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- Food of the Southern Forests – UWA Publishing
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Welcome

I'm Sophie. This site is a growing collection of delicious recipes that celebrates seasonality, provenance and precious moments in time. It's also a travel blog with a series of posts from my adventure motorcycling around Australia. Here's my story and how this all came about.
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Food of the Southern Forests

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Thirty years ago when first in Europe, my then Swi

Thirty years ago when first in Europe, my then Swiss mother-inlaw and Danish sister-inlaw introduced me to elderflower cordial. I’ve loved it ever since with this beautiful blossom a fixture in all my gardens ever since. At the moment however I’m a bit garden-less so an early morning walk quickly turned into an urban foraging session when these beauties appeared in a carpark. This haul soon to be cordial on my pantry shelf again.
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#elderflower #elderflowercordial #urbanforaging #foraging

I’ve never been one for smoothies. It always see

I’ve never been one for smoothies. It always seemed like a wasted opportunity to eat. I do get the convenience factor though and on these stonking hot days, an icy banana smoothie slides back very easily.

Early September last year I had the chance to visit a @sweeterbanana banana plantation in Carnarvon. The story of that, which was part of my motorcycle travels around Australia can be found via the link in my bio or below. Not only a marketing pitch, Sweeter Bananas are actually sweeter and more flavourful due to higher density planting creating micro climates. This helps protect the plantation from the dry hot summer temperatures, slowing the growth rate and maturity of the fruit and converts more of the starch into sugar.

Blend these delicious bananas with @dirtycleanfood @oatup.au oat milk, a little vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and ice cubes and everyone’s happy. This oat milk is the only plant-based milk in the world that is carbon-neutral certified and made using regeneratively farmed West Australian oats. Caring not only for your appetite and nutritional needs but the world’s urgent need to address carbon and its impact on our climate.

Here’s the simple recipe:
2 (160g) peeled, frozen Sweeter Bananas
1 cup Oat Up milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup or small handful of ice cubes

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blitz for a few seconds until creamy and smooth.

www.sophiezalokar.com/journal/motorcycle-travel-diary-september-2021/
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#bananasmooth #banana #oatmilk #sweeterbanana #carnarvon #dirtycleanfood #oatup #vegan #buywesteatbest #localproduce #carbonneutral #regenagricultural

I’ve been reaching for miso paste a bit more lat

I’ve been reaching for miso paste a bit more lately. Maybe it’s the saltiness as a result of such hot sweaty weather. Maybe it’s just the comfort of its umami-rich flavour. Either way it adds a delicious, savoury, slightly sweet flavour in a marinade. Along with roasting mushrooms, one of my favourite dishes is this Miso Marinated Steak with Lime and Chilli recipe.

The crust that develops on the steak is deep and dark, which means the heat of the barbecue flat grill plate can’t be smoking hot. There’s a big taste difference between deeply caramelised and burnt to a bitter, acrid layer so take it easy on the dial.

Left to rest, sliced and served doused in lime juice and wrapped in an iceberg lettuce leaf it’s kind of street food at home. Perfect backyard summer food. Recipe link in my bio or go to: https://www.sophiezalokar.com/recipes/miso-marinated-steak-with-lime-and-chilli/
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#miso #misomarinade #steak #barbecue #beef #chilli #iceberglettuce #streetfood

It’s been sometime since I last cranked up the s

It’s been sometime since I last cranked up the smoker. In preparation for another session I’ve just brined some kangaroo fillets. The taste of smoked kangaroo will always take me back to my apprenticeship days at the Pheasant Farm in the 80’s and one of Maggie’s early iconic dishes at the time of Smoked Kangaroo, Duck Egg Pasta, Sundried Tomatoes & Pine nuts. It’s still a bit of a mystery why we don’t eat more kangaroo or even see it on menus as the messages around making healthier and more sustainable food choices become louder and necessary. Very happy to revisit and return to the wild.
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#brine #kangaroo #smokedkangaroo #sustainablefood #kanga #eathealthy #eat #instagood #instafood

When I think about fresh produce in Western Austra

When I think about fresh produce in Western Australia my thoughts immediately centre on the South West region. It’s where I’ve lived and worked most of my adult life however aside from this small part of such an enormous state there are so many culinary riches far further afield.

