Happy Australia Day!

The weather is uncharacteristically rainy and cold in Sydney this year, so our plans for a picnic in the park drinking winetails has been foiled.

Never fear, I still prepared the breakfast of champions for little Poppy; Vegemite toast and Weetbix with blueberries.

Us adults feasted on cripsy bacon and scrambled eggs, although Poppy gobbled down some eggs too – she was hungry!

What are you eating for breakfast today?

Christie x

Don’t get me wrong, I love my life now, but I just wish I appreciated more at the time how fancy free and awesome it was not to carry around a nappy bag, toys, baby food and a pram everywhere you go. Oh, and get a full nights sleep every night.

It got me thinking about all the great stories and recipes I have published on Fig & Cherry over the years and that new readers may not have seen them. Not to mention wonderful loyal readers who may have forgotten them, myself included.

Each month I’d like to take a step back in time to what I was doing here on my little corner of the web in years gone by. Jump on your hover boards and away we go!

January 2011

Australia Day was celebrated with a sweet treat of mini jelly pavlovas. Just the thing to satisfy when the weather is scorching!

I discovered the company, Mix My Muesli, and made a Fig & Cherry mix. Delicious! These days I have all the ingredients and make it up myself, but this website is a great option for those who are a little more time poor or less creative in the kitchen.

January 2010

January 2010 had me back-pedalling a bit by posting recipes I’d made on xmas day. There was a gorgeous coconut panna cotta with mango salad.

As well as some awesome polenta and proscuitto muffins which were excellent dipped into gravy! I’d forgotten about these, will have to make them again.

Australia Day was celebrated with some delicious kangaroo skewers. We don’t eat kangaroo that much any more – that must be rectified! And before you recoil in horror overseas readers, kangaroos are a pest here and their meat is yummy and virtually fat free!

January 2009

It seems January is a good time for granita in the hot Aussie Summer as I made one this year for New Year’s Eve and in 2009 there was a gorgeous pomegranate and lychee one.

There was the infamous incident at Cafe Ish.

I reviewed Opes in Lennox Head and asked my lovely readers What do you eat when you’re stressed? and admitted to ‘food profiling‘ in the supermarket (I must say, I have less time for that these days, with a toddler in tow).

January 2008

One of my first ever posts was about my fabulous wedding cake which had dozens of handmade sugar flowers and fairy lights powered by a battery pack cleverly disguised with fondant. Plus, I claimed to know where to get the best falafels in Sydney (and I still think they are pretty great!)

Well that was really fun so I think I will continue with these posts monthly.

Hope you enjoyed it too, I welcome your feedback!

Christie x

The guys on Ramsey Street were right. It is so lovely to have nice neighbours. Especially when they give you cake.

I am usually the one sharing my cooking experiments on the neighbourhood so it is a very nice feeling to have the favour returned.

Last night I got a text message “pumpkin roll at your door”. Now that’s the kind of text I like to get!

I opened the door to find the gorgeous package pictured above.

The lovely Viola had dropped off a wedge of her Aunty’s famous pumpkin pie roll based on this recipe.

After many Christmas’s and Thanksgiving’s in the US eating this delicious cake, Viola decided to give it a go. She said the freshly ground spices (cloves, cinnamon) and proper American canned pumpkin puree are what make it so good.

She even imported cans of the pumpkin puree to make this and credits the lovely burnt orange colour to this special ingredient.

And the taste? Luscious! Heavy with spice, dense and moist. The cream cheese provides a lovely cooling creamy contrast to the other strong flavours. But you’ll just have to take my word for it :)

Do you have friendly neighbours?

Christie x

Hello 2012! And hello to you for joining me here today :)

Did you make my watermelon granita yesterday and enjoy it at the stroke of midnight? If not, I hope something else scrumptious passed your lips in the first few minutes of this bright new year.

2012 is going to be a big year for this blog and for me personally. I’d like to share with you a few of my hopes, dreams and must-do’s for this year. I love posting these thoughts publicly so that I make myself accountable for the more challenging tasks I set myself!

