Buddha’s birthday is traditionally celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month (April 8th), but we won’t let a little thing like a date get in the way of a good party!

Held at fabulous Federation Square, the 2006 Buddha’s Day & Multicultural Festival has successfully run in Melbourne since 1995. Organised by the Fo Guang Shan Melbourne and Buddha’s Light International Association of Victoria Inc, it aims to celebrate Melbourne’s multicultural diversity by observing traditional Buddhist ceremonies such as “Bathing of the Buddha”, dharma ceremonies, the Wishing Bell and traditional incense offerings. Also on show were art and craft demonstrations, cultural performances on stage, and a food fair.

I took part in one of the craft demonstrations to learn the art of dragonfly knotting. I think the demonstrations were intended for children, but hey, I’m a big kid at heart, right?

This is me and all my thumbs trying very hard in very cold weather to tie tiny knots.

And this is the finished product - my dragonfly!

The food fair down at the Yarra was fantastic. Lots of little hawker type stalls selling noodles, dumplings, buns, yummy things on sticks and yummy things to be eaten with sticks. There were hot soups, chilled bubble teas, curries and vegetarian fare for the more pious Buddhist.

Check out this assembly line of soup noodle ladies. A hot bowl of noodles, vegetables and your choice of meat/tofu - perfect for Melbourne’s very cold weather - for $5.00. Bargain.

I was most impressed by the skill of gentleman making Roti (the thin flaky pastry/bread often served with curries). His deftness with the dough is totally amazing - and darn quick! You can click on the above image to see a short movie of his skill, or click here. I of course sampled his roti with a vegetable curry (I was being pious!). Hot off the grill, it was the best roti I have ever tasted.

CERES (the Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies) is a community environment project that “…exists to initiate and support environmental sustainability, social equity, cultural richness and community participation”mission statement.

Located next to the Merri Creek in urban Brunswick East, it is a green haven of good ideas and great intention. It is a place to learn about sustainable living and alternative methods of energy, grow and eat organic produce, have a cultural experience, take part in a community project / weekend workshop, or attend the food/craft market on Saturday. And that is just a very small list of what CERES achieves.

As a somewhat self-confessed foodie, I think it is a great place to source some wonderful seasonal produce and purchase some kickarse artisan breads. As a person who is interested in how our footprint impacts this earth, I find it inspiring. I have only been there twice, but I think the place is just fab. I wish more communities would aim to achieve such collaborative spirit as I have witnessed there.

Anyway, this particular Saturday started off with breakfast at the CERES cafe. As the cafe is in an outdoor garden setting (covered by a veranda or marquee), it can be a little exposed to the elements. So in the cooler months, don the winter woollies and you’ll be just fine.

I am such a sucker for a well intentioned cafe latte, and this proved wonderfully tasty as well. The barista said they used an organic coffee called Coffee Supreme. It was a very smooth blend and possibly the best organic coffee I’ve tasted.

I had the Basmati breakfast, a porridge of basmati rice spiced generously with cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. It was studded with plump currants and dried apricots and topped with a toasted mixture of coconut, pepitas and almonds. Served with pure honey on the side, it was seriously stomach warming. It is the kind of dish the old adage “stick to your ribs” would apply to. Anyway, it was perfect fare for a chilly Melbourne morning.

My breakfast companion had the hot Indonesian eggs breakfast, which consisted of fried free-range organic eggs (layed on the premises by very happy chooks) on white rice with a chilli sambal, spring onions, mint, coriander, sweet soy, crushed peanuts and salad greens. They said it was “fresh, crisp, healthy and not too overpowering”. I think it looked stunning, and something I would love to try on a warmer day.

We also shared the fruit toast, which was accompanied by house made organic apricot jam. I mistakenly though the jam was plum as it was quite dark and intense. It was nice, but I much prefer a lighter apricot jam (both in colour and taste).

After breakfast we wandered up to the market. All of the produce is organic and most is grown/sourced locally. CERES is also initiating a fantastic Urban Orchard project, which aims to harvest fruit/nut trees from homes in the area. The produce is then donated/sold to CERES for sale at the market. You can read an article that appeared in the local Leader newspaper here. What a brilliant idea.

Can you get any fresher than this? Happy apples and pears and super crisp greens just begging to be consumed. Curly kale, cos lettuce, silverbeet and spinach. Pink Ladies, Fujis, Johnathans, Granny Smiths and Packhams. Mmm.

This is the artisan bread shop. Better than a Brumbys or Bakers Delight, eh? Lots of sour doughs and bread products, such as sour dough croissants (I haven’t tried this one as it just goes against all conventional thinking), biscuits, muffins, danishes etc.

I purchased the following breads:

• Baker D.Chirico Fruit Loaf (top right corner). Incredibly dark and dense, this is no half arsed fruit loaf peppered sporadically with mingey sultanas and currants. This loaf is chock full of dried apricots, figs and dates, and is brick-heavy in weight. In my opinion it is a bread for toasting and consuming warm - my choice of topping, ricotta and honey. By the way, you can read a very interesting article on Baker D.Chirico here.
• St.Andrews Rosemary & Olive
  Loaf (bottom left). A long, wide loaf of bread, it is generously filled with crushed kalamata olives and sprigs of rosemary. I was quite happy to eat this unaccompanied. Delish.
• Purebread Bakery Casalinga (bottom right). Mmm. It was chewy and dense with the perfect amount of sour. A beautiful looking loaf as well.

So with my bags full of bread and my heart filled with joy, I left CERES wishing I had something similar to participate in closer to home. Hmm.

The apprentice patissier is no more. No longer will I be toiling over hot ovens and inhaling copious amounts of flour and caster sugar (on a professional level anyway). I had a bit of a soul search and realised that I wasn’t really interested in churning out 50kg of croissant dough, 7kg brioche dough, 40kg sweet pastry, 40kg quiche dough, 10kg pizza dough etc. all day, every day. I enjoy finishing and creating individual products. I like researching, testing, trialing, making and watching people enjoy what I have created. And that’s just not possible in a busy wholesale/retail bakery/cafe.

So at this stage I have decided to keep my passion for food and all that it entails a hobby. I’m going back to regular paid work to earn some decent money for those holidays / cooking classes / exotic ingredients that I so love.

Therefore in light of the person formerly known as the apprentice patissier blog, the site has been renamed to “tummy rumbles”, which is something I constantly suffer from

So continue to enjoy.

Persimmons are such an underrated fruit. Nonna, my Italian grandmother, loved them passionately. She ripened them on paper towels on the bench, waiting till the skin wrinkled and split, the insides turning jelly soft. The site of that saggy baggy skin was enough to turn me off. Well, for most of my childhood anyway. Alas, I have overcome many food phobias as I have grown (hallelujah!). And one of them was for the humble persimmon.

Apparently persimmons come in astringent or non-astringent forms. I am only familiar with the astringent variety, and have learnt a new method of ripening. Instead of leaving them on the bench for two weeks, when near ripe pop them in the freezer. This has a twofold effect. It eliminates the mouth puckering astringency, and then allows the fruit to become pulpy soft when the ice molecules disintegrate. Fruit can be frozen for up to six months, allowing one to enjoy them out of season.

When ripe the taste is super sweet, almost like a supercharged apricot.

I think the persimmon tree is just gorgeous, quite ornamental/oriental in design.

I have never tried to cook with persimmons, knowing the delicacy of the flesh. Does anyone have any tried and true recipes?