Travelogue - Perth, Western Australia February 2013 (3)

That day, we went to Swan Valley with my MIL! Swan Valley is about half an hour's drive from Perth, depending on where you begin your drive from.Went for a picnic at Sandalford Vineyard.

And again, I packed lunch for everybody! Okay, for three.

Summer Salad - Seared Potatoes with Baby Spinach Leaves and Hard Boiled Eggs tossed in just olive oil, salt and pepper!



And a Bacon Muffin for everyone



This is how you roll



It looks dark in the photos but I swear it was damn sunny when we arrived.

Left the vineyard and we drove past some show-villages! Show-villages are like showflats, except, you know, they show an entire village. Meaning several houses. We were sooooo awed by the price and space one can have.. Definitely anybody's dream house!

Tex drove us to Yahava Coffee where I bought their chocolate-coated coffee beans (meant as a snack)!

Love all the quirky cups they sell.

 

One quote resonated with me SUPER WELL - "I hate to waste sick days actually being sick."

Say hello to Rosie!

Ain't she a beauty.

Had ice-cream before we stopped by a mobile seafood truck! At least that's what I like to call them. Very fresh products and I like to think, slightly less expensive than what the supermarkets are selling.

Bought trouts, mussels, prawns, salt and pepper squid and salmon fillets.

A reminder of fuel price that day.

When we got home it was time to prepare dinner. Opened the fridge and I got very excited looking at all the seafood we just bought! Decided to cook Fisherman's Seafood Stew.

Ingredients (off the top of my head):

• Fish pieces (cut from fillets)
• Prawns (with shells on. Why? I'll explain this later.)
• Mussels (de-bearded and washed)
• Potatoes (preferably white; they are softer and easier to cook)
• Diced tomatoes (I used canned ones)
• White onion (I presume brown onions work as well. They are just.. onions.)
• Garlic
• Oregano
• Chilli / Chilli Padi (Optional; I like my stew strong-flavoured)
• Salt & pepper
• Celery leaves as garnish

*I do not have units for following. All the amounts I used for all cooking are according to agaration. It works for me. I do simple math like, four mussels for one person, so I am cooking for three, I made sure I put in at least twelve mussels. Most of the time, I cook what I have in the fridge hence I use a lot of substitution when I do not have the necessary ingredients to cook a certain type of dish. MAKE DO.

Preparation steps:

1. Debeard mussels. This is one step I hate the most, so I.. delegate. Tex had the honour to do it. Also a good way to make sure your man doesn't slouch on the couch while you do the hard work. Debearding the mussels can utilise up to twenty minutes of your time. Make sure you check his work! :P Oh, at this point, discard any mussel that is open.
2. Cut fish into pieces from the fillets. I use fillets because I don't know how to debone a fish. This is the easiest alternative for me.
3. Wash the prawns under running water and dehead the prawns. While you are at it, de-vein them as well. I cut away their legs and picked out their veins. No idea why this step is necessary, my Mum just taught me to do and I normally don't question why. DO NOT shell the prawns totally. Just the heads and legs. Keep the rest of the shells on if not, you will have a very prawn-dominated smelling stew. Which is something Tex don't like.
4. Dice the potatoes and onions. Cut the chilli / chilli padi into small slices. Chop cloves of garlic finely. I like my food with lots of garlic, so I spammed them. Set aside all.
5. And we're ready for cooking.

Cooking steps (Please use a pan that has a certain depth, you need to simmer stew):

1. Oil the pan generously. If you are using olive oil, pour half a bottle. Just kidding.
2. Throw in onions and stir-fry until they are soft (not brown).
3. Throw in garlic and oregano; stir-fry until garlic is slightly brown and you should smell the oregano at the point.
4. Pour in the can of diced tomatoes and chilli. Fry them slightly for about one minute and add water to satisfied level (means enough stew for everybody la, don't just give one cup can?!)
5. Bring the soup to a boil, then add in the diced potatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes at least for potatoes to soften. While waiting, this is the perfect time to check if your man de-bearded the mussels thoroughly. If not, make noise aka kpkb.
6. Poke any potato piece with a chopstick. If they are soft, add in the mussels, fish and prawns and cover the pot tightly.
7. After 5 minutes, check if the mussels are opened. Discard any mussels that has not dilated opened. Need at least 1cm opening. (Double LOL.)
8. Stir the stew, add in water if you must. You should panic if there is not enough soup for everybody. If too much, no worries, reduce the volume by simmering it for another 10 minutes. You'd want a thicker texture than water, but thinner texture than bisque.
9. Taste test. Stew should taste sweet, bursting with seafood taste (unless U NO USE FRESH SEAFOOD). While simmering, add in salt and pepper to taste.
10. Tadah! Last step, serve in a smaller bowl individually and garnish your stew by doing a very Gordon Ramsay antic - dropping the celery leaves in circular motion, rubbing your fingertips together to 'dispense' them. Best if you can do it in front of your family members. They will be impressed.

TADAH!!!!!

Melvina Koh's Fisher(wo)man Seafood Stew

While we had one successful dish, the salt and pepper squids turned out to be disappointing. Never ever try to bake food that is meant to be deep-fried. Hai. Act healthy only.

Very fail.

Grill some potatoes as fillers and wanted to drizzle them with cheddar. Was busy with the stew and completely missed the melting of cheddar process. Double fail.

Grilled Potatoes with Rosemary and (Un)melted Cheddar

When all else fails, have a pig husband that will finish everything. :)

This is his "Do Not Disturb Me" face.

Till the next! :)