Taste of Perth thanks to Rekorderlig Cider

In addition to being kind enough to host a double pass give away to the Taste of Perth, Rekorderlig Cider provided me with another double pass for my own use, along with complimentary vouchers for their drinks.

I went to the Taste event on Friday evening with my sister. We had a great time, and likened it to a grown up, food-focused Royal Show. There were free samples of various products, cooking displays, live music, and sample sized dishes available for purchase from 10 of Perth's most acclaimed restaurants. If you are into alcohol, there was also plenty of that!

The Rekorderlig Cider star bar

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Cottesloe Sculptures by the Sea, 2014

This is the third year I've posted pictures from the annual Sculptures by the Sea event held at Cottesloe Beach. The event doesn't need much introduction. Each March, it delivers several weeks of creative sculptures set on and above the Cottesloe shoreline. It seems to have become increasingly popular each year, and as a free event in a beautiful setting, the popularity is deserved.

Here were some highlights from our visit this year!

Spot the wire cloud in front of the real one; the wire is lit up after dark too

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Wave Rock, Western Australia

Wave Rock, Hyden, Western Australia

The last four days have reminded me that Australia is a really, really big country. Logically, of course, I knew this already - but there is nothing like driving the open expanses to bring the fact home.

We covered over 17,00km in roughly 18 hours of driving, and still covered just a small corner of Western Australia. When looking at Australia as a whole, that small corner becomes an even smaller component.

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Out and about in Perth #7 - Hillarys Marina

We have been packing a few outings into our recent weekends. Most notably, we have actually been to the beach. I know this may not sound very eventful, especially during Australian summer, but there are all sorts of barriers that usually prevent our beach attendance.

Hillarys Marina, late afternoon

For starters, Mr Bite and I share an unhelpful ability to burn within 15 minutes of sun exposure. Sun cream is no guarantee of avoiding this outcome. Going to the beach during the middle of the day is pretty much never going to happen.

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Heavenly Plate Cafe Restaurant

As some of you may remember, when I got married I skipped a hens night and a large wedding in favour of a pre-wedding vegan high tea with friends. The high tea was held at Heavenly Plate Cafe Restaurant, a beautifully decorated venue that is fully vegetarian and mostly vegan.

It was a wonderful choice in terms of location and food, and a much better fit for my personality than traditional wedding celebrations. Ever since, I have been meaning to go back and try some of Heavenly Plate's regular menu items.

Pre-wedding high tea - all vegan

At Christmas, Mr Bite gave me a gift voucher to facilitate that visit, and a few Thursdays ago, we used it. The decor was as beautiful as I remembered and I liked that the restaurant seated its weeknight guests apart. I really dislike it when you visit a restaurant and there are just a few other occupied tables, but you are put right next to one of them! 

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Eden's Salad Bar, Subiaco

After I raved about the easily obtained veggie food in North America (in my blog posts and to anyone who would listen), I realised that I should try harder to do justice to the vegan and vegetarian places of my home town. There are plenty of places that I would be thrilled to discover if I was looking for a cafe on holiday, and a number of them are quite conveniently located to either my home or my work.

Today's post is written in the spirit of recognising great veggie food on my doorstep, and I hope you'll agree that I'm starting with a delightful example.

Eden's Salad Bar, Subiaco

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Australia Day weekend: Australian celebrations, my Mum's birthday, river-front activities, and much food

When the British First Fleet reached Sydney harbour on the 26th January 1788, I wonder if they knew how subsequent Australians would appreciate their timing? The Australia Day public holiday does, after all, work wonders at easing the post-Christmas return to work.

Vegan lamingtons

I would still swap the date, happily, for one that does not mark the anniversary of British culture invading indigenous Australia. We may have that shift in the future. I will welcome it if it comes. For now, though, I have enjoyed the opportunity for a 3-day January weekend that celebrates Australia and overlaps with my Mum's birthday all in one.

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Out and about in Perth #6 - Subiaco Common

At the end of a scorching Saturday, Mr Bite and I visited Subiaco Common to soak up the setting sun, sea breeze, and cooler temperatures. The common is a man-made park and lake set against modern housing developments, tucked into a quiet corner of the leafy Subiaco suburb. It's not far from us, but this is the first time we've explored it fully.

