Lighter beef korma

I am a girl who likes to eat - not like Andrew Denton, just for fuel, but because I really, really enjoy it.  I love trying new things, and discovering heretofore unknown delicacies.  I used to be just a sweets kind of girl, but  now I like my savoury dishes just as much. 

When one loves their food, portion control and balancing fat/sugar/calories are important.  It is something that I don't always do well.  Fresh out of university, I share-flatted with a girl who made dinner every night because she got home much earlier than me.  It was brilliant to come home and find dinner on the table.  However, as we were both learning about cooking, the serving sizes were enormous, and gradually, my weight crept up.  I became even plumper when I worked for a posh firm that entertained clients with three course lunches on a regular basis.  I revelled in the new found delights of eating out at fancy restaurants (for free!), and eagerly always went for all three courses when they were offered.  The real blow-out point for me came when I went on secondment to a large city interstate, and had a glorious time trying out all the new foods that were on offer in the much more multi-cultural environment.  These factors, combined with my love for lollies and chocolates, resulted in my weight soaring to new heights.  The great thing for me was, at  that time, I didn't really care - I felt well and happy, and being a heavier girl did not bother me.

Cue unrelated lower back pain after wrenching my back, and my then GP said "it would help if you lost 20kg".  I asked him how to do that, and his reply was that if he knew, he'd be a wealthy man.  Thanks, what a helpful response!  The possibility of easing my back pain meant that I was prepared to try anything, so my weight loss journey began.  Weight Watchers only got me so far before I plateaued and never lost any more weight; I also hated the faux religious experience of the group sessions.  After giving up on the weight loss project for a while, I went to see a dietitian, who helped me to lose that 20kg, and I kept it off for around 8 years.  Then the weight crept on again - not to the levels that I had previously reached, but I was certainly heavier than was good for my health.  This time, dietitians were not the answer - I saw two of them, and unfortunately, the "mindful eating" mantra doesn't really help me.  So, my most recent weight loss was facilitated by a naturopath, who gave me some handy tips on what to eat to feel fuller and what kind of snacks to eat.

As you can see from my blog, I am not following the strict naturopath prescribed diet anymore, but I hope that by balancing this with that, I can keep the weight off.

This is a long-winded way to get to today's dish.  I like a good curry, but unfortunately, many Indian restaurant curries are full of cream and oil and other things that are not very waistline-friendly.  Like everything else, it is OK to splurge on them once in a while, but they are not suitable for eating every night.  I recently acquired Make It Lighter by Angela Nilsen, which contains recipes for food favourites that are lower in fat/calories/sugar etc than the standard version.  Angela's book features a recipe for Chicken Korma, so curry-loving me jumped at the chance to make it.  However, I substituted the chicken for beef.  Angela swaps cream for yoghurt and limits the oils in the cooking  process, resulting in a dish that is lower in fat and calories than a traditional korma.  Best of all, it is delish - rich and fragrant and satisfying.  The only thing I'd do differently next time is not put the whole cardamom pods in, as I found it hard to find them to fish them out at the end, and there is nothing quite like biting down on a cardamom pod - blek!

The recipe has been published in The Washington Post, so if you would like to try this korma (whether with chicken or beef or whatever else you fancy!),  you can find it online here.

Radio Mexico, St Kilda

Last weekend, Tim and I visited Radio Mexico, a Mexican restaurant in St Kilda, for lunch. It came highly recommended by my friend E, and a couple of work colleagues had also been there and had rave reviews.

Radio Mexico is all about sharing food.  Their menu sounds delicious from top to bottom, so the hardest part was deciding what to have.

We started off with three soft-shelled tacos to share -   the calabanza picante (spicy roast pumpkin and corn with Goats Curd and pepitas):

the carne asada (BBQ hanger steak with cheese, home made crema, lettuce and salsa)  and the cochinita pibil (slow cooked free range pork carnitas with frijoles, red onion, jalapeno pickles and salsa arbol):

All tacos are $6.50.  The pork was the spiciest of all, verging on hot, but as I like that kind of thing, I enjoyed it.  It was hard to pick a favourite, as all of the tacos were good, but I think I liked the pumpkin one the best.

We also ordered the special of the day - slow cooked pork ribs  ($14.50):

I cannot do justice to describing how delicious these ribs were - the meat just melted off the bone, making them easy to share and easy to eat.  They had a sweet and spicy stickiness that had me wanting to lick my fingers.

We could not go away without dessert, so we chose a slice of the cajeta caramel pecan tart ($12) to share: 

I did not resent a single calorie in this tart, which was perfectly complemented by a dollop of cream.  Devine!

Radio Mexico is kitted out with bright Mexican paraphenalia, and this Day of the Dead family are featured in a wall mural:

We washed it all down with two bottles of Bohemia beer ($8) each.

The staff were friendly and the service was very efficient, so all in all, this was a terrific dining experience - definitely worth a repeat. 

Afterwards, we meandered on the No. 16 tram into Hawthorn for coffee and a hot crossed bun macaron each at La Tropezienne in Glenferrie Road:

The chocolate macarons are sandwiched with a fruity spicy ganache that really does taste like a hot crossed bun!  A treat not to be by-passed.

Radio Mexico

11-13 Carlisle Street

St Kilda, VIC

Ph: +61 3 9534 9990

Greek Yoghurt Cheesecake with Ouzo-Poached Figs

 
I adore cheesecake, but I know that it is one of the most calorie-laden treats around.  Accordingly, I indulge infrequently and sparingly.  However, I was very excited when I saw a recipe in the March-April 2014 edition of Nourish magazine for Greek Yoghurt Cheesecake with Ouzo-Poached Figs (erm, which I also found had been published nearly 6 years ago in the US Eating Well magazine - the recipe is online here).  