The Kimberley region is vast and remote. Native and cultivated foods are plenty and diverse. This cake recipe came of out some research on both. Sorghum, chia and bananas are grown in the Ord River agricultural area. Wattleseed is gathered and commercially sold and from the south, the wonderfully fragrant @block.275 cold-pressed canola oil.

As sorghum is gluten free, this cake has a very tender delicate crumb; the chia and egg binding the mixture together in the absence of gluten. It’s dark and deeply rich in flavour with a light ‘seedy’ crunch from the chia. A West Australian twist on a ubiquitous old favourite. Recipe link in my bio or go to: www.sophiezalokar.com/recipes/sorghum-wattleseed-and-chia-banana-cake/
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#glutenfree #sorghum #wattleseed #bushfood #nativeingredients #banana #bananacake #bananabread #chia #coldpressedcanolaoil #block275 #kimberleybushsuperfoods #thekimberleyaustralia #ordriver #buywesteatbest #buylocal #dogboyknives

A first time visit to the Fremantle Farmers Market

A first time visit to the Fremantle Farmers Market @freofarmersmarket this morning resulted in an uncommon succulent score: purslane. This means Fattoush for lunch; a delicious Lebanese bread-based salad that traditionally includes purslane and sumac. Sumac is a dried berry that is ground and has a tangy lemony taste and purslane is a common garden weed from the Portulaca family, also known as pigweed and has thick succulent crunchy leaves. There are as many recipes for Fattoush as there are ‘Garden Salad’. I like the flatbread either baked or charred from the grill and a lemony vinaigrette style dressing rather than a yoghurt-based. Recipe link in my bio or go to: www.sophiezalokar.com/recipes/fattoush/
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@freofarmersmarket
@maus_organic_produce
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#freofarmersmarket #maus_organic_produce #eat #local #community #infreo #lovefreo #perthfoodie #farmersmarket #perthmarketscene #thisisfremantle #summer2022 #shopinfreo #organic #justanotherdayinwa #perthfood #thisiswa #fremantle #fattoush #lebanesebreadsalad #purlsane #summersalads #instagood #instafood

On my final month of motorcycle travels on this 20

On my final month of motorcycle travels on this 20 month journey, the landscape slowly changed from the arid iron-rich red dirt of the West Australian Pilbara region to the semi-arid of the northern Gascoyne and then a few kilometres north of Carnarvon, cultivated fields appeared.

From Carnarvon to Kalbarri, Geraldton to Jurien Bay and then just like that, the Sat Nav now no longer essential, Perth and then Fremantle appeared. To read about this final leg, click on the link in my bio or go to: https://www.sophiezalokar.com/journal/motorcycle-travel-diary-september-2021/

37,000 km later, this solo journey of a lifetime traveling around Australia was both a segue and the beginning of adventures on and off my BMW 1200 GS that will continue without end. As much as I need a fixed place filled with memories and a kitchen with my treasured tools of the trade that I can return to and share with loved ones, I've discovered that home for me is not exclusively defined by four walls.

As I write this on the last day of 2021, thinking about the possibilities of so many new adventures ahead I feel extraordinarily lucky and ready.

Until next time, thanks for being part of this extraordinary journey and best wishes for 2022. Happy New Year everyone!
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#bmwgssafari2021 #adventuretravel #gsgirl #bmwgs1200 #bmwmotorad #makelifearide #womenadvriders #motolife #carnarvon #gascoynefoodcouncil #sweeterbanana #morelsorchard #kalbarri #kalbarrinationalpark #mullewa #wreathwildflowers #wildflowers #huttlagoonpinklake #pinklake

There were a few periods over the 20 month sabbati

There were a few periods over the 20 month sabbatical I took from Jan 2020 – Sept 2021 during which time felt like it was shape-shifting. August was one of those times. A month in which I experienced back to back alternate vistas of arid, rocky, red dirt landscapes and rich, blue ocean saturated with life. The gentle creatures and destinations of ancient land and sea carved out, compressed and cultivated by time. My fleeting presence at each extraordinary location a mere blip on their evolutionary timelines and a month of experiences that will last my lifetime. To read about some of Western Australia’s most spectacular Kimberley, Pilbara and Ningaloo Coast experiences click on the link in my bio or go to: https://www.sophiezalokar.com/journal/motorcycle-travel-diary-august-2021/
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#bmwgssafari2021 #adventuretravel #gsgirl #bmwgs1200 #bmwmotorad #makelifearide #womenadvriders #motolife #purnululu #bunglebungles #echidnachasm #derby #broome #cablebeach #williecreekpearls #joffregorge #karijini #cheelaplainsstation #ningaloo #salsalis #caperangenationalpark #exmouth