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Good bye 2013

Like last year and the year before, I've spent the last few days out of Perth with Mr Bite's family. Six adults, three children and one dog in one house is a recipe for minor chaos, but it is chaos of a good for you, Australian, summery kind of way.

To finish off this year, here are some snaps of the calmer moments.

I think tee-pees are under-rated as outdoor accessories.

Western Australia's south-west forests

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Camping - reflections in photos

Camp site, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park - pre-tent

Camp site, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park - post-tent
(thanks to my sister-in-law's tent lending!)

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Out and About in Perth (#5) - Open House Perth, 2013

Some of you may be familiar with the Open House scheme. It started in London in 1992, and has since extended to cities all around the world. 2012 was the first year for Open House Perth and we didn't know anything about it until after the event (!). This year, we were more organised and managed to visit a few of the open buildings on Saturday. I am glad we did, although as I forgot my camera, I am sharing images with you courtesy of my phone. I apologise for the dubious quality at times.

By Bishop's See Gardens, Perth.

Open House aims to give people a behind the scenes look at historical, architecturally significant and/or otherwise meaningful spaces. Mostly these spaces are buildings, but some are gardens or other types of architecture. This year, there were 65 sites open in Perth over 2 days. Clearly, you have to pick your priorities.

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Out and about in Perth (#4) - Whiteman Park and Araluen revisited

We have had a few outings in the Perth area recently. Last Sunday was our one year wedding anniversary (thanks for all the congratulations!) but it was also Father's Day. During the day, we visited Whiteman Park with family.

Whiteman Park: It's big enough to have tram and train lines within it.

I hadn't been to Whiteman Park since I was a child, and I had forgotten how big it is. There are picnic areas, walk trails, bush land, playgrounds, and railway/transport features spanning 7000 hectares in total. The railway and transport features stem from the Park being home to much Western Australian transport heritage. There is a motor museum, a tractor museum, a tram around the grounds, and a railway around the grounds. 

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Carriley Estate Winery and Whistler's Chocolate Factory

Earlier this month, we celebrated my niece's 10th birthday with lunch at Carriley Estate Winery in the Swan Valley east of Perth. Lest you think a winery lunch is a bit sophisticated for a 10-year-old's birthday, this girl had her 6th birthday lunch at a winery too - on her own request. That lunch (4 years ago) was the first time I met Mr Bite's family and I was a little daunted by what sort of family they would prove to be. I'm pretty sure I wasn't qualified for winery visits when I was aged 6.

Carriley Estate Winery

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Out and about in Perth (#3) - walk trails, bike trails, and beautiful skies

Last weekend, Mr Bite and I went for a leisurely, long bike ride along a stretch of Perth's Swan River. Doing so made me think that it was time for another 'out and about in Perth' post. And so! Here we are.

Hello my bike

For those of you not familiar with Perth, the city grew up around the Swan River, which extends from the Perth hills east of the city right down to Fremantle in the west, where it joins the Indian Ocean. The riverside areas provide opportunities for walking, running, cycling, dog walking, and picnicking. 

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Bickley Harvest Festival - metal art, a garden lunch, baby kangaroos, and carob

Last Christmas, Mr Bite and I gave several "experience" presents to family as a way of complementing "thing" presents. One was a  movie voucher and babysitting offer for his sister and brother-in-law, who have three exuberant children aged between 4 and 9. Another was an outing to the Perth Hills for his mother, specifics left somewhat open to allow for adjustments to weather and seasonal events.

Last week, we reached May and neither of these experience presents had been put in to place. On the babysitting front, we had tried once but needed to reschedule when one child was sick. On the Perth Hills outing? There we were just disorganised.

Prompted in to action, we identified the Bickley Harvest Festival as a possible outing to aim for. The festival is held annually on a weekend in early May, and aims to showcase the Bickley Valley region of the Perth hills, about 40 minutes east of Perth. The region is home to forests and walk trails, wineries and restaurants, various small businesses, and local produce stalls. It seems that the festival event has run for the past sixteen years, so it was a little perplexing to discover it for the first time this year!

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Loving this week {March 2013}

I am linking this into cityhippyfarmgirl's 'loving this week' post for March. It's a little late, but I blame Easter!

