A Visit to Kiama

Shoalhaven Foodies visit Kiama

Chere, Christine, Colleen, Kim and Kimella from the Shoalhaven Foodies recently visited Kiama, which is a delightful little town that glitters like a jewel on the south coast of NSW.

We were there to try some of the food on offer.  First, we had lunch at a café called Hunt & Gather in Terralong Street, which is the main street of Kiama. After lunch, we enjoyed coffee and chocolate at My Coffee Shoppe, not far from the Hunt & Gather Café.



Chere, Colleen and Kim at Hunt & Gather Café

 





Outside My Chocolate Shoppe

Hunt & Gather Café is
attached to Always Flowers




 















 

 

  



Kim and her Tagine

 KIM

At Hunt & Gather I chose the Moroccan Lamb Tagine. The presentation was very rustic and the lamb melted in my mouth. However, I found that there weren't enough spices in the dish and it was very sweet. The peach chutney was also sweet, so there wasn't a balance to the dish. For me, the portion was too large for lunch. I would have preferred a smaller portion with more flavours.

 

At My Chocolate Shoppe, I chose the Chocolate Mousse, which was not overly sweet, but had loads of chocolate on top.   It was a generous serving which was very nice, but rather rich after a big lunch.





 

 

CHRISTINE


Moroccan Lamb Tagine

 

When we arrived at Hunt & Gather we were greeted warmly by the owner.
 

Christine about to try her
Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Kim and I both chose the Moroccan Lamb Tagine. Although I had no preconceived idea of how it should be served, when it arrived it was presented the way I would do it at home. I was both pleased and disappointed at the same time! It was very homey and I made the comment that it looked like something you would like to eat in front of an open fire! It would have been nice to have it presented with a little bit more flair to make it that more enjoyable. As the saying goes “we eat with our eyes as well as our mouths”. In saying that I was amused to see that the accompanying pear chutney and yogurt was served in a jam jar lid! Perhaps the tagine could have come in its own quirky container too?

 The first mouthful was tasty but after a few more forkfuls it was a bit too sweet with only the yogurt giving it a bit of tang. The lamb was cooked well and although the Moroccan flavour was there, it was rather too subtle for my palate and I would have liked a bit more of the spice. The accompanying green salad with quinoa was moreish but the bread (gluten free) was also somewhat sweet - my preference would have been for some couscous.
 

Overall it was a very pleasant meal, served in good time by a delightful waitress.

 
After Hunt & Gather, we headed off to My Chocolate Shoppe for some naughty indulgence. Chocolate mousse was on the menu so once again both Kim and I opted for the same dish! 

 

Being a ‘retro’ kind of dessert the mousse duly arrived in a retro glass stemmed dish with lots of lovely Belgian chocolate shards on top. I found the mousse to be light and very easy to eat! Not too chocolately. I enjoyed it very much and the accompanying full flavoured coffee finished off a lovely afternoon.

  

CHERE 

 



Salmon with brown rice 

 

Chere taking one of many photographs

At Hunt & Gather, both Colleen and I chose the Dukka encrusted Salmon served with a savoury brown rice and roasted cherry tomatoes.

I was surprised to see that the salmon was broken into pieces and served mixed with the rice, and not as a whole piece of fish.I suppose the Dukka was in the rice, because it wasn't on the salmon. Unfortunately, my salmon was overcooked for me, and the entire dish was rather salty. However, Colleen's dish wasn't overcooked and except for the saltiness, she enjoyed it.

The presentation the eye. However, the baby tomatoes were delicious and I really enjoyed the ambience of the café, which was warm and friendly.

At My Chocolate Shoppe, both Colleen and I chose to have a Coffee Affogato with a little square of salted caramel chocolate. Yum! I absolutely loved the Affogato - it could be said that I was in heaven as I poured my lovely rich espresso coffee over my vanilla ice cream - two scoops, but who was counting? - definitely not me, and I'm sure Colleen wasn't either. No hesitation in recommending My Chocolate Shoppe - lovely!

Despite my reservations about my salmon at Hunt & Gather Café, I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon at Kiama.

