In My Kitchen: July 2025

July saw lots of change as we continued to sort out the house after painting: a couple of new kitchen chains, the crockery back in our newly painted glass kitchen cabinet and a new fluro kitchen light.  If you want to check out how it was to have no kitchen light, in my Japanese cucumber salad post you can see the a photo of the kitchen lit by just the light over the stove - it was quite dark.  At work, an office I spend a day in a week moved to a lovely new building with lots of natural light and green decor.  

We also had school holidays, lots of amazing photos sent from my dad on his holiday in South America and a lot of flattening boxes as we unpacked.  My blog energy is a bit low but we have had some good meals, as you will see when you read on.

The top photo is an excellent meal inspired by the Banging Burger Bowl that I saw on the Annoyed Thyroid's In My Kitchen post last month.  I love how much inspiration I get from reading about others kitchens on blogs..  I had a beetroot and black bean burger from the supermarket and served it with lettuce, red capsicum, cherry tomatoes, purple cabbage, pink pickles and diced parmesan all with a creamy dressing drizzled over it.

Since making the burger salad, I have made quite s few variations of it, sometimes without the burger.  This combination of lots of vegetables tossed in a creamy dressing is just the easy sort of salad I want right now.  The intense salty unmami of the parmesan and the sweet and sour of the pickles gives it the lift it needs.  I have started to make the creamy dressing out of  yoghurt, balsamic vinegar, perhaps a little rice wine vinegar and pinch of salt and pepper.  This photo is of the salad with a crumpet for lunch in my home office.

A while back I bought a packet of red jasmine rice.  When I cooked it in my medium saucepan, I was surprised that it tasted more like brown rice than white jasmine rice.  I underestimated the size of the saucepan needed.  Fortunately the lid kept it together.  As you can see there is a lot of rice.  I put quite a few tubs of it in the freezer for rice-based meals.  It was like a short cut to make some favourite meals.  Below is the Avgolemono and Tahini and kale rice.  Not pictured was a Tofucado.

This Avgolemono was delicious with the red jasmine rice.  I am pleased that Sylvia is coming around to this wonderful vegan version of the Greek lemon soup.  It was amazing with all the fresh dill leftover from my excellent Feta dill rice gratin with Greek style stew.

I also used the red jasmine rice in a batch of Tahini lime rice with kale and cashews.  I used chickpeas instead of the cashews and packed it with vegies.  That creamy tahini lime sauce on the rice is heavenly.  

Another old favourite I made was a big pot of Scottish vegetable and barley soup.  I used more water than normal so it was less gluggy but a great winter warmer.  Barley is a fantastic winter grain.  We also made  a new barley recipe that I wrote about in my Tomato sausage barley soup.

We had another pot of Sausage and gnocchi and kale.  It is becoming a new favourite.  So creamy and flavourful with lots of greens.

For Christmas I was given a packet of Zaatar mix from a local favourite restaurant, Zaatar.   We have used it in a lovely zaatar cacio e pepe pasta (in my February In My Kitchen post) and Sylvi has occasionally had it with fried eggs but I am at a loss as to why it has taken us until July to try making a zaatar pizza.  It is so easy and delicious. 

To make zaatar pizza I just mixed the zaatar (1/2 cup) and olive oil (1/2 cup) and spread it on our regular fast track sourdough pizza base and baked in it a hot oven.  I love the smell and the taste of the crunchy mix of sesame seeds and herbs.  The dough is not quite as soft as the one from Zaatar restaurant but it is excellent to be able to make it at home.

 

The other notable pizza we've had recently was a creamy pesto and zucchini pizza.  I spread a mix of cream cheese and pesto on a fast track sourdough pizza base.  Two medium zucchini had been salted for 5-10 minutes and had as much liquid squeezed out of it as possible.  When squeezed it looks frilly and is easy to arrange on the cream cheese so it sits up and gets crispy when baked with a good handful of grated cheese and a bit of seasoning.  

There haven't been many new meals this month but this Tortilla Rice Bake was a winner.  It was based on a recipe called One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake but I had neither chicken or enchilada sauce.  But I did make it in one skillet with a tomato sauce full of Mexican seasoning, beans and vegies, the simmered the rice in it and baked it with cheese and corn chips on top.  When Sylvia came out and saw all the corn chips sticking up, she thought it looked like a hedgehog.  The recipe I was following called for serving it with yoghurt, avocado and coriander.  I had the yoghurt but added diced red capsicum and finely sliced savoy cabbage.  It looked pretty and gave the meal a nice freshness.  This is a meal I hope to repeat!

