Day 144 – National Wine Centre Degustation Menu

Hello all –Michael here. In Bridget's absence I thought I would fill in the silence somewhat – but only a little.

On the 3^rd May I attended a dinner hosted by Vestas Wind Technology, at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide. The theme for the night was local (i.e. South Australian) food and wine.

We were greeted with a tasting plate of three dishes accompanied by three different wines – at high tables with standing room only. Then the wine maker from Yangarra took us through the different wines for each dish – it was brilliant, and they were generous tastings too – easily half of a normal glass. Little did I know that these were just the first of seven wines / dishes – a real degustation event!

It was brilliant! See the menu below.

Tasting Plate
Olive Bread, Woodside Goats Curd, Sticky Onion & Quince Marmalade
Yangarra 2007 Rose

Blue Swimmer Crab Cold Rolls
Yangarra 2009 Viognier

Seared Coffin Bay Scallop Pea Purée, Crisp Serrano Ham, Beetroot Glaze & Lemon Oil
Yangarra Old Vine 2007 Grenache

Entree
Braised Oxtail Tortellini Consommé of Root Vegetables and Candied Fennel
Pirie South Pinot Noir - 2008
∞
Confit Rabbit Galantine with Liver Parfait, Witlof, Radish Salad and Quince Jelly
Paracombe Pinot Gris - 2009

Main Course

Rare Roasted Venison Loin with Poached Baby Turnips, Celeriac Custard, Broad Beans and Sauce Poivrade
Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006
∞
Fillet of Black Angus Beef, Porcini & Gorgonzola Gnocchi with Roasted Shallots & Red Wine Butter
Pikes Eastside Shiraz - 2006

Both main courses served with
Penfolds Bin707 - 2007

Dessert
Coconut Cream Panna Cotta with Pistachio Short Bread and Melon Salad
∞
Warm Vanilla Bean Sponge with Saffron Poached Pear, Almond Crumble and Anglaise
Both desserts served with
Hollick The Nectar Botrytis Riesling - 2008

Last minute Harvest before Byron

I decided to collect pepper from the local pepper tree in case they all fall on the ground before I get back in 3 weeks. They are a beautiful pink colour.

According to"The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs" by Leslie Taylor, all parts of this tree, seeds, fruit, leaves, and bark are useful medicinally, and have been used for many years in other countries. Ailments such as hypertension, menstrual disorders, fungal infections, and too many others to mention. This tree is a virtual pharmacy, with applications for practically any ailment, but it is also on the major weed list.
It has also been included in the 'Jumping the Garden Fence' report which examines the impact of invasive garden plants on Australian agricultural land and natural ecosystems. Michael and I suffer from some of the ailments that this amazing tree is supposed to heal, but actually, I just wanted to eat the pepper corns. I figure it should be very good for us as well - added bonus!

I removed these corns from the stems to dry, but Aarod (my genious in the making) suggested I hang the branches up to dry as the pepper corns may be easier to remove once they're dry - good plan I say, and an excellent excuse not to do it till I get back!

I am still not 100% well, and I found these beauties in the garden, they remind me of Mum's apple & rhubarb crumble, so I decided to make some for tonight's tea.

After cutting up the rhubarb and Mclaren Flat apples, I realised that I had no butter -not even in the freezer!

But found this in the fridge, so I thought it was worth a try substituting goat's curd from the Farmer's market for the butter. It might be a taste sensation!

The crumble looked a bit bereft, as I often add oats, sugar, coconut, seeds of some sort, to give it some oomph. Alas I had none of these, so I ground up some Willunga almonds, some cloves, and 1/2 a cinnamon stick (from pantry). I also added some honey to the fruit.

Finished product ready for the oven - yum.

Served with some BD yoghurt, it is very nice, not too sweet. You get a bit of an aftertaste from the goats curd but it is not overpowering, and the genious went back for seconds, so it can't be that bad.

Off To Byron Bay

Day 127

Off to Byron Bay

I am off to Byron Bay for 3 weeks to do a Massage Course, so I will be sourcing my food from within 160km of Byron. That means I can drink coffee Woo Hoo! http://www.zentvelds.com.au/index.html
http://www.hillsofbyron.com.au/hob_about.html   http://www.buncoffee.com.au/coffees.htm
And I have been researching where I will be able to shop and eat out already, and I found a great place to shop called The Green garage who say they have about 200 local suppliers and they pride themselves in being as local as possible. They are a Fruit and Veg  market and a cafe'. I am not sure how much time I will have to Blog, but I am taking a borrowed laptop, so the intention is there!
Check this out:-  http://greengarage.com.au/

Now I am off to pack my bags....................

