Farmers' Market

Eat ing fresh!

Around about 7.30 in the morning, I head to the Trash and treasure markets to see Ly, who grows her own vegetables. Whether its choy sum, bak choy or lettuce, they are all lovely and fresh like a wedding bouquet only these are so edible.

I usually get a variety of greens and they stay fresh the whole week.

Then it's off to the Farmers' market for wood fired bread, seasonal fruits and herbs, free range eggs and yummy mushrooms.

The mushroom man I call him leaves his place in Shoahaven at 4 in the morning after doing his pick of Swiss browns before heading to Canberra. I don't think it can get fresher than that. The green labels indicate that the farmers grew them and the white means that they have source them elsewhere.

The range of produce is superb and you can treat yourself to home made cakes and quality chocolates to olive oils, cheeses,organic vegetables,nuts and fresh seafood.

The free range eggs are firm and yellow and such a good source of protein and it feels good to know that they are laid by healthy chickens.

What I love to do is crush some fresh garlic as soon as I get home, fry them in some olive oil and cook a hot breakfast...

First the few cloves of garlic with a tbsp of olive oil,
then in goes the handful of sliced mushrooms cooked on the side with no oil so it has a chargrilled flavour and infusing the smell of the garlic at the same time.
Cook for a minute or so...
Add in a large chopped tomato so that the juices mixes with the garlic.
Then the 3 eggs with a dash of milk, a splash of water, a tbsp of mixed herbs from my garden-thyme,rosemary and vietnamese basil ...
followed by a sprinkle of cracked pepper and salt.
The steam from the water helps make the eggs fluffy.
Cook till it is almost done, then turn off the heat and the warmth of the pan will keep cooking the eggs a little.

Sometimes I add sheep cheese or low fat riccotta,olives and tomato paste so it tastes like a pizza.

Served with warm, crusty wood fired bread like spinach and fetta or sundried tomato or whole grain linseed bread, Ooh La la.

Marcelo would make some Cap. or Latte and we would sit outside our porch listening to Nat King Cole's Spanish crooning or Sarah Vaughn silky, soothing Jazz while the smells of garlic and coffee tantalise the senses.

Pineapple Tarts for the New Year.

Every one loves a TART.

Firstly, I just like to explain why they are so moreish and so popular amongst many during the festive season. If they are baked well like my sister's, then the savoury pastry melts in your mouth as your tongue comes into contact with the base and then when the pastry breaks away the sweetness of the pineapple topping gives it a wonderful contrast in taste and in texture.

Pineapple, as far as I understand from my visit to Taiwan is that it sounds like "Wang Lai" which means ' wishes come true' in the Hokkien/Fujian dialect. That is probably why you see pineapple mobiles hung outside of some Chinese households hoping that all their wishes will come true. That is also why pineapple is served in biscuits there. As far as Singaporeans are concerned, there is a huge population of descendants of people from the Fujian province but if you ask them why they have pineapple tarts during Chinese new year, their answer would probably be.. "I don't know. I eat them because they taste damn good."

I bake them because my Malaysian, Indian friends and my hubby like them. Rani, my girlfriend asked if I could bake her some last Christmas to serve to her friends but she and her visiting family devoured the lot themselves.

My sister Carol prepares her pineapple filling from fresh pineapple but I don't have the patience and so I use 2 large cans of pineapple, drain the juice, add sugar,cinnamon stick and a few cloves, a few drops of lemon and microwave the filling for about 30 minutes and they taste pretty good to me and my friends. :)

As for the pastry, there are two versions I make, one is harder and the other is a softer pastry that has more of a shortbread texture. It is time consuming and I don't eat them much myself but to see my friends appreciating them during the festive season is good enough for the time spent. The softer version is my sister's secret recipe but as usual I never follow them too closely. The ones below is the softer version and totally decadent!
I like to think it does make a lot of difference if you use good butter and free range eggs.

From the oven ....

To the table.....

and enjoyed with a cuppa mint tea.

Next week I might try baking some cookies for the new year...

Bak kwa

Chinese new year is on Valentine's day this year and only a month away so I decided to start preparing for the new year before I get too busy. I don't miss the sweets and cakes much but I do miss the get togethers back home.

Here, I usually have a few friends over for either afternoon tea or lunch. Some years the weather is too hot to cook I'd rather just vege out. However, I try to make bak kwa as Marcelo loves them and I don't see them sold here. Even if it was, I'd rather make them myself as it is done to our taste.

I first made it two years ago when I searched on the net for the recipe and tried to make a healthier version and the verdict was: it ain't bak kwa if it is too lean. I never follow a recipe religiously as some ingredients are not readily available and having cooked for so many years, it's easy to find ingredients to enhance the flavours of whatever I am cooking.

The recipe from Chowtimes from Canada calls for Kam cho which I have no idea what that is so I used a tbsp of fennel seeds which also has a liquorice taste to it and a tablespoon of coriander seeds to give it a crunchy texture. I'm sure it would taste even better if it was chargrilled which I did last year but seeing there is a fire ban at the moment, this is as close as it gets. I have frozen a batch and will grill it on Chinese new year.

Zumba fitness.

Recently, I decided to try a new form of exercise to awaken the hidden muscles inside my body.

