A recent visit to Perth had me falling down a rabbit hole, knife and fork in hand, into the culinary wonderland that is Fremantle Markets.

Here, food vendor after food vendor beckoned, “Eat Me” with their pillowy bao buns, enchanted egg brioche, spell-binding pastries, fairytale fudge, sweetly magical honey cakes and more.

And yes, the resulting tea party no doubt contributed to me growing larger… at least it would have had it not been for the siren call of a jewel like red concoction from the stall of Roogenic. “Drink me,” it cries and in the spirit of the day I acquiesce.

A natural health food company specialising in teas made from Australian Native Plants, Roogenic’s Super Detox Tea has been designed to help bloating, support gut health, and the natural cleansing of the body. And it’s delicious.

Family owned Roogenic creates its products using native ingredients chosen for their incredible natural properties and based on traditional Aboriginal medicine – but backed up by scientific research.  All of the ingredients are either wild harvested or organically grown and are sourced from local farmers and Indigenous communities, providing an income stream as well as promoting traditional indigenous culture to a broader market.

The Super Detox Tea is just one of the many Roogenic temptations that follow me back home to Sydney, my bag overflowing with a Native Happiness blend, Native Relaxation to help me sleep and a Native Balance for Women featuring a unique blend of Australian bush plants & herbs designed to support women’s well-being.  And I’m happy to report that the Roogenic brand of alchemy works, because three weeks later, I’m less bloated, more balanced, and sleeping like a baby. 

As well as that Wonderland-ish tea, Roogenic’s magicians conjure up a variety of bush foods, native plant infused honey and an incredible olive oil, infused with with Lemon Myrtle & Pepperberry, and you better believe they conjured their way into my luggage too.

Inspired by the gorgeous products and recipes from Roogenics, we’ve taken popular Italian staple and family fave, Spaghetti Aglio e Olio – flavour packed as always with chilli and garlic -to decadent new levels with the addition of wads of sweet Aussie crab meat and a generous splash of Roogenic Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil infused with Lemon Myrtle & Pepperberry. The result is Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with crab and lemon myrtle, a quick and easy flavour packed feast that is fast becoming this family’s favourite new week night dinner treat. 

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with crab and lemon myrtle

July 25, 2019

by Aleney de Winter

Cuisine Italian

Category Australia Pacific food European food

Serving Size

bowl

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Total Time

15 minutes

Ingredients

• 500g dried spaghetti
• 200 grams cooked blue swimmer crab meat
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbs. Roogenic Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil infused with Lemon Myrtle & Pepperberry
• 8 large garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
• 1 heaped tsp. crushed chilli flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup shaved parmesan
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Instructions

1. Cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water, following packet directions until just tender. Drain and set aside, reserving a cup of cooking liquid.
2. Heat extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in frypan, adding the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for two minutes or until fragrant
3. Add the reserved cooking liquid to the pan, season with salt and pepper and simmer for two minutes until liquid reduces by a third.
4. Add the drained pasta and toss.
5. Lower the heat and crab meat until just heated through.
6. Take off heat, add parsley and Parmesan and toss until combined.
7. Drizzle pasta with Roogenic Lemon Myrtle & Pepperberry Infused Olive Oil and and an extra sprinkle of parsley to serve.

Tags

Italian recipes,

Native Australian food

© 2021 copyright www.boyeatsworld.com.au

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Sleeping under canvas in the great outdoors may work wonders for the soul but it isn’t usually too kind on the tastebuds, which is a holiday deal breaker for this foodie family. Cremated sausages on stale bread rolls are not really how we roll and equipping us with nothing but an Esky and a campfire is not going to change that.

In spite of this we love ‘going wild’ because we’ve discovered with some simple camp cooking hacks that, unless you’re planning to pop up your tent at Everest base camp or are hiking deep into uncharted Amazonian jungle, there’s really no need to skimp on good food.

The trick is not to overcomplicate things by planning dishes that require enough utensils to equip a restaurant kitchen, or hours of campsite preparation. Instead, we pre-chop some ingredients and pack enough foil to keep Snoop Dogg’s dealer in business. Or we pre-prepare a few foil-wrapped meals that we can heat up at camp.

That way all we need is something to eat off and with, an Esky to keep the food fresh, and garbage bags to properly dispose of food scraps so the local wildlife doesn’t stop by for an all-you-can-eat garbage bin gourmet buffet. And instead of balling up the leftover foil and turfing it, we flatten and re-use what we can and keep the rest for recycling.

