Summer 2014 - Hill Street Grocer

Provisions
free
Issue 82 - Summer 2014
The Tasmanian Christmas
We love Christmas here at Hill Street!
Cooking With
Kif Weber, Smolt and Frank
Five Minutes
with Heather Rose
Ashbolt: elderflower and olive oil
Our summer feature producers from the beautiful Derwent Valley
1
Contents
2
Welcome 3
In season 4
Just in
4
Christmas with Hill Street 6
Christmas: Back to Basics 6
Five minutes with
Heather Rose, author 12
Producer profile
Anne Ashbolt, Ashbolt Farm
15
Gardening for summer 19
Know your
Christmas ham
20
Hill Street Hampers
To donate please head online to:
www.childhood.org.au or drop your
change into the collection boxes in store.
11
Cooking with
Kif Weber, Smolt and Frank
Tasting Spain
Hill Street Grocer is proud to be a major
supporter of the Australian Childhood
Foundation. This wonderful organisation
provides an array of support and advocacy
for the most vulnerable kids in our
community.
Health & Wellbeing
with Anny Fodor
Community
22
24
26
Wine & Cheese Club
Events
Shelf life 28
29
30
31
Published by
Hill Street Grocer
109 Hill Street
West Hobart 7000
www.hillstreetgrocer.com
ph 62346849
Please direct feedback and enquiries to
Mimi McIntyre at marketing@hillstreetgrocer.com
Welcome
Welcome to the summer edition
of Provisions.
3
At the time of writing the year is drawing
to a close, Christmas activity in the stores is
ramping up and we are looking forward to
that amazing crescendo that hits our stores
on the 23rd and 24th of December when it
seems that all of Hobart comes to us and gets
their Christmas dinner sorted.
Looking beyond the ‘big day’ on the 25th, for
many of us that means long summer days at
the beach, shack or on the back deck at home,
enjoying summer in Tasmania and a respite
from the routines of school and work which,
during the year, seem endless.
The end of the year and the beginning
of another is often time for reflection
and renewal. In America they pause for
Thanksgiving in November, and the literal
meaning of that holiday seems very appealing.
All of us at Hill Street have much to be
thankful for after a very busy year full of lots
of changes. We of course are grateful for the
most important things first – our health and
the blessing of seeing our own children grow
and thrive. We are thankful that we have
survived another year in business and that
we have the confidence in Tasmania and the
support of our loyal customers to make some
big investments in our new stores, Bayview
IGA at Blackmans Bay and the Salad Bowl
in South Hobart, both of which will undergo
major renovations in 2015.
We are looking forward to the opening of
our much anticipated new flagship store on
the corner of Arthur and Hill Streets in West
Hobart in March, and the rebirth of our
former store on the corner of Hill and Pine
Streets as a coffee shop and bakery.
Of course we will be sad to close the doors of
the original Hill Street on the last day, because
this little store really is ‘the little shop that
could’ - a small store punching way above
its weight, providing a livelihood for our
extended families and our many employees
for over two generations, and a community
hub for everyone in West Hobart. We are
so thankful for that little store and all it has
provided for all of us.
Keep an eye on our website and sign up for
our emails at www.hillstreetgrocer.com or
like us on Facebook for news and photos
of our progress with the new store and our
opening celebrations. We’re not sure they can
top Irene dancing around the roundabout to
Greek music when we launched our renovated
Hill Street in 2001, but we will do our best!
In the meantime, enjoy summer!
The Nikitaras family
4
In season
Just in
By eating seasonally you know you’re getting
the freshest, tastiest and best value produce.
Here’s a round up of summer’s bounty in
Tasmania.
Blueberries
apricots
cherries
asparagus
blueberries
broad beans
cucumbers
eggplants
fennel
figs
grapes
green beans
leeks
lemons
lettuce
nectarines
But the question is of course, how do you eat
them? As a bowl of frozen treats on a boiling
summers day? Fresh from the bush? Blended
in your morning smoothie? As a delicious
sauce for all sorts of cakes and treats? Or, just
as a part of a wonderful summer fruit salad?
onions
radishes
passion fruit
peas
peaches
pears
plums
raspberries
squash
snow peas
strawberries
sweet corn
tomatoes
zucchini
Blueberries are such a treat! Hailed as a
superfood, deliciously fiddly to eat, and
wonderfully tasty, they really are fantastic.
However you like yours, we strongly
recommend enjoying local blueberries this
summer!
In store from mid-December.
Christmas with
Hill Street
With so many new customers
joining the Hill Street family
over the past year, this year we
thought we should take some
time in our summer issue of
Provisions to run you all through
our Christmas order form,
what’s included this year and
how the ordering process works.
Here at Hill Street, our famous Christmas
order form is a labour of love. Every year,
sometime around mid-September someone
will whisper ‘we should start thinking about
Christmas soon’. Everyone else gives the
individual a shocked and terrified look.
But then we start planning, and before you
know it we’re full of inspiration and ideas for
new products to include.
The order form is a way for our customers
to secure their Christmas essentials ahead of
time; no fighting at the freezer for the last
turkey, no scramble for the good berries – we
take care of everything. Obviously, we can’t
include everything in the order form, but we
do take orders for items that sell out or are in
short supply at that time of the year.
On this year’s form you’ll see many familiar
favourites, and some new products added to
the mix. For those of you still making up
your minds, or perhaps unsure about these
new products, we thought we’d take this
opportunity to run you through them in a bit
more detail.
Sadly, Nichols Poultry now longer produce
turkeys; given our commitment to sourcing
healthy, happy, humanely raised birds, we
will be sourcing this year’s turkeys from
Numurkah Farm in Victoria. This is a
family owned free-range farm and produces a
premium product. However, it is important
to note that these birds will have been frozen
prior to you receiving them. Though they
will be fully thawed, they cannot be refrozen
until after they are cooked.
