Mayor4Unley

Before leaving for the UK, it was sad to see the mass of ripening quinces, olives, pomegranates and chillies in the home garden. Six weeks later, arriving home, it was a busy week picking and processing the fruit. Olives now in brine, chillies 🌶 picked and 'sun' dried and chopped, pomegranates squeezed and juice in the freezer and quinces being slow cooked today. Tip: a splash of pomegranate juice in a gin is superb 🍸

Joy at picking my first chillies of the season. Picked just before the extreme heat. My fav. Yellow and very hot - a nice intense burn ;) Added some finely cut to a crab and prawn spaghetti marinara. The other chilli bushes are coming on nicely. Tip: when using chilli: add dried and flake chilli when cooking add fresh chilli to salads and on top of cooked food

A fabulous Sunday night at the #Unley Town Hall hosting the ‘ The Travelling Table ’. Many courses of simple Italian food cooked by a team of Nonnas, just like they cook at home. The decorations were rustic style - branches of olive tree (with olives still attached) supporting strands of mood lighting. On the balcony, Italian voices entertained us and encouraged us to singalong. Good Italian tucker and excellent company. The Unley Town Hall should be used more for such events. The Travelling Table = ‘ Celebrating migrant food, culture & stories from South Australian kitchens ’. about The Travelling Table

What fantastic news. Research has shown that a small amount of dark chocolate (just 50g) puts you in a better mood and increases brain power and memory. The chocolate used was 70% cacao and 30% organic sugar cane, a product marketed as a health food. Just 30 minutes later, brain scans showed an increase of gamma waves in areas indicating: Improved neural connectivity, Reduced stress, Improved mood, and Boost of memory. So if you want to get in the mood and have less stress and more memory, then eat very dark chocolate.

Yesterday I went to the local Asian Grocer. I was on a mission to buy a packet of dried shrimp. (A recipe for fried rice with crab meat needs the dried shrimp.) They had no dried shrimp, but on impulse I bought and came home with: 1 packet of black sticky rice 1 packet of white Thai glutinous rice (white sticky rice) 1 bottle of pandan essence Why? After tasting the most glorious black sticky rice (with coconut custard) last weekend at the Thai food festival, I was determined to make this dish at home. I'll wait for the next rainy day to make it. If it works out ok I will share the recipe.

I’m a big fan of cider vinegar. Great to drink, make preserves, salad dressing and superb for washing your hair; I use it weekly and it gives my hair a real shine and softness. Tip: close your eyes tightly when doing the hair wash and leave it on for a few minutes. Anyway, however you use it, it’s a better alternative to normal harsh vinegar. Making: Apple Scrap Vinegar It is just so easy. Here's the recipe and instructions ... Apple scrap vinegar: you can drink it straight, use it as a household cleaner, drizzle it over your favourite salad and rinse your hair in it. Let’s talk about how seriously good this stuff is, as well as being crazy easy to make. While not being new to the wonderful world of fermenting, apple scrap vinegar was something that up until now I hadn’t made. I’d used it in cooking, I had drunk it and I knew my hair benefitted from rinsing with it, but making it from scratch? Nope, I hadn’t gone there yet. With a stash of apples from t...

I recently went to the Sri Lankan Festival, held annually at Fullarton, SA. They had a chef demonstrating how to make a prawn curry. A tip for the future: save the heads and shells from the prawns and pulverise them in a blender and add the finely ground mix to the prawn curry for that extra special taste. I will try that next time. What was special was the fried rice to accompany the curry. Here’s the recipe (from my observation) ... Add a dash of oil to a pan, bring to a medium heat. Cut an onion in half then cut half rings, not too thick. Add onion to the pan and slowly caramelise (for 10 minutes). Add 1-2 cups of grated cauliflower. Ok to use a blender. Stir in the cauliflower to mix well with the oil and onion. Cook slowly for 5 minutes. Add 1-2 cups of cold cooked rice. Mix well. Slowly cook the mix until it is just right. Yum. Fantastic. Use as an accompaniment with a curry or use it as a base for fried rice; just add whatever you usually do to mak...