I bought a new plate with stylish Morroccan brown patterns.  You can see it here with one of my favourite comfort foods: sourdough toast with vegemite and leftover mashed potato.

Here are a couple of decadent sweet bakes from Bake Alley Bakes in North Coburg.  I had the quince danish with a creamy filling and bee pollen.  Sylvia had a slice of a coffee layer cake with hojicha buttercream and almond praline.  It was such a huge slice that she couldn't finish it.  I also bought a hi top sourdough loaf that was excellent.

New in my kitchen are these cute avocado salt and pepper shakers that my friend Kerin brought me home from her amazing holiday in Spain.

One of Sylvia's favourite online places to buy crystals has been Sparrow and Fox in Sydney.  She is very sad that they are closing.  The silver lining on this cloud are the bargains as they sell off their stock.  Also in the picture is a packet of vegan lollies (candies) from Pickles Milk Bar.  It was exciting to find lollies with no gelatine.  Sadly, the ants also loved the candy necklace from the pack.

It is so long ago that we bought a Book Nook craft kit that I was surprised when Sylvia finally decided to put it together.  It only took her two days to create this charming little arcade from a kit.  It was her first time doing a kit with lights that look so gorgeous when the booknook  is in the bookshelves.

Our kitchen chairs have got a bit shabby, especially the two remaining orange vinyl covered chairs from the set I bought with E soon after we were married.  (You can see them in better days with the full set in this kitchen post).  Even all the duct tape patches haven't saved them.  So we were happy to find a couple of blue vinyl chairs in an op shop to replace them.  I am sad to say farewell to the orange chairs but they the good times we have had with them are over.

Riding home on dark evenings gives me a keen sense of needing to be seen by other cars, cyclists and pedestrians.  I got a new bright fluro bicycle jacket (Bellwether velocity convertible jacket that converts from long sleeves to a vest) because my old one is faded, frayed and stained.  I feel very smart in my new jacket.  It also feels more likely to keep me dry if I get caught in the rain.  I just wish they made them in shaped for women's bodies!  My other indulgence was a new brighter front bike light (Azur Cove Usb Head Light 1000 Lumen) that makes it much easier to ride down a dark cobbled lane to the back gate on my bike.  Onwards and upwards!

And I am ending with a few photos from getting my kitchen back together after the painting.  The pantry is painted a lighter colour than before but it is pretty much back to the way it was, but the food is fresher now that some old packets have been thrown out.

This photo is from when I was unpacking a crockery and bric a brac after the painting.  It was all washed, even some of my little figurines that had got a bit dusty.  It is lovely to have everything washed and clean in the glass cabinets and on the lounge room shelves.

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event. If you would like to join in, send your post to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to visit more kitchens and her gorgeous hand drawn header.  Thanks to Sherry for continuing to host this even that brings together some wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens.

Tomato sausage barley soup (vegetarian)

Winter is the time for warming stews.  One of my favourite cold weather comfort foods is barley.  After all barley is one of the joys of Scottish stews.  It soft and malty like a familiar warm blanket.  We also love bangers and mash on these chilly days.  So this cosy recipe for Italian sausage and barley soup in a supermarket magazine caught my eye.

 I found it when I was sorting out old magazine when we packed up the house to be painted.  I pulled it out and put the magazine in a pile for recycling.  Most of my recipes I use these days are online but I do love cooking with the recipe on paper with a nice photo.  I was very glad I had hung onto it during the  packing upheaval once I made it.  Delicious!

The Coles recipe called for pork sausages but I used vegetarian sausages.  It is a recipe that is easy to make vegetarian.  This is not quite a like for like substitution.  Given that is decades since I have cooked with meat, I am not quite clear how much fat and flavour in the meat sausages I am replacing with vegetarian.  

Of course I made some changes.  The Coles recipe had the pork sausage frying without any oil but the Veggie Delites sausages that we use need oil when frying.  I was surprised that the only seasoning was after they are cooked.  (And this was just when I checked again online.  On paper I could not see any reference to seasoning and was scratching my head.)  I cooked the stew with salt and pepper as well as a few other flavours such as Worcester sauce, vinegar and honey.  (Other sweeteners can be used if you want it vegan.)  Again, I was unsure if less seasoning was needed for the pork sausages.  No matter!  I know what I like.