5
6
Pigeon Whole Bakers have had a pretty
awesome year, culminating in their move to
the old Mercury building in the city centre.
This year we welcome two of their products to
the order form: Stollen and Panettone.
The lads at the Salad Bowl Kitchen have
taken over the reins for quiche-making this
Christmas. At this time of the year quiches
are a welcome addition to the finger food
section of the family lunch spread, or as
an afternoon snack as we graze from one
Christmas Day meal to the next.
Daci & Daci have a seriously good
reputation – as anyone who has ever gazed
into their famous cake cabinet will attest.
This year we are delighted to be able to offer
four of their products: an orange, coconut
and almond cake with a star anise spiced
syrup; a trio de chocolats cake; a black
cherry and pistachio tart; and a lemon
and coconut tart. They will all serve about
8 people with the exception of the cherry
tart, which will serve 10.
The ‘fresh produce’ section of the order
form has been extended this year, as in
past year’s we have noticed that a number
of fresh items regularly sell in the last few
days before Christmas, and we wanted
our customers to be able to order these in
advance if needed. This year we’ve added
dill, mint, asparagus and fresh peas to the
mix.
Nichols Christmas Puddings are back this
year, with three sizes available for regular
puddings and two sizes for their gluten free
puddings. The smaller sizes are packed in a
box and the larger sizes in traditional calico.
Christmas is a time for family, celebration
and relaxation, and we all want it to be
about that and not about stress! Our
Christmas order form lets you do just
that; order the essentials, and then pick
them up just before the big day. If you’re
after a bit of gift inspiration, we also offer
gift hampers, the full details for which
can be found in store or online at www.
hillstreetgrocer.com.
And don’t forget that if you place your
Christmas order with us before Sunday
14 December you’ll go into the draw to
win your Christmas order on us!
Christmas:
Back to Basics
As we grow older (and hopefully
wiser), our lives evolve and
change, and each and every
year someone, somewhere, is
trying their hand at cooking for
Christmas Day for the first time.
7
It’s a terrifying task, even for those of us with
a few years experience under the belt. So here
at Hill Street, we thought we would give you
our top tips on how to make your Christmas
impressively easy.
First up, let’s be honest: Google is a seriously
good resource for things like cooking turkey,
or making your own glaze for the ham.
Having said this, we’d like to think we have
some handy hints to throw into the mix too.
So, to start with: here are our top two tips neither of these is particularly classy, but both
are very practical.
If you can:
1) Find a spare fridge and plug it in
somewhere like the garage or the laundry
2) Use one of those bench-top turbo ovens.
If you can fit all the food, wine and beer
required for one family Christmas into a
single fridge, you are much better at this
then we are. But really, at this is the time of
year, a bit of extra space rarely goes astray.
For the bench-top oven, these are great for
keeping things warm or roasting your veggies
when the turkey or ham is taking up the vast
majority of the oven.
Turkey
Turkey is the big one. We do not recommend
what happened to one of our staff members,
whose father decided the turkey was too scary
to roast whole, and so made a Christmas
turkey casserole instead...
When you’re cooking the turkey, stuffing is a
good plan. You can buy stuffing pre-made,
or make your own very quickly. A mixture of
bread crumbs, dried cranberries, onion and
herbs, such as thyme and rosemary, will make
an excellent stuffing.
Ham
8
Cooking times vary depending on the size of
the bird and the oven you’re cooking it in (like
it or hate it, all our ovens are different and
special in their own ways).
We highly recommend jumping online to
www.bbcgoodfood.com/roast-timer and using
their Roast Calculator, which also has advice
on how to tell if the bird is cooked.
As turkey is lean meat, it’s important to make
sure it doesn’t dry out during cooking. There
are three ways to go here: 1) regularly baste
the bird with the juices from the pan, 2) cover
the whole thing with foil or baking paper, or
3) place a piece of butter-soaked muslin cloth
over the bird.
For a run down on Christmas hams, take a
look at the ‘Know Your’ section on page 20
where we look at a few different ham options
we have available on our Christmas order
form this year, and talk you through how to
store and glaze your ham once you have it.
The most important thing for your Christmas
ham is to be aware of how many people you
are feeding and how much you will need;
don’t get too enthusistic, because you’ll end
up eating the leftovers for the next week!
There are a number of options available,
from whole leg hams, to half-cut hams,
boneless hams and mini hams - all of which
are fantastic! Again, see page 20 for more
information.
Seafood
For many of us, seafood is the highlight of the
Australian Christmas. Prawns, oysters and
lobster are all features of the Christmas table,
and all can be quick and easy to prepare.
Arguably at their best when served natural
with a squeeze of lemon juice, here we look
at three alternative ways to prepare oysters for
your Christmas Day feast.
Margarita oysters
Mix 50ml agave syrup and ½ cup of water
together. Add ½ a cup of fresh lime juice
and a tablespoon of tequila (optional) and
stir. Place the mix in a high powered blender
with 250g of ice and blitz until a slush forms.
Then add another 250g of ice and blitz until
a sorbet forms. Serve on top of oysters with
a little bit of sliced mint. Makes enough for
about 12 oysters.
Oysters Kilpatrick
Preheat your grill on a medium-high heat.
Place about 2 cups of rock salt on a baking
tray in thick layers and arrange 24 oysters
(still in their shells) in the salt. Sprinkle with
Worcestershire sauce (about 2 tablespoons
in total) and 175g sliced (or diced) rind-less
bacon, then grill for 5 – 8 minutes or until the
bacon is crisp. Sprinkle with some chopped
parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon.
Oysters with Japanese dressing
In a small bowl combine 3 tablespoons of
soy sauce, ¼ rice (or sushi) vinegar and ½
teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger. When
you’re ready to serve, spoon the dressing over
the oysters and serve with a few very thin
slices of cucumber and a little bit of salmon
roe. Makes enough for 16 oysters.
