The magic of mushrooms (and other fungi)

It's been a while since I posted here! I mostly use the blog as an electronic recipe book these days (most recently cooked: really easy pizza on Friday) but hope someone else out there finds it handy too? Feel free to say hello if you do :-)

I've been thinking about mushrooms, and fungi more broadly, lately. With the weird weather we've had in Canberra, all sort of intriguing fungi has appeared. Many different shapes, sizes and locations, and (most likely) unsafe to eat. I may have trespassed a bit on a neighbour's lawn to photograph this beauty:

Today, Andrew and I went out to brekkie at a new place (well, new to us): Ground & Graze, on Grazier Lane in Belconnen. I had the Herbed Mushroom Toast, which was delicious:

Spiced herbed mushrooms, cashew cream, rocket

and grated Grana Padano on thick-cut toasted sourdough

and his very elegant Full Grounds Breakfast also featured some mushrooms:

If you too are craving mushrooms I have some great recipes. A smattering ...

asparagus, blue cheese and mushroom risotto

Bagus mushroom soup

creamy Austrian mushrooms

mushroom, lentil and rice casserole

paprika mushrooms

roasted mushrooms with feta and garlic

Usually the Canberra Truffle Festival is in full swing around now, but I've barely seen any mentions of local truffles this year. Don't know if the weather has led to fewer truffles, or the festival has been discontinued, or what ...?

One more thought about mushrooms. I think last year's mushroom murder case made Australians more nervous about eating them, and food producers less likely to offer mushroom products for sale. This is unfortunate, as there's no chance of death cap mushrooms (Amanita phalloides) being sold – they can't be cultivated and only grow wild – and mushrooms are both nutritious and delicious. A particular disappearance I've noted is from the Leggo's Fresh Filled Pasta range. It's a quick and easy weeknight dinner option, and the mushroom version was a favourite in our household. I hope it reappears one day.

On the hunt for protein ...?

We all need more chick peace in our lives

(sign spotted in Sri Lanka in 2023)

I've been doing boot camp classes for almost ten years and they're great fun. I started doing them, at my then workplace, as a way to regain strength after fracturing my humerus in 2015, and enjoyed the classes so much that I continued attending even after I left that job eight years ago. (Funnily, a bunch of other regular attendees are also ex-employees. Or even spouses of ex-employees :-)

Anyway, some of the group are doing a February protein challenge where they are trying to consume extra quantities of protein this month. The mid-exercise conversation today turned to how to reach the goal, which got me thinking about recipes that might be packed with protein. I'm not much of a meat eater so dishes featuring legumes, nuts, soy and dairy products sprang to mind. Here are a few meatless ideas that might boost protein intake:

Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce

Cheese souffle

Chickpea delight

Dal makhani

Lentil, cauliflower and sweet potato soup

Mushroom, lentil and rice casserole

Nachos

Palak paneer

Peacamole dip

Rocket and haloumi salad

Shakshuka

Spanish omelette

Sri Lankan lentil curry

Tandoori tofu salad

Teriyaki tofu and veges

Vegetarian shepherd's pie

Zucchini, basil and feta fritters

and for dessert …

Chocolate cheesecake

Orange and almond cake

Portuguese tarts

Wattalapam

Enjoy!

Lunch @ KOTO

It was a couple of weeks ago now, but I recently had lunch with two friends at KOTO in Barton, Canberra (across the road from Old Parliament House, a.k.a. the Museum of Australian Democracy). KOTO had been in the news lately, as a relative newcomer to the Canberra fine dining scene. 

It was more upmarket than the lunch places my friends and I usually frequent … and it was excellent. The tasting menu (at $160 pp) seemed eye-wateringly expensive, and also a bit too fishy for our tastes, so we ordered off the a la carte menu. We shared:

Edamame

Agedashi tofu

Kinoko (mushrooms)

Cauliflower

Lamb cutlets

… and the décor was delightful too:

The whole meal cost less than $100 for three of us and we were all satisfied. No room for dessert! The food and service and ambience at KOTO were fabulous. Recommended :-)

Truffle dinner @ Lolo and Lola

Well! What a treat. As the third (and final?) splurge in our 2023 Canberra truffle adventure (you can see the first here and the second here), last night Andrew and I ate a truffle-packed three-course meal at Lolo and Lola, a Filipino restaurant in Watson, Canberra. It was delicious and impressive and generous.

