Monday 24 June 2019

University of Melbourne buildings - arches, the quad and the new

Following my recent post on lunches on campus at the University of Melbourne, I am today sharing photos of buildings on campus.  In 1854 the building of the University of Melbourne commenced.  It continues to be a work in progress.  The constant construction projects are pretty amazing in such a crowded campus but it makes for great variety.  One moment you are looking in awe at a gracious historic building, walk on a bit and feel disappointed at a soulless 1960s building, and then in the next moment you are looking in awe at a marvellous piece of modern design.

The oldest building on campus is today known as The Old Quad.  When I was a student it was the Old Law Quad until Law moved to the Alan Gilbert Building across Grattan Street.  I used to love walking through the Quad on the weekends and watching all the bridal parties competing for space for photos.  It is probably the most photographed place on campus too.

I am among those who love to take photos in the quad.  The cloisters hark back to our European heritage of castles and monasteries.  And it is free to any member of the public to wander.  Just keep off the grass!  And be prepared to pay a fee if you want to take your wedding photos there.

The four wings of the Quad were built in over more than a Century.  The East and West wings were built between 1854 and 1857.  In 1854, builders downed tools in an important moment in history when they marched to Parliament to demand an 8 hour day.  We still celebrate this moment in the Labour Day holiday each year but ironically (or significantly) the University does not take this holiday.  The North wing and extension were built between 1856 and 1875.  The last wing in the South was built in 1970.

These faces are details in the North Wing.  I'd be curious to know who they are.  I wonder if some architecture or history student has written a thesis on how they represent the University's positioning of its heritage, and of the gender representations.

As I said at the start of the post, the University is constantly undertaking building projects to either build new buildings or rework old ones.  The Quad was a recent project.  The Old Quad webpage says there is a reception hall, a grand staircase and the university library.  Perhaps one day I shall get to see them but not yet.  I was fascinated by all the pretty scaffolding while the Quad was being renovated

And I really wanted to peek in while they were doing the renovation work but this was as close as I got.  There are better photos of the renovations on the Old Quad webpage.

When I looked through my photos, I found there were rather a lot of archways.  Perhaps it because I loved the arched window on Playschool and looking through the mirror on Romper Room as a kid.  Archways frame a view and give the sense of possibility.

So here are some more arches from buildings around the University of Melbourne campus.  I love an historic building, as you will see.  But archways can give flair to a modern building.  I love the view through the archway (a.k.a. wind tunnel) beneath the soviet style Raymond Priestly (top right).

Meanwhile the best examples of modern arches is in the Arts West Building, one of my favourite modern buildings on campus (top left, bottom left, bottom middle).  It is a fitting companion to the wonderful Old Arts Building where I spent a considerable amount of time as an undergraduate.  (And laughed at Love and Other Catastrophes when they appeared to be running towards - or was it from - the Old Arts but anyone who knows the campus would know that they were actually running in the wrong direction.)

The Arts West Building is had layer upon layer of wavy steel with handsome arches at the bottom.  And as anyone knows, a good archway has a great view.  Above is the view from Arts West towards the Old Arts.  Swoon!

And here is another view of the Old Arts Building, this time from the East side where it is situated across a courtyard from the Old Law Building.  I highly recommend walking through the Old Law Quad and continuing through the Old Arts from East to West and reading the storyboards about the history of the Arts Faculty.  At the end you come out opposite the Arts West.

Or you could just cycle around campus, skirting around the Old Quad, which is not at all bike friendly.  But I have always enjoyed cycling down Professors Walk between the Old Arts and Arts West where the bricks on the footpath make a satisfying clunking rumble.  Or you could walk and read the plaques to professors as you go.

Best not to look up the ugly old Baillieu library building unless you need go there in search of a book or periodical.  Though so much is now available to students online that I think the days of searching for all the readings in the library are dwindling.  The Baillieu still has some gems.  I was delighted recently to go on a museums day tour of the rare books room where we were able to read a page of a Guttenberg bible (which is as much as the university's budget could afford) and Shakespeare's Second Folio.  The University has many fascinating places.

