Tsubu (review #2)

Today is our Melbaversary! I can’t believe that it’s already been a whole year since we drove the 11 hours or so with the cats bundled up in the back of the car ready to start our new life in Melbourne! What a year it’s been too! I’ve actually been quite slack and not actually getting around to reviewing anything lately so I’m sorry about that. Over the past few months we’ve tried a few new places and I’ve got loads of photos of yummy foods that I need to put up for you all to read. I’ll do this soon, I promise!

To celebrate a year in Melbourne I’ve just taken myself to lunch to Tsubu and am happy to report they now have eggplant dangaku on the menu – hooray! The eggplant was so deliciously roasty and soft and the miso was liberally slathered with some extra sesame seeds and spring onions for crunch.

The Miso Soup at Tsubu is amongst my favourite in Melbourne. It’s such a hearty and warming soup with lovely little cubes of silken tofu, pieces of soft seaweed and fresh spring onion. For $4.50 it’s actually the largest size miso around for the quality and I just love it.

I was up to a pretty interesting part of my book (The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman) and I still had a bit of time of my lunch break left over so I ordered a Mochi Ball (a sweet rice cake with red bean paste filling). I’ve had some absolute shockers of these before that have been too disgusting to eat, though these ones are just perfect little melt-in-the-mouth pockets of tastyness. Yep, that’s the technicaly word for them now. They’re lovely and such a perfect way to end a savoury meal.

Mochi Ball

Well there you have it, my meal came to $13.50 and Tsubu keeps proving itself to be a wonderful restaurant with delicious and fresh food with lovely staff to boot!

So here’s to one year in Melbourne!

xx

It’s my Birthday!

I love my birthday! I know it might be immature to be so excited about your own birthday but I just love it! Plus, any birthday where I’m not in hospital like I was on my 30th is a good birthday!

I stayed up until a ridiculous hour last night trying to make myself a birthday cake in the shape of a tea cup. It failed miserably and it all ended with me over dramatically crying and throwing the whole thing in the bin. “It’s my party and I’ll be a drama queen if I want to” comes to mind… I think I might give up on baking. I’m really quite crap at it.

Today I’ve been completely humbled by my work mates who bought me an array of treats from Gewurzhaus Herb & Spice Merchants in Carlton. The spice mixes are just magical and the truffle salt…oooh the truffle salt!! It all smells just amazing so I can’t wait to get cooking!

I share an office with a lovely lady Michelle who made me the yummiest egg free red velvet cupcakes! Oh my gosh they’re so good! They’re actually nicer than any egg free cake I’ve made so hopefully I’ll be able to swindle the recipe out of her to share

Gewurzhaus treats and red velvet cupcakes (egg free)!!

The girls I work with also decorated my desk in balloons, streamers and cat pictures before I arrived this morning, it was such a surprise!

Birthday decorations!

Adrian’s taking me out to Longrain for dinner tonight and I’m so super excited about that! I’d wanted to go for years and years when we lived in Sydney but just never got around to it. The Melbourne restaurant looks rather spiffy so I hope it’s all worth the wait!

A birthday isn’t a birthday without cat messages

To top it all off, Adrian surprised me by buying tickets to see East 17 in a few weeks!!!!! Words can not express how IN LOVE with East 17 I was when I was 14 years old. Oh my gosh, my bedroom wall was covered with posters of them and I listened to their CD’s over and over and over and over. They came to Sydney in 1994 (I think) and I wasn’t allowed to go, apparently I was too young to go to a ‘pop concert’! Haha This is going to be great!

East 17!!!!!!

I also bought myself a necklace from the Steampunk Girls stall at the Rose Street Markets in Fitzroy. It’s so pretty, I just love it

Pretty steampunk necklace

Well, that’s all from me! Hooray for birthdays and I hope everyone is well and happy!

love,

meg

xxx

Weighted Companion Cube Cake (from the video game ‘Portal’)

In 2010 I made my first video game related birthday cake for Adrian: a Weighted Companion Cube cake! We loved the game ‘Portal’ and I was pretty excited to make this little guy

It was my very first time using fondant icing and you can really tell as it was a complete mess!

The cake is NOT a lie!

Knowing what I do now, if I attempted this cake again I believe it would look a LOT better. I was so happy with it at the time though, it took me hours!

5 hours in the kitchen = all over in 5 minutes!