Melon samalamig (left) and calamansi juice (right)

Pan de sal

Bulalo pasta soup

Adobo ni Lolo

Sarsuela tablea cake

… and the full menu, in case you want more details :-)

Lolo and Lola is delightful and is celebrating its sixth birthday this week. There have been a lot of different cafes in the same spot! When we moved to Canberra in 2002 it was Carlo's, then that closed and was replaced by Joey's Kitchen, which turned into Cherryripe Brasserie, which became Lolo and Lola. If the popularity of Lolo and Lola (which means grandpa and grandma) is anything to go by, they'll be around for plenty of years to come. Yaaaaay.

Truffle burgers for brekkie @ The FunGuys

Today we went to The Truffle Farm in Mount Majura Road for truffle burgers and fries. For breakfast! It was yummy and decadent and filling.

It was also FREEZING. We were glad we'd taken a picnic blanket to sit on while we tucked into our unusual breakfast.

The Canberra region truffle festival usually runs from June to August and we have one more truffle event planned. Watch this space.

Truffle lunch @ OTIS Dining Hall

Andrew and I have embraced the Canberra region's annual truffle festival for many years. Canberra's winters can be quite … crisp, and it's good to have distractions while we wait for our fingers and toes to thaw out. We've been to several truffle hunts and brunches, at both Turalla Truffles near Bungendore and The Truffle Farm in Canberra. They're always fun and delicious but this year we decided to spend our truffle budget differently. (The hunts are getting seriously expensive and we realised we could participate in several other truffle-y adventures for the same price.)

So, a couple of weeks ago we enjoyed a truffle-laden lunch at OTIS Dining Hall in Kingston.

Cauliflower and truffle veloute with sourdough

Handmade raviolo with three-cheese filling

Aged ribeye steak with truffle butter, truffle

dianne sauce, seasonal salad and potatoes

Chocolate truffle bavarois

Truffled brie with truffle honey

An elegant venue and a fabulous feast! And, having skipped the truffle hunt, we had money left over to participate in a couple more truffle-filled meals. Check out the burgers and fries here …

Wellingtonian delights

Andrew and I last visited New Zealand in February 2020. About five minutes before the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off. So there has been a longer gap between visits to my family than usual. Finally, we've taken the plunge and returned, notwithstanding the ongoing COVID risk. In many places, we're the only weirdos wearing masks. Eeeek. Anyway … we spent a couple of days in wonderful Wellington before heading to see my rellies. It's still delightful. Phew.

Mural spotted from inside the Wellington

Cable Car (funicular railway)

View of the city from Kelburn

Caffeine!

My brunch (truffle mushroom medley, beetroot hummus,

halloumi, rocket, hazelnut dukkah and poached egg) at Cabletop Eatery

Feijoas. The fruit of my dreams. Currently

in season and available everywhere :-)

Roti canai with vegetable curry and (bonus)

Lemon & Paeroa at Satay Kingdom. Oh my!

Next stop Whanganui.

The umami joys of fungi

It's funny how ironic growing old(er) feels. Like finally being able to afford fashionable clothes, but knowing you don't have the figure to wear them any more. Or having fewer restrictions on the food you can buy, but more restrictions on the calories you can afford to consume. I feel like there's a constant trade-off between the food I want to eat and the wish not to outgrow my clothes. Accordingly, I'm trying to be more conscious of seeking quality ahead of quantity, in what I eat: small, flavoursome dishes rather than generous portions that taste less interesting. I've been a huge fan of mushrooms (and other edible fungi) for as long as I can remember and often choose mushroom dishes for Sunday brekkie or to cook at home.

Do not, repeat, DO NOT eat these. The gorgeous Amanita muscaria is

popping up all over Canberra in this wet autumn but is, sadly, toxic.

