eG Foodblog: Misgabi - An Australian's week

[Squeat Mungry]

I also assume none [no berries] are native to Australia?

Why do you assume that, Squeat?

Well, mainly because I'm completely ignorant about Australian flora, I guess. However, I meant "I assume none [of the mentioned berries, because I think of them as European and/or North American] are native to Australia. Again, because of the complete ignorance.

[misgabi]

Dessert was called "walk in the black forest" and consisted of berry ice cream (could taste rasberry, blackberry, strawberry and blueberry I think) really thick and creamy served with fresh berries (same as listed which may have made me think I was tasting them all!!)

Misgabi,

Thanks for a fascinating blog! I'm curious about the berries. I assume these are Australian-grown berries you're talking about? I also assume none are native to Australia? It's early spring there now, correct? Are the berries in season?

By the way, I was taking the piss (if, again, my assumptions are correct -- this is not a common Americanism in the assumed sense) about the revolving restaurants. I'm pretty sure the one at the Hyatt here in San Francisco goes counterclockwise, but it's been a while.

Thanks again for the blog and, er, go Melbourne!(?)

Cheers,

Squeat

Edited: those g's look just like q's when they're underlined in the eGullet font!

We have fresh berries in the shop at the moment (think they are grown in Queensland or Northern Territory). I purchased really good rasberries on the weekend. Whilst not native to Australia are really good!! I assume we have some sort of bush food equivalent of these berries but just cannot go past a plate of fresh berries (native or not) with King Island double cream . Anyway, things don't necessarily need to be native for us to eat them (otherwise I would be living on kangaroo, pepperberry, witchetty grubs (sp) [yes I have eaten then - taste like scrambled eggs in a really WRONG way or goanna). I am glad that here in Australian we seem to be able to get food from just about anywhere in the world.

Yes, I think you get what taking the piss means!!! If the SF revolving restaurant goes counterclockwise and and the aussie one goes clockwise - does that prove the water down the plughole theory???

[misgabi]

I also assume none [no berries] are native to Australia?

Why do you assume that, Squeat?

Well, mainly because I'm completely ignorant about Australian flora, I guess. However, I meant "I assume none [of the mentioned berries, because I think of them as European and/or North American] are native to Australia. Again, because of the complete ignorance.

Sorry if I sounded condescending - put it down to the vast amount of alcohol I have consumed today (just suprised my spelling isn't worse )

Australian being so huge we have really varied weather. For example whist this week it has been 19 degrees (66.2F) here - remember this is spring. In Darwin over winter it does not drop much below 29 degrees (84.2F) so they can grow many things we, further down south, cannot. And of course we have "stolen" the best of produce around the world and claim it as our own

[Squeat Mungry]

Thanks again, Misgabi!

I really didn't mean to imply that there were no berries in Australia! In fact, those pepperberries sound wonderful, and I am intensely curious about lemon myrtle! My understanding is that, much like here in California (only on an even grander scale), Australia provides a very diverse growing region for many different types of food from all over the planet, which is a marvelous (though mixed) blessing.

Yes, I think you get what taking the piss means!!! If the SF revolving restaurant goes counterclockwise and and the aussie one goes clockwise - does that prove the water down the plughole theory???

I'm fairly certain this theory has been thoroughly debunked (which is pretty much why I took the piss in the first place).

Anyway, thanks again for the great blog!

Cheers,

Squeat

[Shiewie]

This is a really fun blog, misgabi. What with the time difference, I hope you don't get discouraged about the replies. Look at the "views" statistics.

Tell us more about native pepperberry!

Thanks fifi - was just thinking I might be boring everyone - especially after shiewies exotic sounding blog.

misgabi - your foodblog is far from boring.

My Australian food experience has generally been seriously good (apart from college food! ) and you're definitely confirming it. I would love to have some luscious fresh berries drowned in Kind Island cream right now.

[Squeat Mungry]

Misgabi, you didn't sound condescending at all to me. We cross-posted, and said pretty much the same thing. My slightly defensive post, however, was intended for Pan.

Anyway, this is a thoroughly delightful blog!

