Last year, when I last (and first, actually) visited Canada I was desperately keen to go to Vancouver Island.  I had heard all sorts of wonderful things about how beautiful it was, but sadly discovered that it wasn’t a quick ferry trip away, and warranted much more than a half day trip. Given that, I was very pleased make up for the omission on this trip and have just spent three days there checking out as much as I could.  The city of Victoria, on the island, is actually the capital of British Columbia and, while not the largest, is one of the oldest cities – with British settlement beginning in 1843.  It has managed to retain many of its striking historic buildings, the two most imposing of which are the Legislative Buildings and the absolutely enormous Empress Hotel – the latter of which I’m told is built on marshy land and is slowly sinking.

The harbour is truly beautiful and extraordinarily busy with a constant stream of tour boats, harbour taxis, pleasure craft, kayakers and rowers, seaplanes – and traffic of the more feathered variety.  It is possible to walk almost all around the harbour on a waterside path that takes one into the central city area or, tucked away just past the inner harbour, to the buzzy fishermans wharf area.  This great little spot is a working wharf and has shopping, eco-tour adventures, fresh seafood available straight off the boats or seafood cafes where you can grab some lunch.  It also has the cutest little houses right out on the water.  Some seem to be available for rent, but others are clearly lived in and much loved.  These interesting homes vary from the very sweet to the somewhat quirky.

My own accommodation was a little more traditional and I was very comfortable at The Inn at Laurel Point.  I was very spoiled – staying in a stunning harbour-view room with a vast and splendid bathroom.  Situated on the point between Inner Harbour and Victoria Harbour, The Inn is smart, modern and a very comfortable walking distance from both the bars, restaurants and shops of the downtown area on one side, or Fishermans wharf on the other.  And for those who don’t feel like a stroll, the very cute little water taxis are never far away.

On my first night I struggled badly with the effects of a 4 am start from home, a 14 hour flight and crossing the international dateline and had plans for a quick, early dinner and bed.  However, the menu in the hotel restaurant, Aura, was just too tempting.  The lure of the fresh, wild seafood was too much and after 3 courses, including a stunning deep-fried, deconstructed sushi dish with albacore tuna and silky, fresh scallops I wandered off to bed much later than intended.

After completely upsetting my morning plans by managing to oversleep the next day (no surprises there, I suppose) I spent what was left of the morning happily exploring this very pretty city before meeting up with Alexis Ragan of Off the Eaten Track food tours.  Now, there’s nothing I like more than a food tour in a city that’s new to me (or even one that’s not) – I think food is simply the best way to get to know a place, understand where it is coming from and to bond with the locals.  Alexis is Victoria born and bred, but very happily lived in Australia for quite a while – more than we actually had invited her for it seems, as she found out when she overstayed her welcome and was politely asked to leave.  She started Off the Eaten Track in Vancouver, where she now lives, and has recently begun offering tours in her home town too.  She likes to take small groups into areas of the city that they might not necessarily ever see and connect them with some of the outstanding food/drink businesses that only a local will know about.

Our tour was in the Oak Bay area and we started off by visiting a remarkable coffee business called Discovery Coffee.  Established in the city in 2006, Discovery Coffee has now expanded the original site to include a roastery, a bakery so they can produce their own baked goods, a pottery where the owner makes her special coffee and tea ware and a training facility for their staff. The city premises are now licensed and they have gone on to open two more stores – with one in Oak Bay.  Discovery has made enormous efforts to provide an excellent, but sustainable cup of coffee – ensuring a fair price for the grower by buying their beans from the source (and often buying the whole crop) wherever possible, or by using trusted brokers.  Their staff take great pride in their skills and will go to any length to provide the best possible cup of coffee (or tea), with one of them showing us a very specialised halogen brewing method which resulted in a sophisticated, nuanced coffee which I (who hasn’t had a cup of coffee in over 6 years) honestly enjoyed.

We went from there to The Whole Beast, an artisan salumeria which uses locally bred, free-range Berkshire/Tamworth pigs.  The owner, who is chef-trained, has a particular passion for pigs and is actively engaged in encouraging the local production of Tamworth pigs, a breed which is considered to be close to endangered.  From there we moved on to Vis a Vis, a local wine bar and restaurant, a delicious little patisserie, a candy store (squeals of delight) and finished our trip with a crab smash at the Marina Restaurant at Oak bay Marina.  Not at all stuffy, as some marina eateries can be, this beautifully positioned restaurant has a popular sushi bar and free-loading seals who were very inquisitive when we went out to fetch our own crab from the water!  We apologised to him as he was carried off to the kitchen and then enjoyed him with an ice cold beer a short time later.

Showing dedication above and beyond the call of duty, Alexis offered to take me out for a cocktail or two after I had mentioned that, being as I was so well brought up, I wouldn’t be able to hang around in bars on my own.  We dropped in to the gorgeous Bengal Lounge at the aforementioned Empress Hotel.  It is stunningly decked out with a British Raj theme (dead wildlife included) and offers heavenly cocktails with impeccable service.  Just be aware – this does not come cheap!

Lambs Ears and Honey was a guest of the Canadian Tourism Commission, The Inn at Laurel Point and Tourism Victoria.

