I know, it sounds like a children’s book.

This month I thought I’d take a drive out to a few farms in three quite different areas of the region to see how they are run, who runs them, and what makes them special.

So early on a beautiful blue sky winters day, I jumped in the car with an extra strong coffee, and headed from my home town of Pomona to Wolvi, about half an hours drive North East, on the road between  Kin Kin and Tin Can Bay.

Cooloola Berries

Jason and Kim Lewis and their four children, Hamish, William, Patrick and Molly, moved from Brisbane to their little 10 acre oasis in Wolvi about 7 years ago, and Jason has been growing Strawberries on the property for about 4 years. Prior to that he was working for the legendary Thelma Ladewig at Eumundi Strawberries. A few months ago, the family decided to rebrand their fruit as Cooloola Berries and open up the farm to visitors a few days a week so they can drop in and pick their own berries to see first hand how a strawberry farm operates, and they’ve been overwhelmed by the response.

Tagigan Road, (856) where the property is located, is the fastest route between Noosa and Rainbow Beach (as well as the most scenic), so it attracts both local and tourist traffic. And on Friday, Saturday and Sunday they have as many as a dozen cars stopping in at a time to gorge themselves on the luscious fruit, picked straight from the bushes.

They encourage their guests to experience the four different varieties they grow on the farm, (Festival, Ruby Gems, Camarosa and San Andreas), stay for a picnic afterwards on the lawns, and best of all Kim has  a coffee machine and makes great scones!

They have little baskets and scissors so the kids can go and snip herbs from the herb garden to give you time to drink your coffee while it’s hot. In an industry notorious for its use of pesticides and chemicals in its production, Jason is committed to keeping their use to a minimum and has introduced measures like releasing tiny spider mites amongst the plants rather than spraying. He’ll happily get out the magnifying glasses and introduce you to them out in the fields.

The Lewis’ also sell their strawberries at Farmer and Sun, Southside Shopping Centre, Gympie, Goomboorian Matlida in Goomboorian, Gympie Markets every Sunday and Maryborough Markets every Thursday. The season runs from June to November, with it’s peak around September/October.

If you’d like to drop by and experience picking your own berries between Friday and Sunday, give Jason a call first to let him know you’re coming. Cooloola Berries

856 Tagigan Road, Wolvi

0400331216

https://www.facebook.com/CooloolaBerries     Before I head off to Sandy Creek for my next adventure, I thought I’d better stop in Gympie for some lunch, so I head for the centre of town to Emilia’s for a quick Panini and a coffee. Emilia’s is a classy little piece of Italy in Mary Street in the CBD, with it’s dark wooden furniture, cool jazz music and a great selection of authentic panini’s, salads and cakes, as well as really good coffee.     Emilia’s Cafe

201 Mary St, Gympie (07)54828885

www.facebook.com/emiliascafe

Open Monday to Friday, 8.00 – 5.00

Sandy Creek Macadamias

So with a satisfied belly and a caffeine buzz, I head out along Sandy Creek Road to visit Scott and Maureen MacNichol from Sandy Creek Macadamias.

Originally known as the Bauple nut, the macadamia is native to the Gympie region and was of great traditional importance to local Aboriginal tribes as a food source as well as a form of trade with other tribes.

The macadamias grown in this area are by far the best I’ve ever eaten.

I’ve known Maureen for a few years now having been a neighbour of hers with my stall at the Noosa Farmers Markets, but this was the first chance I’ve had to go and see the process involved in producing these crunchy little morsels.

And now that I’ve seen it, I’ll never take another one for granted for the rest of my life!

With around 3500 mature trees, Sandy Creek Macadamias is by no means a large operation compared to farms with a few hundred thousand trees, so without the benefit of a lot of the expensive machinery that the larger producers have , most of the sorting, roasting and packaging is done painstakingly by hand.

During the winter months, the mature nuts fall to the ground, where they’re picked up from around the trees using a harvester. The nuts are fed into large crates which hold around 650kg, then transferred to a hopper to be passed through a husker to remove the outer shell. Once the outer husk has been removed, the nuts are sorted by hand to remove any bad ones, before being transferred to silos to dry. They’re then taken to the commercial kitchen to be fed into “Nellie” the cracking machine, and again sorted by hand. One more sort by to make sure they’re all perfect, and they’re ready to be processed into roasted nuts, macadamia butter, muesli, dukkah and a range of other products that Maureen has created in her purpose built kitchen.  During a season, Scott and Maureen harvest around 12 tonnes of whole nuts, which equates to about 4 tonnes of processed kernels.

Like most producers their size, they have found that the best way to market and sell their product is to take it direct to the consumers themselves. You’ll find Sandy Creek Macadamias at the West End Markets in Brisbane every Saturday, and Eagle Farm Markets every Sunday, and they have a fantastic website where you can buy all of their products online.

Sandy Creek Macadamias

(07) 54865401

www.sandycreekmacadamias.com.au

Rhodavale Pork

Next stop is Rhodavale Pork, in Lower Wonga, about 30 minutes drive North West of Gympie.

Born and bred locals Brad and Melinda Murnane(Brad grew up in Kandanga and Melinda in Widgee, and both come from farming families)bought their 430 acres in Lower Wonga 8 years ago and originally ran Droughtmaster cattle on the property. Despite being adamant that she didn’t want to be married to a smelly pig farmer, when Brad presented Melinda with a tiny piglet on in 2009, she fell in love, and before they knew it, they’d bought their first Large White x Landrace breeding boar and 3 sows. Today they have 40 breeding sows and at any one time they run around 250 pigs over 60 acres. Each sow produces around 8 piglets per litter in their own special bungalow and pen(it looks more like a piggy country retreat than a pig farm)and at about 2-3 weeks they are transferred into little communities to help with the weaning process which happens at about 8 weeks of age.

