loose ends...

Well, today I spent most of my working day packing office.  I don't like to write about work in such a public forum such as a blog, but I love my job and I loved my office. Our new office space is also very lovely, but I will definetely miss the views from my old desk...

         of the library

and civic square

To help me cope, I've been making crazy stirfries every night for dinner. Tonights adventures was rice noodles boiled in beef broth, browned beef mince (ground beef) reheated with chili sauce and black bean sauce, sauted bok choy tossed with ginger & soy sauce, and some brocali and green onion.  Its only been a couple days since the veggie market and I've already eaten through two basketball's worth of green leafy things:)

My other new comfort food is coconut Panna Cotta.  Its this amazing thing I was introduced to in Melbourne. To experience it properly, I would seek out Soul Mama's restuarant in St Kilda.  For now I adapt a recipe I found over at egullet and make it at home.

Basically I take 1 1/4 c cream and mix it with 3/4 canned coconut milk/cream in a sauce pan.

Then I remove 1/4 c to a small bowl and then sprinkle 1 teaspoon unflavoured gelatin over this smaller amount.

5 minutes later or so, I start heating the sauce pan
another 5  minutes later I stir the gelatin mixture then added it to the sauce pan

While I'm letting it simmer, I add  1/4 teaspoon vanilla (make sure its not a very alcohol'y type) and 2 tablespoons sugar.

Then when its mixed and the gelatin thoroughly disolved, I let it cool a bit in a measuring cup while I clean up.  I then pour the mixture into small bowls and let that chill a few hours.

You can eat it plain, or to be fancy make a tamarind sauce:


I mix about 1/4-1/2 cup of tamarind with about the same amount of sugar & honey mixed together. I toss in a few whole cloves, and then let is simmer for awhile playing with the ratios to make it work the way I want.