The Hungry Australian

Last November I was lucky to attend the second Australian Food Bloggers Conference in Sydney – see my write up here. This invite-only event was a fantastic way to glean blogging tips and advice from the experts and meet food bloggers from all over Australia.

Although I was a new food blogger at the time, I remember the thrill of being in a room full of people taking photos of food, and talking about all the issues that come up when you embark on a food blogging journey.

The sense of camaraderie was wonderful and I made many friends who I’ve continued to stay in touch with. We share tips and advice,  feedback on each other’s work and provide support and encouragement. I also knew just who to call for advice when I started getting approached to sell my photographs and when sponsorship and advertising opportunities presented themselves.

Back in Adelaide, I was aware of a number of other food blogs but there was no sense of community as I had experienced in Sydney. So after chatting to a number of Adelaide food bloggers online and organising a couple of meetups I decided to set up the Adelaide Food Bloggers Group on Facebook. Here members post details of meetups, food news and food events and share tips and advice.

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Silky Chinese Chicken was inspired by a dish my dad once made when I was still living at home. I made it recently for our Chinese New Year family dinner and it was received with surprise and delight.

Well, to be perfectly frank, what my dad said was,”this is actually quite good” in tones of sheer amazement.

Being an Australian Born Chinese or ABC, my response to his lukewarm praise was, “well, thanks a lot, Dad. Glad I could make something edible for you.”

Dad laughed and explained that he had to temper his praise because I’m his daughter. To the Chinese way of thinking, it would have been unseemly to praise me too much.

So him saying, “this is actually quite good” could be translated to mean, “wow, this is sensational! You’re a rockstar!” in Western terms.

Lessons in cultural differences aside, Silky Chinese Chicken dish is delicious and very easy to make. You poach a chicken gently until it is moist and succulent. Then you simply spoon over a sauce made from oyster sauce, chicken stock, soya sauce and sugar before garnishing with sauteed onions, deep-fried shallots and fresh coriander. And that’s it. Too easy.

This is Chinese comfort food, but comfort food that could equally hold its own as part of a dinner party menu. Serve it with plain rice and fried Asian greens for a simple, everyday feast.

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I adore figs.

I love their colour, their flavour, and their texture. I die for their sensual shape and the way their demure green and purple exterior splits open to reveal a striking red and gold centre.

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I don’t believe in love at first sight.

Lust at first sight? Certainly.

But love at first sight? No.

How can you fall in love with someone from across the room?  You may think he or she is absolutely stunning, but you don’t really know him or her. You’re in love with a vision, not a real person.

Love at first bite, on the other hand, is a no-brainer.

We’ve all experienced the heart-stopping moment when our teeth sink into a new dish and our taste buds do the equivalent of a foot-stompin’, hip-gyrating happy dance in our mouth.

So I am extremely excited that this month’s Sweet Adventures dessert-themed bloghop, is Love at First Bite, hosted by Nic from Dining With a Stud!

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My children love ice cream. In this hot weather, they’re having it at least once a day, usually twice, and sometimes even before breakfast. (Shhh! Don’t tell grandma!)

So I was thrilled to discover a great recipe for healthy ice cream by the lovely JJ from 84th & 3rd. JJ made a Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream for our recent Death by Chocolate bloghop, made of only bananas, avocado, chocolate and maple syrup. I made it the other day and was amazed by how good it tasted. It wasn’t exactly ice cream but it was a damn fine substitute and one I’d be happy to eat any day of the week. And I wasn’t alone in liking it either – my kids absolutely loved it.

So today when I spotted some lovely strawberries at my greengrocer I decided to make a strawberry version. I only had half an avocado in the fridge so it ended up being midway between a sorbet and an ice cream.

This Strawberry Sorbet is refreshing, delicious and very pretty. It’s healthy, too – it’s literally only fruit with a couple of spoonfuls of jam added. You could even omit the jam if you wanted it to be completely sugar-free.

Best of all, it’s a cinch to make. So I can give this healthy, homemade snack to my children once or twice a day feeling quietly satisfied with myself rather than guilty.

Gotta love that.

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