Saucy Onion

Edible thief

2012-01-27T12:25:00.001+11:00

(photo by Mark FitzGerald)

When you garden organically, it's a constant battle dealing with pests.

You win some. You lose some.

I'd had my eye on this delicious Tioga strawberry - ripe and luscious from our recent bout of hot weather in Sydney. But a cunning native slug beat me to it.

He'd burrowed deep into the stawberry eating at least three times his weight in strawberry juice.

Of course once he was discovered, the game was up. This little slug had to go.

At least he died happy.

Handyman Covergirl - The Edible Balcony Book

2012-01-25T09:38:00.002+11:00

There are a long list of magazines I never thought I would ever make the cover of. Handyman Magazine, which is stocked in hundreds of Bunnings hardware outlets across Australia, was definitely one of them.

Look out for the 2012 February issue which features a special on my Edible Balcony book.

Just goes to show that more and more people are making the switch to homegrown - even when they only have a small space garden. Join the movement today.

Morocco - The Angsana Riads of Marakech

2012-01-23T13:11:00.000+11:00

Ok. Take a break from your trowel and potting mix, oven and stove and let me take you on the adventure of a lifetime.

This is the breakfast room at our hotel in Marakech, Morocco - The Angsana Si Said Riad. Heavenly isn't it?

The Angsana Resort Group has a collection of 6 riads in Marakech ( former aristocratic homes) in the Old Medina which have been exquisitely converted into luxury accommodation while preserving their historical features.

Each riad has a central courtyard, spacious rooms, pool, a fireplace, and roof terraces. There are beautiful zellig (ceramic art) tiles, gabbs (picked honey comb plaster work) and tagguebasts (cornices of sculpted plaster) all restored by local artisans.

I Dream of Jeannie meets Arabian nights.....

Being a former French colony, breakfast is a combination of croissants, pastries, eggs and jams or traditional Moroccan breads, rotis and cheeses. And the perfumed filtered coffee and mint tea will leave you in raptures.

Service is 5 star. Your every indulgence is seen to efficiently and discreetly.

Each riad has a menu of local Moroccan dishes including of course a wide variety of tagines. They feature the local ingredients of goat, lamb, chicken, almonds, dried fruit, saffron and paprika.

intricate mosaic floors

The bedroom suites are adorned by tadelakt, a Moroccan plastering technique, and have local antiques, hand-woven carpets, and contemporary artifacts and textiles.

Outside, the Old Medina is buzzing with motorbikes, noisy crowds and loud merchants spruiking their wares. But in our room it is an oasis of calm.

The bathrooms are mesmerising, magical places consisting of curved plastered walls, flickering lanterns and relaxing body treatments.

You're transported to another world...

And then you experience your first hamman - the Morrocan weekly spa and massage ritual.

You lie on stone slabs in warm softly lit treatment rooms and are washed down with strong jets of warm cleasing water. Then you are scrubbed down with desert crystals, rubbed with exotic oils extracted from lavender, rose and argan and lotions made from orange and lemon peels.

And after an hour's massage you won't recognise yourself. I literally floated out the room.

then some mint tea and Moroccan sweets....

and a relaxing drink on the roof-top terrace. While Morocco is a Muslim country, all the Angsana riads have terrific wine lists serving surprisingly excellent local wines. The Romans first introduced wine-making to the region and France developed the industry into a thriving export business until the French relinquished control of Morocco in 1965. My favourite was a Chateau Roslane white from the Les Celliers de Mekenes winery. It's a pity more Moroccan wines don't find their way to Australia.

The Koutoubia Mosque built in the 12th Century. The amplified call to prayers 5 times a day across the city takes a little getting use to.

donkeys and carts are still the best way of getting around in the narrow streets and souks.

The Angsana resorts are all situated a short walk from the busiest square in Morocco - the Jemaa el Fna.

This is one crazy place that has to be experienced to be believed. You'll find snake charmers, monkey-sellers, food stalls, acrobats, dancers and musicians.

And if all this isn't enough the Angsana's managers will arrange tailored tours for you. We enjoyed a guided walking tour through the city with our brilliant guide Ismail. We also drove East through the deserts and oases to the white-washed seaside resort of Essaouira.

On our way we saw what looked like an hallucination. But it wasn't. There were goats in this tree. Apparently the fruit of the argan tree are delicious and the local goats often clamber up to the top branches for a feed!

And the next day a breath-taking trip over the snow-covered Atlas mountains to the 12th Century fortress city of Ait Benhaddou.

Marakech is a dizzy exotic whirl of colour, excitement, romance, and adventure.

It will leave you breathless.

Saucy Onion stayed as a guest of the Angsana Morocco Riads Collection

Edible Balcony - The perfect summer strawberry

2012-01-17T11:33:00.001+11:00

Better eat it before the slugs do!

Cafe Dov - Potts Point's best edible garden

2012-01-16T14:50:00.000+11:00

Cafe Dov is fast becoming a Potts Point institution.

Now it's hyper-energetic owner Tim Petersen has expanded the eatery to include an edible courtyard.

The old car-port and storage area has been transformed into a groovy, relaxing outdoor space - the DOV garden.

Can't you picture your Sydney garden party here? The multi-talented Mr Petersen even turned his hand to some carpentry knocking together this rustic table.

There are trellised cherry tomatoes in recycled plastic tubs..

They're thriving in the protected courtyard...

... and occasionally find their way onto the menu..

There are tubs of soft-leafed rocket...

And an array of herbs to perk up dishes from the kitchen...

Thyme, taragon and mint...

...and more mint.

..filling the space with refreshing aromas...

... flowers including pansies to attract insects..

... and to add colour to the garden..

a potted bay tree

..all thriving amongst the hub-bub of Victoria Street.

A special space in a special part of the city. Book your table today.

Berlin - Brandenburger Hof Hotel

2012-01-13T16:10:00.000+11:00

There's no two ways about it. Berlin is a looooonnnggg way from home.

But for Australians there's no better time to travel to the German capital than now.

With our strong exchange rate and cut-price airfares, the arctic chill can turn on a magical winter wonderland at this time of year.

And there's no better place to make your travel base than the Brandenburger Hof Hotel in Berlin's ritzy Charlottenburg just off the famous Kurfurstendamm shopping precinct and near Europe's largest department store the Kaufhaus des Westens. (KaDeWe)

The Brandenburger Hof is one of those destination hotels.

I could easily pull up sticks here for a few weeks...

Of course it helps that it's a five star hotel with a Michelin star restaurant Die Quadriga.

This is the view from our room of the twinkling bejewelled Christmas Tree in the atrium courtyard.

The one-bedroom suite is modern yet soft and inviting.

I wanted to ship this bed back home with me

after a long chilly day of sight-seeing, there'splenty of room to put up your feet.....

...very relaxing...

... or catch up with some blogging..

Nougat, marshmallows and iced gingerbread to keep the energy up

luxurious bathroom with heated floors, double vanity, deep bath and roomy shower

beautiful body treatments and a spa suite for a rejuvenating massage...

Through the lobby is one of the coolest lounge bars

cocktails and an excellent wine list..

And some interesting pieces of art collected and curated by the hotel's owner

love this mirrored piece..

There are several private dining rooms to book for dinner or a meeting. German Chancellor Angela Merkel can sometimes be spotted here.

Breakfast is the real piece de resistance. It's more like an elaborate ceremony.

several courses featuring the Nordic staples of yoghurt, eggs...

cheese, fruit, pickled fish and buttered chive bread.

The service is impeccable. And yes we did feel like royalty for the day.

To top off a perfect stay we were able to snaffle up some standing-only tickets to the Berlin gig of Bryan Ferry's current tour.

Third row from the front at the intimate Admiralpalast Theatre.

My Only Love.

You have got to come here.

Paris Accommodation - Special Apartments

2012-01-10T11:08:00.001+11:00

Finding the perfect Paris holiday apartment is a problem most of us wished we had more often.
Luckily work takes me to Paris every year or so.

I want to share with you my secret Parisien pied a terre.

This apartment in the 2nd Arrondisement is wonderfully decorated and so comfortable - for one, a couple - or with a pull-out sofa in the lounge a family of four can be easily accommodated.

Special Apartments choose all their apartments very carefully. They are all extremely well-presented, immaculately clean and filled with little homely treasures. And very reasonably priced especially with the current exchange rates.

I love the dramatic theatrics of this space.

The four room apartment is accessed by a lift making lugging your suitcases a little easier on the back.

