VICTORIA FOOD HOLIDAY PART 2

It’s always a little harder to find good gluten free and vegan food in regional areas so I’m always on the lookout for things I can put in my belly. I was totally bummed that I forgot to look up good things to eat when I was in Bendigo, because there is a gluten free bakery there that apparently also has vegan options! Arghhh! So I totally missed out on that. I’ll have to remember to go there next time I’m in Bendigo. The rider was so extensive in Bendigo that I didn’t get anything else for dinner. So dinner that night was mostly olives, hommus and crackers. Mmmmm hommus.

The Westernport Hotel - San Remo

Nice, fancy pub food. We were playing there so we got a small discount on our meals. I ordered a roast pumpkin salad and a side of roast potatoes. The restaurant was quite busy but not completely full. I have no idea why, but it took over an hour for us to get our food. Everyone was very apologetic about it. Tables who arrived after us got their meals way before us, so I’m not sure what was going on. The food was pretty good, the dressing on the salad was fantastic. But the pumpkin and chickpeas were very minimal in the salad and I would have been very disappointed if I had paid nearly $20 for a salad of mostly greens. The roasted potatoes were delicious. I assume everyone else enjoyed their meals, but they were mostly just cranky about having to wait an hour. Playing with a full belly is pretty difficult (try doing a workout for an hour after a big meal…) so an hour makes a huge difference if you’re eating before a show.

Nude Food - San Remo

We stopped for a quick breaky before a long drive, and I’d noticed a sign saying ‘gluten free’ out the front of Nude Food. So while the boys got pies and pastries from the bakehouse, I walked down to Nude Food and asked what was gluten free, vegan, and easy to take away. The lady said she would make me a wrap with lentil patty and salad. I was keen for whatever. It was delicious, huge and also had hommus and sweet chilli in it. Gooooood!

Bobo’s Fish and Chips - Geelong

I hadn’t had anything battered for about ten years. And being vegan, you certainly ain’t going to get anything suitable at a fish and chip shop unless it’s just chippies, and I’ve come to realize that simply potato does not a hearty meal make! So when I found out about a fish and chip shop that was mostly gluten free… I was pretty intrigued. I figured I might as well pop along and see if there were vegetable based items in sweet, sweet batter. I was not disappointed. I had a great chat to the owner, who told me the batter is simply rice flour and water, no other nasties, and cooked in separate fryers. Ah-mazing. I had a pineapple fritter, homemade spring roll, potato scallop and pumpkin scallop. WOW. They were incredible. Next time I go I’ll probably just get two pineapple fritters and three spring rolls. They were deeeeelish. I was the happiest girl in the world.

Kohinoor Tandoori Restaurant - Geelong

I have it on good authority from a Geelong local that Kohinoor is the best Indian food in Geelong. I got a takeaway vegetable biriyani. Quite often I go the vegetable biriyani as it’s pretty transparent in regards to ingredients. This one was quite good but basic and it could have had a bit more spice and flavour. I ended up taking it home with me and putting some chilli and other spices in it when I heated it up. I like peas.

Smith & Daughters - Fitzroy (v)
I think this could actually be my favourite place to eat in Melbourne. The staff are so lovely. And the food is actually the best thing. I had an omelette and a juice. I have no idea how they make a vegan omelette that tastes and looks like an egg omelette, but my word it’s good. They are very clever food builders. They also have a homemade chorizo style thingy in the omelette that tastes just like chorizo. Magic. This is a very special place and I will be visiting it at least once every time I’m in Melbourne.

MELBOURNE FOOD HOLIDAY

Hello! So it wasn't really a food holiday, more like a couple of days off in between shows. But along with having a lot of sleep and trying to get over my cold, I ate a lot of food. A loooooottttttt of food. Here is what I ate. (v) indicates the restaurant/cafe is completely vegetarian/vegan. All the restaurant names are clickable.

Martha Ray's - Fitzroy

When we first arrived in Melbourne I was so tired and hungry so I walked to the nearest cafe that Urbanspoon told me had vegan and gluten free options. The girl at the counter was so helpful in finding me something I could eat (and take away so I could go to the hotel and eat in bed!) I had an avocado sandwich on gluten free bread and garlic and thyme roasted tomatoes. For beverages I had a soy flat white and a grapefruit juice. The grapefruit juice was so amazing I went back to look for it twice but they'd run out, so I had a mandarin juice. Yum! They put it in a cardboard box so I could carry it home with me easily. Legends.

