Australia: Food and Drink

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Australia Wide Cookbook by Valwyn McMonigal. Published by New Holland Publishers. ISBN 0646248243. Recommended retail price $19.95.

Australia! The largest island in the world and certainly the most spectacular. We are blessed with a wonderful variety of scenery and culture and a marvelous array of food.

The Australia Wide Cookbook will take you on a lavish gastronomic tour of this wonderful land of contrasts. Travel to a tropical paradise and indulge in the delicious fresh seafood, then go to the barren yet beautiful outback to sample native berries and other 'bushtucker.' We will take you through gentle pastures where the wheat grows and the cattle graze, and then up over mountain ranges, where you'll stop at a breathtaking gorge for a barbeque.

Wherever you go in the Australia Wide Cookbook, you will sample foods that are as vibrant and unique as the scenery before you.

The photography of Ken Duncan captures earth as it no doubt appears from heaven resplendent with its original beauty glowing within, like embers beneath black coals, ready to leap into flame. The extent to which others share his unique vision is demonstrated by the popularity of his books, the record prices fetched by his Limited Edition Prints and the number of his national and international awards.

Valwyn McMonigal is the author of the best selling cookbooks The Popular Potato and Pumpkin and Squash. Her reputation as a cook and food writer rests on elegance, and her infectious enthusiasm for quality, taste and simplicity in food and cooking. You will take as much pleasure in reading Vallyn's lyrical introductions to each part of Australia as you will in experimenting with delicious and imaginative recipes. Hard cover, 80 pages. Published in 1995.

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(38K)

Australian Wine; Regions and Rituals by Jim McMahon. Recommended retail price $24, our price $22.

This is an invaluable introductory guide for all students in the tourism and hospitality sectors who require a background knowledge and understanding of the great variety and diversity of Australian wine.

Drawing on many years’ experience in teaching food and wine courses in Australia, Jim McMahon introduces the main wine growing regions of Australia and highlights their particular yields, characteristics, and climatic and soil conditions. He then concentrates on the many other related aspects of wine-making and wine appreciation, including some of the well-known rituals.

Helpful appendices provide useful supplementary information on wine literature and magazines; associations, organizations and bureaus connected with the wine industry; and customer relations and revision tests ensuring that Australian Wine will be an essential companion for students and wine buffs alike. Soft cover, 176 pages.

(60K)

Kangaroo Cookin' by Peter Winch, Andrew Thompson and Kent McCormack. Published by Wakefield Press. ISBN 1862543267. Recommended retail price $9.95.

Kangaroo is Australia's own delectable, inexpensive and cholesterol-free red meat. Here are 88 simple roo recipes bound to keep you a hop ahead of the mob.

Kangaroo is a tasty, healthy and cheap red meat that combines well with a range of herbs, spices and vegetables. Kangaroo Cookin' offers 88 recipes that show how you can use roo meat both in everyday cooking and to create special meals. You'll be surprised by how kangaroo can give a 'bounce' to traditional European and Asian dishes, and how well it suits distinctly Australian fare.

The recipes create servings for four adults. They are easy to follow. Temperatures are given in degrees celsius. Most of the meals take less than an hour to prepare.

Within a month of CaptainJames Cook first sighting kangaroos in 1770, one was eaten by the English invaders. The Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia had been eating kangaroos for centuries, but Cook and his naturalist, Joseph Banks, thought the sight of the large macropod and the taste of its flesh worth noting.

The vegetarian roo was plentiful in all parts of the country and it became a favorite meat of early British colonists. During the 1980's kangaroo meat began to regain popularity as a free-range animal offering fat free fillets of red meat for half the price of comparable cuts.

The Big Red, Great Western and Grey kangaroos are used for meat production. So far there is no organized farming of roos. They are very difficult to confine, and it is thought that the wild population is large enough to survive the controlled culling techniques. Government agencies monitor the culling of the animals and health department officials oversee the preparation of the meat for human consumption.

Only the hind quarters of the kangaroo are used. Fillets of rump, saddle (porterhouse), tenderloin and brazing or gravy steak are available. Prices for comparable cuts of beef often being three times that of roo. Specialty preparations include schnitzels, marinated kebabs and pepper steaks.

Roo has been available to butchers' shops in most Australian states for the last six years. The flesh is richly flavored and dark in color. Choosing fresh cuts is easy, as the meat tends to smell 'gamey' if it is even slightly stale.

Andrew Thompson's recipes have been served to customers at his Pink Geranium restaurant in the Adelaide Hills. They keep coming back for more, and we think you will too. Soft cover, 120 pages. Published in 1994.

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Simply Australia; A Culinary Journey edited by Pamela Parsons. Published by New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1864365757. Recommended retail price $36.95.

This book is a celebration of Australian cuisine and scenery. The combination of beautiful 'down under' scenery and elegantly prepared Australian food is a natural partnership for pictorial display, and Simply Australia offers a scenic tour through the wonders of the Australian landscape and the delights of its cookery.

Australia is a vast continent with hundreds of excellent restaurants and brasseries. Each state or region vies to create distinctive cuisine, and the quality and originality of the food is remarkable. Today's chefs can work with many kinds of locally produced fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and shellfish. These are often accompanied by piquant sauces and delicate dressings.

Each recipe in this book has been photographed and some recipes have been adapted slightly to ensure they are easy to follow and prepare. You'll find a wide assortment of delicious and fascinating styles like Red Curry of Blue Manha Crab. Bok Choy & Jasmine Rice, Honeyed Quail Baked in an Eggplant, Coal-roasted Queensland Prawns and Lemon Grass Scented Baby Silver Barramundi with Ginger & Lime Dressing.

By combining creative cooking and magnificent photography Simply Australia is simply different - both a cook's touring guide and a tourists' cookbook.

Fine food and scenic photography are two of Ian Baker's passions. His photographs of appetizing recipes and beautiful landscapes have been showcased in a variety of books. Ian has completed many travel assignments in Japan, Europe, USA and Singapore and his advertising and publicity shots have been used in many publications. He recently completed Simply New Zealand and is currently working on several new books. Hard cover, 200 pages. Published in 1999.

Last modified on Thursday, July 10, 2003