The Clyde Hotel, Carlton

The Clyde is an old-school pub between the University of Melbourne and Lygon Street in Carlton.  In my student days it was a popular watering hole.  My early memories of it are pretty hazy but I did spend a bit of time there as an undergrad.  It was part of my first pub crawl in O Week and there were a few boat races there (aka drinking games).  These days it is not the rowdy place I remember, but I am no longer the naive young fresher who stayed up late drinking with friends.

These days most of my experiences there are lunches with the occasional evening visit.  We order at the bar.  I once organised a group lunch where we put our orders in prior to arriving and when we got there, we found our meals already out so everyone had to grab and drink and find their meal. Speaking of drinks, even though this is an old-school pub, it has kept up with the times and offers non-alcoholic beers.  I just wish their experiment with selling kombucha had lasted longer.

Mostly I have shared meals inside.  After the lockdowns we had some meals outside when it was considered safer.  The above two photos of the bar and the dining area are fairly quiet because I took them when I went for an early evening meal.  It can be much busier.

Before our lockdowns I went through a phase of ordering the vegie quesadillas for a while.  The Clyde was the first pub I went to after lockdown.  I tried a few specials that seem to have come and gone on the regular menu.  This wedge of roasted pumpkin, roast cauliflower, crispy kale, yoghurt sauce and dukkah was delicious. 

This dish was half a cauliflower on a slick of pumpkin hummus, topped with yoghurt sauce, pomegranate arils and kale.  I ordered chips on the side and on this occasion I was able to order kombucha too. A really satisfying and attractive meal.

One dish I keep going back to again and again is the Eggplant Parma.  It is two generous slices of eggplant crumbed and topped with napoli sauce and grilled, stretchy, melty cheese.  I have had it many times.  Every time the eggplant is cooked to perfection: soft and melting.  I say this in admiration after being served disappointingly badly cooked eggplant at other restaurants recently.  There is either good or bad eggplant - no in between.  The parma comes with either mash and roast vegies or chips and salad.  I prefer the latter for amazingly great comfort food.

I am very fond of the Clyde with its good pub grub and friendly staff.  I am happy that the eggplant parma is still on the menu but I really want to try their cauliflower tempura that has appeared on the menu since I last visited.  The pub also serves vegan options, gluten free options, meat and alcohol for those with other preferences.

The Clyde Hotel
385 Cardigan Street (corner of Elgin Street), Carlton
(03) 9347 1874
Open daily 12pm til late, except it opens at 11am on Fridays and closes 11pm on Sundays.
www.theclydehotel.com.au

Vegie mac and cheese money bag dumplings

We made Vegie Mac and Cheese Moneybag Dumplings on Alex and Ian's birthday.  It seemed suitably indulgent birthday food for teenagers.  Sylvia had seen the idea on Tik Tok recently.  Mac and Cheese!!!!   In a dumpling!!!!!  These crazy mouthfuls of joy had to be in our kitchen!  I am not sure if we ever found the Tik Tok again (was it this one?).  We winged it and loved these fusion dumplings so I am sharing what we did.  Be aware that this is not one for the traditionalists!

I had lots of cauliflower and some wombok cabbage to use so decided these would be a nice bridge between Eastern and Western traditions that fuse in this recipe.  (I don't even know how to categorise these in my recipe index which is so long I try not to add entries more than once.)  We bought tiny shell pasta that was called Coviglie Piccole on the packet.  (Google tells me this means tiny covens.  Which to me means tiny groups of witches so I am very confused.)

We also had quite a lot of nice cheese: Red Leicester for colour, Cheddar for taste, Gruyere for nutty mild flavour and Parmesan for sharpness and intensity.  Together with the vegie puree it make a really tasty sauce.

Once the mac and cheese was together, we shaped the dumplings.  I have learnt from experience that it is wise not to overfill.  Sylvia enjoyed doing these with me.  She can't remember making dumplings but I have photos of previous dumpling making to prove she has done it before.  We bought chives to tie up the moneybags and were pleased with our work.

