Archive for April, 2011

Great to see so many familiar faces at the Field Day on Saturday and wonderful to meet so many people experiencing the magic for the first time. A special thankyou to Slow Food Perth for sending their wonderful ambassador Pauline Tresise along.

Lots of delectables were prepared onsite on Saturday and we must say how much we appreciate all the feedback we received. Warren Pensini from Blackwood Valley Beef was kept busy chatting with those interested in his beautiful beef (in between juicing a few apples for us) and the amount of interest in this superb product reinforces my belief that when consumers are given a choice about what they can they eat, they will choose well.

Although we were hoping for a warm autumn day, no one expected 32 degrees!! Despite the heat our delicious boursin tarts, open beef sandwiches and panna cottas were in high demand. Cheers to everybody for your support. We look forward to seeing you again next year at the Balingup Small Farm Field Day.

This year Taste of Balingup in conjunction with Beck Hackett and Daryn Rowland will be celebrating the bounty of the region by preparing tasty morsels prepared with ingredients sourced within 100 miles of Balingup. The surrounds of Balingup are steeped in history as a food producing area and today many progressive farmers, small growers and industrious artisans do this area justice by providing some of the best produce to be seen.

Come and see us at the Balingup Small Farm Field Day and taste the fruits of this wonderful land. We have already started preparing treats for you that reflect our area…

• ·         Tiny tarts with Cambray boursin, red onion jam and EVOO
• ·         Flat bread with bunya nut pesto, fresh tomato and local cow’s milk labna
• ·         Open sandwich on local rye with garlic jam, Organic beef and beetroot relish
• ·         Greek style salad with tomatoes, sheep feta, olives, red onion and EVOO
• ·         Sheep yoghurt panna cotta with confit rhubarb
• ·         Hazelnut baklava, honeycomb, pecan brittle and lots more…

Warren Pensini will be helping out this year. We will be showcasing his beef on our open sandwich, so come and chat to Warren about his wonderful product. He is a passionate grass fed beef grower and is a full bottle on the benefits of grass fed beef over grain fed beef. Come and test his knowledge!!

Slow Food Perth will be with us again this year. The ever generous Pauline Tresise and Jamie Kronborg (co-leaders of Slow Food Perth) will be in Balingup for the day to chat about this wonderful and very current group. Come and say hello to them and learn how Slow Food is making a difference to our local and international food scene. Membership queries will also be welcomed.

We will be located (as we were last year) opposite the fashion tent and look forward to seeing some new and familiar faces!

Check out www.balingupsmallfarmfieldday.com.au for full details of the day.

Sophie Budd snuck into town yesterday evening for our Forgotten Fruits cooking class. Unaffected by her star studded past (Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver just to name 2), she donned a frilly apron over her white cotton dress and proceeded to pull 14 people together and get them cooking. Interestingly Sophie actually did very little cooking. The group did it all. Taken by her relaxed manner and natural way of communicating 14 enthusiastic participants picked, chopped, stirred and cooked 4 simply beautiful dishes:

• Roasted beetroot, chick pea and pomegranate salad
• Lamb and cumquat tagine
• Quince Tart Tartin with homemade custard
• Rose hip syrup and Quince paste

Thank you Sophie for a wonderful evening and thank you autumn for your seasonal treats, pomegranates, cumquats, rose hips and quinces.

To see more of Sophie check out www.sophiebudd.com.au

autumn bounty

many hands make light work

roasted beetroot and chick pea salad

beautiful quince paste

March 18th and 19th

The wonderful Valentine d’Souza brought his love for his homeland and his natural ability to translate that love into pure pleasure for the senses to Balingup on the weekend.

The first of what will be an annual long table dinner at Jalbrook Estate gave Valentine the opportunity to share with us the flavours of his beloved Goa. A perfect Summers night set the tone for a spectacular evening. Red masala chicken skewers were followed by pork vindalho, crab xacuit (the crowd favourite), dhal and chick pea and tamarind salad. Delicious.

The following night Valentine held a cooking class at Taste of Balingup. Generous as ever, he chatted to a full house about his love for his food, shared secrets about his pastes and delighted the taste buds of his followers with prawn xec xec, spice crusted lamb and pomegranate in lime and vodka.

Fantastic weekend. Different perfumes in the kitchen, bigger pots to wash and lots of exciting left overs!

We can’t wait to see Valentine back in Balingup (keep an eye on the web site for Valentine’s Winter cooking class).

a perfect evening at Jalbrook

...and the perfect crowd for it

February the 11th, 12th, 24th and 25th

Tres bon!!

The lovely Helen Pratt was kept busy at Taste of Balingup in February. Not one but four classes of  ’the art of french pastry making’ were held. Helen brought her expertise and her relaxed self to Balingup to teach what all the fuss is about when it comes to french pastry. Creme caramel, truffle, wafer, paris brest and mille feuille (complete with correct pronunciation)  were on the menu and those who attended went home delighted with their achievements. Four wonderful evenings of chatter, touching, smelling, tasting and cooking ensured Helen’s success. What a treat!

You can learn more about Helen at www.cooklearnlove.com.au