Clocks…
Clocks…we waited with bated breath for the cuckoo to pop out!
And more clocks!
I’ve known my friend Lulu since High School. We’ve kept in contact through all sorts of moving, living overseas and moving far away and most recently she and her husband moved to the Blue Mountains. And she’s a reader of my site as much as she can with a 1 year old and another on the way. She does know of my predilection for the unusual and kitsch and when she and her husband dined at Swiss Cottage a while back they eagerly told me all about it from the great food to the waiter that balances chairs on his chin.
Bamboo ski poles!
Traditional boy’s outfit
I was of course intrigued. I had visions, and I don’t know why, of the giant from Twin Peaks balancing chairs on his chin and the dwarf dancing alongside. Perhaps it’s the fact that the Great Northern Hotel in Twin Peaks looks like it might be a setting for a Swiss restaurant-the Blue Mountains certainly has that Twin Peaks air about it. Or perhaps, and more likely, I have an overactive and inaccurate imagination. In any case I rang to book and asked the woman on the phone whether the chair balancing waiter would be there and she assured me yes.
Huge cow bells
Wooden ice skates
We’re early for our reservation as we need to head back to Sydney a bit earlier than planned and this is not a problem at all. We sit down in this adorably decorated cottage adorned with all sorts of Swiss memorabilia from vintage bamboo ski poles, lots of sets of skis; Swiss cuckoo clocks, a traditional knife sharpener and children’s outfits.
We order a range of dishes to share as we all want to try as much Swiss cuisine as possible. Walking through the lobby we see pictures of celebrities that have dined here including Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman when they were married. Of course I asked what they ordered – it was cheese fondue and soup and the smiling French Swiss owner says that they stayed for quite a while.
More wooden skis
Raclette $54 for two
Read More
If you pick up any form of media lately, aside from Britney’s comeback and Madonna’s botox, you’ll also read about the credit crisis going around in the world nowadays. And one of the effects of this crisis is reportedly the increase in sales of SPAM, the much maligned canned, gelatinous spiced ham. It’s famous for being loved in Hawaii and enjoys a reputation only marginally better than Heather Mills. According to the article Spam “seems to do well when hard times hit,” said Dan Bartel, business agent for the union local. “We’ll probably see Spam lines instead of soup lines.” Velveeta, that sort of cheese, much like SPAM is sort of meat is also experiencing a surge with people still wanting to put food on the table in an approximation of what they bought when the budgets were more robust.
The following recipe was from an article in Time, where top chefs gave out their favourite SPAM recipes. I flicked through all of them and the one that caught my eye was of course SPAM sushi by Chef Kerry Simon of Simon in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Along with SPAM it’s also filled with cucumber, avocado and sesame seeds. The choice was obvious and instant although I also earmarked the Flyin’ Hawaiian SPAM burger. There’s also SPAMghetti Carbonara, Green eggs and SPAM and SPAM Pineapple fried rice.
I don’t mind SPAM in fact, but the nutritional information panel puts me off somewhat but in the name of making a recession proof sushi I thought I’d give it a go. I like my SPAM cooked, slightly crispy on the outside much like the way I like my Devon sandwiches. I won’t pretend to dislike it, there’s something comforting about a Devon and tomato sauce sandwich and the same goes for SPAM. I’ve never tried it with rice though so I was intrigued. It’s not what you’d call a very cheap meat here in Australia though, with a can costing me almost $5. But it was surprisingly good. The original sushi roll recipe called for SPAM to be cut into matchsticks but I prefer more SPAM in my sushi and would suggest a thickness of 1.5cms x 1cm (approximately I mean, you don’t need a ruler). It also doesn’t make much of a difference in taste whether the SPAM is cooked or not although it would if you wanted to venture out into a giant SPAM nigiri. Out of the two I preferred the Giant SPAM nigiri as did my husband.
In Austin Minnesota there is no SPAM snobbery with 13 restaurants with SPAM items on the menu and there is even a 16,500 foot large SPAM museum with the tagline “Sure Beats an Art Museum” where one can purchase a SPAM tie, sweatshirt and earrings (let’s hope in a plastic rather than a fresh version) or try packaging the “sweet pork magic” into 12oz cans. There are also SPAM festivals, and locals have fond memories of SPAM brownies. And perhaps the SPAM has gone to my head but I’d be willing to try the SPAM brownies too, all in the name of research you do understand.