Cooking and Eating

• Eat even healthier by including more super foods and fish at least twice a week.
• Bake more homemade bread and pizza.
• Finally make the beetroot cured salmon I’ve had on my list since 2009. Shameful!
• Use up odds and ends in my pantry and freezer (some of which were gifted to me, others bought too greedily!): pistachio paste, truffle salt, skim milk powder, jelly crystals, half packets of pulses and grains (pearl barley, red lentils)… the list goes on. I welcome your suggestions!
• Actually cook the things I constantly bookmark on Pinterest.
• Actually cook things from my masses of cookbooks. This is an ongoing battle each year. So many cookbooks, only 365 days in a year – what a debacle!
• Finally use the Chefs Blowtorch I bought myself for my birthday in 2009 which is still in its packet. Creme brûlée here I come!

Fig & Cherry stuff

• Launch a new monthly giveaway. Can’t reveal too many details right now, but it will start in February.
• Launch new Product of the Month in January. If you would like your brand to be featured, get in touch via the PR Enquiries page.
• Continue to promote and support worthy causes: Live Below the Line, Love Food Hate Waste and others.
• Keep you guys up to date with a regular monthly newsletter. What would you like to see in it? Please help me make it good for you by leaving me a comment.

Personal and Family

• Introduce lots of new foods to Poppy and start teaching her to eat with a fork and spoon. I’ll probably write about this on my mummy blog.
• Use my (little) spare time productively with exercise, meditation, relaxation and positive activities.
• Keep my balcony garden and indoor orchid alive. It’s hard work for a busy Mum with a very brown thumb!
• Organise more quality alone time for hubby and I, making sure we are properly rested, rejuvenated and connected.
• Move from our flat into a house, probably late in the year. Hopefully with room for a veggie patch! My lifelong dream. More details as the year unfolds.

That’s it for now. What are you planning this year?

{image source: AllDayIWalk on Flickr}

Christie x

As 2011 comes to a close I thought it might be nice to look back on my favourite recipes of the year. This is the first time I’ve done this kind of post, but I’ve enjoyed reminiscing so much that they may crop up more often in the future. You have been warned!

I like to think it might be helpful for you in case you missed a few goodies. Let me know, I love feedback.

I thought I’d do them in chronological order, so first cab off the rank is the miso-soy caramel served with fresh pineapple. It’s a homage to a dish I ate at Inopia in Barcelona (pictured above) – the tapas bar owned by Albert Adria (brother of the famous Ferran from El Bulli). I gave the caramel a nice salty Aussie twist with… vegemite. Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!

I enjoy supporting worthwhile causes so when I was approached to create a $2 dish for the Live Below the Line campaign, I jumped at the chance.

This zucchini, garlic and chilli linguine is surprisingly flavour-packed for the small ingredient list and can be jazzed up with cooked prawns or grilled chicken for a less frugal dinner.

Israeli couscous has become a firm favourite in our house this year. Even baby Poppy loves it mashed with sweet potato or mixed with plain yoghurt.

Here I used it creatively in a paella-style dish with Spanish flavours using gorgeous The Stock Merchant chicken stock. That’s the second Spanish-inspired dish in the list – do you think I miss Barcelona much?

It’s a big call but I think this is my favourite of the year – the home made BBQ sauce pushes it cleanly over the line – I never knew it could taste so good!

These pulled pork burgers were a suggestion from my brother in law as he wanted a good (read: easy, cheap, big) dish he could make and serve his flat mates. He was very pleased with the result and so was I!

Last but not least, my most recent recipe - Lumplings: half lasagne, half dumplings. These are so easy to make and use up leftover meat and poultry to effortlessly make a new and delicious meal. Give them a try!

Have I left out your favourite?

I’ll have another post in a few days outlining my food-related plans and dreams for 2012. See you then!

Christie x

A few weeks ago I went to a vintage fair in Marrickville with my mum and sister. I’m always on the lookout for beautiful table wear I can use to style food and there were lots of nice things at the fair.