Lord of the Fries - Melbourne (v)

Lord of the Fries is a mega treat whenever I'm in Sydney or Melbourne. If there was a Lord of the Fries near me... I don't even want to think about it. I had the 'Original Burger', which is seriously just like a cheeseburger, except everything on the menu is vegetarian and they can make most things vegan/gluten free on request. I had it on a gluten free bun with vegan cheese. Incredible. They also do chips with various toppings, nuggets, onion rings and other delicious fried yummies.

Smith & Daughters - Fitzroy (v)

This restaurant had just opened last time I was in Melbourne and I didn't get around to visiting, but this time I managed to get in while they were open (check the opening times!) and have the most amazing experience. The girl who served us was so lovely and helpful (and incidentally, her mum - who she mentioned during our conversation about food - commented on an unrelated photo of mine on Instagram saying her daughter worked at Smith & Daughters and I should go there... small world!) ANYWAY, so I had this incredible hot juice of orange, ginger, turmeric and some other good things. It was so spicy but I loveddddd ittttt. 

This was the breakfast burrito, gluten free version. Atop the corn tortillas is scrambled tofu, kale, cashew cheese and a few other lovely things. 10/10 WOULD EAT AGAIN. But their whole menu was incredible so I would love to go eat there many, many times. Everything on the menu is vegan and there are gluten free options listed.

Ziamese Thai - Fitzroy

This was yummy and I ate it ALL in one sitting while watching TV on the couch, because I am superwoman. Crispy tofu entree and basil and chilli fried rice. Their website said they did gluten free and vegan on request so I felt pretty comfortable asking for what I wanted over the phone. It was delicious. Now I want more crispy tofu.

Vegie Bar - Fitzroy (v)

Vegie Bar is one of the most exciting places to eat in Fitzroy. It's always packed and busy with people eating their amazing meals. Last time I went I ordered a nachos and it was HUGE and I could only eat a third and they don't allow takeaway so I felt sad. Haha. So this time I was incredibly hungry and I ate and ate and ate until I felt sick but kept putting food in me. It was great. The staff are lovely and the food is surprisingly quick to arrive seeing as how busy it is. The menu is clearly marked with vegan and gluten free options. This is the Gado Gado, steamed veggies and satay sauce kinda thingo. Yummo.

Now I couldn't just stop at one course, could I! I had been craving something sweet (and I really should have stopped at this one thing...) so I got this raw cheesecake, I believe it was lemon and vanilla flavour. It was tangy and smooth and cheesecakey. Their selection of cakes and sweets in the cabinet was impressive.

I had three beverages while I was eating my food because I am greedy and it was cold. This was a rather yummy hot chocolate on soy.

Spud Bar - Fitzroy

I'd been to Spud Bar once before so I knew what I was in for (extreme deliciousness). The guy behind the counter was so friendly and gave me free avocado instead of the dairy in my meal (woo!) Believe it or not, there is a whole potato under all those toppings. I got the Chilli Bean and Salsa spud minus the dairy. (Plus the avocado, of course!) It was goooooood. There are a few veggie options on the menu and they can easily leave off the dairy.

 Frolic Yoghurt - Fitzroy

Remember when I said I should have stuck to one sweet item today? Yeah...this was my downfall. I wanted something sweet for after my spud (whyyyyy!!!???) so we checked out Frolic Yoghurt and were pretty excited to see the word 'vegan' around the store a lot. There were several flavours of vegan frozen yoghurt (pictured here are coconut, chocolate and caramel/walnut/banana or something like that) and also most of the toppings are vegan and most of the things in the store, apart from the obvious things like biscuits, are gluten free. I topped my ridiculous serving with caramelised banana, cocoa nibs, shredded coconut, vanilla halva, slivered almonds, warm blueberry sauce, nutella sauce, Hersheys chocolate sauce and caramel sauce. I ate it and then I felt very, very sick from eating too much sweet stuff. I should know better! There's a reason I never feel like sweet things...my body does NOT like them. I felt quite ill all night and the next day. BUT...it tasted bloody good and when I visit again I will eat it again but a much smaller serving. Good girl.

Martha Ray's - Fitzroy (again)

We had just found out that we got nominated for an ARIA for Best Rock Album (woo!) and we went out to celebrate with breakfast, because we are very rock. I suggested Martha Ray's because it was close by and yum. Everyone agreed. I had exactly the same thing as I had the other day, except not takeaway. So it was a little prettier. I also had a chai. Mmm I love chai.

Irish Murphy's - Ballarat

We played in Ballarat and the venue has its green room at the local Irish pub, where they offer discounted meals for bands. The menu is pretty amazing...if you're a meat eater or someone with no allergies. I just asked for 'whatever you can give me that's gluten free and vegan' and got this pretty amazing plate of goodness! The next night I felt like something a little different so I got a spicy soup and fried rice from a local joint called Jasmine Thai Restaurant. Was very yummy.

