the stables bar…

 It’s the same old city, but yet it’s not.  Perth has never been a place to flock to, never caused a ripple or a stir in the melting pot of ‘must see’ cities of the world & for a long time, I’m sorry to say – there weren’t too many great words used to describe it either.  Perth – it is the same old word but it’s not the same old place.  It’s changed, it’s busy & bustling & growing finally into the big brother of its former self.  True, it might not yet be a city worth flocking to, but if you’re already a part of the herd – you can be pretty happy that after a long dry summer, the grass is finally growing.

This is The Stables Bar, a new venue in our city CBD…

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It’s a long laneway that blazes a trail to The Stables Bar & courtyard.  Turning in from the hectic lunch time stampede of Hay Street, you’ll be greeted with a calm landscaped oasis & surprisingly, for a city – space…

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The downstairs bar is spacious, dark, stylish & rustic…

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The serious business of lunch was taking place in the upstairs dining room, with which I am in love.  In fact, I’m in love with the complete fit-out of this venue.  Where the downstairs bar is dark & edgy, upstairs is bright, airy & classic, with views of the city from the outdoor garden terrace.  The references to the venues history as one of Perth’s original horse stables & residences fuels the imagination.  The old black & white canvas photographs lining the wall & the dark green studded bench seats complimented by lush green velvet chairs are all well thought out inclusions to this interior…

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and then of course there’s my love of lights…

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Of course you’ll want to know something of the food.  We shared a few items from their all day grazing menu – freshly shucked oysters, eggplant chips & zucchini, pea, mint croquettes with cardamon yoghurt.  For mains we tried chicken schnitzel, pan-fried ricotta gnocchi & a warm salad of beetroot, farro, goats curd & candied walnuts.  All thoroughly enjoyed.

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Where:  The Stables Bar – 888 Hay Street – Perth

Any dirt to dish?  The lunch portion sizes if you’re a big burly male might not fill you up – so graze a little longer if you feel the need.

The Stables Bar on Urbanspoon

banana cake…

Too many bananas left in the fruit bowl?  Grab yourself 3 of them & get baking.  The icing is a simple lemon frosting & it’s yum…

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Banana Cake

250g softened butter – 1 cup caster sugar – 2 tablespoons golden syrup – 3 eggs, lightly beaten – 3 ripe bananas mashed – 1/2 cup chopped walnuts – 2 cups self-raising flour.

Lemon Icing:

1 teaspoon softened butter – 2 cups icing sugar – 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice all mixed together.

Do this:

Preheat oven to 180-200C & grease & line a square baking tin – cream butter, sugar & golden syrup – add eggs & bananas – stir in the nuts & sifted flour – place mixture in prepared tin & bake for 40-50 minutes.  When cool, ice with lemon icing.

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It’s dense & moist.  Be sure to share!

Recipe adapted from one my mum has made zillions of times, taken from the Country Women’s Association – of course!

Have a great weekend.

 

family of four…

With the warm morning sun lighting up the day, we headed to a nice quiet beach for a little spot
of family time…

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These kids are the cutest with big tresses of curly hair…

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Sometimes you just need a little motivation!  It’s not easy being a supermodel when you’re only 2…

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 A little pep talk from mum…

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Some moral support from dad…

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 Then maybe a little advice from big sis aswell, even if he’s still a tad too young to really appreciate it yet…

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Thanks to this gorgeous family for a fun morning!

carrot cake…

Lots of baking has been going on these past couple of weeks & here’s a recipe that you most definitely need to try. It’s delicious & between the carrots, sultanas & walnuts (if you ignore the icing makeup) I dare say it’s also good for you.  Back in the old school days our canteen lady used to bake the most amazing carrot cake ever & I reckon that this recipe is pretty darn close to how I remember it tasting – yum!

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The Cake:

1 1/2 cups plain flour – 3 teaspoons baking powder – 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon – 1 1/3 cups grated carrot – 1 1/3 cups of soft brown sugar – 3 eggs – 1 cup sunflower oil – 1/2 cup sultanas (recipe calls for 3/4 cup but I’m not a big fan of too many sultanas so use less &  chop them up really small) – 3/4 cup chopped walnuts – zest of 1 orange

The Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 cup (250g) cream cheese softened – 30g unsalted butter softened – 1 teaspoon vanilla extract – 1 cup icing sugar, sifted

Method:

Preheat your oven to 170 C & line & grease your cake tin – sift the flour, baking powder & cinnamon into a large bowl & stir in the carrot – whisk sugar & eggs in another bowl & slowly whisk in the oil – pour into the dry ingredients & mix until just combined – fold in the sultanas, walnuts & orange zest – pour into your prepared tin & bake for approx 1 -1  1/4 hours (check it after 50 minutes) – leave it in the tin for a few minutes before turning it out to cool on a wire rack.

For the frosting just beat all the ingredients until they’re silky smooth & slather it on generously…

Enjoy.

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Recipe is from Bill Granger, Bill’s Basics -again!

Have a great weekend.