Our haul from this month’s Northside Produce Market:
*Watercress
*Asparagus
*Broccolini
*Brussels Sprouts
*Tomatoes
*French Shallots
*Pink Lady Apples
*Tangelos
*Pink Grapefruit
*Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey
*Creamed Honey
*Free Range Eggs
*Duck Breasts
*Black Angus Rib-eye Steaks (Scotch Fillet)
That’s all well and good, but WHERE WERE THE PASTRIES!?!
Back in May, I was perusing Slashfood (as I’m want to do most days) when I came across a post called “Hot Chicken- What the Heck is It?” After reading all about it’s hot tasty goodness and discovering that Nashville is the Hot Chicken capital of the world, I knew what had to be done: next time we were in the States, come Hell or high water, we were having some Hot Chicken. Thus, the planning began, and I started to wonder: why drive 250 miles round trip for just Hot Chicken when you can make a whole Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives style road trip out of it?
So I started looking out for Nashville food blogs, reading the topics on the Nashville Chowhound board, etc. . . Eventually, I settled on a few places I’d like to try. Then, two nights before we were due to leave on our little jaunt, I found Nashville Restaurants, and all of our plans changed. Their many posts on the Nashville Farmers Market and all its hidden restaurants became stop number one. It had the right opening hours and the promise of a po’ boy, which seemed like an ideal start.
We started with produce, where Mom bought loads of fresh okra, tomatoes, squash and hot peppers.
Then we moved on to chow chows and relishes (yesterday we I ate half a jar of the hot pepper relish with a spoon), then to hot sauces and finally to Nooley’s for a light Cajun brekkie. Luckily you can order small sizes of just about everything, so we were able to try both the Shrimp Po’Boy (pictured) and the Muffuletta.
Both were very tasty (Scott went on and on about the olive salad on the muffuletta) and a promising start to the day.
Stay tuned for parts two and three!!! 
A small selection of our purchases from the Farmer’s Market last week. . .
These were used for (among other dishes): Fresh Peach Cobbler & Fried Green Tomatoes. I’ve been very busy cooking. Expect some grilling action from Scott this evening.
Okay, so we didn’t actually take any photos at the market, but we did go, and we bought Rosella jam, tropical fruits, sugar cane juice, jewelry- our usual Queensland market haul (though I did miss the Chili Madness lady from the Sunday markets in Brisbane).
The market is located by Dickson Inlet, which is lovely and has crocs, so no swimming there.
Afterward, because we had been snorkeling the day before (and were VERY VERY sore- more on that later), we decided to go back to our villa and soak our sore muscles in the pool. We had a feeling that we might not be able to walk by the end of the day, so we did some food shopping in town, just in case crawling to dinner was no longer an option.
Before our twenty minute walk back to the villa, we stopped off at the fishmonger and picked up a kilo of local bugs (think small lobsters) and a half kilo of banana prawns.
Once back, we spent most of the afternoon soaking in the heated pool, followed by relaxing in our private hammock. We may have also had some Ben Lee playing, maybe. There was a very hippie vibe going round.
Once sufficiently relaxed, we shelled all the seafood, tossed it in some garlic and shallot (French eschalot here) butter and served over a bed of saffron linguine with some fresh basil from one of the plants in the resort’s garden. A nice glass of Sauv Blanc, and dinner was complete, and we didn’t even have to put on clothes. It was awesome.
For dessert I served up some tropical fruits (yellow dragonfruit and custard apple are my new favourite noms btw), and all was right in the world.
As some of you may know, our fifth wedding anniversary is rapidly approaching. To commemorate the occasion, we’re going away for a few days, so after Wednesday next week, we’ll be taking a week off from blogging. Have no fear though. We’ll be back with lots of pictures of sunny Port Douglas (it’s 26/79 degrees there right now). No idea about the food yet. We’ve made reservations at Sassi at Balé, as it came highly recommended in the Australian Gourmet Traveler Restaurant Guide. Other than that we’ll play it by ear, but I expect there will be lots of very expensive seafood. 
Map borrowed from http://www.cairnsattractions.com
For those that aren’t familiar, Port Douglas is 2500km (almost 1600 miles) north of Sydney. We’re flying into Cairns. We’ve then chartered some transport to drive us the rest of the way, about an hour further north. Port Douglas is adjacent to both the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest, so I think we’ll find plenty to keep us busy. Also, we’re staying in a private villa, part of a secluded boutique resort that doesn’t allow children. Sounds superb!
