Bush tomato shortbread

May 2-3, 2025

   

Some of our best Melbourne friendships were forged through veg*n blogging and potlucking more than 15 years ago. We remain in contact but life changes - any combination of moving to more distant neighbourhoods, raising kids, health issues, and busier careers mean that few of us have maintained the same time, energy and enthusiasm for elaborate cooking. 

Yet there's been a happy little resurgence this year - over a birthday banquet out, the idea was hatched to hold a tomato-themed vegan potluck. Ever the sweet tooth, I resolved to make dessert and make it good. Here's my first of two contributions: bush tomato shortbread.

I loved using the Mabu Mabu bush tomato spice mix in damper, but at some point they stopped stocking it. I looked around online on and off for months, perhaps years, and it seemed pretty scarce. With this renewed motive, I found unadulterated dried bush tomato through Native Oz Bushfoods and mail-ordered a couple of pouches.

From there I kept it simple, using a vegan shortbread base (sourced from vegan blogging mate Steph!) that I'd usually flavour with lemon myrtle and macadamias. It's easy to make in one bowl and can be mixed by hand. I thought about adding a little cinnamon to assert this as a sweet spice mix but I'm glad that I didn't. The bush tomato shone through, tangy and fruity, dessert without a doubt. Thank goodness I'm stocked with enough spice to make more.

Bush tomato shortbread

(adapted from this recipe, which is based on this one from Vegan About Town)

200g margarine

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tablespoons bush tomato powder

Preheat an oven to 190°C. Line a baking tray with paper.

In a medium bowl, use a fork to beat together the margarine and sugar. Add the flour and mix until combined. Add the bush tomato and mix again. Roll scant tablespoons of the dough into balls and place them on the baking tray. Bake for ~15 minutes, and allow to cool before serving.

Mushroom pâté & sesame toast

April 20-22, 2025

   

I've been a long-time reader of Anne Helen Petersen across multiple platforms and a few months ago she announced the start of a cooking club within her substack. The first cookbook we were all invited to cook from was Hetty Lui McKinnon's Tenderheart, an easy and welcome request in this household! I used this as motivation to try a couple of 'project' recipes over the Easter weekend.

The two recipes I signed up for form a clever pair within the Mushroom section. First, there's mushroom, leek & walnut pâté - I liked that it included dried porcinis for a flavour boost. There's soaking and sautéing and blending and refrigeration; nothing too complicated but best taken slowly. The process generates a lovely, savoury spread that I ate on fresh bread. I'd increase the quantity of five-spice and salt if I made this again.

Second, there's sesame mushroom toast - a home-made, vegan alternative to prawn toast. This transfers the mushroom pâté to the plainest white square bread, where it's layered with sesame seeds and shallow-fried. We love eating veg*n versions at restaurants, and I expected the home version to be messy and not quite right. How wrong I was! This sesame mushroom toast was easy to fry golden (and also successful with less oil than instructed) and tasted magnificent, especially with the sweet and sour sauce drizzle. I immediately posted photos to my veg*n groupchat with the caption I just made the mushroom sesame toast from Tenderheart and am now levitating. Then I wrote way too many effusive words in AHP's cookbook club thread. Now you get some, too!

   

Mushroom, leek & walnut pâté

(a recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon's Tenderheart)

olive oil

1 leek, finely sliced

30g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes

3 cloves garlic, minced

500g mushrooms (any type), roughly chopped

1 teaspoon five-spice powder

1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes

salt and pepper

100g walnuts, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes

Set a frypan over medium heat and add a couple tablespoons of oil. Add the leek and cooked until softened, up to 10 minutes.

While the leek is cooking, drain the porcini mushrooms and lightly squeeze them out, keeping all the soaking liquid. Roughly chop the mushrooms. Strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve.

To the frypan, add the fresh and soaked mushrooms and the garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the five-spice, chilli flakes, and salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to cool to a temperature that's safe for a food processor.

Drain the walnuts and place them in a food processor. Add the cooled mushroom mixture. Pulse the mixture to your desired consistency. Stop and scrape down the sides occasionally for evenness, and add a little of the mushroom soaking liquid if you need more moisture (I didn't need much at all). Spread the pâté on fresh bread or toast, either straight away or after storing in the refrigerator.

Sesame mushroom toast

(slightly adapted from a recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon's Tenderheart)

toast

6 thick slices square white bread

3/4 - 1 cup mushroom pâté (as above)

1/2 cup white sesame seeds

vegetable oil, for frying

sweet & sour sauce

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3 teaspoons tamari

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Make the sweet and sour sauce by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Spread a generous amount of pâté on each piece of bread. Sprinkle over a lot of sesame seeds, aiming for full coverage, and lightly press them into the pâté. Quarter the slices into triangles.

Set a frypan over medium-high heat and pour in oil to a depth of 5mm. Set up a plate or tray with paper towel to drain the fried toasts. When the oil is very hot arrange some toast triangles in the oil, leaving decent gaps between them. The toasts should sizzle immediately. Fry them for about 2 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp, then transfer them to the paper towel as you fry the remaining toasts in batches.

Serve as soon as possible, with sweet & sour sauce drizzled over the top.