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Some days opportunity comes creeping up behind you, taps you politely on the shoulder and makes a subtle suggestion or two about pleasant possibilities you might like to explore.  More rarely, it barrels up right in front of you looks you in the eye and says “I’m fabulous and I’m yours, right now – grab me!”  Such was the case for me quite recently when I was presented with the opportunity to go back to a country I visited very briefly last year – big, beautiful Canada.

Some of you will remember my posts from the ‘girls trip’ I took with my two daughters in January of last year.  We began the adventure in Vancouver, British Columbia, when we picked up my youngest from her student exchange experience, spent a few days there and then headed south, across the border.  I was struck by the vibrant food culture that I glimpsed while in Vancouver.  This was evident from the popular food trucks that dot the streets and was really brought home to me when we spent a blissful day in the culinary heart of the city on Granville Island – in the markets and most particularly in a wonderful store called Edible Canada, which stocks only produce from Canadian artisan culinary producers.

Our stay was too short and I was unable to explore this wealth of food producers, but the gods have smiled on me and I have been given another chance.  This Friday I’ll be on the red-eye to Sydney, connecting with a direct (how handy is that?!) Air Canada flight to Vancouver, as a guest of the Canadian Tourism Commission.  I’ll be exploring as much as I can of the dynamic food culture of Vancouver Island, home to many artisan food producers, before heading over to Halifax on  the east coast and gradually making my way back west – finishing up in at the huge North American travel bloggers conference TBEX, in Toronto.

A lot of Australians get to Vancouver, but fewer of us make it all the way east, so I’ll be exploring a part of Canada that not too many of us get to see.  I’ll also be hunting out as many of the Canadian foodie secrets I can find and sharing them with you, my lovelies – hopefully showing you an aspect of Canada that you hadn’t considered before.  We all know Canada is full of spectacular scenery, but it is also possessed of a dynamic food culture which has a very strong focus on food security and I can’t wait to show  you all the things I’ll be uncovering.  Not only that, but I get to mix it with some remarkable bloggers from all over the world and all over North America at TBEX  the world’s largest gathering of travel bloggers, writers, and new media content creators – to be honest, I’m still pinching myself about all this!

I’m off to start packing now, but it will all be here in living colour so follow my adventures here and on my Facebook page which I’ll be updating regularly (just as soon as I get over the flight).  I’ll also be sharing my experiences on my Twitter account – just look for the hashtag #ExploreCanada.

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The Adelaide Hills is a popular tourist spot and we have much to offer up here in the way of  scenery,  food and some wonderful wineries.  While there are tons of charming B & B’s, guest cottages and three star hotel/motels, we have been a little short of luxury beds, with fairly limited options  for those who want to really spoil themselves – or someone else.  My friend Clare, of the hugely popular Sticky Rice Cooking School, has put on her clever pants and done something about that!

Clare and her husband established Sticky Rice, in Stirling – just ten minutes up the freeway from the city, in 2008 and her school has become something of a mecca for food lovers, both local and visiting.  She offers a range of cooking classes which encompass all the Asian cuisines and also classes on Spanish, Moroccan and Middle Eastern cooking.   All the classes offer excellent tuition by highly experienced chefs, but she aims to teach more than just a recipe or technique.  Clare wants her clients to come away from her school with new skills and culinary achievements, but also with a deeper understanding of their chosen cuisine and full of inspiration from the carefully designed and crafted surroundings she has created.

With this in mind, she has extended the experience by creating three stunning luxury villas on the premises.  Each villa is architecturally designed, individually styled and seamlessly blends their distinctive interiors with the private walled gardens by the use of floor to ceiling glass.  Guests can choose from the tropically inspired “Bali”, the stylish monochromatic “Zen” or the clean lines of the Japanese inspired “Yoko”.  Each is fabulously appointed with correlating,  comfortable furnishings, underfloor heating, seductive bathrooms and truly exceptional kitchens.

As is only fitting in accommodation attached to a cooking school, the kitchens in each of these villas is, as far as I was concerned at least, enviable.  Fully fitted out with top-of-the-range appliances from Electrolux, Clare has been a little surprised to find that many of her guests arrive with large boxes of produce and announce that they are staying in for the evening to cook in the kitchen of their dreams!

Of course, for those who are a little more inclined to be indulged (like me) there are plenty of great dining options in the Adelaide Hills and in the immediate surrounds of Sticky Rice, or it is a very short drive down the hill to Adelaide’s many fabulous restaurants.  Alternatively, take a gourmet tour or one of Clares fascinating classes, completely immerse yourself in the experience (along with a glass or three of fine South Australian wine) and amble casually back to your villa to relax and rest, possibly even waking up unsure of what country you are really in.

These absolutely gorgeous villas fill an accommodation gap in the Adelaide Hills and their design and attention to detail is a credit to Clare and her family.  Her vision has created a truly landmark attraction which adds significantly to the appeal of the Adelaide Hills as a holiday destination – and, I suspect,  not just for those from out of town.