Exceptionally comfortable bed and heavenly pillows..

And again stylishly selected fabrics, occasional chairs and accessories.

The fireplaces are purely aesthetic. There is a very effective ducted heater and airconditioner in the lounge.

The bathroom is small but functional.

The shower has a strong rose of hot water

The vanity has a cupboard underneath with plenty of room for your toiletries.

aaahhhhh.... the kitchen. The essential ingredient in any Parisien apartment just near the main fresh food markets on Rue Montorgueil.

Lovely roomy kitchen table

all the mod cons including a fabulous gas stove and electric oven

I actually threw a dinner party here for my Paris friends. Fresh organic barbecued chicken, a large tossed salad and apple tart for dessert.

Whether you're looking for digs for the night or for an extended holiday this Special Apartment ticks all my boxes.

Check out Saucy's post in 2010 about the Rue de Montorgueil food markets nearby and I can almost guarantee you'll be booking that holiday to Paris like a flash.

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5630779053316348486#editor/target=post;postID=4660510095036805268

Saucy Onion stayed as a guest of Special Apartments.

Edible Balcony - Weekend Harvest

2012-01-07T17:40:00.001+11:00

Look what grandma is getting this weekend from The Edible Balcony ! Two kilos of cherry and beef tomatoes, a red capsicum, ruby and golden chard, sweet basil, Greek basil, rosemary, sage and curry leaves.

With the weather heating up in Sydney I'm going to try my luck by planting a second crop of tomatoes. They should ripen in mid March.The cherry and sweet bite varieties have been so successful, I think I'll plant them again. No white fly problems and they seemed to survive the wind and rain of December. So next week it's out with the old bushes and in with the new!

Edible Balcony - Hello Big Boy!

2012-01-05T09:21:00.001+11:00

During our overseas travels a very generous neighbour on the 16th floor has been looking after my balcony garden. Despite the heavy rain, wind storms and cold snaps the garden is thriving.

This little beauty - a red capsicum - will find its way into a summer salad on the weekend.

One Night in Bangkok - The Millennium Hilton

2011-12-30T19:59:00.000+11:00

La Nina has hit Thailand cruelly this year. The capital city Bangkok was partly submerged by rapidly rising waters. It was the worst flooding in 50 years.

The mop up has been slow. When we came through in early December on our way to London. Sandbags were still lining some of the street in parts of Downtown. Locals and businesses were busily getting on with life, moving possessions to the roofs of their houses or erecting temporary raised walkways for customers. There are signs of the floods here and there but it is business as usual. It's quite remarkable how efficiently services are back on track.

Sadly tourism has suffered.

Our hotel the Millenium Hilton was eerily empty. All Bangkok hotels have drastically slashed room rates to lure tourists back but take up has been slow. So if you have't locked in your January getaway plans yet snap up some once in a lifetime bargains in the Thai capital.

Our one-bedroom suite with sweeping views across the city was a steal at about

5000 Baht ( $A 156)

Everyone should break the long flight to Europe with a night stopover here. Why suffer in a cramped plane seat when you can sink into this king bed with soft pillows and crisp, cool sheets.

...and then refresh yourself with a rejuvenating soak...

And one of the reasons I'll keep coming back to the Hilton is becuase of this ridiculously magical beach and infinite pool on its 4th floor.

Then there's the 'Jetsons' bar on the top floor with vertigo-inducing views of the city

Can't you just hear the ice clinking in this apple and cinnamon cocktail?

Then downstairs to the cavenous dining room for a dinner from a choice of 5 cuisines...

...while watching the nightlife pump on the busy Chao Phrayer river.

Soothing, relaxing and delicious. Pity we have to leave tomorrow for London.

The Edible Balcony - today

2011-11-19T10:06:00.003+11:00

This is what the Edible Balcony looks like 60 days later on November 19th.

The tomatoes are sprawling barely contained by their stakes

The first juicy fruit will be ready to harvest in a week

The lemon tree flowers have turned into new fruit buds and the herbs are thriving in this burst of early summer heat..

And a new tenant - courtesy of Eden Gardens - is a pomato. It's a plant created by grafting a tomato vine onto a potato plant. When the tomato has flowered and fruited, you can dig up your crop of potatoes!

Perfect for small space gardening.

My spring plantings - Day 1

2011-11-17T12:02:00.001+11:00

All the book promotion for The Edible Balcony ironically delayed my spring plantings until mid September.

The thyme bush is three years old now. I had to replace the oregano with a new seedling.

The tioga strawberries are fruiting for their third year (and probably last)

chives, some silverbeet and nasturtiums as well in the rosemary pot ...

New plantings of butter and red coral lettuce

4 tomato seedlings interplanted with purple and common sweet basil

... these will be towering giants in a few months...

Purple leafed basil not only has a wonderful aniseed flavour - it also provides a stunning visual contrast to all the greenery.

There are two ripe lemons on the Dwarf Meyer lemon tree and dozens of deeply perfumed white flowers

... a perfect enticement for the bees...

Eden Gardens - Edible Balcony Book Dinner Nov 8th

2011-11-02T10:10:00.001+11:00

Seats are going like hot cakes for the Edible Balcony Book dinner with yours truly next Tuesday night November 8th at Eden Gardens, North Ryde, Sydney.

$79 for a 4 course dinner (prepared from recipes from my book) + a signed copy of the Edible Balcony.

During this exclusive event I'll be talking about the book, my balcony and why food gardening is the hottest craze this spring. Book now!

http://www.edengardens.com.au/

Eden Gardens - Edible Balcony Book dinner

2011-11-02T10:00:00.001+11:00

ndira Naidoo’s

Circle of life

Four course dinner

The Edible Balcony is the ultimate guide

to creating an organic balcony garden

that is sustainable and productive plus it

features sumptuous recipes using her

own produce. In celebration of Indira

Naidoo's book launch of The Edible

Balcony, we would like to invite you

come join us in a four course meal

created straight from her book PLUS

each person will receive a complimentary

copy which you can get signed by Indira

on the night.

$79 per person

Includes 4 courses and The

Edible Balcony Book

My Edible Balcony book in stores today!

2011-10-31T13:09:00.001+11:00

Well... it's been a long wait but today has finally arrived. My book is in stores across the country. After a wonderful launch last week with Malcolm Turnbull doing the honours and the ABC's Tony Jones acting as MC, The Edible Balcony was welcolmed into the world of book publishing.
It's a nervous time for a first time author... will people buy it? Will they like it?

Here's a lovely email I just received from Caroline who read an advanced copy of the book during the weekend.

Dear Indira,
Thank you so much for your fabulous book. My husband works for the company that owns penguin, so when I saw that your book will be released on the 31st of October, I asked him to order it for me. And tadah: This Friday he came home with the book, 3 days before it's in the stores.
I feel very honoured to be probably one of the first people, apart from your dear and loved ones, to read The Edible Balcony. And what shall I say? I finished it this very same weekend! I just couldn't put it down!
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and recipes.
Similar to you, I had always grown herbs on my balcony. In the first autumn after we moved here, I added a few citrus trees to the bed that is attached to our balcony: lemon, lime and kaffir lime as well as a lemon myrtle. These followed two small olive trees to cover our sunshade. It actually sounds more and bigger than it really was, they more or less took care of themselves, while my herbs were regularly eaten up by caterpillars overnight.
Last year I tried some tomatoes, but as we were incredibly busy with wedding plans, they certainly did not get the attention (and water) they needed. We had one tomato!

This year though I decided to go for it. I had taken part in the CSIRO Energymark project and one thing that shocked me was how much water is wasted for food of which most ends up in the bin anyway (Australia is the world's second largest waste producer per capita). Coming from Germany to Australia 3 years ago, I never understood how a country like Australia, in which there is always a region with perfect weather to grow food, could import so much food: cherries from USA, mangoes from Mexico, asparagus fro Thailand, garlic from China and so the list goes. I also never understood why people don't grow more fruit and vegies. Even in Germany we grew herbs, tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and even tried zucchini. And this with one month of summer, if at all.
Like you, my first step (in August) was to find out what is suitable to grow on a balcony. And like you, I did not find much out there. Apart from your blog!
I was totally hooked up, read all edible balcony entries in one afternoon. It inspired me what to try out and gave me the confidence that I could do something! I joined the diggers, ordered seeds, started a worm farm and got out there and planted my seeds. Spring onions, tomatoes, rainbow silverbeet, carrots, heirloom radish, pak choy, nasturtiums, beans, soy beans, lettuce, chili, zucchini, rocket, beetroot. Sounds familiar ?
When I read your book over the last two days, I felt as if you had written down my feelings and thoughts: The exact description of the last thought before falling asleep, the first when waking up, running out onto the balcony first thing in the morning to check for new shoots and caterpillar/aphid/slug damage. Coming home from the office or interstate travel, checking on all the progress with a glass of wine in my hand. The excitement I feel with every new plant glimpsing through the soil.
Thank you thank thank you for your inspiring and motivating book. Thank you for sharing your successes but thank you even more for sharing the errors and failures! It makes it so much more believable and motivating to see that not everything is always running smoothly. It feels more like a friend giving advice, rather than a teacher. I am also looking forward to try out your recipes (tonight we will have the moussaka eggplant stacks).