9
Sides and salads
10
Trying to work out what to serve with your
‘main’ Christmas dishes is always a bit of
a chore – will it be potato salad and some
lettuce, or blanched greens? Here we have
two easy and quick recipes to help start you
on your way.
Green pea, broad bean
and radish salad
Ingredients
600g podded broad beans
150g fresh peas
Small handful of mint leaves
2 radishes
150g feta
1tbs lemon juice
60ml olive oil
1tsp honey
Method
In separate pots, cook the broad beans and
peas for about 3 minutes each. Drain,
refresh until cold water and transfer to
a large bowl. Add the mint leaves, both
radishes (trimmed and thinly sliced) and
crumbed feta.
In a small jug whisk the olive oil, lemon
juice and honey to make a vinaigrette.
Pour over the salad, toss to combine and
serve.
Asparagus polonaise
Ingredients
30g butter
60ml olive oil
150g ciabatta bread, crusts removed and finely
chopped
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
⅓ cup fresh parsley, chopped
⅓ cup fresh basil, chopped
⅓ cup fresh chives, chopped
3 bunches of asparagus
Method
In a large non-stick fry pan, heat the butter
and 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat.
When the butter is foaming, add the bread
and cook, stirring, until golden and crisp. Stir
in the egg, basil, parsley and chives, and then
season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bring a separate pan of salted water to the boil
over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus
and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until bright
green and tender crisp. Drain and refresh
under cold water.
Transfer to a bowl and toss with the
remaining olive oil.
To serve, place the asparagus on a large
serving platter and sprinkle with the bread
mixture.
Five minutes with
Heather Rose, author
11
Let’s say it straight up: this is a
lady with a seriously cool list of
past lives on her resume.
She has been a goatherd in Greece, picked
grapes in France, lived in Switzerland and
on the Isle of Skye, done 20,000 road
miles across America, headed up Australia’s
biggest advertising campaigns, turned the
Festival of Voices into an international
drawcard, written much loved novels for
adults and children; she’s an entrepreneur,
innovator, and mother (of three) - ladies and
gentlemen, may we present Heather Rose.
In one sentence I would describe myself
as…
A barefoot kid who grew up loving the sea,
the sky and the people of Tasmania – with
a passion for words and ideas.
The most exciting thing in my life right
now is…
Writing for children. Danielle Wood and
I write under the pen-name of Angelica
Banks and our Tuesday McGillycuddy
series is in publication across the world.
At Hill Street I love…
Seeing Irene, finding gorgeous cheese and
fresh greens, running into friends… Irene
has seen all my children grow up.
Hobart in the summer is…
Body-surfing and long afternoons on our
back deck with iced tea and a good book.
My favourite weeknight home-cooked meal
is…
My husband Rowan’s roast chicken.
My favourite character from fiction…
Levin from Anna Karenina - he never stops
wondering about things.
For me, food is...
Nurture, kindness, shared life.
I am famous for my…
Cakes!
My desert island food is...
Anything I can eat from the sea or cook over
a fire.
This Christmas I am looking forward to…
The annual dinner we have with family and
friends.
If I could pick any book to be made into a
movie, or vice versa, I would pick…
Finding Serendipity – the first book in the
Tuesday McGillycuddy series.
My dream for Tasmania is…
The sort of prosperity that comes from all
our children being well-educated and in
charge of making their dreams come true.
Cooking with
Kif Weber, Smolt and Frank
12
Kif Weber is a bit of a quiet
achiever in the local restaurant
stakes but, for goodness sake,
don’t let that fool you.
Although his family and friends might not
describe Kif Weber as a ‘quiet’ fellow, it has
been his dogged and almost unassuming
commitment to his career in hospitality
that now undoubtedly gives him the status
of ‘achiever’. From the early days of the
restaurant renaissance on the waterfront in
Hobart with the start-up crew of T42, he has
forged a successful career in a place where
this path has not always been the road to
success. Now, after many years in the ‘biz’ in
Tassie and overseas (even the mainland!) he is
currently heading up the team behind Smolt
and Frank.
However, despite this success, perhaps the
achievement he is most proud of is helping
other hospitality workers on both sides of the
restaurant ‘pass’ make a pride-filled career in
this industry, at a time when Tasmania is on
show to the world for its fantastic produce
and food culture.
Smolt is, in essence, a unique take on how
the Spanish and Italians dine, with much
sharing of plates, but with a good Australian
swing to proceedings. Frank offers a point
of difference, celebrating the food cultures of
Latin America, with flavoursome influences
from countries including Argentina, Peru and
Chile.
Smolt is an established favourite venue with
wide appeal to people of all ages seeking
anything from a solo cuppa in a friendly
setting to a bustling business function in the
atrium. The outlook onto Salamanca Square
adds a bit of a Continental European feel to
the experience. Frank, on the waterfront, is
a new and exciting venture, giving the team
new opportunities to grow and experiment.
Here, a zany element in both décor and
delicacies add South American spice.
For Kif, the lead up to Christmas has always
been ‘ridiculously busy’ with functions and
end of year dinners to prepare for in addition
to the anticipation of the Taste of Tasmania,
the Sydney to Hobart sailors and the growing
numbers of tourists heading south in search of
incredible landscape, provocative art, eclectic
music and fabulous food. Now, with the
addition of Frank to his hospitality family,
he sees ‘busy’ become ‘bonkers’! However,
irrespective of demand, they always shut
up shop on Christmas and Boxing Day to
give everyone some time off with the most
important families of all.
In the Weber household, the venue for
Christmas changes each year, as they move
around to join dispersed family and friends.
But some things never change. Anna’s mum
always does the ham, and Kif’s mother
always does salmon. But the rest is worked
around who’s bringing what, and who’s
interested in what and who is brave enough
to experiment! For the last three years, as
they have been dreaming up what Frank
might offer to the community, Christmas
has been inspired by a ‘south of the border’
theme - with a whole goat making an
appearance one year in true asado style.