Oh, and though I hate to state the obvious we also need a fire. Our tip is to fire it up about an hour before we plan on cooking so there are plenty of hot coals, not blazing flames, as they offer more constant temperatures. Cooking over coals does take a little longer but the smouldering, smokey result is good enough to take out Masterchef in the Wild.

Related post: First time family camping essentials

Here are six of our favourite fool-proof, no-pot, camp cooking hacks; 

1. Flamin’ French Toast

This isn’t the prettiest French Toast you’ll ever see, but my kids love it, and it’s not like the local wildlife is going to be dishing out plating critiques. Place two thick slices of bread (crust off) side by side on a buttered layer of baking paper. Mix 2 eggs and a third of a cup of cream or milk in a bowl and drizzle evenly over the top of the sliced bread. Wrap tightly. Wrap parcel again with a tight layer of foil and place in coals for around 15 minutes (turning every few minutes to cook evenly). Check and return to fire if still soft. Once cooked, serve with fresh berries or a drizzle of maple syrup. Or both!

2. Forest Fondue

Wrap a whole wheel of Brie and some fresh herbs in heavy-duty foil and heat it over the fire until it’s soft and oozy. We enjoy our favourite campfire treat with chunks of crusty bread or fresh baked damper.

3. Muchos Nachos

These deliciously smoky campfire nachos are one of our fave camp cooking hacks as they are always a sure fire hit with our kids. On a large sheet of foil, or a disposable foil baking tray, layer corn chips, refried beans, black beans, salsa and grated cheese and cover with aluminium foil. Cook over campfire coals or on a BBQ for about ten minutes and top with sour cream, jalapenos and guacamole.

4. Campfire Cones

No, not for Snoop… though these would do the trick should he happen upon your campsite with a case of the munchies. This is an ingenious twist on s’mores that comes with all the flavour and none of the mess. Simply fill waffle cones with marshmallows and chocolate chips as well as your choice of caramels, nuts, peanut butter, or fruit. Cover in foil and place on a camp fire for a few minutes. Remove (using tongs of course), unwrap and enjoy.

5. Feeling fruity

If you prefer to keep the campfire treats healthy, our kids love grilled fruit skewers. Simply thread fruit pieces onto pre-soaked skewers alternating varieties – stone fruits, banana, pineapple and strawberries work best. Brush with coconut oil and place on grill or over fire and cook for around ten minutes, turning occasionally. Combine honey, lime juice and a little more coconut oil in a bowl and brush fruit sticks before cooking for a further two minutes. Serve drizzled with remaining honey mixture!

6. Top of the pops

Stick a tablespoon of popcorn and a teaspoon of oil onto a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminium foil. Fold into a loose, sealed packet allowing plenty of space for corn to expand. Place it on the fire or barbecue and wait for the corn to go wild. Remove once the popping has stopped! Unwrap and enjoy.

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The thinking foodies crumpet, Michael Pollan and Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney have served up a new Netflix original series to binge on, guilt-free, and it’s got us cooking up a storm.

Cooked, a Netflix docuseries based on Pollan’s 2013 book, Cooked: a Natural History of Transformation, is an entertaining feast for the eyes, mind and tastebud that walks us through the evolution of human food preparation.

Without resorting to being judgemental or lecturey, the series examines the primal human need to cook and how the way big corporations have made cooking optional has reduced us to outsourcing eating. With an end goal of reclaiming lost kitchen traditions to restore health and balance, each episode in the addictive series focuses on the physical elements used to transform raw ingredients into delicious food and their relationship to ancient and modern cooking methods.

“We’re the only species on earth who cook and when we learned to cook is when we became truly human, but we’ve lost touch with how that food got to our plates,” points out Pollan in the first episode ‘Fire’.

Delving into the fascinating traditions of flame and food through the eyes of the indigenous Martu people of Western Australia and an American barbecue pit master, its compulsive viewing.

But, says Pollan, the less time we invest in cooking ourselves, the more time we seem to invest in watching other people on television, he says and I’m guiltily reminded that instead of watching Netflix, I should be cooking my family dinner.

Given Pollan’s teachings that a kitchen should be more than a place we go when we get hungry, I want to feel emotionally connected to what I’m producing for my family. I grew up in a household where food was more for sustenance and less about gathering together and harmonising, except when it came from the sea. I come from a long line of fisherman and seafood on a smoky fire still reminds me of my childhood and extended family gatherings to celebrate the latest haul of hand-netted prawns or fresh caught fish.