I wanted to write you this email as a first feedback from a passionate fellow balcony farmer on your beautiful book. The layout reminds me of a mini (well, balcony) version of Stephanie Alexander's kitchen garden companion. Please keep up your great work and thank you very much for finding those words to fill the empty computer screen at 4 am. I know I will get back to these words whenever I have a setback on the balcony or if my motivation is dropping.
All the best for this new year of balcony gardening and all the best for your future as a book author.

Warmest regards,
Caroline

Thanks for those very generous supportive words Caroline! Welcome to the food gardening club! thanks Indira

Berkeley, California - Hotel Shattuck Plaza

2011-10-13T17:42:00.001+11:00

I had such an enjoyable stay here that I had to share this sumptuous getaway with Saucy readers.

The Hotel Shattuck Plaza was built just after San Francisco's devastating earthquake and fire of 1906. It was constructed of re-inforced concrete and was immediately lauded as one of the city's finest hotels.

It had several owners during the 1900s and then in 2007 it was bought by BPR properties and completely renovated.

The lobby, bar and restaurant atrium is quite breath-taking.. look at this chandelier!

...beautiful moulded ceilings, potted ferns in the lounge area ...

... and a glorious marble-topped bar which wraps around several pillars.

This is how to have an evening cocktail in style.

I chose a mojito served in an icy cold copper mug

The rooms are spacious with super comfortable beds and stylish furnishings.
The was no fridge in my double room which was a minus - just an ice-bucket.

But the pluses were many.... free WiFi, large wall-mounted flat-screen TV, iPod docking clock radio and an eco-friendly automatic lighting system in the bathroom. And the large shower.... as relaxing as a bath if that is possible.

The hotel is right next to the BART (subway) and opposite a nest of bars and restaurants.

Hotel Shattuck is your San Franciscan home away from home.

Berkeley, California - Michael Pollan's Backyard BBQ

2011-10-10T16:10:00.000+11:00

Chez Panisse, the Berkeley restaurant run by Alice Waters which popularised the farm to the plate movement - turned 40 in August.

Among the dozens of birthday fund-raising celebrations held in California to raise money for Alice's Edible Schoolyard programme, was a backyard BBQ at the Berkeley home of Michael Pollan and his wife Judith Belzer

Michael Pollan is famous for his books on food and gardening. He's doing a 22 hour roast pig for 50 guests who've come here from all over the US - and Sydney! It's crackling away under this makeshift igloo- shaped oven.

Michael's converted his lawn into an edible forest using raised beds.

These boxed beds allow him to grow dozens of herbs and vegetables organically....

... tomatoes...

.... yummmm.....

... and monster beans

..... gargantuan!

guests mill about in the front and on the lovely back deck overlooking the valley

fresh fruit bellinis are being prepared

The Pollan's wonderful homey kitchen is the nerve centre for the Great Pig Rosti Dinner

Produce has been supplied by Devil's Gulch Ranch, Dirty Girl produce, Riverdog farm and Blossom Bluff Orchards.

Then it's the moment of the big reveal...... will it be cooked to perfection?

Vegos look away now.... the covers and foil are removed to reveal a beast fit for a king.

Michael and his assistant chef carry the crispy carcass to the table for serving

Michael seems genuinely in awe of how to break it down...

yes.... let's just get stuck into it...

The juicy flesh falls away from the bone and the crackling breaks into noisy shards of pig skin

ooohhh... well worth the trip from Oz.

The hungry hoards grab a spot on the terrace or garden and the night is quiet and still as we all hoe in.

Michael then gives a speech thanking everyone for their support and helping to make the BBQ such a memorable occasion.

Alice's Edible Schoolyard Programme is teaching school children - many from disadvantaged backgrounds - how to grow, cook and eat. Michael is a big supporter and an advocate of the importance of knowing where your food has come from.

Then it's on to dessert for ... pie. Three different types of pie - apple and rhubarb, apple and plum and just plain apple. All with a thin, crispy, sugary crust.

No-one does pie better than Americans.

And a beautiful hand-churned vanilla ice-cream tops off the bliss.

This pie was almost as memorable as the pig. Almost.

Then it was talking late into the night about food, and farming, and that pie recipe!

The Pollan BBQ was one of the most memorable experiences of my many foodie adventures.

Michael and his wife Judith were really lovely people as well. I got to meet one of my gurus and sit down and enjoy a meal he had cooked for me. Not many people can say that.

Oh, and by the way, Michael now has a copy of my book The Edible Balcony which was inspired by his writings!

My new book - The Edible Balcony - in shops October 31st

2011-09-24T06:28:00.000+10:00

Join popular media personality and foodie Indira Naidoo as she embarks on a mission to transform her tiny thirteen-floor balcony into a bountiful kitchen garden. She soon establishes a productive urban oasis that takes just ten minutes a day to maintain, yet provides her with an ever-changing selection of fresh fruit, herbs and vegetables.

Featuring 60 delicious recipes showcasing her home-grown produce, plus plenty of practical advice, The Edible Balcony charts a year in the life of Indira's balcony garden and gives a season-by-season account of the triumphs and challenges she faces. This warm and engaging book will inspire even the most reluctant green thumbs to channel their inner gardeners and reconnect with nature, while also saving money and reducing their carbon footprint

http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9781921382536/edible-balcony

Hobart in Three Days - Garagistes Bar/Restaurant

2011-09-09T11:12:00.009+10:00

In unprepossessing surrounds in a disused garage in the centre of Hobart is a dimly lit food alchemist's lair.

It's only 6pm but already foodies from around the state and from the mainland are securing their table for the night. Such is the reputation of this young restaurant. Seating is at the bar or at high communal tables set with stoneware.

Under the hyperactive creative genius of Luke Burgess - who has already collected a bag of food awards - Garagistes is quite an exhilarating experience.

Garagistes is quickly raising the bar when it comes to sourcing the best local organic ingredients and enhancing their flavours with French and Japanese techniques.

Much of the cooking takes place on this dramatic exposed wood-fired grill pit in the centre of the kitchen.

darjeeling-brined quail eggs, toasted tashiminori rice , oyster cream

grilled lamb ribs, peppers, lemon, coriander seeds

Meltingly tender. Sucked to the bone.

Fried tripe, tomatillo mayonnaise. Spicy and gelatinous with a crunchy crust

braised heirloom carrots + turnips, almond cream, young garlic, nuts and seeds

strips of vegetable candy

crisp black pudding crumbs, salt-coated celeriac, apple allioli, pea flowers. Deeply rich but again a textural delight.

Look out for this rare Tasmanian label chardonnay. Unusally delicious.

This is a destination restaurant that every food lover wishes was in their city. Lucky Hobart.

Bowral, NSW - Biota Dining Restaurant

2011-08-17T10:54:00.018+10:00

Biota Dining is not what you expect to find in the sleepy hamlet of Bowral in the NSW southern highlands

Head Chef Shaun Quade and executive chef and co-owner James Viles have embraced the bio/organic food trend and added their own exquisite twist.

The sprawling restaurant complex which includes a formal dining area and a more casual lounge area is set on rolling grassed property with a duck pond and organic kitchen garden.

The garden provides seasonal ingredients for the restaurant's menu from fennel pollen to edible flowers.

When I took a squiz there were beds of winters greens and root vegies

The formal restaurant also has an organic feel with Scandanavian furniture, lichen-covered floral arrangements and blocks of pink rock salt as table centre pieces.

We loved the wine list - extensive wines by the glass, local southern highland varietals as well drops from Jerez in Spain.

The kitchen pumps with a youthful energy. The staff clearly eat the fresh ingredients they cook!

Our amuse bouche: anise jelly with chicken parfat and peanut crumbs. Worth the detour just for this textural delight.

beetroot and king fish carpaccio

oooohhhhh....