I have got much better at panfrying and steaming dumplings.  It used to be a great stress and they would end up fried on both sides because I could not work out the steaming (like these gyoza).  More recently I have got the hang of it.  One thing that helped me was looking at cooking instructions on packets of premade dumplings.  Above is a photo of dumplings being fried the first time and below is the dumplings after I add the water.

One thing I have learnt is that if I turn the heat up too high on my cast iron frypan, they have very crisp black burnt bottoms.  But if I do it at about medium heat, then I can turn up the heat a bit if needed.  I don't quite understand why they fry and then steam and then fry again, but it works.  It is so satisfying to eat dumplings with crisp golden brown bottoms, soft top wanton wrapper and tasty soft insides.

I like this photo because it clearly shows the difference between the cooked (right) and uncooked (left) dumplings.  We had heaps of mac and cheese after we had filled our wanton wrappers but this is the sort of leftovers I always welcome in our house.  

I served the dumplings with a broccoli rice recipe from the October 2023 Woolworths magazine.  The recipe had looked really green but I had too much rice and too little broccoli,  It was still very nice and I added some spinach on the side.  I think these dumplings would be nice with a sauce but was not sure which one and they were every bit as good with no extra flavour.

More Mac and Cheese recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

Jamie's cauliflower cheese macaroni
Mac and cheese layered nut roast
Mac and cheese pancakes
Macaroni cheese pies
Macaroni cheese with sauerkraut, cauliflower and blue cheese (v)
Quick one pot mac and cheese

Vegie Mac and Cheese Moneybag Dumplings
An original Green Gourmet Giraffe recipe

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp plain wholemeal flour
2 cups of milk (I used soy milk)
1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets
1-2 cups cabbage, chopped (I used wombok aka napa)
1 spring onion, chopped
1 tsp stock powder
2-3 cups of grated cheese (I used Red Leicester, Cheddar, Parmesan and Gruyere)
2 tsp seeded mustard
Seasoning
Shake of truffle spice seasoning
500g tiny pasta (we used shells)
250g (25 x) square wanton wrappers (25 x 110 x 110mm)
25 chives
oil to fry

Make mac and cheese:

Make roux: Fry butter and wholemeal flour together in frypan for a few minutes until it is slightly browning and smells cooked.  Measure 1 cup of milk.  Slowly add milk over low heat, adding a little at a time and stirring until incorporated into wheat-butter mixture, then add more milk until added the whole cup.  Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until it boils and thickens.  Remove the roux from heat.  

Cook pasta: according to instructions, drain and put aside.

Make vegie cheese sauce: Place chopped cauliflower and cabbage in a microwave safe container with a spoonful of water.  Microwave until vegetables are soft. Blend cauliflower, cabbage, spring onion and stock powder until smooth.  Pour into roux.  Swish out any remaining vegie puree from blender with 1 cup milk and tip this into the roux together with cheese, seeded mustard, salt, pepper and truffle spice.  Check taste and adjust seasoning if required.  Stir on low heat until cheese melted. 

Assemble dumplings:

First make mac and cheese by mixing cooked pasta and vegie cheese sauce.  Now take your wanton wrappers and lay out on a flat surface.  Place 2 teaspoons of mac and cheese in the middle.  Bring four corners together and then bring in middle of each edge so you gather the wrapper like a rose.  Squish together at the place where the wrapper comes together at the neck where the dumpling wrapper meets just above the mac and cheese) being careful not to squeeze too hard or you will break the part of the wrapper around the mac and cheese.  Repeat with remaining wanton wrappers.  (I had quite a bit of mac and cheese leftover but we had no problems consuming it over the next day or two.)  Tie a chive around the neck of each mac and cheese moneybag.