I drew the design on paper then cut out the pieces to use as templates

Using two cakes made it much larger

I coloured one packet of fondant icing blue and covered the cake with that first. Then cut out the template pieces using another packet of plain white icing and glued them in place. I stupidly used apricot jam as glue and because I used too much of it, the jam oozed out

I coloured a small piece of icing pink, rolled it out and used a scalpel to shape a heart.

Finally, I used a red icing gel pen to draw the red lines between the shapes.

Not perfect I know, but it was pretty fun to make, Adrian loved it and it was delicious!!

HOORAY!

1Up Mushroom Cake (from the ‘Super Mario’ video games)

Last Sunday was Adrian’s birthday so I thought I’d be a good wife and make him a special cake =P

1Up Mushroom cake!!

Adrian has a penchant for fondant icing which I find very strange because I hate the stuff. It’s gross. I’d only ever used it once before when I made Adrian a Companion Cube cake for his birthday two years ago. It actually worked out pretty well which was surprising as I’m usually way too impatient for fiddly things. I must be getting better in my old age

This year I wanted to make a cake in the shape of a 1Up mushroom but I didn’t have the right size cake pans and honestly, I wasn’t really sure how to do it. Instead, I opted to making it more of a theme for the cake.

Here are some step by step instructions!

I made one amount of vanilla butter cake (using the ‘no egg’ replacer) and evenly divided it between two round cake tins. This only took half an hour in the oven at 160 degrees. I let them cool completely, spread one with jam and whipped cream and then placed the other on the top.

Two lovely and flat cake layers

Place the cream towards the centre of the cake to avoid it spilling out over the sides

I then mixed together dark chocolate and cream to make a ganache and spread it all over the cake. I accidentally put too much cream in the ganache so it was pretty thin and didn’t stand out as much as I’d have liked for the end product. Note to self, add cream slowly when making ganache.

Dark chocolate ganache coating and the start of the butter cream layer

After the ganache coating had set, I covered it all with a layer of butter cream icing (another of Adrian’s favourite cake toppings!) and used it to fill in any holes between the layers. Butter cream icing is the perfect “spac filler”!

All coated and ready for the fondant

When using packet fondant icing, I’ve taken the packet suggestion and microwaved it for 15 seconds before rolling it out. This made it sooo much easier to work with. I poked a hole in the middle of the icing, put in a few drops of green food colouring then kneaded it until the colour was even. Yes, food colouring went everywhere but it comes off easily enough and didn’t stain my hands (phew – green hands wouldn’t have been a good look at our fancy dinner at Ezard!).

I rolled out the icing and gently picked it up with the palm of my hands only and gently draped it over the cake. It’s then pretty easy to rub the sides of the cake to flatten down the icing and trim off the length.

Using the green cut offs I rolled a little into a ball and flattened the bottom to make the top of the 1Up mushroom.

I then repeated the process with another packet of icing, omitting the food colouring. I used a teacup to cut circles into the icing and brushed a little water onto the underside to stick them to the cake.

I rolled a little ball of white icing to make the body of the 1Up mushroom and glued it to the top with a little of the left over chocolate ganache. I don’t know why I didn’t use water, the gananche was just sitting there so I used it.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to use to make the circles for the top of the 1Up mushroom and I wasn’t going to trust my hand at cutting them out with a knife. I ended up washing and using the lid of a tobasco sauce bottle and it worked perfectly! Again, I used a little water to attach the little circles to the top of the 1Up mushroom, used a very fine paintbrush to make the ganache eyes and ganache glued the whole thing to the top of the cake.

I definitely still need more practice but I was super happy with the end result. Plus, it was delicious and Adrian was happy

Happy Birthday Adrian!!!

NERD CAKE YAY!

Mushroom Pies with Asparagus & Smoked Tofu Salad (and it’s all totally vegan!)

I had a completely crapstick of a day at work today so once I got home I thought of a great way to Zen it all out with some cooking.

Pie. Pie was the answer!

As much as I love savoury pies, I’ve never actually attempted to make them at home. I usually have quite a fight with pastry when I make it for desserts though what I came up with today was really surprisingly easy.

Now, I don’t mean to float my own boat / blow my own trumpet etc etc, but these were flipping delicious!! Possibly the best vegan pies I’ve ever eaten!

Ahem, sorry, I’m just so impressed with this dinner! =P Adding the dried oregano to the pastry mix really made it a bit special too.

I have some really old cast iron pie dishes that have been in my family for yonks. If you find some old pie dishes in an op shop then I highly recommend you buy them. They’re brilliant!

