Healthy Food: November 2010

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Chifley Plaza: Free bubbles and canapés tonight, Sydney (1 Dec 2010)

2 Chifley Square, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.chifleyplaza.com.au

Free bubbles with your shopping

Date: Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Time: 5.30 pm – 8.30 pm

Cost: Free bubbles and canapés

You don't have to be a VIP to join in on the freebies at Chifley Plaza tonight. No RSVPs required — just turn up and enjoy the free bubbles and canapés on offer from Bacco Wine Bar. If you're a shopper then there's discounts available from the stores.

Other events at Chifley Plaza:

• 1 Dec 2010 - VIP Shopping Night - Promotion

• 2 June 2010 - VIP Shopping Night

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Sweet and Spicy and Salty Almond Butter

Our week away was WONDERFUL! We enjoyed R&R with our boys and my family.

I feel like I spent 75% (if not more) of my time eating. We were up early every morning. We saw EVERY sun rise (5:30-6). Our days were spent the in the pool, laying around, or hanging out on the beach.

We only had one clock in the house with the right time. We NEVER knew what time it was. I often found myself wondering around the kitchen looking for something to snack on. We had a large bag of Almonds. I snacked on them -- along with other not-so-healthy snacks. I craved Almond Butter the entire week. I was going to make some but I did not have a food processor and the blender was in use for other things.

So -- Monday morning I made some delicious Almond Butter Cabo Style.

I roasted a batch of Almonds with Molasses at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. As I was mixing the Almonds in my processor (in the garage) I added about 1 tsp Mexican Vanilla and 1 - 2 tsp Chili Powder. After 15 minutes of blending --- I tasted!!!! I enjoyed!

It was AWWWWESOME! I only made a small batch of this mixture because I was afraid it would not turn out right and I would waste Almond Butter. I think a small batch was perfect. Just enough to enjoy but not too much I don't get through it all.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Are the Celebrity Chefs selling out these days? (30 Nov 2010)

http://www.woolworthschristmas.com.au/freshchefs

A fresh perspective

Every time I see Curtis Stone, the chef of supposedly all things seasonal, on a Coles ad or MasterChef which is sponsored by Coles I have a little cringe because I wonder if this means he's somewhat sold out. I bet his never walked into the fruit and vegetable aisles in Randwick Coles to spot the sad looking bruised and battered produce I've seen lying around — and I've lost count how many times I've noticed moldy strawberries still left on the shelf. Anyone wanna do a quality spot check? It's nothing like you see on the MasterChef pantry that's for sure — I wish it was though.

It now looks like Woolworths is getting in on the act and using Celebrity Chefs brought to the Australian household limelight on MasterChef to advertise their supermarket as a destination for all your Christmas food shopping. I seriously wonder if Margaret Fulton, Tobie Puttock and Guy Grossi really pick Woolworths for Christmas or is it more the other way around with Woolworths picking them as their feel-better-about-buying-from-a-huge-supermarket-rather-than-your-local-independent-butcher-or-farmers-market-promotional-ambassadors. I would have thought professional chefs would be buying directly from farmers and suppliers so they have more control over what they're really getting and serving their customers and building on a trusting relationship?

I also wonder if these Fresh Food Chefs actually cooked the pavlova, turkey and leg of ham they're holding or is it just all advertising props made by food technicians and food stylists. Winners are grinners as they say and someone must be winning through all this but I doubt it's the hard working farmers. That's my gripe and whinge for the day.

Dear Reader, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Katz's Delicatessen: Pastrami Sandwich on Rye, New York (26 Oct 2010)

205 East Houston Street, New York 10002

http://www.katzdeli.com

I'll have what she's having!

If I had to pick one foodie highlight when I recently visited New York it would have to be this place. It doesn't seem to get more authentic than this and even though it's probably become more commercial due to the movie When Harry Met Sally and seeing all the celebrity photos plastered all over the walls it still exceeded my expectations of how good it was — Meg Ryan might have summed it up perfectly with her emotions. As you walk in you get a food ticket which is marked depending on what you order. There's a few cutting stations for the pastrami and they give you a little sample to taste to make sure you're happy with the meat.

