Avocado Smoothie

One of my favourite summer drinks. And since this Brisbane winter has been rather warm I’ve pulled this one out early.

Here’s what you need:
- 3 ripe medium sized avocados (approx 300g total)
- 5 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 cup of milk
- ½ cup of ice

Here’s what you do:
Place all of the above into a blender and blend until smooth.

You can also try adding a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to give it an even smoother finish.

Be warned, though, this is a pretty fatty drink, so don't have it too often!

Warbun Estate - Gossips 2006 Chardonnay

I was on the hunt for a clean-skin wine. From my understanding there are two reasons why clean skins exist. The first reason is due to the current wine glut - wine producers in Australia have produced excess for the current market, so some wine is rebadged as a 'clean skin' primarily to get rid of the excess stock. This means that you can be purchasing a quality wine for nearly a quarter of the price.

The second reason why clean skins exists is because some wineries experiment with various wines and release them as clean skins to gauge the market response.

Either way, they are a relatively cheap and quality alternative for use primarily in cooking.

So when I was in the bottle shop and noticed this Warburn Estate wine on sale for $6 I figured it was just about as cheap as a clean-skin yet was branded.

Tonight we opened it to along with the steamed fish and I was very pleasantly surprised.

The aroma was fruity and pleasant, though subtle. The palate was refreshingly crisp and fruity for a Chardonnay. No lingering buttery taste was found at all. Not much else to say aside from the fact that it was very pleasant considering it's low cost.

A little ray of Sunshine - French Cheesecake yoghurt with Passionfruit and Mandarin

Ok, so it may be too simple to put on here, but you gotta start somewhere (right DT?).

Here's what you need:
- 1/2 cup of French Cheesecake yoghurt, if you can't find that vanilla will suffice (but just make sure that it's French Vanilla)
- 1 peeled mandarin
- 1 passionfruit

Here's what you do:
Peel the mandarin. Spoon the yoghurt in the centre. Top off with the passionfruit.

That's it :)

Steamed Ginger Silver Perch

This is one of my all-time favourite ways to have fish. Steamed to lock in the juices which make the fish tender and oh so mouth watering. Delicious!

It's also relatively simple to cook :)

Here's what you need (to serve 4):
- 1kg whole fish - I've used Silver Perch for this but it will work just as well with Snapper or any other firm white fish.
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- small bunch of spring onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of coarsely chopped coriander
- 40g ginger, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup of light soy sauce
- 1 tbps sesame oil
- salt and pepper

Here's what you do:
Peel the ginger and thinly slice - julienne style (ie - like match sticks).

Score the fish on both sides. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on each side making sure to get some into the grooves. Place half the coriander, chopped spring onion and ginger into the belly cavity (I'm assuming, of course, that the fish has been cleaned out :P).

Place the fish on oiled foil and sprinkle some more of the coriander, spring onion and ginger. Fold the foil to create a well and place half the stock and soy sauce over the fish. Place the wrapped fish into a bamboo steamer and steam for about 40 minutes or until cooked - a sharp knife should slide easily into the thickest part of the fish).

Once cooked transfer the fish to a serving dish. Pour the rest of the stock and soy sauce over the fish and sprinkle the rest of the coriander, ginger and spring onion. Drizzle the oil over the top and serve with steaming hot rice!

Morton Estate 2004 White Label Sauvignon Blanc

I didn't quite know what to expect with this wine. Again, I'm not an overly big fan of Sauvignon Blanc for it's acidity. But seeing as this wine is an award winner - the label reads 'Silver Medal at the Royal Hobart International 2005 Wine Show' - it held promise.

It was not to be.

Again, as with the Montana Sauvignon Blanc there was a strong scent of lemon on the nose. The palate seemed like your average Sauvignon Blanc with it's rounded taste and crisp finish. I'm just not a fan of this grape variety and this wine didn't really impress or change my mind... a shame.

Maple, Mustard and Soy Salmon with Cauliflower Bake

Earlier tonight Steph wanted to cook dinner. So I let her :P I was mightily impressed with the finished outcome.

Here's what you need (to serve 2):
For the Salmon:

• 2 salmon steaks
• 2tbs Maple syrup
• 2tbs Dark soy sauce
• 1tbs Dijon mustard

For the Cauliflower:

• One head of cauliflower
• 1tbs Plain flour
• 50g salted butter
• 1 handful of grated cheese
  
• 3/4 cup of milk

Here's what you do:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Chop the cauliflower into bite sized pieces and drop in some boiling water for about 1-2 minutes until soft depending on size. You want the cauliflower to be cooked yet still be firm. In a saucepan melt the butter and mix in the flour until it is lump free. Pour about half the milk in and stir the mixture till smooth. Then add the grated cheese and continue stirring. Add the rest of the milk and if the sauce is still too thick then add a little more.

Pour the sauce onto the cauliflower into an oven proof dish and bake for around 10-15 minutes or until the golden brown.

For the Salmon marinade mix the maple syrup, dark soy sauce and Dijon mustard. Heat a non-stick fry pan and sear one side of the salmon. Brush the marinade on the top of the salmon steak and then turn over, brushing the seared side. Fry each side for about 2-3 minutes, the middle should be medium rare.

Serve together and enjoy :)

Editing Photos via Picasa2

Picasa2 is a very good picture edited created by Google. Though it's only in it's second edition I look forward to seeing what extra features will appear in future. Plus the program is free to download, so with that consideration it's a pretty good program!

Whilst at J&J's house warming I took a number of photos. Below (on the left) is one photo I took which I altered slightly (result on right). If you've ever wondered why some people take really good photos it's probably because they've altered the shot afterwards. It's not cheating as such - composition in the original photo is still important. But as you can see below, there is a world of difference after some tweaking ;)