My first job was selling New Zealand ice-cream at the Kiwi Waffles & Cones shop in Canberra.  During that 3-year stint as the ice-cream queen of the ACT I consumed a rather large number - a lady never tells exactly - of scoops and flavours of what is one of my favourite foods. So, when I received an invitation from New Zealand Natural to taste their new ice-cream flavour - Golden Manuka Honey - it was only natural to accept.

I was supposed to go to the official tasting to see what everybody’s impressions were and then relay them in this post but alas due to other commitments that didn’t happened. Fortunately, the PR people were kind enough to save me a tub to take home. The tub turned out to be a 9.2 liters box of ice-cream.

Creamy Manuka Honey and Gold Kiwifruit Ripple are combined to create this iconic New Zealand flavour.  A few of us have tasted it already and the overall verdict is that it’s a winner. The ice-cream ticks a few boxes - it’s creamy, has an appetizing colour, and it smells and tastes like honey. It’s also quite sweet, which in my eyes could have been it’s downside but interestingly the kiwi fruit ripple running through it brings a bit of zing to the flavour, which helps to balance it out. Good choice of a secondary star ingredient.

Personally, I prefer ice-cream flavours in the vanilla/chocolate/caramel spectrum. I secretly wish they gave me 9 liters of  Cookies & Cream but if you are a Boysenberry Ripple kind of person then a bowl of this Golden Manuka Honey ice-cream with some freshly sliced kiwi-fruit would be right up your alley. Give it a go next time you’re at the New Zealand Natural ice-cream counter.

As for my massive box of ice-cream, I think I will take it down to our Australian Day BBQ for a tasting session of my own. Not the most patriotic move but I am sure my friends will not be complaining. Comments and feedback to follow…

p.s. For a limited time, New Zealand Natural are offering customers a FREE scoop with any purchase of a regular ice cream to allow people to try the delicious new flavour.

The name ‘tomato’ comes from the Aztecs in Central Mexico, who called the fruit Xitomatl, meaning plump thing with a navel. It later picked up other cool names such as Pomo d’oro (Golden Apple) in Italy, Pomme d’amour (Love Apple) in France, Gojeh Farangi (Foreign Plum) and Armani Badenjan (Armenian Eggplant) in Iran. My favourite is its Latin botanical name, Lycopersicon esculentum, translated as ‘wolf peach’, given to the fruit probably because it belongs to the Solanaceae or nightshade family, along with eggplants, sweet peppers and potatoes.

I grew up in a country where tomatoes are very popular but due to the cold climate of Ukraine they are in season only 2-3 months a year. I remember it was always a real treat if you could get your hands on fresh tomatoes in the middle of winter. Unfortunately, it was more the concept than the taste we were excited about.

That kind of false excitement is still with me here in Australia. I am amazed that I can pick up a bunch of fresh tomatoes any time I come to the supermarket; the problem is they’re often disappointingly bland and watery unless you buy them in season or from farmers markets. My mum has always grown her own, so I have developed a taste and appreciation for the real thing and can tell a difference between commercially and organically cultivated varieties. Right now is the best season to buy tomatoes; they are abundant, affordable and very tasty.

Another reason to include more tomatoes in your diet is that they are nutritional superheros. They contain large amounts of vitamin A, C and K, and lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants, and are believed to help prevent many of diseases and cancers. I was surprised to find out that the lycopene levels are even higher in cooked tomatoes. Personally, I love my tomatoes fresh in a salad with lots of herbs, garlic and good olive oil, which combined with the sweetness and acidity of the fruit, create a festive fusion in your mouth. This recipe is one of my old favourites and can be tailored to include fresh Mozzarella cheese, olives, feta, basil, mint, chickpeas or whatever else your heart desires.

Ingredients

5-6 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced, you can use any kind
1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced as full rings
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves

Dressing
2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper

Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl. Slice the onion, mix with the dressing and set aside. Onion will marinate and soften while you slice the tomatoes.

Layer tomatoes on a big platter, spread the onion rings, pour over the remaining dressing and sprinkle with oregano leaves. You can also crumble some Feta or Bocconcini cheese on top. Perfect for BBQs and large group gatherings.

