Today on belly with Sister T and sister D we are going from bagel hunting in New York to fermentation in Nimbin to the Super Bowl, from Chinese New Year to looking after someone else's china – actually we  have a special guest sharing years of experience on being a house minder and preparing your house for a houseminder or holiday renter, focusing on the most important room of course, the kitchen.  The joy of Alsatian Christmas &  many many in season mangoes

 

SISTER D’S NEW YORK DETOUR

Sister D was on the way to Canada earlier this summer.  When the best flight option took her and the family to New York, she refused to go any further until they had all enjoyed a few of the big apple’s deli and pizza delights.  These are a few recommendations, especially Russ and Daughters.  So wise of the Smithsonian to honour a deli.  

Russ and Daughters: Jewish Deli on the lower east side. Specializing in smoked fish, herring, caviar, bagels and more.

 “Russ and Daughters occupies that rare and tiny place on the mountaintop reserved for those who are not just the oldest and the last-but also the best” Anthony Bourdain.

John’s on Bleeker Street: Authentic New York pizza in a little hole in the wall.  A long standing favourite with locals and well worth the wait.

Katz Deli: Famous for the “orgasm scene in when Harry met Sally, this well-known deli is worth a visit.  Yes, you will encounter tourists, but you will also find a large amount of devoted locals that can attest to amazingness of this deli…and pastrami to die for.  Others of note:  Carmines

Where not to eat?  Anywhere in Times Square – unless you have very hungry tired children with you.

 

SISTER T'S CHRISTMAS IN ALSACE

 

Meantime Sister T was in Alsace, a part of France just over the Rhine from Germany, for Christmas.  This would have to be one of the very best places in the world to really experience Christmas.  In food, culture, language, architecture, they combine some of the best of France and Germany.  I especially liked the way all the shops and streets, which already look like they belong in a Hans Christian Andersen fantasy, are decorated.  Each is over the top and each in its own very individual way, not out of a big Christmas ornament factory in China.  Owls and teddy bears, disco bowls and ribbons, Baccarat chandeliers, not sure what some of it has to do with Christmas but it works.  As for the food, spice biscuits in shops and at home, Christmas markets on every square with local specialties and vin chaud – hot spiced sweet wine, Alsatian pizza (very thin, topped with bacon bits, onion and creme fraiche).  And on the celebration tables at home, the best one can afford, but not necessarily things that keep you in the kitchen for hours.  Foie gras, made by an artisan who looks after the ducks and the product, cooked by grandma (“what do you mean, you’ve never made foie gras yourself?” I was asked).  Oysters, smoked salmon, salads, marvellous intricate STORE BOUGHT pate en croute.  To finish Christmas dinner, a frozen fruit ice cream version of the buche de Noel, again bought from a good glacier.  The only tradition I will be steering clear of, for self preservation, is the galette des rois.  A cake with a trinket hidden inside, if you find it you are king or queen for the day.  But you have to keep eating cake until someone finds it.  And not once, but over and over with various friends and mainly from January 6 (Epiphany) onwards.  If someone ever writes a book called “How French Women do get Fat”, the galette des rois will feature.  Though once a year it is delicious, usually a crisp sweet puff pastry creation.  Again, from a good patisserie, not home made usually.  So sensible.

BELLY BULLETIN

China has overtaken both France and Italy and is now the biggest consumer of red wine in the world.  Vinexpo and the International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR) released a joint report indicating that Chinese wine drinkers consumed the equivalent of 1.865 billion bottles last year (or 155 million cases).  France in comparison consumed 150 million cases, and Italy 141 million cases.
These results for China indicate a whopping 136% growth since 2008.  Experts believe the huge increase in red wing consumption in China can be attributed not only to the proposed health benefits of red wine, but also the cultural significance of the colour red in China.  Red represents good fortune, strength, and luck.  In addition, it was found that 80% of wine is produced domestically, placing China as the fifth largest wine producer globally.