Though back then things were cooked with minimum fuss, watching the indigenous Martu People and their connection to the land also has me hankering for some of my favourite native flavours. So the kids and I go hunting and gathering ingredients for a nutritious family meal lightly marinated in family history. I confess that this hunting and gathering was mostly done at our local supermarket, but we’ve chosen only fresh produce and native whole spices and we’re firing up the barbecue to create BBQ Prawns with Bush Tucker Dukkah, a meal that is not only healthy, but one that holds both a connection to our fishing ancestors as well as the land we live in.

BBQ Prawns with Bush Tucker Dukkah and Mint Yoghurt

February 25, 2016

by Aleney de Winter

Category Australia Pacific food Recipes

Ingredients

• 12 large king prawns, peeled and de-veined, tails intact
• 12 long Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 60 minutes
• Macadamia oil, for brushing
• Tablespoon of small young mint leaves
• 1/2 cup crushed macadamia nuts.
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp ground lemon myrtle leaf
• 1 tsp dried bush tomatoes
• 2 tsp peppercorns
• 1tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 cup plain Greek-style yoghurt
• 1/2 cup mint leaves finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Pinch of ground lemon myrtle leaf
• Lemon wedges, to serve
• Couscous, to serve

Instructions

1. Combine the yoghurt, mint leaves, lemon juice and a pinch of lemon myrtle and set aside.
2. To make the dukkah, pound bush tomatoes, lemon myrtle leaves and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle, then add crushed macadamia nuts, sesame seeds and sea salt.
3. Thread each prawn onto a bamboo skewer.
4. Reserving a tablespoon of the dukkah mix for serving, roll each prawn in the dukkah then lightly brush with macadamia oil.
5. Preheat a barbecue grill to a medium heat.
6. Barbecue the prawns, turning constantly, for around 3 minutes or until prawns are cooked through.
7. Serve sprinkled with the reserved dukkah mix, mint yoghurt, baby mint leaves, cous cous and lemon wedges.

Tags

Bush tucker,

Cooking,

family food,

Michael Pollan

© 2021 copyright www.boyeatsworld.com.au

Disclosure:  As a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam we received a subscription to Netflix, and while I will be posting regular updates about the service, and the tasty treats we create and scoff while we’re watching it, all opinions expressed will be our own.  

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Raffles has loved seafood since he was a baby. Pre-teeth he would gum down bowl after bowl of fish congee and flaked salmon. By two he was gnawing on prawns and demolishing plates of fresh fish. Soon enough he was eating it raw, and is still a sucker for any kind of sashimi. In fact, you can pretty much guarantee that if it’s from the sea, the kid will devour it…

But recently he has developed something of a crush on crustaceans. Bugs, scampi and crabs to be precise. Especially crabs! Soft shell, muddy, blue swimmer or spanner, Raffles doesn’t discriminate. If you are a crab he wants to meet you and eat you.

He would happily pick and slurp away every day on a stir-fried blue swimmer, bite into crispy fried soft shells, slurp them in soup, scoff them in a sushi roll or devour them in a dumpling. Any way you can serve them up, he’ll gobble them down. And then ask for more.

Admittedly crabs can be a little fiddly to eat but the meat is sweet and delicious and well worth the effort. Raffles has even become a dab hand at using the crabs own claws to pick out the meat.

Given my boy’s fervour for the fruits of the sea and my love for a good tart, we grabbed some cooked crabs from the fish market and picked the meat to create a light and luscious dinner of blue swimmer crab tarts with a simple baby rocket salad, which was a hit with every member of the family from Sugarpuff up. The recipe makes six, and we are only four, but it proved the perfect number as my wee crab-eating kook went back for seconds… and thirds!

While I used to make my own short-crust pastry, I’ve got to say that I’ve fallen in love with Carême Sour Cream Shortcrust pastry and, given that I am completely and unashamedly lazy, used that for these gorgeous tarts.