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There are some quite remarkable people in this world and every so often one of them comes into my life.  I first met Tammi Jonas, publiser of the blog Tammi Jonas: Food Ethics, at Eat Drink Blog 2011 and was able to get to know her a little better when she came to Adelaide for our version of the Australian national food bloggers conference, Eat Drink Blog 2012.  Tammi is a food writer, food activist, food producer and cultural theorist close to the completion of a PhD examining the role of food and foodways in the development of a sustainable society.

From the very first time I met her, I was struck by Tammi’s friendly, genuine manner, easy laugh, open-mindedness, her quick, razor-sharp intellect and her utter commitment to her firmly-held beliefs.  Tammi has made the journey from vegetarianism to meat-eating in the only way she has felt ethically able and as a result is now learning to butcher her own meat, cure it and is also sharing that knowledge with her Eat Your Ethics workshops.  To further ensure the security of their own, personal food chain the Jonas’ (or Jonai, as they prefer to be known) have now launched a campaign through Pozible  to fund the construction and licensing of a registered boning room on their own property.  If that’s not conviction, I really don’t know what is.  To learn more about this truly inspirational woman, read on …

While lots of us care about the provenance of our food, not too many are prepared to make such radical changes to their lives to ensure an ethical meal. Was the change from suburbia to Daylesford an evolving decision or more of an epiphany?

It came from a long-held desire to move to the country that one day happily collided with the realisation that we could make a modest living as farmers, all while still advocating for a fair and ethical food system. I grew up on a cattle ranch in Oregon, so country living was not only familiar to me, it’s my preferred natural state, and Stuart, though from generations of suburban dwellers, must have been a farmer in a former life – I call him ‘hypercompetent’, which is pretty useful as a farmer! We have always wanted to grow, cure, ferment and pickle more of our own food, and we can now do all of that while sharing our produce and our learning with loads of like-minded people. So what may have seemed radical to many people seemed totally logical to us.

You don’t use harmful chemicals or sprays and follow pretty traditional organic farming techniques, but have chosen not to seek organic accreditation.  Why is that?

There are a number of reasons why we won’t be seeking any accreditation – neither organic nor free range – and I need to write more on this topic soon. In short, we work on a transparency model rather than an accreditation model. The people who buy our pork aren’t ‘buying from a stranger’, we deliver the pork directly to their door, or they pick it up from the farm, so they can see for themselves and have lengthy conversations with us about our systems, plus we’re now running the Eat Your Ethics workshops to share our practices with more people. Accreditation schemes are largely designed to give people confidence when they can’t/don’t know their producers.

We also cannot ensure that all of the grain we procure for the pigs is organic – it’s prohibitively expensive, and in drought years, unreliably available. Our primary focus is on ethical animal husbandry and good agroecological practices, and while we don’t use any synthetic inputs on the farm, some of the things we bring in from elsewhere will have come from such ‘conventional’ systems, though we’re working to reduce those external inputs. Free range, on the other hand, is a no brainer – we wouldn’t dream of putting our pigs into an intensive system, and could easily be certified if we wanted to be. But I’m pretty sure our twitter account, Instagram feed and website prove the point about the wonderful space our pigs have to wander, root and wallow! And if in doubt, just come visit and see for yourselves!

Why pigs?  While you do have other livestock, pigs probably require the most intensive husbandry and management of all large farm beasts – so why did you choose them?

Kind of like the move to the country, pigs were the obvious choice for us, as they’re very clever animals kept in what we consider unconscionable conditions in intensive systems as a population increases its pork consumption on the back of those systems. Chooks were the other possibility as they’re the other most intensively raised animals, but frankly, I think we should stop eating chicken except for the once or twice a year when you kill the surplus roosters, which is how it was not that long ago. So while pigs are, as you say, a lot of work, they’re the most in need of an increase in ethical farming systems and lots of awareness raising to help people understand why it matters to choose free range.

Once you made your decisions, was it very difficult to educate yourselves in the various practices and how did you go about finding the supports – suppliers, information & buyers for your product – you needed?

We’re still educating ourselves every day! We’ve been the grateful beneficiaries of the knowledge of other free-range pig farmers who went before us, all of whom have been incredibly generous with their knowledge. We started with our four-month Road Trip USA trip in 2011, where we visited Polyface and a couple of other farms to learn about their systems, and then got lots of information and support from people like Anthony at Greenvale Farm, Fiona at Fernleigh Free Range, and Loz at Bundarra Berkshires. We’ve read a lot of books as well, and of course have learned the most just by doing! As for buyers, our sales started with the enthusiasm of friends and followers on twitter and the blogs, but have since broadened out to include a diverse set of people locally and in Melbourne who care about the treatment of animals raised for meat.

You have visited Joel Salatin’s inspirational Polyface Farm – what specifics did you bring home with you as a result of that?

