Trippy Taco & Vegetarian Sausage Rolls

On Saturday my friend M and I went to Trippy Taco for dinner, followed by Robin Hood at the Drive In at Coburg. While the movie left me a little underwhelmed (I just wasn't engaged with the story line), the dinner was delicious. When it comes to Mexican, I adore the use of black beans, and rarely stray from it when its offered. After hearing so many good things about the Tofu Assada Burrito however, I decided to give the beans a miss and opt for the tofu. The burrito was really nice, but I think I will be going back to the bean burrito next time. My only real complaint was that the chunks of tofu made it quite difficult to eat, and I created a bit of a mess of my plate.

I've never taken photos of my meal when out before, but when I remembered I'm now a 'food blogger' (hehe) I decided to whip out my iPhone and take a somewhat grotty looking photo of the remains of my food. In the background are the Trippy Fries. Oh. My. God. These are some of the best fries I've ever had... so moreish that I had to take a serve away with me for a movie snack. Seriously, do yourself a favour and try them as an accompaniment to your meal sometime.

On Sunday I spent the day pottering in my kitchen preparing meals for the week. I made a Carrot Soup, some Dahl, and the vegetarian sausage rolls from Where's The Beef . When I first came across this recipe, I was a little baffled at the list of ingredients, and how these were supposed to transform into a somewhat realistic take on the sausage roll, something I used to love back in my meat eating days. When I made my first batch a few months ago, I was in awe of the outcome. The look and texture of the rolls are so similar to what I remember, and I even fed some to my boyfriend at the time who thought they were the real deal. My only problem with making these is that they are so delicious that I keep eating and eating. I side stepped that issue though by portioning them out into little bags and freezing them for future lunches. Served with a simple salad of mixed lettuce leaves, cucumber, capsicum and white balsamic vinegar (my new favourite salad dressing), this was a delicious weekend lunch!

Showing my mum a good time

My mum was down in Melbourne this week for work. I love my family and welcome any opportunity to see them and hang with them. We had a busy few nights of eating and walking around the city...

La Citta

The Entertainment Book lead us to this cosy little restaurant on Degraves St. Unfortunately they were totally lacking in vegetarian options - the only meal was a Chestnut & Mushroom risotto. Whilst nice it was completely boring - risotto is always the vegetarian staple at a lot of restaurants, and quite frankly, we get sick of it! Claire at Melbourne Gastronome wrote a post about this very thing which seems to be noticeable to everyone except the Chefs of Melbourne! Please hear our hungry cries of despair!

Lord Of The Fries

Tuesday night saw us having a quiet one in, assisted with the deliciousness of French Poutine Fries from this vegetarian haven for fast food. Chunky fries smothered in cheese and gravy - does comfort food get any better than this?

Shakahari

Wednesday night was "date night", so we trekked over to Carlton for dinner at Shakahari followed by a movie at Cinema Nova. I've lived in Melbourne since early 2007 and I'm ashamed to admit I had never been to Shakahari until a week ago. On my first visit I went for the Puy Lentil Lasagna, which contained leeks, sweet corn and pumpkin. My dinning companion, the lovely K, had the Satay Legend - skewers of tofu, seitan, capsicum and onion, served with an addictive satay sauce and rice. Meal envy took hold of me, and I knew exactly what to order when my Mum and I went. Washed down with an organic vegan wine from New Zealand, it was a really lovely dinner. Unfortunately the movie was a dud, but 1 out of 2 ain't bad right?

The Outpost

Mum flew out this morning, and my spirits were low. A lunch out with some fabulous ladies from the Office was exactly what I needed. We work just around the corner from the Outpost, which I've been hearing so much about, so we walked the 2 mins and marvelled at the unique and warm lay out of the place. It seems that the menu changes slightly each day, and today I was debating between a Truffled Cauliflower & Gruyere Soup w/ Garlic Bread and a Penne with zucchini, rocket, Parmesan and chili. The pasta won out (they kindly made it without the pancetta as described on the menu), and it was delicious. While it was a generous portion, it wasn't as heavy as most pasta dishes, as the ribbons of zucchini was the major component. So yum, but I'll be trying the soup next time for sure!

Its been a busy few days hanging with my mum, and even though I already miss her, I am going to enjoy having a quiet night at home on the couch..

And so it begins...

About 1.5 years ago I stumbled across a Melbourne food blog called Where's The Beef. I was happy to find two fellow vegetarians from Brisbane, Cindy & Michael, who had moved to Melbourne and were discovering all this wonderful city had to offer. Since then my love of food blogs has grown, and I have learnt so much from them - whether its recipes, the best restaurants to go to, or tips on upcoming festivals/exhibitions. My passion for food has grown as a result, and so now I feel its time to jump on the band wagon and offer my take on all things food. Please bare with me - I'm not technologically savvy, and I know even posting photos will be trial and error, but hopefully in time I can get the hang of this, and put something out there that I'd want to read myself. I hope you enjoy.... :)