The stew was a bit thin so I added some diced potato which worked really well.  Sylvia added some pasta she had cooked earlier.  We both loved it,  Sylvia has already asked if I can make it again next week.  I was very happy to have it for lunch at work the next day.  The paper copy might already have been recycled but like so many recipes today, it is also online for us to return to it again and again.

More recipes with barley on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:
Bean, barley and tomato stew (v)
Barley, lentil and pumpkin minestrone (v)
Honeyed beer and barley stew 
Scotch broth.with lentils and barley (v)
Scottish vegetable and barley soup (v)

Tomato sausage barley soup
Adapted from Coles Magazine
Serves 4

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 vegetarian sausages
• 1 onion, finely chopped
  
• 1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
• 3 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup (140g) pearl barley
• 400g tin of diced tomatoes
• 5 cups water
  
• 2 medium potatoes, diced 
• 3 tbsp tomato paste 
• 1-3 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tsp honey 
• 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  

Fry sausages in oil for 5-10 minutes over medium heat in a stockpot.  (I had expected them to brown.  They didn't but were still good.)  Add onion, celery and carrot and fry another 5 minutes.  Stir in remaining ingredients and taste to check seasoning.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 30-45 minutes with lid on until the barley is soft.

On the stereo:
Giving the world away: Hatchie

Smith and Deli, Collingwood

Smith and Deli has been at the vanguard of the success of vegan food that appeals to everyone.  They have conquered faux meat and produced a menu that shows many creative ways to make (and name) a vegan sandwich.  Their current cafe deli in one of Collingwood's old warehouses is stylish and welcoming with large murals on the wall, ceiling to floor windows, stacks of generous sandwiches and gorgeous sweet baked goods on display.   Since opening here in late 2021 it has increased the seating area but the shelves are still well stocked with interesting groceries.

The spacious Collingwood warehouse location replaced the original Smith and Deli in Fitzroy's Moor Street that often saw queues out the door for takeaway sandwiches and groceries.  When the Fitzroy deli opened in 2014, it was the talk of town, exciting vegans, vegetarians and omnivores.  We used to queue for sandwiches and doughnuts on regular trips to the Fitzroy Market in the nearby primary school.  Good days!  Of course we were excited to see the new digs in Collingwood.  It was was nicely described in this  Gourmet Traveller article.  The above photo is of the bountiful display that greeted us upon entering.

 

In October 2023 when I was out for a ride I poked my head in longingly on the way home and took this photo.  By then the seating had expanded and reduced the grocery area.  This is a sign of the demand for space to eat in.  When we recently visited on a Saturday earlier this month, it was hard to find a place to sit and eat our meal. 

This photo is of the cafeteria display when I first visited Smith and Deli with my mum for my birthday in early 2022.  It was surprising to see the stews and salads on display.  The old location had mainly offered sandwiches for a meal.  This was so much more. In fact, at first I thought there were no sandwiches before I finally noitced a few in the display and a few more in the deli area.
 

I enjoyed a chickpea and okra curry with rice, a Greek salad and Asian vermicelli salad on the side.   My mum had glazed carrots, roast parsnip and the noodle salad.  The prices seemed reasonable with a "regular deli plate" of a main and two sides for $20 (ir a kids with two half sides for $15 or a large with 3 sides for $28).  I also had a serve of rice with my meal as I wanted a bit more carbs.

I went back in July 2022 during the school holidays with Sylvia.  This time I had a a regular deli plate with mushroom and barley, roasted cauliflower and stir fried greens, plus a bread roll.  This was even better than the last meal.  Sylvia loved her garlic chilli potatoes with parmesan so much that she still talks of them fondly. 

One of the joys of eating at Smith and Deli has always been checking out the groceries.  They are full of fun and novelty.  There are always new flavours and vegan alternatives.  This month I resisted trying the Quillo potato chips with vegan fried egg flavour!  The prices make them more of an indulgence than everday purchase but who doesn't give in to temptation occasionally.  Here are a few purchases I have made in the past (clockwise from top left):

• A Smith and Deli cloth bag - they do a stylish range of branded merchandise.
• Salted caramel oat milk chocolate.
• Vegan marshmallows, honeycomb, bread rolls, and dill pickle crisps.
• Pineapple salsa corn chips.
  

The refrigerated goods always look interesting: pasta, garlic bread and tiramisu.  Maybe one day we will sample some.

