Gobbledegeek 2.o

The 2010 Country Draw is now available. You may download it here or alternatively from the Miners’ website.

Round 1 kicks off at 3pm against Puckpunyal at home (Shadforth Park, North Bendigo) on May 1st.

You might also like to know that the Fighting Miners have a practice match against Premier Division Side, Melbourne on Saturday April 17th Kick-off at 3pm at Shadforth Park.

Please go along and support.

To give this scrumdiddlyicious Italian number it’s full name….Peppered Chicken Fettuccine Tossed with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Wild Mushrooms & Spinach. It may very well be known by another name but I’m afraid I have no have no idea what it might be. The original recipe was passed to me by a talented young chef in Bendigo named Adam and so the credit, and thanks, go to him.

You will notice, perhaps with some panic, that I have omitted the proportions. The reason for this is that after making it a few times, I discarded the recipe and made it to taste. For instance, I love mushrooms but the kids balk at their texture and so the amount and the variety will vary. We all adore pesto but it can make the dish a little rich and heavy, so if you have plenty of chicken to go around, cut down on the pesto and vice versa. Experiment by adding and tasting as you go. Add more of what you like and less of what you don’t but don’t go mad otherwise it will become too salty or overly rich.

Referring back to the long-winded title, if you are partial to it, you might like to add more pepper and reduce the amount of pesto. Heck! Leave out the pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and substitute cream and you have yourself a completely different meal!

Ingredients

Fettuccine or Tagliatelle
Chicken Breast Fillets
Sun-dried Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Spinach
Pesto
Cracked black pepper
Garlic
Butter
Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese

Method

Start by cooking the pasta in well salted water. This should take between 8 and 10 minutes once the water is boiling, just long enough to let you prepare the rest of the dish.

Slice the chicken into equal pieces and marinate in olive oil and black pepper while you get on with the other stuff.

Slice the mushrooms and cook in an equal butter oil mix. Season and add a little garlic. Personally, I prefer to just heat them through so they remain quite firm but not still crunchy. You can experiment with wild mushrooms and I would suggest Crimini (Cremini, baby bellas, Italian Brown and Portabellini) for their richer, more earthy flavour or for the more adventurous (and if you can get them), Pied de Mouton or Porcini (Penny Buns) but any mushroom imparting earthy or nutty flavours such as Portabello, would be great in this dish. If you manage to get your hands on some good ‘uns, reduce the impact of the other ingredients and make it more about the mushrooms.

Earthy Cremini Mushrooms

Add more olive oil for the sauce. You may leave this step out if you’re not a fan of olive oil but you don’t want it to be too dry.

Drain and add the cooked pasta, toss and add shaved Parmesan. Potato peelers are great for shaving but a standard grater will probably have the necessary grating slot.

Add the spinach, toss and add a knob of butter. If you’re not a big fan of spinach, try it anyway because it’s the marriage of flavours that make this dish so bloody lovely. If you really must, leave out the spinach, it won’t lessen the dish noticeably. You might also like to add lightly toasted pine nuts or even almond slivers.

Serve with shaved Parmesan on top and accompany with a chilly crisp white of your choice.

Perhaps I’ll add a few black olives when I do this next and I must remember to take photos. Here’s one I borrowed but it doesn’t have sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, Parmesan or any chicken for that matter!!

Yummy all the same

I hate the fact that I find it extremely difficult to sleep and ‘er indoors is forever telling me to visit the quack but tonight I was fortunate to be a light sleeper-cum-insomniac.

An unnatural noise outside caught my attention where random wind-related sounds don’t. Given that the missus is working away in Melbourne, I couldn’t wake her to deal with it and so I had little choice but to drag myself out of bed. A sneaky peak out between the blinds revealed some low-life miscreant creeping up the driveway.

Being ever so courageous, I poked my head out of the front door and politely greeted the bugger! Yes, I actually called out “hello?” My God! What was I thinking? I immediately came to my senses and attempted to rescue the awkward (for me at least) situation with some choice expletives but the little sod was obviously so confused and startled by my effeminate (particularly blonde) initial greeting, that he had long since scarpered.

Fearing law suits from the neighbours, I darted back in and donned my shorts and flip flops (thongs in ‘Stralian) but he was long gone; or so I thought.

I spotted a girls bike on the other side of the road, lying on the grass and having just watched a stellar performance by Robert Downey in Sherlock Holmes, I was inspired to deduce that this could be the prowlers getaway vehicle and so took a photo as evidence. I would have dusted for prints there and then but not having the appropriate training in forensic science, I decided I couldn’t be arsed. Anyway, the little git was probably going to be back for it.

At this point I thought it prudent to inform the authorities.

If only I hadn’t popped inside for a deserved smoke, I’d have caught the not-very-good-burgler because as I walked down the driveway to wait for the police, the would be tinker sprinted from the cul-de-sac, grabbed his girly getaway bike and shot off down the road with a parting “Fark you!”

Charming! I thought as I made a lame attempt at running after him in my traditional Aussie footwear. He disappeared out of site around the corner where I noticed the lights of a car turning in the road. I assumed this was either an accomplice manning a more suitable getaway vehicle or the troops arriving in the nick of time.

It turned out to be the police after all and not only did they collar the little criminal around the corner, they picked up his loyal partner in crime. Apparently, they admitted to being out harvesting parts for their BMX bikes.

The Bungling BMX Bandits of Bendigo!

Gobbledegeek 2 Bendigo BMX Bandits 0

The Girly Getaway Vehicle