Zumba has been around for quite a while but recently it was offered in a dance studio only 10 munutes drive from home so I thought I'd give it a go. Read a bit about it before attending and also saw it on commercials. It's exercising using latin music and latin moves in intervals which in aerobic lingo means varying the intensity to get a good cardio workout and hopefully burn some fat which I so needed to do after the Christmas break.

It was boiling hot and the air-conditioner in the studio was not coping. The windows were open but only hot air drifted into the room. I prayed that there was no B.O. in the room as my sensitve nose will not be able to cope. There was a steady stream of people and slowly the room was filled in fact ,crammed. The instructor informed us of another class opening on the wednesday as well to cope with the unexpected size of the group.

The steps were not hard to follow but having been away from my exercise routine for about 10 days, I was a puffing alot and trying to deal with the 38 degree heat as well. We did some basic Salsa moves,a bit of Merengue,Cumbia,Calypso and Samba moves to the music.

By the end of the lesson my T-shirt was soaked from the heat and movement of muscles, bones and fats that I have left idle in December. It would have been better if the instructor was on a platform. There were giggles of embarrassment as we had to wriggle, shimmy and gyrate our hips.

There were lots of sweaty people at the end of the session but fortunately no pungent ponk driving up my nose which I sometimes experience at supermarket isles and at previous dance classes.

On the whole a great class. I am still working on the move I call the electrocuted letter "C". They do that alot in Reggaeton where you arch your back and raise your arms and thrust the arms forward. Well, er ....mine didn't look anything like that. I think I might buy the DVD and workout from home when the 4 sessions come to an end.

I recommend it to anyone who hates going to the gym but wants a good workout.

A Taste of Tassie

A Taste Of Tassie

It's been quite a while since I wrote. My problem is having too many interests and so little time.

Last December I headed to Tassie for the Taste festival which went on for a week. I wanted to take that opportunity to practise my new found interest in food photography and to eat of course.

The first day hubby and I were there, we ended up in a restaurant on Elisabeth street with a very ordinary sandwich and costs us $40. It was a depressing start to the holidays.

However, after two hours of walking around we spotted some street acts and followed the crowd. As we weaved through the crowd, I could see Marcelo's face lighted with anticipation and you see the face of a kid in a lolly shop when we stepped into a huge sheltered building that looked like a warehouse with huge boards of what was instore for our bellies.

Some of the offerings at the Festival

The summer pudding tasted as good as it looked. It was light with a jelly texture and a strong berry flavour.

Marcelo had the pork ribs which he found a bit sweet but it didn't stop him from wiping the plate clean. Off he went in a jiff as soon as I photographed his empty plate.

While I was reserving a seat for Marcelo when he went hunting for food, a couple came to join our table. It was a wonderful atmosphere- to be able to eat and also talk to strangers, Tasmanians we met were so friendly. Hubby came back with a pork sausage roll and justified his indulgence with the lack of meat in the ribs.
I tried the hormone free beef that was served in a wrap. The beef itself was tasty but I didn't like the cauliflower sauce that went with it. It was too oily and runny and did not do justice to the meat. It would have tasted better with a hint of chutney to bring out the flavour of the meat.


He then had a steak salmon which also had his thumbs up and Oh Yes! a fourth serve of food - beef burger and then it was time to call it a day. I ran out of batteries as well!

The following day Marcelo tried this cheese platter which had three different types of cheeses and cherries in wine. I had the yummy cherries and he devoured the cheese. I had a samosa and some Turkish food which were also very tasty.

Having limitations in his stomach space, he had to try this panacotta on New Year's eve which he had been eyeing since day one. I think the pic speaks for itself. He thought it was worth every calorie!

There were so many food highlights but one of the main highlights was a trip to Pasha's restaurant. This was a tip from the locals and we walked close to an hour to check it out ourselves. It was on the opposite end of the waterfront on Elisabeth street.
Pasha, the chef, is from Eastern Turkey and according to the waitress, the restaurant is very popular and booking is a must on weekends.

We could see why...
We ordered the finger food banquet. The dips was a definite indicator of the quality of the food. The Turkish bread was freshly baked, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

One of the dips had some walnuts to give a little crunch but all of them were sooo delicious.

As we finished the bread, Pasha came out smiling offering us more bread. We should have said," No!" as there were other dishes to come but we are so weak..

When the waitress came she smiled to see that the dish was wiped clean with the bread.The salad was so fresh and the hint of dried chiliies on the yoghurt gave the dish a real punch. By

then we were laughing from all that we have consumed but also wish we had cows' stomachs.
When the kofte of chicken and lamb came, we were wondering where we were going to put them. But then again, as you can see, someone couldn't wait till I photograph...
The kofte was the best I have tasted and I have been to Turkey! It melts in the mouth and not salty like many I have tried before.
It was value for money and very well worth the walk and visit.

The cheese platter above was wonderful according to Marcelo and very moreish from Grandewe. It was a cheese making spot on the tourist trek south of Hobart and the view of the bay from the restaurant was absolutely stunning.
After all that, we tried to detox at the Salamanca markets on Saturday where we came across this organic fruit stall. The apricots looked very fresh but we were not too crazy about apricots. One bite of the cherries won us over. We had nearly 3 kilos of cherries inspite of the $15/kg price tag.
The Ranier cherries was Marcelo's favourite but I so love the Sunburst variety which I have not seen in Canberra. As you bite into them, the juice just gushes in the mouth and spreads through the palate...Aaahhhhhh.

We'll be back!