![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/note-e1283764030932.jpg\" "\\"note\\"")
<\/a> Cheeseburger in Paradise by Jimmy Buffett<\/p>\nDRAW for our lovely subscribers – Lentilicious <\/a>2 packs of lentil mixes(thanks Sharna and Anthea)<\/p>\n Right now there are so many TV food shows, so many, old ones dug up, and from all over the world – well mostly the UK but I saw one from New Zealand last week,had a very pretty lake view in it. And Kids Masterchef is starting next Sunday – Anyone with kids knows it should be really fun to watch, they are so passionate about food. One of the best is ‘cheese slices’ which reflects the cheesy obsession of Will Studd, cheese providore to many of Australia’s best restaurants and Qantas business and first class. One of my cheese spies – we’ll call him “deep cheddar” – tells me Will gave the program to the ABC very very cheap, just to improve our cheese knowledge presumably. A true cheese evangelist. And more importantly, Will has bought into our North Coast paradise, so hopefully there will soon be even more wonderful cheese all around us. Cheese slices is on ABC1 on Wednesdays. And Luke Nguyen’s Vietnamese food show has come back very quickly to SBS, so have a look if you missed it first time round. I’ve got\u00a0 Luke’s recipe – caramelised mackerel with pineapple to share with you. This recipe is a marriage of many different elements, balanced together 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped In a bowl, combine half the garlic, the white spring onion, the fish sauce, serves 4\u20136 as part of a shared meal<\/p>\n Caramelised Mackerel with Pineapple<\/p><\/div>\n Recipe and image from The Songs of Sapa by Luke Nguyen, published by I played the belly interview with Luke\u00a0 last week, and the last few minutes this week, where he suggests using any firm fish as substitute for the mackerel.\u00a0 If you don’t have a clay pot, I think you can try using any deep heavy bottomed pot.\u00a0 Also maybe just add more fresh garlic to the recipe if you don’t have a big bottle of garlic oil handy. The crispy (but not burned) fried garlic would definitely add lovely texture to the dish.\u00a0 And make sure you use beautiful ripe fresh local pineapple. And straight on to the watermelon man and what’s in season in Oz in September.<\/strong><\/p>\n Asparagus –<\/strong> in season from now to December, some Australian growers go til march.\u00a0 The season a bit slow this year. It has been cold,wet where most asparagus is grown, a lot comes all the way from Peru right now. According to the Australian Asparagus Council, 93% comes from around a small town called Koo Wee Rup, S-E of Melbourne. Yes there is an Australian\u00a0 Asparagus Council, the website is asparagus.com.au<\/a>, lots of facts and recipes, though a lot of their recipes look a bit dodgy. Asparagus is very easy and quick to prepare, it is the shoot of a feathery plant in the lily family. The Roman Emperor Augustus had a saying “faster than cooking asparagus ” for doing something very very fast. The worst thing you can do is boil the hell out of it, but you can bbq it or put it with rich flavours like eggs and cheese, baked in the oven, or use in cold or hot soups, usually reserving the tips to add whole at the end. Or stir fry or very quickly steam. The ancients thought it is so good for you that it deserves ‘officinalis’ in its name, meaning medicinal. It does have a lot of folate, vitamins b and c and anti-oxidants. Unfortunately it doesn’t grow easily around here. I’ve tried in the veggie patch and mine gave a few spears then went to asparagus heaven. I’ve now found out that you shouldn’t pick every spear that pokes up, just the first few from now to November, maybe December, then let the plant form leaves and grow strong, especially the first couple of years. The Meat Lovers song from Dr Siggy, aka Greetings from Switzerland<\/p>\n – Matt Allworth aka Matt the Vet gave us some great information about food allergies in pets and elimination diets we can try at home if our favourite animals start to have symptoms like itchy feet, intestinal disturbances or rashes.\u00a0 Some of the most common allergens are beef for dogs and fish for cats. Vegetarian animals can also develop allergies.\u00a0 Oh and we discovered that it’s a bad idea to try to turn your ferret into a vegetarian.\u00a0 For lots more info see http:\/\/communityvet.net\/2010\/03\/diy-elimination-diet-for-the-dog-an-cat<\/a>\/<\/p>\n And Matt was a great barrel girl<\/p>\n The BELLY BULLETIN<\/strong><\/span>
\n
\nCARAMELISED MACKEREL WITH PINEAPPLE – KA THU KO KHOM<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nperfectly. It is a lighter version of the popular traditional dish of caramelised fish,
\nca kho. I have balanced the salt with the pineapple, the fish sauce with sugar and added
\ndark soy sauce for colour. If you don\u2019t often use pineapple in cooking, give this a try; you\u2019ll
\nbe pleasantly surprised.
