Saintly St. Ali

I don't usually gush.

But sometimes there's good reason too. You've been warned.

I first fell in love with St. Ali about 2 years ago. I was new to Melbourne and as a Sydney-sider I wondered what all the coffee-crusaders were on about, touting Melbourne as having the best coffee around. I soon found out that they were right and now firmly stand myself in the Melbourne coffee camp.  

Not only does this city take it's black gold very seriously... it has a great time doing it and turns out places like St. Ali in the process. The trick with St. Ali is to make the most of the specailised knowledge on the floor. Staff really know their stuff when it comes to the beans on offer each day, and if you ask them, they can suggest the best bean for your style, from latte to short black.

Since those first wide-eyed days, I've become a regular at this roasting-warehouse come cafe, thinking it nothing to cross the city for a morning brew and a tasty breakky treat. I bring visitors from out of town and send gifts of St. Ali roasted beans to friends far and wide.

It's even survived a change of hands and still comes up with the goods.

Last week I took my mum there for a light lunch and a much needed coffee boost before we hit the South Melbourne Markets, warning her that the menu was full of treats. Still, we were both totally floored by the grilled sardines. 

Rocket, black olive paste, artichokes and pepper spiced mandarin, joined the little fishies on sourdough. At under $20, it's a breakfast/lunch that hits you with a salty-sweet combination that had us fighting over the last crumbs of sourdough to mop up the spicy mandarine sauce.

 Today I stopped by for breakfast- and was taken out by the pancakes. Previous trips have proved that the breakfast platter is a great way to start the day with Middle Eastern flair- think fruit toast, spiced labne, honey and nutty dukkah. Any dish involving their homemade baked beans is also a winner. But today, the pancakes were a new revelation. It's the first time ever that I've been unable to finish a $10 breakfast, and not because I didn't like it. Three thick and puffy pancakes came swathed in citrus scented syrup, with a glop of coffee mascarpone and a topping of stewed oranges. It's a dish to be reckoned with- rich and full of smokey coffee-citrus tones. Every treacly mouthful reminded me why breakfast can still be special without poached eggs and bacon. Washed down with a coffee-of-the-day latte, I was full, happy and buzzing. 

The space itself is also a drawcard. Now I know some people are over the 'converted warehouse space', but I'm not one of them. I love the open roofed, partitioned off, exposed brick, roller door feel of the place. And when the sun comes flooding in through factory style windows on a winter day, I couldn't be happier. 

I was happy to note that there are plenty of vegetarian options on the menu (above and beyond the mushroom offerings that seem to be the usual vegetarian fate) and that a small selection of beer and wines are also available should brunch roll-on into lunch...

And keep an eye out for the St. Ali degustation- I'm told once every three months they hold an evening class with coffee and wine matched to food. The next one is on August 7th, with room for about 100 people. 

Open- Contact: (03) 9686 2990

Mon-Sat; 7:30am-5:00pm

Sunday; 8:30am-4pm

Note: Check the board to see what coffee is on offer for the coffee siphon each day and don't forget to ask your waiter which bean they recommend for the style of coffee you like to drink.  

Run rabbit, run!

Finally turned my hand to cooking a whole rabbit last night- and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. 

It never ceases to amaze me how many people fail to ask their butcher for advice when they pick up a new cut of meat. These guys deal with meat for their living- you gotta think that maybe, just maybe this will translate into knowing a hellava lot about the stuff. 

When I bought my little rabbit from the South Melbourne Markets I just had to ask for some tips- and here's what I got. Rabbits have very little fat on them (why are we not eating more of them I ask myself), so your best bet is to add a little. Wrap them in bacon for instance and then stew with vegies and stock. So that's just what I did.

After consulting my Cook's Companion for further tips (thanks Stephanie), I came up with the following- easy, cheap and just a little bit different for a cold winters night. This has to be one of the easiest hearty meals I've put together for a while- so easy in fact that I'll put it on standby for unexpected dinner guests next. You just need to know where to get the rabbit, and to my surprise, the local IGA stocks it. Jane 1/Rabbits 0!

Rabbit Stew:

Ingredients-

• 1 whole rabbit, jointed into 8 pieces (legs, ribs, hind quarters etc)
  
• Bacon rashers (cheap fatty cuts are best for this)
  
• 5 potatoes
• 4 tomaotos
  
• 1 onion
  
• 2 cloves garlic- smashed
• 2 sticks of celery
  
• 1 carrot
  
• 1 leek, white part only
  
• 4 large field mushrooms (reserve some for garnish)
  
• Juice of half a lemon and some rind for garnish
  
• parsely
  
• 1 cup of red wine
  
• 1L stock (chicken, vegie or anything you like)
• olive oil
  
• 1 tin of tomatoes
  
• salt/pepper to season

Method

It's a no brainer this one- heat the olive oil in a large fry-pan, dice one rasher of bacon and brown it. Then put it to one side. Sear the rabbit pieces in the hot pan until they are a little browned. Remove fro

m the pan and wrap in the remaining bacon rashers.

