cheese was grated tasty cheese and a sprinkling of fetta. T's pizzas also had some chorizo.

Just before serving I also topped the pizzas with rocket.

Pita bread pizzas mean the focus is on the toppings rather than the base which suits me just fine.

Vegetable Soup

This was a simple soup I made for lunch yesterday. For the base I used a packet of 'soup mix' which was peas, barley and lentils. It also had leek, carrot, potato, canned tomato, some left over tomato puree, stock and curry powder.

Kheema Matar, Channa & Halwa

I spent today slaving over the stove, ok well not quite slaving, I enjoyed it. The bit I didn't enjoy was all the washing up!
I made an Indian feast and didn't cut any corners this time, hence the food was delicious (even if i do say so myself!).
The Kheema Matar recipe was from a book I have, A Taste of... India. The list of ingredients is rather long, but here is the recipe:

Kheema Matar
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
5 cm piece of ginger
4 green chillies (I only used 1 red one)
2/3 cup oil (I didn't use quite this much)
2 Indian bay leaves
500g minced lamb
2 tbs tomato puree
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tbs ground coriander
2 tbs ground cumin
2 tbs thick plain yoghurt
3 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup peas
1/4 tsp garam masala
5 tbs chopped coriander

Put onion, garlic, ginger and 2 chillies in food processor and process until finely chopped.
Heat the oil in frying pan over medium heat. Add onion mixture and bay leaves, fry for 4 minutes or until golden brown.
Add the lamb mince and fry for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up any lumps.
Add the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander and cumin, stir for 1 minute. Add the yoghurt, salt and pepper and continue frying for 5 minutes.
Add 3/4 cup of water a little at a time, stirring until it's well absorbed.
Add the two remaining chillies, stir then cover. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add peas and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
Add garam masala and chopped coriander, stir for 1 minute before serving.

This was an absolute stand out dish. It was so good I ate so much I nearly had no room left for dessert!

The Channa Masala recipe I found online. I chose this recipe rather than my mother in-laws because I never seem to get her's quite right. Unfortunately this didn't turn out as good as I would have hoped either. The search continues for the perfect channa masala recipe......

I decided to make Carrot Halwa because I bought a bag of carrots and wanted to use some of them. Plus I love carrot halwa and this is a low fat recipe!
The recipe I was following is supposed to be cooked in the microwave but I chose to cook it on the stove instead, I also added sultanas and omitted the powdered milk. I'm a bit weary about microwave cooking but I guess I shouldn't really knock it until I try it. Anyway, it took a long time for the milk to evaporate but thankfully the halwa didn't stick to the base of the saucepan so in that regard this was a success. It was also very tasty but the texture wasn't quite right, the milk had separated so that affected the final product. However, it was still a nice way to finish off a tasty meal

Once served up, this is what T's plate looked like.

Clockwise; kheema matar, prantas, raita, channa masala, pickles.

And here is dessert.

The day spent cooking was worth the effort. Overall, we both really enjoyed our dinner.

Roast Chicken and Vegetables

I bought a whole chicken, actually 2 chickens, the other day because they were on special. Last night I decided to roast one for dinner and was super surprised to read it would take 2 hours to cook! I was skeptical, but the instructions were correct.
I've never actually roasted a whole chicken before but I was pretty happy with the results.
To accompany the chicken I roasted some carrots, potato and pumpkin. The meal was finished off with some peas and corn and gravy.

Smoked Salmon and Brown Rice

Another day, another delicious lunch!
Today's lunch was made using a range of left overs I found in the fridge. This is what I mixed together before heating it in the microwave:
Brown rice
Smoked Salmon
Baby spinach leaves
Tomato puree
Fetta cheese
Avocado
Salt & pepper

It was a bit light on the vegetables but the brown rice and salmon gave me some extra goodness.

Choc-chip Cookies

I baked a batch of choc-chip cookies today to give as a gift to friends of ours who are new parents. The recipe was a straight forward Basic Butter Biscuit Dough with the addition of a cup of choc-chips.

Hopefully they like the sweet treat!

The mixture made 21 cookies; 20 for them, 1 for me!

Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Mmm-mmm,  I just finished a very tasty lunch!
I bought some smoked salmon on special today and was eagerly awaiting lunch time so I could eat it!
Between the layers of Lawson's Homestead Seed & Grain bread I had avocado, tomato, spring onion, parsley, smoked salmon, rocket, lettuce leaves and a light spread of vegemite and ricotta cheese.

Delicious!

Falafels for Dinner

Yesterday I decided to try my hand at making falafels from scratch. It was a long but satisfying process.
I started the night before by placing 2 cups of dried chickpeas in a bowl of water and allowing them to soak overnight. I then simmered them yesterday afternoon until they were soft and edible.
I made a delicious batch of hommus with half of the chick peas. Some of this was served with the falafels and of course, there is still plenty left over to enjoy.
I spent quite some time searching for the perfect falafel recipe yesterday. Because I had not made them before, I didn't know which one would be best so combined the common element and created my own. Here is my recipe:

Falafels
Ingredients:
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, chopped
3 tsp garlic (3 cloves)
1 cup peas
350g chick peas
1 cup parsley, chopped
1 tbs tahini
1 egg

Method:
Fry spices and allow them to cool.
Lightly fry the onion and garlic.
Combine ingredients and process until they form a chunky paste.
Roll into balls, place on oven tray and spray with oil.
Cook in 200°C oven until brown, turning every 10 minutes.

Once they were browned, it was time to 'plate up.' I'd prepared the rest of the meal while the falafels were cooking so everything was ready to go.
I made a salad inspired by tabouli, only it had no bulgur. It consisted of cucumber, tomato, spring onion, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I also made a simple garlic yoghurt by mixing those two ingredients together.
On T's plate he had garlic yoghurt, falafels, mixed lettuce leaves, hommus, tabouli minus the bulgur  and warm Afghani bread. He really enjoyed it and went back for seconds.

