• Contact TSL
  • The TSL Recipe Vault
  • TSL’s Greatest Hits!
  • Who am I?

This Sydney Life

~ Mostly Recipes & Musings on Health

This Sydney Life

Monthly Archives: April 2013

Australia v. New Zealand: the Great Pavlova Debate

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by Joanna in Australia, Culture, Food, New Zealand

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

Anna Pavlova, Anzac biscuit, ANZAC Day, Australasia, Australia, Bill Granger, dessert, food, Gallipoli, New Zealand, Pavlova, Pavlova Recipe, Recipe

ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli (Image from here)

ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli
(Image from here)

Tomorrow Australia and New Zealand recognise ANZAC Day; arguably one of the most important days in the year for most of us Australasians. It’s a day for us to reflect and remember.

I wrote about the significance of ANZAC Day for Aussies and Kiwis this time last year. (You can check it out here if you’d like a refresher! There’s even a pretty good ANZAC biscuit recipe!)

So, given tomorrow’s auspicious date, and the fact that I have already written of the importance of ANZAC Day, I kind of feel it would be almost un-Australasian not to give you some sort of post that relates to the mate-ship and sibling-like rivalry that exists between Australia and New Zealand. If I were a cricket fan, I could talk about the famous underarm bowling incident of the One Day International in 1981. But I’m not. If I felt more passionately about it, I could argue that because Neil Finn hails from Te Awamutu, Crowded House is obviously a Kiwi band.  But I’m happy to share (in this matter). So that brings me, still near the top of the pile, to the great Pavlova debate. Namely, in which country did the first giant, cream and fruit filled meringue concoction originate?

To follow, without halt, one aim: that’s the secret of success. (Anna Pavlova)

Pavlova

Suddenly, I’m salivating…
(Image from here)

One thing is clear – the dessert was created to commemorate the great Russian prima ballerina, Anna Pavlova when she toured both New Zealand and Australia in 1926. There is, however, considerable debate around whether it was New Zealand or Australia that first created the dessert in question.

Now, I wasn’t around in 1926, so I shall have to rely on that site of all things true and accurate – Wikipedia. Apparently, ‘Keith Money, a biographer of Anna Pavlova, wrote that a hotel chef in Wellington, New Zealand, created the dish when Pavlova visited there in 1926 on her world tour‘. I have heard that this chef may have originated from Australia. This could be pure supposition.

‘Professor Helen Leach, a culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, has compiled a library of cookbooks containing 667 Pavlova recipes from more than 300 sources. Her book, The Pavlova Story: A Slice of New Zealand’s Culinary History, states that the first Australian Pavlova recipe was created in 1935 while an earlier version was penned in 1929 in a rural magazine.’

I quite like former food critic, Matthew Evans‘ take on the whole issue….

People have been doing meringue with cream for a long time, I don’t think Australia or New Zealand were the first to think of doing that. (Matthew Evans)

In the spirit of the mate-ship of ANZAC Day, I propose that we share bragging rights to the creation of the pav’. What do you think?

Now, traditionally, a Pavlova is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside. It is made by beating egg whites to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar, white vinegar, cornflour, and sometimes vanilla essence, and slow-baking the mixture. Amazingly similar to meringue, really!

Just to be a wee bit different, today I share with you the lovely Bill Granger‘s recipe for brown sugar pav’. Trust me when I say it’s a winner. LM and I fought over it the last time we had it at Bill’s (and we don’t fight over food). It’s served with a yoghurt cream mix which makes the whole thing a fabulously caramel-ly offering with some oh-so slightly tart scrummy stuff on top. Bill serves his with strawberries. I prefer mine with rhubarb…

Bill's Brown Sugar Pavlova

Bill’s Brown Sugar Pavlova
(Image from here)

Pavlova with brown sugar and strawberries
(serves 8-10)

Bill likes his meringues to be old-fashioned and gooey in the middle, rather than bright white and explosive. Pavlova is traditionally a summery dessert, but this one, with its warmer colouring, also works beautifully in winter, with Bill suggesting torn figs instead of strawberries.

