Monthly Archives: April 2012

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I’ve been AWOL…

So yeah, the 17th has come and gone and as you would well be aware, my inaugural Melbourne Fringe Food Festival Event; Beer & Cheese, has been placed on hiatus, largely thanks to my stupid intestine.

It’s been a long two weeks, which all started with doing something I do not enjoy (camping), resulting in being somewhere I did not enjoy (hospital).

To make a long story short, after camping for couple of days at Murrindindi (90kms North-East of Melbourne), I got sick on Good Friday evening with sharp pains in my lower-left abdomen. On Saturday, we decided to decamp and head back home and by Sunday morning, I had no choice but to head to St Vinnies as I was definitely not getting any better. 

I was evetually diagnosed with Diverticular disease, which is a condition in which small pockets occur in the bowel. These pockets (diverticula) can become infected (known as Diverticulitis), which were the cause of my pain, thanks to an aggressive infection, which I wholly and solely blame on camping.

Diverticular disease is not uncommon in Australia, or indeed the western world. Most people are considered to consume a low-fibre (a.k.a ‘Western’) diet, which results in your daily toilet routine requiring you to exert a little more pressure in your bowel for you to be able to ‘go’. Diverticular disease is thought to result from these high pressures forcing the lining of the bowel to pocket outwards through the surrounding muscle layer of the bowel. 

People who eat a diet high in fibre are much less likely to develop diverticular disease. However, about one-third of adults older than 45 years have diverticular disease, although for most their diverticula cause them no problems. 

I (at the tender age of 36) am considered to be on the young side to be diagnosed with this. However, I have since learned that my mum was diagnosed at the same age. Plus, there’s a history of bowel cancer on my dad’s side of the family, so in hindsight, I’d rather start to learn how to best prevent, monitor and minimise my chances of further infections or complications.

People diagnosed with Diverticular disease can pretty much live a normal life, albeit ensuring that they maintain a high-fibre diet to reduce the risk of symptoms and complications developing… and of course by drinking plenty of water, which I’ll admit is an area where I will need to improve. 

Lots of roughage is required, including fibrous fruits such as apples and pears, as well as vegetables, wholegrain cereals, legumes and so on. Only 30 grams of dietary fibre a day is required for people with Diverticular disease, which according to the Cancer Council Australia is also the recommended intake for males.

Funny, it should not be a problem for people to eat at least two serves of wholegrain or wholemeal foods every day or ensure about half of your daily serves of breads and cereals are wholegrain or wholemeal, as well as consuming at least two serves of fruit per day and five serves of vegetables per day, including legumes. But if one-third of adults older than 45 years have diverticular disease, clearly we are not getting the fibre we need.

So, not really a ‘food’ blog update, per se. But food-related, nonetheless and a little education for good measure. After a week in hospital and a week and a half’s worth of both intravenous and oral antibiotics, I’m close to being back to normal. Whatever normal is for me. 

As for Beer & Cheese, we’ll put it back in the calendar soon amongst all the other events that are taking place, so stay tuned. In the mean time, keep up the fibre and fluids and I promise I shall do the same.

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O’Connell’s Hotel – Cnr Coventry and Montague Streets, South Melbourne

There have been a few conversations over the weeks that we should commence revisiting all of the places that we’ve visited over the last six year’s worth of our semi-regular lunches. Upon throwing around some names of places we’ve been over the years, we realised it was remiss of us to overlook O’Connell’s (and The Montague, so that’s probably slated for next time).

South Melbourne and its immediate environs are littered with pubs that are seeped in history. Some choose to celebrate the pub’s rich past through preserving some of the old charm through new renovations. Others, like O’Connell’s, simply haven’t changed much therefore the old charm naturally still exists (as do the odd mix of pictures in the front dining room). This is not a criticism either (albeit, the jury’s out on the pictures though); it’s a comfortable pub and if I lived in South Melbourne, I’d probably choose to drink here. It’s a bonus that their kitchen is pretty decent as well.

It was reasonably busy on the day we visited. A good sign. Another good sign was our pre-entrée course of Oysters would also be fulfilled. Half a dozen each of freshly shucked Coffin Bay oysters ($3 each) were duly ordered with a bottle of crisp and refreshing 2011 Shaw & Smith Sauvignon Blanc ($50). The oysters lived up to expectation; they were freshly shucked and served simply with a lemon cheek. Also, rather than dealing with annoying rock salt which invariably goes everywhere, the oyster shells sat atop some very stiff, salty meringue. My only (personal) gripe was that the adductor muscle was still attached to the shell but I understand this to be a French thing to prove it’s from the actual shell the oyster’s presented in. Ah, you learn something every day…

Warmed baguette and unsalted butter were happily replenished several times upon our request.

Five entrées preceded five mains, plus a number of different cuts of steak that are cooked on the wood grill and a handful of specials. There is also a ‘pub favourites’ menu on offer with a further seven dishes, featuring some pub classics; a pie, a burger, schnitzel and so on.

