When life gives you meyer lemons, make awesome lemon meringue tart!
So a couple of weeks ago meyer lemons came into season, so I bought pretty much all their stock. Well, maybe half. But it was almost a kilo worth of lemons! Why do I get so excited about these lemons? Because they are sweeter and richer coloured than normal lemons. And are soooo gorgeous and tasty and make a great kicking honey lemon tea. However, they also make amazing lemon curd!
I've never considered myself capable of anything that requires recipes, which is why I favour savoury dishes. But I just happened to have lemons, lots of eggs... and spent $40 on a granite pastry board (yes, there was marble but I like granite better). Plus my local cafe gets these absolutely amazing lemon meringue tarts from a bakery called Boulangerie 113, and I figured I may as well mimic it. And mimicked I did, quite well in fact, if I do say so myself.I wasn't after super complex recipes, so I just grabbed the simplest ones I could for shortcrust pastry and lemon curd. Just flour, butter, egg yolk, and ice water for the pastry, and lemon, egg + yolk and butter for the curd.When I was making the pastry, the instructions said to stop mixing in more water as soon as the dough came together, so I did. Then I popped them in the fridge, and me being me, had a total freak out when they turned rock hard!!! But since I'm a genius, I just added a bit of water and kneaded it a bit more before being able to roll it out. And it was quite flexible too, as I put them in some ramekins. Since I had already visualised what I wanted these tarts to look like, I knew that the ramekins would be the perfect size.I didn't even look up how to cook the pastry. I figure I'd just blind bake it like I see on TV. So in they went for about 10 minutes, and when I next opened the oven, they were browning on the edges. Perfect! So I took them out to cool.
I made enough pastry for possibly 2 more ramekins, but I hadn't planned ahead to have any leftover, so I put the rest in the oven for either a makeshift base, or for crumbs.Then it was curd time! I was terrified of making curd since I've heard about nightmare egg in curd. I also wanted it to be lemony, so while I halved the measurements of a recipe, I actually kept the full amount of lemon juice recommended. One thing I forgot, was that as it simmered down, the flavour intensified. So at first it wasn't lemony enough, and by the end of it, it was super tasty - I like it tart! Pun intended. I felt like I had reduced it a tad too much, but by the end of it, it was at the right consistency.
The hardest part was the meringue. I didn't have a food processor for the pastry, but that was a minor issue. The meringue, on the other hand, was a feat of endurance that I did not have! Now the meringue that Boulangerie 113 make are super smooth and creamy, whereas I'm used to sugary meringue. So I figured, hey, why not - I'll put some icing sugar in my whites! And some good old caster sugar. And spent a long time whipping. Oh wow, my super weak arms died several times before I got the peaks to stand. But it was well worth it!I also had no blow torch, but who needs one when the secret is that meringue is an excellent insulator so I could put the entire tart under the grill! That way, I got some nice browned top while the rest of the tart stayed cool. And voila, a funny looking lemon meringue tart!
And yes it was super tasty - like omg i can't believe i made this and that the tartness is perfect and the pastry is nice and crumbly and buttery and it didn't actually go hard like i thought it would and the meringue actually browned without me setting the house on fire or using candles in the most unorthodox way and when all combined the sugar was just right to offset the lemon and omg the base it actually didnt destroy itself yay.THE LIME HARVESTER IS HAPPY.
Oz Comic Con, Benedict, Amanda, Corin, and a quartet of vocally active troublemakers and the heartless dog
Where do I start in a world where I like to begin at the beginning, where the beginning is relative to my train of thought, the view of others, my out of body view of myself and the order of events as I recall and the actual happenings. Oh and of course, my own ability to prioritise each of the events in the title.Oz Comic Con? I went for Benedict. That silly, adorkable person who is just so polite, and silly and so polite and nice.
Paying extra for the Benedict Cumberbatch Experience ticket was well worth the photo and autograph. The lines were super crazy; we had heard that he'd done 900 autographs on the Saturday alone! This was also the first time I've attended a convention to participate, rather than just walk around and take pictures of cosplayers and famous people from afar. Not only did I attend panels, but also splurged on photos and got a few autographs in the process.