Another 3rd Saturday, another visit to our favourite local market.
Here’s our haul for May:
*Not pictured: Smoked Peppered Silver Warehou (it’s a fish 
), Banana Prawns
This past weekend saw our monthly trip to North Sydney for its wonderful produce market. Despite the cooler temperatures and blustery winds the market was a little busier than last month. There were a couple of stands notable by their absence (most regrettably the traditional cider producers), however, our trip was no less fruitful. Our haul was so good last time around that we pretty much knew what we wanted and where to get it: smoked trout, sun dried tomato chevre, artisan sour dough bread, some delectable pastries, huge free range eggs, and an assortment of farm fresh fruit and veg.
After the market Amanda and I enjoyed a windswept outdoor breakfast at a nearby coffee shop, before a little more shopping then heading home to the rest of a very enjoyable weekend. Of course, the highlight of the market this month was the discovery of a little French patisserie stand right at the very back. As we approached, we noticed amongst the myriad homemade fare one of Amanda’s all time favourite treats – macarons. Not to be confused with the coconut based macaroons, these traditional French pastries are cookie-like sandwiches of meringue-esque domes around a rich creamy filling. Et voila:
C’est tres bon mon amis.
Yesterday was the 4th Saturday of the month, so it seemed appropriate to visit Kirribilli Market. Another easy to reach North Shore market, Kirribilli is focused on new and vintage fashions. Of course, there’s still a nice little selection of food too.
I’m currently on the look out for a vintage camera case, as I’m taking delivery of my new camera next week (more on that later ). I had no such luck finding one yesterday, but I did come away with a choker of vintage milk glass beads for a couple of dollars.
As hunger started to set in, we headed over to the food stalls and opted for some super tasty Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa, Cole Slaw, and Rice & Peas covered in hot sauce from the My Jamaican Guy bbq stall (which I can only assume is named after the Grace Jones song).
After spending a very warm day in the sunshine, sorting through racks of clothes with the Harbour Bridge looming in the background, we decided that we deserved a little treat. On the way home we stopped in Colonial Bakery in Milsons Point, an old-fashioned little shop offering many varieties of slices and pies and such. After much indecision, we went with this Creme Caramel Cupcake.
Noms!!
It’s the third Saturday of the month today, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time for the Northside Produce Market in North Sydney. That’s awesome not only because of the farm fresh produce, artisan baked goods and organic meats, but also because it’s so close that we can walk. Up and out of the house by 8am (a rarity for us, I assure you), we enjoyed a leisurely stroll through Crows Nest and on to North Sydney.
Here’s a very small selection of the wares:
Rainbow Trout Various Plain & Stuffed Olives
Various Varieties of Tomatoes Artisan Breads
Fresh Flowers Pastries
And what did we come away with you may ask?
*New Season Gala Apples
*Asparagus
*Zucchini Flowers
*Corn
*Heirloom Tomatoes
*Free Range Eggs
*Kipfler Potatoes
*Smoked Trout
*White Sourdough Loaf
*Flat Olive Bread
*Semi-Dried Tomato Stuffed Olives
*Willowbrae Chevre Cheese
*Fresh Parsley & Shallot Fettuccine
*For nibbles, we also grabbed an almond croissant and a caraway, dill and vodka sausage roll.
Can you say noms?
If you’re one of our regular readers, you know how much we love farmer’s markets and food festivals. No matter where we travel we try to get to one, just to explore the local produce. Over the years we’ve purchased giant peppers in Italy, wild mushrooms in Switzerland, venison sausages in Scotland, everything that’s not nailed down in Australia, and now, we’ve been to our first proper market in Chattanooga.
There was always a farmer’s market downtown when I was growing up, but this was more the style of market to which we’ve become accustomed, offering not only fruit and veg, but lots of arts, crafts, nibbles and live music (one performer was from New Zealand- we flew 10,000 miles to hear a Kiwi sing, go figure).
Some of our purchases included many colours and varieties of Heirloom tomatoes:
Fresh peaches and blackberries:
Sweet and hot peppers:
Honeycomb (minus the bees):
Salsa and Focaccia:
Watermelons and Green Tea and Ginger Soy Wax Candles:
We also came home with half a dozen ears of Silver King Corn and some Chipotle Pepper Hummus, and we may have nibbled on some Carne Asada Burritos while there too. That may have happened.
I have to say that the Chattanooga Market, though full of hippies, is a fantastic addition to the city. A perfect way to spend a Sunday.
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