Mother's Day and North Point Cafe

Yesterday, Herself and Miss Eagle did their Mother's Day ritual and visited the North Point Cafe. The North Point Cafe across from the beach at the end of North Road in Brighton is a puppy friendly place.

As can be seen from the picture pile above, there were all manner of canine friends at North Point. Of course, we had our FootFoot - a miniature Fox Terrier - with us. Herself is leashing him. We asked to sit at the back of the paved outdoor area. Behind this is a lawn area and then an area of dirt with lots of gnarled, seaside trees where dogs are leashed. Nice silver bowls are available and jugs of water to fill them. Our seating backed on to the lawn area, so when we had finished eating Herself got FootFoot and he was able to be with us. All very civilised for him and for us. One of the wonderful things about taking a dog to North Point is that it is always a great conversation starter. So, as usual, we were soon in conversation with a woman at the next table who had brought the beautiful Sebastian. (See post above) If you are not a dog lover, it might be best to sit inside - but North Point can get crowded so beggars can't always be choosers. A mother and daughter couple came and sat next to us. All the dogs were well behaved except for a Red Setter who barked quite frequently. The mother and daughter left. So if you find babies in restaurants a bit much - you might also find the pooches at the Point are not for you either. We began with Pink Champagne. Herself selected the Smoke Salmon Stack which she thoroughly enjoyed. Miss Eagle's Vegetarian Ciabatta looked a little overwhelmed by the greenery but it was quite delicious.

For afters, it was Blueberry Cheesecake for Herself and a Lemon/Lime Pie for Miss E.

Then a Mocha for Miss E and a Cappuccino for Herself.

We highly recommend the pooch friendly North Point Cafe. We enjoyed our meal and the ambiance. We'll see you again next year, North Point, if not before.

Prices:

• Pink Champagne (2) $12.00
• Vegetarian Ciabatta $12.50
• Smoked Salmon Stack $15.50
• Cheesecake $ 6.50
• Tart $ 6.50
• Mocha $ 3.50
• Cappuccino $ 3.00
• TOTAL $59.50

North Point Cafe, 2b North Road, Brighton Phone: 9596 9196

Savoury Tartlets with Bread Cases

There is a magazine called Diabetic Living published under the Better Homes and Gardens (Australian version) imprint.

Miss Eagle picked up Issue 7 - January/February 2007 but can't speak for every other issue. Attached to Issue 7 was a booklet with 63 food ideas for summer and an emphasis on lunch boxes. Miss Eagle decided to make the Salmon and Asparagus Quiches on page 22 of the booklet.

Miss Eagle decided on these because, when there was a "bring a plate" lunch at work prior to Christmas, she noticed the surprise of some about the bread cases of savoury tartlets brought by one contributor. She wondered how many others might be surprised and/or interested.

People in Miss Eagle's pre-baby boomer age group won't be at all surprised. In the days of ladies' church fellowships with monthly meetings and "bring a plate" activity, bread cases were regularly seen. They are easy to make and keep well in an air-tight jar. In those long ago days, small fluted metal flan trays with lift out bottoms were not around. We had patty cake tins. These are now referred to (as a tribute to American colonisation) as muffin pans.

So here is the recipe below. Miss Eagle found this recipe a bit rich for her tastes and next time around will restrict herself to an egg, cheese and onion and herb mix.

SALMON AND ASPARAGUS QUICHES

Ingredients: Non-stick cooking spray; 12 slices (toast thickness) sour-dough vienna, crust removed; 1 bunch (195grams) asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed, cut into 2cm lengths; 1x210 gram can no-added-salt red salmon, drained, bones and skin removed, flaked; 4 egg whites (from 55 gram eggs); 2x55 gram eggs; 185ml (3/4 cup) skim milk; 1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives; freshly ground black pepper

Method: Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius; spray muffin pans with cooking spray. Using a rolling pin, roll each slice of the loaf until about 4mm-thick. Press two slices into each pan, overlapping slightly to completely line the pan. Press together the edges to seal well. Spray lightly with the cooking spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp. Meanwhile cook the asparagus in a large saucepan of boiling water for 1-2 minutes or until tender crisp. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Drain. Pat dry with paper towels. Divide the asparagus and salmon evenly among the baked bread cases. In a small jug, whisk together the egg whites, eggs, milk and chives. Season with pepper. Evenly pour the egg mixture over the filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is just set. Set aside in the pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool.

