Noosa International Food & Wine Festival

The Noosa International Food & Wine Festival has emerged as the most highly regarded culinary event in Australia. Over 200 of Australia’s most respected and gifted chefs, winemakers, foodies and media come together to share their talents and style at the Noosa International Food and Wine Festival.

Yummm, Noosa Food and Wine Festival!!!
Last time I was there, I had the best time – ‘Bjorn Again’ were playing…
and I soooo thought I was Agnetha…! (dream on…)

http://australiauncovered.com/blog/australias-frequent-festivals/

…and I also managed to work out how to use ‘snippit’ to take the screenshot!

Is there any end to my talents…?

I soon realised that I’d blogged about Mother’s day being in May in Australia about three years ago – so I went into my archives and retrieved it.

What I didn’t expect – was for me to burst out crying…

Of course, three years ago, I’d written about my own Mother not getting her Mother’s Day gift in March, due to me being in Oz and totally forgetting the whole March/May Uk/Oz thing…

However, the reason I started blubbering all over the keyboard, was because my mum died two years ago.

It made me remember how precious the moments we have with our Mothers are – and it’s for that reason that I’m going to re-post that blog…

… and I hope my Mum knows (wherever she is) that she was an inspiration to me and I love her very much.

May 2009

This weeks blog is dedicated to all the mothers of children who are living over here in Oz….

Please don’t feel rejected by your heartless children on Mothers Day back in March, when your gift or card didn’t arrive… it’s simply because the UK and Australia celebrate this occasion on different days.

So we are sorry that you sat gazing at the letterbox, awaiting the gentle landing of your Mothering Sunday card onto the hall mat…

… or if you watched eagerly as the Inter-flora vans floored it past your house – with no intention of delivering even a wilted gladioli.

It’s not that we didn’t care enough to send you flowers or cards.

Its just that we totally forgot!!

Mother’s Day is celebrated in May in Australia – and it is hyped up to maximum proportions with TV commercials egging everyone to ‘treat mum to a brekkie at McDonalds’ , ‘take mum to KFC for lunch’ and ‘Don’t let mum cook dinner – go and get her a Whopper at Hungry Jacks’

….is it just me, or on Mother’s Day, sitting in a fast food joint with my elbows nestled in the last customers tomato sauce spillage with my feet glued to the floor by various sticky solutions, isn’t my idea of relaxation.

But after being woken excitedly at 5.45am to open three homemade cards with green dried pasta sellotaped furiously into heart shapes; a baked bean tin with a small shrub growing in it and a Dustbuster…

…How could I be so selfish??

So a compromise was met, brekkie at McDonald’s then later in the afternoon, a picnic up in the hills – to watch the sunset over the Glasshouse Mountains.

How romantic…

…it could have been, if  I hadn’t been wiping tomato sauce of my children’s elbows and standing in sticky puddles of our own spilt lemonade.

Never mind – it’s more than my own mum got back in March…. OOPS!

It’s a true story about an overweight Aussie chap who had suffered with skin problems for many years, and wanted to get off medication and just become healthier… or he’d die – in a nutshell.

So he starts a whole new way of eating…. or actually not eating, just juicing.
Juicing only fruit and veg for 60 days – and the results were incredible!

So, out I rushed to Harvey Norman to get…. this!

Next I dropped into ‘the fruit factory’ to get this…..

So for a whole week now I’ve been mixing up broccoli, spinach, beetroot, carrot, pear – you name it, I’ve juiced it.

For Breakfast…

Mean, green raw stuff..

Lunch….

Carrot and apple Coolio...

…and dinner.

Beetroot, parsnip and pineapple Boost

I have to say, after the first couple of days of feeling like my throat had been cut, I now feel fantastic – vibrant and alive…!

The only downside to this super-healthy way to live, is that the invites from friends has slowly decreased…
Could it be that it’s because winter has finally kicked in?

Or it could be because my breath is like fermenting compost….?

… So I signed up for a focus group.

I’ve never really looked into focus groups before, so I had no idea what to expect when I turned up at Channel 7 last week – dressed in full ‘wow-factor’ regalia (make-up/hair done to meticulous standards) in the hope that one of their presenters had explosive diarrhea and an immediate replacement would have to be found.

But – as usual – this wasn’t to be the case.

I met with the other members of the focus group in a lobby, and it was clear that they were my elders by 35-40 years… and – to be totally blunt – probably not the most well kept individuals either.

We were summoned through to a conference room – so we slowly shuffled along in single file behind a Salvation Army regular with her Zimmer frame. I was thankful that she had this, as I was dangerously close to her and  it acted as a barrier from me and her Weetbix stained pullover.

Half an hour into the discussion, a platter arrived with tiny delicate sandwiches wedged tightly together  – and by this time, I was starting  to feel peckish.

Obviously the hardened focus group regulars where ready for this delight and started tucking in immediately.

As the platter edged ever nearer to me, I was horrified to see a hand dive in for the second time – now it wasn’t so much the greed that made me gasp… but rather the fact that this chap had just cleared his back teeth with his index finger, and was fondling the sandwiches with this freshly-wetted finger – complete with excess chewed white bread on his knuckle.

Needless to say I waved the tray on when it got to me.

The rest of the hour passed quickly, and although I made a few comments on relevant topics, for the majority of the time, I really didn’t have a clue what anyone was talking about. Something about AFL…?  Are the commercials breaks too long…? Should we have a special programme about local sport at the weekend..?

