Food Fabric is back!

Well after a little bit of a hiatus (see my other blog http://ladybusinessau.wordpress.com) Food Fabric is back up and running and I’ve a renewed vigour for capturing new stories and food fabrics.

So if you’re keen to have a piece written about you (Deves I’m drafting yours today for your approval – I promise!) you can either get in touch with me directly through her, my Twitter or Facebook or I’ve created an online interview survey to capture some initial details as well.  You can access it here - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FDNRVZD

Really keen to capture as many stories as I can during 2011 and then start to cook some of the dishes I’m writing about!  It doesn’t matter what your family background has been or whether you’ve travelled extensively I want to hear all about it so if you’re keen to share let me know.

Yours in great food,

GiGi

Country Qld home-cooked to Asian fusion – a world of food through big sister’s eyes

Some of you know my sister, Bel, and some of you have just heard about her through the various anecdotes I may have shared over the years.  There’s 7 years age difference between us and these days that doesn’t seem so vast but at various points through our childhood that seven years was telling. 

I mean I can’t blame Bel, I was a serious pain in the ass hyperactive child and when I was 8 years old and she was 15 it seemed only fair that when I busted her smoking with some of her friends during our Noosa summer holiday she made me smoke an entire cigarette so I wouldn’t tell Mum and get us all into trouble.   It worked  

We are now very close, very good friends and pretty  good cheerleaders for each other actually and so I thought it fitting that my second Food Fabric be her story as it makes for some interesting comparisons with mine.   Bel is also at an exciting time in her life as she has just left her serious corporate kick ass job after 10 years with one of the world’s most recognisable IT brands and is about to embark on a 9 month around the world holiday before starting career 2.0. 

Here’s her Top 10 – a telling insight into her life’s journey thus far.

1. Vegemite & butter on white toast
This one was a perennial childhood favourite and is there seriously STILL nothing better in this world than slathering butter onto fresh white toasted bread, watching the butter melt in and then smearing your preferred thickness of Vegemite onto it?  Surely this the food of Gods and it’s still one of those comfort foods that we both turn to when we’re feeling a bit off and need a little pick me up. 

2. Crumbed lamb’s brains with mashed potatoes and frozen peas
Our Mum used to make this when another lamb had been killed.  Mum made them crumbed with mashed potatoes and peas which was delicious and Bel still goes for crumbed lambs brains whenever they are on the menu at a restaurant these days.  It’s interesting as Bel remembers only crumbed brains but I also remember Dad making brains in white sauce but only after Mum and Dad divorced and Dad had to learn to cook   Ah the difference seven years can actually make eh – one of us got a Dad who killed animals and ate them (but rarely cooked them) and one got a Dad who actually was quite adept in cooking a whole lot of offal in a variety of sauces. 

3. Nan’s christmas pudding with sixpences and brandy sauce
We always had a traditional plum pudding for Christmas complete with real sixpences inside and proper flaming brandy sauce.  Our Nan made one every Christmas until only a few years ago and I can remember the excitement of seeing the Xmas pudding hanging from the staircase banister wrapped in its muslin glory when we arrived at Woodgate Beach for the annual family Christmas.  Nan always had full control of the kitchen on those Christmases and I recall her running things with crack project management and coordination skills.  A truly impressive woman and I’m sure a lot of her baking nuances have rubbed off on us subconsciously. 

4. Mum’s rice pudding
You’ve already been introduced to my Mum, aka pudding queen, in my previous post and you’ll recall I mentioned that it was difficult to pick just one dessert that was a favourite of mine.  We always had a cooked dessert no matter what and Bel remembers her rice pudding as her personal favourite.  Creamy, sweet and fluffy all at once and warm fresh from the stove or oven.  I remember Mum being able to whip up a rice pudding in no time at all and I think it may have even been her default recipe that she just ripped out when she needed something quick and good. 