Many would argue that we don’t have enough evidence to say what is really sustainable when it comes to food growing and consumption. Perhaps something grown in a lab using less natural resources should be considered sustainable but what does it mean to our health and local economy. For others sustainable food means having a synergy between production, environment and nutrition, with less wastage. I tend to agree with the latter approach, which is the main philosophy behind the Slow Food movement. Established in Italy in 1989 by Carlo Petrini as a protest to fast food expansion, its main principles are to choose locally grown, organic, seasonal produce, and to take more pleasure in food and cooking.  The movement has over 100,000 members in 132 countries including Australia. It promotes an agricultural system that preserves local cultural cuisine, and respects the earth’s resources, sustainable farming practices and produce distribution, and the health of consumers.

Australian produce is some of the best in the world yet we often choose to stock up on Chinese garlic, prawns from Thailand and Spanish olive oil because we look at the price tag before anything else. Most of us don’t ever stop to think where the food was grown, how it’s packaged, how long it has travelled to reach the supermarket shelf, or how little those involved in the process got paid. I don’t suggest we stop buying food from other countries, after all Australia doesn’t produce everything and who could say no to French cheese and Italian wine, but I do think we should be more aware of what we are buying and eating.

It’s not always practical to be sustainable with everything all of the time, but it should be possible to make better choices by asking yourself a few simple questions. Is this food in season? Was it grown organically, which means not only chemical free but that eco-friendly practices where used? Is it locally grown or imported from overseas? Is the packaging eco-friendly or recyclable/recycled? Where will my money go? And finally, how much do I really need? with a few of these answers you can make the best decisions when filling your shopping basket.

A lot of resistance comes from thinking that going organic and local means forking out more cash. However, the benefits for your health, the environment and our local economy outweigh the cost in the long run. With some forward planning and shopping know-how anyone can live according to the Slow Food manifesto. It’s all about knowing what to get, when to get it and where!

The number of fresh food markets in Australia is rising and there are numerous health food stores and green grocers that stock local, organic products. If markets are not your cup of tea, there are hundreds of Australian online suppliers that sell everything from fresh produce to cosmetics and household products. In fact, organic farming is one of the fastest growing sectors in the food industry in Australia and it’s due to the increasing number of consumers seeking out locally grown produce. As the demand for local, organic produce goes up, the prices will come down. So, next time you’re standing in front of a mutiple choice selection don’t just buy on price. Become a sustainable foodie in 2010

My sustainable foodie guide

• Join Slow Food Australia network.
• Buy locally grown - and if possible owned - produce when available. Check the labels on packaged foods, some products will claim to be local but they are in fact packaged in Asia with only a few Australian ingredients.
• Look out for Australian organic certified products, which means that the business’s methods have been audited by an organic certifying group.
• In my opinion organic produce is more nutritious but if something is not available or the price is really concerning use this as a guide: grown above the ground – go organic, below the ground or with thick skin that’s peeled – a non-organic option perhaps.
• You don’t need to know what’s in season locally – ask your grocer he’ll know. Seasonal foods will also taste better and cost less.
• Plan ahead and only buy what you’re going to use. We often buy more than we need on impulse or because it’s cheap, as a result we waist food and money.
• Meat is good for you but only in moderation, so buy higher quality, organic stuff that is, although often more expensive, is better for you and the environment. The cost should average out. Kangaroo, for example, is an excellent choice of meat – it’s healthy, local, environmentally friendly and cheap.
• Pick your eggs and dairy carefully. Remember happy chicken and cows produce tastier, more nutritious eggs and milk without the added hormones.
• Globally, we are overfishing many species. We also buy sea offerings that have been frozen and travelled miles to get to our local fish shop. Australians are huge seafood consumers and we have the best in the world. This article has a guide to sustainable fish and seafood consumption: http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/fish/
• Other organic, local products to look out for are herbs, spices, skin care, cosmetics, household items, and clothing.
• Support your local suppliers, even get to know them – butchers, bakers, green grocers and fishmongers. You get fresher produce, support the community and get a more personal service.
• Shop with friends or neighbours for bulk specials and when ordering online to split the delivery costs and save on packaging.
• Make your own  - pesto, tomato puree, sweet chili sauce, jams, pickles, bread, infused olive oils, cakes and pasta. You will have home made quality and freshness and save on packaging. A good idea is to make something with friends and share it, that way you can split the cost and make things in large amounts. Plus it’s a nice way to catch-up.