Ingredients

6 egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
230g caster sugar
80g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp arrowroot
2 tsp white vinegar

To serve 
300ml whipping cream
150g Greek yoghurt
500g strawberries, hulled and halved
1–2 tablespoons honey

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Draw a 20cm circle on a sheet of baking paper and place the paper on a large baking tray.

2 Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and vanilla until stiff peaks have formed. Add the caster sugar and brown sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until all the sugar is incorporated and dissolved and the mixture is thick and glossy. Stir in the cornflour, arrowroot and vinegar.

3 Pile the mixture into the circle on the paper and spread gently into shape with a spatula. Put in the oven and reduce the temperature immediately to 130°C/Gas ½. Bake for 1hr 20min, then turn off the oven, prop the door ajar and leave the Pavlova inside until completely cooled.

4 To serve, lightly whip the cream and yoghurt together and spread over the Pavlova. Toss the strawberries in the honey and then arrange over the top. Serve immediately.

Yum!

Sydney Walks – Spit Bridge to Manly (kind of…)

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by Joanna in Australia, Dogs, Random Stuff, Sydney

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

Australia, Bondi, Ellen Degeneres, Manly, Spit Bridge, Sydney, Sydney Walks

LM & Bella Look Towards Manly (Image by TSL)

LM & Bella Look Towards Manly
(Image by TSL)

You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She’s 97 today and we don’t know where the hell she is. (Ellen Degeneres)

There are some great walks in Sydney. Possibly the most well-known is the Bondi to Coogee coast walk, and certainly its one to put on your ‘to do’ list for any visit to Syders. My old standard is the Bay Run around Iron Cove (I wrote about it here). I can usually be found there at least once a week, and I love it.

But, this weekend we ventured a little further afield. We crossed the bridge and headed to North Harbour Reserve for a spot of ball throwing before undertaking the last couple of kilometres of the Spit Bridge to Manly scenic walk. If you’re going the whole hog, the walk is about 10 km one way, but it is made up of a series of short tracks, mostly less than 1-2km. Each track covers a themed section of the harbour, so covering all of them in one walk is a great way to experience some of the diversity of Sydney Harbour’s bays, beaches and bushland.

We have been experiencing a bit of an Indian summer (although that may have turned today!) so despite being in the depths of Autumn down here, there were still sun worshippers and swimmers out enjoying the fab’ weather…

The World's Biggest Sun Worshipper (Image by TSL)

The World’s Biggest Sun Worshipper
(Image by TSL)

Approaching Fairlight (Image by TSL)

Approaching Fairlight
(Image by TSL)

Sun Worshippers... (Image by TSL)

Sun Worshippers in Mid-April…
(Image by TSL)

...and Swimmers (Image by TSL)

…and Swimmers
(Image by TSL)

View From North Harbour Reserve (Image by TSL)

View From North Harbour Reserve
(Image by TSL)

Another reason to appreciate living in the lucky country…

 

ArtExpress Turns 30 – That’s MUCH Older Than its Artists

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by Joanna in Art, Culture

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Archibald Prize, Art, Art Express, Art Gallery NSW, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australian art, creativity, Exhibition, Higher School Certificate, New South Wales, Painting, Sulman, Sydney, Visual Art, Wynne Prize

'Love the Home You're In' by Lochlan Howard

‘Love the Home You’re In’ by Lochlan Howard
St Francis Xavier’s College
(Image from here)

Arguably, the Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in the Australian art scene. Along with the Wynne (best landscape painting of Australian scenery, or figure sculpture), and Sulman (best subject painting, genre painting or mural project in oil, acrylic, watercolour or mixed media) Prizes, the Art Gallery NSW is currently exhibiting the entrants for 2013. It’s almost un-Australian not to go.