I would also like to rave about the Union Building, not for its architectural wonders but for its fun activities and food.  However you are best to check out my recent food post.  Today I will just show you a scene I happened upon on the North Court.  It is set up for a student beach party, I guess.  I still miss the days when the Chocolate Appreciation Society gave out free chocolates in the heyday of compulsory student unionism.  Though I was pleased recently to see that the Friends of Unnatural Lama (FOUL) society still exists.  I still don't know what they do but it was one of the typical student societies with a fine appreciation of the ridiculous (or an unfortunate acronym).

Another place I spent a lot of time as a student was the John Medley Building.  Coming from the Old Arts Building is like walking from the sublime to the ridiculous.  It was a very ugly building.  When I was a student the most fascinating part were the little rooms on the walkway between the East and West towers.  Interestingly, today it features in many photos because its archway now has the wonderful welcoming banner that includes the local Indigenous language, the Wurundjeri word for Welcome.  Printing "Wominjeka" large and proud near the South entrance is a symbolic gesture but an important one.

This banner is even more powerful because it is near what is to be the Parkville railway station in 2025.  It is just a big building site for now.  Every time I pass it looks totally different.  It seems a lifetime until it is functional but I am so impressed with the state government for their vision beyond their parliamentary term.  In the distance is the Alan Gilbert building.  It has a magnificent view of Melbourne from the top floors.

This Frank Tate Building has a fine 1930s art deco aesthetic.  (It is by the same architect who designed the Chemistry building.)  I remember it mainly for the ramshackle stationery shop with the fun name of Bullwinkles.  Sadly Bullwinkles is long gone.  In the far left of the photo you will see the old Royal Women's Hospital building.  That has been demolished recently to make way for a university Science precinct.  As I said, there is always building work in progress.

Another fine modern building is the Sidney Myer Asia Centre.  The rusted red walls are rather striking and on top of them is a balcony for functions.  It would be a great place to view the tram terminal and all the frustrated people trying to cross over at one point because years ago someone decided to stop anyone ducking across the road anywhere but at the place they deemed adhered to health and safety guidelines.  I confess I was one of the rogue road users who crossed with commonsense rather than being herded into place.  I admin that these days the intersection is far busier with trans than it used to be but I still miss the freedom to cross at will.

Another fairly recent addition to the campus landscape is the Melbourne School of Design Building.  It has recently been named the Glyn Davis Building after the Vice Chancellor who left last year.  It seems a great honour to have this building named for him.  I love the asymmetry of the blue windows against the white walls.

Even more impressive is how the old Bank of New South Wales facade has been incorporated into the modern design.  It is history with wings!

So there you have just some of the magnificent buildings and views on the University of Melbourne campus.  I have been slightly self-indulgent in reminiscing as I walk you through some of the fascinating areas but I hope it has made your soul soar a little to see such beauty and perhaps given you a little insight into the campus.

Previous posts on the University of Melbourne:
University of Melbourne places to eat (2019)
University of Melbourne Farmers Market: Vegan Lunches (2018)
University of Melbourne - lunches and buildings (2012)

Tuesday 18 June 2019

Raspberry lime muffins and the National Celtic Festival

A couple of weekends ago we had the Queens Birthday long weekend.  It was lovely to have a weekend with time to relax, bake and clean, to go to the Farmers Market, the National Celtic Festival and the cinema.  We made the most of the limes in the garden with these Raspberry Lime Muffins.

I had first made these muffins in the previous week.  I had been out for lunch and rushed home to bake muffins before taking Sylvia to gymnastics after school.  The muffins were undercooked when I went to leave.  Life feels like this sometimes: crazy, busy and underdone.  I was glad E was about to take the muffins out once I returned them to the oven.

When we made them again last Monday we had a busy cleaning day.  We had to buy ingredients at the shops and wanted to do a cream cheese frosting.  But by the time we got back from the supermarket and baked the muffins, we were too tired for the frosting.  On both occasions I found that the muffins got a little damp and sticky on the top but were very edible for a few days.  I loved that they were not overly sweet and had lunch chunks of jammy raspberry.

While making the muffins, I had an epiphany.  My grater that I have had for many years is still great on the big holes but it is less impressive when it comes to finely grating.  So I found it was worth bypassing the grater.  I peeled the lime before juicing.  Then I used my chef's knife to slice very thin strips before chopping finely.  I really liked how much flavour and even a slight texture to the muffins.