However, Christmas was approaching, and I was spending my pennies on gifts so decided not to buy anything. My mum and sister sneakily noticed what I looked at and purchased them while I wasn’t looking. How nice!?

The kidney shaped cabbage leaf serving plate is vintage Spode. I absolutely love the texture (close up picture below) and can imagine so many different uses for it. Thanks sis!

The pastel ceramic ramekins with handles are by Diana Pottery and are iconic 1950s ovenware that were actually made in Marrickville. They are going to be perfect for creme brûlée, souffle and even just for serving – I’m thinking little tapas dishes or ice cream would look very cute.

Mum revealed that she is constantly on the lookout for tableware featuring figs and cherries. She says it is very difficult to find! That’s why she was very pleased to present me with a set of eight Pomona pastry forks with different fruits on them – two of which are figs and cherries (close up view above). Thanks mum, I love these!

Hubby got me this awesome Brabantia bread bin which fits perfectly on my bench and solves my annoying problem of having nowhere handy to store my bread!

On top is a mug one of my best friends from the UK got me, it’s an Emma Bridgewater original. There is also a matching ‘Best Dad’ one for hubby (not pictured). I’m not sure if I am the best ever mum, but I’m trying as hard as I can. Thanks Celine!

OK, I know this one isn’t food, but it is indirectly food-related. Did you know that SK II skincare is a byproduct of Japanese sake production? Yep, you read that right – sake, the Japanese rice-based alcoholic beverage.

Apparently, they noticed that elderly men and women who worked at the sake factory had super soft and youthful looking hands, even though the rest of their bodies aged normally. The secret ingredient is Pitera and I’m willing to give it a try. Hey, a girl can dream! Big thanks to hubby for this surprise pressie as I am always banging on about wanting to try this expensive brand.

What great presents did you get? 

Christie x

A few weeks ago I went to a steak tasting event held by the Meat Standards Australia (MSA). Yes, I know. It’s a hard life being a food blogger, isn’t it?

The event was to announce the MSA has a new logo (see picture above) that will be displayed in supermarkets and butchers to show the meat has been officially graded by each cut (eg. striploin, t-bone etc) for flavour, tenderness and juiciness. This logo will make it easier for you to choose beef cuts that are perfectly matched to their correct cooking method (braising, pan frying etc).

A video was shown detailing all the rigorous tests that carcasses are put through in order to make the grade and I found it absolutely fascinating. I wanted to post the video here, but alas the flash file was too big and I don’t want to crash my site!

After being schooled on marbling, ageing, fat colour and meat colour we got to taste-test lots of steak and grade them ourselves in accordance with how tender and juicy we thought they were.

Being quite an overachiever, I was a bit nervous about getting the answers wrong, so I was very pleased it was an anonymous test! Interestingly, most people could tell which cooked beef was the best quality. However, it was a bit of a biased crowd; food writers, food editors and dedicated foodies, no less.

On the way out we were given cooler bags filled with gorgeous prime steaks and I used everything I had learned that night to cook the best steak of my life! See step-by-step instructions below.

My Hubby and brother-in-law were served the steaks and they whole-heartedly agreed they were cooked perfectly. Right, boys? Hopefully they will leave a comment here so you know I’m not BS-ing you.

I’m curious, do you get confused as to which beef cut will be best for what you are going to cook? 

Christie x

Fig & Cherry attended the steak dinner with compliments of the MSA and Haystac Public Affairs. Images above supplied courtesy of the MLA / MSA.

How to cook the perfect steak

Step 1 – Coat the meat in oil instead of adding oil to the barbecue grill or hotplate. If the meat has been marinated lightly pat it dry with absorbent paper (this helps the meat brown rather than stew).

Step 2 – Ensure the barbecue is hot before you cook; the meat should sizzle as it makes contact with the plate or grill.

Step 3 – Let the meat cook on one side until moisture appears, then turn once only. Use tongs rather than a barbecue fork to turn the meat.

Step 4 – With practice you can judge the meat’s readiness by touch. Rare is soft, well done is very firm. Rest the meat for a few minutes before serving.

