Our mums do a lot for us, so Mother’s Day is a good way we can do something in return. This year my mum asked me to do dinner for her as she was spending the day in Adelaide so she could be with her mum. We both enjoy salad dinners, so I came up with a quick simple meal that was slightly more gourmet looking than a regular salad. Here is my recipe:

Tomato, Bocconcini and Rocket Stack

Ingredients:
Vine ripened tomato
Bocconcini cheese (around 1.5 per stack)
Rocket (a handful plus a one or two leaves per layer)
Balsamic vinegar

Method:

1. Cut the tomato into 5 fairly decent slices. Too thin and the stack may end up weak, too think and you end up with too much tomato per mouthful! Leave the green bit of vine at the top to add to the look of the dish

2. Place the bottom piece in the centre of the plate. If it is a bit unstable and bumpy, turn upside down and very carefully, use your knife to shave off a bit to make it flat.

3. Slice the bocconcini and place a single layer on top of the tomato. Add a leaf of rocket, bending or breaking it in half if need be so it’s not sticking out. Place the next piece of tomato on top.

4. Repeat until the stack is finished.

5. Place rocket all round the bottom of the stack, then carefully drizzle a bit of balsamic on the rocket, then a bit of the top of the stack so it runs down the side and is soaked up by the bocconcini. Serve!

It’s that simple Variations can include adding slices of smoked salmon on each layer, or a bit of cottage cheese or your favourite flavoured dip. I also think this could go down well roasted, just put a skewer through the middle and place in the oven, possibly with a bit of olive oil.

So as you can see a quick meal that mum would love can be done quick and easy with very minimal mess and cost!

<3 MQ

Yesterday my mum and I went to check out the USA Foods store in Moorabbin. I’ve had a craving for Pop-Tarts for a good couple of weeks and since they are so hard to find, I decided that heading to USA Foods was my only option. And man did I pick up some great stuff! The store itself was a bit smaller than I expected but it was pretty busy! I ended up with 3 varieties of Pop-Tarts (chocolate fudge, chocolate chip cookie dough and frosted strawberry), a pack of Twizzlers (which I didn’t end up liking, they had a nasty artificial cherry flavour that reminded me of medicine), a 4 pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a Butterfingers bar and a few other chocolate items that can be seen in the photo. Mum got some things as well and by the end of it our total was around the mid $60’s, which I didn’t think was too bad for imports! They had a great range of items in there and I’m definitely going to have to make another few trips there Plus my Pop-Tart craving has been satisfied! Hate it how they’re not readily available in Australia anymore. I remember eating them as a kid then one day the just disappeared

USA Foods is located at 168 Cochranes Road, Moorabbin in Melbourne, Victoria. They also have a website where you can browse their items and place orders online: www.usafoods.com.au

In summary, this store gets 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up from me and I will be a repeat customer for their yummy treats!

<3 MQ