Monthly Archives: June 2012

Don’t you just love a good fountain?

I’ve always liked the idea of having a fountain in my front yard. However, if I wanted a fountain like this one I think I’d have to move to a much bigger house with an enormous front yard to do it justice.

Luckily, the fountain is perfectly proportioned for its position in the gardens of Mount Lofty House in the Adelaide Hills, a stunning boutique hotel and function centre. I recently visited Mount Lofty House on the Tasting Australia media famil to dine at its Piccadilly Restaurant. Headed up by executive chef Girard Ramsay, Piccadilly focuses on local and seasonal produce and maintains its own organic kitchen garden.

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Ever since I started cooking with quinces a few weeks ago I’ve been dreaming up ways to enjoy this magnificent fruit.

So when Sweet Adventures‘ Sweet As Pie bloghop rolled around, I decided quinces had to be the star ingredient. But what type of pie would I make?

After a couple of false starts I settled on this Quince Meringue Pie, a kind of mish-mash of my Free-Form Apple Tart and my Mini Lemon Meringue Pies, using slow-roasted quinces.

Yes, roasting the quinces takes some hours. I’m not going to lie; this is not a dessert that can be made on the spur of the moment. But good things come to those who wait so think of this pie as the culinary equivalent of your perfect partner – chances are, it won’t be the first person you fall for.

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As mentioned in my last post, I am one of the organisers of Eat Drink Blog 3, the Australian Food & Drink Bloggers Conference, which will take place in Adelaide later this year.

I attended Eat Drink Blog 2 last year in Sydney and had a fantastic time. I remember walking into the conference room full of bloggers packing SLRs, smartphones and Ipads and thinking, ‘yes! I’ve found my people.’

OK, I can be a little dramatic at times. But the relief of finding a group of people who ‘got’ me was immense.

I didn’t have to explain to this group why I love shopping at markets, why I had a cupboard full of food props, why I often ate my food cold because I was photographing it or why I spent hours cooking, writing, editing, posting, tweeting and instagramming about food.

They got it. They understood. They were driven by the same passion, creativity and curiosity.

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I love winter food and fashion but could do without the chill factor. All I want to do is stay indoors with the heating on. No wonder there are so many books on my list this month, but first up there is some very exciting news…

(1) Eat Drink Blog 3: the Australian Food Bloggers Conference in Adelaide!
Amanda from Lambs Ears and Honey and I recently received an unexpected email from the Sydney organisers of the second Australian Food Bloggers Conference. Trina, Simon and Jen wanted to know if we’d be interested in organising the next conference in Adelaide later this year. After discussing the idea with the Adelaide Food Bloggers Group we were delighted to accept! So if you’re an Australian food blogger, watch out for an official announcement soon. There will also be a number of excellent sponsorship options for companies keen to partner with Eat Drink Blog 3, so please do drop me a line if you’d like to know more.

(2) Sweet As Pie blog hop
Food blogger? Love pie? Then you must join us for this month’s Sweet Adventures‘ blog hop, Sweet As Pie. Hosted by the lovely KC at Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, this month’s blog hop is a celebration of pie in all its glory. So check out KC’s post, put on your thinking hat and get baking.

(3) Bedside table books
I’m reading a half dozen Australian cookbooks and memoirs at the moment thanks to Wakefield Press, Penguin/Lantern, and Hardie Grant. On my bedside table are Barbara Santich’s tome on Australia’s gastronomic heritage, Bold Palates, the charming Blue Ribbon Cookbook by Liz Harfull, Stephanie Alexander’s epic memoir, A Cook’s Life, the mouth-watering French Food Safari by Maeve O’Meara with Guillaume Brahimi, Barossa Food by Angela Heuzenroeder and Seasonal Fare by Susan Johnson.

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