Sandi Sieger’s guide to what’s hot and happy(ning) this week. Eat, drink, buy, try, visit, be merry.
EAT: Hass Avocados
Hass avocados are back!
Avocado growers are expecting a whopping 8 million more kilograms of Hass avocados to hit supermarket shelves this season compared to last year.
The nine per cent increase on last year’s crop from 87,000 tonnes to 95,000 tonnes (April 2019-March 2020) is partly thanks to growers planting en masse over the past five to six years to meet Australia’s skyrocketing demand for avocados.
Known for their purple skin and creamy texture, new season Hass avocados will replace the green-skinned Shepard avocados, which have been the only avocado available to shoppers since late February.
When looking for the perfect avo, there’s two main things to remember:
1. Look for a purplish coloured Hass. Unlike Shepard avocados which are always green, Hass avocados change colour from green to a purplish black as they ripen.
2. Don’t squeeze them all over – getting too handsy with an avocado can actually bruise it, leaving the flesh under the skin black. Instead, press gently near the top. Ripe avocados will give a little when pressed.
DRINK: Starward Whisky & Adelaide Hills Distillery’s Red Manhattan
Inspired by the signature Starward whisky red wine barrel characteristics, Red Manhattan is a distillery batched cocktail made with Starward single grain whisky matured in Australian red wine barrels and a bespoke red wine vermouth infused with native botanicals, from Australian craft spirits producer Adelaide Hills Distillery. There’s also some bitters in there. A red theme runs through this product innovation – from the whisky maturing in red wine barrels, to the red vermouth… and even the garnish.
This is a classic Manhattan cocktail reimagined with an Australian twist, deliciously bold and bursting with flavour.
This latest cocktail follows in the footsteps of the Starward (New) Old Fashioned – an aromatic blend of Starward whisky, orange bitters and wattle seed demerara sugar.
Starward’s limited-edition Red Manhattan has a RRP of $49 for 500ml. It is available from the Starward distillery and starward.com.au.
BUY: Tilda’s Rice
For almost 50 years Tilda has been the rice brand of choice for rice lovers, home cooks and renowned chefs. Tilda’s range of gluten free, ready-to-heat varieties of steamed basmati rice draw on all the diverse cultures of the world and offer quick and easy ways to enrich mealtimes this winter.
Available now from Coles, Woolworths and selected independents Australia-wide, the flavourful Tilda range includes: Coconut Chilli & Lemongrass, Coconut, Brown and Pure.
Convenient Tilda ready-to-heat pouches feature winter warmer recipes, ranging from tasty Asian flavours to staple coconut or brown rice, inspiring home cooks to experiment with a multiplicity of flavours when in the kitchen.
Unlike many express foods Tilda doesn’t skimp on nutrition, packed with all-natural goodness and ingredients only found at home in the pantry. Tilda only uses pure basmati grains, sourced via its signature DNA fingerprint testing designed to identify and remove inferior and broken grains that are likely to become clumpy. This means every single pouch includes only exceptionally fluffy rice households know and love.
TRY: Get Your Hands On Australia’s Most Precious Objects at The Sydney Fair
Seasoned collectors, interior stylists and history buffs will converge at Sydney’s largest fair showcasing an exclusive range of antiques, jewellery, arts and some of the country’s most significant and rare objects. The Sydney Fair will have something to suit every style when it returns with 60 exhibitors and over 5,000 unique and treasured objects, in its new home at Royal Randwick Racecourse, from Thursday 30 May – Sunday 2 June.
Over four days, Australia’s best 20th century, antique, Art Deco and vintage dealers will transform the Randwick Racecourse’s Kensington Room into a collector’s mecca of the most unique and covetable items available in Australia.
In addition to exquisite jewellery, vintage fashion, lighting and decorative arts, the avid interiors enthusiast can find iconic furniture spanning the restrained elegance of the Georgian era, to the crisp and clean lines of the mid-20th century.
The Sydney Fair will showcase some of the most significant and rare treasures across furniture, jewellery, luxury goods, fine art, prints and collectables with a price for every budget.
More: www.thesydneyfair.com.au
VISIT: Sparkling Saturdays at Coombe Yarra Valley
On the 1st of June, Coombe Yarra Valley welcomes back Sparkling Saturday & Sunday High Teas.
Guests can expect free flowing bubbles (NV blanc de blanc) and a classic high tea menu – elegant finger sandwiches; freshly baked scones with house made jams and fluffy cream; and a selection of handcrafted cakes and desserts.
$55 per person (pre payment only) starting Saturday 1st June.
