A friend generously gave me 'SEASONS IN MY HOUSE AND GARDEN' by Holly Kerr Forsyth for my birthday recently and, being a long-time fan of Holly's, I realise all over again how lucky I am!
This is a book that anyone can enjoy - or enjoy receiving as a gift. There are many useful gardening hints and lots of little tips for making your home a more beautiful and nourishing place through all the seasons of the year.
Not only is this book filled with Holly's sumptiously beautiful photographs, but there are some jolly useful recipes in there too and I've made a firm resolution to try some of them very, very soon. The recipe directions are comprehensive and sound as if you could hardly go wrong - I note that Holly's beautiful daughter Olivia tested all the recipes for her mother and they certainly look and sound scrumptious.
Now that I know when and where to plant rhubarb for instance - in Autumn in a shady spot which will be perfect for my garden in Tassie. I shall be doing this very shortly and look forward to a lovely crop for many years to come. And there are some other veggies which I have not tried before and now feel motivated to attempt. I haven't reached the end of the book yet and really I hardly want to get to the end - it's perfect to dip into and browse through. My copy will live on my coffee table where I can easily reach it to check on things and to become inspired anew.
Well done Holly - I just love your latest gorgeous book!
Read Holly's regular gardening column in The Weekend Australian or check her website at http://www.hollyforsyth.com.au/
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Great Food
Did you know that if you are short of time or - Heaven forbid - simply lazy, it's possible to buy really wonderful ready-prepared food from the kitchens of Alps & Amici (of course you'd need to be in Launceston to find it!)
This is seriously gourmet food I'm talking here and quite possibly, better than you could do it yourself - especially if you are as busy, or as lazy, as I am.
Daniel Alps is often right there in the kitchen busily creating exciting dishes, using the very freshest of seasonal, local produce.
I'll quote just a couple of the meals available right now.
Just imagine - Ginger spiced chicken with black noodles; or Fusilli pasta with garlic, roast mushrooms, spinach and herb oil. The mouth waters just reading about it let alone seeing and tasting.....
And the range of bread is impressive and very enticing. I have long ago decided not to bake my own bread because I'm such a sucker for eating fresh-baked bread and could easily consume an entire loaf, if I'm not very careful. But the bread in this food improium is just as bad for me - the wonderful smell of baking is just so tempting!
It's guaranteed to make you take some home with you.
How lucky are we to have such an overflowing abundance of delicious food of all kinds to choose from.
I've read about our fist convicts and early settlers and am amazed at how they managed, and I'm finding out more about this to tell soon!
This is seriously gourmet food I'm talking here and quite possibly, better than you could do it yourself - especially if you are as busy, or as lazy, as I am.
Daniel Alps is often right there in the kitchen busily creating exciting dishes, using the very freshest of seasonal, local produce.
I'll quote just a couple of the meals available right now.
Just imagine - Ginger spiced chicken with black noodles; or Fusilli pasta with garlic, roast mushrooms, spinach and herb oil. The mouth waters just reading about it let alone seeing and tasting.....
And the range of bread is impressive and very enticing. I have long ago decided not to bake my own bread because I'm such a sucker for eating fresh-baked bread and could easily consume an entire loaf, if I'm not very careful. But the bread in this food improium is just as bad for me - the wonderful smell of baking is just so tempting!
It's guaranteed to make you take some home with you.
How lucky are we to have such an overflowing abundance of delicious food of all kinds to choose from.
I've read about our fist convicts and early settlers and am amazed at how they managed, and I'm finding out more about this to tell soon!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Alps & Amici
This week I met that champion of Tassie grown food and wine - Daniel Alps. This is a well known serious foodie we are talking about here - someone who is synonymous with the best quality Tasmanian produce. I have never met this fascinating character due to having lived in France for the last twelve years, during which time the high-end food scene in Tas has grown and grown.
The food emporium Daniel and his wife have only recently established in Launceston's Abbot Street - called Alps and Amici (which means Alps and Friends, just in case your Italian is not so fluent!) is everything a foodie could dream about and much, much more. It's all beautifully presented making everything almost irrestistably tempting.
Daniel is right into Cooking Classes (which sound wonderful and run from March through to November) and he conducts seminars and food and wine tastings too, and even cup-cake decorating classes.
Cup-cake madness sure has taken hold becasue these classes are regularly booked out. And actually the cup-cakes you can buy in the shop are very imaginative and - well, just divine!
This has to be potato central too because there are no less than eight different types of spuds, along with an impressive range of fresh fruit and veg - naturally Tasmanian grown. You can also buy truffles when they are in season.
