the grape and the grain

Bun in the oven!

2009-05-08T15:02:00.004+10:00

Ok so I have to apologise for my lack of posts on here in recent months…. but I found out I'm pregnant on our 1st wedding anniversay back in February! So I've been busy "baking" the past couple of months, just not the usual kind!

It has definitely slowed me down a lot, with being quite sick in the first few months as well as super tired. I’m 14 weeks pregnant now and starting to feel less like hibernating, so I’m becoming a lot more active on the web and catching up with family and friends again.

I've hardly done any cooking lately, aside from very simple foods that are easy to prepare and don't smell too strong. A favourite is chicken nuggets, and the trusty cheese sandwich with ginger beer for breakfast definitely helped keep the morning sickness away once I discovered the winning combination!

I'm hoping to get back into the kitchen more regularly soon, we'll be looking for a new home over coming weeks, so once we've settled in I am sure I'll be stocking up the pantry and putting the oven to work. Just don't blame me if some of the recipes sound weird - I'm sure cravings will influence my cooking choices over coming months!

xxx Fi

Event: "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris" book signing

2008-12-10T02:06:00.010+11:00

Last month I had the incredible fortune to attend the booksigning event for "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris" on Tuesday 18th November at WH Smith on Rue de Rivoli in Paris. The book is written by Clotilde Dusoulier who is the author of the foodie blog Chocolate and Zucchini. I had been browsing her blog when I was back in Sydney, catching up on new posts when I noticed the upcoming event. To my delight, it was happening just a few days after I arrived in Paris so I sent off an RSVP to the bookstore and awaited the evening with much excitement.

I caught the metro into the city with plenty of time in advance, so I could buy a copy of the book in advance and scope out the store, filled with many great books. There were quite a few Australian authors I was proud to spot on the shelves. I still had about an hour to wait at this stage before the event started, so popped out into the street and up Rue Cambon on which I had heard a new Pierre Herme store had just opened up.

At Pierre Herme

I ended up chatting with the lovely sales assistant (I think his name was Jerome), and found out he had just returned from a year living in Sydney, so we chatted about the lovely weather over there, and how beautiful Paris is this time of year. I purchased a couple of macaroons to takeaway, and tucked them in my handbag for safe keeping (Passionfruit & Milk Chocolate, Chocolate & Foie Gras, and Milk Chocolate).

A not so great photo taken outside the store

After strolling around Rue Saint-Honore and window shopping at Jimmy Choo, I returned to the bookstore to await the start of the event. Clotilde began by introducing herself and talked a little about her background, growing up in Paris and moving out of home to live in San Fransisco for a year before returning back to Paris with a renewed interest in cooking. She explained that since her blog has become so popular she has had many people contacting her for recommendations of where to dine in Paris, which led her to the idea of writing the book "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris". She wrapped up by reading an amusing excerpt from the book and answering questions from the crowd, then sat down to start the booksigning.

As I had already purchased the book I was one of the first in the line, so did not have to wait long to meet her and have my book signed. I was a little shy when I introduced myself, but she was very friendly and allowed me to have my photo taken with her which was exciting!

Getting my book signed by Clotilde

Afterwards I left the store to head up to dinner with my husband and friends at L'Etoile 1903 (av de Wagram). The metro was very crowded and as I stepped on, I was pressed from all sides only to realise with dismay that my handbag was also squished! Too late to do anything about it, I got off the metro a few stops later and sadly pulled my precious macaroons out in a very crushed and mangled arrangement. I figured they would still taste the same (they were fantastic, the passionfruit and milk chocolate was my favourite). Hopefully I will go back and get some more later on to take photos of "unsquished".

At dinner I passed around Clotilde's book and everyone was very interested to have a look and were impressed with the range and quality of restaurants that had been presented, so I am sure it will be a useful guide in the coming weeks in Paris!

Paris - the city of love and chocolate!

2008-11-25T05:40:00.009+11:00

Enjoying a crepe with Nutella in Saint Michel

I have spent the last 10 days roaming around Paris, being delighted by the sights and sounds, and most especially by the smells and tastes of the city. I am officially obsessed with the food in this city, especially the delicious sweet treats and hot chocolate on offer in almost every street I walk down. I never expected there to be so many lovely little stores offering up beautiful little cakes, pastries, biscuits, macaroons - all ready to be wrapped up in pretty paper, and taken down the street to be devoured as I take in the atmostphere of the city.