Squeat

[misgabi]

Misgabi, you didn't sound condescending at all to me. We cross-posted, and said pretty much the same thing. My slightly defensive post, however, was intended for Pan.

Anyway, this is a thoroughly delightful blog!

Squeat

Thanks Squeat!

Have been forced to post by my soon to be dining companions who wanted to know what was going on.

I have made (but not personally eaten) spinach and fetta triangles (in filo) and tiny, tiny samosas. Also, just for a change a huge cheese plate including my favourite King Island cheeses.

Unfortunately for me they are now saying we should not go out for dinner but that I should cook something based only on what is in my panty and fridge/freezer) [should I tell them about the 3kg of tiger prawns in my second, very secret, fridge????

Will let you know the outcome!!

PS: glad people are not bored!

[Squeat Mungry]

Okay, now I am thoroughly jealous and wish I was in the lovely springtime southern hemisphere!

Spinach and feta triangles! Mini-samosas! and Roaring-40s cheese!

Enjoy!

Squeat

[misgabi]

Thanks Squeat

Okay, now I am thoroughly jealous and wish I was in the lovely springtime southern hemisphere!

Spinach and feta triangles! Mini-samosas! and Roaring-40s cheese!

Enjoy!

Squeat

And I thought everyone in the USA was looking forward to fall!!

I believe we are spoilt here. We seem to get the best of everywhere plus our own fabulous food. I know I grumble about living in the country but we still have it fairly good.

What is the variety like where you are? All I know of SF is that it is where Charmed is set - and am fairly sure that is nowhere true to life!!!

People here have told me they have phoned my favourite restaurant and they are fine with us not turning up (apparently and huge number of walk in patrons on Melbourne Cup eve - if fact said we would be "doing them a favour as they might get new regulars instead of us old regulars") I think that I wouldn't mind cooking dinner but really, really want the dessert I was going to have of white chocolate spring rolls with rasberry dipping sauve (see squeak - even the restaurants have rasberries!!! )

Will let you know (but hubby is firing up the humungous 6 burner BBQ) - can you tell we BBQ alot!!!!!!

We have just had the deck extended and the new BBQ put in. We are having a ceiling fan put in next week and the electrician is coming to put in lights. We love eating outside and, due to so many months being conducive to outside eating we make the most of it (shrimp or no shrimp!!)

[Pan]

Misgabi, you didn't sound condescending at all to me. We cross-posted, and said pretty much the same thing. My slightly defensive post, however, was intended for Pan.

Sorry if I caused any offense.

[Squeat Mungry]

And I thought everyone in the USA was looking forward to fall!!

I believe we are spoilt here.  We seem to get the best of everywhere plus our own fabulous food.  I know I grumble about living in the country but we still have it fairly good.

What is the variety like where you are? All I know of SF is that it is where Charmed is set - and am fairly sure that is nowhere true to life!!!

Wow, I have never seen Charmed (that's a movie, right?), but actually we are very blessed here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Right now we have beautiful persimmons, figs, pomegranates (I can't be bothered to look up the spelling for that right now...I am self-medicating myself through a fall cold with some old-fashioned scotch and insomnia), the last of the basil and tomatoes which we are frantically putting up for the winter... on and on. Even off season we can get imported produce from the southern part of the state.

Squash and pumpkin of course are au courant, but like you said, we are spoilt here, too. Our farmer's market is the envy of the nation, the French Laundry is up the road, and Chez Panisse is just across the bay.

That said, I am doubly envious of your deck and grill. I am but a poor city boy with only a humble balcony I use to grow kitchen herbs.

We have had some unseasonably warm weather, with a recent very sharp change. Last week it was in the 90's fahrenheit and today I believe the high was around 55 (I would convert but see above about scotch and insomnia). So we are bracing for the rains.

Anyway, please continue to report as you will be a boost to me through the gloomy season!

Thanks altogether for the charming and informative blog!

Cheers to you and your mates,

Squeat

PS I was going to ask a favor (or favour): would you mind including what day and time it is in your posts? It makes it quite convenient to not have to consult a chart for this, and I can't readily tell from the eGullet timestamps. (Now it is 1:14 am Tuesday morning, the 4th.) No big deal if you don't, but it makes it all the more interesting for one who has travelled some, but not much!