For entrée, one of our party opted for the ceviche of Hervey Bay scallops with preserved watermelon, avocado, corn and curry vinaigrette ($19) and two of us ordered the Spencer Gulf king prawns with ox tongue sausage, capers, garlic, lemon and brioche ($19.50).

Upon arrival of the entrées, there was some conjecture and disappointment of the alleged accuracy in pluralising the word ‘scallops’ versus what was served. The scallops had been served shaved and the serving was scant to say the least. In fact, quite the contrary to the three plump, generously sizes prawns that adorned our plates. This feedback was constructively passed on to the kitchen. As for the scallop dish itself, it featured the most amazing preserved watermelon, which was meaty in texture and intense in flavour.

I’ve since learned the process to get your common garden variety watermelon to this stage from Chef, Paul Cooper. Needless to say, when I have a free weekend, I’ll give it a go. It’s more than worth it for the end result. The avocado, corn and curry flavours worked well with the other elements, although (no surprises) they were a little too dominating in the absence of some more scallop.

The prawns, to me, were ever so marginally overdone. However, the accompanying flavours and textures were extremely well balanced; crunch from the brioche croutons, a strong meaty flavour and texture from the ox tongue combined with some desired acidity from the lemon and capers in the butter-based sauce that brought the whole dish together.

For mains, we each agreed to select a different dish to sample as much as we could on the menu. My dining partners respectively went for the slow cooked pork shoulder with ragout of summer beans, gala apples and cider sauce ($33) and the (Farmer Joe’s) baby goat with pumpkin puree, smoked yoghurt, pumpkin seeds and spiced goat sauce ($34).

I chose the roasted duck breast with confit duck leg sausage, spinach compote, plum puree and roasted onions ($34). From all reports, my dining partner’s dishes were quite sound; the pork was meltingly tender and the crackling shard was good enough not to share with anyone else. The accompanying cider sauce had a good balance of sweet and tart to counteract the richness of the pig. Farmer Joe’s baby goat must have had a good life. The meat was sweet and tender and the smoky flavour and sourness from the yoghurt was perfectly in tune with the spiced jus. There’s no denying that O’Connell’s kitchen knows a thing or two about balancing flavours.  A dainty pithivier, filled with more goat meat, also featured on the plate.

My duck breast could be best described as amply bosomed. The skin was crisp and the meat had been well-rendered to leave just skin and meat. I would have preferred the meat a shade underdone than it was served, but that’s just personal preference. I would have also loved a good dredging of the accompanying just, but that’s just greed. The confit duck leg sausage provided some extra richness. Although we could have gotten away with no side dishes (all $9), we chose the sautéed green beans with bacon, almonds and brown butter. All beans… no, wait… all green vegetables should be served like this. Other sides are the usual suspects; Fries, mash and a salad option.

For dessert, we did exactly the opposite of our main selection. We all ordered the same thing; Melbourne city rooftop honey iced nougat with port poached pear, chocolate mousse and crystallized pumpkin seeds ($15). Although I could have gone for alternatives, like the sticky date pudding with English toffee sauce and treacle nut brittle ice cream ($15) or the bitter sweet chocolate tart with macerated cherries, cherry cream, candied bacon and orange ($15). Mmm… candied bacon; totally underutilised. We asked to try some separately and we were duly rewarded. My preferred version of a petit four.

To quickly digress, for the uninitiated, Melbourne City Rooftop Honey are Beekeepers that are bringing bees back to the city and the suburbs of Melbourne. The organisation ‘re-houses’ swarms of honey bee colonies into specified hived around inner-Melbourne. The output, of course, is honey made practically on your door step (or rooftop, as the case may be), which you can also buy on-line here. Please check out this very worthy project.

The honey was the star in our parfait-like nougat, closely followed by the support act in the form of a small quenelle of decadent chocolate mousse… any more mousse and it would have dominated. Another example of perfect balance in both flavours and texture; soft pear / crunchy sugared pumpkin seeds / icy nougat / silky mousse.

We rounded out proceedings with our usual road test of the cheese board, which was pretty solid in terms of generosity. Three cheeses at 50 grams per cheese ($28) were served with lavosh, quince paste, fresh pear and some of the most interesting dried grapes that almost tasted like dried apricot. The cheeses on offer were a French double brie, Manchego and a Gorgonzola.

With our mains and desserts, we drank the 2008 Craiglee Shiraz ($96). O’Connell’s wine list is extensive and covers both ends of the price spectrum very well.

Overall, O’Connell’s is providing some honest, (in parts) inventive and of course, tasty food at a price point that is smack bang where it should be for the experience and surrounds. The staff know their stuff and are attentive… even to accommodate requests like sampling some candied bacon. In the kitchen, Paul Cooper and his team, including Kiwi Stacy Thompson, are doing the right thing by the people of South Melbourne.