I have seen several markets - all with wonderfully fresh produce - including artisan breads made with love, seafood sipped from the coast overnight, and fruit and vegetables laid out on the stalls with such artful designs and loving care by their vendors. The markets are held in various little squares around the city each day and make the city feel like a true community of inter-connected villages. Everyone seems to shop local at the markets for their fresh groceries, and also have their favourite little bakeries for fresh bread each morning. There is a massive array of cheeses to choose from, and one of our favourite snacks is to eat fresh bread with soft cheese and a glass of red wine. :D

I have taken loads of photos during the week and here are some of them for you to enjoy:

GFM Noodle Markets

2008-10-30T10:43:00.000+11:00

I went along to the last night of the Noodle Markets last Friday (part of Good Food Month in Sydney) with a couple of friends and we had a great evening. We arrived just after 6pm and it was already very busy, I guess a lot of people working in the city were going there straight after work, but we found the queues were not too long and there was plenty of food to choose from.

We started ut with Singapore noodles, pad thai and satay chicken sticks and I forgot to take photos because it was so yummy and we were excited to grab a spare table to sit and eat. It got our tastebuds warmed up and we strolled around the park, taking in the sights of the dragons and drummers, a demonstration on how to make noodles and generally just people watching. There was just so many people there!

Next we lined up for prawn dumplings, barbeque pork buns and roast duck buns - they were all so hot and fresh and tasty that we ate them standing up before they had a chance to cool off. Delish!

After wandering the gardens as it got dark and taking photos of the funky lights in the trees, we settled down with a bottle of white wine and some beers to soak up the atmosphere. The final treat from the night was some yummy mango and wildberry sorbets from Serendipity before we headed out of the city and off to our current local pub to end the night with some more wine and dancing til late!

Yummy treats

2008-10-29T22:24:00.001+11:00

Some yummy treats that my friend brought home from work to share with us this afternoon. They were delicious with a hot cup of tea! My favourite was the lemon tart!

Easy yummy roast dinner

2008-10-28T19:10:00.001+11:00

Just a quick post to share some pics that I took of a yummy quick and easy roast dinner I cooked early in October. I had bought a new 500mm lens for my SLR the day before so couldn't resist testing it out on a yummy roast and I'm very happy with how the photos turned out.

The roast was a 2kg marintated roast beef from Coles and I cut some pockets into one side and filled them with fresh rosemary and garlic cloves and then drizzled olive oil over the top. I cooked it for about 2 hours at 180 degrees then added the vegetables. When the beef was cooked I took it out and covered it in foil on a plate while the vegetables crisped up. Served with gravy and it was delicious!

Decadence to the Max!

2008-10-24T15:54:00.006+11:00

Yesterday my hubby and I had to run some errands in the city, mainly changing my name over to my married name (finally! we got married in Feb this year) as well as a dental checkup. I can happily report that my teeth are all in great condition so all that was required was a clean and I was done! Craig had to have a filling for a sore tooth, and you would think that this would be cause for us to avoid chocolate for the day, but alas when we were walking up George St I discovered that Max Brenner now has a store in the Met Centre near Wynyard!

Thank goodness Max was not there a couple of years ago when I worked at this end of town, or else I would have had to buy shares in the company to justify my excuse for (likely) daily visitations! Of course it did not take much convincing to get Craig to agree to have an early lunch in the cafe, only a couple of little eyelash flutters and we were on our way up the stairs. :o)

Inside it was warm and cosy, with the familiar dark brown and burnt orange decor of their stores and branding, and pleasantly quiet as it was just before the midday rush hour. I was glad that it was a cold windy day outside as it mdae it easy for me to order my favourite American Marshmallow Hot Chocolate while we decided to share a Babka and chocolate dipping pot, and hubby chose his favourite Iced Cookieshake to drink.

I grabbed us a cosy corner table by the windows so we had a good vantage spot to scope out the cafe's other diners and their treats, and also to have some nice lighting for the obligatory photos I just "had" to take! Craig patiently waited while I snapped away, then we dug in with great gusto to devour the babka. As we got near to finshing it we started to slow down to savour the light fresh dough and lick up as much chocolate from the dipping pot as possible, then we relaxed back into our bench seat to enjoy our drinks. It was a nice contrast to sip my hot chocolate from it's "hug mug", then swap over to his icy cold cookie shake for a sip, then finish off with the marshmallowy goo at the bottom of my mug. Ah bliss!