[Squeat Mungry]

Misgabi, you didn't sound condescending at all to me. We cross-posted, and said pretty much the same thing. My slightly defensive post, however, was intended for Pan.

Sorry if I caused any offense.

Pan,

Not at all... I was just trying to sort out the confusion caused by the cross-postings. I hope I explained my assumptions about the berries!

Cheers,

Squeat

[misgabi]

And I thought everyone in the USA was looking forward to fall!!

I believe we are spoilt here.  We seem to get the best of everywhere plus our own fabulous food.  I know I grumble about living in the country but we still have it fairly good.

What is the variety like where you are?   All I know of SF is that it is where Charmed is set - and am fairly sure that is nowhere true to life!!!

Wow, I have never seen Charmed (that's a movie, right?), but actually we are very blessed here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Right now we have beautiful persimmons, figs, pomegranates (I can't be bothered to look up the spelling for that right now...I am self-medicating myself through a fall cold with some old-fashioned scotch and insomnia), the last of the basil and tomatoes which we are frantically putting up for the winter... on and on. Even off season we can get imported produce from the southern part of the state.

Squash and pumpkin of course are au courant, but like you said, we are spoilt here, too. Our farmer's market is the envy of the nation, the French Laundry is up the road, and Chez Panisse is just across the bay.

That said, I am doubly envious of your deck and grill. I am but a poor city boy with only a humble balcony I use to grow kitchen herbs.

We have had some unseasonably warm weather, with a recent very sharp change. Last week it was in the 90's fahrenheit and today I believe the high was around 55 (I would convert but see above about scotch and insomnia). So we are bracing for the rains.

Anyway, please continue to report as you will be a boost to me through the gloomy season!

Thanks altogether for the charming and informative blog!

Cheers to you and your mates,

Squeat

PS I was going to ask a favor (or favour): would you mind including what day and time it is in your posts? It makes it quite convenient to not have to consult a chart for this, and I can't readily tell from the eGullet timestamps. (Now it is 1:14 am Tuesday morning, the 4th.) No big deal if you don't, but it makes it all the more interesting for one who has travelled some, but not much!

My deck and grill are indeed the envy of all

At the moment it is 8.27pm on tuesday 04 November 2003. I am being forced to cook for ten (10 people) even in my drunken state. I will report in the morning if I have been sucessful.

Squeat - Charmed be a really tacky TV show!!! mmmmmmmmmmmm figs!! my favourite ever fruit. Grilled with KI roaring 40's mmmmmmmmm

Tell us abut SF

[gsquared]

What happened to the tiger prawns? Are those the 6 to a Kg babies?

[bloviatrix]

Reading about the native spices and herbs, I'm thinking about taking advantage of my friends who just moved back home to Sydney. What should I request they send me?

[misgabi]

Dinner went well. If not the most cohesive meal ever it all disappeared very quickly.

We did BBQ the prawns, squeezing fresh limes over them. I made a dipping sauce of lime juice, fish sauce and chillies as well as good old "seafood cocktail" sauce (mayonnaise, tomato sauce & worstershire). We had scotch fillets in the fridge so they went on the barbie too. Made a huge salad of greens, tomato, red onion and red capsicum with a balsamic vinigarette.

We steamed coliban potatoes cut into quarters and then deep fried those. Had fresh corn cobs in the fridge so wrapped them in foil with some butter and baked in the oven.

The leftover lasagne from the other night was finished off as well as the garlic bread I had made last week and put in the freezer. I made a cheats tabhouli (sp?) using cous cous, red onion, tomatos, mint and lots of parsley with lemon juice.

We had the ubiquitous beetroot (from a tin) and I threw together a couple of tins of 3 bean mix, added onion and "fathers favourite" dark sauce.

Not content with eating me out of house an home they then demanded dessert!! I made the "sticky toffee pudding" out of Nigella's cookbook (the one where you put the boiling water on top just before it goes in the oven) but doubled the amount of dates. This was served with, of course, King Island double cream.

We all drank far too much but had a very enjoyable evening - ending with me being thrown in the spa as a special thank you for doing the cooking

It is now 7.30am on Wednesday morning and I am at work with a Berrocca fizzing away beside me - ahhh breakfast.

