Tas-Mania: Accommodations (and recipes for easy meals!)

I remembered feeling a little uneasy when R and J broached the subject of renting apartments for our stay. It feels a little strange staying at a short-term rented house, especially in a rural area. What if it's a body-napping scheme? No one can hear us scream...

(Writing this, I realised in hindsight that I may have a streak of paranoia inside me, but it made sense in my head at the time.) Luckily, cooler heads than mine prevailed, and we spent a good portion of the five lovely days in Tasmania lounging around our lovely ~~houses~~ homes.

Photo by R

In Hobart, we stayed at Townhaus apartments. It used to be a fish warehouse until it was refurbished as an apartment, though traces of rafters and exposed brick walls remain as a testament to its old purpose. It gave the entire place a hipster vibe when juxtaposed against the sleek marbletop counter and the modern kitchenware. Alongside modern plumbing, a rain shower head and all the hot water we want, it's a great joy to return after a day of traveling.

Whimsical colour designs aside, one terrific thing about renting an apartment instead of staying in a hotel is the facilities available for you to use. This kitchen was fully stocked, from an array of kitchen knives, pots and pans to a dish washer. A potato masher was found alongside a set of scissors. Olive oil, salt and a pepper grinder was placed within easy assess. There were ample plates, bowls and utensils for the five of us. It is easy to cook here not just to save money (!), but it is also deeply satisfying to eat like a local. We plan what to cook based on what's locally available, and buy a few produce around the farmers' market and nearby supermarkets. Cooking for five doesn't have to be a daunting task, and our recipes generally have minimal prep required. Leaving more time for, you guessed it!, a little relaxation while waiting for the food to cook.

Beachfront apartment in Coles Bay

Hobart:

TownHaus Apartments

Apartment 2

2/58 Browne St

West Hobart, TAS 7000

Website

Coles Bay:

Waterline Apartments,

49 Oyster Bay Court, Swanwick

Coles Bay, TAS 7215.

Website

Recipe Ideas

Brekky

Jacques Pepin Omelettes

I can explain it, but why not just watch the master himself? (Although, I don't think my nonstick pans would last long if I do it as vigorously as he demonstrated in the video. A small spatula would do the job just as well, or you could buy wooden forks.

Protip!: If you're making his french classic omelette, use a lower heat than for his country omelette. You can also try stuffing the omelette with chopped mushrooms or shaved cheese or bits of meat.

Bread Platter

1) Slice bread

2) Pour olive oil into a wide-based bowl, and dip a side of bread into the oil.

3) Place bread face-up into the oven. Bake at 200C for 10-15 minutes, until slightly browned at the top.

4) Top with cheese, sausages, whatever.

Too easy. Flagons of cider optional.

Dinner

Roasted Pork Shoulders

With crispy skin that shatters!

You will need

Deep baking dish (preferably, to prevent juice from sloshing onto you during handling)

Heavy duty aluminium foil (homebrand, we ain't made of money)

Rosemary (homebrand)

Olive oil (homebrand)

Salt and Pepper (homebrand)

Pork something, skin attached (whichever is cheapest. I bought the shoulders, which were on sale for $7.50/kg at Woolworths.)

1) Preheat the oven to 200C. Line the baking dish with several layers of aluminium foil.

2) Coat the aluminium foil with a thin layer of olive oil, then place the pork skin side up onto the baking dish. Rub the pork generously with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper. (You can look up the proportion of how much to use, but seriously, we just winged it, and it turned out perfect.)

3) Cut several gashes along the middle of the meat to help the middle cook faster.

4) Bake for about 40 minutes/kg at the middle rack.

Tip!: Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate. I triggered the fire alarm twice, until we learnt to set the stove ventilator to the maximum and opened the front and back door to air the apartment. If the fire alarm goes off, there should be a button at the alarm to silence it. If you were our neighbor wondering why the alarm was going off every 5 minutes, now you know.

Tip!: And maybe clean the oven afterwards. Oil's going to splatter everywhere before you get the nice crispy pork skin.

Tip!: Crispy skin doesn't keep well overnight. Eat it all in one sitting.

Roasted Pumpkins

1) Slice a pumpkin into slivers (about an inch thick at the sides). Remove the skin and seeds, and cut pumpkin into chunks (about an inch thick at the width and half an inch at the length.) Wash well.

2) On a baking dish lined with aluminium foil, lay the pumpkins standing up .

3) Season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Don't shy away from using olive oil, but don't drown the pumpkins either.

4) Bake at 200C for about 30-45 minutes, until a fork goes in all the way through.

(We baked the pumpkin together with the roast pork during the last 40 minutes.)

Mashed potato

We just winged our mashed potato (TY is an expert and we let him handle it). But this recipe sounds legitimate and Syble's comments at the bottom seems useful.

Protip!: Excess mashed potato can be made into a Shepherd's Pie. We bought minced meat from the farmers' market, which we pan-fried until well-cooked. Place meat generously at the base of a roasting pan, (and drizzle with feta cheese's olive oil for extra garlicky flavour!), and top with leftover mashed potato. Bake at 230C at the top rack until browned, about 15 minutes. Or depending on how hangry you are. We couldn't wait that long.

Other Brilliant(TM) ideas that we did for dinner

Roasting pre-marinated chicken