Aloo Gobi (Curried Cauliflower & Potatoes)


Date Published: July 21st, 2024 | Last Updated: July 21st, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains, healthy, low-cal, vegetarian
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

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What better way to use up cauliflower than to make it into a delicious and flavourful aloo gobi! If you’re unfamiliar with aloo gobi, it’s a vegetarian Indian dish that is made up of cauliflower, potatoes, and onions, all cooked in a mixture of fragrant spices. Not only is it a great dish, but it’s also healthy and relatively low calories for something so flavourful – in fact, I’ll often make this when I’m on a diet but don’t feel like a week of salads.

This recipe is originally from: Indian Healthy Recipes but with a few tweaks.

A Quick Note on Chilli Powder

This recipe uses Kashmiri chilli powder, which is an Indian chilli powder variety that’s not too spicy and it is what gives the dish its orangey/red colour. It can be a bit hard to find unless you’ve got an Indian grocer near you, but if you can’t find it, a good substitute is gochugaru, which is a Korean chilli powder. Do NOT substitute with cayenne pepper which is a MUCH spicier chilli powder. If you absolutely can’t find Kashmiri chilli powder nor gochugaru, then you can substitute with 1 part cayenne powder: 3 parts paprika.

Aloo Gobi Masala (left) vs Regular Aloo Gobi (right)

This is a dry dish (no sauce). If you prefer something saucy and more curry-like, try the recipe for aloo gobi masala here (slightly more in calories, but with even more flavour)!

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Spice mix:
    • 1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder (or gochugaru – Korean chilli powder)
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • 1 tsp coriander powder
    • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated
  • 1/2 Tbsp garlic, finely minced
  • 1 medium brown onion, diced fine
  • 2 medium (~500g) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 large cauliflower head, cut into 1.5 inch florets
  • 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • Serve with carb of choice (rice, roti, naan…etc.).

Directions:

Make your spice mix by mixing chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder, and cumin powder in a bowl. Set aside.

In a pan on MED heat, add a drizzle of oil and add in cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to sizzle, add in the grated ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add in the onions and continue to sauté until the onion softens and turns translucent (3-4 minutes). Add in the diced potatoes with a pinch of salt and cook for 5-6 minutes until they’re halfway cooked (slightly softened).

Once the potatoes are halfway cooked, add in the cauliflower florets with another pinch of salt and continue to sauté for another 3 minutes.

Then add in the spice mix (from step 1) and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and cook with a lid on until both the potatoes and cauliflower are ALMOST fork-tender (5-8 mins) – the cauliflower should have a slight crunch. Be sure to stir every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Add a small amount of water if the dish gets too dry.

Add in the diced tomatoes and crush in the fenugreek leaves and sauté for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes have cooked down a little and the potato and cauliflower are fork-tender and fully cooked. Taste and adjust salt to taste. Turn off the heat and serve with carb of choice (rice, roti, naan…etc.).

Aloo Gobi Masala (left) vs Regular Aloo Gobi (right)

Summarized Recipe:

Aloo Gobi (Curried Cauliflower)

Date Published: July 21st, 2024 | Last Updated: July 21st, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains, healthy, low-cal, vegetarian
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 20 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

  • Spice mix:
    • 1/2 tsp kashmiri chili powder (or gochugaru – Korean chilli powder)
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • 1 tsp coriander powder
    • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 Tbsp ginger, grated
  • 1/2 Tbsp garlic, finely minced
  • 1 medium brown onion, diced fine
  • 2 medium (~500g) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 large cauliflower head, cut into 1.5 inch florets
  • 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • Serve with carb of choice (rice, roti, naan…etc.).

Directions:

  1. Make your spice mix by mixing chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder, and cumin powder in a bowl. Set aside.
  2. In a pan on MED heat, add a drizzle of oil and add in cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to sizzle, add in the grated ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant.
  3. Add in the onions and continue to sauté until the onion softens and turns translucent (3-4 minutes).
  4. Add in the diced potatoes with a pinch of salt and cook for 5-6 minutes until they’re halfway cooked (slightly softened).
  5. Once the potatoes are halfway cooked, add in the cauliflower florets with another pinch of salt and continue to sauté for another 3 minutes.
  6. Then add in the spice mix (from step 1) and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and cook with a lid on until both the potatoes and cauliflower are ALMOST fork-tender (5-8 minutes) – the cauliflower should have a slight crunch. Be sure to stir every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Add a small amount of water if the dish gets too dry.
  7. Add in the diced tomatoes and crush in the fenugreek leaves and sauté for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes have cooked down a little and the potato and cauliflower are fork-tender and fully cooked. Taste and adjust salt to taste. Turn off the heat and serve with carb of choice (rice, roti, naan…etc.).

Abby1 Comment

Roasted Garlic Dal (Yellow Lentil Curry)


Date Published: July 20th, 2024 | Last Updated: July 20th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains, vegetarian, easy, healthy, low-cal
Serves: 4 as a main | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 2 hours

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Dal (or dahl, daal, dhal) is a delicious vegetarian Indian curry made of lentils. You’ll find it on the menu at any Indian restaurant and there is a huge variety of ways you can make dal. It’s both flavourful and healthy!