[Squeat Mungry]

misgabi, who ARE these people?

"Oh let's cancel the reservations and make misgabi cook us dinner! That was great, where's our pudding? Wasn't that good? Let's throw her in the water!"

These folks must have some pretty outstanding redeeming qualities!

Glad you had a good time...it all sounds delicious! Keep it coming and thanks!

Squeat

PS Revealing my total culinary ignorance, I have never heard of a scotch fillet. What is?

[herbacidal]

Not content with eating me out of house an home they then demanded dessert

they must be damm good friends.

[Tam]

Love the links you are providing to your native foods, enjoy all the specific info. Great blog. A few questions though:

What is "father's favorite" dark sauce?

What is Barroca (a soda/pop/carbonated beverage)?

Is your deck/BBQ enclosed? What is the fan for?

Am jealous of your weather. We are sitting at -5C/20F with about 10cm/5" of snow in western Canada. Sounds like you are having a lovely week. I would also like to emphasize the time zone difference: I am following all entries. Keep up the great news.

[misgabi]

misgabi, who ARE these  people?

"Oh let's cancel the reservations and make misgabi cook us dinner! That was great, where's our pudding? Wasn't that good? Let's throw her in the water!"

These folks must have some pretty outstanding redeeming qualities!

Glad you had a good time...it all sounds delicious! Keep it coming and thanks!

Squeat

PS Revealing my total culinary ignorance, I have never heard of a scotch fillet. What is?

They do have some redeeming qualities!! At least they supplied lots of excellent wine. This sort of thing happens quite often (not always at our house) and those in our group who do not cook will NEVER let us pay for a meal out to make up for all our hard work.

Scotch fillet beef cuts is just a cut of beef. Can be cooked whole as a roast or cut into steaks. We buy them whole and just cut them up if we need to. cooking suggestion

[ronnie_suburban]

Not content with eating me out of house an home they then demanded dessert

they must be damm good friends.

No doubt...if the same thing happened to me, I'd never invite the perpetrators back

=R=

[misgabi]

Love the links you are providing to your native foods, enjoy all the specific info.  Great blog.  A few questions though:

What is "father's favorite" dark sauce?

What is Barroca (a soda/pop/carbonated beverage)?

Is your deck/BBQ enclosed?  What is the fan for?

Am jealous of your weather.  We are sitting at -5C/20F with about 10cm/5" of snow in western Canada.  Sounds like you are having a lovely week.  I would also like to emphasize the time zone difference:  I am following all entries.  Keep up the great news.

The deck is not enclosed. It has a roof on it and then latticed railings to about hip height. The BBQ is in the far corner with the spa in the other. The ceiling fan is to move the air around in summer when it gets a bit warm here.

Father's favourite is a dark sauce (a bit like HP sauce) very thick with an undertone of worstershire sauce.

Berocca is very effective against hangovers. You drop a couple of the tablets in a large glass of water and they fizz berocca when the fizzing is over you drink and, hopefully, feel better.

[Suzy]

And I thought everyone in the USA was looking forward to fall!!

If only we had fall. It's 85 degrees today, with very high humidity in small town Virginia.

Halloween night was 70+ degrees, no kids had coats on, even. I'm really wishing for real fall weather.

[herbacidal]

They do have some redeeming qualities!!  At least they supplied lots of excellent wine.  This sort of thing happens quite often (not always at our house) and those in our group who do not cook will NEVER let us pay for a meal out to make up for all our hard work. 

okay, well i suppose they're not heathens then.

their heads and hearts are somewhat acceptable.

not worth slicing off and eating.

[Pan]

Scotch fillet beef cuts is just a cut of beef.  Can be cooked whole as a roast or cut into steaks.  We buy them whole and just cut them up if we need to.  cooking suggestion

The cooking suggestion and some of the things you're putting in your barbecue sauce show an Asian influence in Australian cuisine, which doesn't surprise me.

Incidentally, I don't know what HP sauce is, but I got the general idea from your description.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't Australians drink beer often? Do you all use beer in cooking much, like the Belgians do (boeuf a la flamande, e.g.)?