Polyface was fantastic, and I detailed that visit in 2011. I brought home a few things – one is that Joel does what he says he does – his animals are raised in a great system that benefits the land. The vertical integration he does is inspiring – it’s also quite labour intensive. We certainly aren’t afraid of labour, but we need more hands on deck to run a system as diverse and demanding as his – we’d love to get there one day! But I also took home a stronger view that meat chickens just aren’t really sustainable, and don’t sit well with my ethics. Joel still runs meat chickens that have such large breasts and feeble legs (Americans don’t like thigh meat, silly buggers) that even though they’re out on the paddocks in an otherwise ethical system, my view is that the breed itself isn’t ethical – the poor birds can barely walk by the time they’re three or four weeks old. I think that’s inhumane breeding, personally, though I otherwise am a huge fan of Polyface’s systems.

You are now working towards the next logical step in your ethical meat journey – your own on-site boning room.  Was this always part of the plan and (aside from funding it) what have been the largest obstacles you have encountered?

Our plans are always evolving as we discover the next challenge and work out the Jonai way to solve it (which typically means learn more and do more ourselves…). We hadn’t anticipated doing all our own butchering, though we’ve always hoped we would be able to do artisanal curing and fermenting once we were well established and could afford the prohibitive setup and auditing costs. We’d been told by all the small growers that butchering is always an issue, but didn’t fully understand the problem until it was ours as well. There is, quite simply, a shortage of skilled butchers around, and the good ones are running successful retail ventures in their own right and so have little time for private jobs like ours. We’re so lucky to have found Sal, our wonderful butcher in Ballan, who not only is very good at what he does, but is incredibly generous and willing to share his knowledge and skills with me so that we can do it on our own. But he won’t be able to keep up with our needs within a few months on top of his own thriving shop, and he doesn’t have the licence to cure either, and we’ve had issues finding someone else suitable for the curing side. So while some people may think setting up a boning room to do it ourselves is a fairly extreme response to the problem, it’s in keeping with our constant drive to do things ourselves, and to maintain total transparency about what we’re doing.

You are in the process of completing a Ph.D., have a partner and three children, pigs, chooks, cattle & sheep, open your farm to the public, are teaching yourself butchery, write several blogs and still work part-time. Do you have more hours in your day than I do?

Ha! I get asked that *a lot*. In fairness, I just quit my full-time job with the government so I can focus on the farm and finishing my PhD this year. Some of my time is created by having the amazing Jonai involved in everything together. The #orsmkids aren’t called that for no reason – they’ve taken on a lot of the domestic chores, including cooking up some delicious meals when Stuart and I are otherwise occupied, plus they tend the chooks and help out where they can with farm chores. Stuart never stops moving – the man is incredible at getting on with the job at hand, and is by far the primary labour force on the farm, doing all the feed procurement and feeding, as well as leading the infrastructure projects like the endless fencing… he also does all the laundry (except folding, which is the kids’ job).

And don’t tell my supervisor (actually he’s well aware of it), but I haven’t done much on the PhD in the last year, though that is changing as I have a target to write a full rough draft by the end of August… not having a tv helps with the time factor too, I guess, though I tend to think of that as time other people sacrifice rather than time I save. Oh, and I do also tend to be pretty energetic (and enthusiastic) by nature.

If you want to find out more about Tammi’s Boning Room Project or even support it check it out on Pozible here.

Image courtesy of  and owned by Tammi Jonas.

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This last weekend I was given an opportunity to revisit Kangaroo Island, a region of South Australia that is truly unique, spectacularly beautiful, possessed of a remarkable, growing food culture  and now their very own food festival – the Kangaroo Island Feastival.  The brainchild of KI born and bred Nick Hannaford, last weekend’s fabulous knees-up was only the second event since it’s debut last year and already has attracted significant interest, sponsorship and attendance – with almost twice the number of guests this year than in 2012.

As the main driver of the event, the utterly indefatigable Nick Hannaford has not only the energy, but also impeccable credentials to produce a food and wine festival with such a unique focus.  After growing up on the island, Nick moved off into mainland food and event management running distinctive corporate and incentive events throughout Australia and the Asia Pacific, in extraordinary locations ranging from rivers to the Daintree Forest.  He had also spent some time working in his mothers restaurant – Adelaide’s iconic Jolleys Boathouse – and when he eventually made his way back to Kangaroo Island he was ready to use all he had learned to showcase the unmatched assets of his home.

Simply by virtue of it’s pristine location, diverse scenery and exclusive food products,Kangaroo Island Feastival is a food and wine festival unlike any other.  Setting out to capture the spirit of the island and it’s people – many of whom are fifth and sixth generation islanders – this particular festival offers a totally different experience by offering guests access to the people and locations, creating a truly unique and memorable event.

From the beginning Nick was keen to use the significant points of difference on the island as the keys to the events he and the local food and wine producers put together.  With this in mind he created events like the pop-up oyster and wine bar, where guests donned waders and waded out to tables set up on boats.  Staffed by local sailors, the oyster grower and wine producers, the guests chatted about sailing, food and wine while standing in the water that the oysters they were eating had been grown in.

For visitors to the island who wanted to have a genuine experience of not only the fabulous food, but also those who live it and produce it, there were a series of ‘Table Surfing” dining events which were held by the individual producers in their own homes.  Once again offering guests a unique experience and the opportunity to enjoy produce and insights from the producers, these events were hugely popular and quickly booked out.