In the past I’ve always found dal to be good, but never comparable to the infamous butter chicken, however that all changed during our recent trip to London. Toby took me to a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant called Trishna for my birthday and holy moly, of the entire tasting menu, the roasted garlic dal blew me away! I was thinking about it for days after and hoped I would be able to recreate it when I got home. After some trial and error testing different dal and roasted garlic recipes, I’m glad to report that I’ve done it! I’ve recreated that magical garlic dal from ‘Trishna’.

HIGHLY recommend going to Trishna if you’re in London!

The main base dal recipe is from RecipeTinEats but with a few little tweaks and with the addition of the roasted garlic.

Although this recipe is not difficult to make, there are a few ingredients required and it takes a little to let everything simmer – I promise it’s well worth the wait!

Consider serving this dish over basmati rice, or check out my super easy recipe for this 2-ingredient naan:

Quick and So Easy 2-Ingredient Naan


This two-ingredient naan is easy, fuss-free, and makes a quick side dish to any saucy dish or soup. It has a beautiful fluffy texture with the classic chewiness of naan. It’s super quick: no yeast, no resting time, no proofing, and minimal kneading. It’s great for a last minute on-the-go side dish.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Roasted garlic:
    • 2 garlic bulbs
    • Drizzle olive oil
    • Pinch of salt
    • Pinch of black pepper
  • Dal:
    • 1 cup chana dal/yellow split lentils
    • 2 Tbsps ghee (or 1 Tbsp oil + 1 Tbsp butter)
    • 2 long green chillies, deseeded & diced small
    • 1 small onion (red or yellow), diced small
    • 6 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1.5 Tbsps ginger, minced
    • 8 dried (or 10 fresh) curry leaves
    • 1 tomato, diced small
    • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
    • 4 cups (1L) water
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1/8 tsp garam masala
    • 1 tsp kosher/cooking salt (or more to taste)
  • To serve: basmati rice or naan

Directions:

Rinse the 1 cup chana dal/yellow split lentils and let it soak in water for at least 1 hour, then strain and set aside.

While the lentils are soaking, roast the garlic:

Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).

Prepare a small square baking tray and pour in a drizzle of olive oil. Slice the base off of the 2 garlic bulbs (the flat side – see photo) and dip the exposed side into the olive oil and place the bulbs in the tray, cut side up. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Make sure all the exposed garlic cloves are covered in oil so it doesn’t burn.

Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.

After 40 mins, take it out of the oven, remove the foil and let the roasted garlic cool down. Once cool enough to handle, gently remove the garlic cloves from the outer layer and set aside.

In a skillet on HIGH heat, melt the 2 Tbsps ghee (or butter/oil). Then add in the green chillies and sauté for 2 minutes until starting to soften. Next add in the onions and continue to sauté for another 3-4 minutes until the onion softens.

Once the onion has softened, turn the heat down to MEDIUM and add in the minced garlic, ginger, and curry leaves. Cook for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant.

Add in the diced tomatoes and 1/2 tsp cumin and continue to sauté for another 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes break down and you’re starting to get a paste.

Add in the 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/8 tsp garam masala and 1 tsp cooking salt. Mix everything around for another 1-2 minutes until the spices are fragrant then add in the 1 cup chana dal/yellow split lentils and 4 cups of water. Bring the heat up to HIGH to let it come to a boil, then turn the heat down to LOW and simmer the dal with the lid on for 1 hour, stirring intermittently.

(You can make the basmati rice, naan, or whatever side you like in this time.)

After 1 hour take off the lid and let the dal continue to simmer for 30 minutes to reduce the liquid. The daal has finished cooking when it looks like a porridge-consistency, the lentils are very soft, and the liquid has reduced to your liking.

Mash the roasted garlic cloves (from step 1) and add it into the dal. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Done! Serve over a bed of basmati rice or with naan.

Summarized Recipe:

Roasted Garlic Dal (Yellow Lentil Curry)

Date Published: July 20th, 2024 | Last Updated: May 23rd, 2026
Author: Abby |Category: mains, vegetarian, easy
Serves: 4 as a main | Prep time: 1 hour | Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

  • Roasted garlic:
    • 2 garlic bulbs
    • Drizzle olive oil
    • Pinch of salt
    • Pinch of black pepper
  • Dal:
    • 1 cup chana dal/yellow split lentils
    • 2 Tbsps ghee (or 1 Tbsp oil + 1 Tbsp butter)
    • 2 long green chillies, deseeded & diced small
    • 1 small onion (red or yellow), diced small
    • 6 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1.5 Tbsps ginger, minced
    • 8 dried (or 10 fresh) curry leaves
    • 1 tomato, diced small
    • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
    • 4 cups (1L) water
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1/8 tsp garam masala
    • 1 tsp kosher/cooking salt (or more to taste)
  • To serve: basmati rice or check out this super easy 2-ingredient naan