As I take a few days 'Down South' to attempt to av

As I take a few days 'Down South' to attempt to avoid the blistering summer heat in Perth and take stock of the year that 2021 was, I hope to work through the final three months of what was an extraordinary 20 month journey around Australia on my BMW 1200 GS motorcycle.

It's so easy to fall into the exciting trap of looking forward. Of being swept up in the planning to manifest those hopes and dreams of a future rather than the present moment. And so in the spirit of living in the now and reflecting on so many wonderful roads travelled personally and physically, click on the link in my bio for July’s post or head to www.sophiezalokar.com/journal/motorcycle-travel-diary-july-2021/

This month starts out in Darwin; a city with the warm and welcoming heart of a battle-scared frontier town; followed by Katherine, Timber Creek and Halls Creek. Having dodged border closures throughout my travels, I unfortunately had to bypass the chance to experience Kununurra at large due to a rather hasty beeline-route into self-isolation in Halls Creek.
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#darwin #katherinent #timbercreek #hallscreek #bmwgssafari2021 #adventuretravel #gsgirl #bmwgs1200 #bmwmotorad #makelifearide #womenadvriders #motolife

A post to wish you a very Happy and delicious Chri

A post to wish you a very Happy and delicious Christmas and with somewhat held breath, a New Year of less uncertain times.
Since arriving back in Fremantle, Western Australia mid-September, my days have been filled with the distractions of settling back into what was once home and continuing to put kilometres under tyres both south and north.
As a result Christmas has kind of snuck up, so I've made a return to the recipe archives and put together a collection I thought might also help you with deciding what to prepare over the season. Click on the link in my bio or head to www.sophiezalokar.com/recipes/christmas-2021-recipe-wrap/
May this holiday period slow down just enough for the kind of memory-making that lets us forget the uncertainty and savour the simple pleasures, love and joy that gathering around a table together offers.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy and healthy New Year
x Sophie

📸: @craigkinderfood Bagna Cauda, Marron Salad, Roast Chicken and a Trifled Tiramisu

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#christmas2021 #christmasfood #christmasrecipes

More cherry cheer. Pickling them provides a perfec

More cherry cheer. Pickling them provides a perfect accompaniment with pates, terrines and cured meats - especially baked Christmas Ham. I also love them with goats or sheep cheeses. The tart, spicy sweetness matching wonderfully with those barnyard, borderline feral flavours. They also work wonderfully well in a salad with bitter greens, roasted walnuts, crumbled aged feta and creamy avocado. Very little effort for a hugely impressive return. Recipe link in my bio or www.sophiezalokar.com/recipes/pickled-cherries
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#pickledcherries #cherries #genuinelysouthernforests #manjimupcherries #christmascherries

It’s cherry season, which means it’s time to h

It’s cherry season, which means it’s time to head to Manjimup for the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival. This year marks this festival’s 20th year of celebrating this beacon of the much anticipated West Australian stone fruit season and this region’s wealth of fresh produce. Having missed the 2020 festival, I’ll be back flying the Southern Forests flag on my old home-turf demonstrating some recipes with @genuinelysouthernforests produce. One of my all-time favourite ways of baking with cherries are these cute-as-a-pie Cherry, Cinnamon & Buckwheat Pastries or hand-pies. The addition of buckwheat flour and cardamom give them a taste-connection to Eastern European baking traditions where cherries are a beloved fruit in the dessert kitchen.
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The recipe for these pastries can be found via the link in my bio or www.sophiezalokar.com/recipes/cherry-cinnamon-and-buckwheat-pastries.
📸 Craig Kinder @craigkinderfood
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Head to @manjimupcherryfestival for further information about the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival
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#cherrypie #cherryhandpie #cherries #manjimupcherryfestival #manjimupcherryharmonyfestival #genuinelysouthernforest

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