Hello again
School holidays are over making life a little simpler for some of you and for others the routine kicks in and life becomes a little more frenetic. Whatever it is I hope your weekend was relaxing and enjoyable.
Oh the aroma and taste of new season strawberries. Sarah’s grandfather told me last week they are picking only about 1% of their plants so far. So it is only the early bird that catches …. but it is exciting that the season has begun.
With three berry stalls at the market and berry season gradually building up to its peak – possibly by mid August – I feel grateful every morning when I grab a handful (or more) of berries to enjoy. The burst of juicy sweetness is something to savour whilst knowing that I am also providing my body with a huge burst of nutrients. The vibrant colours of our berries are the best clue that they are loaded with goodness. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” is a saying that I have oft heard attributed rightly or wrongly to Hippocrates. I guess though, when it comes to wisdom, the source doesn’t really matter. However, I do like to know that my food is nourishing and wholesome. Every morsel counts so the knowledge that just a handful of berries once or twice a week has health benefits is satisfying.
Dr Axe says that “blueberries remain one of the most nutritious, antioxidant-rich types of fruit in the world.”
Having access to these locally grown berries across a range of seasons is seasonal eating at its best so let’s add an element of berry indulgence this week. In this weeks newsletter (see the link below) is a Blueberry Muffin recipe – perfect for lunch boxes or simply perfect to enjoy anytime. If you haven’t yet discovered our berry stalls please make a point this week of finding Blueberry Fields, Monty’s Strawberries and Tallogum Berries. You won’t be disappointed.
What’s NEWS at the Market?
SEAFOOD – yay!!! We are excited to have seafood at our market; fresh local seafood that is prepared by Jan Rohonzinski at her Gold Coast Seafood Markets Cafe at Main Beach.
Jan and partner Brett bought the business four years ago and since then they’ve attracted seafood lovers from near and far.
Their seafood is locally caught with the exception of their popular Tasmanian salmon – from Tassie of course. Jan and Brett source their seafood FRESH from local trawlers and then prepare and package it for us to enjoy.
Jan said that their smoked salmon is prepared to their own secret in-house recipe. The whole salmon is soaked in huge tubs with herbs before being smoked in their special smoking ovens. You can pick up pre-packed meal size pieces ready for you to take home and enjoy.
Some items such as their garlic prawns and chilli garlic prawns are frozen but most of their seafood is packaged fresh for you. They have a great variety of meal packs including sea scallops – garlic and plain, seafood chowder, fresh prawns, bugs and oysters plus prawn skewers and seafood platters.
While Brett and Jan prepare the seafood, it is the dynamic Patti that you will get to know each Wednesday.
What’s GREAT at the Market?
Finally we have an abundance of cauliflowers at the market. With a slower start than normal due to all the late summer rain followed by more rain in autumn, planting was delayed or seedlings planted at the usual time simply rotted in the ground. So disappointing for many of our farmers especially when they plant 500-1000 at a time and sometimes more.
Patience as always pays off and now we can all enjoy the many ways that caulis add variety to our diet.
Since discovering roasted caulis a few years ago it has become my favourite way to enjoy cauliflower so whenever the oven is on for other baking I like to pop a whole cauliflower coated in ghee and ras-al-hanout into the oven too. Cauliflower soup is another VERY regular item on my menu but I do love a change so when Sophie Hansen from Local is Lovely shared a recipe in her newsletter this morning – 5 Things to be Cheerful about on Monday, July 12 – she inspired me to try this Gourmet Traveller recipe, Roasted Cauliflower Curry with Lime and Coriander – all ingredients that are in peak season. Here is the link if you would like to try it too.
