Friday 8 June 2007

Little Foodies Australia and the TIM TAM SLAM

It wasn't difficult to find recipes this week. Australia after all is now noted for its amazing food scene. We could argue that many countries are right there next to them and were there well before, but we wont. For this week we'll allow them pole position. The food and recipes coming out of Australia include influences from cuisines all over the world, particularly Asia, so sometimes it can be familiar, simple, other times complex and new. With labels like fusion food, which often gets called pretentious but really it's not.

The children have loved Australia week, and want to visit again soon. I guess the food is not that different to what we usually eat but they've loved all the details about Australia, the fact we have family there, the different animals, they speak the same but have some very funny slang words, the Aborigine people and their history. I would truly love to take them there for real.

I'll post about the exact food we've eaten over the weekend but I have two books that I referred to a lot this week.

the accidental foodie by Neale Whitaker which includes recipes from both Australian and British chefs & food writers, among the Australians (not necessarily born in Oz or still living there) are Joan Campbell, Bill Granger, Jill Dupleix and Terry Durack, Cherry Ripe, Donna Hay, Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander. This is a very beautiful and cool book, with fabulous pictures and a nice read. Neale's own story makes good reading, alongside his choice of chefs' in the book that he calls his food heroes. Until this week, it had just been a picture book for me. I'd dipped in and out, read a few paragraphs but I will now read the whole thing and I will certainly be cooking more recipes from it. I bought it for £8.00 in our local discount book shop but it's definitely worth the £12.99 that Amazon are currently asking for it, I'd even stick my neck on the line and say it's worth the full RRP of £25.00.

Wholefood by Jude Blereau who co-founded the Earth Market, a wholefood store and cafe in Perth, Australia. She also started the Whole Food Cooking School. The book quotes 'Wholefood celebrates food that has the ability to heal, nourish and delight.' It's a lovely book with a dark plum coloured cover. Inside there are simple recipes and pictures, right through the book it's very muted and calming, you do feel that anything you cook from it is going to be really good for you. So far I haven't, but I will.

For today I wanted to leave you with the Australian delight of Arnott's Chocolate Tim Tams and what you do with them, sometimes referred to as the Tim Tam Slam, among other things.

TIM TAM SLAM
Tim Tams are a chocolate biscuit (a little like Penguins but totally different if you understand). They're made by Arnott's in Australia and the Australians' do a peculiar thing with them. Not sure if it's frowned upon as it's not exactly polite, but my best friend introduced me to the practice fairly recently when she saw them for sale in Sainsbury's and she'd remembered doing it in Australia (You can buy them in Sainsbury's at the moment for £1.39 a packet). If you're not dieting and you have the willpower not to become addicted I urge you to get some and try it.
First make yourself a hot drink. (My choice is coffee). Make sure it's cool enough not to burn you. Bite one corner off each end (alternate corners). Then dip one bitten end in the drink and suck through the other bitten end, as soon as you start to feel the liquid you need to flip the whole thing into your mouth and eat. The taste and sensation is fantastic. As my boys don't drink tea or coffee and I'm not about to encourage them to do so, they did theirs with warm milk. It can make an almighty mess - but great fun! Go on - you know you want to! Makes me feel about 10 years old again - great!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll have to try that Tim Tam Slam when I am finished this diet! You make it sound most wonderful! I wonder would it work with Horlicks or Hot Cocoa? mmm....sounds delicious! Those books look like some pretty good reading!

Kelly-Jane said...

I like to dip choc biscs in hot tea and lick off the melted choc, but I wouldn't do that in public :)

Will have to go and look up the purple book - are the recipes good?

KJxx

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Hi Marie, Yes should definitely give them a go.

Hi Kelly-Jane, Thanks for admitting that! :) The recipes look good but I haven't cooked anything from it so can't say they stand up to the writing. The ISBN is: 1-74045-747-1

Thank you
Amanda

Cottage Smallholder said...

Tim Tam Slam - Danny will love he name let alone the experience. He‘s asleep now but tomorrow I will beetle out and buy a smallish pack of the essential extra ingredient. It will be relished with his morning/afternoon/evening coffee. Thanks for the tip, hopefully he will be doing the hovering on Sunday.

The food scene in Aus is amazing. Some good friends are moving to Aus in the autumn to set up a Deli-Café.

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Hi Cottage Smallholder, How funny.. As you were reading my blog and leaving a comment,I was doing exactly the same thing on yours. Hope you and Danny enjoy them, they're really good fun and very yummy. How exciting for your friends. I hope it goes well for them. Amanda

Truffle said...

When it tastes so wonderful I argue that it's a very acceptable practice although to date only do it at home around close friends and family.

I'm so glad your boys got to experience this vital Australian culinary experience.

Helene said...

When I find them, I just get them because of the name...makes me giddy. Yep, I like saying funny names like that several times a day...relaxes the atmosphere when everybody is too serious.
oh, and I do ehat Kelly-Jane does, and sometimes in public...!

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Hi Truffle, Thankyou. I think we should all do more things like that in public.. They're definitely delicious.

Hi Helen, Certainly does. Good to have words that can lighten the atmostphere. Better still when those words are edible. So glad you go public with the choc biscuit thing. teehee!

Amanda

Cynthia said...

Hey Amanda, all is well with you and the family? Hope you all are enjoying the weekend.

Thanks for the book recommendations.

Culinary Cowgirl said...

Okay, I am off to Sainsburys to find Tim Tam's...

Man, those and Oreos...Sainsburys is trying to do me in!

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Hi Cynthia, We're good though smallest spent the whole of Fri night being sick. All was getting better until this morning I stubbed my toe and thought I'd broken it... aarrrgghh! Hope you're having a good one.

Hi Culinary Cowgirl, Do, just limit yourself to one or two then make sure you don't buy them again for a while. You don't want to undo all your hard work.

Thanks for your comments
Amanda x

Nora B. said...

I think I am the only person in Australia who doesn't like Tim Tams, but that suits my partner just fine - as he would say "more for me!".

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Hi Nora.B, I can't believe you don't like them either. I bet your partner is very pleased... They're definitely on rations in this house.
Thanks for visiting. Amanda

Jann said...

these are wonderful little cookies and there are many varieties to choose from in the grocery~they melt quickly, so if you buy them in the summer, get home fast so the chocolate doesn't get all over everything.....past experience!

Anonymous said...

I have Accidental Foodie too! :) So far all I have made is the pineapple with mint sugar by Jamie Oliver (which is great btw) but the pictures have me tempted to try more soon :)

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Thanks for the tip Jann.

Hi Joey, It's funny I hadn't cooked anything from it but started reading it more doing Australia week and it's such a great book.

Thanks for your comments.

Amanda

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