A tea-ribute to Lady Grey

Drinking tea is a very British pass time.  When I think of tea and Britain I always recollect a great scene from Guy Ritchie’s cult classic Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.  It went as follows:

Eddie: The entire British empire was built on cups of tea…

Bacon: Yeah, and look what happened to that.

Eddie: … And if you think I’m going to war without one, mate, you’re mistaken.

A bloodless victory

I'm a little bit ashamed, but I have to admit that while walking through the aisles of our local green grocer last weekend I was guilty of releasing an excited, childish squeal of delight.  You might wonder what made me react in such a manner.  Well, you see, what was just a normal Saturday afternoon grocery shop was transformed when I set eyes upon a table of plump blood oranges.

Blood oranges are notoriously hard to grow, requiring dry, hot summers and cold winters.  According to Red Belly Citrus, a local producer of blood oranges with orchards in the Riverina region of New South Wales, they need to be grown in a location that will provide temperatures that are almost freezing at night and very high temperatures throughout the day.

They also have a relatively small season, running from August to October.  This, combined with the limited number of producers in Australia, means that there's only a very small window to enjoy this extraordinarily, exotic-looking fruit.

Re-run Rutherglen: Part 2 - Parker Pies

It’s unthinkable.  It’s in equal measures true and devastating… What could possibly make me this distraught?  The other night I opened the freezer and made a horrifying discovery.  M and I are down to our last Parker Pie.  Yes, that’s right there’s not even enough to share.

(An even number of pies was originally purchased, however, whilst M was out gallivanting I was chowing down on a pie… Which has resulted in my current state of pielessness *gasp*).

The humble meat pie, quintessential Aussie cuisine, easily and frequently executed poorly, but mouth-watering, glorious and divine when done well.  What distinguishes the good from the bad?  For me: a thick, rich meaty filling encased in a pastry that is buttery and flaky.  But I am no professional. I’ll leave that to the judges of the Official Great Aussie Pie Competition.  

In my search for the perfect meat pie I have learned a few things.  For one you will not find the perfect meat pie down the frozen food aisle of your local supermarket. Why? Food Standards Australia and New Zealand only require a ‘meat’ pie to contain a minimum of 25 per cent ‘meat flesh’!  In fact, after reading this Choice report you might choose to avoid supermarket pies altogether. I wouldn’t blame you.

I have unearthed some true gems in my quest… Ok, only one.  But this journey of discovery is only beginning.  This initial discovery has inspired me to explore, taste and gorge all in the hopes of finding that singularly irresistible meat pie.

This leads me to Main Street, Rutherglen. Diagonal from Tapsell’s second hand bookshop, across from the IGA, between the Bank on Main and The Victoria Hotel you’ll find Parker Pies, a place where the humble pie is elevated to magnificent heights.

The new Scholar in town

To celebrate my first communion as a kid my parents took me to yum cha at the New Shanghai restaurant in Dickson.  I vividly remember the craziness, the hustle and bustle.  The restaurant was abuzz with conversation, clattering plates, the clink of porcelain against porcelain as another Chinese tea was poured, the swoosh of fabric as another table cloth was swept away making room for the next lot of customers.  I remember the white silk dress I wore, with the gauzy overlay with bright orange and brown flowers embroidered on the front.

It was overwhelming.  And ever since I have had a love affair with yum cha.  There's something special about the perfectly portioned mouthful sized delicacies, served in their bamboo steamers and rolled around the restaurant in those tinny little trollies.

Those of you who know me and my family well have most likely been dragged to a yum cha lunch or two...

If you've been to yum cha this will be a familiar sight!

Re-run Rutherglen: Part 1

It was only a few posts ago that I alluded to my love of chocolate.  And it was more than a few ago that I told you that we had traveled to Rutherglen and loved it.  It was in that same post that I promised to share some highlights in the coming weeks and months.  So, it's been months, what are you going to do about it?


Renaissance chocolates is a jewel. Located several kilometres off the Murray Valley Highway, down Booraham East Road, you'll come across a dilapidated tin shed.  Surrounded by eucalypts and bordered by a wood and wire fence you'd almost be forgiven for not stopping and not giving a second though to it.  However, if you knew what this place was home to, you'd regret, and not be forgiven, for not stopping, especially if you didn't give it a second thought.

Inside this unassuming shed is a treasure for all chocolate lovers.  The love that the owners Robyn and Neil Funston have for chocolate and the region is palpable.  They infuse their chocolates with the best that the region has to offer - from Beechworth honey hidden inside a milk chocolate beehive to a Rutherglen muscat flavoured ganache truffle.

From back: Rich caramel log, velvet vanilla, chilli block, ruby orange, beehive, cinnamon square

Recipe road-test: Biscuity business

Yesterday was Anzac Day.  It's probably one of the most solemn and reverent days in Australia - a day to remember those that have represented Australia in military operations.  But it is not all sombre, lightened with rounds of two-up with mates, and the eponymous Anzac biscuit.