Palate cleanser served on garden moss ( and , no, you don't eat the moss.)

strawberries and raspberries

Roasted local lamb with garden silverbeet

Organic chicken with grilled greens and polenta

Biota Dining has all the style and attitude of a 5 star city restaurant with the heart of a country kitchen.

Check it out before it is too hot to get a table!

The Newmarket Hotel, Melbourne - The Best Chef's Table in Australia?

2011-06-13T11:12:00.002+10:00

I'm always on the lookout for good food experiences in great spaces.... and this weekend in Melbourne I think I may have found the location that gets my vote for the 'best Chef's Table in the country'.

This is the private dining space at the Newmarket Hotel in St Kilda, Melbourne.

It's like a Caravaggio painting.

A long wooden table with red vinyl and chrome swivel chairs seating up to 16 people.... buttressed by the glass-fronted kitchen and a roaring open fireplace to the left of frame.

And suspended above it... a magnificent installation of hanging long red chillies, garlic bulbs and dried artichoke heads.

A food chandelier. Truly inspired.

And all behind this non-descript heritage facade on Inkerman St.

The Newmarket is the brainchild of the same group of food entrepreneurs who gave us Melbourne's Albert Park Hotel , the Middle Park Hotel and The Royal Saxon Hotel at Richmond.....

...and their architects Six Degrees.

The space is a mix of hip and retro...with these dramatic concrete arches, painted blue ceilings, skylights

flowing outdoor spaces

...just made for gathering with friends.

A raunchy wallpaper frieze from the original building has been lovingly reproduced

va va voom....

Which brings us to the food.... a modern take on Cal-Tex (Californian Mexican)... rotisseried rare breed meats (goat, lamb, beef), wondrously soft tacos, salads and wood-fired flat breads to have individually or shared.

We start with the oysters. Squeaky fresh and filled with ozoney sea-water

Tom Thumbs and Rusty Wire

...and saucer-sized angassi's which were a meal in themselves

wood-fired cheese and tomato flat-bread

fresh buffalo mozzarella, basil leaf and pomegrante seed salad

And the dish to make men swoon....

beef rib-eye roast with jus, corn relish and corn puree.

Can Melbourne set the food bar any higher?

You just have to come here with a big party of friends.

This is a place where memories are made.

Margan Restaurant - Broke, Hunter Valley, NSW

2011-06-06T09:34:00.005+10:00

The sustainability theme of our weekend continues with lunch at the Margan Wine estate in Broke in the Hunter Valley.

It's restaurant - Margan - was awarded the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food Guide's Sustainability Award this year.

The restaurant is surrounded by acres of gardens...

... vineyards...

....and a sprawling vegetable garden that supplies the restaurant with most of its seasonal produce.

The restaurant is filled with natural light reflected onto its sandstone walls

Crusty homemade ciabatta with a grassy, peppery new season olive oil and a fruity balsamic.

The menu changes daily depending on what is ready for harvesting from the kitchen garden.

The freshness of the ingredients, the magical touch of the chefs and matching wines from Margan are going to blow you away. You MUST visit here soon.

amuse bouche: salmon tartare on crostini

salmon carpaccio and roe with citrus vinaigrette, baby herbs and crispy salmon skin

as beautiful to eat as it is to look at it

grilled harissa prawns with a chilled green gazpacho soup

the spicy gazpacho was made from parsley, coriander, green peppers and cucumber from the garden - of course!

stuffed crispy-skinned chicken with morcilla, king brown mushrooms and porchini jus.

This sent me to heaven.

The vegie garden is beckoning...

First stop the chook house which supplies the restaurant with its eggs

in return the chickens feast on organic kitchen scraps. Yum, yum.

A little foraging for bugs and grubs....

potatoes ready to harvest

onions

asparagus just beginning to poke through

every herb under the sun

I want to live here.

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Test Drive - goget carshare

2011-06-05T11:38:00.009+10:00

Our long weekend test drive of the goget carshare service got off to a bad start.

The car we had booked was a Toyota Prius - a hybrid car which has a dual petrol and electric engine designed for greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

Elise the Prius (all goget cars have names) was parked conveniently in her 'pod' on Macleay St, Potts Point - a Sydney City Council designated space for car share cars.

goget has hundreds of pods located in most of Sydney's inner city suburbs. Car share schemes make sense. Cars are conveniently located for quick shopping trips or longer journeys. Using them is cheaper than running a car of your own and of course they are better for the environment.

All goget cars are fitted with an electronic locking device and members receive a swipe card 'key' that opens and closes the car. Straightforward you'd think but it took us some time to find the swipe box which we eventually located near the side window on the driver's side door. If just opening the car was a challenge for us little did we know what lay ahead....

Next we had to work out how to start the engine which wasn't easy given that there was no manual in the car just a 6 - step instruction sheet which wasn't very clearly written.

The minutes were ticking away as we pressed buttons and released foot brakes to no avail. Our nerves were fraying as every attempt proved futile. This was harder than breaking into Fort Knox.

Finally after 15 minutes of sweating and snapping we cracked the magic start code. It involved putting a 'plastic black stick' attached to a cord (not a traditional key) into a slot, pressing the power button and stepping on the brake pedal.

The console lit up like the cockpit of a small plane and the engine whirred into action. There were monitors showing the engine and battery efficiency and touch button screens to control music and air conditioning. Did it really need to be this complicated?

Anyway... in went our luggage into what we were surprised to find was quite a generous-sized boot space (considering the tanks and technology below). The interior of the car was clean and in good condition but because the car had been parked on the street it was covered in leaves and dust from nearby building work. You could hardly see out the windows. A quick stop at the Wooloomooloo service station, a few buckets of water later and off we set to the Hunter Valley.

The first thing you notice is how eerily quiet a Prius is. So quiet in fact that when you stop at lights it's difficult to tell by listening if the car is running at all. We were impressed with how much grunt it did have for a hybrid and our 4 and half hour journey to the farm we were staying at just near Aberdeen was comfortable and went without a hitch.

Late Sunday afternoon with the sun casting long shadows over the golden paddocks and it's time to hit the road back to Sydney with a night stopover in a guesthouse in

Pokolbin.

The next morning is when THE HORROR BEGINS.

We awake to find a flat tyre on the front right wheel.

Fortunately the property's fix-it man sees two clity slickers in meltdown and comes to our aid.

The Prius ( like many modern cars) is only fitted with a temporary spare tyre and we'll need to go to a tyre specialist in Cessnock to get the tyre repaired and changed. And it will be slow going. Our 'noddy' tyre can only tolerate speeds of up to 80 km per hour.

In Cessnock the tyre repairers discover a nail in the tread but say it can be fixed if we can wait about 30 minutes.

We are a little stressed at this stage because the delay could make Mark late for work back in Sydney.

We park in a nearby side street to wait. We think a little music will help calm our nerves but when we try to play a CD without starting the engine we set off the car's immobiliser. For a quiet car the Prius's alarm can certainly make a lot of noise. Weirdly the doors lock us in and we're trapped in this head splitting cacophony.

This is where Mark loses it Basil Fawlty-style and starts shouting at Elise as if she was a real person.

Somehow the doors unlock and we escape looking at Elise as if she has become Christine in the Stephen King book.

Mark is exploding with a white rage I have never seen before.... raling at goget, Priuses, noddy spare tyres and cars without proper metal keys. I tell him firmly to go for a walk while I ring the goget help centre.

The woman I get through to is very helpful and talks me through what has happened, how to switch off the alarm and how to restart the car.

30 minutes later we manage to start the car again, get the repaired tyre fitted and hit the freeway for the last leg of our trip back to Sydney.

For the first hour we drive in exhausted silence.

This was not how we expected our road test to go.

We reach Sydney drop off our bags outside our apartment and I park Elise back in her pod.

A 3-day hire of Elise costs roughly $100 per day and includes all expenses.

Overall the service was clean, convenient and we hardly used any petrol. A manual in every car is essential though.

Would I use goget and Elise again? Definitely, now that I am more familiar with the start and stopping system of the Priuses. And no doubt some of our problems were caused by our own ineptitude.

Would Mark use it again.... what do you think?

Saucy Onion travelled courtesy of goget car share.

Edible Balcony - Awash with Morning Sun

2011-05-11T08:00:00.002+10:00

Took a few quick snaps this morning of the Edible Balcony so you could see it in its autumn splendour.

Being north facing autumn and winter is when the balcony is flooded with light and sunshine.