I wish I had found more opportunities to get to Smith and Deli but it took from 2022 to 2025 to get back there!  When we did, we were greeted by this wall of framed pictures that was reminiscent of the sister restaurant Smith and Daughters decor.  It originally opened in Brunswick St, Fitzroy and moved to Collingwood next to the current Smith and Deli around the same time. 

Those delicious potatoes often got offered as a reason to return to Smith and Deli but weren't there when we finally got back there.  Fortunately she also wanted to try their warming winter drinks and was very happy to see them on the menu.  The food display seemed slightly different with pizzas, big soup pots and a large display of sandwiches.  There are less sandwich options than in the old location where they were always made fresh.

I ordered the miso and butterbean soup ($14) with a small salad plate ($22).  Although I asked for the pesto potato salad, I was told they were low and would take longer to finish making a new batch.  I accepted the offer of having the remaining pesto potato salad with some roast veg salad.  I really loved both salads but was happy I had the roast veg salad as well.  My miso soup was amazing warming comfort food with focaccia on the side.  The salad was delicious but far too much.  I would have much preferred a smaller salad for less money.  It did not escape my notice that the soup and salad cost $36 this month compared with $22 for a main and salad.

 

Meanwhile Sylvia wanted to try a sandwich.  Her choice between the Scramble roll and the Wiggum 2.0 was made easy when she found that the former was only available on weekdays.  The Wiggum was one of my favourite sandwiches on their former menu (I wrote about it in my 2016 Smith and Deli post).  It is now a crispy crumbed slab of tofu with slaw, salsa, pickled red onion and chipotle crema.  I think it is a shame they upped the spiciness.  Sylvia enjoyed her toasted focaccia but would have liked the tofu to be freshly fried and hot.

Her greatest excitement was the gingerbread latte.  She had lactose intolerance symptoms but loves dairy. The vegan whipped cream on top of the latte delighted her.  She told me that whipped cream has a dairy after taste and this was the first vegan cream that had the same taste.  

Sylvia also ordered the Doughnut holes.  She has fond memories of going to the Fitzroy Smith and Deli for doughnuts when she was a small child.  What kid could forget a doughnut covered in caramel sauce and popcorn!  The doughnut holes had not seen the same inflation as the mains.  In 2022 a doughnut hole cost $5 and today it costs $5.50.  Sylvia declared them amazing!.  I enjoyed them but would have preferred them warm.

This month on offer in the sweet section were also Cranberry and white chocolate cookies, Strawberry and chocolate brownies, Biscoff scrolls, Almond escargot, Hazelnut chocolate doughnuts and Cinnamon doughnuts.  If only I could have tried one of each.  But I was so full from my meal that I took home leftover salads.

It is true we are still nostalgic for the days we used to go to the cramped old Smith and Deli with its endless offering of amazing sandwiches and long line of fans eager to eat them.  However it is exciting to see the growth of the little deli into a larger cafe deli.  It still serves innovative and delicious food in a stylish space.  We might not get there as often as we would like but I look forward to our next visit.

Smith and Deli
107 Cambridge St, Collingwood VIC  3066
Open: Tuesday to Sunday: 9am-3pm
https://www.smithanddeli.com/

Feta dill rice gratin with Greek style stew - and random moments

Inspiration is an odd thing.  Some leftover fresh dill, rice in the freezer and a packet of feta helped me veer off course from my meal planning.  The result was this delicious feta rice gratin with a tomato vegetable stew inspired by Greek cuisine.  I loved how it brought together favourite old recipes but felt new.

When I was planning my weekly grocery shopping this Sunday, I was frustrated at my lack of ideas for meals.  I had tubs of cooked rice in the freezer so I was tossing up between a Spinach rice gratin and a Vegetable nut and rice crumble.  But I had fresh dill to use up.  Dill makes me think feta and lemon juice.  And so the ideas for the gratin were forming.  I considered a crumble topping but it was easier to scatter yummy crunchy stuff and then drizzle with olive oil.  It was lovely and chewy and crispy when baked.
 

You can see in the pictures that my rice was a red jasmine rice.  I found it in a health food store and wanted to try it.  It is a nubbly wholegrain rice.  I enjoyed it but it took longer than brown rice and was not that much different tasting.  Next time I would use brown rice or perhaps basmati.  

I was inspired by the tomato vegetable layer in the nut crumble.  I find it easy to fry onion and then add a tin of tomatoes and some veg and seasoning.  So this seemed a good accompaniment to the gratin.  It wasn't quite as I expected because I only had passata.  It was more soupy than I wanted but once I added some diced potato and edamame, it went from soup to stew.  And after 30 minutes of simmering, it was really lovely. 

