Sometimes you just need to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and cruise the open road, leaving your daily routine far behind in the rear view mirror. With that in mind, a few weekends ago we made our way out to Orange, in the NSW countryside to check out Orange Food Week; an annual festival of all things foodie in the region. Activities on the agenda were a spot of wine tasting, a stop at a farm for some fruit picking and a masterclass on cider making. Plus we squeezed in a few lunch and dinners in between; our weekend was looking full and so were our bellies!
With no oranges insight, there were plenty of apples, figs and the unusual looking quince. A fruit I knew of but hadn't tried before, nor did I have any idea how to cook one. On our last morning there, we had a breaky degustation at the B&B where we had stayed. The first course consisted of quince that had been poached, becoming a deep peachy colour, served with a custard like pudding. Quince taste like a mix between an apple and a pear and consist of a hard flesh making them uneatable until poached or baked. As they ripen in late autumn, they were popping up all over the place during our trip, at road side stalls and at the local farmers market.
With the cooler weather on it's way, I have come up with a great way to give quince a try; poached and baked with a nutty crumble on top, served with a pot of crème anglaise. See recipe below and a few snaps from our country sojourn too.
Bon Appétit
The winners have been announced for this years Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year awards and was lucky enough to be announced as a finalist and highly commended in the Food Blogger category. I'm taking that as coming 4th ;) Check out the gallery of finalists here.