To cook the moneybag dumplings, heat a frypan to medium heat (I used a cast iron frypan which I have found will burn delicate dumplings on high but you can increase heat a little if cooking too slowly).  Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil so there is a generous covering of the bottom of the pan.  Fry dumplings about 2 minutes or until the bottom of each dumpling is golden brown.  Tip about 1/2 cup of water into the frypan, cover with a lid and steam for about 8 minutes or until water gone and dumplings are fried golden brown on the bottom.  I use tongs or an eggflip to lift the dumplings and check they are golden brown after each frying.

To serve:

We ate ours with rice with finely chopped broccoli mixed in and also some spinach on the side.  You could also serve with your favourite tomato pasta sauce and a salad or as an appetiser with a drizzle of okoniyaki sauce, mayo and spring onions.

On the Stereo:
The Music that I Make: Leah Senior

In My Kitchen - November 2023

 

I am in denial about it being November.  It is hard to believe we are so close to Christmas and the end of another year.  But I am so excited that stone fruit is back in the shops and we are enjoying some lighter evenings.  

October was a busy month with more sunshine, my first swim at the pool this Spring, my dad's birthday party, fun meals out, watching the Taylor Swift: The Eras film in the cinema, seeing the Herald Sun Aria at the Melbourne Recital Centre, going to a Festival Indonesia event in Argyle Square.  Work has been full with busy days, frustrating systems and interesting events including talks by Covid vaccine heroes Dame Sarah Gilbert and Prof Barney Graham.

Within almost a week in October, Israel was attacked by Hamas, the National Party defeated the incumbent Labour Party government in New Zealand's national election, the failure of the Australian people to vote yess in the referendum a Voice to Parliament by the Indigenous people, and the Polish general elections saw a centrist liberal coalition defeat the reigning right wing party.  We have been living in interesting times.  It also a sad and disturbing period of so much death and destruction in the Israel-Hamas war and of hurt caused by the majority of Australian people turning their back on the generous invitation of Indigenous people to walk together.  One thing we can predict is that the world keeps changing, for better or worse.

Sylvia and I have been cooking quite a lot, especially Sylvia.  Above is a Pesto Orzo Salad and Cheese muffins that she made for dinner one night.  Below is more of our delicious meals and some other products and changes in my kitchen.

This is a picture of our new Ikea Pax cupboard that we had installed in September.  It is the completion of a long process of our old gas wall heater being decommissioned, the heater being removed, and finally this cupboard covering up the ugly patch of concrete exposed by the heater removal and giving us a bit more storage space.  I have been able to move some clutter from the kitchen as well as from other rooms.  

As we all know. it is hard to go to Ikea without some Swedish meatballs and a temptation to buy more than planned.  Our old rug in the lounge room has got very stained and manky so it has been lovely to have a new green Novling rug from Ikea.  It is so soft and is made out of recycled polyester from PET bottles.

Sylvia is obsessed with truffle flavour right now.  She loves these truffle flavoured Mediterranean snack bites and the little jar of Tartufi Jimmy truffle spice seasoning.  It gets added to a lot of meals and adds a touch of that luxurious richness of truffles.

I went to the Festival Indonesia event in Argyle Place with my friend Jo.  It was a lovely afternoon of performances, craft and food trucks.  I was excited to find meals with tempeh, which are not so common in Austtralia.  Jo had a grass jelly drink, we looked at some of the amazing hand woven fabrics and I brought home some interesting food.  The Temepeh Chips were excellent and I wish they were easy to find in Australia.  The pink Rengginang are crunchy spiced glutinous rice crackers and very tasty.

There was a time I used liquid smoke a lot of recipes but not in recent years.  Though we still need it regularly for tofu bacon.  Even so, I was surprised to find that my current (and very shabby) bottle was almost 10 years old.  I have a photo of it in a 2014 IMK post.  I was also surprised to find that the new bottle of liquid smoke I bought recently is by the same company, Misty Gully.