\nWhen using a clay pot for the first time, make sure you immerse it in cold water for a few
\nhours. This will ensure that it does not crack over intense heat. Clay pots release earthy,
\nsmoky flavours into your food and they maintain their heat well.<\/p>\n
\n4 spring onions (scallions), white
\npart only, bruised
\n2 tablespoons fish sauce
\n1\/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce
\n1 teaspoon oyster sauce
\n2 tablespoons sugar
\n3 mackerel cutlets (600 g\/1 lb
\n5 oz in total)
\n2 tablespoons vegetable oil
\n300 g (101\/2 oz) pineapple, cut into
\nbite-sized pieces
\n200 ml (7 fl oz) chicken stock
\n(page 328)
\n1 tablespoon fried garlic
\n(page 329)
\n1 tablespoon garlic oil (page 329)
\n2 spring onions (scallions), green
\npart only, sliced
\n1 small handful coriander (cilantro)
\nleaves
\n1 bird\u2019s eye chilli, finely chopped
\n1 Lebanese (short) cucumber,
\nsliced<\/p>\n
\ndark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and 1\/2 teaspoon salt. Coat the fish with
\nthe mixture, then cover and place in the fridge to marinate for 15 minutes,
\nreserving any leftover marinade.
\nPlace a frying pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable
\noil. Add the pineapple and stir-fry for 1 minute, then remove from the pan
\nand set aside. Add the remaining oil and heat over medium heat, then
\nbrown the fish cutlets on both sides.
\nRemove the pan from the heat and transfer the fish to a chopping board.
\nChop each fish cutlet into four pieces with a heavy cleaver. Transfer the fish
\nand pineapple to a clay pot and pour in the reserved marinade. Place the
\nclay pot on the stovetop, turn the heat to high and bring to the boil. Add
\nthe chicken stock and bring back to the boil, skimming any impurities off
\nthe surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the
\nliquid has reduced by half.
\nAdd the remaining chopped garlic to the pot along with the fried garlic,
\ngarlic oil and 1\/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine.
\nSpoon the sauce over the fish. Remove the clay pot from the heat, garnish
\nwith the spring onion, coriander and chilli, and serve with a side bowl of
\ncucumber and jasmine rice.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nMurdoch Books, photography by Alan Benson.<\/p>\n
\nLuke and his partner\/photographer Susanna Boyd also mentioned the Little Lantern foundation<\/a> they are setting up to help kids in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
\n– some other veg and fruit : artichokes,<\/strong> choose heavy and not wilted looking, they are the flower bud of a big thistle, you don’t want to eat wilted buds.
\navocados<\/strong> – one more recipe, from farmer Chris Casagrande in the Byron Shire Echo : a chocolate dip for bananas, to freeze or use as cake icing. Mash avocados with cocoa and a little lemon – he swears it’s great.\u00a0 Also broad beans, young garlic, spring cabbages,lots of greens, pinapple,lots of citruses including blood oranges and cumquats. locally I’ve seen good rhubarb, papayas,lots of strawberries, new season pecans and rice.<\/p>\n<\/a>Grapefruit,juicy fruit by Jimmy Buffett<\/p>\n<\/a> Lena Horne – I want a little doggie<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>
\nImitation is the sincerest form of flattery – enterprising Chinese have been making fake Australian wine, from small Boutique labels to Penfolds. Investigators have found wine labelled Benfolds, or Penfolds bin 888, which is a lucky number in China. The copies have very similar bottles and labels to the originals. China is Australia’s fastest growing export wine market.
\nAnd global champagne sales have risen by about 40% in the first half of this year, so you can stop worrying about those poor champagne makers who were doing it tough in the GFC. And the bonuses that are again flowing into the pockets of investment bankers are obviously being put to good use.
\nIn local news, Tweed tourism have just launched a seafood discovery tour, that you can download or pick up at a tourism office, and follow your fishy way from Cabarita to Corrumbin. Restaurants, fish shops, picnic spots,oyster farms and even crab catching tours.
\nseafooddiscoverytrail.com<\/a>
\nOr go to sustainfood.com.au<\/a> for lots of local food stories and links, including right now an initiative you can join called the Grow your own food challenge, which over 12 weeks encourages as many people as possible to register the amount of garden space they are devoting to food production. At the same time gardening expert Phil Dudman will give a week by week guide to establishing your own food garden. The challenge has already started, but you can join at any time, and there are already gardening videos online.
\nAnd congratulations to The Byron Beach Cafe which has won “Best Tourism Restaurant & Catering Service” at the inaugural North
\nCoast Tourism Awards<\/p>\n