In previous story I highlight an interesting food find at the Harbourside Farmers Market in Coffs Harbour.  It was a brand of condiments, sauces, spices and seasonings which uses Australian Native Produce to create a unique taste of Australia.  The range is called Bakarindi and all the ingredients are grown in the Coffs Harbour area. I purchased a few products on that day, one of which was the Lemon Myrtle Seasoning. 

I love the smell of Lemon Myrtle, it has a strong lemony aroma with a hint of Eucalypt. I have these trees growing in my garden and I will often put a dried leaf (folded) in my tea for an extra flavour. I had never really considered the seasoning value of the leaves beyond my tea enhancement until I came across the Bakarindi range.

The ingredients in the Lemon Myrtle Seasoning are salt, lemon myrtle, chilli and garlic, all of which are dried and ground into a fine powder. The most obvious recipient of such a spice is seafood so I decided to try a Lemon Myrtle Seafood Salad.  I am also told it is a great seasoning for chicken.  I would be tempted to add a little cream to the pan after cooking the chicken to make a lemon myrtle sauce with the residual spice.

Keep and eye out for Lemon Myrtle Seasoning or lemon myrtle leaves for cooking it adds a very “Australia Summer” flavour to food.

Ingredients:

200gm Ling Fillets Cubed

200gm green prawn

1 T/s garlic infused Olive Oil

Cos Lettuce

1 bunch coriander chopped

1 cucumber (sliced finely)

½ small red onion (sliced finely)

½ avocado

½ lemon sliced

10gm Lemon Myrtle seasoning

Caesar Salad dressing to taste

Method:

Place seafood in a plastic bag with seasoning and toss to coat. 

Lay salad greens on a platter.

Cook seafood in oil briefly until just cooked. Lay seafood over the greens. Add sliced avocado to the salad and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve with a Caesar salad dressing and a squeeze of lemon.

This was a delicious light meal full of flavour. We had some toasted ciabatta bread and melted gorgonzola with the salad for a lovely decadent meal which was on the table in no time at all.

After my lovely “High Tea” experience at Rendezvous, I went in search of some more interesting tea blends. I was pleased to find we have a local distributor of some beautiful, premium quality loose leaf teas and herbal infusions. These teas have been sourced from all over the world, and the range of blends is amazing.  They also offer delightful tea accessories and tea gift packs.

I had been looking for something similar to the Madagascar Vanilla blend that was served at my high tea and I found it immediately in the Tea People’s Vanilla blend.

I smelled and sampled a few more different blends and I couldn't resist the Lady Grey with the beautiful violet petals.  I also purchsed the Rainforest Magic blend, which I find has a very refreshing herbal feel with the hibiscus and orange, but it still has the kick you get from a black tea.

Mr GG likes his green tea but I am sorry to say he completely missed out this time.  With all the gorgeous sounding blends I was completely overwhelmed, he will have to come with me to the growers market on Thursday to sample a few. I am also a little curious about the licorice and mint herbal tea blend… although knowing me, I will probably stick with my usual chamomile or berry blend.

All the blends are available to order online, and are being served locally at “The Happy Frog” so you can try before you buy. Have a look at the “Tea People” website for more information. 

The Tea People are also available for High Tea functions phone 0417 211 366