Another source of information

As I browse through the Epicure section of the Age this morning, while enjoying a coffee at my local coffee hang-out, I make two Ausfood discoveries.

I find two Victorian products which might well qualify for the Ausfood Challenge.

The first is Long Lane Capers, who are located near Mansfield in country Victoria. Capers are not high on the list of essential ingredients to be found in my kitchen cupboard but as time passes I may find them a useful addition. As spices produced in this country appear to be virtually non-existent, I may need to resort to capers now and then to add a bit of zing to a recipe.

I look at their web page and find a recipe for Caponata. I have never heard of this dish so I will be searching for more information. The caponata recipe looks to tick all the Ausfood boxes so I will file it away for future reference.

Next on the discovery list is Just Go Nuts, who have pistachios. They don’t appear to have a web page so I scroll through all the Google offerings to see what I can find. As well as pistachios and in-season avocados, they also have blood oranges. I will have to get along to a farmers market where they sell their wares and find out more. I also find their produce is available on-line through Farmers Direct – but that old problem rears its head – I can’t read the label before I buy the product.

I'm rather partial to pistachios and would be very happy to find a local supply.

And finally a more fanciful idea – that of a coffee farm. An at-home coffee farm, either in the back yard or on the deck, patio or balcony.   The Melbourne Food and Wine Festival is on soon and The Urban Coffee Farm and Brew Bar will have coffee trees for sale at $25 per tree. The idea is amusing and they would maybe make an interesting deck or patio plant but as for waiting for the first harvest. I wouldn’t be holding my breath.

I will, however, be looking at each week’s edition of Epicure to learn the latest on what produce is available and where it is available.