Miss Eagle's Notes

1. Miss Eagle used to types of bread. One was a pre-packaged and sliced multi-grain bread. The other was a sour dough loaf of Phillipa's. The sour dough loaf was not pre-sliced so the slices Miss Eagle cut were thicker. As well, the bread is stiffer. The multi-grain loaf was softer and rolled very thin. It fitted better into the pans and left a nice amount of room for the filling. The sour dough loaf while it came up nicely in the baking did not hold as much filling. I think for keep, etc. perhaps the multi-grain bread might better because it makes a neater, thinner, size. Sorry, Phillipa.
2. For quiches and scrambled eggs, Miss Eagles prefers to use evaporated milk - and there is a light option available. It is thicker and richer than ordinary milk and a better consistency for this sort of food preparation than cream.

At work: lunch with a lift

The Boss came out the other day and said "Everyone's been working so hard lately, I want to give them a lift. Thought we'd have a lunch and get some pizzas in. What do you think?" Well, dear Reader, Miss Eagle's face scrunched up.

Pizzas certainly would not give her a lift - and she didn't think it would anyone else either in this predominantly female department. "OK" he said "you look after it." Well you don't give Miss Eagle an inch but she takes a mile and here is what she did. Miss Eagle did the fast food bit - sushi, Subway, and pita wraps. She brought in some desert from home. Also from home came various bits and pieces to make things look very special and here is the result. People loved the whole deal - and it did give everyone a lift! Smiles on faces everywhere!

This is the entry to where lunch at work was served.

Catering was for almost 30 people.

The work of our department is such that staff could not just be taken out for lunch and - even in-house in the suburbs - the nature of the work required that attendance at lunch be staggered.

The Pita Wraps

The Subway subs

The Long View

The Sushi

The Desserts were strawberry tarts: large ones based on the recipe for the smaller tarts below and a farmhouse apple pie.

Farmhouse Apple Pie

The Farmhouse Apple Pie was made from Miss Eagle's favourite biscuit pastry and ten granny smith apples (peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced) and carefully placed, nay packed, into the pastry, then sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon (please note: no added liquid) with lattice placed on top. Pastry was then brushed with egg yolk although milk can be used. Then baked in a moderately slow oven. The apples were an inch or two above the top of the deep pie dish. After the slow cooking process, the apples had settled down to being level with the top of the pie dish.

Please Note: The pastry Miss Eagle used was from a quantity already in the fridge. The quantity in this recipe will, almost certainly, be too large but the remainder can be stored in fridge or freezer and it makes wonderful bikkes so you can get out the biscuit cutter and get busy.

Strawberry Tarts from Delicious

(These are small tarts. The recipe is simple so easy to do a large version)

Ingredients: 250 grams of your favourite plain biscuits; 75 gram of unsalted butter; 250 grams of mascarpone; 1 egg, lightly beaten; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon icing sugar; 250 grams strawberries, hulled, halved or quartered if large; 1/2 cup redcurrant jelly, melted.

Method: Lightly grease four 10cm loose-bottomed tart pans. Process the biscuits to fine crumbs in a food processor. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine. Press the biscuit mixture into the base and sides of the prepared pans, then chill for 30 minutes to firm. Place the mascarpone in a bowl with the egg, vanilla and icing sugar, and whisk to combine. Fill the tart shells with the cheese mixture, then remove from the tart pans (you may need to wipe the outside of the tart pans with a hot cloth to loosen). Place the strawberries on top of each tart and brush with the melted redcurrant jelly. Serve immediately.

Miss Eagle's Notes

• Miss Eagle prefers not to use the food processor for crushing biscuits and adopts the following method. Place biscuits inside a plastic bag. Take a large wooden rolling pin and bash biscuits into small chunks then roll the small chunks (still in the plastic bag) into fine crumbs. Easier, finer crumbs, and no mess!
• When Miss Eagle filled the tart shells in the morning before going to work, she must have been half asleep. It was not until later that she realised she had simply spread the mascarpone on to the shells and not mixed it with the egg, vanilla and icing sugar. Still tasted great! Proof of how marvellously simple this recipe is when it can be adjusted in your sleep and it still tastes wonderful!
• Miss Eagle has been known to forget the redcurrant jelly as well - and it still tastes wonderful. Miss Eagle hasn't tried it but she suspects that any melted jam would taste wonderful over the strawberries and mascarpone.