Breakfast time!

Snuggled between a boxing gym and a second-hand car dealership in Vic Park is this gem of a cafe. As much as I’d like to keep this spot a secret it appears it’s already out, as evidenced by the line outside on a rainy Sunday morning. Harvest’s sandwiches have been harped about on other blogs and the like, and don’t get me wrong, the sandwiches aren’t bad. By all means order a sandwich if you like. But I reckon the sandwich eaters are missing out. Indeed, the best of the cafe lies further down the menu and this is where the kitchen really shines. The dishes coming off the pass are fresh, vibrant and good value. There’s a focus on sourcing the best produce and mixing it up with texture.

(Harvest is tiny, so during the weekends if you don’t want to wait with the other regretful latecomers get here by 9am at latest.)

Cauliflower and corn fritters with labneh and two (perfectly) poached eggs.

Oh I love fritters (and who doesn’t!). These cauliflower and corn fritters were steamy within, with a tender heart of just cooked cauliflower. With every bite, there was crispy crunchiness from the nubbly fried edges.  The tangy, sumac spiked labneh (strained yogurt), slippery zucchini ribbons plus leaves of zingy basil and mint woke the dish right up. But boy, was that labneh good – smooth and indulgent, spread like a sauce over the plate. The herbs were more a salad than a mere garnish, so it felt like a dish you’d have on an exotic holiday. (Except you’re in Vic Park.)

French toast with poached pear (look, edible flowers!). Is this Perth’s best French toast?

Harvest’s French toast is food envy on a plate. If it wasn’t pretty enough with a mound of poached pears and fancy quenelle of mascarpone cream, the itty bitty edible flowers made it even more gorgeous. So pretty.

Looks aside, the French toast lived up to what French toast could and definitely should be. With a buttery crumb on the outside, thanks to no doubt being sautéed in a generous pat of butter, each doorstop thick slice was pudding-like within. Drizzled with syrup, this has to be one of the best French toasts going in the city.

Lemon curd tart.

The brekkies aren’t overly huge and that’s a good thing since the range of pastries on open display were certainly tempting. We opted for a lemon tart. The pastry was harder than I expected, more of a biscuit than a buttery shortcrust. However the lemon curd filling, more creamy than tangy, was the star. Smooth and silky, it spilled out of the tart as we cut into it. Accompanied by a second (excellent and made with Bonsoy) soy flat white, the tart rounded out a pretty fab breakfast with the bestie.

A little bit trendy but with a wholesome menu, Harvest is incredibly likeable. Think Tuck Shop, without the Northbridge hipsters or the pies. Actually it might even be better. Get here quick and get in early.

Harvest’s baked goods. The savoury muffins are delicious.

Harvest Espresso
629 Albany Highway, Victoria Park WA 6100
W: https://www.facebook.com/Harvest.Espresso

Tue – Sun 7am – 4pm

Original article: harvest espresso

©2013 libertine eats | perth food blog. All Rights Reserved.

This market was one of the first, possibly the trailblazer, of many farmers’ markets in Perth. Before food miles and the word locavore became part of the popular mindset, this is where you came to get biodynamic meat, organic veg and fruit straight from the orchard. I’d go as far to say these markets are the pick of the bunch of Perth’s markets and are even worth the 30 minute drive to get here.

Years of establishment have resulted in an unparalleled variety of stalls. For a fairly small area, there’s a lot packed in. This is a market that knows its customers very well. Apart from produce and bakery stands, there are a few gourmet and ready-to-eat options available, just in case you don’t feel like cooking. Plus all the stalls are very food focused – for example, there are no stalls selling ponchos and other crap. Instead, an astounding number of small produce stands, all decently priced – mostly actual growers and not re-sellers – take up residence in the school’s quadrangle.

The Lettuce Truck. (They sell potatoes too.)

Orchard fresh stone fruit.

Think this was an organic store (which would explain the price!).

The bags of pre-packed, sparkling fresh baby lettuce leaves at $2 a bag are a good buy from the Lettuce Truck. A packet of basil bought from here lasts a week and a half. I especially loved one stall that was tucked right up the back, selling the pickings of an Italian kitchen garden. Ripe heirloom tomatoes, Tuscan kale (so, so much better than regular kale), striped eggplants and trussed purple garlic were squeaky fresh, never mind the handsome guy at the checkout.

