fou de Bassan

FFB, This has been a fabulous blog! Thanks for taking the time. I don't get to check in as often as I once did, but I surely enjoyed it.

These pages accumulate quite quickly! I've been reading with a growling stomach! Oh, the meat and fish counters and the column of bananas! We don't see columns here, just scattered bunches. But, mmmm, that dessert. Heavens above. I had to wipe the lick marks off my screen! thanks

Gifted Gourmet has it exactly right. Cyclone Larry ripped through Queensland earlier this year destroying most of the banana plantations and driving the cost of bananas to between 16 and20 dollars a kilo. Sorry for the interruption. I think I lived on chipwiches and their ilk as a child. Lovely, sticky memories. Thanks

Fabulous food babe, I'm glad to see you blogging, I have admired your shoes from afar. I'd love to know how the renovation process is going for you. If you go with the banana dessert, please take a picture and post it as buying bananas here requires most of your child's college fund.

I love our Weber. The web site for australia is www.weberbbq.com.au. The site is pretty navigable. Let us know what you get. If your municipal hard refuse collection is a while off, check with a local charity to see if they need it. Clubs like the the Lions are always having sausage sizzles. They'll probably be thrilled to pick it up.

Oh my gracious! I go away for a little while and look what I miss, WOW! All the kitchens are envy-worthy but the La Canche stove just makes me drool! Dave, I love the Mansard windows in your kitchen, they call to mind the doors in Alice in Wonderland. We'll be moving in a couple of weeks and smacking in new appliances immediately. Finances will determine what happens after that. Thanks for the photos everyone.

I would be seriously interested in this as we are considering a kitchen reno ourselves. Did your contacts renovate all in one go or bit by bit? Love the sculpture on top of the cabinets!

Diggers stocks seeds. Not sure about seedlings. If I can find their number I'll pm it to you. As an afterthought, it might be far for you to drive there.

I'm pretty sure I saw smoked fish in the Springvale markets last week. It wasn't on my list so I can't say what was smoked. If you are close you might give it a shot.

Adam, Thanks for the link, they will soon recieve my order! I have seen Weber kettle grills here and you can buy smokers although to my mind they are overpriced. We use a Weber gas grill with a smoker box. (We brought this with us from the States)

Randi, I'm glad you're blogging again, I truly enjoyed your first blog. I envy you your Penzey's shipments. Now that we live Oz, I can't just drive there and pick up stuff which is a bummer. Pookie, welcome to blogging and thanks for taking the time. Both of you have adorable pets!

Adam, I can answer 2 questions. 1. No chiles, nowhere to be found, at least not fresh. I thinkthere are some places selling seeds if you want to grow your own. And I've seen some dried at casa iberica. 2. Buy books there!!! Ship'em over here and read at leisure. I can't answer to the food trends although I have been seeing an awful lot of offal lately. An American -style indirect smoke barbecue? I'm American and I have no idea what this is. A smoker?

Your scones look scrumptious! I completely missed the last blog and so am happy to come in at the the beginning of yours. Is the lavender from your garden? It's beautiful

YES!!!!! The shoes!! I will be making those bacon and peanut butter blondies, by the way. Truly, you are an arbiter of taste.

Oh, my heavens! Your dessert looks fabulous! and completely off topic, so do your SHOES!

Aphra, If you are near a T2 store, or anywhere that stocks their products, I'd start there. They have nice, plain black tea that is perfect for an afternoon cuppa. If you live near an Asian market there will be untold choice. If you are nowhere near either of those then pm me and I'll send you some nice tea as it's terrible to be without. Kathryn

phlawless, a toddler, a local eating challenge anda blog... you are a very brave woman! Thanks for taking the time to share a bit of your life with us. I started making ketchup when my son was just about the age your daughter is now and am still making it 8 years later because both kids find it tastes so much better than the commercial stuff.

Your kitchen is wonderful!!! I love the UFO's too, and am suffering from severe outlet envy! Re the iPod, if you can get the undermounted player I would do so. We have the Bose dock and use a separate radio. I would love to have the two together.

goatjunky, I've never had a problem with worms in my olives. I am a relative newbie to olive curing however, so this may be more common than I know. The olives I've been using are fairly large and so it is easy to spot a defect. Hope someone else can be of more help.

Lori, I missed the start of your blog (and the end of the last) but I wanted to say how much I'm enjoying it. Thanks for the wonderful photos! For what it's worth, cherries in Melbourne are $14.95 a kilo, about $7 a pound, but they aren't really in season since it's winter here.

Marcia, Oh what a lovely view you have from your back deck! And that bison jerky made my mouth water, I just wish we could get it over here. Thanks for blogging, I'm usually reading while the other hemispere is sleeping so it's nice to poke my head into your world for a bit. Kathryn

Old Foodie, sorry I haven't gotten back sooner with the quince recipe! Luckily sazji spoke up. My recipe is much like sazji's. The difference is that I peel and core the quinces and slice the flesh. I put the trimmings in the bottom of a pot and cover them with cheesecloth then I put the sliced flesh on top and cover all with water. Poach all of this until you just have that lovely rosy tint and lift the cheesecloth containing your (now) poached slices out of the pan. Then strain the cores and peels and proceed as usual. I like this because I get two results from one product, my inner cheapskate revels as I serve poussins with poached quince and wild figs for dinner, then have quince jelly on toast at breakfast the next morning. Thanks for your marmalde recipe, I will try it soon!

Congratulations! And good for the Food Network for taking a chance, I know you'll do eG ers proud. If you ever make it to Australia, we'd be pleased to show you around.

Mizducky, I'm so pleased you're blogging again! I really enjoyed the first blog and love the commentary. Is this weight loss plan of your own design? Did you combine elements of others or listen to what your body was saying to you first? What a beautiful harbor, thanks for the boat shot!

Sooo, Last night I made this wonderful lentil soup with tiny meatballs of spiced lamb. It was so good! And so very brown! And i thought, 'what could I add to change the brown? preserved lemon? nope, greek yoghurt? YES!' So I watched brown go to pale brown yuck. And pita on the side. how very colorful My children said 'Mom, it's good, but it's really brown'.