Coffee lovin' - Box Office

Where do I start?? I am only the second post in to this Coffee lovin' series and I feel like I have already struck gold.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the beautiful art that has gone into this cup of coffee.

Location: Box Office Cafe

Address: 77 Preston Street, Geelong West VIC 3218

Price per coffee: $3.80 

Coffee Beans: Axil Coffee Roasters

Hours: Open 7 days, 7am -4pm

It would be quite easy to overlook this hidden gem just off Pakington Street in Geelong West. Nestled between a fish and chip shop and a large shed is a cleverly transformed shipping container, sitting on what was once vacant land.

Coffee: Can't be faulted! (bold statement, I know) 

Atmosphere: Laid back, very welcoming. 

Service: Really friendly and helpful staff.

  

I also had a some breakie, this was the first time I have tried quinoa porridge and may I add, certainly not the last! So delicious and beautifully presented.

Back to coffee!

With their barista's winning the recent ASCA Regional barista comp as well as winning the Golden Plate most Innovative Award 2014. Box office is definitely kicking goals!

It is good to see a cafe thinking outside the box ( pun intended ) and quite frankly is a breath of fresh air to the Geelong West cafe precinct!

Much love,

Baking basics: The classic tea cake

Ingredients 

60g butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup self-raising flour
1/3 cup milk
15g butter extra (melted) to brush on top
1 tablespoon castor sugar, extra
1 teaspoon cinnamon

This is a great recipe, so simple and something that I have easily put together when I have had people over. 

Always a hit, I have even brought it into work before and been asked if it was a ' Donut cake ' 

Method:

Preheat over to 180deg (fan forced) grease and line a 20cm round cake tin. Only use a round tin, as it will sink in the middle if you use a loaf tin...trust me!)


This was a little trick my Mum taught me to cut the perfect circle to line the bottom of the pan.

Cream butter, sugar, I like to use an electric beater, or mixer if you have one, works just as well with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease!

Add egg and vanilla, mix until light and creamy. 

Fold in sifted flour and milk, add this alternately until smooth.

Spread mixture into cake tin, bake for 25min or until golden 

Allow cake to cool in the tin for 5mins before turning onto wire rack, brush with butter and sprinkle with combined sugar and cinnamon.

This cake is best served warm from the oven and with a nice cuppa!!

Enjoy!

Much love,

Coffee lovin' - Zigfrids

It has been on my mind to do a Coffee lovin' series for some time now. The concept being that through my love for coffee I continually find myself on the quest for the best brew. 

Now I am by no means an expert when it comes to coffee, this series will merely be based on my own personal tastes and experiences and will be spaced out over the course of the warmer months. So enough waffling let's get into it!

Location: Zigfrids

Address: 66 Pakington Street, Geelong West VIC 3218

Price per coffee: $3.80 

Coffee Beans: Coffee Surpreme 

Hours: Open 7 days, 8am til late

The first thing that strikes you when you walk in is simply the large size of the building that was once an old mechanic's workshop. 

And the second is the beautiful decor, the perfect mix of industrial styling and rustic warmth. 

There are only a few simple things that I believe factor into a good coffee. The main being temperature. When I want a coffee I would prefer to drink it right away not 30 min after I order it. I also don't want scolding third deg burns when I attempt to sip it.

In saying that, I am going to narrow down these posts to a few categories when comparing the coffee experience.   

Coffee: Great temperature, nice balance between coffee and milk 

Atmosphere: Relaxed and comfortable, family friendly

Service: A bit slow, however there was only one staff member on the floor. Still friendly service.

Well that was my first attempt, I will just try to keep these posts short and simple and just see where this series of Coffee lovin' takes me!

Much love,

Healthy Salad Sunday

I thought I would post this 'go to' salad recipe, the ingredients seem to vary depending on what I have on hand in my fridge. But that is one of the appealing things about this kind of salad I think!

Ingredients

- 1 cup diced sweet potato

- 1 cup diced red capsicum

- 1 cup diced carrot

- 1 cup broccoli florets

- 1 cup diced zucchini

- 1 cup shredded red cabbage

- 1 cup cooked quinoa

- 2 cups of veg stock

- Chili infused olive oil

- 2 cloves of garlic (minced)

- 1 tbsp grated ginger

- 1 Lemon

The first thing you need to do is cook up your quinoa. When cooking quinoa the most important thing to do is rinse it thoroughly, easiest way to do this is to place the quinoa in a sieve and rinse under running water. 

Once it is well drained place the 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of veg stock ( or any kind of stock will do) into a pot and bring to the boil until all the stock is absorbed. This should take about 8-10 mins. Once the stock is absorbed, remove from heat and fluff up the quinoa with a fork and place aside.

The process is very much the same as cooking rice. You can use water to cook your quinoa, but I find using stock brings a lot more flavour to the quinoa.

 

Next you want to stir fry your veg!

Place a generous splash of Chili infused olive oil into a wok and fry up your minced garlic and grated ginger until them become fragrant. Then throw in your sweet potato and let this soften for a few minutes, then throw the remaining veg into the wok and stir fry until they have softened slightly. You still want a nice crisp crunch when you bite into your salad!

Now for the fun bit! grab a large bowl and mix the cooked quinoa and the stir fried veg together. 

And it is that simple!  

I always find it great to squeeze some lemon over the top to freshen it up and give it a nice zing.

This would be the prefect thing to bring to a bbq or what I like to do is cook this up on a Sunday night and then you have a great salad to bring to work or school for lunch the next few days, I find this salad keeps from around 2-3 days. 

Much love,