Tonight we are in Bendigo and the spread they've put on at the venue is incredible! Plenty of fruit, chips and dips, olives, etc. Delicious. We have two more shows to go on this run - San Remo and Geelong - so I'll be interested to see what I get to eat over the next couple of days. How good is food.

Jen

Potato Rosti

Potato is pretty much my favourite food. You can do so many things with it... make chips, mash it, cut it up into bits and fry it, bake it, you name it. One of my favourite things to do is to grate it all up and mix it with other yummy things and make a rosti. Which is sort of like a grated potato hash brown kinda thing. It's incredible. My sister wanted to know how I make my rostis, so I decided to make an informative post about exactly how I make my rostis. You could probably use any vegetable to make these, as long as you can grate it. Sweet potato rosti would be amazing, and I think zucchini rosti would be too... yum. I need to experiment. (Note: have since tried sweet potato and potato together, works nicely! Zucchini's sugar content must be higher because it cooks way quicker and tends to burn before the potato cooks.)

Equipment:

Vegetable peeler

Grater

Fork

Frypan

Bowl

Plate

Ingredients:

Potato

Onion

Seasonings (I choose chilli, salt and pepper)

Oil

Time to prepare: Not long

Time to cook: About the same

Feeds: Depending on many factors, including how many potatoes you use, either one hungry girl or up to three people with a regular appetite.

STEP ONE

Prepare as many potatoes as you think are suitable for the amount of people who are going to be eating the rosti. This may range from one potato for one person, if you're not that hungry, to three potatoes for one person (which I must admit I have done several times). You'll need to peel the potato and also grab an onion (or half an onion if you're only using one potato) and peel that.

STEP TWO

Get your grater and grate the potato and onion. Grating an onion is really hard, but you'll get there. Lumps are fine. 

STEP THREE

Seasoning. You can use any flavours you like, really. I like to go with chilli (loootssss of chilli) and the old salt and pepper. Can't go wrong. You could go with Italian flavours such as oregano, basil and parsley, or turn it into a roast potato feel with some rosemary and thyme, or go middle eastern and chuck in some cumin and coriander. The world is your oyster mushroom.

STEP FOUR

Mix it all together with a fork. Or some other utensil, I don't mind.

STEP FIVE

Heat up your frypan with some oil in it. Doesn't matter what kind of oil. My favourite is olive oil. This one is particularly yummy as it's infused with garlic and makes the kitchen smell fabulous. Oh and your food tastes good, too.

STEP SIX

Chuck your potato mix in the pan.

STEP SEVEN

Use a fork to gently mash down the mix so it's evenly spread over the bottom of the pan. If you just use one potato it'll be a smaller one that doesn't take up the whole bottom of the pan, but if you use two or three potatoes it may take up the whole bottom of the pan. #science.

STEP EIGHT

Once the rosti is flattened out evenly, use your fork to push in the edges (of a circle?!) to make it round and beautiful.

STEP NINE

Let your rosti cook for a few minutes. You'll be able to tell it's cooking well when it's getting brown around the edges (again with the edges...) If you're a pro chef you can do that fancy pancake flippy thing using the pan to flip it over. If not, use a large spatula or something and flip it to cook on the other side.

STEP TEN

Let it cook on the other side. How good does that look! Oh man. My mouth is watering. You can flip it back over to check it's brown on the other side.

STEP ELEVEN

Put it on your plate and ENJOY.

Welcome back!

Hello there! For a couple of years I've been writing a travel/tour blog (Jen Boyce Travels) and also posting photos of food (and cats - the two most important things on the internet!) on my Instagram (@catsandfood) but I've decided to come back here and write a blog about my food adventures. As I travel a lot, I often eat at restaurants and cafes and have to make do with very strange food options sometimes. The amount of times I have been forced to eat a packet of potato crisps for breakfast is disgusting. Amusing, but disgusting.

People often ask me how much it costs to eat vegan and gluten free (not that much if you do it right!) and also how I manage to find suitable food everywhere I go. It's a matter of researching beforehand and choosing a restaurant or cafe that you think looks most suitable and most likely to cooperate with your dietary requirements, and also being confident to ask for exactly what you want when you arrive. This includes stating exactly what you want and don't want, and asking for ingredients listings etc.

So, here I am. I've been vegan for a couple of years and gluten free for over ten years. I absolutely LOVE food and always have. I'm aiming to post photos and info about food I find during my travels, and also photos and recipes of food I make at home or on the road. I'll try to include cost where I can, and details of the establishment I got the food from. Okay then, please enjoy. If you have any questions or want the recipe or advice for anything in particular, feel free to let me know!

Jen