{source: themainmeal.com.au}

My favourite cafe in Marrickville is now open in the evenings for drinks with live music – how exciting! Yes, Marrickville is getting trendier by the second, but shhhhh don’t tell anyone, we want to keep it our little secret for now.

Marrickville Rd Cafe by day, and now Girl on a Swing Wine Bar by night (due to the painted mural on the wall, see pic above), is a popular local spot for good coffee, delicious food featuring locally sourced ingredients and friendly staff. The owners, Sacha and Jane, know most of their customers by name and vice versa. It’s a great place to hang out – which Poppy and I do, several times a week!

Last week Poppy, hubby and I headed down to the launch party to take a few pictures and boogie to the live band playing jazz and funk.

The party was to celebrate that the cafe will now be open all day and into the evenings on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (in addition to their regular Mon-Sun daytime hours). They’ll be serving alcoholic drinks (beer, wine, cocktails) and food (more on that in a minute) with live music until 10pm or so, depending on how many people rock up.

It’s a fantastic idea because there aren’t many (according to me, any) good options for a drink before or after dinner in Marrickville and this cafe has a comfy outdoor seating area which is excellent for people watching. With quite a few new restaurants opening up, now is the perfect time for a cafe-slash-bar, at least that’s what Sacha and Jane are hoping!

Sorry, I have been teasing you. You are really just reading this to find out about the food, aren’t you?

There will be an ever-changing array of small plates such as grilled halloumi with kalamata olives and their famous chunky chips with chorizo (see paper cone pic above), plus more substantial meals like a range of housemade fresh pasta (ravioli, pappardelle) and free range Tasmanian steak, served just how you like it.

I’ll probably be down there quite often, so if you see me, please do say hello. You’ll be sure to recognise Poppy, but if not, there’s no way you’ll miss our bright pink pram!

Have you been? I’d love to hear what you think!

Christie x

The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a very apt theme for my daughter’s 1st birthday last weekend because she is an excellent eater.

I’ve spoken before about how she happily devours everything I give her and it makes me proud as punch.

She actually turned 1 today (well, technically, at 11.10pm tonight) and it stormed this evening, just like it did on the night she was born.

This amazing birthday cake was made by my wonderful friend Ju’eta who is an excellent baker and cake decorator. It was an absolute masterpiece and I want to publicly give the lovely Ju’eta a big THANK YOU with hugs and kisses. You’re the best! (If you want to book her for your special event cake drop me a line via the contact form).

So I guess you are wondering about the specifics… the body was made of vanilla and raspberry swirl cake and the head waschocolate cake. It was piped all over with swiss meringue buttercream in two shades of green, one of which was whipped up nice and bubbly to resemble caterpillar fur. Phew, incredible!

My hungry hubby is finishing off the last delicious piece as I type this, so that is the end of Poppy’s Very Hungry Caterpillar for this year. For more pictures of Poppy getting stuck into the green icing hop on over to my mummy blog.

Christie x

Earlier this month I created a pasta recipe to support the Mushrooms Go Pink campaign whereby Australian mushroom growers aim to donate $50,000 to breast cancer research from proceeds of mushrooms sold in pink containers. Have you seen them at your local supermarket or green grocer?

I’m not the only one though. Other bloggers have helped to inspire you in the kitchen with some truly mouth-watering mushroom recipes. Their brief was to create a ‘pink’ mushroom dish and they could interpret that by using pink ingredients such as beetroot, bacon, salmon etc or simply by styling the photograph with pink props.

I’m pleased to say that all four (including me!) rose to the challenge of using pink ingredients – and with some great results. Simply see the collage of photos above for some rock-solid evidence.

Let’s work clockwise around the collage and be sure to click through to their blogs to view the full recipes and their individual stories about how breast cancer has affected them and/or their loved ones.

