Lazy Townsville Weekend...

Saturday morning started off with some cinnamon rolls. I found the recipe through Johanna, who got the recipe from here. I was a little surprised that the recipe didn't call for rising time, even though they used yeast. Next time I think I will let them rest for a while, and also make the filling a bit more gooey, with apples or dates or something--Andy thought they were too dry. But anyways, they made a great breakfast alongside some fruit and tea.

After cinnamon buns we went to a few garage sales and second-hand shops. Then in the afternoon we went to see the movie Half Nelson, part of the Sydney Travelling Film Festival. Good movie, but the filming was quite shaky. It was a good effect, because the main character is leading quite an unsteady life, but by halfway through I felt a bit ill, and it just got worse. But aside from that, it was a good movie and the characters felt real and the plot was compelling. See it if you have a strong stomach.

After the movie, I cooked up a North African feast, inspired by another Library cookbook.

Tomato couscous with caramelized onions and raisins.
Vegetable and fava bean stew.
And garlicky eggplant salad.

Sunday morning we went to the market, and stopped at uni to call Andy's dad to wish him a happy Father's Day. Then we came home and read the newspaper, drank lots of tea, and ate some fruit. We snacked on one of these honeydew melons, which are no bigger than a softball.


We split a black sapote, aka chocolate pudding fruit, which we got for free when we bought some limes.
Then, something marvelous happened. We got a delivery--earlier in the week I'd discovered the Organic Buyer's Network, which bulk-buys and delivers around the area. I ordered some wheat gluten, some nutritional yeast, and a few other items that are impossible to find in shops.

The excitement took over--I could finally try my hand at making seitan. I know, I'm so painfully behind the times, but I've only eaten seitan a few times. I decided to make the Seitan o' Greatness that swept through blogland quicker than the horse flu debilitated the Australian racing industry. Kneading seitan dough is completely different to kneading bread--so rubbery and tough! But it was relatively easy, and after a LONG time in the oven, we had this...
Rather than waiting for it to cool, we tried a bit straight away. Andy's first comment: It's nothing special. After the second bite: I can see how it would be good in things. After another try: It's pretty good. And so on. It's not called Seitan o' Greatness for nothing; this really is a great tasting log o' goodness. Andy tried to break off the crispy end (the cracklin'), and ended up ripping a little hole.I can't believe I've waited so long to embrace Seitan! I'm a new convert--up next, I'm going to try making the seitan ribz that everyone in the world except me has tried.

While the oven was on, Andy made some chippies.


Because we'd snacked all afternoon on fruit, chips, and seitan, we had a light dinner. Stir fry featuring zucchini, carrot, capsicum and green peas. Tossed with rice noodles in a soy-sweet-tangy sauce and coriander and sesame seeds. Hope your weekends were as good...