"Sunday with Mum" at Palooka Restaurant, Cairns, in Far North Queensland

 Mother's Day at Cairns Palooka Restaurant, in Far North Queensland, totally exceeded my expectations. They describe their food as contemporary modern European dining, or Mediterranean, and the French and Italian influences in their cuisine are very obvious. The restaurant is situated in the heart of Stratford village in Cairns, offering cosy seating inside or outside on the footpath, which is well protected from the weather by sturdy blinds if needed. The restaurant is very accessible, and parking along the side street is generally available.

A local Cairns Market tour at the iconic Rusty's Market

Red Dragonfruit and Custard Apples in the background

 There is no shortage of signage at Rusty's market.

Whenever we are visiting the Far North Queensland city of Cairns, a visit to the Rusty's market is a must for me. This market is in the Cairns city heart, and very easily accessible from Sheridan Street, one of the main thoroughfares in Cairns. The market runs from Friday to Sunday every week and offers a wonderful venue for local producers from Innisfail, south of Cairns, right up to Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands to sell their local produce, handicrafts, breads and much more each week. What I love about Rusty's is that whilst it starts early each morning, it also finishes later in the afternoon, which means unlike a lot of smaller regional centre markets, it's not essential to do your market shopping early in the morning if not convenient. It is also within walking distance of most of the inner-city accommodation for the tourist.

In My Kitchen July 2022

This IMK post is part of Sherry's In My Kitchen series, and is mostly set in our Daughter's kitchen in Cairns, in Far North Queensland, where we have been for the past month or so, partly house sitting,  partly travelling around, doing lots of gardening and cooking, and loving the Northern Winter, until it started raining.  If you read my last post, you might remember that we drove home to Mackay from Cairns during the week, and as this is a 10 hour trip, and that's if all is going well, and always it seems with road works and lots of traffic, we now break the trip. Which means, we can take time out and stop and indulge at our favourite haunts along the way for some refreshment and some shopping. 

Oliveri's Continental Deli, a wonderful Italian shop in downtown Innisfail is one of our favourites. Innisfail, is another sugar cane town on the Cassowary Coast, also known for it's bananas and high rainfall, and with a large Italian population. Entering Oliveri's is like walking into little Italy, with shelves laden with all kinds of authentic Italian  products and also locally produced items just beckoning to be taken home to my kitchen. Locals are drinking coffee and eating pastries outside on the footpath.  It's a great place to buy gifts and have a splurge. Some items make it back to my kitchen pantry, and some are enjoyed on the way home.

The front window is laden with a marvelous selection of cheeses, olives, salamis and preserves, all very reasonably priced. It's worthwhile saving up just to buy these. Bring on the pizza. 

The shelves inside are stocked with everything you could want, perfectly packaged preserves ready for antipasto platters, Italian baked sweets and delicious condiments and jams.

So many different vinegars, sauces and oils tried to tempt me.

Of course I always leave Oliveri's with some delicious Nougat.

I'm looking forward to trying this Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar.

We thought this Whiskey Maple Syrup looked like fun. The instructions say to use it on meat. It's not Italian, but it looks like a delicious BBQ sauce from Kansas City.

The Spice Girls are a successful Cairns food company producing lots of different spices, teas, and quality cooking ingredients. I bought these from the Jonsson's Farm Market in Stratford in Cairns, which prides itself on a paddock to plate philosophy, bringing the freshest produce and meat and groceries sourced from all local producers and businesses. We loved shopping there, for the local produce in season. 

I bought these during one of my shopping trips which became gifts for friends who kept an eye on our place while we were away.

Far North Queensland is the real home of the banana, and Babinda just down the road from Cairns, besides having the famous boulders and the best bakery ever, is also home to these Sublime dehydrated Bananas.  Delicious to nibble on while travelling.

And I've become quite a fan of a Chai Latte for morning tea, as a coffee substitute.

I  did some cooking and baking in Cairns, however a lot of my cooking and eating was essentially comfort style food designed to be very kind to my gut, as for the first few weeks I was unwell. This led to a course of powerful antibiotics, which caused a painful skin reaction, so I wasn't a happy chappy. However one must eat something, and whilst for a "whole very long week" I eliminated all foods containing histamines, as the antihistamine tablets weren't working, and yes that means cutting out red wine as well, it's a challenge as all the foods we love, including citrus, tomatoes, eggplant, cheese, yoghurt, bananas and alcohol and many other Italian ingredients contain histamines. If you look it up  you will be surprised. We take all of those foods for granted when we are well. I eventually moved onto some very soothing and tasty meals,  however I am still treating hot curries and anything spicy with caution. 

So, when I was feeling on the mend, I made this delicious Creamy Chicken Pot Pie, ticks all the boxes for a comforting meal on a cold Winter's night. It was perfect. You can find the recipe at this link:

There was another Chicken tonight meal, with this very easy and delicious Chicken and Celery casserole, very soothing for the soul and the gut, and it's a family recipe evoking fond memories. It's also a very economical meal, with most of the ingredients except for the chicken and celery being  pantry and freezer staples. When everyone is becoming concerned about the cost of fresh produce and meat, casseroles can be suited to most budgets.

 

Last night I made these Tuna and Potato rissoles, they were so tasty. These are a great way to use up leftover mashed potato and canned tuna. 

Pears and apples are in abundance at this time of year, so Pear Tarte Tatin became a favourite. I made three of them in Cairns, so quick and easy and uncomplicated, Mr. HRK didn't mind one little bit. He even volunteered to make the custard. I also love making the more conventional Apple Tarte Tartin.
l'll publish the Pear Tarte Tartin recipe when time permits.

