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

Bbopgi, honeycomb on a stick! Street food in Seoul

After a huge bibimbap for lunch, we make our way back to wander the walking street ... and I spot something from a distance. Sugar, on a stick - perfect!



Kids and adults alike are walking around with these things, each etched with a different hand drawn artwork. We make our way over to one of the bustling little street side stalls. They are making giant clumps of honeycomb, and then pressing them flat, piercing them with a stick for convenient eating-while-walking, and then etching the picture into the hot candy.



Apparently the idea is to eat around the shape without it breaking/cracking? I just ate the heck out of that sugar in one swift motion it was so good ... Will give the whole eating around the shape thing a go next time.

Holy mushrooms, breakfast at Kiosko Universal, La Boqueria Barcelona

Holy mushrooms, this lone platter of giant mushrooms on the counter at Kiosko Universal made our decision of breakfast on this morning an easy one.



We'll have those, sautéed, with a few eggs. Oh sure, throw some fried potatoes in there too!



All we need is a few slices of pan con tomate which are sitting on the counter and we are good to go.



Not a bad choice at all for a quick breakfast before taking to the streets, it's on the top end of the boqueria a few blocks over from Pinotxo bar.



Mercat Sant Josep, PUESTO 691
08002 Barcelona, Spain
933 178 286


View Big Food Big World in a larger map

Marrakech Night Markets, stall no. 32

When we see our delightful host at breakfast the next morning, we are quick to tell him how very much we enjoyed dinner at no. 14. We also told him about our discovery of the Moroccan viagra, to which he found very funny ;) We spoke about our plans for the day, which inevitably would lead back to the night markets ... Stall no. 32 was another of his recommendations. Grilled sausages and other meats .... He warned us that there was a delightful chopped up mix of insides, that was super delicious and full of charcoal, but also advises we probably won't like that ... all the more reason we want to try it!

As the sun goes down, we head back to the night markets armed with the no. 32. We arrive a little early and all the stalls are still setting up. We grab a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and just perch to watch the scrambling before dinner.



As the food stalls come to life, we spot to corner that just has smoke billowing above and smells of grilling meats.



We order some bread & grilled meguez to start. The bread is placed on the paper in front of us, again our only implement for eating with this evening, other than our nimble fingers of course. A little dish of fresh tomato sauce that is packed full of fresh herbs, cummin & pepper accompanies the bread. There are hundreds of little merguez sizzling away on the grill, popping and twisting in anticipation. A completely random number is just scooped up onto a little stainless plate and set before us.



We sit enjoying our sausages, mopping up all of the rich red fat that is on the bottom of the plate with our bread. We're not quite sure what this chopped insides thing is so we are on the watch. We see a wrapped parcel reset on a silver tray and placed directly into the coals. When it comes out, the parcel is pierced and out explodes this chopped mess. We grab a grill boys attention and proclaim our need for one of these plates .... We see a little parcel come out, and be placed into the charcoal. Yay, just for us. It arrives and the smell is intoxicating. Herbs, spice, meat, offal, charcoal. We have managed to save enough bread to mop this chopped mess up, delicious with a splash of their home made tomato sauce.



Now that has certainly whet the appetite, time to find dinner.

Moroccan Viagra

We are on our way back home after a delightful meal at stall no. 14 where we notice a few little carts on the outskirts of the square that are just flooded with men hovering at the counter, drinking this deep red elixir and eating some sort of paste. We are intrigued, so head on over ... Looks like the father is cheif elixir man, but he has his son there helping him out who speaks a little English. We enquire and at first he giggles. He then tells us that this tea is made up of a very special mix filled with herbs, spice and things like ginseng & gurana. Then there is the paste, which is also full of spices and other things.



We each order a tea, and choose to share 2 of the plates of spice paste. The tea is strong of ginger aroma and taste, and another 50 or so things that you can taste, but can't identify. The paste, wow, is like eating a spoonful of raw spice that is also sickly sweet with some sort of dark sugar.

The young guy, still giggling, then tells us that all the men stop by these stalls on their way home, as this is a form of natural viagra.



