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Tastes of Wide Bay-Burnett… In My Kitchen September 2016

We have recently come back from a short holiday in Bargara, a coastal town outside Bundaberg. Bargara is just over 4 hours north of Brisbane and the drive takes you through the communities of the Wide Bay-Burnett Region of Queensland.  The red volcanic soil means is perfect for growing  a wide variety of produce. This month In My Kitchen, I am sharing some of the wonderful goodies I brought back from the road trip.

In my September kitchen…

A pile of sweet potatoes from Wide Bay-Burnett

…are sweet potatoes. I bought these on the drive between Bargara and Bundaberg. Two dollars a bag. We have always eaten a lot of sweet potato in our house. I prefer the texture to pumpkin. Most nights we chop a potato in wedges or rounds and bake it for 20 minutes with a sprinkle of salt, whilst dinner is being prepared. Having said that, this is quite a lot of sweet potato so I recently made a batch of sweet potato and blueberry muffins. The sweet potato added moisture and reduced the amount of sugar and fat in the batter. Here is the recipe for Sweet Potato Muffins w Blueberries.

 

In my kitchen…

A pile of zucchini from Wide Bay-Burnett

…are zucchini. Zucchini thrives around Bundaberg. I bought a huge bag from a roadside stall for $2. These are the zucchini that are too big, too small or too ugly to make it to supermarkets. I really love zucchini and over the years have even managed to beat Mr Tiffin into grudging acceptance. Many of these went into zucchini bakes, zucchini and pumpkin bread and dried zucchini chips. I also made a batch of these Baked Zucchini Fritters. Still, there were far too many for us to use so some of these were gifted to my mum.

 

In my kitchen…

A pile of slimes from Wide Bay-Burnett

…there are limes. These little citrus bombs can cost a fortune so I, like most of you, always grab a bag of them when they are plentiful and cheap. Perfect in a spring cocktail or my Fragrant Coconut Lime & Rosemary Syrup Cake.

 

In my kitchen…

A pile of new potatoes from Wide Bay-Burnett

…are Wide Bay-Burnett new season potatoes. We don’t eat a lot of potato at TIFFIN HQ. It’s not that we’re anti potato. It’s more that we are so used to cooking up sweet potato every other night that plain potatoes just languish in the bottom of the basket. Still, I couldn’t resist these. The woman who sold them to me was so friendly and even wished us a safe journey as we left. Country charm. I made a huge batch of new potato salad with mustard, mayo and vinegar in the dressing. I’ll be posting the recipe soon. With the rest, I’m likely to steam a couple every night to have with our meal, split with some butter and seasoning.

 

In my kitchen…

jars of zucchini pickles from wide bay-burnett region

…are zucchini pickles. I told you how much I love zucchini and I have to tell you that these pickles are the best I’ve ever had. We met lychee farmers, the Pool family, last year at the Good Food & Wine Show. I told them that I loved lychees and John told me ‘you and two other people in Australia’. It appears that Australian lychees are not to everyone’s tastes so the Pools have had to diversify into lychee related products including vinegars, liqueurs and sauces. We bought up big and were not disappointed. I made sure that on this road trip we stopped into ‘Lychee Divine’ at the Visitor Information Centre on the highway at Tinana, just outside of Maryborough. After buying Lychee Coconut and Lychee Macadamia ice creams, I bought three of these little beauties, to tide me over for a while at least. If you’re in Queensland, you may see Tomarata or Lychee Divine at The Ekka and the GF&WS. Make sure you stop by and sample their wares and support a Wide Bay-Burnett farmer.

 

In my kitchen…

local wine and beers from the wide-bay burnett region

…are some local tipples. As part of a Plate To Paddock day, we had the opportunity to sample some preservative free wine from Hill of Promise Winery and a range of beers from the Bargara Brewing Co. Whilst I’m not a beer drinker in any way shape or form, I can report that Bargara Brewery also do a dry apple cider and a Ginja Ninja ginger beer using local ginger. By some curious quirk of fate, Bundaberg is famous for its beverages, being home to both Bundaberg Rum & Bundaberg Ginger Beer. It seems Bargara Brewing, which is in fact in the CBD of Bundaberg  is making its mark.

So as you can see, there is plenty on offer for the foodie in the Wide Bay-Burnett region. Thanks heavens we only went for a week as the car was groaning under all the bounty we came back with.

In My Kitchen is hosted by Maureen from The Orgasmic Chef. It’s a link up of cooks from around the world who share what’s happening in their own kitchen’s. Make sure you jump onto Maureen’s blog to have a look at who else is participating this month.

14 comments… add one
  • Amanda September 4, 2016, 9:26 am

    I love potatoes and sweet potatoes especially. I can’t wait for your muffin recipe – sweet potato in cake sounds like my idea of heaven.

  • Jan Rhoades September 5, 2016, 8:37 am

    We loved our recent trip to Bundaberg too. Dd your local tipples include some Bundaberg Ginger Beer and/or some Bundy rum? Ours certainly did.
    And a must for me on that road trip is some Mammino ice cream from Childers. Either at their roadside shop near the park in the main street or at their premises a few kilometres off the main highway. An icecream to die for and I love their boysenberry the best.

    • Fiona Ryan September 6, 2016, 11:33 am

      No, we didn’t have either of the Bundys on this trip as they are the drinks of choice at home anyway. Yes, we had Mammino. Delish!

  • Lizzy September 6, 2016, 12:24 pm

    I love those roadside farms and stalls in Qld. And the produce is always so fresh! Great post, Fiona.

    • Fiona Ryan September 6, 2016, 5:19 pm

      Thanks Liz – who doesn’t love a roadside stall bargain?!

  • Shari from GoodFoodWeek September 6, 2016, 4:30 pm

    What awesome things in your kitchen this month from your travels. I’m so excited when I come across another IMK post – I am missing the link up big time {and at 36 weeks pregnant, I keep forgetting where all the people who post in the link up are from}.

    • Fiona Ryan September 6, 2016, 5:55 pm

      36 weeks Shari. Oh my! Where has that time gone. Yes, I am not good at remembering who to visit so hopefully it will be up and running soon!

  • Terrance Byrne September 7, 2016, 2:06 pm

    Hi Fiona, in your plate to paddock you mention our winery at Childers and had “Lark”
    Hill Winery, it is Hill of Promise Winery, could you possible correct it for us.

    Terrance

    • Fiona Ryan September 8, 2016, 3:25 pm

      Sorry for that Terrance – I have corrected it. Thanks for coming along and sharing your wine with us.

  • Lisa September 11, 2016, 2:43 pm

    I love fresh produce. I’m a big sweet potato fan too… so I can’t wait for your muffins to make an appearance! I like the look of those zucchini pickles 🙂

    • Fiona Ryan September 28, 2016, 4:17 pm

      Hi Lisa – the muffin recipe will be on the blog next week (8/10). We’ve almost finished a jar of those pickles!

  • Tandy | Lavender and Lime September 19, 2016, 5:27 pm

    great peek into your kitchen this month!

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