It's been a while

So I've been on hiatus from the world. It's been a while since I posted anything so rather than soliloquize ad infinitum, I will attempt to be short and succinct - somewhat out of character for me.

To Easter and my attempt to make hot cross buns for our outing to East Coast Blues and Roots Music Fest:

organic spelt, organic wholemeal + spices & mixed fruit

yeast, sugar, milk & butter

just kneaded & rising dough

I've never really baked bread before but I remember the satisfying feeling of punching down the dough and kneading with vigour (although not too much) in my mum's kitchen, surrounded by the warm, yeasty smell. She didn't get to bake as much as she would have liked but I loved her knotted rosemary bread loaves, and her cinnamon buns were legendary. My hot cross buns turned out pretty well - nice subtle spiced flavour and a substantial but not too heavy texture due to the wholemeal/white spelt mix. (I don't have a pic of the finished product because of the mad packing rush!)  

I'd intended to make sourdough buns but didn't quite manage to pull off the starter so had to resort to fresh yeast bought from the local bakery. It works faster than dry yeast and I've heard it gives a much nicer flavour but I will have to keep baking to find that one out for myself. The buns were a great start to our long 'arduous' days of chilling at Tygarah Tea Tree Farm to a soundtrack of amazing blues music. The usual suspects like Ben Harper, Xavier Rudd, Cat Empire, Toots & the Maytals and Michael Franti impressed but our discovery of acts Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Luciano & the Jah Messenjah Band reminded me of why I love this festival so much. The music, the mix of age groups and the food. Sigh! And on the topic of festival food, who doesn't love the array of exotic and delicious morsels available at almost every stall? I saw about two people with dagwood dogs and chips but they were the odd ones out! Viva la late night kofta balls!

The journey back to the real world (from our holiday spot in Cabarita) took us through the lush, misty hinterland of Byron & the Gold Coast, up around Murwillumbah and Numinbah through a lovely little place called Chillingham. We stopped at the general store in Chillingham (below) - a wonderful quaint 1920s building filled to the brim with local, organic produce and homemade/artisan products. The walls were adorned with grainy black and white photos; memories and reminders of the reality of the landscape.

Chillingham General Store

I was particularly taken by the range of flavoured honeys; cinnamon, chilli and ginger were the tastebud tinglers that piqued my attention. I think they would be quite easy to make with fresh or powdered versions of the spices and your favourite honey, but supporting local providores is always a good thing!

Royal Desta Day (29th April, new UK bank holiday and my birthday): 

After three days sick in bed (with my mum and sister swearing by the healing properties of Olive Leaf down the phone line to me) I managed to drag my sorry self out of bed for a leisurely stroll down to Gunshop Cafe in West End to celebrate my 27th (so close to 30 now!) with my beautiful boyfriend, Rhys. Now fully recovered from the flood imposed closure, this Brisbane institution and multi-award winning resto/cafe is notoriously good for slow morning brekkies and they source all of their produce direct from local markets.  I tucked into a serving of smoked tasmanian salmon & creamed eggs on cheddar & chive cornbread w. rocket and Rhys indulged in some delicious potato fetta hash cakes, spinach tomato & herb sour cream with a side of black pudding (a taste for which he acquired in Scotland). What a great way to start a new year!

first cup of the morning

delish!

This post is getting long, rambly and not altogether relevant! Two weeks of eventful life doesn't distill well into a short blog post. I will cut myself off now and return with more food adventure tales - I need to go fill my lovely new woven shopping basket with some goodies at the City Farmers Markets! 

Local food challenge

How exciting is this? The Ideas Festival is back (19-22 May, 2011) and just to prove my point that there is a shift in the social attitude to food, try this on for size. This year's Queensland OpenIDEO Challenge asks the question "How might we better connect food production and food consumption?" The OpenIDEO Challenge is a collaborative online platform - created by design firm IDEO - aimed at tackling global issues and challenges through open conversation and contribution from the community. The Premier had this to say about this year's challenge on the Ideas Festival website: "Ideas that consider how rural and urban communities can work better together to ensure a future where healthy food is available to all. Food is an industry and a source of livelihood for many, but it is also a fundamental need, something that forms the basis of our health, wellbeing and sense of self. Our relationship with food is a thread that runs through our lives and communities. But with world population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050 it is vital that we prepare ourselves well so there is enough food for all and that food production is efficient and sustainable."

With three stages - inspiration, concepting and evaluation - the challenge is to find practical solutions that address issues like energy use, transportation, biodiversity, environment, food security, nutrition, obesity... the list goes on. The most inspiring and relevant ideas will then be brought to the Festival for workshopping by teams of policy makers, community and industry. The inspiration stage has just closed and already there are some amazing ideas being 'concepted' right now, right here. My favourite is probably the PlantCam, which connects farmers with eaters through timelapse photography showing your food growing; or the ice-cream truck turned mobile farm - giving kids access to farming fun on their doorstep. Urban agriculture never looked so mobile! I'm super excited for all of the mental stimulation the festival will bring but I'm especially looking forward to the outcome of this little challenge. It's great to see so many passionate and inspired people getting involved too! How would you answer the question?

Hungry for more?

"Today, when we produce more food than ever before, more than one in ten people on Earth are hungry. The hunger of 800 million happens at the same time as another historical first: that they are outnumbered by the one billion people on this planet who are overweight." - Raj Patel in the introduction to Stuffed & Starved: Markets, Power & the Hidden Battle for the World Food System.

I have always loved food - my next meal is always on my mind and I am forever dreaming of travel locations based on the gastronomical delights they can offer. In my family, food was seen as a celebration of life - I was taught it should be colourful and nutritious but most importantly, made with care. Working as a journalist in the eco/sustainable/ethical field has only increased my desire to continue consuming in a conscious way. And it has made me realise that I still have a long way to go. But it's an adventure because it's not always easy to make the right choice, especially when the choices aren't clear. And while I have been known to partake in the odd fast food feast, there is always a voice in my head asking "What did that potato go through to get to your mouth?" As the industry battles for my dollar by slashing prices (often making it cheaper than it cost to produce), and lemons from California cost less than lemons grown here in Australia, the questions are increasing.

It's no surprise that as a society we are becoming more aware of the food we consume; surrounded with over-processed, low-nutrient 'food' that barely resembles food anymore, it was only a matter of time until we realised there is more to eating than something we put in our mouths when we are hungry. We've forgotten that what we eat defines us and creates a sense of community and ownership. When time is money, fast food and convenience win - and the cost is often not only what we pay at the supermarket. But as the pace of daily life slowly eats away at our traditions and we become increasingly disconnected from our food sources, the unsustainable and inequitable nature of our current food systems becomes more apparent. Power and money have taken over, industrialising something that is essential to human life. Movements like slow food, permaculture, urban agriculture and other grassroots movements focused on consumption, waste and connection with food production systems are reminding us how to understand food again, and take back our power of choice.

The idea of this blog - apart from being a record of my exploration into sustainable food in Queensland - is to discuss and question some of the supposed axiomatic truths of the food industry; politics, agriculture, environment and social systems all intertwine and I'm keen to understand where my food comes from, how it's produced and exactly what it is that I am consuming. So, how do you eat?