Pittwater Life December 2020 Issue

Food Life
Pittwater Puzzler
Compiled by David Stickley
Food Life
Pick of the Month:
Blackberries
You might be surprised to
learn that blackberries are
a member of the rose family.
They are a good source of
vitamins A, C (needed for the
growth and repair of tissues
in the body) and K (important
for helping your blood to clot).
The new varieties now
grown in Australia are
sweeter and juicier than ever
before.
Here are a few great ways
to celebrate this wonderful
fruit:
On toast
Spread toasted sourdough
thickly with crème fraiche
or cream cheese. Top
with slightly smashed
blackberries, then sprinkle
with cinnamon and sugar.
Blackberry salad
Combine 100g baby spinach,
sliced cucumber, cherry
tomatoes, a punnet fresh
blackberries and marinated
feta in a bowl. Sprinkle with
toasted pepita then drizzle
with extra virgin olive oil
and caramelized balsamic for
a delicious salad.
Banana bread twist
Add a punnet of fresh
blackberries to your banana
bread batter before baking
for a delicious twist.
Blackberry gin
and tonic
Makes 4
2 x 125g punnets blackberries
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup water
1 cup large ice cubes
200ml good quality gin,
chilled in freezer
1.25 litres tonic water, chilled
Mint leaves, to serve
1. Combine 1 punnet
blackberries, sugar and
water in a small saucepan.
Stir over medium heat
until sugar has dissolved.
Bring to simmer, simmer
for 5 minutes. Set aside to
cool. Blend or process the
mixture until smooth. The
strain through a fine sieve,
discarding the solids. Pour
the blackberry syrup into a
clean jar, refrigerate.
2. To serve, spoon 1
tablespoon blackberry
syrup into the base of 4
chilled highball glasses.
Add 3-4 ice cubes. Pour
50ml gin into each
glass. Add a few fresh
blackberries then top up
with tonic. Stir gently, top
with mint and serve.
In Season
December
Look out for an abundance
of fresh raspberries,
blueberries, blackberries,
strawberries; cherries,
fresh lychees, mangoes,
watermelon, peaches,
nectarines and pineapple.
Also Hass avocadoes,
Green and Butter beans;
red, yellow and orange
capsicum; cucumber,
radish, corn, lemongrass,
mint, basil, tomatoes and
kumatoes.
ACROSS
1 Coastal region that has the
largest stand of mangroves
and sea grass beds in Pittwater
(6,3)
6 Relating to the community (5)
9 Bushland in Rock Bath Road,
Palm Beach, _____ Wyatt Park (5)
10 Palm Beach according to
‘Home and Away’ (6,3)
11 What’s done (generally) at
Warriewood Square (8)
12 Boutique hotel and restaurant
at Whale Beach (6)
14 Eyes in the sky patrolling
Pittwater beaches this summer (6)
15 Left out (7)
18 Large body of water (3)
19 Area which boasts a 1km
steep rugged walk with
spectacular views of Newport
and Bilgola Beaches, Attunga
Bushland _______ (7)
21 A serious matter (2,4)
24 Newport resident, Antony
Hawke, will be aboard ______
Woman in this year’s Sydney to
Hobart (6)
26 Important travel document
not generally getting a lot of
use this year (8)
28 Staying power needed
by IronMan and IronWoman
competitors, for example (9)
29 Cake coating (5)
30 Scented flowers like the
almost thornless Smooth Angel
and Smooth Prince (5)
31 Those attending church (9)
DOWN
1 Stylish (6)
2 Bitterness (7)
3 Startling disclosure (3-6)
4 Industrial, commercial or
professional operations (10)
5 Starchy tubers (4)
6 Set of beliefs (5)
7 Vigorous and animated (7)
8 Save (money etc.) for future
needs (3,5)
13 Local author of The Great
Escape from Woodlands
Nursing Home (6,4)
16 A lack of fairness (9)
17 A fictitious type of
aggressive koala which falls
out of a tree onto unsuspecting
people below (4,4)
20 Brief beachwear first
manufactured in Sydney by the
MacRae Knitting Mills in 1928
(7)
22 A shared on-demand
transport service on the
Northern Beaches (7)
23 Points or periods in a
process or development (6)
25 A car has four of them plus
a spare (5)
27 Door handle (4)
[Solution page 90]
Pittwater Puzzler
86 DECEMBER 2020
The Local Voice Since 1991 The Local Voice Since 1991
DECEMBER 2020 87