Touring the suburbs of my life

Whew! I've made it back. Began to wonder. Where does the time go? How life does intervene in the life of a blogger? There was a UFO to be finished. There was crafting to be done. There were shops to be visited. Housework to be done. You see my sister, The Director, was visiting - although briefly - from Brisbane. Then of course the visiting itself. Fitted in quite a bit in 24 hours. For the crucial eating bits, I forgot to bring the camera. How could I have done that? Miss Eagle forgetting her camera? Well it happened.

We commenced at Brown's Bakery in lovely Maling Road as a preliminary to a window-shopping stroll which turned into a bit of expenditure on the part of The Director. Along with my hot chocolate and her latte, we had cupcakes. Brown's will have to keep trying. They are not up to Crabapple Cupcake standard. The violent electric blue of the cupcake decor is not very appealing. So the verdict is nice - but keep trying.

Then it was off for the stroll. We detoured ever so slightly into that beautiful by-way, Theatre Place. Now I can't recall the name of this establishment but if, on entering Theatre Place, dear Reader, you steer to the right and go down to the end you will come to a little shop which is part eatery, part homewares. This is where The Director purchased these for me:

These are oven mitts which will withstand temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius. I look forward to a burn free future and being able to withdraw hot, heavy baking dishes with much greater dexterity and confidence than previously. Thank you, dear Director.

Then there was the charming Ring of Roses where The Director found some lovely gifts to take back to Brisbane.

This was followed by dinner at Box Hill. On the corner of Station Street and Whitehorse Road stands an amazing edifice. It has large red double doors. And above the large red doors is a huge poster portrait of Chiang Kai-shek. For quite a while, Miss Eagle has wondered what it all meant. Was this a beachhead for Taiwan in downtown Box Hill? Is factional politics alive and well among the Chinese community of the eastern suburbs of Melbourne? And what on earth did Chiang Kai-shek have to do with Chinese cuisine? And was the food any good?

On Friday night, we walked through the red doors under the portrait of Chiang and had the last two questions answered for us. The restaurant is devoted to Chiang and there are large images and explanations around the restaurant. Miss E is familiar with this history. The part she has always been fascinated with has been the history of Madame Chiang. You see, dear Reader, Madame Chiang (Soong May-Ling) is one of the three legendary Soong Sisters. It is said that one married money (Ai-Ling), one married power (May-Ling), and one married China (Ching-Ling). The residence of Sun Yat Sen and Ching-Ling in Shanghai is said to be the most harmonious house in terms of Feng Shui.

The Post-Chiang restaurant celebrates the cuisine of Zhejiang Province in mainlaind China. Chiang was a native of Zhejiang and maintained a preference for the cuisine. We were three: The Director, Miss Eagle, and herself. And I think it safe to say that we, too, now have a preference for the cuisine of Zhejiang. We had prawns in a stir-fry and Beijing duck (they wrap the duck in pancakes at the table for you). Be-yoot-i-ful. Best Beijing duck ever. The restaurant is licensed so no need for BYO. The tablecloths are crisp and white, the waiting staff are subtle and constant. The decor is great. The prices are reasonable. If you want cheap Chinese chow, this is not for you. But, for a dash of Chinese elegance and excellent, well-served and presented food and value for money, then the Post-Chiang fills the bill. I'm dreaming of Yum-Cha now. Anyone else want to come?

Essaying into the kitchen: or Jekyll and fried?

The endpapers show a 1922 design by the painter George Sheringham called 'Clusters of stylised fruits, flowers and shell motifs', a domestic design with a hint both of the pastoral and the abstract.

As you understand, dear Reader, your Miss Eagle loves traditional food - traditional food done well. This is why she has to direct you to read to-day's article in The Age by Australia's wonderful and well-regarded, Stephanie Alexander.

Our Steph is talking about a book by Lady Jekyll, published in 1922, titled Kitchen Essays. Some of you will be familiar with the work of her sister-in-law, the great gardener Gertrude Jekyll. Agnes Jekyll's father, William Graham, was a patron of the Pre-Raphaelites of whom Miss Eagle is very fond. Stephanie has published for us some of the recipes. So, if you are looking for recipes for Orange Jumbles; Sand Cake; and Winter Cake please go here.

