For the month of March 2010 and in support of the official Melbourne Food and Wine Festival , Beer DeLuxe, at Federation Square, will showcase Japanese culture, beers and food as part of the Shinobi Japanese Secret Beer Garden. Just in case you are wondering, Shinobi means Ninja in Japanese. Also in support of L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival and promotion of young creative talent, this secret garden is especially designed by Tokyo-born and Melbourne-based graphic designer, Nami Kano and University of Melbourne Master’s of Architecture student, Olivia Fielding.
I was thrilled to receive an invite from Beer Deluxe to the garden and had a taste of some of the Japanese offerings that is served here for a short time only. I had been to Beer Deluxe a couple of times before after work when I used to work in the CBD. They have a big repertoire of beers from around the world and I believe about 8 – 10 different beers on tap. And I was totally surprised how the outdoor area facing Flinders Street has been transformed. It is such a pity that this set up will be taken down early April as it’s a great outdoor area for beer lovers.
Autumn is upon us and it is time where thick soups, stews, roasts, pies and loads of yummy rich desserts (especially chocolate) to tie us through the grey and cold weather. This week will be the first of the thick soups to make its appearance.
I am not Italian and I am sure many Italians will have their own secret recipe for Ribollita. It is a Tuscan dish that means ‘reboiled’. There are so many versions of this but it seems that the most Italian recipe involves the use of stale bread in the soup. I had it at the side and hence is it called ‘Almost Ribollita’. The vegetable and bean soup was definitely kept overnight and then reheated the next day, a good drizzle of good olive oil and served with a side of toasted sourdough bread.
Many of twitter friends has heard me moan and whinge about the Metro last week. The trains are late almost everyday for the last 3 weeks. It is such a failure and it’s frustrating during peak hours to travel in jam packed trains. The current transportation system is just not ’smart’ and ‘fit’ enough to handle the increased population. It gets worse when it gets hit with extreme weather conditions.
Some of you may not be aware of our recent flood and hail that happened in Melbourne. We were fortunate to be home. The hail stones were as big as golf balls! And have a look at one of the many videos that can be found on YouTube.
The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.
I wished I had a little more time for this challenge as risotto is one of my favourite comfort food in winter. It has been such a jam packed period and with parents-in-law coming over for a visit, this is what I can offer and I hope it is not too shabby!
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