I have

totally just made a few logs of butter from the cream in my fridge.



And because all of you know I love all things salt...


salted butter.

Remember when you were a kid and had a jar of cream and shook it until it turned into butter?
Well, I did that and then put the product in muslin, strained and rinsed the butter milk out of it and then, with a paddle, added salt to it. Chilled them in logs and then salted the outside of it as well...you know, just in case.

Also, it is to save me from buttering and salting my bread like a fat arse.

YES!

What is with all the gluten-free?

Someone had to change their diet.

And gluten-free flour is evil.

But, I found a good way to use the bastard and make really good pancakes. Yeah, they don't taste like cardboard hockey pucks.

But they aren't good for you either.
Not that you care when you have pancakes for breakfast. Oh, the reason why these were good is that they didn't taste like they were gluten-free, they just looked wrong.

Gluten-free pancakes
serves everyone else

1 small bottle (300ml?) of fresh cream
zest of a lime
1-2 tsp of baking soda (I think this is what made it not puck-like)
2 eggs
gluten-free flour
raw sugar

Whisk together the cream, lime, baking soda and eggs. Add the flour till you have the consistency of thickened cream. Don't worry about over mixing, there is no gluten. I think I used about 1/2-3/4 a cup.
Add the sugar to taste and fry off in a heavy skillet.
And don't forget, the first one is not for the crowd.

The kids ate it with sugar and lemon, honey, nuttelex, cashew butter, jam and plain.

The sad meal

of the poor, lazy, rained-out people.

I worked on Sunday.
Then I got rained on.
Gingold bought ingredients for dinner.
It was weird.
I had to make pasta from flavoured tuna. Tomato and onion flavour.
I never knew how shit Greenseas tuna was.
It was like paste.

We powered through.
Also, it was a good way to stay away from the filming at Lure for W's space-themed love soapie starring Kamal.
Yes...that Kamal.

Sad-face pasta
Serves 4

1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 chili, finely chopped
stalks of 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped
The bag of tomatoes G bought...like...9 mini ones, diced
1 capsicum, chargrilled on the stove, skin and seeds removed, diced
1 can of peeled tomatoes
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
2 mini cans of Greenseas evil tuna of hell, tomato and onion flavoured
2 tablespoons of cream
1/2 bag of baby spinach, washed
400g spaghetti, cooked

Sweat off the onion, garlic, chili and parsley stalks. Turn the heat up and add the fresh tomatoes and fry off for a few minutes, salt.
Add the canned tomatoes and the cap. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Bring to boil and then down to a simmer for 30 minutes.
I figured cos the tuna tasted like arse, that I had to add it now to try overpower the flavour.

It pretty much destroyed the sauce.

So, we cooked it down more, added some balsamic and salt to take the artificial sweetness away.

But it was still sad.

So, we cooked it down more.
And more.
And more.
It probably went on for about 50 minutes.

And then, to cut the gross, I added a couple of tablespoons of fresh cream and then spinach.


It actually saved it.
Surprisingly.


And we ate it with garlic bread that D made.

This is the first time in the place the quality of meal and wine were on par...oh, and we buy cleanskins, so it is a hit and miss.
Interpret as you will.

What is wrong with me?

Don't answer that question.

Remember when it was stupid-hot on Thursday?

The sun-set looked like this.
Well, I went to the Corner to see Elbow.
If you don't know me, then you probably don't know that I love Elbow.
Like...this much.

See?

And I have a strange relationship to the Corner.
And running around in closed venues trying to find exits with Elbow...

but...

After not being there for a year and a half, I found myself there only 48 hours later...less...to see Vulgargrad play. Renren is the percussionist.
And that dude with the wavy arms is Jacek...also known as the Narcoleptic dude from Moulin Rouge...

or the brother of Tomek of THE BUS incident.

Anyways...no Corner Hotel for a while.

I made hippy food and I didn't even know it.

And that upset me.

I scrounged around for food-stuffs in a very lacking home and found some quinoa left from a meal I made a while back there. And it wasn't infested with weevlis. Meh, it was good.
And gluten free.
And egg free.
And vegetarian.

I know...it's horrendous.
I can't even make some sarcastic title about it to make myself feel better. Don't worry, I bathe and use bleached paper when printing assignments.

Quinoa Fritters.
Makes 20-ish.

2 handfuls of white quinoa
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
salt
pepper
1/2 a market bag of baby spinach, washed
1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped.
1 medium sized eggplant
2 handfuls of grated parmesan
1-2 handfuls of mungbean sprouts
cashew butter, or a few handfuls of cashews pounded into butter with a mortar and pestle

Cook the quinoa with twice the amount of water as there is quinoa for 15-20 minutes with the sliced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, grill the eggplant, peel and set aside.
When the quinoa is cooked, add the spinach and parsley and stir till wilted, throw in the parmesan and mungbean sprouts and stir. Add the eggplant while warm with a few tablespoons of cashew butter, to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

You'll have a weird looking mixture like this.
Gross...innit?

Now, heat a skillet on a high heat and fry off the fritters in tablespoons. Make sure the pan is really hot, or they will stick to the pan. You'll need to do them for about 3 minutes on each side. And no, if they stick, it doesn't mean you need more oil, it just means your pan needs to be hotter. Don't be afraid.
Or, alternatively, you could deep fry these fuckers.
But, I didn't...your choice.


Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Yo, Cindy, it's your birthday.

It was my sister's birthday on Saturday.
On Friday we had a crazy family dinner.

Pretty self-explanatory. Chinese family...lots of food, every animal under the sun. Go team parents for cooking this all in only a couple of hours.

The Quack-quack is from Footscray.

Beef, broccoli...pretty easy to translate.

Steamed fish with spring onion, ginger and light soy. Hot oil over the top to bring it all out.

Fuck yes.

Fresh calamari cooked in prawn paste with spinach.
Yes, even hidden animals in the animals.

And I think I will always have a leaning toward vegetarian Chinese fare. These shittake mushrooms were brought back from Japan and had amazing bite. Served with steamed and sauted lettuce. My favourite.

I kind of left feeling a little sick and coma-like. I don't usually eat this much meat.

Nap time.

The sick files.

Condiment (avocado, thinly sliced red onion, a slice of turkey in this one, spinach, tobasco, dijon) half-sandwich, Lemsip capsules and Echinecea. What a wonderful diet. 3 days.

Note the shit bread. Not enough energy to walk to the market...IGA bread. *Sob*

Oh, and tea, lots of green tea...