5. Turmeric fish – Green Papaya, Brisbane
The Green Papaya in Brisbane (www.greenpapaya.com.au) is somewhat of an institution there and serves seriously good Thai food.  It has changed hands (and locations) in the years since Bel first discovered it but the food is still reasonably good.  One of Bel’s favourites was the turmeric fish.   I always remember if I ever stayed with Bel whilst I was going through my uni days that we would often get take away from the Green Papaya and the turmeric fish always featured.  The combination of spices and the perfect way in which it was cooked meant it was always a staple for either the take out or dine in option.  The laab isn’t bad either I recall if you’re going to be heading there anytime soon. 

6. Breakfast sandwiches – Collingwood Children’s Farm Market, Melbourne
Bel first moved to Melbourne in 2005 on her first transfer with the behemoth IT company.  Our good friends Leena and Paul Green were then living in Clifton Hill, just around the corner from where Bel and her then husband were living in North Fitzroy.  Leen and Paul introduced Bel to the Collingwood Childrens Farm Market (http://farm.org.au) not long after they arrived.  A magical playground in inner Melbourne, obviously great for the little ones, but has a great farmers market attached to it as well.   Lots of marvellous Victorian produce to be scored from the market held once a month but also they had a cafe and one of Bel’s favourite things to do was get a breakfast sandwich and walk around the markets eating up the greasy, tasty goodness smearing it all over her face.  There’s something about a farmers market that makes it ok to eat a breakfast sandwich and these guys do a seriously good one so do yourself a favour and check it out next time you’re in Melbourne. 

7. Whole tom yam fish – Maggie’s in Singapore
Bel moved to Singapore after being in Melbourne for a few years in circa 2006-2007 (dates getting hazy the older I get!) and lived in Bugis right in the centre behind the DHL balloon.  She discovered Maggie’s in the street behind the one she lived on.  An unassuming street full of local food delights and Maggie’s was a sensory delight with its plastic chairs and tables.  Maggie herself discovered Bel after she’d been in a few times and claimed her as some sort of quasi daughter I believe.  Maggie was fantastic and so was her food.  Bel loves spicy food and particularly has always liked tom yam soup so she was delighted to discover Maggie did a special whole fish in tom yam sauce.  The first time I had it I thought I’d died and gone to food heaven – you can request how spicy you like it – and the fish was impossibly well cooked.  The prawns rolled in something like anzac biscuit dough and deep-fried are also worth a look next time you’re in Singapore. 

8. Raw chocolate – recipe from Dana at www.BalancedLivingAsia.com
Bel really started experimenting with different types of alternative healing methods when she lived in Singapore and what better place to do it than South East Asia.  She had long subscribed to eastern medicine beliefs and been a long fan of acupuncture but it was in Singapore that she really started to try out som different things.  One of those was fasting at detox spas (often in Thailand) and it was in the lead up to attending one of the detox’s that she came across Dana from Balanced Living Asia.  Dana provides a combined healing service and one of her specialities is preparing people’s bodies for a fast and so Bel started on one of her programs and continued seeing Dana for overall health and wellbeing.  Even in London Bel would get care packages from Dana and is about to do another fast with her in Bali in November.  One of the things Dana introduced Bel to was the concept of raw chocolate (using raw cacao powder) and she went to a few classes with her to learn how to make it.  Supposed to be far better for you than manufactured chocolate as it’s totally raw and organic (and hence not mucked about with too much) and tastes totally like the real deal.  I’m trying to find a supplier of raw cacao powder currently as I’ve taken to using it as a chocolate replacement in a lot of my baking recipes.  Dana also does consults via Skype so if you’re interested check out her website at www.balancedlivingasia.com

9. Fresh whole young coconut with a shot of wheatgrass – Spa Chiang Mai
As mentioned before Bel loves to participate in fasting detox programs.  She discovered them in Thailand and she and I even went to one over Christmas a few years back at the Spa in Koh Chang.  As a result when the owners on the Spa chain announced they were building a new spa in Chiang Mai, Bel jumped on the chance and bought a 2 bedroom duplex there.  A little piece of paradise and a safe haven for her to escape to whilst she was doing a lot of travel in her role in south-east Asia.  The spa chains specialise in healthy food – obviously being a detox spa –   and Bel found one of her favourite foods there.  Fresh whole young coconut with a shot of wheatgrass juice.  I haven’t tried this myself but I have had fresh young coconut and it’s delicious so I can only imagine what a wheatgrass shot would do to the dish.  If you’re interested in doing a detox program at one of the spas you should check out the spa chain (Koh Samui, Koh Chang and Chiang Mai) .