Well, even though I am not an Australian, I tootled along to see the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman. I go every year. All good. But, what I was really looking forward to was ArtExpress…

Regular readers may recall my post from last year on ArtExpress 2012 (here). ArtExpress is an annual exhibition featuring a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the art making component of our Higher School Certificate examination in Visual Arts in New South Wales. It includes a broad range of approaches and expressive forms, including ceramics, collection of works, documented forms, drawing, graphic design, painting, photomedia, printmaking, sculpture, textiles and fibre, and time-based forms. And it is
A M A Z I N G. What these students achieve is mind-blowing, and this year was no exception (although I think 2012 just nudged ahead for me).

'Double Think' by Aoife Coleman-Clarke

‘Double Think’ by Aoife Coleman-Clarke
Rose Bay Secondary College
(Image from here)

'Babel' by Rachel Cronin

‘Babel’ by Rachel Cronin
Loreto Kirribilli
(Image from here)

'Sweet Simplicity' by Milli Wheeler

‘Sweet Simplicity’ by Milli Wheeler
Oak Flats High School
(Image from here)

'Conscience Vote' by India Gates

‘Conscience Vote’ by India Gates
Wenona School
(Image from here)

'After Leonardo' by Alexis O'Connor

‘After Leonardo’ by Alexis O’Connor
Wenona School (a cracking year for Wenona School!)
(Image from here)

2013 marks the 30th anniversary of ArtExpress at the Art Gallery of NSW. If you haven’t yet made it to the exhibition, you have a few more days to do so. If you’re not in NSW, you can check out the works here.

Best Sydney Breakfast Spots: Bathers Pavilion Cafe

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by Joanna in Australia, Food, Sydney, Travel

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

Australasia, Australia, Balmoral, Bathers, Breakfast, Brunch, Cook, New South Wales, Plenty, Recipe, Saturday, Shakshuka, Sydney, Yotam Ottolenghi

View from Bathers Pavillion Cafe

View From the Bathers’ Pavilion Cafe
(Image from here)

Welcome to the first in a wee series I am calling ‘Best Sydney Breakfast Spots’. I LOVE breakfast. Honestly, it’s probably my favourite meal of the day. So, having a few favourite spots for a good brekky in Sydney up my sleeve is kind of important to me…

We had some friends visiting Sydney over Easter. We wanted to take them somewhere nice for breakfast. And, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the massive cultural phenomenon that is ‘brunch*’ in Australasia, let me tell you it is huge.

Brunch in Sydney is a potential minefield for the uninitiated – especially if a) you want to take advantage of the super harbour views; b) you don’t want to queue for hours; and c) you want good food.

This time, we decided on the ever reliable Bathers’ Pavilion Cafe.

Bathers Pavilion Cafe(Image from here)

The Bathers’ Pavilion Cafe
(Image from here)

Bathers at Balmoral

The Bathers’ Pavilion at Balmoral
(Image from here)

The Bathers’ Pavillion is owned by well-known chef, Serge Dansereau. Frankly, it’s a Sydney institution and offers a number of ways to enjoy eating or drinking within the old beach changing shed pavilion. And, for my money, the café offers one of the better spots in Sydney for a breakfast that ticks all my boxes.

We arrived early – for a Public Holiday, anyway. The café doesn’t take reservations, which is frustratingly common for breakfast service in Sydney. Our party of 6 were all present and correct at just before 9am and we were pleasantly surprised that a table was waiting for us.

We had a lovely time – the food and the service were spot on. The ‘Three egg omelette with goats curd and herbs’ ($23) was apparently “superb”. The ‘Balmoral breakfast of Eggs – your choice – on toast with bacon, sausage, mushroom, potato and roast sea salt tomato’ ($25) was declared “just what you want from a traditional breakfast, and the sausage was excellent”. The ‘Basque style baked eggs with cured ham and chorizo’ ($22.50) were a big hit with the remainder of our party (including yours truly) – if just a smidge light on chorizo.

To be honest, I have had mediterranean-style baked eggs on the foodie part of my brain for some time now. All those onions, capsicums (peppers) and tomatoes sautéed with herbs and spices, then topped with a perfectly baked egg (or two) is my idea of breakfast heaven. Or, at least it is until my next ‘must try’ dish comes along.