13
Here, Kif runs us through a couple of his
Christmas recipes…
Mussels with Piquillo Peppers
and Proscuitto
Ingredients
1kg mussels cleaned (beards removed)
50ml olive oil
100ml white wine
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
100g ripe garden tomatoes, diced
1 small pinch dry chilli (or fresh chilli)
20g unsalted butter
30g whole piquillo peppers, thinly sliced
25g Italian parsley, washed, roughly chopped
25g prosciutto, shaved and torn into pieces
Two slices of ciabatta.
Method
Cover a pot with a tight-fitting lid and place
on the heat to warm up.
When it is warm, add the mussels, olive oil,
white wine, shallot and garlic and cook for
three to four minutes.
Next add the tomatoes, chilli, butter,
peppers, parsley and prosciutto and toss the
ingredients for one minute.
Spoon the mussels out into a shallow bowl
and serve with the ciabatta bread.
White Fish Ceviche with
Tiger’s Milk
14
Ingredients
Tiger’s Milk
200ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ red onion, peeled and roughly cut
2 garlic cloves, peeled but not crushed
½ bunch fresh coriander, washed
20g fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
½ whole red chilli (seeds and all)
½ celery stalk, washed and roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Iced water (optional to balance acidity)
Ceviche
600g fresh raw white fish, cleaned, skinned
and diced - eg blue-eye trevalla, red snapper or
black trevally
300g prawns, shelled and de-veined, lightly
blanched and cooled
300g scallops, roe included, lightly blanched
and cooled
180g red onion, finely sliced
3 red chillies (seeds and all), finely sliced
Fresh corriander leaves to garnish
Method
To prepare Tiger’s Milk
Combine and blend all ingredients,
seasoning with salt and freshly ground
pepper.
Check balance and acidity. If too acidic, add
iced water to taste.
Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes. This
allows time to prepare ceviche.
To prepare Ceviche
Blanch prawns and scallops and set aside to
cool.
Dice raw fish and cut prawns and scallops in
half.
Mix seafood in a bowl, season with salt and
add sliced onion and chillies.
Mix with a ladleful of Tiger’s Milk and
serve immediately with a garnish of fresh
coriander.
Producer Profile
Anne Ashbolt,
Ashbolt Farm
15
In this issue of Provisions we
visit the Derwent Valley to talk
to Anne Ashbolt: passionate,
hard working and a lover of all
things Tasmanian.
Fourteen years ago Ashbolt Farm began
producing elderflower sparkling drinks
and concentrates in the beautiful Derwent
Valley, as well as their highly awarded extra
virgin olive oil, later adding an elderberry
range to their repertoire. Provisions sat
down with Anne Ashbolt to talk about
their soon-to-be-released new products, just
in time for the festive season.
How would you explain your background
in a few sentences?
My dad was a ‘highly entrepreneurial
creative’ - switching from architecture to
professional fishing quite late in life; my
mum grew up in the English countryside
and emigrated on her own to Australia post
WW2 and, together, they had many plans
on the go. So I had a strong grounding in
what it is to follow a dream from an early
age.
I became an architectural technician, taught
calligraphy and worked in the family café
in between studies. Until, I too, had a sea
change, met my ‘shiny knight’ and we
moved to the beautiful Derwent Valley
to start farming. I was peculiarly single
minded - when I was as young as 12 years
old, I decided I wanted to marry a farmer,
have four kids, a border collie dog and live on
a hill in English-style countryside.
I never give up! I have such a clear line of
sight to where I want to go and a frustrating
naivety that nothing can stop us from
completing the dream.
What products do you make here?
Our products all come from our two groves,
the elder grove and the olive grove from
which we create elderflower, elderberry
concentrates and sparkling drinks and salad
dressings and olive oil. This season’s Olive
Oil has just won Best Tasmanian Olive Oil
for 2014 at the Australian national awards,
which we’re very excited about!
16
Who’s involved?
Initially it was just my husband, myself and a
few farm hands, slowly building the fertility
in the soil, planting the groves. But now, we
have a small team working with us, and lots
of extra workers here during the harvests. We
have three harvests throughout the year, with
the elderberries in March, the olives in July
and then the elderflowers in November.
So it’s a year-round process for you then?
Yes, it’s pretty much all year around; when
we’re not harvesting we’re slashing, or
building up the organic matter, or making
product. It is a steady workload throughout
the year.
Where are you selling your products at the
moment?
Our interstate sales are direct to outlets across
four states and via the web. I also drive to
Melbourne every 4-6 weeks, from Geelong
through to Mornington with lots of places in
between (it gives me a chance to see my two
youngest children as well!).
Within Tasmania our products are sold
directly to cafes and also retailed through
local health stores and grocery options
such as Hill Street and Wursthaus. Just
this month we are releasing our 750ml
‘champagne size’ sparkling elderflower into
local bottleshops, which is a wonderful
opportunity.
So, what’s the process? Let’s focus on the
olive oil
The olives are hand-raked from the trees
by our teams of pickers and taken to our
olive press just near the grove and are in
the processor within three hours of harvest
(essential for high quality oil). Robert likes
to describes our press to visitors in quite
human terms … The olives are cleaned and
shunted into the ‘mouth’ (depitter) which
also chops them up, then they move into
the ‘stomach’ – where the paste is ‘digested’
in the malaxer and the oil starts to separate
from the pulp (all done at a very low
temperature (cold pressed)).
This mush is then ‘excreted from the
malaxer’ down the ‘digestive tract’ into the
centrifuge which spins the paste at high
speed and the oil, being lighter, comes out
fragrantly green from one pipe and the
rest is pumped out the other end into bins
which are fed to the cattle.
If you weren’t here in Tasmania, where
would you rather be?
