All posts tagged: asparagus

Gold reds with easy tapas and $150 New World voucher giveaway

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As a graphic designer I’m often attracted to beautifully designed labels…but if I’m deliberating between two bottles of wine, the one with a little gold sticker gets the final say. I usually buy wine on special in the $10 to $15 range. If I’m feeling fancy, or buying a wine for a BYO birthday dinner I’ll upgrade to a $20 to $25 bottle. I don’t often go over that because I don’t have to – there are delightful wines to be had for under $25. The New World Wine Awards takes wine just seriously enough for your garden variety wine drinker. They’ve just announced their Gold, Silver and Bronze winners – all under $25. A panel of experts double-blind taste test over a thousand wines so you can be confident that the hard yards of wine tasting has been done for you. Thanks to the New World Wine Awards, I have a $150 New World voucher to give away so you can embark on your own gourmet adventure. Look for the gold sticker next time …

Asparagus for adults in spring

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It might only be the start of spring but it feels like the tail-end already. We’ve had bright sunny days that suggest that summer is just around the corner. Daylight savings has begun, which means I get to photograph food in natural light in the evenings instead of having to save it for the weekend. This means (potentially) more recipes and more blog posts! Yay!   Last week, The Koala and I went to Cornwall Park to see the spring lambs. They were super cute. If you’re in the southern hemisphere, I would advise seeking out a lamb visit. It’s worth it. After our visit with the lambs, we invited a couple of friends over for the first barbecue of the season. It’s been all of winter since we taught ourselves how to use our charcoal barbecue and we’ve still got the skills we picked up in summer. I don’t remember spring barbecues being a thing, but going by the lovely smells in our neighbourhood, we’re not the only ones barbecuing in spring. Spring also means asparagus season. I …

Out Standing

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On a beautiful Saturday morning, Parnell Farmers’ Market celebrated their “Hello Spring” event with face painting, Walnut the clown (making super balloon animal hats), Old Macdonald’s barnyard petting zoo and the main course: Julie Biuso’s Out Standing In Their Fields cooking demo. With 14 books under her belt and a 15th due out next month, Julie wears various foodie hats including writing, radio, television and teaching. I’m a subscriber to just one food magazine and Julie happens to be their food editor. Julie is well known for her accessible style of cooking and Taste magazine is my favourite for that same approach to food. Food shouldn’t be fussy! The first dish, a hot and sour pork salad was zingy and smart. Using asian exotics like lime, palm sugar, coriander, mint and fish sauce it has punchy flavours that bring out the freshness of the produce. Julie’s handy tips:  Use soft brown sugar as a substitute for palm sugar Refrigerate onions to save your eyes Don’t be scared about using fish sauce as a seasoning This …