We probably all know the history of the Anzac biscuit, so I won't bother rehashing, except for the fact that they must have been pretty terrible to start with as the diggers used to refer to them as Anzac tiles!

I had initially thought that I would 'road-test' a recipe, detailed with standard highs, lows, success or failure.  However, in the initial stages of research I came across an amazing phenomenon.  What? The proliferation of fancy Anzacs biscuit recipes, with additions of spices, nuts, fruit and chocolate.  A seemingly endless variety of Anzacs.  That's all it took for one mission to be buried and another to born.

The new challenge? Three types of biscuits.  So, dear reader, just for you, I ventured in to my kitchen and made not one, not two, but three batches of Anzac biscuits.

Clockwise from left: White chocolate and macadamia, ginger and chocolate, traditional.

Quality over quantity

I know, I know, Easter was over a week ago, and I'm probably a little bit late inviting you all to be jealous of my chocolate-goodness, but never late than never.

It’s true what they say: less is more, particularly when it comes to good quality chocolate.

We spent this Easter in Melbourne this year, and were lucky enough to uncover this gem while wandering through South Yarra and Chapel Street:  Ganache Chocolate.

M and I decided to spoil each other, by buying each other a chocolate bunny.  As a lover of rich, dark chocolate M bought me the 75 per cent dark chocolate Swiss Bunny and how could I resist getting him the milk and white chocolate Bunny in an egg? (By the way: I do realise that bunnies do not emerge from eggs, but it was still super cute!)

To me, good chocolate is about striking that perfect balance between flavour and texture.  I love dark chocolate for its stronger, less sweet flavour, and the ganache dark chocolate bunny epitomises these qualities.

I highly recommend that the next time you’re in Melbourne you visit Ganache, you will not be able to resist the temptation of buying beautiful handmade pralines or some textural and eye catching chocolate bars – we didn’t, and I suggest everyone try the fig and almond milk chocolate bar. Yum!

A Second New Year

Imagine it: mid April in Thailand.  It's hot, humid with temperatures pushing an average of 31°C, the hottest month in Thailand.

But back to the picture I'm trying to draw you: the streets are teeming with people, water is being flung from buses by the bucket load, people are spraying each other with water guns, people are drenching passers by.  You wonder, what is going on? Well, it's Songkran or Thai New Year.

There is obvious symbolism associated with the use of so much water.  In particular, to cleanse the the bad away and start the year afresh (but it's probably also a reprieve from the heat!).

Being in Australia you don't have to miss the fun.  While we might not have the usual three day celebration (Songkran is celebrated from 13 to 15 April) we do get a one day special: Wat Dhammadaro the Thai Buddhist temple in Canberra holds celebrations each year.  It includes cultural shows and a food fair.  All are welcome and entry is free.

When:   Sunday 15 April 2012, 10:00am to 3:00pm

Where:  Wat Dhammadaro, 80 Archibald Street, Lyneham, ACT

Given the weather in Canberra, water fights are not guaranteed!

Recipe roadtests: Simply the Best

I absolutely love cooking.  I’m by no means a great cook – I’m never going to be a Michelin starred chef or be a contestant on MasterChef.  One of my great failures is lacking the requisite creativity and confidence.  Success in the kitchen for me is a result of two things, the recipe I’m using and sheer luck...

It is for this reason that I have developed a love, or what some would call an obsession, for cookbooks.  Over time I have accumulated an enviable collection of food porn.    My addiction has gotten to the point where it is now affecting other people. 

I am now forced to vet all potential cookbook purchases through M, who puts them through the stringent “M Test.”  The test involves selecting recipes at random, and M making a determination of would he make it, or wouldn’t he make it.  It’s all highly technical.  To pass the test the cookbook must have 3 recipes he’d make within a reasonable number random page selection attempts.

It typically plays out something like this: we’re in a book store, and I have lingered in the cooking section for some time and located a treasure that I must purchase.  Meekly, I wander over to M, handing him the cook book, looking at him expectantly, willing him to just say that I can buy it.

Recipe 1 gets a tepid response.

Recipe 2 receives a look of disgust – it’s probably vegetarian.

Recipe 3 ... it’s a winner...

And so the game goes on.  There are times when I’m sure that I look completely despondent, as though I might curl up and cry, as the recipes flick passed his eyes receiving less than positive responses.  I think he sees me out of the corner of his eyes, and not wanting to be responsible for causing such a look, he flicks through more recipes than necessary.  It becomes a battle of wills.  Will I back down, will he exhaust the book or will M crumble and just succumb?   

How I love this type of to-ing and fro-ing!  By the end of I feel as though I have truly earned the cookbook's purchase.

Starting up this blog presents a tactical opportunity for me.  I could do posts on recipe ‘tests’ and bribe M along the way with the delicious and decadent results.  Winners all round I’d say!   

First cook book off the ranks is the latest offering from Valli Little and the ABC delicious. team: Simply the Best.  

It is the latest cook book purchase of mine.  For the inaugural test I’ll be whipping M up a three course delight.  I’ll present a picture from the cook book and a picture of my success or failure!