SWEET POTATO & GINGER SOUP

This is a very simple soup recipe that I made up on recent winter’s day. 

There are so many exciting ways to combine ingredients to make soup.  I find it is just best to play around with seasonal vegetables and whatever is left in your fridge at the end of the week.

This week I had a very sad looking bunch of flat leaf parsley so that is a feature in this soup.

This recipe is probably enough for three serves.  It takes just less than an hour to make from when you start to when you eat!

What you need:

• One sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
• One potato, wash and roughly chop (I tend to leave potato skins on unless there are some particularly funky bits)
• One leek
• Half a bunch of flat leaf parsley
• One centimetre of fresh ginger, peeled & roughly chopped
•  One teaspoon vegetable stock powder
• One tablespoon olive oil
•  salt & pepper to taste
• One teaspoon coriander powder
• Approximately four cups of water

How to make it:

There are lots of substitutes you can use (eg. garlic instead of ginger, coriander instead of parsley, onion instead of leek) but I quite like the ingredients I have chosen which is why I used them.  But it is really personal taste!

Sautee your leek and ginger in the hot olive oil in a saucepan.

When soft, add the chopped vegetables, coriander, stock powder, salt and pepper.  Give this a rough stir so it is combined.  Cover in water (about four cups). 

 

I like soup to be quite thick so I would suggest starting with 3 – 4 cups of water and add more if you need to.

Bring to the boil then reduce heat.  Simmer until vegetables are soft.

Add the chopped parsley right at the end and whizz everything together until the vegetables are smooth. You can add more water if you need to here (just make sure it is hot water).

Serve with crusty bread.  

Enjoy!

THE HOLLYWOOD COSTUME EXHIBITION - ACMI MELBOURNE

Picture from ACMI website

Where?  ACMI MELBOURNE

Federation Square, Melbourne


Ph +61 3 8663 2200

How much? Tickets $20 per adult (less for children, pensioners and family/other groups)

When?  Wednesday 24 April - Sunday 18 Aug 2013

Open daily 10am - 5pm (Thursdays until 9pm)

More details: http://www.acmi.net.au/hollywood-costume.aspx

“No food, drinks, photographs or totes” says the guy at the entrance to this exhibition.  The first three requirements I understand.  But I do wonder why I can’t take my tote in. Do they think I might bag Spiderman’s costume?  I eventually decide it is because if everyone carried a tote, there might be a little too much tote bumping when it gets crowded.  Today, despite it being school holidays, the crowd is fine.  I get to keep my tote.  Phew!

We float down the escalator into a dark exhibition room in what feels like the basement of ACMI. 

The first thing I see is Nicole Kidman’s face on screen about A4 size, sitting atop one of her Moulin Rouge costumes.  She is hanging from the ceiling, perched on a swing. 

While at first, the face-on-projected screen is a little strange, it does work well in creating a more life like representation of the actor who wore the costume.  It takes you back to the relevant film, perhaps even the precise scene (depending on how familiar you are with the film).

The number of costumes represented is deceptive.  That is, there are far more than you think.  This really only occurred to me after I had seen everything and was looking at a list of all that is on show.  Music from a selection of blockbusters fills the room.  You can read about the costume, you can listen to actors, designers and directors tell their perspectives, you can get rather close up to the costumes and truly appreciate the intricate detail in some of them (particularly the Elizabeth costumes!).

The thing that struck me was the size of the Spiderman costume and the size of Batman’s costume.  Much bigger than I imagined!

There are some truly iconic costumes at this exhibition and I suspect many would be recognisable for any age group, regardless of your level of film buff-edness.  Some that come to mind include: Harry Potter; Spiderman; The Titanic; Fight Club; Moulin Rouge; Chicago; The Addams Family; Chicago; 101 Dalmatians; The Blues Brothers; Elizabeth; The Iron Lady; The Wizard of Oz; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; Kill Bill; Gladiator… the list goes on!  There will be something here that you will recognise and I am sure something will surprise you.

