Vegemite polenta soldiers

A classic, Aussie breakfast of Vegemite toast soldiers taken to all new heights.  Kim had the brilliant idea of setting a layer of vegemite in polenta.  He let it set, cut it into soldiers and fried it.  Top off the decadence with a fine micro-planing of cheese and dip into free-range soft boiled eggs.  

Heaven!  

Australian Farmers Market Love

We were back in Australia this Spring for 8 weeks; the first time since we left nearly 6 years ago that we have spent that amount of time back home. There were so many things we loved about being home, but one of them would have to be the abundance of Farmers Markets. We would go to at least one a week, switching between the Jan Power markets in the City on Wednesdays and the Davies Park markets at West End. The West End markets had a little stall selling a range of cheese & even fresh churned butter. We pick up a log of goat's cheese, and just happen to have some pickled walnuts at home that we picked up on one of our continental food shop missions, and have the making of a wonderful afternoon snack ...



The goat's cheese was divine, crumbly, salty and with robust flavors ... paired perfectly with the pickled walnuts.

What are you doing this weekend? Get on down to your local farmers market and as well as supporting local producers you will be bound to find a trove of seasonal treasures!

the West End Markets
Held every Saturday
6am - 2pm
Davies Park
QLD Australia


View Big Food Big World in a larger map
Montague Road West End

Beach lunch, Barbate, Spain

The Southern coastline of Spain is breathtaking. Crystal clear water, pure white sand and rocky foreshores with some interesting flora. Wandering along the beach in Barbate is so peaceful. We pass one couple on their push bikes in the whole time we are there - as we are navigating over to a small area of asphalt before climbing up to the lighthouse.



On our walk back along the beach, we see a little side road which looks promising to find a quick lunch. We find a little stone house, which looks promising.



We make our way in, it's quite dark and beautifully cool under the clay roof. There's a small menu in chalk scribbled behind the bar. They have a few little tapas and then a small selection of daily sandwiches. Manchego is ordered along with our drinks at the bar counter and we take a seat. Our ice cold beers and a little plate of Manchego arrives moments later. Several slices of the rich cheese are on a little plate with a good handful of little bread sticks. Yum!



A little plate of pork lomo also arrives with the cheese. Cured, salty pork with a deep red spice coating also with a good handful of the little bread sticks.



After a perfect little start to our beachside lunch, we both have ordered the pork with paprika butter roll. Crunchy bread roll filled with a shredded pork mixture that is bound with an intense paprika butter. mmmmm



Now we certainly have energy to walk all the way back to the other side of the beach and get back in the car to rush home and enjoy our siesta.

Tapaç24, Barcelona

On our first visit to Tapaç24 (yes, there will be more posts to come) it was our first realization that Easter weekend in Barcelona means not to many places will be open ... We headed over the the L'Example district with our maps marked of coffee shops, providores and lunch spots. It was early, but upon wandering around it looked as though the whole town had closed up shop for the entire weekend ... After about half a dozen failed attempts at finding anything, we decide to try our luck over by Paseo de Gracia. As we turned the corner, the big glass doors plastered in the words "TAPAS 24" were open, and lights were beaming through onto the street.



It's here my walk turned more into a skip, the excitement to much for me to handle ... I know we were probably only wandering around for an hour and a half, but the prospect of not finding somewhere to eat, let alone have a coffee was frightening. We run in and perch at the counter and order 2 cafe solo before you can even say Beunas.



It's not even lunch time yet, so this is just a mere mid-morning snack. I pick a flauta with chorizo from the counter.



and we also order the Bikini24. This is perhaps one of the finest examples of a toasted ham & cheese sandwich. Spanish jamon, cheese & a hint of truffle sandwiched in slices of crustless white bread that has been lathered with butter - cut in little bikini triangles. Yum!



We're still going on our cafe solo's, which have to be a whopping 60-70ml, so choose a pastry from the counter as well. Not to sure what it was, but am certain it was delicious. Crispy sweet pastry with a custard cream in the centre doused in icing sugar.



At least if nothing else opens over the Easter Weekend we know we can come back here ...

TapaÇ24
Open 8am-Midnight
Diputacio 269, Barcelona 08007
(near Paseo de Gracia)
Tel: +34 934 880 977

Waking up from Siesta ...

This Italian / Tuscan lifestyle really fit us to a t. Coffee, breakfast, big lunch, siesta, afternoon nibbles, dinner, sleep - rinse and repeat. Every afternoon while we were in Italy, once we emerged from our afternoon nap and rubbed our eyes, the next thing of importance to do was to find a drink - either a glass of wine or a campari aperitif. Then we would round up a few nibbles with stuff we just had lying around the place .... for instance, ndjua - the delicious soft, spicy pork salami, the below mentioned buffalo cheese with white truffle honey, a chunk of Dario's salami, cured pig's cheek and a chunk of tallegio cheese. All with some crusty Tuscan bread and a bottle of fine Toscana.



Life is indeed good.

Indulging in cheese with truffle honey

Wandering past a little local food shop, we pop our heads in for a look. Something that caught my attention immediately was a slab of full-cream buffalo milk cheese. It was a large log of cheese, encased in a camembert like rind, with the creamy, gooey innards barely able to contain themselves within the cheese, just wanting to ooze out all over the place. We thought it was only right to take the whole piece, as we couldn't bear seeing it be cut .... so, armed with about half a kilo of buffalo milk cheese, after looking around the shop, we found a jar of white truffle infused honey, the perfect accompaniment !!