Sylvia came out of her bedroom as I served dinner.  She had planned to snack on pretzels and chocolate.  When she saw what I had made, she tried a little and then a bit more.  She declared it "good stuff"!  High praise, indeed!  And so satisfying to feed her good food.  It also fortified me for the week ahead.  I was so happy to have leftovers for work lunches.

Before moving onto the recipe, here are a few recent random moments:

• My shock at discovering that my 2 week old laptop at work had to be wiped and rebuilt due to a virus.  All the work of sorting out my software and settings on a new computer had to be repeated.
  

• When Sylvia ordered fried eggs on toast at a local cafe, she asked for a "hard yolk".  When her meal came she had egg with soft yolks and yoghurt on the side.  The waiter had totally misheard her request.
  

• Meeting up with a guest historian and two friends from my masters course was so much fun. As we swapped memories, the years fell away and we remembered the excitement of the field trip and research into the history of farm buildings.
  
  

More recipes with dill on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:
Avgolemono (gf, v)
Creamy potato and dill soup
Rosy Russian bread (v)
Vegan 'salmon' pate (gf, v)
Vegan tahini stew with feta and dill dumplings

Feta dill rice gratin with Greek style stew 
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe
Serves 4

Feta rice gratin:

4 cups cooked rice
1 egg
1 tsp stock powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
125g feta, crumbled and divided
2-3 tsp fresh dill, chopped
Handful of grated cheese
Breadcrumbs (I used panko)
Sesame seeds
Olive oil

In a shallow round 28cm casserole dish, mix rice with egg, stock powder, lemon juice, 75g of feta and dill. Scatter on top the remaining 50g feta along with the grated cheese, breadcrumbs and sesame seeds.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

Greek style stew:

2 tsp olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
700ml passata
1/2 cup water
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 zucchinis, cut into chunky half moons
1 potato, diced
1 cup frozen peas or edamame beans
400g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan.  Fry onion and carrot in oil for about 5-10 minutes until soft.  Add remaining ingredients.  Check seasoning and adjust.  Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.  

Serve gratin with stew.

On the Stereo:
The Terrys - self titled

Japanese cucumber salad in 5 minutes

One of the first meals we had when moving back in after painting the house included a super easy Japanese cucumber salad.  It was so easy that when Sylvia was living out of home while the painters were in, she took a jar of the dressing, chopped some cucumbers and mixed them to make a quick salad.  We first made the salad in June and since then it has become a regular in our kitchen.

I have had a few recipes for cucumber salads in my recipe spreadsheet.  It always looked easy.  But it was not until I read Lorraine's post on Not Quite Nigella that I was convinced this was a simple recipe that would work well in my busy life. 

Lorraine regularly makes a version of the Viral TikTok Asian Cucumber Salad by Logan Fewd, which includes spring onions, fish sauce and chilli crisp.  It was not quite right for me.  I did a search and found interesting variations at In My Bowl and Evolving Table but was most interested in the vegan version at Chopstick Chronicles.  (You can read more about this style of marinated cucumber salad or Kyuri no sunomono or kiyuri namasu on 196 Flavours.) But it required salting the cucumber first.  That was one step too far!  I liked the simplicity of Lorraine's recipe that can be made in 5 minutes. 

I tried the Chopstick Chronicles marinade but had to tweak it to our tastes.  I like the cucumber chunky as I like crunchy vegies.  Sylvia would like to try it with thinly mandolined slices.  We sometimes have it with toasted sesame seeds, steamed edamame or sprinkle with furikake. 

It is amazing how much I love the salad given that I have never been a big fan of cucumber.  So far I have had it served with (1) miso noodles, red capsicum and burger, (2) sushi salad and red capsicum, (3) tofu besan omlette, sweet and sour eggplant, seaweed salad and rice, and (4) pesto potato salad, lettuce, tomatoes, pickle, and vegetarian pizza.  See above photos.

This Japanese cucumber salad will be great once summer comes and we need easy cooling recipes.  But it also works in winter when we need a simple answer to the need for something lighter when so many meals are stodgy comfort food!  And I am sure it will be a dish to take to picnics and potlucks.  So many possibilities!