Kababi

April 18, 2025

   

We had a quiet, local Easter weekend and decided to tick a far-flung restaurant off our wishlist. It caused a little confusion but a good meal, nonetheless - Michael was aiming for SalamaTea (near Sunshine train station) but the internet directed him to Kababi, located on a dark, fairly industrial road. The two eateries are linked, and within weeks SalamaTea closed, so we landed in the spot that's still around for you to try.

   

These two restaurants describe themselves as Persian fusion, and they have a decent number of veg*n options that can generally be discerned from the menu. We got started with a plate of dolmeh ($10), little vine leaf-wrapped parcels of tender rice with soft onions and tarragon, topped with tangy pomegranate seeds.

   

Next we went for a big, cosy plate of mirza ghasemi ($14), a medley of charred eggplant and eggs in a sauce of tomato, onion, garlic and turmeric, mopped up with bread.

   

Finally, we shared a mushroom kebab main ($22). The king oyster mushrooms were huge, marinated, both juicy and well charred, served with one huge charred chilli, lovely saffron barberry rice, shallot dip, and abundant fresh basil and salad.

   

Though we chose and received the drinks early, I want to place them in the context of the meal. Michael ordered a Sour Cherry from the Persian Sharbat ($8, above right), a sweet and fruity option that echoes the pomegranate seeds across our dishes. I felt adventurous and checked out the sparkling yoghurt drink ($8, above left). It's precisely as described and so different to what we're usually exposed to! Very cold, tangy with yoghurt, but thinned out and carbonated (not thick like a lassi). Savoury with salt and dried mint. Honestly, I found the flavour quite challenging on its own but it made perfect sense alongside the kebab, and I can see how refreshing it would be in summer.

   

As it was, we were experiencing a cool autumn evening, so we took home some of their churros and chocolate sauce ($7) for dessert on the couch. As you can see in the top photo, there was a wealth of little pastries and biscuits on offer, and I noticed rice pudding on the menu too.

   

Kababi was full of happy families on our visit, and we enjoyed our time there too. Keep it in mind if you're out Sunshine way!

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Kababi

18A Market Rd, Sunshine

9008 4084

food, drinks 

https://www.kababi.com.au/

Accessibility: Entry is flat and there is a reasonably clear path to the counter. Regular-height tables with backed chairs are arranged at high density, and there are a couple of backed stools by a higher counter at the window. There might be some outdoor seating in the summer but it was too cold and dark to consider at this time. We ordered and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Cornish Arms V

April 13, 2025

   

We've been somewhat regular patrons of The Cornish Arms in the near-decade since our last post about it. We intended to blog the rooftop opening in 2018, but we've always focused on socialising with friends while there. More recently, we've been checking in every couple of months for the Sunday afternoon trivia.

The menu has continued with variations on the same theme - majority fried pub food with plentiful vegan options, usually mock meat, in enormous servings. There's a rotating list of specials, too. It's great stuff when you're in the mood!

During our trivia sessions I've enjoyed getting acquainted with the Irish Spice Bag ($20). It's a completely new delicacy to me, though I've noticed it on a couple of Irish pub menus following The Cornish. Apparently it originates from Chinese restaurants in Ireland in the 2010s. The Cornish version rings true to the wikipedia description: heaps of chips, some crumbed and seasoned mock-chicken pieces, a good scattering of crispy chilli and green onion strips, and a curry-spiked gravy on the side. It's listed as a 'snack', but it's more than I tend to eat for an entire meal. It's definitely worth persuading a friend or two to share the fun with you.

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You can read about one, two, three, four of our many past visits to the Cornish Arms.

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The Cornish Arms Hotel

163A Sydney Rd, Brunswick

9380 8383

snacks & kids meals, mains 

https://www.cornisharms.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a ramped entryway and a reasonably clear walkway through the middle. Tables and chairs are arranged at medium density, a mixture of high tables with backless stools, and low tables with benches along the wall and backed chairs. We ordered at our table and paid at a high counter. The toilets are on the same level, with gendered narrow cubicles and one ungendered accessible toilet.

Green Man's Arms V

April 11, 2025 

   

The Green Man's Arms could be my favourite currently-trading pub, yet I rarely go for the pubbiest of their food, like the burger or parma. (OK, OK - I'll admit that I've eaten their pomme frites a lot.) I was in the mood to change that in a recent, typical, dinner-around-a-Nova-movie visit and checked out the Greenman's cheese burger ($30). There's a choice of two patty types here - house-made black bean or Beyond mock beef - blanketed in vegan gouda and layered into a soft bun with dill pickles, Bull's Eye BBQ sauce and garlic aioli. Then there's a handful of those pomme frites and a generous splodge of tomato sauce on the side.

I have long felt wary of mushy, messy and bland veg patties at omni pubs, and tend to avoid their burgers unless they state that they're mock meat. But I was willing to take a punt on the Green Man's version, and it paid off. Their black bean burger holds together and tastes really great! Meanwhile, my omni companion tried her first Beyond burger and was really impressed. A win for both the mock-lovers and the mock-averse!

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You can read about one, two, three, four of our previous visits to Green Man's Arms.

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Green Man's Arms

418 Lygon St, Carlton

9347 7419

http://www.greenmansarms.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry has a small lip from the street and there's a step up between the front bar and the dining room. Furniture in the dining room is regular seated height and medium-to-high density, with padded benches along the walls and backed seats in the interior. The front bar has medium-to-high density high tables and backless stools. We ordered at our table and paid at the high bar. Toilets are gendered with narrow cubicles and located on the same level as the dining area.