All these programmes are the sort that I fast-forward through on time-shift with my recordable DVD player – an item that none of the group had never heard of – but perhaps now will go and buy in the EOFYS?

Oh well, I came out of there $30 richer – yet starving…..

Have a great week.x.

Weird but wonderful

Now you might think I’m going slightly mad, ‘why on earth is she posting a blog on custard apples?’

Well…

When I first arrived in Oz, I hurridly wanted to go out and taste new Aussie foods… as I love trying new and odd stuff, even if it is only once… (Witchetty grubs…. never again….shiver)

So obviously the sound of a ‘custard apple’ was very appealing…. ‘oooh, an apple – that tastes of custard?’ Very Willy Wonker.

But, once I had cut it open and stuck my spoon into it’s flesh, I soon decided that it wasn’t the delight I was expecting – it had an odd texture, that unfortunately made me wretch, somewhat.

I forgot about the poor little custard apple episode, and carried on with life in Oz, without it in my staple diet. Until the other day, when I ran into a wonderful organic foodstore and saw they were once again in season… still tempted by the name, I decided to give them another go.

Now here’s the thing… I did exactly the same as last time, cut it open, stuck in my spoon – only to my amazement it tasted utterly devine. How was that so? Was it that the last one was not ripe? Was it off? Or was it just that my palate had now changed to accommodate these new oddments?

No, it was only when I think back, that I remember I had been pregnant…. and as I tend to suffer with morning sickness, to the point that even breathing in the ‘wrong type of air’ would make me gag, it was little wonder that I couldn’t tolerate a custard apple.

So, now they are in season (March to July) I am going to make sure I make up for the last three years…. I may even bake a pie…  how very mid-west.

One more thing  –  I know they arn’t a native Australian fruit, but they do thrive in sub-tropical climates – so although we may get the odd cylcone, we can also grow our own custard apples!

And believe me, it’s better than snacking on witchetty grubs.

Is it just me - or is this just too weird..?

So, after enjoying a half-strength soy latte and a huge chocolate muffin (couldn’t decide to be healthy or not today) I said goodbye to my friends and headed off to the car park….

….I didn’t expect to trip over a super-long, hairy worm on the way….

On further inspection, it turned out to be about 300 caterpillars!

OK, maybe not 300, but it was a lot… and it was really creepy. It even made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I shuddered slightly.

It wasn’t long before I had enticed a few other people over to prod the hairy little wrigglers… and of course, find out what the hell they were.

“Processionary Caterpillars” - apparently, so I was told –  and as the name suggests they follow each other from nose to tail in a line while they move along in a procession to find Wattle trees, etc to devour.  They can also cause skin irritations to humans – not that I had any inclination to pat them… not everything hairy is cute.

So there you go, what a phenomenon – not something I was expecting to blog about today.. tune in next week to find out how to eat them…

… Yuk, I’m kidding.

I receive many emails from people in the UK, most of them are quite straightforward questions, others are about utterly bizarre stuff, but nevertheless, we normally have fun figuring out the answers together.  But  sometimes I can sense an underlying depth of desperation in the midst of an email, it could be about a relocation question, or it could be on a more personal level.

It’s only when I recognise this, that the feelings I had when I first arrived come up to surface.You may well be living in the most beautiful country in the world (according to me) but when you are experiencing it without your best chums around, it can become a bit flat.

Finding friends is as easy here as it is anywhere, in fact it’s probably much, much easier here than in most countries. Aussies are walkabout folks, so to find one that was born and brought up in one area, isn’t as common as it is in the UK. One of the first questions they ask each other on a first meeting is ‘So, where ya from?’…. so really they could be as alien to an area as you.

So if you were worried you may feel ‘all alone’ let that be reassurance. It’s great to know that there are hundreds of other people, doing exactly what you are doing and feeling how you feel.

Just be aware of making Panic Friends…..

Hit it!

What is a panic friend I hear you cry?  Well, there will be occasions when you meet new people, have a chat, have loads to talk about and arrange to meet up again and swap numbers.  It’s only after inviting them round that you realise you actually have nothing in common with them, apart from that your Auntie lived in the same area as them in Weston-Super-Mare for 7 months in the early ’80′s. Not a good premise for a relationship if that’s all you can talk about.

So before rushing in with mobile phone open to ‘add contact’… take your time, suss people out and then you will undoubtedly meet true, honest to goodness lifetime friends.

'Flying the Flag'

We all had a great day floating about on giant inflatable thongs, watching the fellas lollop about playing beach cricket and breathing in the smell of cooked meat and onions as Jamie Oliver-wannabes sizzled not only sausages but their shoulders in the beating sun.

'A washed up thong'

Yes, Australia is certainly a country that loves to celebrate – and many parents will have even more reason to celebrate tomorrow, as the countries schools re-open their doors to a new school year.

I have to say, I’m not one of those parents… I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the last 6 weeks with my three pals. It’s been a never-ending cycle of snorkeling, bike riding, swimming, boating (round Richard Branson’s island!), beaches, ice-skating (I know!) movie-going and generally larking about.

I suppose I should have taken the kids with me really…?

We’ve had a great summer but now the work really begins – with all three kids at different schools with different start times, and different tastes in lunchbox menus… I’m already looking forward to the next holidays.

I hope wherever you are, you get over to Australia to celebrate – and not just on Australia Day, but everyday in a life Down Under…

Have a great week. x.