Tagged: homemade
Mango and avocado panzanella
Instead of serving up the same old salad every time friends come around for a barbeque, surprise them with this simple mango and avocado panzanella
Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan recipe which literally translates to peasant salad.
Like so many recipes from Italy, it makes use of common ingredients that would have been available to even the poorest families, hence the name.
It’s usually based around stale bread, tomatoes and onions. Three ingredients that are always on hand in every Italian kitchen.
At my family’s recent New Year gathering, one of my jobs was to bring along a salad. I didn’t want just any old salad though, I wanted something different, something interesting . . .
I started thinking about what is fresh and in-season here in the tropics in summer.
I started thinking mangoes.
Pecan nuts
Forty years ago Innot Hot Springs farmer Bill Godden planted one of the few pecan nut orchards in the Far North.
Each winter, the nuts are harvested and sold mostly through word-of-mouth and local markets, providing top-quality produce for those who are lucky enough to be in the know.
I visited Bill at his property recently and found not only a first-class product, but also a true character of the Australian bush.
To tell you the truth, up until about a week ago, I didn’t know much about pecan nuts. Sure, I had heard of them – even used them from time to time – but they were always just something I’d bought off the supermarket shelf, with no idea of where they came from.
I just assumed they were something I couldn’t source locally . . .
Orange cordial
Making cordials at home is almost a lost art but creating your own refreshing blend is surprisingly easy.
It’s certainly the time of year for citrus here in the Wet Tropics and I think everyone would agree it has been a bumper crop.
Every tree I see, whether it be orange, mandarin, lemon, lime, grapefruit or lemonade, is dripping with fruit.
With such a bounty, it’s hard to ensure as little as possible goes to waste. . .