• Top left: Mushroom and beetroot frittata. Kathryn has done it again – tasty, quick and healthy!
• Top right: Sundried tomato and cream cheese stuffed mushrooms. Veggie Mama has your next gathering sorted for canapes!
• Bottom left: Creamy mushroom and prawn pasta. That’s my recipe.
• Bottom right: Marinated mushrooms on bacon bread toast. Melanger has really nailed this gorgeous brunch dish.

There’s still time (until 31st October) to go and grab yourself some mushrooms in pink containers and support this great cause for a cure for breast cancer. Do your part and enjoy cooking with mushrooms!

Christie x

$8 a punnet and worth every single cent. (Sorry Northern Hemisphere readers!).

I’ve been hanging out for the summer berry and stone fruit season, so when I snapped up this punnet of raspberries, nothing could wipe the wide grin off my face.

I devoured half of them this morning with muesli, hazelnuts, thick yoghurt and honey. Oh, and I shared a few with baby Poppy, who absolutely loved them.

Next on my Summer love affair list are white-fleshed nectarines. Then: cherries, lychees, mangoes, pineapple, strawberries, blueberries and mangosteens. Watch this space.

What is your must-eat seasonal fruit?

Christie x

Did you know that cranberries are being harvested right now in America?

Farmers in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, and parts of British Columbia and Quebec are getting into flooded bogs and grabbing fresh berries by the bucketful. In fact, millions of pounds will be harvested throughout the season, which lasts from mid September until around Thanksgiving in mid November.

Hang on, back up a bit, ‘What’s a bog?’.

Good question reader! I thought you’d never ask.

A bog is a sandy marsh where cranberries grow on vines. The name makes it sound worse than it is, don’t you think? During harvest time bogs are flooded and the water is moved around with a machine called an ‘eggbeater’ making the cranberries fall off the vine and float (and easier to collect – see picture above).

Here’s a nice close up shot of the vibrant cranberries being collected via the wet harvesting method explained above. These berries will be used in juices, sauces and other Ocean Spray products.

Cranberries can also be dry harvested. This involves picking the berries directly from the vine with a special mechanical picker that looks like a large lawn mower. The cranberries are transported for packing in large sacks and then sold fresh at supermarkets and grocers. Unfortunately we cannot buy fresh cranberries here in Australia, so we’ll have to make do with the ones Ocean Spray dry into craisins or transform into juice and sauce.

If you are interested in finding out more information about cranberry harvesting then click here to visit the Ocean Spray website.

One last thing. Drop by tomorrow for a delicious and unusual breakfast recipe using Blueberry Flavoured Craisins. See you then!

Christie x

Disclosure: Fig & Cherry and Ocean Spray are working together as part of a paid sponsorship.

This recipe was a challenge was to come up with a breakfast dish using button mushrooms and I think this burrito fits the bill perfectly. I competed against two American and Canadian bloggers in the Mushroom Masters Tournament and unfortunately came third (ie. last!). It was a popularity vote, so I guess I just don’t have enough online friends, hehe.

It’s quite difficult to photograph a burrito in a pretty way, let me tell you! How do you think I did? I can definitely see some areas for improvement.

Recipe below, enjoy!

Christie x

Mushroom Breakfast Burritos recipe

250g cherry tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
200g white button mushrooms, quartered
200g Swiss brown mushrooms, quartered
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
200g tinned kidney beans, drained
¼ teaspoon ground chilli powder
4 eggs
4 wholewheat tortillas
sour cream and mashed avocado, to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place, cut side up, on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. Drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil and bake on the top shelf for 20 minutes until softened and starting to brown at the edges. Set aside.

2. Make the mushrooms: Place a large frying pan or skillet over high heat on the stove top and melt one tablespoon of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender. Add the garlic and parsley and cook for 2 minutes more until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside in a bowl and keep warm.

3. Make the salsa: Place the kidney beans and chilli powder into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until warmed through then add the cherry tomatoes and gently stir to combine. Set aside and keep warm.

4. Make the scrambled eggs: Wipe out the frying pan or skillet and melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and olive oil over medium heat. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper and then pour into the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until done to your liking.

