August 09 2017
News
The delicious. Produce Awards, presented by Miele, was the most exciting night for the finalists of these truly amazing and important awards. Every single producer there on the night is part of an exceptional group Australia-wide, and the food prepared by the QT Melbourne were samples of their produce. Such unbelievable choices from the sea urchin, oysters, spanner crab, green lip abalone, cheeses, kefirs, honey, pork and more, to the vibrant display of fruit and vegetables - every part of the evening was something for the whole of Australia to be proud of. It was so wonderful to give recognition to Will Studd for being the hero who led the charge over so many years, which has finally seen us judging unpasteurised cheese at the awards, so finally there is choice for the Australian consumer passionate about cheese. Congratulations to all of the dedicated and passionate winners and finalists, the quality and variety of produce blows me away every year and it is a privilege to be able to meet and celebrate with producers who make the Australian food scene the trailblazing and exciting industry it is known as. -MB Read the rest...
With Sally Etherton at her launch during SALA Festival. Sally is part of the team at the Farm Shop and has been for many years so it's so lovely to see her following her art! -MB Read the rest...
I had to get back from Melbourne last week to have fun singing with Charmaine Jones and her Jones Commentary, channelling the Carpenters at St Paul's in Adelaide for a charity concert raising money for the Butterfly Foundation. Always a thrill and even better that it was for such a worthwhile cause. -MB Read the rest...
Lemons are as essential to my cooking as garlic, Verjuice, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and quality salt and pepper. I use lemon rind in my game pies, lemon juice squeezed into the cavity of all poultry that I cook, lemon juice to curdle milk for a banana cake, lemons in jam to add extra pectin, in mayonnaise, hollandaise and vinaigrettes. I’m particularly partial to the Meyer lemon in desserts though. Although sweeter than the conventional lemon, it still has a wonderful tang, perfect for lemon curd, pot au crème, semifreddo, or a dense and syrupy lemon and almond cake. And because the Meyer has less acid, it provides an excellent juice for homemade lemonade. A handy tip for extracting more juice from a lemon is to pour boiling water over the whole fruit and leave it for 5 minutes before squeezing it. Or if you have a microwave, heat the fruit on medium for 1 minute and leave to cool a little before squeezing. -MB Read the rest...
I wonder if it’s the fact that the onion is perhaps the most ubiquitous of all the vegetables we eat, that makes it so easy to forget they do indeed have their own season? Growing them in a home garden completely changes that. There’s no doubt onions are at their best, freshly dug from the garden, in autumn and winter. To taste them at their peak sheds a whole new light on what you may consider using onions for. When they are picked in season their superior flavour makes them an easy choice to base an entire meal around rather than simply use them as a background ingredient. It’s worth mentioning they are a breeze to grow too. The brown onion varieties I have had the most success with are ‘Creamgold’ and ‘Murray Brown’, and although I don’t tend to use as many white onions compared to brown, I always plant a white onion option; ‘White Spanish’, which I find to be a milder tasting onion. Red onions are lovely roasted, but are also my first choice for a raw addition to salads and salsa, so I always include one or two varieties when I’m planting my onions for the season; I particularly like the sweeter flavour of ‘Redshine’ which grows very well in our Mediterranean climate. -MB Read the rest...
