A History of Meals, Adelaide

On Sunday I visited the Unley Museum to check out the Dig In, Don't Wait and Just My Cup of Tea exhibitions. These exhibitions were about the history of Australian meals, as well as what comes in between. The plaque on the entrance of the exhibition aptly explained the premise of the exhibitions to be viewed by visitors:

What, when and how we eat all reflect our cultural and family traditions as well as our personal taste. They are also influenced by changes in the food industry, new attitudes to health and cultural changes in our society. This exhibition is a look at the history of meals, at what's changed, and what's stayed the same.

The exhibitions offered lots of opportunities for community participation - flaps to be opened, puzzles, blackboards and play dough - lots of things for curious and South Australian foodies, young and old. There were old cookbooks, serving ware and stories from South Australian residents. So here are some highlights from my visit to the Unley Museum, as well as some of the interesting facts I learnt about Australian meals over the last 150 years and the foods' origins.

A table manners themed snakes and ladders board

 

From reading about our culinary past, the British influence was evident. However, there was also stories about native Australian cuisine.

The humble sandwich - named after the Earl of Sandwich in the mid 1700s

Old cookbooks, magazine articles and print advertisements...

I love this old Kellogg's ad :)

Mmm.. yes please!

And nowadays rice is such an important staple in the Australian pantry

Some old work from Women's Weekly

Hrmmm, I'll pass... but recipes like this were common during the Great Depression when everyday Australians simply had to make do and make a meal out of next to nothing. Forget the array of fruit and vegetables we have today! Can you imagine life without peaches? without capsicum? without zucchini?!

Excerpts from the wall of manners with visitors' reflections about table manners written on doilies...

I agree!

Old tea pots and tea caddies. Interestingly, the size of teapots became larger as tea became cheaper. Buying a teapot was a difficult decision for families - it was an important household item and it had to last.

Beautiful antique crockery. It was uncommon to own a complete matching set of fine teacups and saucers - the cost was simply too great. An eclectic mix of cups and saucers was far more common and, interestingly, this is very much in fashion today.

Antique hand-embroidered napery and fine serving ware

Antique silver sugarcube tongs. White sugar cubes were for the elite whereas raw sugar was considered the sweetener for the working class.

 
The Dig In, Don't Wait and Just My Cup of Tea exhibitions offered such an interesting insight into what Australians have been eating over the past 150 years. It was an eye-opening experience, and I couldn't help but walk away feeling very grateful for modern-day Australian cuisine. We are truly blessed with a tremendous variety of quality, readily-available ingredients. And with that, I sat down to a simple cup of tea upon return to my hotel room... and I savoured every drop.

If you have the chance, check out the Unley Museum in Adelaide, South Australia. It's worth a visit!

Unley Museum

80 Edmund Ave, Unley

Mon to Wed, 10am - 4pm

Sun 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Website

Ladybird x

Little Macs (Cheeseburger Macarons)

My pursuit and growing obsession over macarons continues, and this was my third attempt to try and perfect this little french sweet. Upon the advice of my fellow blogger and friend from My Button Cake, I tried the Gourmet Traveller macaron recipe. Seeing as though there are so many macaron recipes, tips and tricks out there, I felt it would be wise to take advice from Amber as she is such a deft hand at macarons.


However, I didn't want to make plain macarons.. I wanted to do something a bit more creative. Watching Masterchef contestants try and recreate Heston Bluemnthal's amazing dishes, I was inspired to create something sweet that looked like a savoury item. I thought a fast food item would be fun to do, so here is a sweet (and very small) take on the Big Mac.

Introducing The Little Mac... (as in 'macaron'!)

The bun
To start making these little macs I made the macarons. I coloured the batter with a little bown and yellow food colour to achieve the bun tone, and then I topped some of them with a sprinkle of sesame seeds before baking. I was reasonably happy with the macarons after baking .. The feet were not quite as high as they could be, so I may have overmixed a little. However, the shell was nice and delicate, and the inside was lovely and squidgy :) Voila - a toasted sesame seed bun!

Burger filling
The patties were made by cutting out circles from readymade chocolate biscuits. For the lettuce and cheese slices, I coloured white fondant with green and yellow food colouring and rolled it out thinly. For the cheese I cut out a neat square, and for the lettuce I cut up a rough circle and frilled the edges roughly with my fingertips for a realistic effect.

The secret sauce
Well, it's not secret anymore ;) I used a white chocolate ganache made by using 1/4 cup pure cream and 150g white chocolate combined in a bowl over a pot of simmering water.

To put the Little Mac together I layered the lettuce, cheese, patty and macaroon shells with a little ganache in between.

These macarons were so much fun to make, and I must say, the likeness to the real thing is humorous :D And if you're more of a cheeseburger than a Big Mac fan.. you could skip the extra layer :)

Have a great weekend, readers!

Ladybird x

A Tuscan Supper

On a cold weeknight, a lovely soup and crunchy bread is so comforting. This easy and delicious combination is my new favourite...

Tuscan white bean and garlic soup with a side of bruschetta

This soup is a delicate and subtly flavoured one, so the punchy bruschetta is a great pairing. Strictly speaking, using tomatoes and basil as part of a cosy winter meal is not very seasonal (quite the faux pas actually), however my fruit and veg shop still has the most amazing tomatoes and basil in stock. How can I resist?!

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup
(a Giada De Laurentis recipe)
2 tsbp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots, chopped
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 sage leaf
4 cups vegetable stock (or chicken if you'd prefer)
4 cloves garlic, halved
1/2 c single/pouring cream
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place a medium, heavy based pot on medium heat and add the butter, olive oil and shallot. Add a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes until softened.
2. Add the sage leaf and beans, and stir to combine.
3. Add the stock and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the garlic and simmer until the garlic is softened, about 10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and fish out the garlic skins and discard. Then puree the soup with a hand-held blender. Be careful not to burn yourself! Transfer to a bowl for this step if you need to.

6. Return to the heat to add the cream and seasoning, then remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

This is how I make my bruschetta. I think there are as many variations as there are cooks! This recipe doesn't include red onion - I am not a big fan of it in bruschetta, but you could always add some if desired :)

Bruschetta

6 ripe roma tomatoes

1/2 c basil, shredded

1 garlic glove, finely chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

3-4 tsp balsamic vinegar, to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper

crusty white Italian-style bread, sliced

4 garlic cloves, halved

1. Score a cross at the base of each tomato and place in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and let sit for 10 seconds. Then transfer to cold water.

2. Remove from water, and peel skin away starting from the cross.

3. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon.

4. Finely dice the flesh, then combine with the finely chopped garlic, extra virgin olive oil, basil, balsamic vinegar and seasoning.

5. Toast the bread and while still hot, rub with the cut side of a garlic clove. Drizzle a little oil over each slice and season with a little salt and pepper.

6. Top with the tomato mixture and serve.

Enjoy :)

Ladybird x