This weekend - time in the kitchen, garden, and a national park

After beginning last weekend by relaxing with my sister, I started this one by delivering a workshop on Saturday morning. I suppose it evens things out. One perk of working on a Saturday morning (at least in an official, recognised, time-limited way) is that the rest of the weekend seems even sweeter than usual. We didn't do anything extravagant, but I enjoyed it hugely.

There was some time spent in the kitchen, resulting in my first use of the nut milk bag I bought a year or so ago (!) but hadn't used prior to yesterday. I am delighted to have christened it and will be blogging about the results at some stage soon.

I also made rice paper rolls, rather on the spur of the moment, which meant the fillings were a little on the plain side: commercial barbecue-marinated tofu (a flavoured pack bought because it was on special), carrot, and watercress - until I ran out of watercress and put baby spinach into the final roll instead. A little random, but delicious nonetheless.

We also bought new plants for our vegetable plots, which were in urgent need of updating.

Roma tomato plants

Baby corn (plus some kale at the back)

More kale, which will hopefully grow in a pot!

Then, today, we took advantage of mild temperatures and clear skies to head east to Walyunga National Park, which is about 45 minutes from Perth. During summer, our desire to do long walks in the bush is greatly reduced, and we wanted to squeeze at least one more outing in before the temperatures rise too high.

We were rewarded with a national park almost to ourselves - we saw 7 other people in total over the time we were there. We were also fortunate enough to see a kangaroo, as well as plenty of bird life.

A content kookaburra

Walyunga national park incorporates the Avon river, which form the basis for Perth's Avon Descent (an annual, 2-day paddling race that sees kayaks and other vessels cover 124km in total). We walked the light blue route shown on the map below, which looped along the river and then up through trees.

The water level wasn't high enough for rapids, but it was sufficient to give attractive views on the river-side stretches. 

The higher part of the walk was pretty attractive too, with uninterrupted views over trees and bushland.

In all, it was a really lovely afternoon - and a nice end to a lovely weekend. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for some more mild days before summer heat arrives!

Tell me - what did your weekend involve?

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Avocado scones with hemp seeds

After my repeat efforts at making cherry scones last month, I got myself on a bit of a scone roll. Unusually for me, I also branched out to try savoury scones, prompted by a desire to try avocado in the baking process instead of non-dairy spread or butter. I wasn't sure if fruit scones with avocado would work very well, so savoury scones it was.

Green scones!

The avocado gave the scones a lighter and fluffier texture than the Nuttelex I'd usually use, and I was thrilled that the green colour came through. I am not sure if you would serve green scones at a dainty high tea, but they were certainly fun to make and to eat. The experience also confirmed my belief that while I don't like avocado in plain form, I do love it in desserts and baked goods.

Complementing the avocado were hemp seeds and nutritional yeast, giving a simple but effective ingredient list. I think some mustard would work too if that is your sort of thing. These had a relatively mild taste that I liked plain or with vegemite or hummus, but if you wanted something sharper then adding mustard or more nutritional yeast should achieve that.

Avocado scones with hemp seeds

Makes 6 - 8 scones

Vegan

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup non-dairy milk

1 small avocado (100g with skin and stone)

1 cup self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/4 cup hemp seeds

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Method

Preheat your oven to 220'C and line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Combine the vinegar and non-dairy milk and set aside to curdle.

Peel and roughly chop the avocado. Place in a large bowl and add the flour and baking soda. Rub together with your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the hemp seeds, nutritional yeast and vinegar-milk mix. Stir until just combined and then knead to form a soft dough.

Roll the dough out lightly on a floured surface, to ~2cm thickness. Cut out rounds using the top of a glass dipped in flour or a cookie cutter, and place on the prepared baking tray.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Now that I have branched out, I think I'll be making savoury scones again. But now that I have tried avocado in scone form, I am also thinking that avocado fruit scones weren't such a bad idea after all...

I am linking this post into the Healthy Vegan Friday event hosted by Gabby, Shelby and Carrie.

Have you done much baking with avocado? Or do you have any favourite savoury scone variations?

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Product reviews: Montezuma's Lordy Lord 71% Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs and 73% Dark Chocolate with Chilli

I am pleased to say that it's time for another English chocolate edition. Today, we have two blocks from the Montezuma's range, which were bought (along with so many of my purchases) from Waitrose in London. Waitrose and London seem a very long way away now, so I am rationing my chocolate with a certain amount of nostalgia.