I have a soft spot for the Tuscan Hills! I love
the light, the tomatoes, the olive oil, the
water straight out of the mountainside, and
that sense that just 200m down the road
there is a different cuisine. Above all though,
I have to say I love the exquisite architecture
and the Mediterranean climate.
What would you say are some of the
advantages and disadvantages of growing
in Tasmania?
Our biggest advantage is our climate
and disease-free status. We have longer
daylight hours for growing, combined
with a temperate climate, clean water and
air. The long slow growing season creates
more intensively flavoured and often higher
nutritional values in our produce. The main
disadvantages are the high labour, freight
and compliance costs relative to overseas
competitors.
What’s the next project?
A brand new brewery on the farm, next
to the elderflower grove. This will finally
consolidate all processes on the farm - when
you’re brewing you’ve got to be on the ball,
and having it on the farm makes everything
more efficient.
What is special about growing in
Tasmania?
There is a much stronger connection between
the grower and the consumer in Tasmania.
There is also a great bond between fellow
growers and producers. Tassie’s size and
isolation increases our sense that this is a
very special place and creates a need to be
innovative and supportive of each other.
17
18
Best thing about living here?
Just look out the window! This is going to
sound like a terrible cliché, but as I drive
from the Spirit of Tasmania after being in
Melbourne my spirit seems to lift with the
early morning mists and the light across
the paddocks, it’s just paradise. We are so
cocooned from the rest of the world, and it’s
a great place to bring up kids.
What is your favourite local getaway
and what do you think is the best
kept local secret?
My favourite getaway is actually just 200m
away. On a hot day, I go for a swim in the
river. I can laze in the spa pool created by the
rapids or swim hard against the current if I
need the exercise.
The best-kept local secret is not really a secret,
but I really like the Salmon Ponds just up
the road. With its beautiful trees, it is really
peaceful and a fun place to take kids to have a
picnic and feed the trout.
Annie Ashbolt’s
Summer Berry Refresher
Ingredients
¼ cup summer fruits eg: strawberries
(chopped), raspberries. blueberries etc
30ml of Ashbolt Elderflower Concentrate
150ml of ice cold sparkling or tonic water
Squeeze of fresh lemon (optional)
Mint Leaves
For an alcholic version replace the sparkling
water or tonic with:
Sparkling wine such as Prossecco or
Champagne
or
Just add 30ml gin or vodka
Method
Place the fruit in a tumbler or flute. Add
Elderflower Concentrate, sparkling water (and
alcohol if desired) and a squeeze of lemon to
taste. Garnish with fresh mint and enjoy!
Gardening for summer
In this issue our regular
contributor, Dr Alice Percy,
is joined by Sprout Tasmania
Volunteer, Nysha Alexandria,
to talk summertime in the
garden with Provisions.
Let’s start with the usual, what can we
expect from summer in the garden?
This summer is predicted to be a hot one
according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Hopefully this will mean good ripening
weather for sweet fruits and extra sunshine
for producing bumper crops, assuming there
is sufficient water! Warmer weather also
means happy pollinators so expect to see lots
of bees buzzing on sunny days working hard
to fertilize our crops. Ideally your summer
garden should provide you with all the key
ingredients for meals with extra to share with
friends and family: flavoursome veggies; juicy
stone fruit; fragrant herbs; sweet berries and
fresh salad greens, just to name a few!
What should we be planting and doing now
to get the most out of this season?
Now is the time to plant out most of your
summer veggies, tomatoes, capsicums,
eggplant, sweetcorn, cucumber, zucchini,
broccoli and pumpkin etc. Plant a mixture
of seedlings and seeds to ensure that you can
enjoy fresh produce for an extended period
and avoid being overcome with 100 zucchinis
all at once! When planting out consider
carefully where you place the different plant
species in the garden as some plants are good
companions and while others are not so
chummy.
19
What are your top tips for protecting plants
from dehydrating too much on a hot day?
A hot summer will mean water management
is high on the agenda of most gardeners.
Timing of watering and the method of
watering are two key considerations when
attempting to conserve this precious resource.
As peak photosynthesis is usually midmorning, plants will be most productive if
well hydrated during this period. A good
soaking early in the morning or the previous
night will ensure that sufficient water is
available. Watering when solar radiation is
high will cause major water losses due to
evaporation and can stop water penetrating
through the soil profile to roots below.
What is your favourite thing about summer
in the garden?
Colourful flowers are blooming and releasing
their scents, leaves and vines battle for light
causing lush layers of foliage to form and the
sounds of bumble bees, crickets and birds fill
the air. Summer in the garden is a feast for the
senses!
Know your
Christmas ham
20
Christmas really just wouldn’t be Christmas
without ham! But which one should you
pick? It can be really daunting to be faced
with seven kilos of smoked ham, ready for
you to glaze at home, especially when you’re
new to the task! But never fear, we’re here
to talk you through it and help you pick the
ham that is best for you.
Storing your ham is easy with our Hill Street
ham bags, which we provide to you when
you purchase a ham from us. Just dip the
bag in cold water mixed with a generous
splash of white vinegar, and then wring it
out.
Remove the ham from its plastic and place
the ham into your ham bag, pull the drawstring closed and store in the fridge. Every
2 days the bag should be dipped into fresh
vinegared water. Your ham should last up
to 7 days if stored correctly. and the bag is
refreshed.
All of the hams in our Christmas order form
will need to be glazed by you at home. For
those new to the art of glazing a ham, we
have a quick guide on the next page. Probably the best advice we can give you is to be
sure your oven is large enough!
For the glaze recipe, there are a number of
quick and easy options. Some tried and
tested ingredients to consider including
in your glaze are: mustard which matches
beautifully with ham, orange for acidity and
sweetness, and brown sugar to create that
delicious caramel colour.
If you’re still unsure, our chef, Graham
Smith, has created our own Hill Street glaze
(which contains all of these ingredients) and
is available on our order form in a 1-litre
tub.
