A long, long time ago, back when we lived out in the burbs, our street would do end of year Christmas parties. All the families would gather in the driveway of that year’s nominated home and we’d all bring along fold up chairs, drinks and of course a plate or two of food. And this being the 80’s (oh boy am I showing my age?), this was the golden era of the spinach dip served in a Cob loaf. I remember being endlessly fascinated by this dip that was creamy, rich and full of cheesy goodness that I parked myself right next to it all night, ignoring all conversation going on around me. Now normally the recipe calls for a packet of french onion soup mix to be stirred in but I’ve never liked the taste so I’ve modified my recipe below but you can always add in a packet.

I mean, who doesn’t love dip? It’s freaking awesome and seriously the easiest snack to whip up when you have the munchies or unexpected visitors drop by.

Ingredients:
500ml sour cream
500g fresh spinach
250g grated tasty cheese
Tablespoon garlic paste
Cob loaf
Extra bread eg baguette
Ground white pepper

Chuck spinach leaves and garlic paste in a large saucepan and stir for about 2 mins or until spinach has wilted and then leave to cool slightly. You may need to stir in the spinach leaves in batches if your saucepan is too small.

Funny how it always looks like it’s an entire forest of leaves which then melts into nothing! Take the pot off the heat.

Add in the 2 cups of cheese and mix until cheese is all melty.

Make sure the pot isn’t super hot and stir in the sour cream and however much ground pepper you like. Refrigerate mixture.

Stir stir stir. Transfer dip to container and chuck in the fridge until needed.

Cut a hole into your Cob loaf, removing it’s innards to make the bread bowl. Don’t scoop too close to the base or dip will leak out.

When you’re ready to serve, pour spinach mixture into the loaf and arrange bread innards and your extra bread pieces around the edges and tadah!

If you’ve got a few mins to spare and want to be fancy you could chuck a handful of chopped bacon into the mixture, add some more cheese to the top and grill until it’s nicely golden and melty. The dip should be chucked if left out at room temp for more than 2 hours.

Edit: CLOSED

It takes a lot for the boy and I to roll out of bed early enough to make it for breakfast anywhere. Usually by the time we’ve stumbled out of the house it’s nearing noon and our craving for something with eggs is left unsatisfied buuuut Westies rejoice! Short Sweet Bakery (Shop 17, 162-172 Church St, Parramatta) to the rescue for all your baked goods and breakfast needs! They’re closed on Sundays but open from 6am week days for the caffeine deprived souls heading to work.



Follow the lively tunes of the band parked out front every Saturday near the Hungry Jacks and make your way up to the counter and drool with indecision. On Saturdays there’s a breakfast menu and hopefully soon to be during the week too.



Mini tarts just crying out to be held!



Golden, flaky pies at $5 a pop.



Scrambled Eggs, Avo and Toast ($9) is pretty damn incredible, the eggs are freakishly light and fluffy and I just want to bury my head in the cloud like pile.



I can’t resist ordering the Waffle with Honeycomb ($9) and while I love honeycomb and I love waffles I kinda wished they weren’t together? I like my waffle toppings to be either pourable or spreadable and I ended up just stabbing the honeycomb and saving it to the end to eat it separately. But hey it was tasty and sufficiently satisfied waffle craving I’ve been having for the past couple of weeks.



I was drawn to the breads counter and couldn’t stop staring at the piles of freshly baked croissants, carrot cake and banana bread loaves.



Emergency secondary stomach was activated as I couldn’t leave without trying the Vanilla Mille-feuille which tasted every bit as delicious as it looked with its layer upon layer of pastry sandwiching a velvety vanilla cream.



Noods loves a good lamo so one Panncotta Lamington was ordered. And yes I know you guys will ask if it’s better than Flour and Stone but honestly I reckon it’s two completely different lamingtons. Flour and Stone’s lamington is damn tasty but to me it isn’t a true lamington because I like sponge cake to be well, spongey and not so er wet. So I prefer Short Sweet’s lamo over Flour and Stone but I prefer Flour and Stone’s coconut shaving exterior 😀



Unfortch all the hot cross buns had sold out before we’d rocked up and Noods had had his heart set on bringing home a bag of hot cross buns but luckily a lonely survivor was found and a light toasting with a pat of butter and all was right with the world.



We roll out the door but not before taking a quick peek at the shelf against the side window for packaged takeaway treats, from giant clouds of meringue to golden anzac biscuits and jars of cocoa powder.