The pastrami is sliced beautifully thin and packed into the sandwich with a tasty mustard. The meat was so tasty, moist and melt-in-your-mouth that I would simply describe it as succulent. Someone needs to open one of these places in Sydney — please! The Pastrami Sandwich on Rye ($14.95, $16.28 inc tax) was more expensive than I was expecting but I think worth it and I loved the pickles on the side. There's enough meat in one sandwich to possibly share between two but it's very tempting to keep it all to yourself. If you order anything else on the menu then you possibly might be disappointed because their signature dish is the pastrami. Service was pretty efficient once you worked out the system of how to order and if you like how your sandwich maker made your sandwich then you can give them a tip.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Possibly the best pastrami sandwich on rye in the world, Open 365 days, Tasty and moist pastrami

CONS: More expensive than I was expecting but worth it, Can take a while waiting to be served when busy

MUST TRY: Pastrami Sandwich on Rye, Living in New York

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Pastrami Sandwich on Rye ($14.95)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Juicy thin slices of tasty pastrami = food heaven!

For the best go to Katz's Delicatessen

Slicing up the pastrami

Plenty of seating but still packed

Celebrity wall — if it's good enough for Johnny Depp then it's good enough for me.

When Harry Met Sally crew

The spot where Harry met Sally — check out the sign above.

When Harry Met Sally famous scene

Open 365 days a year — now that's dedication.

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I am back!

Hello Enjoying Healthy Food Readers.

We are HOME!!!! We had a wonderful vacation but are glad to be home.

Now for the hard part - getting back into our routine of everyday life! :) I do have a large to-do list but that can wait! We had a LONG day of traveling home yesterday so today is RELAX day! Maybe tomorrow I will tackle our suitcases.

We got to our house at 1 am (today) and I do not have a way to get to the store --- so dinner --- WILL be interesting!!! I know that my creative side is tired so I am not expecting big things!!!!

I do know that I will be making a batch of Almond Butter tomorrow. Maybe I will keep to the Cabo theme and make a spicy Almond Butter. Maybe Chili Almond Butter with a hint of... I do not know maybe vanilla. :)

I am glad to be back!

Harts Pub: Serving Australian Hand Crafted Beers, The Rocks (28 Nov 2010)

Corner of Essex & Gloucester Street, The Rocks NSW 2000
http://www.hartspub.com

Beers with an Aussie Hart

At Harts Pub, the home of Rocks Brewing Company, our mission is to provide Sydney with an experience different to any other pub. Serving Australia's best hand crafted beer, rotating through our 12 taps, there will always be something new to experience.

A friends casual birthday drinks brings me to this cosy pub where there's a definite fascination with famous quotes printed all around the walls which adds a welcoming humor to the place. I wish I could say the same for the bar service received upstairs tonight which came across as somewhat disinterested and not particularly friendly — perhaps the young woman didn't really want to be working there that day? Browsing the menu for a bite to eat the funny named 'Hart Stopper' Steak Sandwich ($22) looked inviting but I felt it was a bit on the expensive side so I opted for Cajun Croc ($16) which was crocodile strips tossed in Cajun spices, shallow fried and served with a tangy remoulade. It was quite a spicy and tasty dish and the crocodile meat tasted rather like chicken to me. Beer battered wedges ($9) seemed rather pricey but actually worked out to be OK because the serving size was quite large. It's served with an interesting side of tomato cider chutney and Cribbs Porter mustard sauce rather than the usual combo of sour cream and sweet chilli sauce. A Bowl of fries ($9) is also quite generous in size and freshly cooked to a nice crispy finish as hoped.

The hand crafted beer menu reminds me of the boutique selection available at The Local Taphouse and perhaps to a lesser extent at Yulli's. You won't find your basic VB, Carlton and Tooheys here and I believe they're hoping to expand their selection to include some European beers in the future. The main meals aren't the cheapest around town as far as pub food goes ranging from $22 up to $36 for a 400 g Rib Eye so hopefully the quality of the dishes can justify the higher prices. The Herb Crusted Lamb Cutlets ($30) and Kangaroo Skewers ($24) sound pretty tempting for next time. Large plasma screens seem to be in every room so you won't miss out on the cricket when it's on if that floats your boat.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Australian boutique beers available on tap, Cosy decor, Courtyard available, Interesting food menu, Beer tasting paddle

CONS: You won't find your mass produced VBs and Carltons here, No free street parking in the area

MUST TRY: More hand crafted beers

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