And 4 of us polishing this off in one session, indeed indulgent and gluttonous, but oh so damn delicious.

San Giamano, it's pretty pretty, problem is every one else thinks so too. The town is packed with people, for us the scenic views and picturesque towers are secondary to a good place to eat.



We wander through the maze like interior of the walled city heading for the far side to find Il Pino. Unfortunatly, they were all full up so we wandered aimlessly through the tourist aimed gift shops had a look at a few scenic sights, and then as seems to be the case with much of our wandering we came across a little something something.



A showcase full of cured meats and cheeses and a tres cool female cook in six inch heels and mesh top whipping out what looks like some tasty treats to a mostly local crowd, we grab a couple de-rigueur glasses of wine (it's Italy people) and order some snacks.



The carparccio of prosciutto is simply shaved proscuitto, parmasean, and rocket some Tuscan bread on the side and it's good to go and oh so good.



The first crostini of pepperocini and pecorino is spicy chessy goodness and the second of grilled eggplant and scarmorza is untious and very more-ish.





We even end up buying a bottle of one of the wines we started with to go along with our afternoon grazing. . . . . . .la vita è dolce.

Antica Macelleria Falorni

The Antica Macelleria Falorni was founded in 1729 by Gio Botta. The place still stands pround in the main piazza of Greve in Chianti. The butcher-cum salami / cheese shop is still run by the 8th generation of Gio's descendants.



The finest Tuscan meats are used including Chianina for beef, Cinta Senese for pork and wild boars that have been present in the Chianti forests for centuries. A variety of Chianti herbs and spices are also essential ingredients; fresh fennell, laurus, juniper, garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary and even some Chianti wine.



Upon walking inside this gracious butcher, that spans 4 shop fronts in the piazza, there is no other way to describe it then a meat lovers wonderland. Kim and I wander around in awe, and managed to get lost in here for at least an hour (and that was only our first visit!) First we wander into the cheese room, which goes down into the basement, where various cheeses have notes and times on them, for when they're ripe and ready (if anyone could wait that long!)



Then there were blocks of pancetta, some covered in chilli flakes.



And the salami, oh the salami !! Salami made with Chianti Classico red wine ....



Little chingale - Wild boar - salami's.



And then the Il Ghianda, an acorn fed leg of prosciutto from Greve.



After at least an hour spent in the woderland that was salami, meat & cheese, we head next door ....



Still a part of the same shop, this room was full of Tuscan wines - and most of them were available for tasting. They use the fancy enoMatic system, where a card is brought with credit and then used to by tastings of various wines in different sizes. We start with a 10Euro card .......



and make our way through a whole range of fantastic wines.



Each tasting is offered in 3 sizes, and start at just 30cents. With tastings of delights from next door including cheese, truffle salami and fennel sausage, you can understand another while was spent here ......

Before we loaded ourselves with goodies and headed off with our bread, olive oil and market treats for an afternoon in the sun.



Antica Macelleria Falorni
Piazza Giacomo Matteotti, 71
50022 Greve in Chianti, Firenze, Toscana, Italia

T: +39 055 853029 F: +39 055 8544312 E: negozio@falorni.it

To market, to market.........

My head is spinning, every sense is reeling, I feel like the whole world has exploded into full technicolor life. We've been to markets all over Asia, but standing in the midst of the morning markets in Greve in Chianti, it's just wow. All the things we've only ever seen as dried or preserved goods are all here fresh. Vege stalls over flowing with that morning picked porcini's and chanterelles.


Porcini's and chanterelles


Zuchini flowers by the crate and beautiful artichokes


Tiny chilli's and roma tomatoes on the vine

How could we not buy some? Or the cheese or the cured meats or the....... well, all of it. This was our first experience of Italian life and we loved it, we were already formatting plans to pack up every thing we own and move it all here, from swinging by the local coffee shop to grab a standing breakfast of espresso and pastry, to walking another few meters across the square to grab freshly baked bread, or buying some prosciutto at the 300 hundred year old family run butchery and mingle with the locals doing their weekly shopping.


Seriously how could we choose?



Delicious fresh bread

After we rounded up a few amazing snacks it was back to the villa to set up a wee lunchie under the Tuscan sun.


Truffle cream, seeded bread and stuffed pepperoncini


Tuscan artichokes and Brawn


Herb rolled goats cheese and oh so stinky taleggio


Guanciale


Fresh peach with Guanciale


The view from the lunch table

I think I'm going to have trouble re-adjusting to real life...

Tasty Hokkaido Goodies

Last year it was indeed a, some might say envious, task trying and evaluating over 100 Hokkaido cheeses. Some are very so-so, but there are others out there which are world class. A particular favorite find would have to be the Shin Sapporo blue cheese.



It is made just outside of Sapporo, and is rich and creamy with a great blue flavor. It reminds me of a French St. Agur. It has a fair surface mould which covers the creamy inside pate that is flecked with blue mould.



We're enjoying that with some crusty bread and local butter. mmmmmm



Not to mention the giant plate of Hokkaido meats we're sampling tonight, all in the name of research, or course. Including pork salami, venison salami, soft boerwurs, Sekka's dried cherry tomatoes and pickled cherries.



Another great day in the office !!