Kakavia or greek fish stew

Sourcing local produce and writing about it has always been the reason for me setting up my blog and because we travelled from Melbourne to Western Australia following the coast (except for a few weeks in the Flinders Rangers ), seafood outlets were accessible in almost every town. Unfortunately because we stupidly left our van unlocked one night, we were robbed while we were asleep, and our laptop was stolen along with my blog and photos. So l have had to start again from Margaret River losing 5 months of blogging.
Expecting big things on the fresh produce side of things, imagine my surprise when l arrived in Margaret River only to be told when asked where l could buy seafood and told "well the supermarket sells it". Luckily since then, a local seafood wholesaler has opened his doors to the public. "Whew". The name of the business is
3degressBlue and there fish is all line caught and sourced form local waters mainly off Augusta, where the Indian and Southern oceans meet.Today when l went there they had a good supply of coral trout, groper, dhu fish, bronze whaler,salmon, oysters, prawns and they even have ready to go containers of seafood chowder (made with dhu fish stock) . So armed with a few fillets of groper and some chowder l headed home to make up a deliciously easy fish stew.

FISH STEW

1 onion chopped
2 sticks celery chopped
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 carton fish stock
1 tin crushed tomatoes or 6 chopped fresh tomatoes
4 potatoes cubed
100mls white wine or verjuice
salt and pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
3/4 cup finely chopped parsley.
1/2 kg fish.
Fry onion garlic and celery in olive oil for 5 mins. add wine and reduce until almost evaporated. Add tomatoes, potatoes and stock and cook for 15 mins. Add fish and gently simmer until cooked, about 15 mins. Add lemon juice,salt and pepper and parsley. l also add 2 teas vegeta and another splash of verjuice just to give it an extra zing. Serve with crusty bread to sop up the lovely sauce.

The Ultimate Flatbread Recipe,

Tim and l are not big bread eaters so l find that buying prepared bread is a waste so this option for us is ideal and l urge you to give it a try. I usually make up a full batch and then pull off portions and freeze them and pull them out as needed. I use these flat breads for all sorts of things such as souvlakis, sprinkle them with grated parmesan to dip in soups, sprinkle with sumac or dukka to use with dips, scramble eggs with some fresh basil and baby spinach and roll up to make breakfast wrap, roasted vegetables and feta roll up and put in sandwich press, so many uses, huh?
 I got this recipe from Stephanie Alexander and its defintely a keeper.

FLAT BREAD
125 grms plain flour
1 1/4 teas salt
 2 teas olive oil
1/3 cup tepid water

Mix all with hands until it comes together, place on floured board and knead for 4 mins. Rest for 30 mins.
Pull off a golf ball size and roll out with rolling pin. I brought a small rolling pin which is easy to store in the van and is perfect for this. You can dry fry these, but l prefer frying them in a little olive oil. Fry each side until lightly bubbled and brown.

For a delicious breakfast using these breads, fry 2 eggs , bacon, tomato and mushrooms, place on flatbread and sprinkle some prepared dukka, a tiny sprinkle of cumin and light sprinkle of lemon juice. salt and pepper.
Let your imagination run wild really. They will be a huge hit.

Cauliflower and Macadamia soup

   Today Tim and l decided that we were sick of cowering away from the dastardly weather and we were going to embrace the howling wind and driving rain and revisit the beautiful rocky coastline and see it in its winter glory. So off to Merchant Rocks we went, considerably more clothed than when we last went there with our friends, De and Stan (who have since done the sensible thing and headed to Broome).  The last time we were there we picnicked on the rocks which sheltered us from the hot sun and intermittently threw in a line and shark spotted for Stan while he was spear fishing. So the contrast was worth experiencing. So wild and raw and of course breathtaking. Merchant Rocks is part of the national park about 20 mins off Caves Road South of Margaret River. There is also a fantastic camp ground there called Conto which is run by National Parks and is available for caravans and campers for a small fee.
By the time we got back to our cosy little van it was time to whip up another tummy warming meal. Leaping out to me from my fridge was the whole cauliflower l brought from the market for only 1 dollar and of course it was begging to be made into a hearty soup. I dont think people realise how easy it is to make a delicious soup with minimum ingredients, but l encourage you to just give it a try. I use pretty much the same recipe and adapt it to any vegetable that takes my fancy, but my main stay is what l call my magic powder, Vegeta stock powder. This stock powder is something l would recommend any traveller take with them, it adds flavour and the special touch to any savoury dish. Anyway l waffle on, so here is my recipe for cauliflower and macadamia soup.

1 whole medium size cauliflower
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic sliced
3 med peeled potatoes chopped
2 tabs vegeta stock powder
2 teas curry powder
100 gms macadamia nuts ( l use salted and roasted ) ground.

In medium pot add a little butter and olive oil. Add onion, garlic and potatoes and fry for a few minutes.

Add cut up cauliflower, curry powder, vegeta and cover with water, Add nuts and simmer for approx 20 mins. Taste at this stage and season to taste or add more curry or vegeta, its up to you really. Remove form stove and use stab blender to turn this into a creamy delicious soup, adding more water if needed.

As l said you can adapt this recipe to other vegetables in season, l love using zucchini by just using the onions potato and vegeta and 1 teas dried chilly flakes and zucchini, so simple, or broccolli soup just omit the chilli, as l said just experiment and see what you can come up with. easy peasy.