More salad recipes with cucumber on Green Gourmet Giraffe blog:

Carrot and cucumber tulips (gf, v)
Panzanella (v)
Pearl couscous, cucumber and rocket salad with pesto
Strawberry avocado and walnut salad with a chocolate vinaigrette (gf, v)
Strawberry and cucumber salsa (gf, v)
Sushi rice salad (gf, v)

Japanese cucumber salad
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe
Inspired by Chopstick Chronicles and Not Quite Nigella
Serves 2-3

2-3 Lebanese cucumbers, sliced

Dressing:
3 tsp rice vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp mirin
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp garlic granules (or freshly grated)
black pepper or chilli pepper to taste

Optional:
1/2 cup edamame, steamed and cooled
2 tbsp roast cashews
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
furikake

[If using sesame seeds which are not already toasted, put them into a frypan and keep an eye on them as they brown and start to smell amazing!]

Mix dressing ingredients together.  Stir in cucumbers and sesame seeds.  

If using, mix in the edamame/sesame seeds/cashews and sprinkle with furikake.

On the Stereo:
ABC RN Podcast: "Celebrating Charles Todd and the overland telegraph" on the Science Show, 21 June 2025.

My Monthly Chronicles: June 2025

We had an unsettled June that saw us packing up the house for painting, living out of home for a week and then moving back in.  There was less tv watching and bike riding but lots of boxes and eating out and cleaning.  Lots of work lunches purchased on the way in.  In fact, we got out and about more than usual, not always by choice but because our home was less than its usual welcoming cosiness.  And many crazy politics at home and abroad.  You can see more about my month in my In My Kitchen June 2025 post.

I start with a photo of the fascinating Fyansford Paper Mills historic precinct.  See below for more information.  It cheers me up to to see the bright flowers and plants on a sunny day in a winter month that had many grey rainy days.

Tiamo, Carlton

I saw the Salt Path at the Cinema Nova with my friend Heather.  The gorgeous views of the coastal walking path were often so vast that the lives of the down-on-their-luck couple seemed part of a much bigger world than their problems.  Afterwards, we had dinner at TiAmo (303 Lygon St).  Heather had canneloni and I had an Eggplant parmigiana with seasonal vegetables.  It was not the slab of eggplant under a blanket of crisp and gooey cheese but rather a few layers of eggplant with mozzarella cheese between the layers and lots of tomato sauce.  The eggplant was perfectly cooked but less of a dairy  feast than usual.  I loved it. 
 

 

Back Alley Bakes, Coburg North

After not being the cinema for a while, I went twice in two days.  The second film I saw was the stylish Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme at the Pentridge Palace cinema.  We took home lunch from Lucky Little Dumplings and IGA to eat with bread from Back Alley Bakes (10 Leslie Avenue).  I rode there a couple of times in June when a nice loaf of bread helped ease the busy period that left little time for cooking.  Their specials change regularly but Sylvia put in a request for the sweet and sour onions, zucchini and feta focaccia, if it is available again.
    

Wild Timor, Coburg

At one of my regular visits to Wild Timor Cafe (282 Sydney Road), I could not resist the Katsu Curry that was on the specials menu.  It was served with crispy potato and eggplant croquettes, mixed leaves, cherry tomatoes, seaweed, fried shallots and coriander.  It was excellent.  It should be permanently on the menu.

Preston Market

Sylvia went to a school excursion on the op shop trail in Preston.  I went along as a parent helper and the kids had lots of fun.  We stopped at the Preston Market for lunch.  Sylvia had heard great stuff about the boreks there.  She had a spicy potato borek and I had a vegan kale and leek borek from Ishtars.  Mine was so good.  But then we heard that it is Tammy's that does the great boreks.  Now I want to return to Ishtars and also try Tammys.  We also check out Publique Bakery's small store where they started.  It was hard to resist so we bought a sesame bread stick and a salted caramel doughnut for later.  They were amazing!

Jackson Dodds, Preston

We stopped in at Jackson Dodds (611 Gilbert Rd) for a good lunch under the vines and little hot air balloons that hand from the rafters.  Sylvia was excited at the opportunity to try the Gnocchi with vodka tomato sauce and Stracciatella cheese that was on the specials menu.  I had the Avo Smash: smashed avocado mixed with Meredith goats feta on sourdough, feta cream, basil pesto, pomegranate, cherry tomatoes & toasted-sourdough with an optional haloumi.  (I opted to have it without the poached eggs.)  Our meals were excellent.  We washed them down with Strawberry iced matcha and Sparkling strawberry and lemon refresher.  I enjoyed the strawberry version of the iced tea better than the peach one I've had before.