 

In news out of the UK, produce is now being grown in an abandoned WW2 era bomb shelter under the streets of London.  The creation of Richard Ballarf and Steven Dring, As stated on the crowd funding site “crowdcube” the company reports “Zero Carbon Food utilizes redundant underground spaces in London, producing leafy greens, herbs and micro greens using LED lights and hydroponics, producing fresh ingredients with a minimal carbon footprint”.  After many years in development, the 2.5 acre underground farm will be run full time in March, and it is expected that the produce should first hit markets and restaurants by the Northern Hemisphere summer of this year.  In an effort to increase the credibility of a venture one could be quite sceptical about, the company has partnered with two-star Michelin Chef Michel Roux Jr. from Le Gavroche in London.  In a press release Roux Jr said “When I first met these guys I thought they were absolutely crazy.  But then when I visited the tunnels and sampled the delicious produce they are already growing down there I was blown away.  The market for this produce is huge”

 

As we speak, millions of North Americans are glued to their TV sets for the Super Bowl.  North America’s biggest football game of the year is now being aired Sunday Night in the US and Canada.  Traditionally, football fans unite for annual “Super Bowl parties” often held in people’s living rooms, where there is a focus not only on the game, but on the food and drinks (beer) that go with it.  Not for the faint of heart, super bowl favourites include: Buffalo Chicken wings, Nacho’s, chips and many assorted dips, jalapeno poppers, chilli, pizza and more.  And  speaking of “bowls” There has been a new winner of the Philadelphia “Wing Bowl” a US contest that pits eaters against each other (Americans love their food eating contests) to see who can eat the most amount of chicken wings in a 30 minute period.  The winner this year?  None other than Molly Schuyler, 56kg mother of four who ate a record setting 363 chicken wings in 30 minutes, winning $22 000 for her ordeal.  Her strategy: “just don’t stop and don’t throw up”.  Schuyler is no stranger to competitive eating, and previous feats include setting a national fried mushroom record for eating 4 kilos in 8 minutes, and earlier this month eating a 2kg steak in less than 3 minutes…a possible new world record.

For all your meat news, check out the website www.globalmeatnews.com. Crooks in Europe are celebrating the year of the horse by yet again substituting horse meat for beef.  Dutch food bosses have put out an alert after the discovery of horsemeat in a slaughterhouse prompted a block on shipments from the business.  And the US Congress has enacted a measure which effectively bans horse meat processing, ending hopes by some of a legitimate revival of the industry in that country.  Meantime in Australian pig news, globalmeatnews.com correspondent Lee Adendorff, from Byron Bay reports that farmers are slowly adopting a voluntary code of banning gestation stalls.  Lee says: “[according to] Meat industry association Australian Pork Limited (APL) […]Australian piggeries are well on the way to an almost total elimination of sow gestation stalls by 2017. It said an estimated 65% of pigmeat enterprises in 2014 were already phasing out using cages to restrict a sow’s movements during pregnancy.”  The industry body also warns that items such as hams and salamis made in Australia from imported meat often come from pigs kept in cages for up to 4 weeks.  However some farmers are leaving the industry association altogether as they believe they can’t afford to change their production methods. Meantime free range pig farmers can command 80 to 100% more for their pigs as consumers turn to their product.

The Blue Knob farmers market near Nimbin held its first ever fermentation festival on Saturday and it was a huge success. Sandor Katz, author of "The Art of Fermentation" – considered the bible of fermentation, was the guest speaker at the event and offered lots of great information on many aspects of fermentation. There were over 14 local fermenters sharing their fermented creations including pandamas vinegar, kvass and Australian style kim chi. The event attracted around 250 people, attracting fermenters from as far as Coffs Harbour and Brisbane. With so much interest in fermentation The Blue Knob Farmers market are  planning on holding  a second fermentation festival with more demonstrations and hands on experience.   For more info contact jamescreagh@hotmail.com

If you are a fan of Sandor Katz, who has been experimenting with fermentation for over 20 years, and would like to spend a day with him, his upcoming local workshop is on February 12 from 10 am to 5pm at the Harvest Cafe Newrybar, at a cost of $490.  However Sandor has a lot of information available for free on his website, www.wildfermentation.com, including many recipes and methods, with photos, and a lot of very interesting interviews in which he talks about the benefits of fermentation. 