Seafood lovers had the opportunity to meet the amazing fresh lobster and seafood fished from the pristine waters around the island, before sitting down with some of the local producers to enjoy eating it at a lunch at Ferguson Australia and gin junkies joined master distiller John Lark of Kis in a masterclass on gin.  John shared his knowledge on the history and production methods of gin before leading guests through blind tastings and then a meal with a gin-inspired menu prepared by himself.

There were gourmet fishing charter trips, a mystery picnic, a hands-on cooking masterclass with Tim Bourke (head chef of the very exclusive Southern Ocean Lodge) and Kate Sumner (owner of Kangaroo Island Source, which provides gourmet food production, cooking classes and catering on the island), celebrity chef dinners with George Calombaris, Maggie Beer and Andrew Fielke – all using the exclusive and distinctive local produce – and the huge day that was Tasting Kangaroo Island at the Wharf.  The latter was the main event and offered guests the opportunity to immerse themselves in Kangaroo Island with historic guided walks, fish smoking demonstrations, live entertainment, the Kangaroo Island Signature Dish competition and by enjoying lunch and a drink from the many food and wine stalls.

With our current culinary obsession, there are many food and wine festivals around these days.  While they all offer fabulous products and amazing eating opportunities, in my opinion none can offer the absolutely unique experiences that the Kangaroo Island Feastival does.  There are foods produced on this island that cannot be found anywhere else in the world – I spent a large part of the weekend getting to know some of the producers and will be introducing you to them over the next few weeks.  Many of them offer farm-gate purchasing or cafe facilities so that you can enjoy their products on the spot or take them home – making Kangaroo Island the ideal culinary holiday destination.

Actually, it seems to me that Sealink, the only form of public transport to Kangaroo Island, should really be on top of this and offering culinary food tours, day trips and over-night trips.  Why they haven’t caught on to what is potentially a lucrative income stream is beyond me – there’s a lot more to the island than kangaroos, koalas and seals – and there would certainly be a market for it.  But maybe that is a subject for another post.

The Kangaroo Island Feastival will be back again next year and promises even more in the way of  exclusive food and wine experiences. I’ve heard some hints of what Nick Hannaford has in mind for next years event and it sounds like it will be building even more on the festival and offering more amazing unique events in unique locations.

Lambs’ Ears and Honey visited Kangaroo Island as a guest of the South Australian Tourism Commission and  Good Food Kangaroo Island.

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KitchenAid appliances have an enviable reputation for form, function and durability and I was treated to a slightly shocking demonstration of that last quality while mixing up some cookie dough just the other night.  Leaving my KitchenAid Stand Mixer quietly doing it’s thing on the bench, I turned my back to go to the pantry.  Apparently unable to cope with my absence, my handsome blue mixer had something of an existential crisis and I walked back into the kitchen just in time to watch it hurl itself from the bench, onto the floor.  I’m pretty sure the look on my face wasn’t pretty, and neither was the ugly gouge in my kitchen flooring.  After scraping up the biscuit dough and chucking it in the bin (call me fussy, but I prefer my baking sans dog hair), I hefted the mixer back onto the bench, plugged it in, crossed all my digits and turned it on.  Miraculously, it sat there whirring and purring like a kitten.

This sturdiness and durability is clearly not limited to the stand mixer, as I found out this week when I received one of  Kitchenaid’s new Artisan Deluxe Hand Blenders to road test.  This perfectly weighted hand-held blender with a powerful five speed motor is as tough as they come and lifts the traditional stab-mixer to the next level.

Unlike my old version, the KitchenAid comes with a detachable blending arm, stainless steel blades, a whisk attachment, a chopper, a pan guard and a one litre jug with a splash protector – all of which packs into a very handy storage case.  I’ve used the blender to chop nuts, herbs, and breadcrumbs, make a salsa verde, whip cream and make sauces and I’m particularly taken with the attention to detail in the accessories.  All the blades have blade protectors and both the jug and chopper have a thin rubber ring on the base to prevent slipping and are made of strong, BPA-free material.

I used the blender to make these gorgeous Vanilla Ricotta Hotcakes with Spiced Raspberry sauce.  In case my loving family are at a loss for what to make me for breakfast on Mothers Day I thought it best to include the recipe – that way there will be no confusion or guilt-inducing maternal disappointment.

Print

Vanilla Ricotta Hotcakes with Spiced Raspberry Sauce

Whiz these up in just a few moments with the new KitchenAid Artisan Deluxe Hand Blender

Author: Amanda McInerney of www.lambsearsandhoney.com

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  10 mins

Total time:  20 mins

Ingredients

• HOTCAKES
• 1 cup SR flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 egg
• ½ cup of fresh ricotta, broken up with a fork to avoid large lumps in the hotcakes
• 1 tsp bicarb soda
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 good pinch of salt
• Butter to fry
• RASPBERRY SAUCE
• 2 cups frozen raspberries
• grated zest of ½ orange
• big splash of Cointreau
• 2 Tbsp caster sugar
• ½ tsp allspice
• splash or two of water

Instructions

1. HOTCAKES
2. Combine all hotcakes ingredients, except ricotta, in jug with splash-proof lid fitted and blend on speed 3 with frothing/beater blade for 30 seconds. Add ricotta and stir through with a fork to break up any lumps. Refrigerate batter for ½ hour.
3. Heat a heavy frypan over low-moderate heat with a small amount of butter. When butter is foamy add batter in small amounts and cook until the top surface is pitted with small bubbles, then turn over and cook until other side is golden.
4. Keep warm in a low oven.
5. RASPBERRY SAUCE
6. Combine all ingredients in saucepan over low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring until berries are completely softened and juices have been released. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then place in chopper, attach blender and whizz until as smooth as desired.
7. Serve sauce over hotcakes, with a big dollop of yoghurt or whipped cream (using the whisk attachment) if desired.