All the hams on our order form are made
right here in Tasmania, with Scottsdale,
J.B Nicholas & Son, and Ziggy’s our main
providers.
Our Hill Street ham is made from premium
Scottsdale Pork, and is then gently smoked
by Pandani to produce a delicious and flavoursome ham for your Christmas.
All Ziggy’s products are lovingly made using
traditional methods, and this shows is the
high quality of their products. Their boneless leg hams take the work of carving out of
the equation, and weigh in between 3 – 4 kg.
These hams are suitable for those expecting
21
a medium to large group, or who (like us)
enjoy eating their delicious ham for a few
days after the main event.
For those not expecting a large crowd (or
who are perhaps more interested in turkey)
we offer two small boneless hams, one from
Scottsdale and one from Ziggy’s. These mini
hams weigh between 1 – 2 kg, and here the
difference is really based on taste and your
own preference – we like them both!
Finally, this year we are delighted to be offering J.B. Nicholas & Son’s award-winning
hams in our order form. This is particuarly
for our South Hobart and Blackmans Bay
customers, who have long been able to
place orders for this product, but we’re just
as excited to be offering this product at our
other stores.
If you have any questions about the hams
we will have available this year, ask us! Our
deli staff in store will be able to answer your
questions relating to these Christmas hams,
or they can even slice some of our famous
Scottsdale glazed leg ham from the bone for
you to try, if you would like.
How to glaze your own ham
Ham: the essence of Christmas; and it’s
always made perfect by a delicious glaze.
But how on earth do you do this? Well,
just follow our guide...
Preheat your oven to 180C.
Remove the skin of the ham and score the
fat with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern, making sure not to hit the flesh.
Spike each diamond with a whole clove
and place the ham in a baking tray (if you
like you can line the tray with baking paper
to help catch the glaze).
Pour the glaze over the ham – making sure
not to miss any spots.
Place in the oven to cook and baste with
the glaze every 10 minutes (please be careful, burns can
happen!) until you have achieved the rich
golden colour you desire (approx. 20-30
minutes).
Cool in the tray for 10 minutes after taking
it out of the oven.
Tasting Spain
22
With Cathi
Burnett-Cosgrove of
Andrew Jones Travel
You cannot export the delights
of tapas – you simply have to
visit magnificent Spain. The
Spanish appetisers are at their
realistic best in their country
of origin. To do otherwise
is like visiting an Irish pub
in Australia: nice, but not
authentic.
Andrew Jones Travel customises fully
escorted speciality food and cultural tours,
which are planned over 12 months and go
well beyond most international itineraries.
Something we would strongly recommend
when visiting Madrid, is to take a tapas tour,
where an expert local guide can lead you
through an unforgettable night.
This is a recount of one couple’s first-class
experiences on a Spanish tapas tour.
Our expert guide for our Madrid tapas tour
was the effervescent Frederico. Frederico met
us at our hotel and offered us two choices:
we could bar-restaurant hop or go to a single
restaurant and sample a range of tapas. After
a day of casual walking amongst the amazing
masterpieces of the Prado Museum and other
city highlights we opted for the latter.
Frederico was pleased with our choice and
said he had just the place. He lead us to the
El Anciano Rey de los Vinos, a place where
Federico has dined since being taken there by
his parents as a boy. It was located a couple of
stone throws from the Royal Palace. All the staff
knew Frederico and we got the royal treatment.
We decided to dine outside where we could
hear (and feel) the buzz of amazing Madrid.
He gave us a few drink recommendations,
including starting with a Vermouth and a
sherry to ready the palate.
Next it was on to the food, with each suggested
dish and its nearby origins detailed by
Frederico. Two of the dishes that might not
grab the attention of Australian diners without
local advice were the Bull’s Presents and Sepia.
The Bull’s Presents conjured some not overly
palatable images, but in fact was a deeply
flavoursome dish of ox tail. The Sepia was
cuttlefish and we had no idea that this sea
creature could be such a wonderful delicacy.
One of Spain’s greatest gifts is Iberian ham,
which finds its way to dining tables across the
country from acorn-fed pigs. Surely, no other
ham in the world can match this! The fantastic
fruit and vegetables of Spain mean that
vegetarians will also be in heaven.
As we made our culinary discoveries we drank
the Spanish white verdejo, known in Australia
as verdelho, and the red tempranillo, which is
gaining a significant Australian following as an
alternative to shiraz and cabernet sauvignon.
The tapas just kept coming and the food was
better than excellent.
We also found that conversation was an
important part of the tapas experience, with
Frederico giving his views on Spanish issues,
including bullfighting and Catalan secession.
It seemed, through Frederico, we had become
part of the El Anciano Rey de los Vinos and
our holiday snaps soon included pictures at the
table with managers, waiters and, of course,
Frederico.
Totally satisfied, we were escorted back to our
hotel by Frederico, but not before he gave us a
mini night tour of Madrid.
He was still giving us tips on how to enjoy
Madrid as we walked into our hotel foyer, and
recommended a place to enjoy cocktails and
watch the sunset the following day.
23
Hill Street Hampers
24
If the thought of solving your
Christmas gift-giving dilemmas
with a few clicks is appealing to
you, look no further than our
2014 Christmas hamper range.
over Tasmania and mainland Australia. They
are very generously packed with an abundance
of Tasmanian goodness and are a great
advertisement for all our state has to offer.
We even have one client who sends a Deluxe
hamper to friends in the United Kingdom
every year!
Our hampers this year feature the wares of
Tasmanian artisans who handmake beautiful
products not found in larger stores, and range
from $43 to $150. We can also custom-design
a hamper for you if you have a specific price
point or contents in mind.
For local delivery, consider our fresh hampers
- the Celebration Cheese and Berry hamper
($125) which includes a bottle of 42 Degrees
South Premium Cuvee sparkling, Tasmanian
cheeses, berries, dip and crackers, and the
Platter in a Box ($145), which includes a
bottle of 42 Degrees South Premium Cuvee
Sparkling as well as all the ingredients for
an instant antipasto platter, a picnic or for
dipping into over the Christmas period.