We occasionally visit the Mediterranean Wholesalers on Sydney Rd to marvel at the amazing array of pastas.  Recently we bought this adorable Zucchette Cinque Colori pasta.  Zucchete means little pumpkin in Italian.  I am still not sure how we will use it but it looks like it could make a fun meal

Another purchase that brings joy is this reuseable shopping bag from Woolworths Supermarket.  I admired these Nungala Creative art bags among other people's shopping before I finally saw any for sale.  There are three versions designed in collaboration with Warumungu/Wombaya woman Jessica Johnson.  I love all designs but especially this green one.  Some of the profits go to the Yothu Yindi Foundation in Arnhem Land and the bags are made of at least 70% recycled material.

I love soup but it has never been something that Sylvia has ever been keen on.  So I was delighted when she decided to make a roasted cauliflower soup with grilled cheese sandwiches.   It was a lovely creamy cauliflower soup with potato and leek and topped with extra roasted cauliflower and fresh parsley.  Matched with the grilled cheese sandwich it was a delicious meal.

We had a Baked Gnocchi with Vodka.  The sauce was made by Sylvia in the cast iron frypan, the gnocchi stirred in and then cheese on top before baking until it had a crispy cheesy topping.  Really good.  I liked that it had a lot more tomato flavour than the vodka pasta sauce I made many years ago.  

The hardest bit of the recipe was buying the vodka as I was refused service in one bottle shop because I discussed which bottled to choose with the 14 year old. She is at an age where I am wary about her wanting alcohol but am reassured that we have very little around the house.

Sylvia also was excited to make a One pot mushroom stroganoff for dinner.  It was delicious and creamy pasta with fresh spring onions and parsley on top.  It seemed more like a pasta dish than a stew and I think of a stroganoff as the latter.  I think it might have been a bit more saucy down the bottom.  Sylvia also used cream cheese instead of cashew butter so that might not have been as thick.

I really like the idea of the Roasted Vegetable Rice Bake that Jaqueline made at Tinned Tomatoes blog.  I have tried it before but had to try it again.  Both times it was nice but not quite right.  This time I made a little more rice so I could spread more vegetables (zucchini, capsicum and tomatoes) over a larger area but it was too much rice in proportion to the vegetables and so the rice was a little dry.

This Spaghetti al limone from Smitten Kitchen was a huge hit for both of us.  It was pretty easy for Sylvia to make while I was on the way home and amazing to come home to after work.  The simple but intense flavours of lemon and parmesan cheese with a scattering of basil leaves worked brilliantly.  So satisfying.

I bought some seasonal asparagus as I always do in Spring.  When I do it always seemed to be so long since I had it that I need to think how to serve it.  I remembered a favourite recipe for asparagus is Spring risotto soup and made a saucepanful.  Sylvia was very unimpressed at the idea of it so I ended up eating it all over a few days.  It is great green comfort food!

The weather has been hot and cold of late.  One night I am in a skirt enjoying the summer breezer through the wire door and then next I am huddled under a warm blanket.  This Cauliflower and Mushroom Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole was one of the winter warmer recipes we had on a cool night. 

One night we wanted a quick pasta sauce and so I suggested Hurry Up Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce.  Sylvia had a taste despite her dislike of pumpkin.  It was not her thing but she still had some with gnocchi.  The rest I used to boost the flavour in a pumpkin soup.  I really love that vegan sauce that whizzes up quickly in my high speed blender.

It makes me so happy that Sylvia liked the cauliflower soup enough to try another soup.  This one was a roasted tomato soup which she again served with grilled cheese sandwiches.  Those sandwiches are one of her specialities and always excellent.  The soup was very nice with some milk, which is the way I love tomato soup from a can. 

You will probably notice that Sylvia is really into pasta.  She tried this Dairy free zucchini alfredo the night after she had made pesto for pasta.  So on the first night it had pesto as the dominant flavour.  She made it a second time without the pesto and with two zucchinis (instead of one) grated and cooked in the sauce as well as one zucchini blended in the sauce with cashews and nutritional yeast.  Sylvia is also really into cheese so she also adds a bit of cheese.  It is a really nice dinner.

