Fuel Fruit Loaf

Loving this fruit loaf....I buy it from my local deli at almost $7 a loaf, but you can buy various baked goods at the Fuel Bakery itself for discounted prices later at night while they are baking.

I love that one slice satisfies me (although I could happily eat another) with the real chunks of apricot, fig, date, macadamias etc. It's not light and it's not dense, it's just right!

Fuel Bakery

Larkin Street Camperdown

(Mon - Fri from noon, Sun from 4pm)

Ginseng Chicken Soup - Final Product

1. Bring to the boil the chicken and condiments from the soup packet mix.

2. I added 3 carrots and a sliced knob of ginger. You can add any vegetables you like....

3. Simmer for 2-3 hours. I also added some cabbage at the end and white pepper for a slight kick.

I thought the soup was lacking something so asked Dad to taste test it.

Dad suggested I add some light soy sauce and/or sesame oil. I've added that to the soup I've had since then and it certainly makes a difference.

Ginseng Chicken Soup - Ingredients

1 x Macrotaste soup mix: includes panax ginseng, dioscorea opposita thunb, lycium barbarum l., nelumbo nucifera gaertn, euryal ferox salisb, astragalus membranaceus fisch, dimocarpus longans lour.

1 x whole chicken : boiled for 3 minutes to remove any inpurities and also to remove the skin. I was not very successful at removing the skin from the wings!

From everlasting to everlasting...

Today I attended a family funeral.

As hymns were sung, scripture was read and God's Word preached the hope that I have in the Lord resounded within me. But I wondered who else it resounded with and whether my family understood what was being said. Despite my faith, I felt a deep sense of fear for those around me.

The message was clear - Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus.

I was thinking perhaps it was too much for my family to hear....but it's the truth. That's what I believe. I found myself praying 'let those who have ears listen'.

Human love can be so fickle at times. Whilst I don't wish to admit it, my love for others can waiver and be conditional. But the Lord's love is everlasting, everlasting through my life and through the generations before and those that follow. The Lord's love is what has given me a new life - one that is eternal.

This was the scripture today:

Psalm 103:11-18 (NIV)

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

¹² as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-

¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

Taxi Dining Room (Melbourne)

Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label NV

Sushi & sashimi entrée selection

Lightly seared kingfish sashimi with ponzu jelly, spring onion & sesame

(This was my entree and it was superb - full of flavour and rightly so a signature dish. The radish salad offset the texture of the sashimi and the strength of the ponzu jelly and spring onion)

Taxi’s sticky pork with roasted sea scallops & hot chilli dressing

(J had this as entree and I tried it as a main - as J predicted I found it a bit too rich for my liking but he really enjoyed it. I think I'm just not a pork belly fan)

Cabassi & Rea Wagyu porterhouse marble score 7+ with horseradish cream & yakiniku

(J's main - I have never seen him eat a main so slowly. He said he was savouring every bit!)

Taxi Dining Room

320 Flinders Street
Melbourne 3000
(03) 9654 8808

www.transporthotel.com.au

Ladro (Melbourne)

CALAMARI: pan seared calamari with pangratatto

BADABING: tomato, provolone, pork sausage, oregano, rocket, parmigiano

BOMBOLONI: Italian donuts with vanilla ice cream and blood orange syrup

Ladro - a Melbourne pizza must-try, so I was told and had read. So many trips to Melbourne I had intentions of dining here but never really made it. So this last trip I was determined!

The service was very relaxed, informative and friendly.

The calamari was tender and just right offset by the breadcrumbs for texture and crunch.

The sausage had a zing to it.

The bomboloni I was unsure of - there were 3 in a serve and being round balls of donuts they could be a little doughy to some, but the blood orange syrup was a refreshing change to chocolate. It worked really well.

A really lovely well rounded meal.

Ladro

224 Gertrude Street

Fitzroy VIC

(03) 9415 7575

Also at:

162 Greville Street

Prahran VIC

(03) 9510 2233

Dinner at Bills

A relaxed catchup dinner at Bills Surry Hills with a friend.

Wagyu beef burger with roast beetroot, tomato relish and zucchini pickles (please excuse the blurry picture).

Linguine (I can't remember what this was it's been a few months!)

Ginger biscuit ice-cream sandwich with butterscotch sauce

Classic creme caramel

It had been quite a number of years since I've had dinner at Bills. Bills is a Sydney dining institution for brunch with favourites such as ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter and corn fritters with bacon.

For a Friday night the restaurant was quiet. It was a nice change to having to shout over a meal at your friends! I would return if another quiet catchup is on the cards.

http://www.bills.com.au/bills/index.htm

Locations include Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Woollahra, Yokohama & Shichirigahama.