10. Raw pad thai - Daylesford Organics
One of our Notting Hill favourites.  Daylesford Organics (www.daylesfordorganic.com) serves beautiful organic food and also has a farm shop attached to it.  The menu is simple and clean and the people are beautiful.  Well it is on Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill after all.  One of Bel’s finds was the raw pad thai dish which is one of the staples on this menu comes with a cashew, chilli, spring onion and mint dressing is the perfect pick me up after trawling the ritzy shopping strip of Westbourne Grove.   Still one of our Notting Hill favourites after 12 months of living here. 

Well that’s it.  The life journey of my big sis told through her food preferences over the years.   A lot of south-east Asian influence there, unsurprisingly!  If you’re interested in seeing your Food Fabric on this blog get in touch and we’ll make a plan to get that in print. 

GG

Rural Australia to European eateries and everything in between

I love the concept of an individual or a family’s food fabric.  The food experiences and memories that make up their own stories and what their life has entailed.  You can call it a food biography or another way of looking at what your life’s journey has been thus far.  It’s a slightly more interesting take (in my opinion) of looking at someone’s personal history.

Imagine you’re sitting across from someone you’ve never met and they start to detail the 10 food dishes that mean something to them from birth to now.  They don’t have to be particularly special meals or even ones they can cook themselves but they should be reflective of someone’s passions, the trips they’ve taken, the family members recalled with fondness when the very mention of a particular dish is spoken or simply something that brings them pure joy.

I like to hear people’s food fabric stories and the reasons behind them and I’ve found such a range of stories from friends I’ve already spoken to about this that I felt compelled to start this blog.  I’ve created this in an effort to capture as many people’s Top 10 as I can and start to build a food fabric story of the people I’ve met, those I’ve yet to meet but who share a love of food with me and hopefully share recipes, travel tips and good times along the way.

To get me started I’ve done my own Top 10 for good measure. 

1. Lamb cutlets with mashed potato and peas
Growing up on a cattle and sheep property in central Queensland meant there was never any shortage of meat – or any option to go vegetarian!  Luckily I love red meat too much to have ever been troubled by this.  One of mine and my sisters favourite childhood activities was to sit and watch Dad basically slaughter lambs.  You’d think little girls would have been as far away from that side of running a farm as possible (and that we’d have been disturbed to learn where our favourite meal actually came from) but we’d sit with great anticipation waiting for Dad to slit the stomach open and pull out the stomach sac.  True story -  in fact we’d even egg him on and heckle from the sidelines for him to hurry up.  He still loves telling that story and in our defence there isn’t loads of stuff to do in the middle of Australia so you take your games and entertainment where you can get it.   My personal favourite part of the lamb was the lamb cutlets – perfect for kids because they come with a ready-made handle and they were seen as a real treat.  Dad liked his meat (and his meals) fairly simple but yummy so we normally had them with mashed potato and green peas.  That dish today remains a firm favourite and it something I typically go to for comfort food after a hard day.   The only thing that’s really changed is that Dad is no longer providing me with the cutlets directly from the farm, but luckily there’s some good farmers markets around so I’m getting a fairly good second-best I reckon. 

