Bushfire epilogue

I visited my family last week, and had lunch at Eludae, a nice little place apparently recommended for coeliacs (I have a cast-iron stomach so can only go by what I hear). After a sumptuous and filling tapas spread (pic below), my parents showed me around where the fires had hit Healesville. 

I am so glad I didn't know how close the fire got when it was happening. As it was, I spent about two weeks in my safe city workplace reading the CFA website and trying not to read the papers, watching the awareness messages get upgraded and downgraded and generally feeling like Homer Simpson - 

Burns: Relax, Simpson. I just brought you in here for a friendly
hello...
Homer: Whew...[heart slows down]
Burns: ...and goodbye! You're fired!
Homer: [gags] [heart speeds up]
Burns: But, wait. Perhaps I'm being too hasty. You _are_ highly
skilled...
Homer: Whew...[heart slows down]
Burns: ...at goofing off!
Homer: Aaargh! [heart beats faster]
Burns: Now don't worry, Homer. You're the kind of guy I could really
dig...
Homer: Whew...[heart slows down]
Burns: ...a grave for!
Homer: Aaargh! [heart beats faster than anything]
Burns: Your indolence is inefficacious!
Homer: [stares blankly] [heart beats normally]
Burns: That means, you're terrible!
Homer: Aarrggghh! [heart goes crazy] [collapses]
(courtesy The Simpsons Archive, "Homer's Triple Bypass")

The fires got to within a brisk walk of the township of Healesville proper, with several properties that could only be described as "razed". I didn't take any pictures - it felt wrong. I was struck by the fact that the burnt areas are red, not black as I was expecting. My parents' house is right in the middle of two of the fires - patches of red surround their place and I wonder if it's our turn next year. 

Still, as the photo above illustrates, people are not letting it bother them. 

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I was looking for a recipe for a chickpea salad - not that anyone needs a recipe for chickpea salad, and in fact I ended up doing exactly what I was going to do in the first place, which was cut up a stack of crunchy things and pour vinegar over them - when I found the delightful blog Veggie Friendly. Veggie Friendly was originally a restaurant review site, and they do still do them, but the reviewers are currently holidaying in the Middle East and reviewing what they find there. The photos are likely to have you trying to reach into your computer screen. As you would hope from a vegetarian blog, they also have a recipe collection.

It's Nice That is now complementing Drawn! for my daily fix of pretty things to look at and play with.

Restaurant review: Nights of Kabul

I must confess I went to Nights of Kabul more out of morbid curiosity than any expectation of quality. The last time I went to an authentic Central Asian restaurant in my area it was, uh, a little bit too authentic - we were basically served perfectly-cooked meat with pickles and not much else in an environment which accurately reflected the country's history as a Stalinist republik. (That particular restaurant has since moved, and its interiors certainly look a lot nicer now - I'll try to check it out sometime, as the kebabs were magnificent.) So I rolled along to Nights of Kabul full of hilarious speculation on the decor and possible entertainment (that would be Buzkashi, not wife-carrying, although the restaurant that offers that as weekend entertainment will be guaranteed all the publicity you can eat).

The decor, I have to admit, is not amazing, and we didn't go on a night when they had live music so I can't comment on it. The restaurant is licenced, but if you do drink I would advise you to stick with nice safe beer, which is supposed to go with this sort of cuisine anyway. Afghan food is supposed to be similar to Indian, and you'll notice several familiar items such as tikka, korma and gulab jamun. However, you should probably not go in thinking "Oh, it'll just be like Indian" - my mum ordered a mixed tikka, thinking it would be like the mild tandoori style you get in most Indian restaurants, only to find it was like eating a mouthful of pepper. Conversely, I ordered the mixed Soltani and it was absolutely delicious. We also got a mixed entree which, despite the somewhat colourblind image on their website, both looked and tasted incredible. After we pushed our chairs out to accommodate our humourously-distended stomachs, dad insisted on having a Turkish coffee, which was served in an adorable little dainty teacup. I had a sip and was expecting it to be like chewing a Gauloise, but it wasn't - it was sugary and perfect. If you're the sort of person who doesn't normally eat dessert I highly recommend it.

If you're the sort of food nerd who goes to restaurants based on how exotic they are I can recommend Nights of Kabul, but if you're the total opposite and just want to be fed until you explode then I can still recommend Nights of Kabul.