The thai chillies in the foreground and the tomatoes on the back wall have had a second round of flowering and fruiting.

This gorgeous coloured herb in the front is a curly-leafed purple basil - my favourite herb on the balcony - so, so fragrant and pretty to look at.

This is the tiny-leafed Greek basil variety which is quite citrusy. Very easy grower if you're looking for a basil hit over winter.

Last of the cherry tomatoes. Definitely planting this 'Tiny Tim' variety again. Prolific fruiter and very sweet. No fruit fly or pest problems.

The rhubarb is starting to erupt. Haven't cooked with it yet. Waiting for sufficient stalks to make an apple, rhubarb and glace ginger crumble.

My rocket patch.

The marigolds have done a sterling job at keeping pests at bay.

the curry leaf tree is enjoying all this direct sunlight

And still a few more tomato flowers emerging

The Edible Balcony - It's now a book!

2011-05-08T12:39:00.002+10:00

Dear Saucy Onion readers,

Since 2009 you've all been following the ups and downs of life on my Edible Balcony. Well, now you can buy the book! My book The Edible Balcony will be published by Penguin Lantern in November 2011.
You can keep up to date with all the news about the book on The Edible Balcony Book blog.
I'll let you know about my book tour, appearances, and competitions to win your copy.

My first posting is about how I got my first book deal. Here's the link :

http://theediblebalcony.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-i-got-my-book-deal.html

Nouha Taouk - Whispers From a Lebanese Kitchen

2011-05-06T08:38:00.003+10:00

Last night in Sydney was the unveiling of the hottest new cookbook to hit the bookstores.

Nouha Taouk is a Lebanese Australian who has been recording her family's recipes since she was 10 years old - never imagining in her wildest dreams that one day they would be published.

It's the women in Nouha's family - her grandmother Citi Leila, her mother Joumana and her aunts Therese, Hind and Rosa (front row right)- who are responsible for the cooking passion in her family.

As she says in her book "Every family has their story - mine is best told through food'.

At last night's launch at Berkelouw Books in Mona Vale, Nouha shared some of her treasured cooking memories and how difficult it was to extract extact recipe measurements from her relatives. 'There is no measuring. They just throw in a handful of this or that. It is all about intuition.'

Whispers From a Lebanese Kitchen features beautiful evocative photos taken by Nouha's husband Johan Palsson. There are authentic and time-tested recipes for baba ghanoush, kofta and Lebanese sweets.

Lucky attendees got to sample a few recipes from the book...

A veritable Lebanese feast....

Triangle spinach pies (fatayr)

Hummous (it was the best I've ever tasted)

Baked Kibbeh (Kibbeh bi sayneeh)

Nouha's proud mother Joumana.

Nouha with her aunt

I am Lebanese woman - Hear me roar!

Recipe: Chocolate Banana Bread

2011-05-02T09:42:00.002+10:00

When the temperature drops like this my 'need-to-bake' gene switches into full force. Crank up the oven, grab a bowl and a wooden spoon et voila! a little treat to enjoy with your afternoon cuppa - or in your lunch box.

This banana bread recipe is from Bill Granger. It is absolutely delicious. Dust it with icing sugar or toast a slice and slather it with butter. I do find this recipe a little sweet so instead of 1 cup of sugar I use just 3/4 of a cup. And make sure your bananas are over-ripe for an extra gooey texture.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups plain flour

2 tspns baking powder

1 cup caster sugar

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

125 g unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 tspn vanilla extract

1 cup dark choc chips

METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease a 24cm x 13cm x 7cm loaf tin. Sift the flour and baking power in a bowl and add the caster sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the bananas, butter, eggs, vanilla and choc chips. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours or until when a skewer is inserted in the centre it comes away clean.

Quarter Twenty One - A Mid-Autumn Night's Dream

2011-04-28T11:31:00.004+10:00

The move by Sydney's two-hatted Becasse restaurant to the the Westfield Shopping Centre in Pitt St has set tongues-a-wagging.

Becasse's new digs on Level 5 are part of a new eatery foodhall complex created by chef/owners Justin and Georgia North.

The Norths and their architects have gone to a lot of trouble to camouflage the fact that you're in the middle of a large shopping centre.

The entrance to the new Becasse takes some of its cues from a theatrical production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Vines dotted with fairy lights twist over the walls and ceiling of the long entrance hall turning from shades of green to red representing the changing seasons. I can almost imagine Puck scampering along here.

and at the end of the hall a dramatic forest

The new dining space is small and initimate compared to Becasse's old Clarence Street location. Just 24 seats.

It's warm, romantic and very feminine

Justin is very proud of this 'tastebud' art piece...

...which has little peep windows into the kitchen.

As well as being stocked with the latest gadgetry the kitchen is a work of art in itself.

and it can all be enjoyed at the 8-seater chef's table

As part of the North's food precinct, there's a commercial bakery, a full-time butcher..

... a providore and a cooking school.

and another restaurant Quarter Twenty One....

..which will seat 70 and serve modern European fare.

Last night at the official opening we got to sample a few of the menu delights. Fried prawns...

marinated yellow-fin tuna

and bite-sized duck pies

Justin and Georgia have taken a 4 million dollar gamble that just may pay off.

This is the classiest shopping centre foodhall I've ever seen.

Recipe: Wild honeyed ANZAC biscuits

2011-04-23T10:02:00.000+10:00

Yes, it's that time of the year again - ANZAC bikkie time. Like chocolate eggs and hot cross buns, it just doesn't seem right to eat these biscuits at any other time of the year.

I've been baking ANZAC biscuits since Mrs Thorpe's home economics class when I was just 12 years old.

This recipe is based on the ANZAC biscuit recipe from that wise tome "Cookery The Australian Way".
I've substituted the golden syrup in this recipe for wild honey - mainly because I picked up a small jar of roadside honey on the way back from the Wolgan Valley last week and wanted to try it out. It makes a delicious alternative to golden syrup. I also threw in two tablespoons of shredded coconut at the oats, sugar and flour stage for added crunch.

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup plain flour

1 tablespoon wild honey (or plain honey or golden syrup)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

2 tablespoons boiling water

1/2 cup butter, melted

Method:

Set the oven to 160 degrees celsius. Mix oats, sugar and flour. Ina separate bowl mix honey, soda and boiling water. While frothing add the melted butter and pour over dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Drop spoonfuls onto a floured tray allowing room for the mixture to spread. Bake at 160 C for 18-20 minutes.

Cool on a cake cooler.

The Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa - 24 hours in bush paradise

2011-04-20T15:36:00.012+10:00

It's a dark and stormy Saturday morning. Thick grey clouds have rolled in over Sydney and the rain is bucketing down. With the rest of the city still sensibly tucked up in bed we set off on a 3 hour drive north-west over the Blue Mountains, past Lithgow to the mystical Wolgan Valley.

It's here - in a little-known grazing plain surrounded by towering red-faced sandstone cliffs - that Emirates has built its first Australian eco-resort - the Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa.

The Wolgan Valley? As in the fictional setting for the television series A Country Practice? No, that's Wandin Valley.

The Wolgan Valley has been a well-guarded secret known only to the local Wurundjeri people, a few graziers and some serious bush-walkers.

As you drive past the power station at Wallerawang and the local colliery, and make your way down the steep cutting fringed with ancient ferns, this extraordinary valley is the last thing you expect to see.

It's simply breathtaking. A seemingly geologically impossible creation. 300 metre high fire-red cliffs rising from the lush valley floor.

The scouts from Emirates apparently stumbled across this location during a helicopter recce. How else would they have known this ancient jewel was here?

But there's still a hairy challenge ahead for us ...

After the heavy rain, the 14km pot-holed dirt road leading to the resort gives our stationwagon quite a work-out...

We slip and slide as the red mud flies in all directions. The signs say drive with care. No choice but to.

We leave our car at the main gates and are picked up with our luggage and taken to the main homestead for check-in and a quick orientation.

With a location as jaw-dropping as the Wolgan Valley, the resort doesn't try to compete. In fact the selection of architecture and building materials were all designed to have minimum impact on the local environment and to blend in to the natural colours and bushscapes.

A quick lunch of beef burger and mushroom pie in the country kitchen dining room .....

and then it's off to explore our stix for the weekend.

The 40 individual lodges combine the elements of an Australian bush homestead with the luxurious fittings of the most upmarket 5-star hotel apartment. This is the sort of ''roughing it' I could get used to.

Conservation is an important ethos of the resort and many sustainable principles have been incorporated into its design.