Well, wandering home we do all get some sort of buzz .... the true effects felt later ;)

Tough job ....

Spotted at Zaragoza central markets, a super genki old Spanish dude just sitting on a little stool with boxes and boxes of little anchovies by his side. He was meticulously & methodically filleting these little guys. Such a small piece to work with, I'm certain he's probably been sitting there and doing that same process for most years of his life. A beautiful thing to stumble across - made each anchovy we ate through the rest of our travels in Spain taste that much better !!

Fresh fruit juices at La Boqueria

After a traditional breakfast of coffee & croissant at Pinotxo bar, it was hard to not walk through the markets and find room for a delicious fresh fruit juice.



They ranged from €1-€2 and included orange & mango and blueberry & coconut, with everything else in between.

Easily accessible, with astonishing variety, this is something I miss about fruit in Japan ...

Al mercado, al mercado (To market, to market)

Whilst walking to Cafe Viena for a sandwich, we first encountered the amazement of La Boqueria, Barcelona's central food market. So it's only moments on that we find ourselves back to bask in the delights.

A quick stroll around the market turns into hours, as after 5 months of winter in Hokkaido, fresh fruits and vegetables are effecting us in so many positive ways. The colours, the smells, the vibrance & immediately the inspiration that comes from buckets of dried morel mushrooms;



bunches of wild asparagus sitting in little buckets of water, so wild and free it's as if they have their own personalities;



plump red tomatoes along with zebra striped heirlooms, citrus fruits & green leaves;



our minds and senses are overwhelmed ... trying to keep and store all of these sensations and informations for enjoyment down the line.

It's hard work I tell you ... so when we finally make it to the rear of the market and spot Barcentral, we know it's time for a drink. We start with 2 glasses of cava, Spain's version of sparkling wine. This one comes from the Penedès region in Catlonia, which is only 40km South West of where we are. It's refreshing and crisp, although the glass is small so is the price, so you just have to drink more of them ;p



Whilst we savour the cava, we point on top the counter and in no time have our settings graced with a plate of crispy fried artichokes;



and fried padron peppers. They both come with these incredible penny-sized flakes of salt, which are licked off our fingers as we devour them in no time.



This has only just wet our appetite, so we order a plate of Navaja's, or Razor Clams. They are thrown on a flat grill and splashed with wine & lemon juice. Once they open, they are placed on a plate with a generous splash of a garlic & parsley oil, a sprinkle of salt and a wedge of lemon. But thee flavour that stands out is simply the taste of the sea, lightly salty and oh-so fresh.



As we are sucking the little suckers out of the shell, we see a plate of pulpo (octopus) being plated up with precision. Of course we find room for 1 more plate. Slices of fried potatoes are scattered on the plate and then sprinkled with those giant flakes of salt, then a whole octopus leg is taken from the showcase and sliced into rounds which are then placed on the potato and completely cover the plate. A good sprinkling of paprika and a good glug of olive oil and here we have a very fine example of tasty octopus - so tender and not at all chewy.



It's our first day in Spain, and we both feel like we've slotted in just fine. Looking forward to the next 6 weeks of our adventures here.



Plaça de la Boqueria,
La Ramla 91
08001 - Barcelona, Barcelona
T: 93 318 2584

Barcentral
Stall 494-496
Row H
at the Carrer de Jerusalem entrance

Firenze; A tale of four breakfasts: part 3

After a pleasant encounter with Max and the crew at the little bar we stumbled across for our not-planned second breakfast, we make our way to the Mercado Centrale (Central Market). We find the butchery section over to one side of the market. Their are cases filled with all types of fresh meat including chickens and calves head & feet.



We know the infamous sandwich must be close .... We turn a corner and see the Nerbone counter deep with people. Old Italian men ordering their lampradotto, the tripe version, but just as many in the que for the bollito, the boiled beef version. We jump on in and place our order at the counter.



We are then handed our tickets and proceed to the opposite end of the stall, where the heavenly morsels are being made.



