Cereals and Guest Book at the Euroa Butter Factory

The grounds and gardens of the Euroa Butter Factory are quite beautiful, and there are lots of little spots that would be great for functions. As you can see, it was quite wet and rainy whilst we were in the region - I'm sure that in better weather it would be even prettier!

Whilst the building itself is over a century old, the rooms were modern and comfortable, with an iPod docking station, queen beds, fluffy towels, T2 teas and Molton Brown toiletries.

I had planned to relax with a cup of tea and a magazine in their lounge area in the afternoon, but after the big drive and loads of sightseeing and shopping, I was absolutely exhausted and fell fast asleep as soon as I sat down on that couch!  Oops.  Lucky I got up in time for dinner.

Meals are served in the old milk delivery room, where you can still see some of the old fittings and machinery.

The old milk delivery room

Dinners aren't included in the room rates, but can be organised quite easily.  Owner Rebecca tells me they can do a simple supper for solo travellers, right up to a three course meal with wine for large groups.  (On the same weekend we were there, there was also a group of five couples having a big meal at that large table, above).

We started with a plate of antipasti - marinated mushrooms, a gorgeous tomato relish (tasted like curry ketchup!), pistachio and chicken terrine, grilled zucchini and capsicum, olives ascolone and potato pancakes topped with Buxton smoked trout and horseradish.

Antipasto plate

It was all very tasty, but I especially liked the crispy, juicy olives and the meaty chicken terrine.  A lovely start to the meal!  Rebecca suggested a Dal Zotto Arneis as an accompaniment - I'd never tried this variety before, but really enjoyed the crisp fruitiness of the wine.

The mains had a distinct North African vibe - Heather the chef had just returned from a holiday to Morocco, and was inspired by the tastes she'd experienced on the trip.

Quail tagine with chickpeas, currants, carrots and couscous

The tagine was absolutely delicious!  The base of couscous was soaked in a fabulous, intensely chickeny broth, topped with meltingly tender, slow-cooked quails.  There were also little bursts of sweetness from carrots, chickpeas and currants.  This is exactly the type of dish I'd love to serve at a dinner party.

Longwood Lamb with honey, cinnamon and pistachios

The roast lamb dish looks very Ottolenghi, don't you think?  The lamb was very tender, its inherent meaty sweetness enhanced by honey, cinnamon and pistachios, and tempered by mounds of fresh parsley.

With our mains, we drank a Dal Zotto Sangiovese, which went perfectly with the lamb.

The sides to this hearty meal were some roasted root vegetables with a yoghurt sauce...

Roast pumpkin, baby beetroot, yoghurt sauce and pine nuts

... and a refreshing salad of cos lettuce, with pear, fennel, Parmesan cheese and currants.

Cos lettuce, fennel, pear, currants, Parmesan

After such a generous meal, we were very full, but still managed to eat a little dessert!  It was a luscious fig and frangipane tart, topped with raspberry sauce and served with double cream.  The tart was wonderful - short crisp pastry and a buttery almond filling.  I do love a good frangipane tart!

Fig frangipane tart with raspberry sauce and double cream

Full, tired, comfortable, and with the soothing sound of rain against the roof, I slept like a log that night!

Breakfast the next morning was equally generous.  When we arrived at the table, poached rhubarb, yoghurt, and warm breakfast cakes (banana & pistachio, and raisin) with butter were waiting, as well as the cereals and muesli that you see in the first picture of this post.


And if that weren't enough, they can do hot breakfasts too.  I had a nice little poached egg on buttered toast, with more of that fab "curry-ketchup" chutney and a piece of Avenel bacon, which came highly recommended from Rebecca.  Made by a butcher in the nearby town of Avenel, the bacon was crisp, salty, smoky and intense.  In short: it was incredibly bacon-y.  I loved it!  I would have liked to visit the butcher to pick some up, but they close quite early on Saturdays and we couldn't get there in time. Boo!  Something for a future trip!

I'd like to say a big thanks to owner Rebecca for a lovely stay, and chef Heather for delicious and generous meals!

Sarah and Sandra stayed at The Euroa Butter Factory as guests of Goulburn River Valley Tourism.

This is the second post from my Goulburn River Valley Trip series.