Rainwater is collected from each lodge and solar panels heat all the hot water systems. Building materials have been sourced from natural and recycled materials where possible. The work of local tradespeople and artisans feature throughout the resort from the sculptural metal door handles to table lamps.

Each heritage lodge room has its own heated swimming pool,

gas fireplace and four poster bed

double sink vanities

bath

spacious shower with a glass sky roof

satellite TV and a surround sound DVD/CD and iPod system
no mobile reception but every building has free WiFi

The selection of linens and fabrics, rugs and furniture take their influences from African safaris, New Zealand ski lodges and exclusive London clubs.

Nightly rates start from $1,560.00 (meals and alcohol included) so Wolgan is a celebration destination for most of us. We want to stay indoors to revel in this luxury but the landscape beckons.

The first stop is the property's original homestead which has been diligently retained and restored and features in a guided tour.

The valley was a sacred Aboriginal meeting place and hunting ground and then used by pastoralists for cattle grazing.

An original hut.

A hole for a rifle to help keep intruders at bay

The famous naturalist Charles Darwin even visited here in 1836.

The kitchen gardens are used to augment the resort's menu with fresh seasonal produce.

Kitchen herb garden

Parsley

Lemon grass

Very life-like scarecrow

Strawberry patch

Rhubarb

And lovely flowers to atttract pollinators

Several rivers including the Carne Creek have kept the Wolgan Valley well-watered for centuries. Tests have shown the Carne Creek still has some of the purest drinking water in the state.

It's what keeps the Valley so rich with wildlife.
A four wheel drive tour at dusk gives us a glimpse of the inquisitive locals..

walleroos

kangaroos.

Sadly no sightings today of the famous three white albino walleroos who live in the valley.

Then it's on to dinner served in the cathedral-style dining hall in the main homestead.

Dwane Goodman's menu changes daily ensuring that the best local wines and produce get to feature

Tonight in the five-course menu there's a duck, quail and chicken terrine with a fennel remoulade.

A Pedro Ximenez sorbet palate cleanser

a beetroot tart

And a chocolate molten pudding for dessert.

and fruit and cheese plate if you can find the room

This is very serious food - well worth a trip in its own right.
All courses are accompanied by an inclusive selection of local wines. My highlight - a delicious sauvignon blanc from Printhie wines in Orange.

We stagger back to our lodge well-sated. The night is inky black.The air is fresh and crisp. We've only been in the valley for a few hours but it already feels like days. This must be what relaxing feels like.

The next morning the clouds have gone and the cliffs are shimmering in the bright light.

Breakfast is generous, and filling.

We are leaving after lunch. Just enough time to squeeze in some treatments at the Timeless Spa Centre.

A Barbour facial for me and a Swedish massage for Mark.

The barbour facial uses products from the German babour skin care range and a cool crystal stick which my therapist uses to gently press down on my face's pressure points. Wonderful sensation and deeply invigorating.

Mark emerges from his massage in a floating cloud of deep bliss.

We check out at reception where our driver is waiting to take us back to our car parked at the main entrance

Magical and memorable

Those ancient cliffs are calling me back......

Saucy Onion stayed as a guest of the Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa

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Edible Balcony - Curly-Leafed Purple Basil

2011-04-09T08:32:00.001+10:00

How beautiful is the leaf of this basil variety! I stumbled across a punnet of this rare basil at the Eden Gardens Garden Centre in North Ryde, Sydney and rushed home to pot it.

It looks like it won't be as robust a grower as the common basil variety next to it, so it will be a few weeks before I have enough leaves to make a batch of 'purple' pesto.

The leaves are not only pretty but have a strong aniseed-mintiness similar to Thai basil.

If you use basil in your sauces, salads, and pastas as much as I do, you will love experimenting with this delicate variety.

The National Sustainable Food Summit, April 2011, Melbourne

2011-04-07T14:38:00.161+10:00

Dear Food Citizen (the new more empowering term for 'consumer'),

It is with great delight that Saucy Onion reports back from the National Sustainable Food Summit held in Melbourne over the past two days. Why a summit? Well, it sounds more important than calling it a conference doesn't it? Although that was effectively what it was;

a two-day chin-wag at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium where we could literally watch the grass grow under unsustainable artificial light grids if proceedings became dull. Not that they ever did.

About 600 delegates from all sectors of Australia's food industry (farmers, growers, scientists, dieticians, food technologists, health clinicians, politicians) gathered to throw in their two bobs' worth about how we can address the 'coming famine'. May sound alarmist but Coming Famine is the title of the latest book by one of the summit speakers, Australian science and agricultural journalist Julian Cribb.

Mr Cribb is a bespeckled man in his late 60s with striped braces. His appearance does not prepare us for his energetic and
impassioned presentation. His PowerPoint slides are filled with armaggedon-like scenarios.

- 40% of the world in drought by the end of the century
- a world population of 7-8 billion hungry mouths to feed
- no fossil fuels to drive industry
- half the planet's fresh water gone
- scarce and costly fertilisers
- more climate uncertainty
- and more conflicts and wars causing food refugees to flood into
Australia and other wealthy nations

NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM
Julian Cribb wasn't all doom and gloom. He said Australia would lead the new eco-agricultural revolution needed to meet this famine by sharing our technology and innovation with other countries. He said Australian farmers excelled at low-input farming and needed to be supported financially and socially. He wants us to teach our children a new respect for food and how it is produced. We also need to reshape our diets.

We only eat 200 of the world's 23,000 edible plants
In Australia we eat 5 of the 6000 edible varieties available

Professor Robin Batterham - the chemical engineering whiz - is on the podium now. He's like a walking brain - all head and hardly any body. His hair is wiry and wild. He is the archetypal professor. He reminds us that ....
" even the most educated person after 7 days without food becomes a raging savage''

It's been a whole two hours since my last meal and I'm finding it hard to concentrate. Professor Batterham wants us to focus on waste. He says we produce enough food for no-one to go hungry but last year 1 in 20 Australians didn't have enough to eat. He blames distribution systems and our throwaway society.

He quotes an example from the British food industry where 3 billion cartons of unopened yoghurt are thrown away each year because they are past their use-by-date. He wants to see 'use by' replaced with 'best by'.

He wants Australia to pump more money into agricultural research and development (R&D) which has been steadily declining over the past few decades.

He also wants us to buy land overseas (such as in Mozambique) so we can extend our agricultural pastures!

Another Day 1 speaker - Dr Amanda Lee from the Queensland Department of Health makes some provocative statements about obesity.

She describes the obesity epidemic as a 'failure of the market economy'. She wants to see a national Food Security Agency to tackle obesity and promote health. She says research shows we are all eating the wrong things.... too much energy-dense, less nutritious foods and not enough vegetables, whole grains and fish. Dr Lee wants vending machines for healthy foods to make nutritious food more convenient.

Our next speaker is also from Queensland Robert Pekin of Food Connect. Food Connect is based on the principles of community supported agriculture (CSA) where produce comes from local farmers.

These local farms return 56% of the profits back to the farmer where the current industrialised farming model only returns 15%. This is because CSAs have a more efficient distribution system which makes them local and nimble. In fact Robert says that during the recent Queensland floods all Brisbane's fresh food came from local, high land CSAs for two weeks before the roads and railways were cleared for other produce to be trucked in.

RANDOM FACTS FROM THE SUMMIT

- Australian rice farmers are the most water efficient in the world

- One google search could produce as much as 6 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2)

- One of our keynote speakers Dr Tim Flannery has discovered more new species than Charles Darwin did

- There are on average 40,000 items in a supermarket

All this talk of food and of not having food whets our appetites for a sustainable dinner at the Melbourne Aquarium.

Thankfully fish is NOT on the menu - sustainably-grown grassland beef, risotto, organic beetroots and local cheese.

organic radish, beetroot and goats cheese

apple pie with cinnamon ice-cream

The stingrays keep doing their laps around their tank a little bemused... possibly wondering if these funny bipedal creatures will find the answers to our looming food crisis.

Melbourne - Langham Hotel

2011-03-21T11:15:00.004+11:00

We're in Melbourne for our friend Louise's wedding.

We're staying at the Langham Hotel famed for its discreet service and luxurious rooms. I've scored a discounted media room rate so I can share my experiences with Saucy readers.

The Langham is smack bang in the middle of Melbourne's vibrant arts and dining precinct on the Southbank Promenade on the Yarra River.

It has a 5 star rating with room rates starting at around $295.