Before baking the muffins a second time, I had a busy time of it.  On Saturday we had the Farmers Market, then watching Rocketman at the cinema (amazing) while Sylvia played hotels with her cousins, one of whom had received a real second hand cash register for her birthday.  The next day we went to the National Celtic Festival in Portarlington with my parents.

According to my blog (which is indeed a chronicle of many things in my life as well as a recipe journal) it is the fifth year we have been to the National Celtic Festival.  It is a great opportunity to see some Celtic folk music and dancing.  This year we didn't see much music but there were some great buskers and we saw one trio who sang a song with a memorable title of "I buried my wife and danced on her grave".

We always enjoy the festival for the opportunity to eat some Scottish food that reminds us of our recent visits to E's homeland.  We all had some tattie scones.  Sylvia scoffed an Irn Bru and when I went to get a can for myself I was very sad they had sold out.  I had a Gerry's vegie burger that had a pretty ordinary bun but a delicious patty.  My mum went for the Cornish pasties and my dad made a beeline for doughnuts.  It was pleasant to sit in the sun and listen to the music at the Village Stage.

This year, there was an interesting initiative where people could hire the B-alternative rent-a-kit for a minimal price.  Instead of plastic plates and cutlery, these were made of rice husks.  My mum commented that there was much less rubbish around the venue.

In previous years we have seen both music acts and dancing in the Village Stage.  This year I really loved it that they had moved the dancing to the Open Stage in a more central place.  It meant more free music and dancing.  And it meant more people stopping to enjoy the dancing.  The Irish and Highland dancing was great to watch.  Above is a photo of a Highland sword dance.  Most of the music was recorded but it was wonderful to see a bagpiper accompany some of the dances.  I was surprised to see some of the Irish dancers wearing glittery black hot pants and fingerless fishnet gloves.  These were very different to be beautifully embroidered dresses with full skirts of Irish dancers that I saw as a child, though a bit closer to the Riverdancers.

There are always lots of interesting activities at the festival.  This was a wishing tree in which scraps of fabric were available for people to write wishes on and hand on the tree.  A really nice activity that seemed minimal on environmental impact.


And on the third day of the long weekend we cooked and cleaned and watched tv.  It felt like a really good way to spend a long weekend.  I was very pleased to have these muffins for lunch at work for a few days after too.  I might have even had one for breakfast.  These are definitely a good way to use up some of the limes from our tree.

Previous visits to the National Celtic Festival: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014

More raspberry recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Beetroot, raspberry and feta salad (gf)
Macaroon cake with raspberries (gf)
Raspberry lemonade (gf, v) 
Raspberry and white chocolate scones
Raspberry yoghurt cake
Rhubarb and raspberry no knead focaccia (v) 

Raspberry Lime Muffins
Adapted from Cookie and Kate
Makes 12 muffins

Wet ingredients:
3/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup neutral oil (I used rice bran oil)
2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
1 teaspoons vanilla

Dry ingredients:
1 cup plain white flour
3/4 cup plain wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 large lime (abou1/2 teaspoon)

1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries

Mix wet ingredients in a small bowl or large jug and set aside for 5 minutes while you mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Now gently stir in the raspberries.  Spoon into a lined or greased 12 hole muffin pan.  Bake at 200 C for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

On the Stereo:
Elton John's Greatest Hits

Friday 14 June 2019

University of Melbourne places to eat

The University of Melbourne is a favourite place for me in Melbourne.  I studied there after school and have worked there on and off.  Since writing about the unimelb food in 2012 there have been some changes but also some constants.  I miss the food co-op and the calzone place but am pleased the crepe stand and Animal Orchestra are still going strong.  Today I will share some more foodie photos from the campus taken over quite some time because I don't get out and about there often.

Above is a Middle Eastern fusion style cafe in the Union Building called Ho Hos.  I really enjoyed this warm cheese and vegemite pie with two fresh salads with quinoa and lots of cabbage, green beans and tomatoes.

Zambrero, a franchise tex mex cafe, is a popular place in the Union Building if the queues during O Week are anything to go by.  They are not the cheapest place on campus but provide a substantial meal with lots of vegies.  The best and worst thing about Zambrero is all the choice.  You choose a basic burrito or bowl and then walk along the counter being asked what you want for fillings, salsa, sauces etc.  I love the bowls and I think this photo is of a IQ Bowl with black rice, lettuce, beans and cauliflower, cheese (they do vegan cheese), corn and tomatoes with goodness knows what sauce.  And kombucha.