Montezuma's started in 2000 when the co-founders, Helen and Simon Pattinson, opened a small chocolate shop in Brighton on England's south coast. I rather love that the husband and wife team were lawyers before they became chocolate makers, and that they started their small business with inspiration from their recent South American travels. They say that their goal was to make British chocolate more exciting and innovative, which is a goal I heartily support (and would encourage Australian chocolate-makers to adopt too!). Their range and distribution has grown hugely since 2000 and the Montezuma's brand can now be found in shops and supermarkets around the country.

The Lordy Lord dark chocolate with cocoa nibs jumped off the shelf into my shopping basket. It is a 71% cocoa block, made up of "dark chocolate (cocoa solids, sugar & vanilla) (92%) and cocoa nibs (8%)". I found it mellow, warm and quite sweet for a dark chocolate, but sweet in a very pleasing way. The vanilla came through beautifully and the cocoa nibs provided satisfying texture contrast, being worked through the chocolate rather than sprinkled on top.

I am also very enamoured with the Montezuma star

I would definitely eat this chocolate again.

The chilli block was quite different, but still enjoyable. Despite having only slightly more cocoa (73%), it tasted much darker than the cocoa nib block and almost bitter-sweet.

Initially the flavours were all chocolate, but then the chilli came through with a satisfying zing! to tickle the back of my throat. The warm spices lingered, quite delightfully, after each piece.

I thought the balance of chilli to chocolate was just right, although if you have a piece of this with a hot drink, the chilli will ramp up to be rather stronger. I always seem to forget this when eating chilli chocolate, which means I am prone to turning my eating experience from zing! to burning! more often than I would like. Note: apply caution to chilli chocolate and hot drinks.

In all, I very much enjoyed these blocks and would be keen to try other Montezuma's flavours in the future. Given that the company ships to mainland Europe, I hold the hope that the bars may one day work their way down to Australia too.

Have you seen or tried the Montezuma's brand? What are your thoughts on cocoa nib and chilli chocolate?

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A day spa morning with my sister - Brookleigh Estate, Swan Valley

Back in June, my younger sister (indeed, my only sister) turned 21. There was a party, about a billion cupcakes, and plenty of presents.

It has taken until now, however, for my sister to have the opportunity to use one of her presents. One of the gifts I gave her was a voucher for two for the Health and Spa centre at Brookleigh Estate in the Swan Valley east of Perth. Their 'gourmet course of 3' package includes a full-body massage, pedicure and manicure, followed by lunch.

Rear exterior of the Health and Spa centre

I gave my sister the voucher with a quiet hope that she would invite me to go with her, but with the message that she could take a friend or anyone she liked for the experience. She was kind enough to include me, which sort of backfired on her when she had to wait until November to use the voucher (sorry!). We were a bit tardy in trying to book after June, and then my wedding and time away took over September and October.

When we did make it out last Saturday, we found Brookleigh Estate to have a very impressive set up. There are vineyards, a large equestrian centre, and the renowned Stewart's Restaurant sharing the site. The centre also hosts weddings and, with our recent move to wedding expert status, we agreed that the buildings and gardens were highly suited to such occasions.

I had never set foot in a health, beauty or spa centre before, and really had no idea what went on in such establishments. I find it amazing that some people engage in manicures / pedicures on a regular basis - the time it takes! and the effort! and the subsequent effort to not chip your nails! - but it was fun to experience and felt like a perfect sister activity.

Before getting to the nail part of the morning, I would like to mention the massage. I have never experienced such a massage. I had occasional thoughts of "It's a Saturday morning, I really should be cleaning the house or doing something productive instead of lying down" but they were swept away with each massage stroke and I really came very close to falling asleep. It may have been one of the most relaxing experiences I have ever had. One hour of massage goes a very long way to cancelling out tension, that is for sure!

Our view as we ate lunch outside

After the massage, it was on to nails. My woman (nail technician? beauty therapist?) did my toenails first, and my sister's woman did her fingernails first.

My feet drew a bit of attention. I was asked if I wore a lot of closed in shoes (yes). I was also advised to keep an eye on my dry skin. Then I was asked if I used a nail clipper on my toes (um, yes - doesn't everyone?). I ended up using running as an excuse for the (clearly poor) state of my feet, which worked brilliantly. The woman was very understanding and commiserated with the challenge of caring for feet when they are in running shoes regularly.

