expectations

Life is too short to cry over undercooked congee...

Or blog about it.

But firstly, a little moan.

You're a great neighbourhood cafe and an excellent bakery.

So it's admirable that you make an effort to have a seasonal vegan and gluten-free option on your breakfast menu. The brown rice congee with tofu and mushrooms sounded great.

And could have been really enjoyable if...you hadn't called it congee.

Chewy, barely cooked medium grain rice just aint rice porridge.

Tasty. But not congee.

eating, not writing

 Or shopping, cooking, eating, drinking and dining…and not blogging, to be exact.

There have been some amazing nights. A lovely sojourn with a kiwi friend (from primary school no less, who’d have thought all those years ago in suburban Wellington we’d be sharing a balmy May night out together in Melbourne?) Unplanned the itinerary evolved – cocktails at Cookie, a cider at rooftop bar with a Manhattan-like skyline, secret after-hours access to the Manchester Unity building to take in the magnificent architectural flourishes, detours for laneway art, a drink at the GoGo Bar and finally a perfect, fiery meal at Chin Chins. A quintessential Melbourne experience, in the space of a few city blocks.

My recent weekend in Sydney on retelling sounds ludicrously expansive. Breakfast at The Grounds (unexpected green loveliness in the heart of industrial Alexandria, with excellent coffee for espresso drinkers but a lot of cut and pasting for the vegan to eat well), dinner at Two Peas (delightfully locavore and organic, the small menu makes it a necessity to warn of dietary restrictions in advance if you veer from the omni norm but excellent wine from Mudgee), drinks at the brand spanking new Newtown Social Club (farewell to the Sando, hello a bit of Northcote cool in Inner West Sydney), cocktails at Bloodwood (and a nibble on their addictive cripy rice balls), dinner at the cheap and quirky vego Vietnamese Vina (a more enjoyable experience than Nourishing Quarter), breakfast at Gather on the Green (love the neighbourhood cat that comes in for a smooch before the staff can evict him) and lunch at Mamak (good old Mamak, no queue at lunchtime). There was housewarming drinks with the neighbours, a movie and coffee with friends, a few refreshing alcohol-free drinks and lots of walking as well.

At home there’s been some great ad hoc meals. An attempt to make a healthier version of Ottolenghi’s oil laden medjara, a quick piscatarian variation on my favourite tofu in a gingery tomato sauce (spices and onion blended in the whizzer, a couple of tomatoes, kecap manis and soy sauce and simmered in the wok with the last of the of the Japanese eggplants from the garden and a few other veg plus chunks of fresh trumpeter) and some stellar sorrel omelettes.

I’ve been soaking beans overnight and pressure cooking them before going to work the next morning. Making chilli beans without the chilli, served with olives and tuna.

In the brief dip between warm fronts I managed to consume a pot of my favourite nutty pumpkin soup.

I’ve continued to worship at the organic stalls at Vic Market, discovered a great cookware and food store in Camperdown Sydney, reconnected with old friends and visually gobbled up Nobu's Vegetarian Cookbook.

Then there has been some totally un-amazeball kind of days. Alone nights. Average meals cooked or eaten on the run. Dinner in front of telly kinds of nights.

But on the upside, feijoas are back in season, however briefly. 

I'm hoping my upcoming odyssey in San Francisco and New York with find me back to the kitchen on my return, tapping away on the keyboard with dirty fingers between chopping and stirring.

Enough about me! What have you been eating, cooking and reading?