Going Green in Australia

A lovely warm cup of organic green tea, with Australian native ingredient lemon myrtle, keeps me warm tonight. I sit outside in the garden with a refreshing bit of wind cooling down the air that has been hot and steamy today. It actually still is about 18 degrees, but after the 30 degrees earlier today it feels cool... refreshing... very pleasant!

I has been a long time since I actually sat down behind my laptop to write down some thoughts about life in Australia or new discoveries about food and eco-gastronomy in the big land Down Under. This is not to say that food and sustainability is no longer part of my life. Quite the opposite really! Every day the Drover and I try to make the best choices in our food consumption and especially the Drover dedicates quite a few hours of the week to our beautiful organic veggie garden. Spring is in full swing and potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, and much much more is growing like crazy.

I can't wait for the day that I can eat the first fresh tomato out of our own garden, combined with some Australian made buffalo mozzarella and basil leaves from our veggie patch, for a delicious insalata caprese. I get very excited every day I see the potato plants grow and think back of the first time I grew potatoes in my Mum's garden and the satisfaction I felt when I harvested the first lot of piepers... There certainly is nothing more satisfying than growing your own food and while cooking just walking into the garden for some fresh salad leaves, herbs, lovely veg and maybe even an apricot or two!

A morning in Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide - Torrens Island

I don't know what it is about ports, but for some reason I always really like them. Whether it is a small port where you mainly see small fishers boats or one of the biggest ports in the world (Rotterdam) full of container ships, there is a certain thing in the air that attracts me. Is it the feeling of being in a place where long journeys begin? Is it the feeling of being connected to the rest of the world, through boats and ships that bring goods from destinations far away? Or is it the smell of the water, the fresh fish and the sound of the birds that are flying around? Whatever it is, my joy of walking around a port was being confirmed again last Sunday, when the Drover and I spent a morning in Port Adelaide. This port is officially established in 1840, which was only four years after the foundation of the state of South Australia in 1836 - back in the colonial times.

Fish straight from the fishers boat at the Torrens Island Market

We started our journey by visiting the Torrens Island Market, a great little outdoor market with fresh produce from local farmers that attracts a very multicultural crowd of people. Although not all the produce seemed to be of the highest quality, the prices were incredible. I felt as if for a moment I was back in Italy on a local market, with the possibility to get a full bag of veggie goodness for not so much. We were a bit lazy in the morning so we were not the earliest visitors, and the quality of the produce that we saw was very mixed. But I strongly believe that if you make it to this market early (6am) you can get a lot of good stuff for your precious dollars!

The Adelaide Central Market - a South Australian food hub

In the middle of the Central Business District (CBD) of Adelaide there is an amazing place to visit. It is surrounded by China Town and restaurants serving food from all corners of the world. It is THE place to be for the best fruit of the season, the freshest fish and meat, the greatest range of veggies, the most delicious cheeses, freshly baked breads and cakes and every other special ingredient that you could possibly need for your dinner party or daily home-cooked meal. I am talking about the Adelaide Central Market, a 'South Australian icon with 140 years of experience and more than 80 stalls under one roof' (Adelaide Central Market).

The Drover told me about this great market when he was with me in the Netherlands, shortly after we met in the autumn of 2010. He had just been traveling through Europe for quite a few months and was almost ready to go back home to Australia. One of the things that he was looking forward to back home, was the possibility to go and do his shopping at the Central Market again where he would be able to find all the best quality food products in one place. Having heard many good stories about this covered market, I went to check it out soon after I arrived in Adelaide last year...