The 'loving'this week' posts are all about the little moments in your days and weeks that have tickled your heart.

Loving...memories of Beelu National Park, where we walked a 9km loop on Good Friday.

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More out and about in Perth

I don't know about you, but I am seriously ready for this long weekend. It is definitely one of the highlights of the fast half of the year. Four. days. off. work.

(Incidentally, does everyone get a four day weekend for Easter? Americans seem to have a completely different holiday system, so it has just dawned on me that the four day thing may not apply to those of you over there. If not, I am very, very sorry.)

Before launching into the weekend, I thought I should bring us up to speed on some recent outings we have had around Perth. The work side of things has been busy lately, but we have still managed to fit quite a lot in outside of work hours.

All photos are from my phone, so I apologise for the dubious quality...

Rooftop Movies in the city centre.

For Christmas, my brother gave us passes to a rooftop movie set up that happens in the city over summer. On top of what roof, you might ask? A car park roof is what. It is quite a novel experience to head to the top of a multistory car park with the view to watching a film on the roof! 

Waiting to enter

The movies shown are mostly classics and 'retro' films, although some new releases are scattered through the program too. We saw Samsara, a 2011 release that was filmed over five years in five continents, covering religious rituals, natural beauty, natural disaster zones, and human industry. It is entirely in pictures, no words, and was quite suited to a Friday night on top of a car park roof!

The roof top set up (the vans were selling food)

Riverside walking.

This is the time of year to be outside in Perth. Those grey skies I mentioned aren't there all the time, and when they're not - there is dazzling sunshine coupled with moderate temperatures. It would be foolish not to go outside and enjoy it.

Resting'on a bench, looking over the Swan River.

This is the same area we visited this time last year, on Mr Bite's birthday. It's a beautiful spot.

Indoor rock climbing.

This activity stemmed from another present voucher, this time from Mr Bite for my birthday last December. I've been talking about going indoor climbing for quite some time, and he thought the voucher might allow us to actually get to doing it.

It did, albeit four months later, and it was a very fun afternoon. It was also a very exhausting afternoon. Rock climbing is hard!

We managed to reach the top of some of the easier climbing sections, but I was definitely confronted (yet again...) by my lack of arm strength. It was a fun sort of confrontation though, and I would definitely take sore arm muscles from rock climbing than sore muscles from, say, basketball.

What have you been up to lately?
And - what are you planning for the weekend?!

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Cottesloe Sculptures by the Sea, 2013

I don't know about you, but this week is out of control at my end. So much to do! Not enough time! Things I remember in the middle of the night! It amuses me that every aspect of my work life can suddenly get busy in the space of 24 hours, when the law of averages would suggest that (say) I don't need to revise and resubmit papers and deal with ethics committees and deal with students all in the same day.

Fortunately, in the midst of the whirlwind, there have been calm moments too. Some came on Tuesday evening when we visited the 2013 Sculptures by the Sea display in Cottesloe, one of Perth's coastal suburbs and beaches. Some of you may remember my 2012 Sculptures by the Sea post.

With apologies to those of you where it is still winter-y, and general apologies for the overcast lighting, here are some photos from our evening visit.

These were like wind-powered flutes...

If you didn't already know this was Australia...this sign would give it away!

A follow-up to a red boy of the same artist last year.

What calm moments have been happening in your week?

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Birthdays, outings, and an Asian-inspired chickpea salad

Shadow people walking through glittering lights; Kings Park, Perth.

February is often a busy month. It is the middle of the birthday season that hits a lot of families at this time of year. My brother, Mr Bite's sister-in-law (does that make her my sister-in-law? what if the law is de facto? confusing!) and one of my school friends all had birthday celebrations in the last week.

As I've noted before, it is also the Perth International Arts Festival and we are continuing to see some enjoyable free events. The lights above are currently set up in Kings Park, Perth's main botanical gardens, as are some other light displays around Perth. We went to an outdoor street theatre a week ago where shop fronts were turned over to actors, who played out nine separate scenes over the evening.

My brother's birthday cake (not made by me).

On the birthday side of things, my brother's celebrations provided another opportunity for barbecue-cooked tofu. This time I made tofu bacon, and my sister remarked that it was indeed reminiscent of bacon. She seems to have recently discovered tofu, or at least well prepared tofu, and now happily eats it alongside meat.