My favourite store, tucked right up the back, is like looking (and buying) from an Italian kitchen garden. Tomatoes of different shapes and sizes, bunches of colourful radish and dark green Tuscan kale.

Little pots of herbs and heirloom cucumbers – same stall as above.

Tasty morsels from Eurochef with generous tasters (right).

If that gets you into the mood for (an) Italian, you can’t miss Mio Piatto and Eurochef. Eurochef has dips, spaghetti meatballs, dolmades and cabbage rolls all ready to eat, and even in the morning when you’d rather force down breakfast than think about dinner, the meals make a tempting break from the stove.

Pasta sauces ready to go at Mio Piatto.

Canning Orchards.

One particular stall, Canning Orchard is so popular, you have to take a ticket for service. The produce is high quality, so you can trust them to pick the fruit for you. (Also, there’s no way to squeeze through the crowd to bag what you’d like anyway.)  Only what’s in season is for sale, like pluots and nashi pears.

Meat is not an afterthought at this market. There are multiple stalls selling fresh, frozen and biodynamic meat. Free range chicken and lamb from Soldridge, heritage breed pork (Spencers Brook Farm) and beef (from Gingin beef) are available farm direct, so you can order a whole side of lamb and it will be butchered and waiting to be picked up.

I want to point out the flower stall Market Flowers (I think that’s the name) right by the entrance. I can never not buy flowers from these guys. Their blooms are extremely fresh – the freshest in fact last up to two weeks. The bunches also don’t cost an arm and a leg. I love their Australian natives (that last for a spooky amount of time) but their sunflowers (and tuberose when in season) are just gorgeous.

Flowers! Even if I have to buy them for myself, they are so fresh and worth every penny.

Like any good market, you can get a decent breakfast or brunch here. I usually go for a danish or jam donut from one of the bread stalls (Lawley’s is one) but there are the mandatory bratwurst, crepes and brekkie burgers around. K always has a bratwurst (bribe for being a human pack camel) which has a nice snap and comes with soft onions and a fluffy roll. Yum.

Donuts and danishes from breakfast, anyone?

Lawley’s bread.

Mt Claremont Farmers’ Market
Mt Claremont Primary School, Cnr of Alfred Road and Montgomery Road (103 Alfred Rd), Mt Claremont WA 6010
Open every Saturday 7.30am – 11.30am

Original article: mt claremont farmers market

©2013 libertine eats | perth food blog. All Rights Reserved.

Like most banana bread recipes, this one consumes three bananas. But truth be told, in our house there are always more than three overripe bananas. The first time I made this, I (smartly) thought I could squeeze another couple of bananas into the loaf by cutting them up, dusting them in flour (this stops fruit sinking to the bottom) and popping them into the finished batter.

The end result was a slightly squishy, but fairly attractive stained glass effect. It wasn’t too bad an idea, except that the bananas reacted to the bicarb and slowly changed into the spookiest blue-green colour. It was edible, but startling. Never doing that again.

Otherwise, the recipe was gold, producing a bouncy banana bread with a slightly dense texture. There’s nothing ground breaking about it, except for the addition of instant coffee. Much to the same effect as combining coffee and chocolate, coffee’s bitterness reins in the sweetness and I love its faint, earthy taste for breakfast.

I like to chuck in a few chocolate chips (as you can see above) (yay, chocolate for breakfast) but walnuts or macadamias would be pretty fab in it too.

~*~

Banana Bread

The sugar can be increased to 150 grams if you have a sweet tooth. Tip: Measure out the bicarb soda accurately, or you’ll get green banana bread. Not cool.

3 medium. overripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla paste
pinch of salt
150 ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
125 gm caster sugar 
3  tsp instant coffee powder
175 gm flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Line your favourite loaf tin with baking paper.

Mash the bananas along with the vanilla paste and salt. Add the oil and whisk to combine (the mixture will emulsify and look a bit like mayonnaise).

Beat in the eggs, then the sugar and coffee.

Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Combine until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 60 minutes (do check it at 50 minutes, it’s often done at this point). Leave to cool slightly before turning it out.

Slice into really thick slices and eat with a pat of butter.

~*~

Original article: banana bread

©2013 libertine eats | perth food blog. All Rights Reserved.