We're staying in a spacious Club River Room King which comes with complimentary internet and access to the Langham Club on Level 24.

Our room has views stretching over the Yarra, Federation Square and the city centre

The king bed has very comfortable pillows (I've been known to travel overseas with my own pillow so a good one is essential! ) The featherey quilt is soft and enveloping.

Hotel carpets are usually non descript and not worth commenting about but I love this fun, organic, feminine print.

The bathrooms are a real winner - sold marble, spacious with a deep bath, large shower and wide vanity counter.

There's also an impressive spa complex in the hotel on Level 9 - the Chuan Spa - if you need additional pampering.

The Langham takes its dining venues seriously - there's the fine dining Melba Restaurant, and the ARIA bar and lounge which serves light meals including the signature afternoon tea or Langham Tiffin.

For club members the Langham Hotel Club offers complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea and pre-dinner drinks and hors d'oeuvres.

Breakfasts trully cater for everyone..... fresh fruit, yoghurts and cereals...

cold meats and cheeses....

honey straight from the comb...

and of course a hot selection including roast tomatoes and mushrooms.

smokey bacon rashers and pork chipolatas

... it hits the spot

So if you want a little luxury during a weekend getaway, the Langham is certainly an ideal base to explore Melbourne from.

Edible Balcony - Ms Butterfly drops in

2011-03-16T17:35:00.001+11:00

It's a hot Sydney afternoon as I sit at my desk looking out onto my balcony and across to the hazy parklands of The Domain.

Like most people around the world I am streaming the latest news on the containment of the radioactive leaks at the Fukushima reactors in Japan.

It's all too frightening to comprehend.

This morning a psychologist was on the radio warning of the dangers of post traumatic stress disorders among those following the tragedy.

He said after the Queensland floods, Cyclone Yasi, the Christchurch earthquake and now the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown in Japan, most of us simply don't have the coping mechanisms to process the 24-hour images we're being bombarded with.

And then.... like a sign from above... a beautiful butterfly flutters into sight!

This is the first time I've ever seen a butterfly like this on my 13th floor balcony garden.

It's easily the size of the palm of my hand ... velvety black and white with vivid red and blue spots.

She seems to like the Dwarf Meyer lemon tree.

I'm immediately bouyed by her playful presence and pretty markings.

Can anyone identify my little friend?

Edible Balcony - autumn update

2011-03-14T07:53:00.000+11:00

Well, a rare appearance from moi surrounded by my herbs and vegies. I'm thrilled by my late season crop of tomatoes - cherry in the foreground and grape and sweet bite against the back wall. All sweet and delicious and no whitefly problems. Will definitely be growing these varieties next year.The butter lettuce has been thriving. No bug attack yet. At my feet is the candy-striped beetroot that should be ready to harvest from next week. Behind me are the dwarf lemon tree, the rhubarb, herbs, silverbeet, and the cavolo nero (tuscan cabbage) on the vertical wall.

Time to start thinking about what to put in for winter.

Maybe some carrots where the tomatoes are now and some asian greens when the lettuces are finished?

Newcastle - Hot Destination

2011-03-01T08:29:00.001+11:00

We were in Newcastle on the weekend to see Roxy Music. The concert was brilliant perfection.

You may have read - with some surprise - that Newcastle was recently voted by Lonely Planet as one of 2011's top ten hottest cities in the world.

I've been visiting Newcastle a bit during the last decade so that didn't raise my eyebrows but

how did Newcastle manage to get on a list that included New York, Valencia and Delhi?

Well since the BHP steelworks closed here 12 years ago, gone is the choking pollution and brown haze that cloaked many of Newcastle's finest assets.

Eat your heart out Sydney; Newcastle's beaches are a mecca for surfers and sunseekers who are drawn to the dramatic rocky coastlines and wide sandy shores.

My favourite spot are the Ocean Baths on Shortland Esplanade.

They've undergone a magnificent restoration.

There is simply no more magical a place to take a dip than here....

.... especially when the rips and stingers are about at nearby Nobby's Beach!

This is the view from our hotel room at Noah's on the Beach. The hotel is old-fashioned and out of place in a beach environment with its dark pannelled interiors, heavy furniture and brass fittings. But with the beach, crashing waves and the pool at your doorstep we still keep coming back.

Since our last visit the local takeaway fish and chip joint on Scott St has morphed into a fine diner as well.

Scotties is well worth a pit stop

From the back door locals can still pickup their takeaway orders..

..all the usual uspects are here including hand-cut chips

Or dine casually inside or under the umbrellas in the next door park

The coffee is top class

For breakfast we had organic poached eggs..

and the full hot brekkie with moreish mushrooms and a tasty hash brown.

Newcastle is only a two hour drive from Sydney so what are you waiting for? Head out there this weekend!

Greenhouse by Joost - Sydney's Hippest Hang

2011-02-23T16:54:00.002+11:00

Ok - she says hyperventilating - I may have found my eco version of Colin Firth....

This extraordinary structure is GREENHOUSE SYDNEY by Joost Bakker, a Dutch-born Melbourne architect who specialises in sustainable construction.

Here's what Joost (pronounced Yoast) has to say about his pop-up restaurant/bar near Quay restaurant at Circular Quay which is made from 3 shipping containers-

"Some people in the building industry regard it as possibly the greenest building on Earth,” says architect Joost Bakker. “Because it’s been considered on so many levels, it probably is.
The venue is constructed from 100 per cent recycled or sustainable materials. A rooftop garden grows vegetables and herbs that are served in the restaurant downstairs. Only local or sustainable produce go into the food and drinks menus and the venue is rubbish-bin free – only waste that can be composted is allowed onto the site."

Australian artist David Bromley has painted a mural on one side of the restaurant's exterior.

The other exterior walls are covered with racks of potted strawberries.

As well as supplying the restaurant with fresh fruit, the plants act as cooling and heating insulation.

The structure is light and airy and when you're inside you feel as though you're floating on the harbour.

The walls are covered in black painted environmental slogans.

They've also beeen coated with a bio-char so carbon is absorbed and held within the walls of the structure.

Water, beer and wine come in an assortment of jars. Don't drink the flower arrangement by mistake.

The restaurant is open all day but the roof-top bar only starts heaving at 5pm.

Joost designed and made the chairs from aluminium irrigation pipes and the seats are made from leather off-cuts from a Victorian tannery. They are remarkably comfortable.

The floors are are made from old conveyer belts...

quite ingenious really...

plantation timber utensils and hemp napkins...

Matt Stone -winner of the 2011 Gourmet Traveller Award for Best New Talent - heads the kitchen. His short and pared down menu is served on plywood boards.

I had half a dozen Sydney rock oysters at $3 a pop - briny and creamy...

.. and a charcuterie plate with house-made tomato bread.

Get in quick. Greenhouse by Joost is only in Sydney for a few more weeks before it's packed up to begin its European tour to Milan, Berlin, Budapest and London.

Sydney Urban Sprawl Threathens Market Gardens

2011-02-23T11:46:00.002+11:00

It's well-documented how Sydney's rampant urban sprawl is eating up our agricultural land at a rate of knots.

I stumbled across one of the few surviving market gardens while driving through Brighton Le Sands.

Tucked behind housing estates and the Kyeemagh RSL Club was a green oasis

With towering housing estates ominously rising in the background this market garden specialises in Asian herbs and greens.

I counted at least 40 different varieties of cabbages, herbs and lettuces.

Market gardens - typically about two hectares - play a vital role in the city's food supply, providing up to 90 per cent of our vegetables.

It's highly intensive work.... hand ploughing and digging, and lugging soils, and fertilisers with wheelbarrows.

It's a hard life but a rewarding one that has supported waves of immigrants.

Professor Frances Parker from the University of Western Sydney says the Sydney basin has the highest number of horticulturalists for any region in Australia and the highest number from different cultural backgrounds.

Increasing urbanisation has seen many market gardens concreted over for housing estates and roads

This fresh basil....

crisp spearmint...

...and crunchy continental parsley, that we all see at our local growers markets and grocery stores everyday, could soon have to be flown or trucked in from somewhere else. This will make our produce less fresh, less tasty, more expensive and cause more carbon pollution from transportation.

We need to protect our market gardens for our own food security and to support the livelihoods of market gardeners.

Dangar Island, NSW - The Place That Time Forgot

2011-02-19T17:16:00.006+11:00

We're spending 24 hours on Dangar Island.

Dangar is on the Hawkesbury river near Brooklyn about one hour's drive north of Sydney. A perfect weekend getaway distance.

