Armadillo Eggs

I was reading Homesick Texan's food blog, one of my favourites and found this recipe for Armadillo Eggs.  Hmm, intriguing.  


Turns out, it is jalapenos stuffed with a mix of cream cheese, tasty cheese, garlic and cumin.  Minced meat is wrapped around the jalapenos.  They are then baked and cut in half and the cheese mix is supposed to look a bit like an egg yolk.  My efforts were not quite up to Homesick Texan, but a reasonable effort.  


I also don't know anything about jalapenos.  I didn't even know how hot they were.  I hunted around Queen Vic market during lunchtime last week, but no jalapenos.  I then checked out Prahran Market, which is really good for hard to find/get items.  I eventually found my chillies at Damien Pike's stall (no. 116).  Ironic really as I thought he was a mushroom specialist only.  Evidently  not.  He also stocks chillies which I hadn't been aware of.  There is even a 'chilli index' on one wall of his stall.  Apparently jalapenos are 5 out of 10 in heat (according to his index).  I figured that was do-able.  

Jalapenos

Halved jalapenos, they are then filled with the cream cheese and tasty cheese mix
(forgot to photograph that part of the process!)

Meat is rolled out into a circle, then jalapenos placed on top and wrapped

If the meat around the jalapenos is not sealed completely, the cheese oozes out a bit, as illustrated above!

In Homesick Texan's pics the mix of the cream cheese and tasty cheese looks like an egg yolk,
mine not so obvious, oh well.

The armadillo eggs can be served as an appetiser.  I found the chilli quite hot, more like a 7 or 8 out of 10.  If I was making this for a mixed crowd, I might try using capsicums (bell peppers).  The jalapeno version was pretty good, but definitely had a kick.  Well, that's another food first for me...I can tick jalapenos off the list.  

Wok Noodle Cafe and Restaurant, Seddon

A cafe on Charles Street in Seddon had closed.  Within a short period of time a big red sign went up across the front of the shop, Wok Noodle, Malaysian.  There may have been more words, I couldn't remember, I just saw Malaysian and the world was already a happier place.

The Bloke and I dropped in to check out the newest addition to the Seddon food-scape.  Wok Noodle Cafe and Restaurant.  It has been open less than a week, but appears to have plenty of folks checking out the food.  The main guy, who does front of house, was a great host.  He is one of three owners of the place. He was friendly, jokey and welcoming.  Thankfully, the food was just as good as the service!

The Bloke ordered some beef rendang with rice, which was on the 'specials' list, and a serve of roti.  A tasty meal he concluded. It seemed a bit light on for meat, but after he'd eaten the meat, rice and a decent amount of roti, he was getting full.

Beef rendang and rice $10.50 (discounted price)

Roti $3.50 (discounted price)

I ordered the curry laksa.  A fantastic tasting soup loaded with noodles and containing chicken, tofu, fishcake slices, aubergine and green beans.  

Curry laksa $10.50 (discounted price)

I will definitely be back to try more things off their menu!  The owners have applied for a liquor licence, but have been told it will be about six weeks off, so don't BYO your alcohol just yet!  They have a coffee machine and have cans of soft drink available.

On their menu they have a deal,

"Grand Opening Special, all noodle and rice dishes are 30% off till the end of Feburary 2011"

Wok Noodle Cafe and Restaurant

1/92 Charles Street

Seddon 3011

Ph 9689 9882

Open Tues to Frid 10.30 am - 10pm

Open Sat and Sun 11am to 10pm

Closed Monday

Spice Bazaar Cooking School and Spices

Every weekday morning when I walk to Footscray railway station via Victoria Street to go into the city, I pass Spice Bazaar.  They sell spices but they also have a cooking school.  The Bloke knows the foody things I lust after and for my birthday towards the end of last year, he bought me a voucher for the cooking school.  Happy days!  


I finally booked in for the "Moroccan and Middle Eastern Cooking" class.  The website has all the details of the classes and where to buy the spices.  


When you enter the venue, there is a table set to eat dinner.  There is also a workbench set up with a chopping board and knife for each person and platters of herbs and vegetables as well as jars of their spices.  

Jill and Pat own the business.  Jill ran the class until about the last hour when Pat turned up, just in time to point out the finer details of using a tagine.  The night I went, there was a group of five people, with some of that group having been to three or four previous classes, which is a pretty decent recommendation, plus myself and another guy there whose wife had bought him a voucher for his birthday too.  Jill split us into two groups (I was in a group of three so she joined us).  


We were given a recipe booklet and set to work producing entrees.  One girl in our group was a vegetarian.  Jill had ingredients prepared to make all the meat dishes with vegetarian versions.  