First thing I noticed, was his clothing - his usual casual self. Then I noticed his hair. His hair is so wonderful! And a lovely brownish colour. He complimented me on my dress, but he did that with everyone. But he is so huggable! Hugs weren't allowed but since he had his arm on my shoulder, I put my arm around him. So huggable! Huggable and adorable! I think I confused him a lot by talking about yellow cars for all of ten seconds during the autograph lineup though. And I forgot to check his socks!!!
Well worth it just to have the photo and autograph - it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience! Plus seeing him in real life pulling a deaded fly out of his wine during his panel was hilarious.
However, while I was disappointed in missing out on paying $200 to have an exclusive meet and greet - I mean DINNER - with Benedict, it turns out the future had a much better plan for my friends and I. As the most enigmatic and fortuitous events unfolded to present my friends with an awful unkempt apartment, so they rebooked at the Hilton. So after a day half-filled with waiting, we returned to the hotel only to find Mike McFarland, Corin Nemec and Sean Schemmel in the foyer! We politely greeted them and promised not to tell anyone about their whereabouts, before heading up to our room.
Now I had attempted to book a table at Press Food & Wine for Saturday only for their tables to be booked out - which meant we had to take our chances on the lower, walk-in only floor. My friend was hyper-alert, as her reason for visiting was for Todd Haberkorn, and luckily I'd watched some Soul Eater to gain some context as to what he had worked in. So there we were, entering the restaurant when my friend pointed out that they were sitting right there!!! Sean, Mike and Todd having dinner, IN FRONT OF WHERE WE WERE STANDING. They were full at that time, so we were taken to their bar to wait for a call. And when we did eventually get one, we walked back in to see three sets of cutlery next to the group of celebrities.
Then lo and behold, we were seated next to them! They remembered us from the foyer and said hi to us and we had a short conversation about how amazing Adelaide food is. I also mentioned to Sean that Press Food & Wine is so good, that I take all my friends there. What turned into a day at Comic Con turned into a dinner with voice actors at the communal table. It was the best ever! We kept to ourselves for the most part, and as they left (since they started and finished before us), they expressed their appreciation for us (as fans), and from my friend's response of her admiration of Todd, he gave her a high five!
Who needs to spend money to have dinner with famous people when all the pieces just fall together perfectly :) And by perfect I meant that we headed back to the hotel after dinner and eyed them from afar at the bar, as the finishing touch to the night.
The other highlights included finally meeting Amanda Tapping and Corin Nemec. I had missed an opportunity with Amanda back when I was young, so I definitely didn't want to miss out again. They were awesome people too!
So high was the awesomeness factor that we went back again the next day to get a photo taken with all four of them. We'd bought so many tokens that we ended up getting three photos with Sean, Todd, Mike and Rob Paulsen - a normal photo and two silly photos, which we then got signed, again with some silliness included.
I did feel sorry for Benedict because of how much he had to go through - all those fans, all those photos, and all those photographs. He'd stayed back on the Saturday till 7PM and was half an hour late to his own meet and greet (the con finished at 6PM both days). I love his dedication.
However, the whole weekend reinforced my own desire for narcissism. Why pursue normal people who are just more well known than everyone else? Hence, I want to aspire to be myself - a self that is a combination of all my experiences and what I see to be my future. Or something. I want to be the most famous person to me!
Why is the heartless dog also featured? Nevermind me, that was but a dream of a dog whose heart was ripped out from its chest. Had to write it down so as not to forget. I think the closest description would be a long haired golden retriever. Teehee!