Directions:

  1. Rinse the 1 cup chana dal/yellow split lentils and let it soak in water for at least 1 hour, then strain and set aside.
  2. While the lentils are soaking, roast the garlic:
    • Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
    • Prepare a small square baking tray and pour in a drizzle of olive oil. Slice the base off of the 2 garlic bulbs (the flat side – see photo) and dip the exposed side into the olive oil and place the bulbs in the tray, cut side up. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Make sure all the exposed garlic cloves are covered in oil so it doesn’t burn.
    • Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
    • After 40 mins, take it out of the oven, remove the foil and let the roasted garlic cool down. Once cool enough to handle, gently remove the garlic cloves from the outer layer and set aside.
  3. In a skillet on HIGH heat, melt the 2 Tbsps ghee (or butter/oil). Then add in the green chillies and sauté for 2 minutes until starting to soften. Next add in the onions and continue to sauté for another 3-4 minutes until the onion softens.
  4. Turn the heat down to MEDIUM and add in the minced garlic, ginger, and curry leaves. Cook for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant.
  5. Add in the diced tomatoes and 1/2 tsp cumin and continue to sauté for another 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes break down and you’re starting to get a paste.
  6. Add in the 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1/8 tsp garam masala and 1 tsp cooking salt. Mix everything around for another 1-2 minutes until the spices are fragrant then add in the 1 cup chana dal/yellow split lentils and 4 cups of water. Bring the heat up to HIGH to let it come to a boil, then turn the heat down to LOW and simmer the dal with the lid on for 1 hour, stirring intermittently.
  7. (You can make the basmati rice, naan, or whatever side you like in this time.)
  8. After 1 hour take off the lid and let the dal continue to simmer for 30 minutes to reduce the liquid. The dal has finished cooking when it looks like a porridge-consistency, very soft lentils, and the liquid has reduced to your liking.
  9. Mash the roasted garlic cloves (from step 1) and add it into the dal. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Done! Serve over a bed of basmati rice or with naan.

AbbyLeave a comment

Roasted Garlic (a how-to guide)


Date Published: July 20th, 2024 | Last Updated: July 20th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: how-to, easy
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

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Roasted garlic is one of those magical ingredients that’s packed with so much flavour and yet so easy to make. It’s so versatile and easy to use – you can put it in so many things to easily add an extra depth of flavour or just spread it over plain toast with a drizzle of olive oil for a quick snack. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to make and the best part is that it keeps well in the fridge for up to a week covered in olive oil so you can make a bit extra and continue to use it throughout the week without putting in the effort. 🙂

If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Garlic bulbs – however many you’d like to roast
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).

Prepare a small square baking tray and pour in a drizzle of olive oil.

Slice the base off of the garlic bulbs (the flat side – see photo) and dip the exposed side into the olive oil and place the bulbs in the tray, cut side up.

Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Make sure all the exposed garlic cloves are covered in oil so it doesn’t burn.

Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.

After 40 mins, take it out of the oven, carefully remove the foil and let the roasted garlic cool down. Once cool enough to handle, gently remove the garlic cloves from the outer layer. Done!

Summarized Recipe:

Roasted Garlic (a how-to guide)

Date Published: July 20th, 2024 | Last Updated: July 20th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: how-to, easy
Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

  • Garlic bulbs – however many you’d like to roast
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of black pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
  2. Prepare a small square baking tray and pour in a drizzle of olive oil.
  3. Slice the base off of the garlic bulbs (the flat side – see photo) and dip the exposed side into the olive oil and place the bulbs in the tray, cut side up. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Make sure all the exposed garlic cloves are covered in oil so it doesn’t burn.
  4. Cover the tray with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
  5. After 40 mins, take it out of the oven and carefully remove the foil and let the roasted garlic cool down. Once cool enough to handle, gently remove the garlic cloves from the outer layer. Done!

AbbyLeave a comment

Czech Tomato Gravy (over Sliced Beef) – Rajská Omáčka


Date Published: May 28th, 2024 | Last Updated: May 28th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains, Czech, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45 mins

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I’m told that “Rajská Omáčka” (pronounced: rays-ka oma-ch-ka) directly translates to “tomato sauce”. This is one of Toby’s childhood dishes that his grandmother used to make him. Every time he says it, all I hear is “racecar” 😅. To me, this sauce pretty much tastes like a tomato soup without the herbs, but it’s served over slices of beef or pork and some knedliky (Czech dumplings – potato or bread). There are other versions of this sauce that vary in tartness and sweetness (like my original attempts), but I’ve written this recipe to be as similar to babička’s as possible.

You have no idea how hard it is to get a picture of babička standing still and smiling 😅

To be honest, this is not my favourite dish, but its got nostalgic value for Toby so I set out to try and make it for him. After a couple of attempts from online and cookbook recipes, he said it “just wasn’t like babička’s” but he couldn’t tell me what was wrong with it 😒. So I put it on the back burner up until our recent trip to Czech a couple weeks ago and we asked babička to show us how she makes it. Her version was a little less tomato-y than the versions I made and although it’s still not my favourite dish, seeing Toby’s happy face slurping down his second helping of the tomato sauce was enough reason for me to add this recipe to the collection.