Greek food has had a huge impact on Aussie eating. My favourites are charcoal grilled octopus and lukoumades. Lukoumades (or honey puffs as I know them) are made in heaven; Greek heaven. They are commonly described as Greek donuts and are smothered in honey and walnuts; and they must be served hot. Between you and me, the abundance of lukoumades is the prime reason for me attending the annual Greek festival in Oxford Terrace, Unley. I was delighted to find a sign in a shop on King William Road that proclaimed that the restaurant Lukoumades would be opening soon. It should be hugely popular with entrees, mains and desserts of Greek honey puffs. Yum :)))

If you're visiting the Riverland and need some meat to cook on a BBQ down by the river, then the butcher shop you must visit is ' Berri North Butcher ' @ 28 Zante Road, Berri. There are two butcher shops in Berri, but trust me, go to one on the north side of town. The butcher is up for a chat and is very generous with samples of his home-made products eg. fritz, ham, brawn, ... the brawn was absolutely superb. What's brawn? Tip: don't Google it, just enjoy it. The sausages are made using the butcher's secret recipe influenced by the local Greek and Italian communities. One of the pork sausages was bright blood red (from local red wine) and had chunks of lemon rind in the mix. I bought an assortment of meats, some to BBQ down by the river and some to bring home. This butcher was a Berri good find!

Autumn - it's a glorious time of the year. The pomegranates and quinces are ripe and begging to be picked and devoured. On Saturday I picked a bucket of pomegranates and squeezed the juice. On Sunday I picked a bucket of quinces and set about making jam. I settled on a basic recipe for Persian quince jam. Here it is ... Makes about 1 large jar, vegan, gluten-free. Adapted from Turmeric & Saffron 4 quinces (about 900 g), washed, cored & cubed or sliced and peeled 250 g sugar 500 ml water 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 2 cardamom pods, bashed to open them 1 lemon; juiced 2 tablespoons of rose water Here's what I did ... Prepare a bucket of quinces. Add cored and peeled pieces to a large bowl of cold water to prevent discolouration. Drain and place in a large heavy base pot. Add 250ml of water. Add 250ml of pomegranate juice. Unfortunately I didn't have any rose water. Next year! Several large teaspoons of ground cardamom. 10 smashed cardamom seed pods. ...

What a glorious time of the year - despite the heat, the humidity and the rain. The hot summer has ripened the figs and the rainbow lorikeets are having a glorious time in the fig tree. I don't net the tree, preferring to share with the birds. The rain has ruined the recent ripe figs; so maybe I will be lucky with the next batch in a couple of weeks. But those figs that fall to the ground and get sun dried on the hot brick path are glorious. They dry quickly and are quite chewy. There's nothing quite like: Lying on the lawn, on your back with your legs in the air whilst chewing on a fig; Lying on the brick paving and sucking on a fig; Lying in bed and savouring a sun dried fig; Leaving a chewed fig on the kitchen floor knowing that someone will step on it (or inspect it closely before picking it up) It's a dog's delight collecting sun dried figs and chewing on them. My dog delights in this delicacy.

Last Christmas I blog boasted about my stuffing for the chicken. It was the best ever, until this year. Here's a link to my blog in 2015. Last year the stuffing earnt a Gold Medal; awarded by the family. This year I was awarded a Trophy (and 3 Golds). What made it just that bit more special? For the first time I added these extra ingredients: Fresh, new season home grown garlic Home grown native bush tomatoes Home dried apricots Home dried cherries (yum) It was made with love and I enjoyed 2 glasses of sparkling red during the preparation 🍷🍷 I'm so excited about the Trophy. Enjoy the closing days of 2016. Cheers 😊

I was shopping at my local favourite Indian grocer, buying rice and papadams. The owner is actually Pakastani; a lovely woman. We chat about recipes, ingredients and share cooking experiences. I spotted some long green mangoes and asked what to do with them; why do people buy green mangoes? She explained that they are best used to make a green mango chutney called 'Kairi Ki'. I asked for the recipe and she explained in detail and I asked her to write it down. Her mother (out here on holiday for 6 months) was delighted by my interest and helped with describing the ingredients and qualitities; there was lots of gesturing to help me understand. Both women were delighted by my enthusiasm to create a Pakistani dish. I went home and made the Kairi Ki chutney to have with the curry I had planned. Here's the recipe ... Green Mango Chutney (Kairi Ki) 3 green mangoes a big handful of fresh mint (just the leaves) a few hot green chillies (optional, but a must for me) 1...

