Met with Joe from Yarra Valley Snack Foods on Friday, he came loaded up with their range of Gluten Free Chips, which of course I had to sample. Will start stocking their range of Gluten Free snack foods very soon:  Beetroot, parsnip, and sweet potato chips, as well as their corn chips, muesli, and seed bars. Tried chocolate coconut chips for the first time…. AMAZING!

Sweet corn is available again, and very good quality. New season organic kiwifruit from New Zealand will be available again this week, for the same price as the conventional (non-organic) fruit.

It looks like tomatoes are going to be expensive for the next month or so, and quality is not that good. Cherry tomatoes might be a better option.

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At this time of the year the quality of lebanese and continental cucumbers is poor, and the price is high. Baby Qukes™ (baby cucumbers) are a good alternative, and are a great lunch box snack. Supply can sometimes be an issue, but I’m hopeful I can get my hands on plenty this coming week.

With Spring nearly on us, a number of customers have begun asking about asparagus. The local season usually starts at the same time as the footy finals, so not long to go.
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We are introducing five new products this weeks; Papa Joe’s Banana Bread, Ambrosia Organic Peanut Butter, a 100% Natural Coconut Water branded ‘Coco Fuel”, and two jams from Sunny Creek Organics (Apricot & Blackberry). All are on the specials page of the online store.

The banana bread comes as a 1kg loaf, and if frozen will keep for six months, left in the fridge it has a shelf life of three weeks from the date of baking. The other four products contain no artificial additives or preservatives.

Chinese cabbage (Wombok) and baby cucumbers in the punnets are also available this week.

Started a new variety of pears towards the end of last week. They are called D’Anjou, are red in colour, and are eaten when soft. They are quite hard when you first get them (a bit similar to the packham pears of late), but once they ripen I’ve been told they have a “smooth” taste.

Recent cold weather throughout the country has affected the supply and price of the following vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, beans and sweet corn. The morning frosts play havoc with the growing conditions.

My nut supplier mistakenly supplied me with 750 gram ‘Dry Roasted Almonds’, but has agreed to only charge me for 500 grams. I’m passing on the savings, so until stocks last, a 750 gram pack of ‘Dry Roasted Almonds’ are on special for the price of the 500 gram ones.

It’s definitely soup weather at the moment, and there are plenty of vegetable combinations to choose from. Potato and leek, pumpkin, pea and ham,  have been around for ever. My all time favourite is “chicken and pearl barley soup”, you’ll find plenty of recipes for this soup online.

Everyone loves imperial mandarins because they are easy to peel and have no pips. This season’s haven’t been as good as past years, in fact they’ve been a bit “hit and miss”. Afourer Mandarins have been around for a few years now, and are much better that the Honey Murcotts which are full of pips. The Afourer have a few pips (some have none), are reasonably easy to peel, and have more of a tangy flavour. They are available from now until the end of September.

I seem to be getting asked more and more whether we can provide organic produce for home delivery. This week we’re offering organic potatoes, carrots and fuji apples for sale. These can be ordered on our online store, or over the phone when we call for your order. As you all know, organic produce is much more expensive than non-organic or conventional fruit and veggies. Checked out a number of organic websites, and have priced the above three items as competitively as I can. Welcome your feedback, so please text or email me your thoughts.

Avocados have been very expensive for most of the year. In part it’s due to the fact that it’s becoming a very popular and healthy fruit, and supply is not keeping up with demand. My favourite way to eat them is mashed up on a piece of toast with vegemite and a slice of cheese.

Hoping to have strawberries from either Queensland or Western Australia this week. Too cold down here for the local ones, let’s hope they are having warmer weather up north and over in the west. Just remember that they take a few days to get here, so don’t expect them to last as long as the local ones we get over our summer.

I’m not sure how you’d describe the taste of gold kiwi fruit. The flavour is a cross between green kiwi, banana and passion fruit, well that’s what I think. Am I on the the right track, any other suggestions? It’s very good at the moment, and goes well on the morning cereal.