At the start of March, I was invited by Goulburn River Valley Tourism to discover the region from a food lover's perspective, visiting cafes, produce stores and restaurants.  I was also lucky enough to be put up in some lovely accommodation!  (Blogpost to come.)  The Goulburn River Valley region encompasses quite a large area, from Wallan, Kinglake, Marysville and Lake Mountain in the south, up through Seymour and Nagambie, all the way up to Shepparton and Mooroopna in the north.  (See the Holiday Planner for a proper map!)  Prior to this trip, I wasn't familiar with the area at all, and really appreciated the opportunity to discover a new region.  My itinerary focused on some of the towns up north off the Hume Highway: Murchison, Kialla West, Shepparton East, and Euroa.

First stop was Wagner Bros Fine Food Store in Murchison.


Wagner Bros Fine Food Store
1/45 Stevenson St
Murchison VIC 3610
Ph: 0438 588 276
Website

Wagner Bros is a cafe-slash-food store, run by the lovely Alice.  It's been open in its current format for two years now, and specialises in local produce and wine, including Ruffy Produce relishes, Nagambie Gold olive oils, Locheilan cheeses and more.


They've also recently expanded to do weekend breakfasts - eggs, muesli, toasties, French toast, that sort of thing.  As it was a weekday, no brekky for us, but we did have a coffee, much needed after the early-morning two hour drive from Melbourne!  I was really impressed by the latte - at the perfect temperature, strong and rich, without being overly bitter.  Alice says she and her staff were trained by Shingo Fujimoto, a Japanese coffee expert based in Shepparton.

Latte and Biscuits

I liked the concept of the space - Alice described it as trying to create a 'home away from home', with half the space representing the "Kitchen", and the other half representing the "Lounge Room".  Cute, right?

The "Kitchen"

The "Lounge Room"

Alice kindly gave me a little hamper of goodies to take home, which I've been busily cooking and baking with since I got back.  In fact, all of the produce stores I visited were keen to show off their great local products and very generous in making up hampers for me.  It'll take me a little while to work my way through it all, but I'm looking forward to sharing my cooking and baking adventures with you over the next few months!

I'd love to come back to Murchison on a weekend to try out Wagner Bros' breakfasts - just as soon as I can round up some friends willing to do an early morning drive!

Next on the itinerary, we headed to Kialla West, for the Greendale Grove Olive Shop.

Greendale Grove Olive Shop
7230 Goulburn Valley Highway
Kialla West, VIC 3631
Ph: (03) 5823-2785
Website

Greendale Grove Olive Shop

Housed in this gorgeous old building, the Greendale Grove Olive Shop sells a great range of gourmet foods made from the olives grown on the estate, as well as other local fare and olive-based body products.

Greendale Grove Olive Shop

In fact, the range of body products was so vast, I felt like I was in an olive day spa!

Body products and Olive accessories

Tastings of their oils, dressings and olives are also available.

Tastings

My favourite here was the chilli-infused olive oil, which really packs a fiery punch!  We were generously given a bottle to take home, and have been using it in everything: pastas, stir-fries, marinades, salad dressings... if anyone has any ideas for using chilli oil, do let me know!

In the same building as the shop is the Olivehouse restaurant, where we stopped for a spot of lunch. (Disclosure: I paid for the lunch myself, but we were comped a serve of bruschetta).

The menu comprises a mixed bag of dishes, with no clear single influence - for example, chicken masala curry, roasted vegetable panini and braised lamb shanks all make an appearance.  (This tends to be a warning sign for me!)  Prices for mains range from $19.50 for a chicken salad, up to $39.50 for a wagyu sirloin.  We ordered a roast pumpkin and sweet potato soup, a sausage pasta, and a side of deep-fried potatoes with garlic cream.

Soup of the Day - Homemade roast pumpkin and sweet potato soup served with fresh crusty bread - $15.50 Penne Yorkshire - Oven roasted Yorkshire leek pork sausage with vegetables, pan tossed with short tube penne pasta and topped with shaved parmesan cheese - $24.50 Fried Potatoes - Par-boiled and deep fried potatoes served with garlic cream - $9.50

Whilst the dishes that we ordered were perfectly pleasant and tasty, they weren't anything special - in particular I would have preferred it if the fried potatoes had been served hot and crispy.  However, the bruschetta was absolutely fantastic!

Bruschetta - toasted bread with Greendale Grove Extra Virgin Olive Oil, topped with fresh tomato, Spanish onion, black olives, toasted pine nuts and feta cheese - $12.50

The bread was lightly chargrilled, with a generous drizzle of olive oil, becoming crispy and light in the process. The topping included lovely fresh tomatoes, black olives, feta cheese and pine nuts - so delicious!  Our waitress told us that the bread comes from the 'Golden Star Hot Bread' bakery on Vaughan street in Shepparton.  I would have loved to go and pick up a few loaves, but unfortunately we didn't get time on the trip to visit the bakery itself - I'll have to remember it for next time!