This is my curveball segment. A visit to a lovely plant nursery in Cairns called Limberlost, and I met Danny the Dinosaur. I would have loved to take him home, but $500.00 was just a touch expensive. Have you noticed lately that a lot of plant nurseries have quite the collection of very large and very tame animals and birds just waiting to be adopted for a price?

If you like Yotam Ottolenghis recipes, and who doesn't, you will love this book by Greg and Lucy Malouf, "A Chef's Journey through Persia". I have a copy on order, after a good friend lent me his for a while. 

I'm sending this to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings who hosts the monthly IMK series. Thanks Sherry.

Warm wishes

Pauline

Creamy Celery and Chicken Casserole

 

The delicious aroma of a Chicken Casserole baking slowly in the oven on a cold and wet Winter's day or even a sunny Winter's day,  is so very comforting to me, and  gives the whole family a lot to look forward to for dinner. This is the Queen of comfort food, fall-apart chicken, lovely vegetables, and a seasoned creamy sauce.  Serving up this dish is like giving everyone a huge hug around the dinner table. 

Taking a walk through the Cairns Botanic Gardens in Far North Tropical Queensland

 We drove to beautiful Cairns in Far North Tropical Queensland last week where our daughter lives, with a stopover at Mission Beach, and on Sunday afternoon after lunch, I went for a walk through the remarkable Botanic Gardens.  If I was asked what are my favourite things to do when I'm travelling, besides going to the beaches and restaurants,  one of them would definitely be visiting the nearest Botanic Gardens. I have been to the Cairns Botanic Gardens several times during previous visits, and each time I just escape into the wonderful world of lush tropical plants and not so tropical plants, some thriving in dappled sunlight, some growing in full sun, but always interesting and inspiring. It is easy to forget that the gardens located in trendy Edge Hill are only 5 minutes away from the Cairns City Centre, with very easy access. It is a marvellous form of escapism for me and very calming to the soul. So dear reader, I invite you to take a walk with me through the Cairns Botanic Gardens and let the photos tell most of the story. I was only there for 90 minutes this time, leaving many more areas to explore next time I visit. The Gardens are open from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm every day, no pets allowed.

The bright orange flowers of the large exotic Panama Flame Tree were one of the highlights of my visit and one of these trees is close to the Gardens entrance. I've never seen this one in flower before. That is the wonderful thing about gardens, there will always be different plants in flower depending on the seasons and the time of year you visit, and they are a mirror of what home gardeners in the area might be planting as well. So inspirational.

The Panama Flame Tree

My first place to visit in the  gardens is always the enclosed Watkins Munro Martin Conservatory, because as my friends and family know, I am a fan of tropical orchids. This is also the butterfly conservatory, but it's very tricky to catch those little darlings on camera. All the photos here were taken on my phone.

I loved this perfectly vivid orange orchid. 

Ascocentrum miniatum 060125

This delicate Vireya Rhododendron "Kisses" thrives in a tropical climate. I was quite taken with 

her.

Coral Seas "Rhododendron"

Pretty Phalaenopsis Orchids

The Tropical Pitcher Plant is quite eye catching, don't you think?

I took a photo of this one to remind me to repot my yellow Aggregatum orchid which is quite similar to this one, into a larger pot.

Can you spot the butterfly below.

This yellow and white soft cane dendrobium is one of my favourite orchids in flower right now.

Delicate.

Hardy and butterfly loving Pentas

And there's important information.

Very lush, and reminiscent of a tropical rainforest

Lipstick Palms, very popular in Cairns gardens

I did walk with care.

By this time, I was in need of some refreshment, and the Cafe is appropriately rustic, licensed, and serves good food. There is also a much more modern cafe located closer to another entrance, which I didn't get to this time, but we have enjoyed good coffee and food there during other visits.

A sample of locally produced jams and preserves available for sale at the cafe.

Cafe menu

Interesting formation, spiky and growing in full sun

A very large Staghorn

An elusive Scrub Turkey, red head, black feathers

I was excited to find an Australian Native Bee Hive.

Can you see the tiny native bees entering the hive through the black hole?

Cooling and calming waters nearby.

Enter the Heliconias and Gingers with Fanfare

Mmmm, a conversation starter? Just popping up out of the ground, in response to the heat and humidity.

Beautiful Medinillas

Medinillas are one of my favourite plants, so delicate, and they always seem to be in flower here in Cairns. As you can see I took plenty of photos of these. I love them. We have one growing at home in our garden, and one in a hanging pot, which I bought from the Friends plant stall at the Cairns Botanical Gardens. The potted one flowers almost continuously, but after two years the one in the ground still hasn't flowered. However I am persisting.

A magnificent prized Tassel Fern

Back to the Orchid House for another peek before I leave.

I hope you enjoyed this sojourn with me through the tropics. The Staff and Friends of the Botanic Gardens do an amazing job to grow and maintain these plants under sometimes quite dry and trying conditions. Cairns hasn't had any decent rainfall for a while now, but it will come with a vengeance.

Thankyou to you all for your very heartfelt messages after the passing of our Locky dog. A little piece of our hearts went with him, and it meant a lot to hear from those of you who sent a kind message. We still can't believe he has left our lives,  however since he has gone, Mr. HRK and I have been travelling and keeping busy and whilst we still miss him every day, we are trying to dwell on our happy memories of him.

Take care,

Pauline