One of our most popular hampers is Sweet
Christmas, $57, which caters for the sweet
tooth and includes delicious treats like Jam
Jar macarons and Ellie’s Salted Caramel Bang.
Add a bottle of 42 Degrees South Premium
Cuvee sparkling wine for an extra $25 for a
really special gift.
Our $105 Large Christmas Hamper and our
$150 Deluxe Hampers are our most popular
corporate hampers and we courier them all
Please have a look at our full range at www.
hillstreethampers.myfoodlink.com.
All hamper enquiries can be answered by
calling Madeleine on 0497 991 828 or
Natalia on 0412 127 240 between 9am
and 4pm, or emailing us on hampers@
hillstreetgrocer.com.
A couple to look at...
Sparkling & chocolates hamper - $54
Elegant and understated, this is a gift of
quality featuring a bottle of 42 Degrees
South Sparkling and a large box of nine
handmade chocolates made by Andy
Abramowich of the Cat’s Tongue Chocolatiers in Huonville.
Medium Tasmanian Christmas
hamper - $69
This hamper offers a balance between
sweet and savoury - a box of four of Andy
Abramowich’s handmade chocolates from
the Cat’s Tongue Chocolatiers, The Art of
Tea Christmas tea, Jean Pascal’s cinnamon
stars, Divine Addiction balsamic and olive
oil dipping sauce, Divine Addiction dukka,
half a dozen Hill Street fruit mince tarts and
a jar of Tasman’s Harvest Colonial tomato
relish.
Celebration berries & cheese - $125
Inside this fresh hamper you’ll find a bottle
of 42 Degrees South Premium Cuvee
sparkling wine, blueberries, strawberries and
raspberries, a large box of nine handmade
chocolates from Andy Abramowich at the
Cat’s Tongue Chocolatiers, a selection of
three Tasmanian cheeses, Ashgrove Fig Paste,
some lavosh crackers from Food2U, Island
Grove marinated olives and Huon Salmon
dip.
Due to its perishability this hamper is only
able to be delivered locally in Tasmania to
greater Hobart, the East Coast, the Tasman
Peninsula, Bruny Island and the Midlands.
25
Health & Wellbeing
with Anny Fodor
26
This issue we are delighted to
introduce our new contributor,
Anny Fodor from AnnyBody
Wellness. Anny is a health and
wellness expert, with an amazing
amount of experience and
knowledge - and we are so happy
to be able to welcome her to the
Provisions team!
I moved from Istanbul, Turkey to this beautiful
city 18 months ago – a rather extreme move,
but I warmly welcome the treasures I continue
to uncover here.
My passion for a quality and happy life led
me to create AnnyBody Wellness some years
ago. I now operate from Hobart, focussing on
three key areas with my clients: HappyBelly,
HappyBody and HappyMind.
What better time to consider happiness with
Christmas fast approaching and indeed the
celebration of summer? The full palette of
flamboyant colours on display now makes this
a joyful time for sharing and eating.
Each season, Mother Nature offers us exactly
what we need for optimum health. Summer,
the crescendo of the year, invites us to have it
all.
My advice is to eat local, notice seasonal and
get social. I much prefer to consider health and
wellbeing in light of abundance: what to eat
rather than what not to eat.
Food
Colours
Type of Benefit
berries,
heirloom
tomatoes,
purple leaves
deep blues,
reds, purples
blood builder,
nervous system
pumpkin,
bell pepper,
turmeric,
edible flowers
oranges,
yellows
assists with
inflammation
kale, rocket,
broccoli,
zucchini,
celery, fresh
pea pods
array of
greens
hydrators,
alkalisers,
deodorisers,
detoxifiers
Fill your tables and plates with deep rich
colours, full of antioxidants, as these colour
pigments will protect our cells and build our
immune system.
While we’ll all be indulging in our favourite
bubbles, summer punches, ciders and other
treats over Christmas and the New Year, it’s
important to know that you are helping to
cater for all your health needs when you eat a
combination of beautiful colours.
Is it really possible to feel, think, look and be
better just by eating fabulous food? My clients
have experimented, adapted and enjoyed the
way they eat. Over time they feel a profound
difference, with relief from health concerns
such as aches and pains, skin issues, mood and
weight issues.
We will be taking a 3-day cleansing retreat to
reset for the New Year. Enjoy your Christmas
celebration and then come and join us.
For information please visit my website:
Annybodywellness.com, or email me on:
Anny@annybodywellness.com
Drink a smoothie a day and help
your heath during the indulgent
season!
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 5-10 mins
Equipment: electric blender
Ingredients:
2 cups cold mint tea
1 handful baby spinach & baby kale or wild
rocket
1 handful berries
½ avocado
A piece celery
Half an apple
A few fresh mint leaves
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of ½ lemon
A pinch of quality salt
Method
Place ingredients in order into your blender.
Blend for a good 1-2 minutes. When
completely blended and velvet smooth, pour
into a tall glass. Bon Appetit!
27
Community
28
This Christmas help us support
the Australian Childhood
Foundation, by buying a bauble
in store and adding it to our
Christmas tree.
Just purchase a Christmas bauble at the
checkout the next time you’re in store and add
it to the Christmas tree on your way out.
All money raised goes straight toward helping
the Australian Childhood Foundation with the
work they do in our local community.
Visit the Australian Childhood Foundation
website for more information:
www.childhood.org.au
Headed to the Shack?
If you’re off to the shack for a few
days, invite us too?
From Swansea to Adventure Bay, Hill Street
Onine delivers all over the place! So if you’re
off to enjoy a couple of days away from the big
city, keep us in mind. Making your getaway
even easier; all your essentials can be delivered
right to the shack door.
