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!