2. Lamb brains in white sauce
Another treat from old lambie.  Part of growing up on the land meant that all parts of the animal were used and I’m not particularly a fan of any other offal but I have a special place in my heart for lambs brains.  We would have them a variety of ways but my favourite was brains in white sauce.  I can’t explain why I’m ok with eating the brain of something small, white and fluffy and if I think about it for too long it can start to creep me out but I love it and I still order it at restaurants these days if it’s on the menu.   Possibly something for the less squeamish

3. Mum’s chocolate blancmange
Mum is a pudding queen.  Clearly this is where I get my love of baking and all sweet treats from.  My childhood food memories are peppered with lots of red meat memories but there was always dessert and Mum didn’t let the fact we lived in the middle of Queensland stop her from producing simply amazing stuff.  There’s too much goodness in her repertoire to just have one item dedicated to it but I had to pick one so my favourite was always the chocolate blancmange.  There was something very silky and glamorous about it and to date I’ve still not attempted to make it.  I’d like to preserve the memory of Mum’s as it is and remember the unbridled joy I would get when I realised that was on the pudding menu for the night. 

4. Mezze Platter from Gallipoli in Islington, London
My favourite hang out when I lived in London from 2000-2003 and my first proper introduction to Turkish food and the beginning of a love affair with the mediterranean cuisine.  Gallipoli (now up to 3 or maybe 4 restaurants in London) was on the effervescent Upper Street in N1 and it was the staple restaurant me and my mates would take anyone to when they came to town.  The restaurants were reasonably small and cosy with all manner of crap hanging from the ceilings – all Turkish related of course.  The food was undeniably good and the waiters charming and flirty.  My favourite was the mezze platter – sharing with friends, drinking good wine and laughing at stories and experiences shared.  The sheer mention of Gallipoli evokes such strong memories of friends and travel times in London in my early 20s and it brings a smile to my face just to recall it.  I took my sister there a few months ago and I had to have the mezze platter to see if it was still good.  It was and so deserves this spot in the Top 10. 

5. Pho from Victoria Street, Abbotsford
I have kept boomeranging back to Melbourne in the time since I left London in 2003.  I’d never been there before until I started work for Australia’s favourite brewery and was posted there for the first time in 2005.  I worked at the historic Abbotsford Brewery with the hustle and bustle of Victoria Street a mere five minutes walk away.  I loved the screaming and jostling that went on at the Asian supermarkets and it was along Victoria Street that I found Melbourne’s best Pho.  Giant punchbowls of steaming broth with chicken and beef, noodles and a platter of mint, sprouts and lemon juice to garnish.  I swear it was the best hangover cure on this earth and I always make a point of going back there whenever I’m in Melbourne. 

6. Sushi – particularly salmon and avocado handrolls
I’m not exactly sure when my love affair with sushi started but I suspect it was sometime during uni days when I was working part-time in an office in the city with my then brother-in-law and we would go out to fancy lunches care of the corporate card.  Often this would entail some of Brisbane’s best sushi and I was introduced to the brilliance of the salmon and avocado handroll.  I quickly taught myself how to make sushi rice at home and for the next few years my own version of the salmon and avocado handroll would feature at any party I hosted.   I always look for this on a day when I’m feeling like cleaner food and I simply must get to Japan at some stage and enjoy the real deal.  My current favourite is the sushi made with brown rice which I’m yet to perfect in a home recipe. 

7. Roast lamb with mediterranean vegetables
I absolutely adore mediterranean cooking.  I’m not sure at what point I flipped over from the traditional roasted vegetables to mediterranean veg but I suspect it was after my first stint in London when I did a lot of travel through Turkey and Greece and was inspired by the fresh veg on offer.  My favourite is to stuff the lamb with feta or garlic (sometimes both) and roast cherry tomatoes, fennel, aubergine, sweet bite peppers and zucchini in a separate pan with whole cloves of garlic and whatever herb takes my fancy at that point in time.  Sometimes we go sans lamb even and this dish is one I will always pull out on a Sunday and for entertaining friends.  Something so wholesome and comforting about it and the mediterranean veg gives it an interesting take on an old classic. 