For more information hop online to
www.hillstreetgrocer.com. Our online store
will be closed for a few days over Christmas as
we work on our customer’s Christmas orders,
but will be open again from 27 December.
And you can always place an order for a later
date during this time.
Wine & Cheese Club
Christmas is the time for
indulgence, and summer is
(officially) cheese plate weather!
Over the coming weeks we will be bringing
some special local and international cheeses
to the shelves to help you on your way this
Christmas.
St Vernier with Truffles
Fromagerie Jean Perrin & Fils use Savagnin
wine to wash their St. Vernier. The locally
produced wine imparts a fruity flavour to the
cheese, bringing balance and subtlety to this
little washed cheese. When ripe, J. Perrin
layers black Perigord truffles in the centre,
making this a super decadent little cheese that’s
just the right size for a cheese board and pairs
beautifully with full bodied white wines.
Cheese & Whisky
This past October we enjoyed a night of cheese
and whisky tasting, at the Lark Distillery.
Featuring Lark products and local cheeses from
Southern Sky, it was a great night.
A big thank you to Mark Nicholson from Lark
to talked us through their products, and Rod
Wyker from Southern Sky who visited from
the north of the state to talk us through his
cheeses.
And, of course, thank you to all who attended!
Pyengana Cheddar Mini Truckle
This is Australia’s oldest specialist cheese and
is still made on the farm in North-eastern
Tasmania. In late autumn Jon makes 1kg
truckles especially for the Christmas season.
Each truckle is pressed on a cast iron press
before maturing in their underground cave for
five months.
Sandham’s Lancashire Bombs
The Sandhams began making cheese in
Lancashire in 1929 using milk from local
farms, utilising traditional methods and
incorporating only the best quality ingredients.
Despite the onset of mass production of
English territorial cheeses in the mid-20th
century, the Sandhams proudly upheld the
company principles thus preserving the quality
and integrity of their cheeses. The ‘Bomber’
is handmade; cut from the traditional wheel
which is waxed and strung with a ribbon.
29
Events
30
Summer is the time when Hobart comes alive
with events for the whole family - from the
Taste to MOFO, there really is something for
everyone, and here’s a taster of what we’ll be
looking forward to this season.
School holidays
18 December - 4 February
Bruny Island Ultra Marathon
6 December
This annual event is always a highlight for
locals and visitors alike, as the marathon
covers 64km, from Dennes Point to the
lighthouse.
www.brunyislandultra.blogspot.com.au
Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
26 December - about 1 January
Each and every year we watch with baited
breath as these teams battle the seas, to see
who will reach our city first.
www.rolexsydneyhobart.com
The Taste Festival
28 December - 3 January
Back again, and better then ever, the city’s
waterfront will come alive during time with
food, wine, entertainment and performers
galore!
www.thetasteoftasmania.com.au
Hobart Collectors Antique Far
30 December - 4 January
A must-see for collecters and the curious
alike, this event is an absolute hoot for all the
family.
www.discovertasmania.com.au/event/
hobartcollectorsantiquefair
Sinbad the Sailor
3 - 25 January
The theatre productions at the Botanical
Gardens are always a fantastic day out
for the whole family, and this year they’re
putting on Sinbad the Sailor which is a great
tale for kids of all ages!
www.bigmonkey.com.au
Cygnet Folk Festival
9 - 11 January
Once again, folk musicians and enthusiasts
will flock to Cygnet for the annual Folk
Festival. Spend the weekend or take a day
trip down to visit.
www.cygnetfolkfestival.org
MONA FOMA 2015
15 - 18 January
Immerse yourself in all things amazing with
the next instalment of fun from the clever
kids at MONA and their wonderful team.
mofo.net.au
Royal Hobart Regatta
9 February
Three days of all things sailing, boating,
water-skiing, rowing, and so much more!
Other things to remember...
We are closed:
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
New Year’s Day
Australia Day is 26 January and we will
be open!
Shelf Life
De Schutter Chocolate Santa
Something to really make the relatives jealous
this year, why not stir them up with one of
these beautiful chocolate Santas? Perfect for
kids of all ages!
42 Degrees South Premium Cuvee
A brilliant wine to grab when you’re on the
way to a Christmas or other function, this
locally made sparkling wine is an absolute
treat.
Jean Pascal Cinnamon Star Cookies
From the wonderful creatives at Jean Pascal,
these stars are really very yummy. They’re also
the perfect accompaniement to all sorts of
special Christmas drinks, from tea to eggnog.
Phillippa’s Caramel Brandy Sauce
Make your desserts truly luxurious this
Christmas with this delicious caramel brandy
sauce. Pairs well with everything from
Christmas pudding to homemade trifle to
poached pears - the possibilities seem almost
endless!
Nichols Christmas Puddings
A favourite each and every Christmas,
Nichols Christmas Puddings are a local
staple at this time of the year. They are also
available as a gluten free option, so keep an
eye out for these in store too.
31
32
109 Hill Street
West Hobart 7000
westhobart@hillstreetgrocer.com
6234 6849
Opening hours
7.30am – 8pm daily
2 Augusta Road
New Town 7008
newtown@hillstreetgrocer.com
6228 2908
Opening hours:
8am - 8pm Monday to Friday
8am – 7pm Saturday & Sunday
528 South Arm Road
Lauderdale 7022
lauderdale@hillstreetgrocer.com
6248 6221
Opening hours
7.30am – 8pm Monday to Saturday
9am – 8pm Sunday
The Salad Bowl
362 Macquarie Street
South Hobart 7004
southobart@hillstreetgrocer.com
6223 7728
Opening hours
7.30am - 8pm Monday to Friday
7.30am - 7pm Saturday & Sunday
Bayview Grocer
Bayview Market, 8 Opal Drive
Blackmans Bay 7022
blackmansbay@hillstreetgrocer.com
6229 2792
Opening hours
7.30am - 8pm daily