bali: offerings at the markets

On every stall, and in front of many, were these Hindi offerings at the Klungkung markets. You could buy ready-made offerings or design your own with flowers grown on local farms.

The contrast between these beautifully decorated offerings and the grotty ground they sat on was captivating.

 

Miss May Blossom http://www.facebook.com/MissMayBlossom

bali: cooking class

My husband's annual work conference took place in Bali this year and once again my Mum offered to mind our children while we jetted off overseas. I just made it within the 36-week ok-to-fly bracket (returning at 35 weeks and 5 days) and we managed to be home before the volcanic ash grounded flights. I'm not sure how I would have come home if we'd been stranded or if I'd have had to wait and have the baby in Bali!


We stayed in the luxurious Alila Manggis in Manggis. Thankfully it was over an hours drive from Kuta which was a very different scene. It really was such a treat to be there and after a few days of rest I decided to join in a cooking class which involved a visit to the market. As with a pricey resort I expected to pay a bit for the experience, though I wasn't expecting it to be quite so expensive.

I'll follow up with a post about the cooking class itself. 

First thing in the morning we travelled by car to the markets at Klungkung (a fairly big city just off the highway towards Denpasar). The markets just seemed to go on forever. It was a public holiday due to a festival and many of the stalls were closed but of the ones that were open you could buy anything from fresh fruit and vegetables (mostly local, some imported); to cooked foods; packets of biscuits and noodles; live produce (ducks, chooks, piglets); cooking equipment (I'm kicking my self for not buying a large, shallow mortar and pestle for $6AUD; and freshly made offerings from flowers grown on local farms.

There's no guessing how snake-skin fruit get their name. These look similar to lychees when peeled but have a 

more astringent taste and firmer texture.

Eggs cooked in herbs.

This was a little confronting. These ducks were in for a bumpy ride home. 

They were alive when I took this  but wouldn't have been for much longer.

Anyone for suckling pig?

Miss May Blossom http://www.facebook.com/MissMayBlossom

bali: marta's family restaurant

For me, travel is so much about the food! I was really looking forward to getting out and exploring beyond the confines of our resort in Bali. Unfortunately I contracted a painful skin condition before we left Australia so it was a few days in to our trip before I could really relax and enjoy it. As it was, being 35 weeks pregnant, it probably was best that I rested!

Recently the government finished a highway that runs up the East Coast of the island and which has opened it up for tourism and for the ease of locals who work between the towns and cities. You risk certain death walking along the side of the road and the road rules are questionable (apparently you can overtake a police car with oncoming traffic) but it's not unlike other places we've travelled - I'm thinking of Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Just a few hundred metres walk (it's worth it if you arrive alive) from our resort in Manggis was this simple family restaurant. The meals were cooked to order and there was a range of Western dishes coupled with a good selection of local meals. You have to be prepared to wait for your meals but you can walk to the end of the street to the 'beach' while you wait or just relax!

I had to go back a second time for the gado-gado - which is one of my favourite Indonesian dishes. The peanut sauce was spicy and balanced and delicious and at the equivalent of $2.50AUD (Rp10 000 = $1AUD) it was also great value for money. This restaurant is family own and run and when the maître d isn't cooking and taking orders she travels to a nearby town for her second job. 

The suckling pig is a local delicacy. I wasn't too interested in trying it (could also be my very pregnant state) 

but Marta had this on her menu for the equivalent of $10AUD. 

You get the idea! Great food. Great value.

Marta's Family Restaurant
JL Pantai Buitan No. 1
Manggis Karangasem
Bali, Indonesia
08 5333 762 709


Miss May Blossom http://www.facebook.com/MissMayBlossom

Bali & back in the kitchen

We were away in Bali last week (more on that in frture posts) and I was just busting to get back in the kitchen after tasting and cooking some great food. Being inspired by new flavours and combinations and influences always leaves me hankering to cook in my little kitchen.

With the impending birth of Baby #3 (in four or so weeks) I am keen to stock up the freezer with ready-made meals too.

After flying in first thing Saturday morning, it didn't take me long to kick in to gear. This week I've made:

Sunday 
Pesto (Thermomix)

Two litres of roasted tomato passata (see recipe post) for our pesto/tomato pasta dinner (and plenty for the freezer)

Monday 
Nigella's Chocolate Pear Pudding
note: I used fresh, peeled Bosce pears but the tinned ones would have made for a more moist pudding. You could reduce the cooking time if using fresh pears.

Tuesday
Nachos: meat and bean. I chopped the veggies (carrot, zucchini) and cheese in the Thermomix.

Wednesday
Yoghurt - recipe from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook
note: I set mine overnight - in the oven (switched off) where it can't be bumped.

Sausages with (thanks to the Thermomix) steamed veggies (carrot and brussel sprouts) and mashed potato and sweet potato.

Thursday
I tried my hand at repeating two of the dishes I learned at a cooking class I attended at our resort last week - the traditional bumbu paste and peanut satay sauce (recipe to come). The Thermomix was very handy when it came to chopping and blending the ingredients but I'd still like to get my hands on a wide, shallow stone mortar used in Bali.

I've portioned the bumbu in snap-lock bags for the freezer and the satay is in the fridge. There was a little sataythat wouldn't fit in the jar so I'm marinating some tofu in it in the fridge.

A moussaka (see my recipe post) is slow cooking in the oven too. This will be added to my freezer collection.

Notes: Thermomixers - you need to know that you can cut down the prep time for this by A LOT. Use the recipe for bechamel sauce from the EDC and you can shred the lamb in the TM - speed 3/2secs. It would be easy to over-shred so be careful. 

Tonight we're having a fennel, leek and mushroom risotto.

Friday
Tomorrow I'd like to make some of Ottolenghi's fish cakes (with some fish J caught) and a leek and fetta tart for dinner with salad. That's the plan anyway!

The Thermomix makes short work of bumbu paste.

Satay Sauce