This recipe is easy and cooks up quickly. You can pair the sauce with whatever meat you wish including a vepro, but for a quick lunch or dinner with minimal effort, I’ve included the instructions to cook a rump roast in a pressure cooker in 30 minutes and it’ll be ready around the same time as the sauce.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Recipes that pair well together with this sauce:

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Beef:
    • 900g (2 lbs) rump roast/chuck steak
    • 1/2 Tbsp salt
    • Enough water to cover the beef
  • Sauce:
    • 1 Tbsp pork lard
    • 2 medium (~800g) onions, diced
    • 1 large can (793g/28oz) diced tomatoes
    • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
    • 4 cups (1L) beef broth
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1.5 Tbsps granulated sugar
    • 5 black peppercorns
    • 3 allspice berries
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2-4 Tbsps heavy cream (to taste)
  • To serve: with slices of knedliky/Czech dumplings (potato or bread)

Directions:

A. Cook the beef: in a pressure cooker/instant pot: *This step is optional. You can serve this tomato sauce with whatever type of meat you like, but if you’re looking for a quick cooked beef, the instant pot will be the fastest.

Add enough water to cover the beef
Pressure-cooked for 30 mins
Let rest of 10 minutes
Slice after resting

Add the beef, salt and enough water to cover the meat. Put the lid on and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes, then quick release. Remove the beef from the liquid and let it rest for 10 mins before slicing.

  • Alternatively if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil the beef in water over the stove until the beef is tender. This will take about 2 hours.

B. Make the sauce while the beef is cooking:

In a small pot on MED-HIGH heat, melt the pork lard and sauté the onions for 5-8 minutes until softened.
Add the salt, sugar, black peppercorns, allspice berries, and bay leaves. Stir for 2 mins until the sugar has fully dissolved.

Next, add in the flour and stir for 2 minutes until well incorporated and the flour cooks a little. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so nothing sticks.

Pour in the beef broth and stir everything together. Bring the heat up to HIGH to let it come to a boil then back down to MED heat and let it boil for 8-10 minutes until the sauce thickens into a gravy-like consistency.

Once it has thickened, pour in the can of diced tomatoes including all of the liquid. Bring the sauce to a boil again, then simmer on MED heat for 20 minutes.

Note: Make sure to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom.

After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and discard the bay leaves and all spice berries.

Next, use a stick blender (or transfer the sauce to a blender) and blend the sauce until you get a smooth texture. If you want an extra smooth sauce, strain it through a fine sieve.

Add 2 Tbsps of heavy cream then taste and adjust salt, sugar, or more heavy cream as needed. (Babička will sometimes add in some ketchup if she wants it more tart and tomato-y 🤫.)

Serve the sauce ladled over the cooked sliced beef and a few knedliky. Enjoy!

Summarized Recipe:

Czech Tomato Gravy (over Sliced Beef) – Rajská Omáčka

Date Published: May 28th, 2024 | Last Updated: May 28th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: mains, Czech, easy
Serves: 4 | Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

  • Beef:
    • 900g (2 lbs) rump roast/chuck steak
    • 1/2 Tbsp salt
    • Enough water to cover the beef
  • Sauce:
    • 1 Tbsp pork lard
    • 2 medium (~800g) onions, diced
    • 1 large can (793g/28oz) diced tomatoes
    • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
    • 4 cups (1L) beef broth
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1.5 Tbsps granulated sugar
    • 5 black peppercorns
    • 3 allspice berries
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2-4 Tbsps heavy cream (to taste)
  • To serve: with slices of knedliky/Czech dumplings (potato or bread)

Directions:

A. Cook the beef: in a pressure cooker/instant pot: Add the beef, salt and enough water to cover the meat. Put the lid on and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 30 minutes, then quick release. Remove the beef from the liquid and let it rest for 10 mins before slicing.

  • Alternatively if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can boil the beef in water over the stove until the beef is tender. This will take about 2 hours.
  • *This step is optional. You can serve this tomato sauce with whatever type of meat you like, but if you’re looking for a quick cooked beef, the instant pot will be the fastest.