Patrick and The Butterfly Cakes

Our friend Parick turned up at the jollities at The Trad Pad yesterday with a tray of butterfly cakes. Butterfly cakes are made from Fairy Cakes by cutting the top off the cake, cutting that slice in half, topping the cake with cream, placing the pieces of cake in the cream like wings. In addition, Patrick has used some Strawberry Jam and you can top the lot with powdered icing sugar. Scrumptious!

An expat lyricises the lamington

It is not only Anzac Biscuits that expats in London yearn for. Over at Kimbofo an ex-pat waxes lyrical on the lamington on a visit home. If you want the recipe from the person who invented the lamington, here it is.

Photo above by Kimbofo

Take your lamington for a drive

When I wrote about lamingtons, I forgot to tell you about the Lamington Drive. Never no mind, revem has covered the topic more than adequately here. Which reminds me of that other great Aussie fundraiser (although I think the Lamington Drive must have been the first): the Meat Pie Drive.

Another homesick Aussie...in Scotland

Pop over here to an expat Aussie's food blog.

She even has a recipe for Lamingtons.

Fairy Cakes from Madeira

In the US, I believe, these are called Cupcakes. Here in Oz though we have a whimsical streak and these are Fairy Cakes. If the peaked tops are sliced off, the slice cut in half, the top covered in cream with the half slices placed in the cream at an angle like butterfly wings, they then become wonderful Butterfly Cakes. Small Fairy Cakes can be cut in half, creamed in the middle, put together again rolled in pink jelly (jello to the US) and dessicated coconut and then they become Peach Cakes. Fairy Cakes are made from Madeira Mixture. Below, is the basic Madeira Mixture , based on Miss Schauer's,from which so many good things come.

MADEIRA MIXTURE Ingredients: 125 grams (4oz) of butter; 125 grams (4oz) sugar; 2 eggs; vanilla essence; quarter of a cup of milk - I used Carnation Milk - Light and Creamy undiluted; 6 oz of SR (self-raising flour) - if you don't have any SR Flour then use plain flour (for the US - all purpose flour) with a teaspooon and half of baking powder. Method: Cream butter and sugar until the mixture is white; add vanilla essence to taste; add eggs one at a time and then make sure that the mixture is well creamed; add milk and then flour (although you can add milk and flour alternately if you prefer). Flour can be either folded in by hand or mixed on a very low speed. Not the high speed used to cream the butter and sugar. On completion, you should have a nice batter. Certainly not runny - but not too thick either. It has to be Goldilocks consistency - Just Right.

If it is too thick you can add a tiny amount of water to get to the right consistency - if you used the Carnation milk. If you substituted ordinary milk, then dilute with the same milk. I used this mixture to make the cakes Muffin size. It made 5 cakes. I used non-stick muffin pans in which I inserted fluted muffin papers. Bake in a very moderate oven. I cooked them at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 15 minutes. Remember they don't take long too cook so keep an eye on them through your oven's glass door. Vienna Cream: Measurements are inexact here. I started out, when the cakes were cool right through, with 125 grams (4oz) of butter which I creamed. To this I kept adding icing sugar until I got the consistency I wanted. Now there is something that you need to know about icing sugar. In Oz, we have Icing Mixture and Pure Icing Sugar. Icing Mixture makes a soft not a hard icing. It is not pure icing sugar because the icing sugar is mixed with cornflour. Pure Icing Sugar can very lumpy. You will need to get rid of the lumps by rolling with a rolling pin or whizzing around in your blender or processor until it is smooth and silky. Finally, sift it in a good old fashioned sifter. So, icing mixture is quicker and if you want the icing or cream to be soft and butter this is great. For hard icing or fancy fondants, you will need the pure unadulterated stuff. I applied the icing with a bread and butter knife applying in swirls which I made even swirlier with a dessert fork. I then added coloured cachous which are available in the cake making section of the supermarket.

Lamingtons

Cream 4oz butter and 4oz sugar together. When white add 2 well-beaten eggs gradually, then small 1/2 cup milk and vanilla last. Add 6oz self-raising flour sifted twice. Bake in a square shallow cake tin for about half an hour in a very moderate oven. Allow to get cold, then cut into uniform squares. Put a fork into each square. Cover with chocolate icing, toss in cocoanut, and decorate with a little piece of chopped nut or cherry. Icing - Sift 1/2lb of icing sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa dissolved in 2 tablespoons of boiling water, flavour with vanilla. Add a little milk if necessary to bring to a consistency that will just coat. From The Schauer (Pronounced "Shower") Cookery Book Fifteenth impression published by Kemp Place Investments Pty Ltd., Kemp Place, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.