 



Kimella at Hunt & Gather Café

 KIMELLA

Deconstructed burrito

Walking into the Hunt & Gather Café, I was impressed by the quirky ambience and the rustic, laid back feel of the room. For my lunch, I chose the deconstructed burrito which consisted of a pot of homemade beans, chorizo and caramelised onions in a tomato sauce, quinoa and rocket salad, avocado and yoghurt ‘salsa’ and a wholemeal flat bread. I was pleased with the presentation which was on a piece of old wooden barrel with the pot in the centre and the other elements surrounding it.

I found the beans and chorizo to be smokey and flavoursome, the quinoa salad was fresh and light and not overpowered by the dressing and the avocado and yoghurt worked well when all the elements were put together on the bread. Overall, I was happy that I had made that selection – bueno!

We then browsed around Kiama for a while with a cold wind blowing; it was good to get out of the chill and to enter My Chocolate Shoppe with aromas of sweet chocolate wafting in the air. I ordered a hot chocolate which was Belgian chocolate topped with cream, chocolate sauce and chocolate flakes – very decadent and it was a wonderful end to our foodies day out in Kiama. (I also just had to buy some homemade chocolates to take home to try. They look gorgeous and taste divine!)







Affogato and salted caramel chocolate





There's always a lot of photography happening at a Foodies event!

Blog Brainstorming (and a Birthday)

On Sunday 21 April I had a visit from Chere (and later Lesley) to nut out some blog issues.  I made a light lunch and as it was her birthday the next day, I also surprised Chere with a cake. 



Pork Wontons

Christine's Depot Farm lunch

by Christine

I’m late, late, late! My lunch was in January and I’ve been procrastinating about writing it up ever since. I’d rather eat than write any day. So here goes….
I was a bit apprehensive about my turn, mainly because of the heat of summer and not used to cooking for more than one or two, not to mention the marvellous food prepared by the others. But I pushed on, wanting to entertain my delightful companions in the beautiful surroundings of Depot Farm Cottage by the Shoalhaven River.

My menu for the day was:

Champagne cocktail and spiced macadamia nuts

Tomato Jelly with crab and chives

Whiting fillets poached in Riesling with grapes and tarragon

Individual pavlovas with rhubarb and mascarpone

Choosing a menu was a challenge due to the limitations of only using local produce. After a lot of running around I opted for whiting from CBD Fish Shop in Nowra. They also provided the crab I needed for my entrée. I neglected to ask the cost and was somewhat horrified when I picked up my order. Good lesson learnt! Other ingredients for the lunch came from Greengold Farm - eggs and rhubarb for dessert, the Terara Veggie Market - dutch cream potatoes (grown on their farm in Kangaroo Valley) and tomatoes from Colleen’s abundant veggie patch. Coolangatta Mountain Ridge Wines provided the poaching wine, the sparkling white and the macadamias.

It was fun testing the dishes beforehand so I ate very well for a few days instead of the usual single person’s fare. However, it was a bit much eating pavlova every night for six nights!


When my lovely guests arrived I treated them to some sparkling white from Mountain Ridge Wines infused with a hibiscus flower and spiced macadamias to nibble on.


The first course was then served.


My main course was on track until I starting making the grape and tarragon sauce. It just would not thicken. So the fish, which was very small to start with, overcooked while keeping warm in the oven. Oh well, these things happen to the best of us.


I think I redeemed myself with dessert as there were loud exclamations of delight when I served the individual pavlovas. The oohs and aahs after the first mouthfuls just made my day! Bliss!


I wondered whether I should have had seconds of dessert available after the plates were nearly licked clean!

To settle our tummies we moved to my little terrace for coffee and to enjoyed the view and cool breeze.


THE RECIPES

Tomato Jelly with Crab and Chives
1 tsp gelatine
250ml tomato juice
300g fresh tomatoes
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
1 tbspn white wine vinegar
1 tblspn extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp caster sugar
Good dash of Tabasco
Sea salt and pepper
50g cucumber finely diced
150g picked crab meat
1 tbspn lemon juice
1 tbspn chives finely snipped

Soak the gelatine in cold water for five minutes. Heat the tomato juice. Add the gelatine to the juice, whisking until the gelatine is dissolved. Cool for 15 minutes.

