At last the book that divulges the secrets which every cook desires! No longer will I have to cojole my friends into sharing their information on their special ingredient. The illustrations on the cover and at the beginning of each chapter are gorgeous too.
Karen Reyment has researched every producer and retailer in Brisbane and the surrounds and put it together into an easy to use guide.  There is also an iPhone app, which will be useful when I have left the book at home.

I know I will be including “the 2012 foodies guide to Brisbane” on my Christmas list and shall be giving the guide to my foodie friends.

There are chapters on every type of food and a handy map at the back of the book showing where these hidden gems are. A special chapter on “daytripping” if you feel like a jaunt on a weekend.

It will be available in October  2011, so make sure to look for it. Published by Hardie Grant Books.

No Comments | In: Other Delights | | #

I visited the local market and I was inspired by the produce that was available. One of my husband’s favourites figs, were plentiful so we bought a kilo. When we returned home and ate one, it was the sweetest fig I have ever tasted. It was like jam inside. After the market my friend from Australia and I walked around the corner to Grand Epicerie, a destination every foodie must visit. It was a Saturday morning and there were lots of samples to try. I met this lovely man who was offering samples of his honey. We tried the lavender and then the chestnut tree honey. I simply had to buy the chestnut tree honey. The taste was so strong and earthy. www.maisoncharaix.com

Grand Epicerie is a wonderful gourmet food store. It has fresh produce and packaged goods, cold and off the shelf. I buy all my special ingredients there. Like sugar cubes, and you pick your own eggs and put them in coloured boxes according to their size. The fresh produce is expensive compared to the marché so I just pick up those extras.

Now that my basket was laden with wonderful ingredients I headed back to our apartment to make a fig tart. I couldn’t wait to bake, I hadn’t had a chance since leaving Australia and certainly not in Uganda. I used my own recipe for the pastry and then made a frangipane type filling with the chestnut tree honey added to it and lastly the sliced fig.

Recipe For fig tart with chestnut tree flavoured frangipane

Ingredients for the tart base

Ingredients for the Frangipane

125g butter

125g sugar

3 eggs

125g ground almonds / almond flour

2 teaspoons of Miel de Chataignier (or you can use any honey you fancy)

Method

Unwrap the dough from the cling wrap. Make sure the dough is cool but supple by the time you want to roll it out. Roll out then place in a tart tin and blind bake for ten minutes at 170 degrees.

Now make the frangipane by melting the 125g of butter slowly over low heat and letting it cool slightly. Beat the sugar together with the three eggs until creamy and add the melted butter while continuing to beat. Add the almond flour and mix well. Then add delicious Miel Chataignier Honey.

Now spread the frangipane evenly into the tart tin (it will spread out nice and evenly on it’s own). Do not fill to the rim, because you want to put in the fruit next. Slice Figs and place in a pattern on the top.
Slide the tart into the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, depending on your oven. When it’s beautifully golden brown, puffed and firm to the touch, it is ready. Leave to cool on a rack. You can place fresh figs next to the slice on the plate, dust the tart with icing sugar before serving.

No Comments | In: Desserts | | #

Finalment (finally in french) I am in Paris! Oh what a joy it is to be here. It is so easy to be inspired.

The marché is just down the road and is bustling with people admiring all the fresh produce. Fruit and vegetables of all types, bread, olives, nuts, fish, meat, and of course cheese. When I open my fridge and see Lescure butter and goats cheese and a fresh baguette resting on the side  I know I am where I belong.

After several weeks traveling through Uganda, I was eager to cook. Of course the apartment is not set up for someone who wants to cook. There really is no need in Paris. Everything is available ready cooked. I have had to improvise a bit. An olive oil bottle for a rolling pin, a salad bowl for a mixing bowl and my arms are getting a work out since there isn’t a mixer or any kind. Strangely I didn’t miss those modern gadgets at home and was quite content to make do. I made cooked borlotti beans the first night. The beans were at the market and looked a little different to the borlotti in Australia. When I peeled them, they did not have the beautiful colouring they usually do. However when they were cooked they were more tender and delicious.

If you follow this link or this one, you will see my recipe from a past post.  In the post I used them in a minestrone but this time I just baked them. It takes a few hours but well worth the wait.

Recipe

Borlotti beans braised with tomato, zucchini parsely and oregano

Shell 1kg of borlotti beans (weight includes shell) and place them in an oven proof pot. Dice an onion and 2 cloves of garlic and a chopped fresh tomato and mix in well with the beans. Cover these with a jar of the best passata you can buy. Add a cup of vegetable stock and enough water to cover the beans generously. Pour olive oil over the top of the water. Cover the pot with a lid or foil. Place in a hot oven at 180 degrees. The cooking process takes two to three hours and you need to check that the beans are not drying out. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, add a good cup of chopped parsley and stir. Finish with some olive oil before serving. Serves 8-10.

The view from my apartment

No Comments | In: Meals | | #