Two hours in, we sit and eat our entrees with a glass of wine, then we press on with the mains and a dessert and another glass of wine.  Four hours of fun!  Jill and Pat sat down with us and we ate and shared stories.  A very fine way to spend a Friday night.  Thanks to The Bloke for my pressie and thanks to Jill and Pat for a great class!

Berbere chicken pastry 

Chicken Tagine with Ras el Hanout

Bread with zatar spice, minted green pea dip 

Prawns in chermoula paste (one of my favourite dishes of the night)

Cous cous with currents, pine nuts and Tunisian spices

Tucking into our feast, part two.

Fatouche salad

Pears poached in spices

Spice Bazaar Cooking School and Spices
79 Victoria Street
Seddon 3011
Ph 03 9687 2659
www.spicebazaar.com.au

Sticky Date Puddings

My mum rang to invite us over for a family dinner, my auntie (dad's sister) was staying for a few days.  She lives in Gippsland and comes down from time to time.  I volunteered to make dessert.  Usually I like to go a bit overboard and make something a bit fancy.  This time I went for comfort food.  


The recipe I use is Karen Martini's Sticky Date Pudding.  She made it on Better Homes and Gardens a few years ago.  I found a copy of the recipe here.  I stashed a cutting of it somewhere and haven't seen it since!  I have a lifelong goal to manage all my recipe cuttings and there are just a few cuttings!!


I've made this pudding a few times and usually in a large rectangular ceramic dish.  This time I decided to make individual puddings and used large muffin tins, just under a cup (250ml) volume.   I had 8 puddings but needed 9, so just did a bit of judicious scooping and managed to make 9.  You could also use normal muffin/cup cake tins.  If I were to make them for me and The Bloke, I'd freeze the rest.  With the caramel sauce, I would halve it because I'm not sure it would freeze or how long it would keep in the fridge.  

Butter, cream and brown sugar melted together for caramel sauce

Caramel sauce

I had instructed The Bloke to remind me to take a photo of the pudding when it was ready to serve, with the lovely caramel sauce on top and dollop of whipped cream, but I only remembered when I'd finished eating it!

Sourdough Kitchen, Seddon

I've been on a sabbatical from blogging.  The truth is, I lost the love and it felt like a chore.  I was too worried about what people thought of my blog or I would compare myself to other bloggers.  You know the ones...some have brilliant photos (I'm happy if my photos aren't blurred!) or they have really snappy dialogue or alternately they have floaty lyrical words.  Then there are the bloggers who post so frequently...how do people manage that?  My one year blog anniversary and came and went, uncelebrated.  I even gave up reading other blogs. 


I have a very random approach to food and go off on tangents.  Sometimes I'm into cooking, other times I'm into a particular country's food, recently it has been Vietnamese food.  Other times I'm into food markets or grocery shops.  I want to enjoy the fact that my food interests are varied and eclectic.  It's my food and eating journey and I can only write about what lights my fire.


Funnily enough, the blog drought has been broken by fire.  A bakery to be exact.


As I walk along Victoria Street in Seddon every day to get the train to the city, I have been passing a shop undergoing a refurb.  There seemed to be some fridges and counters going in so I figured it was going to be food place of some sort.  One day as I passed I saw huge bags of flour being carried in....maybe a pizza place?  A hand-written sign appeared on the window one day, 'Sourdough Bakery'.  Now I was getting excited.  I then began seeing loaves of bread on a table or people walking out with a loaf under their arm.  Lucky friends!  


This morning I walked past and saw people tidying and cleaning.  Each day I have been waiting for it to open.  As I was getting ready to leave work this afternoon, I received a text message from The Bloke, 'the bakery is open.'  When I got home from work, the bakery was still open, yay!!


The bakery is called 'Sourdough Kitchen' but there is no sign yet.  I chatted to the owner (the baker) and his wife.  There were two kids sitting in the doorway munching on some bread, 'they're Quality Control' I was informed.  Well, someone has to do it.


Sourdough Kitchen is open from 7am 6 days a week.  They do coffee, so I am going to test that out.  They had about 6 or 8 types of bread in the window and plain bread rolls and fruit rolls.  I figured if I bought a loaf of bread I would probably demolish it, so I got a fruit roll instead, much less temptation!  They are going to bake cakes eventually too.


The photo gives you a rough (very rough) idea of the place.  I'll get a better photo soon.

A delicious light roll with just the right amount of fruit, thank goodness I only bought one!

Two doors away is Waldies Bakery.  I don't know how long it has been there, but it is a great local old school bakery, with sausage rolls and pies baked on the premises, and all sorts of cakes, like chocolate eclairs and vanilla slices.

Hopefully our two fabulous bakeries in Seddon will co-exist for many years to come!


Waldies bakery
168 Victoria Road
Seddon 3011
Open 6 days a week from 6.30am

Sourdough Kitchen

172 Victoria Street

Seddon 3011

Open 6 days a week from 7am