Cut the tomatoes into half, discard the seeds and juice and chop roughly.
Whiz the tomatoes, shallot, vinegar, oil, sugar, Tabasco, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir the tomato juice, add to blender and mix. Taste for seasoning, pour into individual serving dishes, and refrigerate overnight until set.

Toss the cucumber with the crab, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add a spoonful to each jelly. Decorate with the chives and serve.

Serves 4

Whiting fillets poached in Riesling with Grapes and Tarragon
750g whiting fillets
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
35 ml Riesling or other medium white wine
100g cold butter, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves
100ml pouring cream
400g sultana grapes

Lemon wedges, Dutch cream potatoes and sautéed zucchini, to serve

Place fish in a lightly greased heavy based frypan or casserole, scatter with onion and garlic, add bay leaves and wine and season to taste. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and poach over medium heat for 10-15 minutes (depending on thickness of fillets), or until the fish is just cooked. Remove pan from heat, carefully lift the fish from the cooking liquid and keep warm.

Return pan to heat and boil until cooking juices are reduced to about _ cup. Strain into a small saucepan and place over low heat, then add butter, a little at a time, whisking after each addition, until incorporated and sauce is smooth. Add tarragon and cream, season to taste and mix well. Add grapes and stir until heated through (do not boil).

Serve fish with sauce spooned over and accompanied by lemon wedges, steamed dutch cream potatoes and sautéed zucchini.

Serves 4

Individual Pavlova with Rhubarb and Mascapone
Pavlova
4 large egg whites
pinch of salt
1 cup of caster sugar
1 dessertspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon verjuice (or white vinegar)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Prepare an oven tray with six circles of baking paper, approximately 10cm in diameter. Dust these with cornflour. Preheat the oven to moderate oven (approximately 140deg C).

Beat egg whites with the salt until stiff and glossy. Slowly add the caster sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition, ensuring sugar is dissolved. To test take a little of the egg white and rub between two fingers. If you can feel the sugar, keep beating.

When all the sugar has been absorbed, gently fold in the sifted cornflour, verjuice and vanilla essence. Do not over mix as you will take out the air from the mixture.

Carefully spoon mixture into mounds on the prepared baking paper, shaping and flattening slightly with a metal spatula.

Reduce oven temperature to 110deg C. Bake the pavlovas on the lowest shelf for approximately 1 to 1 and a half hours. Allow to cool in the oven (do not open oven door to do this).

Carefully remove the baking paper from each pavlova and place onto serving plate.
Place a dollop of the mascapone cream on top, smoothing out gently with a knife.
Then add a spoonful or two of the rhubarb and ginger mixture on top.
You may wish to decorate the plate with a dusting of icing sugar and rhubarb glaze.

Rhubard and Mascapone
One large bunch rhubarb
Half cup caster sugar
70g Buderim Ginger Uncrystallised (sweet ginger), chopped finely

400g Mascapone cheese
Half tsp vanilla essence
Half tsp caster sugar

Wash and trim rhubarb and cut into 3cm pieces. Place in pan with the sugar and ginger heat gently until the rhubarb is soft but not mushy. Allow to cool. Drain. The juice can be used to make a rhubarb glaze - optional.

Beat the mascarpone cheese with the vanilla essence and caster sugar until just combined.

Christine

I arrived in the Shoalhaven from Melbourne four years ago and having been spoilt for a vast choice of amazing restaurants and produce markets, I was delighted to find an abundance of wonderful locally grown food here.

My background is East European and I had a mother who excelled in the kitchen - so no doubt some influences there! I developed a love of good food in my twenties through some gourmet friends who led me astray every Friday night, after late night shopping. We tried out a different restaurant each week and I was thus exposed to a wondrous variety of cuisines and wine. I don’t know how I managed to stay thin (then) !

Over the years, my own inclinations in the kitchen tended towards baking and hors’d’oeuvres as I just love doing all the fiddly decorative bits. I’m hoping when it’s my turn to prepare ‘The Lunch”, my main course will be up to scratch