No private cars are allowed on the island.

You can get here by private boat, water taxi or by using the local ferry service.

Only about 200 residents live here permanently but during the holiday season numbers swell.

The Island was bought by the Danger family in 1864 who leased some of the island to the Union Bridge Company of Chicago while they were building the original Hawkesbury River rail bridge.

About 400 Americans and their families lived here while the bridge was being constructed between 1886-1889.

The preferred way of carting your goods around the island is by wheelbarrow

Every family has its own!

We're staying on the Brooklyn facing side of the island in Serenity on Dangar a lovely glass tree-house holiday home

No roughing it .... all the mod-cons were here

.... including a commercial-size kitchen

Then it was off to explore. A full circumnavigation takes about 1 hour and winds through bush and gardens.

on the lookout for some grub...

exotic native flowers

secret gardens

..even a rambling pumpkin patch. The locals have learnt to become self-sufficient and there are many vegie patches.

Not 100% sure but this imposing turreted mansion looks like the original Dangar family estate.

a ginger flower

A productive vegetable garden

sorry girls - nothing for you

a magnificent white spider orchid

Another native tree with extraordinary blossoms

They remind me of hula skirts

For dinner its off to the only evening eating spot - the local club. Under the whirring ceiling fans and humid night air we dine on steak and fresh grilled garfish

The next morning our water taxi is at our mooring to collect us...

And take us back to Brooklyn. It feels like we have been away for a week. That's what Danger does to you.

Edible Balcony - Late Summer Tomatoes

2011-02-17T08:57:00.001+11:00

I'm up before the sun today to give the balcony plants a deep watering.

Early mornings are the best time to water plants because they have been transpiring (losing water) all night and are very thirsty.

Watering in the cooler morning also reduces loss of water through evaporation.

A few deep soakings are much better than many superficial waterings because the water gets right down to the bottom roots where it is needed most.

Somehow all the plants survived the recent heatwave in Sydney

In fact, as an unexpected bonus, the intense heat caused my late season tomatoes and strawberries to ripen early.

I planted cherry and grape varieties of tomatoes because you apparently don't get any white fly problems with them. And so far not a white fly in sight - only delicious, sweet, juicy marbles of fruit.

These varieties love to ramble so I needed to stake them with poles and many ties.

In this heat I've been watering them every day and every week I add a capful of tomato food to my watering can. Tomato food is a potassium rich natural fertilizer which boosts flowering and fruit yields.

..and we've been enjoying the tomatoes sliced on toast with pesto or tossed with some avocado, spanish onions, coriander and lime juice for a refreshing guacamole.

And what I'm most delighted by is that there have been no pest infestations yet. This time last year everything was covered with marauding caterpillars. Have I spoken too soon....

Better eat these strawberries before the bugs do

And these lettuce leaves might find their way into tonight's salad.

From Roof Top to Table Top

2011-02-04T08:57:00.001+11:00

The urban food revolution took another giant leap forward late last year with the opening of a new roof top farm restaurant in New York.

For ten months of the year the Bell, Book & Candle restaurant on 10th St in Manhattan's West Village will source its greens, garbanzo beans, summer squash, lettuces, eggplants, tomatoes, broccoli and strawberries from its roof-top hydroponic farm.

Restaurateur John Mooney is the first chef in the U.S. to grow most of his produce on a rooftop farm.

This is a CNN report on the chef and his garden from last year.

Edible Balcony update - wet, wet, wet

2011-01-19T14:44:00.080+11:00

Water is usually the life-blood of the living which is why it is easy to forget how deadly it can be as well. As most of the country drowns in water I should count myself extremely lucky to be high and dry on the 13th floor of my Potts Point apartment block. I do.

This rain has been quite unbelievable.

The heavens just keep opening up. It reminds me of the monsoon season in Zimbabwe where I spent much of my teenagehood. Between November and February each year we would be marooned indoors with roads cut-off and school often closed due to the deluge.

I haven't seen this much rain since then.

The plants on the balcony are getting a soaking and there's not much I can do about it.

Only the edibles on the wall - cavolo nero, vietnamese mint, warrigal greens and sorrel - need any hand-watering

Pretty as a daisy: the feverfew has flowered.

Luckily my tomato vines are on wheels so I can move them out of the rain.

Too much water will destoy the crop.

I've already counted about 40 flower branches on the cherry and grape tomato plants.

I've transplanted my candy-striped beetroot seedlings into a grow bag.

I hope the rain and sparse sunny days won't retard their growth too much

the rhubarb is going gang-busters though

And the good ol' rocket is bushing up nicely

This ruby silverbeet is now in its third year and getting a little woody so I may put in a new plant soon

The strawberries have been down in number ....

... but super sweet

And the edible violas - both purple and yellow - may get tossed through a salad tomorrow night.

Ahhhh... here comes the rain again. The harbour has disappeared behind a grey mist. We are a country of such extremes.

Stefano Manfredi's Kitchen Garden at Bells, Killcare

2011-01-11T12:44:00.005+11:00

It's a hot, humid Sunday morning and Steve Manfredi is taking me on a personal tour of his wonderful kitchen garden at his highly-acclaimed Bells restaurant at Killcare, on the New South Wales Central Coast. (Yes - I'm very spoilt!)

Stefano Manfredi is one of Australia's most important chefs and food educators.

His passion for Italian ingredients and authentic Italian cooking has led to him grow his own favourite hard-to-get Italian herbs and vegetables.

In a few square metres he is now supplying about 15 % of the produce for his restauarant.

And ,no, that is not Steve but a scarecrow dressed in chef's whites - an effective device for keeping some of the marauding birds away.

A corn crop

red onions

big flavoursome purple bulbs

A huge patch of sorrel.

Steve says he loves throwing some chopped sorrel over baked potatoes for their lemony tang.

Steve also loves cooking with bitter Italian greens.

A white turnip. It might find its way onto today's lunch menu.

Yellow zucchini flowers

beans, beans and more beans...

They're just starting to fruit..

Damn... some of those birds have feasted on the tomatoes.

Juicy lemons

And a persimmon tree...

Dense with fruit.

Steve has just put in a new veggie plot.

It's well-fenced to keep out the rabbits and wild deer that were let loose after a nearby deer farm closed.

Steve loves this basil variety and no wonder. It has large billowing serated-edged leaves with a wildly pungent minty flavour.

A big patch of heirloom black radishes.

dark skin and white peppery crunchy flesh.

Chicory

Steve's favourite chard

variety

A new crop of tomatoes will be ready in early autumn

a watermelon patch

This is Steve's dog who protects the nearby chook house from attacks by wild dogs.

The brown hens get a nutritious pellet feed supplemented by scraps from the kitchen garden and lay beautiful deep, yellow-yolked eggs that guests are given as part of their breakfast hamper.

Steve's last lot of chooks were killed by a wild dog attack so these ones have Fort Knox-like protection.

...and in return happy chooks lay happy eggs...

look at these beauties!

Steve very generously gave me a basket of goodies from his garden containing garlic, zucchini, basil, tomatoes, radish, bitter lettuce and some of those delicious eggs....

...which I threw together for a light Sunday evening dinner of Frittata alla Stefano.

It included chopped garlic, onion, tomato, basil, and zucchini fried in a little olive oil with some lightly beaten eggs with a little milk...

... a sprinkling of cheese...

.... all topped off with some zucchini flowers.

Stefano it was delizioso!

What an inspiring day.

Edible Balcony - potato crop

2010-12-08T13:50:00.001+11:00

Daryl the building concierge has been looking after the balcony while we have been away (aren't I lucky?)

And I've come home to a fabulous crop of potatoes, beetroot and runner beans.

The beans are a heirloom mix of purple, striped and green

My two potato bags yielded about 4 kgs of desiree, symphonia, banana and royal blue. I roasted them up with some sea salt, rosemary and a little duck fat (it was a celebration afterall).

Easily the most delicious spuds I've tasted and definitely the freshest.

Given how easy they were to grow with no pest problems and the high yield, I'll be putting in several bags again next year.

All the other balcony tenants are faring well with the recent rain and summer burst.

It's a little late but I'm putting in some tomatoes and basil tomorrow. They should be ready to harvest at the end of January.

The nasturtiums are loving the sun...

And some lemon fruit are appearing..

The garlic should be ready in time for Christmas dinner.

As I sit back in my deckchair sipping a G&T, and munching on a crispy roast potato I realise an edible balcony certainly has its rewards.