This is one of the places that comes and goes.  I really liked this little Wonderer caravan at the top of Monash Road but it has been replaced by a more permanent cafe now.  Unfortunately a lot of the little pop-ups around the university they are big on coffee and light on seating.  As I am not a coffee drinker and when I do get to a little cafe around the uni I often want to sit and eat, I don't visit the pop-ups so often.  Though I do like the bagels at the Standing Room.

Dr Dax Kitchen is a newish cafe on Royal Parade.  I love that they are on the corner of Genetics Lane.  They are a proper sit down cafe with lots of space for group meals.  There is a table menu, soup of the day, salad bar and a cafeteria style bain marie.  I love how they have some coloured rolls (like a vivid pink beetroot bun in a salad roll).  However it is a bit hit and miss.  When I last visited, none of the hot foods appealed so I had a cauliflower cheese leek pie with an apple, rocket and cranberry salad and a some hot chips.  It was the perfect warm meal to eat while I caught up on reading.

Another lunch I enjoyed at a more casual place is Professors Walk beside the Bailieu Library.  Of course in my student days we spent a lot of time at the library because no one had heard of the internet and there weren't fancy cafes like this about.  Not that it is terribly fancy by today's standards.  But I enjoyed the punpkin and feta wrap on a quiet day out of semester time last year.

I apologise for the photo from Pronto Pizza in the Union Building.  I like the place far more than the photo would suggest.  I have been to functions where Pronto Pizza cater and the pizza is amazing.  It is always popular with the students.  There is a fantastic vegan pizza with a garlic infused olive oil base, broccoli, roasted peppers, caramelised onion and sauteed potatoes.  They also do gluten free bases.  However the pizza in the photo above was a slice from the bain marie of a vegetarian pizza with vegetables blanketed by tomato sauce and mozzarella.  It was good but I have enjoyed their freshly baked pizzas more.

More recently I have tried Egg Sake Bistro in the basement of the Union Building.  It often has queues but I was curious after some people recommended it.  I had thought I was getting a bento box or a curry don bowl but I seemed to have a choice of three dishes and the vegetarian ones weren't clearly marked or there weren't many.  I had teriyaki tofu, rice and a crumbed and fried potato.  It was a little stodgy even with a few salad leaves.  Not quite what I had hoped.  I did notice as I left that the opposite counter had spring rolls in a sushi handroll which I really wanted to try because it sounded so odd.  Maybe another time I will get along there.  And I keep hoping there are some more substantial meal to be had there.

I also recently tried the Dumpling and Tea Co near North Court outside the Union Building.  I had two dishes with rice.  The thin sliced tofu was not quite my thing but I really loved the fried potato, green pepper and eggplant dish.  It is a cheap and cheerful sort of cafe that is perfect for students and appealed to me more than the other Chinese cafes around the union building which don't seem to do much vegetarian meals of interest.

There are a few places selling sweet food.  The hedgehog at Plush Fish is always delicious though the slices are huge.  I also like the choc chip cookies at the french patisserie counter near Boost Juice.  (And Plush Fish does nice sushi but I don't tend to think to photograph it if I have been there.)

When I saw Lentil as Anything painting the windows of this shopfront in the Union Building I was excited that they were starting a cafe here.  But it seemed to just be a popup selling some produce and I am not sure it is there any more.  The pictures on the window look cool anyway.

I have already written about lots of vegan meals at the University of Melbourne Farmers Market on Wednesdays during semester.  Above is the vegetarian baked potato with butter, cheese, coleslaw, avocado and sour cream from the Trentham Potatoes stall.  It is just one of the delicious offerings there that I would highly recommend.

Lastly I am sharing a photo of the Union Building.  It has always been there since my days as a student but it seems it wont always be the Union Building.  Apparently there are plans (in some distant future) to move the student hub from the middle North of the campus to the South East Corner where Grattan Street meets Swanston Street.  It will be sad for me because I have many fond memories of the Union Building (so much good food and quite a few good plays too).  But for now the building remains bustling with students looking for lunch to fuel their busy days.

Tuesday 11 June 2019

Macaroni Cheese with Broccoli

Sylvia brought home a supermarket recipe card for a macaroni cheese with lots of vegetables and asked me to make it.  Wow!  It looked amazing.  However she did not want the vegetables.  So it was really just the usual mac and cheese I usually make.  This called for some compromise.