Running, jumping, and vivid succulent trees
Every now and again, I get my weird, random dreams that I actually remember in enough detail that I can actually blog about it like an epic story. And when I get really lucky, it comes illustrated!Turns out dreaming can really tire you, especially if you spend 2-3 dream hours running away from what you think are bad guys, but you're not really sure because it's not explained in your dream why they're chasing you, your friend simply says so, and they're waving guns about, so you may as well run for your life.In my case, I was with a friend and we were getting ready to be in a play. First we're getting our costumes ready, next we're sitting in the audience, staring at an empty stage waiting for things to happen. My friend got up and started walking off, and indicated for me to do the same. I was confused, but followed her lead. It turns out she just wanted to escape, so we spent the first part of our night out on the streets, just walking about, when I came across a succulent tree. With chunky, triangular leaves and bright orange and red flowers as big as my hand, the branches weighed down from all the water in the leaves, enough that the flowers were within my reach. I also wanted to take a cutting so I could grow them at home. I reached out, plucked one, but then found that the entire tree was infested! White caterpillars and a bright green gummy worm (yes, a gummy worm) were all over my flower, so I threw it back on the ground. I had no time to be disappointed as some mysterious guy started walking towards us - possibly a council worker or something, so my friend and I quickly disappeared.
Then we were returning back to the building where the play was being held, and noticed only a couple of silhouettes in the doorway. It turned out that rehearsal had finished, and so everyone was leaving. This was apparently a very bad thing, as my friend then told me the whole thing was a trap and to run for it. As with all stories, the silhouettes of the guys turned and saw us. Time to run! We ran through the parking lot, hiding behind cars while these people looked for us. We managed to circle around them and get ourselves out of the carpark, only to run for our lives.I got separated from my friend, and had to make my own way to... well, I don't know. I was just running. I managed to run into a hairdresser's that was still open at some ungodly hour, and I have no idea why I decided to hide there. But alas, it was a trap! They were after me too! This time with guns! So I jumped a table and ran for it. There was also at some point another shadowy figure also pointing a gun at me from a distance, though I knew they were too far away to get a good aim, so I ran. A lot of running!But it turns out I had done this twice, the first running away was a lot smoother than the second as I had more hiccups and run-ins with the bad guys, so by the end of it (whatever that was), I was reunited with my friend in some empty street, next to a postbox and a lamp post. Along came Fusco, a character from Person of Interest, who told us then that we could lock in whichever experience we wanted with a handheld video capturing device.The end!Then I woke up and realised that the dream kept me in bed for longer than I wanted! What a cruel dream, to leave me exhausted for a fun day at work :)
Snobbery snob snob
So the other day, I met my first real snob. Not just a pretend snob, or wannabe snob, this was an absolutely real, fully fledged snob, and it was an amazing experience.Basically, I was frequenting my cafe, sitting at the communal table eating waffles, and eventually the barista asked me how my coffee was. The person diagonally opposite me then got asked the same thing. Due to my response (which was usually some panicked survival instinct kicking in to help me describe my coffee in the hopes of not sounding like I have no clue), he started talking to me. It always starts out the same, "so you like coffee?" which then turned into a very interesting conversation.I was explaining that I love coffee because of the flavours and that it's interesting to drink, and then he mentioned how he liked places that serve consistently good coffee - that it was important for him that a cafe had a solid house blend. Actually, my memory is no better than it was before so he could have just as easily meant that as long as a place had a solid coffee, then that was what mattered. I then discovered that he used to also live in Sydney for a bit, and wait for it... he thought everyone on the south side of the bridge was scum! At this mention I realised I was talking to a very interesting kind of person. He then went on to say that the Melbournian coffee scene was getting boring as it was all the same thing, that the cafe culture was so established that while you go there to get good coffee, you don't go there for a surprise.Going on from there, we then discovered we both work in nerdy jobs and had another common talking point! Again, very strong opinions, most of which make sense and some which were very subjective. Being in a job where everything was maths and computers, he valued artsy friends highly and said that it was great, even vital, to have arts/music people to hang out with in a very technology related environment. He then mentioned that he was writing about cafe culture and I commented about how he still used pen and and notebook, and there, another point of mutual agreement that the core of creativity comes from the motion of pen to paper.His observations included his opinion that the Adelaide coffee scene was not yet refined enough, that most patrons were too loud and made the atmosphere akin to that of pubs. He believed that communal tables were for solitary people who read, worked or were on their phones, and that noisy/chatty people were to sit outside or facing the window/wall. He was very adamant about this. While I didn't judge his comments, I did say things that showed I had a different opinion, and that's when he confirmed he was a snob, and all his friends knew this. He'd often be told that he was a snob and he admitted to it and it was something he was completely comfortable with.It was fun having that length of conversation with him, as I'm generally terrible with conversation, however I love when I meet new people. It's always interesting and I didn't mind one bit that he was a snob. I think that's how we talked about so much , cause the whole time I was thinking, wow, that's some extreme snobbery right there, but he was confident and comfortable in his own skin and that's all that matters.And hence, my very first encounter with a real snob! Very exciting and enlightening indeed.