Read More
One thing that I absolutely adore is afternoon tea. I’ll easily give up a meal in order to fit in an afternoon of triangular sandwiches, miniature cakes and tea. One of the most interesting afternoon tea spots is Bygone Beautys in Leura.
With over 3800 teapots housed in this deceptively large space, it’s also a vintage shop full of all things luxurious and olde world, from scalloped fabric silk chairs, elaborate candelabras and of course all sorts of teacups and teapots.
Our traditional afternoon tea setting
We’ve called ahead to see whether they’re open and the woman on the phone asked if we’ll be having the traditional tea as it takes 20 minutes to set up. We’re a little confused as we didn’t think there was that much more preparation needed for it than a regular order but we say yes to a traditional afternoon tea for 2 ($49.50 for 2 people, additional people $19.50). While we’re there we also order a Devonshire tea $11.50 and a Petite order of sandwiches with 6 points for $11.00. Our waitress is warm and friendly and asks us if we’d like them all brought at once which we do.
The Pomp and Ceremony!
We’re given our sugar, milk and 5 minutes later, we hear the song “Land of Hope and Glory” booming through the room. Our smiling waitress has returned in top hat and tails and is pushing a impressive looking trolley bearing two British flags playing the Pro British tune. We’re stunned and pleasantly so, everyone is excited when they see this and we see many flashes go off.
Read More
Each year for Christmas, we go to the Blue Mountains and rent a house to stay in. And every year I’ve brought a batch of my own Home Made Muesli or Granola so that the healthy eaters can have it for breakfast. Don’t worry, there’s also sky high stacks of french toast and pancakes made, we’re not all virtuous at this time of year. Last year I made a cranberry, macadamia and yogurt coated berry version of this but this year I thought I’d make it a bit more tropical, a toasted muesli studded with dried mango, macadamia and coconut.
Most toasted mueslis or granolas spray the oats with oil so that they crisp up nicely but this also means that the healthy breakfast you were seeking is effectively negated by the generous spraying of oil. Not this one, it gets its crunchy texture via apple juice.I don’t want to give any claims or low fat since the nuts and seeds have fat in them(but the healthy kind) but the fact is that this is free of all added fat. It’s not exactly low in sugar with the amount of honey and sugar in it but I’ll take what I can at this point. It’s fabulously filling and low GI which means that a small bowl will sustain you easily until lunch. If I have a medium sized bowl I sometimes find I don’t even get the urge to have lunch but of course my eyes take over and I see something that I just must eat.
This also makes the most delicious Bircher Muesli, that lovely juice and yogurt soused breakfast. The apple juice and yogurt also plumps up the fruit and gives it a gorgeously cooling quality in the hot weather. A quick way to Bircher-ify your muesli is to take a cup of the muesli, mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons of yogurt (I used a Hastings Valley honey yogurt my friend Lou gave me but plain unsweetened yogurt is also fine) and 1/4 cup of apple juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight and in the morning, it’s absolutely delicious. I make this when I feel like something sweet and dessert like and save the regular crunchy muesli for when I yearn for some crunch. And I find that this coffee cup always makes me smile in the morning. It has the famous Oscar Wilde quote “Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast”. As someone that loves their sleep a bit too much, I wholeheartedly agree.
Bircher Muesli
Read More
Every year my parents and my Uncle host Christmas dinners. As my Uncle doesn’t cook much and is divorced he does it alone and the choice is always a Chinese restaurant. Another ritual is a man ritual in which my dad and my uncle compete to see who got the best parking spot. The closer the better but of course if it’s free then bumps up your score considerably. But tonight my Uncle has chosen to have his Christmas Dinner at Golden Century eliminating the familiar “So… where did you park?” ritual (thankfully).
Sugarcane in clear pork and vegetable soup
Golden Century Fox Studios is the smaller version of the clattering city branch and tonight it’s less frantic but still respectably full. We start with the complimentary soup, this one rich with pork broth, carrot and sugar cane which is an interesting addition. We don’t usually see sugar cane in soup but it’s judiciously applied so that it doesn’t overwhelm with sweetness, more adds to the harmony.
Garlic butter lobster $300
My Uncle has ordered an array of dishes and I’m ecstatic to see that a 2kg lobster is listed among them as I adore lobster. It’s rich and delicious – food of the gods really – heady with garlic and reminiscent of an Italian pasta with the strong garlic butter scent. It’s worth every slowly savoured bite.
Read More
What is NQN up to now? 
NQN on Facebook
RSS