This cheesecake substituted the rich buttery biscuit base for a base made from crushed toasted breadcrumbs and walnuts bound together with coconut oil, used low fat cream cheese, and exchanged the cream normally found in cheesecakes for Greek yoghurt.  Superb!

The cheesecake is super smooth and creamy, and you would never know that it is a little more virtuous than the traditional, full fat version.  You could make this cheesecake and dress it up with whatever flavours you fancy.  However, I did make the poached figs they suggested (thanks to Ivy who gave me two mini bottles of ouzo years ago).  And I have to say, the figs are good!!  I would never drink ouzo by itself (a little too burning on the throat for me), but in the poaching syrup, it is devine.  I had leftover figs and am using them on icecream and on oatmeal - delish!!

If you love your cheesecake like me, but are open to new recipes or would like a lower fat version, then do try this cheesecake recipe - it is really good.

FFWD - Vegetable Barley Soup with the Taste of Little India

For French Friday with Dorie this week, we combine a little bit of rustic country charm with a little bit of spice to make a dish that Dorie confesses is neither Indian nor French.  That's right, we made Vegetable Barley Soup with the Taste of Little India.  You can find the recipe online here. 

I was pleased about making this soup, not because I love soup, but because I had all of the ingredients already.  Parsnips and pearl barley are things that I don't use often, but I had parsnips left over from the Carrot and Parsnip Fritters, and pearl barley from the  last time that we used it for FFWD.  Fabulous!

I liked this soup - the spice gave it a bit of kick to make it interesting, and the pearl barley made it filling.  It would be great in the depths of winter when it is so cold and grey and miserable that you think you may never smile again.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this soup recipe, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

Cherry Pie

Who doesn't go weak at the knees at the mention of cherry pie?  If there are strong backboned individuals who don't, I am in awe, because I just adore cherry pie, and the thought of it has me swooning.

A few weeks back, when I went shopping with my friend E, I picked up a cheap jar of morello cherries in Aldi, which was immediately earmarked for cherry pie - when I got around to it.  I was also inspired by this recipe for Truly Madly Deeply Cherry Pie on Whole Food Cooking.

Of course, I took the idea and made it my own.  I made a pie shell and lid using Dorie Greenspan's Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough.  I mean, it's good for almost everything, so it's gonna be perfect for cherry pie.  I made only one half of the Truly Madly Deeply Cherry Pie filling, as I only had one jar of cherries.  As it happens, that was plenty to fill the 9" pie shell.

This was the pie fresh out of the oven, which oozed lovely ruby red juices on being cut:

 

In the fridge overnight, the filling solidified a little more so that it was transportable to work.

 

What can I say - I loved this!  Would I make it again - yes sirree I would.  Think buttery pie crust encasing soft, juicy, sweet cherries - you get the picture.

 

Have a great day!

WWDH - Fried Rice

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay pick is Fried Rice from Modern Classics I, chosen by Margaret.  You can also find the recipe online here.

My experience with Fried Rice in the past has been from dubious Chinese takeaways, and it hasn't really impressed me.  However, this is not your average Fried Rice - it is somehow lighter and more flavoursome than the Chinese takeaway equivalent.  I think it was even better on day two.

I have never made Fried Rice before, but was surprised at how easy it was.  This one is definitely a keeper.
  
To see what Margaret and Sarah thought of this week's picks, visit their websites. 

1969, Collins Street, Melbourne

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played it 'til my fingers bled
It was the summer of '69

 

Summer of '69, Bryan Adams

A favourite watering hole for Tim and I was Zuffas, which used to be located on the upper floor of the ANZ Royal Bank building in Collins St, Melbourne. The drinks were cheap and on a Friday evening, the place was usually not crowded.  It was also the scene of my only non-work foray into karaoke, where I learned that my singing voice gets the serious shakes in public and doesn't benefit from the  amplification of a microphone.

Sadly, Zuffas closed, and the space was vacant for a while.  However, a new tenant has now taken up the space, a burger restaurant called simply "1969".  You can guess from this that the theme of this burger restaurant is the year 1969.  Music from that year plays on the stereo, and the food is named after memorable bands, songs, movies and TV shows from that year.  You'll find The Brady Bunch (sides), Honky Tonk Woman (a burger) and Yoko and John (a vegetarian burger) on the menu, along with a galaxy of others.

We  ordered the sweet potato fries ($6) from The Brady Bunch selection.  These thin crispy fries, served in a paper lined basket, came seasoned with herbs and aioli on the side:

It was hard to pick a burger because they all sounded so good.  Tim chose the Easy Rider ($10) - beef and cheddar with onion and tomato jam:

I went for the Jimmy Hendrix ($10) - Jamaican pulled pork and pineapple slaw:

 

What I liked about the burgers at 1969 was not just their cool names, or their delicious but different flavour combinations, but also that they were not enormous so that you felt that you needed to run a marathon afterwards.  This is perfect for a work lunch situation, when you don't want to go back to your desk to face the afternoon with a bloated, groaning stomach.

 

The staff were friendly and efficient, and made me truly think that, as is emblazoned in neon on one wall of the restaurant, "This Is The Place".

 

1969 does breakfast, lunch and dinner during the week, so there are plenty of options to try them out.  It's definitely a repeat venue for me.

 

1969

Rear, 360 Collins Street

Melbourne VIC 3000