A little less meat - a little more action!

So for those of you that don’t know, this week is National Vegetarian Week and I’m taking the vegetarian week challenge!

After a slow start on Monday (I totally forgot that it was Vegetarian Week and put chicken in my salad for lunch - whoops!) things are going really well, in fact, I didn’t realise how little meat I actually eat.

Being a little lazy I ate leftover quiche for dinner on Monday and last night I made a yummy soba noodle salad with steamed greens… It was dead simple (thanks Nigella) and I thought you may like to try it out!

You’ll need:

1. soba noodles (this is like Japanese spaghetti but made of buckwheat)
2. rice wine vinegar
3. soy sauce
4. sesame oil
5. sesame seeds (brown these off if you’re feeling energetic)
6. mixed vegetables (I used bok choy and baby broccoli)

Boil some water in a pan and add your soba noodles. In a separate bowl add the sesame seeds,  vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil (I use one tsp of oil to every tbsp of vinegar and soy – 1 tbsp of soy + 1 tbsp of vinegar = 1 tsp of oil).

Strain the noodles and stir them through the wet ingredients (Nigella recommends that you leave them to cool for about an hour or so…) I love to eat them warm with a side of steamed vegetables.

I also made enough that I’ve got leftovers for lunch today – go me!

For those of you that feel like having a break from meat – check out the National Vegetarian Week website… they have some great recipe ideas!

I can’t wait to try the chickpea and sweet potato koftas – let me know if you try any of the recipes, how they went and what you thought!

Happy eating!

SQ

Jenny is my inspiration…

Well I work with a lovely lass called Jenny (who, coincidently, is from north east England) and she has been talking about – and eating – a lovely quiche she made recently. Blue cheese and pumpkin quiche made with homemade shortcrust pastry to be exact…do you need a hanky to wipe away the drool??? I know I did!

Well to say I’ve been thinking about it is a little bit of an understatement – work is work and sometimes a food fantasy is all that gets you through the day! So last night I finally decided to take a little action, get my stuff together and make myself a quiche!

I took the lovely Jenny’s blue cheese idea, substituting the pumpkin for a little caramelised onion instead, added some thyme and put it with a fresh leafy salad and hey presto – a yummy, yummy dinner (and a lunch or two!).

I also added a little thyme to my pastry (which I love very short and crumbly!) – my one criticism is that I don’t think I put in enough blue cheese… it could definitely have been  little stronger – but it was still totally edible…if I made it again – this is how I would do it…

1. short crust pastry (feel free to use store bought if you’re not keen on making your own!)
2. blue cheese (I used King Island Roaring Forties – if you like it strong use the whole wheel!)
3. caramelised onion – about a ¼ of a cup
4. eggs (I used 4)
5. milk – about a ¼ of a cup
6. fresh thyme – about 4 sprigs (1 for the quiche mixture, 3 for the pastry)
7. fresh garlic (1 clove)

Pre heat your oven to 180°c then spray and line your pan. If you don’t have a traditional pie/ quiche pan you can easily use a spring form pan, just make sure to line it!

Gently put your pastry into the pan, cut your clove of garlic in half and rub it over the pastry. If you like a crunchy base, prick the pastry (gently) all over with a fork and then pop it into the oven for about 5-7 mins.

In a separate bowl, mix your eggs, milk, and a sprig of thyme.

In the pastry shell, crumble your cheese and layer with the caramelized onion then pour the egg mixture over the top.

Bake till golden and fluffy (about 15 mins), remove and either leave to cool or eat it hot.

Merci Jenny - Bon Appetite. 

P.S - I would add photos, however, the whole food photography thing is a lot harder than I thought… and my quiche looked (and tasted) a whole lot better than the photo would lead you to believe!

The first post...is always the hardest

So, I thought the best way to start my new blog would be to write about something equally as new! This morning I tasted some of the best coffee Brisbane has to offer at a new little laneway café…

Brew – in Burnett Lane – is a kitsch and funky caffeine oasis serving deliciously made Di Bella coffee (and a sweet treat or two!) to anyone adventurous enough for the trek down the lane past the odd garbage bin!

Now, I know for many people that coffee is coffee… but this coffee was the sweet ambrosia that you dream of finding. To say that they’ve got it right with their name is an understatement; this coffee is definitely a Brew!

Everybody has had a bad coffee in their time (I’ve definitely lost count), so I know how daunting trying a new place is! This morning I had nothing to worry about – at all… My coffee was this amazingly fragrant brew that was so rich and mellow that I was disappointed to reach the bottom of the cup. I then spent the rest of the walk to work hoping (in vain I might add) that a Brew.2 had mysteriously opened outside my office building!

How did I find out about it? That’s a really good question! I walked past a chalkboard sign on the way home yesterday, stopped and read it, and made the mental note to try it…and this morning I did! Now, I would NEVER call myself an early adopter (I’m more of a pragmatist) but I found out that today is only the third day that Brew has been brewing – so don’t stress if you haven’t heard about it!

If you live in Brisbane, are visiting soon or just love coffee – go there, try it and if you like it tell a friend or two! For those of you who want to check it out it’s in Burnett Lane – just off Albert Street – which is a couple of doors down from Rockinghorse… walk straight past the bins till you reach nirvana!

Happy sipping!

SQ