Croissant & Coffee Love

Hello :) Lately, nothing makes me happier than a fresh croissant with lots of butter and a coffee. This was my morning tea on Tuesday at Black Star Pastry. I like going there knowing I'm always going to be served a really good coffee. Add in a sunny spot outside and the paper, and thats's a pretty great start to the day. Maybe I've started to indulge in more buttery croissants recently, because I'm off to France in less than two months and cannot wait for all the cafes, food markets, and general galavanting. Just maybe ;)

Hannah x

The Eat In

 Hello :) Two Fridays ago I had dinner at a pop up restaurant, called The Eat In, tucked in an art studio, down a laneway in Chippendale. The 'underground' eating venture is organised by the full circle community, however, the venue is actually being demolished in a week or so. I was lucky to find out about the place from Phil, a farmer who sells his organic produce at EQ markets, and supplies the restaurant. On a side note, if you're ever at EQ markets (firstly, say hi to me at the Ethiopian stall on Wednesday!), make sure you stock up on his organic vegetables, which are grown in Burrawang, because they are amazing, picked the day before!

Anyway. To reserve a spot you needed to text them, and because spaces are quite limited, we had to wait for two weeks until spaces were available. The menu is set at $50 each, with several courses. Seriously good value.

Great! Let's get into the photos!

The space. Cosy and communal.

 Our spot.

A little plate of olives, feta and roasted capsicum on arrival. Lovely.

The first course was homemade ricotta, with eggplant and warm sourdough bread, which was shared. Absolutely divine. 

Next up was kale, white beans and chilli breadcrumbs.

Adrian actually enjoying the kale. Now that's impressive!

Fried leather jacket with lemon, and cos lettuce with parmesan and mayo. Simple combinations, but truly delicious. 

Lamb ragu and polenta came out next. Beautiful...tender lamb, creamy polenta and crispy rosemary and sage leaves. My favourite.

Hi. 

Fennel, radish, cabbage. Fresh and crunchy!

And finally, dessert. Chocolate semi-freddo with a mandarin puree and orange segments. Loved the citrus kick!

Kitchen area. Man, I'd love to work there.

What a treat. It was a wonderful night! Real, honest food. I definitely left inspired by all the simple, flavoursome combinations. Think I'll be stocking up on a few of those ingredients tomorrow from Phil at the markets. Better get recipe planning!

Oh and apologies I posted about the restaurant when it's probably too late to go. Hopefully there will be similar venues in the future. Make sure to sign up to the full circle community in the meantime!

Hannah x

Lately...

Hello :) Lately I've been studying for a few recent exams, which are thankfully over for a little while now. But more importantly, I have also been planning my Europe trip with a friend. We are going in July for a month & oh I cannot wait!! We are up to booking accommodation for the south of France, and then Spain. I'll keep you updated, but for now...some snapshots of late...

1. Drinks at the corridor in Newtown. Gin & tonic for me!

2. Free pepe saya butter with my sonoma miche bread (still my favourite) this morning at the markets. It was a lovely surprise! I think most of the butter has already been eaten...

3. Another picnic, at the same spot. It really is the perfect place, and is so quiet on a weekday.

4. A beautiful rhubarb, almond and lemon cake from My Darling Lemon Thyme (here). So good, I've made it twice already :) I added a bit more flour (and used spelt instead of brown rice), and added less almond meal.

5. On my way to Adrian's to make a rhubarb and apple crumble with coconut flakes. Yum! 

6. Adrian preparing a roast. 

The daily green smoothie from Sadhana's Kitchen. Occasionally I go to a yoga class at Jivamukti there, which I always enjoy, and would love to make it a regular thing!

7. If I'm studying at home, I always make time to walk to the shops for coffee and the paper. I just can't stay inside for an entire day...

8. Frankie & tea. 

I'm seeing Emma Louise next Friday and have been listening to her album on repeat...it's so nice! 