Orana
I've hyped up this restaurant amongst my friends, mostly because I have an incredibly well connected barista. On top of that, I managed to stalk Heston Blumenthal as I'd been given a heads up that he was visiting, as well as having read an article by Terry Durack from his visit. All the big names! How could I not go? So I went!
I did some research before going, and discovered that the staff had previously worked at Magill Estate (which I was totally unaware of, having been an ignorant Sydney-sider who only pined for Quay and Rockpool), which apparently is an amazing restaurant. Much like Attica, the head chef forages, and the cuisine is indigenous Australian - and not witchetty grubs, mind you - but rather encompassing all of Australia's history including the present, so there was some tasty beef and my favourite succulents.
Being only 3 weeks old and a tiny place to start off with (25 seats), it was interesting to talk to the staff, and that they were learning as well, especially since they created a per-dish juice pairing (unlike Momofuku, which paired every second dish or thereabouts). So I would say this was even a new juice pairing concept!
Now that's enough rambling and onto pretty pictures.
They have amazing, super expensive decor. Those decanters! Riedel black ties, I would love some! And they have them in all different colours and designs. Now I feel the need to get gorgeous glassware.
House cured prosciutto, wild garlic
Half-cooked Spencer Gulf prawns, dill oil
Fried saltbush
Puffed beef tendons
Pearl meat
Slow roasted beetroot, goat curd
Urchin roe, mustard snow
Taro grilled with beef fat
Beef short rib, grass puree
... And they were ALL just the pre-dinner snacks. Wow. The prosciutto and garlic was really nice and the garlic wasn't overpowering. The prawns were great with the dill oil. Puffed beef tendons??? They were on the menu of Street_ADL but I had never had the chance to try them, plus I had no concept of what they might be like. They were amazing! Salty crunchy puffed tasty things! Much like prawn crackers, they were perfectly forever-snackable snacks. I would choose these over the pork crackling any day! The pearl meat was described as having a texture in between that of a scallop and an abalone, which was accurate. With enough resistance that it was fun to eat, but not tough at all. The beetroot was roasted in an underground oven for 36 hours if I recall correctly, and had an amazing look, almost like tree bark. It was so sweet and tender, and beetroot is always a winner with goat curd. The urchin roe was also nice, and the mustard had just that hint of heat to go with it. Thin sheets of taro tasted like beef which was kind of cool. And the beef short rib, super tender, fall apart meat with a grass puree. It was all delicious! Like all the recent degustations I've had, all of the above was served without cutlery for a hands on experience.
Also, for bread, we received sourdough with goat butter. The first unconventional butter I've had, it was superb, and I may have said, very lamely, "I can't believe it's not butter!" Well, it IS butter, just not the cow's milk kind. And it was sooooo good!
Celebration of peas
This was so pretty, my camera didn't do any justice. The flowers were a rich, deep purplish-pink, and there were many types of peas in the mix. It was paired with a green apple, celery, lemon and pea tendril juice which went quite well with it. I love peas, and I love pretty, so this was win-win.
Scallops and succulents
Scallops. Need I say more? Okay, succulents. Their proper name has "ice" in it, but my memory is obscured by the fact that I call these "starburst succulents" because they burst with tart, salty goodness! I absolutely love these plants. The scallops were perfect, and made even more so by the fact the sauce was made from smoked scallop skirt - which smelled and tasted like bacon! The juice pairing here was pear and lemon.
Coorong mulloway, wild cherries, parsley oil
What a pretty dish! Visually this reminds me a lot of Quay's marron and grapefruit dish, but vastly different flavour-wise. We were advised that the wild cherries taste nothing like cherries, which was true! Perhaps it's just my weird tastebuds, but I thought the whole thing together tasted like lychee - however all the flavours were very mild in this dish, and the juice pairing of cranberry, riberry and raspberry were required to give the dish the acidity I usually associate with raw fish.
