nickrey

Funny, I would have said galangal has a perfume scent. I'd never substitute one for the other, their sensory effects in cooking are poles apart.

When I went to Antarctica, the cook there told me that he was still using eggs from the previous summer. I suppose if your fresh food deliveries are around nine months apart, you need to adapt. I've forgotten how they stored them but suspect it was in the walk-in cold room.

Given all the gadgets in the last photo is it Andiesenji?

I rarely brine. Typically when contemplating adding salt during cooking, I think carefully about the other ingredients I'm adding to the dish. Capers in salt, olives, anchovies, bacon or pancetta, soy sauce, fish sauce, canned tomatoes, etc all have salt. If I'm using these, I typically won't add any more salt during cooking. At the end of cooking, I always taste and adjust, not only with salt but also with sour (vinegar, tamarind, etc), sweet, and piquant (hot), if appropriate. I think it comes from cooking Thai food with the balance of sweet, sour, salty, hot. I do salt water for cooking pasta because the pasta is the focus of the dish not the sauce. You should be able to eat the pasta unsauced and still appreciate it as a food: that means using salt. The sauce is a condiment not the main feature and it should be balanced within itself. Note that I differentiate between pasta (Italian) and noodles (Asian). I also salt onions while I am softening or browning them as I feel it gives a better result. My philosophy is that it is better to undersalt and adjust the seasoning just before serving rather than oversalt and have to lift the whole flavour profile to cover it up. Typically my palate seems to fit what most people enjoy and they do not use additional salt or pepper. Unless, of course, they are auto-condimenters who are going to shake or grind before tasting no matter what I do.

Harris Farms Broadway, of all places, right next to the loose salad mix..! I do know you can order it for delivery from this website, at $55 a kilo - in the 'Prices at farm gate' section (warning: terrifying website music and design) Thanks for the info. What were they on when they designed that website <shudder>?

How did you smoke the tomatoes? Sliced and smoked? Hot or cold smoke? Whole, hot smoked while I was smoking my bacon that morning. I cored the tomatoes but left the skin on, blitzed them in a food processor, strained them to make a puree and put it into a bowl in the refrigerator to cool down with the stem submerged in the puree to boost the tomato flavour.

I'm with most everyone else. Fried prawn shells are crunchy and delicious. They tend to be a bit chewy and get stuck in your teeth if they're boiled or otherwise prepared.

Where did you get the samphire? I've had my eye out for it but haven't seen it.

When I was a kid we used to catch squid from the jetty and sell them to the local store for use as bait. Now it's calamari and one of my favourite dishes.

Thanks Bruce. Hope you enjoy those new Thai dishes. Believe it or not I used to play lacrosse when I was growing up in Adelaide.

Thanks Heidi glad you liked it.

For an Australian Riesling, see if you can find one of these: Grosset Polish Hill; Jim Barry Watervale; Annie's Lane; Brian Barry Jud's Hill; Petaluma; Cardinham Estate; Claymore Estate Joshua Tree; Kilkanoon; Kanppstein Hand Picked; Leasingham Bin 7; Pikes; Skillogalee. If you can't find any of these by name, try Rieslings from the Clare Valley in SA; they're quite reliably good.

Thanks Peter. The topic of what seafood is called is a thesis all of its own. Seems things are known by different names all over the world. Even in our region there are multiple names for the same fish. Not liking seafood on a pizza? Maybe it's an extension of the much-reported Italian "proscription" of combining cheese and fish in the one dish.

Thanks Shalmanese. And thanks for giving a broader perspective from a different part of Sydney as someone visiting from overseas (albeit originally a native).

Thanks Chris. It's also been a chance for me to review the local food supply rather than take it for granted.

Despite the sometimes misleading propaganda on vacuum sealers and the time you can store food sealed with them, my strong recommendation would be not to exceed conventional storage times that you would apply to fresh foods. It would appear that your food is just going off and the bacteria are releasing gas. I'd go with your own conclusion and freeze it if you are not going to use it very promptly.

How long are you keeping the food in your refrigerator?

You are most welcome Erin. Memories especially of the cheese I suspect .

I made up a smoked tomato sorbet using, you guessed it ... smoked tomatoes ... for this dish.

Thanks, and thanks for your input as a fellow Sydneysider.

Thanks Chris, and thanks for your contributions.

I love Umami. During a discussion about this with a waiter at a local Japanese restaurant, he suggested I try Natto. Despite the texture, I love these. Interestingly, I have problems eating cooked, mushy peas. They are one of the few thing I don't eat and I'm sure that my aversion is due to the texture. Apart from those: Stringray, sea slug, seaweed, chicken feet, whatever. Bring it on!

It's now Sunday afternoon here. I have new found respect for the other eG food bloggers on top of my admiration for what they cooked. Before undertaking this, I simply did not realise how intense the blogging side is, particularly on top of full-time work. I hope you got some inspiration and ideas for your own cooking. Sorry there weren't more dishes that would fit the current food availability in the Northern hemisphere but perhaps you can save the dishes up for your own summer. If I'm invited back to do another blog, perhaps it can be in winter in our time zone. Thank you all very much for joining in on my week's food journey. I'm off to have a Scotch. This one is cask strength malt from Aberlour.

Lunch at Fourth Village with the kids today. This is what we ate: Smoked King fish, crispy pancetta, rocket, spring onions, with shaved parmesan. Ricotta and spinach ravioli, butter, sage and walnut sauce, with shaved parmesan. Nobile Pizza. White mozzaralle base, gorgonzola, smoked Italian speck, and truffle oil. Seafood Pizza. The food was enjoyed by all.

Cafe Latte is typically served in these glasses. It's an Italian thing. Thicker glass keeps the coffee warmer.