Preparing for Paris!

2008-10-21T13:57:00.005+11:00

My husband and I are heading overseas next month for his work, spending 5 weeks in Paris, a week in Orlando and then 3 weeks holidays around Europe. I'm very excited, not only to be travelling and sightseeing but also to be sampling all the tasty treats each country has to offer.

Five weeks in Paris is definitely going to be the highlight of the trip - we spent a couple of days there in 2004 as part of our backpacking holiday around Europe and I definitely adore the city of love. I also studied French all the way through high school so the whole french culture has a certain charm for me. I'm hoping that 5 weeks will give me a good sense of "living" in the city and not just playing tourist. We'll be staying in an apartment in La Defense, so I'll have access to a kitchen as well as only be a few metro stations from the centre of Paris.

I was planning to be more prepared before we go, but as usual work and other day to day stuff tends to get in the way and I lost track of time. Today I realised it's only 24 days til we leave for Paris, so I'd better start making some lists and gathering ideas of what to do, where to go and most importantly what to eat!

I've just finished reading a fabulous book called "La Vie Parisienne" by Janelle McCulloch, an Aussie who went to live in Paris for a year and it was filled with insights into great bars, cafes, restaurants and shopping hot spots around the city. Her favourite place is Ladurée, a lovely cafe that is most famous for its macaroons, cakes and pastries that come in beautiful mint green take home boxes (also the colour of her book cover). Her book is so descriptive that I really felt like I was there already, soaking up the atmosphere and throwing back glasses of expensive champagne! I can't wait to check out some of her favourite haunts.

I've also been traipsing around the interweb in search of ideas, and came across a lovely foodie blog called Chocolate and Zucchini. The author, Clotilde, has been blogging about food and Paris for several years and also written a couple of books. One post I have especially bookmarked is "12 hours in Paris", where she details how she would spend her last 12 hours in the city, all about the food experience of course! So I'm hoping to take the same trail, but perhaps over a few days instead of cramming that much eating into one session!

One of the books she has written is "Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris" which she describes as "A window onto my Paris, this delicious stomping ground for the food enthusiast. It is the companion I wish I had for every city I visit, pointing me to the edible highlights and giving me the lowdown on the dining scene, the best food shopping haunts, and the locals' favorites." I think I am going to have to track down this book before we leave!

I've also been busy tagging other sites I want to read up on, you can see them all here on my del.icio.us account. If you have any suggestions of places we should check out in Paris, let me know!!

Good Food Month in Sydney

2008-10-09T21:37:00.007+11:00

Image from GFM website

Hosted by the SMH in Sydney is the Good Food Month. It runs during October every year, and I am looking forward to checking out some of the events this year.

Quoted from their website; "There is something for everyone in this year's event, from street festivals to cooking classes, farmers' markets to lunches and dinners. In fact, the calendar is so full, we have had to squeeze in an extra day for the Sydney Food and Wine Fair on November 1. Enjoy!"

I am keen to check out the Sydney Food and Wine Fair in Hyde park on the 1st November as well as any other events I can fit in when we get back to Sydney this weekend.

There are many of Sydney's top restaurants participating in the event, including Astral, Becasse, Bilsons, Quay, Otto, and Vicini. You can sample some of the specials for lunch with a glass of wine, or drop into places like 3 Weeds, Victoria Room or Pony Lounge to enjoy a cocktail and canape.

Whatever takes your fancy, it's definitely going to be a highlight of the culinary calendar for Sydney this year, so grab a friend and head out for some great food and wine!

Comfort foods

2008-10-09T15:51:00.002+11:00

Unfortunately I have been really sick since the weekend, so not much cooking has been happening in my kitchen unless you count frozen dinners. I did feel a little better yesterday afternoon and had a quick search in the pantry to see what I could cook without leaving the house. I found a sauce sachet for Tuscan Meatballs which sounded enticing, so I made those for dinner and they were very tasty, especially considering my cold is blocking up my nose!