The compromise happened in the supermarket when we didn't have the recipe card with us.  And I hadn't even read the recipe.  I was so sure there was broccoli that I convinced Sylvia to have broccoli and herbs.  I tried to suggest other vegetables (especially onion) and failed to get her interested.  When we got home, I was surprised to find that the recipe (Vegie Packed Mac and Cheese from Woolworths) that we had intended to make instructed to cook and puree cauliflower and zucchini, and then add lots of cheese and beans.  Totally different to the recipe I had in my head.  I went with my head, not the card.

And as I was going with my gut a little too, I hunted out an old mac and cheese recipe from my blog that I had loved.  I made a thick roux (see above left photo) and slowly added lots of milk.  The middle photo above is the roux after adding 1 cup of milk.  It has a few lumps but is pretty creamy without any big clumps.  The above photo on the right shows the roux after it has got a lot thinner, brought to the boil to thicken slightly and then is thickened more with lots of cheese as well as the green addition of broccoli and herbs.

The resulting mac and cheese was really really good.  Just the thing for a wintery evening.  However the flavour was really intense and bit dull.  When I originally served it I had made a cauliflower salad that had probably lifted it.  Alas I wasn't so energetic this time.  My solution, rather than make salad, is that next time I will add vinegar (as is in the recipe) which always brightens a sauce.  I also found it had rather a lot of sauce and wondered if it needed more macaroni (perhaps 100g) and less cheese (up to 100g) but am not sure because it was lovely and creamy.

Sylvia loved the mac and cheese, esp the crispy topping but was not so keen on the broccoli.  Just before making it, I had to rush out on my bike to the supermarket for coconut because she had plans to make ANZAC biscuits.  I had promised to get spinach but got to the supermarket without keys to lock my bike so I rushed about and it was so late there was no bags of fresh baby spinach that we like. I returned without it and Sylvia was disappointed.  She reminded me I should have checked for frozen spinach.  She would have much preferred spinach to broccoli so I will try that next time.  (Of course I might have missed my one moment that she was demanding spinach!)

As well as enough to bake in a large dish, I also filled two ramekin to bake the next day.  When I decided vinegar would help the flavour, it occurred that baking crushed salt and vinegar chips on top might lift the flavour.  I had not counted on the topping firming up while uncovered overnight in the fridge.  I sprinkled on some crisps anyway but they would have been better if done the night before when the topping was softer.  On the second day the sauce was less creamy but the flavours had settled overnight and were better.

It was nice to make a mac and cheese a bit fancier than the ones I make more regularly.  It is a meal that is loved by all the in household.  This one was fun with the gruyere and crisps, as well a a little healthier with some greens.  However I was so intent on getting it right that I served for dinner at 7.30 the first night (which is very late for us) and then for lunch the day after at 4pm (a very late lunch).  I suspect next time we might be back to our plain old mac and cheese but it is nice to make something a bit different.


I am sending this mac and cheese to Eat Your Greens, a blog event hosted by the VegHog and Allotment to Kitchen.

More Macaroni Cheese recipes online:
Buffalo cauliflower mac and cheese - VNutrition
Macaroni cheese fritters - Easy Cheesy Vegetarian
Macaroni cheese pies - Green Gourmet Giraffe
Macaroni cheese with sauerkraut, cauliflower and blue cheese (v) - Green Gourmet Giraffe
Mac'n'cheese lasagne - the VegHog
Mediterranean macaroni cheese Bake - Allotment to Kitchen
Miso mac and cheese with sizzling sesame eggplant (v) - Food to Glow
Nachos mac n cheese - Not Quite Nigella
Trailwalker macaroni cheese (v) - Where's the Beef
Welsh rarebit mac and cheese - All Parenting

Macaroni Cheese
Serves 6

300g dried pasta
65g butter
5 tbsp wholemeal flour
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp seeded mustard
1-3 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp turmeric (for added colour)
250g good cheddar cheese, grated
100g gruyere cheese, grated
1 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
1 head of broccoli
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used basil, parsley, thyme and chives)

Topping:
1-2 tbsp breadcrumbs
2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
potato crisps (optional)

Slice broccoli very thin and steam or microwave until soft. 

