Ingleside Bakery Cafe, Evandale

Firstly, the picturesque township of Evandale located 18km south of Launceston on the C416 off the B41, rivals the likes of places such as Richmond with its historic village buildings and English country-side quaintness.  As you walk down the main street on a milky summers day, there is no shortage of stores to peruse and cafes to indulge.  The Ingleside Bakery is situated on the main drag, and the beautifully converted council chambers provides a unique space for enjoying the locally baked goods.  The bakery is full of locally made art and crafts as well as Tasmanian produce, including a nice selection of Tasmanian wines which feature on their menu - that's right its licensed! There is an outside courtyard for enjoying whatever takes your fancy, which has had extensive attention, filled with beautiful plants, herbs and garden art.  I was particularly taken with a spreading viola and a huge growth of mint forming part of the lush green surroundings.  Service here is swift and friendly adding to the intimate character of the place, and there is an array of bakery goods to choose from, savoury and sweet.  I have to say I have not had a Cornish pasty as good as the one I had at Ingleside in a long time!  The pastry was a flaky golden delight, and chock full of delicious filling.  The meat was perfectly spiced with a traditional flavour and perfectly cooked without dryness or oiliness.  My partner, sadly to say, was less impressed, having a steak and mushroom pie and a coffee, in which he stated was so so. I anyway, highly recommend stopping in, to soak up the atmosphere and discover what you can.

Here is a link on Evandale for those who want more info:

http://www.evandaletasmania.com/
 

© Tasmaniasfeast 2013.

Victory Ham and Bacon from Cygnet Butcher

This has got to be some of the best bacon and ham I have tasted in a long time.  It has a delicate smokey flavour without the heavy salty taste, due to the natural process in which it is cured and smoked, and accompanies all the usual ingredients very nicely.  I cooked some up the other day with some home-grown broad beans and garlic and a bit of thyme and parsley, served on a thick slice of sourdough I bought from the Summer Kitchen stall at Salamanca Market.  I have, however, noticed with concern that the free-range label has been removed from the packet, so i'm not entirely sure if it still a free-range product, which was the reason why I decided to buy it in the first place, as purchasing ethical meats and produce is something I advocate.  Aside from buying direct from the butcher, you can find the product from most places selling small goods, such as the Salad Bowl in South Hobart, Meredith's in Margate, and IGA stores.  

Here is a link to the Cygnet Butcher web page

http://cygnetbutcher.com.au/


© Tasmaniasfeast 2012.
       

Elder Flower Mishaps

A silly thing really, my partner and I went to make elder-flower champagne and following the River Cottage recipe went out one sunny day and collected the flowers.  We made up a batch and shared it around, it had a really clean taste with a refreshing fizz and we were very proud of ourselves.  Then one evening entertaining, a friend of ours casually pointed out that the neighbours had a tree growing in their backyard, in which we disputed as being something entirely different.  Well after much debate and the help of our neighbour correctly identifying it as elder-flower we soon discovered that our little concoction was in fact a refreshing champagne made out of Hawthorn flower, which grows un-kept along roadsides and river-streams, left over from colonial days.  We are now making the correct beverage with elder-flowers but I can highly recommend using Hawthorn instead to create a rustic if not more peasant style drink.  Just keep in mind that Hawthorn or elder-flower growing along the side of the road is probably covered in residue from car fumes, its best to pick flowers growing further away from roadsides.  We picked ours along the rivulet in South Hobart.

Just an update, we had a lot of trouble with the fermentation process of this drink.  The champagne bottles all blew their tops, but one, and unfortunately we ended up wasting a lot. The Grolsch bottles we used were more successful, however, required a very patient and careful approach to opening, by gradually letting off the gas.  Aside from the disastrous result the little we did save tasted absolutely delicious and was a nice refreshing accompaniment to Christmas lunch.  At least none of the bottles actually exploded!


Here's the recipe we used:

http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/elderflower-champagne-recipe


I just read this beautiful article in the Gardening Australia's Organic Newsletter on Elder flower and its properties.  It really sums up how lovely this plant is, presenting it in a different light and moving away from the notion that it is just a pesky weed with little use, as sadly many other weeds are often lumped.  It also provides a recipe for Elder flower cordial which is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants. Also if the birds have spared you some berries left, now (Feb-April) is the time to be making Elderberry cordial. Containing more Vitamin C than black currant cordial!

Here is a link to the article:

http://organicgardener.com.au/articles/outlaw-plants?WT.mc_id=Shop_OrganicGardener


© Tasmaniasfeast 2012/13.