THE RECIPE

Blue Swimmer Crab and Gruyere tarts

Ingredients:

350 grams crab meat
2 eggs, separated
100 ml Crème fraîche
80g grated Gruyere cheese
Cayenne Pepper
Carême Sour Cream Shortcrust pastry (or make your own)
Lemon (cut into wedges)

Method:

1. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface until around 2-3mm thick.
2. Press into tartlet pan (should make about six individual size tarts). Trim the excess and prick the base all over using a fork.
3. Chill for 60 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C
5. Line the pastry with baking paper and fill with baking beans and blind-bake for 10 minutes.
6. Remove the beans and paper and cook for a further 8 minutes until just golden.
7. Brush the inside of each pastry case with egg white and pop back into oven for 2 minutes then set aside to cool.
8. In a bowl mix the crab meat, cream, eggs, a pinch of cayenne and salt and pepper.
9. Spoon the mixture into cases and sprinkle liberally with Gruyere and a tiny pinch of cayenne.
10. Bake for a further 15 minutes until golden.
11. Serve with lemon wedge and baby rocket salad

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Do you know the muffin man? I do. Turns out he’s about four-ft tall, blonde, extremely cheeky and only six-years old.

Inspired by our recent bushtucker adventures in Jervis Bay, Raffles asked me if we could hit the kitchen for a little experimenting with some of the native flavours we’d learned about and tasted in Booderee National Park. Three-year old Sugarpuff too wanted in on this particular caper so to keep things simple I figure we could just torment a basic muffin recipe and see what we come up with.

But our innocent afternoon in the kitchen soon deteriorates into full and bloody combat with my normally sweet and non-competitive son determined to out muffin his mother. It’s a bake off!

In fact, it is spatulas at dawn when, justifiably proud of thebush tomato, lemon myrtle and pepperberry combo that I was planning to share here, Raffles and his sassy sous chef, Sugarpuff, tell me where I can stick my savoury offering. Not that they don’t like them, It’s just that they’ve declared theirs superior (even while munching happily on mine).

Indeed so sure they are of their muffin supremacy that they have commandeered the blog and are insisting that instead I share their contribution to our experiment in native flavours – macadamia, wattle seed and crystalised ginger muffins with a hefty dollop of golden syrup.

And, just quietly, while I hate being bested by a six-year old in the kitchen, I’ve got to admit my muffin man’s sweet, sticky and aromatic creation is a moist and moreish work of gingery genius…

THE RECIPE

Macadamia, wattle seed and crystalised ginger muffins
(makes six large muffins)

Ingredients;

1 ½ cups self raising flour
1 tsp wattle seeds
½ cup macadamia nuts chopped
½ cup crystallised ginger chopped
50g butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons golden syrup
1 banana, sliced (for moisture)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a muffin tray with individual baking papers.
2. Sift self raising flour and wattle seeds into a large bowl.
3. Add macadamia nuts and crystallised ginger.
4. Make a well in the centre and add butter, milk and egg, banana and golden syrup.
5. Mix ingredients (mixture should remain lumpy)
6. Spoon evenly into lined muffin tray.
7. Bake for 20 minutes (or until they spring back when touched lightly)
8. Cool and serve (these are particularly lovely still warm).

The post Bushtucker baking: Wattleseed, Macadamia & Ginger Muffins appeared first on boyeatsworld.

Imagine waking up with a different view every day, snorkelling before breakfast, breathing in salty sea air, and relaxing as the sun sets over the water while you nosh on seafood and guzzle a glass of wine, or five.

Something a little like this…

Nice huh? Could it even be the perfect way to see the Whitsundays Islands? Seriously! A private yacht means setting your own schedule, designing your own itinerary and, because the accommodation comes with you, the kids can sleep, eat, pee and poop whenever the mood strikes.

Queensland Yacht Charters’ four cabin sailing catamaran “Seachange” with the fabulous Christophe at the helm, offered us a perfect intro to family sailing. But, if you’d prefer to skipper yourself, you don’t really require much sailing experience. Queensland Yacht Charters’ can organise a sail guide to show you all the need-to-know stuff like turning it on and steering. They’ll also take you through navigation and marine park regulations, anchoring and sail handling… which may also come in handy if you plan on actually leaving the mooring. Plus they check in by radio several times a day to keep you up to date with weather. And, if you still think it sounds like hard work, worry not! These boats come with an autopilot function and a perfectly good motor, so you don’t even have to raise the sails unless you want to.

Now, as anyone who’s ever met me would know, sloth comes second only to gluttony as my favourite of the deadly sins. So clearly I was all for sitting back and letting Christophe do all the hard work. And by hard work I mean set the autopilot so he could join us for a leisurely lunch of giant prawns and bugs with an amazing dressing he whipped up in seconds.