Confit kangaroo, wild vegetables
This kangaroo was amazing. Confit and pan seared, it was so tender and delicious, especially when had with the mountain bush pepper sauce. So good! This is the best kangaroo dish I've had. I'm not a kangaroo connoisseur, but I do sometimes cook it at home - and this was so much better than what happens to my kangaroo fillets. I believe the vegetables mostly consisted of weeds - but when I say weeds, I think of Billy Kwong's fried weeds dish, which is a great use of... grass just growing. The only one I remember was thistle, but it was tasty! The juice pairing with this was beetroot, blueberry and native currant - the currant was meant to be high in tannins, however I believe there could have been a bit more as it tasted a little too sweet for the kangaroo - I would have preferred something a little more tart and astringent.
Marron
I'm telling you these little tasty morsels look like attack creatures! Which makes them utterly adorable and even more super tasty than they already are, not that it makes any sense. This was the first marron in a long while that wasn't totally drenched in butter (the butter is good!), but rather very light in flavour with a sprinkle of a native leaf that has the taste of kaffir lime leaf - which was very pleasant, especially as it matched the citrus from the juice pairing - nashi pear, lemon, lime. The pear was a great component and worked well. The sommelier mentioned he'd been trying to come up with a buttery taste in a juice, at which point I thought about banana, avocado, custard apple... but not being an expert I had no idea. So I'll keep thinking about it without success.
South devon beef, mashed potato, karkalla
Hey look, I remembered a succulent name! Only because I see them at Central Markets every time I visit. This is of course, steak and potato and it was so good! That beef was amazing and tender, and that was some seriously buttery mashed potato - the best kind! I've really got a soft spot for succulents now and love the flavours that burst out of it. This was also a far better juice match compared to the kangaroo dish. This was mostly unfermented shiraz juice, and I can't remember the rest. I really do need to improve my memory.
Gin sorbet, riberries, tea
Gin and tonic, and tea. Reminds me of Hendricks gin with the free teacup, actually. The gin sorbet was sweet and had a great gin flavour to it, and worked with the riberries. The tea was a traditional Aboriginal tea that was calming, and I loved how that offset the punchy flavours in the bowl. A really nice, unique dessert - a much better use of gin than in the textures of watermelon at Cecconi's Cantina. Sadly, I don't remember if this had a juice pairing or not because I'm that terrible.
Buttermilk panna cotta, strawberry
This was a really interesting dish as it was "strawberries and panna cotta" - the green oil was actually leaves from a tree that smells and tastes like strawberry! The oil gave that extra mouthfeel to the dish, and again was paired with mainly shiraz juice.
Now, I'm the most terrible person ever because on the very last dish of Red currants, coconut ice cream, fresh coconut, coconut ash, I had totally forgotten to take a picture! The red currants were presented as puree with a few whole currants, some shredded coconut and a super creamy coconut ice cream. The red currants were soooo astringent it was impossible to have it on its own, but combined with the coconut ice cream it was quite nice. The juice pairing was watermelon and coconut, which was an odd combination, but I think it worked as the watermelon also countered the red currants.
Overall, a very unique take on some dishes (like the scallops) and taking a break from buttered marron made this experience memorable and more importantly, left me with very little comparison points with other degustations I've had - which is a good thing! It means it's a restaurant with no equal! My favourite dishes were the scallops, kangaroo, and gin sorbet. And the marron. The best bit about the visit was the fact that they were new, with enough money and a food buddy (now I need to not go anywhere or buy anything for the rest of my life) I can go back and see what it's like in 6 months, a year's time as part of their journey. I heard as they were talking to other diners that they planned to open up similar bars (referring to Street_ADL) in the other capitals, such as Street_MEL and Street_SYD - if that happens I'd be so happy because their food is seriously good.
Plus, they've apparently got a machine that makes liquids colourless - wouldn't that be amazing! Clear everything! If it works out they'll start experimenting with it in the new year, so that'd definitely be something to see.