Bush Tucker

Day 126
Bush Tucker Field Trip
I jumped at the opportunity to tag along with a post "Wild flavours of Australia" conference field trip with the SANFA (South Australian Native Food Association) last Tuesday. We travelled to the Mount Pleasant area, to the property of Greg and Michelle Noel, who are growers of  Muntries (Kunzea pomifera).
Landline - Muntries

Muntries (Kunzea pomifera).

Although they are naturally prostrate, they are grown in rows on trellis to facillitate harvesting

The trellis system also seems to increase production, and allows the fruit to be netted against birds.

They are irrigated in a similar fashion to grapes

Muntries (Kunzea pomifera).

The fruit is ripe in January, green or burgundy colour, tastes similar to apple.

This muntrie jam is actually 50% apple.

These straps are actually produced right here in Aldinga! with 15% Muntries 85% apple, no additives.

Hand cream has many other ingredients, with muntries added.

We then continued on to an old Gold and Copper mining site of Kitticoola, near Palmer where we visited a demonstration Native food site owned by John Del Fabbro.

This place was of particular interest to me as it has a rainfall of 350mm which is where we are heading here in Aldinga.

Santalum spicatum - Sandalwood

South Australia's Sandalwood Industry

Sandalwood trees with their hosts

 Santalum spicatum - Sandalwood
The Sandalwood was of particular interest to me as it was not being irrigated, (it is an arid land plant that grows on hard baked earth, gravel and sandy soil, rainfall 250-450mm) it produced a large nut which reminded me of a macadaemia in both flavour, texture, and oil content. I had never heard of Sandalwood being used as an edible crop.This is very exciting in terms of a multi use food crop, as the wood is used for incense and essential oils also. Sandlewood could be a very good survival crop as the nuts are very high in kilojules, fat and carbohydrates. Another thing I did not know, is that they need a host tree - they are a "hemi-parasite" they extract their water and nutrients from the host. The best hosts being Casuarinas, & Acacias.

Solanum centrale - Bush Tomato or Desert Raisin

 Bush Tomatoes

The Bush tomato was a bit disappointing for me because it is used as a flavouring rather than a fruit, and it needs irrigation. I tried one and it had an intense bitter sweet flavour.

Used as a flavouring for soups stews and casseroles, and in Dukkah.

                                Santalum acuminatum  Native Peach  Quandongs

The Quandong like the Sandalwood needs a host tree, this one has killed it's host which is unusual. 

Uses - used as stewed fruit, in pies, jams, and chutneys.

                              A row of Sandalwood interspersed with host casuarinas and acacias

Wattle Seed - Acacia Victoriae

Wattleseed

Uses - roasted and ground it makes a coffee substitute without the caffiene

the roasted seeds have the flavour extracted to make a syrup which can be used in place of vanilla essence.

Australian Native Bush Foods produce a Wattle seed extract which can be used to flavour beer, ice cream, and whipped cream. They also produce a Wattleseed Balsalmic vinegar.

The seeds that are left after the flavour is extracted are used to make facial exfoliants.

It is a spiney plant and is harvested similar to olives, by laying down sheets and knocking or shaking the trees with a pole.

                                                 Acacia victoriae - Wattle Seed

Native Lime Native limes

Native Fig

Native Fig - fruit does not get bigger than this

The trip has really helped to familiarise myself with these plants, and will certainly help me with my bush tucker orchard project here at the EcoVillage.

Stuffed

Free range chicken from Willunga butcher

I decided to stuff it as it makes me think of my mum's cooking when I make a stuffing. When I am sick I often want to eat comfort foods from my childhood like canned tomato soup, apple & rhubarb crumble, tuna mornay, and mashed potatoes. Michael is not that keen on stuffing, but I guess I was brought up with it so I like it. I assume that it originated as a way to extend the chicken in a large family, so you were served a portion of chicken and a portion of stuffing?
I looked around the kitchen for inspiration, and found the following -

Leftover Lemon Lime Chicken Stuffing
3 leftover egg whites,
Leftover cous cous (yes we still have some lurking in the pantry), 
The dregs of preserved lime from 'Once a year' of Kanmantoo (Stirling Market),
Harding's fine foods almond paste - Willunga,
from the pantry -
Thistle Be Good - Dukkah Egyptian (a gift from Jacqui)
Home made bread crumbs
Lemon zest (from Kat's friend's tree)
Garlic (farmer's market)
Basil &Thyme from the garden

Mix it all together and stuff into chicken cavity, (add salt & pepper to taste)

I poured some rainwater over the chicken and rubbed some rock salt on the skin.

Into the oven in a tray to slow cook on 150C ( fan forced electric)

I think it was the best tasting stuffing I have ever made - Delicious

Water Mellon Seed Saving

Watermellon Seeds from my prize watermellon, they dried nicely on this plate, no mould problems

To combat my illness, I have been self medicating with green juice of spinach, cellery, and pear. It is surprisingly very tasty, and very GREEN!

And finally after about 2 1/2 weeks, we have SEA SALT!