Just wanted to share this photo I took while cycling through a park recently …

We tried a new café this morning, DaMingle in Gungahlin,

and the pan-fried mushrooms were delicious

The breakfast bruschetta with mushrooms and pesto

at our local, U&Co in Kaleen, is also excellent

If you're in the mood to cook some fabulous fungi, here are some tried and tested recipes:

asparagus, blue cheese and mushroom risotto

creamy Austrian mushrooms

mushroom, lentil and rice casserole

roasted mushrooms with feta and garlic

Oh, and if truffles are your thing, the annual Canberra Truffle Festival starts in a couple of weeks! We've already booked to attend a truffle hunt and brunch at one of the local farms. It's become a bit of a tradition … there are some photos of past events here and here if you're interested.

Our (annual) truffling adventure

Back in 2008 we turned our house over to a mycologist for eight weeks. A ... what? Mycology is the branch of biology that deals with fungi and, on that occasion, Andrew and I went overseas and an eminent mycology professor from Oregon kindly offered to house-sit and feed our goldfish while we gallivanted. He had been visiting Canberra regularly for many years, researching native truffles (which, incidentally, are delicious to marsupials but inedible for humans).

Anyway ... we've been intrigued by truffles ever since, and try to participate in at least one activity each year as part of the Canberra Truffle Festival. Yesterday we attended a truffle hunt and brunch at The Truffle Farm in Canberra. It was fun, educational and delicious! Here are some scenes from the morning:

We've also attended truffle hunts and brunches at Turalla Truffles (near Bungendore) in 2018 and 2019, and and a trufflicious dinner in 2013. Nom nom. I bought 20 grams of truffle to take home yesterday, so our meals over the coming weeks will also be infused with truffles. We're so lucky to live in this fabulous city.

Y is for yoghurt

It is Day 25 of my alpharecipe challenge and, if you're someone who celebrates Christmas, it's also Christmas Day! Merry Christmas and all that jazz. Y is for yoghurt [and yogurt and yoghourt and however else you might spell it] and yoghurt is a staple in our household. Andrew incorporates it into his breakfast smoothies and I like to eat it with a little muesli, or some nuts and seeds, sprinkled on top.

We've had an EasiYo yoghurt incubator for over twenty years. Cheaper and much greener than buying ready-made yoghurt in single-use plastic pots. Although we usually eat yoghurt for breakfast, I do have a few recipes that feature it, too:

mushroom, lentil and rice casserole
palak paneer
pulled pork and coleslaw burgers
summer berry parfait
Swedish pizza salad [a.k.a. coleslaw]
Tandoori tofu salad

See you tomorrow for Z ;-)

T is for tofu

Yum! I really like the versatility of tofu. Today is Day 20 of my alpharecipe blogging challenge. Here are some fun things to do with tofu ...

black pepper tofu with snow peas
pea and tofu soup
tandoori tofu salad
tofu in lemongrass coconut milk
vegetable laksa
vegan palak 'paneer'

G is for garlic

In my new-found extra leisure time over the past couple of years I've rediscovered macrame. As you do. Recently I made a bright orange garlic bag!

I've also managed to grow garlic, a little more each year, in our garden:

Here are some recipes featuring garlic, to celebrate Day 7 of the alpharecipe challenge ...

asparagus, blue cheese and mushroom risotto
avocado salsa wraps
black pepper tofu with snow peas
chickpea delight
Greek-style meatballs with tomato sauce and green olives
Hermine's magic mushrooms
nachos
palak paneer
pumpkin soup with drizzled coriander pesto
ratatouille
roasted mushrooms with feta and garlic
Sri Lankan lentil curry
stir-fried brussels sprouts

Enjoy ;-)

Brekkie @ Church Neighbourhood Goods (oh, and some photos of flowers)

It's a gorgeous spring day here so we decided to head to Floriade, Canberra's annual flower festival. As it was Sunday morning we also wanted to grab some breakfast on the way, so tried out a new (for us) cafe, Church Neighbourhood Goods. It's tucked in a laneway in Civic ... very Melbourne-esque! Both the food and the service were excellent.

He had:

Overnight oats

while she had:

Winter 'shrooms

and we both enjoyed their excellent coffee:

Floriade was good too ;-)

Canberra. Beautiful one day, beautiful the next. So glad we live here.