If you spot her, have a chat with Leanne Beck of Sweet Infinity fame, she is an incredibly energetic force of nature and worked hard at getting Church St cleaned up and made beautiful with the addition of beach deck chairs in the mall. I’m glad to have found Short Sweet Bakery and will definitely be back to try out the tarts and pies!

ChocolateSuze + Noods received complimentary meals with thanks to Short Sweet Bakery

EDIT: CLOSED

Office locals in the Surry Hills area are always watchful for new places opening up especially if it’s something different to the standard sandwich or salad shop. So we rejoiced when word finally came that Fish Place (70 Foveaux St, Surry Hills) opened last week. Run by Adam de Launay previously of The Smokehouse fame, the Fish Place building is hard to miss, covered in shiny sardine tin print.

The menu is short and sweet, from fish pies and smoked salmon bagels to the classic fish and chips and the prices are pretty decent for the area.

Every morning salmon and ocean trout are smoked out back, ready for all your bagel needs. Man I wish I lived next door. Fish is pretty high on my favourite food list. With bacon. And fried chicken. And donuts. Oh and cake. But seriously I heart salmon! And cod!

So one sunny day saw some peeps from the hood meet up for lunch. I chose the Hot Smoked Salmon with a side of Potato Salad ($12.50) and it is beeeeautiful. Check it out! Slab of salmon? Check. Perfect in every way? 3/4 check. I minused 1/4 because I could totes eat 2 pieces. What? I get hungry at lunch thanks to my ‘must-not-snack-before-lunch’ self imposed rule. Afternoon snacking is a whole nother story.

Missklicious has chosen the Fish Pie ($8.50) which I forsee will be a winner when winter rolls around. It is super comforting with morsels of fish buried under a blanket of creamy mash. A side of salad was also procured but uh i have nfi how much extra it was nor did I try it doo di doo..

For Vxdollface it is the Smoked Ocean Trout with a side of Potato Bake ($12.50). While I preferred the salmon over the ocean trout the potato bake kicks my potato salad to the kerb.

Ramen Raff only has eyes for the Battered Fish with a side of Green Pea Mash ($12.50). The fish was pretty damn awesome. The batter is golden and surprisingly not greasy, and the pea mash makes me feel like I am a responsible adult eating my greens willingly.

Ah and there was some chips! The fries are fat and crispy and at $3.50 for the Chippy Cup it’s pretty reasonable and er dangerous for the mid arvo munchies.

There’s some window seats at the counter but head around the corner to the back to the super cute courtyard where herbs grow from treasure chests and ironing boards are tables.

Would be awesome if they were licensed but it’s all good cos I’ll definitely be back to try the bagels which I hear are out of this world!

I HEART pancakes. Give me a stack of fluffy fat pancakes or thin crispy crepes, it doesn’t matter I’ll eat them all! Like donuts, I WILL travel for pancakes and yes I can very well make them myself but well it’s just not the same 😛 Then word on the twittersphere started whispering sweet photos of the Sourdough Pancakes ($13) at new kid on the block cafe Excelsior Jones (139 Queen Street, Ashfield).

So one rainy weekend the boy and I rolled up just before noon and nabbed the last table in the corner by the window. A much needed caffeine buzz from a pretty tops coffee was downed before moving on to a super sweet butterscotch milkshake. In no time the pancakes arrives and they are very fine indeed, freakishly light and ridiculously moreish with the scattering of plump strawberries and just a drizzle of vanilla custard. But woe only 4 tiny pancakes meant I was staring mournfully at my empty plate before deciding on ordering something else.


Noods is always a Bacon and Egg Sandwich ($10) kinda guy, and declares the sambo a winner with the crispy bacon, a gooey poached egg and sourdough bread. While I loved the dollop of aioli, Noods much more prefers the capsicum relish but still polishes off the sandwich with ease.


Aaaaand then because we were both still a bit hungry we couldn’t pass up the chance of the Grass-fed Angus Beef Cheeseburger ($16) cos c’mon, who doesn’t love a good cheeseburger! And this cheeseburger didn’t disappoint with an incredibly juicy patty with melty Gruyere cheese and a side of uber crispy smashed then fried potato wedges. I may have retrieved the lettuce from my half of the burger and deposited onto Noods’ half but hey he’s totally into salads in burgers.


Excelsior Jones is in this pretty nondescript building so keep your eyes peeled when in the mostly residential area. There’s heaps of parking which is always a plus but the cafe itself can be a bit loud and echoey so be warned if you have had a pretty hard night out prior 😛