Home share accommodation, Coburg

While the painters were in the house, we moved out for a week.  I spent a few days in Melbourne while I went to work and then had the rest of the time at my parents in Geelong.  This is my temporary bedroom in a house nearby to where Sylvia was staying with her dad and our very anxious cat.  I had a shared kitchen but I mostly relied on a jar of peanut butter, tins of baked beans and a loaf of bread.  I had a couple of meals with Sylvia and her dad: Melbourne Kebab Station pide one night and baked potatoes another night.

Poked, CBD

While in temporary digs in Melbourne during the painting, I treated myself to some nice lunches while at work.  Poked (Shop 10/50 Lonsdale St) sells fast food with lots of vegies.  I chose the Tofu Tafa Hawaiian Plate Lunch with soft silken tofu fried in a light tempura with mac & sweet potato salad, rice, salad, pickled cabbage and wonton chips ($19.95).  It was an excellent plate of lunch with enough warmth for winter.  Also in the photo is a new water bottle I bought on the way to work after realising I did not know where my regular green water bottle was.  If only it was smaller and could fit in my bike bottle holder!

Tylers Milkbar, Preston I

I missed sharing my home with Sylvia so on a chilly day when I was not working, I took her for lunch at Tylers Milkbar (656 Plenty Rd).  One of the specials was Stovetop Hot Chocolate: a vegan chai infused jaffa hot chocolate.  (The menu also had nuts included in the dietary information.)  It was one of the best hot chocolates I have ever had.  Velvety, chocolatey without lots of creaminess and just enough yummy spicy citrus flavour.

Tylers Milkbar Preston II

On this visit it was toastie weather.  Sylvia had the wonderfully titled "There's a leek in my toastie" ($18) that was filled with stracciatella, sauteed garlic & leek, Swiss cheese, house pickles & dill plus some tofu bacon instead of the ham.  I wanted to try the winter pot luck special of the day: Corn and Potato Chowder with a cheese toastie.  She loved it so much she had it a few weeks afterwards.  I enjoyed my chowder but I think of them as being creamy and this one was chunky but not creamy.

Miscellaneous eating in Geelong

It was great to have a few days with my parents in Geelong.  My mum did her usual impressive cooking and bought some good stuff too.  Clockwise from top left in the above photos: A delicious meal of falafel, grain salads and roast potatoes;  Ket Baker's iced lemon sourdough pastry, the bathroom; and my muesli among the chookies.  Another great meal was a lentil and veg stew that was served with home made sourdough bread.  I also got to see the lovely new home my niece and her boyfriend bought a while back.

Pudding in Geelong

My mum is also a whizz at whipping up dessert.  Sylvia was very jealous of the desserts I was having while she stayed in Melbourne.  On one night my mum made a Steamed spiced microwave pudding with caramel sauce from Better Homes and Gardens.  It was delicious and warming.  The caramel sauce was made of caramel syrup and butter on the stovetop.  We were glad we took it off the heat as soon as it clung to the spoon because it thickened up as it cooled a bit.  Watching my mum pour it over the pudding was an impressive sight! 

Bakers Delight scones

I had a day back in Melbourne during the days when I was in Geelong.  As always it felt like I had so much time to spend some time visiting galleries and cafes but I was tired.  In fact I was pretty slow and only had time to grab a cheeseymite scroll and try a new Iced raspberry and peach scone from Bakers Delight.  I really loved this fruit combo in the scone but was not a huge fan of the sweet creamy icing.

Lyndhurst Hall, Pascoe Vale

I was drove from Geelong for a day in Melbourne because there was a history tour and a party I wanted to attend.  The tour of Lyndhurst Hall was really special.  It is one of the oldest houses in the area.  It is impressive that it is is a portable pre-fabricated house that was originally erected in Brunswick in the 1850s and the moved to its current location in the 1860s.  The current owners have done a beautiful restoration: a grand design!  They gave a talk on the history and invited Coburg History Society members to visit the house.  We were shown around and treated to tea and scones for afternoon tea.  

I also went to a friend's solstice party.  It was lovely sitting outside by the fire in Jo's new brasier,  drinking mulled wine, eating potato wedges, spring rolls and a fabulous vegan carrot cake with chocolate frosting.   and chatting with familiar and not so familiar people.

Luthers Scoops, Brunswick

In between the house tour and the party I visited Sylvia and took her out to share a Blueberry buttermilk custard pie with buttered popcorn ice cream.  This is a special winter treat.  It was a great way to get Sylvia out of the house on a wintery day when she was missing her own home.