Barbecued tofu bacon

Birthday celebrations for our sister-in-law (I'm adopting 'our') were fish and chips at the Kings Park botanical gardens. It is getting dark around 7pm now, instead of the 8pm that characterised mid-summer, so our picnic was a little on the dark side. It didn't matter.

Picnicking at night has certain challenges...

I took along two salads to provide food options for me. One was a basic green salad, which others enjoyed alongside their fish and chips, and the other was an Asian-inspired chickpea salad, which I did ate rather a lot of on the night and have been continuing to enjoy since.

...but enjoyable views; Perth by night.

The chickpea salad was loosely inspired by my recent lunch at The Raw Kitchen Cafe, in the sense that it included coriander and shredded zucchini, apple and carrot. It also included cabbage, soy sauce, a dash of agave nectar, and, of course, chickpeas. I loved it. I have eaten it for at least one meal a day for four days and am a little sad that it is now finished!

If you have need for an easy, make-ahead salad dish that backs protein and vegetables in one, I hope you enjoy it too.

Asian-inspired chickpea salad

Easy to make if you have a food processor, and low fuss even if you don't.

Vegan and high raw.

Serves 4.

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini

1 medium carrot

1/4 white cabbage

1 red apple (I used a Pink Lady variety)

1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped

2 cups cooked chickpeas

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp kecap manis (or another of soy sauce and add a little more agave)

1 tsp mirin (rice vinegar)

1 tsp agave (or palm sugar)

Method

If you have a food processor, grate the zucchini, carrot, cabbage and apple using the grater attachment. If you don't have a food processor, finely chop the cabbage and then grate the zucchini, carrot and apple manually.

Place the shredded vegetables and apple, chopped coriander, and chickpeas in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, kecap manis, mirin and agave. Mix to combine and then pour over the salad and stir through.

Serve cold.

Submitted to Ricki's Wellness Weekend 28th February to 4th March 2013, and

Healthy Vegan Friday #32.

What is happening for you this month?

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Luminous Night: University of Western Australia Centenary celebrations

2013 marks the 100 year anniversary of the University of Western Australia, Perth's oldest and most traditional university. To celebrate, the University is holding a number of Centenary celebrations, the biggest and most public of which was Luminous Night last Friday.

Luminous Night was intended to transform the University into a walk-through gallery and performance space, with continuous displays and performances by artists, musicians, actors and acrobats. The 'luminous' part referred to the use of light around the campus, and to a light projection masterpiece on the 1932, cathedral-like Winthrop Hall.

Luminous trees and many people

The Friday celebrations were also timed to coincide with the start of the Perth International Arts Festival. I have mentioned the festival previously, in relation to our outdoor cinema outing. From now until March, there are Festival happenings in Perth most nights, and plenty of free entertainment to complement paid events.

As we drove to UWA on Friday evening, Mr Bite casually mentioned that it would be a shame if no one turned up for the centenary celebrations. That is the sort of comment that is guaranteed to fire up my over-empathic steak. As I was worrying about how the evening would turn out for the organisers (who I in no way personally know), and thinking about how horrible it would be if no one turned up, we reached a traffic jam that extended out from the University campus.

Approaching the University one hour after the start of events

I think it is safe to say that people turned up.

I suspect the crowds were even beyond what the University had hoped for, with certain parts of the campus being difficult to walk through. One such section was the Winthrop Hall area, where a 20 minute light and sound show was played on five occasions over the night.

This isn't the usual exterior of the building...

The lighting transformed the hall into a series of images that covered Western Australia and the University from pre-British settlement, to the first days of the University, to the current day.

We watched through heads and trees, but even with those inconveniences the effects were stunning.

Our night also included a 30 minute silent film of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, accompanied by music from University musicians, which was shown because it too debuted 100 years ago. The celebrations continued until midnight, but we left after a fireworks display at 10.30pm. Even so, it was a late night by my standards!

Luminous swans.

I am glad for the University's sake that so many Perth people turned out to help celebrate the centenary, and glad for our sake that we went along. We hope to enjoy a few more free Festival events this month, but I suspect that none will be quite as atmospheric as Friday night.

Have you had any bonus local events lately? Or taken part in any centenary celebrations for organisations near you?

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