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Filtered Media and KitchenAid have generously provided one of these Artisan Deluxe Hand Blenders (of your colour choice), valued at $249, for me to give away to one lucky reader of my blog, but this competition is limited to residents of Australia.  For your chance to win this, simply tell us all what your favourite special occasion breakfast is and head over to KitchenAid on Twitter and “Follow” them.  You can earn extra chances to win by “Liking” Lambs Ears and Honey on Facebook and/or Twitter and Tweeting about this post.  I will draw this competition on Wednesday 8 May 2013 and all the terms and conditions are below, as is the entry link – good luck my lovelies!

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1.  This competition is open to Australian residents only and will be drawn on Wednesday 8 May 2013.
2.   Log in to enter, using the entry form below, and click on each task to view the instructions.
3.   The first two tasks are mandatory and must be completed to enter the competition.  Subsequent tasks are optional, but will gain you more entries, thus more opportunity to be a winner.
4.   Make sure you record your entry to be counted.
5.   I have ONE KitchenAid Artisan Hand Blender valued at $249 to give away.
6.   The lucky winner will be drawn at random.
7.   The winner will be notified by email and their name will be posted here.  They must reply within 48 hours or the competition will be redrawn.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lambs Ears and Honey was kindly supplied the KitchenAid Artisan Deluxe Hand Blender to road test by Filtered Media.

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One of my favourite hospitality programs, the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence, is coming to Adelaide next week!  Since 2005, Electrolux Appetite for Excellence has aided the growth of home grown talent in the culinary industry, when the program was first developed to provide a platform from which Australia’s best culinary talent could be recognised.  This program is so much more than an awards program and it continues to change the lives of talented young professionals through inspirational experiences in a supportive environment.  Taking advantage of the experience and skills of the judges, the program fosters and challenges future industry leaders through unique education and career opportunities. Its mission is to inspire, educate and nurture this emerging talent.

Last years Electrolux Australian Young Chef winner, Adelaide’s own Stewart Wesson, is due to test his mettle in arguably one of the most unusual and exacting cooking races in the world when he flies to Italy to compete against nine other top young chefs from around the world below the decks of an Australian yacht in the famed S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup 2013.  Before he takes on this challenge, Adelaide will have the chance to see what makes these talented young chefs tick when Stewart, along with the best of South Australia’s young hospitality talent, will come together in his Public CBD kitchen to create “Whet Your Appetite”, a dinner showcasing these professionals’ food philosophies, cooking flair and front of house professionalism in a one-night-only spectacular.

In posts of old, when I’ve been fortunate enough to be at the knife-and-fork end of the skills of these young chefs my readers have had to live vicariously but, for one night only, South Australians have the chance to share in a culinary experience like no other at Whet Your Appetite.  Stewart, along with some of Adelaide’s best hospitality talent will create a seasonally inspired three-course menu with matched beverages.  Sharing the line-up will be past Adelaide winners like Justin Markos from Utopia at Waterfall Gully – 2012 Electrolux Australian Young Restaurateur national finalist, Mark Reginato from Connect Vines, Adelaide – 2009 Electrolux Australian Young Waiter national finalist and Melanie Gowers, Adelaide Convention Centre – 2007 Electrolux Australian Young Chef winner, among others.

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Post tags: Chefs, Electrolux Appetite for Excellence

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Last Sunday saw the final day of the Adelaide Food and Wine Festival – a day which focused on the wealth of choice we have in South Australian regions for food and wine.  With The Husband behind the steering wheel, I headed up to Terroir,  a new restaurant in Auburn in the Clare Valley, for a regional lunch with some “Ladies of the Land”, which had been organised by one of the busiest and hardest working people I know, Michele Lally of Savannah Lamb.

Chef Dan Moss, the man behind the pans at Terroir, had created a menu in which the products of some of the local producers was shown off to their absolute best – and we had the ladies who brought them to us on hand to commend and question to our hearts content.  Dan Moss, and his brother Rohan, opened Terroir just a few short months ago, in September last year.  In a region renowned for its stunning local food products and exceptional wine, there is always room for another place to pull up a chair and savour the culinary riches and Terroir is already making a name for itself as a high point on the local foodie trail.

The splendid wines for the luncheon were provided by the highly esteemed Kilikanoon Wines and were presented by their winemaker, Katie Turvey.  The poultry came from the effervescent and passionate, local free-range meat hen and egg producer Lisa Williams of Spudcutter Poultry, the lamb from Savannah Lamb and the vegetables were a combined effort from local vegetable producer Doug Slugget and Dan’s produce which he grows on his own block.

