tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post1016412259637268984..comments2023-09-29T18:37:14.377+10:00Comments on Eight Acres: Book review - The Third PlateUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-9659928417121382022015-08-25T12:16:24.427+10:002015-08-25T12:16:24.427+10:00Interesting book. My husband is a chef, and most o...Interesting book. My husband is a chef, and most of his cooking experience came from restaurants, that did everything the pre-packaged way. They even have a big showcase in Brisbane every year, for chefs. They give them a pass and get to walk around all the stalls of food manufacturers, trying to sell there fake food, sold as real food. I went with him once, and the vendors fall over themselves with satisfying the chefs - giving them plenty of free samples and the like.<br /><br />This is food manufacturing, not real food. David now prefers a home cooked meal, to what is often served in restaurants. To be fair, its a tough industry though (always has been) and businesses have to provide food to people, at a price they can afford - at the same time, prices to conduct business periodically goes up for them. There is a lot of truth for what the book identifies as the issues, but in all honesty, its really only the metropolitan hubs which have the disposable income to pay a qualified chef who knows how to cook real food, and source it at a competitive price, and take home a profit. <br /><br />Which is why you will only see "Real Food" restaurants, either owned by a chef who will undercut their own wages to make their business profitable, or the restaurants themselves, are positioned in tourist destinations for wealthy holiday folk, or slap-bang in the middle of a city of professional workers. This isn't to discredit the book, I think the author covers some really good topics, food consumers should be made more aware of. But being married to a chef, I recognise how businesses cannot afford to pay one, what it would cost to lavish quality food, prepared fresh, at a price the average person can afford.<br /><br />In relation to real food from my garden though, I recently discovered how delicious Daikon Radish is in stir fries. I thought the flavour might be overpowering, but Daikon acts more like a parsnip than a radish, when fried. I only discovered this because our crisper was bare and I had to scavenge something from the garden. I have a very sparse vegetable garden. Because it was fresh, it made what other limp vegetables from the bottom of the crisper, I could find, taste first class. I used up my supply of Daikon radishes, in three meals. Thankfully they're going to seed now and I'll be able to plant more.<br /><br />I also used some less than fantastic sweet potatoes, the bush rats left me in the garden in the stir fry. I truly felt like I was making a peasant meal, because I was scraping the bottom of the barrel. But there is one incredible bonus to food from your garden, even with a bit of pest damage, and that's how superior in taste it is, to what you can purchase through a chain store.<br /><br />I should also mention, I used some of the kale from the seeds you sent me, in a stir fry too! That's a bit of real food community food networking, happening, right there. ;)Chris https://www.blogger.com/profile/13715819899708384147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-20858662213566610282015-08-25T07:25:16.137+10:002015-08-25T07:25:16.137+10:00It seems everything in my veggie garden is produci...It seems everything in my veggie garden is producing right now, and I was only thinking yesterday, how very little in the way of vegetables I've had to buy from the supermarket recently, and it feels GOOD! I've about used it all up, so there will be a lull again before the next crops mature, but it feels awesome to plate a meal from your own garden.<br /><br />I don't think the reality cooking shows producers would like you one bit, how ever would they get to insert the mandatory trip to their sponsors supermarkets with people like you LOL!Cherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07900993246451486017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027191706980748713.post-78481157164612019332015-08-25T07:14:04.151+10:002015-08-25T07:14:04.151+10:00Such an inspiring meal Liz. Imagine how happy we&#...Such an inspiring meal Liz. Imagine how happy we'd all be if we were all so connected with our food. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com