If you have left over mushroom filling, it’s also really nice over some polenta

MUSHROOM FILLING INGREDIENTS

5 very large Portobello mushrooms, very roughly chopped

5 very large brown mushrooms, very roughly chopped

1 large brown onion, finely diced

2 cups “beef” stock (the Massel brand with no animal content)

1 Tablespoon nuttelex

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

Salt & pepper

MUSHROOM FILLING METHOD

In a large pot, heat a little olive oil and sweat off the onions.

Add the oregano and mushrooms, and Nuttelex. Give it all a good stir and let the mushrooms get all juicy (a lot of water comes out of the mushrooms – this is a good thing, a very good and delicious thing!).

Add the stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and allow it all to simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has reduced. Season at this point to taste.

Allow the mixture to cool completely in the fridge.

PIE PASTRY INGREDIENTS

2 cups plain flour

½ cup Nuttelex

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

Pinch of salt

4 Tablespoons cold water

PIE PASTRY METHOD

In a large bowl, crumb together the flour and Nuttelex using your fingertips. Who am I kidding, use your whole hands – just get in there and make it all crumby!

Sprinkle in the salt and oregano once your bowl looks like it’s filled with breadcrumbs and slowly add the cold water, one Tablespoon at a time as you mix it through the dough. I don’t know why pastry is like this, but you may need more or less water so just play it by ear. Add enough water so that the dough is soft but not sticky with a nice elasticity.

Once you have kneeded the dough into a ball, roll it out on a floured surface and split it into three balls. Place the dough balls back into the big bowl, cover with glad wrap and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes.

Coat your pie dishes with some melted Nuttelex and set aside.

Once the dough has rested, roll out onto a floured surface until they’re about 3mm thick. Gently pick up the dough and drape over the pie dish, push in to line the middle then cut off the excess. Fill to the top with the mushroom mixture and press down gently but firmly. Place a layer of the dough over the top of the pie, pinch to the bottom pastry layer with your fingers to close the lid and use a knife to cut a cross in the middle of the top (this allows the pie to vent).

Repeat until all the pies are made.

Bake in a 180 degree oven for about half an hour.

SALAD INGREDIENTS

8 spears asparagus, roughly chopped

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

2 cups torn mixed salad leaves

1 large tomato, finely sliced

1/3 cup smoked tofu, finely sliced

Drizzle balsamic vinegar

A little olive oil

SALAD METHOD

In a large bowl, add the mixed leaves, tomato, smoked tofu. Set aside.

In a frypan, add a little olive oil and the garlic. Allow to sizzle for about a minute before adding the asparagus. Stir on a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the asparagus is cooked though still a little crunchy.

Add the asparagus to the salad, give it a good mix and drizzle with the balsamic.

YUUUM!!!

Dinner at Ajitoya (it didn’t take us long to go back!) :)

I’ve only just walked in the door and I’m still full from dinner but I just HAD to write this all down now. Deary me, I have just had the nicest Japanese meal ever and am completely in love with Ajitoya!

I had a bum of a day at work and the last thing I felt like doing when I got home was cook. Yes, cooking does relax me but I was that cranky pants that tonight I just couldn’t be bothered. We haven’t been back to Ajitoya since our breakfast experience a few weeks ago so I was looking forward to trying the dinner menu and seeing what their specials would be.

Otsumami Set (crunchy snack set) – so naughty but sooo good!

To start, we ordered a pot of green tea and the otsumami set (crunchy snack set). Being a tea nerd, I especially love that the tea is delivered to the table with the friendly reminder to let the tea seep for at least two minutes before pouring The variety of ridiculously moorish (and very naughty!) snacks went perfectly with the tea and got us in the mood for our meal to come.

Salmon Sashimi

Next up was a serving of salmon sashimi. I had intended to get the agedashi tofu to share as an entree though I changed my mind at the last minute. The sashimi was so yum, the grated carrot surprised us as it complimented the creaminess of the fish perfectly.

For our mains Adrian and I both chose from the specials board, I ordered the Foxy Moon Udon and Adrian chose the Beef Udon. They both had the same deliciously clean and delicate broth using dashi stock though they were far from the same dish.

Beef Udon

The Beef Udon had tender pieces of marinated beef that Adrian described as “a little savoury, a little sweet and a lot delicious”.