O’Connell’s Centenary Hotel
Cnr Coventry and Montague Streets, South Melbourne
(03) 9699 9600
www.oconnells.com.au

Good For: A great example of a true ‘Gastropub’ experience in Melbourne… even though I hate that term

Not Good For: Being a little too miserly with their scallops. But all is forgiven (hey, I didn’t order it)

O'Connell's on Urbanspoon

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Nice Buns…

For the last couple of years I’ve tried to get too fancy-schmantzy with my Hot Cross Bun recipes… I think it was last year that I tried getting all jiggy with Pedro Ximénez-soaked raisins with spiced apple and as much as they were OK (if not a tad brick-like); they are still in the freezer, which I guess is an indication that they weren’t all that popular. In fact I think I’ll throw them out right now…

… OK. Done. So this year it was time to go back to basics. Right on cue, along comes Essjay. Last night, she was tweeting that she was making some traditional and vegan Hot Cross Buns. My plea for her to make me some went deliberately unnoticed, so with a slight hangover and being cheated out of an extra hour’s sleep thanks to daylight savings ending (bloody kids), I decided that I’d give SJ’s recipe a go.

Essjay’s Traditional Hot Cross Buns

  • 14 g instant dried yeast (two sachets) (or 30g fresh compressed yeast)
  • 500 g (4 cups) plain soft flour (not bread flour, just standard plain flour)
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar
  • 2 teaspoons mixed spice
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 40 g butter
  • 1 egg
  • 100 g currants
  • 50 g mixed peel
  • 20g diced citron, if available
  • some grated citrus rind (about 1 teaspoon)
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Paste for Crosses

  • 30 grams plain flour
  • ¼ teaspoon caster sugar

Glaze

  • 1½ teaspoons caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon gelatine

In a Pyrex jug, I mixed the yeast with 2 teaspoons of flour (from the measured flour) and 1 teaspoon of caster sugar (from the measured sugar) with 125 ml of warm water. SJ specified 37 degrees Celsius, so I got out my trusty digital probe thermometer thingy and made sure the temperature was bang on. I left this on the window sill, which seemed warm enough for the mixture to get all frothy. In fact it wasn’t until Kate alerted me to the fact that it had started to escape from the jug was proceeding to run down the wall. At least my yeast was alive and kicking.

I was then required to sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached. I didn’t sift my mixture because that seemed like hard work, as well as creating more dishes to wash afterwards, so I just dumped it into the mixing bowl. I then stirred in the sugar, the fruit and citrus peels. I didn’t have any citron either, so I upped the mixed peel by 20 grams. I also added more currants (around another 30 grams) because I like lots of fruit in my bun. The dry mix was combined with the dough hook for a few seconds to get the fruit coated all over with the flour.

The next step was to mix the spices with the softened butter to form a paste. I decided to skip that as it seemed like hard work, so I just added the spices to the flour and melted the butter in the microwave.

With my trusty Kitchenaid on a low setting of 2, I added the remaining wet ingredients; yeast goo, egg, butter and gradually added 130ml of warm water until the dough was soft and sticky. This took around 5 minutes.

So far so good. I was a little panicky there for a while, but then the Panadol kicked in and I finally got around to making myself a coffee. 

I scraped the mixture into oiled bowl, covered with cling wrap and placed it on the freshly cleaned window sill for an hour, which gave me time to wash last night’s dinner dishes, this morning’s dishes, pick up all of the currants that my one-year old daughter was squishing into the floor and play my turn for Dice with Buddies. 

Once the dough had nicely risen to around double its initial size, I turned the dough out and gave it a half-arsed knead. It’s meant to be until it becomes smooth. It was pretty close. 

I then pedantically measured my dough into precise 84gram balls to ensure I had twelve evenly sized buns. Our small Scanpan roasting tray looked close enough to the dimensions of a 19cm x 23cm square baking tin.

Covering my little babies with a tea towel, I left them for around 45 minutes until they had nearly doubled in size. Whilst this was happening, I mixed the flour and sugar for the cross mixture with 50mls of water and spooned the mixture into one of those disposable piping bags, ready for later on.

 

With the oven preheated to its highest setting, I piped on my crosses and judiciously followed SJ’s instructions to sprinkle the inside of the oven with water and immediately turned it down to 200ºC (195ºC fan -forced) for my buns to bake for 20 minutes. This gave me some time to clean the floor because most of the water leaked out of the oven.

Just before the 20 minutes was up, I made the glaze by heating the gelatine, sugar and two tablespoons of water until dissolved and brushed the hot buns with the glaze as soon as they came out of the oven.

I know I’m not going to win any awards for aesthetics. Ideally, I should have spaced my buns out a little more, but they broke away into their individual buns quite easily. And I think my cross mixture was a little too runny. Taste wise, they weren’t as sweet than I was expecting, but I liked it. Also, I would probably add a little more mixed spice next time.

As for texture, this recipe has produced the lightest, fluffiest bread or bun I have EVER made. Particularly given me and baking don’t get along too well, if I can have this much success with a hangover and lack of sleep, imagine how well you’ll fare.