Travelogue - Perth, Western Australia February 2013 (4)

Yoohoo! Back with another instalment of my 3-week long Perth trip!

Occasionally, we would wake up in the morning and go for morning walks/runs. That's when the sun is the least harsh on my skin..

Sometimes we would run errands, bringing Rosie out for spins!

That day, I tried cooking my first Bolognese Pasta! It's mad easy, I tell you.

Ingredients:

• Pasta of any sort (I personally prefer Fusilli more than anything else. I think they can pick up heavier sauces than Spaghetti or Linguine can.)
• Minced beef or pork
• Diced tomatoes (I used two canned ones)
• Panchetta (I used leftover bacon or ham; so long they are salty it's fine too; MAKE DO)
• Whole onions (white or brown is fine)
• Garlic
• Oregano
• Red wine (1/4 cup?)
• Dash of vinegar
• Butter
• Fine sugar (1/2 teaspoon)
• Salt and pepper
• Chicken Stock (if you'd like, liquid or cubes are fine)

Preparation:

1. Cook pasta in boiling water with the chicken stock. If you are using cubes, cook it with the pasta. If not, use chicken stock as the medium to cook the pasta. For duration, follow the packaging as different pasta shapes require different timings. I use agaration, so don't follow me.
2. After the pasta is cooked, drain the stock into a large bowl and set aside. We will need it later.
3. Drip dry the pasta for remaining liquid and slice a portion of butter and mix it into the pasta. I used about 1.5cm thick of 125g block for two persons' share. Mix well and set aside to cool.
4. Slice the pancetta or left over bacon into small pieces.
5. Dice the whole onions and garlic. Set aside both.
6. And we're ready for cooking.

Cooking:

1. Add olive oil over medium fire.
2. Add the diced onions and panchetta. Stir fry until the onions are soft.
3. Throw in the garlic and add a dash of oregano. Stir fry until you can smell the oregano.
4. Add the minced beef or pork into the pan and stir fry for three minutes.
5. Once you see most of the minced meat are turning white, add in the diced tomatoes. At the same time, pour in the chicken stock that you have set aside earlier and then add the red wine, vinegar and sugar. Chicken stock volume as preferred, but remember, you would need to boil it over a period of time hence more is better at this moment.
6. Stir and simmer. Reduce if you think you'd like a heavier texture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve up a bowl of pasta and pour the sauce over it.
8. TADAH!!!

Melvina Koh's Beef Bolognese

After endless nagging, Tex finally drove me to Supre outlet. It was.. meh.

And we ta-bao-ed lunch again and went for a picnic by Lake Monger.

Before we left, this black goose (? swan?) decided to follow us.

I was terrified and ran as far as I could. Tex just walked on serenely and decided to take on him (it).

Drove away and saw this car plate!

Alright, that sums up more than half of my trip in Perth I hope. I will be sharing the Chilli Mussels' Recipe in the next post! :D