5. Assemble to serve: Place tortillas on serving plates. Top with some scrambled egg, then salsa, then mushrooms. Serve with sour cream and avocado on the side.

 

Remember back in July when I received two tiny little wasabi seedlings from Four Seasons Herbs? (If not, click here to take a look).

Well, they are absolutely thriving and I’m a very happy plant-mummy! I usually kill everything I grow so I’m extra pleased that I’ve kept these little beauties alive. I seriously cannot wait for them to grow big enough so I can have a wasabi party (I mean, pig-out on wasabi).

I just love the way they look too – those lovely deep indentations in the leaves and the bright shiny green colour – it really lifts my spirits.

In other balcony news, thank goodness for the magic of Spring time. It has brought my chives back to life.

Around this time last year I planted chive seeds and they started to sprout almost immediately. I was proudly cutting chives in mid October for my salads but then on November 8th I gave birth to my daughter and she took priority over the chives. Hence the chives died. At least I kept my baby alive!

As you can see they withered and died (note the yellow/white stringy bits), but this year I have kept on with watering them and ta-da, they came back to life! They even seem thicker and healthier than before, go figure.

I’m hoping to add a few more herbs and vegetables to my balcony in the coming weeks. Are you growing anything?

Christie x

There’s nothing better than a home cooked meal, so treat your Dad this Sunday to a freshly made feast with these five delicious ideas!

For the lamb loving Dad try this Garlic and Lemon Lamb rack.

For the fish loving Dad try this Swordfish wrapped in proscuitto.

For the true blue Dad try these Kangaroo skewers.

For the vegetarian Dad try this mushroom strudel.

For the sweet tooth (gluten free) Dad try this orange and almond cake. It’s the most popular sweet recipe on this blog!

Happy Father’s Day in advance to all the lovely Dads out there.

Christie x

July is Mushroom Mania month in Australia!

I am a massive fan of mushrooms, so it’s with great pleasure that I am working with Mushroom Growers Australia this month to promote Mushroom Mania. Chefs all across the country are creating mouth-watering mushroom dishes and featuring them on their menus from the 1st to the 31st of July. Celebrity ambassador for the campaign, Fast Ed, is helping spread the word – see video above.

I have helped recruit an amazing team of bloggers who will review local restaurants in their capital city and post the experience on their blogs. Drop by these wonderful blogs during July to check out their reviews:

• Kitchen Wench – VIC
• Lambs Ears & Honey – SA
• Le Delicieux – QLD
• The Food Pornographer – WA
• Sleepless Night – TAS
• Fig & Cherry – NSW (that’s me!)

I’ll also be posting weekly round ups with links to all the reviews so be sure to visit me here each week and you won’t miss a thing!

$100 giveaway every week in July

The bloggers don’t get to have all the fun – you can join in too!

Simply visit one of the participating restaurants in your state (click here for a list) and then write up a short review to be in the running to win $100 every week in July.

Really looking forward to hearing about the yummy mushroom dishes you try and eating and photographing some myself!

Happy mushroom-ing :)

Christie x

Today I did something really fun; I watched two episodes of Ready Steady Cook being taped with the new host Colin Lane!

I got to sit in the front row with fellow-blogger Liss from Frills in the Hills and then taste the food at the end. You know those lucky few that run up while the credits are rolling and get stuck in? That was me!

I know the photo above is a bit dorky, but hey, I had to do it. Not sure what I was doing with that hand on the left – it looks a bit hobbit-like!

The two chefs were Matt Golinski and Alistair McLeod which was good, although I was secretly hoping Janelle Bloom was going to be there. Oh well.

Special mention goes to Steve the warm up man. He was awesome at getting the crowd going. If it wasn’t for him making me laugh I don’t think I would have been as happy to smile and clap until my hands were red for almost 5 hours. Nice work mate.

Many thanks to Roberta and the Breville Food Thinkers team for inviting me and to the lovely Lena for coming along as my plus one!

Christie x

It’s always a little nerve-wracking attending an event where you don’t know anyone. However, I just love networking and meeting new people, so I shrug off my nervousness and just go for it.