Chop all your vegies to a nice hearty consistency. In a large casserole dish make a bed of the chopped vegetables, then place the rabbit/bacon pieces on top. Pour in the stock, red wine, tinned toms and any seasoning you wish to add.

Cover and cook in a 200degC oven for a little over an hour, or until the rabbit is done and the broth is a thick soup.

Serve in large bowls with plenty of the broth. Garnish with mushroom, parsley and lemon rind. Add a splash of lemon juice to each dish just before serving.  Crusty sourdough bread is a must to soak up the juices.

Note: I am aware that the top picture has some chestnuts in it- but we decided against using them at the last minute, so please ignore this. But they do look pretty with the other ingredients. 

Less than perfect: Banana's 'tickled by nature'

I read today in the daily food news roundup FoodWeek, that Banana growers have been able to market their slightly-less-than-perfect banana stock to supermarkets under the catchy tag of 'tickled by nature'.

The idea is that often supermarkets will reject produce that is not visually perfect despite the food being perfect in every other way. One would assume that this would only lead to food wastage of products that can not be sold, as well as a profit-loss for producers and farmers already tied to the strict shelf and transport requirements of large retail outlets. The 'tickled banana's' will be available at a lower cost to consumers due to their 'imperfect' visual nature, but will be clearly identified as fruit that have only been effected on the outside. 

What excites me about this development is threefold: 

1. Producers will benefit by being able to sell product that would otherwise potentially have gone to waste. 
   
2. Consumers have a chance to access perfectly good fruit at a lower cost. A great thing in the currant economic climate.
   
3. But most importantly, I fervently hope that such a move will help shift consumer and retailer attitudes to the slightly imperfect food that often ends up discarded by both retailers and consumers. It's certainly time that we were lead more by ethical, social and environmental issues in food selection, rather than 'perfect looks' and often less than perfect surrounding issues. 

This could be the beginning of a supermarket change for the better, even if it's only in how food looks. But a start is a start and it can only get better from here.     

Eating Violets

I wanted to call this post eating violetly... but was concerned that it may be misread, and as it turns out, there is nothing violent about the eating of violets... unless you have to wrest them from your little-old-lady neighbour (we have an almost shared front yard and 'differing opinions' on flowers as food). 'Nuff said. 

*Disclaimer: no LOL's were harmed during this taste test.  

Moving around the world of food and learning to be open to the reality of the nourishment around me brings new and unusual additions everyday. It's a great adventure that leads to some astonishing discoveries- and plenty of questions. And the one I constantly find myself asking is 'what the hell happened to our food?'- why, in a time so fraught with ecological questions and food sustainability issues, do we insist on shrinking the variety of the things we call 'edible'? 

 

Researching and taste-testing violets brought me up against a whole range of resistance to eating the leaves. From the 'garden flowers aren't food' argument, to the 'it didn't come from the supermarket' kind, I was surprised at the confused responses to this perfectly edible plant.

After all, everyone knows you can eat sugared violet flowers... but the leaves... really? The answer: Yes. Really.

Historically they have been used for everything from treating cancer to aiding weight-loss, but somewhere along the way we forgot that they were also a nutritious addition to the diet.

 Violets are high in iron, calcium and (as with any wild plant) anti-oxidants. Both the leaves and flowers of white, purple and blue violets are edible (yellow violets are not edible) and they make a tasty and pretty addition to salads, but are equally delicious on their own. Another great chance for some variety in your greens. 

The flowers have a strong violet-y flavour when their perfume hits your palate and it's a surprisingly appealing taste sensation. The leaves are a little peppery and cause a slight tingle on your tongue. 

For dinner, they make a great side salad of fresh baby leaves, any flowers on the bush and a bit of light dressing (olive oil, lemon and salt work well). But they are even better tossed through seasonal greens for a bit of an unusual lift.

So just as long as I can keep sneaking past the LOL next door, I'll get my fix of salad violets and keep my salads pretty.

*Note: as with any plant you intend to eat from your garden, it is essential that you positively identify it as the species and variety that you are after before you attempt to eat it and always wash it thoroughly. 

In a Mallow Mood

In my ongoing attempts to appreciate the 'bounty all around me'- today I had a go at yet another 'edible weed'- Mallow.

I think it's worth pointing out at this moment that 'weed' is a relative term- and whilst it can be applied to heavily seeding, fast growing items, it's more often than not applied to plants that are simply growing where we don't want them to. Making the common definition of a weed just 'a plant out of place'.

In this respect, I am beginning to look at weeds in a new light, and in fact not classing them as weeds at all anymore. I understand that you can't eat them all, but that doesnt' stop them being useful in ways that we are not aware of, and it certainly encourages me to weed my garden more selectively.  

So after the success of the chickweed dinner, here is the taste test of Mallow.

I found this recipe at the lovely blog: Veggie Way and the original recipe can be found here, but as the original comes from a beautiful vegetarian website, the recipe below has some minor alterations, including the addition of chicken stock. 

Most importantly, you need to be able to identify mallow and then test it to make sure it doesn't make you nauseaus- as with any foraged food that you are dealing with for the first time.

