07 July 2011

We've Been Eating Food!

I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some of the tasty food we've been eating because, I mean, who doesn't like looking at pictures of food, right?

We are both really missing Mexican food, Chipotle especially, so when we heard about a place called Mad Mex we had to try it. This place is basically a direct rip off of Chipotle but not nearly as good or affordable. Nothing is spicy enough in Australia unless it's Asian and we have yet to find decent Mexican. When we have the intense craving for a burrito, this almost does the trick.


We found some familiar friends on our visit. But $4.50 for a Jarritos makes me want to cry.


Corona light fixtures. 


You can almost see how closely they are copying Chipotle in this picture.


Giant Corona light fixture!


This is Binh Minh, a Chinese, Malaysian and Vietnamese restaurant that is SO GOOD. It's not too far from our house and you get a lot for your money. This is just a picture of our apps: yummy chicken wings (thats what they are called!), dim sim's and some spring rolls. We also ordered chili beef, salt&pepper squid and a bean curd and vegetable stir fry. On our second visit we also tried the sweet&sour pork in addition to some repeats from the first visit. YUM! That's all I can say. I can't wait to go back. 


This magnificent breakfast is called The Lot. It's two pieces of Australian style bacon, two sausages, two eggs and caramelized onions on a roll. It costs $5 and feeds both of us. It's a steal and so, so tasty...even if it makes our hearts hurt a little bit after we eat it. We get it at our local farmer's market on the weekends...but not every weekend because we would probably die.


I have been trying to cook at home more often and with the easy access to all the local markets and fresh ingredients it has been so fun! I tried out this tasty salmon recipe and it turned out AMAZING!


Yum!!! I paired it with a really nice local pear cider. 


I also made these killer scallops with an orange saffron aioli. Served with angel hair pasta with some lemon dressing drizzled over the top.


We found this cool cafe in the CBD (central business district) called Manchester Press that does fancy latte art!



Our friend James got a busty lady on his (not so) flat white. (A flat white is basically a latte with 1 shot of espresso)



They are also possibly the only place in Melbourne that serves decent bagels. This is one I got with avocado and a soft boiled egg. Embarrassing Fun Fact: This was the first soft boiled egg I had ever had and I had to google how to get the top off as I was sitting in the cafe. Oops.


For the 4th of July we had a little shin dig at our friend James' house and I decided to make my own version of Denver's famous Biker Jim's Dogs. AKA sausages (in this case lamb and feta or beef and caramelized onion) topped with cream cheese and onions that I caramelized in coca cola for a couple of hours. So good. If you are in Denver you absolutely MUST go to one of Biker Jim's many hot dog carts or his restaurant near Coors Field.


Our Canadian friend Carley made an American flag cake! She even made this in her weird microwave that acts as an oven and it actually turned out really good. She also took both of these pictures.


One night we went out with a bunch of Andy's coworkers to a really neat bar called Der Raum which is only a couple minutes walk from our house. Bonus! They do these really elaborate, borderline science experimenty cocktails. My first drink ended up being a cup full of ice cream! Andy ordered a really complicated martini that came to him in parts: Gin in a glass, a spritzer bottle of citrus, a vile of vermouth and the craziest "olive" you've ever seen. I can't even try to explain it.


The drink pictured above is called The Pharmacy and is served in a pill bottle with a syringe of fruit nectar and a little fizzy pill and instructions. You are supposed to take the lid off, squirt in the syringe, drop the pill in, put the lid back on, shake it up and enjoy. It was so delicious!! On top of the drinks being really creative, the bar is super secret. You have to be buzzed in and on busy nights, if you aren't a member, you are out of luck. The vibe inside is super low key and the bottles hang above the bar from bungee cords (called ocky straps here). We will definitely bring everyone who comes to visit us here!!!


So there you have it. We haven't really had a bad meal here yet. We eat a lot of sushi around lunch time. It's one of the most affordable (and healthy!) options. I do secretly miss American sushi with ingredients like cream cheese though! I will continue to try and post about our food adventures, hopefully with some more regularity. It finally feels like things are slowing down here and we can sit down and write this blog.

06 July 2011

Vada is here!

Vada arrived on Aussie soil last Thursday after 3 long days of travel. We were so excited to see her on Friday but were worried she might not remember us because we hadn't seen her in over 60 days. Luckily, as soon as she saw us her tail started wagging and she went nuts. She hadn't seen the vet yet so we couldn't take her out of her pen but we did spend 2 whole hours just hanging out with her.

Happy Vada!

Small price to pay to see our pup.



Playing with the duck we brought her.

I went to see her again yesterday. I got there right before her vet visit so I got to be there and help with it which I think made it a lot easier for everyone. Because she saw the vet she was allowed to go to one of the play yards. Vada loves to run and that hasn't changed. She did like 100 laps around the play area and then found a ball which she threw in the air and chased around forever. She was so happy to have some room to run around. Our outdoor playtime got cut short by some serious wind and rain. Vada loves to run but she hates being wet more so we retreated back to her pen for a little bit of cuddle time before I headed out. I didn't get any pics while we were playing but I took some better photos of her pen. 

Trying to lick the rain off!

Watch dog + wet duck. Her pen is bigger than we thought it would be.

Even more shedding this time around. Stupid rain.

Trying to stay dry under cover.

Licking the rain off me and my jacket.

Her bed is covered in a little concrete area in the back of her pen. There is a heat lamp, blankets and tshirts that smell like us and my mom who was watching her for us for the last 2 months.


We are so so happy she is here. I will be visiting her twice a week until she can come home with us at the end of September.