Meeting other passionate food lovers (famous ones!) is always a thrill, and even better still when they are as excited to meet me as I am them. Let me explain…

A few weeks ago I attended an event at the gorgeous Zeta Bar at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. If you need a good date place, the Zeta Bar is it – find the room with the fireplace and warm up one of these chilly nights with someone sexy. But I digress.

The event was held by Unilever Food Solutions who have just released the findings of a global survey they are calling: The World Menu Report.

The survey interviewed people from nine different countries; USA, UK, China, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand about their dining out habits.

As someone who always grills people about what they order at restaurants (and everything they eat in general), I found the findings of this report fascinating. It found that in all the countries surveyed, people were very interested in knowing more about the nutritional value of restaurant meals, how they were prepared and where the produce was sourced from.

Here are some of the highlights:

• 95% of surveyed people in China want more information about their meals when dining out -”I want to know the source of the ingredients; are they organically source and are they safe to eat?”
• 63% of surveyed people in Brazil mentioned ‘health’ in their answers as to why nutritional information would influence their choices when dining out – “I would eat healthier foods to balance my weight”. 67% in Australia – “Nutritional information would push people toward healthier food choices - preferably not at the expense of good taste.
• Consumers globally see food labels including low fat and calorie content as a welcome addition to the menu when eating out.
• In the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand salt is seen as an important topic for menu information.
• In China, people would like to know about the vitamins and proteins in their meals.

As you can see, there is loads of food for thought for consumers, restauranteurs, chefs and government bodies about how much transparency is needed (and allowed) when it comes to restaurant menu labelling.

Personally, I make my choice at restaurants based on dishes that I wouldn’t normally (or can’t) cook at home. As an avid cook I’m well aware of sneaky words that refer to unhealthy cooking practices such as ‘crispy’ (deep fried in oil!) and generally know the naughty ingredients in most dishes (loads of butter in sauces to add shine!), so if I order these things I know what I’m doing. I realise, though, that is not the case with many people and that nutritional information such as high fibre, low GI etc would really help.

What information would you like to see on menus? Are you interested in salt, fat, preservatives, allergies, produce origin or something else altogether?

Back to the meeting famous people thing. I got to meet the lovely Catherine Saxelby! And when she met me she said to her colleague ‘oh wow, this is the famous Fig & Cherry, she writes a fantastic food blog’. If you picture me blushing, smiling and generally feeling quite embarrassed then you’d be spot on. There I was, all excited to meet Catherine, who is a super interesting and informative nutritionist (and publisher of the excellent website Foodwatch) and she was excited to meet little old me. How bizarre!

Image courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions. Many thanks to Leah and the PPR team for inviting me to this event.

Christie x

Could there be a better combination for a warming winter meal than duck and a glass of pinot noir? I think not!

If you live in Sydney (or can get there) you are in for a treat during July. Seven different restaurants will be featuring a duck dish with a glass of Cloudy Bay 2009 Pinot Noir from the 1st to the 31st.

Last week I had the extreme pleasure of trying three of dishes… during one lunch session! Indulgent, I know. Don’t worry, I had a vegetarian dinner that night.

Apologies in advance as I forgot my camera so only crappy iphone pics populate this story. Sorry! I had to make sure hubby had all the stuff he needed to look after Poppy – which meant I didn’t remember my things. Really important things, like my camera. OK moving on.

The event started with a quick overview by Greg from Cloudy Bay on how to smell and taste for a good pinot noir. It was interesting to find out that the perfect pinot noir grape is the ‘holy grail’ for serious winemakers. It’s apparently very difficult to grow because the conditions have to be just so. Even grapes in the same vineyard can turn out differently (ie. badly!) if they are facing a slightly different angle to the sun. Who would have thought grapes could be so touchy?

The other fascinating thing was how the same wine tastes completely different depending on what it is served with and I’ll talk more about that as we go on.