The meal was preceded by a boning demonstration by Rohan, Dan’s brother, who is not only a qualified butcher, but is also an extraordinarily skilled sashimi loiner.  For those of you who are unaware what a sashimi loiner actually is (and that included me until very recently), Rohan ran a tuna plant in Port Lincoln for seven years and was personally responsible for over-seeing ALL of the tuna that was sent to Tokyo for sashimi.  This means his knife skills are up there with the very best in the world – no wonder his chicken and lamb leg boning looked so easy.

Lunch began with some rabbit spring rolls which were handed around while we sipped at some Kilikanoon Sparkling Vouvray  and watched Rohan display his skills.  Normally I can take or leave bunny dishes as they are often too dry or too boney, but these were utterly delicious – I had no idea rabbit could be so moist and tasty.

Once seated, our entree was promptly placed in front of us and equally promptly vanished.  Dan’s presentation of Lisa’s free range meat birds in a Whole Chicken Terrine with a walnut praline and lemon cream was simple, but incredibly tasty.  This is how chicken is meant to taste and he really does use the whole bird, including the skin.  The terrine was accompanied by a poached egg which was then coated with polenta and deep fried.  This was a triumph in temperature and timing, resulting in a perfectly soft-poached egg with a crispy coating – a testament to his skills and which was enhanced perfectly (especially for me, as a Riesling nut) with the Kilikanoon  2012 Morts Reserve Riesling.

The main course showcased both Dan’s talent in the kitchen and Michele and Phil Lally’s skills in the paddock in the production and presentation of some fine Savannah Lamb.  The boned leg was blackened and served succulent, juicy and blushing pink, but my heart was won by what Dan called a lamb brick – rich, moist, slow-braised lamb neck meat, polenta- coated and lightly fried on a bed of cumin spiced yoghurt and borlotti beans sourced from another local – Four Leaf Milling.  All of which was very happily accompanied by Kilikanoon’s 2010 The Medley – a soft and luscious Grenache, Shiraz and Mourverde blend.

Dessert was a just-sweet-enough apple and pear tart that held a hint of spice from the addition of a mere suggestion of cayenne pepper and a truly sublime gingerbread parfait, sitting on salted caramel.  I came close to disgracing myself with this last dish for, while I’m not a massive fan of ice cream, this parfait was simply sensational.  Fortunately, I managed to scrape every, last smear of it from the plate and did not have to resort to picking it up and licking it.  Just.   Dessert was matched brilliantly with Kilikanoon’s 2009 Mort’s Cut Riesling, a dessert wine that is produced a little unusually.  The canes are cut – completely severed – and the fruit is left to wither on them for two weeks.  Severing the vines this way completely arrests the fruit which dehydrates and concentrates resulting in a deliciously sweet wine.

Once again I was reminded of how terribly spoiled we are here in South Australia.  Terroir is only two hours drive from the city of Adelaide – easily accessible and well worth the drive for a remarkable meal.  However, it would be much more fun to make a weekend of the trip, taking in more of the amazing wine and splendid food of the Clare Valley.  Food tourism is all the rage these days and we have the best on our doorstep – so indulge!

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Post tags: Food, Local Producers, Tourism, Wine

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There are days when even a domestic goddess such as my humble self struggles for the inspiration and motivation to put a meal on the table.  I enjoy cooking – no, really, I do – but the mind-crushing tedium of deciding what to cook every, single, bloody, night really burns my biscuits sometimes.  The best way around those occasions is to be the type of efficient paragon who sits down on a weekend and works out the week’s menu.  No last minute head-scratching, anxiety-racked ravaging through the freezer or panicked eleventh hour shopping visits in those homes.  No sir – just happy, shiny faces around the table and a wholesome, home-cooked meal on it.  Every. Night.

Probably no teenagers and young adults with fascinating lives and prevaricating plans in those homes either.  The number of people expecting to put on a nose-bag at dinner time in my house can vary wildly and with almost no notice.  One evening a few weeks back I went from anticipating six for a family roast dinner to buying take-aways for two – all in the space of three hours, as the numbers dwindled in the face of better offers.  For reasons like these and because I can be very lazy at times, I like to keep some quick cheats in the pantry.  There are the old stand-by’s of tinned beans and fish, but also a locally produced and wittily named range of “Thistle Be Good” products that I adore, made by the delightfully Celtic Jacqui Good.

Originally from Kirkcaldy in Fife, Scotland, Jacqui found herself in Australia in 1999, having indulged a fanciful wanderlust which took her nowhere in particular and everywhere in general.  Still wafting on the breeze (yes – a little like thistle down) it took her nine months to make her way to Adelaide where she promptly lost her heart, but found her home.  Settling with her Australian partner south of Adelaide, Jacqui was surprised to find how quickly she felt at home.  “I feel I belong here more than I ever did in Scotland” she told me.  Which is all just as well really, as she has become such an integral part of the South Australian and southern region food scene.