Australian Certified Organic
http://www.organicfooddirectory.com.au/
http://www.buyorganic.com.au
http://www.organicwine.com.au/
What’s in season in Australia?

I am looking for more suggestions and ideas on how we can be a sustainable foodies.

Mangoes make a great dressing that can be used in salads, for marinating grilled seafood and sprinkled over kingfish or tuna carpaccio. It goes well with lime, chilli, coriander, basil, cracked pepper and ginger. Pick a softer fruit for dressings and smoothies, and a firmer one for slicing in salads or skewering.

Watercress salad with mango dressing & black sesame seeds

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 bunch watercress, sprigs picked
1 bunch rocket, about 50g
handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 medium avocado, peeled and sliced
1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced
1/2 medium Spanish onion, sliced thinly
1-2 tbs black sesame seeds

Dressing
1 mango, peeled and flesh scooped and chopped
1/2 long red chili, seedless and finely chopped
pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lime juice
cracked pepper

1. Liquefy all dressing ingredients in a blender or with a soup mixer until smooth. If the mango is too firm add some orange juice to dilute the mixture. Omit the cracked pepper until serving.
2. Toss the salad with 2-3 tablespoons of dressing and half of the sesame seeds.
3. Serve individually on plates with a teaspoon of dressing on the side, some extra seeds and cracked pepper sprinkled on top. Otherwise have it all pre-mixed if serving in a large group salad bowl. This salad is great as a side, especially with BBQ meat and seafood, and on its own with some nice bread.

Note:  Serve as soon as possible to prevent greens from going soggy, otherwise leave the dressing out until you’re ready to eat.

September 19th is the International Talk Like a Pirate Day. It started as a joke by two friends, John Baur and Mark Summers, in 1995 and since then has taken over the world. Today you should speak in ‘Arrrs!’ and drink lots of rum.  Naturally, I started thinking about other things that pirates drank and ate.

First two things that come to my mind when thinking about pirate gastronomy are rum and pineapples, probably because I have a romanticised idea that all pirates sailed in the Caribbean. That’s of course not the case and the food and drink habits of the rebels at sea varied through centuries and locations.

Those lucky enough to have a pirate haven near by could always make trips back for fresh supplies of fruit, cheese, vegetables and meat. However, on longer voyages pirates had to rely on not so nice dry biscuits, pickled vegetables and salted meats. They would often keep caged chickens and cows for fresh eggs and milk, which they would kill once there was nothing left to feed them. Sailors would often get sick from eating foods that were spoilt. The cooks used lots of herbs and spices to disguise the taste of a rotten ingredient.

In some cases, the food options were so scarce pirates would kill and eat their slaves and captives, and even chew on leather which they would tenderise by beating and rubbing it with stones. I think as long as they had enough rum and pirates would have been happy. Here is a list of foods, dishes and drinks that might have been found on board of a pirate ship (I didn’t look into Asian, Arabic and Indian pirates so this pretty much goes for European pirates)

• Bombo/bumboo – mixture of rum, water, sugar, and nutmeg.
• Rumfustian drink - blended raw eggs with sugar, sherry, gin, and beer.
• Beer, sherry, brandy, and port.
• Dried foods and beans
• Sour Krout and other pickled vegetables
• Turtle soup and turtle eggs which were considered a delicacy
• Pirates bones soup – made with whatever bones they could find such as those of rotten animals and chickens, fish, birds and dead men.
• Salmagundi -  basically a stew of whatever cook had on hand , chopped meat, anchovies, onions, eggs, with vinegar, oil and spices.  Recipe
• Hard Tack sea biscuits – kind of like our modern days crackers
• Honey cake (Swedish, early 17th century) Recipe
• O’Hanlons stew (Irish 16th century style) Recipe
• Stuffed hen (late 16th century) Recipe
• Meat pie (16th century) Recipe

Above info is from the interwebs so it’s like my grandmother’s war stories - interesting and not necessarily fictitious. For some reason not many sources mentioned fish or seafood which would have been my first choice being on the ship and all. What would you eat as a pirate? I still see pineapples and coconuts in my head…and Mojitos…and Johnny Depp…arrr!

