Third District, Vienna

Taken on colour film with Olympus µ.

Eating in

Ever since I found this little restaurant in the 6th District in Vienna, all I want to eat is Indian food. And I really mean always. Not too long after my chance discovery of this place, I popped in to this culinary haven again and bought a few vegetarian curries to take home. It's a crummy little place with not much light and gross plastic covered floral tablecloths on their two greasy tables, but it smells divine and homey and totally legit. After taking my prize home, I literally ate curry for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, for two days until I sadly scraped the bottom of the takeaway container. I never feel like eating anything else when that goodness is sitting in my fridge. I also recommend ordering it to be delivered to your apartment and eating on your wooden parquet floor in the dark. Who wants to leave the house in this weather? It was just the thing I needed this day.

Natraj
Marchettigasse 18 1060 Wien
Tel: 01- 5954502

Morning.

A swiss souvenir

Two weeks ago I had a weekend gig over in Zürich, Switzerland where I made sure to make a quick trip to the supermarket to hoard up on Swiss chocolate and cheese to stow in my hand luggage. Check out this big, fat chunk of 33% almond white chocolate. Yes.

Shepherd's Pie

It's not often that I really feel like meat or even potatoes, but now and again, I miss the comforting tastes of home. On this snowy weekday, I finished work and just really craved shepherd's pie. There's something really cosy and nostalgic about this fatty, sloppy, classic English dish, but as you know, my personal spin on any recipe always involves revamping it using the colours and freshness of nature. This is what went into this good looking and yummy shepherd's pie:

Potato top:
Potatoes, peeled and diced
Milk
Butter
Chopped fresh parsley

Mince filling:
Red onions
Grated carrots

Sliced celery

Frozen peas

Mushrooms

Organic beef mince
Crushed garlic
A couple of diced, red, ripe tomatoes
A little flour to thicken any juices
A little soy sauce
Chili flakes, dried herbs, salt, cracked pepper

Before living in Europe I always thought doing mashed potatoes was a real pain. What I learnt since is that it's the easiest way to do potatoes, ever! You peel the potatoes, cube them, THEN boil them. Then after boiling for only about 8 - 10 minutes, mash them up, melt in plenty of butter to taste, add milk until you get a smooth, peaky consistency, salt. I stirred in some chopped fresh parsley. Mmm.

Fry up all the other ingredients together in olive oil, adding them to the pan roughly in that order. Don't overcook (I know that's how you make English food, but just, no) - once I was finished sizzling the veg, I just fried the meat until brown. Distribute the mince and stuff in a suitable dish and spread the potatoes over. One hearty, fresh shepherd's pie, ready to serve.

 

Wanderung

In summer I went on a hike in Steiermark, Austria with my friend Paul and his work colleagues. I like the German word for 'hike'. There's such a romantic nuance to the word, 'Wanderung', although no one truly goes 'wandering' on a mountain climb (unless you're an idiot or if you're lost). In New Zealand we also call it a 'tramp'. Charming.

This was a darn tough climb, lasting from late morning until evening. When we finally reached the cabins at the apex, sunburnt, aching and spent, there was a lovely restaurant serving organic food, which we consumed ravenously and gratefully, followed by a few mouthfuls of schnapps. Never slept more like a log than on that mountaintop.