Foodies’ Diary
Image: Last week I wrote about the American ice-cream I won’t be buying this summer, so this week I thought I’d include some information about the Australian ice cream that I do put in my freezer.
Aussie Ice Cream
Last week I wrote about the American ice-cream I won’t be buying this summer, so this week I thought I’d include some information about the Australian ice cream that I do put in my freezer. Gundowring was set up Sarah and Stephen Crooke in 2003 by after thirty odd years in the milking business. They were after a new challenge – something that added value to the milk from their herd of Holstein Friesians. We’re very lucky they chose to make a multi-award winning ice cream using the best regional and seasonal ingredients, plus a few imported ones when quality dictates it, like vanilla from Madagascar and Callebaut chocolate from Belgium.
Their son James Crooke also works in the business. He had this to say: “Buy Australian campaigns are not new. But consumer commitment to buying local food is certainly growing, a conscious choice definitely boosted by our country of origin food labelling laws and the advent of farmers’ markets… Buying a tub of freshly churned, award-winning Gundowring Toasted Honey & Walnut Ice Cream made from rich decadently creamy milk from our Holstein herd and local ingredients sourced from neighbouring farms can be a very delicious, simple way for shoppers to take a stand – and support Australian artisan producers.”
So if you’re looking for an alternative to the traditional hot Christmas desserts, support a farmer by grabbing a tub of Gundowring Christmas Plum Pudding Ice Cream or their decadent Brandy Custard Ice Cream, churned especially for the holidays.
www.gundowringfinefoods.com.au
Please With Cheese
Two businesses I am fond of – McIntosh and Bowman Cheesemongers and The Ultimo Wine Centre – have teamed up this year to create some deluxe hampers for the hard-to-please cheese, wine and beer lovers out there. They’re not cheap, but the products they contain are high quality. As well as all the tempting palate pleasers, each hamper also has a ‘cheese experience’ gift voucher. Get in quick, you must order by Friday 18th December, 2009 at: www.mcintoshandbowman.com
Stocking Fillers
Pastilla Nash, the company behind one of my favourite cheese companions (the Pastilla Nash Prune & Walnut Log) have come up with the perfect adult stocking filler. Packaged in a super cute handbag, and hand-made using fresh Australian hazelnuts and organic sugar plums, the individually wrapped Pastilla Nash Sugar Plum & Hazelnut Bonbons (RRP $13.50) are a grown-up pleasure that Jan Nash promises “will be love at first bite.” After demolishing my own beautifully wrapped handbag, I can agree – they’d suit coffee, cheese or a lovely pink champagne – or just ho ho hoe into them whilst you unwrap gifts on Christmas Day.
www.pastillanash.com
Sustain Me
I’m including Terry Walters’s new book Clean Food (RRP $49.99) in my column because of her focus on sustainable eating, buying local produce and eating seasonally appropriate food that is nutritionally balanced. The two hundred odd recipes inside are vegan, including Corn Chowder without “all the heavy cream and butter” and a lot of great raw food recipes. The only hiccups for an Australian readership are a few imperial measurements and some impossible-to-find American ingredients like collard greens – that said, it just won Best Vegetarian Cuisine Book for the USA from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