And I haven't even got around to mentioning the terrific selection of wines - all Tasmanian of course.
Altogether Alps and Amici is quite simply foodie paradise!
Where to find Alps and Amici:
52 Abbot Street
East Launceston
Phone: 6331 1777
Email: info@alpsandamici.com
Web: http://bit.ly/dAqP0M
The food emporium Daniel and his wife have only recently established in Launceston's Abbot Street - called Alps and Amici (which means Alps and Friends, just in case your Italian is not so fluent!) is everything a foodie could dream about and much, much more. It's all beautifully presented making everything almost irrestistably tempting.
Daniel is right into Cooking Classes (which sound wonderful and run from March through to November) and he conducts seminars and food and wine tastings too, and even cup-cake decorating classes.
Cup-cake madness sure has taken hold becasue these classes are regularly booked out. And actually the cup-cakes you can buy in the shop are very imaginative and - well, just divine!
This has to be potato central too because there are no less than eight different types of spuds, along with an impressive range of fresh fruit and veg - naturally Tasmanian grown. You can also buy truffles when they are in season.
And I haven't even got around to mentioning the terrific selection of wines - all Tasmanian of course.
Altogether Alps and Amici is quite simply foodie paradise!
Where to find Alps and Amici:
52 Abbot Street
East Launceston
Phone: 6331 1777
Email: info@alpsandamici.com
Web: http://bit.ly/dAqP0M
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Stillwater Restaurant, Launceston
I broke down today at Stillwater Restaurant right on Laucneston's waterfront. The staff could not have been more friendly, helpful and attentive.
The day was bright and sunny, the tide was in, making the Tamar River look sparkling and the view from the resturant was magnificent - all bobbing boats and wheeling seabirds.
This must be one of the best locations in the entire city - making it the perfect place to break down, if that's what you're going to do.
Stillwater is also the perfect venue for any kind of function, large or small and certainly my favourite place to sit and enjoy a coffee or (just occassionally) to sip a glass of champagne if I can think of any reason to celebrate.
And what about the food? I hear you ask. After all Stillwater is a restaurant with a huge reputation for the very finest dining in Tasmania. It also has one of the best cellars - and there's even a wonderful cellar room you can reserve for that special private dinner party.
Sadly, I'll have to leave descriptions of the delights of the menu for another day - I had no time for more that a cup of (very good) coffee.
Then it was - go get that pesky car fixed!
How to find Stillwater Restaurant
Situated at Ritchies Mill at the bottom of Patterson St, Launceston
Email: stillwater@microtech.com.au
Ph: 6337 4153
www.stillwater.net.au
The day was bright and sunny, the tide was in, making the Tamar River look sparkling and the view from the resturant was magnificent - all bobbing boats and wheeling seabirds.
This must be one of the best locations in the entire city - making it the perfect place to break down, if that's what you're going to do.
Stillwater is also the perfect venue for any kind of function, large or small and certainly my favourite place to sit and enjoy a coffee or (just occassionally) to sip a glass of champagne if I can think of any reason to celebrate.
And what about the food? I hear you ask. After all Stillwater is a restaurant with a huge reputation for the very finest dining in Tasmania. It also has one of the best cellars - and there's even a wonderful cellar room you can reserve for that special private dinner party.
Sadly, I'll have to leave descriptions of the delights of the menu for another day - I had no time for more that a cup of (very good) coffee.
Then it was - go get that pesky car fixed!
How to find Stillwater Restaurant
Situated at Ritchies Mill at the bottom of Patterson St, Launceston
Email: stillwater@microtech.com.au
Ph: 6337 4153
www.stillwater.net.au
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Red Bridge Cafe at Campbell Town
There's a new food emporium in Campbell Town, just near the Red Bridge. Well, it's new to me, and I loved the atmosphere and the decor that's been created.
The building is all sandstone and the architecture is unmistakably Georgian of the 1840s. It was long known to Tasmanians as an antiques shop and is now named 'The Red Bridge Cafe' in its new incarnation.
The owners have wisely kept all the building's old-fashioned rustic qualities to create a lovely space for the huge range of foodstuffs they are offering. As you walk in the door you are confronted by foodie heaven! And, of course, there's an emphasis on the produce of Tasmania all beautifully displayed - difficult not to treat yourself to so many yummy things.
The surprise for me was complete when I walked through to the rear where an enourmous log fire warms a restaurant area with windows overlooking the river. The view from here takes in the attractive red-brick bridge and the peace and quiet of the river valley.
