The last market of Winter! Plus a broth recipe, wallaby converts, and farmer chats.
We love seasons at Harvest. Sure, Winter has many redeeming features, although this one may have been tougher than most. This means we’re taking particular joy in Winter’s theoretical passing after this week. There will be the inevitable cold snap in November, and that is a real threat to our stonefruit growers. We really don’t want frost destroying those early buds. Of course, Spring has its foibles too, but we’re keen as to get stuck in.
This week at Harvest
We’re super pleased to report plenty of lasts to you this week. It’s the last week that Sweet Wheat will be away. The same goes for Plants Direct and TNGT. It’s the last weekend in August, which means that Fork it Farm will be on site too. The delicious healthy goodness of KimchiMe will be available for your enjoyment, as well as the crumbly goodness of Shelduck Farm. Cake of Peace are returning from a little break, and Takin’ it Home are doing the same. Speaking of little breaks though, this will be the first of a three-week break for Sal and Wanderlust. She’s travelling the Greek Isles, so while we will miss her, for sure we can share her joy!
Plus for the last time (only for now though, not last ever) we offer a full honour guard to our weekly pillars. The amazing stallholders who held fast through Winter’s gloom. The bread, eggs, cheese and dairy, honey, sweet treats, beers, juice, meats, fish and veg, greens and herbs that are the backbone of our market during the colder times. We salute them, and you support them. For this, we’re ever grateful.
Broth for the win
If you’ve ever had a plan for dinner, but rocked up to the market an hour late and a buck short to find those dinner plans shredded like iceberg because all your ingredients have sold out, this recipe is for you. What was supposed to be a roast with all the trimmings turned into something else entirely. So, we’re titling this recipe ‘Go Asian or, how some osso bucco and bok choy rescued dinner’.
Most people who’ve ever cooked anything at all will have some kecap manis, soy, and sesame oil kicking around in the cupboard. An old onion withering on the bench? That’s in. A sad carrot in the bottom of the crisper? That’s definitely in. Fish around in the back of the spice rack and we’re willing to bet you’ll come up with some clove, cinnamon and star anise as well. Dig out the freezer, lo and behold there is a long-lost piece of ginger too. Sear off that osso bucco good and proper, you can’t overcook it, and stick it in a pot with the spices and ginger, cover it with water, put it on simmer and forget about it for four hours. What have you got? A perfect base for a myriad of Asian brothy, noodly goodness.
Strain off and reserve that stock. Shred the meat (don’t forget the marrow!), and return it to the pot with the stock. Season with your soy and sesame. Now you’re ready to finish off whatever brand of noodle dish you’ve decided to go for.
We went in a Pho-type direction. We added wide rice noodles, the bok choy and some mustard greens. Faux pho. We’re talking about kaffir lime, Vietnamese mint and plenty of chopped chilli. Since we were, ahem, fortunate enough to have a couple of wallaby fillets going spare, these got seared and sliced and served on top. Dinner went from 100 to zero and back to 110. Whether you’ve dinner plans or not, we can’t encourage you enough to give something like this a go with Harvest produce.
Wallaby converts and farmer chats
A huge thanks to everyone who engaged with our first Welcome to Kanamaluka session. The engagement that Brett, Geoff and the bbq wallaby received was excellent and most encouraging. Even some people who previously hadn’t tried or particularly enjoyed wallaby, took the time to tell us how much they enjoyed it and would replicate it. This is music to our ears, so you expect more cooking at these events. Bringing people together over food is something that truly warms our hearts at Harvest, and we think Welcome to Kanamaluka definitely achieved that.
Lastly, the best thing about the coming of Spring and the machinations that brings is the opportunity to catch up with all the farmers and seasonal producers who are coming up. The opportunity to catch up, check in and hear about their endless goings-on is one of the real joys of this job. We learn things, we feel things, and we get excited and invested in their lives and activities. We know full well that our patrons at Harvest are hanging to see what they have in store for the season, and letting these farmers know that, and how much we’re looking forward to seeing them is truly special.
That’s it for today. The hazy shade of winter is lifting. Thank goodness!
See you tomorrow 🙂