It certainly didn’t hurt that Christophe, as well as a charming host, was a cook in a previous career, meaning that gluttony also got a look in on this particular occasion. Bonus.

Once moored in the clear turquoise waters it was simply a matter of pulling on a snorkel and mask, flopping face first into the beautiful blue and swimming off to bother some fish. Which we did, repeatedly. There may also have been a bit of lolling about in the sun.

While dinner sizzled away on the yacht’s barbecue we watched the sky turn perfectly peachy as the sun set. In keeping with the theme of abject laziness, all of the food on board was supplied courtesy of Whitsunday Provisioning, who ensured our boat was chock full of goodies before we set sail. If we’d decided to do it ourselves, there were supermarkets in Airlie. And several bottleshops that sold perfectly good alcohol. Airlie is good that way.

At night, before the lapping water gently rocked us to sleep in our cosy double berth cabins, we lay on the deck and gazed at an incredible inky black sky dotted with thousands of stars, picking out constellations and making crazy wishes on shooting stars. Mind you, I’m not all that big on everyone’s wishes coming true because if they did – between Sugarpuff and Raffles – I’d be living in a hot pink sequinned house with several armed and mutated pizza scoffing reptiles. But, as per usual, I digress.

After our blissful yachting adventure we headed back to Airlie to eat some of the fish we’d met because, frankly, that’s just the kind of people we are. There are plenty of great spots to enjoy seafood in Airlie Beach, but the best place in town has to be Fish D’vine, where we devoured salt and pepper tempura crocodile with a lemon myrtle aioli (tastes like chicken).

Followed by perfectly cooked Barramundi with macadamia nut and basil pesto and a sublime wok-fried Thai chilli mud crab that had us donning glamorous paper bibs so we could slurp and suck at it with unabashed gusto. Chalk up another win for gluttony!

Fish D’Vine, which is very kid friendly (mine rate their fish and chips the best ever), also boasts a Rum Bar with a startling collection of more than 450 different rums so those of us over the age of 18 also enjoyed a few insanely good mojitos and a volcanic “Squeaky in a Tiki” because well, alcohol.

Though the Whitsundays are closer and more affordable to get to than ever for us now Tigerair Australia has launched a direct Sydney to Whitsunday Coast Airport service, we may need to leave it a bit more than two weeks between visits. So for now, inspired by the fishy and fabulous flavours of the Whitsundays, we’ve come up with this Macadamia and lemon myrtle crusted barramundi to take us back… with our tastebuds.

THE RECIPE

Macadamia and lemon myrtle crusted barramundi with tempura zucchini flowers

Ingredients:

4 x 150g Barramundi fillets

For the crust
1/2 cup Macadamia Nuts
1/2 cup fresh sourdough breadcrumbs
1 tbsp lemon myrtle, roughly chopped
1 egg

For the zucchini flowers
80 grams corn flour
80 grams of plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
100 ml soda water

To serve
250 ml Olive Oil
Lemon wedges
Aoli

Method;

1. Place nuts, lemon myrtle and breadcrumbs in a food processor and pulse until it is roughly crumbled.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Coat the fish in lightly beaten egg.
4. Coat with the nut crumble pressing the mixture in firmly with fingertips and set aside.
5. Mix corn flower, plain flower, baking powder and soda water to coat zucchini flowers.
6. Heat oil to medium in a fry pan.
7. Shallow fry zucchini flowers until golden and set aside.
8. In a pan heat a generous splash of olive oil.
9. Pan fry fish on each side for two-three minutes (depending on thickness) at medium heat.
10. Serve immediately with a light salad, aioli and lemon wedges.

Disclosure: The lovely folk at Tigerair Australia provided my flight to and from Proserpine and Queensland Yacht Charters’ hosted the overnight sailing adventure.

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For a smart phone addict like myself, the idea of three whole days deep in the Tasmanian wilderness with NO PHONE SIGNAL is akin to being denied oxygen. And what do you mean there’s no Facebook access, man!? Gulp.

We’re off to Corinna, a wilderness retreat that’s well, in the wild… the really, really wild. Like wild with trees and critters, wild! It’s about four hours drive from Launceston on Tasmania’s wild west coast, and did I mention, there’s no PHONE SIGNAL!

On the way we make a requisite stop at the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm in Elizabethtown to stretch the legs and enjoy a lunch of raspberry-infused beef sausages (yes, really), Tasmanian smoked salmon, pate, wads of delicious local cheese and a raspberry Affagato or two. Ok, three.