Foxy Moon Udon

My Foxy Moon Udon was just superb! At first I wanted to eat it just because of the name, but when I discovered it was pescetarian friendly I believed it was meant to be in my tummy There was a lovely generous piece of sweet tofu puff that absorbed the savoury flavours of the soup the longer it sat in my bowl. The Foxy Moon Udon is supposed to be served with a poached egg, though I couldn’t have this due to my allergy. I didn’t feel as though the dish was missing anything at all. Between the tofu, the little puffy things that I think were rice, the lovely pieces of seaweed and the gorgeous texture of the noodles themselves, my bad day melted away and I was in a happy place indeed.

I could have sat at our table with another pot of tea though it was time to go home and watch Masterchef!

On our way out we were tempted by the products available to purchase and bought a packet of the snacky seaweed from our otsumami set and a bottle of the spicy Shichimi (red pepper and sesame mix) that is available on each table to sprinkle on your meal as you see fit. I was happy there is no salt, msg or weirdness in this little bottle of happiness!

What a perfect meal and a fantastic way to wind down after a dodgy day at work!

Japanese Breakfast at Ajitoya

Ajitoya is Japanese cafe/deli/eatery run by a lovely couple, Adam and Maya who welcome you as if they are inviting you into their home. They’re so darn friendly it’s hard to not give them a little hug as you walk in the door The thing that stands out the most about Adam and Maya is their love of the food they’re serving and their eagerness to make authentic Japanese dishes that will please their customers.

I was very excited to see on their facebook page that as of this weekend they were starting to open on weekends for breakfast. We’d been to Ajitoya for dinner a few months ago and it was just delightful so I could only imagine how wonderful the breakfast would be. I’ve always wanted to try a savoury Japanese breakfast so I was waiting impatiently all week for Saturday to come around to give it a go.

The menu covers are so beautiful!

It was a lovely rainy morning so we had a little sleep in and arrived ready for breakfast at 9am. We chose a seat along the window, taking advantage of the weekend newspapers available to read and ordered a few drinks to start.

Adrian enjoying the newspapers and the rainy morning

Adrian was super excited that they were serving a Japanese pour over using coffee from the sensory lab. The flavour was apparently lovely and fruity with no bitterness and ended up matching rather well with his food. The ever friendly Adam came over at this point and had a chat with us about the coffee, it was so nice to see him as excited about it all as Adrian was. He explained that the sugar they provided was a Colombian dried whole sugar cane, it was pretty darn awesome.

Pour over sensory lab coffee, Japanese tea and Colombian sugar (I loved the little wooden spoon!)

I ordered a Japanese tea and it hit the ‘it’s-a-rainy-morning’ spot! I love the mug you get with the tea, you just want to hug it with your hands and not put it down

Now, to make the decision on what to eat. Last time we visited they were more than happy to abide my egg yolk allergy and pescetarian fussiness and gave me a thorough run down on menu items suitable for me. Again, this morning they were just as kind to offer alternatives to the omelette that was offered as a side to a few of the options.

Adrian chose the Japanese Style Breakfast #1: 2 Onigiri rice balls of your choice (pickled plum and bonito / takana pickles / miso marinated salmon / bonito with wasabi mayo) + miso soup + Japanese omelette and one side dish of the day.

Japanese Style Breakfast #1

Adrian’s onigiri choices were the pickled plum and the salmon and his side dish of the day was a cold soba noodle salad. The only time I’ve had onigiri before they’ve been a little on the stodgy side so I was so happy that these were light yet filling and the flavour was spot on. The omelette was apparently the best Adrian had ever eaten, he described it as super fluffy, full of flavour and delicious.

I chose the Japanese Style Breakfast #2: Grilled salmon + rice + miso soup + Japanese omelette (in its place I was given a green salad with ginger dressing) and one side dish of the day (the cold soba as described above).

Japanese Style Breakfast #2

SALMON FOR BREAKFAST = HEAVEN!! Although I would have preferred the salmon to be a little more rare, the flavour was perfect and it was a nice surprise to discover it was laced with a lovely soy dressing. The miso soup was also surprising, it was a little sweeter than any I’d had in the past and had some nice additions like cabbage and small pieces of plump potato. It was the perfect breakfast miso soup  :-)

We both felt the servings were rather large for breakfast, we were pretty full by the end of the meal and it was actually tempting to go back home for a sleep! This aside, we weren’t bothered as it was all so lovely and we’d intended for it to be a bit of a treat anyway.

This experience completely lived up to my Japanese breakfast expectations! Each individual dish had so much care put into its creation and the atmosphere was really friendly and relaxing