B. Make the sauce while the beef is cooking:

  1. In a small pot on MED-HIGH heat, melt the pork lard and sauté the onions for 5-8 minutes until softened.
  2. Add the salt, sugar, black peppercorns, allspice berries, and bay leaves. Stir for 2 mins until the sugar has fully dissolved.
  3. Next, add in the flour and stir for 2 minutes until well incorporated and the flour cooks a little. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so nothing sticks.
  4. Pour in the beef broth and stir everything together. Bring the heat up to HIGH to let it come to a boil then back down to MED heat and let it boil for 8-10 minutes until the sauce thickens into a gravy-like consistency.
  5. Once it has thickened, pour in the can of diced tomatoes including all of the liquid. Bring the sauce to a boil again, then simmer on MED heat for 20 minutes.
    • Note: Make sure to stir and scrape the bottom of the pot every few minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom.
  6. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and discard the bay leaves and all spice berries. Next, use a stick blender (or transfer the sauce to a blender) and blend the sauce until you get a smooth texture. If you want an extra smooth sauce, strain it through a fine sieve.
  7. Add 2 Tbsps of heavy cream then taste and adjust salt, sugar, or more heavy cream as needed. (Babička will sometimes add in some ketchup if she wants it more tart and tomato-y 🤫.)
    Serve the sauce ladled over the cooked sliced beef and a few knedliky. Enjoy!

Abby1 Comment

Our Time Working in Central Victoria: Kilmore, Wallan, Woodend (the start of our working journey through the pandemic)


It was the end of August 2020, smack deep in the pandemic. The state of Victoria had the highest number of COVID cases and everyone was stressed and in lockdown. 8 months prior when there were only whispers of an emerging COVID virus overseas, Toby and I both gave in our notices with big plans ahead, not expecting everything soon to be derailed. We had planned to move out of our apartment in Balwyn in April 2020, live 1 month on Toby’s parents’ farm to prepare for our wedding, then be wed on the farm on Saturday, May 9th, 2020. After the wedding we were going to locum in the UK and travel Europe.

In March of 2020, we were working the final months of our contract. The news got scarier and scarier to watch, with COVID cases climbing higher and higher. Everyone felt a sense of unease and paranoia. Our work started with face shields and masks with social distancing then turned into curb-side/over-the-phone consulting. There was a shortage of masks and hand sanitizer and I was so glad we still plenty of our Costco bulk toilet paper left from simpler times. When they closed international borders, it was clear that our wedding would not go ahead as planned and our overseas plans were in danger. How the near future would play out was uncertain and no one knew how long the pandemic would last. We decided to continue with our plan of leaving our jobs anyway and move on to the farm to wait out the pandemic since neither of us have had a proper break since starting work as new grad veterinarians so this would be a nice extended break. We sold all of our furniture and held a couple Camberwell stalls to get rid of unwanted items, then moved the rest to the farm. We were hopeful the virus would be contained within a few months so we only postponed our wedding to November of 2020.

When we first implemented face shields in March 2020

Moving to the farm was a breath of fresh air. We had 50 acres of land to roam and open-air with cattle, chickens, and the three family dogs. Toby put together a little TV room for us so we can have our own little space and watch our evening Masterchef on TV while his dad watched the evening news. His parents did the weekly grocery shop at Dandenong Market while Toby and I cooked daily with inspiration from Masterchef. Our day-to-day was waking up, cooking, doing the dishes, then going about our own activities until the evening where sometimes I’d be baking something or Toby would be trying out a soufflé recipe (he was really into egg recipes at point to use up the abundance of eggs from the chickens) and we’d eat it together until 7-8pm when Masterchef/the evening news would come on. Rinse and repeat.

After 4 months of this, the end of the pandemic was nowhere in sight and the lack of income and working purpose was gnawing at us. One day I received a random phone call from a corporate company that asked me if I was looking for a job. During the pandemic everyone was home, paying more attention to their animals or people were rescuing animals from shelters and as a result the need for veterinarians were at an all time high. I had never actually worked for this company before, but I did apply for one of their clinics almost a year prior but I never accepted the job – they must’ve kept my information in their file and in desperate times, calling every lead they possibly had. The call came at a good time, when we were getting a little tired of the monotony and yearning for a greater purpose again. We didn’t want to commit to another full time contract job since we still had plans to leave the country when the pandemic blew over (whenever that would be), so we accepted a temporary locum job for 2 months. Within 48 hours we were packed and ready to start a new adventure. Toby stayed at the Kilmore clinic full time and I travelled between Kilmore, Wallan and Woodend.

Map of our travels and work locations
Within 48 hours of the phone call, we were packed and ready to go
Toby was pretty good at packing my little car
Kilmore is only about an hour north from the city and its surrounded by beautiful farm lands
The small town of Kilmore – our first views driving in
They had a furnished room at the back of the clinic all ready for us. There was even a really nice bathroom! This was a lot more modern than we were expecting in this small town.

The communal break room had a full kitchen for us to use. As you can see, the bulk of our things were my cooking tools and we were also loaded up with farm fresh veggies from Toby’s mom before we left <3. Toby is trying to reorganize and figure out how everything is going to fit.

We arrived at the Kilmore clinic while the clinic was closed and the practice manager showed us to our accommodation at the back of the clinic. We were expecting the worst but it was actually a very nicely renovated room with a roomy bathroom. We unpacked and settled into our new home relatively quickly.