The first dish, pictured above, was at Restaurant Balzac in Randwick. It is a fresh take on Duck ‘a l’orange. The succulent duck had been blanched, air dried, marinated and then roasted and served with fresh orange segments, witlof and watercress. The result was a strong citrus flavour but none of the gluggy sauce that is usually associated with the traditional French version.

The pinot noir tasted light and not smooth with this dish. The fresh fruit and salad elements brought out the cleaner aspects of the wine, there was none of that old complexity you usually taste with a pinot noir.

Sorry for this photo, it’s the worst of the bunch, and does absolutely nothing to show how fabulous this dish actually was. Apologies to the wonderful chefs who created it!

Next stop, pictured above, was The Devonshire in Surry Hills. They served up a cracker of a dish of Roast Breast and Sausage Roll of Duck, Salsify, Hazelnuts and Parsley. The sausage roll was particularly heavenly as it included the duck livers, giblets and legs. The hazelnut paste (that stripey smudge in the foreground) really complimented the sausage roll and was a lot more posh than tomato sauce, ha!

Interestingly, we learned that the higher fat content of this dish changed the taste of the wine. It tasted more tannic, richer and complex due to the way it mixed with the fat residue in the mouth. Now I know why it is so fascinating to match food and wine.

Next stop, Golden Century in Chinatown for a generous plateful of BBQ Peking Roast Duck. I was quite full by this point but still managed to scoff down most of the moreish duck and lovely side dish of lightly pickled radish and carrot.

The wine also had a stronger, richer taste with this dish due to having to stand up to the super sweet and aromatic flavours.

Here’s the full list of restaurants participating in the Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir Duck Trail during July. Bookings are essential, so don’t forget to call ahead.

• Restaurant Balzac - Duck ‘A L’Orange w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $52
• The Devonshire - Roast breast and sausage roll of duck with salsify, hazelnuts and parsley w/ a glass of pinot noir, $46.
• Gastro Park - Textures of duck with local wild mushroom tagliatelle – duck jelly, duck breast, duck ham, smoked duck tenderloin s& pickled swede w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $45
• Golden Century - BBQ peking duck w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $35
• Mosaic – Confit duck leg with bean cassoulet, root vegetables and parsley w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $55
• Treehouse Hotel – Confit duck leg with mixed funghi, cavellero nero and candied cumquats w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $42
• Manly Pavilion – Aged roast duck – balsamico di modena w/ a glass of Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2009, $55

I hope you have a chance to get out and try one of these yummy dishes. If you do, then please drop back and let me know what you thought!

Christie x

Disclosure: Fig & Cherry attended the Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir Duck Trail event as a guest of Cloudy Bay and Red Urban. Many thanks to Angela for organising a great event!

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have been a loyal and happy Flemington Direct customer, but all that has changed.

Last night I received an email from a self proclaimed ‘hacktivist’ who had accessed their email newsletter system and apparently the personal data of all their customers (click here to view the email).

If you are a Flemington Direct customer then you know something funny has been happening for the past few weeks. There have been several weird emails saying they have ceased trading and that they will be starting up a new business called Flemington Fresh. Peppered in between were emails about data (in)security, a recommendation of another vegetable delivery service as well as a personal phone call from a staff member apologising for them closing down. What a mess!

Mitchell, one of the co-founders of Flemington Direct, has set up a website to tell his side of the story (click here) and he says he did not send the email last night (see the comments at the bottom of his website).

If this hacktivist is to be believed, which seems plausible because he sent the email using the company email newsletter template and FlemingtonDirect.com.au has been pulled down, then should we all be very worried?

What I want to know is – are my credit card details secure? A response from the current owners Christine and Nathan would be much appreciated.

From reading Mitchell’s side of the story I understand that the closing of the company was due to deeply personal issues between the owners. However, that does not excuse them from bad business practices, such as apparently not storing credit card details securely or having secure password systems to their customer database.

I will never again use Fleming Direct or Flemington Fresh to deliver my fruit and vegetables. If you have a good box scheme you would like to pimp to me, leave a link to your website in the comments!

Are you a Flemington Direct customer? What do you think of all this?

Christie x