sartoric

@heidihwe’ve become mad seed savers. I have tomato seeds, butternut pumpkin, corn, apricots and various other little dishes of seeds scattered around drying. The passion fruit might not need an understory, we want to take advantage of the enclosure and improved soil. Trying to make every square inch count !

Pretty sure your comment is tongue in cheek, but seriously, imagine trying to skin a flying fox or possum. Err, I’ll have the lentils thanks.

Hard to see in the photo, but we have strung wire between the stakes for them to grow along. Good idea about salad dressing !

It was 2 years ago when we talked about retiring to the countryside in an effort to become as self sustainable as possible. We bought the property around 12 months ago, and finally moved permanently 6 weeks ago. The abundant fruit trees, raised veggie beds, a chicken run, frog pond and spring fed water supply were all factors that made this property attractive to us. One of the first improvements we made was to install a 25,000 litre rain water tank. Australia is currently experiencing a drought, and although we are in a high rainfall area, rain over the past 12 months has been less than average and brown is the predominant colour in the landscape. Here’s the mango tree, I reckon there’s about 40 mangoes and they should ripen in a few weeks. The netting is to prevent the critters from getting the fruit before we do. Lots of mango chutney coming up! These mandarins are sweet and juicy little things. We’re not big jam eaters, so any ideas for alternative uses would be awesome. In the foreground are a tamarind grown from seed which will go in the ground soon, and a curry leaf tree which will stay in a pot. These are two golden passion fruit, received as a housewarming gift and planted last February. We’ll plant an understory in here soon, any suggestions ? All the garden beds and the chook run were completely overrun by weeds. Gradually, (when it’s cool enough) we’ve been weeding, improving the soil and planting seeds. This bed has okra, eggplant, unpronounceable Chinese vegetable, gross lisse tomatoes, Madagascar beans, radish, lettuce, cucumber, beetroot and kale. We also have both white and black mulberry trees, two different orange trees, a lemon, a lime, a kaffir lime, a cumquat, a peach, a jaboticaba, an avocado, an olive tree, two papaya, a lemon myrtle (Australian native), a pomegranate and several bananas. We moved with many large pots brought from our previous city home, a tamarind, a native tamarind, a Davidson’s plum (another native), two curry leafs, two bay trees, a lime, a Meyer lemon and six pineapple (one of which has a nearly ripe fruit). Then there’s the bunya pine (small hand for scale). These cones can weigh up to 10 kilos and seriously hurt if you’re unlucky enough to have one fall on you. This is bush tucker food, the nuts are roasted and ground to make flour for bread. Guarantee there’s other uses I don’t know about yet. I’ve never been much of a gardener but I’m learning !

Wow, thanks for this @KennethT. We have only been to NZ once despite the fact it’s only a 3 hour flight away for us. The lower part of the South Island is on the cards for us sometime in the future. Your photos are wonderful. Oh, and a good sausage roll is a thing of beauty. I used to get ones made with grated carrots and minced pork, highly seasoned and with flaky pastry, yum. They are never great when cold @Okanagancookthanks for your additional beautiful photos.

Our last day in Japan is a long transit one. We take a bus to Osaka airport, to fly to Narita, where, with several hours to spare we grab a train to Narita town, then return for a quick bite and last minute shopping before our 8 hour overnight flight home. There was still food to tick off the list... At Kyoto airport a sushi train where you ordered via iPad on your table, or took a plate off the conveyor. Finally some eel and okay we’d had lots of sashimi, more the better. In a little local bar in Narita town there was Japanese curry on the menu. OMG, we hadn’t had one of those ! Fixed. Typical really, this last quick bite at Narita airport was the worst meal of the trip. A bit of tempura and udon noodle soup. Lucky I had snacks for the flight. That’s a wrap for Japan ! Such an amazing country, cool people, fantastic food, interesting architecture and culture. I’m sure we’ll return.

Kyoto station is incredible. Apart from the efficient trains, there’s an eleven level mall attached selling anything you could want to buy, countless eateries, a train museum and brilliant people watching. We found Ramen Street (floor 10 I think) where you pay for your selection of dishes at a vending machine outside the restaurant. They’re very easy to use, have an English option and someone available to help if needed. This particular ramen restaurant uses a recipe from the northern part of Japan with a cold climate. Fascinating to read and follow the printed instructions. Mark had pork, mine was vegetarian. The instructions. Interior, small but carefully crafted. A small basket is provided under the table for your handbag, shopping, camera etc. Looking down towards the banks of escalators which descend in a straight line to ground level. While travelling down and looking up - the roof. Kyoto is a fascinating city. We didn’t need these potsticker dumplings, but they were there !

So the lovely people at EG posted my Tasting Sri Lanka report on Facebook today. That prompted me to revisit it, and realise that these food reports are a great way to relive my trip. Never did finish Japan....so here goes. This isikaya was literally on the corner of our hotels street, less than 20 meters away. Grilled on a hibachi - quail eggs, shiitake mushrooms with daikon, roasted garlic and some fried chicken. We stayed in Kyoto for 5 nights, it was good to get to know our hood. This place had an open mic night for local musicians. And pretty good ramen. I had a number of items on my “must try” list. One was yakiniku where you grill your own food, although we sat at the bar where a genial waiter did it for us. This place was recommended by hotel reception, who weren’t to know I try to avoid meat. The only thing on the menu was beef, admittedly every part of the cow, stomach, heart, testicles ALL of it. Oh well. We did enjoy it (guilty face) but had to politely decline an invitation to return with some other people we’d met at our hotel. The sides were great and that looks like a glass of white wine rather than sake. Not organ meat. Note big blob of fat to grease the griddle.