Based on our experience, I'd definitely suggest ordering dishes that showcase Greendale Grove's produce, like their bruschetta, their produce plate, or the antipasto.

A short drive from down the Goulburn Valley Highway was Lloyd's Produce Store.

Lloyd's Produce Store at Emerald Bank
Emerald Bank
7723 Goulburn Valley Highway
Kialla West, VIC 3631
Ph: (03) 5823-5908
Website
Facebook

Lloyd's Produce Store

Lloyd's Produce is located within the Emerald Bank Leisure Land complex, which also includes Pot-Werx (with "Victoria's largest range of pots" - did you read that mum?), the Riverside Gardens Nursery, the Windmill Chocolate Shop and Cafe, the Shepparton Motor Museum and an Adventure Park.

Lloyd's Produce is a gourmet store, selling a wide range of local produce: wines, meat, cheese and interesting preserves and relishes.  One thing I liked about this store in particular was that they had a great selection of items unique to the region, things that I hadn't seen in Melbourne before.  My favourite item here was the intriguing Mimi's Basil Cordial, handmade in Murchison.  I thought it might taste like pesto, but it actually had a very mild, slightly floral flavour.  Owner Emma generously gave us a bottle to take home as part of a hamper, and we've been drinking it with soda water and gin - lovely!

Lloyd's also often do interesting little events, like information sessions on gluten free food, and even yabbie races for Australia Day!

Lloyd's Produce Store

We had a great time chatting to owner Emma, whose passion and enthusiasm for the region is really contagious.  (It was actually Emma who recommended we visit Kreuger's Fine Meats & Smallgoods in Shepparton, and told us that it was right next to Shepparton's only sex shop!  Hehehe...)

After our visit, she told me that she set up a Twitter account for Lloyd's, based on our discussion.  So does that mean I can call myself a "digital marketing consultant to the food industry?"  Because that's totally going on my resume!

Chocolate Apple Factory
95 School Road
Shepparton East, Vic 3631
Ph: (03) 5829-2353
Website

After Lloyd's, we drove to the Chocolate Apple Factory, in Shepparton East.  And look who we met in the parking lot!  Awww...!  This adorable little fella is called Cooper, and he was so super friendly!

Cooper the Labrador puppy

At the factory shop, you can buy a range of local pantry items, as well as liqueurs, chocolate pralines, and the famous chocolate apples.  Owner Vera uses a mixture of Nestle and Cadbury chocolates to make her range of sweet treats.

The range of chocolate apples

Rocky Road chocolate apple

We tried their most popular variety, the Rocky Road apple ($10), which was coated in caramel, chocolate and marshmallows.  The idea is a lot of fun, and I know kids would love them, but I must admit I found this variety too sweet.

What I did love, however, was their range of juices.  They do 'single origin' juices, including Granny Smith, Pink Lady etc., and I was surprised to taste a big difference between the various juices.  My favourite was the Pink Lady, and we purchased a couple of bottles to bring home.


In the next post: the accommodation - The Euroa Butter Factory!

Sarah and Sandra visited the Goulburn River Valley as guests of Goulburn River Valley Tourism.

This is the first post from my Goulburn River Valley Trip series.

For me, one of the best things about a long weekend is having the time to sleep in, and to make a proper weekend breakfast!  For breakfast on Easter Monday, I transformed half a loaf of stale challah and an old apple into a decadent plate of Apple Donut French Toast.  ("Apfelkrapfen Arme Ritter" auf Deutsch!)

My Apfelkrapfen Arme Ritter were based on Nigella's fabulous donut French toast (made previously, here), with the added deliciousness of grated apples and a couple of other little tweaks, which I'll talk through below.  (Nigella's original recipe is available on her website here.)

I started with some stale challah...

Stale challah

Sliced slices

Next, I peeled and grated a large apple...

...and wodged the grated apple into the challah pockets.  There's no need to add sugar to the apple, as you'll want a bit of sour contrast against the sugar that you'll add later.

Here's the egg dipping mixture: 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.


I whisked the mixture well, then soaked the bread slices in it, leaving it for a good couple of minutes on each side so that the bread could soak up all that eggy-vanilla goodness.

After that, I fried the pockets in a bit (ok, a lot) of butter on a low-medium heat for a few minutes on each side, until lightly browned and cooked through.

The final (essential!) step, was dredging the cooked slices in a mixture of icing sugar and cinnamon.  The amount of sugar you add is up to you, but a little hint of cinnamon is absolutely essential, transforming the apple French toast into apple donut French toast.  Ta-dah!