My buffed, moisturised, nail-painted feet, in trendy don't-smudge-your-nails thongs

The only downside of the running-based conversation was my realisation, about halfway through the pedicure, that running wouldn't explain the state of my fingernails. Just to clarify, neither my feet nor hands are in a terrible state - indeed, I never thought they were in a bad state at all! - but I do not regularly do anything to them and clearly that is a point of difference between me and women who regularly engage in pedicures and manicures.

Fortunately (perhaps...) it was the temperature of my hands that drew attention, rather than my nails per se. You may recall that my hands are perpetually cold. This prompted the woman to ask me if I had a circulatory disorder. I replied with as much dignity as I could manage, while my sister suppressed giggles next to me, that I didn't, but that my body seemed to prefer to not to warm my hands up.

With our nails done (dark red toes and near-clear fingers for me, and pale pink toes and bright pink fingers for my sister), it was on to lunch. This was provided by the on-site Stewart's Restaurant, and delivered to us in the gardens at the rear of the spa centre. Stewart's is one of the well regarded winery-based restaurants in the Swan Valley, and it proved worthy of its reputation.

Our salads - note my sister's fingernails!

My sister ordered the squid salad with rice noodles and peanuts, while I ordered the beetroot and pear salad with pine nuts. The beetroot was fresh and tender, consolidating my belief that I do like beetroot when it is prepared properly and doesn't come out of a tin. The poached pear slices were also beautiful, poached to the point of just being tender and delicious in their natural sweetness. I think they may have had a touch of vanilla, and they were a perfect accompaniment to the beetroot and salad greens. My sister spoke highly of her salad too, particularly the crispy fried squid, and the meal was a nice end to a lovely morning.

In all, it was a very fun outing and I had a great time with my sister. Brookleigh's was a good find and if you are after a scenic, relaxing spot to have a massage or eat lunch (or go for a horse ride) they provide a nice option. I may have already chipped my fingernails, but that is only to be expected with me...

Brookleigh Estate is at 1235 Great Northern Highway, Upper Swan, Western Australia.

Have you ever had a spa treatment? Or are you one of those impressive people who always has painted, neat fingernails (I manage painted toenails, but fingers are beyond me)?

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Quinoa, edamame and mango salad

After a few weeks of bypassing supermarket peaches sold for $14.99 / kg, it was exciting to see early summer produce at my local markets this morning. Peaches were available for $4.99 / kg and mangoes could be purchased for $1.49 each. Just within the realms of acceptable, particularly for November.

A fruit bowl with more than apples and pears!

With a mango begging to be used and a vague desire for quinoa, I decided to make another grain-based, fruit-sweetened, and edamame-containing salad. Today's dish gives a nod to the mango and wasabi sushi salad I ate at Giraffe restaurant in Solihull, and the strawberry containing spin off I made at home last month.

While sushi salad has a base of sticky rice, the quinoa in this dish was fluffy and light. It paired beautifully with the mango, and the mango provided just the right amount of sweetness to the salad. The chilli was subtle but enjoyable, and there was definitely no need for additional dressing.

As a bonus, I am already looking forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!

Quinoa, edamame and mango salad

Makes 2 large or 4 side-dish serves

Vegan

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

1 chilli, de-seeded (or to taste) and finely diced

1 cup shelled edamame beans

1 cup brocolli florets

1/4 cup bean sprouts

1/2 large or 1 small mango, chopped

1/4 cup watercress sprouts, optional

Method

Rinse the quinoa and then add to a saucepan with the 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil.

When the quinoa is boiling, reduce the heat and add the diced chilli. Simmer, covered, for 10 - 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, cook the edamame beans for 5 minutes in boiling water. Steam the brocolli for 5 minutes until just tender.

When the quinoa is cooked, add the bean sprouts, edamame beans, and brocolli. Stir through. Spoon into bowls and top with the chopped mango and watercress sprouts.

I am keen to see more summer fruit appear over the coming months (apricots! plums!), but this was a delightful re-introduction to the summer produce I love so much, and a perfect lunch for what has been actually been a rainy, rather than summery, Sunday.

I'm submitting this to Ricki's Wellness Weekend for the 8th to 12th November 2012.

What do you think of fruit in quinoa / rice dishes?

And for my fellow Australians - have you found much summer fruit yet?