And  dust and a bug too!

Rusty Sea Salt

It was a mistake to put the sea water on my oven trays. The salt would have been high in iron, but not very palatable I think. I ditched this.

It tastes OK but is perhaps a little un-hygenic. Next time I will try it in the dehydrator. So it does work to create your own sea salt from sea water, it just takes a lot of patience, and dust and insect proofing. Also pay attention to the equipment used - metal that will rust, and aluminium is not a good idea, as the coating will contaminate the salt - thanks for the information from my friend Ray.

Seed Saving & Meals on Foot

Day 122 

Dinner For Billy Joe, local pasta with cheese & mushroom sauce.

This was an easy mix of local eggs, milk, cheese and flour, mushrooms & garlic form the Farmer's market, & spring onion and basil from the garden.

I have decided that for this year, this is my last community meal delivery, as I am already pushed to provide food for my own family. So sadly, I will bow out of the food roster for a while.

 ( I will make an exception for Amy when her baby is born though.) 

Self - seeded coriander well and truly gone to seed.

I just love it when plants self seed in my garden. They just come up wherever they feel comfortable and happy, and I just leave them there and enjoy their bounty. This was small but delicious, and it's seed has dried on the plant, so I pick off the few seeds to plant. I think these self seeded plants are the ones to collect seeds from as they obviously like it here in my garden, so should do well when I plant them again (hopefully).

Seed Saving

Now I see seeds and pips differently. Instead of something slightly annoying to discard, they are now a valuable resource.

Coriander

These coriander bushes were picked last summer and left to dry in a paper bag. I am a bit poorly, so it is a good time to do those time consuming sedentary jobs that never seem to get done!

this coriander is so full of seeds, last summer I was not so excited, but now I am, as I imagine the culinary uses of this seed. I think about pseudo curries made with ground coriander, monk's pepper, lemon grass, garlic, salt, and horseradish.

the task of getting the seeds off the stalks is pretty time consuming, and hard on the fingers, and the seeds tend to fly around the place. A good job to do in the garden, as the seeds that fall about might grow.

The tricky bit is getting the stalks out of the seeds. I try a few finer sieves, with some success, but some form of winnowing is probably more likely to be effective. I tried shaking the sieve about and moving it up and down in the breeze as if flipping pancakes, but the losses of seed was probably not worth it. I decided that the seed to be planted did not need to be too clean.

As for the culinary coriander seeds, I wanted to get as much stem out as possible, and could not find an effective method, so I thought I would try soaking the seeds to see if the detritus would either sink or float, leaving the seeds able to be scooped out. Well, the whole lot floated, and then I was worried about it sprouting. So I scooped it all out and spread it on an oven tray to dry in a warm oven (turned off after cooking dinner). One benefit of the soaking, the seeds were cleaner - there was quite a brown tinge to the water.

The seeds dried well in the cooling oven overnight

Into an air tight jar for storage in the pantry

Rocket

Now I am on a seedsaving mission, so here is the rocket that I also dried last summer

These seeds are much smaller and harder to see, with lots of husks. I thought I had finally found a good use for the chip fryer I found in the skip last year, however, the seeds, and lots of husks fell straight through.

On to finer and finer sieves

Rocket seeds ready for planting out.

Rockmellon seeds

I left them on the kitchen bench for a few days on a plate. They dried a bit but started to go mouldy, so I put them in a sieve and washed under the tap to remove mould and pulp. This is also a good job to do outside, as it uses quite a lot of water.

 It took a while to get the pulp off the seeds, quite fidly. Once the pulp was gone,

I put the seeds on paper towels to dry in the sun. This only took a few hours, however, it was difficult getting some of the seeds off the paper. I ended up leaving some seeds on torn bits of paper, which I guess will not be a problem for their germination.

The dried seeds can go into a labelled envelope and are ready to plant next season.

BD. Lemon Myrtle Yoghurt and strawberries - Yummm

My last watermellon, nice and ripe, thanks to my followers for the tips on how to know when they are ripe. I also kept the harvested mellon on the kitchen bench for a few weeks before cutting to allow it to ripen more. 1/2 was shared with Billy Joe as desert for her meal on foot.

More sedentary persuits - Sewing

My New Bee Keeper's suit!

I found a pair of painter's overalls in an opportunity shop, sewed in a zip down front, elasticated the ankle  and wrist cuffs, put elastic styrups on the cuffs to keep the legs from riding up, and sewed up the pockets, sleeve, and side gaps. I found the white cricket hat in an op shop too, and the net in an army disposal store. I feel pretty professional now! Apparently bees are not attracted to white, (even though their houses are usually painted white?) but they are to attracted to bright colours. The extra thick fabric of the overalls gives me good peace of mind, as the last time I went out to check the hive, I had a fairly flimsy shirt on, and one bee was trying to sting me through it. Luckily it was baggy.