I broke.

And bought something for lunch.

Some organic Jap place opened up near my work and they're probably the least evil out of many things I could get, other than having a sandwich made. However, the good sandwich place is about a hundred metres run through the rain.

It's a cold soba noodle salad with a dashi-based dressing. As you can see, there are tomatoes, nori, bean curd, lettuce, alfalfa and eggplant in the mix.

Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes...

"Nobody can afford to sleep anymore. Do you realise how much it costs?"
–Disappearance I, Jeanette Winterson


I didn't eat lunch at work today because I was so tired I didn't bring any with me. Of course I am determined not to buy food out this week.

Yes, I am stubborn.

So, I get home and after sweating my brains out through exercising in the heat (yes, stubborn), I decided to make this salad thing.


First, I scrubbed and washed four kipfler potatoes. I diced and seasoned it, then oiled them and put it in a preheated oven of 180 degrees for 25 minutes. That thing in the foil is half a head of garlic.


Then, I washed and segmented a leek, a head of broccoli, a large zucchini and asparagus. These will be blanched, my friend. Don't worry.


You remember my good friend, broad bean? Yeah, look at the bag of pods...that's all you're getting.


Refresh in the cold water after boiling.


Wait...I lie. This is all you're getting. I am so zen right now, this is why my people are so good at sweatshops, menial tasks...whatever.


Cook the rest of the vegetables in boiling, salted water. I put the zucchini in first, as soon as the water boiled, then the broccoli stem, followed by everything else.


Take the vegetables out and refresh in cold water as soon as they're done. Obviously the zucchini is going to take a bit longer, so they're in there with the asparagus.
Oh, and I am not being annoying, but keep the water, add an onion, celery, carrots and pepper to it, simmer it for a few hours and skim off the scum. Yes, now you have vegetable stock. Ta-da.


Chop, chop, chop...


Chop, chop, chop...


Chop, chop, chop (in quarters, people)...


Chop, chop, chop...


Ooooh, crunchy goodness.


This is the garlic. It should squeeze out of its skin like golden play-doughey goodness. Mash this in a bowl with a healthy amount of red wine vinegar, approximately half the amount of white wine vinegar, the juice of a lemon, salt and pepper.


Remember your old friends parsley and dill?


Yeah, they were bitches. CHOP, CHOP, CHOP!!!


Ahh, old faithful. Add a teaspoon or two of this to the vinegar mixture. Add the herbs and stir.


Then, throw all the vegetables together in that giant bowl you have, add the dressing and toss to coat everything evenly. Seriously, use your hands. You're going to need to.


Eat it. Drizzle over some fruity extra virgin olive oil, if you want. It is not neccessary...


and I can't believe I'm going to say this






BUT



it didn't even need cheese.

What I have been eating.

Yeah, just pictures, really. Just to prove a point.


Roo roast with garden salad and roasted potatoes with a balsamic glaze over the lot of it.


The guy at the bottleshop was drunk and gave us this bottle of wine with the cleanskin we bought, as well as tell us about strawberries for ten minutes. He's a good man. Note the poor man bowl of ice.


Mr DaVa wanted a dessert and there was nothing in his house. I found this. It is a Japanese snack with cashews, roasted soybeans, raisins, goji berries and other stuff...probably MSG


So, I blended it and poured it over yogurt with some maple syrup. Looks like dirt, tasted pretty awesome.



And, the next day at work, in complete over-fullness from the night before, I ate berries.

Oh, fuck yeah!

I have decided to not eat out for the whole week, or to at least try. With everything I have bought, it only seems logical. That, and it would be a nice little experiment.

So, let's play the documenting game.

Anyways, I just had this.
I love simple eating... and Vogel's soy and linseed bran.

Oh yeah, and I also bought asparagus.

So, I handed in my last 12,000 words yesterday and celebrated by not exercising, drinking beer and making dinner for the boys and I. I bought three bunches of asparagus at the market and used one of them last night.

Here is how I used the other:


First, broad beans. In their full, unstripped glory.


Then, I took a bunch of asparagus, removed the woody parts, blanched them in boiling water for 60 seconds and refreshed them in iced water.


I did the same to the pods of the broad beans and they sexed it up with the asparagus.


After they chilled, I took of the outer layer from the broad beans. The clothes are in the front and the kids are in the back.


That got set aside and I made a hollandaise with three egg yolks, melted butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Oh, who needs a double boiler when you have a giant-ass bowl?
Note to self; tea towels, need to buy more...need to wash some.


And then I put it all together after poaching a few eggs, toasting a few slices of Irrawarra bread and getting my shit together.



And that, kids, is how you do a lazy brunch. Best eaten out the front, in the sun using crates as tables and on the olive couches.

To Market.

I made a trip to the market at 7 this morning. Oh, I get very simple pleasures from broad beans.

But, I bought way too much food.

-1.5 kg broad beans
-beetroots
-celery
-dutch carrots
-spanish onions
-garlic
-dill
-parsley
-watercress
-wild rocket
-strawberries
-blueberries
-avocados
-kipfler potatoes
-Irrawarra sourdough breakfast seed loaf
-natural yogurt
-cherry tomatoes
-mushrooms
-broccoli
-1/2 dozen eggs
-lamb chops
-tofu
-mozzarella
-grana panado
-bocconcini
-prosciutto
-pine nuts

And it almost killed me carrying this home...until I received a phone call and saw a figure approaching me about a block from my house.
This figure emerged a week or so early, after attempting to teleport and finally perfected the art, three weeks later, after working a credit card and an air line. That's right, and if anyone reading this is thinking that I made them carry some of my shopping, you are definitely, undoubtedly, one-hundred percent, not wrong.


Anyways, I have noticed that figs are making a reappearance in their sexy, sexy glory.

Give it a couple of weeks...

Hey, guess what?

It's raining, honey.























How's that for current? (this post is a bit of an in-joke)