TIPS:

• If you are driving into the city to see this exhibition and you are ok to walk a little, I recommend parking at the botanical gardens.  It is $1.50 per hour (up to 4 hours available – just check signs) there, which is a massive difference to the prices you will pay in the car parks nearer to Federation Square.
• Make sure you look up to the ceiling at this exhibition or you will miss some very famous costumes!
• An hour should give you heaps of time to comfortably wander through and read most of the commentary. 
• Pre-purchase your ticket here to avoid waiting in the queue.

Note: no photos are allowed in the exhibition so all photos above have been sourced from the internet.

TOM PHAT for dinner

www.tomphat.com.au

182 – 184 Sydney Road Brunswick, Vic

https://www.facebook.com/TomPhat

If you want some great quality and affordable South East Asian inspired cuisine around Brunswick, just look out for the neon pink Tom Phat sign on Sydney road!

 

This place never disappoints and it is always busy for dinner.  Tom Phat’s philosophy is that they always endeavor to use sustainable and ethical ingredients.  The bar next door also provides a great place to have a pre (or post) dinner drink and there are larger tables in that area too. I have been there a number of times over the past few years and I have never been disappointed with the food.  It is fresh and full of flavour.  The service is always good too.

As usual, I ordered Rendang Braised Beef & Potato Curry with green papaya relish ($21) (add a serve of rice) and a serve of Roti with peanut satay ($5).

Beef rendang

Roti with peanut satay

To try something different, we also ordered the Coconut Poached Free-range Chicken Salad with cashews, herbs, bean shoots & roasted chilli dressing ($16).  

Coconut poached chicken salad

Everything was delicious.  The Rendang was rich with perfectly cooked chunks of beef and the occasional potato.  A good amount of coriander and green papaya relish on top brought freshness to the curry.  The chicken dish was just as described with bursts of Vietnamese mint, coriander and cucumber.

Unlike usual (because we usually over-order and can't possibly eat dessert), we ordered the banana roti pancake, which was sweet and crunchy on the outside and filled with caramalised banana ($12).  So so yummy and just perfect for two!

Banana roti pancake

Our total food bill was $61.

TIP: Tom Phat take bookings for groups over eight.  If you are less than eight, arrive early and be prepared to wait with a drink (they have a great selection of cocktails).  I have only ever had to wait 20 minutes.  

CLASSIC CARROT CAKE RECIPE

Carrots are about $2 a bag at the moment, so I thought it was a perfect excuse to make a carrot cake!

This recipe is from a cookbook called “Food with Friends” that was published in 2011 by The Hamilton and Alexandra College.  It is a great collection of recipes contributed by parents of the school.

The recipe I have used was contributed by Alison Kennedy.  It is a delicious cake – very moist and the icing is perfect.  Try it at home – it is so easy!

Ingredients - cake

1 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

½ cup oil (I use olive oil)

2 ½ cups grated carrot (typically this is three larger carrots)

1 cup chopped walnuts (you can use less if you like – I have used ½ a cup and that was fine)

Ingredients – frosting

50g butter (softened)

150g cream cheese

¼ teaspoon vanilla essence

½ cup icing sugar

Method

The boring bit:  Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.  Grease and line a 20cm spring-form cake tin.

The fun bit: Sift flour, baking powder, bicarb soda and cinnamon into bowl.  Stir in sugar.  Beat eggs and oil in a small separate bowl with electric mixer.  When combined, add to dry ingredients.  Add carrot and walnuts.  Combine everything.

Pour mixture into your lined cake tin and leave to rest for 5 minutes (while you clean up!).  

Bake cake for 45 – 50mins or until knife or skewer comes out clean when tested.  Stand for 10 minutes once out of the oven and before turning the cake onto a cooling rack.

To make the frosting, simply combine all the ingredients and mix with an electric beater until smooth.

Cover cake with frosting once the cake is completely cooled.  Sprinkle with walnuts. 

Tips

• Make sure the butter is softened otherwise your icing won't be smooth.
• I always leave eggs out before use so they are at room temperature.
• The mixture will look very carrot-y, (see picture above) but that is how it should be.
• Dress the cake with chopped walnuts.
• Best served cold and I think it is better the next day!

Happy Baking!