Have a great Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Ingredients
Serves 3
1 large purple eggplant, sliced into 1cm disks
6 Roma tomatoes, halved vertically
1 large Spanish onion, peeled and quartered vertically
1 medium-large pork loin, sliced diagonally into 6 pieces
Mozzarella cheese, sliced or grated, about 200gm
5 tsp whole egg mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, grated or smashed
1 tablespoon good Balsamic vinegar
olive oil
cracked black pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika
sea salt
1 tsp sugar
vegetable oil for frying

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. In a bowl, coat tomatoes and onion with a mix of Balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, sugar, good pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Lay tomatoes and onion quarters on an oven tray covered in foil or sprayed with oil. Roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until tomatoes are collapsed and starting to crisp up. Keep an eye on the onion, it can get burnt easily.
4. Once those are in the oven, slice the eggplant and soak it in slightly salted warm water for a few minutes. Pat dry and place a layer of eggplant in a pre-heated pan with a thin layer of vegetable oil, it should be quite hot. Turn the heat down after a minute to medium. Add more oil if eggplant is asking, it’s a thirsty fruit. When crispy and golden-brown on once side, turn over and fry on the other side for a couple more minutes on medium heat.
5. While the eggplant is frying you can rub the slices of pork loin with some olive oil, paprika, pepper and sea salt. Set aside.
6. Lift the eggplant out of the frying pan draining any access oil. Place disks on an another oven tray.
7. In a small bowl mix mayo with garlic into an aioli and spread a thin layer on each eggplant slice. Place a few slices of Mozzarella cheese over the top.
8. By this stage our tomatoes and onions should be ready, if not leave them in for a bit longer.
9. Heat up some vegetable oil in a frying pan to cook the pork slices. Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes and rest.
10. At about the same time place the tray with the eggplant under a hot grill until the cheese is melted and browned on the top.
11. To serve place one eggplant slice on the plate followed by one slice of roasted tomato, another slice of eggplant and another tomato. Top it with a third slice of eggplant and two slices of pork loin. Serve with a roasted onion quarter and another tomato on the side. Add some fresh Italian crusty bread to the table and enjoy!

It’s become a possibly arrogant and rather familiar path for my recipes to get to my table. While eating a dish at a restaurant or the markets, I often fantasise about ways I could improve it.   The ideas will sit in the back of my mind until I stumble upon an ingredient, or rather an excuse, to try out a new version. The resulting dish is not always what I first imagined, the cooking process can transform it into something new and interesting. The decision for it to be canned or blogged comes from the reaction the dish gets from my tester friends.

This recipe is a good example of that process.  I’ve tried Miso Eggplant in Japanese restaurants here and in Japan on many occasions, and although I don’t claim to know what the proper, traditional version should taste or look like, every time I sat and pictured how I would modify the sauce to give it more punch and texture.  So, when the opportunity presented itself I made this Miso Chilli Eggplant for Japanese friends while I was in Tokyo. They loved it, and tonight I served it  to my usual bunch of testers, it was a hit again and here it is for you to try.

Trivia fact: cultivar name for a common round purple eggplant is ‘Ukrainian Beauty’

This recipe makes enough eggplant to serve as a starter or as a side with an Asian rice dish. You can make more and have it as a main with some steamed rice and vegetables. I used a nice round purple eggplant but you can also use the long slender variety, just slice them differently.

Ingredients

1 medium purple eggplant, sliced into 1cm thick disks
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3/4 long red chilli, seeds out, finally chopped
25gm miso paste (you can use the small packets you get as part of instant miso soup)
100ml beef , chicken or veg stock
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbs cooking sake (optional)
1 tbs toasted sesame seeds
vegetable and olive oil for frying

1. Place eggplant slices in a bowl with slightly salted boiled water for 5-10 minutes
2. Heat up 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium frying pan. Sautee onion for 2 minutes, add chillis and cook for 3-4 minutes until both are soft .
3. Add garlic, miso paste, stock, soy sauce and sake and stir through. Cook for a few minutes on medium heat stirring frequently. The idea is to thicken the sauce by reducing the liquid a little.
4. Heat up a generous amount of vegetable or canola oil in a large frying pan. Drain and pat dry the eggplant, place as many disks on the hot pan as you can fit. Fry on each side until golden brown and slightly crispy, adding more oil along the way if needed. Eggplant will soak most of the oil up while frying on its first side down.
5. Serve the cooked eggplant slices on a plate with the sauce spread over the top and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Ingredients
Serves 6-8 people

