Shopping | Louis & Sons Delicatessen Haul

At the beginning of this year, a new delicatessen graced my local high street, Stones Corner, with its presence. It has taken me several months (I keep walking by after hours) but I finally got to Louis & Sons and, me oh my, I am they're newest fan. Once I saw the prices on their high quality items I picked up goodies with very little restraint and will definitely be heading back in the near future.

First things first, I could not leave a deli without purchasing olives. Louis & Sons stock a fairly broad range from Mount Zero so I picked up some green manzanilla olives at the best price I've ever seen any Mount Zero olives for. I will definitely be returning whenever I need to restock on the rest of their range. I also got some wild olives from Pendleton to sample another companies take on the variety. 

The next thing I found is a very polarising item which belongs in the seafood category. There are many people in this world who will turn their nose up at fresh seafood and even more at processed. I, however, belong to neither of these groups of people and revel in the fact that it simply means: more for me (except when my family is involved). There were a few different varieties of seafood pastes on offer and even though they were all appealing to me the mussels stood out from the rest. This delight works as a dip for crackers and also as the main ingredient in a puttanesca variation I cooked recently (blog post coming). 

Sadly, these last two items have been my least favourite of the haul. There is nothing particularly wrong with the charcoal lavoche except that they are fairly plain and unassuming. I agree that it is best for accompaniments like crackers to be that way but I was expecting something a little more interesting from the charcoal. 

The cheese would have to be the biggest let down. It generally takes a lot for me to dislike food, particularly one labelled Premium Vintage Cheddar BUT I a not a fan of this cheese by  the Kenilworth dairy. It had a strange after taste and sourness to it that almost makes me think it is past its best before... if thats possible. 

One tiny bit of a disappointment in an otherwise lovely haul from Louis & Sons. If you're a Brisbane southside local, I highly recommend checking this newish delicatessen out. The prices are great, as are the products. 

Happy hump-day lovelies!

Erin xx

Recipe | Broccoli & Bacon Salad

 Hi lovelies! Now I may not have mentioned it before on the blog, but I am a broccoli nut. I cannot get enough of the stuff and a favourite snack of mine is a whole bowl of steamed broccoli with oyster sauce. I wanted to spruce up my usual snack and turn it into more of a lunch time salad. To be honest you can't really go wrong when bacon and pesto are involved. 

Recipe | Weekday Pasta

 Hi lovelies! I haven't talked about it much on the blog, but I have a very active job. What with running up and down stairs and long shifts I've been finding I need quite a bit of fuel to get me through the day. I've been experimenting with pasta recipes that are quick to make on a weeknight and then take the leftovers to work the next day. 

Recipe | Simple Spicy Vegetables in Honey Soy

After a fairly crazy weekend of birthday and Australia Day celebrations I found my nutrition levels to be fairly lacking. During the week I like to chill out and restore my body to a more healthy state and in addition to my daily seed-based breakfasts and salads for lunch I try to avoid heavy carbohydrate-based meals in the evening. This is one of this weeks detox meals full of vitamins but also flavour and different textures. Feel free to change up the vegetables with your favourites. 

Ingredients

broccoli, separated from head

mushrooms, halved

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2tsp hot chilli paste

1/4 light soy sauce

1tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 180°. Prepare baking dish with baking paper.

In a medium mixing bowl mix garlic, chilli, soy sauce and honey together vigorously. Set aside. 

Bring a small to medium pot of water to the boil. Place broccoli and mushrooms in boiling water momentarily; until the green becomes much brighter. This process is called blanching and normally happens in under a minute. You wouldn't normally do this to mushrooms but I find it gently breaks through the skin which allows the marinade to soak through better.

Drain vegetables and add to marinade. Toss throughly and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Move vegetables from marinade into prepared baking dish and bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Serve and enjoy!

If you have any healthy fulfilling snacks, feel free to recommend them in the comments.

Erin xx

Recipe | Kale Chips

Hi lovelies! Continuing on from Erin's previous post on how to cook edamame, I thought I'd show you my experiments with kale chips. Initially these were a bit of an experiment as I wasn't sure I would enjoy these chips that much. However several empty bowls later I can confirm that these are just as addictive as everyone says they are.