I did a wee bit of digging, and as a result, this coming post-farmers market Saturday morning, LM and I will be dining on Yotam Ottolenghi‘s Shakshuka recipe from his cookbook ‘Plenty’, made by me. (Seriously fab’ cookbook, by the way!)

Shakshuka from Plenty

Shakshuka from Plenty
(Image from here)

I may have to bastardise it just the tiniest bit with some Eumundi chorizo, but here is the recipe I will be using…

Shakshuka from Yotam Ottolenghi’s ‘Plenty’
Recipe serves 8

Ingredients

½ tsp cumin seeds
190ml light olive oil or vegetable oil
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
2 red and 2 yellow peppers, cored and cut into 2cm strips
4 tsp muscovado sugar
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs thyme, picked and chopped
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ tsp saffron strands
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
Up to 250ml water
8 free-range eggs

Method:

In a large saucepan, dry-roast the cumin on high heat for two minutes. Add the oil and sauté the onions for two minutes. Add the peppers, sugar, bay leaves, thyme, parsley and two tablespoons of coriander, and cook on high heat to get a nice colour. Add the tomatoes, saffron, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes, adding enough water to keep it the consistency of a pasta sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning. It should be potent and flavoursome. You can prepare this mix in advance.

Place four saucepans on medium heat and divide the mixture between them. Break two eggs into each pan, pouring into gaps in the mixture. Sprinkle with salt, cover and cook very gently for 10-12 minutes, until the egg just sets. Sprinkle with coriander and serve. YUM!

Hopefully the sun will still be shining and we can sit outside in the garden…

The Bathers’ Pavilion Cafe at Balmoral Beach on Sydney’s lower north shore is open for breakfast Monday – Sunday from 7am to midday.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook ‘Plenty’, and his more recent and equally fabulous cookbook ‘Jerusalem’ are available through Amazon.

*BRUNCH:A late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast and lunch.

Recent Posts

  • The End of an Era and a New Beginning…
  • ‘He Won’t Know It’s Paleo’ – a Review
  • The Shame of Hidradenitis Suppurativa
  • Lip-Smackingly Good Lemon Ice Cream (AIP Friendly)
  • The Other Side of Family Time at Casa TSL…
  • Family Time at Casa TSL
  • Things Julia Child has Taught Me (That Have Nothing to do With the Art of French Cookery!)
  • Could You Have Pyrrole Disorder?
  • Easter Inspiration Recipe Round Up
  • The GREAT Sydney AIP Resource Page

Enter your email address to follow This Sydney Life. You'll receive notifications of new posts straight to your inbox...

Like TSL on Facebook! Go on… She’s finally got around to signing up!

Like TSL on Facebook! Go on… She’s finally got around to signing up!

Categories

  • Art
  • Australia
  • Book Review
  • Culture
  • Design
  • Dogs
  • export
  • Fashion
  • Food
  • Haberdashery
  • Health
  • New Zealand
  • Nutrition
  • Performance
  • Random Stuff
  • Retail
  • Sides & Sauces
  • Soup
  • Sweets
  • Sydney
  • The Main Event
  • Travel

Top Posts & Pages from TSL

  • Luke Mangan's SERIOUSLY GOOD Osso Bucco
  • Osso Buco - AIP Style
  • Jamie Oliver and His BEST EVER Pukka Spiced Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks
  • Squint - the Willy Wonka of Furniture!
  • Emily Barletta and Her Red Thread...
  • Louise Saxton Embroiders Birds
  • Sugar-free Cinnamon and Coconut Fat Bombs (AIP Compliant)
  • I Have a Wee Crush on John Derian
  • Suzanne Jongmans Reinterprets 16th and 17th Century Portraiture
  • Terry Border Bends Objects...

Archives

  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012

Top Rated

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • This Sydney Life
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • This Sydney Life
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...