Griffith, NSW:

Griffith, the 'capital' of the Riverina region, is known for its food and wine, and these owe a lot to the wave of Italian immigrants who first settled here in the early 20th century. There's a definite Italian accent in many shops such as Bertoldo Pasticceria, Dolce Dolce, a coffee shop also serving Italian desserts and pastries, as well as many other cafes, restaurants, and provedores. The local wine industry and fruit growing which flourished after irrigation using water from the Murrrumbidgee river was also enthusiastically embraced by immigrants and local farmers alike.

La Scala Restaurant in Griffith is the family business of the Vico family. Judging by the clientele and the eager diners that make their way like ants to the honey down the slope (la scala - the step) to a rather nondescript door, you know they are delivering the goods. Jut a whiff of the garlic and baking bread is enough to convince anyone.

It's a popular local place worth locating.

On the edge of town, Pebbles Bed & Breakfast is on the edge of Griffith, beautifully located overlooking a park. The rooms are comfortable and it operates as a true B&B with cooked breakfasts and evening meals on request.

Gorges of the Ardèche:

One of the most breathtaking drives to take in France is of the Gorges du Ardeche. The Ardèche is a tributary of the Rhone river and it runs for 125 kilometres from high in the Massif Central. For thirty kilometres it loops along threading between massive cliffs and it is here that it is at its scenic best. 

From the various viewpoints along the way, called belvédères (beautiful views) up to 350 metres above the water, the Ardèche river looks benign enough. Occasionally groups of kayaks are pulled up on sandy spits far below and people, hardly more than bright dots from this altitude, relax beside them in the sunshine.

It is beloved by kayakers, campers and tourists alike and is much photographed as you would expect. This is one of France’s fastest-flowing rivers, said to be safer in May and June, but not to be trifled with in autumn when it can turn nasty without warning. The river is wide and lazy in many parts, though in places there are much-appreciated whitewater rafting possibilities too.

Motorbike riders come for the thrills of the curving road and the places where they can met and look at the views too. It’s inevitable really, as those swooping curves are made for two wheels, especially when powered by high-powered engines and fearless riders.

Vallon-Pont-d’Arc is the natural setting-off point for both road and river trips. At the head of a gorge, the Pont d’Arc is truly amazing, a complete limestone arch, a natural bridge 65 metres above the bottle-green water, making it 16 metres higher than the base of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Garlic:

Garlic , or rather the lack of it, caused the first strike in history. It is said that slaves building the pyramids downed tools after the garlic ran out. The workers were said to have eaten it for strength, and no doubt felt the job was too heavy without it. Egyptian papyri list twenty-two prescriptions using garlic and Pliny, in first-century Rome, prescribed it for sixty-one maladies.

Around the same time in India it was thought to prevent heart disease and rheumatism, Mohammed believed that it cured snakebite, and by Shakespeare's time it had graduated to being regarded as an aphrodisiac. Much later, in World War II, it was used medicinally as an antiseptic on wounds. The ancient Greeks believed that it would neutralise the effects of foul air and indeed used it as their military food although, strangely, garlic eaters were banned from the main temples.

Read more...

Ginger:

(Buderim Ginger)

Ginger, sometimes called fresh, green or root ginger, was once used in half of all Oriental prescriptions. Indians eat it fresh to treat whooping cough, Africans drink the juice to feel romantic, but PNG ladies use it for the opposite effect – to prevent pregnancies. More recently ginger has been found helpful in preventing travel sickness, aiding digestion and, as a stimulant, it has been used in veterinary medicines.

In cookery, the fresh tart lemon flavour adds interest to many dishes such as Asian stirfries to Thai and Indian curries. Fresh ginger is widely available in markets and can be stored as you would garlic. It may be frozen and to use, just run a piece under hot water to loosen the skin which will then peel off easily. The skin also separates simply if you grate a piece of ginger using an old fashioned metal grater. Somehow the skin falls to one side and the grated flesh to the other.

Bottled minced ginger is available but must be kept refrigerated once opened. The Chinese have preserved ginger for centuries and from them crystallised and glace ginger entered British cookery some time ago. Many desserts, cakes and biscuits call for chopped or ground ginger which has a much hotter but less fragrant flavour than the fresh.

Ginger is grown and processed in Australia, at Buderim, Queensland. Read more...

Guava:

Guavas are related to eucalypts. And there the similarity ends. The thin skinned fruit can pucker your mouth if it is not quite ripe but it delivers vitamin C with a punch – 7 times the daily quota in a 100g serving – as well as vitamin A. The juice is a great mixer with other fruit juices – apple, pear, tropical juices – or you can serve the whole fruit fresh to scoop out with a teaspoon, with cheese, poached lightly, or pureed and frozen in sorbets and icecreams. Its quince-like gritty flesh and seeds may not be liked by everyone, but it does have a delicious fragrance and a very exotic almost-strawberry flavour. Read more about Brazilian guava paste....