Mallow-carrot rice

Ingredients:

• a freshly picked bunch of mallow, leaves removed from stalks- if you forage for them, make sure you trust the area you are picking from and that they have not bee sprayed with weed killer etc.
  
• 2 radishes, tops and all, diced and chopped
• 1 large brown onion, peeled and diced
  
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  
• 1/4 cup of rice, washed and drained
  
• 1/2 cup of chicken or veg stock
  
• 2 tbs tomato paste
  
• 2 tbs olive oil
  
• salt,pepper to taste
  
• Squeeze of lemon juice to finish

Method:

Wash the Mallow leaves thoroughly. Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan and sauté the onion until golden. Add the carrots to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the radish to the pan and then add tomato paste and stir into the mixture. Add the chopped mallows, rice, salt, pepper and chicken stock. Cover and cook on low heat until the rice is tender enough- about half an hour. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Mallow dosen't appear to be terribly flavourful on it's own, more like a green filler. But there is plenty of it around, so it's a great way to cut food miles, costs and fill up- if that's what you're looking for. For me? I'm just interested in knowing more about the food around me. It seems a willful and ignorant thing not to take an interest. Stay tuned for more weed eating adventures and recipes to come.

*Note: we are hail and hearty after eating Mallow and the dish was so tasty, we'll be making it again. 

 

Apple & Chestnut soup

Still enjoying the bounty of chestnuts that we gathered a couple of weeks back, I turn my attention to soup on cold days.

After countless hours spent burning my fingers in a hopeless attempt to shell whole chestnuts, I gave up and went for a recipe that would require them to be pureed, hence all I had to do was score the nuts, boil them for 10-15mins, cut them in half and scoop out the goodness inside. Brilliant. No more ruined fingernails, missing thumbprints and irritation as the insides crumble. Bliss.

I came across the recipe in a few different forms online- but this final version is a tweaked version all my own, utlising local and seasonal produce- the best kind! It's a beautiful dish for a cold night and looks lovely garnished with crumbled roasted chestnut pieces.

Apple & Chestnut Soup:

Ingredients:

• 2T butter
  
• 2 small turnips, peeled and diced
  
• 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
  
• 2 sundowner apples, cored and diced (I leave the skin on)
• 250grms of peeled chestnuts- roasted for 5mins in a dry frypan untill golden
  
• A sprig of fresh thyme (or a pinch of dried)
  
• 1L chicken stock (home made is best)

Method:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, toss in diced turnip and chopped celery. Cook until browning, about 5mins. Add the thyme and stir until fragrant (1min).

Add the chopped apples and cook for a further 5mins, or just until apple is nice and soft. Add the roasted chestnuts (reserve some for garnish) and toss through. Then add 1L chicken stock bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer for 10mins. Check to make sure turnip is cooked soft, then remove from heat and puree till smooth. Serve hot and garnish with the reserved roast chestnut pieces and a sprig of thyme. Very satifying when you have had enough of trying to shell whole roasted chestnuts.

*Note: when you puree the hot liquid, make sure that there is a place for the steam to escape to avoid buildups of steam or explosions of hot liquid- ouch. 

Chickweed & lentils

I have been gripped by the foraging bug. And having just discovered that my garden supports a very healthy colony of edible chickweed, I'm giving it a go. It took a bit of persuading to get my other half (let's call him Patience) in on the racket. But here's how we introduced edible weeds to our diet. 

Lentil, Radish and Chickweed salad:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup puy/french lentils cooked as per packet, drained and rinsed- but still warm.
  
• large bunch of chickweed freshly pulled from your garden (or anywhere else you trust enough to forage from), washed and torn up.
  
• 4 radishes, tops and all (ours came straight from the vege patch), root minced and leaves shredded. 
  
• 1/2 a brown onion
• Salt/Pepper/Lemon/Olive oil to dress

Method:

Cook lentils as per packet instructions. While the lentils are still warm, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frypan and toss all ingredients together to wilt the greens. Season with dressing items to taste. Serve with boiled baby potato's or crusty bread for a filling, fresh and nutrient rich dinner. The more recently the items are pulled from the garden the better, you want to capture all those nutrients and antioxidants while you can.

*NOTE: With any garden or foraged item (as with anything you plan to eat), it is essential that you are 100% sure of what you are eating and that it has been thoroughly washed. 

It was just delicious! So much so that I went back for seconds. The chickweed adds a different and very earthy flavour to the mix.

Society note: I have to say that right now I am a little confused and incredulous. History says that native/wild/foraged

 foods sustained the Aboriginal communities of Australia for over 60,000 years- and yet current reports say that in remote and outback communities where food costs have more impact, individuals are eating nutrient poor, prepackaged, sugar rich foods more than ever. Surely in the face of 'food security concerns' a better understanding of native/bush/foraged foods is essential for Australian's from an early age? Why is this food knowledge not being passed on? Where other cultures embrace their foraging traditions, what are we in Australia so afraid of? I'm just keeping an eye out for more chickweed and now Murnong... so that when I can no longer afford groceries thanks to the GFC, at least I won't be reduced to a diet of sugar.