Firstly, the lamprodotto. The crusty bun is cut in half, with the cut side being dipped into the delicious cooking juices. Chunks of tripe are then removed and roughly chopped before being stacked on the bun. A precise ladel of fire-red chilli sauce and then another of vibrant green salsa verde are draped over the top.



The bollito version see's the bun cut and dipped in the same way. It is then piled high with sliced of the boiled beef, which are sitting in the juice, and come apart with pull of a fork. The same bright green & red sauces are ladeled over.



There is a reasonable sized seated area off to one side, which we noticed was home to many tourists, who also knew about the wonders of Norbone ...



but what had our interest, was the counter at the end. All the locals perched here enjoying their breakfast, most of them with a glass of wine in hand. We jump right in and join them. 1Euro each sees a small tumbler placed in front of us, with bottles of house wine, mineral water and some soft drink there for enjoying. It's customary to do a "Salute" with whoever is close by, so there is "ching ching" all around.



While sitting there savouring our delightful breakfast, we even see an Italian gentlemen a little ways from us, look to Salute with someone, but no one was in reach, so he just "ching ching's" the wine bottle.

Nerbone
Piazza Mercato Centrale
47/R, 50123 Firenze, Italy
Phone:055 219949

Sunday Morning Markets - Panzano, Italy

It's not even been 12 hours since we stumbled out of Dario's after an amazing and unforgettable meal, that we are back in Panzano for the weekend morning markets.

We stroll around the streets for a while, and note that these markets seem a lot more bric-a-brac sort of stuff. Mind you, we do pick up some treasures along the way ...

But, that of course, was until we stumbled back along the little laneway that lead's up to Dario's. And of course this is the little food haven we were after! We both start with a giant slice of home-made tart for breakfast.



Before sampling a delicious locally made vin santo, a Tuscan sweet wine, and cantucci, an almond cookie. Mama mia, it's only 9:30am, but it seems to be the done thing around here.



Walking up and down the street there are Nonna's cookies, fresh baked breads, chutneys, jam's, pickles, cheese and everything in between. We stock up on some things for our afternoon snacks, before heading back into our favorite butcher. It's buzzing. And full of food for so early in the morning. The butchers block is adorned with a Dario Porchetta, a rolled pork roast seasoned and stuffed with fresh herbs. The crackling was smiling at us, just asking to be taken away .... done!



There were giant meatloaf's, a golden crumb case holding together what was sure to be some incredible delicacy. The house wine was flowing, and more lardo toasts to try.



Again, the man himself, is behind the counter. We again get to chatting .... about Japan (one of his trainee's we met last night was from Japan) and how exicted we are by the mention that Dario intends on coming to Japan in the next couple of years. As we depart with our bags of goodies, we are even blessed with Omiage (a Japanese custom to offer friends / guests a small gift from a paticular place / town) and receive some of the Profumo del Chianti, or special salt blend.



A quick coffee stop of the way to the car,



and a quick porchetta snack before getting into the car. Oh my, how I love this life.



The Panzano markets are held every Saturday morning from 9am until 1pm, and weave their way all through the streets of town.

Porchetta Sandwich #2

At the morning markets in Greve one of the first things we spotted was the Porchetta van. The van had an impressive rotisserie set-up, spinning around in the background piled full of chickens, meat & all sorts of sticks.



But we have our eye on the crisp pig, perched up on the counter. This variety is available by the kg at 24Euro or on a panino for 3.5Euro. We take 2 panino. Chunks of the delicious porchetta are sliced away, and piled on a crisp Tuscan bread roll.



We also spot something in the counter that is a tradional Tuscan spiedini. We need one of these !!



We first un-wrap our sandwiches, and they were even more delicious than they looked! The pork was still warm, the stuffing packed with fennel seeds, fresh rosemary, lots's of salt and pepper.



As you can see, I was very content .... my eye's glazing over with glee.



Then we were onto the spiedini ... wow! There was chunks of sausage, chicken, and pork all layered between slices of bread. It has been cooked in the rotisserie and all the fat from the meats have fried the bread to a golden crunch. An absolutely amazing concept, fried bread and tasty meat, all this goodness packed onto a stick ...



Oh, Italy ....

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...