Apple & Grape

Picking a food and wine festival worthy of our precious time is akin to Bacchanalia of the Roman times. We want cracking food, saporous wines and stories to take back to work creating invidia amongst our colleagues.

We oft become recluse within our own lives; rare to find an experience worthy of a day trip. I had fallen victim to this habit, choosing only local food and wine festivals within and easy one-hour commute from home. With the promise of abundant wine, local artisan food and music to soothe the soul we packed the car and set off on the three-hour trek over the Great Dividing Range from Brisbane to a jewel in the Granite Belt’s event calendar, the Apple & Grape Harvest Festival.

 

We were greeted with warm sun, warm smiles and warm words; a true indication of a fine day out in the country. The festival was celebrating its 50^th Birthday creating a particularly vibrant atmosphere, with generations of locals young and old, first time festival goers plus local food and wine producers coming to celebrate the best the Granite Belt has to offer.

 

Sweet melodies lure use from the bunting laden, fun-fair of Main Street into the what could only be seen as the Garden of Eden on this warm March day, Weeroona Park. Relaxing on soft grass shaded by aged fig trees and a glass of Summit Estates Sparkling Red in hand, the Multicultural Carnival & Wine Fiesta was in full swing around us.

With a wide range of local wineries, each with their own story to tell, the region was represented to the highest standard. From giddy sparkling brutes and piquant Pinot Gris, rounded off with the likes of smoky, violet Durifs and a deep ruby tawny, every palate was catered for by some of the best Australian wines available to date. Tastings are unlimited so leave the car at the hotel. The Strange Bird Alternative Wine Trail the overall theme of the day, showcasing the quirky creatives of the Granite Belt region. For the non vin de table connoisseurs’ breweries and cider makers are abundant offering fine samples of unique brews, each seeming to take on the personality of the craftsman.

 

 

The food producers are certainly not being seen as second thought after consuming too much chardonnay, but a reason to visit in their own right. The smell of slow, smoldering barbeque drew us out of the park for decadent pulled pork drowned in sweet spiced glaze matched with locally grown cabbage slaw. The cheese contingent well represented from Stanthorpe Cheese (don’t miss the Brass Monkey Blue), Eukey Highland and Bunya Cheeses, all complemented with vintages from one of the neighbouring vineyards’.

The Apple and Grape has a harmonious feel; you are taken on a personal journey around the Granite Belt. The vintners and producers are present to share their craft and experiences with you; all working together to show off what they do and just how well they do it. If you can arrive a novice and leave an expert on the terroir of the Granite Belt, how to match a Sangiovese with a fish dish and with a jar of gorgeous local pickles things are going quite well.

Periwinkles by the Lake

The salty waves are gently lapping up against the smooth slate of Flat Rock, drowned out by the singing of the bellbirds, bowers and footsteps of other critters scurrying along the floor of the ragged bush land. The fire smouldering, making the surrounding stone too hot to walk on, we pretend we are atop of Gulaga back in the Dreamtime brimming with lava, steam and ash daring one another to get closer to flame with each lap around the pit pushing ourselves towards the edge of danger each time, letting our imaginations run wild after too much time in the sun. Dad and uncles are wading in the water about ankle-deep, we know that when we come to Flat Rock we are in for a treat, a secret treat just for the boys.

“Come here boys, come down see what we got!” The booming voice of our elder rang through the trees, scaring birds off into the distance, but to us could only mean one thing the ultimate treat was in his possession. “Periwinkles!” we all rejoiced in unison. The mound of tiny shells adorning the lakeside rocks like a pile of diamonds glistening in the late afternoon sun. The candy of the southern saltwater lakes, a special treat for us when we have been behaving ourselves, oysters and mussels for everyday dinner, periwinkles for the special occasions only.

“Put them in the tin uncle”, “How many did you get uncle”, “Did anyone bring any pins along? How do we eat them?”  like a chorus of young boys singing in rounds we fire off the questions eager to be the first one to taste the sweet flesh of the treat about to be offered to us. There is no time to waste, the sooner they are boiled and devoured the better. We are offered some oysters to keep us quiet while our little friends are bubbling away on the fire, uncle removing them gently from the rocks and leveraging open their protective casing fresh saltwater running down his arm. No one has found a pearl yet but the anticipation is there each time waiting for that moment of glory but for now just the sweet taste of the gooey flesh will suffice I like it to slide straight down into my belly, the salty lake water making it like a water slide down my throat. It wets my appetite, the sound of the water boiling and the periwinkles hitting the sides of the used can on the fire like a little drum making its own beat, my taste buds dancing along. Not long until popcorn of the lake enters my mouth, taking a safe refuge from the ferocity of the boiling water.

“Hands out boys be careful they are hot” uncle stresses as he drains the winkles onto the hot stone around the fire, the steam drifts away like spirit dreams disappearing into the blood-red afternoon sky.  I pick it up tenderly as to not burn my hands or even worse drop my little treasure and waste what we have been waiting all day for. This is the first time I have the get my own meat from the tiny intricate shell, I have seen elders do it with ease how hard could it be really? Just put the pin in and twist and pull, just put the pin in and twist and pull… I can get the pin in but my little friend doesn’t want to come out of his home, all the big cousins have already had three or four each and I haven’t even had one, just twist and pull. Success! My little grey worm is dangling precariously on the edge of my miniature dagger, this is it my big moment to join the men. Finally the salty and slightly slimy winkle hits my tongue, the meat event sweeter than ever before, I can feel the grittiness between my teeth with each bite, a testament to the hard work I have put in to be worthy of this reward saved for the men of the family, finally setting me as their equal.