Recipe | Chicken Meatballs

I'm not sure if either Erin or I have mentioned it but we are off to the Woodford Folk Festival next week and we are more than a little excited. This recipe is somewhat of a clearing out of my fridge in preparation for my week away. If you decide to make this meal yourself feel free to substitute any of the vegetables or meat with whatever you have to hand. 

Recipe | Rice Noodle Salad

Weekend lunches growing up were always a bit of pot luck in my household. This isn't to say they weren't always amazing but because she was home my mum would get crafty with whatever was left in the house after the week or with some bits and pieces she had picked up on the weekend grocery shop. One of many dishes she excelled was a healthy vermicelli rice noodle salad with a variety of different ingredients. As it gets hotter here I've been trying to cook dishes that require a lot less cooking and this is one of them. 

Recipe | No Regrets, Just Lamb

A few Sundays back Jess and Honor joined me for a true Winter warmer before the weather took a turn and it was too hot to cook such a slow-cooked house-warming dish. Probably one of my all time favourite things to eat this was the first time I had attempted cooking lamb shanks. I know they taste best cooked slowly and a fairly simple tomato sauce works to complement and not overpower the lamb. We also decided that for some added bulk to the meal we would cook up a small portion of brown rice; it also helps to soak up the sauce. 

Recipe | Tomato and Basil Pasta

I am a big enthusiast for deliciously simple food; some of us call it peasant food. A few really simple, yet beautiful, ingredients can make a really special dish. This pasta dish has been a favourite of mine, and my family's, forever. It is quick and easy to cook and full of rich flavour. After an overload of dumplings (recipe coming soon) and other Asian delights, I invited Jess over for a night of classic Italian where we enjoyed this dish.

Review | Jackpot Noodle's New Home

Jess and I spent some quality time together last week taking photos, shopping new and cheap beauty products, and investigating the new location of one of our favourite places for cheap eats; Jackpot Noodles. We are frequent visitors to its other locations and thought we should check out it's new home Elizabeth Street. 

Recipe | San Choy Bow

San Choy Bow is possible one of my favourite dishes of all time. I remember it being the most exciting part of dining at my family's local Vietnamese restaurant...aside from the karaoke of course. I made this dish recently when two dear friends came over for dinner to save me from loneliness that is an empty house. 

The Top Five

Hi all! Long time no post. I have managed to wade out from under my textbooks and papers and am back in the land of blogging. Apologies for missing my usual Friday post but I had too much to do and not enough time to do it in. 

I wanted to start a new type of post on the blog. I am a lover of 'monthly favourites' videos on YouTube, but I feel that they just don't translate as well in blog form. I'm not sure just yet if these will be a monthly post, I may just do them as and when I feel like it. I'm sure as a shopping addict it won't take me long to accumulate enough for another post 

Music: Overgrown James Blake

It is too hard to put into words how much I love this album. I am a mahoosive James Blake fan and am beyond excited that he is touring with Splendour in the Grass later this year. I don't think I have to listened to anything else but this album since it was released on the 8th. I have been studying to it, sleeping to it and going to the gym listening to it. It's one of those rare albums where you love each and every track, and wouldn't ever skip any of them. Just perfection. Mr Blake definitely avoided that dreaded second album slump. If you haven't given this a listen yet I highly recommend it. You can get the deluxe edition on iTunes for a mere $16.99. 

Food: Cauliflower Pizza Bases

I haven't gotten around to actually cooking this recipe yet, but I am very intrigued by the concept of a cauliflower pizza base. I first heard about the concept on the lovely Tara's blog and she has since posted a recipe. However after some google-ing I think this recipe will produce a slightly sturdier crust. Basically by making the base with cauliflower instead of the traditional ingredients you get all the deliciousness of a pizza without the carbs. Genius! I am definitely curious. 

Death by Chocolate: Cheesecake Style

It was my brother's birthday recently and being the good (baking addict) sister that I am, I always like to make him a special birthday cake. I was a bit unsure about how this would work out - as I've never made a cheesecake lacking side crusts - but I was beyond impressed with the result. If you're a chocolate lover, like the members of my family, you will love this cake. Don't be frightened by the overwhelming amount of 70% cocoa cooking chocolate, there is more than enough sugar in the recipe to counteract the bittersweetness of the chocolate.