Cook pasta according to instructions.  Once you have it on, start the cheese sauce:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Mix in flour and stir over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add milk gradually, mixing as you add it to make sure there are no lumps (though it will see lumpy at first. Bring to the boil so that the roux thickens slightly. It does not need to be really thick because the cheese will help it thicken. Add mustard, paprika, turmeric, gruyere and tasty cheeses. Stir in cooked pasta.

Tip mixture into a 13 x 9 inch ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with parmesan and breadcrumbs. If you desire crisps, crush a few and sprinkle over the topping.  Bake at 220 C for about 20-30 minutes or until topping is crisp and golden brown.  Can be reheated but wont be quite as crisp on top or creamy inside as when straight out of the oven.

On the stereo:
Bande Apart: Nouvelle Vague

Friday 7 June 2019

Pinwheel pancakes with strawberries and cream cheese

In the midst of all our wintery weather, these pinwheel pancakes with strawberries are a little burst of sunshine in our kitchen.  I was very pleased with how they worked out as I am still no expert at big flat pancakes. 

Having fallen in love with the Pancake Parlours fat fluffy pancakes as a child, I usually make mine high and fluffy.  But every now and again I want pancakes wide and thin enough to wrap up food like a blanket, or as in this case, as pinwheels.

We made these for a weekend breakfast.  They were not quick.  We usually eat pancakes hot off the pan.  These had to cook and have the filling laid out neatly to get the pinwheels round.  Not that mine were quite as round as I had imagined.  (Were the strawberries too chunky?)

The inspiration came from Woolworths supermarket recipe card with pinwheel pancakes with strawberries and cream.  I was so sure they had cream cheese in them that this is what I bought.  I much prefer cream cheese over cream.  But what annoyed me about the supermarket recipe was the use of a pancake mix.  I much prefer to make mine from scratch.  After all not all pancake mixes are equal.  And it is not that hard to mix up some pancakes.

The pancakes I used were adapted from a savoury pancake recipe.   I was quite pleased with how they turned out.  The first one was pretty dodgy after handmixing the batter.  Once I used my hand held blender it made a huge difference to the texture.  I only added 1 tablespoon of sugar and thought it too much at first taste but it worked with the filling, which was not overly sweet.


I really liked the taste of these but they are not really breakfast material.  They are more suited to a fancy brunch, afternoon tea or even dessert.  And there are many possible variations.  I would like to try chocolate pancakes with nutella and strawberries.  Other possibilities are dulce de leche with banana slices.  Sylvia tried a couple of lines of raspberries with the cream cheese spread and it was great.  In fact if you wanted to go really fancy, a few different fillings would be lots of fun. 

More strawberry recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Strawberry chia seed jam (gf, v)
Strawberry cupcakes
Strawberry crumble (v) 
Strawberry dumplings (v)
Strawberry sushi with chocolate sauce (gf, v)

Pinwheel pancakes with strawberries and cream cheese
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe
Makes about 7-8 pancakes

Pancakes:
350ml milk
1 tbsp lemon
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup wholemeal flour
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Butter, margarine or oil, for frying

Cream Cheese Filling:
1 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp icing sugar

200g strawberries

Mix all pancake ingredients together until smooth.  Either mix in blender or mix in a bowl and use a stick blender in the bowl (I did the latter.)  The batter will be very thin.

Cook pancakes:  Warm a frypan to medium to medium high heat.  Melt a small knob of butter and swirl to coat the pan.  Pour 1/3 cup of batter into the pan and swirl around to make a pancake the size of the pan (25-30cm in diameter).  Cook until a few bubbles appear and there is a slight curl to the edges.  Flip over and cook another 1-3 minutes until golden spots appear on the underside.  Cool pancakes before filling.  (This didn't take very long, especially if I put each pancake onto a cold plate rather than a warm stack of pancakes.)

Mix some cream cheese filling by mixing the cream cheese, lemon juice and icing sugar until creamy.  Halve and slice strawberries.  Spread a dessertspoon on cream cheese mixture and the strawberries over a pancake (I needed about 4 strawberries per pancake).  Roll up and chop into 6-8 pieces.  Repeat with as many pancakes as you want (if you don't want them all as pinwheels, they are very good with other fillings).

On the Stereo:
Music from the Kabarett: Various Artists