Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Sunbury Farmers Market

Firstly I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope you had a lovely day :)


Gatehouse Cafe

The Sunbury Farmers Market is a boutique market held every second Saturday of the month.  Located in the beautiful grounds of Salesian College, it is right next to the Gatehouse Cafe and the historic Rupertswood Mansion.

I went to the November market and was captivated by the gorgeous surroundings and beautiful, fresh produce.  It wasn't the best day weather wise and a regular commented that there weren't as many sellers as usual at this market.  Nevertheless there was still a lot on offer including fruit and vegetables, honey, handmade soap, baked goods and even fresh meat! 

Here are some pictures of the produce which was available on the day.





Fresh greens!  I brought snow peas, kale and spinach which went into a delicious stirfry.


 
 
Delicious smelling soaps - Orange and Cinnamon, Lavender and Rosemary, Frangipani, Mango...

Honey ...
  



I love homemade sauces and relishes and always try to stock up at markets.  Anything with chilli is a favourite! 

Otway Prime meat
And finally bread, baked goods including bagels and cute cupcakes...





The next market is January 13th, 2013.  The address is 1 Macedon Street, Sunbury. 

 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Little Pieces - November 2012

This post is a collection of bits and pieces from the past month.  Some are reviews that for some reason I won't be doing a full post on - usually because I'm not happy with the photos.  Some are things that just took my fancy and I thought might be nice to share.  I hope you enjoy...


I spotted this gorgeous, patient pair outside my local supermarket.  Such beautiful, well behaved puppies!  The car's not bad either! 

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I had dinner with friends at Curry Leaf Cafe Indian restaurant in Elwood. We had a voucher and as they had a number of deals running at the same time there was some confusion as to what we could have but the staff were very nice and accommodating.  Unfortunately my photos didn't come out and these pictures of our entree and naan bread are the best of a bad lot!  The samosas and chicken tikka were very nice.  The naan bread was delicious.  Lovely and flaky.  We also had some curries, rice and dessert. The food was nice - fresh and tasty.  I wouldn't cross town for it but if I lived near by I would definitely go back.


Curry Leaf Cafe on Urbanspoon

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On a recent Saturday I went to the Flemington Market twilight market.  The market is held every month on a Sunday at Flemington racecourse however this was a special twilight event.  Lots of great ideas for Christmas presents and lots of delicious food.


Lovely hand made cards and gift bags
Cute horses looking for a home!

Gorgeous Christmas wreaths



I didn't have a lot of time to explore the market but before I left I did indulge in a snack of Gözleme.  This Turkish pastry is rolled out, filled, folded and cooked - I was impressed by how quickly and efficiently these women were working.  My feta and spinach Gözleme was very tasty.


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Strange name for an Italian restaurant but that is exactly what Supermaxi is!  Located in St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North the interior is modern dominated by a large centre bar.  The lighting is quite dim so sadly a lot of my photos did not work.   We shared a couple of entrees including these gorgeous stuffed olives.  We weren't expecting them to be deep fried but they were crunchy and salty, very moreish and lovely with our crisp sauvignon blanc.

Olives stuffed with fontina cheese and deep fried ($11)



Bread with fruity olive oil for dipping

Polpette di melanzane ($12)

More deep fried goodness - in this case eggplant balls - delicious but a very large, filling entree if you weren't sharing!

Our mains were lovely but alas no pictures!  We had pasta, fish of the day and the crumbed veal cotoletta with coleslaw which was the pick of the evening.  Mains were around the $30 mark.


Chocolate panacotta with raspberry sauce ($13)

We shared dessert.  A deliciously sweet end to a lovely meal.

I liked Supermaxi (except for the dim lighting!).  They also have a range of pizzas on offer which looked great.



Supermaxi on Urbanspoon 
 

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A soothing picture to finish.  I took this picture of the sky at sunset from my balcony.  I love the soft pink and blue fluffiness.