sartoric

Duck salad. Inspired by @Captains meal I threw together this salad. The half a roast duck came from the local Chinese butcher, also included were lots of leaves, julienned snow peas, cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, spring onion, chopped peanuts, radish sprouts and fried shallots. All moistened with a Thai style dressing featuring lime juice.

We went to a local street food market and bought two long sausages, one is spicy, one is very spicy (firewurst). In duck fat I sautéed some cooked small potatoes, onions and the cut up sausages. Shredded sauerkraut went on top, served with heaps of horseradish.

Trifle coming up I think with custard and cream. If there is a next time, I'll definitely be using a different recipe. Thanks for all your suggestions

I've looked, but the search engine and I don't get on. I followed this recipe http://vst.to/SvrsUMj the result is dry and crumbly. Top notch ingredients went into the mix. I've only cut off a small piece to try it. Any ideas ? Thanks from a novice brownie baker....

Roast pumpkin, blue cheese and walnut pasta, served with a salad and olive sourdough.

Was it good ? If so, where is it please ?

Pan fried snapper fillets with salsa verde. Served with a salad of chat potatoes, asparagus, tiny tomatoes, rocket and spinach, dressed with salsa verde/yoghurt mix.

Indian feast again, a continuing theme. This time a chicken saag, chickpea & pumpkin curry, spicy fried eggplant, steamed rice, parathas, tomato chutney, green mango pickle and cucumber raita.

The bananas fluctuate in price, high if a cyclone hits up north. It's not so much tariffs that makes the price high relative to say the US, but rather disease control. All are bananas are grown in Australia. Cavendish are about $3 kg at the moment, my favourite lady fingers are double that. Yes, we can get finger limes at farmers markets. Star fruit don't taste of much, they're the shiritake noodle of the fruit world edit to add - I've heard of quandongs but not snowberries. Haven't seen either.

Here in my part of Oz (sub tropical) we've had abundant pineapples and mangoes. Bananas are always available, stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, plums etc are tailing off. I was given 30 or so green mangoes two weeks ago. Some ripened and were eaten, some ripened and were turned into chutney, some greenies were turned into a fiery South Indian pickle...this was a full jar.

What's in the fridge minestrone with "pizza" toasties.

Indian vegetarian feast. Sweet and sour chickpeas, pumpkin curry, basmati rice, parathas, fresh tomato chutney, spring onion & mint raita. Host's note: for more delicious inspiration, please see the next segment: Dinner 2017 (Part 3)

A grainy mustard mayo. It was delicious !

Fish and chips, by the seaside in northern NSW.

@Anna N, the packaging is in the bin, but it definitely said spatchcock. Funnily enough, the packaging also recommended spatchcocking the birds ! Anyway, @blue_dolphinhas confirmed the terms use. They were yummy little suckers !

Roast spatchcock, potatoes, beetroot and asparagus. Served with a sauce of sherry and pan juices.

Bacon and mushroom risotto with a green salad and toasted sourdough.

Japanese style udon noodle soup with chicken and egg.

While it's fresh in the memory ....Himalayan chilli pork. Served with sautéed cabbage and beet greens, steamed rice, paratha and my green mango pickle.

They don't use miso paste in Assam, rather an indigenous bean paste. This is one of the substitutes that Kade uses when not able to source the original ingredient. Australia has very strict quarantine rules. All food has to be declared on arrival, an indeterminate brown pasty type thing would almost certainly be confiscated.

Not specifically. I suspect there would be a reason. He explained many things about the way of life in his village. People eat largely what they grow or raise, and make use of traditional medicines, herbs and oils. They are very spiritual (animist) and enjoy excellent longevity.

Chinese takeaway from our local restaurant. They make a great chicken chow mein using whatever veggies are in season and cheap. This one had zucchini, green beans, cabbage, carrots and bean sprouts. I love their crunchy fried noodles, and we always get a large special fried rice - it has red cooked pork, prawns, chicken bits, egg and spring onions. The previous night I zoomed off to the country house of a friend of a friend for a Himalayan cooking class. Details are tacked on to my "food tour through India" in the India dining section.

A Himalayan cooking class - led by Kade from Assam state in the north east corner of India. Snacks of fried pumpkin skin, eggplant and pumpkin shoots. Kade slices the green striped pumpkin skin into matchsticks and deep fries in rice bran and mustard oil until crispy. The eggplant slices were dipped in a thin batter and fried. The handfuls of pumpkin leaves and shoots were fried briefly and drained on paper. Momos. In mustard oil, sauté 5 cloves of garlic, pierced with a thumb nail, a big slice of ginger, lots of sliced cabbage, small bits of chopped chicken, grated carrot, red miso paste, pepper, soy, sesame seeds, bay leaves, Mangal brand spice mix (turmeric, roasted cloves, green cardamom, coriander, chillies, garlic, cumin, ginger, pepper, mango powder, nutmeg and mace). The dough is plain flour, cold water and salt. The trick is to use many hands, thereby developing the gluten. Pass the bowl around so everyone kneads, keep going until the dough is really stretchy. Pinch off a small amount, roll into a ball, then pinch edges to make a circle and use palms to flatten to paper thin. Add filling, and seal edges to make a money bag shape, twist. Steam for 10 minutes and serve with a dollop of sambal olek. Chilli chicken.We make a batter with plain flour, garam masala, Mangal brand spice mix (chicken tikka masala variety), leaving it lumpy and the consistency of tempura, then add chopped chicken breast. Deep fry bits in rice bran oil, mustard oil and a bay leaf without crowding.To make the sauce, slice onions, green or red capsicum, then saute with lots of ginger, one clove of garlic ( roughly pounded together) and brown sugar, cook until onions are translucent. Add soy, a little abc (sweet soy) sauce, a pinch of baking powder and pepper. Combine the sauce and chicken, serve with rice.This is suitable for all meats, no need to batter say pork or beef. During the demo, which could be hands on or not as you preferred, Kade imparted food philosophy from his home region, hints, tips and substitutes for impossible to find items (like miso paste). All the vegetables were organically grown in his garden. The cook. It's forbidden to taste while you cook. So taste with your nose ! The beautiful countryside.

Baby spinach omelette with eggs laid yesterday by free roaming, happy chooks.

Corn and zucchini fritters with tzatziki and a mixed salad. The salad comprises leaves, mango, toasted macadamias and tiny tomatoes with a preserved lemon dressing.