Stock
1 ham bone (small amount of meat still on)
1,2L water
1L beef stock
1/2L vegetable stock
few celery leaves
parsley stalks (from one bunch of parsley)
1 tbs oregano leaves

3 medium potatoes, peeled, diced into cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
1 zucchini, diced
½ red capsicum, diced
1 celery stick, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, diced finely
1 long red chilli, seedless and finely diced
2 tbs chopped parsley
1 tsp chopped oregano
400g diced tomatoes, you can use canned
1 can Borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
200g dry pasta, Conchiglie or other small shell variety
1 tbsp tomato paste
3 bay leaves
1 tsp sweet paprika
2 rashers bacon, fat trimmed and diced
olive oil
sea salt
pepper

1. Place all stock ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to boil. Turn the heat down to medium and cook semi-covered for 40 mins.
2. While the stock is cooking, prepare all other ingredients. Heat up few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and sauté onions for 2-3 minutes, add chilli, celery and paprika and cook for a couple of minutes. Then add carrots and cook for further 2-3 minutes.
3. 40 minutes later take the ham bone and herbs out of the stock, put the bone aside to cool. Add sauteed vegetables, potatoes, bay leaves, garlic, diced tomatoes and tomato paste to liquid and bring back to boil. Turn down the heat to medium and cook uncovered for 25 minutes, letting the stock reduce a little.
4. While the soup is cooking, pre-cook the pasta until it is almost al dente. Drain and put aside with some of the soup liquid to prevent it from sticking together.
5. Fry bacon it until crisp in a pan with some olive oil.
6. Now that the soup’s been on for about 25 minutes, add mushrooms, capsicum, zucchinis and cracked pepper. Cook for 7-10 minutes, taste and add some salt to season if needed. I’ve added about ½ teaspoon for mine. Finally, add bacon, pasta and fresh herbs. Cook for 1 more minute, turn the heat off, cover and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
7. Grill or toast some nice Italian bread and rub it with a garlic clove. Serve soup in a ball with a good sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.

Like other oily fish, ocean trout has a pretty impressive nutritional portfolio. It’s high in protein, has a low GI and all the goodies to keep your brain, nervous system, heart and blood in great condition. I tell my friends to eat trout or salmon when they’re feeling hungover or a little down. Personally, I don’t need any special reason to tuck into a bit of trout, I love it, especially if it’s smoked.

Unlike smoked salmon, which is cured and cold smoked, the trout is usually hot smoked, which cooks the fish evenly while giving it that smoky flavour. If you own a smoker and know what you’re doing then by all means hot smoke your fish for this recipe. I bought my whole trout already smoked from Sydney Fish Markets for about $8.

The best thing about smoked fish is that you can enjoy it as is, with a slice of fresh crusty bread and a beer. It’s also great in sandwiches, dips, rillettes, pasta and salads. This smoked trout & baby potato salad with spinach is fresh, nutritious and easy to make.

Ingredients
Serves 2

½ whole smoked trout (skin and bones removed, flesh flaked, about 200g)
8 baby white potatoes
1 small lebanese cucumber, sliced
1 tbs small capers
a bunch of baby spinach
½ Spanish red onion, sliced thinly
Dressing
1 tsp finely chopped dill
1 teaspoon whole egg mayonnaise
1 tablespoon crème fraiche or sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon horseradish cream (can be omitted)
cracked pepper
sprinkle of sea salt
chopped spring onion to garnish

1. Boil baby potatoes in skin in salted water until tender but not falling apart. Drain and put aside to cool down a bit.
2. While the potatoes are cooking prepare the trout. Remove skin on one side and peel the flesh off taking out any bones. Flake the flesh into medium-sized pieces.
3. Slice all other ingredients and mix the dressing in a bowl.
4. Cut potatoes into quarters and combine with cucumber, half of trout flakes, some baby spinach, capers and red onion. Mix through with enough dressing to coat all bits and pieces.
5. To serve, place baby spinach leaves on a plate in a shape of a fan, it’s easier if you tear off the stems. Put a little mountain of the salad in the middle and top it off with remaining trout flakes, some spring onion and a few capers. Give it a little sprinkling of olive oil and lemon juice for extra freshness and gloss.