We have had a few nice desserts too, though they are not as regular as the desserts of my childhood.  Above is a Rhubarb and apple puff pastry lattice pie.  It is quite brown on top because Sylvia dusted it with brown sugar and cinnamon.  I made the stewed fruit with Sylvia's help and then she made the pie.

I stewed the fruit and made this Rhubarb and apple crumble with a topping taken from this rhubarb and strawberry crumble.  The rhubarb was from my mum's garden and this sort of dessert reminds me of desserts I had as a child so it is my comfort food.

We had half a tin of condensed milk that had been in the fridge for ages.  It seems to last forever but I was ready to get it out of the fridge so I made some Condensed milk fudge sauce to have with cinnamon ice cream.  Sylvia has been making Strawberry chia seed jam so I added this to the mix and it was absolutely delicious.  I have also had those strawberry jam with muesli and yoghurt and loving it.

This photo is of a few random things we bought lately.  Sylvia has been reading too many American bakers using whisks and decided she needed one for baking.  Whisks were never used to mix flours and mixtures when I learnt to bake so I find that odd but bought her a whisk.  We also bought a new charger for my macbook.  There must be so much e-waste from dead charging cords!  And I bought some red and black food dye for my Vegemite cake.

Finally, Sylvia loves some Halloween doughnuts from Krispy Kreme.  E bought her some last monthe which were devoured happily.

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.

Remembering Alex and Ian 16

 

It is the 16th anniversary of the birth and death of Alex and Ian, our twin sons.  The more time that passes, the more I wonder about that fork in the road and the road not taken.  What would they be like now?  How would the cocktail of adolescent hormones be affecting them?  How would they want to celebrate their birthday?  I have no answers but we remember they were in our lives a short while and made an impact.  We miss them.  We had cake and afternoon tea on the weekend

As I do every year, I have collected links to articles about stillbirth.  I am only one of many mothers and families and friends affected.  So many babies loved and missed.  So much change in how our society continues to learn about this difficult issue.

‘There was blood. A dash to the hospital. No heartbeat’ – how I survived the stillbirth of my son - Amit Katwala, The Guardian, 21 October 2023.
Reflections of a bereaved father.

'To us, it matters': A couple's fight for their stillborn twins to be officially named in Singapore - Matthew Mohan, CNA, 29 October 2023.

A unique hotel for emotional healing after stillbirth -Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21c, 12 October 2023.

A Lab Test That Experts Liken to a Witch Trial Is Helping Send Women to Prison for Murder - Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica: Investigative Journalism in the Public Interest, 7 October 2023.

India's Stillbirth Dilemma: A Tragedy In Need Of Prevention - Arya Rakshita, BW Healthcare World, 17 October 2023.

Remembering the stillborn: CHL hangs a star for every baby that never made it - Céline Spithoven, RTL Today, 1 October 2023.

Spain's new registry for stillborn babies sparks deeply personal debate - Laura Llach, euronews, 15 August 2023.

Labor nurse shares how she honors stillbirths in the most beautiful way in viral TikTok - Cassandra Stone, Motherly, 21 June 2023.

Having a baby after pregnancy loss is a joy. But it may never wipe the slate clean - Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, The Guardian, 1 March 2023.

Blankets for 'angel babies' offer comfort to mums after miscarriages and stillbirths - Katrina Beavan, ABC News, 11 February 2023.

We lost our baby. I wasn’t sure how a man should deal with it - Matt Romania, The Age, 31 May 2023.

The place where women go to dream of being mothers - Kate Jones, The Age, 31 May 2023.
STAR (Stillbirth and Reproductive Loss) Clinic in Heidelberg, Melbourne

How to make a Vegemite birthday cake (and Halloween snacks)

On the weekend we held a small afternoon tea to remember my sons Alex and Ian's birthday which will be midweek this year.  I made a Vegemite cake, something I have had on my mind for a while, especially as it was Vegemite's 100 anniversary on 25 October 2023.  Below I write about how to make it but it is too simple for a recipe - just a lot of measuring and shaping.  My daughter Sylvia was more keen for a Halloween afternoon tea and made lots of spooky treats for our platters as well as a magically glittery punch.