I also grab a suitcase full of their can’t live-without chocolate coated raspberries.

These babies may come in handy to stop me devouring the other guests once the phone drops out and I descend into panic imagining that I’m entering a real life episode of Survivor. The reality of course is far less dramatic and no humans will be consumed or bitten during the writing of this blog post. However in saying that I must confess that a slightly confused Sugarpuff is convinced that Corinna is in Transylvania but I promise that, aside from the odd leech and mosquito, there’s very little vampire action here either.

The Corinna Wilderness Experience, located on the banks of the Pieman River in the heart of the Tarkine, is undeniably remote but it’s also comfortable, has an amazing restaurant (the chef is ex-Rockpool and Vue de Monde), and there is little chance of me ending up in a situation where I need to drink my own urine to survive. Their cheeky little Pinot Noir is a far tastier choice of beverage.

Here I have no choice but to detach my retinas from my iPhone. I spend the first evening staring forlornly at the “No Internet Connection” message taunting me, and use all my non-existent Jedi mind-powers to will it to pick up some weakened signal from a backpacking satellite that just happens to be trekking through the tangle of theTarkine. To no avail.

I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and enjoy the ridiculously pretty wilderness instead.

In place of Facebook I’ll get a faceful of fresh air and a forestful o’frogs and the only twittering will be done by the pretty blue birdies flitting about.

There are also lizards darting around and fluffier critters like the insanely cute pademelon to keep me entertained.

Plus the nocturnal Tassie Devil and, allegedly, the last remaining Tasmanian Tigers. Long declared extinct, rumour has it they may still roam in the impenetrable tangle of the Tarkine.

And so I have decided to find one. That, and a huge nugget of gold. Ooh, then I can buy my own satellite. Haha! Take that wilderness!

The town of Corinna was originally a goldrush town that, at its peak in the 1890’s boasted a character filled population of 2500, one of whom was the postmistress, Jessie. Between raising five children and working, the dedicated wife would row her husband across the Pieman River to his favoured pub (even though there was one on their own side of the river) and bring him back again every evening. As one does. The husband died young. Personally, I’m tipping she pushed the bastard in the river.

Only three of the original Goldrush buildings remain, and all are available as accommodation. There are also sixteen lovely new wilderness retreats which, in keeping with Corinna’s eco philosophy, are serviced by solar power and back-up generators.

The retreats are surrounded by well-marked walking trails each offering it’s own unique take on Tarkine beauty.

One that is relatively easy for a slothful creature like myself is the hour-long Whyte River Walk that winds through a fertile fairytale forest.

Every turn reveals more lush ferns and tangled vines.

Lychen covered trees and mysterious mushrooms abound.

The effect is so magical that I half expect Gandalf to appear.

All that fresh air – it is said to be the cleanest in the world – is enough to make a person hungry, so it’s no surprise that the Tannin Restaurant and Tarkine Hotel form the hub of the tiny town. Local wines, beers and ciders are served at the bar and the restaurant (open for lunch and dinner with breakfast packs available) pays homage to the best Tasmanian produce and herbs, like lemon myrtle, collected from the surrounding wilderness.

A plate of braised wallaby shanks, a first for me, is a tasty surprise.

Though, I do have trouble making eye contact with its cousins, the pademelons, as I waddle back to the cabin.

Getting up at dawn is something that is usually accompanied by moaning complaint in our house. But in this neck of the woods, dawn is where it’s at!

Each morning an ethereal fog silently entwines itself in the treetops above the Pieman River, its glassy surface reflecting the misty action on the water. It could only be more perfectly pretty if I could Instagram it. Sigh.

We spend a day aboard the Arcadia II. Built in 1939, it’s the only Huon pine river cruiser still operating anywhere in the world. We meander along the river past waterfalls where water tumbles down moss covered rocks, through luscious-leaved ferns and thousand-year old trees.

Until eventually we reach Pieman Heads, a place where the cantankerous Southern Ocean crashes into the river with calamitous gusto. Just ask the numerous ships that were wrecked there. We clamber ashore with a picnic lunch and wander past ramshackle cottages and “gum” trees.

Our walk takes us through an ever changing landscape.

One minute its lush and alive the next desolate.

But it is always stunning.

Finally we reach the beach, strewn with thousands of driftwood logs.

Scattered this way and that by the giant waves, its beauty almost post-apocalyptic.

We paddle kayaks up the Pieman to the Savage River, which is anything but.

