Favourite things: Weber Q and Cedar planks

I'm in love. With this:

My new BBQ (the perfect size for two people!)

Cedar planks (with teriyaki salmon, above, or snapper)

Corn 

Less popular:

It's presently too hot to be outside.  I'll be cooking inside with the air conditioning on tonight.

Hello, July! (It's Truffle Season.)

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you already know I'm excited.  July is the big month for Southern Hemisphere truffles, and I think I was born in July for this exact reason.  What do I want for my birthday?  Truffles, please!  Rubies are out (I was never really convinced about them), and truffle is officially my new birth stone.
Well, they do kind of look like rocks.



We celebrated the start of the season by popping in to visit the Madame, and picked up a little 13g Tasmanian treat.  Good friends were coming for dinner, and we wanted to surprise them.

To kick off the season, we served a small entree of fresh pasta (only homemade will do in this case) with butter, and grated truffle on top while it was still hot:


 

I love the way the tendrils of shaved truffle cling to the microplane - it needs a couple of sharp taps against the edge of the bowl from time to time.
The heat releases the smell from the truffle, and much time was spent savouring the smell before we remembered to eat!






Buttered bread helped us to clean our bowls and to finish off every last crumb of truffle!




We will return for more in coming weeks - and promise to share.

REAL Maple syrup!

 

We flew home to NZ recently to visit family, and my beautiful sister Kerryn picked up some maple syrup on her way through Canada for me.

There is no substitute for real maple syrup.  That is, syrup that comes from a tree.  In Canada. No artificial flavourings here.


Things I could use real maple syrup for:

• pouring over crepes or pancakes
• pouring on porridge in place of brown sugar
• a fine coating on carrots before roasting
• a fine coating on Brussels sprouts before coating (Kerryn insists that I'll never go back to my version)
• glazing ham
• drinking straight from the bottle

My favourite things: Georgie's Garlic

 

There is a stall* at the South Melbourne Market which has a fantastic range of potatoes and other root vegetables (onions, heirloom carrots...)   The staff are always friendly, and more than happy to offer advice on which kind of potato you need for the purpose you have in mind!
But my favourite thing is the garlic.  They peel off the outer layers so that you can see exactly what you are buying - big cloves, small cloves, or a bit of a mix - instead of waiting til you get home and finding it's the opposite of what you hoped for.  Such a simple thing to do, but it makes me smile every week.

*  OK, I looked it up because I know you can't just read my mind.  It's Georgie's Harvest Potatoes & Herbs, Stall 50 - you would find it outside, on Coventry Street, if you were so inclined.

 

2012: Things I love

I love cherries.  Just had to share that.  I'm eating as many of these as I can get my hands on - so far, best heated in the Marlborough sun (that's where good Sauvignon Blanc comes from, folks.  It was a good week.)
If you don't have sunshine, keep 'em on the bench (keep the majority of your supply in the fridge if it's hot, but keep a day's worth on the bench).  Berries, tomatoes, and stonefruit must be eaten warm.

Hope that 2012 finds you well, and hungry - I'll be serving up a few favourites over the coming months.  Please bear with me as I have a hell of a year coming up work-wise... and thanks for sticking with me through the past year and a half - I know I've been a bit erratic.