My vision:

My vision was a flat cake decorated with an iced picture of a Vegemite jar.  I was surprised not to find any of the sort online.  Most of the Vegemite cakes were more in the Is It Cake (tv series) style rather than my amateur hour creation.  So instead I turned to the real thing and took my inspiration from my current jar of Vegemite as well as a little Vegemite jar ornament I recently bought for when we put up our Christmas tree.  We always have a jar of Vegemite in the house.  I went over to Team Promite for a while in my twenties but somehow I returned to the Vegemite of my childhood and have never looked back.

The cake:

My vegan chocolate cake was quite small (the quantities I used  were originally for 2 x 6cm round cakes).  For once I didn't worry about the slight hump on the cake because jars aren't flat.  I did, however, use a knife to smooth a few corners.  It is a good cake that holds its shape but it is easier to make if it is made the day before. It is also literately a Vegemite cake because I put half a tablespoon of Vegemite into the mixture instead of salt.  This was not enough to make the cake taste of Vegemite.

The measurements:

Using the Vegemite jar and Vegemite Christmas tree ornament as a prototype, I did some measuring.  A lot of measuring.  The proportions of the 'height' of the jar were:

• 3 parts - yellow lid 
• 1 part - black Vegemite jar
• 5 parts - yellow label
• 1 part - black Vegemite bottom of jar
  

The cake was baked in a 20cm square tin but I trimmed about 6cm off the cake.  (Actually I though it was 4cm I trimmed by the measurements in the photo above say it is 14cm across.)  So I converted the proportions to my 20cm long x 14cm wide cake and measured the 'height' proportions as 6:2:10:2 centimetres.  I used a skewer to mark lines with holes.

Colouring the icing:

Getting the right colours was a challenge.  I had purchased some new food dye for the icing.  The colours I had run out of were red and black.  These are the hardest colours to get right as many dyes.  Reds are never bright enough and if not effective enough they look pink or orange.  Blacks are never dark enough and if not done well enough they look grey and murky.  I was pretty happy with the colours I mixed.  

I didn't make sure the dyes were vegan when I purchased them and then remembered that a lot of red food dye has cochineal beetles in it (E120).  I checked the bottles and found that they used E110, E127, and E129 colourings so it looks like it is vegan.  Which means the whole cake it vegan.

Planning the writing:

My next challenge was writing the word Vegemite on the 'label' area.  Sounds simple.  It took ages.  I measured the letters and worked out there were 8 letters to fit into 12cm wide and 1.5 cm high.  Most letters could fit into an equal space 1.5cm wide and 1.5 high (except the 'M' which needed more space and the 'I' which needed less space).  I wrote out the letters copying how they looked on the jar.  

I first tried to pipe white chocolate onto the letters on baking paper so I could transfer them when they dried.  But these blobs weren't worth transferring anywhere.  Then I tried a thicker nozzle and a some thick icing made out of icing sugar and water.  It was still too thick and spread after it hit the paper.  So I went to my thinner nozzle (wilton round tip no 4).  This one looked ok, when I had a go with this on the baking paper.

The diamond and piping the writing:

It seemed to take a long time until I was ready to start icing the cake.  First job was to make the red diamond on the label.  I dumped a few spoonfuls using the skewer hole lines for guidance.  It then took some spreading, spooning off a little extra icing when it began to drip down the side and scraping away some of the icing to shape it.  I let it dry a little, used a skewer to mark the spaces between the letters, piped the letters using the practice ones for guidance.  I then used a skewer to neaten a few letters.

