What’s in the box 2/3 February

Hi folks, I’m back from my break and the link to the contents for this week is here.

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you will have caught up with the trials and tribulations of ridiculously busy seaside holiday towns, flooded polocrosse fields and very big tractors and, finally, a blissful week of all things food-related in Melbourne.  I am trying quite hard to get back into the swing of things but, as I sit here trying to compose sensible words about fresh, healthy vegetables, my attention is being distracted by the magnificent salted caramel macaron I brought home from Stephen ter Host Chocolatier as a reward for diligence.  If you are interested in looking at this or some of his other morsels of magnificence, look at the photo’s I posted here, while I do my very best to earn the right to eat it!

I suspect that we have all been very grateful this week for the brilliant salad vegetables in our boxes – I don’t know about the rest of you, but salads have taken pride of place on our table as I desperately seek a way to avoid heating up the kitchen.   Last nights meal here was a Waldorf salad, with the addition of a bunch of grapes that were languishing in the fridge, and Spinach and Ricotta pasties which are very quickly  put together with the aid of frozen puff pastry.

If you are looking for a new way to tart up the cucumbers a bit, try this idea.  It is pretty basic and a rough guide only – you can really make up the proportions as you go.

Cucumber and Orange Salad

I cucumber, sliced lengthways, seeded and sliced
1 orange, remove peel and pith and slice into segments
4 spring onions, chopped
chopped fresh mint (about 2-3 tablespoons)

Toss the above ingredients together and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
Season with salt and pepper.
Garnish with a handful of black olives, pitted and halved.

For dessert, why not try out my very favourite cake – Plum Upside-down Cake.  We love it with a big, fat dollop of the local Tweedvale cream – look around for it, you will be glad you did.

Can I have my macaron now?

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