Happy Easter everyone!  Hope you're all enjoying the long weekend!  Normally I do a bit of Easter baking around this time of year, (see examples from 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), but this week has been so hectic that I completely forgot to get anything organised.  And now it's Friday and all the shops are shut.  Whoops!  So for today, a very quick post.  I just wanted to show you the Eastery things I ate today, all based on what I had lying around the house.

Babka hot cross bun, butter, coffee

For breakfast I had a hot cross bun that my dad bought for me from Babka yesterday - thanks Dad! - toasted and with lashings of butter, of course.  (This is only the second hot cross bun I've eaten all year, can you believe it?  At least I've got another three days to eat my fill!)


Lunch was a summery insalata caprese, made with roma tomatoes (also known as "egg" tomatoes, geddit?), buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and lashings of olive oil.  I'm counting this as an Easter recipe due to the egg shape of the mozzarella and tomatoes.  And of course, olive oil always seems vaguely biblical to me.  (Yes, I do realise I'm drawing a long bow here!)

Dense chocolate loaf cake

And because you can't have enough chocolate at Easter, afternoon tea was a gorgeously squidgy slice of Nigella Lawson's dense chocolate loaf cake, which I made earlier in the week.  (This is one of those sensible loaf cakes that improves with time).

And finally, for dinner I returned to the egg-shaped theme, with Szechuan chilli chicken and shiitake bao zi.  I adapted the recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's pork and beansprout bao zi - from her fabulous book Sichuan Cookery - to use up ingredients that I already had.  Basically, I used the same flavourings, but replaced the pork and beansprouts with finely chopped chicken and shiitake mushrooms.

I did half of them in a normal round shape, and steamed them...


...and did the other half in an open-flower shape.  I cooked these open ones "potsticker" style - frying them until crispy on the bottom, pouring boiled water from a kettle around them, clamping a lid on, and letting them steam until the water was absorbed and the dough was cooked through.

Elceed
610 Queensberry St
North Melbourne, VIC 3051
Ph: (03) 9326-8648
Website
Twitter

It was a rainy, cold day, and as soon as we walked in we were hit with the comforting aroma of something gorgeously garlicky roasting in the oven - perhaps mushrooms?  It was very homey, and it reminded me of being in my own kitchen when I'm busy cooking.  I also loved the cosy, retro decor - sometimes it's nice to visit a cafe that doesn't look like a warehouse, doncha think? Hehehe.


We started with a couple of lattes, both creamy and full bodied.  Love!

The items on offer were creative versions of Melbourne cafe standards: think things like mushroom bruschetta with goat's fetta, olive tapenade and candied proscuitto; a BLT with spicy avocado smash; and chilled rice pudding as a breakfast item.  Happily, everything was well priced (the most expensive item was a steak sandwich at $19) and most of the meal-sized items hover around the $15 - $16 mark.

Chickpea and Halloumi Patties w/ rocket, red onion & beetroot salad - $16.90

I didn't sneak a taste of Wes' patties (har har), but by all accounts he greatly enjoyed them.

I can't resist anything containing broad beans, and my lunch - the pea and broad bean mash with mint, ricotta and poached eggs - was deliciously fresh and vibrant.  The rich, softly poached eggs were perked up by the super-sweet green peas and the minty mash.  Gorgeous!

Pea & Broadbean mash with mint, ricotta and poached eggs - $14.90

Equally fabulous, but on a totally different register to my meal, was Sandra's baked eggs with cheesy potatoes.  Almost like a tartiflette but without the bacon, this was incredibly decadent: thick slices of potatoes baked with eggs in a cheesy sauce, topped with a generous dollop of sour cream (or crème fraîche?) and rocket.  It sounds like it could be heavy, but it was totally amazing.

Baked Eggs with cheesy potatoes and sourdough toast - $14.50

They do a different version of baked eggs each day, but if they're doing the cheesy potatoes when you visit, I highly recommend you order them!

Any cafe that makes their sweets in-house rather than buying them in gets a big tick in my book, and Elceed has a range of gratifyingly homestyle cakes on display.  (We even saw a big square chocolate cake/slice thing cooling on a rack above the oven as we got up to settle the bill, so I think they keep baking throughout the day.)  If we weren't in a rush to get Wes back to work on time, I'd have loved to linger over a slice of Oreo cheesecake or passionfruit and yoghurt bundt cake!


Although I'm sad we missed out on Beatrix this time, I'm so glad we had the opportunity to discover Elceed - such a fab, low-key and delicious cafe!