With the party season in full swing, please allow me to tempt you with an intriguing offering that's bound to surprise those taste buds and please palates as well. A combination of my zingy and refreshing gazpacho, with Heston Blumenthal's wonderful wholegrain mustard ice cream. 

Being a self-appointed 'Ambassador for Good Things', I've made it my business to investigate ice creameries on all of my adventures -- no matter where in the world I might be travelling. Of course, you do understand that it's all in the name of research, dear readers. For I know that you are out there in your neck of the woods, perched on the edge of your chair waiting to hear back from me with news on my delicious findings!

On the subject of dessert, what say you, my friends? If you ask me, there's always room for a little bit of dessert, especially if it's ice cream — and even more so if it's ice cream that's on the exotic side. 

'Oh my goodness,' exclaimed my friend. 'I couldn't possibly eat all that!' She was referring to the three large scoops of ice cream served in a tall martini glass. 'Just wait until you've tasted it,' I replied, with a knowing smile. All four of us watched as the spoon went into her mouth. One...  two...  three... 'Oh yum, that is really good, isn't it,' came the response, as my friend licked the spoon. 

'I remember a time not so very long ago when in a Western city you could as likely find kaffir limes or kaffir lime leaves as [you would] moon rocks!'                
                                                                          — Charmaine Solomon, Encylopedia of Asian Food, 1996

The days are flying past so quickly of late that I can barely catch my breath. It's Friday afternoon already and, as the sun begins to set over the distant Brindabella Ranges, I thought I'd drop you a short note to wish you all a happy weekend!

'Over 9,000 years ago agriculture began on different parts of the planet: the Middle east, China and Greater Australia in the highlands of New Guinea, which was then still attached to the mainland. As seas rose, agriculture spread to the Torres Strait Islands, but on mainland Australia [the Aboriginal] people rejected it, choosing to carefully manipulate the available natural plants and animals to increase their food resources. In Queensland’s rainforest people learned how to remove poison from some of the forest's most abundant toxic nuts. Fire stick farming was used across Australia to create habitats that encouraged particular plants and animals. Eucalypt forests were burned to create deliberate grass lanes used to lure and trap kangaroos. Here, people created something unique in human history: they transformed an entire continent into the biggest estate on earth - fully sustainable into the future until outsiders arrived'. 
                     
                                                 -- synopsis from The Biggest Estate, an episode in the First Footprints documentary series

Once upon a time in the tree-lined streets of my childhood, children frolicked on the front lawn playing chasings, hide'n'seek and badminton—and rode their bicycles on the road with their ears peeled, listening eagerly for the sound of the ice cream van which made regular rounds of the suburbs.

Chef Christophe Gregoire was born and raised in Les Vosges – one of the most pristine rural regions in France.  He says Australian truffles have a superb quality and beautiful aroma...  largely due to cold winters, frosts and dry soil in growing regions

Affogato

Affogato [a-fa-ga-to]: Noun. A delicious beverage comprising a large scoop of premium quality vanilla bean ice cream with a freshly extracted shot of espresso coffee poured over it.