8. Quinoa soaked in juice and served with creamy yoghurt and fresh summer berries
I discovered Quinoa a few years ago when I had some health issues and had to convert to a low GI diet.  Quinoa is the grain of gods for low GI and I set about perfecting a number of recipes.  I first made this breakfast recipe for my sister when we were holidaying in the Margaret River after our friend Julia’s wedding a few years ago and we loved it so much it’s become a staple item in our pantry.  You soak the quinoa overnight in some juice (apple works best I find or an apple blend – currently we’re loving the Chegworth Farm juices) and then cook as per normal instructions and serve with creamy yoghurt and fresh summer berries (my favourites are raspberries, blueberries and blackberries).  A delicious porridge alternative!

9. Pintxos – Basque region tapas madness
Ah the Basque region – I had this recommended to me by Jenny Chandler who I did a knife skills course with at Books for Cooks in Notting Hill.  I was telling her about the trip I was about to take and, as she specialised in Spanish cuisuine, asked her for recommendations on where I should go.  She instantly recommended the Basque region and in particular San Sebastian.  Renowned for its own unique take on Spanish cuisine and boasting the highest number of Michelin starred restaurants of anywhere in Europe I reckoned that it was a place I wanted to be.  Luckily Ness, my travelling partner, agreed and so we spent  four glorious days in San Seb soaking up the sun and the local delights.  The region has its own take on Spanish tapas, called Pintxos, and they are a culinary holy grail in my opinion.  We stayed in the old town (a must if you’re going there) and ate pretty much nothing but pintxos the entire four days.  There are pintxos on the counters of almost all the restaurants in the town and served all day but it’s traditional to go on a tour pre-dinner and have a few morsels.  Each restaurant has its own speciality (ham, seafood, meat etc.) and on about day two we discovered the local drink of red wine and coke – Kalimotxo - (seriously good for you doubters out there) and continued to piglet our way through San Seb’s best pintxos bars.  I found the flavours of the Basque tapas more intense and interesting than ordinary Spanish tapas so do yourselves a favour and get to San Seb on a holiday.  The beaches aren’t bad either and the Guggenheim is just a hop, skip and a jump down the road in Bilbao. 

Going in for more pintxos in San Seb!!

10. Gluten-free cupcakes – either chocolate/cherry or lemon delicious
This year, amongst other things, has definitely been the year of the cupcake.  I’ve loved cupcakes for a few years now and have been renowned for making cupcakes for big events (my 30th birthday, Lany’s wedding cupcake tower and Chloe’s 25th birthday cupcake tower in the middle of the Southbank office in Melbourne) but this year I’ve gotten a lot more adventurous with flavours and flour alternatives.  Partly that’s because cupcakes form a big part of the new business I’m starting and partly because white flour, sadly, isn’t my friend any longer.  I bought a kitchenaid for myself this year (my lengthy lusted after kitchen porn product – candy apple red toned of course) and so set about experimenting with new flavours and flour alternatives to white to see what  I could come up with.  There’s rarely a week that goes past where there’s not a batch of cupcakes made and I’ve gotten pretty good at making them on demand for visitors but I have perfected a gluten-free version of my two favourite cupcake flavours that are on high rotation currently.  Chocolate cherry is ludicrously decadent and even got Dad’s seal of approval (complete with no dairy or gluten) and lemon delicious was a personal triumph as I was trying to perfect Mum’s pudding recipe in a cupcake.  I haven’t yet met a person in my travels who doesn’t love a good cupcake.  I personally think it’s because it’s your very own little cake that isn’t made for  sharing that you just sink your teeth into and hopefully end up with frosting all over your face.  Sugary delights and my next mission is to perfect a cupcake with slightly less sugar – not impossible I’m sure – but  I’m yet to made a serious crack of trying!

So that’s my Top 10  – looking back on it I can see how my life’s travels and the people I’ve met have heavily influenced my eating preferences.  That was quite fun actually and full of good memories.

If you’re interested in doing your Top 10 and having it published on this blog get in touch and we can make a plan.

Eventually I aim to share more recipes and travel stories through this blog based on more people’s food fabric stories so I hope you enjoy and watch the fabric unfold

GG