A few days later it was Toby’s birthday. He picked out a mini cake at the local bakery.
We also tried out the local pizza, Toby’s favourite food.
I was FINALLY able to get a haircut since being in lockdown
Someone donated adult diapers to the clinic so we were using then instead of urine pads for surgeries 😂
Looks silly but it definitely worked well

After a month the landlord decided that he suddenly needed to replace the flooring of the back of the clinic so they moved us to the trailer park across the street. Looked dodgy, but it was actually quite nice! We got two small bedrooms and a full kitchen. I continued to work between the 3 clinics and Toby crossed the street everyday and continued on at Kilmore.

We had a great time over the next couple months with interesting cases and fantastic coworkers. We were only meant to stay 2 months, but decided to extend our contract another 2 months. Here’s a collection of our day-to-day and some crazy things we’ve seen along the way.

Out and about to local farmers markets on the weekends: They’ve all been small community markets but after so many months of lockdown, it was so nice to be back out in the sun again, supporting the locals.

Tallarook Farmer’s Market
Tallarook Farmer’s Market
Romsey Farmer’s Market
Romsey Farmer’s Market
Lancefield Farmer’s Market

We had some pretty good food during out stay here:

Papa Jim’s quickly became our local favourite. They had a unique salted crust. Sadly they closed down in Aug 2023. </3
We tried to get through everything on the menu before we left. The BBQ and Meat Lovers was our favourite.
Bourkies Bakehouse in Woodend was famously known for their vanilla slice
Bourkies baked goods (Vanilla slice not pictured)
Torng Bai Thai Restaurant, Wallan – AMAZING Thai red curry in this small country town! It was my go-to weekend treat ❤
Checked out Holgate Brewhouse in Woodend
Rose Garden Cafe, Kilmore
Rose Garden Cafe, Kilmore – peaceful setting with great food
The restaurant at Macedon Ranges Hotel & Spa (currently closed) – great views, average food

During our time here we took a few road trips to nearby towns:

Daylesford, VIC


Travel date: October 4th, 2020 Daylesford is known as a spa town in regional Victoria. We made a day trip here after working for 6 days straight for some relaxation. The bathhouses and spas on offer were quite pricey and we didn’t quite feel like having a spa day and bringing a change of clothes so…

Kilmore, VIC and Mount Piper


During our time in Kilmore, we did a couple of day hikes around the area. Mount Piper Situated in Broadford, Mount Piper was only about a 10 min drive from where we were staying Kilmore. There’s no entry fee and you can drive up right to the start. There are two hiking options: either the summit…

Malmsbury & Blackhill Nature Reserve, VIC


Travel Dates: October 2020 Malmsbury and Edgecombe are small towns in Central Victoria. They’re about a 12 minute drive away from each other. It’s the perfect outing to start with an early morning farmer’s market run then finish off with a hike through the Blackhill Nature Reserve in Edgecombe. Malmsbury, VIC Malmsbury Farmer’s Market This was…

Bendigo, VIC


Travel Date: November 5th, 2020 After living in a small country town for a couple months, I was craving a nice ramen or any sort of decent Japanese food, so the next biggest town near us was Bendigo. There were 2 Japanese restaurants in town and sadly the ramen at both places were both disappointing </3.…

We left at the end of December 2020. We had such a great time and met so many amazing people and would have loved to stay longer, however we told ourselves that we wanted to keep travelling Australia and made the difficult decision to say goodbye. 💔 Kilmore will always have a special place in our heart as our first locum experience and it solidified our decision to continue travelling around Australia to have more new experiences and meet more people as we wait out the rest of the pandemic.

Taco, the clinic cat

Since our departure, the company struggled to find a vet to fill the vacant position at Kilmore and last we heard they sold the practice to an independent buyer.

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Bendigo, VIC


Travel Date: November 5th, 2020

After living in a small country town for a couple months, I was craving a nice ramen or any sort of decent Japanese food, so the next biggest town near us was Bendigo. There were 2 Japanese restaurants in town and sadly the ramen at both places were both disappointing </3. However, the town of Bendigo was still nice to walk around and explore. There was even an observation tower (Poppet Head Lookout) and Rosalind Park was nice to walk through, with a mini bamboo “forest”.

Bendigo town
First disappointing ramen
Poppet Head Lookout
Top of Poppet Head Lookout
Views from Poppet Head Lookout
Rosalind Park
Chancery Lane – a cool street with cool shops
Awaiting our second disappointing ramen

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Kilmore, VIC and Mount Piper


During our time in Kilmore, we did a couple of day hikes around the area.

  1. Mount Piper
  2. Monument Hill Reserve

Mount Piper

Situated in Broadford, Mount Piper was only about a 10 min drive from where we were staying Kilmore. There’s no entry fee and you can drive up right to the start. There are two hiking options: either the summit walk or the circuit walk. When we first came here we only did the circuit walk, but one of our nurses mentioned that the summit walk was well-worth it, so we made a second trip back here!

Circuit Walk

Summit Walk

It was 1 hour of straight uphill climb. It was pretty brutal, but the views were great!

Toby waiting for me on a stump because I was so slow 😅

Monument Hill Reserve

We stumbled upon this spot while randomly driving around one day. There were fantastic sweeping views of the land below – would’ve made a perfect picnic spot.

