Loving Cafes that are Mixing Things Up!

My favourite meal of the day would have to be breakfast, but not too early! The great thing about 'brekky' is that it can be savoury or sweet, just depending on your mood. No other meal gets away with having such a great choice of 'mains' that satisfy either way you feel.

My new favourite spot is Pope Joan, a cafe born in a rather uninspiring area of Nicholson Street in East Brunswick. When I've mentioned to people where it's location is at, they look at me rather quizzical as there's not much around. In fact, there's an ironworks place next door so you could be forgiven for missing it.

I dined there again the other day (for brekky - but at 12 midday - c'mon, it was Sunday!!!) and was pleasantly surprised to see something completely different on the plate of my dining companion. When I enquired as to what it was, I had to ask twice and even verify the spelling with a return phone call the next day. Have you ever heard of purslane?

No, neither had I so I did what we now all take for granted - I 'googled' it.

Purslane is an annual succulent from the Portulacaceae family. I remember having Portulaca growing in my garden at home when I was young. And I was even more surprised (morphic resonance some would call it) when I walked past a garden bed at the back of my work building and noticed purslane growing almost as a weed in between some of the larger plants.

Purslane can be used fresh as a salad base, stir fried, or cooked like spinach, and because of its thickening quality it is also suitable for soups and stews. In fact, Australian Aborigines use the seeds in their own food preparation. On the other side of the world, Greeks fry the leaves and stems and mix them up with feta cheese, tomato, onion, garlic, oregano and olive oil. YUM!

Pope Joan had it as an added extra in their scrambled eggs dish, mixing it up with feta, tomatoes and something else that was green (can't remember). I nibbled on a bit on its own to see what the flavour was like, and it was quite fresh on the palate. Enough for me to check things out further and discover that purslane contains more omega-3 fatty acids (normally found prominently in fish and flax seeds) than any other leafy vegetable plant! Wow! It also contains vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B and carotenoids along with magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron.

That's enough........go and get yourself some purslane from your local nursery and include a pot in your herb/vegie patch. You can go wrong.

Dining Subversively....

It is not often that we can commit to something a year in advance. Life is busy, things get in the way. Often we don't know where we are going to be one week from the next.

And yet, a year ago I knew that on the first weekend of March in 2011, I would be sitting under the most majestic of fig trees on the Mornington Peninsula, enjoying a wonderful afternoon of food and wine. Not a bad thing to commit to, me thinks!

After a week of not so great weather - us Melburnians thought autumn had well and truly arrived - the weekend started with absolute pomp: blue skies from horizon to horizon and the opportunity of enjoying the last of the summer sun was beckoning.

Heronswood at Dromana was our destination, a fabulous home (c. 1871) and stunning garden with so much history and grandeur. The owners of the property open their private garden once a year to host two lunches in conjunction with the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. And it's a lunch about returning to the origins when quality, flavour, locality and seasonality counted for so much.

What better way to start the occasion with a refreshing drink on the lawn under the stunning desert ash. Champagne charged with cloves and spiced cherries - deliciously aromatic, or perhaps gently crushed lemon mint and strawberries in lemonade. Oh so refreshing...

After a stroll around one of the property's vegetable gardens, it was time to indulge in an afternoon of local produce, as dishes designed for sharing, were presented across the tables. What would come next, we all wondered, as wait staff disappeared then reappeared with more platters of delights.

From local marinaded olives, home pickled cucumbers, gorgeous, plump mussels farmed 'just up the road' through to roasted vegetables, golden beets, plain, simple vine ripened tomatoes and figs with pancetta, this was 'antipasto' at its best. A loaf of bread was passed around the table as we each took turns at tearing a piece - very medieval indeed but any other way seemed inappropriate!

The introduction of a warm zucchini and goats cheese tart changed the complexity of our palates and prepared us for the amazing lamb that was about to follow. Slow cooked for over two hours, the shoulder cut of meat had been drenched in homemade tomato jam and the flavours had worked their way through the meat perfectly. Served on a bed of creamy mash with the most incredible side of blanched beans, we were all in the comfort food zone. Remember, this was as much about the quality of the ingredients as it was about the cooking!

Some time out now, as we heard from Rita Erlich, a prominent food writer, cook and traveller, who encouraged us to 'do this every weekend!' That wholesome activity of enjoying quality food (and wine) in the company of good people is not a hard thing to achieve. Also understanding where our food comes from allows us to appreciate what we eat, and when we eat it too.

Now, back to the food....

Dessert wasn't far away and an old fashioned serving of baked quince with a modern twist of lavender and honey icecream really did cap of the most marvellous of meals.

This feast was as much about the producers as it was about the produce. Can I make it three years in a row???