Completing the icing (the yellow lid and label):

Next I spread the yellow icing in a strip at the top like a lid and then I spread it around the diamond to make a label.  I had thought about piping around the diamond but it seemed easier to just leave a space around it.  Again the skewer was very useful in neatening up the lines at the edge of the icing.  I liked the look and decided I didn't need any black icing.  The dark lines of chocolate cake looked enough like Vegemite between the lid and the label.  And it was easier!  Also I am more about cake than icing!  The final part of the decoration was to draw a line across the top  a few millimetres from the bottom of the lid and then used a sharp (unserrated) knife to draw lines down from the top to the line to make the raised lines around the top of a Vegemite jar.  I was pleased with my work.

Preparing the afternoon tea:

While I was baking the cake the night before and decorating it in the morning, Sylvia was making her spooky snacks.  An afternoon tea takes planning, shopping and making the food.  Sylvia has been involved with enough of these to be part of all the preparation.  She even helped plan the menu by finding ideas online.

Pumpkin cheeseball, hotdog mummies and whipped feta dip:

Sylvia made a cheeseball in the shape of a pumpkin the previous night.  She mixed cream cheese, grated red Leicester cheese and finely chopped jarred jalapenos and rolled it into a ball.   Then she scattered more grated red Leicester cheese on a chopping board and rolled the cheeseball in it.  It was wrapped in clingfilm and then looped 4 rubber bands in a criss-cross to make a pumpkin shape.  Just before the lunch she unwrapped the clingfilm and placed a stem from a capsicum on top.  It looked and tasted great.

Sylvia also made a whipped feta dip on the day.  She blended some leftover smooth feta, greek yoghurt,  garlic and lemon juice.  It was a bit thin because I recommended more yoghurt to reduce the saltiness.  Served with truffle oil and chilli flakes, this the dip was amazing and was gone by the end of the day.

And there were also hotdog mummies.  Sylvia halved the vegetarian hotdogs with pasty strips the night before.  She kept them in the freezer overnight and defrosted for an hour or so before baking them in a hot oven until the pastry is golden brown.  She left spaces for little eyes that we have previously done with tomato sauce but we forgot to do it.  Served with bread, crackers, vegetable sticks, cherry tomatoes and garlic pizza.

Ghost strawberries , pumpkins, and spiders:

Sylvia made some simple ghosts by dipping strawberries in white chocolate and using a skewer to dab melted milk chocolate on the white chocolate to make eyes and shocked mouths.  She also made oreo spiders with pretzel legs and candy eyes.  We ran out of candy eyes and she had to improvise with white chocolate eyes and dots of milk chocolate for the pupils.  Then we found more candy eyes!  And peeled mandarins with tiny celery stalks to make them look like pumpkins.  We added some berries, nectarines and pocky to the platter.

Glittery punch:

A few years back, we made a kids punch that was easy and refreshing. It has been a regular of Sylvia's for entertaining.  She has made it often enough to substitute and eyeball the ingredients.  With a bit of tasting it always works. For this one she mixed apricot nectar, orange juice, ginger ale, some spooky green food dye, some soda stream creamy soda flavouring (never again), frozen berries, ice blocks and mint.  She also stirred in some edible glitter powder to see the swirling sparkles every time it is stirred or in the fizz if you add soda water to it (as I liked to).

A fine time was had by all:

We had just a few family around and a lovely time.  Everyone enjoyed the afternoon tea.  I was pleased we didn't have many leftovers.  Sylvia and I didn't have much lunch or dinner so the afternoon tea was our main meal.  E did dishes and made hot drinks.  My mum brought a colouful bunch of roses from her lovely garden.  

Postscript - the catflap:

My dad who had helped us get cat flaps installed in May last year, has been helping tweak them for better locking.  Our cat Shadow has been finding ways to push through the cat flap's locks so my dad has worked out how to slot a piece of wood over the catflap so Shadow cannot get out if we want to keep have screen doors open to the breeze after dark on warm summer evenings!  He finished his impressive handiwork while we were setting up the afternoon tea. He loves a challenge with his fine collection of tools.