Open seven days a week, this is the perfect spot to linger over coffee or a light lunch and a lovely place to break your journey along the Heritage Highway.
How to find The Red Bridge Cafe and Providore
Dino & Karen Dioguardi
137 High Stree, Campbell Town
Ph: 6381 1169
http://www.redbridgecafe.com.au
The building is all sandstone and the architecture is unmistakably Georgian of the 1840s. It was long known to Tasmanians as an antiques shop and is now named 'The Red Bridge Cafe' in its new incarnation.
The owners have wisely kept all the building's old-fashioned rustic qualities to create a lovely space for the huge range of foodstuffs they are offering. As you walk in the door you are confronted by foodie heaven! And, of course, there's an emphasis on the produce of Tasmania all beautifully displayed - difficult not to treat yourself to so many yummy things.
The surprise for me was complete when I walked through to the rear where an enourmous log fire warms a restaurant area with windows overlooking the river. The view from here takes in the attractive red-brick bridge and the peace and quiet of the river valley.
Open seven days a week, this is the perfect spot to linger over coffee or a light lunch and a lovely place to break your journey along the Heritage Highway.
How to find The Red Bridge Cafe and Providore
Dino & Karen Dioguardi
137 High Stree, Campbell Town
Ph: 6381 1169
http://www.redbridgecafe.com.au
Ladies who lunch
Not that I'm one of those ladies who lunch, but if I were I have found the perfect place to do it! Called 'The River's Edge Cafe', it is a two minute drive out of Longford in the north of Tasmania.
Set in lovely gardens, a 19th century red-brick building has been converted into a sun-filled restaurant with a residence upstairs reached by an attractive wrought-iron circular staircase. And there's a little foot-bridge over a pond at the entrance, so that the building almost seems surrounded by water.
Jane Randall is the friendly cook and she told us her Chicken Bocconcini with Cranberry and a Puff Pastry Crust is a big favourite, as are her risottos - "which I just love to cook" she said.
A beautifully presented cook book written by Jane and interspersed with gorgeous photos of the garden is on sale at the cafe.
The only small quibble I had was that it was dificult to choose a light lunch from the menu on offer and I do suggest that Jane might like to introduce one or two lighter choices.
This is a restaurant just perfect for that grand special occassion lunch or dinner with all the trimmings. There is a very good wine list and the deserts are especially wicked.
Note to self: Must try harder to become a 'lady who lunches'!
How to find The River's Edge Cafe
Open 10 am - 4 pm Thursday to Sunday.
38 Tannery Road, Longford
Website: http://www.riversedgelongford.com.au
Email: jane@riversedgelongford.com.au
Phone: 03 6391 2559
Set in lovely gardens, a 19th century red-brick building has been converted into a sun-filled restaurant with a residence upstairs reached by an attractive wrought-iron circular staircase. And there's a little foot-bridge over a pond at the entrance, so that the building almost seems surrounded by water.
Jane Randall is the friendly cook and she told us her Chicken Bocconcini with Cranberry and a Puff Pastry Crust is a big favourite, as are her risottos - "which I just love to cook" she said.
A beautifully presented cook book written by Jane and interspersed with gorgeous photos of the garden is on sale at the cafe.
The only small quibble I had was that it was dificult to choose a light lunch from the menu on offer and I do suggest that Jane might like to introduce one or two lighter choices.
This is a restaurant just perfect for that grand special occassion lunch or dinner with all the trimmings. There is a very good wine list and the deserts are especially wicked.
Note to self: Must try harder to become a 'lady who lunches'!
How to find The River's Edge Cafe
Open 10 am - 4 pm Thursday to Sunday.
38 Tannery Road, Longford
Website: http://www.riversedgelongford.com.au
Email: jane@riversedgelongford.com.au
Phone: 03 6391 2559
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
'Cookery Nook' is also known as the Baker's Cottage, though I love the first name best as it's just so quaintly evocative. And the reality is every bit as picturesque as the name, as you can see from the photo.
'Cookery Nook' is the first building you see as you walk onto the property and it's everyone's idea of how a small colonial cottage should look, with a lovely dark grey slate roof and even a sweet little 'front yard' to complete the picture. The small building next to the cottage still has its large oven at the rear of the building, where bread was originally baked for all the convicts employed on the property.
Build during the 1840s 'Cookery Nook' was originally the Bakehouse - obviously where the baker lived - and the baker was quite an important person in the scheme of things back then, though he probably would have been an assigned convict working toward an eventual ticket-of-leave and freedom.