The Door Gallery Cafe, Geelong

I also had time in Geelong to take it easy.  On one afternoon I went to the Door Gallery Cafe at the Fyansford Paper Mill (100 Lower Paper Mills Rd) for a hot chocolate and some live music.  It was such a cold day when I got up that morning it was 0 degrees celcius.  Even though my drink was a bit too milky for my liking, it was lovely to sit sipping the warm drink and listening to the old timers sing the golden oldie hits.  And yes there were doors.  My parents remember there being a lot more doors previously when they used to go when my brother played there.

Fyansford Paper Mill, Geelong

It is fascinating to wander around the Fyansford Paper Mill historic precinct.  The vast buildings evoke a nostalgia for an industrial past filled with a loud and bustling workforce that made paper out of rags in the 1870s.  The rust on the tin roofs are signs of buildings that have fallen into disrepair but the bluestone walls look sturdy enough to escape the ravages of time.  The top photo is of plants outside some of the artist studios.  Then there are the esoteric pieces of the past the dot the landscape.  Above is a photo of the inner workings of an old petrol pump.

Poked, CBD II

When we moved out of the house for painting, I had visions of life snapping back to normal when we moved in but that was fanciful.  It took some days to get out kitchen and bathroom functioning and even now we still have boxes around the house.  So when we got back in the house, it was difficult to have meals from home for work lunches.  I returned to Poked (Shop 10/50 Lonsdale St) for another vegtable filled meal.  The Veggie Vibes bowl was filled with sweet potato, marinated mushrooms, pickled cabbage, edamame, cubes of firm tofu and wanton crisps on a bed of brown rice and drizzled with sesame mayo ($13.95).  The tofu was a substitute because eggplant was not available.

Super 8, Parkville

Poked bowls were fantastic but my favourite work meal of the month was this bowl of three salads from Super 8 at the Peter Mac Cancer Centre (cnr Grattan Place and Royal Parade).  It was the perfect combination of salads: (1) Falafel Salad with blanched green beans, roasted chat potatoes, roasted red onion, cherry tomatoes radicchio, snow pea sprouts, snow pea tendrils, parsley, chives, chervil, yoghurt, lemon, (2) Roquette and Pear Salad with shaved fennel, walnuts, Danish feta, shaved parmesan, pomegranate, radicchio, olive oil, balsamic glaze. (3) Chickpea and Herb Salad with sun-dried tomatoes, roasted pumpkin, cranberries, radicchio, watercress, chives, parsley, dill, chervil.  I loved them so much that I want to try making the falafel salad at home one day soon.

Galleria Crocodillo, Preston

These pictures are from Alex Barrington's exhibition called Art is life but you can't eat it at Galleria Crocodillo (738 Plenty Road).  Such fun images: a dress of baked goods, an island of cakes and the croissant as the rising sun.  You can also see some of the cards that we bought in my In My Kitchen June 2025 post.

In the News:

The June news has been intense. I don't even have light hearted stories to share!  More disturbing stories from the USA including ICE disappearing immigrants, foreign students blocked from Harvard, riots in LA and the 12 days war between Israel, USA and Iran.  It felt like World War 3 was narrowly averted.  

Australian politics is more stable but there is still much to make us question our world as exposed by the legal system. Erin Patterson on trial for killing in laws with death cap mushrooms; the Victorian Liberal party in toxic breakdown over the successful libel lawsuit against John Pesutto MP, and our national broadcaster, the ABC, found guilty of illegally sacking journalist Antoinette Latouf over Gaza politics.

Here are some current affairs stories that caught my eye: 

As the planet warms and liberal democracy is attacked, does our government care?, in ABC News, 8 June 2025.

Victoria is in the grip of drought but what is different about this one? (mental health of farmers), in ABC News on 9 June 2025.

This is the column I never wanted to have to write (on the state of falling tv revenue as advertisers move to social media for sophisticated data harvesting), by Waleed Aly in The Age, 13 June 2025. 

Would you like ICE with your fascism? by Jo Dwyer in The Shot, 14 June 2025.

Victoria's Liberals saved John Pesutto from bankruptcy.  But can they save themselves from all-out war? in The Guardian, on 21 June 2025.

Bombing Iran a clear breach of international law, by Greg Barns in Pearls and Irritations, 23 June 2025.

Antoinette Latouf sacking exposed the power of lobbying on the media, in ABC News, 29 June 2025.