On the Stereo:
1989 (Taylor's version): Taylor Swift

Sir George Pub, Jugiong, NSW

Who doesn't love an Australian country pub!  I decided that was where I would stop for lunch on my Canberra to Melbourne drive.  I had never heard of Jugiong previously but my timing was excellent for discovering a new place to stop on the Hume Highway.  Country pubs are grand and imposing, commandeering your attention and beckoning you inside to a cosy and nourishing embrace.  Sir George Pub, built in 1852 to feed and water travellers, is a large whitewashed pub with an elegant wooden verandah and solid thick stone walls.  I was impressed with its vegetarian offerings, fancy mocktails and charming rooms.

The entrance leads down a corridor to a newer part of the hotel flanked by the old stone walls.  The shelves displayed some of the sourdough breads, regional wines, jars of jam and sauces for sale.  I am not sure if the blankets at the bottom were for show or for sale.  There is also a homewares shop upstairs.

I really loved the sign by the counter: "Stand awkwardly here and wait to be seated."  I could do that!  But ordering was at the counter and I found that it was best to have a table number when I ordered.

With my food ordered, I headed to the bar to order a mocktail.  I was so tempted to eat inside in this cosy area but as you can see there was sunshine calling me outside. 

I ordered the Garden Grown mocktail.  It comprised Seedip 108 (non-alchoholic gin), apple juice, lemon juice, honey syrup, rosemary, and garnished with a sprig of lavender!  It was excellent and even more fun because I was able to watch the bartender create it.  Being an audience to the joyful performance of cocktail-making - measuring, pouring, puddling, squeezing, stirring - is a rare treat for me.

Instead of settling into the cosy heritage rooms inside, I went outside for some fresh air.  This was welcome in the day mostly spent inside my car.  It was lovely to sit outside in the shade and enjoy the views of the gardens with purple flowering vines.

When I ordered I had chosen a Zucchini Lasagna from the Tagalongs menu thinking it was another set of smaller dishes.  I had not twigged until later that it was the kids menu.  But this explained when it came why it was presented quite blandly.  That is kids food for you!  

Fortunately I was wise enough to want a few more vegetables so I had also ordered a Roasted Butternut Pumpkin from the Smalls menu.  It came served beautifully with parsley and onion, romanescu sauce and almonds.  It tasted amazing with the charred skin, soft flesh, fresh herbs, creamy flavourful sauce and the crunch of nuts!

I was so happy with my meal choices.  Either alone might have been either too stodgy or too much vegetable but together they were a delight!  It was a large meal and I ended up taking some of it home to eat as leftovers.

I also loved this avenue of snow pear treats in blossom.  It was no surprise to read that the Sir George is a venue for weddings and other events.  The gardens are so pretty.  I am sure it must be popular.

I really loved Sir George Pub.  It was very inclusive as can be seen by the mocktail, the vegetarian kids meal and the wonderful vegan and gluten free pumpkin dish.  While not cheap, I was so satisfied and happy that I did not feel the need to stop for much more food on the remaining 5 hours drive home. 

With our recent Voice referendum, I had had lots of discussions about equity being beneficial to everyone.  In the menu was a fine example of that.  At the back they had a glossary.  You might think this is to help country folk and foreigners.  But, as one of the so-called "city elites", I found it helpful to see some of these fancy terms spelled out because we all have a lot to learn!  And we are better people and kinder company when we are doing it together than with all the ugly division the No vote in the Voice referendum has created.

I am delighted to have discovered the Sir George Pub at Jugiong.  I don't often drive along the Hume Highway but when I do I hope to return here.  Meanwhile I am very happy to recommend this splendid pub, with its beautiful spaces and delicious food, to others.

Sir George Pub
320 Riverside Dr, Jugiong NSW 2726
Phone: 1300 345 613
Open Tues - Sun for lunch and 7 days a week for dinner
www.sirgeorge.com.au

More posts from my trip:

• A retreat on Lake George NSW near Canberra
• Sweet bones, street art and statues in Canberra
• Roadtrip Melbourne to Lake George near Canberra