Rather than having mine as a platter with Afghani bread, I wrapped the same ingredients in half a pita bread.

Before wrapping the pita bread this is what it looked like.

It was an enjoyable, fresh and nutritious meal and well worth the effort.

Country French Chicken Tonight

Last night I made a quick meal which was basically chicken breast, 1 zucchini, half a sweet potato, 1 onion and a jar of Continental Chicken Tonight Country French served on some brown rice.

It was quick and tasty. I served it with the brown rice and added the veggies to bump up the nutritional value.

Dinner at La Collina Pizzeria

La Collina Pizzeria

Address:1640 Burwood Highway, Belgrave 
Phone: (03) 9752 5470 

I remembered to take my camera along to Sunday's dinner at a local Italian restaurant. 
We ordered a very simple meal, T had really been wanting to have a pizza and I'm always pretty content with soup. 
There were three soups on offer; Minestrone, Pumpkin or Mixed Vegetable & Lentil (all $7). I love lentils so that was my choice. The soup had something missing, don't get me wrong, it was nice but just missed any kick. I found it very interesting to see what appeared to be lettuce in the soup and it was still pretty crisp. I would have expected a bowl of soup to be served with some bread but this wasn't. I guess that makes good business sense really; encourage the customer to buy something they can bite into so satisfy that craving of crunch.

T chose a Mexicana Pizza ($13), it was topped with salami, capsicum and olives. I had a little bite without trying any salami and was shocked by how incredibly salty it was. It seems the olives weren't rinsed because the saltiness from just one olive was completely overpowering. I honestly couldn't taste any flavour in that mouthful, only salt. T picked most of the olives off and didn't complain too much so the pizza must have been ok once they were removed.

The Osso Bucco seemed to be very popular that night as most tables appeared to have ordered that dish. I did notice the takeaway section of the restaurant was super busy on Saturday night and it does seem a pretty popular place. The interior of the restaurant was quite basic, it was clean but dated. The staff were nice, especially the man who we paid at the end, he had a lovely warmth about him.

Breakfast at Belgrave Manor Earthly Pleasures Cafe

Belgrave Manor Earthly Pleasures Cafe

Address: 1627 Burwood Highway, Belgrave

Phone: (03) 9754 7899

T and I just spent a lovely weekend in Belgrave so we had the opportunity to try out a few of the local cafes and restaurants.
For dinner on Saturday night we went to Honey Thai. This is a basic Thai restaurant with standard food. The staff were friendly and accommodating but there seemed to be too few of them to cater for the number of customers. (I didn't take any photos.)

On Sunday morning we headed out for a late breakfast at Belgrave Manor Earthly Pleasures Cafe. The cafe is a bit of a hidden sanctuary that is lovely inside and out.
There were many tasty options on the menu as well as on the daily specials board but we ordered quickly and headed out to the only table soaked in mid morning sun.
We started with coffees which were very nice.

I ordered porridge with seasonal poached fruit and sweet hazelnut dukkah ($10.50). The small amount of fruit was delicious and the sesame seeds were something a bit different. I found the porridge itself could have been a little more flavorsome, maybe it wasn't as milky as I've come to expect. When the topping was all mixed through it was nice but not amazing.

T ordered scrambled eggs on sourdough with brie, spring onions and spinach ($14.50). He loved every mouthful! I had a bite and found the inclusion of the spring onion complemented the scrambled eggs perfectly.

Our waiter was super friendly, he wore a huge smile on his face and it made our experience all the nicer.

The view from our table.

As soon as we left our table, another group of people moved there; prime real estate!The location and feel of the place is just beautiful. I would love to return here for lunch or dinner.

Baked Potatoes

Last night I made baked potatoes for dinner.
I cut up and fried the toppings first then just reheated them in the microwave when the potatoes were ready.
The toppings were onion and garlic, mushrooms, chorizo (for T), wilted spinach and tomato.

When the potatoes had been baking for about 50minutes I removed them from the oven and topped them with all the goodies as well as some sour cream, sweet chilli sauce, salt and pepper.

Yummy!

Romantic Meal at Home

Dinner was a three course meal. It was time for some quality time with T so we ate by candle light with some nice mood music. Romantic.

Entree was a simple Bruschetta was tomato, onion, garlic, basil and fetta.

The main was a McCain Tandoori Chicken pizza. I bought it because it was on special for $3, bargain! It was nice too.

I also made Paprika Potato with Wilted Spinach, Chickpeas and Chorizo. T bought some chorizo and I thought this was the perfect way to use some of it.

I made a broccoli gratin. It wasn't very pretty but it was healthy and very tasty.

Dessert was a few chocolate coated strawberries.

We both had a lovely time and enjoyed the meal.

Food Diary II

I decided to keep another food diary yesterday. I knew I would be eating everything at home and I thought it might be interesting to compare to Tuesday's photographic proof of my food intake.

Breakfast is pretty similar every day; bircher with fruit and All Bran.

A few nuts were my mid morning snack, as well as a piece of toast with some honeycomb spread on top (yep, real honeycomb!).

Lunch was a nice salad. It was made up of lettuce, capsicum, cucumber, tomato, egg, salmon and avocado.

I made a new batch of muesli bars and ate quite a lot while I was preparing them, about this much:

Dinner was a simple three course meal.
I started with a piece of brushetta.

This was my main meal; a piece of pizza, some chorizo & chickpea salad (minus the chorizo) and broccoli gratin.

For dessert I had one chocolate coated strawberry and some dried fruit.

Supper was 4 teaspoons of bircher. I love the stuff and often have a few bites before bed.