Jacqui took her first steps into the food world while working in the wine industry at a well known McLaren Vale cellar door.  Local well-respected food icon Russell Jeavons had taught Jacqui how to make the now popular Egyptian nut and spice blend, dukkah, and she was making it for functions and selling small amounts of it at the cellar door.  The passing mention of its possible use as a meat rub by a customer sent Jacqui scurrying off to her books to learn what a meat rub actually was.  It wasn’t long before her range was extended to include “The Rub”, followed a few years later by a range of  prepackaged  risotto and couscous blends and now her quinoa mix.

Jacqui and Thistle Be Good are a wonderful example of the role farmers markets have to play in developing and incubating small business – the Willunga Farmers Market is where Jacqui began to sell her range to the general public.  It quickly became clear to Jacqui that she would need acceptable commercial facilities to produce her growing range of products and she was one of the group of local food producers who set about establishing the first council approved community kitchen in her area.

Thistle Be Good now boasts 18 products over five ranges, employs four people, is still produced locally, with the kitchen in the town of Willunga and the office in Aldinga, and is now also available nationally, with distributors in all Australian states.  Jacqui is an advocate of “clean” food and always looks to local sources for her ingredients in the first instance so this is one product that I’m very happy to use to make my life easier.  I was already a fan of both the couscous mix and the risotto mix, but the quinoa blends have really won my heart – especially the Persian Date and Pistachio mix.  I used it the other night as the base for this very healthy, tasty and brilliantly quick Persian chicken salad.  I added my divineconfit cherry tomatoes and this recipe is as good a reason as any to make them.  The mix is delightful as it comes, but I admit to beefing mine up a bit with some added spice – just because that’s what I do.

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Cheats Persian Chicken & Quinoa Salad

Life can be made even easier for the cook if you buy a cooked, free-range chicken for this dish, otherwise just poach 2-3 chicken breasts.

Author: Amanda McInerney of www.lambsearsandhoney.com

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 Pkt “Thistle Be Good” Persian Date and Pistachio Quinoa
• 350 gms cooked chicken meat
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, sliced
• 1 cucumber, chopped
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or cherry tomato confit, if you have it)
• 150 gms fetta, cubed
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Prepare quinoa as per the instructions on the packet. Fork lightly through to make it fluffy.
2. Combine the quinoa with the rest of the ingredients, drizzle with the olive oil and toss it all lightly together before serving.

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Post tags: Chicken, Food, Local Producers, Salad

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Airline in-flight food has been on my mind of late.  I’m lucky enough to have some overseas trips coming up later this year, including some long-haul flights, which means I’ll be staring down those little foil-wrapped trays and their sometimes questionable contents.  While The Husband and son both devour anything put in front of them and both profess a distinct fondness for it, I’m not a fan of  airline food at all.  I’ve never had a bread roll in a plane that approached anything like an edible state and the frequently overheated concoctions resting under the foil lids seem to all taste the same to me.

The quality and taste of in-flight food is something of a vexed issue for airlines – and not just because of the limitations they face in relation to economics, storage space and reheating options.  The combination of altitude, low humidity, pressurised cabins and the impact upon our other senses of the ambient noise and vibrations in a plane all impact on our sense of taste.  In fact we can lose approximately 30% of our ability to taste when in flight.  The lack of moisture in the atmosphere causes drying of the mouth resulting in that nasty “cotton-mouth” feeling and our sense of taste is so dulled that food may taste as if it has up to 20% less salt and sugar than it actually does.  To make up for this, many airlines over-salt and over-sugar their food, but because we all taste these flavours in different measure the results of this are going to be pretty variable.

Airlines around the world have been tackling these problems for some time now – hence the sea of famous chef faces bobbing up on airline ads.  Heston Blumenthal, Joel Rubichon and Neil Perry are names that appear on some dishes, but most of their efforts are focused on the customers in the pointy end of the plane.  Having said that, improved technology in the appliances used to chill and reheat the prepared meals have meant that even dinner being served to those of us to the right of the entrance door may not be the dismal affair it once was.

The problem of dulled taste becomes especially hairy when selecting and serving wine on planes.  Those who get to turn left at the door, into the  spacious, hushed and golden Business or *gasp* First class sections still face these same problems as those of us down the back in steerage.  The food served in these zones will be prepared more attentively and lovingly, but your favourite tipple of red – or more particularly white – wine is not going to taste as splendid as you might expect.  To counteract this, airline wine consultants seek out wines with more intense flavours and richer, fruitier bouquets.

The current surge in the popularity of cooking shows and food in general means that many airline passengers have greater expectations when it comes to their meals, particularly on those pesky long-haul flights when a meal breaks up the boredom and distracts one from the discomfort of being strapped into an area roughly the size of a biscuit tin.  Airlines are painfully aware of this and are taking their food service much more seriously in these days of fierce competition for bums on seats.  When prices are cut to the bone and often close in comparison, a reputation for quality of food becomes a real point of difference.  As a passenger, there’s not too much that you can do to improve your dining experience given the atmospheric conditions in a plane so my only advice would be to taste your food first, then season liberally and stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.  That’s what I’ll be doing.

Lamb's Ears and Honey | A food Blog ♥

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Post tags: Food, Tourism, Travel

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