Fast forward to the modern era, and, as I saw, when I peeped inside, the little cottage has been made into lovely cosy two-room accomodation complete with a log fire and a print by local artist Michael McWilliams hanging over the mantel.
There's a tiny fully-equipped kitchen fitten into one corner of the main room, but hampers can be ordered from the 'Servant's Kitchen' near the main house if you don't want to do your own cooking. And, I noted that the queen-bed in the bedroom next door is fitted with electiric blankets just in case the weather is cold.
Its easy to understand why this is the most popularly requested cottage acommdoation at Woolmers Estate, though there are several other restored cottages dotted about the Estate which have also been converted into self-contained holiday accomodation.
I was also keen to see some of the remarks vistors have recently put into the Visitor's Book - "A wonderful step back in time", "The highlight of our Tassie holiday", "such utter peace and quiet" and much more tellingly - "Such a totally romantic stay!"
'Cookery Nook' is the first building you see as you walk onto the property and it's everyone's idea of how a small colonial cottage should look, with a lovely dark grey slate roof and even a sweet little 'front yard' to complete the picture. The small building next to the cottage still has its large oven at the rear of the building, where bread was originally baked for all the convicts employed on the property.
Build during the 1840s 'Cookery Nook' was originally the Bakehouse - obviously where the baker lived - and the baker was quite an important person in the scheme of things back then, though he probably would have been an assigned convict working toward an eventual ticket-of-leave and freedom.
Fast forward to the modern era, and, as I saw, when I peeped inside, the little cottage has been made into lovely cosy two-room accomodation complete with a log fire and a print by local artist Michael McWilliams hanging over the mantel.
There's a tiny fully-equipped kitchen fitten into one corner of the main room, but hampers can be ordered from the 'Servant's Kitchen' near the main house if you don't want to do your own cooking. And, I noted that the queen-bed in the bedroom next door is fitted with electiric blankets just in case the weather is cold.
Its easy to understand why this is the most popularly requested cottage acommdoation at Woolmers Estate, though there are several other restored cottages dotted about the Estate which have also been converted into self-contained holiday accomodation.
I was also keen to see some of the remarks vistors have recently put into the Visitor's Book - "A wonderful step back in time", "The highlight of our Tassie holiday", "such utter peace and quiet" and much more tellingly - "Such a totally romantic stay!"
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Winter lunch at Woolmers
It's winter, the perfect time to think of hearty soups and enourmous, cheerful log fires, and that's exactly the reason I had lunch today in the "Servant's Kitchen' at Woolmers Estate near Longford.
Let me set the scene - the room is redolent of a bygone age with ancient flagstone floor and lime-washed walls. The view, between two towering pines takes in the Western Tiers in the distance and they are bluer than at any other time of year because they actually turn a deeper shade of blue, when the weather gets colder. You look out over the Macquarie River toward a patchwork of fields divided by hawthorn hedges. It's easy to see why the early settlers named the broad valley the Norfolk Plains, so much does this region resemble the English countryside.
In days long gone the "Servant's Kitchen' is where a convict cook or serving woman would have been slaving over that huge log fire - big enough to roast an entire beast and taking up almost half the room. In fact this whole scene has set me off wondering what those long-ago convict women would have been cooking in this very place, and I've resolved to enquire further into this.....
But back to my present-day lunch - I chose (from a choice of three) the delicious sweet-potato soup and it came to me with hot newly-baked damper - the perfect winter warmer.
These days Woolmers is open every day right through the winter, huge logs are added to the fire each day and the soup is freshly set to simmer away! Yum!
Let me set the scene - the room is redolent of a bygone age with ancient flagstone floor and lime-washed walls. The view, between two towering pines takes in the Western Tiers in the distance and they are bluer than at any other time of year because they actually turn a deeper shade of blue, when the weather gets colder. You look out over the Macquarie River toward a patchwork of fields divided by hawthorn hedges. It's easy to see why the early settlers named the broad valley the Norfolk Plains, so much does this region resemble the English countryside.
In days long gone the "Servant's Kitchen' is where a convict cook or serving woman would have been slaving over that huge log fire - big enough to roast an entire beast and taking up almost half the room. In fact this whole scene has set me off wondering what those long-ago convict women would have been cooking in this very place, and I've resolved to enquire further into this.....
But back to my present-day lunch - I chose (from a choice of three) the delicious sweet-potato soup and it came to me with hot newly-baked damper - the perfect winter warmer.
These days Woolmers is open every day right through the winter, huge logs are added to the fire each day and the soup is freshly set to simmer away! Yum!
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