It is still and quiet in the morning, the mirrored surface of the river broken only by our kayaks cutting through the water and the jagged remains of a 19^th century steamship that poke through the tannin-stained water. We build our appetite walking up and back through the spectacular rainforest.

Finally we reach the retreat where a lunch of succulent Cape Grim steak sambos and the end of our trip awaits. Sated and relaxed, though sadly devoid of any gold nuggets or extinct animals, we prepare to return home and back into the loving arms of my iPhone. Though I may need to make a quick stop for supplies to appease my new non-digital addiction, choccie raspberries!

THE RECIPE
Chocolate Raspberries

Ingredients:

Organic 64% Dark Couverture Chocolate
Fresh Raspberries

Method:

1. Melt chocolate in short bursts, stirring between each, in the microwave. It is important for the temperature not to get too hot as it may result in lumpy chocolate.
2. Use a skewer to dip raspberries twice into the molten chocolate, covering each thoroughly before placing them to set on baking paper in refrigerator.

Note: Don’t use frozen raspberries for this recipe as any liquid can cause the chocolate to seize. The finished product will keep in fridge for up to a week.

The post Corinna // Tasmania’s Wild Wild West appeared first on boyeatsworld.

There are plenty of city kids who have never ridden a horse or collected eggs straight from the hen-house, and even fewer who have actually milked a cow. But Mr Eats World grew up in rural England and has expressed a desire for his children to experience some of the simple joys of country life that he did.

Despite my all urban upbringing, I’m also keen for Raffles and Sugarpuff to learn that milk doesn’t grow in plastic bottles so we try, as often as practical, to head off for a few fun days of mucking in on a farm.

This time, though, things don’t quite go according to plan and my excitement is replaced with befuddled confusion before I even smell the first fragrant waft of animal excrement in the air. As Raffles snores and Sugarpuff snuffles away in the back of the car dreaming of soon to be shorn sheep and, no doubt, new ways to terrorise their parents, I ask Mr Eats World exactly what his fondest memories of growing up in the country were – expecting an answer extolling the wholesome virtues of fresh produce, clean air and wide open spaces. Instead he offers the following countdown of his hits and memories of bucolic boyhood bliss…

• Cow tipping;
• Shooting inanimate objects with spud guns;
• Shooting larger inanimate objects with air rifles;
• Blowing up letter boxes;
• The random hurling of lit “bangers” (fireworks) on Guy Fawkes day;
• Underage lock-ins at the local;
• Drinking Snake Bite – (a disgusting sounding beer and cider concoction and the most cost effective way of getting drunk, he explains kindly to his baffled Aussie wife.)

Hello!? I know he said “simple” but I didn’t realise he was talking about his IQ. What exactly was he envisioning for our kids from our rural sojourns? Life lessons in juvenile delinquency? I’m tempted to wrench the steering wheel from his hands and hightail it back to the relative safety of our home because I’m starting to think that rural air damages the brain and the only farm appropriate for my husband is of the “funny” variety.

I decide it’s probably a good thing that this time around we’re not staying at an actual farm but instead in an apartment on the outskirts of a neighbouring town. That is until we arrive to discover that our apartment, while fabulous, offers us a stunning outlook over the local Hooters franchise which we have to explain off to my curious son as a restaurant for owls.

Now I’m no prude but, when I mentioned that I wanted my kids to know where milk comes from, this is not quite what I had in mind.

We head from our hotel to the farm with me on high alert for armed and inebriated Brits tormenting the livestock. To my huge relief we find a pretty regular animal farm and the activities on offer spectacularly wholesome. So even with the threat of the BYO Brit brat I brought with me, the cows stay unmolested. Except for the one that has to endure being milked by an uncoordinated five-year old. The only thing blown up is Raffles chest, with pride, as he rides a horse around a paddock and the only thing lit is a fire by the stockman who is here to teach us how to make delicious damper and who, given it is still morning, substitutes Snakebite with strong billy tea.

Unlike their British counterparts, (whose farms were not quite so colossal and were probably so pissed on Snakebite that they’d be off searching for a kebab in a neighbouring village) the stockmen of colonial Australia lived on bread alone. Away from home for lengthy periods with only a camp fire and basic provisions, this simple unleavened bread – originally made with flour, water and a good pinch of salt – was a life saver.

Baked in an iron pot and buried in hot coals or wrapped around a stick, we think its best eaten warm with lashings of golden syrup

It’s also simple and fun to replicate at home where the bonus of a fridge means you can add a few ingredients for extra taste. Though nothing beats the smoky crispy flavour of one cooked over a campfire.