So a few weeks ago my birthday present was a sourdough workshop. This is loaf number 3, the best one yet. Here it is sliced with olive oil to dip. Served with fettuccine slathered in pesto (holy basil, garlic, almonds and parmesan) and roasted cherry tomatoes. I’m excited about this sourdough thing. The dough works really well as a type of naan bread too. My sourdough starter brings me joy.

Sorry, no. There’s comparisons online which show various different palak paneer including his, but no recipes. I keep borrowing this book from the library, one day they might give it to me, ha ha. The thing I liked the most was the method - fry whole spices, add aromatics, add ground spices, fry the cheese, then tomato, add chopped spinach and yoghurt. Takes about 20 minutes.

The best ever spinach paneer. I like this dish and have cooked it many times using different recipes. This one from Rick Steins India is the simplest and creamiest (despite using no cream). It’s cooked in one pan, no blenders involved. I may never try another version. Served here with rice, paratha, cucumber raita, black lentils and mango pickle.

Yep, but, ya know, while I’m there may as well have a good look around. I’d probably allow two months for a trip to Canada, surely I could squeeze Newfie in ?

I’ve just come across this and binge read the lot. Great photos and food. Canada is on my list. If I get that far I’ll surely have to include Newfoundland. Thanks Elsie.

Fair enough. I might be heading to the South Island in February, for what would be only my second visit to our close neighbour. I haven’t been to Otago, or further south than Christchurch (yet) and that was pre earthquake, so my recommendations would be outdated, but I hope it’s warm and welcoming Thanks again for sharing your Indonesia adventure x

Thanks KennethT, always good to see your photos and drool. No alcohol ? Even in your hotels ?? Where to next ?

Ha ha, actual chicken is much cheaper....depending on the cut it can be as low as $3 per kilo.

A slight digression, there’s a new product here in Australia called Sunfed chicken free chicken. It was developed and tested in the New Zealand market and proved very popular, hence it’s launch in Oz. I tried it last week, making a creamy mushroom sauce to bathe it, with mash potatoes and garlic spinach alongside. My mistake was adding the “not chicken” into the sauce, rather I should have served it up and poured the sauce on top. During pan time the pea protein absorbed all the sauce. It tasted like chicken and the texture was like shredded chicken. The only downside was the price, $10 for 300 grams.

Literally 20 meters around the corner from our hotel was a bar called Bond. I kid you not. It’s a standing bar, no seats, just small tables to lean against with very fresh and tasty snacks. It became our regular, being such a handy spot to stop for a cleansing ale after a long day touring around. We got stuck here a few times. Shared sashimi platter Tempura whitebait and cant remember vegetable. Tempura prawn, squid and pickled ginger In my best Scottish brogue....Bond, bar Bond.

The market in Kyoto was larger and even more crowded than Kanazawa, with many more foreign tourists ignoring the “Do not eat and walk”. You are supposed to eat whatever you bought, at the stall you bought it from, even if that means standing in a tight space. We returned to this market more than once. Tasty things on sticks Pickled everything (taken before I noticed the no photos sign, apologised profusely, accepted gracefully). There are hundreds of restaurants within the market precinct. We chose this one, udon noodles with tempura prawns for me Chicken with noodles and leeks for him On a subsequent visit fried bean curd Someone got to try a fresh sea urchin, $20 well spent, you can taste the ozone. Matcha ice cream, love this.

But wait, there’s more ! We spent 5 nights in Kyoto, a charming city which is definitely on the return list. This local isakaya specialises in okonomiyaki, or Japanese pizza as the owner laughingly referred to it. I want one of these giant grills ! We we had a little chicken to start... Then the okonomiyaki itself, topped with dancing shaved bonito. The outside of isakaya were easy to spot with the red lanterns signalling “open”. That didn’t always mean we’d get a seat.

Well I’m on board, thanks for posting @Bhukhhad. We don’t really eat breakfast unless away travelling. Having said that, I have made poha as a side for a mix of curries, and also chickpea flour pancakes. Both delicious. Home cooking is something I’m passionate about, even more so if it’s Indian. I read a book once written by woman who advertised on Craigslist (or similar) for in home cooking lessons with Indian women. She was Canadian I think, provided the ingredients and a small fee in exchange for the lesson. I wanted to make that happen here, but stuff got in the way. So, I for one, will welcome your home style recipes with much joy.

It’s just like a skillet but with only a tiny lip. Great for omelettes too. I think my pan at the cottage might be warped a bit, the breads took on more colour in the middle, it should have colour all over. Yes, they puff up gloriously.

While I’m on a roll, this is a vegetable curry I made down at our country cottage last weekend. Similar to “what’s in the fridge” minestrone, I used whatever veggies I had (potatoes, cauliflower and tomatoes) and after cooking them with some typical Indian flavourings, added in some leftover “everyday okra” and leftover panchmael dal. This may be a mortal sin to the purists, but we really enjoyed it with raita, pickle and the easiest bread I’ve found. It’s like a cross between naan and chapatti, moist and delicious. To make 6, mix 250g flour (I use atta with a little plain flour), 2 tsps baking powder, a pinch of salt and 250 g plain yoghurt. Knead for a minute or so, divide, roll into 15 cm circles and throw onto a hot tava. Brush with ghee if you’re feeling decadent. This bread doesn’t look the best, I don’t have a proper tava at the cottage, so made do with a fry pan. Here’s a better piece of bread.

I’m lazy and mostly use tamarind concentrate. Having said that, we have a tamarind tree. It’s only small and in a pot, but once it gets planted out in Spring and starts producing, I guess I’ll have to use it.

I borrowed a book from the library - Vegetarian Tajine & Couscous by Ghillie Basan. Here’s the chickpea and spinach tajine with turmeric and ginger couscous, flatbreads and a cucumber, dill and onion salad. I think I’m going to be breaking my “no new cookbooks” embargo.