 

HOUSEMINDING, KITCHEN MINDING – HOW TO MAKE IT A PLEASURE FOR BOTH OWNER AND MINDER

 

Houseminding and holiday renting is becoming an ever more popular way to travel, and for some of us even to live most of the time.  It is particularly common here in the Northern Rivers, which is both a popular holiday spot and inhabited by hordes of travel-itchy folk.  Most of the time the experience is a great win-win, whether money or an exchange of favours (or energy as Diana says) is the currency.  Our beloved pets, gardens, homes are looked after, and we get a great free holiday, or a stay somewhere much better than the average hotel room. And yes, many of us are both guests and hosts from time to time.  But sometimes it can go horribly wrong.  Most times one or two little things are damaged and it's not a big deal, but if the host doesn't prepare properly, and/or the guest doesn't know what to do, it can really sour both the holiday and the relationship.  An online search revealed that there are plenty of places to check out generic dos and don'ts, even lists of information that you should make sure is covered.  But there is very little focusing on the most important room of the house, the kitchen.  Obviously a belly mission!   Please listen to the audio links below, where Diana, a North Coast local who has both minded homes many times, and holiday let and had house minders over many years, shares all the tips and tricks that she has picked up.  Below the audio, a few of the things that might go wrong if you don't follow her advice – and you are unlucky!

 

Diana on how to prepare your home and kitchen for houseminders or holiday renters – Part 1

 

Diana on how to prepare your home and kitchen for house minders or holiday renters – Part 2

 

Diana on how to be a wonderful and well prepared house, & especially kitchen, minder

 

SISTER T'S TEN BEST WAYS TO BE UNPOPULAR WHEN MINDING A KITCHEN

No 10 – Using the salad servers to pick up cat poo from the litter box.  But if you do, make sure you cover your tracks by washing them well and putting them back in the drawer.

No 9 – Moving a whole harvest of chillies from the freezer to the fridge.  They will rot.  Usually stuff that is in the freezer, or the fridge, or in the pantry, is there for a reason.  These storage areas are not interchangeable.  Some things we all store differently. Some of us put coffee in the freezer, some in the fridge, some keep it on a shelf.  But frozen fruit & veg need to be used straight away if you take them out of the freezer.

No 8 – Scrubbing the cast iron pans until they shine.  A good way to add iron to your diet, as they will immediately rust.  Or scrubbing the no stick coating off pans.  If some pots are shiny and spotless, and some are all black on the inside, they are meant to stay that way.  As a general rule, stainless steel and aluminium are safe to scrub, everything else you have to be gentle, especially anything black on the inside.  Check out what to do on youtube, a lot of cast iron obsessives have posted videos there. 

No 7 – Having a feast of deep frying, or other fatty sizzly splattery forms of cooking.  Many cooks avoid deep frying more to avoid cleaning than to avoid artery damage, so if you like a daily fry-up, be prepared for a lot of cleaning.  If the rangehood and oven are dripping with fat, and there is a film of grease on the inside of cupboards, the glasses, saucepans, toaster, kettle, the budgie and the cat , you may need to see your doctor about your diet.  Cleaning this mess up in a frenzy of scrubbing and heavy duty chemicals isn't a good idea either.  If in doubt, dirt is better than damage.  Or dirt plus a wad of cash for a cleaner.  And a bottle of wine.  Maybe two.

No 6 – Tossing out mysterious things in jars or bottles.  Even if the use by date was before you were born.

No 5 – Using up all the good stuff.  Maybe in a big fry-up. If you don't know what it is, it's probably the good stuff. The good stuff doesn't have to be expensive, it could be something only available in one little shop in Western Uzbekistan – unless you live in Western Uzbekistan, in which case it could be a pack of bagels from Russ and Daughters.