As always, a weekend of farm life has proved to both educational and a hoot, if you’ll pardon the obvious pun, but still, it is with much relief that we arrive back to the polluted smoggy air, pre-packaged plastic produce and cramped space of the city, my children uncorrupted by our hotel view or my husband’s rampaging rural influence.

THE RECIPES

Damper at home
Ingredients:

450g (3 cups) self-raising flour
1/2 tsp of salt
3 tablespoons of butter, chilled, cubed
3/4 cup water

Method:

1. Place dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 200°c and line a baking tray with non-stick paper.
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
4. Add the water and mix with a knife until dough leaves side of bowl.
5. Knead on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes and then shape into a circle.
6. Place on baking tray and use a sharp knife mark 6 to 8 wedges on top
7. Dust with a little extra flour and bake in for 30 minutes or until the damper sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

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“Mama, it would be a really nice day to go to the Cook Islands” suggests a random Raffles as we look across the shimmering water of Sydney Harbour on a beautiful blue sky day. All our recent Cook Islands reminiscing has my little man hungry to retrace our steps to Rarotonga and Aitutaki… the logistics of which not entering into any of his equations.

“Then let’s go,” I suggest. Inspired, and hungry, I figure we can cook up a little taste of the Cook Islands at home. After a dash to the market for supplies Raffles grabs his coconut shell ukulele for a spot of musical mood enhancement. It would be fair to say he’s not exactly a virtuoso so I suggest we instead let the stereo supply the soundtrack. As the Hoodoo Guru’s Leilani pumps out loudly, the kids get a little “bottom dancing” in and the scene is set. Well almost…

My kooky little man rushes off and comes back wearing his goggles and snorkel, as you do when you’re about to start cooking.

“Mama, now I LOOK like I’m in the Cook Islands” he declares with confidence. Is there a kind way to break it to him that he just looks mental? Together, my be-goggled one and I  hit the kitchen to rustle up a mouth-watering meal that will transport us back to our heavenly holiday. Of course, there has to be Ika Mata, the Cook Island’s addictive coconutty take on ceviche.

Raffles also insists on fish and chips, his fave holiday food, and something which he practically lived on during our visit. In the spirit of keeping it island style we’re using yellow fin tuna, as they did in Raro and we’re replacing traditional batter with a coconut beer batter to give it a taste of the tropics.

In honour of the abundance of coconuts in the Cook’s, our dessert is a sticky sweet concoction of  sugar banana fritters with store bought coconut sorbet and crispy roasted coconut chips.  Luscious.

I dice and slice, Raffles mixes it together. He batters, I fry. I scoop, he sprinkles. We make quite the team my boy and I. We enjoy our meal by the water with some fresh drinking coconuts (all right, so mine may have a little rum in it too, but don’t tell!) and reminisce. Our bellies, once again being the key to reigniting happy memories of far flung places. THE RECIPES Ika Mata Ingredients: 300g Yellow Fin Tuna ½ cup fresh lemon juice ½ red onion, finely diced 1 large tomato, diced 1 small cucumber peeled, seeded and diced 1 tbsp green capsicum diced 1 tbsp finely diced spring onion 1/2  red chilli finely chopped 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander 200ml coconut cream Salt and pepper to taste. Method:

• Cut the Tuna into 1cm pieces
• Toss tuna and lemon juice in a glass bowl toss then cover and place in the fridge for half to one hour to marinate.
• Drain then add red onion, tomato, cucumber, capsicum, spring onion, chilli, fresh coriander and coconut cream and combine gently.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Raro Fish’n’Chips Ingredients: Yellow Fin Tuna fillets 1 cup plain flour 1 cup beer ½ cup of coconut milk 1 litre of coconut oil Extra plain flour for dusting Method:

• Sift flour into medium bowl, gradually stirring in beer until smooth.
• Add coconut milk.
• Heat oil.
• Dust fish in extra flour, shake away excess.
• Dip fish into beer batter then deep-fry in hot oil until crisp and golden brown.
• Drain on absorbent paper.
• Serve with chips and tartare sauce.

Related articles

• By Hook or by Cook – Island memories (boyeatsworld.com.au)
• Singing hymns and swinging hips in Raro (boyeatsworld.com.au)
• Kaikai Kids (boyeatsworld.com.au)

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