Neely

Saturday morning here and breakfast of mushrooms and small pieces of speck… toast of course.

Dinners we had were below baked chicken breast over orzo Below lamb chops, chips and peas Below… I made a tart tartin with caramelised brown sugar. I used a bought all butter puff pastry.

Lunch was Lentil soup and toast at a cafe on a beach.

Pork stir fry with vegetables. I made the decision to simmer cut up pork a day ago. Then tonight stir fried the pork and veg, and finally added the liquid the pork had been cooked in. Sauce/liquid was hoisin, soy, rice wine, 5 star spice, garlic, sugar and water, thickened with the ubiquitous corn flour.

Scotch eggs with a celeriac puree. The puree was smoother than it looked … all I added was butter, milk, pepper and salt

Breakfast of ham, tomato and cheese on toast

@liuzhou Yes it is pearl barley and the soup is very like Scotch broth. Barley is quite a satisfying texture to me.

Sausage, mash and gravy… good old English fare. Have I mentioned my husband is English!!

This is not an Asian style soup… it is Lamb and Barley Broth with carrots and fresh corn . My husband served it in these bowls making it confusing. The lamb was from Sunday’s roast which was quite pink near the bone so added good flavour to the barley.

Roast lamb early dinner. Meat and 6 vegetables plus herbs in the stuffing… we love our vegetables. Mint sauce and of course … gravy

“I can't really say that was worth the effort but it gave me something to do while the polenta was cooking!” @blue_dolphin Had a chuckle at this anyway the finished result looks delicious.

A throwback breakfast to when “poached egg and avocado’ was very popular. I still like it and still make it.

@Pete Fred Thank you so much for that recipe and the method you use. I see you do include a little sugar even though a savoury filling. The texture does indeed look ‘delightful’

Hello @Pete FredWould you mind saying what pastry you used. It looks very good. Reminds me of a pate sablee but of course I know that is a sweet pastry and wouldn’t go with an onion tart.

Pork dumpling soup again.

Love soups… this one was very easy, split favs beans and leek. This could only be called Beef Stew, made by my husband which I liked a lot.

@blue_dolphin love having arancini in the fridge to have one even cold as a quick snack. A country drive saw us stop and have a delicious lunch of chestnut soup. Some cheeses and bread on the side.

Two fishy meals. Seafood pasta, didn’t look at the name of the pasta but it’s like a long casarecce. Below … Fresh flake (again) with Asian salad, noodles and a Thai sauce of coconut milk, lemongrass, coriander, fish sauce and lime juice.

Lunch over the last couple of days saw me making mushroom risotto as I had some left over white wine from a lunch last Saturday. I made quite a large batch of the risotto, so turned the last of it into Arancini balls with a Cheddar cheese cube in the centre. Oven baked not deep fried.

Steamy hot pork loin stir fry with plum sauce and rice wine vinegar.

@haresfur I too am impressed and very happy that we have found this (probably the only) place like it in the whole Port Phillip Bay. It’s down on the Bellerine Peninsula, near the heads which lead out to the ocean, so they catch Bay fish and ocean fish.

Yes, thanks for reminding me @liuzhou flake is called dogfish in the UK. Not as popular there as it is in Australia. It is our No1 go to fish for “Fish and Chips”

Gorgeous little tarts @OlyveOyl and beautiful Victoria sponge @Amy D. I made some cinnamon rolls using the ‘new’ method (newish to me that is) of pouring some cream over them before they go in the oven. Very soft and fluffy on the inside. The outside was a little crispy mainly because I forgot to cover them with oiled plastic while they were rising and I thought this accidentally worked out quite well. The recipe called for coffee icing but husband said that would make them too sweet for his liking. I may ice a couple for myself.

Beef San Choy Bow for lunch

Hi liuzhou the fish we had here was what we locally call Flake which is actually a species of shark we call Gummy Shark… no bones …a cartilaginous fish found mostly around the southern waters of Australia. For us caught and bought locally from the fisherman’s small shop right on the water. Has a mild flavour when fresh, stronger but not unpleasant when a little longer from caught. Not sure what or why your friend was baffled when she came to Australia 20 years ago. Different cultures maybe! We do have many Chinese students come to our Universities and Colleges. Melbourne is a big city 5 million. I have only been to Hong Kong and one of my sons worked in Beijing for 6 years, speaks fluent Mandarin.