Wishing you all a very Happy Easter. Whether you’re chowing down on chocolate eggs, going on an egg hunt or enjoying a more savoury approach – hope its increggible!
Still looking for ideas? I highly recommend Louise Carter’s blog post on http://besthomechef.com.au/blog/how-to-make-easter-eggs/
Many Thanks to www.vacationingwithkids.com for this great picture.
Searching for new recipes is one of my all time favourite things to pass the time, actually finding something and making it is a rare occurrence.
Its easy to find reasons not to make something: not enough time; don’t want to have to go out to buy the ingredients; sounds laborious etc. Generally it boils down to laziness…not this time though!
Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for Gougéres sounded delicious, worth the effort and I already had the ingredients in my kitchen! The use of 5 eggs makes it an ideal feature for this blog. I also like that Dorie is an expat who has been asked for her recipe of a French dish! You can find the recipe by clicking this link:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gougeres-361149
In the new house, we haven’t quite stocked up on kitchen things so I tried out two batches of Gougéres. The first batch were baked on a roasting tray and had a choux pastry texture – 7/10.
The second lot of Gougéres were baked in a muffin tin and although they rose nicely, it didn’t last too long out of the heat. They had more of a spongey texture – 6/10.
Highly recommended recipe!
We’re halfway through the Sochi Winter Olympics, actually officially the XXII Winter Olympics. It is a strange sensation watching the wintry scenes while the sun is blazing out on the beach down the hill. The marketing for the games includes mascots, a video game, as well as the usual stamps and coins. My favourite mascot didn’t make it to the final three; Zoich’s ringed eyes definitely remind me of Hypnotoad in Futurama.
Any way back to eggs. In line with the 22nd Winter Olympics, I went out to find what I could get for $22 or less in the way of eggs made in the style of a colder country.
As luck would have it, Fika Swedish Kitchen fills the requirements. Based in Manly, not far from the Corso it is an open, clean-looking and welcoming café. You can sit in or outside, though the seats inside are a bit more supportive. It has an Ikea touch but why not make the most of a famous compatriot? The staff are cheerful and informative, though not overbearing. According to their website: “Fika is a Swedish word that translates as ‘taking a break for coffee and a bite to eat’.” There is plenty of food to choose from at very reasonable prices and they now offer dinner Wednesday to Saturday. However the style coffee is not remarkable, though prettily presented.
http://fikaswedishkitchen.com.au/
My brunch at Fika Swedish Kitchen consisted of:
9/10 Balanced flavour and texture – creamy soft egg followed by a salt lift from the caviar, crunch from the crispbread and a fishy tang to finish. Fab!
The celebrations for Chinese New Year began in Sydney on the 24th January and being a new Sydneysider I had to go and check them out. Venturing into the city on Sunday afternoon to catch a few lion dances, queue for Emperor’s Cream puffs in Chinatown and secure a spot for the Twilight Parade, I wore red to get into the spirit of things.
Earlier in the week I paid a visit to Pure Wholefoods in Manly.
http://www.purewholefoods.com.au
It has a central location, indoor and outdoor seating, as well as selling a wide selection of certified organic fruit, veg, health foods and books. It has a green and brown interior with a forest print wall and an illustrated blackboard for specials. I found the staff fairly relaxed and informal though polite, despite coming across older reviews who said the staff were rather rude. The menu caters for vegan, vegetarian and raw diners, as well as the average omnivores. Soft music is played, like acoustic covers of Beatles tracks and Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time
For lunch at Pure Wholefoods Manly I had Nasi Goreng:
6.5/10 Tasty fried egg but the overall flavour could have been more intense.
Australia day weekend arrived – so I set out to eat some eggs.
The Surf Life Saving carnival arrived in Manly on Saturday. Alongside all the events, including the all important March Past: they had a great breakfast/BBQ tent – full of sausages, bread, onions, bacon and the all important fried eggs. With a little dribble in the yolks, there were more than a few satisfied customers taking in the action along the beach.
Sunday was Australia Day 2014 and we headed over to Dee Why to check out the celebrations. Live music, thong throwing, as well as a carnival parade with drums and dancers greeted us. We found a cool place to eat on The Strand called DECK.
http://deckdeewhybeach.com.au/
I say cool because the interior is really cool. Check out their website to get a feel for it. They have live music four nights a week; serve street food and all the art on their walls is by local artists. I sat near the wood logs – lovely to look at but our table was way too low. The staff are a smiley bunch, who’ll give you extra ginger in your juice; and the juices, though simple, are very tasty.
For brunch at DECK Dee Why, I went for an Eggs Benedict:
8/10 Wonderful eggs paired with sad spinach
So Berlusconi is back baby! Yep, that’s right the ever-so upright politician has returned to the political stage, only to have his car egged as he arrived at the Democratic Party head quarters. Eggs are literally everywhere, though I think it’s a terrible waste to throw them…however important your political statement may be.
Sunday was the morning after the night before and we needed sustenance. A trip to the mall brought home a whole lot of tasty ingredients. What followed was mega brunch.
My contribution was eggs, naturally; and some toasted quinoa. As an egg critic I would not have scored my own eggs that highly, the whites really could have been cooked for longer, but the each and every yolk was spot on – warm and runny. The quinoa was pretty good too, though it took a bit longer to cook than expected.
This is the list of available brunch items:
5/10 on my eggs – the yolks are very important but if the whites are not right its hard to claw back any marks.
Google are set to take on Nest Labs for a substantial sum, and, Eggs in Oz have a new perspective and post. It’s a day for growth.
Today’s post is from Tim Gray, Assistant Sommelier at Limewood Hotel, UK (check them out http://www.limewoodhotel.co.uk/home/ : it’s gorgeous).
Tim’s review is a retrospective from his trip to Australia for the Lion’s Tour last year.
“my aussie eggs…the most memorable experience was one Sunday morning when we walked along the beaches and headland from Manly to Dee Why. We went for breakfast in a place called Sea Bar Cafe – I had poached eggs on bagels and the eggs were awesome – fluffy and flavoursome and of course runny. I would go as far as saying it is one of the best breakfasts I have ever had, and that is partly down to the eggs”
No rating from Tim but certainly sounds idyllic. Thanks Tim!
Eggs in Oz 