What I was thinking about today is what are your favourite comfort foods when you are sick? Usually when I have a cold I like to make up a big batch of veggie soup with loads of garlic for good measure. Seeing as its how it's Spring now though, soup is not quite as appealing as when you are snuggled up in a blanket in winter and want the warming aroma of fresh soft veggies.

In today's email from Taste I saw a recipe for Choc-banana toasties and they sounded very moreish! Not quite as healthy as veggie soup but I'm thinking it's the appeal of quick easy food that tastes so good you forget for a moment you are sick! Just wish I had some of the ingredients to make those toasties!! I think I will just have to get by with my lemon and honey tea and leftovers today and ask my hubby to get some groceries on the way home!

Yummy lunch at Noosa

2008-10-05T16:06:00.005+11:00

I had a fantastic weekend up at Coolum with friends this weekend, and the most memorable dining experience was on Sunday when we went to Noosa for lunch.

We started out mid-morning with a stop at Massimo's for what I consider to be the best gelato in Australia - they make it all fresh on the premises and with the beach just around the corner you can't go wrong. Every time we visit the Sunshine Coast we have to make a trip up to Noosa just to have gelato, it's that good! Some of my favourite flavours are Ferrerro Rocher (with real choccy pieces mixed in), Creme Brulee and the zesty Passionfruit.

For lunch we decided to head over to Madisson restaurant at Noosaville where it was a bit less crowded. I ordered the Tempura local king prawn salad - served with pineapple salsa, pickled ginger, mixed greens and soy sauce and it was so delicious! My friends ordered the Lamb shank, Chicken tenders and Chicken and mushroom risotto and were all equally impressed with the food and service. The views across the road to the river made for a ver relaxing afternoon!

Massimo : 75 Hastings Street, Noosa
Maddisson: 271 Gympie Terrace, Noosaville

Local treats in Toowoomba

2008-10-02T23:27:00.009+10:00

We have been living in Toowoomba for the past six months and we have been very lucky to enjoy plenty of the local food, wine and restaurants in the area while we have been here.

On Sunday mornings there are fantastic PCYC markets where I love to buy fresh fruit and veggies that are just bursting with flavour, as well as jars of tomato relish, passionfruit butter and lemon butter (made by local C. Dallinger & Family in nearby Gatton). I used to make these myself back in Sydney, but each batch tends to make 3 or 4 jars so I used to give a lot of them to friends to keep them fresh.

We've also discovered a treasure trove of vineyards and restaurants in the regions, some of our favourites are:

The Angel Cafe - their chilli hot chocolate is divine, and all the food we have had has been fantastic. I had the crispy skin barramundi for dinner there tonight with a glass of chenin blanc. Craig said their steak is one of the best he has ever had! Our favourite place for dinner in the area!
Swish - fantastic tapas at the front bar, and also delicious food and wine in the restaurant. Their wine presentation is also pretty impressive!
The Spotted Cow - great pub that has meals that are well above the standard of your average pub offerings. We've become regulars there on Tuesday nights for dinner and poker, and I love their Pirie Pinot Noir.
Veraison - restaurant with a lovelydark moody atmosphere. Food is great and they have a big range of wines to choose from. There is beautiful photography by Dan Proud on the walls to look at in between courses.
Preston Peak winery - just south of town they are situated at the edge of the mountains, so you can sample their wines or kick back in the cafe for lunch and enjoy the spectacular scenery.
Rimfire Winery - some tasty fortified wines that were great value
Highfields Estate - discovered their yummy wines at the Carnival of Flowers Food and Wine Festival two weeks ago. They have a great light bodied shiraz among others.

the ingredients for this blog

2008-10-02T14:02:00.002+10:00

I've been inspired by so many lovely foodie blogs lately that I decided to create my own! I've started up personal blogs before, but become disenchanted when I can't decide what to write about. Since food and wine is one of my favourite passions I'm sure that I'll have loads to talk about here though, and share some photos along the way as well!

I'm by no means a talented cook, but I love to have fun in the kitchen. I'm definitely a lazy cook - I prefer easy recipes that produce simple yummy dishes in next to no time. I love to eat complicated and fancy dishes, I just prefer to dine out to discover these culinary delights as I rarely have the time to make them myself at home.

So pull up a chair, grab a glass of wine and let's see where this adventure takes us!