Blueberry Muffins with a dash of Queens rap

As my first post about baking and my first attempt at putting a recipe out there for others to try I needed something to calm my nerves, something smooth to play seamlessly in the background so I can focus on getting my hands dirty elbow deep in muffin batter (see Paul Hollywood for tips on how a baker should use their hands to know what batters and dough’s should feel like).

I decide on the silky smooth Queens NYC rap stylings of Action Bronson. Think larger than life white guy with a big red beard waxing lyrical about steaks, octopus, fine dining and generally everything food related. He also hosts his own show “Fuck Thats Delicious” on Vice’s Muchies Channel, most certainly worth checking out http://munchies.vice.com/show/fuck-thats-delicious-2 and looking as food and gastronomy from a very different viewpoint to what were are used too!

Yep, a chef who became a rapper, possibly the ulimate for myself who is a lover of rap/hip hop and food. Bronsolini is 33 glorious tracks so seamlessly produced it rolls all into one long set. Foul mouthed like a true chef, it certainly is not something you would listen to around kiddies but this is what creates an authenticity with his music and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

So, after a few introductions to the works of Mr Wonderful (his new album dropping 2015), I think its time to get into the good stuff, baking! My absolute favourite style of cooking, its easy, tasty and always popular in my house and at work. This recipe I have worked on from a basic muffin recipe and added in some extra coconut ingredients to mix it up, I think on the next batch a little bit of lemon zest would take it even further.

Firstly get your laptop, tablet, phone, iPod dock, stereo or what ever you play music through set up and queue up some Action Bronson to get the full experience (or put on your favourite tunes and let me know if they taste better!), you can easily stream full albums from YouTube or check Bronson and crew out in the clip below for some true inspiration

Now that the kitchen is getting hot from all that lycra clad gyrations, preheat the oven onto 180c fan forced while we prep the batter. You can prep the muffin tin also, but I generally only do this right before putting the batter in, up to you really!

What you will need

2 1/4 C self raising flour

90 g butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 C packed brown sugar

180g frozen blueberries or fresh, whatever you can get your hands on/afford

1 Ccoconut milk (I used light, its what I had in my pantry)

50g shredded coconut

2 eggs, beat lightly

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 mixing bowl, 1 wooden spoon, 12 cups muffin tray, measuring cups & spoons, kitchen scale, pastry brush, muffin cases

Method

Sift flour into the bowl, add the butter and rub them together, they should have an almond meal texture when ready (takes 5 to 10 minutes or approximately 2-3 Bronson songs)
Throw the brown sugar in with the flour butter mix and combine

Add in blueberries, coconut milk, shredded coconut and eggs and combine until a thick batter forms
Now is the time I line my tray, either with melted butter or use muffin cases if you have them handy or want a more styled look (I used some colourful gingham ones for a picnic look)

 

I have found a great tip for getting even batter distribution is to use an ice cream scoop, since the batter is thick enough with this mix it works really well and doesn’t involve getting your hands sticky with muffin goo. A regular ice cream scoop will evenly get 12 decent sized muffins out of the mix. Scoop into the tins and sprinkle with a little extra shredded coconut before putting in the oven.

 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and the tops spring back lightly

Let the little fellas cool in the try for a few minutes and gently twist to remove from the tin. Enjoy a few while still warm from the oven.

This is great muffin base for any combination of flavours you may have in the pantry if you don’t have any blueberries, maybe some chocolate bits or banana would be nice also.

Happy baking and listening!

Females and Festivities

There is a myth associated with the male contingent of the Caribbean population, that they are a gift to the women of earth. Music is often used a form of seduction for many cultures some may say that the Latin & Caribbean dance styles epitomise sensuality. There have been some fantastic musical releases related to both cultural celebrations and those in response to females, confirming the myth of men being gods gift to women (go to any place that plays salsa music and see first hand how this works in Cuba).

“Don’t Touch me Tomato” is classic calypso song released by the George Symonette Sextette in 1955 and covered by several different artists. This song is epitome of using food as a metaphor for women, but as it is originally sung by a male it does not immediately appear to offer any deeper meaning than simply do not touch any of my tomatoes. Essentially the denotive reading of this song is about people touching various fruits and vegetables common to the Caribbean region, yams, potatoes and apples, possibly in the local marketplace. With the singer requesting not squeezing of the soft fruits prior to purchasing. If we take the same song having it sung by a female an entirely different meaning is reached, below is a rendition of the same song by Josephine Baker.

The term please don’t touch me tomato can now be interpreted on a connotative level, being used a metaphor for the possibly inappropriate touching of females within the Caribbean culture, most likely at dancehall and clubs. The lyrics are setting boundaries for what is deemed acceptable within society and where the line is drawn, given that this was developed in the 1950s this may have changed somewhat in todays modern society.  To support the idea that this song is representative of the female form rather than purchasing tomatoes at the market, is the album cover by Duke of Iron. The use of the tomato placed on the delicate lingerie signifies the region of the female anatomy being referred to and the use of red as the background colour is also representative of the nature of the song, do not touch.

Music is essential during celebrations and festivities with food, music and parties going hand in hand. Within Caribbean culture the value of food is represented in music. Above we have an example of a popular Puerto Rican salsa song that is representative of the celebrations we all enjoy at the end of a long year of work, and the only way to celebrate is by eating an drinking. There is a connotation associated with rum in all Caribbean communities, that as soon as the rum appears the celebrations can officially commence. The relationship Caribbean locals have with rum could related to the connection Russians have with vodka or Australians with beer. It is integral part of the identity and culture and holds a valuable place in the hearts of the locals. Below we have another example of how rum and music work so well. Unfortunately the connotation associated with this particular track is referring the working girls during the trade period, all of the local girls advanced on the Yankees as the moved in the region looking to earn money. The lyrics paint a very clear picture of how these situations would have been played out in this time, and that a Rum and Coca Cola was a signal that the girls were working.