I grew up on bung fritz. You grew up on bung fritz. We all grew up on bung fritz. We started with that free slice given at the butcher shop. Even today, all kids get offered a slice at the local butcher shop. It's an Aussie tradition. Today, with all the other choices of salami, mettwurst and other continental meats, it's a nice change to enjoy our South Australian traditional bung fritz. It's a simple pleasure; best enjoyed as a thick sandwich. How to make a bung fritz sandwich: Fresh white bread with butter Lots of good quality tomato sauce Thick slices of bung fritz; and yes, remove the orange skin Squeeze together until the sauce just oozes out If you want, try adding mustard and cracked black pepper Yum 😋 What's in bung fritz? How's it made? Well I had a friend who visited a fritz factory and she said that if you saw how it was made you would never eat. I avoided a visit to the factory; I didn't want to kill off one of my pleasures. How to...

Eggplants; one of the most versatile fruit in the garden (and no it's not a vegetable). If I were a vegetarian then it would be at the top of the list with field mushrooms. As a meat eater, the eggplant is at the top of my list as an accompaniment; an accessory to meat. Cook it Afghan style and you're in heaven. There's so much you can do with eggplant. A recent discovery (and joy) was thinly sliced eggplant fritters. As a meal or snack whilst watching State of Origin rugby or as a side dish with red meat. Give it a try 😍 Here's the recipe

The art of krauting vegetables is gaining popularity. It's so easy. The preparation is a good way to release tension; by the squeezing, punching, bashing and smashing the vegetables. The end product is a low cost and good tasting ferment; ideal to add to many dishes. I enjoy it on the side with eggs and bacon/mushrooms 😋 Give it a try and remember to burp the kraut daily 🗣 Here's the recipe

A fabulous Saturday afternoon spent cooking an Afghani banquet with famed chef Farida Ayubi (of Parwana restaurant). Lots of food to take home and enjoy over 2 days. I was a participant in the L Plates Tasting Australia gourmet experience held at TafeSA @ Regency Park, SA. We cooked: Kabuli Palaw; a superb rice dish using golden aged long grain rice Chicken Stock; meat and stock to be added to the Kabuli Palaw Lamb Kofta; magical meatballs Kadu Borani; the only way to eat Pumpkin (or eggplant, potato) A great day cooking with Farida Ayubi.

This summer (just past) was a glorious season for capers. Huge crops is SA and Unley. You can pickle all parts of the caper bush; the leaves, the stalks, the caper buds and the caper berries. The best part is the caper bud. Home pickled buds are superb compared with the commercial muck. more about capers Here's a recipe. Pick a heap of caper buds; nice and firm. Sort through them and remove the stems. Rinse in a colander and then place on a tea towel and pat dry. Place the capers in a jar and layer with fine sea salt. Tip: place some salt in the base of the jar before you add capers. Use small to medium sized jars rather than a large one. Cover the jar(s) with its lid and shake to ensure even distribution of the salt. Remove the lid and cover the jar with a single layer of a paper napkin or tight netting (an old stocking or a piece of muslin) and keep in place with a rubber band. Leave it in a place where it will get some airflow, but not in direct sunlight – a bree...

This is what I'm cooking tonight at home ... Chinese cumin lamb . I recently discovered the dish at the restaurant Kingdom in China Town, Adelaide. Absolutely superb; especially the chilli hit. So I'm trying for a repeat food experience at home. the Recipe Give it try. The mix of lamb and cumin is a good match.

After a recent holiday in Tasmania, when I returned home, I ordered a case of Raspberry jam from Hillwood Berry Farm (in Tasmania). Absolutely superb, chock a block full of seeds. Glorious. Best ever. It was too much for me to consume over the year so I sold some to friends (at cost price) to lighten the hit on my wallet. In return, a friend gave me a large jar of her home-made fig and chopped almond jam. I love fig jam and it was best ever. The almonds add that special touch. The fruit was still in large chunks and not runny. It was so good that I'm tempted to place some in smaller jars and submit as an entry to the Royal Adelaide Show in the food judging section. I won't, but it would have surely been a winner.