No 4 – Washing the good knives in the dishwasher.  This can damage both the handle and the blade.  There are a lot of other things that don't do real well in a dishwasher, like crystal, some plastics, delicate china, crusty saucepans.  Hand washing while listening to bayfm, preferably with a friend, is a lovely way to ease into the evening.

No 3 – Breaking things and not leaving a note.  Or leaving the fragments carefully placed together so they fall apart as soon as you touch the broken item.  This only works if you can leave it where a pet or gust of wind may have broken it, and you artfully arrange the bits in a "accidentally knocked over by the dog as you drove in from the airport" type pattern.

No 2 – Bending implements so they work better for you.

No 1 – Completely re-organising the pantry.  Many cooks buy far too many ingredients and  store them so they have some small hope of finding them. This takes years of trial and error and much growling at family members who dare to put the sugar with the flour instead of near the honey. Or vice versa. If your method is, say, alphabetical,  putting the tamarind paste with the tea may make sense to you, but you will not be thanked if you do it in someone else's kitchen.  Your host will be calling on all the kitchen gods for revenge as she tries to remember where everything goes.

Yes they all really happened, and more – except for the grease on the cat.  Or maybe he got washed before I got home.  And most happened this summer, though the good knives in  the dishwasher and the scrubbing of the cast iron happened with other, more sensible minders, so they are good things to add to your list of things to hide or leave instructions for/learn about.

 

OTHER POPULAR THINGS TO DO – SUBMITTED BY LOCALS

– As a minder – lending kitchen gear to a friend – AND not getting it back before the host's return/not leaving a note

– As a host – leaving dirty sheets on the bed, and no clean sheets in the house to change the bed, so the poor minder has to wash the one set and dry it before she can sleep.

 

MARVELLOUS MANGOES

 

We are awash with mangoes of all kinds, thanks to an early local harvest coming on top of supplies from the North.  Lucky there are so many great things you can do with mangoes – sitting in a bathtub, preferably open air, eating them naked comes to mind.  Yes, both you and the mangoes have to be naked.

 

When you have your clothes back on, try sister D's favourite mango time salad.  Or check out Belinda Jeffery's gorgeous uncooked mango cake in her Collected Recipes cookbook (thank you Diana for registing this to bayfm).  Or let your own creativity run riot with a mango tiramisu, which is pretty much what Belinda did.  But she has great tricks for making it look pretty, like shaping the cake by using the side (as opposed to the base) of a spring form tin, and a large plate.

 

ASIAN CHICKEN AND MANGO SALAD – by sister Deanna

 

For the salad:

2 cold chicken breasts shredded (see note)

2 ripe mangos freshly sliced

3 green onions sliced (or ½ sliced red onion)

Bunch of mixed greens of your choice

¼ – 1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds or peanuts

I bunch of coriander, chopped

½ sliced cucumber

Note: can also add: sliced red capsicum, sprouts of your choice, toasted shredded coconut, also can throw in some cooked rice noodles!

 

For the dressing:

2 tbsp. palm sugar (or brown sugar)

2        tbsp. lime juice

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp. freshly grated ginger

1-2 tbsp. fish sauce

1-2 sliced red chillies

2 thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves (optional)

 

Note: sometimes I poach the chicken, sometimes I bake it in the oven, sometimes I steam it, and sometimes I just shred some left over roast chicken…it really is a matter of preference and time….

 

Method

Mix together the dressing ingredients and stir to dissolve sugar.  The dressing should be a mixture of salty, sweet, and spicy, so feel free to adjust to taste.  Remember: the dressing will be stronger on its own, and will tone down when placed on the salad.  Set aside while you prepare the salad.

Assemble the salad ingredients: greens, cucumber, mango, onion, capsicum and sprouts if using, Top with coriander and toasted almonds or peanuts.  Drizzle over the dressing and serve immediately.

 

 

Love and chocolate covered house minders (only if they are as lovely as Diana),

 

Sister T

 

ps – I would love to hear your comments/suggestions/horror stories/happy stories on the whole house minding/kichen minding thing – just leave a comment in the box below, all comments need to be screened in case they are spam, but please do get in touch with the bellysisters on this or any other topic