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England - York

It is with great pleasure that I return to travel-themed posts. I won't finish off our honeymoon all at once, but would like to work through the places I haven't yet blogged about before I forget too many specific details.

York has been mentioned twice before, but both times in the context of food posts. York city was, of course, where we found Goji Cafe and its wonderful vegan liquorice cake. The Yorkshire Dales National Park provided incredible scenery for the consumption of some of my London food purchases, in an outing that ranked as one of my favourite activities for the trip.

Yorkshire dales. I could happily teleport here now, just so you know.

Yorkshire was our first driving destination, after we collected a hire car on our last morning in London. We drove via Lincoln, itself a beautiful town, and I remember the giddying pride when I parked our manual hire car in a Lincoln car park after a smooth stretch of motorway driving (with, I might add, Mr Bite asleep and thus no use whatsoever for driving directions).

This isn't the Lincoln car park, but it is a picture of the car

I learnt to drive on a manual car, and have a manual license, but have driven an automatic for the past five years. Although Mr Bite drives a manual, which I do drive on occasion, this is the first trip where I have allowed us to hire a manual for holiday driving. I have terrible fears of stalling in busy intersections and/or failing to achieve a hill start on a steep hill, with angry drivers building up behind me. Neither of these scenarios have ever occurred, but I sense that I have the capacity to get there!

Happily, the car proved its worth and I neither stalled nor rolled backwards down hills. Our old Nokia mobile phone with its free, no data required mapping service also allowed us to navigate relatively problem-free. If only the Nokia maps would go on our newer Android mobile phones, we would be able to avoid carrying three mobile phones with us - but that is a topic for another time (or, perhaps, not really a topic at all).

Lincoln cathedral, Lincoln

In Lincoln, we explored the outside of the cathedral and the inside of the old castle, and had a very late lunch in a traditional teashop, complete with pretty china for my tea. Being close to 3pm, I jumped over lunch protocol and ordered a fruit teacake (or English muffin as I would have been inclined to call it), while Mr Bite went with a more typical lunch choice of a baked potato.

York itself, when we arrived there, was a beautiful city. We never visited it on my childhood family trips to England, as time constraints led us to drive straight through Yorkshire when heading north. I was really pleased to get there this time.

England was having a very wet start to Autumn, and the York river flooded the day before we arrived. Six months worth of rainfall in one day will do that, I suppose. We were fortunate not to be affected, but the river-front shops and houses were less lucky. The river-front areas of the city also looked a bit different to usual! I hope the affected areas have been able to dry out and get back to normal now.

We had three nights in York and stayed at our only B&B for the trip. It was quintessentially English, complete with a four-poster bed, which was great for novelty if not quite as useful as our self-catering stops. Still, it is the first time I have had the luxury of a four-poster bed to sleep in. Given I had recently finished Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl, the combination of the room and being in York (a key city in Tudor times) meant that I could almost imagine being back several centuries.

Our first full day in York started with the York cathedral, including its tower. We seemed to spend a lot of time going up things on holiday, including towers and cable cars, and York was our first cathedral climb.

Me disappearing into part two of the cathedral climb...

...and the views from the top

We also visited the railway museum, mostly because it was indoors and warm and free, but it did prove to be worth the visit. The York Castle museum was worthwhile too, and was so large and so well set up that we ran out of time to get through it all. It is located near the castle rather than focusing on it, and covers different eras in Yorkshire history, complete with period-specific displays from the 18th century to the current day and a full interactive Victorian street. Walking the old city walls was another perk of the city.

From York, we also made a day trip to Skipton, which has another castle and is located just off the Yorkshire Dales. Our trip coincided with Skipton's Saturday morning market, which was fun to wander around after visiting the castle area.

Skipton castle

That day incorporated our time in the national park, and I would love to walk more of Yorkshire (and indeed more of England generally) in the future. Yorkshire has a truly amazing array of walking trails, and the locals don't seem to mind if the weather is sub-optimal while they are walking them.

When we left York, we drove north to Durham via Helmsley, a tiny, picturesque town just at the bottom of the North York Moors National Park. It was well worth a driving break and highlights one of the things I love about England - if you drive for an hour in any direction, you are likely to stumble across an attractive town or castle or both.

Hemlsley

From there, we went on to Durham and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne - but we will leave those for another post.

Have you visited York or Yorkshire? 
Or does anyone share my unjustified fears of manual cars (please say yes)?

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