At around 5 months the pigs reach maturity and are ready to be sent off for processing. At this size they produce a 60kg dressed weight carcass, and each cut is individually vacuum sealed ready for sale at the Noosa Farmers Market every Sunday morning. Melinda and Brad have only been doing the markets for a few weeks, but are already building a loyal following of customers looking for high quality, truly free range pork. They also sell their pork through Shaw Meats in Gympie, and Sherwood Organic Meats in Brisbane.

Rhodavale’s motto is “Happy Pigs Taste Amazing”, and I couldn’t agree more.

It’s always such a pleasure as a chef to use an ingredient that you know has come from a grower who is as passionate about their product as you are of cooking it. The common thread amongst the three farms I visited this month is the love and pride they have of what they do. And in each case it shines through as an end product on the plate.

Rhodavale Pork

0409234790

www.facebook.com/RhodavalePork

So, after a big day of driving and information overload, it was time to head home with my strawberries, macadamias and pork and see what I could come up with for dinner. I dropped in to Farmer and Sun on the way home to pick up some extra bits; half a beautiful local cauliflower, some brussels sprouts, cipollini onions and a bottle of Suncoast Limes Cordial so I could knock up a quick vodka, lime and soda to get those creative juices flowing. 30ml Suncoast Lime Cordial, 30ml(OK, maybe 50ml) Vodka, a few slices of fresh lime, a handful of mint, plenty of ice and soda water, and I’m ready to cook.

Macadamia Stuffed Rhodavale Pork, Cider Braised Cheek, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts, Cipollini Onions and Cauliflower Puree  

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the stuffed pork:

600gm Rhodavale Pork Steaks

1 small brown onion, finely diced

2tbs olive oil

50gm fresh breadcrumbs

75gm roasted, salted Sandy Creek Macadamias, crushed

20gm grated parmesan

1 egg yolk

½ tsp chopped thyme

salt and pepper

For the braised cheek:

1 x 600gm Pork cheek

375ml dry cider

1 clove garlic

2 bay leaves

4 cipollini onions, peeled

For the cauliflower puree:

250gm cauliflower, cut into florets

1 cup milk

100ml cream

20gm butter

salt and white pepper

For the sprouts:

10 brussels sprouts, halved

25gm butter

1tsp apple cider vinegar

salt and pepper

Method:

Saute the onion in olive oil until soft.

Mix with the breadcrumbs, macadamias, parmesan, egg yolk, thyme, and salt and pepper and squeeze together to make a course stuffing.

Cut each pork steak in half and flatten out with a meat mallet or rolling pin to about 5mm thick.

Place 2 heaped tablespoons of stuffing at the front edge of each slice of pork and roll over to form a tight roll. Secure with toothpicks or butchers twine, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Score the skin of the pork cheek and rub all over with salt.

Place in an oven proof dish with the garlic, bay leaves, cipollini onions, and cider.

Cover tightly with foil and cook for 4 hours at 140 degrees Celsius. Remove the pork cheek and the onions to a tray to cool, and strain the liquid and refrigerate to use as the sauce for the dish.

To make the cauliflower puree, simmer the cauliflower florets in milk until soft. Drain well and place in a food processor with the cream, butter and seasoning. Process until fine.

For a really fine puree, pass the mixture through a fine sieve.

Saute the brussels sprouts in butter until they start to colour, add the vinegar, seasoning and a dash of the pork cheek cooking liquid and cook for a few minutes until tender.

To finish the dish, season and fry the pork rolls in a little olive oil until golden all over.

Slice the pork cheek diagonally into 4 x 1cm slices and fry on both sides until golden.

Lay a slice of the pork cheek on a spoonful of the cauliflower puree and arrange slices of the stuffed pork roll, brussels sprouts and the cipollini onions on each.

Remove the fat from the reserved cooking liquid, reduce by half, season and pour over the pork.

Macadamia Praline Semifreddo Shortbread Sandwich with Honeyed Strawberries

 Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Semifreddo:

100gm castor sugar

100ml water

75gm raw macadamias

100ml milk

½ vanilla bean,split and scraped, or half a tsp vanilla extract

125gm castor sugar

3 egg yolks

500ml cream

For the Shortbread:

125gm plain flour

100gm unsalted butter, diced

25gm icing sugar

25gm almond meal

½ vanilla bean, scraped

1 egg yolk

To Finish:

250gm strawberries, sliced

2tbs macadamia honey

handful of fresh mint leaves

icing sugar to dust

Method:

To make the praline, place the castor sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil.

Simmer gently, brushing down the sides of the saucepan with water occasionally, until the sugar turns a dark golden colour.

Add the macadamias, stir gently to coat and pour into a tray lined with baking paper. Allow to cool completely.

Break into rough pieces and blend in a food processor to a fine, crumble consistency.

For the semifreddo, put sugar, milk and vanilla into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the yolks until pale and light.

Add the strained milk mixture while still hot, and beat until cold. Gently fold in whipped cream and praline and set in a tray lined with baking paper overnight.

For the shortbread, sift the flour and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and add the butter, almond meal and scraped vanilla seeds. (Keep the scraped bean in your bag of sugar or wrapped up in the fridge for some other use) Pulse the mixture a few times, then add the yolk and allow the mix to just come together. Form the dough into a flat disc, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll the shortbread on a floured surface to about 3mm thick, and cut into 8cm squares. Bake the squares at 160 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.

To serve, warm the honey and pour over the strawberries. Allow them to stand for a few minutes. Cut squares of semifreddo the same size as the shortbread and sandwich between two squares.

Top each sandwich with a spoonful of strawberries, a few mint leaves and a dusting of icing sugar.