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Malmsbury & Blackhill Nature Reserve, VIC


Travel Dates: October 2020

Malmsbury and Edgecombe are small towns in Central Victoria. They’re about a 12 minute drive away from each other. It’s the perfect outing to start with an early morning farmer’s market run then finish off with a hike through the Blackhill Nature Reserve in Edgecombe.

Malmsbury, VIC

Malmsbury Farmer’s Market

This was our first farmer’s market/public outing since the pandemic started. It felt so strange to be outside but also so nice. We were just excited to be outside again with people and probably bought way more things than we needed just so we could support the locals. All the vendors that accepted cash had a disinfectant tub with a slot where you would put in the money so there was minimal direct contact and spread of germs (good thing we had plastic money).

Malmsbury Bakery Cafe

A well-known local bakery. They had decent pies and a nice outdoor space to sit and eat.

Malmsbury Botanic Gardens

Blackhill Nature Reserve, Edgecombe VIC

Not too far from where we were staying in Kilmore, this tucked away nature reserve had great views!

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Daylesford, VIC


Travel date: October 4th, 2020

Daylesford is known as a spa town in regional Victoria. We made a day trip here after working for 6 days straight for some relaxation. The bathhouses and spas on offer were quite pricey and we didn’t quite feel like having a spa day and bringing a change of clothes so we spent the day exploring this quaint town instead.

Railway Farmers Market

We started off at the Railway Farmers Market which was situated at the Daylesford Railway Station. The market was small but lovely under a lane of trees. We bought some local honey and Toby had a pretty good hot dog. We then checked out the train platform and strolled through Wombat Hills Botanical Gardens (not pictured because it wasn’t that exciting but we went because I was hoping there’d be wombats 😂) before heading to Vincent Street.

Vincent Street

Vincent Street is the main street of the town centre and has a few cute boutique shops, including a unique hot chocolate apothecary called The Daylesford Hot Chocolate Company where they mix different spices and flavours into your hot chocolate. We got a chilli hot chocolate was was pretty good!

Hepburn Regional Park

We finished off with a hike in Hepburn Park. Daylesford is known as a spa destination due to its large number of natural mineral springs. The most popular spring and also easiest to access is Argyle Spring. These mineral springs are famed for their health benefits and everyone says you have to try the spring water when you reach it. It was a short 20 minute walk through a eucalypt forest with an easy walking path to reach the spring. Once you reach the spring, there’s a little pump for the water to come out. We both took a big sip of this magic water after our hike and it was SO COPPERY. It was like the aftertaste from a nosebleed 😖🤢. BLECH. I’m surprised no one wrote it in the reviews how bad the water would taste. One of my coworkers commented that when her and boyfriend went, they were so excited to try the water that they actually emptied out their water bottles to fill it up with spring water and instantly regretted it after tasting it. 😂😂😂

Argyle Spring
How much we loved the spring water

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F*cking Good Butter Chicken (Chicken/Murgh Makhani)


Date Published: April 16th, 2024 | Last Updated: April 16th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: Asian, main
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

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Butter chicken is no doubt the most popular dish at most Indian restaurants. It’s creamy, full of flavour, and has the perfect amount of sweetness. It’s an indulgent dish and I can never get enough of it. I’ve tried a LOT of different butter chickens in my life and I’ve come to realize that my favourite butter chickens have been on the sweeter side. I’ve tried to make this dish multiple times in the past with different recipes and methods, but it was never quite right to my liking. There is a lot of variation out there between recipes in terms of level of heat, salt, sweetness, tomato flavour, and even blend of spices. I was beginning to give up on my quest, until someone mentioned trying the Youtube recipe by Chef Varun Inamdar. I’m not a big youtube person when it comes to recipes (which is probably why I never came across it on my own), but this video had 47 MILLION views and has been deemed THE most popular butter chicken recipe on the internet. With a reputation like that, of course I had to try it. As you can probably guess, it was fucking amazing! It’s rich, buttery, and on the sweeter side. You can even taste the flavours of the aromatics that elevate this dish. The only complaint I had was that it was TOO sweet for my liking so I’ve cut down the sugar level by 1/3. I also decreased the amount of butter used (don’t worry, there’s still plenty in this dish to make it deliciously unhealthy) and swapped out cream with cashew cream. OH, and lastly I also doubled his original recipe because it was so damn good that I’d finish it all in one sitting on my own, so i figured I should make enough to share 😜.

A Quick Note on Chilli Powder

This recipe uses Kashmiri chilli powder, which is an Indian chilli powder variety that’s not too spicy and it is what gives the dish its orangey/red colour. It can be a bit hard to find unless you’ve got an Indian grocer near you, but if you can’t find it, a good substitute is gochugaru, which is a Korean chilli powder. Do NOT substitute with cayenne pepper which is a MUCH spicier chilli powder. If you absolutely can’t find Kashmiri chilli powder nor gochugaru, then you can substitute with 1 part cayenne powder: 3 parts paprika.

