Random Eats in Tasmania

My blogging activity has been limited recently because I have just come back from a week in Tasmania.  Tim and I flew into Launceston, hired a car, and drove down the east coast and explored a few other places in between.  Tasmania is one of the most beautiful places you will ever see, as demonstrated by the photo at the top of this post.  It is a view of Launceston from Cataract Gorge.

Tasmania is as famous for its produce as its beauty, and we tried quite a bit of it while we were there.  I was disappointed that it wasn't berry season as there are a lot of berry farms, but there were plenty of other things to try.  Below are a few of the random things that I feasted on while travelling through Tasmania.

At Tombolo in Coles Bay, I had the most delicious BLT that I have ever had the privilege to eat:

We could smell the bacon cooking ages before the sandwich arrived, and the ingredients just came together to melt in your mouth.  The staff at Tombolo were super friendly too.  I believe that there was mayo and barbecue sauce on the BLT - as Tim would say, "grouse".

In Swansea, we visited Kate's Berry Farm, and my disappointment at it being too early for berries was assuaged by this glorious serve of berry crepes:

This was indescribably fabulous.  Tim had the berry pancakes, which were in a similar vein to the crepes - also delicious.

A Tasmanian signature dish is the scallop curry pie, sold all over Tasmania, so I thought it was my duty to have one:

Mine came from the Richmond Bakery; Tim got one in Bicheno.  These pies have a puff pastry lid, and a pastry shell filled with curried scallops and prawns.  I liked this pie very much. 

The other Tasmanian signature dish that we tried, but which I didn't photograph (because we were eating them in the car in a carpark in Sorrell while it poured outside), is the Kiss Biscuit - two shortbread biscuits sandwiched together with raspberry jam and iced with vanilla buttercream then topped with hundreds and thousands. There is a recipe for homemade ones here.

At the Swansea RSL, I had the most enormous T-bone steak with veges:

Tim's chicken parma was also enormous. The beers here were also cheap - $3.40 for a light beer and $3.70 for a draught beer.

In Hobart, I had this  amazing smoky seafood chowder at Fish Frenzy:

It contained mussels, scallops and fish in a thick, creamy soup, and was served with bread - delish.

At Salamanca Market in Hobart, I bought cherry brandy and orange ginger chocolate from Federation Chocolate:

I have only tried the cherry brandy chocolate so far - it is truly scrumptious! 

We attended the Tasmanian Craft Fair in Deloraine, where I picked up these three lovely jams by Amanda Jammm:

From left to right, they are: lime coconut marmalade, peach apricot Cointreau white chocolate, and plum pudding jam.  I am currently eating the lime coconut marmalade out of the jar - it is seriously that good, with its zesty tropical flavours.  I also really liked Amanda's blood orange marmalade - but the deal was three jams for $30 and I had to carry what I bought, so I sadly had to leave it behind on this occasion.

We also stopped in at the Cascade Brewery in Hobart.  This beer is  Tasmanian brewed beer that Tim ordered, and I couldn't resist showing you the label: 

The coat of arms features two Tasmanian tigers, which are extinct but which feature widely as emblems in Tasmania, including on car number plates.

I had a fabulous time on Tasmania, and highly recommend that you visit if you get the chance.

WWDH - Coleslaw

This week's Wednesday with Donna Hay recipe is Coleslaw from Modern Classics I, chosen by me.

I didn't pay much attention to the recipe until I came to make it, and I found it odd.  There was radish instead of carrot, so I swapped back to carrots, and cabbage, parsley and green onion  with a dressing based on a whole raw egg.  I was a bit dubious about the dressing, but it tasted nice.  However, I did not dare to keep it for more than a couple of days, and will use a vinaigrette or the like to use up the dry slaw still sitting in my fridge.

This coleslaw tasted quite good - way better than the commercial slaw mixes that I have bought.  Knowing how simple this was to make, I'd definitely make it again in preference to buying pre-prepared coleslaw mixes. 

I served my coleslaw with roast chicken, as pictured above.  It has been a very tasty work lunch.

To see what Kayte, Margaret, Chaya and Sarah thought of this recipe, visit their websites.

FFWD - Compote de Pommes

This week's French Friday with Dorie recipe is Compote de Pommes - the book provides for the compote to be prepared two ways, but I chose the quickest one only, and made a half batch. 

What is compote de pommes?  Well, it really seems to be just apple sauce prepared by sauteeing the apples with minimal sugar rather than by boiling them up with lots of sugar. 

Instead of the laborious process of straining the soft, cooked apple, I whizzed it up in the food processor. I didn't add any extra sugar other than the tiny quantity that was originally added to the pan, and I didn't add butter.  Accordingly, this apple sauce is primarily just apple.

I have been eating it out of the jar, plonked on top of my breakfast muesli and as an accompaniment to icecream.  All of them are good.  As this sauce is not very sweet, it could also be used for savoury applications eg with roast pork.

To see what the other Doristas  thought of this recipe, visit the LYL section of the website.

WWDH - Feta and Eggplant Meatballs

For Wednesday with Donna Hay this week, Sarah has chosen feta and eggplant meatballs.  I have had a strange aversion to meatballs because of their appearance, but after tasting these, I know that it is all in the mind - these meatballs are very tasty.

These meatballs do take some prep - you have to chop up and roast eggplant, crumble feta and both shallow fry and bake the meatballs.  However, if you are not in a hurry, the result is pleasantly spicy.  The meatballs are made with beef mince, although I think lamb mince would work well too, as eggplant and lamb seem like the beginnings of a good moussaka to me.

I served these with a chickpea and spinach salad and they made a delicious light meal:

To see what Sarah, Kayte, Margaret and Chaya thought of these, visit their websites.

Lunchbox Harvest Muffins

I love the Dining and Wine section of the New York Times, and scour it regularly for new recipes.  I especially love it when they publish healthy recipes for me to try.

When I saw Melissa Clark's Lunchbox Harvest Muffins, I was in.  They contain carrot, zucchini, raisins and coconut.  Instead of whole wheat flour, I used spelt flour.

These were really good muffins - moist and tender, and as close to healthy as a muffin comes.  They are a great idea for kids' lunches, as they hide veges and will fill them up.

Spinach, Chickpeas and Currants

I am always on the look for new and unusual recipes, so as I was casually browsing the website for the TV show, Everyday Gourmet, I was struck by a recipe for chickpeas, spinach and currants.  I like all three, but was curious as to how they'd taste together.  Of course, I made it!

And the verdict?  Really good and dead simple to make.  I served this with beef and feta meatballs, and the whole dish had an exotic feel to it.  The only problem is that there was not enough of this for my liking!!

FFWD - Hurry-Up-and-Wait Roast Chicken

 

This week's French Friday with Dorie recipe is Hurry-Up-and-Wait Roast Chicken.  It's just a classic roast chicken, rubbed with salt and the cavity filled with lemon and herbs if you like, but cooked rapidly at high temperature and then allowed to rest for half an hour or so to allow the juices to run back into the chicken.

Here is my patiently waiting, upended chicken (I upended it both ways as I was not clear on which way was best): 

 

 

The resulting chicken had crispy skin and was lovely and moist.

 

I served my chicken with stir fried veges and alas, discarded that crispy skin.  I also made the sauce using the pan juices and water, which I thickened with a dessertspoonful of plain flour.

 

What else is there to say - this was roast chicken in the classical way.  To see what the other Doristas thought, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.