Hannah x

Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Hello :) I just wanted to share a super tasty and super cheap meal I cooked for dinner tonight. Honey soy chicken wings. But before I give you the recipe link, time for another market story. Every Saturday I have my budget for food shopping at the markets, Orange Grove to be precise, and it's fun working out where I shall spend it. When it comes to the meat section though, it gets tricky. I love buying meat here for the week, because it's free range and comes directly from the farmer. Great. But I suppose I went through a period where I'd buy more expensive cuts of meat, which didn't last all that long.

Anyway, last Saturday (yep, the one with non stop rain & wind), I decided to stock up on different, cheaper cuts and have since realised how they can usually be the tastiest & cost effective! I realise this isn't anything new, but I only reintroduced meat back into my diet a little while ago, so I'm slowly learning.

The Thirlmere free range chicken wings were only $5/kg, and fed 4 people.  I also bought free range smoked pork bones for $4/bag (about 1.5 kg), and used about 1/3 of them in a big Chinese soup with lotus nuts, red dates, yam, goji berries etc. Then there's the smoked ham hock, which will be used in a soup with split peas. And not only is it more economical, but it's more sustainable to buy these cuts...using the whole animal, bones included. And there's plenty of health benefits from animal bones (you can read here)...being rich in collagen and minerals.

I could really go on, but instead I shall give you the recipe. Here! 

Although I only used the recipe for the ratio of chicken to honey and soy, I also added minced garlic cloves, and two bunches of small halved carrots, which I tossed in with the marinating chicken. I only marinated it for an hour (instead of overnight, I'm not that organised), so a little different from the original recipe...

The dish! It went rather quickly too!

Hannah x

Kurtosh

 Hello :) This morning I ventured off to Kurtosh, the newly opened Hungarian bakery in Crows Nest. I went there briefly with Adrian a week ago, as he was buying some takeaway cakes, and was eager to go back for coffee & a sweet treat. The coffee is by Mecca, so a latte was in order. I also bought a rugelach, a Jewish chocolate-filled biscuit shaped like a crescent. I've made rugelach before, although mine didn't turn out as perfect, so I wanted to try the real deal.

The coffee was very good & the rugelach was divine...crisp on the outside and chocolate-y and sponge like inside. A lovely bite-sized treat. Adrian on the other hand, ordered a slice of spongecake and a chocolate cookie- both eaten quite quickly!

Oh and the space is really great. It has a cosy/industrial kinda feel, with raw brick finishes, contrasted with pretty blue & white tiles on the wall. There's some wonderful photographs of Kurtosh on Broadsheet Sydney (best website!), you can see (here).

I hope you have a fun weekend! 

Hannah x

Minestrone Soup

Hello :) I made a minestrone soup last night for dinner. You might be wondering where I was inspired to make such a dish, and so I shall elaborate. At the markets on the weekend, I get very curious...everyone carrying around big bunches of beetroot and spinach for example, and I'm always wondering what they'll cook. So at Marrickville markets on Sunday I asked a guy what he planned to do with the kale bunch he had, and he replied that he was going to make a big batch of minestrone. "Nice one", I thought & then proceeded to buy some kale, and the next day stocked up on spiral pasta, tinned tomatoes and white beans. Too easy. Dinner was served.

Minestrone Soup (recipe)

This is definitely going to be a staple! It's nourishing & wholesome :)

Where have you been getting your cooking inspiration from lately? 

Hannah x

Picnic Fun

Hello :) Picnics are fun. Adrian and I had a picnic on our first date...I remember making a sponge cake and he tried to impress me by making cheese puffs (they were weird...). Anyway, a couple years later it was time for another, this time at Blues Point. 

Picnic food! In the morning we made an apple cake (recipe), which we've made before so we knew it was going to be delicious! We also stopped by a few shops in Blues Point to pick up some cider, fancy brie cheese and a prosciutto & salad roll to share. Plenty.

My picnic/market bag from The Horse (here). On another note, I found these Marni flats, at vinnies yesterday & in perfect condition- lucky me!

Reading, relaxing...not a bad way to spend a day.

Have a great weekend! Time for a picnic?

Hannah x