Check out my easy naan recipe to serve with this butter chicken!

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Chicken marinade:
    • 600g (3 medium-sized) chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, diced to 2.5cm pieces
    • 1 Tbsp ginger, grated
    • 1 Tbsp garlic, finely minced
    • 2 Tbsps kashmiri chilli powder (or gochugaru/Korean chilli powder)
    • Pinch of salt
  • Sauce:
    • 1 large brown onion, diced
    • 2 Tbsps (30g) + 1 stick (115g / 8 Tbsps) butter
    • 1kg (~5 large) tomatoes, roughly chopped
    • 100g raw unsalted cashews
    • 1 cup water
    • 2 Tbsps garlic, finely minced
    • 3 Tbsps white vinegar
    • 1/4 cup (53g) sugar
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • 1/4 cup kashmiri chilli powder (or gochugaru/Korean chilli powder)
    • 1 cup cashew cream (or blend 40 raw cashews (90g) with 2/3 cup water)
    • 2 tsps dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
    • Salt to taste

Directions:

Marinate the chicken: in a mixing bowl, add the ginger paste, garlic, chilli powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.

In a large pan or pot on MED heat, add a drizzle of oil and sear the marinated chicken pieces on both sides for 1-2 minutes. Do not crowd the pan, have the chicken in a single layer. You will have to do this in 2-3 batches depending on the size of your pan/pot. Once finished, remove the chicken and set aside in a bowl.

In the same pan, add another drizzle of oil then add in the diced onion and 2 Tbsps butter. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until the onion is translucent.

Next add in the tomatoes and cashews and mix well. Add in 1 cup of water, garlic, vinegar, sugar, garam masala, chilli powder, and a big pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to LOW-MED and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes. Mix it around every 5 minutes to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.

(While you wait, you can make any sides you wish to serve this with: ie. basmati rice, naan.)

After 20mins
Blend with a stick blender or high-speed blender

After 20 minutes, turn the heat OFF and use a stick blender or a high speed blender to purée everything in the pot until smooth (a high speed blender will get you smoother results than a stick blender).

Return the blended sauce back into the pan. Turn the heat back on to MED and add in the chicken (from step 2), 1 stick of butter, cashew cream*, and crush the dried fenugreek leaves into the pot. Mix it all around and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and sugar as needed. Done! Serve with basmati rice or naan.

*Note: if you don’t have cashew cream, you can simply blend 40 raw cashews (90g) with 2/3 cup water in a high speed blender until smooth.

Summarized Recipe:

F*cking Good Butter Chicken (Chicken/Murgh Makhani)

Date Published: April 16th, 2024 | Last Updated: April 16th, 2024
Author: Abby |Category: Asian, main
Serves: 6 | Prep time: 30 mins | Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

  • Chicken marinade:
    • 600g (3 medium-sized) chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, diced to 2.5cm pieces
    • 1 Tbsp ginger, grated
    • 1 Tbsp garlic, finely minced
    • 2 Tbsps kashmiri chilli powder (or gochugaru/Korean chilli powder)
    • Pinch of salt
  • Sauce:
    • 1 large brown onion, diced
    • 2 Tbsps (30g) + 1 stick (115g / 8 Tbsps) butter
    • 1kg (~5 large) tomatoes, roughly chopped
    • 100g raw unsalted cashews
    • 1 cup water
    • 2 Tbsps garlic, finely minced
    • 3 Tbsps white vinegar
    • 1/4 cup (53g) sugar
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • 1/4 cup kashmiri chilli powder (or gochugaru/Korean chilli powder)
    • 1 cup cashew cream (or blend 40 raw cashews (90g) with 2/3 cup water)
    • 2 tsps dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
    • Salt to taste

Directions:

  1. Marinate the chicken: in a mixing bowl, add the ginger paste, garlic, chilli powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  2. In a large pan or pot on MED heat, add a drizzle of oil and sear the marinated chicken pieces on both sides for 1-2 minutes. Do not crowd the pan, have the chicken in a single layer. You will have to do this in 2-3 batches depending on the size of your pan/pot. Once finished, remove the chicken and set aside in a bowl.
  3. In the same pan, add another drizzle of oil then add in the diced onion and 2 Tbsps butter. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until the onion is translucent.
  4. Next add in the tomatoes and cashews and mix well. Add in 1 cup of water, garlic, vinegar, sugar, garam masala, chilli powder, and a big pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to LOW-MED and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes. Mix it around every 5 minutes to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
  5. (While you wait, you can make any sides you wish to serve this with: ie. basmati rice, naan.)
  6. After 20 minutes, turn the heat OFF and use a stick blender to purée everything in the pot until smooth. To get a smoother sauce, you can put everything in a high speed blender instead. Return the blended sauce back into the pan.
  7. Turn the heat back on to MED and add in the chicken (from step 2), 1 stick of butter, cashew cream, and crush the dried fenugreek leaves into the pot. Mix it all around and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and sugar as needed. Done! Serve with basmati rice or naan.

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